That was a good story, very intense and dramatic.

Holy. Whoa.

This fic, as well as "The Virtues of Knocking," easily reach my top five greatest TMNT stories of all time, and that's no exaggeration. Both are great pieces for their character studies, humor, and moments that made me want to cry and/or smile for various reasons. You're truly a great author, and I look forward to reading everything else you've written - and will write.

Keep up the phenominal work!

The sheer volume of information in this story is mind-boggling…staggering and any other ing I can’t think of right now. You really know your medicine, or you really, really researched it well. I loved your take on Donny. It was wonderfully deep and insightful, I sometimes thing, out of the four turtles, Don’s the trickiest to get right; he is such a deep character to try to get. Nevertheless, I think you got him, hook-line-and-sinker!

The situation you presented for Raph’s ‘first time’ experience in field medicine was nice, simple. Mikey and Leo ambushed by the foot, completely feasible, and with Don out of commission, Raph’s the man. ^^ I loved how you wrote his internal struggles so well, after all its established in reinforced concrete that Raph is the protector in the family, he has everyone’s back. Mainly Mikey and Don’s but Leo’s too when needed. He loves to fight, to then put him in a situation where he has to “sit on the sideline”, to NOT cover his brother’ because he HAS to be there to patch them back together afterwards is so totally alien to him it just plain goes against nature. It’s like saying water isn’t wet and the sky isn’t up. Loved it! ^^ You do love to give yourself a challenge. It worked out well though.

Raph’s actions and reactions were perfect, I was on the edge of my chair reading faster and fast right there with him…probably hovering somewhere over his right shoulder I was so tuned in with what was going on (Nice job! ;). Moreover, I swear, Leo is just a * magnet. The guy cannot catch a break in a fight, it was great characterisation to see Leo, wounded, bleeding out, going into shock and still being big brother and helping Raph through it. It was very touching and so typical. Raph’s threats/ bribery to Mikey, bang-on, after all Raph may me the back-up medical ninja but he’s still Raph and must apply his new skills in his own way! I’m glad you didn’t make him out of character and lose his anger and start being all reasonable and stuff, you kept him rough and gruff.

The conversation he and Don have back at the lair after all the drama has blown over was nice to read, Donny seems to have kept a lot bottled up inside and away from his family, much more than Raph realised or is healthy. Raph seems staggered by the insight into his pacifist brother. I love the fact that when all was said and done Raph wouldn’t take back what he’d learned from Don, and Don’s fears were placated. His brothers may not understand a word he says when it comes to his inventions but at least this burden can be shared by the unlikeliest of his brothers. Loved the whole thing. Nice story!

From a veterinary student's point of view, this story really struck me. I'm amazed at how well you hit on the challenges of practicing medicine. Treating an animal isn't the same as treating a loved one, but still. Wonderful job!

This is one of the best sequals I've read in a while! I can't wait to read more of your fics!

Oh I LOVED it. I liked the first one, too, but I always thought there should have been another chapter where Raph got to show off his skills...so I was really happy to see this. Your characterization is really good, and complex, and I really get pulled into the drama of the moment. And I'd definitely love to see another one...maybe Raph doesn't have Don to fall back on next time...or Don's the one in trouble...? Lots of possibilities! *hinthinthint* And finally, as Raph and Don were talking about the burden of being a medic, I couldn't help but think of that song, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Had to learn that for Choir class once, and it just popped into mind... =)

Great fic! I love long one-shots of brotherly bonding...that sounds weird...anyway, even though I can't think of any new story ideas, I'll be keeping tabs on your stories :-)

Taunya

“So do I get my own pigeon puppet too?"

This was a fantastic follow up for VoK. I really adore the way you've portrayed both Raph and Don - and I think you give Donnie a lot of deapth. It's awesome to see because I think he's ignored for his more outspoken brothers by mist writers.
Excellent work - keep it up!

-Snuggling with Mommy Leo
Moo

Well, if it's for your health then I guess I'll have to. lol. Seriously, it was very good, definately makes one of my favorite stories. I liked how realistic and straight forward it was. By way of critique, maybe don't get so monologue-y to get the story to flow a little better. That's all I got. Loved it to death and can't wait for more of your work! Thanks much!

I'm actually going to respond to your comment before the fic - okay, that's odd, I know, but I have a really good reason (well, two actually).
Reason one:

I don't like this story...
I LOVE this story! Many, MANY Kudos to you! You captured not only the medical perspective absolutely perfectly but you also managed to put a good deal of humor into it. Again, Many MANY Kudos to you!
I'm glad Raph handled his acid test so well, and I'm glad he has another subject to bond with Donnie over. Fantastic story!
(did I mention the kudos?)

wow. this was great. better than great. hits the nail RIGHT on the head on how donny seems to feel and the way the others deal and behave when one of them is injured.

i'm studying to be a psychatrist and don's whole explanation to raph about detachment and building defense mechanisms was a treat to me. have you studied psychology in college at all?

this line from raph had me giggling: "But I swear, if you fall asleep on me now, I’m paintin’ yer room pink, sendin’ hate mail from you to the Justice League, an’ usin’ all yer comics fer toilet paper.”-- omg, that was great! it freaked the hell outta mikey!

this truly was excellent and very true to character. poor raph was beating himself up. i'm glad donny convinced him that he did actually do a good job and couldn't have done it without him. and you're so right: donny *is* unappreciated! glad you gave him the credit he deserves.

this was pretty different than the virtues of knocking story. i was surprised when the genre read hurt/comfort as opposed to humor. you do well with both. lovely, lovely job, hun! keep it up!

Like oh my devil. Prepare for ultimate fangirlism...mwahahahaha! Few things before I start fangirling though... I don't know when you started writing this, and therefore how recent your beginning author's note is but...you do know that they are currently showing the Lost Season on T.V. (though once again left us hanging by not ending Fast Forward - even though I hate that season), right? And...OH MY DEVIL! You wrote something again! How I missed you so!
Oh, and I'm trying to do more F.A.R.T. (Fanfiction And Reviewing Technique: basically a 'how to give concrit' guide) though your stories make it so incredibly *HARD* to give concrit. I seriously can't find anything bad (though I don't really look for it, mostly ignore spelling and grammar as long as it's not horrible). But I have discovered...quoting stories...is quite fun. And you just have so many superb lines that I must quote and comment on. I mean; it'd be great if I could do it to almost every line, but...that would be just crazy! So this should be...quite long. Lol. Enjoy.

Before the quoting begins:
Like I haven't already said this enough but...OH MY DEVIL! I absolutely adored The Virtues of Knocking (like I don't adore all your stories) and I was really excited to see this, and learn it was a sequel. And - the big thing - it had Leo angst! YAY! Me likey Leo, and me likey angst. The two together are like a yummy, delicious Ninja Turtle dipped in chocolate. Even if Leo - or the angst - wasn't the main focus, it was a nice underlying plot/theme like thing. Plus the Raph/Don dynamic is completely awesome. The way you make these two play off of each other...genius. I just absolutely love it, it's astounding. And these little 'character development/insight' stories, are really good.
Also; love how you put Raph into a serious role his first time. And you had a good reason for it. Poor Don; being all hurt and out of commission and arriving late to *that* horrible scene. Ready for it? Group aw, everyone! Aw!

And now...quote'n'comment time! Everybody gather round and prepare for the _longest_ review. Ever. :)

"Don reappeared and threw a duffel bag at his brother. "That's what this is for. Happy birthday, I got you your very own med bag. It's about time we had more than one. And don't freak out too much. If Mike can still talk and Leo can still fight, they're alright."
"Oh yeah, great use of examples. Even if they were hurt, Mike would still be yappin' an' Leo would still be tryin' to play Fearless Leader."
"...Okay, so maybe that was a poor example. But still, you get my point.""
L. O. L. Geez Don, it's your leg that's hurt, not your brain! Teehehe. Just can't get rid of their lovable personalities. Gotta love 'em. Lol. But at least Don realized his mistake. :-)

""So do I get my own pigeon puppet too?""
-Dies- Oh my, oh my, oh my. I nearly died here! And after all that Raph didn't get one! Even though it did come in handy that one time. But I suppose there can only be one Marry Poppins bag, eh? And we all know - mostly thanks to the odd pigeon puppet - that Don has that covered!

"The blood covering Leo's left side and feeding the puddle beneath him looked wrong too."
My first thought? OH MY DEVIL! MY BABY! The second thought that pops up into my head? Oh, nice. Feeding the puddle? That is soo...cool! I am so jealous of the awesome lines people can come up with!

""Was going to take care of it...after I rested a bit.""
-Tries not to make sarcastic comment...fails- Yes Leo. That's always the best way to take care of deep wounds. Get hurt, think about taking care of it, 'rest your eyes for a second' - which really means sleep, die, wake up, then fix it - finally. ... Ah, Leo. I *love* you to bits! -Huggles-

"I dunno how the h- Don makes carryin' this d- thing look so easy"
Well Raph, you see, it's actually very scientific. ...He STOLE Mary Poppins magic bag and tricked it out so it didn't look like an abstract elephants ear. ...I think... Well it sounded good to me anyway!

""Least you could've done was put on some hold music.""
Ugh? Raph didn't? He's got to stop forgetting to do that, how rude! Lol. What does Mikey think it is, anyway? A phone? ... Oh wait! It is. Silly Tewi. But it's not that type of phone. And it's certainly not an elevator!

""The same ones we fight every night, Pinky; the ones trying to take over the world!""
Oh my god! -Dies from happiness- I love Pinky! Go Mikey, woot!

"...in a grotesque parody of a hug."
-Eyes widen like crazy and jaw drops open- Another fantastic line! That one...I dunno. Is going on my wall or something. Or...I'm going to start using it in random conversation where it makes no sense. For I just love it that much!

""Just a...scratch...""
Lol. That's our Leo. The Leo that one day will step into the lair, body full of swords, and say he just cut himself shaving (copy-write Nekotsuki in Underdark)!
By the way; I just love it when this side of Leo comes up, not in symbolism, but in all actuality.

""I'm paintin' yer room pink, sendin' hate mail from you to the Justice League, an' usin' all yer comics fer toilet paper.""
Oh my devil. He did *not* go there! -Snaps fingers at Raph- The ultimate threat. Sending hate mail from Mikey to the Justice League and using the comics as toilet paper. Pure genius. Although the painting his room pink thing would be more of a threat to Raph than Mikey. I mean, I can just imagine Mikey doing something magically creative with it, or using it to his advantage to annoy Raph. ... Or whine constantly about it...again ending in annoying Raph. Donchya think?

""I think you're good at this. It's kinda weird, but you are.""
Lol, way to boost Raph's self-esteem Mikey, way to go. I mean that is just so sure of yourself and what you're saying. ;-)

""We'll force feed him when he wakes up, fatten him up a bit, hm?" he cajoled lightly."
Lol. Yay, jokey Don! And it was funny!

"The ride home seemed to take both an eternity and an instant, a slow painful crawl of watching Leo breathe and shaking Mikey occasionally, then suddenly finding himself at home with empty arms, bewildered and confused and distantly aware of movement beyond him, running and flashes of red and metal…"
I don't know what it was about this sentence but I had to read it a couple of times over to get what it was trying to say. At first I thought Raph was daydreaming or something, even though in the next scene he was at home. I don't know. The transition wasn't clear enough. ... Unless you were trying to convey Raph's confusion and being on autopilot and wahness. Then it was perfectly fine!

""Experience and a healthy dose of denial." ...
"Ya never taught me that trick," Raph grumbled, only half-joking."
Oh, that Donnie! How dare he do that! Lol.

""I coulda screwed everything up if Leo hadn't been...Leo.""
Well that's what Leo's therefore, silly! Lol. Poor Raph. What a blow. Even if it was his first field experience 'patching' job - that we, the readers, know of - was so...wow. Leo passing out (yayness...Lucifer Jones I'm a sick, sick person) and Mikey having a concussion. I mean, when Raph was all worried and the crazy cool - in the writing type of way - thoughts were flying through his head he was still levelheaded enough to remember that Mikey shouldn't fall asleep... Way to go Raph! I'm cheering you on!

""Sorry, bro, but ya keep saying 'first time' like yer talkin' about sex."
Son colored slightly. "I can assure you, I'm not."
"I'm just sayin'.""
""Surgery is nothing like sex!!"
"'Course not. Sex is a h-uva lot more fun.""
-Dies...again. Sheesh. This fic should come with a warning. CAUTION: The pure awesomeness and complete superb status of this story ca-will be hazardous to your health. You may DIE! SEVERAL TIMES!- Not a good thing to be reading while the whole rest of the house is sleeping! I mean...callio; do you want me to wake them!? :)
And then surgeon virgin...I died-AGAIN!

"...he nearly vibrates with it."
-Tries desperately not to think back to the whole 'sex' thing...FAILS-

""'Sides, I've put way too much time into learnin' this s- to not use it.""
Lol, now that's the spirit Raph! I'm proud of you too.
Way to go callio. Raph made such huge accomplishments in this story! And the way Don handled it all...you will not make me like any of the turtles better than Leo. You can't break me!

And this wasn't, technically, part of the story but...
"Please leave the overwhelmed college student some reviews; they are a doctor recommended way of fighting off depression."
Really? What doctor do you go to? I'd love to see him/her! But if they say so...if you didn't notice, I just helped fill your prescription. ;~)
Cause gosh, even though I gave myself carpel tunnel writing all of this in one setting it was so worth it for your stupendous story! And I tried really hard to not just crazy praise (even though I know you like it and you deserve it) but to also give concrit... But there's really not much to give. -Thinks- Um... You give Raph too much of an accent? No. It makes me imagine the Brooklyn accented Raph we all love. That's a good thing. Um...
Write more stories more often? Lol.

I dunno. Love your work! Thank you so much for gracing this forum (- and me! -) with your presence and wonderful writings. Astounding. Hopefully I'll be reading more from you soon.

P.S. Sorry if a whole bunch of and suches. Not quite sure how or if I can put things in italics or bolds in reviews. But I'm, obviously, trying.

-Also. If you ever want to e-mail back and forth or discuss story plots and ideas and the technicals of writing, I'd love to. Maybe you could help me better my writing.-

Dude ...it's so nice to see your name in the updates again. :D This is a great story - and I especially appreciate both the realism of the injuries and Raphael's reaction to a bad situation. Thank you very much for posting this!