"Donnie!" The high pitched shriek echoed into the lab from the lairs main reception area. It was nothing more than a long abandoned subway but in the years the mutant family had spent there, they had managed to make it home. The high pitched voice continued to call out the moniker of the turtle currently welding a patch onto the Shellraiser, so only heard the excited voice of his younger brother once the sibling in question was right behind him. "DONNIE!"
Donatello literally flew out of his olive skin in fright, dropping the welding torch at his feet. Luckily the flame was designed to shut off when the handle wasn't being squeezed, so aside from the mild cardiac-unrest, Donnie escaped the situation unscathed.
"What. Is it. Mikey!?" Donnie snapped, he really tried to be patient, especially with Mikey, but the last few days had been especially trying for the techno-head. It seemed like everything was breaking at the same time and he was being pulled in a dozen directions all at once.
"The TV! It's the TV!" Mikey by this point had grabbed his brother by the shoulders and proceeded to shake the taller sibling. "It-it went dark." The words were spoken in such a way, that anyone who wasn't aware of what Mikey was talking about, they might have been concerned for the loss of an actual life.
"Not again…" Donnie sighed and pushed Mikey off of him, causing the younger teen turtle to topple back onto his shell. "I thought I fixed that."
"You did! And when you fix things, they usually… stay fixed. It's bad isn't it?" Mikey asked as he got back to his feet and followed after Donnie who now had his tool box in hand and was heading towards the living room.
"Relax, Mikey." Donnie said as he rubbed his tired eyes. He had already attempted to fix the problem with the TV, but he'd had so many other things waiting for his attention that, if he was honest, he had rushed the job and likely missed some other problem with the wiring.
"The poor TV, it might not make it back to us this time." Mikey fell dramatically to his knees, as if falling to the side of a downed brother in arms. Donnie just rolled his eyes and set to work removing the back of the box. It didn't take him long to locate the cause of the problem and a few minutes later, Crognar the Barbarian was bellowing out to its captive audience. Mikey didn't even realise Donnie was speaking and at the sight of the younger turtle, gazing lovingly up at the TV screen, Donnie just headed back to his lab, eager to get back to his work. Until…
"Hey Donnie, c'mhere!"
He sighed.
A toaster, radio, Raph's bike and a broken lamp later, Donnie was back at his desk looking wearily at his laptop screen. It was already four pm and yet the purple clad turtle had yet to get any of his own work done. He scowled darkly at the screen, took in a calming breath, before reaching into his desk top drawer and popping the top off a bottle of Tylenol. Every day he would wake up early, just so he could get in a few hours uninterrupted work and research done, before training started. Then it was breakfast on the go and more work but with constant interruptions and requests from his brothers and Sensei, he rarely got much done. Not that he minded, after all if he didn't do these things, then the whole lair would cease to function. He fixed the cooker, cooler, table, chairs. Created new contraptions to clean water, keep the lair heated and even fixed a hot-water, jet-powered shower, and yet there was always more expected of him. At first he didn't mind. In the early days he was just so happy to help out, because for the longest time he was fairly useless. He was a disappointment as a ninja to his father and a target for his brothers to beat on and laugh at. Now it seemed he was just something to be used, rather than a member of the family.
He sighed as the smell of something hot and tasty drifted in from the kitchen and the sounds of laughter and the usual banter echoed softly through the lair. He really wasn't in any sort of mood to deal with his energetic siblings, especially when his head was beginning to pound painfully, but his stomach growled loudly as the aroma of freshly made pizza tickled his nose, reminding him it had been some time since he last ate.
Rising on long legs, Donatello strode back into the main living area and crossed to the kitchen where Leo, Raph and Mikey were sat around the table, a pizza box opened before them. From the smell it was something spicy and it seemed he had arrived just in time as there was only one slice left. He was about to pick it up and take a bite when the delicious portion of pie, vanished. Don stood, gawking down at the now empty box, before glaring at the turtle responsible.
Mikey was oblivious to the death-glare as he snaffled down the rest of the slice before letting out a rather long and spicy tinged beltch. It was just as the youngest brother was licking his thick fingers that he noticed the furious brown eyes of his older brother.
"Good pizza, right bro?" Mikey beamed, while Raph and Leo backed away from the table as Don looked about ready to explode. But rather than scream and shout, after all what was the point, Donnie clenched his teeth and stomped passed Mikey and began looking for something else he could eat. All he could find was a can of soup and with a resigned sigh, he set to work heating it gently on the stove.
"Lucky escape there, Mikey!" Raph said sarcastically. "Donnie almost looked like he'd grown a backbone." Don bit down a little harder and tried to ignore the jibes. Raph wasn't saying anything out of the ordinary, in fact, he was just being Raph, but for some reason the words cut a little deeper this time. It didn't help he heard Leo chuckle before admonishing his hot-headed brother.
"Cut it out, Raph." Leo shooed the red clad turtle out of the kitchen leaving Don to sit over his now hot soup, sensing his younger brother wasn't up to the task of putting up with any more of Raph's banter. Donnie was to distracted to notice the look of concern shot his way from the oldest of their group.
"Sorry bro," Mikey's meek voice brought Donnie from his somber revere, as he sat idly stirring the tomato soup. "I get tunnel vision with pizza involved, y'know?"
"I know…" Donnie rasped out a reply and quickly tried to clear his throat. "It's okay Mikey." He tried again to clear the croak from his voice but it seemed it was there to stay.
"Are you okay, Donnie?" Mikey asked, dipping his head lower so he could meet his older siblings eyes. Usually he had to look up since Donnie was so much taller than all of them, but his head was hanging so low and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "You look sorta…"
"My tomato soup!" Both turtles looked up at Splinter who had just entered the kitchen, lured by the smell of the soup he was hoping to have for his own dinner. Donnie looked down at the steaming bowl before pushing it towards his father on the other side of the dining table.
"Sorry Sensei, I didn't know it was already spoken for," As Donnie stood to leave, Splinter's icy gaze thawed some-what, having noticed the way the usually enthusiastic turtle carried himself. His once bright brown eyes, dim with dark circles visible even under the mask.
"No, my son. It is perfectly alright, please sit and eat. I was saving it, but I can find another." The weary teen lowered back into his seat and with his heavy head in one hand, he went back to stirring the creamy red food-stuff, oblivious to the concerned looks passing between Mikey and their father. "Are you feeling alright, my son?" Splinter asked as he took a seat opposite. As Don looked up, he noticed Mikey had gone, having been ushered out by a subtle look from Splinter.
"I'm fine…" Donnie was initially a little confused, this was the second time one of his family had asked him that question in as many minutes. Splinter looked unconvinced and it didn't help Don's voice was still sounding very horse, despite numerous efforts to clear it. "It's just been… a long day." He tried one more time to free his throat from the gravel that seemed to have settled in, but all he managed to do was make it sore.
"Longer than most," Splinter said cryptically as he stood to boil the kettle. "I hear you, every morning when you rise and begin to work in your laboratory, despite trying to be as quiet as you can, I hear you."
"I'm sorry, sensei,"
"You have nothing to apologise for, my son. I know how much you do for us, here in our home. Why, everything we use and have, are in no small part, thanks to you." Splinter smiled as the kettle finished boiling the water and turned itself off, almost as if it was announcing its presence to underline his father's point. The kettle had been salvaged from the dump and made to work again by Donnie. "So, the loss of an hours extra rest is a small price to pay for the comfort you have provided us." Don smiled and looked back down at the soup which was looking a bit more appealing, so he slurped some off the spoon just as Splinter set to work making two cups of tea. "I often worry that you work too hard, yet every time I have thought to mention this to you, I am convinced otherwise by the light in your eyes. The same light that has been there since the first time you accosted my tool box and started to pull apart the toaster we had when you were seven years old." By now the tea was made and Splinter was sat opposite once more, his own cup nestled in his furry hands while the second cup he had made stood beside Donatello's soup bowl. The old rat smiled fondly at the memory he was describing.
"I broke that one." Donnie reminded before taking a sip of the tea. The warmth of water and the gentle tingle of the herbs within, seemed to dissolve the gravel in his throat, dispelling the discomfort.
"I did not see it that way," Splinter said with a smile. "I look upon that first failure as your first step to greatness. I knew this by the look in your eyes. Where most people would be upset with the nonsuccess, you still seemed so pleased. Because getting the toaster to work once more, was not your true desire. You longed to explore the inner workings of the machine, dissecting it and examining every piece, your young mind sharp enough even then, to figure out its mysteries." There was such a serene look on his father's face as he recounted those memories that Donnie found himself smiling too.
"Heh, it's funny. All I remember is being so scared that I would get into trouble for breaking the toaster."
"I could not be angry with you, my son, for it was not a delinquent act, far from it. You were discovering yourself and finding your path." Splinter took a sip of his tea before placing the cup back down and continued his tale. "You were always such a quiet child, your gentle personality favouring books and time spent inside your own mind. Training was especially difficult for you. It seemed that while your long legs granted you the reach for the highest kicks, you had grown so quickly in such a short space of time, you had yet to realise just how long they were." Splinters eyes shone with humour, though he spared Donatello any possible shame and did not laugh. "Being young, your brothers saw your many mistakes and lack of coordination, humerous."
"That, I remember…" Donnie took another helping of the soup, feeling the warmth hit his stomach and fill a hole that had been growing there since early that morning.
"You took it very badly and would shut yourself off a little more each time. The only time you felt confident, was in the lessons I gave you in literacy and numeracy, but you were such a clever child, you quickly surpassed me in terms of intellect. You had soaked up everything I had to teach you and were thirsty for more, yet I could not provide you with what your mind craved. I felt like I was failing you."
Donnie looked up from the cup of tea he now nursed, his long thick fingers curled around the small china pot for the warmth. He met his sensei's eyes with a shameful expression, horrified he had caused this feeling in the father he loved. Splinter recognized the emotion right away and his own eyes shone with adoration for his child. "Sensei…"
"Do not feel bad, my son. I tell you this, not to cause you regret, but to explain, how much I wanted to provide for you, for all of you, all that I could."
"And you did! Everything we have is because of you."
"At first yes, but all that we have, is because of our family. A family you are very much a part of."
Donatello looked back down at his hands. A few minutes ago he was beginning to doubt whether he was, like Splinter said, part of this family. For the last few days he simply felt like a tool they dusted off every now and again to use. Now, as Splinter uttered those words, he was starting to wonder whether their father had a sixth-sense akin to mind-reading that they weren't aware of. Maybe if he would agree to some tests…
"You are working too hard, my son." Splinter said softly, interrupting Donatello's train of thought.
"I-I thought you said-"
"The light in your eyes that usually convinces me you are happy, it not there today." Donnie looked back down at his tea cup feeling suddenly self-conscious about just what was visible in his eyes. Splinter himself just smiled and sighed. "I know everything you do, is simply to help make our lives better, but taking a little time to yourself is necessary and the lair will still be here when you are done."
"But there's so much I need to do. The retro-mutegen won't make itself and the Shellraiser took a pounding from the Kraang the last time we were topside! We're constantly needing the smoke-bomb-eggs, and it's imperative I get the new security system for the lair up and running and-" He had practically leapt to his feet and started to list each task still on his to do list. He was starting to wish he had more fingers to count on, not to mention a few more hands too.
Splinter held up his hand, calling for silence from his son who quickly fell silent, but his eyes were still pleading. "My son, I will not force you to rest, if I did, I doubt very much it will be a relaxing experience for any of us, least of all you. All I can do is advise and hope you have the wisdom to recognize I am just looking out for your wellbeing."
"I know you are, sensei and I will, I just need to at least make a start on the security system. As long as I don't get any more interruptions, I should be able to get the first sensors installed in a few hours." Donnie collected the soup bowl ready to wash it but Splinter stood and took it from him. His father didn't looked happy about the situation, his kind brown eyes full of worry. The old rat proceeded to wash up the few dishes in the sink as well as the soup bowl leaving Donnie free to get on with his work but a large knot had settled in his stomach. He felt bad that he had caused this disappointment in his father's eyes and he was very tempted to take his sensei's advice and rest up, but knowing just how much needed to be done…
He wanted to say something, to explain but he didn't know what to say, to make his father see that he just couldn't relax, not yet. Later… later he would, but just not yet. He turned and quickly headed back to his lab, ignorant of the look of deep concern that Splinter aimed his way.
"What do you mean it's not ready!?" Raph asked incredulously, his bullish attitude and temper was starting to fray on Donatello's last nerve.
"I mean what I said that, IT'S NOT READY!" Donnie shouted back at his brother, who for a moment seemed shocked by the outburst, but his shock soon turned into more anger and the burly older brother was soon squaring up the taller one. Raph was well known to be the strongest of the four brothers and Donatello had been on the receiving end of many blows and noogies from his often irrational sibling.
"You said it would be finished by now!" Raph countered jabbing a hard finger into Donnie's plastron, the force of which was almost enough to topple the weary teen to the floor. It was only Donnie's pride and stubbornness that kept him standing since he had ran out of actual energy hours ago.
"The Shellraiser isn't the only thing I've had to work on today!" He turned away from Raph and tried to focus on the delicate circuitry of the sensor he had yet to get working.
"Well, why not!? You knew we needed it tonight!"
"No, I didn't! If I knew you guys specifically NEEDED it, I would have made it a priority!"
"So prioritize now and dump this crap!" Raph picked up one of the sensor housings and threw it across the lab. He was about to throw another when Don grabbed Raphs bulky arm in both of his slender ones, the struggle that ensued resulted in both the sensor and Donnie being thrown to the floor. It was at that moment that Leo charged into see what all the commotion was about with Mikey hot on his heels.
"What the heck is going on in here?" Leo demanded getting between the pair. Don rose to shaky legs, angry and too proud to show just how much his hot-headed brother had rattled him. It didn't help he was feeling so worn out, if had been at his best he would have put up a much better fight.
"Nothing!" Don snapped and started to retrieve the now broken sensor components.
"Sounded like Donnie got his shell whipped." Mikey put in earning a him a scathing glare from Donatello.
"This bone head has been playing with this junk all day, he hasn't even fixed the Shellraiser!" Raph explained as he threw yet another of the sensor components towards his brainiac brother, who fumbled to catch it but ended up dropping the ones currently in his hands. Donatello scowled darkly at each of his brothers, feeling his temper rise to the point where he wasn't sure he would be able to contain it.
"What?" Leo asked irritably. "Why not, Donnie? You knew we needed it for-"
"NO I DIDN'T!" He finally snapped, throwing the one undamaged sensor component to the ground with such force that it shattered on impact. His head pounded in time with his rapid heartbeat, as it pumped violently, mirroring his mood. "I didn't know, no one mentioned anything to me about needing the Shellraiser by tonight!" His voice broke hoarsely somewhere in the middle and by the time he was done, his throat was painfully sore, but still he refused to show any weakness in the presence of his idiot brothers!
"Yes we did, Leo did!" Raph yelled before folding his arms in triumph.
"No I didn't," Leo corrected. "Mikey did."
"Nu-uh. Raph was gonna."
Donnie's eyes grew darker as each of his brothers realized what had happened. Raph for a fleeting moment looked ashamed for his recent behavior but as usual his dumb pride got in the way.
"Well, it doesn't matter that…no one told you. You're the tech-guy. You should have fixed it anyway. It's not like anyone else can."
Both Leo and Mikey looked shocked, they couldn't believe that Raph had actually said what he had and both turned to Donnie who looked as though he was about to bust a gasket. If it was physically possible the tallest turtle might have, but what was the point? Donnie glared pointedly at Raph one last time before turning to leave the lab. He stomped by Leo and Mikey, both unsure what to do. They expected a fight, a big one, but Donnie surprised everyone by walking away. The three brothers shared a confused and worried look before following their sibling into the main sitting area, but Donnie had already vanished out into the sewers, having sprinted his way through the lair and out. He had to get away and he picked up the pace as he heard the voices of Leo and Mikey call after him.
After running for a while, Donnie finally stopped and fell to his knees. He hadn't been thinking about going in any particular direction, he just needed to run away from the stress of the day. It was almost midnight now and the New York sky was filled with smog and light pollution, but the lights from the sprawling city skyline were as always a sight to behold. The roof top he had collapsed upon was home to a large billboard, advertising a soft drink and a few scattered satellite dishes, but more importantly, it was clear of Foot, Kraang and turtle jerks.
With a sigh, Donnie rose to his full height, pausing to give his long, tired legs a chance to stop trembling before he made his way to the edge of the rooftop and sat down. Most of his anger had burnt out in the run here, but as he sat and thought about the events that drove him away, he could feel his anger rising once again.
"Stupid Raph…" He muttered darkly and coughed right after. His throat was still feeling very sore and to talk only made it feel worse. He cringed as he swallowed, trying to moisten the dry walls of his throat, but he was still a little breathless from the run and so his mouth was equally dry. "What am I? A machine!?" He stood, as his anger rose it fueled his body once again, but his legs felt like jelly beneath him and he quickly stumbled back from the edge afraid he might fall. He sighed and lent back against the wooden supports of the billboard, before sliding back down to the floor, his fury slowly burning out and he could feel the fatigue settle into his muscles.
He knew he should head back home, but he just couldn't face it. He couldn't believe that his brothers had treat him in such a way. Couldn't they see how hard he worked, how much he tried? That when anything broke, he done his best to repair it? That his time was never really his own? That every waking moment he had, it was spent in his lab, happily working away on whatever new invention he had thought up? Or… he used to be happy. Now…now he just felt, under pressure, underappreciated and now, under the weather.
He held his head as it pounded and another cough tore from his chest and up and out through his raw throat. With each wracking spasm his head boomed harder making bright spots, spark and dance across his vision. He shook his head in an attempt to clear the stars away, but doing that just made it worse and he gripped his aching cranium with a groan and sunk further to the floor till he was almost laid flat.
At the time running away had seemed like a good idea, but now as he was miserably curled up on a cold rooftop in the middle of the night, he wished he had locked himself away in his lab instead. Why had he ran? Was what happened really so bad? Raph was out of line, of course he was, he was Raph. He always spoke first and thought about it later, but it had been that way for most of their young lives together and Donnie for the most part had learned to live with it but…not today it seemed.
Donnie curled up a little tighter, burring his aching head under his left arm in a feeble attempt to shut out the glaring lights of the city that he found so beautiful a few minutes before, now they were evil and sliced into his mind with lethal efficiency. A pitiful moan escaped his lips as now his stomach joined in the protest and he could feel bile rise before he quickly fought back the need to puke. He held onto the contents of his stomach for now, which only made the nausea worse but he had to protect his aching head.
"T-this isn't good…" He stammered, voice shaking as his body became wracked with shivers. The cold night air quickly cooled his sweat soaked skin, causing his body temperature to plummet. "Brrr, I gotta get back," He coughed as he attempted to push himself upright, but as he got to hands and knees, both his arms and legs trembled with the effort. Whatever energy he had left he had burnt through on his angry sprint across the rooftops and he was starting to regret the error of that rather illogical act. With his anger having ebbed he was starting to see just how foolish he had been. "Gah…come on." He rasped irritably to himself, hoping the voiced command would get his limbs cooperating again.
"Donnie?" The familiar but unexpected voice called from a nearby rooftop and as the exhausted teen looked to the source he was still surprised to see Raphael jump down to his location. Donnie glared darkly at his older brother before stubbornly pushing himself up using the billboard as a support.
"What are you doing here?" Donnie snapped and tried to stifle the coughing fit that followed. The concern in Raph's eyes was still there, but his green eyes narrowed in annoyance at being spoken to in such a way. Don found it laughable that Raph would get so annoyed when people took that tone with him, but he seemed to think he had every right to speak to everyone else in the same way without consequence.
"Making sure you're alright. It's not safe to be out here alone."
"It's never stopped you from going rogue." Donnie pointed out followed by a little cough. He started walking towards the edge of the roof, ready to head back, but a strong green hand suddenly grabbed hold of his arm.
"Whoa, Donnie," Raph quickly grabbed hold of his brother and pulled him back to his full height. Donatello hadn't even realized he was slowly starting to topple to the left with each step he took, but as Raph quickly snatched him back, he felt the force vibrate up into his head. "Geeze, you're frozen!"
"I'm fine!" He rasped back defiantly. The last thing he wanted was to give his brother even more ammunition as to why he was so useless.
"For a smart guy, you sure are stupid." Raph shot back and before Donnie could protest any further, he was swept off his feet and was slung over a broad shoulder fireman style. The sudden shift caused Don's head to pound even more ferociously and for a moment his vision went completely black, before exploding with colour. He gripped his head in a desperate attempt to ease the ache but as Raph leapt and tore his way across the rooftops, back towards their home, each bump and impact found its way into his skull making the sick turtle groan feebly. "What were you thinking…" He heard Raph asked and Donnie forgot about his aching head just for a moment.
"I was thinking to get away from you!" The brief respite was over as pain lanced through his head and once again he tried to cradle it back to a more manageable level. "Urgh…put me down, Raph."
"Not till we're home, you're obviously too sick to make it back yourself."
"I mean it, I'm gonna hurl!" At that, Donnie was unceremoniously dropped to the floor as Raph obviously freaked out at the thought of his shell being covered in his brothers vomit. As Donnie predicted he lost the contents of his upset stomach, which looked to mostly be the tomato soup he had eaten a few hours earlier. He coughed and gasped as he struggled to keep breathing through the heaves, oblivious to the expression on Raph's face as he was simultaneously grossed out and worried. Don felt a gentle hand on his shell as his body finally got done trying to turn itself inside out.
"Feel better?" His older brother asked as he slowly helped Don back to his feet.
"A little…" His voice was weaker, struggling passed a throat that felt like he had been gargling with crushed glass. Raph helped him to a sheltered spot, out of the cutting night wind that whistled its way across the city rooftops, and set him down before pulling out a bottle of water from his belt. "You came prepared?"
"I always bring one when I go rogue." Raph explained as he unscrewed the top and handed it to Donnie. If he hadn't been so thirsty, he might have threw it back in his face, but instead he threw it down his neck one glorious mouthful at a time. "Easy," Raph said softly as he took the bottle back. "Just sip it, or you'll upset your stomach again."
"Like you even care!"
"I'm here ain't I!?"
"Who told you to come find me huh? Leo, or Splinter?" Donnie shot his brother a glare unaffected by the look of hurt in Raph's eyes as he gripped the water bottle tighter before replacing the cap.
"I don't have to listen to thi-"
"Who!?" Donnie demanded as he grabbed Raph's arm before he could pull away.
"Sensei, alright!" Raph glared back but it quickly melted away when he saw just how ill his brother was. "You should have said you were sick, bro…"
"I shouldn't have too." Donnie let go of Raph and slumped back exhausted.
"Well, I wish you had. Then I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself. I'm an idiot okay?" Don just looked away, still angry. "I'm sorry." Raph finally ground out then sighed, realizing he still didn't sound like he meant a word he said. "I'm sorry, brother." Raph's hand fell to his sick siblings shoulder and Donnie's frown lifted as he turned back to look at the older teen. "You do a lot for us, and we don't even need to ask. I shouldn't have said what I did." Don sighed and offered a weary smile.
"Say it." Don ordered with a grin and Raph smiled.
"I'm a jerk." They bumped fists before Raph once again helped Donnie back to his feet. "Let's get you home, bro."
"Sounds good."
"But if anyone asks…"
"You beat me till I agreed to come back. Yeah, I got it."
"No offence, but it's not gonna be hard for you to pull off that look." Raph grinned as Donnie chuckled, then groaned.
"Make me laugh again and the deals off…"