In response to a challenge by maverickiceman

For those who don't know the drill repeat after me "I…Do not…own…the…TMNT"

Donnie was on a roll. He had improved the efficiency of the shell cell's energy consumption by twenty-five percent, the battle shell was running at peak capacity, and his computer was handling more data than ever with its processing capacity vamped up to-

"Hey Donnie?"

"Hm?"

"Think you could play me a quick round of Mortal Kombat?"

"Hm, sorry Mikey. Not right now. Maybe later."

"Oh…okay…"

He had the turtle glider mark three back in action, it was better not to ask what had happened to the turtle glider mark two- Donnie was still a little touchy about the subject. Donnie had also designed a better grappling hook and was in the process of constructing the design. He had upgraded the code-breaking program on his computer and was in the process of fine tuning a device to get them past any lock that required a keycard. Some of his other projects included researching advanced metallurgy techniques in order to design a safe and energy efficient forge for the lair for the various metal weapons used by his family members and-

"Yo Don! Earth to geek turtle! Come in Donnie!"

"Hm?"

"Me an' Case-"

"Casey and I."

"Whatever. We was wond'rin' if you wanted to go ridin' with us? No bustin' heads if you don't want to bro."

"Sorry Raph, I don't have time right now."

"Oh…Okay…Some other time then…"

Hmmm, the bikes… Donnie started looking into design upgrades for the shell cycle while working to build a better mousetrap, one that didn't try to eat his family and rob banks. After that he dove into the latest research on muta-genetics and sent off an e-mail to April thanking her for the French coffee she had given his, the stuff was amazing. His next task was to put together a few more cameras for the security system and then he sat down and assembled the latest version of his PDA after which he-

"Ew…what's that?" Something on the wall. Donnie took a sample to be examined later.

Pulling out some paper, Donnie added more ideas to his plans for a new vehicle before moving on to fix Raph's roller blades. After fixing the skates he got to thinking and improved the strength of his bike without increasing the weight. After that he solved world hunger and determined that it was not an issue of supply so much as distribution which he would work on more later after-

"Mrow?"

"Hm…Klunk! Out of the lab! Now!"

"Mrack!"

Donnie sat down and analyzed the substance collected from wall. High sugar, starch and salt content proved it to be a smudge from whatever Mikey was eating at the time. While he had the stuff out Donnie pulled the cockroach specimen out of the fridge and took a sample to get tested for toxicity levels later in order to make sure there was nothing dangerous in the sewers.

Once that was taken care of and the cockroach specimen properly disposed of ("EYUCK! DONNIE! How many times have I told you not to put those things in the kitchen trash? No, don't just sit there typing away like you can't hear me!") Donnie did some more research on medical treatments of severe to extreme injuries ("If you think looking at those pictures is going to make me go away…e-e-ew. Hurk!") After Mikey left -er- after finishing his research Donnie put together a couple more cameras and added to his plans for the security system. Next Donnie-

"Hey Don. Don!"

"Hm?"

"Don't 'Hm?' me, it's dinner time and I am not going to bring your food to you tonight."

"Right Leo, I'll be right out."

"Yeah, sure."

Donnie realized he was squinting slightly at the book he had pulled out and set to work improving the lighting in his lab. While his mind was on the subject he took out some more paper and mapped out a possibility for a more efficient lighting system throughout the lair. That done Donnie pulled out the sample he had taken from the cockroach and prepared a slide. He was examining the slide and comparing what he saw with previous records when-

"Donatello."

"Hm- er yes Master Splinter?"

"It is late. You should go to bed."

"Yes Master Splinter."

"At a reasonable hour?"

"Of course Master Splinter. I'll go to bed a reasonable hour."

Donnie finished examining the slide and cleaned it up. He then turned to his computer and began looking into plans for repairs and construction in the sewers. That done he moved to one of his favorite sites on technological research and looked in on what the Army was working on. After that he-

-woke up with his head on his keyboard wondering why he kept doing this to himself.

Donnie sat back and stretched his arms over his head, yawning till his jaw hurt. When he felt that satisfying tingle running through his muscles he dropped his arms and looked over at his coffee machine. The pot was dust dry with a thick layer of black caked at the bottom. Unfortunately he had forgotten to reset the coffee maker to automatically make coffee in the mornings when he moved it out of the kitchen.

After resetting the coffee maker and listening to it hiss slightly as it warmed up Donnie scratched his head and looked around. The lab was trashed, as it tended to be after a day or two of solid work. Was it a day or was it two? He couldn't remember right now.

Donnie decided to see what his family was up to.

He moved to leave the lab but noticed a pile of gadgets, tech, parts and papers stacked up in his way. When had he built that? Trying to move some of the stuff made the entire pile threaten to topple. Too many of the gadgets in the pile were too fragile to sustain a fall and if any of the papers were torn that would mean hours of work down the drain. Donatello put his quick, agile and coffee deprived mind to work and came up with a plan of escape.

"Help! Help please!"

Outside of Donnie's lab his family stood observing the pile.

"Hey Donnie! What's wrong?" Mikey called as though the answer weren't obvious.

"I'm stuck! HELP!"

"Hm." Mikey considered for a moment. "Sorry Donnie. Not right now. Maybe later." Mikey turned and headed off for the kitchen.

"Sorry Don, I don't have the time right now!" Raph called before going to the dojo.

"Mow!" Klunk asserted before chasing after Mikey.

"Right Don, I'll be right over." Leo also went to the dojo.

Donnie groaned. "Hello! Anybody?"

"I am here my son."

"Sensei! Can you help me get out?"

"Of course my son. At a reasonable hour." Master Splinter took his tea and went to watch his stories.

Again Donnie groaned. He sat flopped into his computer chair and banged his head on his desk a few times. "Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in a very bad mother goose story?"

Because there is a moral to this story; do not expect time from those whom you do not make time for.

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