The Friday that everything changed had started out normally enough. At 5:30AM, Donatello groggily hit the alarm clock, afraid of waking up Leonardo. He knew that Leo would be awake in 30 minutes, but he hated waking his older brother—not to mention that the older Hamato brother had the temper of Raphael when he was woken before he was ready. Getting out of bed, the brunette crept out of their bedroom, passing Raph's room on his way to the bathroom. It didn't surprsise him that Raphael wasn't home yet. 'Damn vigilante,' Donnie thought, flipping on the bathroom light, wetting his toothbrush even as he started the shower. Fifteen minutes later, Donnie was startled by pounding on the bathroom door.
"Hurry up, Don! I have to get ready for work, too!" Leo yelled gruffly; it was an exchange that happened every morning, but Donnie still hadn't gotten any quicker at his routine.
"All yours, Leo," Donnie said, opening the door. "Lunch is in the fridge. I'll see you when I get home," he continued, throwing his purple towel into the hamper before navigating the short hallway to the kitchenette. The small 2 bedroom apartment wasn't much, but the three brothers were almost never home anyway. Grabbing his sack lunch of peanut butter and jelly, Donnie opened the apartment door...and a streak of orange caught his eye.
Looking down, the brunette saw that it was a baby blanket, complete with baby. Big blue, innocent eyes stared into brown ones, almost pleadingly. Donnie tentatively picked up the infant, watching as the blue eyes closed and the baby cuddled into his arm. Going back into the apartment, Donnie set his lunch on the counter, slowly rocking the baby in his arms.
The bathroom door opened just then, revealing Leo, wearing nothing but a blue towel. "What in God's name is that?" Leo asked, pointing to the orange bundle.
"It's a baby, Leo. I found it outside the door. I think I'm going to call him…Michaelangelo."
"We can't keep him, Donnie! He's a baby, not a dog! We have to take him to an orphanage!" Leo yelled, pulling on pants and walking toward the pair, moisture still on his upper body, glinting in the dim apartment light.
"They don't have orphanages anymore, Leo. The state controls that stuff now," Donnie explained quietly, afraid of waking the tiny bundle in his arms.
"Then we have to turn him over to the state," Leo explained, only lowering his voice after a sharp glare from his younger brother.
"And what good will that do? He'll go through the system. People don't adopt anymore, Leo. There's technology that will help have a baby. I think he has a better chance here," Donnie challenged stubbornly.
Running a hand through his still-wet brown hair, Leo sighed, holding his hand out the baby. Blue eyes blinked up at him, and he knew in that moment that this little baby would get whatever he wanted. "Fine. But he's your responsibility, Don. I have to get to work. When I get home, we'll figure something out about where to keep him."
Pulling out his cell phone, Donnie quickly dialed in the number that he had hoped he would never have to use. "Britton Technology, how may I direct your call?" a pleasant voice answered.
"This is Donatello Hamato. I need you to get me over to Rachael Hamm, right away," Donnie said quietly, almost in a whisper. Michaelangelo had gone back to sleep for the moment.
"Don? This is Rachael. What's wrong?" his manager asked a few minutes later. Even though she outranked him, Donatello held more seniority; he knew he was the best on the phones, so had passed up that promotion, nominating Rachael instead.
"I have a...situation," Donnie began, looking down at the bundle once more. "I need to start working from home, starting tomorrow. I will be taking today off, but need everything delivered and set up while I'm out of the house. Can you send three people over to do that? I know we're overstaffed today, so it shouldn't be a problem." Donnie continued, pacing the small living room.
"Sure, Don. Right away. Will you be there when they get there?"
"No, but I won't be out long. If you send Tienemann, he knows where the spare key is, and how to get into the building."
"Bruce Tienemann? I didn't know you two were friendly," Rachael said, jotting the name down on a post-it.
"Just send him and two others," Donnie said before disconnecting the call, his panicked mind momentarily getting the best of him.
Five minutes later, the brunette found himself in front of Babies R Us, steeling himself to go inside. Michaelangelo was curled in the crook of his arm, one chubby hand wrapped around his bright orange blanket.
'What do babies even need?' he thought to himself.
"First time father? It's so good that you're doing some shopping with your new addition. Usually it's the mother that does the shopping. What are you looking for today?" a friendly blond-haired woman asked as he tentatively took a step inside.
"E-everything, I guess," Donnie mumbled, looking around in confusion.
"So you have...nothing...for the baby?" the woman, whose name tag read Wanda, asked, making a face that plainly showed how unusual this was.
"It was rather sudden that he came to me..." Donnie hastily tried to explain.
"Okay, fair enough. I won't pry. We'll get you the essentials today: bottles, pacifiers, clothes, a car seat and stroller, a crib or bassinette, diapers and wipes, a changing table, a baby bathtub, a baby carrier, bottle cleaners and burp clothes, bibs, a high chair, baby bowls and spoons, baby food, and a bouncy seat," she explained, consulting a checklist and grabbing a cart. "Now, did you have any specific colors or themes in mind?"
"Orange. I'd like some orange in everything," Donnie explained, his mind racing nervously. "I-I guess maybe some purple, blue and red, as well," he continued, watching as Wanda made a notation on the checklist.
"And is the little one a boy or a girl?"
"Boy-he's a boy," Donnie answered, following the blond as she began to walk away, after fastening the baby in the cart as best he could.
"Our first stop will be bottles and highchairs. We'll also grab some baby food while we're in this section. The best bottles are BPA free, and you'll need some formula as well. The formula that I'd recommend is Enfamil powdered formula. The one that we'll want to try is Enfamil Infant, designed for newborns through 12 months, although some parents start giving their children baby food at around 4 to 6 months. It's best to get a little of both," Wanda explained, putting a large container of formula in the cart and moving to baby food.
"The best thing for baby food is variety, but not too much," Wanda explained, grabbing two cans of carrots, string beans, apples, peaches, sweet potatoes, peas, and adding them to the cart. "We also need some bottles and cleaners. We have a great selection of orange-themed items, along with some of the other colors you mentioned," Wanda said, gesturing to a three pack of bottles with sea creatures on them. Looking at the selection in front of him, Donnie grabbed two three-packs of geometric shapes, with multiple colors on them. Wanda added them to the cart, grabbing two bottle brushes as well.
"We also need a high chair. I suggest a 4-in-1 high chair that will grow as your son does. The Graco Antiquity line is exceptional," Wanda suggested, gesturing to the boxes of high chairs. Selecting a neutral brown, Donnie added it to the cart, careful not to disturb Mikey. Grabbing an array of mainly orange bibs, Donnie threw them into the cart as well, along with some burp towels.
"Alright. Next up on our list is...pacifiers and a car seat. Pacifiers are typically the easiest thing to pick out, and many car seats are sold with strollers," Wanda explained, even as Donnie took 3 3-packs of pacifiers and put them into the cart, along with a baby first aid kit. Manuevering the cart to the strollers, Donnie looked up at the selection. As many high chairs as there had been, there must have been double that amount with car seats and strollers. "Now, these are like high chairs; some are convertible. My suggestion is the GB Evoq Travel System," Wanda explained, watching as Donnie put it in the cart without hesitation. He also grabbed a front baby carrier, choosing a neutral gray as Wanda checked it off of the list.
"Next up we have a crib or basinette, whichever you'd prefer?"
"Basinette, please," Donnie requested, pointing the cart in that direction.
"Alright, what I'd recommend for a basinette is going to be a rocking basinette, like this one," Wanda explained, pointing out a gliding basinette and watching as Donnie muscled it into the cart, checking on the still-sleeping baby.
"Next we have diapers. Since he is about a month old, he needs size 1 diapers. Personally, I like Swaddlers," Wanda explained, watching as Donnie grabbed two big boxes of diapers, along with some wipes to go with them.
"Great! We're almost done. A changing table is next, then a bathtub, and finally clothes, and then you and your little man will be all set!" Wanda exclaimed, grabbing a second cart and leading the way to the changing tables.
Donnie grabbed a brown changing table, heaving the box into Wanda's cart before making his way to the baby bathing section of the store. Picking up a bathtub with hues of orange, Donnie moved on to baby shampoo, putting a bottle in Wanda's cart and moving towards the baby towels. Grabbing 2 2-packs of hooded towels, the brunette also grabbed some washcloths and baby powder before pointing his cart toward the baby clothes at Wanda's direction.
"Clothes are the hardest part. You'll need onesies, shoes, socks, mittens, hats, outerwear, sleepwear, and outfits." Wanda explained, pointing out each section before leaving Donnie alone with the clothing options before him.
A short while later, after being shown how to strap in Mikey, Donnie was on his way home, spending more money in one afternoon than he usually did in a month. Pulling into the parking lot of his building, Don saw that Bruce, Teddy, and Will were all standing around, obviously waiting for him. "Hey guys, help me carry all this in, will ya?" Don asked, grabbing the car seat and some bags for himself.
"A baby?! That's why you have to work from home?" Will asked incredously.
"He's my responsibility, Will," Donnie answered, gesturing to the things that still needed to be taken inside.
"You? A father?" Teddy asked incredously, hefting the basinette onto his shoulder and picking up the last of the bags.
"I found him this morning, outside my apartment," Donnie explained, following Teddy up the stairs.
"So why aren't you taking him to a fire station?"
"Because he wouldn't have a chance that way, Teddy. At least this way I can take care of him, make sure he's okay." As if on cue, Mikey opened his bright blue eyes, surveying the new world he suddenly found himself in.