What's Wrong With Donnie?

The next morning, Splinter woke up early as usual and started with his daily routine. After leaving his room and then the dojo, Splinter walked down the stairs to make his way to the kitchen to make himself some tea. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, Splinter saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked over at the living area. He smiled at the scene before him. All four of his sons were asleep together on pillows and blankets on the floor, and they were hugging. They looked so content and happy that Splinter just had to capture this moment on film. That in mind, Splinter open a drawer and took out a camera that he had left there two nights ago and took a picture. After he was done, Splinter saw that with that picture, the camera was full and made a mental note to ask April or Casey to by him more film. He then set the camera down and turned towards the kitchen to make some breakfast for himself and his sons. Before he could take a step towards the kitchen, however, Splinter's attention was caught by a moaning sound. He looked back at the turtles and saw Donatello turning slightly in his sleep.

Thinking that he might be having a bad dream, Splinter quietly crept over to Donnie and knelt down to his level. He listened as Donnie moaned and talked in his sleep.

"Help me," Donnie said in his sleep, "Please, help me. Sensei. Leo. Raph. Mikey. Casey. April. Karai. Anybody."

Sensing his son's distress, Splinter tried to calm Donnie down by rubbing his arm and telling him, "It's alright, Donatello. I'm right here beside you. Your brothers are here too."

His words did not seem to work because Donnie started squirming and moaned, a little louder than before, "Don't. Please. You can't."

Splinter was starting to become more worried. He shook Donnie and said, "Donatello, wake-up. What you're seeing is not real. It is only a bad dream."

"Don't do it. Please don't!" Donnie screamed in his sleep, waking his brothers, "Help me! Dad!"

"I'm right here, my son!" Splinter said in fear, gripping Donnie's shoulders, "Wake-up! Please, wake-up!"

"What's going on, sensei?" Raph asked.

Splinter looked at the other three turtles and said, "Help me wake Donatello! I think he may be having a nightmare!"

"Oh no," said Leo. He leaped up and rushed to Donnie's side. He pulled Donnie up and violently shook him and yelled, "Donnie! Can you hear me? Wake-up! Come on, Donnie, open your eyes!"

"I've got an idea!" Mikey announced and rushed out of the room.

"Mikey, where are you going?!" Raph asked.

"Keep an eye on him until I get back!" Mikey answered as he ran into the kitchen.

"Dad! Leo!" Donnie screamed as he convulsed in his sleep, "Raph! Mikey! April! Casey! Karai! Please, don't leave me!"

Splinter held his third son tighter and was on the verge of tears at seeing him this way. He wanted to help him, but did not know what to do. Leo and Raph were at a loss as well. Finally, Mikey returned, running towards them with a balloon in his hand.

"In coming water balloon!" Mikey shouted, "Booyakasha!"

Mikey threw the balloon and it hit Donnie square in the face. Donnie yelped in shock as he woke up with a start. He breathed heavily as he looked around and saw his father and brothers looking at him in concern.

"Sensei?" Donnie asked, "Dad?"

"Yes, my son," said Splinter, "I'm here."

"Oh, dad!" said Donnie as he hugged Splinter, buried his face in his chest and began to cry.

Splinter hugged Donnie in return and told in a soothing manner, "It's alright, my child. Everything will be alright."

Leo, Raph and Mikey watched as Splinter comforted their brother and what they could do to help. He then helped Donnie to his feet and led him to the dojo to calm down.

"Poor Donnie," said Mikey, "That nightmare really did a number on him."

"It sure did," said Raph. He shot Mikey a look and asked, "How did you know the water balloon would work?"

"Water balloons never fail," said Mikey.

"You're kidding, right?" Raph asked.

"Nope," said Mikey.

"So, our brother was having a nightmare and you threw a water balloon at him because of an assumption?" Raph asked.

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds pretty dumb," said Mikey.

"That's because it is!" Raph yelled, "For all you know, Donnie would've still been screaming, only he'd be wet!"

"At least it worked, didn't it?" Mikey defended.

"How about next time you use your head before you throw water balloons at anybody?!" Raph snapped.

"Will you both stop it?!" Leo shouted, "In case you haven't noticed, our brother just had a nightmare that made him really upset! And I think our main priority should be him!"

Raph let out a breath and said, "You're right, Leo. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," said Mikey, "You think he's gonna be okay?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Mikey," said Leo.

"I'm not so sure, Leonardo," said a familiar voice. The turtles looked up and saw Splinter coming down the stairs with a look of concern, "I managed to calm him down some. However, I fear something may still be troubling him. One does have such intense nightmares for no reason."

"You're right, sensei," said Leo, "He had a nightmare last night too. I didn't press him to tell me about because I thought I would worsen the situation."

"Your intentions were good, my son," said Splinter, "But we must get to the root of the problem if we ever hope to be of any help to your brother."

"In other words, we need to get him to talk," said Raph.

"I would prefer to think of it as assuring him that his family is here to help," said Splinter.

Back in the Dojo, Donnie had finally calmed down and was leaning against the tree and thinking about his dream. It was nearly the same as the last one. He and his family were minding their own business, and then she appeared. Donnie could only watch in terror as Za-Naron destroyed everyone he loved and declared that she would cleanse the entire planet. Only when Mikey threw a water balloon did his nightmare finally end.

"Donnie," Mikey's voice called softly. He looked up and saw his father and brothers by the doorway.

"Hey, guys," said Donnie.

Leo approached Donnie, knelt down to his and looked him the eye and said, "Listen, Donnie, you know we're here for you, right? We're family. And you can tell us anything."

"But if you're not ready, we won't force it," said Raph.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys today," said Donnie, "About the nightmares."

This took everyone by surprise. Nonetheless, they were glad that Donnie was willingly going to talk to them about what was bothering him.

"Are you sure, Donatello?" Splinter asked, "I don't want to force you to talk if you're not ready."

Donnie stood up and said, "I'm sure. I made a promise to myself last night that I would tell you today."

"Alright, we're listening," said Splinter.

Donnie took a deep breath and told them, "Last night, I had a nightmare that Za-Naron returned. She destroyed everyone and prepared to destroy the world. I wanted to stop her, but I couldn't control my own body." Donnie trembled and hugged himself as he told his family about his nightmare, "I had another one this morning. It started out slightly different, but it was close to the first. I don't know why I'm having these nightmares. Or if they'll stop."

Splinter lifted Donnie's chin up to look him in the face and said, "Donatello, April destroyed Za-Naron. There's no way she can return."

"I know," said Donnie, "So why am I having these nightmares?"

"It could be PTSD," said Leo.

"Huh?" Mikey asked, not understanding.

"It stands for post traumatic stress disorder," Leo explained, "It's what happens often when someone goes through a truly horrifying experience. In Donnie's case, it was when Za-Naron tried to kill him."

"So, you're saying Donnie's nightmares are because he hasn't gotten over what happened with Za-Naron?" Mikey asked.

"Exactly," said Raph.

"Whatever the reason is, we will help you," said Splinter.

"You will?" Donnie asked.

"Of course," said Splinter, "We are your family. And we love you. You can always count on us."

At these words, Donnie smiled and said, "Thank you, sensei." He then hugged him and said, "Dad."

"Don't forget us, Donnie," said Leo, "We'll never abandon you."

"No we won't," said Mikey.

"You can count on it," said Raph, "We'll always be there for you."

"Thank you," said Donnie, still smiling, "All of you."

"Group hug!" Mikey cheered and pulled his father and brothers into a big hug. Everyone simply shrugged and returned the hug. In that moment, Donatello was so happy that he completely forgot about the fear of his nightmare. The only thing he felt was love.