The knocking at the wooden door was soft but even so Donatello could hear it altogether with Michelangelo's broken voice.

He wanted to tell him to go away so he could end with his suffering once and for all but deep within, he didn't want to be left alone, he wanted to feel needed again, he wanted to feel useful for once after two years of constant failures.

Michelangelo knocked at the door again and a sob could be heard. Don couldn't ignore this any longer; he rubbed his eyes hoping his brother wouldn't notice he had been crying, then he tossed the knife on the extra mattress he used to sleep on when he worked overtime and couldn't make it to his bedroom upstairs. Carefully he hid the sharp blade under a pillow hoping his baby brother wouldn't notice or ask him to lie down on his bed and if that happened, he would have to accompany him upstairs, abandoning the safety of his haven.

"Donnie…" Mikey called from outside. "Donnie, you ok? Can I-"

Before he could continue, the lab door opened and an olive green hand pulled the orange-clad turtle roughly inside. In less than a blink, Mikey found himself pressed against a golden chestplate while toned arms around him pulled the smaller terrapin into a comforting embrace.

The sudden action had Mikey looking up at his brother in confusion. "Don?"

"Don't talk" Came Don's hoarse reply as he tightened his hold on his baby brother.

The orange-clad ninja had noticed the darker, damp markings on Don's mask but he decided to keep that to himself; instead of questioning him, Mikey rested his head on Don's shoulder, letting the last of his tears to land on his brother's skin. It seemed like he wasn't the only who needed comfort at the moment.

They stayed like this until the sounds of blades clashing with blades stopped, indicating the possible end of the fight outside.

"Why won't they stop?" Mikey asked. "Why do they always do this?"

"Just let them be for now. I'll try to talk some sense into their thick skulls while I patch them up… again" Don replied loosening his hold on Mikey.

"That's the problem! They wouldn't need any of those things if they just…"

Fresh tears rolled down the youngest turtle's face, tears that didn't go unnoticed by his genius brother. He shushed Michelangelo and held him tight once again, rubbing his shell slowly and reassuringly. This was the first time in two years that he had comforted Michelangelo; during Leonardo's absence he hadn't been much of a help to the youngest brother, he'd rather spend an extra hour getting yelled at by some angry lady whose computer wasn't working than offer Mikey a word of encouragement, a hug or a simple pat on the shell.

Now he was making up for all the times he had ignored the little sunshine of the Hamato clan.

Don glanced at his mattress; he could clearly notice the gleam of the knife under the pillow as a reminder of what he was about to do minutes before Mikey appeared. He cringed at the thought of an already distraught Michelangelo coming to his lab just to find the lifeless body of the only brother who could ease his troubled mind in his time of need.

"How do you cope with all this, Donnie?" Mikey asked, interrupting Don's train of thoughts.

The genius turtle chuckled sadly. "That's certainly a good question, Mikey"

The nunchack wielder pulled away from Don and rubbed his eyes clean from tears. "I don't wanna see them"

Don didn't need explanation for that; it was obvious Mikey was talking about Leo and Raph. "Go to your room now; Leo will probably be here anytime soon" He suggested.

Mikey nodded and turned to leave but stopped by the doorframe to look at Don one last time. "Could you… when you're done, I mean… could you go to my room? We could have a sleepover, sort of"

Don groaned mentally; this wasn't the perfect time for one of Mikey's sleepover plans, not when he was feeling shitty as hell. He was about to decline the offer when his brown eyes stared into glassy, blue ones, hopeful and expectant.

How could someone say no to that?

The purple-clad ninja sighed heavily and nodded. "Alright"

Mikey smiled and left the laboratory walking past Leonardo, trying to un-see the new cuts and bruises he bore now product of his recent fight with Raphael. He wondered if his red-clad brother was in the same state of worse but that didn't matter now; Don would take care of them and he wouldn't have to see them until tomorrow morning.

The orange-clad ninja disappeared in his room and sat on his bed with a comic book in his hands.

"I hope Donnie doesn't take too long with those two" He said mentally before losing himself into his world of superheroes.

…

Leonardo winced with every single step he gave; his legs, arms… his muscles in general screamed in pain. This had to be the most tiring fight he'd had with Raphael yet.

He was more than aware that he would feel this fight first thing in the morning so it'd be probably the best for everyone, especially himself, if he cancelled training tomorrow.

The leader saw Mikey coming from Don's lab smiling but as soon as the youngest terrapin set eyes on him, the smile vanished. Mikey picked up the pace and walked past Leo, pointedly ignoring him. Leo couldn't blame his baby brother, it was well known fact that Mikey hated to see his brothers fight and hurt each other and when that came to happen, he would avoid both Leo and Raph equally until the next day when he would try to fix things up with his vibrant personality and a great breakfast.

Leonardo finally made it to his genius brother's lab and announced himself by knocking the door a couple of times.

"Donnie, you awake?"

"Sure, I mean it's not like someone could sleep with all that bickering outside" Don replied bitterly. "Take a sit; I'll get the first aid kit"

Leonardo flinched, his brother sounded pissed. "Donnie, I'm … I'm sorry"

"You should be apologizing to Mikey but that will have to wait till tomorrow" The genius said while he prepared the gauzes and alcohol.

"Is he ok?" Leo asked in concern.

Don laughed halfheartedly. "Is he ok, he says. Heh, very funny"

Leo arched a brow. "What are you implying?"

"Look, do you want me to patch you up today or should I wait a year?" Don huffed in annoyance.

The leader narrowed his eyes. "Calm down, Donatello. I had enough with Raph's behavior already!"

"Oh so he's the only one who can speak his mind here, Leonardo?! Is that it?!"

Leo was a little taken aback by his brother's outburst but even so, he kept his posture. "I didn't mean it like that, I just-"

"-forget it! Just forget it, Leo!"

The blue-clad ninja bit back a yelp of pain when Don grabbed his arm with more force than needed. Don, on the other hand, had noticed this and eased up his grip just a little but that didn't mean he was less angry.

Leo stayed quiet, letting Don do his job, wincing every now and then when the alcohol touched his fresh, tender cuts. The sword wielder hesitantly glanced at his genius brother's face; he looked tired, both emotionally and physically and the mask under his eyes was still wet from the tears he had shed before his talk with Mikey.

"Don, you do know what happened tonight wasn't your fault, right?"

"Your face told me a different story back in the BattleShell" He replied bitterly.

"But I wasn't… I mean, I'm NOT upset at you! Honest!"

Don tsked. "Could've fooled me"

Leonardo's next reply died down the moment he heard the lab's door opening. A bruised and battered Raphael crossed the threshold clutching his ribs with one hand and rubbing the back of his neck with the other.

"Hey Brainiac, I uh-"

As Raph raised his head, golden eyes met dark ones; there was still a bit of bitterness left in both alpha turtles, it could be noticed by the way they looked at each other. It was almost like they were fighting again, only with his eyes this time. Leonardo was the first to look away; he wasn't really in shape for another round so instead of adding more fuel to their fire, he settled down for ignoring the red-clad ninja.

They would have a long talk tomorrow anyway and perhaps another fight. Not that it was a good thing, though.

"I'm busy right now, Raph. Wait for your turn" Don said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Nah, I'll do it myself" Raph said as he turned around to leave. However a hand on his shoulder made him stop on his tracks.

"Raphael, you stay right there and wait for your turn!" Don ordered signaling a chair next the cot where Leo was currently sitting.

Just like Leonardo, the red-clad ninja was surprised by his genius brother's behavior. He wasn't usually so… aggressive.

"Hey, take it easy Brainiac! It's not a big-"

"-don't even think about minimizing those wounds, you hotheaded brute!" Don cut him off abruptly. "Now shut up and get your ass on that chair, now!"

Raphael didn't need to be told twice; he sat on said chair, not even caring how close he was from Leonardo and remained quiet, trying to avoid that murderous yet rare glare Donatello was giving him and his blue-clad brother as well.

"And neither of you dare to start another argument!" Don added. "In fact, I don't want to hear any of you talk for the rest of the night! Understood?!"

Leo and Raph shyly nodded, not wanting to upset the resident genius further.

"Good. Finally some peace and quiet around here!"

For the next hour, Donatello bandaged his brothers in silence, hating every single moment he had to endure with Leonardo and Raphael's undesired company. Michelangelo sure had fallen asleep by now while waiting for him and thanks to these two, Don hadn't be true to his word; he had broken his promise.

He had failed Mikey again.

He was a failure, a good for nothing, couldn't even keep his word… again! And thanks to who? Leo and Raph. Yes, they were the ones to blame. If they hadn't started that stupid fight, Don would be with Mikey right now.

But then again… the fight started because of him. Because of a bad decision he took.

It wasn't his brothers' fault. It was his fault.

Again!

Raph's grunt of pain brought him back to reality. He was tightening the bandages on his red-clad brother's leg more than it was required.

"Easy Donnie! I know you're mad but my leg doesn't have to pay for it!"

Mumbling his apologies, Donatello continued with his task, working slower and gentler this time.

'Leo and Raph are not to blame' He said mentally. 'No one is to blame but me'

The blue-clad ninja took notice that even after having apologized to Raph, Don was still not treating his wounds properly; the bandages were too tight and he completely ignored the cuts that needed stitches but it didn't seem that he was doing that on purpose. In fact, Leo was almost sure Don wasn't even conscious of his actions anymore.

The bo staff wielder looked pale, sweaty and shaky and his eyes stared at the blood with blank eyes and a lost expression.

"Don, are you alright? You look kinda…sick" Leo said tentatively.

Donatello jolted awake from his peculiar 'trance' and stared into Leonardo's eyes; the anger was completely gone by now but confusion and fear had taken its place instead. This worried the leader of the Hamato clan and even Raphael could see more clearly something was not quite right with the resident genius.

"Perhaps you should go to bed while I finish here" Leo suggested taking the bandages from Don's hands. "That is, of course, if… Raph lets me"

Raphael locked eyes with his eldest brother again; he was no longer mad, instead his eyes oozed concern. With a quick nod, he agreed.

"Go get some rest, Donnie. Fearless and I will be fine. Promise"

Although Donatello could see his brothers talking to him, he wasn't listening a word of what they said. The little voice in his head got louder and louder and began to torture him again.

'They don't need you. They don't want you here! Leave, leave and never come back!'

"No. Perhaps I'm still on time" Don whispered. "Perhaps Mikey still needs me!"

Leo and Raph looked at his genius brother in confusion. Was he… talking to himself?

"Uh, something wrong Donnie?" Leo asked.

Before he could get an answer, Donatello was already out of the laboratory, running as fast as his feet could carry him.

'He still needs me, Mikey still needs me!'

…

My hand hurts and so does my butt.

I think I need to get out more often... or not *goes back to writing*