Disclaimer: This chapter in particular, along with a handful of other chapters, will borrow events from the 2003 cartoon series. The borrowed events belong to the series and are the genius work of the show's creators. The different circumstances in this story necessitate the retelling of certain events with a slight twist. As always, I don't own the ninja turtles or associated characters. They are the property of Mirage Studios. I make no money from this and I mean no harm.



Chapter 7

Leonardo was still healing. With Donatello's return Leo's most immediate concern had been removed. Unfortunately, it had quickly been replaced. Despite his injuries, he had found a project to throw himself into. A project that Splinter felt might be healing for both in question.

Donatello had been returned as he had left just about fourteen years ago. He was a too small, three-year-old child with a horribly depleted immune system, barely clinging to life as he fought a renewed battle against the disease that had originally taken him from them. With the better heating options and medicine available to them now, Splinter hoped that the child would win the fight with this second chance. All the same, someone was watching the small turtle at all times. Leonardo had taken the responsibility upon himself to do so whenever he was awake, and even when Leo was asleep he could often be found cradling Donnie in his arms. Both seemed so comfortable with the arrangement that they were seldom separated by anyone. Another reason the family pretty much let the pair be was that both had a tendency to fuss when the small turtle was pulled from the larger one's arms.

In the days since Donatello's return to life it had become apparent that he retained no memory of the past fourteen years, nor of the fact that he had once been one of four. While it was probably better for the young child not to be subject to the confusion that would have resulted if he had remembered having brothers his age, it did nothing to ease the transition for the rest of the family. Leonardo had been immediately taken by the small turtle, and Michelangelo was quickly coming around and figuring out how to react to and interact with Donatello. The individual who was having considerably more trouble with the situation than everyone else was Raphael. He seemed at a complete loss as far as how he should treat his now baby brother. Splinter found the situation very strange, though he felt very happy that the powers that be saw fit to return Donatello to life after all the frustrations he had been through over the past 14 years, he just hoped that this time they would be able to keep him that way.

Currently, Leo sat in a chair near the fire underneath an electric blanket. In his arms he held Donatello, whose breathing had become easier over the past couple of days. The older turtle was a little hot, but more than willing to take the heat in order to stay with the small one who needed it so desperately at the moment. Leo smiled when Donnie snuggled against his plastron. The child may not have retained any memory of guiding Leo back to this world, but Leo did, and it was something he would never forget and did not believe that he would ever be able to repay.


Raphael wanted to go back to the city. Shredder deserved a little pay back, and they were going to have it. Leonardo, on the other hand, seemed quite content to stay where they were at the farmhouse. He was training again, but his heart was no longer in it. His swords were gone, and they had been almost as much a part of him as his arms or legs were.

As Donatello ever so slowly overcame his illness, he began to spend more time away from Leonardo. His boundless curiosity dragging him off to explore his surroundings without being attached to the side of the blue-masked turtle as he had been since his return. It was not what Leonardo intended, but he found Donnie's increasing independence disheartening. He became mopey and began to spend more and more time alone in the barn.

Raphael came downstairs and found Splinter, April and Donnie in the main room. April and Splinter were having a quiet conversation and each kept half an eye on the young turtle who seemed to be happily dismantling an old toy April had found in the attic after taking the toaster away from him... again.

Raph did not quite know yet what to make of the turtle who had once been his brother. He was not about to push the child out of the family, but he had no idea what their relationship would become. Another mystery in Raph's mind was how to treat Donatello. Leo and Mikey seemed to have overcome their own confusion about how to treat the turtle who had once been their dead brother, and that made Raph just a little jealous of them – though he would never admit to it. As odd as it seemed at first glance, Raph felt that dead brother escaped from the spirit realm was easier to deal with than living, baby brother was. He'd forgotten several times that the three year old form was no longer just a form. This had often resulted in him frightening the child which angered Splinter and Mikey and truly pissed Leo – who was being way too overprotective in Raph's book – off.

"Where is everybody?" Raphael asked as he reached the main floor.

"Casey had better still be outside." April huffed. "Mikey is probably out in the woods."

"Despite explicit instructions to stay in the yard." Splinter added.

Raph could not help but notice that one family member was still unaccounted for in his mind. "...and Leo?" He asked carefully.

April and Splinter looked at each other, neither seemed to know where the blue-masked turtle had gone.

"Ba'n." Donnie commented, looking up from the toy. "Not happy." He added sadly.

"Nope," Raph said, looking at Splinter for a moment before finally moving to where the small turtle sat on the floor. He knelt down beside the child and tried to speak gently, but it wound up sounding more condescending to him than gentle. "I don't imagine that he is." He rubbed Donnie's head a little roughly and smiled at the child a little awkwardly. "I'm going to go see what I can do to cheer him up, ok?" When Donnie smiled back, Raph nodded and left the house.

As the red-masked turtle walked toward the red building, he wondered again about just how he should treat Donatello now that he had been returned to them as a small child. Raph had no memory of when Don had been a living turtle before. The group had simply been too young when Don died to remember what it had been like. And even then, they had all been the same age. This was different. Raph's only memory of the brother he had grown up with had been from Don's time as a spirit. He found Donatello's new status as a young, living, breathing mutant turtle endlessly confusing. Out in the barn, he could not hear the truck that drove up.

Raphael leaned up against a post and watched as Leo pulled a piece of metal from the pile of scrap in the corner and swished it a couple of times.

"Lookin' good, Leo."

In response to the unexpected comment, Leo whipped his head around and spotted his brother behind him.

"Leave me alone, Raph, I am really not in the mood." He replied, hoping that his red-masked brother would just go away.

"For what?" Leo's response to the comment he had made had been honestly confusing. It sounded as though the blue-masked turtle had taken Raph's previous comment as an insult, which was actually the last thing Raph had intended. A slight jibe perhaps, but not an insult.

"I don't need to hear how I messed everything up back in New York. I got my shell kicked, ok? I admit it. I let everyone down. I even lost my swords!" he paused for a moment and looked at the floor. More than a slight glare came over his features. "And I nearly caused us to lose Don for good." He threw the piece of metal to the ground. "It was all my fault. I never should have gone on that run."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. I wasn't about to say anything like that. I was going to ask you what you're doin' out here."

Leo looked morosely down at the pile of scrap metal and gently kicked at it. "Nothing."

"That's too bad," Raph said as he hefted the piece of metal that Leo had thrown. It looked like a pretty good starting piece to him, and he was fairly certain that Leo had known that when he'd thrown it. "because I know what you should be doing, and I think you do too."

Leo looked up at Raphael then at the piece of metal. The way Raph was holding the scrap looked far too familiar, painfully familiar, and Leo knew exactly what his brother was suggesting. He glanced to the corner of the barn, it would work. How convenient that Casey's grandma had a forge in her barn.


"You mean to tell me you've never seen the show Monster Hunter?" Casey asked incredulously? "I'm tellin' ya, the woman is insane!"

"Maybe if this Dr. Abigail Finn person doesn't find anything, she'll just go away." April suggested.

"You obviously haven't seen the show." Casey exclaimed. "She's an obsessed nut-job! She'll find her green man monster no matter what. I can't believe you let old man Hackett get a video of you in the woods, Mikey."

"I say we go after that videotape!" Mikey crowed. Casey nodded, and the pair headed out the door.

April and Splinter remained in the house with Donatello. Considering that the small turtle was about to decide just how much he wanted to be with the other turtles, how difficult it was to blacksmith and how obsessed Dr. Abigail Finn was with monsters, everyone was going to have their work cut out for them.


Splinter and April's job was made much easier when Casey and Michelangelo returned far too soon and half frozen. While Casey and Mikey were warming up, Donnie sat in Mikey's lap and played with the larger turtle's blanket. He had part of a half-forgotten toy in his other hand.

"We didn't get it," Mikey admitted. "but this time we will. I have a plan!"

"Oh, yeah, great." Casey grumbled. Mikey's last brilliant idea had resulted in them nearly being frozen to death. All the same, he would find himself dressed up in leaves and branches right alongside Mikey and Master Splinter later that evening and well into the next morning.

"Oops." Donnie chirped as he dropped the piece of his toy in the water at Mikey's feet. For a moment the young boy watched the toy floating in the warm water. He then looked up at the orange-masked turtle with a slightly sad and exceptionally innocent expression on his face. Mikey almost immediately fished the piece of toy out of the bath he had his feet in and returned it to the child in his lap.


It was early and Donatello had become insistent on going outside. April knew as well as any of them did that they had to keep the child warm or risk him getting sick again, and the best way to do that was to keep him inside. There was also the added threat of Dr. Finn. Still, April eventually found herself agreeing to Donnie's much repeated request to go outside. She pulled a sweatshirt from her bag and put it on the little turtle. It was way too big for him, and he was continually tripping over the sleeves, but it would keep him warmer than anything else she could think of. Splinter, Casey and Mikey had been gone for several hours at this point, and she was beginning to worry about them. As she opened the door and allowed Donatello outside, Mikey and Master Splinter came out of the woods sans the leaves they had been wearing earlier. Most of the leaves anyway, Splinter was still picking stray foliage out of his fur. Mikey was carrying a videotape. Donnie raced from April's side to his approaching family members, tripping over the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing twice along the way.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Mikey asked as he lifted Donnie from the ground.

"Want Leo!" The little turtle exclaimed happily in Mikey's arms. "But find you!"

"Yeah, you did. Want to help me ruin this tape?" Mikey asked. When Donnie grinned and nodded, Mikey ripped off the top cover of the cassette and started pulling the tape inside free. He ripped one end loose and handed it to Donnie. "Now run with this as far as it will go" Donnie nodded and took off toward the barn. When the tape either ran out or got snagged on something behind him he dropped it and continued on his way. He did not hear Casey come back as he went into the barn just in time to see Leo sheathe his newly finished swords for the first time.

Leo smiled gratefully at Raphael before spotting Donnie at the door. Raph noticed the surprised look on Leo's face and turned to where his brother was looking.

"Hey, kiddo." Raph grinned. He was in a particularly jovial mood at the moment. "What are you doing out here?" He had to laugh at the confused look on Donatello's face as the little turtle watched Leo.

"What's?" Donnie pointed at Leo, and it took a moment for the older turtles to figure out what the child was so curious about. Leo figured it out first. He picked Donnie up off the floor.

"Those are my swords. Raphael just helped me make them."

"s'o'ds" Donnie attempted to repeat the word. When he reached out to touch them, Leo allowed him to play with the handles as the blades were safely sheathed. The next thing that came out of Donnie's mouth left both of the older turtles speechless.

"I make, Daddy!"

Leo could only stare at Donatello as the young turtle reached into the pocket of the sweatshirt he was wearing and pulled out a piece of wire that had been crudely bent into the shape of a heart. The blue-masked turtle could not decide whether or not to correct the child for calling him 'daddy'. When Donnie's face began to fall into concern, Leo almost missed it. Lucky for him, Raphael had his back.

"It's a wonderful heart, Donnie. Isn't it, Leo?" Raph laughed again as he recognized the wire from the toaster that Donnie had been caught taking apart before they had found some real toys for him. Apparently, the little moppet had nicked off with part of the appliance.

Leo was snapped back to the present by the sound of Raphael's voice. "Yes." He said slowly, looking Donatello in the eyes. "It is a wonderful heart. Thank you." When Donnie's face lit up in a bright smile, Leo could not help but return it. Before he was drawn back to the present, Raph spoke.

"I'm going to go get the other's, ok? You wait here. Kind of a grand re-entrance sort of thing?"

"Raph, don't! It's too embarrassing." But before Leo could finish the response, Raphael was gone. He turned to Donnie. "You know, that guy can be a real pain in the shell." He commented with a grin.

"Funny Daddy!" Donnie giggled as he threw his arms around Leo's neck. "Love you!"

"I love you too." Leo hugged the little turtle, gave him a quick kiss on top of the head then put him back on the ground as the others approached at the barn door. He pulled his swords from their sheathes and smiled at the small noise of awe that Donnie made behind him.

"Allow me to introduce you to...Leonardo: new and improved." Raph stated as he stepped out of the way.

"Heh," Leo blushed. "Hey everyone." His family outside cheered and Leo felt even more embarrassed. Donnie ran up behind him and hugged his leg. He looked to Raph and Mikey then glanced down at Donnie. If there was one thing that he did not want, it was for Donatello to grow up in a world with the Shredder. In that moment he made a decision.

"Guys, I think it's time that we returned to New York and finished our business with the Shredder." Mikey and Raph both cheered the announcement.

"My sons, we will be short one fighter in this battle." Splinter commented, looking down at the tiny turtle who was still hugging Leo's leg.

"I understand, Sensei," Leo said confidently. "but I do not want Donatello to grow up fearing the Shredder. Donnie deserves better. I say we take the Shredder down now."