*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Special thanks to my creative consultant and amazing friend, Joanne N. Grey.

*'The Worst Medicine' Summary: When Donatello is violently attacked by a deranged mutant monkey, his brothers make fun of him instead of helping him, adding further insult to injury. Can Donnie's brothers find a way to fix the emotional damage they have done?

*Author's Notes: I've returned with a new Shell Shot and this one's quite a bit longer than my previous one-shots. This story takes place during the episode 'Monkey Brains.' Whenever I watch that episode, I'm always bothered by the fact that Donnie's brothers laugh at him when he's clearly injured, so I decided to write a one-shot about the consequences of their thoughtless actions. Hopefully everyone enjoys how the story turned out.

Thank you so much for reading. ;) CJ

The Worst Medicine

It had been one long, painful trek back to the lair, that much was for sure. Everything – literally everything – hurt. I'd been brutally assaulted by a vicious mutant and there wasn't one inch of skin on my body that hadn't been beaten or battered by my assailant.

And to think, I'd gone up to the surface with April in hopes of trying to impress her. Instead, I'd gotten pounded into the ground by a demented monkey and April had wound up having to rescue me. The girl of my dreams had to rescue me from a monkey, and I'm supposedly a highly trained martial artist.

Real smooth, Donatello. Way to make her swoon . . .

When the monkey had finished beating the shell out of me, he'd gone after April, but luckily, he hadn't harmed her. Just spooked her a little before fleeing the scene. Once he was gone, April instantly rushed to my side.

"Donnie, are you hurt?"

"Just my pride . . . and my internal organs."

As if getting pummeled by a mutated lab monkey in front of April hadn't been degrading enough, I then went and passed out for who knows how long. When I finally regained consciousness, April had been right there beside me, watching over me with those big, beautiful, blue eyes of hers.

I recognized her gaze for what it was . . . pity.

"Come on. Let's get you back to the lair. Can you walk?"

"Is there any way to keep some semblance of my dignity intact if I answer 'no'?"

She'd offered an angelic smile in response to my question, which had slightly dulled the pain racking my entire body, but not so much that I was able to stand on my own. To my mortification, I'd been forced to lean heavily against April's much smaller figure as we hobbled along. She had clearly struggled to support my substantial weight, which made the situation all the more embarrassing. Still, we'd somehow made it all the way back to the lair without having to call my brothers for help. Although by the time we'd gotten there, I'd been about ready to collapse. April had to practically drag me by the shell the last third of the trip.

Yet another thing to be horribly humiliated by.

Some knight in shining armor I am . . .

But at least we're home now. I can finally lie down and try to sleep this awful night off.

We push through the turnstiles and April carefully helps me down the stairs that follow. That's when my immediate older brother is the first to ask the question most likely on all three of my siblings' minds.

"Whoa, what happened?"

I'm pretty sure I'm concussed, because the ringing in my brain nearly drowns out the sound of Raph's voice. I firmly clutch my head with my left hand, but no matter how much I tighten my grip, I just can't get the throbbing to stop. The pain is making it difficult to string my thoughts into something sensible. Luckily, April does the talking for me.

"Donnie got beat up by a lab monkey."

Okay, maybe it's not so lucky April did the talking for me. That's definitely not how I would've put it.

I can't see my how my brothers react to the comment, because my eyes are sealed shut, but it's probably better that way. I also can't hear any kind of reaction from them, which comes as a bit of a surprise. I thought for sure after April told them a monkey did this to me, they'd have some kind of snide comment, but they all remain unnervingly quiet.

A few awkward seconds of silence pass before Leo steps forward and gently takes hold of my left arm. He then drapes my arm over his shoulders, allowing me to shift my weight onto him instead of April. The transition is painful, but I'm grateful that I no longer have to rely on poor April to hold me up.

"April, can you get an ice pack?"

I hear April's footsteps hurriedly head off in the direction of the kitchen. Leo then helps me over to the couch and lowers me down onto the seat. I immediately rest my head on a throw pillow, thankful for the opportunity to finally get off my feet.

"Donnie, 'you gonna be okay?" Leo's voice is warm and full of concern.

"Eh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine," I breathe out, trying to put up a brave front.

When I crack my eyes open just a sliver, I see my oldest brother is staring down at me with an expression that seems sincere, but then, it happens.

"In that case . . . "

Only seconds after Leo says this, the sound of laughter fills the air. And not just a little chuckle here and there. All three of my brothers are laughing so hard, they're doubling over and have tears in their eyes. Then, to add insult to injury, they start pointing at me and laugh right in my face. I suddenly feel about two inches tall.

"Y – Y – You got beaten up by a monkey? In front of your girlfriend?" Raph struggles to get the words out because he can barely contain his obvious amusement.

"She's not my girlfriend! And that monkey was a vicious mutant!" My voice comes out shriller than I'd meant it to sound, but my brothers don't seem to notice. That's because they're too busy laughing at me.

Here, I had been duped into believing my brothers were worried about me, but in all actuality, they had been just holding in their laughter until the right moment presented itself.

Lucky me.

Then come the hurtful puns . . .

"Yeah, I'm sure he went bananas."

Their laughter grows even louder after Leo's 'banana' remark. A few seconds later, my oldest brother reels off yet another bad monkey pun.

"Oh – eh, no, no, no, no, no! H – He went ape!"

The more they laugh and belittle me, the smaller I feel. I'm already humiliated beyond words by what had happened. Now, I'm utterly ashamed of myself. I was savagely beaten by a lab monkey in front of April of all people. Don't they think I've suffered enough?

Apparently not . . .

Just as I'm on the verge of losing my battle to keep my composure, April returns from the kitchen with the ice pack she had been asked to retrieve. As soon as she enters the room, Raph's quick to signal my other brothers to stop making fun of me.

"No more monkey puns."

The laughter and the ridiculing taper off, but not before April had heard them mocking me. I can see by the incensed look on her face, she hadn't found it remotely funny.

At least one person doesn't find my pain humorous.

April sits beside me on the couch and pulls me down so that my head's on her lap.

Okay, this isn't so bad.

I can't help but to smile and let out a soft giggle of content as she gently places the ice pack on my forehead and cups her hand around the back of my head. For a moment, all of my cares seem to melt away, but April's voice soon pulls me out of my temporary bliss.

"Are you laughing at him because he's hurt?"

Hearing this, my smile turns down into a frown. The content I was feeling only seconds ago has now been replaced by pain.

My brothers were laughing at me because I'm hurt.

Then, my youngest sibling just has to go and make things even worse.

"No! We were laughing at him because he was hurt by a MONKEY!" Unable to hold back his laughter a second longer, Mikey wraps his arms around his middle and falls over backwards because he's laughing so hard. Leo and Raph can't hold it in any longer, either, and the sounds of laughter once again fill the air.

That's the last straw. That's when I reach my breaking point. It's bad enough that they're laughing at me, but now, they're laughing at me right in front of April.

I push myself up into a sitting position and shift my gaze back and forth from brother to brother to brother.

"H – How could you?"

When they hear the low growl in my voice, Leo and Raph immediately cease their laughter and their eyes widen with shock, while mine narrow with disgust.

Mikey, on the other hand, is still too caught up in laughing his shell off to notice that I'm upset. My youngest brother has always been the last one to catch onto the obvious.

"How could we not? A monkey? I mean, come on! That's funny stuff!" Mikey practically gasps out as he wipes away the tears of laughter that have accumulated in the corners of his eyes.

"Stop it! Just! Stop! It!" The bite in my tone makes Mikey's laughter die instantly.

I glare at all three of my brothers, desperately trying and failing to keep my outward appearance from revealing the pain that I'm feeling inside.

"After all the times that I've helped you when you were hurt or sick, this is how you repay me? By laughing at me when I'm injured?" I peer down at my battered figure as I say this. The attack had left me littered from head to toe with cuts and bruises, but instead of helping me, my own brothers had made fun of me, evidently finding my pain quite amusing.

"Have I ever made fun of any of you when you were injured?"

My brothers shake their heads no and their faces fall into frowns to better demonstrate their remorse. I don't let it stop my momentum any. I'm just getting warmed up here.

"Not once! Not even when Leo tripped and fell shell over tea kettle down that fire escape and cut his head open, or when Raph accidentally stuck himself in the leg with his sai, or when Mikey sliced his finger open while trying 'cut the cheese' with a pair of scissors! I don't remember ever laughing at you. What I do remember is taking care of you and trying to make you feel better! Not make you feel worse!"

The truth had obviously hurt, because I see all three of my brothers cringe inside of their shells.

Leo, as expected, is the first to try to make amends, but I hold up a hand to stop him from going any further than, "Donnie, we're – "

It's too late for apologies. Besides, I'm totally entitled to this rant.

"You're my brothers! Why would you treat me like that? Is it because you don't care, or is it because I've always been nothing but a joke to you?" My voice almost fails me by the time I get to the word 'nothing,' but I somehow manage to finish my sentence, although it hadn't sounded nearly as confident as I would've liked. So much for my rant. Here I was, trying to chew them out, and now, I'm just making them feel sorry for me.

Ah, who am I kidding? They already feel sorry for me. I got beat up by a stupid monkey.

A monkey!

"What?" Leo howls in disbelief and his eyeballs look like they're about to burst from their sockets.

Having gotten momentarily distracted by my own thoughts, I have to think back to what I had said to elicit my oldest brother's uncharacteristically dramatic response. It takes me a few seconds, but I soon remember my quote.

"Is it because you don't care, or is it because I've always been nothing but a joke to you?"

Okay, now the question is, had Leo screeched 'what' because of the 'you don't care' comment or the 'nothing but a joke to you' remark? Maybe it's a bit of both. Not that it really matters. I already know what I'm going to say next anyway.

"You've always thought less of me, because I'm not as strong of a fighter as any of you are! Admit it! You guys see me as the weakest link, and now, the whole monkey thing just confirms everything. I'm just a constant disappointment to all of you." I have to turn away from my brothers at this point, not just to hide the welling tears in my eyes, but also, because I'm too ashamed to look at any of them.

I just got beat up by a monkey.

They're right. I am the weakest link.

"D, none of that is – " Mikey tries to deny my allegations, but I stop him short. I love my baby brother dearly, but I'm so not in the mood to hear him try to sugar coat everything and pretend like the world's all sunshine and kitties.

"Don't try to deny it! I'm the laughing stock of the family! The three of you just made that abundantly clear!" I snap off, but there's more sadness in my tone than there is anger.

My brothers' frowns deepen and they look to each other for answers. Clearly, none of them have a clue what to do or say.

Figures . . .

"Do you have any idea how much it hurts to have your own brothers make fun of you because you're the pathetic one? No, you don't. Because you guys don't know what it feels like to be the letdown of the ninja clan, do you?" Now my voice is barely coming out above a whisper. All of a sudden, I don't feel so good. I fold my arms across my waist and try in vain to comfort myself. Raph's words from earlier repeat in my head.

"Y – Y – You got beaten up by a monkey? In front of your girlfriend?"

I look over at April and see that she's looking at me with pity. Again!

She feels sorry for me. Oh, now if that isn't the icing on the cake . . .

Could this night possibly get any worse?

Now, as the so-called genius of the family, I should really know better than to ask something like that. Even in my head.

Of course things can get worse. And so, they did.

Despite my best efforts to stop my tears from falling, I suddenly feel several drops make it past my defenses. What my mask fails to absorb runs down my face and drips off my chin.

That's just great.

Look at me, April. I'm crying because I got my shell handed to me by a monkey and my brothers laughed at me. I bet you're just dying to go out with my now. Am I right?

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I'm quick to wipe the tears away with the back of my hand, but not before everyone sees them.

Now they're all looking at me with pity.

Aw, come on!

Seeing their 'Oh poor Donnie, he's so fragile' stares makes anger start to burn in my gut.

"It's like none of you even care about me or how I feel!" A hint of bitterness comes through in my tone, which apparently rubs my hotheaded brother the wrong way.

Real shocker there. What doesn't rub him the wrong way?

"Don't be stupid, Donnie! You know that's not true!"

Leo flashes Raph a glare before responding in much gentler fashion. My oldest brother has always been the most diplomatic one of us. Unfortunately, he's oftentimes the most belittling one, as well.

"Of course we care about you, Donnie."

The words sound rehearsed, like he's just saying them because he's obligated to as the eldest brother and team leader. They're about as believable as Mikey claiming, 'I didn't do it!'

"Oh, yeah! Because laughing at someone when they're hurt is an obvious sign of affection. I'm sure you were trying to show me just how much you care by mocking me and kicking me when I was already down. Gee, thanks, Leo!" While I pour out my growing frustration in verbal form, my eyes threaten to pour out my pain in liquid form again.

And the award for the worst ninja goes to . . .

I seal my lips tightly shut, trying to prevent myself from falling apart in front on an audience, but regardless of my best efforts, I'm losing the war to keep my emotions in check. I hate the fact that I had already allowed my brothers to see that they had brought me to tears, but what I hate even more is that I had allowed April to see it. Like she didn't already think I was completely hopeless.

Leo must've noticed my distress, because he reaches out for my hand in a blatant attempt to console me.

I can't explain why, but I instantly take offense to this.

Batting the incoming hand away, I push myself up off the couch in one fluid motion and take a few clumsy steps backwards. The sudden movement hurts a lot more than I had anticipated and I have to grit my teeth for a moment before I can think somewhat straight again.

"I don't want your pity!" I yell out the words and point a forefinger accusingly at my brothers. The three of them flinch, taken aback by my sudden outburst. Frankly, I'm a little shocked by it myself. I hadn't actually meant to yell. It had just come out that way.

Maybe I'm not thinking so straight after all.

"Donnie . . . "

Throughout my entire tirade, April had remained unusually silent, but now that I'm on the verge of blowing a gasket, she finds her voice. She's looking up at me with those oversized blue eyes that I can't help but to stare into and I notice they're filled with sadness and concern. Unlike my brothers, I actually believe the concern in her eyes and it suffices to make me feel even worse.

"You should probably sit back down. You don't look so good."

I have to bite my tongue in order to keep myself from making an unpleasant comment. April doesn't deserve that. She's the only one in the room who hasn't humiliated me.

"I – I'm fine, April. I just need to be alone for a while." As I say this, I force what I'm sure is a watery smile for April's sake, and then, I start backing towards my lab. I can sense that my composure is on the brink of failure. If I don't get out of here pronto, I'm going to break down right in front of them. I can't let them see that. It would just give my brothers yet another reason to laugh at me.

I'm trying to be subtle about my escape, but it's rather hard to be subtle when you're walking with a pronounced limp. I look down at my body and shudder at the sight. I'm covered in ugly bruises, welts, cuts, and filth. It looks as though I've been dragged through the sewers after being used as a punching bag for weeks. Well, maybe weeks is slightly exaggerated. More like a couple of days . . .

As I'm about to get lost in thought, I spy Leo rising up off the couch and slowly approaching me with his hands held up to show submission. Immediately, my defenses come up and I hold my own hands out in front of me as if to protect myself from my brother's advances.

"April's right, Donnie. You don't look so good."

Again with the 'you don't look so good?' What? Are they purposely trying to make me feel like crap? Seriously!

"I said I'm fine! All I want is to be left alone, okay?" My response is sort of a half shout/half whine. It's as if my own tone was somehow contradicting itself. I'm not even sure which feeling coursing through me is the strongest right now. My anger, my despair, my exasperation, or my shame. It's like my emotions are working in tandem against me and turning me into some sort of crazy turtle. I don't even have control over my own actions anymore. I'm just lashing out with no purpose at this point.

So this is how Raph feels all the time . . .

"Donnie – " Leo tries to reason with me again, but I cut him off once more.

"I don't want to hear it, Leo!"

Now, the rest of them get up off the couch. This makes me feel as though I'm being surrounded. All the more reason to retreat into my lab.

"Come on, Donnie. Don't get your shell all bent out of shape."

Though Raph's the one doing the speaking, my eyes remain fixed on Leo. He keeps moving towards me and it's making me nervous.

"I told you! I just want to be left alone!" By the time I finish the words, I've backed all the way up to the stairs that lead to my lab.

Just a few feet more . . .

Leo keeps looking at me with an expression that suggests he knows what I'm planning, which makes my heart start thumping wildly inside of my chest. If he suspects that I'm trying to lock myself up inside of my lab again, he's going to try to stop me. I can't let that happen.

"Donnie, please! You're hurt."

It takes every last ounce of willpower I have not to start shouting obscenities after hearing Leo say these words.

Yeah, I'm hurt! Isn't that what I've been trying to tell you this whole time?

Oh for the love of science!

Leo then edges even closer to me, which sets me off.

"Stay away from me! Haven't you done enough already?" My voice has officially reached seismic level. I'm sure that anyone walking the streets above the lair probably heard me loud and clear.

I start my backwards ascent up the stairs, watching my oldest brother's every movement like a hawk. I have to be ready to make a break for it in the event that he attempts to stop me from getting to my lab.

"Donnie, we all care about you very much. Why don't you come back over to the couch and we can talk about this?" As Leo tries to negotiate me down from the ledge of the steps, he reaches a hand out towards me, motioning for me to take it.

That's when my father unexpectedly saves my shell.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sensei's booming voice causes everyone to turn towards him.

Everyone except me . . .

Master Splinter's arrival provides just the distraction I need. As my brothers stare up at our father, who's now standing in the Dojo entrance, I spin towards my lab and hobble inside, promptly locking the doors shut. I then lean against the closed doors and slide down to the floor so I can pull my knees into my chest.

"Donnie! Open the door!"

Hearing Leo's voice call out to me and the subsequent knocking against the doors makes me pull myself into an even tighter ball. Then, the knocking turns into pounding, followed by Raph and Mikey's voices.

"Open the door, now, Brainiac!"

"Let us in, bro."

I bury my face into my knees and listen to the conversation taking place outside of my lab.

"Would one of you please tell me what is going on here?" Judging by my father's stern tone, he's none too thrilled with us abruptly putting an end to his nightly meditation session. All the more reason to stay hidden away in my lab. Master Splinter doesn't take lightly to being interrupted when he's lost in meditation.

"Oh man! This is bad! This is really, really bad! We screwed things up, big time, Master Splinter! Donnie . . . he went topside with April and he got his shell waxed by some lab monkey and we totally laughed at him 'cause it seemed funny at the time, but it's not really all that funny anymore because D got all upset 'cause apparently he's like super sensitive about getting picked on for getting beat up by monkeys – maybe it's like a phobia or something – you know, like how some people are afraid to go on – " My baby brother probably would have rambled on for another half hour or so if not for Leo mercifully stopping him in the middle of what was most likely going to be the longest run-on sentence in history.

"What Mikey is trying to say, Sensei, is that Donnie got attacked by a mutant, and instead of helping him treat his injuries, we laughed at him and hurt his feelings. Now he's locked himself inside of his lab."

See? I told you Leo was the most diplomatic one.

"Yeah, he's totally overreacting!"

And Raph's always been the most inconsiderate one . . .

"I see."

Now I'm thanking my lucky stars that I'm on the opposite side of the lab doors as my family, because no good ever comes from Master Splinter saying, 'I see.' In all likelihood, there's an impossible to read expression on my father's face while he's standing there, just staring at my brothers and stroking his beard in a blatant intimidation tactic.

A long pause follows my father's words, but I'm sure it's not because he actually needs the extra time to contemplate what he's going to say. It's because he wants to make my brothers uncomfortable with the awkward silence. I can just picture the whole scene in my head. He's toying with them. I've seen it many times before. My father is not only a master of Ninjutsu, but he's a master of mind games as well.

"So what you are telling me is that you find your brother's suffering amusing?"

Ooh, that must've hurt. I bet the looks on my brothers' faces are priceless. I kind of wish I could see them.

"N – No, of course not!" As always, Leo is quick to deny the accusation. I notice that Raph and Mikey remain abnormally quiet. I'm guessing that the two of them are essentially throwing Leo to the wolves . . . or in this case, to the rat.

"Oh? I am sorry. Perhaps I misunderstood. I thought you said that your brother has locked himself inside of his laboratory because you laughed at his pain. Was I mistaken?" The sarcasm lacing Master Splinter's words is sheer perfection and I'm half-tempted to applaud.

My father never misses anything.

"No, Sensei. You heard right."

The corners of my mouth coil up into a slight smirk over hearing my oldest brother admit to his wrongdoings.

"Then I suggest that the three of you apologize to your brother for your actions and find a way to make it up to him. April, perhaps you could join me in the kitchen for some tea. I believe Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo have their work cut out for them, because they will not be allowed to leave the lair until they patch things up with Donatello. Am I understood?"

Master Splinter for the win!

My brothers then mumble "Hai, Sensei" in defeat, but I can barely here it. I'm pretty sure they're now talking amongst themselves, but I can't quite make out what they're saying anymore.

A few seconds later, I hear the sound of knuckles banging against the lab doors once again, but I just keep my face burrowed into my knees.

"Donnie, open up! We need to talk!" Leo's voice is somehow demanding and gentle at the same time.

"Yeah, dude! Don't leave us hangin' like this, bro!" Mikey's voice is neither demanding nor gentle. It's just – Well, Mikey-like.

"Go away!" My instructions seem very clear and concise to me, but my brothers still fail to follow them.

Typical . . .

"Please, Donnie," Leo pleads, and it's almost comical hearing my normally confident brother sound so needy.

Then, Mikey chimes in.

"Pleeeeeeeeease let us in, D! We said we're sorry." The word 'please' drags on for a full four seconds. Almost long enough for me to get bored, but Mikey's claim that they had apologized instantly gets me all fired up again.

"No! You didn't!" Although my response is slightly muffled by my kneepads, it's still more than loud enough to get my point across.

"Oh . . . right. Well, we're sorry now."

The belated apology causes my sarcasm to come out in full force. "You are? Well, then I guess all is forgiven."

Unfortunately, my use of sarcasm goes right over Mikey's head.

"Did you hear that, Leo? Donnie forgives us!"

Knowing my siblings as well as I think I do, I'm willing to wager that my youngest brother is currently pumping his fists in victory while my oldest brother is rolling his eyes with exasperation.

"He was being sarcastic, Mikey."

There's the sound of them mumbling again and I notice that one of my brothers' voices is missing from their conversation. It then dawns on me that one brother's voice has been absent for the last minute or so.

Aw, sewer pickles!

The garage door! I left the garage door open!

I lift my head up just in time to see my hotheaded brother is about to pounce. I quickly push myself up to my feet and attempt to run away, but I only make it a few inches before Raph lunges forward and clasps his arms around my abdomen so that my own arms are trapped at my sides and my shell is pinned against his plastron. I kick and writhe about in his hold, but his grip is too strong.

"Let go of me, you Neanderthal!"

Raph lets out an arrogant snort in response and just squeezes tighter as I continue to squirm.

"I got him, guys!"

That's what he thinks.

I shift my weight to one leg so I can swing my other leg up behind me and kick Raph right in the – Well, below the belt. As my foot hits its mark, I hear an "ooomph" sound come out of my immediate older brother and he instantly releases his hold on me so he can hunch over in pain.

"Nice one, Don," is all that Raph manages to wheeze out. He's clearly struggling to find enough air to speak.

I almost feel bad for him.

Almost . . .

"Serves you right, shell for brains!"

Raph's head shoots back up and I see that certain psychotic gleam in his eyes that tells me I'm seriously going to regret my unsportsmanlike conduct.

"Now, Raph, let's be reasonable here." My hands instinctively go up to act as a shield, but they're useless to block the unstoppable force known as Hamato Raphael.

My brother lunges forward again, this time tackling me to the ground.

The pain from the impact is instantaneous and all five of my senses momentarily shut down. At least I think I'm only out of it for a moment. When you're in excruciating pain, one's perception of time tends to get a bit distorted.

Once my vision starts working again, I see that I'm splayed out on the floor and Raph is leaning over me. The previously crazy look in his eyes has been replaced by something akin to guilt. I'm still trying to get my bearings back when Raph suddenly reaches a hand out towards me. For some reason, this spooks me and I shrink away as my brother's hand draws nearer.

"Aw, Donnie, I'm – "

"D – Don't touch me!"

That's when my other two siblings enter the lab and see me trembling in fear below Raph. In an instant, all three of my brothers are hovering over me, much the same way April did after I'd gotten shellacked by that demented chimpanzee.

Ugh! Maybe I should've just let that dumb monkey put me out of my misery.

When I look up, I see Mikey's already big eyes widen in obvious shock while Leo's eyes narrow into a glare that he fixes on our hotheaded brother.

Sometimes, mixing hydrogen sulfide and nitric acid together produces a less volatile reaction than mixing my two older brothers together. They don't exactly have good chemistry.

"What happened, Raph?" Leo's lips somehow come to a point, if that's at all possible.

"Donnie's hurt."

Thank you, Captain Obvious! I'm about to make a biting remark, when Leo beats me to the punch.

"Well, yeah! But I meant why is he cowering on the floor?"

I cringe at Leo's usage of the word 'cowering,' but realize that it's apropos.

"I kind of tackled him."

"Kind of? How exactly do you 'kind of' tackle someone?" In a strange turn of events, my oldest brother's response is sarcastic. Well, sarcastic for Leo. Evidently, Raph and I must be rubbing off on him.

"Well, he started it! He kicked me in the – in the place you shouldn't ever kick someone! It was a cheap shot!"

"So you attacked him when he was hurt? Real mature, Raph."

While my older brothers are busy exchanging verbal blows, I try to take advantage of the temporary distraction and crawl away, but I forgot about the Mikey factor. Sometimes, I think my baby brother's a lot more perceptive than we all give him credit for. He grabs hold of the back of my arm, thwarting my escape plans and drawing everyone's attention back on me.

Frustrated to no end, I yank my arm free so I can draw my knees into my chest again and hide behind my bruised legs like they can protect me.

Why can't my brothers just leave me alone?

I close my eyes and pull my legs even tighter up against myself, refusing to let my brother's break through my self-inflicted sphere.

"Donnie, please. We're sorry we hurt you." I hear the remorse in Leo's voice, but I'm not the least bit convinced by it. Not after what happened earlier.

"Go away. Just – Just leave me alone." Even though I try to growl out these words, they come out sounding more like a pathetic whimper.

Perfect! Just perfect.

My eyes are still closed at this point, but I can tell that my brothers are moving closer. Their breathing is getting louder and louder.

"Let us help you, Donnie. You're injured. Let us take care of you for once."

Before I can tell my oldest brother just where to go, I'm unexpectedly pulled into a crushing embrace. Naturally, I assume it's Mikey doing the crushing, because everyone knows that he's the resident 'hugger' of the family. Plus, he's the only who doesn't have enough common sense not to squeeze someone when they're a walking bruise. But when I slowly pry my eyelids apart, I'm stunned to see it's Leo who's latched onto me.

This somehow makes the situation all the more unbearable.

I try with all of my might to get away, but Leo's iron grip doesn't falter. If anything, my insistent wiggling just seems to make my oldest brother cling to me that much tighter.

When I realize I'm incapable of writhing out of Leo's grasp, I accidentally let a frustrated sob slip out. That's when Leo pulls my face against his plastron and rests his chin on top of my head. Then, comes another pair of strong arms from the other side and I'm suddenly sandwiched between my two older brothers. Escape is clearly an impossibility now, but I still attempt to squirm free nevertheless.

"S – Stop it. Go away. I – I can take care of myself." My voice cracks like thin glass, as does my resolve. With each passing second, my resistance becomes less and less, and soon, I find myself leaning heavily against Leo's chest.

A third pair of arms joins the circle and I can hear Mikey sniffling in my ear slit.

I seal my eyes tightly shut again and try to steady my breathing.

This is so embarrassing.

What am I? Like five?

"Just let us help you, little brother," Raph says in a tone that's almost unrecognizable coming from him. He actually sounds . . . concerned? Who would've ever thought the hothead was capable of such a feat?

I lift my head up to see that all three of my brothers are staring down at me with apologetic expressions.

Did I mention this is embarrassing?

Just as I'm about to shield my face from view once again, my brothers release their hold on me and back away a couple of feet, presumably to give me some breathing room. It's either that or maybe they're feeling a little embarrassed, too.

Leo's the first to break the freshly fallen silence between us.

"We should've never laughed at you, Donnie."

"Yeah, D. We should've totally taken care of you like you're always taking care of us. Like that one time I ate those two funny looking pizzas that we found in that garbage dumpster and I puked for three days straight?" Mikey's entire face lights up with a huge grin, as if he's excited by the memory he had just drudged up, whereas just the thought of it makes me queasy.

"How could I forget?" To this day, the smell still haunts me . . .

"Well, you stayed with me the whole time I was sick. You even flushed the toilet when I was too weak to lift my arms up anymore. And you brought me crackers and read me comics and wrapped me up in blankets when I got the chills. If not for you, I probably would've died."

"Died? That seems a bit exaggerated."

"Nuh-uh, brah. You totally saved my life."

Okay, I hardly think flushing the toilet, providing stale crackers, reading outdated comic books, and tossing a couple of blankets over someone while they hurl their guts out qualifies as life-saving measures, but I don't bother to argue. And even if I wanted to dispute the claim, I'm not given enough time to, because Leo offers up another memory.

"And what about that time when Sensei came down with that bad case of bronchitis when we were little? You were the only one who had any idea how to take care of him. If you wouldn't have been there, I don't know what we would've done."

I see where this is going. They're just trying to relieve their guilty consciences.

Well, I'm not falling for it.

"I just used the same remedies that Master Splinter always used on us when we were sick. Any of you could've done that."

I'm tempted to pat myself on the shell for how well I downplayed that one. Then, Leo goes and bursts my bubble by complimenting me again.

"Donnie, we were four. The rest of us completely panicked and didn't have a clue how to help him, but you knew exactly what to do and nursed him back to health."

I guess Leo does make a valid point. If my brothers would've been the ones in charge of taking care of Sensei, they probably would've made things a lot worse. I seem to remember Mikey suggesting something along the lines of using the 'vacuum to suck the gunk outta him.'

I'm about to make a snarky comment, when Raph takes his turn at trying to cheer me up.

This ought to be good . . .

"And do you remember when Leo busted his wrist while he was trying to build his own 'Space Heroes' rocket?"

"I – I really don't think we need to bring that up again." Not surprisingly, Leo is quick to try to stop Raph from continuing, but equally not surprisingly, Raph just blows him off.

"Sure we do, Fearless. You remember you were crying like a – "

"I wasn't crying!"

"The shell you weren't!"

"My eyes were just watering because of all the smoke!" If I had a nickel for every time I heard that line . . .

"Sure they were," Raph says in his usual deadpan fashion and his mouth twists into a cocky smirk. He then crosses his arms over his plastron as he continues on with what he has to say. "The point is, Donnie knew just what to do. He put your wrist back in place and made you that cast out of – What was it made out of again?"

"Duct tape and bread dough!" What my baby brother lacks in accuracy he more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

"Actually, it was made out of gauze and plaster."

"There! You see? None of us would've ever thought to do something like that. Can you imagine what Leo's arm would look like if Mikey and I had to fix it?"

Now there's a frightening thought. They probably would've amputated the limb . . .

A hand suddenly squeezing my shoulder prevents me from coming up with a clever comeback to Raph's question. I look up to see Leo staring back at me and his grip around my shoulder softens a bit as he speaks.

"What we're trying to say, Donnie, is that you're always here for us. We should've been there for you. We were wrong to laugh at you earlier."

"Yeah, bro. And all that stuff you said about us thinking you're weak and a joke. None of us have ever thought something like that about you. You're the smartest guy I've ever met. You're like scary smart, dude. No lie. You're constantly saving our shells."

"Hey, as much as I hate to admit it, Mikey and Leo are right."

We all turn and look at Raph in wide-eyed amazement. Did he seriously just say that Mikey and Leo were right?

"Yeah, I said it. So what? No need to make a big stink about it." Raph shrugs his shoulders and scowls at us for a moment or two before continuing in a far less gruff manner than normal. "Anyway, you're always taking care of us, Donnie. And you can forget about all those stupid notions about you being pathetic or a disappointment. You've never let us down, little brother. Not ever." As Raph says this, he playfully rubs the top of my head with a closed hand, which unexpectedly makes me flinch in pain.

You know, for a little while there, I almost forgot all about that monkey beating me to a pulp. At least up until Raph went and ground his knuckles against one of my many contusions.

"Ouch."

"It's okay, Donnie. We've got you. And we're gonna do whatever it takes to make you feel better. You're in good hands. Right, guys?" The words no sooner leave Leo's mouth when he releases his grip on my shoulder so his hand is free to pull out a roll of first aid tape and bandages from his belt. Mikey nods eagerly, and then, produces a washcloth and a bottle of antiseptic, while Raph unsheathes one of his sais, presumably intending to use it as a makeshift pair of scissors. Apparently, they had come prepared.

I shift my eyes back and forth between my three grinning brothers and finally let a smile slip past my defenses, indicating my consent.

Sure, my brothers may not always know the right things to do or say, but no matter what, they'll always take care of me in their own special way.

And somehow, just knowing that, I already feel a little bit better . . .

The End

*Author's Notes: It literally took me over a year to finish this Shell Shot. I've rewritten it three times now. First, as a multi-chapter story, then as a third-person one-shot, and now, this first person version. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all of you liked the final product. If you did, please favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on 'TMNT Shell Shots.' I would really love to know if you are enjoying this collection of short stories. Thank you very much for reading. ;) CJ