Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or its characters. I only own my OCs.

A/N: Hi, guys! We're back again with chapter 14. Thanks for the support so far! I'm super excited to get to work on the sequel, so I'll try to get going with that as soon as I can. I've done a minuscule amount of work but I'll do my best to get more done as soon as possible. Just a warning, this chapter contains more angst and mature/adult content :D Enjoy!

The Silvernote: Yeah, it must be so hard for them to have to live the way they are :/ Feel free to hug them both whenever. I'll pack them up and send them your way :P Thanks for the review!

Stephanie Phelps: Honestly, half of the stuff just comes out and I go through to adjust/edit it in the proofreading process. As for Donnie talking to Splinter... You'll have to keep reading to find out more :D Thanks for the review.

NinjaTurtleLover001: I'm glad to hear how excited you are for this chapter ;) I agree, Donnie does need to talk to Splinter, but I can understand how hard it is for him to open up to his family about something so personal. You'll have to read on to find out what happens with that. Thanks for reviewing!

Happy reading!

~ Salvation ~

{ Chapter Fourteen: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back }

The following morning, Marie and Donatello left the family behind to go for their walk in the woods.

Marie was wearing the pretty summer dress that she had bought especially for the occasion, despite Donatello's reservations, with a pair of white pumps and the lovely necklace she'd bought to go with the outfit. Donatello couldn't help but feel guilty that he'd made her feel uncomfortable about dressing this way. She looked beautiful, and she appeared as though she felt rather pretty too.

They'd been walking for about an hour, and Donatello had been telling her about the various species of plant in the woodland. They'd also been talking about Marie's plans for getting set up in her apartment, and Marie had briefly asked him about meeting Lauren and Dan since they'd been nagging her about it for the past several weeks. Donatello couldn't bring himself to face Marie's surrogate parents because he had a feeling that they wouldn't take too kindly to the fact that the girl they'd raised as a daughter had hooked up with a freakish, mutated turtle.

After reaching a small clearing in the midst of the woodland, the two decided to sit and take a break. Marie had brought a blanket for them to lay on together, so the pair settled atop it to relax in the open air. Marie was exhausted because she'd barely slept the night before, but she didn't have the heart to tell Donatello that she wanted to return to the farmhouse because she knew that the opportunities he had to experience the world in broad daylight were very rare.

She rested against his plastron, quite happy to lay in silence with him as they listened to the sounds of nature around them. She rolled slightly, resting one of her smooth, bare legs atop Donatello's in an attempt to get closer to him. She loved him so much. Being with him was a wonderful and unique experience, even though things seemed to be going downhill, rather than improving at this point in time. He was amazing, and even though he wasn't human, she didn't find this any more unusual than she would find dating a human man. He was clever, handsome, charming, he made her laugh, and he made her feel loved. Well... Most of the time, he did. Occasionally, he upset her or hurt her feelings, but she'd made a resolution to try and be more understanding about his mental health issues and to be less sensitive about his behaviour. Their arguments were sometimes rather ridiculous and Marie knew that their relationship wasn't quite what it used to be because of them.

The feeling of his hand running into her hair brought her out of her thoughts, and she was soon met with her boyfriend's lips gently caressing her own in a very loving and tender kiss. Her insides quivered as he moved slightly, and placed one leg between hers. Oh... She knew what he wanted, and the thought of making love with him out in the middle of practically nowhere was a lot more arousing than she expected it to be. As he slowly turned her over, the left sleeve of her dress slipped down from her shoulder, leaving the skin bare and exposed to him. He eased his way between her thighs, kissing her this time much more passionately and deeply than before. After their lips danced together for a few moments, they parted to look at each other, and Donatello, finding it very hard to control himself, touched her cheek with a trembling hand.

"Can we...?"

"Do you want to?" Marie asked him, knowing what he was asking of her.

"I do." Donatello whispered, "It's all I've wanted from the moment I saw you in that dress."

It wasn't a lie. Seeing her looking so beautiful, with so much skin exposed to him... It was incredibly arousing. It was almost as though she was teasing him, even though he knew damn well she wasn't. He found her so irresistible sometimes, and it didn't help that they hadn't been intimate with one another for a few weeks, due to her being so stressed out with her exams.

"I've missed you, and I've missed this." He told her, kissing her again, "If you don't want to..."

"I want to." Marie assured him, cupping his face, "Leave the dress on, though... Just in case.."

Donatello nodded and then kissed her again with a soft sigh as she raised her legs to bring their lower halves together. The last thing they wanted was for her to be caught naked by one of Donatello's family members. Cautiously, he ran his hands up her thighs, under the skirt of her dress, and then he wrapped his fingers around the hem of her white silk underwear. Marie lifted herself upward for him to remove the garment from her, and as he slid the underwear down her legs, he placed it carefully on the blanket beside them, before turning his attention to her neck.

Marie's hand trailed down his plastron as he moved to kiss her neck, searching for the most sensitive part of him as he then started to unfasten his solar panels from his waist. He set them down beside her underwear and then pulled her closer to him while he kissed her neck. Removing his glasses, he then placed those on the blanket too, and as he felt Marie's hand trailing further down his body, he released himself, almost bucking his hips at the feeling of her hand wrapping around him. Their breathing was very heavy already, and as they rested their foreheads together, they gazed into each other's eyes with nothing but love which sent both of their hearts into a frenzy.

He pushed up the skirt of her dress a little as she angled herself to take him before he slid his spare arm around her to bring her closer and cradle her to him protectively. Marie lined him up against her, and as he pushed forward, harder than intended, Marie gasped and shivered at the sudden intrusion. It wasn't painful, much to her surprise, but it certainly caused her to startle a little. Donatello knew he'd pushed a bit too hard, and all he could do was hope that he hadn't just hurt her because he couldn't control himself.

Despite this, their lips met in a heated kiss, and Donatello carefully brought her leg around him with his spare hand before he started to move inside of her. She cupped the back of his head with one hand and held onto him by looping her arm under his to grip his shoulder, letting out a quiet, breathy moan at the sensation of being with him like this. Her heart was racing as he gripped her with a desperation she'd never felt before, and she broke away from his lips to rest her head next to his, focusing on the occasional churr or moan of pleasure that was being breathed into her ear.

They managed to keep quiet, and it didn't last long, but it was probably one of the most passionate, sensual encounters they'd shared together. A lot of pent up tension was released in that intimate, heated embrace, and as they both slowed to a stop following a wonderful climax, the only thing that could be heard apart from the warm breeze and the odd tweeting bird was their heavy breathing. Thankfully, they'd been able to share this time together without interruption.

Easing Marie down in his deceptively strong arms, Donatello cradled her tenderly, gazing at her with glittering eyes as they shared a warm smile, and then a soft, loving kiss. Marie moved to cup his face in her manicured hands and then drew him closer to kiss his forehead, as he'd done to her the night before.

"I love you." She told him, moving to embrace him by wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders.

"I love you too." He answered her, smiling warmly before burying his face in her hair, and breathing in her wonderful scent.

They remained close together for a few moments to get their strength back and redress themselves before they made a move to continue their walk through the woodland together. The experience they'd just shared seemed to temporarily relieve them of the stress and hurt they'd both being going through, and it seemed to bring them just a little closer together, which made them both feel more light-hearted than they had in quite a while.

When they returned to the farmhouse, Donatello's family were none the wiser about what had just transpired between the young couple. The only thing that they did notice was the fact that Donatello and Marie were very close and they were just grateful that the two of them looked happy for once. They were met with the sight of April walking towards the water in a yellow bikini, and the boys were busy bringing chairs, the cooler, and some towels down to the lake.

"Hey, guys!" April greeted them cheerfully, "We're going swimming. Are you coming?"

"Uh, sure..." Donatello replied, squeezing Marie's hand, "We'll come in a minute."

April grinned and continued to walk towards the lake, and the pair were then met by three rather giddy looking turtles, their exasperated looking father, and then Vern, who looked about ready to hit someone. The brothers shot past them and towards the water, while Splinter called after them to calm down. Then, Vern followed with arms full of towels and the portable radio.

At the sound of a large splash, the couple turned to see the brothers in the water, play-fighting and wrestling each other. Rolling his eyes, Donatello turned and led Marie towards the farmhouse, trying to think of the best way to persuade her to venture into the water.

By the time Donatello and Marie returned, Raphael and April were laying on the bank, both wearing sunglasses and lounged out in a relaxed, but sweet embrace. Raphael kept his girl close but had one arm behind his head, keeping it supported so that he could secretly keep an eye on his brothers and father. It also meant that he could admire his lover's supple body without being deemed a pervert.

He watched his younger brother lead Marie towards the water, and he realised as he looked at the other members of his family, that they were all watching the two of them as well. Donatello had informed them that Marie couldn't swim already, but everyone was curious to see how Donatello would actually manage to get her in the water since she had such a horrendous phobia of it. Holding both of her hands carefully, Donatello eased her in front of him, leaving the entire event in her control.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, earning a small nod from the girl as she squeezed his fingers, "You're perfectly safe. I won't let you go, I promise."

Marie took a deep breath, willing her heart to stop pounding. She'd been feeling so brave in the farmhouse, but now as she stood looking water, she felt utterly terrified. Swallowing hard, she took a step forward, feeling Donatello's grip on her tighten a little. He leant towards her ear, his breath ghosting over her skin as he spoke gently to her.

"Good." He praised her warmly, "You're doing great."

Anyone overhearing him speaking to her may have believed that he was patronising her, but Marie knew differently, and so did he. She was petrified, to a point where Donatello was partially holding her up due to her trembling knees, so any encouragement he could give her would be incredibly helpful for her. Donatello watched her very carefully as she then took another deep breath, and stepped into the water, just so it covered the tops of her feet.

The purple-clad turtle's face was graced with a beautiful, beaming smile, and as Marie turned to look at him, the sight of his joyous expression was enough to make her heart stop beating. She hadn't seen him look so happy in months, and the knowledge that she was the reason for that was more than enough to satisfy her for now. He nodded at her encouragingly, and she took another step. The water was cold, but not unbearable, and Marie felt her confidence growing with each passing second because she knew that Donatello was holding her and she knew he wouldn't let go. She knew he'd never let go.

"Keep going." He said softly, kissing her head, "You're doing so well."

With every step she took, Marie felt more and more proud of herself. She was staring her biggest fear right in the face, and she was walking through it. Literally walking through it. She knew she couldn't have done it without Donatello, but that didn't matter and she knew it didn't because she was in the damn water anyway, and from the sound of her boyfriend's voice, she knew he was proud as well.

Things were going very well until Marie looked up at the open expanse of water. Her vision was suddenly bombarded with faint images of her parents' car going into the water. The darkness... The bodies in the front seat, bleeding and unmoving... She could feel the iciness of the water, as though she was plunging into it all over again. A panicked breath left her mouth, and she pushed back against her boyfriend, who let one hand go to carefully encircle her waist with this free arm.

"Take a deep breath." He told her calmly, "You're safe, Marie. You're perfectly safe. I'm with you, and I won't let go. I won't let you go."

She fought him, just for a brief moment, before her vision cleared, and she was met with the warmth of the sun, along with the warmth of her lover's arms. Unbeknownst to her, Donatello's family had witnessed the entire scene, from her arriving by the water, up until now. Each person was amazed, not only that Donatello had been able to keep her there, but also that she'd openly fought her darkest fear, and defeated it. She hadn't had a panic or anxiety attack, and she was still standing in the water.

"There we go." Donatello said sweetly, feeling her lean back against him tiredly, "Well done, honey, I'm so proud of you."

"I think I just had a flashback..." Marie whispered, swallowing hard as bile rose up in her throat, "I-I don't feel well."

Donatello started to draw her back to the bank of the lake, but he wasn't going to remove her from the water. Instead, he sat in a shallower part of the water, and eased Marie into his lap, so that they could be in the water, and look upon the open space while she recovered from the shock of what had just happened. Raphael watched with a fond smile as he saw his brother ease the girl down to sit with him, and then gingerly move her hair out of the way so he could rest his head on her shoulder.

"You're proud of him, aren't you?" April murmured sleepily from where she rested against her boyfriend's plastron.

"Of course I am." Raphael replied, "He's one of the most selfless people you'll ever meet, babe. He's always worrying about other people, rather than himself. It's good to see him take something for himself for once."

"They're cute together, don't you think?" April answered, "They're very well suited for each other."

"Do you think we are?" Raphael asked her, leaning down to kiss her head, "Y'know... Well suited for each other?"

"I do." April grinned, "I keep your ass in line, and you do the same for me."

Raphael chuckled, kissing her once again in more tender, loving fashion, before he started to stroke her hair, hoping to lull her into sleep.

After their afternoon swimming, Donatello was helping Michelangelo make dinner. In the living room, Vern slept in a nearby chair, snoring quite loudly, while Leonardo and Marie were sitting together on the couch. Leonardo was reading, and Marie was drawing. April and Raphael were in their room, and Splinter was meditating in his. So, Marie was left with Donatello's oldest brother, and didn't really know how to start any kind of conversation with him. Surprisingly, Leonardo did it for her.

"I wish we could shove something in his mouth to shut him up." He growled, looking towards Vern, "I've read the same line about six times."

"I can't concentrate either." Marie replied, clearing her throat as she put her sketchpad on the coffee table with her pencil.

Leonardo looked at the drawing, smiling warmly when he saw she'd drawn Donatello. It was a close likeness too, but he could tell she'd made him appear a tad more handsome than he was. He reached to pick up the sketchpad to look, checking Marie's face for any sign of discomfort or worry as he did so. He didn't want to make her feel as though he was invading her privacy when she was already nervous and uncomfortable around him.

"This is really good." He said quietly.

"Thank you." Marie replied, "He's interesting to draw. All that gear he wears is a bit of a nightmare."

"Are you gonna show him? I bet he'd like to see it." Leonardo said, putting the pad back down.

"I don't know. He might find it creepy." Marie said, closing the sketchbook with a sigh.

Leonardo frowned at the sudden change in her demeanour and he leant a little closer to her so that Donatello wouldn't hear them talking. He knew something wasn't quite right between them, and he'd had this nagging feeling that maybe not everything was as it seemed. She was so reserved these days, as she had been when she first started dating his brother, and she never seemed to be in good spirits.

"Marie, I've been meaning to ask..." He began cautiously, "Are you guys okay? You just both seem to be quite down and tense around each other... Is everything alright?"

"W-We're fine." She stammered, so stunned by his remark that she could barely fathom an answer, "I... I've been so stressed with my exams. It's been hard for us for the past couple of months, you know... Not having much time together and stuff, but we're okay. I promise."

It was better, in her mind, for her to take the blame for Leonardo's suspicions. She didn't want to make him think badly of his younger brother or to cause any more distress for her boyfriend. He'd been going through enough lately, without her making it worse. However, she wanted to just unburden her soul to somebody and to tell them everything. She wanted to tell them how Donatello was suffering and how hard it was for both of them to deal with. She just couldn't bring herself to. She could see from the look on the oldest turtle's face that he wasn't convinced, but she tried not to give anything away. She knew she couldn't hide the truth for much longer, but she wanted to at least wait until they'd returned from their vacation before she spoke to anyone.

"If you need anything, you know you can come to any of us, right?" He said quietly, "If you need to talk to someone..."

"Things are fine with us, Leo. Really." Marie replied, brushing her hair behind her ear, "Shall I get us something to drink? How about we have some tea?"

Leonardo simply nodded, knowing not to take the conversation any further. The brunette got out of her seat as she tied her hair into a messy bun, and she went into the kitchen, where Michelangelo was currently sending Donatello to the living area because he was just in the way, apparently. In the doorway, Donatello stopped Marie in her tracks, before he leant down to kiss her while taking her by the waist in what Leonardo could only perceive as a possessive hold.

He released her, earning what was clearly a forced smile from the eighteen-year-old before he went to join his older brother in the living area. As Marie started to prepare some drinks, Leonardo took the opportunity to speak to Donatello. It was hard for the first minute or so to try and work out what to say without offending his brother, but in the end, Leonardo knew he was running out of time to have this conversation, and the sooner he asked the questions, the sooner he'd have the answers.

"Is everything okay with you guys?" He asked quietly, "Marie doesn't really seem to be herself..."

"Oh, we're fine." Donatello replied with a smile, "She's had it tough with her exams lately, and with her leaving home soon, she's been pretty worked up."

"You take care of her, Donnie. She's a nice girl." Leonardo said, looking at his little brother with sad eyes as the purple-clad turtle ducked his head, "Seriously. You're lucky to have her, and she clearly loves you to pieces. Just... Make her happy, huh?"

"I do make her happy." Donatello answered, looking rather affronted, "I do take care of her."

"I'm not saying you don't." Leonardo retorted, "I just... I worry about you both, you know? All I want is for you both to be happy."

"We are happy." Donatello growled out narrowing his eyes as he pushed his glasses up his face, "Thanks, Leo, but you don't need to worry. Marie and I are fine."

The sudden appearance of two mugs being put in front of the brothers startled them into silence. Marie didn't say a word. She kept her head low, smoothed out her dress, and then returned to the kitchen to retrieve her own drink. Donatello and Leonardo shared a look of both shame and embarrassment that she'd heard their conversation. Even though she and Leonardo had shared a similar conversation that Donatello was unaware of, Leonardo knew he shouldn't have pressed the matter further. She must've felt embarrassed, more so than they did, and it wasn't a conversation that either of the brothers would've wanted her to hear.

"I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry." She said quietly as she returned with her drink, backing towards the stairs, "I'll leave you guys to it."

"Marie, wait..." Leonardo protested straight away, getting out of his seat.

She ignored him, and instead headed upstairs towards the room she and Donatello were sharing. Donatello looked horrified for a brief moment and then glared harshly at Leonardo before he started to follow her towards their room. He found her sitting on the bed, her cup of tea steaming away on the bedside table, and she had her knees drawn up to her chest as she gazed out of the window at the late afternoon sun. Donatello closed the door behind him and eased himself onto the bed beside her, reaching out to gently tangle his fingers in her hair.

He couldn't help but wonder about where Leonardo had gotten the idea from that he wasn't making Marie happy, or caring for her. Maybe she'd broken her promise and had told him about what had been going on between them for the past few months. They'd been fighting. His depression had been getting worse. Marie was becoming more withdrawn. He'd made her keep quiet about their current situation because he didn't need to be babied by his family, or made to feel any more inadequate than they made him feel sometimes.

"Marie, have you said anything to Leo about my depression?" He asked her cautiously, watching her turn towards him with a look of utter defeat and with tears in those lovely silver eyes.

Gone was the sweet, fun-loving girl he'd entered into a relationship with almost six months before, and instead, he was dating a sad, shy, defeated young woman. He wanted to put an end to her upset and to tell her the truth about his feelings for her. He wanted to be able to talk to his family, but he just couldn't do any of it. He couldn't bear having to not only admit his emotional weaknesses but also face the shame of allowing Marie to suffer in silence like this.

"How dare you?" She asked him, her voice a high-pitched, strangled whisper.

Immediately, Donatello's gaze fell to his feet, and he snatched his hand away from her as though touching her had burned him. How stupid of him to even ask her that question. Of course, she hadn't said anything. She'd made him a promise, and she loved him. Even Leonardo could see that she did. Of course, she hadn't betrayed him like that.

"Sorry." His voice came out much more high-pitched than he'd expected, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he bravely lifted his gaze to meet hers again.

She was looking away from him this time, staring back out of the window again. He reached out once more, and started to stroke her hair with his fingers in a very tentative manner, as though any sudden movement would send her running out of the room. She wiped her eyes with her back of her hand, biting her lip to keep from sobbing as she then rested her head against her knees, continuing to look at the tranquillity of the scene outside the window. It was so strange to see the world around her looking so peaceful when her heart and mind were in such chaos and turmoil. He was touching her to try and comfort her, and she wanted him to hold her but at the same time, she didn't want him to touch her because she was hurting so much for him and because of him. It was awful for her and she hated being in so much pain.

"I can't keep doing this." She told him, wincing as a pang of pain shot through her chest, "I can't pretend that everything's alright. I'm so worried about you, and this situation between us is killing me. We're fighting, we're both miserable, your depression is getting worse... I just..."

"Marie, I just... I don't know what to do." He sounded so helpless, but he really just couldn't see a way out of it other than the route he didn't want to take, "I would never intentionally cause you any kind of pain, sweetheart, you know that, right? And I know this is really hard for you, but I just can't tell them. I can't."

Marie wiped at her eyes again, and to Donatello's shock and surprise, she started to sob in utter anguish. He moved further onto the bed and pulled her straight into his arms to hold her. He knew his behaviour was inexcusable, and he knew that what he was asking of her was completely unfair. He couldn't even explain why he found it so hard to talk to his family, or why he was causing her to suffer with him.

"I can't do this anymore, Donnie." She breathed, "I can't hide from this anymore. I love you. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life, but this is killing me. It's killing me. I just wish you'd tell them something. I wish you'd tell me why you've been so aggressive with your brothers, lately... I can't..."

She couldn't even finish her sentence. She broke into more sobs, and all Donatello could do was hold her, hush her and apologise into her hair. Unbeknownst to the pair of them, Leonardo had been outside the door and had heard the entire conversation. So that was what had been wrong with Donatello for all this time? He'd been depressed for God only knew how long, and the fact that he'd made Marie keep quiet about it was even worse. What on earth had she been going through for all this time? No wonder she'd been so stressed lately, with having to deal with her exams, moving out of her home, and this as well...

Feeling his heart sink both for his brother and the poor girl who was now sobbing her heart in that bedroom, Leonardo disappeared down the stairs, and he was determined that when they got back home, he was going to be having a serious conversation with his father and Marie, so that Splinter could see what this situation was doing to the young woman, and then they'd be talking to Donatello.

~ To Be Continued ~

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading so far!

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