*I don't own "Get Smart", Steve Carell, or Anne Hathaway. But I do enjoy them. :) Thanks for the suggestion, Heather.
Raphael sighed contentedly as he put up the foot rest for his recliner and leaned both arms behind his head. He'd been keeping an eye on his Master for the last two hours while Splinter had napped on the couch. The rat was sitting up now, and they were both waiting for the rest of the turtles to join them in the living area.
"You sure you don't want something else to drink, Sensei?"
"I am certain your older brother will be bringing me fresh tea, Raphael, but thank you." Splinter's throat sounded a little raw as a result from the procedure, but he was no worse for wear.
The red-masked turtle grinned. "Yeah, but I could go light a fire under him or something. "
He smiled in return. "That is not necessary, my son. Do you know what we are watching?"
"I will know, as soon as you pick the movie out."
"Hmm…" Splinter's face was thoughtful. "I will consider it."
Raph gave him another appraising glance. "Are you warm enough?"
"Raphael, I will tell you if I need something."
"Yeah, sure. Sorry, Sensei."
"You do not need to be sorry," he replied quietly. "I only grow weary of concern being heaped on my head."
"Think of it as love," Raphael told him. "Real love that is, not Mikey's version."
"I understand that you have been spreading your youngest brother's version of 'love' as well," Splinter said reproachfully.
The turtle hung his head sheepishly. "It was an accident, Sensei, I swear."
"Mm. Perhaps a little more thought should go into such actions before they are committed."
"Don't worry, Father. Leo and I ain't never gonna make a mistake like that again."
"I'm glad to hear it." The rat's voice was appropriately stern, but amusement flickered through his dark eyes.
Raphael chanced another smile. "Doc got us pretty good. Leo and I didn't see it coming, 'specially from him."
"People can always surprise you, my son, no matter how well you think you know them. It is never wise to assume that you can predict someone's mind perfectly, whether they are friend or foe."
Raphael relaxed his arms and drew them down to his sides. "I hear that, Sensei. Me and Leo are working on it too."
"When you choose to think before you react and listen before you speak, you can avoid much conflict, Raphael. Misunderstandings often create problems out of thin air, where they never would have existed."
"I understand, Master." Raphael glanced toward the kitchen door. "You want me to see what's holding up the guys?"
Splinter chuckled. "A bit more patience would not kill you either, my son."
"Do you know that for sure?"
The rat laughed louder. "You could check on your brother in the lab. Donatello has spent plenty of time locked away in there."
"You're right, Sensei. I'll go drag his shell out first. You stay comfortable, and think about a movie."
The red-masked turtle got to his feet and walked the short distance to his brother's lab. When he opened the door, he saw Donny hunched over his desk, typing at a slower pace than normal.
"Genius? What are you doing?"
Don looked over his shoulder. "Just waiting."
"Did Doc really tell you to sit in this room and wait for him to call you back?"
The purple-masked turtle shook his head.
"Didn't think so, Bro. Come out here with the rest of us. We're gonna watch a movie. Maybe you could help Sensei pick something."
Donatello turned back around to the computer for a couple of seconds and shut down the windows he'd been working in. "All right. I'm coming."
He lingered in the doorway until Donny gained his feet, and then led the way into the living area. "Pull up a seat on the couch, Don. I'm gonna see what Leo and Mike are up to."
Raphael went into the kitchen and found his other two brothers still working on snacks. The fresh-baked smell coming from the oven was almost enough to make the red-masked turtle salivate.
"Smells awesome, Mikey."
"There are only a couple more minutes on the brownies," the youngest turtle replied. "Got a movie yet?"
"Between Sensei and Donny, they ought to come up with something. Do you still have Don's plate set aside somewhere?"
"It's in the microwave," Mike replied. "You wanna set it to heat for a minute or two?"
Raphael rammed his blue-masked brother in the side as he went by him, forcing Leo to juggle the 2-liter bottle he'd been precisely pouring.
"Didn't we create enough of a mess today?" his brother demanded.
Raph snorted. "Gotta keep you on your toes, Fearless."
"Are you saying you don't want any Mountain Dew then?"
"No way, Bro - you don't get to hog it all. Did you make Sensei's tea yet?"
"Almost done steeping. We tried to time things out properly."
"I can take it to him, but Sensei will probably be more interested in those brownies Mike has going."
The orange-masked turtle beamed. "They're double dark chocolate. Master Splinter's gonna love them."
"And Donny can't have any until he eats his dinner," Raphael cracked. "That ought to make him clean his plate." He opened the microwave to retrieve the leftovers Mike had set aside for their absent brother. The lasagna still looked good enough that he'd have been glad to jump on it if Donny refused.
Raphael's head jerked around as Mike flicked his shoulder hard.
"Hey, I saw those hungry eyes," his brother said warningly. "Do I need to go with you to make sure Donny gets it?"
The red-masked turtle struck a cocky grin. "I'm not that mean, Pipsqueak. We can't have the genius starving on us."
Raphael grabbed some silverware and swooped a glass off of Leonardo's tray.
"Hey!" his blue-masked brother protested.
"For Donny, Leo. You understand."
Leonardo rolled his eyes, and went to work finishing Splinter's tea. Raphael couldn't resist giving his older brother a smirk before leaving the room.
Donny was seated on the couch to the right of their Sensei, and appeared more relaxed than he had inside the lab. He's either getting better at faking it, or Master Splinter has already worked his magic.
"I got your dinner, Donny."
Don's eyes actually lit up when he saw the dish.
"Guess you are hungry then, huh?"
His brother held out his hand. "Thanks."
"You realize that you could have eaten like two hours ago," Raph teased, keeping the plate out of reach.
"Raphael." Splinter's whiskers twitched disapprovingly.
He laughed. "I'm just messin' with him, Sensei." He released Donatello his dinner, and Splinter handed him the remote control.
"Your brother put in the movie for us."
"Yeah? What'd you go with?"
Splinter cocked his head with a mischievous smile. "'Missed it by that much.'"
The red-masked turtle recognized the quote instantly. "'Get Smart' is a good one. That Steve Carell guy is pretty darn funny. "
Donatello chuckled. "You don't mind watching Anne Hathaway either."
"What's to mind? Steve's character is a lucky guy if you ask me."
Don shrugged. "I guess…if you're into movie stars and all that."
Raphael shook his head. "We ain't all hooking up with the girl of our dreams, Donny."
His brother's eyes widened as he swiftly glanced at Splinter. "For the record, Jen and I do not hook up."
"It's pretty hard to when she's in Australia, huh?"
Donny gave him a dirty look and Raph laughed. "You made that way too easy, Bro."
Splinter silenced him with another glance, and turned back to Donatello. "Eat, Donatello. I am sure the others cannot be far behind."
"Mike's waiting on his brownies to come out."
"I knew I was smelling something wonderful."
"Mike's up to his usual tricks, Sensei. I think we're all in for a treat, except for Donny. He's still gotta finish dinner," he added with a snicker.
"Lay off him, Raphy," Mike said from the kitchen doorway. "Not everyone finishes things in three bites."
Donny sighed loudly. "When did everyone become so interested in my eating habits?"
"If you'd get on a normal schedule, it would give us less to talk about," Leo said mildly.
"Both of you can get off my shell," Don grumbled. "Raph, turn the movie on before I do it for you."
Mike's high-pitched laugh filled the room as he pointed at the TV screen. "Girl just got denied. Who'd wanna dance with a jerk like that anyhow?"
Raphael folded his arms. "Pretty on the outside don't make her the whole package, that's for sure. Maxwell owns mean girl and the bad guy without even putting a hand on them."
Splinter nodded knowingly. "Some of the best fights are won without lifting a finger."
"No, just his dance partner." Leo laughed.
Raphael looked over at his blue-masked brother, who seemed fixated by the scene on the screen. "This must be your favorite part, Leo."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You musta watched this dance a hundred times," Mike filled in. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you have a thing fo—"
Leonardo swatted the youngest turtle with a couch cushion to shut him up, but it didn't stop Raphael from exchanging a secret laugh with Mike.
Splinter sighed. "Would you care to pause the movie until you are finished?"
"No, Sensei," three voices said in unison.
Raphael quietly leaned back in his chair as the scene changed. The break-in at the mansion was one of his favorite parts, but he felt suddenly drawn to Donatello. The purple-masked turtle hadn't spoken in nearly an hour.
Don appeared to be watching the movie, yet Raph had the feeling his mind was far away from there. While he watched, his brother gazed down at his phone, but didn't do anything with it. Donny set the device on the side-table and rested his chin wearily in one hand. We've got to get his mind on something else. I don't wanna draw attention to it in front of everybody though.
"You okay, Donny?" Mike asked.
Raphael rolled his eyes. So he draws attention to it.
"Yeah," Donny answered. "I'm kinda tired."
"Make sure you get some good sleep tonight, Bro," Leo instructed. "You can't take care of anyone else if you don't look after yourself."
Donatello nodded, his emotionless look giving away nothing he was thinking. "I will, Leo."
Splinter's arm came around the purple-masked turtle's shoulder. "Be certain that you do, my son."
Raphael exhaled and returned his attention to the movie. It's just nerves. Donny's okay.
As though to reassure everyone, Don chuckled. "Max shows her up with those lasers. He's better than 99 gives him credit for."
"She'll figure it out," Mike said. "She does every time, no matter how often I've watched it."
Don smiled. "It could be interesting if the story did change on you. Like one of those 'Choose Your Own Adventures' or something."
Leo shook his head gravely. "Those are strictly forbidden."
Raphael's brow furrowed. "Says who?"
"It's in the rules."
"What rules?"
"If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm afraid I can't help you."
Mike shook his head." Dude. You're not making any sense."
"Neither do half the things you say," Leo retorted.
Splinter cleared his throat. "Are we in fact still watching the movie?"
"Sorry, Sensei," Leo said swiftly.
Raphael steeled himself to focus on the screen, and not look Donny's direction again. Whatever there might be to worry about, it can wait a while longer.
