Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles, the Foot or any other associated persons or places. They are the property of Mirage Studios. I make no money from this and I mean no harm. Please do not sue.
Chapter 36
"Donnie, you gotta eat something!" Anna said exasperatedly as she noted that Donatello was pushing his dinner around his plate again.
"He's been sick, Anna" April reminded her daughter.
"He's always sick, and not eating just makes it worse. Look at him! Look how much weight he's lost already this year."
Donatello sighed and dropped his head to the table as the two women bickered over him. He kicked his feet back and forth in the air as his legs were too short for him to touch the floor from this position. Another meatball crawled over a pile of spaghetti courtesy of his fork as the argument continued.
"Be that as it may, if he can't eat it right now then he can't eat it right now. Donnie, sweetie, are you done?" April asked, looking at the turtle who had hardly touched his dinner.
Donnie looked up to find Anna glaring at him. He cringed as he nodded to April. "It's great, as always, Aunt April, but..."
"It's ok, Donnie. I know."
Anna glared at her cousin, and Donnie cringed in response. He knew she was right, but he just could not eat right now. Once the dinner table had been cleared, April, Anna and Donnie retired to the living room for a movie. Casey came in shortly after that and joined them. Anna sat on the couch between Donnie and Casey. Everyone had already seen the movie, so it was more an opportunity to chat than it normally would have been. Casey's presence kept the conversation away from the story Donnie had heard yesterday and about half way through the film, the young turtle fell asleep curled up on the single couch cushion he had been allotted. When the film ended, no one had the heart to wake him up. Instead April called Leo.
"He fell asleep over here, Leo. I hate to wake him up."
Leonardo sighed. "Then, you're right, he is better off over there. I know he didn't sleep here last night. No matter how much he needed it. I would like him back for training tomorrow morning though."
"Sure thing, I think Anna wanted to head down for that anyway."
"Great." Leo said, though his tone suggested that he could have been happier. "We're always glad to have Anna around."
"And I've got the heat up in the living room. He's also under two blankets, one electric and one down. So don't worry, Leo. He'll be fine."
When Leonardo hung up the phone, he stared at the floor for a long moment. He had known for a long time that this day was coming. He hated to do it, but some part of him felt he had to. A piece of him deep in his soul had needed this since Master Splinter had died, and he had never felt as though his family could get by if he did what he planned to do. Now, it had been too long, and Leonardo found himself needing this more and more.
"Shortly after the Christmas holiday, I will be leaving." Leonardo informed his family the next morning after training. Raphael sat in a chair while Mike, Donnie and Anna shared the couch. "It is something I have needed to do for a very long time. I cannot put it off any longer, I am sorry."
"Where are you going?" Michelangelo asked. He could see Donnie's hurt expression out of the corner of his eye and knew that the young turtle was not going to take this well.
"I have been fighting it for a long time. In the hills of Japan there is a man known only as the Ancient One. He was sensei to Master Yoshi, and it is time, now, for me to seek him out." Leo cringed when Donnie stood up, went to his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. When the noise stopped reverberating through the lair, Leo turned to his remaining family.
"You guys have to understand. I have put this off too long as it is. I really have to go. Please say you understand."
"Oh, I understand, Leo." Raph responded with his arms crossed over his chest. "I also understand that your timing sucks."
"Raph!" Mikey objected. "We all know he's been putting this off forever."
"Yes, he has, but his timing still sucks. Leo, it's wintertime and you just told your kid about Don! In case you hadn't noticed, he's feeling a little lost right now. In addition, no offense, Anna, but he hasn't exactly taken Anna's absence from his daily life well, and now you're talking about leaving him too."
"I'll be back as soon as I can!" Leo objected.
"I know that." Raph reminded his brother. "I know you would never leave for long, especially if you didn't really have to, but I still say that as far as everything goes, your timing sucks. You're leaving Donnie at a time when he's feeling confused and vulnerable, and Mikey and I are the ones who are going to have to deal with the fallout. You remember fifteen don'tcha, Leo? It's confusing enough as it is. It was worse for us just being mutant turtles, and we had each other, Leo. Donnie doesn't have that."
"I'm sorry, Raph." Leo apologized.
Raphael shook his head. "No need to say you're sorry to me."
It took a moment to figure out what Raph was saying. When it finally did sink in Leo looked toward Donnie's room and sighed. "Right." Leo rubbed his face in frustration. He was needed here, but he had to go. "I wish Master Splinter were still here." He lamented quietly.
"Yeah, bro, we all do." Raphael responded.
"Leo, you should probably go talk to Donnie." Mikey added.
"He's not going to want to hear it right now." Anna piped up.
Leo turned around and faced the young woman who had been so quiet up to now. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that he's not going to want to hear it. Not yet, Uncle Leo. Let me try first." Anna responded. When Leo nodded, she headed up to Donnie's room. When she got there he was gone.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Raphael demanded.
"I mean, he's not there!" Anna responded in worried tones.
"Where would he have gone?" Mikey asked hurriedly. "I mean, he wouldn't have left the lair would he?"
"I... I think I might know." Leo said as he started toward the sewer tunnels.
"Uncle Leo, I could..."
"Stay here, Anna"
Leo heard sniffling as he neared his destination, and the small noise affirmed his initial hunch as to where Donnie might have gone. He poked his head around the corner and spotted his child sitting up on a high pipe.
"Donnie, where's your sweatshirt?"
"What do you care?" The tone was angry, and Leo couldn't blame his son.
"You're my son, and I don't want to see you getting sick again. I love you, and I care about what happens to you." Leo said as he started to make his way up the mass of piping to the smaller turtle's perch.
"Go away." Donnie growled. It was a tone that Leo had never heard his son use.
"I can't do that. Not when you're this upset."
"Sure you can." The young purple-masked turtle shouted. "You just said you're going to so go ahead! See if I care."
"Donnie, I won't be gone forever."
"I. Said. Go. Away."
"Donnie, please, I know my timing is bad."
"Bad? Bad! You call your timing 'bad'?" He glared at his father. "As if the whole thing about your brother weren't bad enough, you drop this on me too!" Donnie fumed. The sound reverberated through the dank tunnels.
"I'm really sorry, My son, but this is something that I have to do. It is something that I have needed for a very long time."
"And who would I be to stop you?" Donnie growled again, staring at the pipe in front of him with tears in his eyes. "Didn't I tell you to go away?"
"I can't leave immediately. I'll still be here for a few more weeks, but I have to leave soon. I'm really sorry, Donnie."
Donatello did not respond. He just sat there glaring at the pipe in front of him. Leo had really hoped for some sort of response from his son. The elder turtle sighed and turned to his child.
"If there is anyone in this world that can stop me from going, it's you, Donnie." Leo finally admitted. "I have put it off this long because I simply could not leave you, but I think you're old enough now to take care of yourself and even assist your uncles. And when I get back, I have every intention of having you join us on patrols. I have put this off for a very long time, Donnie. If I'm wrong, and you honestly do not believe that you can handle it this year then I can put it on hold again, but I will have to go eventually, and I honestly believe that our clan will be stronger for it. Take a couple days to think about it, and if at the end of that time you honestly believe that you need me here then just say the word. I'll stay." Leo put a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. As he left the piping, he noticed that the expression on Donnie's face had changed from pure anger to a more thoughtful one.
Christmas and New Year's had come and gone, and Leo still had not heard anything from his son. He chose not to push the issue as he knew that the young turtle had enough going on at the moment. What Donnie had done was come to him for more stories; stories about both Master Splinter and Don. Since Anna had gone back to school, this had become an almost daily occurrence.
"You are a lot like him, yes, but you are your own person. Your path in life branched from his a long time ago. He knew how to think with both his head and his heart." Leo said of his brother. "You share those qualities, and they are good ones. He was quiet, shy and never really wanted to hurt anyone, but he never once hesitated to put up a fight for our sake. I think he probably knew better than any of us what a gift life truly is. Even among us he would often keep to himself, but he was never far away, just right on the edge until he was needed. Don was level headed and very easy to talk to. He was a good listener."
"Ok, all good things, but didn't he ever make anyone mad?"
Leo laughed. "I'm sure he ticked off several people in the spirit realm."
Donnie smiled slightly, but the look on his face made it clear that he wanted more out of Leo.
"He had a kind of determination that got him into trouble from time to time. He could get so absorbed in what he was doing that he would forget everything that was going on around him. Bothering him at a time like that was a good way to remind yourself that he knew how to get angry. You've seen Raph when he gets mad?"
Donnie nodded, remembering the last time he had ticked off his uncle. He certainly had not intended to do anything to make Raphael mad, but the water in the lair had started to smell a little mucky. Donnie had gone back to check the water where they tapped into the city lines, and everything was fine there so he had added some bleach to a holding tank that someone, probably Don if he were to guess, had installed years ago. Unfortunately for Donnie, before he had a chance to get back to the lair, Raphael had decided to wash his masks. While there had not been a huge amount of bleach in the water, it was enough to turn the once red masks pink. All the same, Donnie had a feeling that the real problem had been the giggle fit he had had upon discovering the pink items. He recalled being in the dojo doing flips until his dad had come in to rescue him. Immediately upon his release, Donnie had gone to his room and collapsed into bed, not to move a muscle until the next morning.
"Well, Don could be far scarier than Raph. It might have been because it was rare for him to get riled up though. He was slow to boil and quick to cool. That cooling just had a tendency to result in things being thrown."
"Uncle Raph throws stuff when he gets mad." Donnie pointed out.
"Yes, but Raph throws things in a way that you know they're not going to hit you. Raph misses by feet, but things Donnie threw would miss by inches. Unless it was something that couldn't permanently damage you, then Don would hit you with it."
"Do I do that?"
"You miss by a bit more, but like him, you don't get angry very often."
"I don't?" Lately, Donnie had felt like he was angry all the time.
"You're fifteen." Leo told his son. "Being a teenager isn't easy for anyone, and I'd say that you have more than the normal kid's share of things to deal with, and you're doing an admirable job."
Donnie smiled up at his father and accepted the little hug Leo gave him. After a moment his expression turned serious again.
"Dad?" Only when the young turtle was completely sure that he had his father's undivided attention did he try to speak again. He tried to wet his throat before saying what he was about to say. "I- I don't want you to go," Donnie admitted quietly.
Leonardo sighed, realizing what his son was talking about. He was just about to nod acknowledgment when Donnie continued.
"But I understand that you need to, and I think you should." The young turtle concluded, sadly dropping his eyes to the floor.
"Thank you, My son." Leo replied a he wrapped his strong arms around the smaller turtle next to him. "I am glad you understand." He noticed tears that Donnie was trying to hide. "Oh, Donnie, don't cry. I won't be gone forever, and I promise to write whenever I can."
"I know, but I'm going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you too, baby, I'm going to miss you too." Leo hugged his son and they just sat there together for a long while.
"I want you to take care of yourself." Leo insisted, holding onto Donnie's shoulders. "It's still cold."
"I know, Dad."
"And we'll make sure he eats!" Mikey piped up, earning a laugh from his brothers and an objection from Donnie.
"Hey! I eat!"
"Not enough, Squirt." Raph commented, ruffling Donnie's headband and forcing the young turtle to fix it so he could see again. More laughter ensued when the young turtle glared up at his uncles.
Leonardo hugged his brothers and told them to take care before sending them off a short distance and turning his attention to Donatello.
"Make sure they don't destroy too much while I'm gone, okay?"
Donnie glanced back at his uncles and laughed a little, but his face quickly saddened. "I'm going to miss you, Dad."
Leo wrapped his arms around Donnie's small frame and forced back tears. "I'm going to miss you too, Donnie. I am going to miss you so much." He felt Donnie's arms reach around him and he just held his son for a long moment.
"Dad?" Donnie asked, causing Leo to back up a bit so he could see the younger turtle's face. "I made this for you. I don't know how long the battery will last, but it should be quite a while."
Leo was confused by the item that was mounted on a watchband, but obviously could not tell time. It was also slightly thicker than your standard watch. Donnie then pulled a set of headphones from his pocket, extremely compact ones that he had designed to fit their ears. He connected the earphones and tucked them around the 'watch' then pulled a Velcro flap over the whole thing.
"It should all be waterproof and weatherproof and all that." Donnie explained.
The use of the device was pretty clear, even to Leo. All it had on it was a play button, and he was about to press it when Donnie stopped him.
"Don't listen to it now." He said shaking his head.
Leo nodded put the watchband on his wrist and tucked it under his wrist guard. "Thank you, Donnie." He said as he pulled his son close one more time. The foghorn blared signaling that Leo had to leave. "I love you, baby." And with that, Leonardo was gone. The last thing he heard from his family as he made his way to the boat was Donnie's voice calling quietly after him.
"I love you too... Daddy."