Chapter 29 - Talking It Over

They both saw Don's head go past the window, heading away from the house. Leo stiffened, but Mike put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go, dude." He said, and Leo nodded.

Mike walked out the door, instinctively wrapping his arms around himself at the sudden cold. He looked around quickly, then caught sight of Donatello heading past the house. He jogged to catch up, then slowed as he came up to his brother.

"Don…"

"Leave me alone, Mikey."

Mike almost stopped, surprised at the tone of his brother's voice. He'd never heard his brother say those words to him, and sound so much like he meant it.

Undaunted, he caught back up to Donatello.

"Where are you going?" He asked. When he got no answer, other than the determined look on his brother's face, he walked in front of Don and put a hand on his plastron, slowing him down.

"What're you gonna do?" He asked, softer this time.

"I don't know, Mike." Don shot back. This time Mike did stop. It caused Don to take a step to the side to avoid walking into him. But now, his pace slowed as he walked.

Mikey let Don get a few steps ahead of him before walking slowly up to his brother. He was pacing now more than actually walking.

"For the first time in my life…" Don began, pacing back and forth. "I have been presented with something that I don't know… that I don't have an answer for, and nowhere to look for one." He looked back over at Mike. "Do you know how that makes me feel?"

Mike silently shook his head. He hadn't expected, well, this. He thought maybe he'd be calming Don down enough not to do something stupid, but not this.

Don sat down heavily on the log they'd stopped by. "Do you know," He began, looking at the ground. "How it kills me that he might be right?" He said softly.

"Who?" Mike asked, confused. "Casey?! Don, I…"

"Well, technically, he is right… She's not really mine." Don said lowly, narrowing his eyes. He moved a hand to his head, rubbing his temple.

Suddenly, he groaned, making Mike jump. He'd been listening to the noises that night in the country brought, and had gotten lost in the sounds around him.

Mike looked over at his brother. "Don?"

Don looked up to the sky, and Mike was surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes.

"Did I do wrong, Mikey?" He asked quietly.

Mike was confused, so he stayed quiet.

"Did I… ruin things for her, by taking her like I did?" Don kept talking, keeping his eyes on the stars. "Maybe I ruined chances for her, that she could have had otherwise… I mean, she deserves everything, and I…" He looked down to the ground. "God, how selfish can I be…"

Mike was silent for a long moment. He'd never imagined his brother had thought this way. He finally looked over at Donatello. Mike noticed the streaks running down his face, and he felt his own eyes swell. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and put a hand on Don's shoulder.

"Donnie, nothing's ruined…"

"Oh come on, Mikey…" Don shook his head. "She deserves the best. She deserves to live in a nice house, with all the toys in the world… Not hiding out in the sewers or here…"

Mike was silent or another moment. He moved closer to his brother, sitting down next to him.

"Do you love her?" He asked quietly.

"What?" Don looked up quickly, meeting his brother's gaze.

"Do you love her." Mike repeated.

"Without question." Don whispered, an intensity in his eyes that his brother rarely saw.

"Then I don't see the problem, bro." Mike said. Don opened his mouth to say something, but Mike held his hand up, stopping him.

"Look, the way I see it, she's one lucky little girl." He said. "And not just because she has me for an uncle." He winked, but his humor was lost on Don, who was looking back at the ground.

"OK," He continued. "So she doesn't have the most toys… that's not important. Though," He mused. "Toys are fun…" He grinned, then continued. "Hey, we didn't have tons of toys, and we turned out fine!"

"We're ninja Mike! We…" Don shook his head. "I just want her to be a normal, happy kid. You know?"

It was silent for another long moment.

"I know." Mike said softly. "I want the same for her, and I'm sure Leo and Raph do, too. But, c'mon, bro. Who says what's normal?" He stood up, and walked in front of Don.

"Lindy is happy, and healthy. And besides, she might not have the most toys, but she has all this!" He motioned around him. "All this space. And, she has those." He gestured to the stars above them. "Do you remember when we were younger how badly we wanted to see those?"

Don nodded slightly and Mike continued. "So, dude, you gave her that!" He grinned, then sat back down next to Don.

"And most importantly," Mike began quietly. "She is loved, more than any other little girl in the world. And you gave her that, too."

Don looked up at Mikey, new tears falling. He sniffed. "When'd you get so smart, huh?"

Mike laughed, putting an arm around his brother's shoulder. "I didn't… the talk show's did."

Don laughed, and wiped his eyes. "Thank you, Mikey."

"Oh, don't thank me. Thank Maury, Montel, Oprah, Dr. Phil…"

Don grinned weakly. "Enough, you TV addict!"

"Well, there's not a whole lot more to do, sometimes…" Mike grinned, glad to see Don's face light up in a smile.

Don stood, and Mikey followed suit. "Feel better, bro?" Mike asked. "I mean, you're not gonna go kick Casey's butt now, are ya?"

"I wasn't…" Don began, then cleared his throat. "Nope." He answered, and began walking back towards the house. "Not tonight…" He muttered under his breath.

"Good." Mike caught up to Don, and slung an arm around his shoulders as they walked back to the house together.

When they arrived back at the house, Don immediately went upstairs.

Leo, who'd been waiting in the living room, threw a questioning look at Mikey.

Mikey shrugged. "He'll be fine…"

Leo nodded. "Good." He said, then sighed. "Raph came back a little bit ago. I was just waiting for…" He trailed off. Mike nodded.

"Thanks, Mikey." Leo said.

"It's what I'm here for, dude."

Leo chuckled. "Well, thanks anyway." It was silent for another moment.

"Hey, I was gonna watch the end of this movie, since I saw the whole beginning…" Leo began.

"Say no more!" Mike exclaimed, jumping onto the couch, followed soon after by Leo.

*************

Don got to the top of the steps, and he could hear Leo and Mike talking in muffled voices. He wasn't interested in hearing what they were saying, not really. There was only one thing he really wanted to see.

Don walked towards Lindy's room, but stopped suddenly, when he sensed movement in the room. His muscles tensed as a million scenarios ran through his head.

He crept quietly to the doorway, and looked in. He almost fell into the room at what he saw.

Raphael stood next to the crib, stroking Lindy's hair, soft enough so she wouldn't wake. His face was no longer angry. In fact, it was the most peaceful that Don had ever seen his brother look. He watched, silently, for another moment. He knew full well if his brother knew he was there, he'd be in big trouble. But he indulged in another moment, then turned to leave. A sudden voice made him stop.

"Y'got a good kid, here, Donnie." Raph said softly.

Don turned back, looking at his brother. "She is, isn't she?" He smiled. "But she's not just mine. She's your niece. You've helped her be like this, too, as much as you hate to admit it."

Raph grunted in response to that.

"Hey," Don said. "The guys are watching a movie downstairs, and I was thinking of joining them. Wanna come?"

Raph grinned. "What the heck." He said, and followed Don down the stairs. "Maybe Mikey even left us something edible…"

"I heard that!"

To be continued…

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A/N - This one's a little short, but I thought adding any more would actually take away from this chapter. I was really undecided about this one… I actually considered a confrontation with Casey, but, in the long run, I felt that a brother to brother talk fit much better. Not saying there's never gonna be a confrontation, but we'll see… ;)

LenniluvsBrian - Well, thank you… and, uh, well Donnie sure seems to like her quite a bit. Whether or not that makes him a "poor guy" remains to be seen! ;) (And that's the most I'll give away about that!)

Lady Venom - Thank you! And, yes, I still have more chapters left. Probably more than a few, too! So glad you're enjoying this.

Mickis - Hehe… like I said, I really did contemplate that! Thanks for the review!

Reinbeauchaser - Wow! I'm speechless. Thank you so much for the reviews. You know how much they mean to me! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!

neosun7 - Thanks!

MetaJedi - Thank you.

Next chapter - Oh, the weather outside is frightful…