A/N: Remember "talking" and thinking.
Chapter 2It was late, Leo knew that, but he wasn't about to leave Don alone. Mikey and Raph had long since gone to bed, but Leo knew that he wouldn't sleep even if he tried so he stayed up watching over his brother. He didn't have to take this watch, but he had volunteered anyway.
Donnie, what happened to you? Why did you just collapse like that? Please be ok bro. You have to come back to us. You're a voice of sanity. Someone to help balance Raph and Mike! What would I do without you? Come on Don, wake up. You have to come back. Leonardo silently sat beside his brother's bed. Slowly, he reached out and took his brother's hand. The physical contact was more than just to assure Don that he was there for him. Leo needed the contact to prove to himself that his brother was still alive.
"Leo?" Don asked from his place on the bed. The voice was little more than a whisper, but it was more than enough for Leo to hear and his heart leapt at the quiet word. "Leo, what are you talking about?"
All Leonardo could do was look at his brother in concern. He was ecstatic that Donnie was awake, but his question was more than disconcerting. The amount of energy it seemed to take for Don to talk was also worrisome. What is he talking about? I didn't say anything.
"You didn't?"
"Didn't what?" Leo managed through his fear. He was afraid for his brother. Something was seriously wrong. Though these were the first words he had spoken since Don had woken up, Don seemed to think that they were already having a conversation.
"Say anything."
"No, I didn't say anything, what did you hear?" Oh, Don, what's going on here? Come on bro, I need you to snap out of this!
"AAH! Leo! What are you… Leo, I don't… Please don't do that." Don put his hands over his ears to try to drown out the noise. It sounded like Leo was saying two very different things at once.
"Do what?" What did I do, Donnie, you have to drop me a clue here, what's going on?
"Leo, please, don't. It's too loud. I don't know what's going on, Leo." Donatello was very close to panicking, but was so far holding himself in check.
Leo froze a moment he couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't do anymore than stand there in shock. There was something about the tone Donnie had used. What…? Is he… There's no way… Don, can you hear me now?
"Yes," Don replied. "Why?" He was looking at Leo a little oddly, as though he had just asked an odd question.
Oh shell, he's reading my thoughts!
"Leo, that's im"
Don't you dare say that it's impossible! Because you know I am no ventriloquist! And I am quite sure that I know the difference between thinking and speaking!
"possi…probable," Donatello corrected staring at his brother in shock. He knew this was impossible, but how do you argue with it when it's staring you in the face? "Leo, what's going on here?" Slowly, he moved so he was sitting up and hugging his knees against his chest.
"I don't know, Don, I jut don't know." Other than you're reading my thoughts and this is insane! You better not be messing with me Don or so help me…
"I'm not messing with you, Leo." Again Donnie's voice was barely more than a whisper.
Oh Shell, he heard me.
"Please stop thinking."
Shellshellshellshellshell… Leo was panicking, he knew it, but he wasn't sure how to stop it. This was not what he had expected, though he wasn't sure what he had expected. Don wasn't supposed to wake up with telepathy. Shellshellshellshellshell…
"LEO!" Donatello had his hands over his ears as if it might help. Nothing could drown out Leo's too fast mantra.
Hearing his name shouted snapped Leo out of his panic. "What, Donnie?"
"Why don't you go get some sleep or something, bro? I'll be able to rest better if you're not here." Donatello suggested. He didn't really want Leo to go. He wanted his brother nearby, but Leo was just making too much noise right now. Everything was too jumbled.
But what if…How am I supposed to leave you like this?
"No choice."
Shoot, he did it again.
"If I knew how to turn it off I would, but I don't, so I can't." Donatello's voice cracked when he spoke. He was truly sorry. He didn't want to hear Leo's thoughts anymore than Leo wanted his thoughts heard.
Leonardo decided to try another tactic. He was still a little panicked, but he pulled it together enough to think semi-coherently. "Don, you should get some sleep."
"I can't. Not as long as you keep thinking." Don raised his voice just a little. With as tired as he was, it wasn't all that loud though.
I can't leave you like this…
"Then try meditating or something." Donnie suggested. He hadn't been looking at Leo and wasn't sure if he had responded to a statement or a thought.
Shell…
"…He did it again, I know. Please, Leo." Evidently it had been a thought.
He looks exhausted.
"He feels exhausted." Don's tone was exasperated. There was little that he had ever wanted as much as he wanted Leo quiet right now. And Leo wasn't about to quiet down, so the next best thing was for Leo to be gone.
"Ok, I'll meditate." Leonardo finally agreed. Or I'll try. How am I going to clear my mind of this one!
Don couldn't help but wish him luck with that one. He knew his brother worried, but this was a little extreme. He could still hear his brother's worries, and he couldn't sleep because of them.
"Hey, Leo, would you please go get Master Splinter?"
Why didn't I think of that! Splinter will know what to do! Great idea! "Good idea, Don."
When Leo finally moved out of range Don felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. He hated being inside his brother's head, and it was nice just to have his own thoughts again.
"Yeah, I know, you already told me once." Leo wasn't there to hear the comment, but Don said it out loud anyway. As worried as his brother was, it was nothing compared to what Don himself was feeling.
Leo had been rather distressed when he had awoken Splinter to tell him that Don was conscious. The turtle had been sent to his room until Splinter completed his talk with Donatello. At least that had been the idea. By the time he arrived in his son's room Donnie was sound asleep. Knowing the rest was well needed, he left the turtle in peace. Instead of waking him Splinter went to find Leonardo.
"Leonardo, my son, can you tell me more about your conversation with Donatello?"
"It wasn't really a conversation, Sensei. It was…" Leo was fidgeting, wringing his hands and trying to rid himself of his conflicted thoughts.
"Something troubles you, my son."
"I guess… It's just that, I don't know. I've never been truly scared of one of my brothers before, Master Splinter, certainly not Don, especially not Don." Leo admitted sadly, looking at the floor.
"What has your brother done to you?"
The question made Leonardo stop and think. Don hadn't actually done anything to frighten him. As usual Master Splinter had read between the lines and found the real problem that lay beneath the surface.
"I thought that might be the case." Splinter said of Leo's silence. "What are you truly afraid of Leonardo? Is it Donatello, or is it something else."
"II don't know, Sensei. I guess I am afraid of what's going to happen to him. Afraid of what caused this, and afraid of what's going to happen to the rest of us."
"How do you mean?" Splinter's voice was calm, soothing, though deep down inside he was just as worried for his family as his son was.
"I'm not sure, Sensei, at least not yet."
Splinter nodded. No other conversation was necessary. Leonardo was sent to bed, but only agreed after Splinter said that he would be staying up to see of Donatello woke again.
Leonardo couldn't sleep, so instead he tried meditating. He had more trouble clearing his mind than he usually did, but he wasn't surprised by that either. Finally, he made it into the state he sought.
"Huh? Leo?"
"Donnie?" Leonardo couldn't help but wonder what his brother was doing here, or where exactly they were for that matter. "Where are we?"
Donatello took a few moments to look around. "If I had to guess, I would say we're in your mind."
"My mind?" Leonardo followed Don's gaze around the dark, empty room. The room wasn't ominous as it could have been. It was just there, almost as though it were waiting for something. Ok, yeah, maybe this was his mind. If so, how did Don get there?
"Yeah, definitely your mind, mine's much more chaotic than this right now. Actually, mine's more chaotic than this most of the time. Wow Leo, there's nothing out of place!"
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm meditating right now, and that is the point of the exercise, Don." Leo kept wondering how his brother got here.
"I think I'm sleeping. Any ideas how I got inside your head again? I've been in your head since I woke up. All I want is to be in my own head, and alone there. Is that really too much to ask?" With each successive sentence Donatello's voice got louder and his gestures larger.
Leonardo realized two things. 1. Donatello could not read his thoughts in this place, at least not thoughts that Leo didn't want read and 2. His brother was more scared than he let on. Oh, and one more thing. The look on Don's face was a little too reminiscent of Raphael. "Hey, Donnie, I'd appreciate it if you don't trash my mind while you're here." He was careful to keep his tone light but the effect his words had on his brother was devastating. He watched as a dam cracked and everything just spilled out of Don, and it wasn't the anger he had expected.
Donatello dropped to his knees, unable to stand anymore. "Leo, I'm scared, scared like I have never been in my entire life. I don't understand how this is happening. I don't know how to stop it, and worst of all I don't know how to turn it off! Leo, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to read your mind. I didn't even know I was doing it."
Leonardo watched as his brother fell to the floor and practically begged for forgiveness. In that moment Leo couldn't believe that he had been afraid of Donnie even for a moment. Leo rushed to the center of the space where Don knelt with his head in his hands. If Leo didn't know better he'd say that his quiet brother was crying. "Shh, it will all work out. You'll learn to control this." His brother looked up at him obviously unsure about the truth of that statement.
The next thing Leo knew he was back in his room sitting on his meditation mat. He leapt to his feet and went in search of Splinter.
"Sensei," Leo called out as he burst into Master Splinter's quarters. "Don needs you. He's in a bad place, please. Even if he's asleep, wake him up. He needs to talk."
Splinter gave Leonardo a strange look, but finally nodded to the turtle. He knew that none of his sons would insist on something like this without a very good reason.
A/N: I promise a little action for the other guys in the upcoming chapters.