Chapter 3 - Always Learning

Raphael stretched his arms above his head as he walked. He grimaced at the tension there, and walked into the kitchen.

"Morning." He said as he walked to the fridge and retrieved the carton of orange juice.

"Mornin'." Mike replied, then went back to his cereal. Leo simply nodded his greeting. Raph wrinkled his nose slightly. Leo hadn't said one thing to him, (besides barking orders during practice, that is) since their little confrontation a few nights ago.

Shrugging slightly, Raph raised the carton to his mouth and began drinking. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Leo wrinkle is nose slightly in distaste. Raph grinned slightly; he had his attention.

"Someone gonna wake Donnie?" He asked, leaning in to put the juice away, and wiping his hand across his mouth.

Mike froze then, and Leo glanced at him over the paper.

Don, who'd usually been one of the earliest risers, had taken to sleeping in; most times, until one of them went and woke him up.

Mikey hated doing that, mostly because of the nightmares. More often than not, Don would be in the midst of a nightmare, and would have to be awakened from it. Mikey…didn't deal well with that.

Raph sighed, straitening up. He glanced at Leo, who quickly looked back to his paper.

"Don't worry." Raph said, his voice containing a hint of annoyance. "I'll go… again."

He left the kitchen, and began making his way to his brother's room. His steps slowed. He wasn't really mad at having to do this, he really wasn't. He just wished the others would do it, too. His mind drifted immediately to Leo. He felt his anger flare up suddenly, but he shook his head, pushing it back.

Coming to a stop before Don's door, Raph listened intently to hear if there was any indication that his brother was awake.

Listening to the silence for a moment later, Raph decided to enter the room. He walked in, and stopped short in the doorway.

He opened his mouth to greet his brother, but shut it just as quickly.

Don was awake, and sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring at the far corner of his room.

After a moment of this, Raph finally decided to move, albeit carefully.

He walked over to Don's bed and sat in the chair next to it. A sudden memory of the constant vigil they'd kept as he lay unconscious raced through his mind, making his heart ache, and he closed his eyes for a few moments, gathering his thoughts.

Upon reopening them, he glanced at his brother, only to find that he hadn't yet moved.

He followed Don's gaze, only to see… nothing? He squinted a bit harder, and leaned forward a bit in his chair.

"Donnie, I…" He began, then stopped. Oh.

Don's bo sat, leaning in the corner of the room. It hadn't been touched… Not since Raph himself had carried it into the room after that last battle.

Raph sighed heavily. "Donnie…"

"I… w-was good at… at that, once, Raph." Don said, softly, his eyes never leaving the discarded weapon.

"You still can be." Raph said, just as softly.

Don shook his head insistently. "No-Not anymore."

Raph moved to the bed. "You can come back to practice with us…"

"No!" Don shook his head frantically, his eyes widening in horror. Raph put a hand on Don's shoulder.

"It's okay. It's okay." He said. "You don't have to."

"I… I know." Don said.

They sat in silence a few more minutes longer, until suddenly, Don spoke again.

"I… never th-thought… I'd miss that th-thing." He admitted quietly.

Raph looked from Don to the bo. "What, your bo?"

Don nodded. "Some-Sometimes, I re-really, not liked that th-thing."

Raph grinned. "I know, buddy…"

"Bu-But," Don went on. "I never… never wanted to sto-… quit like th-this." He finished quietly, looking back down at the bedspread.

Raphael felt sudden pin pricks in his eyes, and blinked them away quickly. It wasn't fair. Don should've been able to stop when he wanted to. He should have been able to stop, and invent anything he wanted… all day, everyday.

Sudden anger surged through Raph's veins, and he clenched his hands into fists. He wanted to go after them… he wanted to make them pay. Pay as much as they had to; as much as Donnie did.

He stood, not even sure of what he was going to do. He just knew that he had to do something.

He'd taken two steps towards the door when Don's voice stopped him.

"Raph."

It was the clearest and boldest that his brother had spoken in months. It made Raph turn and stare at his brother incredulously.

"D-Don't." Don said, shaking his head, his voice back to being soft and unsure.

Raph opened his mouth, but Don beat him to it. "Don't go. Don't make it wo-worse."

"But they deserve it! Look what they did to ya, Donnie!!" Raph burst out, his arms moving with his words and his anger. Then, his words sunk in, and he stopped.

It was quiet for a moment, before Don began speaking, not moving his gaze from the bedspread.

"You… you think I'm not… not angry?" He began, and his voice wavered. "But vio… vi-…" He stopped, furrowing his brow, and Raph could've cried at the frustrated expression on his brother's face right then.

"… hurting them," Don continued, giving up his mental search for the word. "Wo-won't make better what they did to… to me."

Raph looked at Don. "Yeah, but…"

"No." Don said forcefully. "They m-might be b-bad… but they might have fam…ilies. Kids." Don shook his head.

Raph was struck by another immediate impulse to cry. He'd been doing that a lot lately, and it was beginning to bother him.

But Don's words… How could he be so forgiving to people who'd done this to him? Raph couldn't comprehend the ability his brother still held to do that. Still.

He sighed, his shoulders falling. "Donnie," He said finally, moving over to sit next to his brother. "You are a braver man than I." He said, putting a hand on Don's shoulder.

"But n-not sm-smarter… not anymore." Don said, pointing to his head.

Raph scoffed. "Listen, all that techie crap is still in there and floatin' around… and still confusin' me." He laughed softly.

Don grinned slightly, but there was a sadness behind it that rarely left anymore. "So-some of it's in… in there." He said. "But it wo-won't come out here." He pointed to his mouth.

"It will." Raph nodded resolutely. "Soon enough you'll be spoutin' off all over the place at us again." He trailed off as he spoke.

Don looked indecisive. "Or, I could be stu-stuck like this. Forever."

"Either way," Raph slung an arm around Don's shoulders. "You'll still be tellin' me what to do… Keepin' me outta trouble." He winked at his brother, who grinned.

"So-Someone has to." Don winked, a twinkle in his eye that rarely showed itself anymore.

Raph nodded, then hopped off the bed. "C'mon, bro. I'm starvin'; lets go see what's left for breakfast, huh?"

Don nodded, and took Raph's hand to help him off the bed.

"We-we're awful late." Don said as they made their way to the kitchen. "I ho- wish there's anything left." He paused for a second. "And that Mmmikey cooked."

Raph started laughing, and, soon enough, so did Don.

Author's Notes - I want to thank you all for the reviews, and the support. To be honest, yes, I was a bit worried posting this!! But I'm not anymore, thanks to all of you kind folks. Thank you again. And now, to answer your questions…

Is this the next part of What the Heart Wants?? No. This is a standalone story in it's own universe. : )

And, of course, Why Donnie?! Why Donnie? Well, let me say first off that Don always has been and always will be my favorite turtle. That being said, I think that, because I can relate to him so much and all, it is much easier to write something emotional concerning him. The injury is also more devastating to him than it would be to, say, Raph or Mikey or Leo. It's a real situation that, in their line of 'work', could most definitely happen. I wanted to take a look at what would happen if, as one of you said, one of the guys couldn't do what they were 'famous' for.

I have no grudge against Donnie, lol, that's not why I did this. It hurts me to write him like this as much as it does to read it, I suppose.

Thank you, again, for the kind words and support. The next chapter shall be coming soon!!