After the Power inside her Donnie had spent a long time ignoring the panic inside him from being torn to shreds and one day finally has a mental breakdown and either Leo or Raph finds him and comforts him. Not the most creative idea but a suggestion. :) – CharmGirlLove

This idea sounded great but there was just one thing I wanted to change because I kinda feel like Mikey is more in tune with emotions than the other two so I hope that's ok! I only changed it a little.

PTSD

It had been a month since April had defeated the crystal's control, a month since she had essentially killed Donatello.

Everyone had been on edge for the first couple of weeks but soon settled back into routine and there was one main reason for that.

Donatello assured them he was ok. That he didn't even remember it, and so everyone moved on.

But Michelangelo hadn't been convinced, there was something… panicked? About Donnie. He jumped at the slightest thing and always seemed lost in his own little world.

But he had promised he was ok.

So why wasn't Mikey surprised when he found his immediate older brother missing from the lair?

He sighed as he headed for the turnstiles, his brother always ventured topside if he felt panicky. He said something about wide open space and fresh air but Mike doesn't recall too well.

"Mikey?" Leonardo calls from behind, Mikey looks to see his two eldest brothers watching him. "Where are you going? It's the middle of the day"

Donnie's anxiety didn't care what time of day it was.

"I'm gonna go find Donnie" Mikey decides honesty was best for this. "I knew he wasn't totally fine, I could feel it!"

"He's gone out?" Raph asked sadly, he knew too well what that meant.

"Yeah" Mike nodded before heading out, he's not surprised his brothers are just a step behind him.

"Where would he have gone?" Leo asked, "He can't be out in the open right now"

"I-…" the youngest frowned, Leo had a point. "I'm not sure"

The three stopped in their tracks as they tried to think about where their genius could have gone, they tense when they hear footsteps echoing towards them.

They slide into the shadows and wait.

Donnie had been pacing through the sewer tunnels for hours now and he wasn't feeling any better. He desperately needed to get topside, it was the only way he knew to get his breathing back to normal. What was left of his logical side continuously told him that wasn't possible during the day which only made his anxiety heighten.

He let out a shuddering breath. Why was this bothering him so much? Why did he feel so terrified all the time? He'd only been gone for a few minutes if that! He was back, he was whole!

Only it didn't entirely feel like it.

There were moments. Tiny moments where he felt as if he were floating, high above the world looking at everything and nothing all at once.

These moments filled him with cold fear. He often felt like maybe this was all a dream, maybe he was still scattered. Existing and not at the same time.

He gasped for breath as his body trembled. He needed to stop thinking like this.

He needed to stop holding his breath every time he reached to touch something in fear of being some sort of ghost. He needed to stop forcing himself to keep his eyes open when trying to sleep in case closing his eyes was all he needed to wake up from this dream.

He desperately needed to stop thinking about death.

He felt like a zombie, even kept checking his pulse to make sure it was there.

He walked aimlessly down a tunnel, not even looking up.

He wandered but soon found himself stopping under a grate, he watched the light dance over his feet, up his legs and, over his body. His tired eyes looked up at the grate. This was as close as he was getting to fresh air.

He turned to face it fully and closed his eyes at the warmth of that small sliver of sun.

He tried to block out the thoughts of the warmth being his death, he tried to focus on his breathing. He tried to hide way from the cacophony of sounds spilling over him from above.

Suddenly his chest began to hurt. Was he being torn apart again?

His eyes shot open, his breathing had stopped.

He stared in horror. His breathing had stopped and yet he was still here.

He was dead, there was no other explanation.

He was back there. Spread across the sky in purgatory. One with the stars and clouds once again, his body felt numb and airy. He really was gone, never to return.

Then before he can accept this his three brothers are all up in his face.

They were snapping their fingers, pushing him, clapping their hands… saying something? He couldn't be sure as he watched them fuss in silent slow-motion, he shook his head numbly. What was wrong with him?

"DONNIE!" Mikey's voice bursts through his thoughts. There's a moment of silence as the yell echoes back at them.

Don blinked, finding he could kind of breath again but it sounded strange to his ears.

"Hey" Mikey tries, quieter this time. "You back?"

Don just nods, not trusting himself to speak. No point saying he was fine, they could clearly see he wasn't.

"Have you been topside?" Leo checks, Don shakes his head. "Right… good"

The brothers stand awkwardly, nobody knowing how to approach the situation.

"So… Anxiety's a bitch huh?" Mikey tries, his joke falls flat. He sighs. "Look D, we know you're not ok. Just tell us he truth"

"I'm not ok" Donnie admits in a soft, frail voice. His brothers look a little shocked. "I don't think I have been for a while"

"It's what April did to you" Raph states, anger in his voice. "It's been bothering you"

Don nods.

"Ok" Leo decides to take control. "We need to find out what exactly bothered you… Was it because it was April?"

Donnie frowned at him and scrunched his nose.

"Alright, it wasn't April herself…" Leo frowns. "So was it the monster?"

Again the frown stays.

"Right… I've been hoping it wasn't this but… it seems obvious that what's bothering you was…" Leo looks as if he doesn't want to say it. "When you… were scattered"

"Killed" Raph corrects, "Lets not sugar coat it. Donnie was killed"

Donnie shudders, the brothers watch him pityingly.

"It scared us too D" Mikey admits, "We thought we'd never see you again but we saved you! We got you back and it's been a month dude… what's to still be scared about?"

"What if bringing me back was the wrong thing to do?" Donnie asked quietly, the brothers gape.

"Wrong thing to do!?" Raph growled. "Wrong thing to do?! Killing you in the first place was wrong! You're still a kid Donnie! What, you think it was your time or something? The hell's the matter with you!?"

"No" Donnie shakes his head slowly. "I just… I feel like I'm still dead… I know it makes no sense but I still feel as if… as if I'm not entirely here, that all this is just some sort of dream or vision and I'm still just stuck in purgatory"

"You're alive" Leo insists, he grabs his brother's shoulder tightly. "You feel that? You are 100% alive and well!"

Donnie rolls his eyes.

"I know that… kinda? I don't know it just… I'm scared I'm not entirely back and that… I really am gone… like all I have to do is close my eyes and I'll lose all this forever" He tries to explain.

"PTSD Dude" Mikey nods in understanding. The brothers look at him in surprise. "C'mon guys, you don't have to be smart to know dying for a couple minutes causes PTSD! Especially what happened to Donnie! It was traumatising"

Leo shakes his head.

"We all figured you were ok… after all, you told us you were fine but I think Mikey's right" Leo sighs, "You really went through something and now you can't forget it… you're afraid of what you went through and you remember all too well how it felt"

"How do we fix that?" Raph asks immediately. "We know what wrong. What's the cure?"

The brothers look at one another. They weren't psychologists, they were 17 year olds, they didn't know what to do.

"We go to Splinter?" Leo asks more than tells. "He went though a traumatic experience, he must know something?"

"Either way" Mikey interrupts. "We're by your side Donnie. We're here, you are here! We'll work this out and fix this together, I promise!"

Donnie smiles gently at his little brothers promise.

Leo and Raph smile too.

"Ok" He agrees. "Lets go fix this"

Together the four brothers walk home, three of which kept a close protective eye on their genius. They didn't completely know everything Donatello had went through or entirely understand his feelings but they were willing to listen and try to help him best they could.

They wouldn't let PTSD take their brother from them.

I have another written but unfortunately I can't upload it until next weekend due to me not being entirely happy with it. All suggestions are welcome! xx