Fandom: TMNT 2003
Word Count: 5058
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: K
Characters: Donatello, Raphael, Ms. Morrison
Warning: NA
Summary: Raphael's been asking Donatello for advice on repairing things. The only problem is, they aren't the types of items that the turtles own. Curious as to what is going on, Donnie decides that his best course of action is to follow Raph and see what's going on. He didn't expect what he found, though.
Notes: I know nothing about repairing anything, really. Sorry for any inaccuracies.

Sanctuary

Something was up with Raphael. That was something Donatello was positive about.

The thing was, it wasn't something that necessarily would have caught anyone else's attention. He was still acting pretty much the same. He trained, roughhoused and teased with Mikey, argued—both friendly and not—with Leonardo, sat and watched a little TV with Master Splinter, helped April in her shop, went out to "bust heads" with Casey, and went off on his own, as he was wont to do. He even, as wasn't unusual, worked side-by-side with and helped Donatello with several of the projects in the garage. If Donnie was going to trust anyone with work on the Battleshell, it was always Raph.

So, as evidenced by the mental list Don was making, no one else would have noticed anything off with Raphael.

But Don did.

It started off small. It started off with Raphael asking him about how to do small things. Things like sealing windows or making sure that a normal door—something that they did, admittedly, lack in the lair—was square and closing well. Donatello didn't think too much about it. He just assumed that he was helping April with some basic repairs, and that Casey was too slammed at the garage he worked at to help out. And while Donnie had taught his brothers how to do quite a number of things, home repairs like that had never been on the list. They just hadn't been something that was needed. Basic carpentry, wiring, welding, plumbing, sewing, the sorts of things that generally went into getting homes like theirs livable were what he had focused on teaching them. He even went more in depth with certain things with certain brothers, like automotives with Raphael, forging and metal work with Leonardo, and wiring, coding, and basic tv and kitchen repair with Michelangelo, along with whatever else he could teach the orange banded turtle that would allow him to repair his own things and let Donnie focus on other stuff.

Funny how Mikey had the broadest set of knowledge among his brothers.

Donnie honestly didn't mind teaching his brother these things. He thought was good… and, selfishly, maybe a bit useful to him… for Raph to learn more about repairing things. He asked from everything from windows and doors, to hot water heaters, to washing machines, to toaster ovens, to ice makers, to gas ovens, to, currently, a heater.

It was the gas oven that really tipped Donatello off. He knew that April's oven was electric, not gas. In fact, except for the very rich, who thought it was trendy to cook with gas, most people in New York City had electric stoves and ovens. The only other ones who didn't were either historically accurate buildings, or buildings that were very, very old.

Donatello and Raphael were currently elbow deep in an old heater that one of them had scavenged from some junkyard somewhere. Donnie hadn't been intending to turn it into a lesson on how to repair heaters, but Raph had been interested when he had seen the old thing, and so Donnie had rolled with it. Although they weren't exactly cold-blooded, they weren't exactly warm-blooded either, instead some weird mix of the two thanks to their mutation. Because of that, a little extra heat in the winter was always a welcome thing. They had long ago learned to scavenger for heaters whenever they saw them, just to keep their lair a bit warmer. These days, if they had more than they needed, Don often fixed them up and then gave them to April to sell. She'd give him the money from whatever sells she managed to make on his stuff, which gave them a little money, at least.

"Okay, but this one's an electric heater, right, Don? How'd it be different from a gas one?"

Don paused in what he was doing and looked over at Raph. "…That is a very specific and somewhat unusual question, Raph, considering we use electric ones." He saw Raphael tense, and then he looked back down at the heater they were working on, shifting through the innards again. "With all the questions you've been asking me lately, I'm starting to wonder if you're trying to move out."

He gave his voice a bit of teasing lilt, hoping to put his brother at ease, or at least not to make him too suspicious. It only partially worked, as Raph had a tendency to be suspicious by nature anyway, especially when he was hiding something.

And Don was sure he was hiding something.

"Just thought you'd appreciate the helping hand," Raph said, turning a bit sulky. It was just an act, though. Donnie could see right through it, although he didn't let on.

Instead, he gave a rebuttal. "Which would be great," he said, "if you were actually helping out around the lair with what I've been teaching you." Don turned to look at him more fully. "But we don't have anything that runs on gas, aside from a camping stove we have just in case, and we don't have windows and doors to worry about. So, I have to wonder just what this is really about, Raphie."

He had hoped that the use of the childhood nickname might loosen his brother's tongue a little, but it didn't seem to work. Instead, Raphael grew defensive and a bit huffy.

"If yer not gonna teach me, then I'll figure it out on my own!" his brother snapped, pushing to his feet to quickly to be casual, and too slowly to be called "rocketing." He turned on his heel and left the garage, heading back down to the lair, and, if Don had to guess, to his punching bag.

Don looked back down at the heater thoughtfully, not at all phased by this reaction. It was one of the possibilities he had accounted for. Honestly, though, he wasn't too happy with the idea of Raphael, untrained in the ways of natural gas, messing around with anything that used it. He'd hoped to get more of an answer so that maybe he could help out a bit more. But if Raph wasn't going to give him one, then perhaps Donnie would just have to find it on his own.

He returned to working on the heater, his hands moving almost automatically as he ran through possible scenarios in his mind and made plans for what his next steps would be.

Like most evenings when there was nothing planned, everyone assumed that Donatello would be busy puttering away in his workshop, working on this project or that. There was also good chance that he would be in the garage above, if something up there needed working on. And sometimes, every once in a while, he would go out scavenging alone. Ninety-five percent of the time, someone would go with him, but there were times when he went alone, usually when he was going to look for more of the delicate things that he would need.

While most of the time his brothers didn't mind going to the junkyards with him, as there was usually plenty to find and enough to keep even Mikey entertained, the trips for specific electronic parts were not particularly enjoyable for his brothers. Mikey would quickly grow bored and fidgety, trying not to accidentally hurt anything useful. Raphael would be somewhat useful, as he had an eye for things that could be useful, but his eyes would glaze over at some point, the components that Don was looking for all starting to look alike to him. Leonardo was probably the most useful, his attention to detail making him pretty effective as far as looking for particular items, but he was also pretty bad at noticing what might potentially be useful.

So. Don usually made those trips alone. Which also made them great cover.

Don emerged from his workshop, duffle bag in hand, slinging it across his chest as he made his way towards the door of the lair. Naturally, this caught the attention of the others, even if they didn't stop what they were doing. Mikey glanced up from his game of Mario Kart. Leo, although he didn't pause in his kata practice, did look his way for a moment. Raph, giving his punching bag a good beating, glanced up at him, too.

"Going somewhere, Don?" Leo asked as he continued working through the forms.

"Just need to go get a few things," he said. "I'm short on some of the wiring I need for this project, and the motherboard I have isn't in as good of shape as I hoped it would be. I think I can repair it, if I can use pieces from other motherboards, but I'd really rather just find one in better shape."

Mikey had already turned back to his game, clearly not wanting to be asked to go with Don on his trip. That was fine by Donatello. He didn't want company tonight.

"Do you want someone to go with you?" Leo asked as he entered the final steps of his kata.

"No, that's okay," Don said, waving it off. "Those dumpsters and junkyard are generally safer than the ones we go typically go to, and I've got my bo, some shuriken, and my shell cell. Hopefully it won't take too long, and if I lose track of time, you can always call me."

Leo had reached the end of his kata now and turned to look at Don. "If you're sure," he said.

"I am," Don responded. "Don't worry, Leo, I'll be safe."

"I know," Leo said. "But still. Just be careful, alright?"

"As careful as I can while getting the components I need," Don said, with a wave of his hand as he started back through the door.

Leo pulled a face. "That's what I'm worried about," he said, part teasing, part admonishment. "Don't get too lost in your search!"

"I'll be fine!" he said with a wave as he headed out the door.

He didn't miss the look of opportunistic planning that crossed Raphael's face, no matter how quick his brother was to cover it up and continue punching as if he hadn't ever thought about doing anything else.

Donatello was, as his brothers would attest, a patient turtle. He was also an observant one and knew his brothers' habits well. So, after implementing a program on the shell cells that would make it look like he was at the dumpsters he had been claiming on going through, he settled into the garage and waited. It only took one hour and thirty-seven minutes before what he thought was going to happen, happened.

The elevator into the garage came up, opening, and Raphael stepped out. He, as they always did, took a sweep of the garage before moving into it. Don had made sure to hide himself deep in the shadows, to reduce his presence to a minimum. Raphael had always been good at feeling when a threat was near, or when he was being watched. It was part of that protective nature of his. Fortunately, Donnie had always been exceptionally good at staying still and hidden, at making his presence as unobtrusive as possible. That worked in his favor now, as he watched Raphael head over to the workbench, picking up a spare bag on the way, and putting several tools inside of it. Donatello recognized them right away as the same tools he had been using to repair the heater, which was exactly what he had been expecting.

Once he was satisfied with the tools he had gathered, Raphael headed out of the garage. He didn't take the bike, and he didn't have the same look on his face that he did when he was getting ready to meet Casey. Don wasn't sure what it was, but he did know that he was going to find out. Silently, he swung out of his hiding place, stopping only to pick up a couple of more tools. If Raph was going to be working on a gas heater, then there were a couple of things that he was going to need that Don hadn't had the chance to show him.

Following Raphael was always a tricky game. He moved fast, typically, and sometimes seemingly erratically. You had to stay close to keep an eye on him and not lose where he was going. However, if you got too close, then you risked being seen and confronted, which was the exact opposite of what Donatello wanted tonight.

Fortunately, Don was a turtle of many talents, and that included tracking his brothers in less-conventional ways. Namely, by using the tracking on the shell cell and some night vision googles that had a setting attuned to himself and his brothers.

Don paused on a roof, taking a second to look around. This wasn't an area that was outside of their usual patrol areas, but it wasn't one that they went by a lot either. The neighborhoods here generally took care of themselves, to some degree, and didn't require as much intervention as other parts of the city, although it still wasn't what most humans would classify as a very "safe" area.

"Where are you going?" Don softly said to himself as he watched the tiny blip that was Raphael move on the screen.

Donatello followed Raphael for about fifteen more minutes, doing his best to make sure that he wasn't caught. Still, it became easier to follow him when the red-banded turtle narrowed his focus until he was in front of one old apartment building. It looked like it had been built fifty or sixty years ago, maybe longer. The front of it had been updated more than once, it looked, so that obscured the actual age of the building a bit. Raphael stared at it for a moment, quiet and still as he observed the street. Donatello stayed just as quiet and still, knowing that one move could alert his brother to his presence.

Finally, after a few minutes, Raphael made his way across the street, and down to street level in the alley. Not wanting to risk following him just yet, Donnie lowered a pair of goggles over his eyes, zooming in on his brother. To Donatello's surprise, he knocked on the door and waited. Within just a few moments, the door opened to reveal an elderly lady. She and Raphael seemed to exchange a few words, both of them absolutely at ease. Raphael patted the bag he had, and the older lady clutched a wool shawl closer around her. Then she stepped back, Raphael entered, and the door shut.

Donatello took off his goggles and stared at the spot his brother had been in just a few minutes ago. Normally, he'd just leave after this. Yes, it was odd what Raph was doing, but there didn't seem to be any harm in it, so he'd just tuck this into the back of his mind, leave it there, and go on about his business. However, with the possibility of a gas heater in the mix, he was a little more hesitant just to let it go. It only took him a moment of deliberation before he decided to head across the street himself. Maybe he could just peek in a window or something.

Carefully, with the ninja training developed over the past sixteen years of his life, Donatello snuck up on the home, careful to stay in the shadows. He could hear his brother's voice, as well as the older woman's. It was a bit difficult to make out the words, but everything sounded friendly enough. Moving closer, he kept himself just below the window, hoping to at least hear what was happening, and pick the right time to look in. He heard the clanking of tools being laid out on a floor, and the sound of feet moving about. Raphael seemed to be saying something about a heater, and the woman was saying something about it being trouble and…tea? Donnie wasn't sure about that part, but it seemed to get the two of them out of the room they were in. Don decided to risk it and peeked up.

The room was empty, which was Don's first concern. The second was looking at the heater that he could see across the room. It was an older style one, which fit with the time period he estimated this building was constructed during. It was also gas, which, again, fit. But it had Donnie blanching as he looked at it. He had instructed Raph on modern electric heaters. And while Raph was pretty intuitive about a lot of mechanical things, heaters were notoriously tricky things. Adding gas on top of that was also a problem. It also made Don worry about the instruction on the stove and hot water heater, and maybe even the dryer. All of those things could be run on gas as well. He'd need to find a way to get in there and double check the work, just in case, but how was he going to manag—

Before he could even finish the thought, there was a hand on his shoulder, the grip solid and hard enough to bruise, pulling him back and away from the window with enough force to throw him off balance. Of course, Don wasn't a ninja for nothing, and he twisted, turning as he fell back, using a well-practiced move to break the hold and tumble onto his feet, bo at the ready.

"Donnie?"

Raph's surprised voice broke the battle-ready tension, and Donnie found himself relaxing from it. He could tell, too, that Raphael, who had before been geared up to fight, had now dropped that stance and was, instead, staring at his brother.

Don straightened up. "Um, hey, Raph," he said, a bit sheepishly.

Raphael skewered him with a look. "Don. What the shell are ya doing here and why were ya creepin' around the window?"

"Um…"

Before Don could even try to come up with a reasonable explanation, a new voice—or at least new to Donatello—rang out in the dark.

"Raphael? Dear, what is it? Are you alright?"

Raph immediately turned at it. "Yeah, yeah, it's all good Ms. M. It's just—well, it turned out to be one of my brothers."

"Oh?" Donatello could see the old woman standing at the door, turned towards Raphael. "Well, why don't you invite him in. It wouldn't do to leave him outside in the cold."

"Yes, ma'am," Raphael said, his voice relaxed and respectful in a way that Donatello didn't often hear. He shot a look at Donnie that was neither but gestured for him to come in anyway.

It seemed a bit odd to Donnie to just willingly follow Raphael into this random woman's home, but Don trusted his brother. If there was something dangerous, or even the least bit sketchy, there was no way he'd be willingly leading Donatello into it. Or, at least, he wouldn't be leading him into it in such a relaxed manner. He was sure he'd get an explanation from Raph soon enough.

He stepped through the door and into what seemed to be a quintessential old woman's house. The furniture was older, worn, but still cared for. The decorations were a bit dated, but they seemed to be in fairly good condition. There was an older television and radio, and a hutch full of matching dishes.

"Hello, there," the woman, Ms. M, Donatello assumed, said reaching out a hand towards him. Don had a mild panic as he tried to figure out what to do. "I'm Ms. Morrison. Please, dear, won't you take my hand? I won't know where you are until you do. I'm blind, you see."

Several things clicked at once in Donatello's head, and he obligingly reached to take Ms. Morrison's hand. "Oh, yes ma'am," he said, letting her hold onto him, and wondering what she thought about that. After all, even blind, she had to be able to feel the oddly formed hands and unfamiliar skin. Still, she didn't seem to blink twice at it, metaphorically speaking. "I'm Donatello."

"Donatello. What a lovely name. Why don't you come into the kitchen, Donatello, and tell us what you're doing here. Raphael, can you fix your brother a cup of tea?" Ms. Morrison said.

"Yes, ma'am," Raphael said. "I'm kinda interested myself in knowin' what he's doin' here."

The look he shot Don spoke volumes and Don tried to shoot him a sheepish look back even as Ms. Morrison was leading him into the kitchen. It didn't seem to help matters any.

Ms. Morrison led him to a table, and Donatello made sure that she was seated before he sat down. Raphael was already at the stove, pouring some hot water into a cup and adding in a tea bag.

"Now, dear, why don't you tell us what you were doing outside?" Ms. Morrison said.

Don grimaced. "Ah, well, it's, um… it's a little complicated," he began.

"What's complicated about it?" Raph said, sitting a cup and saucer down in front of Donnie. "Ya followed me here," he said. "I thought ya were 'electronics shoppin'.' Did Leo put ya up to this?"

"Electronics shopping?" Ms. Morrison said. "At this hour?"

"It's, um, a bit of specialty place I shop in," Donatello said. "It keeps odd hours for customers like me. And no," Don said, turning an annoyed gaze on Raphael, "Leo did not put me up to this. He didn't put me up to anything. As far as everyone else knows, I am 'electronics shopping'."

"Then what the—what in the world are ya doin' here?" Raph said. "Followin' me and spyin' on me like… like I'm off getting myself into trouble or somethin'!"

"To be fair, you do get yourself into trouble a lot," Donatello said without even thinking, "But no, I didn't think you were getting yourself into that kind of trouble."

"Then what kind did ya think I was gettin' into!" Raphael practically exploded.

"Boys!" Ms. Morrison's voice cut through the tension, and almost immediately, they both backed down. "Raphael," she chided him. "At least hear your brother out. He might have a perfectly good reason for following you. And Donatello," Don straightened in his seat. "Go a bit easier on Raphael. I don't know what kind of trouble you think he's gotten himself into before, but he's a good boy, very helpful, and good company to an old woman like myself."

Don was a little surprised at the defense, but he, like Raphael, responded with a respectful "Yes, ma'am" before continuing with his explanation.

"I followed you because I was concerned," Donatello explained, his voice going back to a soft, almost apologetic tone as he looked at his tea. "You've been asking me a lot of questions about repairing things lately. At first, I thought that you were helping April, one of our friends," he explained to Ms. Morrison as an aside, "because Casey's been busy lately, or maybe you were just trying to learn more to help me out, which I appreciate, but I got suspicious when you started asking me about gas appliances. We don't have any, or if we did, I've converted them over to electric at this point, and April doesn't have any either." He looked back up at Raph. "The heater today was just confirmation that something was going on, and you left before I could answer your question. Knowing how tricky working with gas can be if you don't do it right, and not knowing the state of the appliance you were working with, well… I was worried."

"So, ya followed me," Raph said flatly.

Donnie raised his chin and looked his brother in the eyes. "I did," he said. "I didn't want to intrude if it wasn't necessary, so I planned to keep my distance. And, provided it wasn't anything dangerous, I wasn't going to tell Leo or Mikey. I just wanted to make sure that you were working safely with whatever it was that you were working with. If it was, I was just going to walk away and keep it to myself." He glanced around the house, and at Ms. Morrison. "For the record, I don't see a reason to tell them anything even now."

Donatello saw Raphael relax a little at that, and Don knew that he had made the right call. Whatever this was, it was important to Raphael to keep it his and his alone.

"Ah, I see," Ms. Morrison said, although her lips turned up a bit at her phrasing, clearly a bit amused. Raphael finally sat down, and Donatello watched as a white cat jumped up on him, clearly comfortable. "You were asking your brother about repairing my things. What a thoughtful boy you are, Raphael. And your brother just wanted to make sure that you were being safe. What I don't understand is why you didn't just invite him over to help. I wouldn't have minded."

Don blinked, for a moment wondering if he was imagining it, but no, he wasn't. Raphael was looking embarrassed. "I, uh, I haven't exactly told anyone about me coming over here so often," he said. "I… it's just nice, ya know? Bein' able to come here and talk ta ya and help out. I just… I wanted to keep that." He sort of mumbled the last part, but they heard it anyway.

"That's right," Ms. Morrison said. "You have four brothers, don't you? And are being raised by your father. I'd imagine that privacy and things that are just yours are hard to come by."

Both Donatello and Raphael laughed lightly at that.

"You're right, Ms. M," Raph said.

"I don't think there's ever been a time when we weren't in each other's space or business somehow," Don said. "And someone has always borrowed someone's something to do something it wasn't intended to do."

"Especially Mikey," Raphael said.

"Especially Mikey," Donatello agreed.

Ms. Morrison chuckled at them. "Well, then I'm glad that I was able to give you that space, Raphael. And it seems as if Donatello is willing to let you have it as well."

"Sure," Don said. "Like I said, I was just going to walk away, if everything was fine."

Raph looked at him for a moment, then gently elbowed him in the side. "Well, boy genius?" he said. "Is everythin' alright?"

Don grinned at him. "Well… not exactly. I brought some more tools with me that might be more useful than the ones that you took."

Raph's eyes narrowed. "Wait, just how long were ya watchin' me?"

Don's grin turned cheeky. "Long enough to draw up new blueprints in my head for some modifications I want to do to the Battleshell."

"You are one sneaking tu—teenager, Don." Raph said, catching himself just before he said "turtle."

"Of course," Don rebutted. "You don't think you're the only one that sneaks out, do you?"

They both grinned at each other, and Ms. Morrison chuckled.

Raph finished off his tea, and then stood up. "Alright, Brainiac, since yer here, why don't ya walk me through fixin' this heater?"

Don smiled at him, a genuine one, and stood as well. "Sure thing, Raph. Ms. Morrison. Would you mind if I give Raphael a hand?"

"Of course not," she said. "Its good boys like you two that give me hope for the future."

They walked with Ms. Morrison back to the living room where the heater was located, the cat, who Donnie found out was named Lucy after she crawled on his shell when he and Raph were working, walking with them. Then the two brothers got to work, Raph taking on the main bulk of it while Donnie walked him through the process, teaching as he went. As he expected, Raphael caught on quickly and had an intuitive knowledge about it, his practiced hands in the garage translating over nicely to work like this. It didn't take them more than an hour to get the heater back up and running and for Raphael to look satisfied with what he had done. Don could have had it fixed in a fraction of the time, sure, but he didn't mind spending the hour with his brother, helping him learn, and found that Raph's expression was well worth the extra time.

Afterward, he checked over Raphael's other work wanting to make sure that anything with gas was properly installed and repaired. Most of it was good work, and Don made sure to let Raph know that. The only "fixes" he really made were more of adjustments that he knew would help in the long run, and those he had learned from experience.

Ms. Morrison fed them some cookies before they left, and thanked the both of them once again, telling Raphael that she looked forward to his next visit, and telling Donatello that she hoped she'd hear from him again at some point.

"Yeah... I might bring him around every once in a while," Raph said, and Don couldn't help the warm feeling that grew in him, knowing that Raphael was willing letting him into a sanctuary that he had.

As the two brothers walked away, Raph slung an arm around Donnie's shoulders. "Ya know… there's probably still a couple of hours left before Leo tries to call ya to make sure you're alright. That'd be enough time to get at least a little of your shoppin' done, won't it?"

Don turned his head to look at his brother and grinned. "Why, Raphael, are you volunteering to come 'electronics shopping' with me?"

Raph's arm moved up, giving Don a light noogie. "Only for a little bit," he said. "At least until Fearless can't stand that both of us are out, even if he'll let us stay out longer if we're together."

"Hm. Pushing Leo to the edge and getting hard to find components. Sounds like a win-win to me," Donnie said with a grin.

Raph grinned back at him and his not oft seen display of pushing back on Leonardo, and headed up towards the rooftops. Don followed him quickly, and both brothers took off, a little lighter in mind and spirit as they ran alongside each other.