a/n: I've been coaxed into putting up the next chapter, despite it being my buffer... hopefully I'll be able to get the next one out soon, but I'm having a little trouble getting through the following chapter while juggling some other things. Thanks for your patience, my dears. :)

Like last time, this is just a preview... you can read the full version on Ao3 or AdultFanFiction.

Chapter 2 – Best Man For the Job

Donatello stood back and gave a nod of approval, looking over his handiwork. Over the course of a week, he had managed to put together a crisp, attractive and professional-looking website, advertising his new business. The header on the front page declared it proudly to be Renaissance Programming Solutions, an independent programming contractor for hire, available for coding, debugging, web-development and more. The front page sported a picture of a reasonably handsome young man in a suit, which Donnie had swiped somewhat randomly and a bit abashedly from a lineup of realtors' photos. He had set up ad banners in circles that were the likeliest to respond to his offered services. Kirby, approving of Don's enthusiasm and drive to support his daughter, had agreed to set up a bank account for the business and added April as a signer so she would be able to draw money out of it as well.

It had all been so simple, in the end, that Donnie had been on edge for days, waiting to run into some obstacle or other that hampered his progress in the least, but none had come, and he started to calm down and anxiously awaited his first contract. The worry that no orders would come was likewise unnerving—how would he be able to support April and the baby if no one contacted him?—but after four days, he was contacted by a company in Montana that needed their old database system updated to something more modern. Donnie accepted the job eagerly and dove into the project with fervor.

The coding, though time-consuming to construct, was really child's play for him. The challenge, it turned out, was keeping his brothers from interrupting him.

Leo leaned around the corner of the lab. "Hey, Donnie?"

"Yeah, Leo?" Don responded without looking up from the lines of code he was typing.

"Have you noticed the Shellraiser riding a little hard since the last teardown you did on it?"

Donnie sighed, eyes still on his screen. "I'll have a look at it later."

Leo nodded. "You coming out for training?"

"Yes, as long as I can get this done." The slight edge on Donnie's voice was enough to let Leo know that he was testing his brother's patience, and he withdrew without another word.

Fifteen minutes later, Raphael invaded the lab. "Hey, genius. When are you gonna get around to making me those new shuko spikes?"

"If you're missing them so much, you shouldn't have given yours to Frito."

"Come on, Donnie… Cav was gonna get that kid killed. Those grips probably saved his life."

Donnie nodded. He, too, would have hated to see anything happen to the young raccoon mutant. Raph's sacrifice had been straight from the heart, but it was a critical piece of a ninja's gear, and Raphael, who liked clinging to the sides of buildings, was clearly missing his. "I'll get to them when I can, but I'll need to forage around one of the scrap yards to find a good piece of iron rebar."

"When're you planning on going?" Raph pressed.

"I don't know. Look, I'm trying to focus on this…"

"Yeah, fine, whatever. Nerd…" Raph jabbed as a parting shot on his way out.

Donnie had about twenty minutes of uninterrupted silence to work in before Mikey crashed in on his skateboard. "Donnie! Come sewer-boarding with me!"

Don's hands went up to clutch his head in irritation. "Mikey, I'm working. I don't have time to goof around with you right now."

Mikey whined dejectedly. "But Donnie, I'm bored! And you've been at this for, like, an hour! You can take a break and have some fun…" He suddenly cowered under the fiery glare his older brother gave him. Donnie's temper had reached the end of its fuse. He stood and spun Mikey around, then with one hand on his carapace, shoved the younger turtle out the lab door. "I'm sorry, Donnie… I just—" Mikey tried to apologize for somehow offending Donatello, missing the real source of his anger.

"Everybody get over here, NOW!" Donnie demanded, making Leo and Raph exchange a stunned glance. Donatello waited until they gathered in front of him before he started lecturing. "I am officially working, you guys. This isn't just messing around, it isn't something I can put off until later, and it's something I need concentration for. What I don't need is people coming in to bother me about skateboarding, or shuko spikes, or how the Shellraiser is running!"

"We asked you a couple simple questions, and you're biting our heads off about it," Leonardo rebuffed.

"It's still an interruption! Every time one of you comes in to pester me, I lose the whole train of thought I was working on constructing. I'm trying to cram eight hours of productivity into the only six hours in the day I can afford, when I'm not training or going on patrol or making retro-mutagen. Right now, this is my top priority: making money to support April and the baby."

"The baby's not even going to be born for at least six months," Raph grumped. "Not like April needs the money right now…"

"Not immediately, but there are all sorts of appointments and scans and things April needs to have while she's pregnant, and apparently the prenatal and neonatal care are really expensive, and not wholly covered by Kirby's insurance, meaning, I have to earn and save as much as I can to make sure all the expenses get covered."

"With all due respect, Donnie, you're a ninja, first and foremost. What could be more important than training?"

Mikey likewise interjected, "What could be more important than skateboarding?"

His brothers all blinked at him. "Um, a lot of things, Mikey," Raph sighed at him. "Like making sure every ninja on the team has all their gear," he added meaningfully.

"AND that the vehicles are in proper working order," Leo added.

"I'll get to all of that when I can, but my point is, not right now. I need to focus on my work, and I need you guys to leave me alone while I'm working, and that means no coming in to talk with me, no knocking on the door, and no skateboarding or otherwise coming in to play in my lab. We clear?"

After a second of silence, Donnie's three brothers all broke into a series of complaints against him, which were suddenly and immediately silenced by the stoic presence of Master Splinter among them. "Your brother is attempting to accommodate all he can for us all as he tries to balance the new challenges in life that he is faced with. He does not need your complaints, which only add to his burden, but your support. He makes a small request of you. Think of all the things Donatello has done for us, and then consider if you would deny him the solitude he requires to provide for his new family."

Leo, Mikey and Raph all looked slightly ashamed of themselves. "Sorry, Donnie. We'll leave you alone," Raph stated abashedly, and scooted off.

"Yeah," Leo echoed. "And, ya know… don't worry about working on the Shellraiser… It can wait. And if you need to bow out of patrol in the evening or anything…"

Don nodded. "Thanks, Leo, but it's okay. Like I said, I'll get to it," he said, shooing the leader off.

Mikey gave him an apologetic look with raised eyebrows. "Sewer-boarding later?"

Donnie gave him a wearied smile. "Maybe this evening." He turned to reenter his lab as Mikey rolled off on his skateboard, but paused as Splinter made no move to leave. "Sensei?"

The aged ninjutsu master laid a hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Do not overburden yourself, my son. One who chases two hares will not catch either."

Donnie pondered over his sensei's wisdom for a moment. "Yeah… um… I will consider that, but right now I need to get back to work…"

Splinter shook his head. "You have good intentions toward us all, but do not allow them to cause yourself harm." He bowed to Donatello, who returned the gesture.

As Splinter returned to his chambers, Donnie bustled back into his lab, shutting the door behind him with a stressed-out sigh. He once again began typing out lines of code, when, minutes later, the timer he had set next to the centrifuge let out a pert "ding!" Don's forehead thunked against the desk. "Et tu, centrifuge?"

A shocked Casey Jones sprayed a mouthful of soda in Donnie's direction. Don raised an arm to deflect part of the spray. "April is pregnant?" He paused, considering. "I guess that explains the sudden crying…"

Donnie shrugged, looking down to the alley from their perch atop the fortune cookie factory, scanning for any Purple Dragon activity in the vicinity. The turtles hadn't seen any movement from the group in weeks; they were due. And yet, nothing, so their patrol had wound down to just sitting, watching from their outpost.

"She was legitimately upset about our breakup, though," Don told him. "She said she was going to try to tell you she was… you know… with child, but she couldn't do it. She was scared."

"Scared?"

"Of how you'd react… that you'd drop her too as soon as you found out."

Casey glared accusationally at the turtle. "I wouldn't've done that! April's… She's too good a friend. I mean, obviously it's not me she's interested in, never really has been, but she's still one of the nicest people I've ever known, and if she needed me, I'd be there for her, no matter what!"

Donnie quirked a sideways smile at him. "I'm glad. She may need you at her side when I can't be there. I'm given to believe teen pregnancies get treated to some pretty harsh gossip and ridicule."

"No matter what," the vigilante reiterated, emphasizing each word proudly.

"They're gonna think you're the father, you realize…"

Casey shrugged nonchalantly. "Let 'em think. It's a lot tamer than the truth." He drew himself up proudly. "Once we're out of school, I'll even marry her." He took a long swig of his soda.

"Dream on, Casey-nova! The position of fiancé has already been filled. I proposed to her the same night she told me she was pregnant," Don said smugly, then had to throw his arm up as Casey showered him with another mouthful of sprayed soda.

"Proposed?! You really know how to shut a guy out of the game, D…"

Donnie shook droplets off his arm as best as he could with a glower at his rival. "That one was totally on purpose, wasn't it?"

Casey returned his look with a mean-spirited smirk. "Totally was. How'd you get a ring? Just wait for one to fall into the sewers?"

Donatello's expression dropped. "R…ring?"

"Dude, you're supposed to give her a ring when you propose! It's like, to seal the deal."

Donnie's eyes flicked back and forth in realization. "I didn't— It was sort of spur-of-the-moment… "

"Ha! So she's still available! Casey Jones stays in the game!"

"Casey Jones had better not even think about it, or he's gonna have five feet of my bo somewhere really uncomfortable!" Donnie fired back, quirking an eyebrow at his rival.

Casey waved his hands in a calming gesture. "Kidding, D… Just kidding."

Donnie shook his head, glancing back toward the street. His brows knit. "So… if you knew April obviously wasn't interested in you, why keep butting heads with me over her?"

"You gotta stay in the game until the bitter end, even if it looks like you've already lost, because you never know if you're gonna get the chance to even the odds and score the winning goal in those last few seconds."

"I guess I should've expected a hockey metaphor from you."

"It's what I'm best at… Gotta go with your strengths," Jones grinned.

The turtle gave him a smirk and a nod. "How about being best at something else?"

Casey glanced back curiously. "Like what?"

"Would you be our best man?"

The vigilante paused, then gave an ironic laugh. "Casey Jones… would be honored. I'll be the best best man ever!"

Donnie held out his hand, and the two of them shook on it. "Great. I really appreciate it." He straightened up a bit. "And your first duty, as best man, is finding a ring for—"

"Hold up, D…" Casey interrupted, eyes focused on the street below. "Is that Sid?"

Don joined him, looking down over the balustrade as the barrel-chested gang member wandered past, almost aimlessly. "That's him all right," he confirmed, "but no sign of Tsoi or Fong?"

"I've never seen a Purple Dragon look so much like a kicked puppy. There's something weird about this…" Taking a few steps back on the roof and without any prelude, he ran and jumped to the opposing building, descending the fire escape with an unnecessary amount of clattering steps.

"Casey, what are you—?!" Donatello whispered after him, then followed, much more stealthily and keeping himself camouflaged in the shadows.

"Yo, Sid!" Casey announced himself loudly. "Where's your buddies?!"

The muscle-bound Purple Dragon whirled around at Jones's shout, drawing a blade from a sheath on his hip, but though he fell into an attack stance, the lost, frightened look didn't leave his features. He wasn't going to fight on his own.

"Where's Fong?" Casey demanded.

Sid looked dubious, then finally answered, "I dunno."

"Whaddya mean, you don't know?" The vigilante drew his hockey stick, letting the Dragon know he wasn't above beating the information out of him.

"I mean, I dunno!" Sid insisted, raising his voice in annoyance. "We was pullin' a gig, and Fong stayed outside to watch for those turtle-freak friends a' yours. Tsoi and I heard him yell, and Tsoi went out to see what happened, and when neither of 'em came back, I went out to check on 'em, but they was gone."

"Sure they didn't just ditch your sorry ass?" Casey prodded.

The man shook his head. "They ain't been home. Nobody's seen 'em. And that ain't all—I heard rumors from some a' the other Dragons… lotsa people going missing 'round here."

Casey pondered for a moment. "If so many people have gone missing, why aren't there cops all over this place, looking for them, or whoever took 'em?"

Sid snorted derisively. "Who cares if some gang members go missing, right? They go through the motions, but it's all bullshit… they don't do nothin' to find nobody."

Donnie dropped soundlessly onto the lid of a dumpster between the two. Sid flinched and backed up a few paces, switchblade at the ready, but the turtle made no further movement toward him, and he lowered it again. "Where was this 'gig' of yours? And how long ago?"

The turtle and the teen vigilante rushed to the alley behind the antique shop. Donatello motioned for Casey to stay back as he examined the ground for any evidence. There were tire tracks which looked to be from a garbage truck that had emptied nearby dumpsters, and a puddle of muck produced by a recent rain, both of which had likely obliterated any tracks left behind by the kidnapper. Donnie shook his head. "Ehh, any sign of Fong or Tsoi has already been wiped out or washed away."

Casey joined him, looking down at the tire tracks in the alley mud. "So, we've got nothing. No great loss, I guess…"

Donnie humphed. "Yeah, this case has gone cold. Even if it's just the Purple Degenerates, it doesn't mean whoever's doing this can just kidnap people. We'll keep an eye out for the kidnapper, but until we can find some actual evidence, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

"So much for this patrol…" Casey grumbled. "We callin' it a night?"

"I suppose so," Don sighed, shaking his head at the barren alleyway. "I'll give you a call about you-know-what next week."

"You got it. Later, D!" Popping his skates in place, Casey disappeared around the corner, into the main street.

a/n: And that's all I can post here! Check out the full version on Adultfanficion or Ao3!