Donatello wasn't really sure if Marina had been joking or not on the day of Thane's birth when she said his was next. Turns out she wasn't. He quietly confirmed that fact on his own once things had settled down with Cris, Raph and Thane and he just stared at the results from the pregnancy test in something bordering on shock. Then began to try and puzzle out how this could even have happened. He knew how it did with Vicky and Cris, but never thought Marina would be able to conceive...

Of course it came back to her genetic experiments which had altered her just enough to make having a child between them possible. Poor Donnie wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. It's not like he didn't want a child of his own, just never thought it would...happen. For the simple reason he never thought about how far the injections had actually changed her, and really didn't feel comfortable trying to dig that information out. All he was concerned with was that she and Caitlin were here, alive and healthy and trying to dig deeper to see how much they had been changed would just reopen old wounds in them. Babies never crossed his mind.

Well, the thought crossed his mind a lot now lately, especially since his mate's growing waistline pretty much backed up his findings. There was no denying that Donatello was about to join his brothers in the adventures of fatherhood.

Where Vicky and Cris had been snappy, short, impatient and just all around miserable in their pregnancies, Marina was quiet and calm over hers. Taking everything as it came in stride, her features happy and serene. Even if she did walk around looking like she had a bowling ball tucked under her shirt. Where Leo and Raph had been very over protective, Donnie was more...distracted. He frequently lost interest on various projects he tried to work on, usually stopping in the middle of something, his eyes far away as he stared out into nothing with a silly smile plastered on his face. Leo watched it all with mild amusement while Raph would just groan and roll his eyes. Needless to say, broken things stayed broken in the lair for a lot longer than they usually would those five months.

He also thought, having helped his two sisters, yes he thought of them as his little sisters, through their own labors and dealing with his brothers as they really didn't know what to do for their mates that he was fully prepared to deal with this one. He couldn't have been more wrong.

It was late, or real early depending on how you looked at it, when Marina came waddling into the lab where Donnie was working on something. Finding that attention to do so only because what he was working on was directly linked to the little boy that Marina was carrying. For once it wasn't an electric or tech gizmo or gadget, but a simple wooden mobile that he planned on hanging over the crib. He was in the process of painting the little planes he had so patiently carved yellow. Yellow seemed very important to him for some reason, it had to be yellow.

"Donnie?"

"Yes?" He replied absently as the brush carefully slid across the little plane in his hand.

"I...I think..." She stopped, her face contorting a little in pain as she fought the words out "...it's time..."

The brush flew off of the plane, ran over his hand and marked a fair portion of the desk as he spun to face her. "You sure?"

She just nodded as she struggle again. Donnie stared at her a moment, then freaked. "Oh my god, I am so not ready for this. I don't have this done and I still need to upgrade the crib and we still don't have as much formula in stock as I would like! I told Leo that I needed more! And what about-"

"Donnie!" Marina snapped.

He stopped and stared at her, his eyes blinking in confusion as she had another contraction. Was it really that time?

Marina just rolled her eyes and waddled back to the doorway. "Caitlin!" She called out into the lair, not trusting herself to go any farther apparently.

Caitlin didn't appear, Cris did. Coming out of the kitchen with a sleepy looking Thane in her arms. "You aren't looking to good." She calmly noted to the soon to be mother.

"It's time." Was the reply along with, "And genius over here is getting a bad case of the freakout father syndrome."

"I am not!" Donnie protested, spilling yellow paint everywhere as he tried to put everything away in his hurry.

He heard Cris laughing as she moved farther into their home, probably to go get Caitlin. Raph popped into the doorway and helped Marina to the bed, all the while eying his brother with amusement as Donnie fumbled around. Instead of gathering the things he needed, fluffing pillows to make sure Marina was comfortable was the only thing he could seem to get his mind to focus on.

Marina was about to hit him with one of those pillows when Caitlin walked in, took it all in with a single glance and sighed. "Raph, would you do me a favor and go get Vicky?" She asked the chuckling turtle. "I might need some help, and Donnie obviously isn't in the mindset to do so."

"On it." Raph grinned and walked through the portal.

By the time a half awake Vicky made her appearance, Marina was already snug in the bed, with Donnie hovering over her. "You're going to be ok." He was mumbling. "It's all going to be ok. You'll get through this just fine..."

"Good god Donnie," Marina sighed "I'm having a baby, not fighting a serious disease."

Vicky was also grinning by the time she made it by Caitlin's side. "One of those deliveries huh?"

"Looks that way." Caitlin grumbled. "Leo!" She then snapped and Donnie turned to see his older brother standing by the portal, amusement on his face too. Was everybody laughing at him?

"Yes?"

"You get the glorious job of keeping this befuddled buffoon out of my way." She firmly told him.

"Hey!" Donnie protested.

"Shut it!" Caitlin snapped right back, pulling out the stirrups. "Or I'll make Leo drag you out of here."

"I'll behave..." Donnie meekly told her glaring expression.

To be honest, he was actually glad that Caitlin took over. He couldn't think past his nervous anxiety. Leo had by then calmly guided Donnie to the head of the bed, well out of Caitlin's way. Donnie reached out and took Marina's hand as Leo leaned against the wall behind the bed. Marina met his worried amber eyes a moment before she gave him a reassuring smile and a squeeze on his hand. Then her face again contorted with pain as another contraction hit.

Donnie felt so helpless. He was always the one who fixed things so they wouldn't hurt...but there was nothing he could do this time. "You want an epidural? You can have an epidural..." He mumbled, his eyes frantically searching for something to relieve her pain.

"I'm fine Donnie." Marina calmly assured him again, her smile breaking through his frantic haze.

"Too early anyway." Caitlin muttered from the foot of the bed and Vicky chuckled again.

The process from this end was so much different than the other end. Now he was the frantic father watching from the sideline as his mate struggled through this. But Caitlin had paid close attention to Cris' labor and learned well. She was calm and in control as she instructed Vicky on what to do and what she needed. And Marina was so calm and collected despite the pain she had to be in. Donnie was a worried mess himself. If the way he was trying to rearrange his fingers by wringing his hands was any indication.

"Easy brother." Leo told him with a quietly with a smile. "Everything is going just fine." He laid a calming hand On Donnie's shoulder, and it did settle the nervous turtle down a bit.

After awhile the pushing phase began and Donnie's anxiety shot right back up again. What if the baby got stuck? What if Marina didn't have the strength to do this? Did Caitlin know enough to do a C-section? What if-

With a final groan, Marina pushed hard before collapsing against Donnie who was now sitting next to her. Her breathing was heavy and labored and her eyes were closed, but what caught his attention as he gently held her was the crying that now filled the room.

"Congratulations." Leo smiled at him. "You're a father."

Donnie swallowed hard as he caught sight of the messy baby the women were caring for, and his hands began to shake.

"Aw..." Vicky gushed. "He is so cute..."

"And noisy." Caitlin grinned as she walked up and handed Marina the baby.

She reached out and carefully took the crying child, then held him close to her. "Hello my little Dante." She whispered with a soft smile. "We've been waiting for you."

With a little hiccup noise, Dante quit crying and looked back up to her and Donnie leaned in to get a closer look. "All that fuss over such a small thing..." He said with wonder as amber eyes looked back at him.

"You were the one doing most of the fussing." Marina raised a brow at her mate and Donnie blushed a little.

Leo laughed quietly as he took Vicky in his arms. "Never thought I'd see the day Donnie freaks out."

"Oh hush." Donnie mumbled back at him, his attention still on the baby. He reached for him and Marina handed him over with that smile still on her face. "Hello my boy." Donnie greeted his now quiet son. "Glad you could finally join us." Dante just grasped the blanket he was wrapped in with his tiny hands as he returned his father's gaze. Then let out a huge yawn. "Goodness..." Donnie chuckled. "Seems like you had it just as rough coming out as we did trying to get you out."

"We?" Marina murmured. "I didn't see you help with the pushing." She said as she leaned back into the bed.

"I did all the worrying." He grinned impishly at her.

She just shook her head and smiled again as she watched them. Donnie's attention was already back on Dante. He tuned everyone out at that moment as he held him close and they just quietly watched as he stood up and carried Dante over to his desk. "I made you something." Donnie told his son as he held up the almost finished project. "You got here before I could finish it though."

Dante made a little cooing noise as his eyes settled on the yellow planes and he reached out for them and Donnie brought them closer with a smile. A smile that grew wider as Dante tried to grab one of the dangling things. "Glad you like them." He chuckled as the little hands firmly grabbed one. "Wasn't sure if you would like yellow or not..." Dante just answered with another cooing noise, and a gentle tug. "I'll finish painting them and I'll hang them right up for you." He tried to take them away again but Dante wasn't letting them go, and he even began to fall asleep with that plane still in his hands.

Leo's quiet laughter echoed across the lab then and Donnie snapped his attention back to the others who were all grinning at him now. "Seems like he doesn't want you to finish them."

"Oh well." Donnie shrugged. He had a feeling there were going to be a lot of half finished projects for awhile, but he didn't mind that one bit.