A/N: Well, I decided to sit down and write this instead of procrastinating forever with it. I hope you enjoy it! My vacation was amazing! Seeing so many people gathered together in Washington D.C. to support life despite the blizzard was amazing! Anyway, I did not get snowed in there, so here is Part 2! Enjoy!
Part 2
He cracked his eyes open. Light filled his vision. He quickly shut them again.
"Where am I?" he thought. "What happened to me?" He assessed his physical condition. His leg felt like it was on fire. His head throbbed painfully. As for the rest of his body, it itched and burned. But nothing seemed beyond healing. Good.
He opened his eyes just a slight bit more, this time giving them time to re-adjust to the light after staring at the darkness for so long. He was looking at a concrete ceiling, which was splattered with dust and dried up liquid. Funny, it looked like the ceiling of Donnie's lab.
He sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain that immediately spiraled through his body. He glanced around wildly. Messy desk, drawers full of tools, beakers and vials with colorful liquids, coffee cups littering the floor... It was Donnie's lab!
He heard snoring, and he turned, expecting to see Raphael lying on the cot next to him. Raph always insisted on sleeping in the lab whenever Leo was hurt. It was a small favor really, most of the time it was a minor injury or a concussion, but it was how Raph showed that he cared. By being stubborn and staying up all night for his brother's sake, whether Leo needed it or not. Leo often did the same for Raph.
But it was not his hot headed brother lying on the cot. It was actually Doctor Donnie himself. Now how had Donnie managed to get Raph to go to sleep?
"D-Donnie?" he stuttered, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. The purple banded terrapin's eyes immediately snapped opened. He yawned and stretched, looking over at the table covered in blankets and pillows.
"Leo!" he exclaimed. He jumped up and ran over to his brother's side. He paused for a half a second to give him a hug, and then he grabbed a thermometer and stuck it in Leo's mouth. Leo rolled his eyes.
"I'm oday, Donadello," he said, struggling to talk without dislodging the thermometer he knew he had to keep firmly underneath his tongue for like, three minutes or something. "Deriodly, I'b fine," he said. He ignored the throbbing in his left leg. Donnie already looked so panicked, and he didn't want this stupid leg injury hindering the entire team again.
"No, you're not, Leo," Donnie insisted. Leo partially rolled his eyes. When Donnie went into Doctor Donnie mode, nothing would snap him out of it. But then again, Leo knew he wasn't okay. He felt so guilty! All of his was his fault! And now Raph and Mikey were hurt too and-
Wait a second? Where were Raph and Mikey? He mentally cursed himself for not making sure that they were perfectly okay before even checking to see how hurt he was. It should have been this first thing he thought of! What kind of a leader was he? What kind of a big brother was he?
"Where are Raph and Mikey? Are they okay?" he asked frantically. Donnie looked up.
"Relax Leo, Raph and Mikey are fine. Mikey had a minor scratch on his arm, which only required a few stitches and some bandages. Other than the bruises, he'll be fine in several days. Raph-" here he paused, gathering his thoughts, "Was a little worse off, considering he took that ice ray to the head for Mikey. But that was also fixed with some stitches. He has a mild concussion, but that'll be fine with some rest. He was determined on staying up all night with you again, but Sensei slipped something into his tea."
"Bet he wasn't happy about that."
"Well, he won't be when he wakes up."
Silence fell over the two turtles. Donnie moved swiftly and silently, rubbing burn medicine on Leo's wounds and re-bandaging them. Leo was lost parading around in guilty thoughts.
"He's blaming himself," Donnie thought as he pulled a bandage tightly. Leo cringed slightly, but said nothing. "We all know him well enough to know that. It wasn't his fault that the bomb went off and he couldn't get out of the way.
"Of course, that's not what he's feeling guilty about. None of us were hurt in the explosion. It's the fact that he led us into that battle in the first place. I did warn him...But there have been plenty of fights where I've said the exact same thing and we won anyway. I've miscalculated before. And technically we did take out all the Foot bots. It would of been fine if it hadn't been a trap.
"Of course, that's just Leo. He loves us so much, he'd do anything for us. And he'll take full blame for anything that happens to us without a second thought." He looked up at his big brother, who looked lost in thought. "When was the last time I talked to him other than to give updates or information regarding a fight or one of my projects?" He couldn't remember. "Well, maybe it's my turn to pull my big brother out of his guilt. Raph and Mikey have done it a hundred times."
"It wasn't your fault you know," he said suddenly, breaking the stifling silence. Leo looked up abruptly.
"What?"
"Raph and Mikey getting hurt. That fight. The bomb. None of that was your fault."
"I never said-"
"You didn't have to," Donnie said impatiently. "I know you're blaming yourself, Leo. It's what you do. And I can't stand it." At this, Leo's face darkened slightly as he frowned, almost glaring at his peaceful brother.
"But it was my fault," he growled. "I should have listened to you! My haste to finally get something done, find Karai, stop Shredder, my foolish PRIDE could have gotten you all KILLED!" He paused and took a sharp breath. "SO don't you DARE tell me that it wasn't my fault. And I'm so sorry if you just can't STAND it! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT YOU WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG. DON'T YOU DARE REMIND ME THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE LEADER OF THIS TEAM FROM THE BEGINNING! BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW THAT, AND I DON'T NEED YOU TO REMIND ME WHAT A FAILURE I AM AS A LEADER, AND A NINJA, AND A BROTHER, AND-"
Donnie eyes widened. He had no idea that Leo truly felt that way. Here he had been, content to work away the hours in his lab where he could truly help the team. He had always been thankful to Leo for taking all of the responsibility so that he was free to do this. He never even considered the possibility that Leo shouldn't have been the leader.
Leo was his big brother. The one who wasn't scared of anything. The one who built him back up when his self esteem crumbled after stuff like the Metalhead incident. He was flawless, and Donnie knew he could count on Leo to always be there.
And then it hit him. He was so used to being around mindless machines, the ones he had admired so much. Of course, he loved Leo so much more than a simple structure of metal, but the point was that he had ignored the fact that his older brother, who got everything done perfectly and smoothly, had emotions that a machine couldn't ever imagine.
And had Donnie ever been there for Leo? Nope, because Donnie had been going through the same robotic routine every day, and Leo had been allowing him to do it, making sure that everything ran as smooth as a well oiled machine, never stopping to consider himself. And now Donnie felt selfish that he hadn't been there for his older brother.
When they were younger, Leo used to come to Donnie when he had nightmares, knowing that with Raph he would be mocked, and Mikey would just become scared of Leo's nightmares. But Donnie had been the middle ground, the one Leo could trust. When was the last time Donnie had actually slept in his room?
He remembered sometimes that Leo came into the lab in the middle of the night, looking slightly afraid and unsure, only to notice Donnie was working hard on something. Then he would mumble about not being able to sleep and leave Donnie alone. Donnie felt so bad. So he did the one thing he did best. He didn't say anything, he just threw his arms around Leo and buried his head into Leo's shoulder.
Leo stopped his little rant immediately, shocked at Donnie's reaction. He didn't deserve forgiveness, he had screwed up one too many times already. Donnie was so much smarter than he was. He remembered when they were younger he had been so jealous of his second youngest brother, who had learned to read long before the rest of them, and could do simple equations and understand the big words on TV.
He also remembered that he used to go to Donnie when he had nightmares, normally about losing his family or not being good enough for them. Donnie wouldn't make fun of him. He would just hug Leo. And then Leo would feel better and they would snuggle down to sleep.
His nightmares had been getting worse recently too. He had to watch Shredder kill his family one by one, unable to do anything because of his leg injury, which chained him in place. He had nightmares about them mocking him, abandoning him. He had nightmares about his Sensei taking away his Ninja title and his beloved katana blades.
He would blindly run to the lab, but upon finding Donatello busy with these wonderful creations that Leo could not understand, he would leave, feeling foolish that he had even considered that Donnie could help him. Donnie deserved better. Donnie deserved more. He did so much for the family and the team, and he needed a brother worthy of his brain and talents.
So when Donnie threw his arms around him like he had when they were younger, Leo froze. He could feel Donnie resting his purple clad head on his shoulder.
"That's never what I thought Leo," Donnie whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. I got so caught up in my daily routine, so lost in the world of beakers and wrenches that I've been ignoring my brothers. And although Raph and Mikey had you, you had no one to turn to.
"And I'm sorry for abandoning you. It's just that, I don't know, the training sessions, chores, schedules, patrols, planning, you had everything under control. I contributed myself when needed and I just fell into a clockwork pattern. But you're not a machine, you're my big brother. I- I forgot that not even you were invincible and afraid of nothing, but that's just because I admired you so much! I'm sorry!"
And at that, Leo could feel Donnie's tears start to fall as he squeezed the life out of him. Leo rubbed his brother's shell comfortingly.
"And I'm sorry for thinking you wouldn't care. I was jealous of you, Donnie. I thought you didn't need me. You were just so smart. You had your machines and your colorful jars and I didn't understand anything you did. I felt like, like I would be getting in your way. Dragging you down. So I've kinda been avoiding you too. I guess just thought you wouldn't want to the bother..." Leo said softly.
"You IDIOT!" said Donnie, looking up and looking angry. Leo was startled, and he looked at Donnie. Was Donnie agreeing with him? That he should've just left the genius alone? He put his hands up, taking a step back and turning to leave. Donnie grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "How could you ever be so STUPID to think that I wouldn't CARE? That I was too GOOD for you? Leo, if anyone's too good for the other, you're too good for me!"
"But you're so smart! And I figured you didn't need another distraction!" Leo said.
"What? Leo, you've always been my inspiration. My idol. I've always dreamed of being like you. You're such a good leader, you can come up with plans my big brain wouldn't have even thought off. You are a great ninja!
"And although you may not be fearless, your fears are so brave! I've always been scared of stupid things, like April not liking me, or not being able to solve a stupid problem. You're scared of letting your family down. How selfless is THAT?"
"I guess we've both been avoiding each other for far too long, huh?" Leo sighed.
"Yeah," Donnie agreed. "But never again, okay? If you have a nightmare, you had better drag me out of the lab. Actually, drag me out of the lab anyway. Both day and night. I miss hanging out with you guys, and watching stupid TV shows and sparring for the heck of it. Don't let me get too caught up in my work again, okay?"
"Deal, and in return, don't let me wallow in my stupid self blame, and if I need to just cool off, promise me you'll always be there. Even though it was kinda my fault this time."
"No it wasn't," Donnie groaned, "When I told you that there were too many, that was before the ambush. We totally did what I thought was impossible. Even I make mistakes Leo. And in the future, you would probably be wise not to heed my warnings."
"Okay, but only if you make sure that when I need a warning, it's a warning that I should heed, kay?" Leo laughed.
Suddenly, two more turtles rushed in without any announcement and threw their arms around their big brother.
"Hey man, you okay?" Raph asked, punching Leo lightly on the shoulder. He had a bandage around his head, but he seemed to be fine otherwise.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Leo replied smiling. He turned to Mikey, who was jumping up and down ecstatically beside him, with his normal amount of energy and enthusiasm.
"Guess what Leo? GUESS WHAT? Can't guess? I'll just tell you! I GOT A CAT! Well, I found a cat, but Sensei let me keep it this time! Her name is Klunk, and she's orange, she loves Crognard the Barbarian, and pizza, and elves, and The +1 Ring of Awesome, and Renet, and she's the cutest kitty ever!" he babbled, shoving a furry little ball into Leo's arms.
Leo looked at the little pink nose and the deep brown eyes staring up at him, turned to Donnie and raised an eyebrow.
"Mikey got a cat?"
"Yeah, I probably should of warned you," Donnie chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah you should have," Leo said, chuckling along.
Leonardo and Donatello leaned against each other and started laughing. Mikey looked at Raph and shrugged.
"What can I say? Cats just have that amazing effect on people!" Mikey said brightly. And the two of them joined their brothers in laughter.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed that! Please review if you liked! Have a great day!