A/N: Wow, you all rock my ninja turtle socks. I'm loving all the encouragement and support from my fantastic reviewers!

Sara: I know, Mikey is just... Mikey's a classic, all on his own! He's so much fun to write, the scenarios he inspires are just... they're just made of awesome!

Pig: Well, Donny's not going to be QUITE himself just yet, as you'll see, but it'll pass. But it doesn't end here... not yet!

This chapter does contain swearing, and not from the turtle you would expect to hear it from... just a quick warning.

Enjoy this chapter full of brotherly fluff, because there's still a ways to go yet in this little tale of mine. The ride's gonna get bumpy again soon, so consider this the calm before the storm... O.O *cue ominous music*

By the time Donny woke up, it was already early evening again. He was in his own room – ha, Raph must have had to carry him in after all – and he wasn't alone.

"Leo?"

His older brother looked up from the book he'd been shuffling through, propped back in a chair by the bed and looking like he hadn't slept all night or day.

"Hey, it's about time you woke up!" Leo joked, smiling lightly. Donny could practically feel the relief emanating from him. For some reason, he was both touched and annoyed by this. It wasn't like they hadn't all had worse injuries before now. He was really only bruised a little, and that was mostly just from the explosion.

"Yeah… so, that was some night…"

"Don… I'm sorry," Leo said, his eyes downcast. Donny shook his head. He'd just known that this would be coming. He could've called it a mile away… one thing went wrong (ok, so all of last night had just been one massive bundle of 'wrong') and Leo was shouldering all the blame for it. It had only taken about thirty seconds to get to it this time.

Impressive. But, tiring.

"Ok, let's hear it," Donny said wearily, causing Leo to look up in surprise. "Why are you apologizing this time?"

"Well… I'm sorry it took us so long to get to you," Leo answered, still looking puzzled. "We got there as soon as we could…"

Donny just rolled his eyes. "So long to get to me? You guys busted me out the same night I was taken. I think that might actually be a record. It's not like I was stuck there for days this time."

"But we were still too late," Leo sighed, remembering with a shudder the terror he'd seen in his brother's eyes at the thought that he may have hurt someone, and the sick way he'd been forced to obey Shredder and Bishop's whims. "Bishop still got you in that horrible… thing. And I'm sorry that it happened to you… It should've been me. When I took your bo, I thought-"

"Leo, just shut up already! Shut up, SHUT UP!"

If Leo had been confused before, he was shocked now. Donny rarely ever lost his temper like that. Now, his quiet younger brother was glaring at him with something akin to actual anger in his eyes. Anger, and… hurt?

"It should've been you? Why? Because you can handle it and I can't, is that it?" Donny demanded. "What the shell, Leo? You don't always have to take my place just because you're stronger, ok? Believe it or not, I'm a ninja, too! Just because I don't like fighting as much as you guys doesn't mean I can't handle my share of the trouble we get in!"

"You're my little brother!" Leo snapped hotly, not understanding the problem. "I'm so sorry for wanting to protect you!" Donny growled in frustration.

"That's what I mean, Leo. Stop acting like I'll fall apart without your protection! I'm not helpless, and I'm sick of you guys acting like you have to hold back because of me, like I'm the weak link here!"

"I never said you were the weak link! Donny, you know that we know better than that!"

"Oh really, Leo? Then, let me ask you," Donny said with a glare. "If you'd overheard those ninja saying that it was you, or even Raph that they were after instead of me, what would you have done?"

"What do you mean? We still would have left and tried to-"

"Bullshit!"

Leo gasped incredulously. In all their lives, he was pretty sure this was the first time Donny had ever actually cussed. It threw him completely off-balance. Donny didn't often get truly angry, but when he did, everyone knew it.

"Don't you give me that," Don snapped, pressing on with Raph-like fury. "Don't you dare sit there and lie to my face! If it was one of you two that Shredder wanted, you would've stayed and fought. You would've done the sensible thing and tried to find out why they wanted what they did instead of running away. You would assume that whatever happened, you or Raph could handle it. But if it's me or Mikey, you think we have to be protected. The only reason – the ONLY reason – we ran from that fight was because you were afraid poor, quiet, little Donny would never stand a chance like big, bad, ninja Leo would!"

"That's not true!"

Donny didn't speak, but met Leo's eyes and held his gaze steadily. Leo sighed and looked away, because to deny it again would have been a lie. Donatello just shook his head. He knew his brother felt a strong sense of duty as their leader to keep them all safe. But there was a limit to Don's appreciation of how safe he was being kept.

"Leo… I know you and Raph are the older brothers, and that you take that seriously. I appreciate how much you do for us. Truly, I do. And thank you for coming after me. But, for crying out loud, Leo!" Donny said exasperatedly. "Mikey and I aren't that much younger! We've been training just as long as you, and we don't need you to always sacrifice yourself on our behalf! All I ask is – please – give us a bit of credit!"

"Oh, well said, dude! That was most excellent!"

Donny and Leo both jumped and turned guiltily to the doorway. They'd been so caught up in the argument that they hadn't realized their volume had drawn an audience. Raph, Mikey, and Splinter were all standing there, listening. Mikey was applauding, grinning ear to ear, as he came hopping in to sit on Don's bed.

"He's totally right, bro," he mentioned to Leo, giving Donatello a grateful smile. "You do kinda have a hero complex, ya know. Which is fine, cause you make an awesome hero, but it really sucks being treated like your damsel in distress all the time. Oh yeah, and glad you're awake, Donny."

Donatello grinned and Leo threw up his hands, turning to Raph and Splinter for help. The help was hardly forthcoming though; Splinter was trying to hide an amused smile behind a paw, while Raph was shifting around and avoiding eye contact, uncomfortably aware that the two younger turtles had made their point rather well.

"My sons," Splinter said, shuffling into the room and up to Don's bed. "It does my old heart good to see you work out these problems so… openly." His tone was gruff, but his eyes were twinkling. Donny, who had been half expecting a reprimand for his language, relaxed as he realized his father was proud of him.

"I, too, am glad to see you awake, Donatello," he continued, directing his paternal gaze at the purple banded turtle. "I trust it is still permitted for me to worry about my sons?"

Donatello ducked his head sheepishly and Splinter laid a paw on his arm.

"Love and concern for family is not a feeling that a leader can simply turn off, like a light. Your sentiments are well-founded, and I do hope Leonardo and Raphael will take this little discussion to heart, and meditate on what has been said here tonight." He fixed the oldest turtles with a stare before looking back to Donny. "But know this… your brothers and I would worry for you even if you were the strongest being in all the world… as you would for them. Would you care for some soup? It is good for the heart, and you have slept through both our afternoon and our evening meal."

"Wha- oh… yes, Master Splinter, thank you," Donny nodded, thrown off by the abrupt change of subject. His stomach rumbled and he suddenly realized it had been more than an entire day since he had eaten last. Enemies were notoriously lax in the area of feeding their prisoners. Splinter squeezed his arm gently, and his eyes twinkled again as he turned and left the room.

"Yeah… So…" Donny said, already feeling embarrassed, and a little bad for the wounded look on Leo's face. "How did things go last night?"

Mikey started laughing hysterically, completely unfazed – as always – by the awkward atmosphere that had settled. "Dude, you shoulda seen it! It was fantastic! So get this, I totally had the entire Foot population chasing me around the Tower-"

"I still can't believe you let him do that, Raph," Leo muttered, shaking his head. "'Keep them confused, Mikey'… honestly…"

"Well, ya told me t' stop da Shredder," Raph snapped, coming in and perching himself on the edge of Donny's desk. "An' that was hard enough as it was… he kept tryin' to fight you instead. Finally I guess it got too confusin' for 'im… an' he was tryin' to see where he was goin', to run after me, so he took his own liddle hat t'ing off."

"He took his off first?" Donny said, pondering. "Without stopping to turn it off, I'm sure… that must be why mine deactivated. It was the same way when Bishop knocked himself out."

"Whoa, same way as what?" Mikey asked with a delighted face. "Bishop did what?!"

Donny couldn't help but laugh at Mikey's ability to always be utterly at ease, and to cause others to be as well. The terror and helplessness he had felt was slowly disappearing now in the safety of his own home, with the knowledge that none of his brothers had been hurt in the end.

"You would've loved it, Mikey… he was trying to make me fight with nunchucks, but he didn't know what he was doing…"

Donny filled them in as much as he could remember from the time they had split up on the rooftop, eating the soup that Master Splinter had brought him (he noticed that Splinter also brought Leo a bowl, and that his brother dug into it in a way that made Donny suspect Leo had refused to eat until Donny was awake). They, in turn, told him everything they had found out or guessed at. By the time they had finished their narratives and discussions, it was already getting late and Donny was exhausted.

"I hate to be rude, guys," he said, trying to smother a jaw-cracking yawn. "But I need to sleep."

"Ya just woke up," Raph frowned. "You've been sleepin'... ya slept all day. D'ya think-"

"Raph," Donny interrupted with a smile. "I just spent almost an entire night with my brain being turned on and off and screwed around with. That takes a lot out of a guy… I just need to let my mind have a rest for a while, just to reset itself."

"Besides having to fight like the Shredder," Leo pointed out. "That must have been as tiresome for you as it was for me!"

"Besides having to listen to Bishop and Shredder's evil mastermind plans!" Mikey piped up. "If that won't put someone to sleep, I don't know what will! Anyway, glad you're not, ya know, dead or anything."

The older two turtles glared at Mikey, but he just shrugged.

"Well, after all those dreams I was having earlier this week… I dunno… I kept dreaming that… well, that Donny was being killed. So, I'm just glad, ya know, it didn't actually happen."

"Not every dream is a premonition, Mikey," Leo said rolling his eyes. "Sometimes, dreams are just… dreams."

"Yeah," Mikey said thoughtfully, but he didn't look convinced. "But dude, be careful in the near future, won't ya?"

Donny smiled and nodded before releasing another yawn. Bidding him good night, his brothers all stood up and quietly exited the room. Upon reaching the door, Leo turned, hesitating before he spoke.

"We're not just going to let Bishop get away with this, Donny. Tomorrow, you and me are going to start making plans."

Donny nodded. He hadn't wanted to admit that the idea of the helmet still being out there, Bishop still desperate to recapture him, was a thought that scared him half to death. Leo took a deep breath.

"Donny… I don't think you're weak. Please… please don't forget that. I never meant for you to feel otherwise, and I'm sorry if you've been treated that way. What Bishop said to you… about us not having any use for you… well, that's… bullshit, as you would say."

Don smiled at Leo's discomfort in swearing. Leo rolled his eyes but kept going.

"But Master Splinter's right… it doesn't matter how strong you are or aren't. You're my brother and I will always worry about you. It's the way I am, and nothing could ever change that."

"I know," Donny sighed. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you…"

"No, I deserved it. Just… I want you to know, I think you're one of the strongest guys I know, in more ways than one."

"Thanks, Leo…" Don said sleepily, his eyes drifting closed. "But how many guys do you actually know?"

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