"Donnie! Donnie! Donnie!" Donatello inhaled deeply, counting backwards from ten before placing his tools down and removing his goggles. Tempering himself in the face of a frantic Mikey was becoming easier these days, most likely due to the meditation sessions he'd been sitting with April and Splinter. Walking outside, he just managed to witness his younger brother trip over the couch he'd forgotten was there, landing on a startled Raph's lap.

"Mikey!," the red turtles snarled, shoving him to the floor. Mikey ignored him and scrambled to his feet, running across to the opposite couch and clambering up to stand in front of Donnie.

"Donnie, I need help!," he exclaimed, clasping his hands together pleadingly.

"You need a lot of help, Mikey, we've already established that." The jab flew right over his head, either because he didn't get it, or simply didn't care. "What's wrong?" The commotion had drawn Leo out of the kitchen with a puzzled April, while Raph sulkily folded his arms and scowled.

"Something's wrong with Leatherhead!," Mikey replied, arms opening wide to emphasise his panic. "I think he's sick or something, but he won't talk to me!" All of a sudden, his three brothers lost their scepticism; even Raphael looked concerned.

"Is he in his pool?" The orange turtle nodded, and Donnie turned and dashed back into his lab to retrieve a medical kit he'd cobbled together over the last few months. "Okay, lead the way."

"We'll come too. If Leatherhead's sick, it might be harder to calm him down when he... snaps," Leo stated, placing his hands on his hips and glancing at Raph, who nodded and got to his feet. The blue turtle paused and looked at April, then smiled nervously. "Um, maybe we could continue this conversation later...?" The ginger haired girl gave him a devious smirk, then patted his shell and nodded.

"Like I'm giving you a choice."

"That's comforting." Despite the others giving him questioning looks, Leo waved them off and headed to the exit. Mikey sprinted after him, while Raph made a more calm jog. Donnie paused and glanced at April before he left.

"What's that about?," he asked. She smiled again, then tapped the side of her nose.

"Be patient, and you might just find out... eventually." With that bit of crypticness, and Mikey screaming for him to hurry up, the scientist bombed out of the lair as fast as he could go.

The journey to Leatherhead's hidey hole was faster than usual, as Mikey knew precisely where he was going. The fact he was practically dragging Donnie by the wrist sped things up as well, and after a long swim and a few twists and turns to avoid the alligator's booby traps, they reached the pool where Leatherhead usually soaked.

"LH?," Mikey called gently. "I'm back, buddy. I got you some help...!" There was silence for a few tense minutes, in which Leo and Raph cautiously kept their hands on their weapons, until a pair of amber eyes appeared out of the water. "There you are!" The orange turtle dropped to his hands and knees by the pool, smiling down at the alligator staring at them. "Donnie's here to see if he can help you, okay?" Donatello lowered to one knee, placing his health pack beside him and leaning in to take a closer look.

"Hey, Leatherhead," he said softly, examining the larger reptile's eyes. "How you feeling?" Leatherhead didn't respond, he simply floated there, perfectly still and silent. Donnie's brow furrowed, leaning back and rubbing his chin in thought.

"He's kinda creeping me out...," Raph mumbled to Leo, who nodded slowly.

"Donnie, can you see any physical differences?"

"No, not while he's in the water. And I'm not entirely sure I want to be in there with him." Before any more questions could be asked, Leatherhead took a deep inhale and arched his back upwards, revealing the rough, rigid scales on his back. Donnie's eyes widened as he realised what was happening, before the alligator exhaled and made an echoey, rumbling growl that quite literally shook the room, making the water around him bubble as if it were boiling. They flinched, trying to keep their footing, Donnie grabbing Mikey by the shell so he wouldn't topple into the pool and Raph taking hold of Leo's arm for purchase.

"Holy crap!," Raph exclaimed, ignoring the disapproving scowl from Leo. "What the heck was that?!"

"Why did he growl at us?!," Mikey cried, on the verge of tears as he looked up at Donnie. "Did we make him mad?"

"No, no, it wasn't a growl, Mikey," the purple turtle assured him. "It was a bellow." All three of his brothers gave him confused looks, tilting their heads.

"He wasn't shouting."

"That was definitely a growl, Don."

He smacked his palm to his forehead and rolled his eyes quickly. "Okay, when a male alligator craves company, he issues a sound from his lungs that is too low to be heard. This infrasound causes him to vibrate violently and whips the water on his back into a froth of waves and leaping fountains. When males attract attention by quivering their spiky backs underwater, they create Faraday waves, and why am I trying to explain this to any of you?"

"I dunno, Donnie, you'd think our enthralled expressions would give you a clue," Raph snarled, looking positively irritated and ready to punch his brother.

Leo interrupted before their hotheaded sibling could react, making a cutting gesture with his hand. "Give us the short, dumbed down version, will you, Don?" The purple turtle pinched the bridge between his eyes, one arm akimbo as he tried to keep calm in the face of muscle headed idiocy. And Leo.

"It's a mating call," he said simply.

"See, now was that so hard?," Raph hissed. "Wouldn't it have been easier just to say it was a mating- uh, what now?" Donnie could practically mark the exact moment that realisation hit his brother like a ton of bricks, his eyes going wide, body getting stiff and jaw going taut.

"Mating call?," Leo repeated. "So, what, is it his breeding season?"

"Well it is April, that's about the time alligators go into heat, as it were." Donnie turned, hands on his hips still as he examined Leatherhead, who was swimming tentatively round and round in circles.

"So, he wants a girlfriend?," Mikey asked, surprising everyone by actually understanding what was going on around him.

"Pretty much. Alligators aren't really a monogamous species, though. A male alligator can impregnate several females in a matter of days," he explained. Raph blinked, then chuckled.

"Jeez, can't imagine sweet, big ol' Leatherhead being unable to keep it in his pants!" Donnie gave him a blunt look, to which the red turtle shrugged off.

"So, what do we do?," Mikey asked, looking at the others worriedly.

"We could take him to the zoo, let him get busy with the lady gators there!," Raph suggested, folding his arms.

"Okay, let's ignore the high possibility that copulation between a mutated alligator and a regular alligator could end up in some kind of genetic disaster, and remember the fact that Leatherhead is huge," Donnie chided, throwing his arms around to emphasise his point.

"And?"

"And, I don't think he's getting out of that water willingly, Raph. Do you want to try and lift him?," Leo cut in, crouching by the pool. "Any other options, Donnie?"

"The only other thing I can think of is to leave him be until he comes out of heat," he replied.

"Poor guy, his balls will explode." All eyes snapped to Raphael, who didn't even look embarrassed. "What, haven't you gone a long period of time without... relieving yourself?" They all pulled disgusted expressions of varying degrees, but focused back on Leatherhead.

"Well, it's not like we've got a lot of choice. Unless we conveniently find a willing, female mutant alligator down here," their leader sighed, standing up properly. Mikey lay flat on his stomach, pillowing his chin on his arms as he watched his friend swim. Another bellow shook the room, the vibrations making his stomach roil uncomfortably. However, Leatherhead this time came up to the edge of the pool, making his brothers nervously back away. Mikey stayed put, pushing himself up on his elbows as the gator lifted his nose out of the water. Under normal circumstances, he'd let the orange turtle nuzzle their snouts together in an affectionate gesture, but when Michaelangelo leaned forward, Leatherhead bombed back into the water. The youngest turtle made a very disheartened squeak, prompting his sympathetic brothers to scoop him up and put him back on his feet.

"Don't worry, Mikey, it's nothing personal," Leo assured him, petting his little brother's head.

"Yeah, he's not thinking with the right head at the moment," Raph added, rubbing the orange turtle's back.

"Will you stop it with the dirty jokes!," their leader snapped, going a little red in the face.

"What?," Raph exclaimed. "You don't think they're funny?"

"Not in front of Mikey!" The two, of course, began to argue and Donnie made a mental note on how Leo's face got redder and redder with every suggestive comment Raph made, either on Leatherhead or on the blue clad turtle himself. Somehow, their arguing muffled the sound of moving water, and Donnie only noticed Leatherhead had left his pool when Mikey gasped and pointed behind him. Their brothers froze and Donatello flinched, barely daring to move in case his face was suddenly grabbed in vice grip. He slowly and carefully turned to face the alligator, who appeared to be focussing on him.

"Please, not in the face, not in the face, not in the face...," he whispered under his breath. The gator mutant made a resonating growl, no where near the same intensity as his previous bellows, then leaned down. Donnie held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut, making a rather pitiful squeak and prayed his brothers would be able to grab him before he got his head bitten off.

A rough, leathery snout nuzzled against his smooth, scaly muzzle, making him crack one eye open. Leatherhead was staring at him, pressing their noses together ever so gently. He then moved his snout around and down to the purple turtle's neck, nestling there for a moment before pulling away and tilting his head down, making it possible to press their foreheads together.

Donnie could feel his brothers astounded gaze boring into him from behind, confusion mixed with amusement, while he stood stock still in petrified horror, trying to work out what was going on.

"Um... Donnie...?," he heard Mikey mumble, trying to keep his voice down.

"Is he tasting you?," Raph hissed. "Do alligators get extra hungry when they're horny?"

"Don, should we attack, or leave him be?," Leo mumbled. Understanding suddenly dawned on him when Leatherhead bellowed again, making all three of his brothers draw their weapons and stand vigilant. "What is he...?"

"Oh my god, he's courting me," Donnie gaped.

Leo and April were initially supposed to be having a conversation about his confusion over his attraction to Raph and Karai. Blue has always been the sassy gay friend of TMNT in my eyes. Also, bonus points to anyone who can find "The Tick" reference. First prize is an internet cookie. I'd found a video of alligator mating calls, and thought that science behind it was fascinating. Donnie would of course know all about it, and I ship LH/Don, so... this happened.

Hail to the princess, baby!