A/N: Hey guys. I managed to finish this next chapter fairly quickly - thanks to me being too sick to do much of anything else. Guess if you do too much it catches up with you doesn't it? Oh well I'd say being able to sit at my computer and write some more of this story was a nice treat for a change.
And first of all I'd like to thank those of you who've taken the time to review. I really do appreciate it guys so thank you.
Also in the last chapter - with Elizabeth's reaction to Donatello. I meant no disrespect to Donatello I have never thought and never will think that Donatello would be capable of hurting someone in a vulnerable position or that he would do something to someone like Elizabeth. I was merely trying to convey what kind of place Elizabeth was in. She's at a place in her life where she doesn't feel like she can trust anyone and when Raphael told her that his brother had been the one to remove her shirts so he could tend to her wounds she had felt very vulnerable. Being in a vulnerable position often makes someone think the worst of everything that could or would have happened. I've been there I know how it feels. I never intended to offend anyone one though - especially you Donatello fans. I love Donny and would never want to make anyone see him for less than he is. He is one of the sweetest gentlest souls I've ever seen in a character and he has the patience of a saint... most of the time but even Donatello can have his fill of his brothers' interruptions. LOL. But again I apologize if I offended anyone I really didn't mean to. I had Elizabeth see him that way because I knew what this next chapter was going to hold... so I hope this makes up for it.
And I've taken my shot at adding some Japanese in this chapter. I'm not perfect I don't speak the language but I gave it my best shot.
Ohayō gozaimasu - Good Morning
Otosaun - Father
Hai - Yes
Chapter 4
"YOU DID WHAT?"
Donatello flinched as Leonardo's angry yell echoed throughout the lair. Looking quickly over at the cot and making sure that Elizabeth was still out Donatello rose quickly from his chair and hurried out of his lab.
Michelangelo, who had been watching TV had turned around on the couch and was watching his two oldest brothers with wide eyes.
Leonardo and Raphael seemed oblivious to their audience as they glared at each other, both of their bodies were stiff with anger, their well defined muscles bulging.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, RAPH! SHE DOESN'T BELONG HERE!" Leonardo demanded angrily, his eyes narrowed to mere slits behind his blue mask.
"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TA DO,LEO?" Raphael asked, just as angry as his brother.
"LET THE AUTHORITIES HANDLE IT!" Leonardo growled.
Donatello glanced at Michelangelo who met his eyes quickly before they both turned back to their older brothers, worried about how quickly this fight was escalating.
Raphael ground his teeth together, the muscles in his jaw bunching as he glared at his older brother. His hands balled into fists at his sides, and his shoulders rounded in. Michelangelo moved as if to get up but Donatello held a hand up to him to stop him, he knew that this had been coming from the moment he'd seen Elizabeth in Raphael's arms.
Leonardo had every right to be worried, their very existence depending on secrecy. It was the main reason they didn't bring every human they saved down here – it was why they always struck hard and faded off into the night. They had only had a few exceptions to this rule, but even when they had had their first real Christmas party with their friends they had been careful to blindfold them so no one knew the exact location of the lair. Donatello himself had worked very hard to make sure their security system was always up and running and that the lair was as well disguised as it was possible to be. For anyone who didn't know what to look for they would never find the door in the sewers, and the only humans that really knew where the entrance was were April and Casey and they had been friends long enough to know they were trust worthy with their secret.
But even though Donatello understood Leonardo's worries it didn't make it any easier to see his brothers squaring off against one another. He wasn't at all sure if this would come to blows but he could see from their body language that it wouldn't be long before Leonardo and Raphael both lost control of their tempers. Raphael seemed closer to the breaking point, his body was shaking with barely controlled rage, his breathing uneven, and his eyes taking that glassy hue they took whenever Raphael lost control.
Leonardo seemed to be fighting to get control of his temper, and his eyes left Raphael briefly to look at both Michelangelo and Donatello as if he had suddenly become aware of their presence. He returned his glare to Raphael.
"Take her back, Raphael. Before she wakes up." Leonardo ordered firmly, but his voice much more controlled.
Donatello cleared his throat. "Leo, we can't do that."
Leonardo turned to glare at him, his face stiffening with anger again. "Why not, Donny?"
Donatello shot Raphael a quick look, hoping to convey with his eyes to just let him handle this. Raphael wasn't looking at him he had turned towards the lair door, obviously going out for a run to release some of his anger. Donatello looked back at his oldest brother.
"She isn't stable enough for that, Leo. It'll probably be a couple days and even that isn't for certain."
"And what happens if someone is out there looking for her, Donny?" Leonardo demanded, folding his arms across his plastron.
Donatello barely suppressed his flinch. He was almost certain that someone would start looking for Elizabeth when she didn't return. But they could deal with that after – they could convince her to come up with some sort of story to tell the public about her sudden disappearance. But Donatello worried that whoever had given her those bruises that hadn't been related to the previous evening's events would not be forgiving for her extended absence.
"It isn't like we haven't helped someone out before, Leo," Donatello said, avoiding his brother's question.
"Yeah, Leo," Michelangelo quickly agreed from where he sat on the couch. "We've had humans down here before."
"That's different," Leonardo argued.
"Doesn't seem like it to me, dude. Kinda feels like the first time we brought April down to our old lair," Michelangelo said with a shrug. "Though giving Casey access to the lair at first probably wasn't the smartest thing." He shuddered and turned back to the TV.
Donatello smirked, remembering the first time Casey Jones had ventured down to their second home. It had been years ago now, but it still seemed like yesterday. They had barely known Casey for a couple weeks when the vigilante had ventured down to the subterranean home, right in the middle of their training session. They had been working on mastering balance and invisibility and Casey had accidentally knocked over the bamboo poles they had been balancing on. Splinter, not knowing that they had given Casey access to the lair had been quick to strike out at the unexpected visitor, pinning Casey to the ground. Leonardo had been the first to rush to Casey's rescue, with Donatello following behind quickly explaining who Casey was.
Splinter had released Casey had had gruffly told him that next time he should phone first. He had not been happy that their training session had been interrupted, but Donatello and his brothers had been happy for the break, curious as ever about what had been happening topside. Casey had seemed disappointed when they had been reluctant to go topside with him to bash a few heads in for some nasty wall doodles but had seemed reluctant to leave. He had plopped himself down on the couch to watch TV and Splinter had resigned himself to the fact that their training would have to be delayed until later that evening.
Casey had made a nuisance of himself, inhaling the pizza Michelangelo had left on the couch, smashing the DVD player, ignoring their obvious suggestions that he head home, and finally getting into a wrestling match with Raphael which had lead to Splinter suggesting that Raphael take Casey to the surface to get some fresh air.
Donatello knew that Michelangelo had had a hard time getting over the smashed DVD player, even though Donatello had been able to fix it. And even though Michelangelo and Casey had eventually become good friends it was obvious that Raphael had the closest relationship with Casey. Donatello had predicted that one, Raphael and Casey were very much alike and even though they hadn't cared too much for one another at first they had become fast friends. It was almost like having another brother – another hot headed brother at that. Donatello had heard Michelangelo mumbling in the kitchen not long after that that Raphael's attitude had been bad enough.
Donatello didn't deny that having Casey around sometimes meant extra work when his temper got the best of him, but Casey had proved to be a loyal friend over the years and had gotten them out of more than one tight spot. He was always there when they needed him to be and after he had met and fallen in love with April his temper and cooled dramatically. And it wasn't too long after the turtles returned from their time travel experience to the future that Casey had popped the question and April had accepted his proposal.
They had been married for five years now and were living quite happily in the apartment over April's antique shop.
Still Donatello knew that after the destruction of their third lair, when the alternate dimension Shredder's henchmen Rocksteady and Bebop as well as their arch nemesis Hun had managed to track them down, it had made them all weary of bringing strangers down to their new home. It had taken them a long time to find this place and all of them had grown weary of having their home destroyed. It seemed whenever they got comfortable somewhere something would happen to destroy that peace. First it was the mouser robots destroying their first home of fifteen years, then it had been Karai who had discovered their second lair, seeking vengeance for the banishment of the utrom alien she had grown to love as a father. Leonardo had been on a quest to seek out the Ancient One in Japan and Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Splinter had barely made it out with their lives. Leonardo had later searched them all out and had lead them to their third home, only to have it destroyed just two and half short years later. This fourth lair, while bigger than their last but not as big as their second, had taken months of work before Donatello was happy with the security system and camouflage. But all five of them felt secure in the fact that unless one knew what to look for they'd never find their current lair.
"Mikey that was different - we were different," Leonardo said bluntly.
Donatello studied his battle hardened older brother and realized that Leonardo was right. They weren't the same turtles they had been at fifteen when they had first meet April O'Neil and Casey Jones. They were much more world weary, lessons learned the hard way had often left their marks but none more so than on Leonardo.
His oldest brother had often jumped in the way, putting his body between his brothers and whatever enemy they came across. As a result Leonardo had more scars than any of them. Raphael came in at a close second, but many of the scars that his two big brothers bore were barely visible unless you knew where to look. Unfortunately there was one injury that Leonardo had sustained that would always be visible for the world to see. The large chunk of his carapace that had been shorn off during their confrontation with the Shredder when they had tried to stop him from returning to the stars. Donatello had examined it thoroughly himself when he had removed the bandages to check on Leonardo's stab wound, and had known from the extent of the damage that Leonardo's shell would always be marred with that scar and unfortunately would never be the same again. When the utroms had taken all five of them to their infirmary Donatello had inquired about the rest of his families conditions. Leonardo's injury had worried him the most. They had told him they had had to removed the broken piece of his brother's carapace, but Donatello hadn't seen the extent of the damage for himself for several weeks and when he had he'd felt his stomach clench and his normally even temper boil when he thought about what Karai had done to his brother.
None of them thought of Leonardo any differently, at first all three of them couldn't help but notice the definite chunk of Leonardo's carapace that was missing. But as the weeks passed into months they found themselves staring less and less and eventually had stopped noticing it altogether. In fact by the time they had been taken by the ninja tribunal Leonardo's brothers barely even noticed the missing chunk of Leonardo's carapace. It had just become a part of who their brother was. But others who didn't see Leonardo on a day to day basis noticed it. Faraji, who had grown closest to Leonardo, had one day taken Donatello aside and had inquired about the missing piece of Leonardo's shell. When Donatello had explained all about the Shredder, what he had done to them and what they had had to do to stop him Faraji's face had gone dark and he'd walked away without saying anything else.
Donatello was shaken out of his dark thoughts as Leonardo turned and stormed off to the dojo, Michelangelo and Donatello watched him go, both of them easily able to feel the tension rolling off of him. Clearly Leonardo was not happy about their guest, but Donatello hoped that Leonardo would control his emotions better than this when Elizabeth was feeling up to getting around again. She had been weary of him and he had worked hard to keep his body language and tone as friendly as possible, but so far it seemed as if the only one she trusted was Raphael.
Donatello sighed and turned back to the lab to check on his patient.
"Hey, Donny?" Michelangelo inquired, not bothering to turn back to the TV as his cartoon resumed.
"Yeah, Mikey?" Donatello asked wearily.
"Do you think… well, did Raph do the right thing in bringing her down here?"
Donatello sighed again and looked at his younger brother. "I really don't know, Mikey. But he thought he did and what's done is done so we'll just see how this plays out."
Michelangelo nodded, frowning a little his usual characteristic trademark smile absent for once. He looked back at the dojo where he could hear the sound of Leonardo's twin katana slicing through the air. "Let me know if you need some help, Donny."
The corner of Donatello's mouth pulled up into a slight smile. "Thanks, Mikey." Then he turned and walked back into the infirmary, hoping Elizabeth wouldn't wake up before Raphael returned.
Leonardo swung his twin katana down in an arch, slicing through an invisible enemy, then spun swiftly on the ball of his foot and sliced through another invisible enemy as if it had been sneaking up on him from behind.
Beads of sweat began to pop on his brow as he brought down each invisible nemesis. He had always felt that hard vigorous training was a good way to release his anger, especially when the argument had been between him and his next youngest brother. He and Raphael had been clashing for a very long time now, no matter what Leonardo did Raphael always had to resist him.
Leonardo knew that Raphael had always been strong willed and hot headed, which made for a very explosive personality. Raphael didn't like being told what to do, he didn't like being forced into line. And the fact that Leonardo had been chosen to lead the team had always gotten underneath Raphael's shell. Leonardo knew it was because he had shown a liking for strategy and order at an early age. He had always taken his ninjitsu training seriously and had worked diligently to be the best he could be, he had never strived to be perfect – only perfectly proficient. It was one of the reasons Raphael had always called him "teacher's pet" and "Splinter Jr.". Leonardo had tried not to let it get to him, he was only doing what he knew was best for his brothers. He had to be at the top of his game at all times if he was to keep his family safe.
He knew that his brothers, Raphael especially, were more than capable of defending themselves in most situations. But he also knew that the world was a dangerous place for all of them, that if at any given moment they let their focus slip at the wrong time it would mean the end of one of them – and Leonardo would never be able to live with himself if that happened. And so he forced himself to try harder, to work harder, to be better. He would focus harder where his brothers' focus wavered, he would always be there – between them and whatever dangers the world held for them. His family was his world and he'd do everything he could to protect them.
As he brought his swords around again he couldn't help but wonder what his hot headed brother had been thinking when he'd brought the girl down here. Why hadn't Raphael simply followed protocol and let the authorities handle it. He could have waited in the shadows to make sure she was in safe hands, but then he should have faded away into the night and this girl would have been none the wiser to who they were or who had saved her.
Raphael had told him that she had begged him not to call the authorities, that she had been desperate to try and stop him. But that didn't change anything. The police and paramedics were much better suited to handle her kind of situation. The fact that someone topside was probably searching for her put them all at greater risk.
Leonardo's teeth clenched together as he brought his leg around in a roundhouse kick then dropped down to his knees and swept his leg around to knock his invisible opponent's legs out from under him. Then he got quickly to his feet and brought his katana up, blocking a blow, twisting and arching his body so gracefully that it seemed effortless.
Finally he stopped, panting a little as the muscles in his arms began to ache. He let his arms rest, the tips of his katana touching the workout mats as he fought to catch his breath.
"You are troubled, my son?" A calm peaceful voice asked from the door of the dojo.
Leonardo's head snapped up to see Splinter watching him, he had been so caught up in his practice he hadn't even been aware that he had an audience.
Leonardo automatically bowed respectfully then sheaved his twin katana and stepped forward towards Splinter, dropping to his knees in front of him.
"Ohayō gozaimasu, Otousan," Leonardo whispered.
"Ohayō gozaimasu, Leonardo," Splinter greeted, bowing his head in return. Splinter waited for a few minutes then when Leonardo refused to break the silence he tried again. "What is it that troubles you, Leonardo?"
"I… I'm not sure, Master Splinter. I just don't… something doesn't feel right about the… well, who Raph brought home last night." Leonardo said keeping his eyes down on the floor mats.
"You fear the girl, my son?" Splinter asked, cocking one eyebrow at the top of Leonardo's head inquisitively.
"It's not her – it's just that… " Leonardo hesitated for a minute. "What if others are looking for her, Master Splinter? Raphael should not have brought her to our home."
"Leonardo, our very lives depend on keeping our existence a secret but that does not mean we turn our backs on those who need help," Master Splinter chided gently.
"Hai, Master Splinter," Leonardo said bowing his head even further.
Splinter leaned forward and grasped Leonardo's chin, bringing his son's face up so he could look into his eyes. Leonardo's eyes were hard and his mouth set in a tight line.
Splinter sighed. "Leonardo, your brother did what he thought was best."
"Hai, Sensei – but he might have uprooted our family trying to do what he thought was best," Leonardo snapped angrily.
"Leonardo," Splinter reprimanded, his tail lashing a bit in his anger. Leonardo dropped his eyes away from Splinter's face, and drew in a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger he could feel boiling beneath the surface.
"Leonardo," Splinter said, his voice gentler this time. "Perhaps your brother felt he had no other choice than to bring her to our home. The girl was frightened and injured, and your brother was alone. Donatello has told me that the girl asked that Raphael not call the authorities for her. She must have had her reasons for that."
"But, Master Splinter – if someone finds out that we have her! If they come looking for her and find us… what are we to do? Where are we to go?"
"Life is constantly changing, Leonardo. You and your brothers have faced many changes over the past few years, some of them good and others that have been hard. But we must move with change, fighting against such things is a waste of one's energy."
Leonardo's frown deepened.
"I understand your fears, Leonardo," Splinter said gently. "But you must not allow your fears to cloud your vision. You must push past your fears to do the right thing."
Leonardo closed his eyes and allowed his stiff shoulders to drop. "Hai, Master Splinter.
Elizabeth's mind felt very foggy and her head felt heavy. She rolled her head to the side and pulled open her heavy lids, they shut again almost immediately. They were just so heavy.
What had that turtle given her anyway?
Elizabeth fought the heaviness of her eyelids and once again pulled them open. She blinked a few times, trying to push away the exhaustion that still tugged at her.
The room she was in was dimly lit, a single light was on at desk and a computer fan hummed quietly. The chair was turned at a slight angle as if someone had been sitting at the desk but had left the room recently. Elizabeth blinked again and felt the exhaustion fade a little.
She shifted her heavy body, trying to find a more comfortable position, but her arm twinged a bit and she stopped. She rolled her head back, staring up at the black ceiling.
How long had she been here now? Was Graham looking for her? Did he have his friends searching the streets for her body? What would he do when he found her?
She shivered underneath the thin sheet and pulled it tighter against her chest with her uninjured arm.
"Elizabeth?" A soft voice asked from the direction of the door.
Elizabeth rolled her head slowly and blinked her heavy eyes, trying to bring the figure into focus. As he moved further into the light Elizabeth could see that olive tone to his odd skin and the purple mask around his eyes.
Donatello.
Elizabeth's body was still too heavy from whatever drug he had given her for her to do more than move her head loosely on her neck, but she watched him quickly set down a mug with steaming liquid on the desk then approach her cautiously.
"I didn't think you'd wake up so soon," Donatello said gently pulling back one of her eyelids and peering into her eyes. "Are you in any pain?"
"No," Elizabeth whispered, her tongue moving sluggishly in her mouth.
Donatello frowned slightly then turned his back, retrieved something from his desk and was suddenly cupping the back of her head in one hand while he pressed the mouth of a water bottle to her lips with the other.
"Here, drink this – it'll help," Donatello reassured her.
Elizabeth drank gratefully, feeling the cool liquid soothe her parched throat.
"Slowly – small sips," Donatello warned pulling the bottle back from her mouth a little.
Elizabeth tried to listen but she was so thirsty. She took a huge gulp and choked, the water refilling her mouth and dribbling from the corners of her mouth.
Donatello eased her up a bit further, saying something but Elizabeth couldn't make out the words. It took her a minute but finally she was able to breathe properly again and Donatello offered her a bit more water before helping her to lay back down again.
Elizabeth sighed as her body relaxed against the pillows again. She watched as Donatello placed the half empty bottle of water on his desk then pick up his steaming mug and taking a sip. He then grabbed his chair and pulled it up next to her bed.
"I'm going to do a quick check on your wound and make sure your vitals are ok. Are you ok?"
Elizabeth stared at the purple banded turtle, seeing those chocolate brown eyes staring at her with concern, his mouth twisted a little in a slight smile as he stared at her. But she saw no longing in those eyes… no sign of the lust that Graham always held in his eyes whenever he wanted her – nor the hungry look that the man who's face she had seen clearly last night had held. His eyes were friendly, and concerned, and his smile genuine.
And suddenly she felt the heat rise in her cheeks as her first thoughts of this turtle flooded her mind. The thought that he had actually done something to her when she had been out. Of his large hands touching her…
Donatello's eye ridges rose when Elizabeth's cheeks went pink. "Would you rather wait for Raphael to come home before I do this?"
Elizabeth bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head. "I'm ok."
Donatello frowned, unsure.
"Really," Elizabeth promised, putting more strength behind her voice. "I'm fine."
Donatello still didn't look convinced, but rather than argue with her he nodded once then reached across her body to gently pull back the white gauze.
Elizabeth could feel his warm breath on her skin and the gentleness of his fingers as he pulled away the tape and bandage. It only took a few seconds and she was sure he was satisfied with what he'd seen because she felt him replaced the bandage and tape then his fingers slid to her neck and rested against her jugular for several long seconds.
His skin was so strange. When Raphael had touched her earlier his hands had been so rough, almost calloused. But Donatello's hands were much smoother, not so torn up. Elizabeth forced herself to breathe evenly while Donatello pressed gently against her neck.
Then suddenly he pulled away, leaning back in his chair. "Your blood pressure has come up, which is good. It was down pretty low when Raph brought you in last night. I wasn't sure if you were going to make it. It still isn't as high as it should be though. And unless you want us to get you to a hospital I don't think you should leave until it gets a little higher."
"No hospital," Elizabeth said, reaching forward and catching his hand with her good one.
Donatello jerked, startled, his eye ridges rising high over his mask.
Elizabeth ignored this. "Please," she pleaded, tightening her fingers around his hand. "No hospital."
Donatello nodded and gently released her fingers from his hand. "We won't take you to the hospital if you don't want to go, Elizabeth."
Relieved at Donatello's words Elizabeth relaxed again and let Donatello pull the sheet up underneath her chin.
"Tha… thank you," Elizabeth whispered.
Donatello smiled, although it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes. "You should get some more rest, Elizabeth."
"Wh… where's Raphael?" Elizabeth asked, ignoring Donatello's instructions. She didn't want to sleep anymore right now. She wanted some answers. Like where she was and how she had come to be with these two giant turtles.
"He went out for a run," Donatello said reaching for his steaming mug again.
"A run?" Elizabeth asked, surprised that these giant turtles could simply go out for a run and not be seen by anyone. Still they had to keep those muscles of theirs in shape somehow she mused.
"He usually goes out to blow off steam after he and Leo go at it," Donatello said with a shrug.
"Leo?" Elizabeth asked, confused.
Donatello paused and studied her for a long minute. Finally he nodded.
"I'm not Raph's only brother," Donatello explained. "We've got two more – Leonardo and Michelangelo."
"Renaissance artists," Elizabeth breathed.
Donatello chuckled quietly and nodded. "Our father named us after the Renaissance artists when he found an old art book in the storm drain."
"A storm drain? Like in the sewers?"
Donatello frowned now and shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable. "Well, we can't just walk around like you humans can in broad daylight can we? So where else are we going to live?"
"I had no idea there were places like this in the sewers," Elizabeth said tearing her eyes away from the turtle and around the small room.
Donatello chuckled again, with more warmth behind the sound. Elizabeth suddenly found her own mouth tugging into a smile at the sound. Donatello's laugh was rich and warm, much like the color of his eyes. It would make anyone feel at ease.
"Donny?"
The new voice made Donatello's chuckling cut off abruptly and Elizabeth's eyes widened a little as another turtle stepped into the room. This one was very different from Donatello in the way he held himself.
His body was rigid, obviously stressed, his eyes too were brown but they held none of the warmth that Donatello's had. His muscles were more defined than Donatello's, much more like Raphael's were. He too wore the strange pads, but unlike the others he had a strap that crossed diagonally across his plastron and held what looked like two swords on his shell. His cold brown eyes narrowed a little behind his blue mask as he saw her staring at him, then he looked at Donatello again.
"Mikey said dinner will be ready in five minutes. Have you heard from Raph?"
Donatello shook his head. "You know Raph, Leo. He'll come home when he's ready."
Leonardo huffed angrily then turned and marched out of the infirmary. Elizabeth gasped and her eyes widened when she a good chunk of Leonardo's shell was missing. It started at the outer edge and traveled almost to the middle, although she wasn't sure because his sheathed swords hid the edge of his injury, but she was almost positive that it was long enough to almost reach the middle of his shell.
She turned inquisitive eyes to Donatello but he just shook his head. "It's a long story, Elizabeth. Are you hungry? If you got some sugar in your system it'd help your body rebuild its blood count and you could use the nourishment anyway."
Elizabeth hesitated, then nodded.
"I'll bring you back something," Donatello said. He grabbed his mug, gave her a reassuring smile and slipped out the door, leaving her alone in the semi darkness.
A/N CONTINUED: As you can see I wanted Elizabeth to realize that first impressions aren't always what they seem, Leo might be acting cold but he is just worried about what dangers having Elizabeth staying with them will bring to his family. But Donatello's quiet way with going about things, and his gentle manner have turned Elizabeth's views on how our gentle mild mannered genius turtle really is. I hope that this chapter has made up for chapter three for those of you who didn't feel like I did Donatello any favors... I just had to have Elizabeth see things a certain way for this story to progress as it does. Thanks again for those who take time to review and I'll try to update again soon.