Splinter closed his eyes as his small, furry ears flattened back against his head, and he exhaled in a slow and deliberate manner. When he reopened them, he straightened just a bit as the image of his four children kneeling before him filled his vision. His brows furrowed as his gaze slid over each of their faces, finally settling on his thinnest, shivering son at the very end.

Donatello did not lift his head as he felt his Sensei's eyes bearing down on him. His palms rested on his knees, though he could no longer feel them, his entire body numb with cold. He tried to focus on his knuckles, to shove out the overbearing stare of his Sensei.

A ringing had begun deep in the back of Don's skull, though he resisted the temptation to squeeze his eyes shut. The silence grew more agonizing by the second, his own breathing growing quicker with each passing moment, and his chest burned with the fear that his heart would beat right out of it.

As the silence wore on, he could feel his brothers begin to shift in subtle agitation.

Don's eyes shot to his right, catching Raphael's stare. He was met with an expression just as swirled with confusion and apprehension as his own. He attempted to travel down the line, but was quick to pull back from Leo's cold glare. He couldn't even bear to look at Mikey.

His hands were shaking. The stillness was unbearable.

Splinter had yet to speak, and they finally realized he was not going to. Don heard Leo give a quiet sigh. A sigh that meant he knew it was time to speak the truth.

Donatello's head shot up, "Master Splinter, I am responsible for why we were all out so late."

Splinter's eyebrows lifted upward, though it was the three pairs of eyes which snapped in his direction which caused Don to twitch. He could only hope his flinch blended in with his persevering shivers. He didn't swallow, despite the dryness in his throat. Even as his heart raced, his voice did not tremble, did not as much as hint at the betrayal of his statement. Instead, his voice was smooth. Composed. He knew had his brothers not been involved, they would have believed him as well.

They always believed him.

"I wanted to rent a movie. I haven't been feeling well, so we all went together. But I slowed us down more than I had anticipated. I'm sorry, Sensei. We didn't mean to be out as long as we were, we just lost track of the time. "

"Yes," Splinter furrowed his brows as he took a step toward Don, still gazing down his nose at him, "I have noticed your unrelenting illness, as I know your brothers have as well. It is concerning."

Don hesitated, shoulders hunched. Subconsciously he furrowed his forehead, confusion playing across his face. That's what his father was focusing on? A mere cold?

He avoided the stares of his brothers, yet he could do nothing to escape from Splinter's stony expression. He grew more aware of the goose bumps lining his arms and shoulders, and the sheen of sweat mixed with rainwater that coated his body. He clenched his hands into fists, though it did little in stopping his insistent quivering.

"I'm fine, Sensei." He spoke evenly, "It's just a cold."

"No."

The old rat turned around, stepping back to his usual place upon his mat, before pulling himself down to be seated.

"Your health is weakening by the day, my son, and our family can no longer turn a blind eye to the severity of the situation. It is time to find you outside help."

Donatello's eyes widened as he resisted the urge to glance away.

"Master Splinter, please-"

"There will be no arguing, Donatello. My sons," Splinter shifted his attention to the other three turtles, speaking with a note of finality which suggested a decision had long since been determined, "in the morning I shall be leaving. This…illness which has begun to plague our family is not a natural one, and cannot be healed through ordinary means."

"Sensei," Leo hesitated, though he did not spare a look toward any of his siblings, "is now really the best time for you to be leaving? Shouldn't one of us go with you?"

"Now is the only time, Leonardo. I fear I have avoided the reality which has settled upon our home for far too long, and I must make this journey alone. It is imperative you all remain together while I am away, and I am relying on you to watch over your brothers and Donatello's health. If I am fortunate I shall return within a matter of days."

An uncomfortable silence set over the four brothers, yet none spoke as they simultaneously exchanged glances with one sibling and avoided those of another.

Splinter waved one paw in final dismissal, "You may all go."

None of the turtles moved as they continued to stare at their Sensei sitting before them for a few more moments. Yet the rat said nothing more, his silence at last forcing Leonardo to move first. He stood from his spot, hesitating as he stepped over to Don and reached helpfully for his arm.

At Leo's touch Don yanked his arm back away in a final show of pride as he evaded Leo's offered hands. Don avoided the look of hurt in his brother's eyes as he moved to stand on his own, and Leo stiffened at the cold affront. But the older turtle said nothing, his fingers curling tightly as he followed after.

Raph and Mikey remained seated until the other two had exited the room. Mikey cast a curious glance over at his remaining brother as they disappeared. His blue eyes flicked between him and Splinter, before he cautiously stood and retreated after his other siblings. Raph moved from his spot on the floor mere seconds later, following him out to the living room, and slid the door shut behind him.

Don was halfway across the living room, moving quickly. He could feel the intense stares of all three of his siblings still piercing into the back of his shell. It was no secret he hadn't been feeling well over the past few days, but he didn't think it had grown bad enough to warrant Splinter to leave. He wanted them all to leave him alone. To put this entire messed up situation to rest once and for all.

"Hey Donnie, what's Master Splinter talkin' about? Are ya really that sick?"

No such luck.

Don paused, glancing over his shoulder as Raphael's voice spoke out after him. He sighed, answering with a scowl, "I'm fine." His voice was sharp, "We all know Master Splinter sometimes has a tendency to over exaggerate."

"Well what did he mean?" Raph gestured back to their Sensei's bedroom, "Unnatural illness? And now he's leavin'? What's all that about?"

Don hesitated, and it wasn't the first time in his life he wished his older brother would just shut his howling screamer. But as he saw Mikey curiously sidle up beside Raph with his own expression of concern etched on his face, Don bit his tongue and once again forced his voice to remain calm.

"Guys, he's probably just going back to the old lair to pick some herbs from that garden he used to have." He said diplomatically, "Which is why he doesn't want anyone to go with him. You know he's always afraid we're going to get trapped in another cave-in or something."

He hesitated, watching as Raph and Mikey exchanged skeptical glances.

"I dunno man," Mikey muttered as he eased himself onto the couch. He was shivering slightly, his body coated in in a thin film of early morning mist and he exhaustedly rested his chin in his palm, "You don't look so good, and tonight's been totally brutal."

"Not as brutal as it'll be if Splinter finds out you lied to him Don."

Mikey's head snapped up as Don's likewise dipped down. Leo had finally stepped forward from where he had been observing in complete silence by the entrance of Splinter's door. His arms were crossed tight over his plastron, and a disapproving frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Mikey instantly groaned, plopping over and shoved his face into a pillow, willing himself not to scream.

"Leo…" Mikey's muffled voice fell on deaf ears. Raphael stepped forward, pulling Leo back by his shoulder with an annoyed huff.

"What the hell's your problem, Leo?" Raph snapped, "He only lied to save your sorry shell, and it's your fault he was outta the lair anyway."

"Excuse me?" Leo jerked his shoulder out of Raph's grasp, ignoring the continued muted pleas of Mikey to just walk away along with Don's silent refusal to meet his gaze, "If you think for one second you have the right to say anything about this situation you've got another thing coming. Master Splinter is leaving, alone, and you're really going to stand there and tell me you have absolutely no problem lying straight to his face?"

"Guys," Don finally turned back to face his brothers, his voice considerably softened as he held up both his hands as if in attempts to hush them, "please, can we discuss this later? After Splinter's gone?"

"Why?" Leo automatically snapped, "So you can lie to us too?"

Leo's words hung dangerously in the air. Don felt a curl of guilt stab in the pit of his stomach as he once again hung his head, staring at his feet. He knew he should have acknowledged the flash of regret that immediately crossed his oldest brother's face, yet found it impossible to look back up to him.

"Back off, Leo," Raph growled, taking a step forward, though Leo hardly relented as he approached, "you've made a big enough mess outta everything already."

"Oh right," still Leo was quick to scoff, his words laced with the bitter sting of betrayal, "like you have any grounds to stand on Mr. Nightwatcher."

As the name left Leo's mouth, a painful silence shot through the room. Only now did Mikey carefully lift his head, peering out from the arm of the sofa. Raphael's eyes were wide, but his hands were shaking at his sides in tight fists. But it was Don who Mikey carefully watched, still standing behind Raph with the color slowly seeping from his face, and the whites of his eyes straining red with rising fatigue. Don said nothing. Raph spoke.

"What?"

"You heard me," the words hissed of out Leo's mouth as he stepped forward, ignoring Don's imploring look as he brought his face inches from Raphael's, "just how long did you think you could hide your little charade from me, again? Did you think no one would notice? That we're too stupid to realize what you were doing?"

Don winced at the sharpness in Leo's words. But he said nothing, only wrapped his arms slowly around himself as the angry voices of his brothers filled his head.

"If you're gonna be spewin' out bullshit, then you've-"

"Better have proof?" Leo interrupted with a defiant glare. He turned then, shooting a pointed look at Mikey, "Show him Mikey."

"Huh?" Mikey's head popped up from behind the couch as three sets of eyes instantly snapped upon him, two furious enough to send shivers up his spine. He swallowed hard, but knew better than to disobey. Casting Don a final quick glance, he gave a hesitant nod back at Raph, "Well, yeah, we saw you on TV just a few hours ago."

"Come again?"

Mikey nodded again, "Yeah, it was one of April's stories." He turned back, scanning around before snatching up the remote wedged between the couch cushions and pulled up the recorded listings, "See? They got you on video."

"Mike…" Don spoke weakly, "I don't think…"

His voice faded away however as the dark, fuzzy video instantly filled the screen.

As the short clip ended Mikey pressed pause, but said nothing more as he glanced back at his older brothers. Don looked away the moment Mikey's gaze settled on him, unable to look at either Leo or Raph as the video flashed across the television. His energy was rapidly waning thus he remained silent as Leo moved to stand in front of Raphael, pulling him out of his trance as he stared at the frozen screen.

Leo said nothing. He only watched. Though the anger etched on his face was plain to see, there was no denying the tug of sadness that pulled at his mouth, a genuine sorrow that could not be faked.

Raphael's eyes widened, and his voice dropped a decibel as he spoke, "You…you can't really think that's me."

Both Don and Mikey braced themselves for Leo's response, yet moments passed in strained silence. Don at last lifted his head from where he had been staring at the floor. Leonardo had not moved from where he stood before Raph. He blinked quickly, and Don saw a glimmer of something he knew Leo strived to conceal-a vulnerability he often pretended he was immune to.

"I thought we were passed this, Raphael." Leo's voice had lowered to a whisper, the anger still lingering, though it grew mixed with another emotion that caused even Raph to pull back. "If you really want to stand there and pretend that's not you in that video, then I have nothing more to say to you. I thought I could trust you again."

Suddenly Mikey bolted from where he sat as Donatello's legs gave out from beneath him, "Don!"

Raph was nearer to Don than Mikey was, and his arms shot out, catching his brother seconds before he collapsed to the ground. Instantly Don erupted into a fit of violent coughs, the clammy flesh along his bare arms and thighs surging with a wave of fresh goose bumps.

The sounds of Don's pained breathing filled the room. Carefully, Raph pulled him upright, wrapping one arm steadily around Don's waist as the smaller turtle leaned heavily against him. He squeezed his eyes tight, head pounding as he struggled to regain his breathe. Resting against Raph's warm skin only forced him to further recognize his own icy state. He fought to crack his eyes open, even as he felt Raph already steering him toward his room.

"You know what Leo?" Raph's voice was hard. "I think we got more important things to deal with right now than listenin' to your self-righteous bullshit. Forget you."

Don caught a glimpse of concern flicker across Leo's face, mirrored on Mikey as he continued to watch from the other side of the couch. He was glad Raph was leading him away from them now. Don didn't want their help. He didn't even want Raphael's help. Not like this.

"C'mon, Donnie," Raph muttered, hoisting him back up a bit more as he slowly turned them in the direction of Don's room, "time to rest. We can deal with all this other crap later."

He finished his last sentence with a final pointed look in Leo's direction, as though daring the older turtle to disagree. Leo took a step forward, his sudden spike in concern over his younger brother's ailing condition quickly overtaking his need to argue. But as Raph turned led Don away, Leo held back and suppressed a sigh.

In silence the two ninjas stepped inside Donatello's shadowy bedroom, before pausing as Raphael realized Don's bed required a ladder to reach. Changing his mind he gently eased his brother into the swivel chair by his desk instead.

"Thanks."

Don's voice was quiet and the moment he was free from Raph's grasp he felt any last semblance of energy drain from his body, and he rested his arms on his knees. Don sighed, still attempting to push the concerned expression on Leo's face out of his memory, yet could do nothing to lessen the lingering sound of his voice from resounding in his head.

The darkness was a welcome relief to his pounding senses. He was thankful that Raph hadn't switched on the light upon entering the room. Unlike their other brothers, Raph didn't require much light to see, just as Don rarely desired it, and the two said nothing as the cool shadows embraced them.

After a few moments his eyes adjusted to the dark, and Don hesitated as he realized Raph had made no motion to leave his room. Rather, he was leaning against the edge of Don's desk, arms crossed. He was staring straight through him, his expression pulled into one of deep contemplation.

Don bit his tongue, fidgeting where he sat as he drummed his fingers against his knee. Deciding he needed to speak, he finally blurted out, "Don't worry about Leo. He'll cool down once Splinter's gone and we can all figure this out. I think he got spooked being woken in the middle of the night and not really knowing what's going on. You know he just wants us all to be safe."

It felt odd to be uttering words of comfort to Raphael. How many times had he sat in equal contemplative silence with Leo, relaying soothing anecdotes of patience? Half the time he hardly even believed in what he said, taking comfort only in the fact that he could quell another fiery confrontation between his two older siblings for at least another day.

Only this time, his words held no such comfort.

"Like I give a damn about Leo," Raph muttered darkly, a tinge of bitterness lacing his words as he focused his gaze fully on Don, "You're gonna talk to me Donnie. What the hell is goin on with ya? Like I'm supposed to believe Splinter's just goin' back to the old lair for some stupid plants? Ya nearly passed out just now and you're tellin' me that's normal?"

Don shrank back just a bit, averting his eyes. Clenching his teeth he pulled up his arms and quietly hugged himself, "Please, Raph, I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. I've just been up late working a lot lately. Couple that with running around all night…I mean, it's probably low blood sugar or something. I…" Don sighed, his temples beginning to ache, "I just need time to figure this all out…"

"Low blood sugar?" Raph snorted, "That really the best ya got?"

Don didn't answer. He heard Raph give a loud sigh of temporary surrender.

"Why do ya always hafta do that? Always tryin' to play peacekeeper." Raph huffed, though there was a distinct note of concern still tugging at his words, "You should have just let Leo say what happened. Guy's had enough excuses made for him as it is. If he wants to tell Splinter this stupid little story he's got about me and the Nightwatcher, then ya should have let him. Woulda proved once and for all how dumb he sounds, and then he wouldn't have the balls to stand out there and yell at ya."

Don grimaced, "I don't think we ought to concern Splinter with all this." he paused, suppressing another sigh as he mumbled quietly, "But I do wish he wasn't leaving. I really think he's overstating the issue."

"I dunno, Donnie." Don could hear Raph's stifling his own troubled sigh, "Ya don't look so good, bro. I mean, even worse than ya have been for a while now. Maybe Splinter's right. If there's somethin' out there that can help, then we should listen to him."

Raphael didn't seem to notice through the shadows as Don stiffened where he sat. Instead, when Don spoke again, he sounded distracted, "I just hope Splinter believed what I said. I can't really remember the last time any of us actually rented a movie, much less all four of us needing to go at once."

"You kiddin'?" Raph snorted as he rolled his eyes, "You coulda told Splinter the sky was green and he woulda believed it. He believes anythin' ya tell him. He still hasn't figured out yet you're the best liar outta all of us."

Don said nothing. He only looked away.

"I meant that as a good thing."

"Yeah…"

Biting back the guilt that welled up inside of him, Don attempted to stand. His calves tingled as he wiggled his numb toes, uncertain if he was actually circulating warmth through his frozen body. He leaned heavily against the desk as he pretended to ignore how Raph stiffened from where he stood, watching him in wary apprehension.

Don could feel his nerves begin to strain, and he swallowed, quickly summoning another topic of conversation.

"Look, Raph, we'll find this doppelganger Nightwatcher, alright? That suit's design is simple enough to replicate fairly accurately. Well, accurate enough to seem authentic through a cheap camera lens. You know that as well as I do." Don paused before offering a lopsided grin, "Besides, whoever's doing this doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell at staying hidden for long. Not without your street smarts, or my genius behind the scenes. No matter how good they think they are, it's a two person job to be the Nightwatcher."

For a moment the older turtle seemed to relent. Yet as Don's hopeful smile widened, Raph's brooding expression only deepened, "I guess."

Don's grin quickly faded and he looked away. Gripping the edge of the desk a bit tighter, he hoped Raph wouldn't notice that his legs were starting to shake beneath him.

He turned his eyes down on his hands before he glanced around, pausing when he realized he wasn't in his lab, "Listen, I think I might have some of original blueprints from the suit. If I can find and update them, and if Leo's really adamant about catching this guy, maybe now's the time to finally tell him about what exactly happened while he was gone. I mean everything, my involvement included. I know I could modify the design to create something similar for all four of us to-"

"No."

Don jerked back, forehead wrinkling in confusion, "But why?"

"Look, Donnie…" Raph sighed as he closed his eyes and he shook his head. He unfolded his arms and pulled away from the desk as he faced Don directly and looked him straight in the eye, "I know I avoided a lot of tight corners in that suit 'cause of your help. I probably wouldn'ta lasted as long as I did if ya hadn't fixed it up the way ya did, and I'm glad that it was you I had as my partner."

Raph paused, looking as though he wanted to offer a smirk, though it never came, "If I had to choose anyone to help me through it all again, it'd be you bro. But…" Raph twitched, before he finally stepped back with a scowl, "It's too late now to tell Leo about everything that happened between us. As far as he's concerned, the Nightwatcher began and ended with only me. "

"But" Don's stomach flipped, "the technology still works. The cameras…the communicators, I can find a way to utilize them in our search. We can figure it out; whoever's doing this won't be able to hide from us forever."

Raph shook his head, "Those communicators were always faulty, remember? Ya were always callin' me when I was out patrolling, and then I'd have no way of hangin' up."

Don had the decency to look sheepish before giving a small, apologetic shrug, "Well…maybe that's because I reinstalled the communicators in your helmet without a turn off option."

Raph shrugged dismissively before the meaning behind Don's words fully sank in. His eyes widened, "Wait, what? Ya mean, it was designed that way on purpose?"

"Well, it was really annoying when you would suddenly hang up on me. Especially when I was in the middle of trying to tell you something important."

"Not as annoying as havin' to listen to your constant breathin' in my ear," Raph didn't bother trying to hide the irritation that crept into his voice, "Jeez, what would possess ya to even think of doin' something like that?"

"Because," Don paused, unable to look Raph in the eye, "I needed to make sure I could communicate with you at all times. So I would know where you were. There were times we were disconnected, and," he fell quiet, his fingers curling in as he blinked rapidly before exhaling slowly, though it did little in soothing the familiar rush of panic that rapidly tightened around his throat and his voice grew hushed, "…it terrified me not knowing if you were okay."

Don fell quiet. He exhaled slowly and shook his head, though the motion was the final push he needed to cause the lights in his head to explode. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and he squeezed his eyes shut as his stomach gave a violent lurch.

"Donnie?" Raph hand shot out the moment Don lost balance, grabbing tightly onto his arms. Don could feel the clamminess of his own skin beneath Raph's warm fingers; though there was very little he could do but focus on the furious thudding of his heartbeat drilling deep inside his chest. He felt Raph give a gentle tug, attempting to usher him back into the chair, "Hey...take it easy. Ya wanna sleep on the couch tonight instead? I'll go kick Mikey off of it. Not sure how I'm gonna get you up into your bed."

Don kept his head tucked down, his entire body curled comfortingly in a near fetal position, and he knew better than to shake his head in response, "I'm fine, Raph! Get out of my face and let me breathe!" the words snarled out of his mouth before he gritted his teeth, his only option to prevent them from chattering. He could feel his own nails piercing into his arms before he finally managed to lift his head, startled by the expression on Raph's face.

An icy punch hit him in the gut, and he realized the harshness of his words, "Sorry…"

A few seconds crawled by before Don realized that Raph wasn't going to respond. A terrified shock bolted through Don's core as he met his older brother's gaze.

Raphael was staring hard at him, studying him carefully. He paused for a moment, his tongue flicking out to wet his mouth subconsciously before he leaned in slowly. When he spoke, his gruff voice was unusually quiet, "This, all this stuff that's goin' on with ya…does it have anythin' to do with that poster we saw in the subway a few nights ago?"

Don's stomach gave a painful clench. He opened his mouth to respond, and was suddenly bombarded by a fit of throaty coughs. He reached up and gripped the side of his head as his eyes blurred with tears before he thickly swallowed and quickly responded, "Raph, we…we need to tell Leo the truth about the Nightwatcher. Mikey too. They'll know it wasn't you on that video and they'll drop the whole issue."

He heard Raph give a loud sigh, before he reached behind him and pulled down the top blanket from Donatello's bed. Don felt the heavy cloth drape around his shoulders even as his shivers intensified. Raph seemed to have abandoned the idea of transferring him over to the couch.

"We can't." Raph spoke flatly as he moved to the door, "This is between me and Leo, and it'd be stupid to drag anybody else into it. I'm the only reason you were involved with the Nightwatcher anyway. I'm not gonna let Leo make your life a living hell about it too."

Don watched Raph from the corner of his eye, the effort to lift his head too much to bother with, "But if we don't, he'll continue to place the blame on you. What have you really got to hide at this point?"

Raph's hand paused as it grasped the doorknob, his shell facing Don as he grew quiet. His grip tightened.

"Donnie, there's just some things I have to take care of myself."

Donatello flinched, "Like what?"

He received no answer. Don watched as his older brother made motion to leave. Fidgeting, Don struggled to straighten where he sat, the blanket slipping from his shoulders.

"Raph," his voice was weak though it stopped the older turtle mid-step. Don inhaled, a vain attempt to steady his flailing heartbeat, "just please don't do anything on your own. Sometimes taking a step back and seeing how things play out is the best thing to do. Okay?"

The two brothers fell into silence as Don's hollow voice faded into nothing. At last Raph pushed open the door.

"Try to get some sleep, Donnie. I'll be awake if ya need anythin'."

The door shut with a foreboding click behind him.

Donatello sat alone in the darkness. His blanket fell slowly to the floor, and he once more succumbed to the cold.