Chapter 24

NOTES: I do not own anything associated with the TMNT universe; my characters are of my own making and cannot be used without my permission.

Next up on the vacation slot; Donnie and Isleen! I'll let the story speak for itself, but to give y'all a little heads up; these two have yet to consummate their relationship because they have been way too busy with things. This may, or may not take that turn… you just have to read it to find out!

IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU

Mornings; time to start the day off right with a good breakfast and good talking. It is a preempt of how the rest of the day will go. For Donnie and Isleen, it would be quite busy; they had decided to not get some alone time together, wanting instead to work getting the mutagen ready for experimentation. They had just informed the others of their decision; and, it did not go over well.

"What? Why the hell would you do that?" Rose really couldn't believe what she was hearing! "You two have been working like crazy, you NEED this!"

"Yeah, I ain't gonna be consoling ya when you burn yourselves out, so do this!" Raphael knew how Donnie got when he latched onto an idea; he worked and worked till he was overly exhausted, then he would work some more. "Last time this shit happened to ya Don, you were out of it for three days! You scared the hell out of dad, and us too!"

Leo chimed in with how he felt. "Donnie, you have to take this, you too Isleen. Please, all of your stuff can wait a week."

"Dude, you and your lady gotta go down there; it is super awesome, trust me, you both will love it!" Mikey was the kind of turtle that was always happy; and in that, he wanted to see others happy as well. This really tore at him because he knew that above all others, those two needed a break the most. "Please Donnie; I promise not to bother you in your lab for at least a month if you go!"

"Oh, they are gonna go alright!" Rose got up from her seat at the kitchen table; she was pissed off too. "We knew you two were gonna pull some shit like this; so we already packed your bags. They are already in the Jeep; also, the doors to your labs are padlocked and I have the keys on me. You two ARE going, there is no more discussion on this subject, so finish your breakfast and get your asses into gear, got it?"

They should have known better; knowing that Rose would be upset by their decision. Now they were forced to go because they could not access the labs; and Rose also informed them that the other doctors agreed with her and would refuse to help them in any way if they stayed.

Donnie and Isleen looked at each other for several moments. Shrugging his shoulders, Donnie admitted defeat. "Alright, we will go; but can we at least bring our laptops? There is data on it that we need to discuss and…"

"Hell no, you two ain't bringing anything that is associated with your work; no way, no how!" Raph was about ready to kick Donnie in the ass; he knew that, once they got there, and recouped from the shock of not having any work to do; that they would have at least a decent time. "We all agreed on this; you can't change our minds; and if you stay, we are gonna annoy the hell outta ya." And, the thing that would make them run for the vehicle, "And Mikey said he would follow you both around and tell ya every story he can remember, and ya can't do shit about it!"

"Oh sweet lord no!" Donnie liked Mikey's stories just as much as anyone else; however, having him up his ass all the time… "We'll go, we'll go!"

Isleen wasn't so convinced that this was what they needed. "We are so close to completing the mutagen, we can't stop now! Just give us a few more days; that should be all we need."

Walking over to Isleen, Rose placed an arm around her shoulders. "It can wait another week; nothing will be touched in the lab so you can pick up wherever it is you left off when you return." Seeing as how Isleen was still on the fence about it, Rose tried one last approach. "Hun, I promise you that when you guys go down there, you will not be disappointed. I went through a lot so we could all do this. I want the best for you and Donnie, you know that."

Sighing, Isleen looked up at her friend and smiled. "Alright, we will do it your way then Rose."

"Good. And while you two are down there, I'd like for you to hike along the trails and document all the flowers and plants that reside there. I remember there being a lot of wax myrtle, sage and wild blackberries; I was wondering if you could bring me back some of each, and any other plants you might think we need here. I wanna make some blackberry jam and those berries are excellent for that."

Well Donnie and Isleen lit up at the prospect of documenting the plants that they happily agreed. It wasn't what they really wanted to be doing; however, it was better than having nothing at all.

Rose glanced over at Raphael and winked at him. Leo saw that and asked Raph about it after they left. "Rosie knew that they would just probably sit there and pout the whole week; so she thought giving them a task would help them out a little. Now they can feel all important and they really ain't doin' nothing of significance."

"So, Rose doesn't want all those plants then?"

"Not entirely true; she does want the blackberries for the jam; the other stuff… well, if those two smarties took a minute to think, they woulda known that everything down there we have up here."

"You know that she is a genius, right?" Leo was impressed; when Rose wanted something, she usually got it; one way or another. And this really wasn't lying; just not telling the whole truth!

"Yep, I know; it's one of her finer qualities!" Raph loved to boast about her; god, how he loved that woman!

So, on the way down to the house, Donnie and Isleen spoke about how they were going to classify the plants, how much of each they should return with and how they should store the samples. It kept their minds occupied and off of the mutagen. Donnie did bring his equipment that he usually carried on him because; well, he already had it on him when they came down for breakfast. However, there wasn't much in the way of working on things as most of it was tracking equipment, a radio, and other assorted weapons and first aid essentials.

Norman greeted them at the front door, Rose called and gave him a heads up that they would be there shortly. They briefly talked as he showed them in and where everything was located at. "Rose gave me a list of your favorite foods and drinks, as well as movies and special sheets and comforters that you like. There are a few other things she had mentioned, but told me to let you find them out for yourselves. I don't live too far from here, so if you require any other items, don't hesitate to call me." Norman hesitated for a moment, before adding, "Oh, almost forgot; be careful when you go on the trails, there have been a few black bear sightings and right about this time of the year, them bears get all ornery and stubborn."

Shaking their hands, he bit them farewell. Closing and locking the door behind him, Donnie let out a big sigh. "Well, what should we do next?" Looking around the downstairs to see if anything would catch his interest, Donnie's eyes landed on a few 'Popular Science' magazines. He began to walk over to them when Isleen's voice caught him. "I'm hungry so let's make some lunch; we can talk about how we can proceed when the mutagen gets finished, that sound ok to you?"

Stopping short of grabbing one of the magazines, he thought about it for a brief moment before replying. "Yeah, I guess that's a good idea, I could eat something; what should we make?"

"Well, how about a nice salad with a vinaigrette dressing and some green tea?" After thinking about what Rose said, she had concluded that a break might be a good thing; after all, they were working very hard. Although she was not one to stop in the middle of a project; perhaps some time away would give them a better perspective of things, and possibly some new insight.

While they ate, they spoke about what they would do the rest of the day. It wouldn't be much though; the drive was a long one and Isleen was beginning to get a bit drowsy. They usually refrained from taking naps; especially when they were working on something. However, they were not doing that currently, so what was the harm. So after they cleaned up and did the dishes, they took their bags upstairs to the master bedroom.

Both of them were quite taken in with the view; it was just spectacular, to say the least! Norman had opened the windows to let in the fresh fall air, and the sun kept the temperature at a comfortable level for them. They unpacked their things, and then took turns in the bathroom to get a shower.

Isleen went in first, Donnie insisted. He was just a gentleman like that; a quality that she truly did admire in him. He was a wonderful turtle, kind and considerate, caring, compassionate and giving. He worked hard on things and was just as organized as she was. However, their relationship had not progressed like the other girls had. Of course they kiss, and on a few occasions there was some fondling and nipping; but never full on sex. Isleen did not think it was appropriate at the time; she and Donnie were working closely together and she really did not wish to spoil things with sex. A professional relationship was much more important to her; or so she thought.

Isleen heard the other girls talking about their love for the guys; and she really did care about Donnie a lot, however, she didn't feel like it was love. There were times that she would get a bit jealous of the other girls; they seemed so happy and in love, now why couldn't she be that way as well?

'Damnit Isleen, you know why you can't love a guy anymore; so just shut it out of your mind already!' She thought to herself, not daring to say those words aloud. 'You care for Donatello as a good friend and collogue, that is all!' God, how she wished she could confide in someone about why she was scared to death to love again. She hated keeping it a secret and longed to talk about it; and perhaps one day, she would.

"Isleen, you ok in there? You're taking a long time." Donatello's voice came through the door, concern edging in it. "Is everything alright?"

Startled because she had not even known that thirty minutes passed by, Isleen gave a quick reply. "Yes, everything is fine; sorry, I was lost in thought for a bit, I'll be out in a little while."

Satisfied with her answer, Donnie continued to unpack his things. His mind drifted back a few weeks ago when he and Isleen were working on a better method of detecting any anomalies in the security system. The system had been hacked into twice; which resulted in he and Isleen having to go through every single line of code to find the one string that needed removed.

Finally finding a solution, they celebrated with some champagne. It was only supposed to be just one glass each; however they were feeling so good about their accomplishment that before they knew it, the whole bottle was gone. Neither could hold their liquor well, and soon they were talking about goofy things; and doing goofy things too.

Donnie had asked Isleen if she ever felt the need to do more with him; and when she asked for clarification, he replied with, 'Have you ever wanted to have sex with me?' She didn't even contemplate about the answer. 'Yes'.

So Donnie got a bit bolder and asked, "Do you wanna do it now?'

"What, do you mean sex? Have sex with you now? Uh, sure!"

Donnie had heard from his brothers that sex with their ladies was the best and that the girls taught them so many things; and they even talked about some of them too! He quickly went over what he could remember in his mind, wanting his first time with her to be memorable. They got their clothes off and began kissing; he was doing well, hearing soft moans and whimpers coming from his lady.

Donatello was on cloud nine; he had finally got his wish! As the young turtle continued, he was just getting to the good part when Isleen passed out cold on the bed, snoring a bit loudly. He hadn't even noticed at first, he was so intent on pleasing her. However, he eventually heard her snoring and stopped. He would not take advantage of her in her current state, so he situated her better on the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. He retrieved another blanket for himself and went over to the sofa that was right across from the bed. Plopping himself down on it, he covered himself and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Isleen didn't remember most of that night, and all Donatello told her was that she had fallen asleep and he did not want to wake her, so he slept on the couch.

Right now, he wished he had not remembered that particular memory; it was a bit painful to him. Here he was, a brilliant turtle, handsome and strong; and this beautiful woman had come into his life and she was perfect for him in every way.

And all he wanted to do at that time was make discoveries, do research, and plan for every situation that he could think of. "All of that time wasted!" He muttered to himself. "Yes, I've made progress, and great discoveries, but for what? My brothers have love; so why can't I? Why can't I have the love of my woman AND a great career? I'm going to start living my life more fully, for myself and for Isleen!"

His mind made up, he decided to act upon things. Hearing that she was in the shower, he quietly made his way into the bathroom. Every so carefully, Donnie pulled back the shower curtain a bit; Isleen had her back facing towards him while she was soaping up the washcloth. She was humming to herself, and not really paying attention. He gingerly stepped into the shower as the warm water lightly hit his body. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her neck.

And Isleen jumped about five feet into the air and screamed. Quickly turning around, she attempted to cover herself. "Donatello! What are you doing in here! I… I can't… no, I can't do this! Please… you just… please go…"

He was hurt; here he was taking the initiative and acting on his feelings; feeling that he was certain she had the same of. And she shot him down in a huge way. He was at least thankful for the water running down his face; she wouldn't see the tears trailing down his cheeks. He said nothing, quickly getting out, grabbing one of the extra towels and stepping out of the bathroom.

Isleen was left there with a shocked and somewhat surprised expression. She had no idea how badly her words and actions damaged him; however, she knew that this would have to be talked about. Isleen also decided to confide in him about the reasons why she could not love another; he deserved that much.

Not even bothering to dry off or dress, Isleen wrapped herself up in the terrycloth robe that was left for her by Norman. "Donnie, I… I'm sorry, it's just that… well, you surprised me is all. I didn't mean…"

"No, the fault is all mine; I should have never assumed you would want to do anything with me other than be friends. I apologize, it will not happen again." He had to turn away from her to keep from crying.

Her heart was heavy, and tears were welling in her eyes. What she wanted right now was for him to hold her, but that wasn't going to happen; at least, not right now. Maybe there was a chance they could patch things up; even if it was a slight chance, it was still worth taking.

Sighing lightly, Isleen gently placed her hand on Donnie's shoulder. "Donnie; I… I have something to tell you. It's important that you hear me out till the end, alright?"

He still would not turn to look at her, but he did hear her words. "Yeah, go ahead".

"When I was young; twelve to be exact, I was… well, I was raped repeatedly by a family friend. I never even told my parents about it for years afterwards, believing the fault was with me. It wasn't until I was seventeen that I realized I was not to blame, but he was. I did tell my mother and father about it, and the man was arrested and found guilty. He is still in prison, which I am thankful for; he won't be getting out for another forty years. But when he… when he raped me, he really tore up my insides. I had several surgeries to fix things, however I have a lot of scaring and it is even painful for me to wear a tampon when I am on my period."

As Donatello listened, his tears stopped; and then started up again as she spoke. The tears were because she had been hurt, and was still hurting; and this was tugging at his heart. She had carried that nightmare around with her for years, not knowing what to do and thinking that she was to blame for it all. Turning to face her, he took her hand in his. Placing it up to his lips, he softly kissed it. "Why didn't you tell me Isleen; I would have understood."

She hung her head; the tears still threatening to come. "I was afraid; I thought that if you knew I would not be able to have sex without a lot of pain, that you wouldn't love me; and you deserve someone who can love you fully and wholly. I didn't think I was that person."

"Oh sweetheart, the fault was not yours, it never was; it was that sick minded bastard. And this would never effect how I feel about you, you must know that." He held his arms out for her; and she willingly let him pull her in to comfort her. "We can work this out Isleen; I will find a way to help you; and it does not matter about the sex, I will still love you no matter what."

She sniffled, wiping the tears that were now flowing freely down her face. "Really?"

Donatello smiled down at her. "Really, I promise."

They sat there for a while; not talking, just holding one another. After some time went by, Isleen shifted. "Donnie; can I lie down for a while; I suddenly feel so exhausted."

"Of course you can! Do you want me to leave while you nap?" He really didn't want to, however if she wanted to be alone, he was not going to protest.

"No… no, I don't wanna be alone; could you please stay with me?"

"Of course I will!" He helped her get comfortable; and then laid down next to her, pulling her close to him. Bringing the covers up and over their bodies, he kissed her gently on her cheek. "You rest now, I watch over you."

Smiling, Isleen thanked him. No sooner did she close her eyes, than she was fast asleep. Donny lay there, watching her slow and steady breathing. He would stay like that; watching over her slumber, till she woke a few hours later.

Things slowly started to work out for them as they spent long hours talking about things. She spoke at length about her time at Ghost Labs; talking about the discoveries she made; about Rose's time there and many other things. She revealed that her and her parents were not very close; something that she regretted because they were now dead. She also confided that a lot of times, she was jealous of the other girls. Isleen was an outsider; someone who was very different than them. She rarely drank with them; and when she did, it was maybe a glass of wine, nothing ever hard. Isleen never went to the clubs with them; choosing instead to close herself off in her lab. Her taste in clothing and food were different than the other girls too.

Isleen did notice however, that Rose, Brissen and Isleen would try and include her in most things, wanting to get to know her better. Again, she would pick her lab work over her friends; but they never stopped being friends with Isleen; and never stopped inviting her to go with them everywhere.

Isleen did say that when they arrive back home, she would have a long conversation with the girls about it all. As Rosie always says, 'All work and no playtime make a woman a bitch'.

Donnie confided in Isleen that he was always shy around his brothers; they were so bold and out there; and he wanted so very much to be like them. But father would always tell him to 'be yourself my son'. He would continue to do that; and then more.

Slowly, they started to enjoy themselves, taking long walks along the trails and sitting out on the back porch at night watching the stars. This did indeed remember Rose's requests and collected the plants she wanted; they also picked enough wild blackberries for her to make a few gallons of preserves.

It was during one of these outings that something went wrong. They were walking down the trail, looking for the last plant they needed; the wax myrtle. The two were in their own little world and never heard the bear coming up on them. Isleen saw it first and screamed.

"Don't run Isleen, just stay put, I'll try and scare it away." Donnie got in front of her, his right hand going for his staff. "Go! Get out of here! Get away!" He yelled; it did not work and only served getting the bear even more angered.

This was the first time that Isleen was around a dangerous animal without any safety glass between them. Panic set in and she did what you are never supposed to do when a bear is close by; she started running.

Donnie was so intent on trying to get the bear to leave, that he did not know what she'd done until he saw the bear bolt away and being chasing her. "Isleen!" He screamed, taking off after her and the bear.

She did not think she could run so fast; but I guess when you have a five hundred pound black bear on your ass, your body can do surprising things. For as fast as she was running; the bear ran faster. It quickly caught up to her; and just when she thought she might make it; Isleen tripped over an exposed tree root and fell. In a few seconds the bear would be on top of her, tearing her to pieces.

Hurriedly, Isleen curled up into a ball, her arms covering her head; she was shaking like crazy; praying to God that she'd survive this. The bear would be on top of her in a few seconds, and she braced herself as best she could… nothing. Attempting a quick peak, she witnessed Donatello leap towards the bear, knocking the creature down and wrestling with it. His staff was pretty much useless right now, however, he did have a small knife, and his throwing stars. Knowing he could not throw the stars, he improvised and used them to slash away at the bear. Having two in each hand, he held tight to them as he put all of his strength into it; the small blades shredding away at the bears skin.

Within mere seconds, the bear was wounded. Quickly tumbling out of the way, Donatello made a quick grab for his staff; engaging the blade at the end, he charged the bear again, burying the blade deep into the bear's chest; piercing the heart and killing it.

Breathing heaving, he made his way over to Isleen, who was still on the ground in a ball shaking. "You ok?"

She was a bit in shock; and as soon as Donnie realized that, he scooped her up into his arms, gently shaking her by the shoulders. "Isleen, come one hun; look at me… come one… yeah, that's it… alright, it's gonna be ok now… ssssshhhhh, it's dead, it can't hurt you."

Realizing what he was saying, Isleen composed herself a little better. She nodded in reply that she was alright; and her next action caught Don off guard. Isleen grabbed hold of him tightly and crushed her mouth on his, hungrily kissing him.

Donnie recovered quickly, returning what she gave him with passion. He knew they should get back to the house; he didn't want to be around to see what other animals were going to come around for some free dinner. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and helped her up. Gingerly lifting her in his arms, they made their way down the trail and to the house.

Isleen calmed down after a while; all she wanted to do was to have Don hold her, and he willingly obliged. The holding turned into kissing, and then it went the next step, and so on. She wanted him to make love to her; needed him to. He was hesitant, but she let him know to take it slow, and that if it was too much for her, she would tell him.

It was not as bad as she had thought, and only hurt a little at first. The doctors had told her that she couldn't have intercourse without severe pain, and she believed them. However, when that adrenaline started rushing in; the pain was a mere memory in her mind as she enjoyed every moment that he gave her.

Their bodies meshed together as one; it was pure ecstasy to feel him inside of her. Isleen promised herself that they would have many more moments such as this; and she was certain that Donatello would not object to it at all. They had wasted too much precious time and wanted to make up for as much of it as they could right now.

They spent the last few days in bed together, only getting out for food, drinks, and bathroom breaks. And they took showers together, finding them very enjoyable; and very pleasurable too!

The time went by quickly; however that didn't matter to them. They would have time together at home; and there was always room for another vacation for them.

Bags packed, they said their farewells to Norman; thanking him for taking care of things for them. The caretaker smiled and waved as they drove away. As he walked back up the pathway to the front entrance, he mumbled to himself. "Wow, what a busy month here! I tell ya, Rose sure does know how to treat her friend's right! Wish I had someone like that when I was younger!" Chuckling to himself, he went into the house to get it ready for Rose.