Over A Glass of Water

Disclaimer: I have the ownership of TMNT… Nah, just kidding, I haven't gotten the ownership of the TMNT for Christmas, nor my birthday… Just wanted to play with them for a while :)

Main Character: Donatello & Raphael

Summary: A glass of water turns over to a serious discussion between two brothers

A/N: My first TMNT fanfic… This is how it must feel to give birth…

I have always loved those mutated turtles; it was my favorite show as a kid and has stayed that way. Don is my favorite turtle of all and I loved those episodes when he got mutated. I could just feel the love the brothers shared for each other. So this fic is set just a day… or night, after "Good Genes part 2". A bit SAINW inspired too. Remember now, I'm Swedish so English isn't my primary language; spelling and grammar mistakes do exists. I hope you can live with it :'D

You remember to R&R after reading, right? ;)

He didn't remember much, close to nothing, of the last days. It was like a mist, or a fog, that surrounded his brain and kept him from opening the book of memories. And honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to remember. The last thing he could recall was his rest at April's place, together with said name and Casey. He remembered how sick he had been, feverish and yet cold in the same time. His brother had dumped him there to take care of the mutant outbreak, Don couldn't possibly handle mutant right at that moment. Just a half hour later, maybe less, the cut on his leg, that he had gotten when handling one of the mutant from the outbreak, started to hurt like shell. He had seen how his leg started to change and the rest of the history was lost in the fog. The memory got clear again when he stepped out of a mist that covered him, to see the relieved faces of his brothers, his father and Letherhead. His brother had just revealed a little bit of the history that was covered in the fog, about his second mutation – though Don already knew about that, but nothing more than that, because according to them Don's primary mission was to rest.

It was the night after his brother had rescued him, the night after he had changed back from the aggressive, dangerous monster to the calm and intelligent Donatello that everybody knew. Don slowly woke up, his eyes blinked in confusing when he slowly titled his head to the right. He was in his room; he could clearly see that though the darkness filled every corner of the space. The alarm clock on his side lit up the digits 02.24, that told him about the late hour or the early morning if you preferred to see it like that. The olive green turtles scratched his head before a yawn left his mouth. He felt so tired, so exhausted, as he had fought over 30 foot ninjas without any break. His body was cold and yet hot at the same time, symptom of a fever, and his throat was dry and yearned for water or any cold liquid. Don sighed and slowly tried to pull himself up, only to feel how his left arm was hold back by something, or someone. The turtle tossed a look to his left and was able to discover the contours of another turtle in his bed. Don was surprised to find Mikey in his bed, the younger turtle hold a firm grip around Don's left arm, as he was afraid to let go. Mikey hadn't slept in Don's bed for years, mostly because the bed was too small for two, mutated turtles and that Mikey had grown up from fearing the dark or the nightmares anymore. Mikey wriggled a bit in his sleep, mumbling a few words.

"Donnie…" A smile crossed the older turtle's lips as he was able to discover his name among the mumbling from Mikey.

Don was about to lay a hand on his brother's forehead when a movement further downs the bed caught his attention. He raised his head and blinked in confusion as he recognized the owner of the movements. Don had understood that his mutation had been difficult for his brothers, but too found that it had caused Leo, their "fearless leader" as Raph would have said it, to sleep in his bed was a wonder to the purple-bandana brother. Leo was sitting at the edge of the bed, leaning against the wall with his head titled to the side. His right hand was resting on Don's leg, protecting the younger brother from any harm, even though they were in their home, far away from danger. Don smiled again; his brother really astonished him sometimes, and looked around to search for his third brother. But Raph couldn't be seen anywhere and Don wasn't surprised. His hot-headed, older brother wouldn't sink so low, as he would have said it, so he searched comfort by sleeping with his brother. He probably just took a round with the dummy, maybe going top-side to let out some energy and then he would be fine.

The dry throat did itself reminded and Don sighed low before he carefully wriggled his arm free from his brother's – fairly – tight grip. He sat still for a moment when his arm was free, but when he noticed that none of his brother had woken up – they would certainly not approve of the idea of getting out the bed – he slowly pushed himself from the bed. Dizziness was there in an instant and he stood still and swayed for a bit before he took a firm grip on the night table to keep himself up. He felt so weak, so fragile, and it was irritating. Suddenly he his eyes found his precious bo staff, that was leaning against the wall next to the night table, and Don took a firm grip around it and slowly started to make his way out the bedroom, the bo staff acting like a cane. He couldn't walk fast and the dizziness caused him to stop after a few steps to catch his breath, but he managed to make his way to the kitchen. He turned on the light, prayed to god that his brother wouldn't notice it, and reached for a glass in the cupboard.

"And what are you doin' up, brainiac?" A voice suddenly called for him, to his surprise. Don turned his head quickly to find his older, hot-headed brother, standing by the doorframe.

"Raph! Don't scare me like that!" Don said and put his hand on his plastron and took some deep breaths, to try to slow his beating heart down, before he turned back to the cupboard. "I was thirsty so I wanted a glass of water. Is that a crime or something?" Yet again he tried to reach out for a glass, his body didn't like to stretch out so much for a simple thing as a glass, but another hand managed to get there before him.

"Guess not, but you could have called for one of us, ya know. If I'm not mistaken, two of our brothers are sleepin' in your room." Raph gave Don a glance, holding the glass with one hand and carefully placed his other hand on the younger brother's shoulder to help him to a chair.

"Yeah, they are, but I didn't want to wake them up. And besides that, it's only a glass of water, not something exhausting preciously." Don explained, even though he felt exhausted from the short trip to the kitchen. His father has forbidden him from any kind of practices as he was ordered to rest – not to Don's joy – because that meant no computer or new inventions or repairs or anything. The olive green turtle feared that the whole lair would be in a mess when he got back from his resting. Raph rolled his eyes before filling the glass up with cold water and handed it to his brother, who gave him a quick glance. "Are you sure I'm able to drink myself, you don't want to help me with that too?"

"Just shut yar mouth and drink your god damned water." Raph answered and Don just shrugged his shoulder before drinking the water. He was thirstier that he had thought as he had to ask Raph to fill the glass two more times before he finally put the glass down on the table.

"Thanks, I really needed that."

"No problem bro." Raph said when he took his place on the other side of the table. "So, trouble sleeping? Ya're in pain or anything?" Don shook his head and glanced over to his brother, they all were worried about him for nothing. Don appreciated hit, of course, but sometimes they were just too much, he was just fine.

"Could ask the same to you. I woke up thirsty, nothing else! So how about you then?" Raph sighed and scratched his neck as he looked down on the table.

"Can't sleep… Thinkin' too much, ya know." Don eyes wide out before he made a wry smile, seeing his chance to tease his brother a bit.

"Thinking? Are you really my brother Raphael?" He asked and Raph rolled his eyes to answer him before he shot a glare towards his younger brother. "Sorry Raph, but that is not like you. So what have you been thinking of, do you want to tell me?" Don asked and leaned against the table with his elbow. Raph slowly raised his sight and gazed into Don's eyes, and suddenly the younger brother regretted that he had asked him. 'This can't be good.' He thought as the older one took a breath.

"Just wonderin' why ya never told us about you bein' sick." 'As I expected, now the talk finally comes. Though I am surprised Raph is the one to first bring it up.' Don thought before he slowly shook his head and started to play with the empty glass between his hands. He could feel Raph's eyes on him, but he took his time to collect his thoughts before he finally responded the question.

"Well, if I had told you, what difference would it have made?" Raph seemed to not have expected the answer he got, he frowned before he slowly leaned forward, raising his voice a bit.

"We could have been more careful with ya, not ask you to fix so damn much!"

"Come on! That's not true; you don't ask me to do so much…"

"Bullshit, that's exactly what we're doin'." Raph cut in. "Mikey and I are wreckin' too much in our fights, and I know that. Leo should be banned from the kitchen, destroyin' so much in it. And ya're always fixin' it, without arguin' about it. We should have been more careful, really."

Don sighed and slowly shook his head. "It wouldn't have helped. I would have mutated anyways, I knew that."

"What? Wait… You knew you were goin' to mutate?" When Don didn't object on the question Raph leaned back on the chair, looking shocked. "Ahw, shell Donnie… Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I seriously believed I could handle it, or rather hoped I could." Don sighed and turned the glass in his hand. "When I started to get sick I knew it had something to do with my cut, and it became clear to me that this was how the mutation spread among the humans. Well, I already had mutated one time and therefore I believed that I wouldn't mutate again. When the sickness got worse I didn't think I would mutate, I had started to believe myself that it was just an annoying cold." Don raised his eyes towards Raph and noticed how the older brother sat quiet in the chair and listen, not often he did so. "As many great geniuses before me I was wrong, I guess I was just too weak, as usual." Now Raph couldn't keep his mouth closed more.

"Weak? What the shell Donnie, ya're not…" Raph was in the middle of the sentence when Don cut in.

"Come on Raph! You know as well as I do that you and Leo would probably been able to handle it. What the heck, Mikey would also! I'm weak, as usual." Don took a deep breath to calm his inner feelings before he slowly looked down on the glass, spotted his own reflection in it. "You and Leo have always been the strong ones, you would have been able to push back the mutation, I just know it. And Mikey is strong too, I wouldn't have been surprised if he had succeeded with it too. I've been wondering… Maybe this is the reason why I left… Because I'm weak…"

"Left? What the shell are ya talkin' about?" Raph asked, confused about his brother's saying.

"You know, when Ultimate Draco sent us away. I've been wondering if this is the reason why the future me left, because I'm weak." Don couldn't help it, tears started to drip down his cheeks by the thought of the horrible future that he had to endure. Mikey's arm, Leo's sight, Raph's eye… Casey and Master Splinter were gone, Shredder has taken over… His brother died, because he wasn't able to figure out a better plan. "I was too weak, probably sinking down my whole family. Maybe that's the reason why I left you behind, abandon you…" Suddenly, he felt a firm grip around his arm and he looked up to find Raph closer to himself, but with an angry expression in his face.

"Donnie, ya're supposed to be the brain of this family, but now ya're just plain stupid." He said and shook his head, before he leaned back on the new chair he had taken. "You told us yourself, our family had been torn apart because ya weren't there. So we need ya Donnie. And besides that, ya have saved our asses more than one time. You're not weak, you're strong. You know, what you lack in muscles, Mikey and Leo… And probably I…" Raph quietly added after a second of silence. "… lack in brain. You're smart, brainiac, and you have come up with this amazin' vehicles, like my shell-cycle!" Raph smiled, a big grind crossed his face. "And also, that future that Ultimate Draco sent ya to, it's bullshit! We would never let ya disappear, we would never let Shredder take that control or anythin'. You know that, don't ya?" Don slowly nodded, he dried his tears and sniffled.

"You're right. I guess I've just been kind of emotional lately."

"Kind of? Ya kiddin' right? When ya were mutated ya were like super emotional, but in the other way. You even tried to grab Mikey's leg!" Raph said, busted out laughing but stopped when he noticed Don's shocked appearance. "What?"

"I did what?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, nothing. Oh god, what did I do? Poor Mikey!" Don moaned quietly and hid his face in his palms, slowly shaking his head. "What a horrible brother I am, attacking my own brothers like that!"

"Come on Donnie. You weren't yourself! And Mikey's fine, ya didn't harm him or anything. He's tougher than that. Nothing can harm that fella', he's to dumb to even feel pain." Raph laughed, making his younger brother pull his lips into a smile. "See, no harm on anyone of us. You just think too much, it's not good for ya." Don rolled his eyes.

"That should come from the right mouth you know." He said and laughed before a big yawn left his mouth, a sign that Raph seemed to have been waiting for. Instantly he took the glass from Donnie and put it in the sink.

"It's bed-time now, brainiac. Our Fearless leader will kill me if he found out that I have been keepin' ya up." He put his hands around Don's right arm and slowly helped him up on his feet. "Donnie, you're brunin' up. Still havin' a fever and you're out of bed? No, our fearless leader will not kill me now; he will skin me alive…" Raph murmured as the slowly made their way out of the kitchen.

"Gez Raph, I have already told you that I wanted a glass of water. I didn't intend to make it a nightly conversation. And besides that, I think he will forgive you when I tell him of nice you spoke to me tonight, comforting me and…"

"Donnie…" Raph cut in again, his voice low and dark. "If you tell anyone about tonight, I swear something bad will happen." But Don wasn't scared of the sudden change; he knew that Raph was scared that it would come out that he could be soft in the right moments. So the younger brother smiled and nodded.

"I know Raph, I know. You don't have to worry, I won't say a word."

Raph helped Don into his room, though he sighed low when the sight of the two other brothers in Don's bed. When Don finally was back in bed Raph turned around to leave the room.

"Raph…" Don carefully said. "I can make room for one more."

"You're kiddin'?" Raph turned around and laughed low. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I don't need sympathize sleepin' in a small huddle like that, I'm fine." Don smiled and rolled his eyes too.

"If you say so… I just want to say… Thank you Raph… Thank you for tonight." Raph smiled at his younger brother before turning away towards the door.

"Anytime, bro. Anytime…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Don woke up again, in his bed and in his room. But this time it wasn't a dry throat that awoken him, not even the sounds of his brothers. He shot a glance towards the clock again, 03.16. No one should be awake, and when he listened carefully he could hear the low sounds of his brothers sleeping breaths. No, what had awakened him was a shadow, a shadow that moved slowly over the floor towards the three sleeping brothers, a shadow that placed his steps so carefully so they shouldn't make a single noise. But Don wasn't scared of the shadow, no. He knew what the shadow was, and what it wanted. The olive-green turtle slowly closed his eyes again and drew his legs towards his chest, making a small space between him and Leo. The shadow stopped at the movement but when the space was noticed it walked the last steps and slowly laid down, resting its legs on Leo's lap and its head on Don's leg. And there it laid – a minute or two – in silence before it finally spoke up, with a low voice.

"Donnie?"

"Yeah Raph?" Don asked, with the smile still on his lips.

"… Thank you…"

"Anytime, bro. Anytime…" For the third time he fell asleep, but this time more secure than before. Now he had his three brothers around him, protecting him and each other from any possible harm. No nightmare could scare him now; nothing at all could scare him.

A/N: Darn, it took a while to write it. I love to write, but I am terrible of coming up with the plot. I hope this is good enough for you :) Remember what I said in the beginning, R&R ;)