Lost in the Fight

Chapter 6 - Before the Storm

Donnie didn't have time for rest right now. His brothers were counting on him.

"I know, I know . . . But I really have to get some of these projects done. They're extremely important, Sensei," Donatello pleaded earnestly. He knew that convincing his father to leave him to his work would be no simple task. He was fully aware of the fact that Master Splinter was not as easy to shoo away as Mikey was.

The wise old rat knit his brow and twitched his whiskers in contemplation.

"Donatello, sometimes you place too much burden upon yourself. You have been blessed with extraordinary abilities and your intelligence never ceases to amaze me, but you have an unsettling tendency to neglect your physical and emotional needs in order to keep things running around here. You demand more of yourself than what is possible and you refuse to ask for help when needed, feeling it is your responsibility to fix everything. But you cannot fix everything. Especially if you do not take care of yourself. Your projects can wait until you are feeling better, my son. Though you do not seem to think so, your health is far more important than any project you may have," Master Splinter said, looking deep into his son's fatigued eyes.

"Hai, Sensei," Donatello sighed, dipping his head down in an attempt to hide the distress that he feared his ever-watchful father might see on his face.

Master Splinter's last few comments had inadvertently reminded Donnie of what Leo had said to him earlier in the day, just before his oldest brother had hit him up about making the upgrades to the T-phones. Donnie had no doubt in his mind that his father – unlike Leonardo – had been sincere when he had told him that his health was more important than any project, but that didn't make the memory of what Leo had done hurt any less. His own brother had pretended to care about him just to get him to do his bidding.

"Is there something else troubling you, my son?" Master Splinter asked as he gently rested one paw on top of his most inquisitive son's shoulder while he used his other paw to lift his son's head up. He instantly noticed that Donatello's skin felt warmer to the touch than it should have.

As soon as Donatello peered up at Master Splinter, he could see that his father had already known the answer to his question before he had even posed it. He recognized the knowing twinkle in his father's eyes.

"You've been talking to Mikey, haven't you?" Donnie groaned, letting his posture sag a little. He should have known that his baby brother would go running off to tell their father about what had happened in the lab. This was a perfect example of why Donnie worked so hard to keep his feelings to himself as much as possible. Sharing things with his brothers always seemed to backfire on him.

"Your younger brother is quite concerned about you," Master Splinter said and his lips stretched into a faint smile at just the thought of his youngest child, but the smile was fleeting. His expression abruptly turned somber when the worktable beside Donatello's desk caught his eye. There were numerous food items on the tabletop, including a few slices of toast, a banana, and something that looked as though it had once been a sandwich. None of the items appeared to have had a single bite taken out of them, although he was not a hundred percent sure about the sandwich. It was in such bad shape, it was difficult to tell . . .

Master Splinter focused his gaze back on Donatello and he noticed that his intelligent son's eyes were glassy. Whether it was from tears or the unknown ailment taking hold of his second youngest child, he did not know. Either way, it filled him with unease.

"Now that I have seen the condition that you are in, I understand Michelangelo's concern. I am also very worried about you. It looks as though you have not slept in some time and I have not seen you eat anything for several days. It is also evident that you are running a fever. Clearly, you are not healthy, my son. Why did you not feel a need to tell us this? Did you think that no one would notice?" Master Splinter asked sternly. He was not at all happy with his son's decision to hide the truth from them.