Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing Donnie thought when Ra’s Al Ghul shattered his arm in 3 places was: this is going to be so inconvenient.

He didn’t have much time to focus on this thought, as his sympathetic nervous system kicked in, allowing him to fight alongside his brothers and friends, arm hanging limply by his side. He didn’t have time to focus on the sharp pain radiating from his fingertips to his shoulder as he clung to the cloud seeder like a lifeline, or when it exploded and flung him and Mikey onto the blimp hovering below. 

“Aw, cool!” Mikey exclaimed, popping his head back out from his shell, “I knew there had to be a reason for all these blimps!”

“I doubt this is why the blimps are here,” Donnie groaned and slowly emerged from his own shell, glancing blearily at his brother, “That being said, it’s definitely a plus.”

“I love you blimp!” Mikey continued, flopping onto his front and hugging the canvas beneath him as his adrenaline slowly faded, “Thank you for saving our shells after I so awesomely exploded the machine with the joker-ized ooze. Hey Donnie?”

“Yes, Mikey.”

“Hey, you don’t think that exploding that machine is gonna put all that stuff into the air and turn all the people in Gotham City into insane mutants, do ya?” 

“Um…”

“Man I sure hope not! That’s why I need to leave the machine stuff to you, dude. When you explode stuff there’s like, intention behind it, ya know? I—” Mikey stopped short, his eyes widened and his face paled— “Oh my God Donnie, your arm!” 

“It’s not that bad,” Donnie grimaced, hoping that his denial would keep the shock at bay at least for a few more minutes. Mikey scrambled to his brother’s side and gently placed a hand on his elbow which was bent entirely the wrong direction. He jerked back with a pained whimper and Mikey quickly retracted his touch, muttering a quiet apology. 

“Yeah, sure, no that’s totally how your arm is supposed to look.” Mikey snapped sarcastically, “Jeez, we gotta get you off this thing!” 

Donnie groaned as his own adrenaline began to fade and he felt a cold sweat prickle across his brow, nausea swirling in his gut, his heart pounding equally in his ears and his arm. 

“Did this happen just now?” Mikey asked softly, his boisterous mood all but vanished.

“Earlier.” He grunted. 

“Okay. Okay this is fine, this is fine! ” Mikey said more to himself than his injured brother, “Just pop back in your shell so I can carry you better, I’ll get us to the others.” 

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. Even in his state of shock he was sure he could move. He just needed a second.

“Donatello, if you taint my memory of fighting baddies alongside Batman by falling to your death I will never forgive you. Get in your damn shell!”

Donnie whined but pulled his head and appendages into his shell, crying out at the movement of his mangled arm. He felt an apologetic pat on his shell, then he jerked into movement. Great, let’s add motion sickness to his list of ailments. If only Leo had been the one carrying him. Even Raph has a strong center of gravity. But no, it had to be his quickest, most chaotic brother wrangling his shell down to the city below. 

In the dark, Donnie lost track of time. All he could feel was nausea and pain and all he could hear was wind whistling past his shell and his heart pounding in his head. He didn’t know how Mikey did it, but eventually he felt himself come to an abrupt halt, felt himself placed gently onto his plastron. He heard a muffled voice from outside and a friendly knock on his shell, Mikey’s signal that it was safe to come out. He stuck his head out first, squinting at the light, followed by his 3 good limbs, and lastly his broken arm, which fell limply to his side. Mikey grabbed his good arm and gently helped him into a sitting position, leaning him against the brick wall. He looked around, suddenly aware that they were back outside ACE Chemicals. 

“How’re you doing, bud?” Mikey asked him. In lieu of a response, Donnie grasped his stomach and retched, losing his lunch onto the cracked sidewalk beside him. Mikey made an aborted noise of disgust, but gently rubbed Donnie’s shell until he was done dry heaving. Over the ringing in his ears, he heard the sound of footsteps sprinting toward him. 

Leo threw the unconscious foot ninja he was carrying out of the burning building when he saw his brothers, and Raph followed suit. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl hung back, letting the brothers have their reunion. Leo fell to his knees in front of Donnie and took his face in his hands.

“Donnie, Donnie look at me—are you okay?” He asked frantically. 

“Peachy.” Donnie forced a wobbly smile.

“His arm is totally jacked,” Mikey provided, “And he’s definitely in shock. I think the excitement staved it off for a minute but as soon as we exploded that machine thingy he’s been out of it. How about you guys, is everyone okay?”

“Everyone is okay. It’s all over, we’ll fill you guys in on the way back.” Leo responded. His voice sounded choked up, like he was holding back tears.

“In the meantime, we’re going to need to set that arm,” Batgirl appeared from behind Raph, followed by Batman and Robin.

“Okay,” Leo nodded grimly, “Don, give me your hand.”

“No thanks,” Donnie shook his head, “I-I think it’s okay like this!”

“Donnie, I know you know that’s not true,” Batgirl crouched down to his eye level, “You don’t want to make it worse before you can get proper medical attention.”

“Leonardo, come with me to the Batmobile,” Batman ordered.

“No way! Donnie needs me!” Leo shouted.

“You’re already in hysterics and the painful part hasn’t even happened yet,” Robin pointed out tactlessly, “I don’t think you’d be a lot of help.”

Donnie tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry.

“Kid’s got a point,” Raph grumbled, turning his glare to Batgirl, “You know what you’re doing, right?” 

“Not my first rodeo.” She replied. Raph nodded and grabbed Leo by the arm, who reluctantly followed him along with Batman and Robin to the Batmobile. 

So Donnie was left with Batgirl crouched in front of him and Mikey by his side. Mikey finally moved his hand from his shell to grab Donnie’s own, the one that was still functioning, and interlaced their fingers. 

“Okay Donnie, I’m gonna need you to relax, okay?” Batgirl said gently grabbing his injured hand, causing him to wince in pain.

“Easier said than done, I'm afraid.” He replied through gritted teeth. Batgirl looked at Mikey pleadingly. 

“Oh, Donnie, why don’t you tell B.G. about how you’re souping up the turtle van!” Mikey suggested, squeezing his hand. Donnie recognized the bait, but took it anyway.

“W-well, you saw the weapons I added. Our offense is strong but it’s awfully conspicuous, so I’m working on a cloaking device,” He said.

“We’re gonna be invisible!!” Mikey cheered.

“No way,” Batgirl replied, genuinely interested, “So will it be like Wonderwoman’s jet then?” 

“M-maybe? I don’t know her,” Donnie replied sheepishly, “but it’s not like, mystical or anything. It’s more about cameras and reflective screens and stuff.”

“Maybe you could make something like that for my bike too,” She suggested thoughtfully.

“I definitely could. I work on Raph's bike all the time. In fact, last week I rigged up his engine so it would—”

Crack

Donnie’s vision swam as Batgirl efficiently snapped his arm into the correct shape, and he squeezed Mikey’s hand so hard it was sure to at least bruise. He heard a horrific scream that he registered as his own as everything faded to black. 

For a blessed moment, everything was still, quiet, and nothing. 

Pain in his arm brought awareness back to him maybe ten minutes later. He was laid on his back, with his arm resting dead on his plastron. He squinted open one eye to find himself on the dirty floor of the turtle van,and the way his shell rattled told him they were moving. Leo sat by him, eyes closed, probably attempting to meditate to soothe his own anxiety. 

He shifted his gaze to Mikey, sitting to his right. Although he had been uncharacteristically put together throughout the whole ordeal, his face was wet with tear tracks and his head was half pulled into his shell. Raph was wrapping Mikey’s hand with an ace bandage which made Donnie’s heart drop with guilt.

“Sorry about your hand, Mikey.” Donnie croaked. All three brothers’ eyes snapped to him. 

“Don’t even trip, bro, I’m glad you’re up!” He grinned, big and stupid.

“Donnie I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening,” Leo put a hand on Donnie’s shoulder which had gone concerningly numb. 

“Don’t even trip, bro,” he parroted Mikey’s verbiage causing Mikey to giggle and Leo to roll his eyes mirthfully, “Really Leo, it was a dangerous fight. It’s not your fault.”

Donnie looked fondly at his brothers huddled around him, when a thought occurred to him:

“If you guys are all here… who’s driving the van?”

“That would be me.” He heard Batgirl's voice from the driver's seat, “Sorry for cutting you off earlier, I actually really want to hear about your tech stuff. Just, you know, priorities and what not.” 

“See, some people like hearing me talk about nerd stuff!” He jabbed at Leo  before craning his neck back to look at Batgirl, “That’s okay. I should be thanking you for helping me. Even though it hurt. A lot.” 

“You can make it up to me by making some cool tech for my bike. I’m more of a chemistry gal.”

“You got yourself a deal,” he replied with a soft smile. 

Soon enough they made it back to the Batcave where Alfred meticulously wrapped Donnie’s arm as Mikey watched. Batman slid him a few painkillers (the good stuff) and after he exchanged screen names with Batgirl and they had their fill of pizza, the turtles piled into the van and headed back to New York. 

The annoying thought of the inconvenience of his injury nagged at Donnie’s mind. He wouldn’t be able to fight, or work on machinery, or even play video games. Not for a while at least. But he pushed it away in favor of brainstorming some cool bat-themed additions he could add to Batgirl’s bike once he had use of both arms. He’d have to send her some ideas when they got home. But for now, his eyes grew heavy. Donnie let his head rest on Raph’s shoulder as he succumbed to sleep.

Chapter Text

Oracle: Hey, it’s Barbara!

bostaffsarecool: ??

Oracle: *Batgirl 

Oracle: Stupid autocorrect!!

bostaffsarecool: ooooh haha

bostaffsarecool: imagine if your name was actually barbara 

Oracle: There’s nothing wrong with the name Barbara.

bostaffsarecool: old lady name

Oracle: Says the guy named Donatello.

bostaffsarecool: point taken

bostaffsarecool: did you just accidentally tell me your secret identity?

Oracle: Tell no one.

bostaffsarecool: your secrets safe with me babs 

Oracle: 😑

Oracle: ANYWAYS

Oracle: How’s the arm?

bostaffsarecool: broken

bostaffsarecool: still hurts but I’m mostly bored. Everyone keeps telling me I should rest

Oracle: They’re right. How long do you need the cast? 

bostaffsarecool: our friend leatherhead is gonna come check on it soon. I should have a timeline then.

Oracle: Is Leatherhead a doctor?

bostaffsarecool: ya

bostaffsarecool: also an alligator 

Oracle: That sounds about right. 

Oracle: Alright Donnie, I have to go to class. Rest up and drink lots of water!

bostaffsarecool: k

bostaffsarecool: have fun, learn some stuff for me

________

bostaffsarecool: i made a blueprint for a cloaking device for your bike

bostaffsarecool: it’s kind of cumbersome but I think I found a way to split it into panels that are about 3 square inch, can keep them in a lil compartment until you press a buton and they’ll disperse over your bike and your person, rendering you not entirely invisible but incredibly difficult to detect by the naked eye

Oracle: I love that you can spell cumbersome but not button.

bostaffsarecool: I think you missed the point

Oracle: I’m joking D. Sounds super cool! We’d probably need some kind of silencing device too.

bostaffsarecool: great point! I want to make one for raph too, I’ll make a full mockup of both elements once I can use my arm again. Then I’ll run it by you for notes

Oracle: I would love to! Omg I can’t wait.

Oracle: Batman is gonna flip, he always wants to keep all the cool tech for himself.

bostaffsarecool: you’d think he’d want his teammates to be successful 

Oracle: He does, he just has a weird way of showing it sometimes. 

Oracle: He’s annoying me today, I’m sure I’ll have nice things to say about him tomorrow.

bostaffsarecool: thats ok

bostaffsarecool: what are you up to?

Oracle: Trying to write the abstract for this stupid research paper.

bostaffsarecool: what are you studying anyway?

Oracle: Getting my PHD in library sciences.

bostaffsarecool: NO WAY

bostaffsarecool: That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever heard you’re gonna have access to so much information and so many research skills!!!! Jfjdkkslalskfjkd

bostaffsarecool: brb geeking out

Oracle: I guess it is pretty impressive.

bostaffsarecool: can you help me organize my hard drive ?

Oracle: I don’t need a PHD to do that. But sure.

bostaffsarecool: But first finish your paper

Oracle: Fine.

_______

bostaffsarecool:

bostaffsarecool: us

Oracle: WHAT??

Oracle: Donnie why would you send me this 😂

bostaffsarecool: it’s funny and relatable 

bostaffsarecool: that’s why people send memes

bostaffsarecool: and I’ve had a lot of extra time on my hands

bostaffsarecool: *hand

Oracle: You’re a dork

_______

bostaffsarecool: raph says to tell Robin hi

Oracle: That’s adorable.

Oracle: He says hi back.

bostaffsarecool: mikey says to tell alfred hi

Oracle: Alfred does not say hi back.

Oracle: Total silence.

bostaffsarecool: wow

bostaffsarecool: he’s devastated 

bostaffsarecool: your butler broke my brother

Oracle: Yeah, he does that. 

Oracle: One withering stare from Alfred will destroy your self esteem.

bostaffsarecool: lol

_______

Oracle: I’m so exhausted 

Oracle: Doing Batgirl stuff and school at the same time has been ROUGH. 

bostaffsarecool: I bet! You should take a nap.

Oracle: it’s 3 a.m. If I take a nap that’s just going to bed. 

bostaffsarecool: wow I have not been watching the time

Oracle: You’re the one who should be in bed.

bostaffsarecool: just finishing up some coding. Revamping security for the lair. 

Oracle: You’re doing that by yourself? Shouldn’t you get one of your brothers to help you? 

bostaffsarecool: I’m just doing the coding. I’ll probably get mike to help with the actual setup since I still can’t use my stupid arm. 

Oracle: Go to bed.

bostaffsarecool: Ok good night

Oracle: Dude I can see you’re still online.

bostaffsarecool: that means you’re still up too

bostaffsarecool: gotcha 

Oracle: Fine. Good night for real, please go to bed eventually

bostaffsarecool: 😴

________

Oracle: Can I vent?

bostaffsarecool: vent away!

Oracle: My dad is driving me crazy!

bostaffsarecool: batman?

Oracle: Batman is not my dad. 

Oracle: He’s driving me nuts too though. 

Oracle: They both act like I’m a weak little girl and I need to be protected. I’m a strong, competent superhero, plus my computer skills put any of theirs to shame, and yet they think ROBIN is a better fit for this mission. 

bostaffsarecool: That’s stupid, isn’t he like 5 years old?

Oracle: He’s 12. He’s made entirely of puberty at this point. And I know he’s got his own daddy issues, but I’m just so sick of my dad taking Batman’s side when I get benched. And whenever I do my own thing they talk about how I’m immature and reckless, as if I don’t meticulously think through everything I do! It’s sexist and annoying!! They have no idea how much I bring to this team.

Oracle: End rant. 

bostaffsarecool: that sucks babs :/ they wouldn’t even know what to do without batgirl! you’re smart and a great fighter and they're lucky to have you!

bostaffsarecool: you should just go anyways 

bostaffsarecool: that’s what I’ve been doing lol

Oracle: I’m thinking about it. Like, lurking in the shadows so they don’t see me, then jumping out at the last minute to prove how much they need me. 

Oracle: Wait backtrack—

Oracle: Have you been going on missions with your broken arm??

bostaffsarecool: just patrols nothing crazy

bostaffsarecool: lurking in the shadows

Oracle: Donnie. You should not be doing that.

bostaffsarecool: what if they need me for something and I’m not there? 

Oracle: They can call you! You can keep surveillance on them and help with tech stuff remotely, but an injury like that won’t heal if you aggravate it.

bostaffsarecool: I hate not doing things. the cable has been messed up for a week and I haven’t been able to fix it. 

bostaffsarecool: I can’t build anything, I can’t fix anything, I can’t use a goddamn bo staff, I’m not bringing anything to the team.

Oracle: Buddy, I know that must be frustrating but I promise you’ll be back to normal before you know it! But only if you take care of yourself. And then you can build everything and fix everything and bonk everyone with your stick. 

bostaffsarecool: I do not bonk

bostaffsarecool: but maybe you’re right

bostaffsarecool: just gotta be useless for a little longer to be useful again lol

Oracle: You’re not useless.

bostaffsarecool: yeah ok

bostaffsarecool: sorry I ended up being the one venting haha

bostaffsarecool: are you gonna go on that mission? 

Oracle: Yeah, getting ready to take off.

Oracle: I’ll kick enough ass for the both of us ;)

bostaffsarecool: have fun

bostaffsarecool: be safe

bostaffsarecool: don’t do too much of either

_______

bostaffsarecool: how’d it go?

Oracle: Good enough.

Oracle: Everyone is mad at me for being sneaky but I totally saved Robin’s life so I think I proved myself. 

Oracle: So pretty much as expected.

Oracle: I think I broke Harley’s jaw.

bostaffsarecool: owch

bostaffsarecool: glad I’m not her

Oracle: Did you stay in last night? 

bostaffsarecool: yes ma'am 

bostaffsarecool: leatherhead is coming in a bit to check out my arm 

Oracle: Good! That’s a step in the right direction. 

bostaffsarecool: I hope so.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t the first time the cable went out in the sewer; far from it. Most of the electricity they had in the lair was from various projects Donatello had thrown together throughout his adolescence. They always had lights and a strong Wi-Fi signal. However functional cable always eluded him, and he found himself fixing it at least once a month. That being said, it usually took about one afternoon of Mikey whining and pestering for him to get it done. 

This time, It took him a week to find the problem: a family of rats had made a home in the cable box. He usually would have found this immediately but Leo forbade him from leaving the lair the first few days after they got back, and the cable box was out in one of the tunnels. The rats had chewed through the cords, and caused damage to the box itself. 

Once he finally figured out the problem, he'd usually be able to get it fixed in about an hour. This time, he stared blankly at the recently vacated cable box. A headache bloomed behind his eyes that he tried to shake away, which only made it worse. The work wasn't complex, but it was intricate, something that requires skill and dexterity. And two hands. 

He glared at the box before grabbing an extra wire from his tool kit and stripping the base. He tried to strip the red frayed wire in the cable box, but without being able to grab it with his supporting hand it moved around freely in the box and he was unable to get a proper grip. 

In a moment of frustrated impulse, Donnie gripped the wire with his teeth to hold it in place, stripping the coating with his good hand. It worked for a minute, until he clamped down a bit too hard, biting through the coating and reaching the copper wire itself. He saw the sparks and heard the bzzt  as an electric shock pulsed throughout his body, and threw him back onto his shell. This would not help his headache. 

“ Augh--stupid-turtle---fuck!!” He half whispered, half yelled, angrily throwing his pliers against the wall. 

“Woah there, Donnie-boy, you're stealing my look.”

Donnie scrambled back up and whirled around the see Raph standing against the wall of the tunnel with his arms crossed and an amused if slightly sympathetic smirk. 

“How long have you been there?” Donnie asked, brushing off his plastron as if dusting off a shirt. 

“A minute,” His brother replied with a shrug, “Not used to seeing ya lose your cool like that, that's kinda my thing. And what was that, did you just bite a live electrical wire? That's a Mikey move if I ever saw one.”

“Sorry.” He muttered, picking up his discarded pliers and turning back to the cable box. 

“Don't be,” Raph responded, walking over to look over Donnie's shoulder at the mangled wires, “Sheesh, what a mess.”

“Rats chewed through the cords. I need to patch up the metal but all I need to get it working again is to splice these cords back together.” 

“Move it, smart guy.” Raph ordered, shouldering Donnie out of the way. 

Donnie glared at his brother and rubbed his tender arm before resigning with a sigh and handing over the pliers. “Start by stripping the coating, don't touch the exposed wire.”

“Got it.” Raph grunted and he began working on the cable with Donnie’s supervision.

“Surprised you didn’t call your girlfriend to help you out with this.”

“My who now?” Donnie raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I don’t know, the hot chick you’ve been chatting with all day? For the past two weeks?”

“Oh please, Batgirl is a friend. She’s just as much my girlfriend as Casey is your boyfriend.” Donnie glanced at Raph who shook his head with a scoff, “Raph don't you think if I had a girlfriend you’d be hearing about it nonstop? Trust me, you would be the first person to know.”

“I better be. Hand me the electrical tape, will ya?”

Donnie handed his brother the tape, and Raph wrapped up the wire with surprisingly delicate precision. Maybe he'd ask him for help more often.

With the cable fixed, the two brothers made their way back to their living room. Donnie winced and squeezed his eyes shut, his head suddenly swimming from the change in light. 

“You good, bro?” Raph asked with concern. 

“I’m fine, just feeling a little squeamish today is all. I’ve had a headache all morning.” 

“Could have to do with the nine volts ya just took to the brain.” Raph teased.

“With the what?” Leo interjected. Donnie hadn’t noticed him and Mikey lounging on the couch.

“Don’t worry about it.” Donnie responded. Leo stood from his spot and put a hand to his brother's forehead.

“You’re feeling a bit warm, Donnie. You might want to take it easy.” 

“Yeah, and your arm isn’t lookin’ too good either.” Mikey added, peeking over the back of the worn sofa. Donnie grabbed his arm. Mikey was right: it was more swollen than it should be after this long, and the skin around the cast was red and hot. 

“ Don’t worry about it. ” Donnie repeated, “Leatherhead is coming by in a few minutes, he’s gonna check it out. Now stop hovering!” He lightly flicked Mikey in the forehead who flopped dramatically back into the couch. 

As if on cue, heavy footsteps and the sound of a tail dragging could be heard from the hallway, followed by a polite knock on the doorframe.

“L.H.!!” Mikey cried, springing up from his seat and throwing himself onto his large alligator friend in a fraternal embrace, “How you been, buddy?”

“I’ve been well my friend,” Leatherhead replied, patting Mikey on the shell, “It's good to see you. However, I’m here to see Donatello today.” 

“Boo!” Mikey booed, shoving Leatherhead playfully. The alligator smirked, and then turned his attention to Donnie.

“Med bay is through here,” Donnie gestured to the door down the hall, “We can go in there.” 

Donnie headed to the room, followed by Leatherhead, followed by the others.

“ Just Leatherhead. ” Donnie snapped, “Let a turtle breathe, sheesh!”

Leo grumbled but allowed Donnie his privacy as he ushered Leatherhead to the med bay. He hopped onto the exam table as Leatherhead unpacked his supplies, including a portable x-ray machine that Donnie had helped him build from scratch. 

“Tell me, Donatello, how are you feeling?” Leatherhead asked kindly. 

“Fine,” Donnie replied, swinging his legs nervously, “Honestly, not great, but I think I may have just caught something.”

Leatherhead hummed thoughtfully. He stuck a thermometer under Donnie’s tongue, and wrapped a blood pressure monitor around his good arm.

When the thermometer beeped, he checked it and furrowed his brow. “You have a fever,” he said, and turned his attention to the blood pressure cuff, “How is your arm feeling?”

“Broken,” he replied without thinking, to which Leatherhead shot an unimpressed look. Donnie continued, “I don’t know if it’s healing right. I’ve had fractures before and they usually don’t hurt so much by now, plus it’s still swollen.”

“And how badly does it hurt now?” The alligator asked, gently examining the broken arm.

Donnie shrugged, “I don’t know, like a seven?”

Leatherhead frowned. 

“Donatello, can you make a tight fist for me?”

Donnie flexed his hand, resulting in just a slight twitch in each finger. 

“Apparently not.” He replied dryly. Leatherhead frowned again, a crease forming on his brow, he laid a hand on the skin above the cast, testing the turgor of his swollen skin. 

“You’re right, your healing should have progressed further by now.” 

Donnie shifted nervously and watched as Leatherhead placed the x-ray machine over his arm. The machine was connected via Bluetooth to Leatherhead’s laptop screen, and Donnie watched with wide eyes as his friend scrutinized the data. Leatherhead was silent for a bit too long, and Donnie’s alarms were set off in his head. 

“What’s the damage, doc?” He tried to joke, even as he radiated anxiety. 

“I wish I had better news…” Leatherhead replied softly, not looking up from the image on his screen, “It looks like there has been minimal healing. I see bone fragments that have embedded themselves in your soft tissue. There is severe damage to your ulnar nerve, but my main concern is that I believe you’ve contracted an infection of the bone. A rare side effect of non-compound fractures, but not unheard of. This would explain the pain and swelling, as well as your sudden onset illness.” 

“Okay, that all checks out. So what’s the plan?”

“I’ll get you a dose of antibiotics, and I plan on operating to remove the fragments from the tissue. But, Donatello.”

Leatherhead finally looked up from the x-ray to make direct eye contact with his patient.

“It is important that you understand this: no matter what I do there is a real possibility we will have to amputate to avoid the spread of infection. This process is fast, and the stakes could be lethal.” He placed a gentle hand on Donnie’s knee. 

“ There is a good chance you are going to lose your arm.”

Suddenly everything was silent.

Leatherhead’s mouth was moving but all Donnie could hear was the fluorescent buzz of the lights, and all he could feel was hot and cold at the same time, and the pressure building behind his eyes. 

“ No,” he meant to say, but it got caught in his throat.

“I’m sorry?” Leatherhead prompted patiently.

“No.” He said, more solidly this time, “No, you are not going to amputate my arm.” 

“I understand your hesitation, but—”

“NO! It’s not hesitation, I need my arm! I need my hands, I need both of them !!” Donnie began falling into hysterics but the floodgates were opened and he couldn't close them now, “We aren’t going to amputate because you do not have my consent to fucking chop off my arm!” 

He jumped off the table and threw open the door to the med bay. The door smashed into the face of Leonardo who had his ear pressed to the door. Donnie shoved past him. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed to get away from the narrowing walls of the lair. He burst into the living room where he ran into Mikey. 

“Yo, Donnie, how’d the check up go? You gonna be back to busting a move any time soon?”

“ Don’t you ever just shut up?!” He heard himself shout as he shoved past his stunned little brother, out of the lair and into the sewer. 

Somehow the walls of the tunnels were less suffocating. 

He kept going until he felt he was out of earshot and pressed his shell against the cold brick wall. His knees gave out and he slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the wet ground, slowly catching his breath. 

He didn’t realize he’d taken out his phone, didn’t realize he’d dialed a number, but autopilot took over and he sat numbly as the dial tone rang three times. 

Then, an answer.

“Hey, Donnie!” 

“Hi, Babs.”

“What’s up, you don’t usually call. Everything okay?”

Donnie was silent for a beat too long to be natural.

“I’m good, how are you?” 

Very convincing .

“…I’m good… Are sure you’re okay? What’s wrong, D?” 

“It’s just… my arm.”

“Right. I know being injured sucks, but when you get better—”

“— If I get better.”

“Oh, Donnie, don’t talk like that, you’ll be better before you know it!” 

“No, Barbara, it's— I mean— there’s an infection . And nerve damage, and bone fragments, and the infection could spread, and… and they might need to amputate. I might lose my arm.” His voice was hoarse, and as the panic wore off the headache returned, pounding behind his eyes. He heard Barbara gasp on the other end, she started saying something but Donnie continued, “It still hurts a lot. More than it should, and I have a fever and... And I yelled at Mikey.”

“Buddy...” She whispered and he heard her set something down, as if she had been working on a project she decided to abandon in favor of this conversation, “That's... I'm so sorry Donnie. What are your odds?”

“I'm not sure. I kind of flipped out and stopped listening. I yelled at L.H.. And I yelled at Mikey.” He put his head in his hand shamefully. 

“You mentioned that. Donnie, I'm sure Mikey will understand.”

“Of course Mikey will understand! I could sell his organs on Craigslist and he'd be trying to get me to watch Jersey Shore with him by the end of the week! That's not the point.”

Barbara stifled a laugh at the outlandish comparison, “Okay, what is the point?” 

“I'm being... Mean. And hot headed. That's not how I am. What if I lose my arm, and I can't do anything? I can't fight, I can't build, I'm just a mean, useless, empty shell? Just... Just an inconvenience...”

Donnie sighed, deep and shaky, but somehow lighter after having said his piece. The other end was silent for a moment before Barbara spoke.

“Donatello. You are sick.” She spoke solidly, and with conviction, “You are in pain, and you are scared. But you are not an inconvenience. No one is going to hold it against you for being a little cranky through all this, and if they do, you can send them my way and we’ll have words. I'm not gonna say this is all gonna be sunshine and daisies, but if the worst case does happen… you’ll get through it! Because you’re tough, and smart, and resourceful… You and I are similar like that.” 

Donnie let out a tearful laugh.

“Can’t argue with you there.” 

He leaned back, letting his head thunk against the brick. 

“I should probably get back in there before they start looking.”

“Smart. I doubt Leo will let you out of his sight for long.”

“Seriously,” Donnie wiped his eyes, “Thanks for listening, Babs. Sorry for unloading all that on you.”

“Don’t be sorry. However I do accept tips via Venmo for emotional labor.”

“Ha. Okay, that’s only fair.”

“And Donnie?”

“Yeah?”

“No matter what happens, you’re gonna be okay. I know you are.”

Soon Donnie made his way back to the lair. 

He stood outside the door to the living room for a moment, psyching himself up before taking a deep breath and going in. Leo and Leatherhead spoke in hushed tones outside the med bay door and Raph leaned against the couch with his arms crossed, pretending not to listen. Mikey paced anxiously in front of the tv. Donnie cleared his throat when he entered, and all eyes shot to the door.

“Sorry.” Was all he said. 

Mikey, ever predictable, shook his head and slung his arm around Donnie’s shoulder, ushering him to the couch.

“Come on,” he said, “Let’s watch Jersey Shore.”

Donnie smiled a wet smile and let himself be sat down.

“Can’t we watch literally anything else?”

“ Fine, just this once you can choose the show, but just because you might be crippled.”

“ Michelangelo!” Leo snapped from the hall, but Donnie couldn’t help but laugh at his brother’s insensitive joke. He huddled in the corner of the couch, and Mikey threw a fuzzy blanket over him, and smushed into his side after grabbing the remote. 

“We may want to discuss your condition, Donatello,” Leatherhead suggested.

“Yeah, we can do that later,” Mikey responded in his place, “Right now we have to watch something boring, like Planet Earth or something.”

“Don’t talk about my boy David Attenborough like that,” Raph chipped in, hopping over the back of the couch to sit next to Mikey, “He's a national treasure.” He reached over Mikey’s shoulder to rub the top of Donnie’s head. 

Donnie squinted and leaned into the sign of affection as Leo sighed in resignation and joined his brothers in the couch, and Mikey pulled up a Planet Earth episode on turtles. After a minute, even Leatherhead lumbered into the cozy room and sat cross legged on the floor, leaning against the couch. 

No matter what happens, you’re gonna be okay. I know you are.