Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
The resistance base, year 2032. About two weeks ago Donatello, the lead scientist of the resistance, and his wife Hollie were out on the battlefield. The previous streets of New York City were nothing but ruins filled with gooey Krang spies hidden around everywhere, Krang hounds hunting down anything that moved, and large Krang droids destroying buildings and everything in it's path with its large red beam of destruction. What was once a bustling city full of life and questionable people was now a barren wasteland filled with only death, where there was once life there was nothing but ash. The world was at war with the most deadly creatures in the universe and they were not going to stop unless they banished the Krang from this dimension. They were sent on a rescue mission with a few others, focused on getting the resistance soldiers out of a human and yokai concentration camp. The mission took a left turn when they were spotted and immediately hunted down. Fighting against the hoards of Krangified hounds and soldiers they needed to retreat, however as Donatello reached for his wife's hand he saw her run towards a few other soldiers who were stuck under a large beam. He grabbed her and pulled her close to him to try.
"Hollie, what are you doing, we don't have time!" He yelled, trying to urge her to come with him and the others to safety.
He knew it wasn't a very "hero" thing to do, but right now what mattered was coming back alive with those intact. He hadn't planned for the mission to fail, he never wanted to leave any soul left to the mercy of these demons. But sometimes in life you have to make hard decisions. He didn't want to, but there was no time, his battle shell was already damaged from being knocked into the wall from a krang hound, he knew this was the only way to save the majority. Anyone would make the same decision, right? To save the majority rather than sacrifice everyone all together, it was the only way. It was the only way. The voice of his wife snapped him out of his labyrinth of thoughts, staring down at the short angry woman in his arms.
"What are you doing?! We have to save them!" Hollie pushed away from him, the ground beneath them shaking as the soldiers fought off the hoards bravely.
"Hollie, we won't make it back if we help them, it's too risky, just come with me!" Donatello pleaded.
"I have to help them!" Hollie yelled and walked away, only to be stopped by her hand being pulled towards a firm chest, or rather plastron. She looked up at Donatello, seeing something she had never seen before, she saw him crying.
"Rosie..." He whispered, almost begging her. "Please, I can't lose you right now."
"Hey," Hollie sighed, pulling him close. "I'll be fine. I'll come back to the base, maybe later tonight. I'll take them around west and through the tunnels, wait for me." She leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips.
They stayed like that for only a moment.
Just one moment.
Until they pulled away and ran their separate ways.
Back at the resistance base, Donatello assisted the injured to the medical bay and help treat their wounds. After an hour he decided to go towards the main entrance of the resistance base, a large metal hanger door that was sealed shut. He stood there and waited. He waited for his wife to come running into his arms, he would pick her up and spin her around in his bone crushing grip, lightly scolding her for taking too long as she laughed at him for being so worried. He waited, he longed for that moment to come.
He waited minutes, hours, days. Counting every minute that ticked by, checking the radar on his holograms, checking cameras, checking the tracker he definitely didn't put inside her. He checked, he waited, and then checked again. This game of back and forth went on for over a week, and still nothing. Not even a person from the camp came through. His brothers and various assistants would come over to him and try to coerce him into sleeping, eating, even just sitting down, but Donatello was a stubborn man and refused to move away from the door for even a second, of course he did a few times only for emergencies, but he always came bac to wait for his love. The days would stretch by and eventually it would be a week since he last saw her, he thought about alternative universe and how the slightest change could alter fate and the course of everything, he would imagine himself back on the battlefield and instead of letting Hollie slip through his fingers he imagined himself throwing her over his shoulder and retreating while she yelled and kicked him, he imagined convincing her to come with him, what if she didn't choose to save them, would they lay in bed that night thinking about their guilt? Would that be better than standing at the doorway and awaiting something that may never come? He figured yes, as long as he knew his love was safe he would be fine. But he didn't know, he tried not to think about it but the thought of Hollies limp body being turned into one of those monstrosities was enough to keep him there at the door waiting, hoping... But he couldn't face it, he just couldn't. No way was Hollie dead, not his Hollie.
He waited, but no one came.
END OF PROLOGUE
A week later someone did arrive, one of the many search parties he sent out to recover Hollie and the other soldiers returned, and with someone in tow. He would have gone out himself but for once his family actually insisted that he stay inside the base because they knew if he got out there and looked he would have never returned until he found her, not to mention he had to man the fort every waking second. He saw them bring in a few limp bodies, covered in dust and bandages, he quickly rushed over and slid his goggles over his eyes to examine them, he assessed their injuries and instructed each member to bring them to the medical bay. He walked over to one body in particular, it was shriveled up and covered in gashes and scrapes, she would need the most attention it seemed, but it was just a relief to know she was here. Hollie was finally here. He gently took her out of the soldiers hands and carried her to the medical bay setting her down and quickly getting to work on fixes her twisted bones, her cracked ribs, her broken arm, and her fractured skull, eventually he was pulled away by his assistants to go help with the force field defenses.
Two days later Donatello is sitting in his lab, working on the defense systems and monitoring the ventilation systems to make sure the base didn't give off any sort of heat to give away their position. He rubbed his eyes, looking down at the old Polaroid picture of their wedding, he saw Hollie carried over his arm like nothing yelling at him to put her down. He remembered how red her face got as he danced down the isle to Leonardo's horrible singing of "I Will Always Love You", though he clearly only knew one verse. He rubbed his tired eyes, he was anxious and for good reason too.
His Hollie was alive and breathing.
He bounced his leg, staring at the purple holograms in front of him as he tried not to think about how much he wanted to stop everything just to see his wife. He knew he couldn't though, the Krang were always on the lookout for the resistance, and he had to make sure they could never find them. He sighed, tapping and dragging one of the bars up on the screen, hearing the ventilation system click and whirr to life in the upstairs units. Though there was another more familiar sound, his lab door opening, he sighed and didn't look up from his screen.
"What is it? Can't you see I'm calibrating?" Donatello huffed, his leg bouncing more vigorously from an interruption.
Michelangelo's voice spoke up. "Donnie, she's awake." A hint of a smirk could be heard in his voice as the smaller turtle leaned against the wall beside the door to his lab.
Without another word Donatello stood up, the large fan blades emerged from his battle shell with a signature purple glow and before Michelangelo could say anything else he zoomed off. Flying out of his chair and past the door, leaving the rolling chair spinning fast as Mikey chuckled to himself. Donatello flew past various soldiers, yelling out "Excuse me!" And "Move!". He skid across the floor as he turned heel into the medical wing, a yokai medic turned to him.
"Oh, Dona—"
"MOVE!" Donatello shouted, flying right past him.
"—tello..." The yokai mumbled, moving out of the way just in time.
Donatello flew into the room, flying straight towards the bed Hollie was laying in. He was just in time to hear Leonardo.
"It's about time you got in here." Leonardo commented sarcastically as he walked out.
"Not now!" Donatello yelled at his annoying twin before turning to his bandage covered wife, grabbing the sides of her face.
"You. Why didn't you call me?! You are so reckless you know that?! I told you to come with me! I told you—" He rambled on and on for about two minutes to his barely conscious and very injured wife. After he finished he let her go and bent down over her. "And I love you and I'm glad you're alive." He pressed his cold snout against the area below her ear lovingly.
Hollie replied with a soft and weak chuckle, making her heave and cough. "Agh..."
Donatello took a nearby stool and slid it over beside the bed, sitting down. He leaned over the bed and continued working.
"Don't... Don't you have work..." Hollie whispered hoarsely.
"As much as I would love to abandon my injured wife, I—unlike most—can multitask." He smirked.
"Still... Isn't the whole resistance relying on you...?" Hollie wheezed, her bandaged hand placing itself on her heavily bandaged chest.
"Of course." He confirmed, his smirk growing. "You dare question my abilities to comfort my wife and carry the whole resistance on my back? For shame, Hols." He teased, his wrinkled eyes squinting at her playfully.
Hollie tried not to laugh, "You are unbelievable." she sighed.
"I'm unbelievable? You still haven't said 'I love you' back, if anyone is unbelievable it's you." He countered.
"I thought I... Did I...?" She mumbled.
"No, you have a concussion, dear." He gently poked her forehead where several wraps of bandages were.
Hollie grunted softly, leaning back into her two old pillows and closing her eyes to give herself a break from the bright light above her. "Well, for what it's worth in... My concussed state... I... I love you..." She whispered, peaking an eye open to see his reaction.
Donatello smiled softly, placing his large three fingered hand in her smaller five fingered one. "I'll take it, but I expect a proper 'I love you' when you're better as well." He rubbed his thumb over her calloused knuckles.
They stayed like that for a moment, just one, feeling each other. He wanted so badly to pull her up into his arms and twirl her around like she loved, but if he did that, or even hugged her, he would risk crushing her already cracked bones. He sighed, staring into the tired eyes of his lover, wishing he could use mystic magic to heal her right then and there. Magic. Oh, how desperate she has made him to wish for magic to make her feel better. He definitely would use science to speed up her healing but April scolded him already, reminding him of the events that happened in Witch Town. He smiled, gently squeezing her hand, she weakly twitched her fingers as if to mimic squeezing his hand as well. He opened his mouth to say something, most likely something corny, but he was interrupted by the sound of the curtain being pulled open and the familiar voice of Hollies sister.
"Can your sister and Nephew get an 'I love you' as well?" She said in a teasing voice.