Donatello smiled and leapt out of his chair. Done. The blueprints were complete. Yes! Now he could get started. First he'd need to make a junk run and then he'd have to get one of his brothers to—

He saw the clock. Oh. Midnight.

Aw shell. His brothers would be in bed. Training started at six.

He sighed and his shoulders drooped. He made his way towards the lab door. There was noise coming from the other side. His face lit up and he rushed into the main room.

He stopped.

One of his brothers was reclined on the sofa with a magazine draped over his snoring face. Don hardly needed a second glance, but he took one anyway. The magazine title clinched it: Modern Ninja Magazine.

Raphael.

Donnie shuddered at the screams and pleas coming from the character on the television. He had no idea how Raph could stand to watch these things. Fighting the urge to throw up at the cracking of bones and the sight of blood, Don rushed for the remote and turned it off. Once he'd shaken off the frayed nerves, he crossed his arms and thought about whether or not it would be wise to wake the sleeping beast.

He gingerly lifted the magazine off Raph's face and made up his mind. The brainiac took down his bō and gently conked his brother over the head.

"Wh-ga-Huh?!" Raph straightened and then leaned back.

Don lifted his bō for another light whack when—

"Once more, Don, and I'll break your stick." Raph said, coldly.

"That's absolutely fine with me, Raph."

Raph yawned. "Turn the lights out on your way—what did you say?" The hothead bolted upright.

"Break it." Don handed Raph the staff.

Raphael stared at Donnie. He stared at the staff. "I'm dreaming."

"No you're not." Don reassured. "Go on. Snap it."

"No regrets?" Raph was still disbelieving.

"None whatsoever."

"No catch?" The hothead raised an eye-ridge.

"Just a free opportunity to break things."

"I'm in for that." Raph said amicably, but instead of breaking it right away, he glanced around. "What time is it?"

"Little after midnight."

"Shell, we have training early tomorrow." He grumbled.

"Yep." Don nodded.

"Let's go to bed." Raph stretched his arms.

Donatello shook his head and said, "No."

"No?" He sounded crestfallen.

Donnie's amusement left. Raph wasn't this open unless he was really tired. Maybe it would be better if he didn't say anything about it tonight. He might be able to talk Leo or Mikey into helping him out tomorrow. But then—

Raph rubbed the sleep from his eyes, took one look at his little brother's face and said, "Whatta ya need, Brainiac?"

"It's nothing. Get to bed Raph. I can do it myself." Don turned back toward the lab.

Raph's eyes narrowed.

"Do what?" he asked, suspicion clawing at his brain.

"I need to make a junk run before dawn. Just finished the blueprints for a new weapon."

Raph huffed. "Don, ya can't replace the stick with a robot. Thought you learned that lesson last time."

"I did, and I'm not trying to. I have other plans."

"Finally gonna go for the solar-powered staff?"

Donnie sighed in frustration and stomped back to the lab, calling out over his shoulder, "I'll be back in an hour."

Once inside the lab, he started gathering his things. The soft thump of the door closing a second time didn't deter him. He grabbed a shoulder bag and a couple of empty trash bags so that he could gather what he needed.

"Takes at least two to drive the Shell Raiser." Raph informed Donnie.

Why the hothead felt the need to do so escaped the brainiac. He had built the Shell Raiser and he knew darn well how many turtles it took to drive it.

"I'm not taking the Shell Raiser." Don calmly responded.

"Party Wagon needs new sparkplugs. She isn't reliable."

Don nodded again. "I know."

"Then how ya gonna get there?"

"Old fashioned way."

"Skateboard?"

Don glared at him. Raph just grinned.

The brainiac shook it off and started for the garage exit through the old subway system. A hand caught his wrist.

"We're not supposed to go up alone."

"And?" The purple masked turtle raised his eye-ridges.

"Leo would kill me."

"Tell him you were asleep."

Raph shook his head. "He won't buy it."

"That's his problem."

There was a beat of silence before Raph announced, "I'm going with you."

"You don't have to—"

"Just get in the Shell Raiser." Raph ordered, shoving his younger sibling roughly into the old subway car.

The hothead drove in silence. The stereo systems were on the fritz and Don still hadn't had the time to get around to them yet. It wasn't until they were almost to the junkyard that Raph spoke again.

"If anything happened to you, Leo wouldn't have been the only one killing me."

"Master Splinter?" Don asked.

Raph scoffed. "Me." He pulled in to the dark junkyard. "Oh look, the junkyard." His voice was thick with fake surprise and sarcasm. "Made it all in one piece, too. How un-exciting."

"Stop complaining." The younger brother said.

"Give me a nice, warm bed to sleep in and I'll stop complaining."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"You bonked me with your 'mighty' stick." Raph grumbled.

"Which is the same as a plea for help?" Don asked, raising an eye-ridge.

Raph followed Donnie out of the Shell Raiser. "Coming from you, in the middle of the night, yes."

Donnie immediately began his search, ever aware of the other turtle mutant lurking not far over his shoulder. "And if Mikey came and hit you on the head with his nunchaku in the middle of the night—"

"He'd get one of the biggest beat-downs of his life."

"But you said—"

"You, Brainiac, aren't the type to wake me up without damn good reason," Raph pulled an item from the middle of a stack and smiled when it didn't collapse, "Mikey is. Odds are, he wouldn't hit me on the head if he wanted my help. He knows better."

"Maybe you just like to think he does."

Raph shrugged. "Eh, maybe." He leaned over Donnie's shoulder as the genius began sifting through a pile of metal parts. "What are we looking for?"

"Good quality metal. Preferably pieces shaped like this." Don shoved the blueprint into Raphael's plastron.

"Ah, a new stick. Shouldn't you be looking through the wood scraps?"

"Shut up and make yourself useful."

"Yes, oh mighty brain. What would I do without your tireless wisdom?" Raph mockingly bowed.

Don put down the piece of metal he was holding and turned to glare at his older sibling. "At least I'm productive! A little knowledge can make a person more than just a walking muscle!" Donnie's anger petered out and his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. "Raph, I—"

BAM!

Donnie fell back a couple of feet from the force of his brother's punch. His jaw ached. He'd have a bad bruise later, but he didn't really care. He jumped back up to his feet and tried to apologize.

Raph cut him off and lowly said, "Last time I do you any favors. If you need me—which I'm sure you won't—I'll be finding new sparkplugs for the Party Wagon."

Donnie sighed as Raph stormed away. "Smooth, Donnie. Real smooth." He face-palmed and rubbed his temples. Now he'd have to make it up to his brother somehow.

Fifteen minutes later, Donnie had gathered everything that he needed. Raph still wasn't back yet. The brainiac took his bag of parts back to the Shell Raiser, before seeking out his older sibling.

"Raph?" He whispered as he glanced around.

The emerald-green figure materialized seemingly from thin air and stepped out from behind a pile of car parts.

"Here." Raph answered and held something up, "Got the sparkplugs. Won't last forever, but they're decent enough."

"Great." Don said enthusiastically, hoping to lighten the mood. It only seemed to deepen Raph's displeasure. The hothead grumbled and shoved past him. Don noticed something new.

"Your arm."

"Yeah?"

"It's bleeding."

"You don't say." Raph's voice stank of sarcasm.

It wasn't appreciated. Don swallowed his rising irritation and tried to remain calm.

"What happened?" Don demanded.

"Rusty nail sticking out of an old board I brushed up against."

The brainiac rubbed his head and sighed. "I'll need to give you a tetanus shot when we get home."

"Yeah. Yeah. Same old, same old." Raphael grumbled.

The way home from the junkyard was as silent as the way there, but the atmosphere was tighter. Don had the feeling that both of them were equally uncomfortable. As soon as they got home, Donnie corralled his brother in the lab and practically flung the hothead on the exam table. Raph disliked shots as much as he disliked pain meds and the sooner they got it over with, the better.

Don washed and disinfected his hands and left his older brother sitting on the cold metal table. He could feel Raph's eyes on him. He reached into a drawer where he kept a few tetanus boosters for times like this, since accidents did happen, and in the sewers they could never be too careful. He readied the brand-new syringe and turned back to Raph.

"Arm."

Raph complied easily. The hothead knew better than to put up a fight, and after the things Donnie had said earlier, he didn't really feel like it.

Donnie dabbed the upper arm with disinfectant and, with extreme care, pressed the needle into his brother's arm.

Raphael tensed his arm to keep it from moving.

"It's easier if you relax."

"Hurts."

Don rolled his eyes. "Stop whining," He removed the needle. "There, all done." He placed a clean cotton ball over the little puncture wound. "Pressure please."

"Don't like needles," Raph whispered. He reached over and held down the small cotton wad with his other hand.

"I know." Don pulled a strip of adhesive bandage and tucked it under Raph's arm. He wrapped it around and when he reached Raph's hand muttered, "Lift."

Raph did and Don efficiently wrapped it the rest of the way around the emerald-green arm.

"Didn't know that you knew." Raph murmured.

The brainiac looked pleased with himself. "There, you're all done. Try and get some sleep."

"'M wide awake."

"Why do you think I always save you for last whenever we need some sort of immunizations?"

"Because you hate having to deal with me."

The answer surprised Donnie more than it probably should have. After what he'd said earlier, Raph was probably—He shook it off.

"Because you don't need Leo and Mikey making fun of you for a perfectly reasonable aversion." Don tossed Raph an earnest glance.

There was a long pause. Raph whispered, "Awful nice of you."

Donnie grinned. "I can be nice on occasion."

"Can be mean on occasion, too."

I certainly deserved that, Don thought. He straightened up. "I know. I'm sorry."

Raph nodded. They stood in silence.

"I'm not afraid of 'em."

Don raised an eye-ridge.

"Needles." Raph clarified.

The purple-masked turtle nodded remotely.

"Just don't like 'em."

Donatello didn't speak. He knew better than that. Raph was composing. Planning out exactly what he wanted to say.

"Don't like laboratories either." Raph's green eyes darted around the room. "Cold metal tables, little white pills, bottles of chemicals..."

The younger sibling tilted his head, intrigued. His gaze swept over Raphael, cataloguing the physical responses.

"Makes me feel too much like a..." it was a few seconds before Raph found his voice again, "...test subject." A short silence followed. Raph whispered, "Never understood how you could go in for this science-y stuff."

"It's fascinating."

"Hmph. 'Least you never dissected anything."

"Actually, I dissected a frog once."

Raph's face grew greener than usual.

Don was quick to blurt out, "It was dead when I found it."

That didn't calm Raph at all. The hothead seemed quite on edge. "Doesn't make it right."

"I needed to understand how the systems functioned."

"Mhm. Keep tellin' yourself that. Maybe someday you'll believe it." Raph said, sliding off the table onto his feet.

"The best way to understand certain organs is to cut them open and—"

"Change the subject before I lose my dinner."

Don crossed his arms. "This coming from the turtle who enjoys watching someone break their captive's ankles with a sledgehammer."

"Those are movies, Don! Everything is staged. It isn't real life."

"No, but in real life such a thing would look very, very similar!"

Raph's raised voice dropped to a whisper. "At least I can know it's fake. This—" he glanced around him at the lab, "—this stuff is all too real."

"That's why I can't stand the fake." Don said softly.

Raph looked at him.

"It's all too real to me."

"We feel opposite ways for the same reasons."

Donnie nodded. "Looks that way."

The hothead looked at the floor. "I guess I'll just—get out of your way, then."

"You don't have to." Don urged, hoping that Raph would stay and give him a chance to patch things up.

Green eyes drifted away before settling back on Donnie.

"I can stick around. If I can't sleep might as well do something useful." Raph said. The emphasis on the word useful reminded Donnie of the earlier words.

"Raph, what I said earlier, I didn't mean—"

Raphael pulled the blueprints off the table where Donnie had left them. "Think I'll go make a pot of coffee. Looks like we're in for a long night."

The brainiac blinked. "I didn't know you drink coffee."

"Do when I need it. Cream or sugar?"

"No."

Raph smiled. "My kind 'o turtle. Back in a jiff."

"Did you really just say jiff?"

"Give me a break. It's one in the morning."

Don shrugged. "Give or take a couple minutes."

"Technicalities." Raph waived it off with a smile.

Donnie grinned.

———————————————

The next morning, Leonardo and Michelangelo sat at the breakfast table. It was ten past five. The other two seats at the breakfast table were empty. Leo looked across the table at the youngest.

"Did you tell Raph he had ten minutes to come in to breakfast?"

"He's not in his room."

That surprised the eldest. A chill ran across his carapace. "When did you last see him?"

"'Bout ten. He was watching old horror flicks."

"You think he might have snuck out?"

"He's Raph, Leo. I just kinda assumed he was still on the couch, but he's not there."

"If he did leave, he'd be back by now. Something must have happened to him. Is Don in the lab?"

"Yep, saw him passed out in his desk chair."

Leo frowned. "I'll wake him up. Maybe he can track Raph's t-phone."

Mikey nodded gravely. At first he'd thought Raph's absence was nothing to stress about, but Leo's worry was contagious. He followed his big brother to the lab.

The door swung open with a loud creak. Leo could hear Donatello's snores. He started to head for the desk, when his peripherals caught another source of movement. A look of astonishment replaced his worried frown. Raphael was seated on Donnie's examination table changing some wrappings on his upper arm. Raph brought his finger to his lips and pointed at their sleeping sibling.

From behind Leo, Mikey let out a sigh of relief. Raph was okay. That was good.

Leo's eye-ridges furrowed. "What's going on in here?"

Raph face contorted and he flung up a hand. "Quiet down, will ya? 'Been up all night. Wait till I get my hands on the guy with the sledgehammer."

Leo and Mikey looked at each other. The eldest crossed his arms over his chest. "Someone you fought last night?"

Raph rubbed his temples and shook his head, "Nah, the one inside my head."

Leo's arms fell to his sides and he smiled. "Good luck with that."

"Fresh pot of coffee, a slice of pizza, and I'll catch up with him." Raph grumbled and took a long sip of cold, black coffee.

Mikey giggled. The mug said 'Loading...Please wait.'

The blue mask turtle tilted his head to one side. "I didn't realize you drank coffee."

"Who the shell d'ya think gets the pot going in the morning?" Raph groaned and rubbed his face. "It isn't Mikey."

Donatello stirred and stretched. His eyes sleepily glanced across the room.

"What's everybody doing?"

The coffee mug in Raph's hand thumped lightly on the exam table. "Wishing for more coffee." He hopped down and headed for the door.

An olive-green hand flung out and Don called out: "Put me down for ten cups."

"We keep going the way we're going, we'll be on the biggest caffeine high in the tri-state area."

"We already are." Don glanced at the clock, "We'll probably crash in about four to six hours."

"I say eight p.m." Raph responded.

"Two dollars it happens before that." Don said.

Raph lightly banged the mug against the doorframe. "You're on."

Leo shook his head. "I'm real glad you two aren't old enough to drink alcohol."

"No way. Stuff tastes disgusting."

Suddenly all eyes were on him. Raph tensed up.

Donatello swept in and saved him. "Come on Raph, let's go down some more coffee."

The ploy worked and Leonardo easily took the bait. "Isn't too much of that stuff bad for you?"

"Sure. Caffeine is a drug." Don replied.

Donnie and Raph walked out of the room together, Leo and Mikey following closely behind.

"Just go easy on the coffee, you two. Bet or no bet, I don't want you two hurting yourselves." Leo said sternly.

"Relax, Fearless. To hurt yourself on caffeine you'd have to drink like eighty cups of extra strong brew. Isn't that right, Donnie?"

The brainiac thought about it for a moment. "That's almost exactly right, Raphael. How did you know that?"

"Tried to reach it once."

Mikey seemed very interested in that. "How far did you get?"

"Thirty-two."

Leo's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "Thirty-two consecutive cups of strong coffee? How is that even possible?"

"Dedication." Raph said solemnly.

Don raised his eye-ridges, "I'll just bet."

They reached the kitchen and Raph got the coffee-maker started while his brothers settled at the table. Mikey grabbed the leftover pizza and started munching away. Leo turned to Donnie.

"So what have you two been up to? I mean, Raph said something about being up most the night."

Don nodded. "Oh yeah, Raph was helping me with my latest project."

"Did you finish it?"

"Yes, we certainly did." Don said happily.

There was a moment of silence. Leo waited. Nothing happened. Finally his legendary patience wore thin and he blurted out:

"Well, what is it?"

"One of those blaster-beam thingies that Fugitoid had. Don installed it in his weapon. It's a lot like the one Fugitoid gave him except more stick-ish." The hothead explained eloquently.

"Oh, that's—that's..." Leo really didn't know what to say.

"Fantastic diction, Raphael." Don quipped dryly as Raph poured him a fresh cup of steaming hot coffee.

"Thanks." Raph said, helping himself to another cup.

"I don't understand how you guys can just drink that stuff. Especially without any cream or sugar or anything." Leo said with a little grimace.

"Can't help it. I love coffee." Don explained.

"I love tea." Leo said.

Mikey squinted and rubbed his chin. "Isn't there a song like that?"

Don's eye-ridges furrowed, "The Java Jive, isn't it?"

Raph nodded. "I love the Java Jive and it loves me."

"I am surprised you boys remember that."

They all jumped to their feet and bowed courteously to their father. "Good Morning Father." They chimed.

The old rat smiled. "Good morning my sons. I did not think that you remembered the old record player, let alone the old records."

"How could we forget?" Raph muttered, with a sigh.

Splinter padded over to the red-masked turtle. He patted Raphael's head affectionately. When he saw the cup of coffee in Raphael's hand, he leaned over his son's shoulder.

"Raphael, is there something wrong?"

The other three turtles tensed a little and leaned forward, concerned.

Raph shook his head, "No, of course not, Sensei. There's nothing wrong."

"And yet you are drinking coffee?"

"I was up late."

Splinter nodded with understanding. "Ah, your insomnia is giving you trouble again."

"Sensei!" Raph whined.

"Insomnia?" Don asked, worry creasing his face.

"Just forget it! It's not important, there's nothing wrong, so just drop it!"

"It isn't about what I said last night at the junkyard, is it?" Donnie asked in a whisper.

"No, of course it isn't."

"So it is," Leo said, knowingly. "What did Donnie say?"

"It isn't important. Will you just forget it?" Raph snapped, feeling exhausted and annoyed. He turned to Donnie. "Don, you know I forgave you last night."

"Maybe you forgave me, but I'm starting to think that maybe you took what I said a little too seriously."

"What makes you think that?" Raph asked.

"You've been acting very intelligent all morning."

Raphael jumped to his feet, furious. "And of course I can't be! I'm just stupid!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Just forget it Don, let's get to the dojo. It's time for training." Raph said, starting for the door.

Sensei caught Raphael by the arm. "I think we could all benefit by knowing the words which you two exchanged last night."

Raph opened his mouth to object, but Don cut him off.

"I was angry, Sensei and I told Raph that a little bit of intelligence would make him more than just an angry fist."

Mikey stared with sad eyes at his big brothers, particularly Raph. "That's a low blow, Donnie."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it and I know that Raphael is intelligent, in his own ways."

"Sure, I have degrees in 'how to throw a temper tantrum' and 'Pain 101'."

Leo frowned and came around the table to put a hand on Raph's shoulder. "Raph, you know you're so much more that."

Raph shook off the hand and stomped away. "Maybe I don't see it that way. If anybody's interested in training, I'll be in the dojo."

"Raphael, your brothers and I love you." Sensei said softly.

"Why?" Raph asked, stopping at the door.

The three other turtles exchanged shocked and horrified glances at the forthrightness and sincere flatness of the question.

Splinter's ears fell a little and his whiskers twitched. "Love is unconditional, my son. We are a family. Do you truly need greater reason than that?"

"Reasons always help." Raph's shoulders drooped a little.

"You think you're a burden to us, don't you? That you're more trouble than you're worth? Raph—"

"Shut up, Don." Raph snapped, discreetly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Just back off, if you know what's good for you."

"Right now all I care about is what's good for you." Don said, staring his sibling directly in the eyes. Raph recoiled a little. Don put down his cup of coffee and crossed to Raphael, wrapping his arms tightly around the hothead so that he couldn't escape. "Hugs are the best medicine, Raphael. And after long days and long, caffeine-drenched, emotionally-draining nights, sometimes a good hug is what we need the most. I think that you have been without proper emotional reassurance for some time, Raphael. Furthermore, I find hugs to be the perfect solution. I'm sure our brothers and I will be more than happy to assist you in achieving the proper daily dosage. I prescribe three hugs a day, seven days a week."

Sensei tapped his stick loudly on the concrete.

"—make that four hugs a day, seven days a week. And if we don't see any improvement in the next month, I can up the dosage."

Chuckling happily, Leo and Mikey wrapped their arms around Donnie and Raph.

"You guys try and hug me three times a day and I'll deck the lot of ya."

"No good, Raphie. Medical orders. You refuse your medicine and Donnie'll hit your over the head with his big stick." Mikey said, gleefully.

"Oh, that's so scary." Raph rolled his eyes.

"A stick which you helped me upgrade into a premium metal blaster ray." Don reminded.

"You guys are so going to pay for this." Raph growled.

Leo smiled and rubbed Raph's head affectionately. "We're only doing it because we love you, Raph. You protect us, you help us, you put our needs first, you'd do anything for us, and it's about time we started showing you how much we appreciate it. Now come here you big, cuddle-muffin!"

"Leonardo, so help me, if you ever call me a cuddle-muffin again—"

"Raphael," Splinter called lightly.

The turtle trapped in the center of the brother-hug stiffened a little. "Hai Sensei?"

"I should like a hug when your brothers are through." He said with a chuckle, enjoying the sight of his toughest child's embarrassed face.

—————————

Ta-da! How was it?