Growing Up Fast

Part 7

The week before Jane Goodfellow came back from Los Angeles was a nightmare for Donatello. Life in the lair returned to normal for his brothers, but for him, every day was a challenge.

He found it harder to control his morning sickness. Then a day after he got back from April's, he found out that he didn't want pizza at all. In fact, he had the strangest craving for fish and milk. He didn't even like fish that well and he preferred soda over milk.

That wasn't even the worse thing for him. He had no patience to read, build machines, or watch TV with his bros. He tried to hide this disinterest by staying in his lab. He would just sit there staring off into space. Michelangelo and Raphael paid no attention to this, but ever since Donatello had gotten back, Leonardo had been watching him like a hawk. Leonardo watched Donatello's odd behavior, though he didn't say anything about it.

It wasn't until two days before Dr. Goodfellow was due to come back, that Raphael was the first to find out just how strange Donatello had become. He had been rough housing with Michelangelo and his turtle com had been the poor victim. Raphael had lazily strolled into Donatello's lab and tapped his brother on the shell.

"Hey, Donatello. I kinda had an accident, bro." He said while tossing the device on the table in front of his brother.

Donatello picked up the com and turned to face Raphael. "What did you do?!" His sweet gentle voice was low and dark, sounding almost like when he had been the Dark Turtle a few years back.

Raphael ignored it, but yawned instead. "I was wrestling with Michelangelo and the com was crushed. So can you fix it, bro?"

"Oh, I'll fix it alright," Donatello growled. With his hands out, the turtle com still in his hand, Donatello rushed at Raphael.

Raphael stood shocked for a second before his ninja instincts kicked in and he braced himself for the hit. Donatello was not the best fighter in the group, but it didn't mean he was weak, especially when anger and hormones and stress fueled him.

Raphael easily flipped Donatello over his head, but Donatello leaped back up and came at Raphael again.

"What's going on?" Leonardo's voice asked from the doorway. He had heard the noise and went to investigate.

"I don't know," Raphael admitted helplessly as he struggled with Donatello. "Donatello's lost one too many screws this time."

Splinter and Michelangelo pushed their way into the room to be welcomed with the sight of Donatello and Raphael beating the snot out of each other. Both brothers grappled with each other--their arms and legs green blurs as they kicked and punched each other, each trying to get the upper hand.

"Stop this!" Master Splinter's voice rose above the racket.

Without saying a word to each other, Leonardo and Michelangelo leapt into action... Leonardo grabbing a hold of Raphael with Michelangelo grabbing a hold of Donatello, then each pulling them away from each other.

"Break it up!" Leonardo shouted as he braced himself against his struggling brother.

Splinter darted in between the two brothers both his hand up. "Now my students... would either of you explain what happened?"

"Don't look at me," Raphael scoffed. "I just asked Donatello if he could fix my turtle com and he just attacked me."

Just as Splinter turned to Donatello, they were all surprised at Donatello's face. One minute it was the mast of rage, but the second he looked down at the crushed turtle com in his hand, he began to cry.

Michelangelo was so shocked at this that his grip loosened and Donatello slid out of his hands and fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Splinter then began to shoo his students out of the room. Once out, he knelt by Donatello. "Now, my student. What is wrong?"

Donatello held out his hand, showing the poor turtle com. "It was crushed... Master Splinter... wh-what did it ev-ev-ever do to Raphael?"

Master Spinster had to blink, "Donatello, I don't think that is any reason to attack your brother."

Donatello looked up, his dark eyes wide. "But it is de-defenseless... a baby!"

Before Splinter could answer to this, Michelangelo knocked on the door and then walked in holding a pizza. "Hey, dude. I know that you have been feeling kinda down... so I had this simple cheese pizza heated up."

Donatello looked and gave his bro a half smile, but shook his head. "No thanks, bro. But tell me..." he wiped his tears away, "why do we always have pizza?"

"What! You can't tell me you don't like pizza anymore?" Michelangelo shoved the pizza under Donatello's nose.

Donatello's eyes widened and he shoved the pizza back and jumped up and ran off to the bathroom gagging.

Xxx

"Hey bros..." Michelangelo began as he ate the pizza. They were all standing outside the bathroom door while they waited for Donatello to come back out. Michelangelo stood far enough to the side so that he didn't hear the gagging and barfing sounds that admitted from the bathroom. "Isn't Donatello acting rather strange?"

Before any of them could answer, Donatello opened the door, looking greener than usual and tired. He looked up at the sight of them gathered around the door. "What, you all like listening to someone throw up?"

His eyes stared at them all, but he blanched when his eyes fell on Michelangelo eating the pizza. He sniffed, then gagged again and ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door.

"Uh bros... another thing I just noticed other then him acting strange, that even though he is throwing up a lot... doesn't he seem to be getting a little thicker around the waist?" Raphael asked as he leaned back against the wall.

"Now that you mentioned it... yeah he does. What do you think, Master Splinter?" Leonardo asked, turning to his teacher.

Master Splinter shook his furry head. "I do not know, Leonardo. But I think that Donatello knows something that he is not telling us." Splinter narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the door that hid one of his students.