You're Needed Here Now, Donnie

Chapter 14 - The Past is in the Present

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Author's Notes: Here is Chapter 14 of 'You're Needed Here Now, Donnie' is here and it's a very emotional one. I hope that you enjoy it.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and share your feedback with me on this story. Also, a big thank you to my followers for supporting me.  ;) CJ

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Chapter 14 - The Past is in the Present

Patience had never been one of Raphael's virtues. That much they all knew, but waiting around for Master Splinter and Mikey to come out of the Dojo was the worst torture imaginable for the most irritable turtle. It was even worse than that time that Raph was trapped in a Kraang detention cell with Mikey right after the youngest turtle had downed a jumbo milkshake and eaten three shredded beef burritos loaded with extra cheese and refried beans. Well . . . maybe it wasn't worse than that, but it ranked right up there.

After his quick shower, Raph had returned to the main living space of the lair smelling much better, but his mood hadn't improved a whole lot. Of course, with Raph it was kind of hard to tell if his mood had improved, since he was pretty much always grumpy.

The first thing that Raph had done when he rejoined Leo in the pit was drop down into the beanbag chair next to the couch so he could sulk like a little kid, something that he constantly criticized Mikey for. The second thing that Raph had done upon his arrival was glare over at the Dojo every thirty seconds or so, which didn't seem to be accomplishing all that much. The third thing that he had done was to commence punching the couch at random intervals, as if the couch was somehow at fault for his suffering.

Leo had chosen not to comment on Raph's mistreatment of the furniture, figuring it was better that his brother was taking his wrath out on the couch rather than on him.

For the first ten minutes after Raph's reappearance, not much as far as verbal exchanges had taken place, save for a few two to three word questions and answers that had been uttered just to get Raph up to speed.

After the first ten minutes had passed by in peace, the complaining started . . .

Leo should have known that the silence wouldn't last.

"This is ridiculous! How much longer are they gonna be in there? What has it been? Like an hour?" Raph seethed, tossing his hands in the air to demonstrate his frustration.

Closing his eyes and massaging his fingertips against his throbbing temples for a lingering moment, Leo inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose as he attempted to harness his inner peace before responding to his brother's questions. He looked over at Raph with a tranquil expression, so as not to agitate his already riled up younger brother. "I think it's only been about twenty-five minutes."

"Really?" Raph asked, taking Leo's answer surprisingly well.

Maybe the shower had improved his mood after all . . .

"Yeah, and the only reason I know that is because I keep checking the time on my phone every couple of seconds," Leo said dryly, holding up his phone and shaking it for added effect.

A slight smirk passed Raph's features before his trademark scowl returned.

"Well, shouldn't twenty-five minutes be plenty of time to do the whole 'Healing Hands' thing? I mean, Donnie should be better by now, right?" Raph asked and Leo got the impression that his brother was fishing for reassurance, which was something Leo didn't remember Raph ever doing. Mikey, yes. Donnie, sometimes. Raph, never. That's when Leo realized just how upset Raph really was.