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

*Author's Notes: Well, we have reached the epilogue of 'You're Needed Here Now, Donnie' and I must admit that this is a very bittersweet moment for me. ;(

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read, review, favorite, and follow this story. I want you all to know that I really do appreciate each and every one of you. Your ongoing support has meant the world to me. *hugs*

I know that I say this a lot and I probably sound like a broken record player, but please continue to favorite/follow/review this story as well as my other stories if you like them. I would love to know how many people are still reading 'YNHND' now that it has reached the epilogue . . . Thanks, again! ;) CJ

And now, on with the story . . .

Epilogue – All's Shell

"So . . . how does it look?" Donnie queried, leaning his body as far over to the left as he could without causing himself to fall off of the table that he was lying on. He really wanted to get a better look at his ankle now that it was uncovered, but Leo's bulky carapace was obstructing his view.

"It looks pretty good, Donnie. The swelling's almost gone and the bruising is already starting to fade, but I think you'd better stay off it for a few more days, just to be on the safe side. In other words, you're still on restrictions. That means no practice or patrol until at least the weekend. And absolutely no projects or inventions," Leo said in a much stricter tone than seemed necessary. Maybe that was because Doctor Donnie was a rotten patient.

"A few more days? Don't you think you're overreacting? It's just a high ankle sprain, Leo. It's probably not even third degree severity, which means that the ligaments are only partially torn. Besides, I've already kept it elevated and immobilized for more than forty-eight hours now. That should be more than enough rest for the injury. As the resident medical expert of the lair, I think as long as we keep the ankle wrapped tightly, I should be able to walk on it," Donnie stated, using his medical expertise as a defense mechanism.

Leo's lips curled into a defiant sneer for a moment before he countered.

"And as the current acting family practitioner, as well as the team leader and oldest brother, I am ordering you to keep off of that ankle until further notice, Donnie. Sorry, but you're confined to your crutches or your task chair until I clear you for discharge. And, you are to be accompanied by a chaperone at all times with the exception of bathroom breaks and bedtime. Do I have to remind you that you are still recovering from a serious head injury and an unidentified illness as well?" Leo noted, knowing that he was stating the obvious to his genius brother.

Donnie's initial reply was a sharp intake of breath, but he soon found his voice and put it to good use. "This is totally unfair! If you were the one injured, I wouldn't put you on such inflexible restrictions!"

Leo folded his arms over his chest and gave Donnie a cunning smirk that made the brainiac instantly cringe.

"Well, okay . . . maybe I would," Donnie moaned in defeat when he saw the knowing look on Leo's face. That simple expression sucked the proverbial wind right out of Donnie's sails, having made him realize that he was guilty of regularly placing his brothers on restrictions eerily similar to the very ones that he was whining about.

Karma can be so unbelievably cruel sometimes . . .

Fortunately for Donnie, Leo never got the chance to gloat about successfully making the genius eat crow, because Raph and Mikey arrived just in the nick of time to spare their genius brother the humiliation.

"Geez, Leo! Are you his brother or his drill sergeant?" Raph griped as he strutted through the open lab doors, followed by Mikey, who moved in far less presumptuous fashion than his red-clad brother.

"I'm only trying to keep him from aggravating his injuries, Raph. His ankle still needs time to heal," Leonardo rationalized his stance on things, feeling as though his motives were now being called into question by two out of his three brothers.

Truth be told, Donnie's ankle injury wasn't the only reason that Leo was keeping his brother on restrictions. The oldest turtle was worried about some of the residual effects that his second youngest brother was still suffering from as a result of that night. While the occasional heart flutters and body tremors that Donnie had been experiencing seemed to have gone away, the genius had reluctantly – and somewhat unwillingly – informed his very insistent oldest brother that he was still battling with a low-grade fever, a pounding headache, sore muscles, excessive fatigue, and of course, the badly sprained ankle. How could Leo not be worried with a list of side effects that long?

Then, Raph spoke as though he had just tapped directly into his older brother's thoughts.

"Speaking of ankles, April called earlier. She said that she needed you to swing by her place and pick up some aircast she found for Donnie," Raph notified Leo in a voice that made it sound as though he was already bored.

"Why didn't she call my phone?" Leo asked, coming off as both irritated and a little hurt that April had called Raph, not him.

"How should I know? Do I look like somebody's secretary?" Raph growled, tossing a hand into the air just for the heck of it.

"Dude, you'd be the ugliest secretary ever. Or would you be a secre-turtle? Oh snap! I just put the whipped cream and sprinkles on top of that sundae, bro!" Mikey chirped, pointing at his brothers as though he deserved praise for his cleverness. What he got was a slap to the back of the head.

"Ow! Hey! Not cool, dude! Not cool!" Mikey yelped, rubbing the base of his now-aching skull.

The two oldest brothers then continued on with their conversation as though Mikey had never interrupted.

"So why does April need me to pick up the cast? I thought she was stopping by later," Leo huffed, much testier than normal.

"Beats me. She said something about a test. I wasn't really listening." Raph acted as indifferently as possible as he spoke, shrugging his shoulders while he leaned against the table where Leo was still conducting his examination of Donnie's ankle.

Leo was about to issue another complaint when the shoddy splint that they had been using to keep Donnie's ankle stabilized caught his eye. Guilt consumed the eldest turtle once again when he thought about how Donnie had always taken such good care of them whenever they were out of commission. If April had found something that could somehow aid in Donnie's recovery, Leo owed it to his genius brother to retrieve that item, ASAP. After all, he had made a mental oath back at the fortune cookie factory to figure out a way to better protect Donnie the same way that his younger brother had always figured out ways to protect them. This was a good starting point . . .

With newfound determination, Leo quickly wrapped Donnie's ankle back up and helped his little brother into a sitting position.

"Well, I guess I'll head over to April's then. Raph, Mikey . . . you two keep an eye on Donnie and make sure that he doesn't overdo things while I'm gone," Leo instructed, casting firm glances at all three of his brothers to let them know that his orders were not to be disobeyed.

"I think we're perfectly capable of taking care of our own brother, Leo," Raph said in that snide way that always got Leo's bandana in a knot.

This time, Leo chose to ignore it.

"Okay, it shouldn't take me that long. Donnie, call me if you need anything," Leo said, curling his hands over Donnie's shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes, as if what he was saying was of the utmost importance.

Squirming slightly in Leo's hold, Donnie's eyes skimmed around the room, trying to make eye contact with anything but his oldest brother. Leo's sudden overbearingness was making the genius turtle more than a little uncomfortable. He knew that his big brother was only acting this way because he was feeling guilty for what had happened, but ever since he had regained consciousness after the whole Rahzar ordeal, his oldest brother had been constantly babying him. The whole thing was starting to get embarrassing, but Donnie didn't want to say or do anything that might possibly hurt Leonardo's feelings.

Raph, on the flipside, had never had any qualms about hurting Leo's feelings.

"He'll be fine, mommy!" Raph's words came out in a highly mocking way. It was obvious that he had not made any kind of effort to keep his annoyance a secret.

Leo glared at Raph and was about to verbally retaliate when he decided to be the bigger turtle of the two and let it go. He then turned and exited the lab without so much as a goodbye.

"Don't worry, D. Raph and me are gonna take awesome care of you, dude!" Mikey gushed, pumping his fists up and down.

"Well, you can start by getting the brainiac something to eat. Can't you see he's hungry? Look how skinny he's gotten. Why don't you go fix him a burrito or something? Make it fully loaded. You think you can handle that, Mikey?" Raph asked, playfully jabbing an elbow into his baby brother's rib cage.

"Like a turtle do! I'll make Donnie a burrito, all right, and it'll be the bestest burrito evah! No one can fully load a burrito like the 'Burrito Master!'" Mikey exclaimed, and with that said, he bounced out of the lab, leaving Raph and Donnie to watch his sweet 'prance' moves as he made his exit.

"Finally! I thought I'd never get both of 'em to leave. I seriously don't know how you can stand Leo's constant fussing," Raph groaned, scowling at the lab doors as if they had wronged him somehow.

"Honestly . . . the attention was kind of nice at first, but now, it's starting to feel like I'm being treated like an infant," Donnie said guiltily and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"See! I did you a favor by getting rid of old Fearless. Just wait 'til he finds out April never called," Raph mumbled nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I prob – Wait! You lied to him?" Donnie screeched in that girly voice that he sometimes used when he was wigging out about something.

"Yup. He's gonna be fit to be tied when he finds out." As soon as the last word had parted from his mouth, Raph's lips coiled into a crooked grin. He was apparently quite pleased with himself.

"But . . . Why?" Donnie's face crinkled up in confusion as he asked his question.

"Why? Because ever since we got home, I haven't had a chance to talk to you without Fearless being around. He's been like a big, green leech . . . all clingy and stuff," Raph grumbled as he took a seat next to Donnie on the lab table.

"Oh . . . "

The word 'oh' was nearly lost in the sound of Donnie exhaling.

There was an awkward pause before Donnie spoke again. "Hey, Raph . . . I'm, uh . . . I'm really sorry . . . about . . . you know . . . throwing up on you." As Donnie made his staggered apology, his head dipped down in remorse.

"No worries, Donnie. Maybe someday, I'll return the favor," Raph said with an evil twinkle in his eye as he gave Donnie a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "I'm just glad you're feeling better, little brother."

"You and me both," Donnie muttered and his response was immediately followed by a pensive hush as they both struggled to find the proper words to say. Surprisingly, it was Raph who broke the silence.

"Why'd you do it, Donnie? Why'd you jump off of that balcony?" Raph asked with more emotion than he normally cared to show, but his need for answers currently outweighed his stubborn pride. He had been waiting for this moment for over two days straight now and he would be shelled if he went and ruined it with his usual rude tone.

"Well, I couldn't find a piano to throw out of the window, so I had to improvise," Donnie kidded, quickly hiding behind his sense of humor. It was something that he often did when a situation was awkward, and boy, was this situation awkward. And judging by the strange way that his big brother was acting, things were only going to get worse . . .

"So you tied a box of fortune cookies on your back and took a flying leap off of a balcony?" The sarcasm in Raph's voice as he had posed the question was no more subtle than a punch in the nose.

"Not fortune cookies, Raph. I found a box of idler wheel load bearings for the conveyor roller lines. They're much, much heavier," Donnie corrected, feeling an imperative need to set the record straight.

"Okay, whatever . . . Let's get back to the point here, Donnie. When I asked you why you did it . . . I meant why would you risk your life like that? Why would you do that for me after all the awful things I said to you?" Raph asked and he had had to clear the frog in his throat twice in order to get through what he had wanted to say.

Donnie did not hesitate to answer.

"Because you're my brother," was the genius turtle's straightforward response and his expression turned resolute.

Without warning, Raph threw his arms around Donnie and held on with all of his might, squeezing his younger brother's breath away.

"Donnie . . . I didn't mean any of those things I said. I was just trying to keep Rahzar from – " Raph started, but he was abruptly cut off by his genius brother's now-wheezy voice.

"It's okay, Raph. I know you – " Donnie tried to spare Raph the pain of admitting that he was wrong, knowing just how much the hothead hated doing so, but his big brother's gristly voice stopped him cold.

"Let me finish!" Raph snapped, taking the both of them slightly by surprise. Raph then released his grip on Donnie so that he could lean back and look at his younger sibling.

While Raph stared him right in the eyes, Donnie held his tongue and just stared back at his brother, too scared to do otherwise.

"What I'm trying to say here, Donnie, is that I'm sorry. Back at the factory, when Rahzar was holding you hostage . . . Well, I shouldn't have said those things about you, 'cause none of that stuff was true. I was . . . I was scared, okay? I was scared that we were gonna lose you and I was just trying to get that creep to let you go . . . "

Raph paused to swallow thickly before continuing.

"But that's no excuse for what I did. I swear on my life that I didn't mean a word of it, Donnie. 'You hear me? Not a word. And I'm sorry for making you believe that any of that garbage was true, 'cause it wasn't. You're the smartest person I've ever met and you're always doing crazy stuff to protect us. And you're – "

There was another pause and it was significantly longer than the last one. When Raph's voice returned, it was deprived of all confidence.

"I guess . . . I . . . I guess . . . what I'm trying to say here, is that I . . . I – "

The three little words that Raph wanted to say to his brother would not come. It seemed like such a simple thing to do, just to put voice to what he was feeling inside at this very moment, but no matter how hard he tried, the words just wouldn't come out . . .

"Raph, seriously . . . You don't – " Donnie again tried to spare his brother any unnecessary discomfort, but Raph cut him off once more.

"Shut up, Donnie!" The bark in Raph's voice caused his younger brother to slightly recoil in fear, which the hothead immediately felt bad for. He softened his tone before continuing.

"Sorry . . . but I just need you to hear me out. Just . . . just give me a sec, okay?"

Donnie nodded in understanding. Having just been told to 'shut up,' he didn't think that any kind of verbal response would be a safe course of action.

"It's just that I . . . I wanted to thank you . . . for saving my life, Donnie . . . and for all of those other things that you're always doing for us. Like Leo said to you when you first woke up, we probably don't say thank you as much as we should . . . so thanks, little brother."

Raph paused one more time before adding, "You know . . . you're pretty cool, for a nerd."

If it were anyone else talking, the expression of gratitude that had just been made may have been considered somewhat sloppy, but coming from Raph, it was absolutely perfect. Sure, the execution may have been a little rough, but Donnie had understood the sentiment behind it as easily as basic arithmetic.

"I love you, too, Raph," Donnie breathed out, nearly choking on a sob. He would have hugged his big brother, but he figured one hug from Raph was enough for one day. The genius turtle didn't want to push his luck . . .

"Just remember, if you ever pull another stunt like that again, I'll kick your shell, Brainiac," Raph warned with a mischievous grin as he reached over and gave his genius brother a gentle noogie, being careful not to hurt him. He didn't ever want to hurt Donnie again.

The scene was suddenly getting a little too maudlin for Raph to stomach. A change of subject was definitely needed.

"So, uh . . . you wanna watch a movie or something? I'll even let you pick this time," Raph schmoozed, putting on the boyish charm that no one ever actually believed.

Donnie lightly nodded his head again and his face lit up with that delightful diastemic smile that they had all grown to love.

It had been a rough few days, but things were getting better and better. Donnie finally realized just how much his family cared about him and needed him, and now, he even got to pick what movie they watched for a change. Plus, Mikey was going to bring him the best burrito ever.

Yeah, life is pretty good . . . or at least, radically better than average . . .

The genius turtle eagerly reached for his crutches beside the table as he said, "One thing's for sure. Next time I go topside on my own, I'm steering clear of that alley."

"Who says you're ever going topside alone again?" Raph asked in a flat tone void of any emotion.

Donnie chuckled over Raph's teasing, but when he looked up at his big brother's face, what he saw was the very epitome of seriousness.

No . . . He can't be serious . . . Can he?

Raph then turned and walked towards the exit without another word, causing the genius's eyes to double in size.

"W – wait! You're kidding, right? Raph . . . Raph?" Donnie called out, pushing himself off of the lab table. He clumsily positioned himself on his crutches and gimped behind his big brother whose name he kept repeating, each time louder than the last.

"Raph! RAPH!"

The End

*Author's Notes: Well, I hope that everyone enjoyed this story and I also hope that all of you liked the way that things turned out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this story provided some of the closure that was missing from 'The Fourfold Trap.'

I really do hate to see this story come to an end, as I have enjoyed sharing it with all of you so much. (=() The support that I have received for 'You're Needed Here Now, Donnie' has been absolutely amazing and I am so grateful for all of your kindness. I have made so many wonderful new friends as a result of this story and I will forever be thankful for that.

I would like to thank everyone that took the time to read this story. I would also like to send big hugs and thanks to everyone who 'favorited,' followed, 'PM'ed,' and reviewed this story. There are no words that can adequately express how much your encouragement and thoughtfulness have meant to me. This journey has been so very wonderful and I am still overwhelmed by the positive feedback that I have received from everyone on this story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a wonderful group of followers I have been blessed with. You are all so kind. :}

And so it is with tears in my eyes that I thank you all one last time for reading this story (in chapter form – I will still thank you in review form of course =}). Thank you . . . for everything.*wipes eyes and sniffles*Please favorite/follow/review this story if you enjoyed it. I would love to know. And hey . . . maybe someday, I will add some bonus chapters or a sequel to this story. I have already had several requests and some really great suggestions for additional chapters to 'YNHND.' Thank you for that, too!

Anyway, I hope to see you next story . . . ;) CJ

*Speaking of my next story . . . I have received a lot of interest in me posting my story 'Lost in the Fight,' so I wanted to let all of you know that I plan to start sharing it very, very soon. As I noted in chapter 17 last week, 'Lost in the Fight' is the story that I based 'You're Needed Here Now, Donnie' off of. It is the first TMNT story I ever wrote and it is much more angst-ridden than 'YNHND.' Much, MUCH more. Plus, it introduces my first ever original character and he is bad news. I will try to post new chapters weekly again, but I am thinking Thursdays this time. Maybe even this Thursday . . . Hope you don't mind the day change. ;)

TTFN

CJ