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Chapter 13
Obsession
With Snow in his arms, Leatherhead entered Donny’s lab to find his love using a hand drill to bolt a large piece of Plexiglas over the portal opening. Looking over at the desk, Leatherhead could see scattered pieces of equipment in various degrees of completion. A pair of inferred goggles was disassembled and extra pieces were lying next to them. They were going to be modified in some way but Leatherhead couldn’t figure out how.
The room was a scene of organized chaos, a sign that Donatello was overworking himself. Leatherhead knew better than to touch anything. Donatello knew where everything was and to move one thing would throw him off. If there was one thing that could set Donatello off it would be moving something.
“You should take a break, my love,” Leatherhead said, walking over and placing his hand on Donny’s shoulder. “You look tired.”
Don shook his head, “I’m almost done with this and then I need to figure out a way to get back through the portal once someone has gone through it.”
“Why?” Leatherhead asked with a little more disappointment than he intended. “If you have covered the doorway what is the point in making a device for entering the portal. You said all you wanted to do was observe the other universes not go into them.”
“I’m working on the device so that if someone still managed to fall through the portal then there is a way to get them back out.” Donatello stood up and knocked on the covering. “This is strong but it’s not infallible. I want to be prepared for anything. I would never forgive myself if someone was lost through it.”
“Alright,” Leatherhead sighed. “There is no danger as long as the device is off. You should take a break. You don’t need to get everything done at once. Let’s go spend some time together. April has brought over some new toys for Snow. They look like they are educational.”
“You know that I won’t be able to get any sleep until I am able to get everything figured out. I will be going through different probabilities and I will worry that something bad is going to happen.” Donatello turned to look at Leatherhead. “I am so close to being finished with this. I just need a little more time.”
“You are always close to being finished,” Leatherhead retorted. His words had a little bit of a bite to them. “There is always a new problem that comes up or something that needs to be tweaked. It’s never finished.”
“You’re right,” Donatello snapped back. “My projects are never finished. I always have to repair something. It’s been that way for a long time and it is not something that is going to change anytime soon. I’m sorry if my time is strained.”
Taking a few deep breaths, Leatherhead kept himself from losing his temper. “Time is going to get away from you and before you know it Snow is going to be grown. You will have missed your opportunity to bond with her. Then you will find yourself wondering why she isn’t interested in spending time with you. And you will be full of regret.”
“Don’t try to use her to guilt me,” Donny growled. “My work keeps her safe.”
“I’m not trying to guilt you,” Leatherhead snapped back and then struggled to keep his calm. “I am only trying to warn you. Did you know that she is sitting up on her own now? That she is trying to crawl? That she is pulling herself up and trying to stand? She is growing so fast and you are missing it.”
“I have a never ending list of things that need to be done and it gets added to on a daily basis. Do you think I want to spend every waking moment in my lab? I would love to play that video game system that I spent two days repairing. To enjoy time out of the lair that isn’t a patrol run. I barely manage to get some precious moments with you.” Donatello looked at Snow and Leatherhead swore that he saw resentment in his eyes. “I have many obligations that keep me from the things that I enjoy.” It was like he didn’t want anything to do with her. “I just want a little bit of time for myself.” Leatherhead had no idea what had happened. When Snow was born, Donny acted like she was the center of his world but not anymore.
Leatherhead held Snow out to Don, “Hold your daughter.”
“My hands are dirty,” Donny said, backing away.
“Then wash them and come hold your daughter.”
Donny scoffed and Leatherhead could see that he was trying to think of a reason not to hold her. “I… I need a shower. I’ve got stuff all over me. I don’t want her breathing any of it in.”
“Why don’t you want to hold her?”
“I never said that I didn’t want to hold her,” Donny said, acting offended. “I simply said that I am covered in filth and that I don’t want to get her sick.”
Leatherhead was having a hard time understanding Donatello. Why did it seem like he was rejecting his daughter? “You need to spend time with her.”
“Yes,” Don snapped. “I know. You keep telling me. You don’t need to keep badgering me about it. I’m sorry that I have been busy. This is the first time that I have managed to free up some time for myself. It just so happens that I hadn’t even touched the portal for three days. I was too afraid to turn it on and I had too much work to do. I’ve been working on other projects, projects that benefit the whole family. I finally had time and someone to go with me to the dump where I was able to find a big enough piece of Plexiglas and the tech I would need to build the devices need to get back through the portal. This is the first time I have been able to work on it. I just want a little bit of time to myself before I have to get back to the things that I have to do.”
“She is not an obligation, she is your daughter. You haven’t spent time with Snow in weeks.” Leatherhead pointed out, his heart breaking as the reality of the situation struck him. “I just wish that you would get as lost in your daughter as you do in your projects. She needs you.”
“She was forced on me,” Don snapped, his words choking in his throat as tears filled his eyes. Leatherhead could see that Donny regretted the words as he said them but that it was something that he needed to say. “I wasn’t ready for this. I’m not ready to be a parent. I don’t know how to raise a child. I would make a lousy parent. Everyone else does a better job with her.”
Donny shook his head and sat down, hiding his face in his hands. “Her crying annoys me and she always does it when I’m trying to sleep. She needs so much attention. I don’t like being alone with her and I don’t know why. Part of me just wants her gone so we can all go back to the way we were.”
Leatherhead stood listening to Donny confession, realizing that he was wrong. He hooked his finger under Don’s chin and lifted it so that Don was looking up at him. “Why didn’t I see it before?”
“What?” Donny asked, his voice weak and broken.
“I think that it is possible that you are depressed,” Leatherhead ran his thumb over Donny’s cheek. “Maybe we should go see one of the Foot psychologists.”
Wide, tear filled eyes looked up at Leatherhead. “You think I’m depressed?”
Leatherhead nodded, “It is likely that, as a result of the birth, there are hormones in you that your body isn’t used to. Postpartum depression is caused by an imbalance of hormones and can happen any time within the first year after giving birth. This happened to you suddenly and you were already under a lot of stress as it was. You’ve thrown yourself into your project as a way to cope with it.”
“Oh, Kroki. Are you mad at me?” Donny asked, unable to maintain eye contact with Leatherhead.
“No,” Leatherhead soothed. “I’m sorry that I didn’t realize it sooner and let it get this bad. Are you willing to come with me to get the help you need?”
Donny nodded and Leatherhead helped him stand. “Good. I will get a few things for Snow and we will be on our way.”
“Okay,” Donny replied. He looked deflated. “I’ll get a few things together.”
Leatherhead nuzzled Donatello then turned and left the lab to seek out Leonardo. Even though his mind was made up and there was nothing that would stop him, Leatherhead was going to at least show Leonardo respect he deserved as the clan leader and ask permission before they left.
He headed down the stairs to the dojo in hopes of finding Leo there. Luck would have it Leo was helping Raph with his workout, acting as spotter while Raph bench pressed. Leo looked up as Leatherhead walked in but stayed ready to grab the bar at a moment’s notice.
“We need to talk,” Leatherhead stated, heading towards them.
“Alright,” Leo nodded to indicate that he was listening.
“I need to take Donatello to the Foot headquarters,” Leatherhead said, getting straight to the point. “I have come to believe that he… is depressed.”
Raph stopped lifting and sat up to look at Leatherhead. “You think Donny’s depressed?”
“He is showing multiple signs of postpartum depression,” Leatherhead nodded. “I am worried for his mental wellbeing and his ability to bond with Snow. I want him to get a psych evaluation from the Foot clan’s doctors. While we’re there I will get Snow a checkup with Doctor Chaplin. We might spend a few nights there for observation.”
“Why don’t you and Donny go and leave Snow here,” Raph said as he stood up. “I don’t want her there. I’ll take care of her. She sleeps better with me.”
“She will be safe there,” Leatherhead countered. “If they had any intention to harm her, they would have already. And she is in need of a checkup. She might also be needed in Donatello’s therapy. I assure you, she will not leave my sight. Please, don’t fight me on this.”
“I have no problems with you going to the Foot headquarters with Don and Snow.” Leo said stepping forward. “If you think there is something wrong with Donny then I want you to do everything you can to make sure he is alright.” He placed his hand on Raph’s shoulder, preventing the hothead from moving towards Leatherhead. “It will be alright, Raph.”
“If anything happens to them…,” Raph growled as he stared Leatherhead down.
“I understand,” Leatherhead said with a slight nod then turned to Leonardo. “Thank you.” Leonardo nodded his head in response and Leatherhead left. It was almost night time and he wanted to leave as soon as the sun was down.
….
Leonardo watched, waiting for Leatherhead to leave before turning to Raph. “It will be okay,” Leo assured him. “We can trust Karai.”
“Can we?” Raph huffed, shrugging Leo’s hand off. “She’s tricked us before. She’s tried to kill us several times.”
Leave it to Raph to throw out the same old arguments. Leo was getting sick of it. “I remember all that has happened… in the past… but all of that happened years ago, she is a different person now. She saved your life. If this is some kind of trick, it is an elaborate one and I don’t see any point to it.”
“If you wanna join the Foot, Leo, then go on ahead and do it but you will never get me to kneel to Karai.”
“We go as a family or we don’t go at all.” Leo had no intention of splitting up the family. If anything he would maintain his friendship with Karai and the alliance with the Foot. “But just so you know. We would be her elite, her advisors. She would put all of her trust and the security of the Foot, in us.”
“She still has her secrets,” Raph said.
Before Raph was done talking, Leo said, “We all have out secrets. I’m sure there are a few things you are not telling me but I would still trust you with my life. When Karai saw how far Shredder was willing to go, just to destroy us, she realized that following him was wrong. She is working to better the Foot.”
“There is no way I will ever join the Foot.” Raph jabbed Leo in the chest with his finger. “Get that through your thick head. It ain’t gonna happen. Ever.”
“I get it Raph,” Leo said, pushing Raph’s hand away. “Don’t worry. I won’t bring it up again. We’ll stay here, below ground, alone, secluded from the rest of the world. It’s our fate, right?”
Leo turned to leave and Raph called out after him. “I would rather be secluded from the rest of the world than throw my hat in with the devil.”
