I wake up sweating.

I am sitting in a chair, next to Raph. My head is on his stomach, and his arms are in a bear hug around me. Surely his arms must be numb from my body weight.

I study his calm features, his slightly parted lips and a thin string of saliva escaping. His head is tilted to the side, allowing the strands of his maks to flow over his shoulder.

A crash of a falling bucket startles me. Taking a deep breath, I lift my head and catch Donnie picking the bucket up and placing it on the table. He smiles when he sees me.

"You fell asleep on top of him yesterday," he explains quietly. "I didn't want to take you to your bed. Neither did he."

"Oh," I say groggily.

Donnie grabs a rolling chair and sits next to me. Unsure of what to do or say, I rub my eyes and look down at Raph's chest. We both watch our sleeping brother as his snores fill in the silence for us.

"No one is awake. Except maybe Casey," Donnie whispers.

"I hate him," I mumble.

"What do you expect? He's Raph's best friend," he says.

"Yeah but I still hate him," I reply, not meaning my words entirely.

"That's how you felt about Raph and now look at ya," he teases.

"I've never hated Raph," I say defensively.

"Yeah cause fighting and arguing is all you do when you don't hate someone," he replies and extends his hands to the both of us to prove his point.

"You're annoying. We haven't fought in a long time," I hiss. Donnie grins and shakes his head.

"That's not what I heard yesterday," he says, lifting one brow and revealing a smirk.

"What? What do you mean?" I stammer. "Were you hearing our conversation?"

"It was Mikey's idea," he says quickly and I frown.

"It wasn't a fight for God's sake," I groan. "It was a discussion."

Donnie suddenly turns serious. "Can I tell you something?"

"Spill," I demand while yawning.

He takes a deep breath. One that I've seen many times before we get ready to fight. "I almost gave up on Mikey. When Splinter separated us, I nearly gave up on him," he whispers, his eyes watering.

I stay quiet, letting him to continue.

"I thought it was better that way, to be separated and be kept as brothers. I feel so guilty for ever feeling that way. I just...I just wish I was stronger during that time you know?"

"Its okay Donnie," I comfort him.

"I wish it was okay but I'm still not over it. I really wish I was stronger."

"Donnie..."

"And then Raph came in. He told me about how we had the choice to fight for each other. He said you were worth fighting for," he says with a warm smile.

The butterflies in my stomach begin to flutter. My heart warms up. "Really?"

"Yes. He made me realize how weak and scared I was though. The way he was determined to fix things because of you made me angry at myself," he admits.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.

"Because I want you to fight for him just like he did. Don't give up on him because he's a hothead," he says and holds my shoulder. "You know...just in case he really gets on your nerves or something, and you really get into a huge fight."

"Thanks Donnie," I say gratefully. "I really appreciate you telling me this." And I mean it. "But stop being so hard on yourself."

Donnie shakes his head in disappointment. "Its hard not to."

"Hey listen to me. In the end, you ended up by his side after all didn't you? That's all that matters. You should keep fighting for him."

"Huh," he says emotionless.

I smirk. "You should start taking your own advice too genius."

"And you both should really learn how to shut up while I'm asleep," growls an angry Raph.

Donnie and I share glances, and laugh.

"That was touching and all but can you guys get the hell out of here?" He whines playfully.

"This is my lab," Donnie states, at the same time I say, "Okay."

But Raph grips my arm and smirks. "Not you baby. My lips feel cold. Warm them up for me?"

"Alright gross. I'm leaving," Donnie groans.

"Oh and we did the nasty before you guys!" Raph hollers and Donnie just groans louder as he leaves.

"Unnecessary information!" I scold him. But I can't help but feel somewhat accomplished by his statement.