Donnie got himself a cup of coffee and prepared himself for the day ahead of him. He had a lot of work to do today; to some, it was a boring way to spend a Saturday, but to him, it was paradise. He had to start working immediately so that he could finish by tomorrow morning, and that would mean that he would be pulling an all-nighter again. His family warned him about the potentials of staying up late every night, and he did try to stop himself, but he got so caught up in his inventions that he just lost track of time.
He sat down in his chair and smiled. Inventing was his way of expressing himself, and he loved it. He decided to start on the numerous machines that had needed an upgrade, the first one being his battle shell. Some of the robotic arms haven't been working the way he had wanted them to, so he to take a closer look at them to see what the problem was. He wasn't even taking apart the battle shell when he heard footsteps come into his lab.
"Hey Don," he heard Raph say. "Whatcha doing?"
Donnie sighed as he turned around in his chair. "Working on my battle shell. Do you need anything?"
"You don't plan on staying up all night to work on it, do you?" Raph asked with a frown.
"No..." Donnie lied. He hated when Raph acted so protective over him, and it had started to get annoying.
"Donnie, you can't do this every night," Raph said with a sigh. "We've talked about this. Your health isn't going to get any better, and you get so fatigued."
"Is that the only reason you came in here?" Donnie asked with a groan. "Because I have a lot of work to do today, and you're only making me get farther behind."
"I actually had something to ask you," Raph said. "How long has it been since you hung out with Shelldon? He seems to be bored all the time now."
"Last week I updated his coding," Donnie said without looking up from his tools. "And the other day I made sure his systems were-"
"I mean actually hung out with him," Raph interrupted. "You know, like bonding and stuff."
"Uh..." Donnie said as he thought about Raph's question. He hadn't really spent time with the drone, and if what Raph said was right, Shelldon would be pretty bored. "I guess I haven't spent time with him at all. Or if I did, it's been a while."
"Shouldn't you at least plan to have a day with him?" Raph questioned. "I'm sure he wants to spend some time with you. You are technically his dad after all."
"The term 'creator' is more fitting," Donnie commented. He didn't really like the word 'dad' when he compared himself to his drone. Though, Shelldon was like his child; unlike his other inventions, Shelldon had an AI. He had feelings, emotions, and life in general, and it didn't feel right to neglect him like his other inventions.
"I guess I should plan some sort of activity to spend time with him," Donnie said after some time. "It's just that I had a whole day planned to work on my inventions."
"You can do that stuff any other time," Raph told him. "Besides, this will be a good thing for your body since you won't be in the same position for hours on end."
"You do have a point," Donnie replied. "Alright, I guess I better figure out something to do with him. I don't want him moping around the lair all day."
Raph smiled as he walked out of the lab. Donnie sighed as he put his tools back down on his desk. He didn't really know what to do with the drone, and he wasn't the best at expressing feelings. He walked out of the lab and into Mikey's room. If he was going to do this, he was going to need help.
~~~~~
"You could go exploring the city with him," Mikey suggested. "He hasn't seen much of New York, and it would be a way of getting out the house."
