A/N: I'm baaaaackkkkkk! In my area, the weather has been non-stop snow the last few weeks and I miss the Hamatos! XD This is two years after "Expect the Unexpected", on a snowy March day. Enjoy :D
I stared out the window at my mom's house, the snow was coming down in soft fluffy flakes. Once the kids came over here, I knew they would all crowd the windows, even the triplets. Every Sunday we take all of the kids to my mom to have a big breakfast. My stepdad loves making homemade home fries, eggs, and, of course, pancakes. Now, why was I here and not at the lair? Since, I know the kids are going to go crazy that it's snowing, so I organized their snow suits. Everything was set for the kids' snow day. I should go back to the lair and help the guys.
Walking back to the lair, I found Leo and Mikey in the kitchen. The others must still be sleeping, it was six in the morning after all. I'm surprised that Kiyo wasn't up. She probably was up all night talking to a boy she likes. The kids do go to school in my mom's dimension because of the bracelets that allow us to look and be human. The triplets would go to the high school I went to, I wonder if my music teacher was still there?
"Did you find all of their suits?" Leo asked keeping his voice quiet.
"Yup." I sat next to him and kissed him.
"Is Jim cooking yet? I'm starving." Mikey whined.
"He should be up soon, Mike." I laughed, that turtle was always hungry.
I heard the almost silent pitter patter of someone walking into the kitchen. My oldest daughter Kiyomi walked in, still in her pajamas. Just like when she was little, she wore a big red t-shirt for pajamas. Her brown hair was a mess and she tried to control it with a hair tie. It worked then she smiled and gave me a hug.
"Morning, momma." She nuzzled into me.
I kissed the top of her head. "Morning, sweetheart. Are you're brothers up?"
"Ya, they're still waking up, though. Clem and Lee will be down will Layla. Lee woke Clem up, so her crying woke me up." Kiyo sat next to Leo and said good morning to him and Mikey.
"Is Ojīchan coming?" Kiyo asked snuggling into Leo's side.
"If he feels up to it." I said sitting across from Kiyo.
Pretty soon the others woke up and Jim called us over. Breakfast and any time we have food together, is like a buffet. Yashuo was still half asleep as he got some food. It was funny watching him get his food, since we do this every weekend, he knows where everything is. He had on basketball shorts, blue, of course. Yoshi wore plaid pajamas pants and a white t-shirt. The guys usually got right into their gear, just force of habit, they wanted to be ready for anything.
When everyone got their food we all sat down, we ate. Clem and Lee were fussy eaters, surprisingly. Lee actually threw his pancake at Mikey's face. Mike tried so hard not to laugh, so Layla took over. Raph Jr. smirked. Oh no. A handful of home fries hit Raph in the face.
"RJ! How many times have I told you not to play with your food?" Raph yelled.
RJ, Raph Jr., laughed deviously. Oh boy, that kid. Sam put her hand on Raph's plastron calming him, and Raph sighed. He excused himself and took RJ's hand guiding him into the other room. Kayden turned towards his younger brother.
"Knucklehead." He mumbled.
"Papa, can you help me with some homework?" Ya-ya asked.
"Math?" Jim asked.
"History." Ya-ya corrected.
"Sure." Jim took a scoop of eggs. "When?"
"Before training."
We all got quiet as RJ and Raph came back. Ya-ya was talking to the kids, through his telepathy. A few minutes of silence, Don stood up with his new wife, Aurora. They just got married a few months ago. The wedding was perfect, and they decided not to have a honeymoon.
Everyone's attention was pulled to the couple. We all waited for them to speak or say they have some sort of announcement. By the looks on their faces, this was big.
"We have an announcement." Donnie said sounding like he had to deactivate a bomb or something. We waited. "You want to say it?" He asked Aurora.
She smiled at him then nodded. "We're having a baby!"
Cheers engulfed the kitchen as we all gathered around the soon-to-be-parents. Donnie and Aurora were smiling from cheek to cheek as they answered twenty of Mikey's questions. They had just found out today, so she wasn't far along. Which means Mikey can't bother Aurora, just yet.
As the commotion quieted, small chatter was going around the table as we ate. New baby? The triplets loved taking care of their younger cousins when they were younger, and even now, they're still looking after them. Like now for example, Hope was just about to instigate Kayden by taking his napkin, but Yashuo used his gift to tell her to knock it off.
"Can we go outside now?" Clem whined.
"Wait until everyone finishes eating." Layla reprimanded, but of course everyone finished once she said to wait, totally ruining her point. "And throw out your garbage." She quickly added.
So the kids lined up and threw out their plates, since we used paper plates, and put their silverware in the sink. Then the train of turtle kids moved to the next station; snow clothes. Mikey, Sam, Don, and I helped the little ones with their snow suits and mittens. Most of the adults also bundled up to go play and watch the kids. Clem and Lee were still too young to be outside by themselves even with the older kids watching them.
RJ and Kayden bolted outside and started tackling each other into the snow. Good thing we had like a foot of snow. Clem and Lee followed with Hope and then the triplets walked out taking in their surroundings. They have been training hard as a team now, and Yashuo has been made their leader. Now where ever they were, you can spot them looking around for danger and planning an escape route. We could really trust their instincts too. Once Yoshi woke me up in the middle of the night, and we wound up dodging an attack from the Foot. Don't ask me how he knew they were coming. He just did, all three of them did.
The kids surrounded the different sleds and tubes were already in the backyard, ready for their day of sledding. There were even a few that could hold a few kids on it. Kayden and Hope went down together racing RJ, and Yoshi used a sled as a snow board and raced down. Yashuo went down on his shell and put his hand on the ground to steer and spin. Mikey went down with Clementine and Lee. Yes, he named them after the Clementine and Lee in "The Walking Dead" video game. Saddest game ever! I've never played the game, but I did watch the Pewdiepie playthrough. RJ and Kayden came running back up the hill and were both carrying a heavy sled.
"Daddy, come sledding with us!" Kayden shouted.
I was standing next to Raph, and he groaned. Ever since escaping Sack's mansion, from the movie, Raph hasn't been a fan of snow. When his sons dropped the sled and ran to their father, and wrapped their arms around his legs, he sighed, but a small smile crept onto his face.
"Alright, alright," He let them pull him towards the sled.
I laughed as Raph tried to fit into the sled. He was too big! Sam and I literally fell to the ground in hysterics. Raph grumbled and ditched the sled, sliding on his shell with the boys on his chest. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I tilted my head back to rest my head on his shoulder.
"The snow is really beautiful." Leo said to me.
"Ya until it gets all gross and turned into a blackish brown color." I made a face.
"You used to love the snow, babe." Leo chuckled.
'Yeah I did, but then my parents made me shovel it." I crossed my arms.
Leo laughed at my grumpy face and let go. I looked around trying to see where he went, but found him with a snowball. My eyes widened and I backed up.
"Oh no, you don't." I quickly made my own snowball, and watched him.
"Snow fight!" Hope cried.
The backyard exploded with laughter and the snow fight commenced. There were no teams, except for my kids. They all were huddled behind Yoshi who had a shield up.
"Hey! No fair!" RJ yelled and attacked the cheaters.
The little ones joined forces to get past Yoshi. Snow balls were hitting his shield. The four on the inside of the shield laughed as Yoshi pretended to slowly die and the shield went down. Lee jumped on top of Yoshi and RJ took on Kiyomi. It turned into a tiny snow fight between the kids. My stepdad was standing in the doorway of the back door snapping pictures.
Soon after the snow war ended and all of the kids laid in the snow in a circle. I ran to my stepdad and took the camera from him before stealthily sneaking a picture of the group. They scrambled when the heard the camera go off. These kids hated being in front of the camera, well minus Clem. She loved the attention, but right now she was following the big kids, and fled. I joined the chase and ran after the little ones. They were fast! Whenever I would get close to them they'd b-line in another directions. Sneaky.
"Hot Chocolate!" My mom yelled from the door.
I laughed as the little ones shuffled inside. They all wanted to stay outside even though they were shivering from the cold, even their noses were red. Hope looked up at me with her arms outstretched. I smiled and lifted her up, she was out once her head went on my shoulder. Hope was a heavy sleeper, so once we went inside, I took her snow gear off and went home to put her to bed. When I returned to my mom's house, everyone was enjoying their cup of coco. The kids were abusing the marshmallows and piling them high in their cup, and the rest of us watched to kids and chatted. Leo found me and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his beak into my neck. God, he was as bad as the kids sometimes.
"The kids are having a blast." Leo told me.
"Everyone loves snow." I turned to face him and looked into those bright blue eyes. They still made my knees feel weak.
"Not you." He chuckled.
"I like snow," I laughed, "when it first falls."
"I hate snow." Raph said as he past us.
"Yeah, and bugs." I laughed. Raph could be the most intimidating of the four, but when a stink bug or cockroach crosses his path he turns into Scooby-Doo. I received a glare from Raph, which I countered by sticking my tongue at him.
"You aren't any braver when it comes to bugs, Mom." Yashuo laughed.
I put my hands on my hips. "Oh yeah? Who's the one who saved you from the big scary caterpillar, a few days?"
His siblings and Yashuo all busted out laughing. "It looked like a very tiny venomous snake." Ya-ya stated through his laughing fit.
"Aunt Alexa, you were scared, too." Kayden snickered.
I laughed. I was freaked out, to be honest. Just like Raph, I hate bugs! One time, I walked out of my sister's room and a sider was hanging from the ceiling to inches away from my face! I didn't scream, but I backed up slowly inti my sister's room and begged her to take care of it. Leo stood.
"We should head back Kiyomi, Yashuo, and Yoshi have training." He announced and his brothers nodded.
"Yeah, Clem and Lee need a nap anyway." Layla picked up a grumpy Clementine as Mikey got Lee.
"Same with RJ and Kay." Raph said and gave RJ the 'don't start whining" look.
I hugged my mom. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome." She let go. "Call me later."
"I will." With that we piled into the lair, and went off to our different duties. Ya-ya ended up changing his extra help with Jim for tomorrow. I had nothing to do so I went into the dojo and watched my children's lesson. Usually they'd be sparring, but today was different. The three of them were kneeling in front of Leo. I stayed behind the door and listened, even though I knew Leo would know I was there.
"You three have been training long and hard, and have improved greatly." Leo paused. I knew what he was going to say. "Your mother and I have thought about this for a long time, but we have come to an agreement. Tonight you will join your uncles and me on patrol." I felt the excitement radiate off of them. "Going out on patrol is a privilege. It is dangerous, unpredictable, and if one of you make a bad decision then the chance of everyone coming home safe is decreased. There were many times with your uncles when we almost didn't make it home. There were times where we were tortured and manipulated. However, patrol can be fun, but never let your guard down. It's too risky. The three of you have an advantage against your enemies with your powers that, unfortunately, will get you in even more trouble. The people on the surface will not accept you if they found out what you are." Leo looked up at me. The look in his eye told me how much he wished they kids wouldn't have had to get that talk. Both of us didn't want them to have to live with having to always be on guard and lose trust in everyone. "This is what this family has dealt with for a long time."
Yashuo stood dragging Leo's gaze to him. "Sensei, we understand the dangers that lie ahead. The team and I have seen what the world has done to our uncles, to you." Ya-ya has the same look as Leo always, and still, gets when he knows the responsibility he has. Ya-ya actually had it the day we were planning our attack in Usagi's dimension. "We will not fail you. I refuse to allow it to happen."
Leo stepped forward and put his hand on Yashuo's shoulder. "I know you won't."
Don stood next to me. "Ya-ya is exactly like Leo."
"Yeah." I smiled as Leo continued talking.
"Tonight will really test all of them. Each one will learn something new about themselves, the surface, and what it means to be a part of a team."
"They'll be able to do it. They've worked as a team a number of times before." I told Don proudly.
"You don't sound worried." We were both watching the lesson.
"Of course, I'll be worried about them, but I know they can handle themselves."
Don nudged me with his elbow which was at my shoulder. "Time to go." Don stepped forward. "Hey Leo time to go."
Leo nodded at Don then turned to the kids. "Remember your training. Grab your gear, we're out in five."
I stopped him as he walked out of the dojo. "You did great."
"The dragons haven't been out so I thought tonight would be safe for a first time up." He nodded at his statement.
"We can't protect them forever, even if we want to." I made him look at me. "You have done amazing teaching them everything you know. They'll be okay."
Leo smiled. "I know they will. Thank you, Alexa."
I kissed him and smiled. "That's what I'm here for. Now, go get the others." I shooed him away as I said good-bye to the kids. Excitement radiated off of them, but I knew that they all had thought of how dangerous this actually was in the back of their minds. As the guys and my new ninjas headed out I checked on Hope then went to read.
I didn't go to bed until everyone was home safe, and when they did return, the kids were pooped and shuffled into their room. Leo smiled as Raph, Mikey, and Don went to their rooms. Everything went well, and they even ran into a few purple dragons. Leo let the kids take them. To Leo's surprised, they had a plan. The trio took out the enemy without being seen and without their powers. I was so proud of them all my little Snow Turtles.
A/N: I started writing this like two weeks ago. I hope everyone enjoyed this little one shot. Let me know what you think! :)