Chubby feet, stepping lightly on the bare cold concrete, were determinedly making their way along the dim-lit tubular tunnel. Big plush bear, missing one of his black shiny button eyes, was being absently dragged along the floor, wiping away the tiny footprints of its owner.

"Donnie?" – a cautious whisper in the darkness, followed by a creak of an old heavy wooden door, "Dooonnie.."

Bright light from a silver screen illuminated a pair of widely open curious brown eyes, as the involuntary open mouth revealed several rare white teeth.

"Donnie! Donnie! Donnie!" Chanted the little turtle with excitement.

"Shhhhh, Mikey!" Donatello put a thick short finger to his lips.

Michelangelo froze in his place and hid his head inside his shell, so that only his blue eyes were popping out. He stared at his brother in horrified suspense, pulling the tattered teddy-bear to his chest. The older one grimaced, biting his lip, and gestured with his hand for his little brother to come over. Without as much as a second thought, and with the happiest smile on his now carefree (and shell-free) face, Mikey sprinted towards his sibling, smashing into his shell at full throttle, and as a result making quite a commotion.

"Careful! You'll wake somebody…" Irritated, Donatello pushed his brother away with his elbow and rubbed the sore spot where his brother's hard shell landed. But mere minutes later Mikey was sitting snuggled from behind in his brother's lap, purple fleece blanket up to his nose, the forgotten teddy-bear, lonesomely lying on the floor nearby.

"It's bad sitting so close to the TV, Donnie…" – said Michelangelo, staring at the silver screen himself, "Daddy says it hurts our eyes! What are we watching?" His expression was of utter excitement, and his thoughts became very messy all of a sudden, because he couldn't remember why he got out of his bed and came looking for his brother in the first place.

"This is the Flight of the Navigator" – explained Donatello, his eyes never leaving the screen, "…a fascinating motion picture about an extraterrestrial entity crashing on our planet, and its first encounter with the human species! Now be quiet, this is an intriguing part…"

Michelangelo turned to look at his brother, a blunt startle on his freckled face. Donatello pensively stared back, then suddenly remembering who he was talking to, he gently petted his baby-brother on his round green head, clarifying: "There's a cute alien robot-ship who makes friends with a human boy"

"Oh, wow!" Spellbound, Mikey hungrily gawked back at the screen, "Daddy never lets us watch stuff like this!"

"And that's why we'll make this our secret, okay? Just you and me… now shush!" – said Donatello, as he pushed his little hand into the Candy Jar at his side.

The Candy Jar! One, they were not allowed to touch. One, that was always on the top shelf, away from their reach. One, that if their father found out they were sneaking candy from (Donatello had worked hard on how to get it) in the last three days, would result in a very severe punishment.

Thoroughly comprehending all of this, Donatello, without blinking, fumbled around the jar pulling out two pieces of candy: a coffee toffee and a strawberry-vanilla lollipop. He slipped the toffee into his mouth, and the lolly - into Mikey's, hoping that the candy would finally quiet his baby-brother down.

However, bemused Michelangelo, humming enthusiastically at the delightful sweetness on his tongue, turned towards his brother again, smiling, lolly's little stick popping out between his lips: "Vhonnie! We're noch shupposhed to eat candhy af-er mi-night! Alsho, how…?" Mikey's face became serious, as he struggled to figure out just how was Donatello able to reach the candy jar in the first place.

Donatello silently pointed to a long wooden staff, leaned on the wall at the corner of the room.

Mickey gasped: "Wir noch'allowed… weapons!" – he swallowed in excitement, popping the lolly out of his mouth and gawking at the bo-staff.

"Don't worry, little-brother, I know how to use a ninja weapon!" – muttered Donatello conceitedly.

"No, you don'!" – exclaimed Mikey.

"Shhh… Mikey!" Donatello persistently returned the lolly back into its 'rightful' place (inside Mikey's mouth) and hugged his little brother tighter, placing his chin on top of his head. That seemed to work, and for a bit the room fell silent, only the hushed noise of the movie disturbing the stillness.

Even though the movie fascinated Michelangelo, and it was fun sneaking behind their father's back to watch tv and eat candy when they were clearly supposed to be asleep, his eyelids became heavier and heavier with every passing minute and his big curious eyes kept blinking more and more rapidly.

"You know you'll need glasses if you keep sitting so close, Donnie… (yawn) right?" – whispered Michelangelo well into the second half of the movie, when the excitement over the alien robot-ship taking a boy on an adventure around the world was fading and the taste of the candy was all gone.

He was slowly falling asleep, the lit screen coming in and out of focus… In between the alternate flicks of the movie, the reason he was looking for his brother earlier came back to his drowsy mind, and Michelangelo was about to tell Donatello about the brilliant idea he had for the perfect surprise for their father's upcoming birthday… however, the dark oblivion of sleep took over prematurely, and the little turtle fell into deep slumber…

When Michelangelo opened his eyes, all was quiet, and he found himself curled up under Donatello's blanket on the rug in the middle of their living room. Donatello himself was right there beside him, sniffling calmly in his sleep, the teddy-bear serving as his pillow.

Mikey wanted to move closer to his brother, but discovered that he was being held in place and couldn't move. Something was attached to his shell from behind. Carefully turning his head backwards, Michelangelo (imagining all kinds of monsters and scary beasts) saw who it was. Another little turtle was keeping a very strong hold around his waist, chubby green cheeks smeared against the hard surface of the shell.

"Raphie!" Mikey whispered and smiled, snuggling back into the blanket.

But he wasn't yet ready to give up on Donatello, so a few moments later he stretched out his little hand again, to try and grab his brother… all to no use. He couldn't do it. Raphael had a dead hold on him, and Donatello was so far away. Suddenly he heard someone approach…

Oh, no… please, let it not be daddy - prayed Mikey, we'll be punished so SO bad for staying out of our beds this late!

Several determined steps later (on the way to his usual nightly visit to the 'little turtle's room') the oldest brother - Leonardo appeared in the entrance. Immediately spotting his siblings and their ill-doing, he was about to wake them up and tell them how disobedient they were being, staying up late and falling asleep in front of the tv like that. Father would be furious… It was past 2 am, and there was practice early the next morning… But seeing how peaceful they all looked (they were resting after all, and that was kind'a responsible, more or less), he stepped closer in total silence, looking at how Raphael was clinging to Mikey's shell. Just like when they were teeny-tiny babies. And how Mikey was curled up in Donatello's purple blanket, his little hand outstretched towards the brainy brother. Leo's eyes eventually rested on Donatello, who lay a bit farther away and had his thumb in his mouth. Leonardo dropped his shoulders and shook his head with disapproval, then sighing, he carefully kneeled beside his smartest sibling and tried to remove said thumb, but Donatello's eyes suddenly popped open: "Leo?!"

Donatello's sleepy expression was worried. He just realized how busted he was: now his older brother (Oh, no, he's frowning!) would surely tell father all about their irresponsible nightly shenanigans. Plus, it was clearly all his fault, because of the movie and the candy and… (What? When did Raphie get here?)… ugh! Now they'll all be in trouble because of him!

But…

Leonardo suddenly felt that his hand was being pulled. He turned his gaze down, breaking the tensed stare-link with Donatello, and met Michelangelo's clear blue pleading eyes. The big brother's expression softened and taking a deep breath, he kept silent just standing there in certain dismay. He didn't let go of Mikey's hand, and slowly, as if in a dream, very carefully lowered himself between his brothers, joining in on the turtle pile on the living-room floor. And Donatello hurriedly scooted over to close the gap.

In the morning, panicked rat-dad (he didn't find his boys in their rooms, after they failed to appear on time at the dojo for the morning lesson) came in on a highly surprising, but at the same time very soothing scene in the living room:

His youngest, Michelangelo, rolled up inside Donatello's blanket burrito-style, was being snuggled up by his by far most accountable student, Leonardo, who had one of his arms around Donatello, his wisest child, resting his head on a shaggy stuffed teddy-bear (which was brought by Splinter from one of his scavenging trips months ago. He found that old toy in the upper levels of the sewer tunnels that were the closest to the surface, and brought it home with him. It was immediately claimed by Michelangelo… no one argued). Leonardo's fingers intertwined with Donatello's, safely keeping the olive-green hand away from the gaped mouth. Michelangelo, smiling in his sleep, was grabbing onto Leonardo's plastron, while Raphael, the most emotionally indulgent of his sons, had both his hands around his little brother's shell, protectively hugging him from behind.

The wide smile that slowly appeared on Splinter's furry face was inevitable. The scene in front of his eyes drove away all of his dismay, and pacified his ever strict educational ideals, making place for the sweet softness of fatherly love and unlimited pride. He stood there for several more minutes before heart-achingly allowing himself to break this perfect picture and wake his children up…

…then he saw the discarded candy jar!


Excitedly holding onto a wrinkled sheet of paper, light-green speckled fingers shoved it in Donatello's face: "Look, Donnie! I made a drawing of the surprise! Look! I planned it all out…" Impassioned expression with green happy freckles jumping on his puffed cheeks, Mickey's enormous blue eyes seemed to appear rounder and wider than usual. Still clutching his favorite orange sharpie in his hand, he was using it now as a pointer.

The expression on Donatello's face became serious. Letting go of the broken toaster and the screwdriver in his hands, he took the paper out of Mikey's grip and carefully observed it, while his baby-brother clang to his shell from behind, gluing one freckled cheek to his temple and proudly admiring his own work.

"Hmm... aha!" – said the olive-green terrapin after meticulously squinting at the drawing and turning it around and upside down for about a minute, "I believe we can manage it!"

"Ha! Donnie! Yes!" Overflowing with enthusiasm, the little turtle hugged his brother, accidentally smudging his orange sharpie all over his shoulder.

"What are you guys prattling about there?" Leonardo entered the room, wearing a blue baby-blanket, with a duckling in its center, as a cloak. He was closely followed by Raphael, who was stubbornly dragging a long wooden sword, which was clearly too heavy for him to lift up from the floor.

Skipping on one leg in excitement, Mikey ran towards the two, showing them his masterpiece. Tiny leader-to-be gave the picture an observant skeptical look, then turned his eyes over, catching the emerald gaze of the brother behind his back, as the latter was trying to catch his breath, grunting and panting.

Exuberantly, Mikey shoved the rippling piece of paper right into his brother's grumpy face, "Look, Raphie! I did it! I drew it…the whole thing!"

Raphael looked at the picture: "What's this monstrosity?" – his semi-angry tone teased.

The pair of bright blue saucers filled up with tears, Mikey bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling, while Donatello protectively embraced his baby-brother's shoulders, accusingly looking at Raphael.

"Raph… quit being such a meanie!" Leonardo put his hand on top of Michelangelo's head, "Very impressive, Mikey! Father will appreciate this!"

Raphael only snorted and turned his attention back to the wooden weapon in his hands. At first glance, he seemed to be completely disengaged, but a more meticulous observation would have indicated that he kept squinting at his brothers every minute or two.

"Thanks, Leo!" Michelangelo wiped his cute little snout and gazed at Donatello, who was now happily smiling and glancing sideways at him, "You really think he'll like it? I worked on it all morning!"

"Of course!" Donatello scratched his head, "Now we only need a plan to make your sketch a reality… I have a few ideas, but… hmmm…"

"Great! It's settled then! Raph and I will help!" – said Leo, placing his hands akimbo.

Mikey smiled and winked at Donatello, then turned his head and pouting, put out his tongue toward Raphael, who seemed to be deeply concentrated on picking up that heavy wooden sword from the floor…

"Boys!" Splinter's voice came out of nowhere, echoing around the tunnel's arched walls, "I hope you have behaved well today!" He had finally returned from his daily trip topside.

All four children ceased what they were doing and turned eight curious and happy eyes toward the direction of their father's voice. The rat master of ninjitsu appeared from a dark tunnel-opening at the very top, up above their heads, near the ceiling.

"Daddy, daddy!" Mikey grinned, radiating energy like a little green freckled sun. His "masterpiece" safely hidden behind his shell, away from sight.

"We were just playing, father" - said Leonardo, but quickly realizing he was not able to lie directly to his sensei, he made a hurried decision: "We wanted to build a… um… what was it exactly that we wanted to build, Raph?"

Everybody looked at Raphael, who froze in place, forgetting what he was doing and his unsuccessful attempts to look as if he didn't care.

Mikey's face fell a little. And Donatello's expression of horror was clearly justifiable. They were way too familiar with their petulant hotheaded brother. Why would Leo put him in charge of a delicate situation such as this?

"We were going to… eh… " Raphael searched his brain for a quick evasive answer, "…to build a…"

"...a pirate fort!" Michelangelo inserted.

"YES!" Raphael's face brightened up, "Because… because this place is perfect for it!" He let go of the wooden sword and started running around pointing, "This is where the highest tower with the Jolly Roger on the very top would be. And here is where the ship will be anchored… and… and here…"

"I see" - smiled the rat, and tracing his long beard with his bony fingers, added: "And am I correct to assume you will be building this magnificent eh.."

"Fort! Pirate fort!" - helped Donatello, still astonished by Raphael's unlikely cooperation.

"Yes, yes, fort! You'll be building it… here?"

"What's a better timing to build a pirate fort than in the sewer?!" - exclaimed Michelangelo, ingenuously smiling from ear to ear.

"With what materials, if I may ask?" Sensing a deception, the rat raised a bushy eyebrow at his eldest son, "And all of you are serious about this, ha?" Overlooking the rest of his children, he continued, seeing as they were unsuccessfully trying to come up with an appropriate answer.

"Nothing to worry about, Master Splinter, we'll be careful!" Justified Donatello, "Right, guys?"

Michelangelo nodded excitedly, while Raphael finally balancing the wooden replica of the weapon in his hands, assented: "Yeah! We're gonna behave, dad! Really!" And he triumphantly looked at Leonardo, who in his turn summed up:

"Don't worry father. I'll make sure no one breaks any rules or gets in any harm's way!"

"Very well then!" Splinter nodded, accepting their little white lie, being substantially touched by the fact that all four of them bravely stood up for each other (they were becoming a team, a true clan), "But first let's prepare dinner! Because even pirates need to eat once in a while…" Smiling at the warmth of love spreading from his heart towards all parts of his body, and out towards his little family, Splinter pet Leonardo on his head and offered his free hand to Michelangelo. And leading his little family towards the kitchen, he sighed with gratification.