A/N: This is a belated birthday present-fic, written for my beta-reader, raphfreak. For once, Raph hasn't come to exact revenge for her latest fic!
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
{ .Happy.}
{Birthday}
{. Katie! .}
May you celebrate many more. :) The usual disclaimer applies, I own no turtles, mutated, ninja or otherwise and have made no profit from this fan-generated work of fiction. Many thanks to the creators/owners for allowing us to play with their toys.
I have Katie's permission to post this.
~~~
Sweet Sixteen
~~~
Donatello grabbed his brother's wrist, stopping his hand's forward motion.
"Raph, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Sure, I'm sure, Brainiac! Now leggo!"
Raphael pulled away from his brother and banged unceremoniously on the inoffensive black-and-white door, making the frame shake under his onslaught.
"Ok, ok, I'm coming! Geesh." The voice was muffled behind the door. When it swung open, a girl stood there, her dark reddish hair curling just past her shoulders. Katie-raphfreak's scowl faded quickly when she saw the red-banded turtle. With a distinctly Mikey- like "eeep!", she slammed the door closed. Or at least, she tried. Raph's hand got in the way, stopping the door as if it'd hit a mountainside.
The turtle pushed the door, easily overcoming the weight the young author threw against it. The door flew open as she abandoned her attempt at using her shoulder as a doorstop in favor of making a run for it. Raph took two steps through the now wide-open door and grabbed the fleeing girl's wrist. Her momentum swung her completely around so that she ended up facing him, just inches from his plastron. She looked up into his amber eyes and gulped a little.
"Hiya, Author," said Raph with a smirk.
"Ummm, hey, Raph." She seemed to regain a little of her composure, taking a step back, but her eyes never left his face. "Long time, huh?"
"Not long enough," muttered Raphael. He released her arm.
"Hi, Katie," said Don with a shy smile.
"Hey, Donny," she answered, edging warily away from the red-banded turtle, rubbing her wrist.
"So… what're you guys doing here?"
"We came ta bring ya a birthday present," said Raph.
"Oh? Oh, well, my birthday was last week," she said, frowning suspiciously.
"We know," said Don. "Sorry. There was some…" he glanced at his brother. "Controversy. I thought that a nice gift certificate or a DVD of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers would be more appropriate, but Raph here…"
"I wanted ta do somet'in' special. Ya know, fer yer sixteenth an' all," said Raphael, his trademark smirk crossing his features again.
Katie did not look thrilled at the news. "Oh?" she asked, edging around the couch.
"Yep. We need ya ta come wit' us."
"Uh, I don't know," said Katie nervously. "My mom…"
"Yer Ma's workin'. She won't be home fer a while."
"Well, you know, I've got… umm… homework. And I'm supposed to be resting…"
"Exactly. See, Raph, this is a bad idea. Now let's go and let Katie get some rest," said Donatello, grabbing Raphael's arm.
"Knock it off, Genius. Yer comin' wit' us, Author."
"I don't think so," said Katie, dodging around the couch and toward the hall. Raph was after her in an instant. He had hold of her wrist again before she could get to the bedroom door. Katie whirled, trying to jerk away, but she might as well have fought against an iron band.
"Relax, will ya. Geez," growled Raph. The girl squirmed and drew back a foot to kick him. Raphael dodged and gave her a shake.
"Cut it out!"
"Ok, ok, just let go!" she said, glaring at him.
"Raphael, this isn't exactly the best way to deliver a birthday present," Don deadpanned.
"Well if she'd quit tryin' ta run," grumbled Raph.
"Maybe I wouldn't try to run if you'd quit grabbing me!" Katie snapped.
"Yer comin' wit' us," Raph told her firmly, but he let her go.
"Raphael, really, I'm good. You don't have to do anything for my birthday." The author backed up a few steps, but didn't bother trying to run again. To her shock, it was Donatello who moved to cut off her escape this time.
"Katie, he's got this idea in his head," said the purple-masked turtle, giving her a sympathetic look. "He's not going to give up. Listen, it's ok, really. Just come."
"Donny…"
"I promise." Donatello gave her a reassuring smile.
The girl gulped a little, but she finally nodded. "All right."
"Cool. Let's go. Close yer eyes, Author," said Raph, striding toward the door, motioning the others to follow.
"Close my… eyes?" Katie watched him. She glanced at Donatello. He smiled again and reached for her hand. She jerked away, but he just held out his hand.
"Humor him. Please?"
"Well… ok," she said reluctantly. "As long as you promise this isn't a trick, Donatello."
"I give you my word of honor," said Don solemnly. "There's no paint and no weapons involved."
"And no glitter?" Katie giggled.
"Nope, no glitter. Mikey still can't get that off, by the way," he gave her a conspiratorial grin.
Katie burst out laughing, and finally took the purple-banded turtle's hand. "Ok," she said. "I guess I can trust you."
She heard a snort from Raphael, but chose to ignore him. Donatello led her as far as the front door before Raph stopped and turned to face them, holding up his hand.
"Close yer eyes, Author," he said firmly.
"Oh, I… um… you were serious about that?" Katie giggled nervously.
"Yep." Raphael crossed his arms over his chest.
Katie glanced at Don, who rolled his eyes, but nodded.
"Ok, I guess," she said. She closed her eyes, feeling very tense. She heard Raphael's heavy footsteps moving out the front door and down the walk. Donatello tugged at her hand, leading her out of the house.
"Watch your step," he said considerately.
"Ok," she concentrated on not falling flat on her face and listening to Raph's footfalls, trying to gauge his distance from her. It wasn't easy to follow a ninja. Thankfully, Don led her carefully so that she didn't trip or run into anything solid.
"Ok," said Don, "Stop."
"Ya can open yer eyes now, Author," said Raph.
Slowly, Katie opened her eyes and blinked.
"The Battle-Shell? This is your big surprise? I get to see the Battle-Shell up close?" she glanced at Don, who looked rather resigned, and Raph whose smirk was at full force. "I mean, it's really cool," she added quickly, mindful of Don's feelings.
"Ya don't jus' get ta look at it," said Raph with a triumphant grin. "Ya get ta drive it."
"What?!" Katie's mouth fell open. She stared at the red-banded turtle, certain this was some sort of trick. "Seriously? No way. Don'd never let me…" She dared a glance at Donatello.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Don would." He gave her a small smile.
"But… but why?"
"Well, we heard yer old enough now, an' ya didn't get a chance ta get yer license yet, so we figured some practice'd be good fer ya. So when ya actually get yer license ya don't drive offa da road 'r not'in." explained Raph.
"Well, yeah, I don't have my license. Isn't that a problem, Don?" asked Katie, suddenly feeling very shy.
Raphael let loose a guffaw, making the author jump. "Do ya really t'ink Donny here has his license? Or me? Or Leo or Mike? We've all driven da truck before."
"You let Mikey drive?" asked Katie, incredulous.
"Not if I can help it," grumbled Don. "It took me a week to replace those shocks, and the fender… don't get me started!"
"So ya wanna go fer a drive?" asked Raph, grinning.
"Really? You're sure it's not a trick?" Katie gazed suspiciously at the red-banded turtle.
"Ninja's honor," he said with a grin. Raph reached for her. It was all Katie could do not to bolt, but he caught her wrist and covered her hand with his large one. When he let go again, a key-ring with a turtle-shaped metal charm and a rather large key rested in her palm. Katie swallowed hard, staring at it.
"This. Is. The. Coolest. Birthday. Ever," she said slowly.
Raphael cleared his throat, blushing a little. "Let's go," he growled, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open.
Katie scrambled up into the truck, staring in awe at the myriad of buttons, levers, screens, sensors and lights.
"Cool! What does that one do?" she asked, pointing.
"Don't touch that!" yelped Donatello, grabbing her wrist.
Katie jerked away. "Ok, geez. I was just wondering," she grumbled.
"It's a missile launcher," explained Donatello, settling into the passenger seat and buckling his seat-belt. Katie noticed he pulled the belt rather tightly, and grinned.
"Oh come on, Don, have a little confidence," she teased.
"I do," said Donatello grimly. "I'm confident this is a bad idea."
"Don," growled Raph from behind them.
"Ok, ok. Now, the key goes in there," said Don, pointing. The author inserted the key and gave it a turn. The engine roared to life.
"See, Donny, she ain't wrecked it yet," said Raph.
"We're not moving yet, Raph," retorted Don. "Now, you have to apply the brake, that pedal there, on the far left. That's it. You have to push that before you can put it in gear…"
"Ok." Katie pushed the pedal carefully, and reached for the gear shift. A strong green hand closed over hers. She glanced at Donatello, startled.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked seriously.
"Yep." She gave him a cocky grin.
Donatello sighed and let go of her hand. "Ok," he said, gripping the sides of his seat. "Let's go." The Battle Shell creaked slightly as it rolled forward, edging down the street with all the grace and agility of a drunken snail.
***
Two Hours Later…
Katie let the Battle-Shell choose its own speed as she edged toward the curb, determined to park with out taking out any more mailboxes.
Once, just once, let me pull up to the curb without knocking anything over, she thought desperately. She winced, feeling the tires touch the curb, and swung the wheel hard to the left. The truck shuddered as the rubber brushed concrete, but the tires remained on the pavement as it rolled to a rather unwieldy stop.
"There, see. Dat was great," said Raphael. "Yer gettin' da hang o' it."
Katie tried to ignore the way his voice shook slightly.
Geez, just 'cause I came a little close to that semi…
"See, Raph, I told you I could parallel park," said Katie smugly.
"Well, technically that wasn't parallel parking," Donatello managed, peeling his fingers from the slight indentations he'd left in the dashboard. He flexed his hands, as if trying to get the circulation started up again.
"Well, Donny, if you want to take me back out and teach me how to do it properly…" said Katie innocently, smiling at the way the olive-green turtle's face went slightly gray.
"No, no, that was great! Best parallel park I've ever seen!" cried Donatello, holding up his hands as if in surrender.
Katie giggled. She carefully shifted the truck into "park", remembering to keep her foot on the brake until the stick was firmly on the "P" this time, to avoid the jerking stop that she'd accomplished by letting the brake off too quickly the last time.
She leaned back in the seat, both relieved and a little sad that her first driving lesson had come to an end, and savoring the last moments of sitting behind the wheel.
Probably the last chance I'll have for a while, she thought with a sigh.
"So, whatdaya t'ink, Author?" asked Raph. He sounded… uncertain, under the tough bravado, as if he wasn't quite sure his "gift" was appreciated.
"This," said Katie, turning in the seat to face him with a smile. "Was the best birthday present ever."
Raphael's face glowed an oddly mottled shade of reddish-green.
"Aww," he said, grinning to hide his embarrassment. "Whatevah."
Katie got reluctantly to her feet. "Ok, well, it was great guys. Can you come in, you know, for a soda or something? My mom won't be home for a while."
"Nah, t'anks, Author, we gotta be gettin' back," said Raph with a smile.
Donatello was nodding. "I've got some… maintenance to do," he said.
"He means he's gotta polish out da fender from dat last trash-can," said Raph with a smirk.
"I said I was sorry," grumbled the author, blushing. "This thing is hard to maneuver, you know?"
"You did great, Katie," said Don quickly.
"Ya, not bad fer a first-timer," Raph added with a grin. "I t'ink ya took out a couple less trash-cans dan Mikey da last time he drove. An' ya didn't hit any cars, dat's better dan Leo did his firs' time out."
The three climbed down out of the truck and stood on the sidewalk.
"Well, we'll be seein' ya around, ok?" Raph turned to climb back up into the vehicle.
"Wait, Raph, can I ask you something?" asked Katie.
"Sure, I guess. What?" Raphael turned to face her, his amber eyes sparkling with good humor for a change.
"Why?"
"What?" he stared.
"Why did you do this for me?" She glanced at Don, including him in the question. The brown-eyed turtle blushed slightly, avoiding her gaze. "Come on, Raph, I can tell you strong-armed Don into it. You went to a lot of trouble. How come?" she asked.
"Well," said Raph slowly, glancing at his brother. "It ain't every day ya turn sixteen…" He trailed off under the author's suspicious gaze.
"Come on, Raph," she said, softening it with a smile. "It's not like you to do something like this. Not that I don't appreciate it, I really do. But what gives?"
"Well…" Raphael shifted uneasily. "Da trut' is…" He glanced at Don. The purple banded turtle gave him a smile, but no help.
"Ok, ok," said Raph. "Da trut' is… Donny here tol' me about yer next fic. Da one wit'… wit' Courtney… an' me." He trailed off, blushing.
"Donatello!" Katie rounded on the shy turtle, glaring. "Have you been hacking my computer again?"
"Well, I um… you know, you write such exciting stories," stammered Don. "We like to keep tabs on our authors, you know? So we know what to expect. It's nothing personal… I do it for a lot of authors. Anyway, Leo's the one who decides who we need to keep an eye on…"
Katie shook her head. "I haven't even finished posting the first story yet," she grumbled. "And you're reading the sequel."
"Seems ta me ya promised not ta bring back a certain villain," said Raphael darkly. "He'd better not show up."
"Oh, well, it's getting late," said Donatello, a little too quickly. "We'd really better be getting back, or Leo will have both our shells…"
"Don…" growled Raphael, turning to look suspiciously at his brother.
"Well, it's been great, guys," said Katie quickly, taking the hint from the desperate look Donatello shot her. "Raph, you really are the best." She grabbed Raphael around the middle in a quick, hard hug. She released him before he could react and grabbed a very flustered Donatello the same way.
"I've gotta go get my homework done," she chirped. "See you guys!" She darted up the walk, disappearing into the house before Raphael realized what was happening.
"Donny," he said slowly. "Did she jus'… give me a hug?"
"Umm… Yeah," said Don slowly.
Raph nodded. "Ok. Let's get da shell outta here."
"Sounds like a plan, Bro," said Don. He hurried around his precious vehicle and climbed up into the driver's seat, reaching to start the engine as Raphael swung up into the seat next to him. Don's hands shook slightly as he shifted the Battle-Shell into gear.
"Donny?"
"Yes, Raph?" Donatello swallowed hard. He really hoped his brother wasn't going to question him too closely about Katie's next fic.
"Don't you say one word ta Mikey or Leo about dat hug, got it?"
"You've got it, Bro. Not one word." Donatello just managed to keep the smirk off his face.
"Not one word," repeated Raph, crossing his arms across his plastron and turning to gaze out the window at the scenery rolling by. "No matter what."
***
*All four turtles singing*
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to our-favorite-author-Katie!
Happy birthday to you.
And many mo-o-ore…. Fics!!
***
Mikell: See, Donny, that wasn't so bad.
Donatello: *grumbles* The things you make me do...
Mikell: *nervous laugh* It was Raph's idea.
Donatello: *sigh* He's just trying to butter her up.
Mikell: Yes. Yes, he is. :) He wants faster updates!
Donatello: That would be you. *crosses arms and gives author a look.
Mikell: *blushes* Oh, well... Happy birthday, Katie!