Chapter 3: I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without You
Their first evening in the new lair went by quickly. Donnie had finished redecorating his bedroom first. At Splinter's request, he then helped Mikey sort through the rest of his belongings while their father left to prepare dinner. Once all the turtles were satisfied with their new rooms, they raced to the kitchen, their stomachs growling.
They were amazed to find their sensei hard at work at what they instantly pronounced to be a feast. While the family was not in the habit of going hungry for lack of food, it was rare that they had things as extravagant as fish or fresh fruit. The rat had had to search extra long and hard for their provisions, but he had wanted their first night in the new lair to be special.
After devouring every last bite, they spent the remainder of the night settling in. Leonardo made a beeline for the dojo, Master Splinter following along behind him. Meanwhile Donatello decided to inspect the storage area closer, excited about the prospect of fixing it up into a viable laboratory. Raphael and Michelangelo ran back to the Atomic Robo-X arcade cabinet with some slight pushing and shoving as they argued about who would get to play first.
When their typical bedtime had come and gone several hours prior with no signs of fatigue to be found, their father at last herded the reluctant turtles off to bed. As they reached the stairway leading to their rooms, Mikey glanced at Raph who in return poked his brother's cheek before entering his own room and climbing into bed. Once all of the turtles were in their beds, Splinter went around to wish them good night, turn off their lights, and close their doors.
Reaching his youngest son's room last, he noticed the worried expression on his maskless face. He leaned down and placed a calming hand on Mikey's forehead.
"Do not fear, Michelangelo," he said softly. Reaching his other hand inside his robe, he pulled out a small flashlight and placed it on the crate next to his bed. "I will leave this here in case you need to come and find me." He patted Mikey's head before standing and heading back toward the doorway. As he reached it, he placed his hand on the light switch and looked at the turtle.
"Good night, my son," he said as he plunged the room into darkness and entered the hall, closing the door quietly behind him.
Silence fell over the lair as the family of mutants all lay in their beds. As the minutes ticked by, Raphael was surprised to find himself tossing and turning. While he knew he wasn't afraid - of course he wasn't afraid! - sleeping alone was turning out to be more unsettling than he'd thought. He would flip to one side expecting to find the comforting presence of one of his brothers only to be disappointed when it wasn't there. At last he pulled his pillow out from under his head and hugged it tight. It wasn't a warm body, but it was enough to calm his nerves.
However, no sooner had he fallen asleep than he was awoken again by a loud cry. Bolting up in his bed he listened more closely. The tears of his baby brother were unmistakable. Throwing off his blanket, the turtle jumped out of bed and opened his door. Master Splinter was already swiftly making his way toward his distressed son's room, his rodent ears having instantly picked up the sound from across the otherwise quiet lair.
Raph looked over and noticed Leo had woken up as well. The two glanced at each other before following their sensei into Mikey's room. In his bed, the youngest turtle was sitting up flashlight in hand, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Michelangelo, what is the matter?" asked Splinter as he turned on the overhead light and approached his son whose wails had turned to quiet sniffles upon seeing his family.
"I-I had a b-bad dream, Sensei," he whimpered, "W-we were on our way to the new lair, b-but I got left behind. I tried to tell you guys to - to stop, but you d-didn't hear me. I was all alone, and it was dark a-and scary, and there were all these strange n-n-noises..."
"It is alright, my son," said his father as he sat down on the bed and pulled Mikey to his chest in a comforting hug. "It was a nightmare. We are here, and you are safe."
Shuffling further into the room, Leonardo also sat on the bed and reached out to pat Mikey's shell. Raphael lingered in the doorway and folded his arms across his chest. He scowled but remained silent.
When the young turtle had calmed down, he sniffed loudly and glanced around to his gathered family members. As his eyes met Raph's, however, he immediately looked away. He could only interpret his brother's frown and distance as shame for having such a crybaby for a brother. He rubbed at his eyes furiously and lifted his head.
"I'm ok now," he said, putting on a mask of strength. "I'm sorry I woke you guys up. I won't do it again, I promise."
Leaning away from his son, Splinter put his hands on Mikey's shoulders and looked directly into his eyes. "I admire your bravery, Michelangelo. Fear can cloud the mind and be a difficult thing to face, but never be ashamed of it. There is no reason for you to apologize."
Mikey nodded as he carefully laid back down. Splinter stood from the bed, and after Leo had followed his lead, he gently pulled the blanket up to his son's chin. Placing a calming hand on the turtle's forehead, he said, "Remember, I am here if you have need of me." With that, the ninja master made his way to the door.
"Leonardo, Raphael," he said, gaining the attentions of his older sons, "The two of you should go back to sleep as well. We will have a proper training session tomorrow, so you will need your rest." As he passed through the doorway, he turned back and added, "Good night, my sons."
The three turtles each bade their master good night as he calmly strode out of sight. Leo turned back to Mikey with a look of concern.
"Do you want me to stay in here with you tonight?" he asked, stifling a yawn.
The youngest turtle peered up at his sibling gratefully but then he glanced at Raph. "No, I'm ok, Leo," he lied. In an attempt to sound braver than he felt, he added, "You should go back to sleep or else you won't stand a chance against me tomorrow in practice."
Leo laughed and playfully punched his brother in the side. With a smirk he said, "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because of this." He yawned again, this time not even trying to hide it, and waved as he ambled out the door, glancing at Raph out of the corner of his eye. "G'night, Mikey."
Peeking up at his remaining brother, Michelangelo waited for him to finally say something. He expected him to berate him for being a wimp, telling him he really had been barred from ever entering his room again. But even though it seemed as if Raphael wanted to say something, in the end he simply looked about the room awkwardly for a moment before whirling around and shutting off the lights.
"Go to sleep," he mumbled as he quietly closed the door behind him.
Sighing, Mikey curled up in his bed. Trying to ignore his dream as well as his unfamiliar surroundings, he squeezed his eyes shut. But the darkness was simply too stifling. He quickly switched on the flashlight and reached over to grab his radio. He turned it on, volume low, and would leave both it and the flashlight on the rest of the night as he drifted in and out of restless slumber.
"I'll have a blue Christmas without you..."
The next morning at breakfast was quieter than usual as only one of the four turtles had managed to get a good night's sleep. Leo and Raph sat at the table alternating from yawning to rubbing their eyes in between their bites of food, while Mikey rested his head on the hard surface. He was snoring softly, his meal having already been inhaled. Donnie, however, was wide awake, studying his brothers curiously.
"How could not hear it?" said Raph in disbelief, "I mean, his room is right next to yours. Heck, Splinter heard it and he sleeps all the way on the other side of the lair!"
Donatello swallowed his food as he shrugged. "We were up late, and I was tired. If it was really that loud, though, maybe there's something wrong with my hearing. I could do some tests..."
"I'm sure your hearing is fine, Donnie," said Leo, "Besides, you've always slept like a log."
"But it was so loud!" insisted Raphael, "It was like a siren going off or something! I was just sleeping soundly when - hey! What was that for?"
The loud turtle rubbed his arm where Leonardo had hit him. The oldest of the boys shot him a dark glare before nodding his head in Mikey's direction. The young turtle's snoring had ceased, though he remained still.
Bristling at Leo's bossy attitude, Raph snorted. "What? He was loud," he huffed as he shoved another bite of food in his mouth, purposefully looking anywhere but at his baby brother.
The blue banded turtle frowned. Scooting his stool away from the table, he hopped down and brought his dirty dishes to the sink.
"Don't forget we have practice today," he said sternly as he washed his plate and utensils, "Sensei doesn't want us to be late."
Raph rolled his eyes as he too jumped down from his spot at the table. Elbowing Leo roughly once he reached the sink, he grabbed the rag his brother had discarded. Donnie sighed as Leo retaliated by hip checking Raph, and the two started shoving each other back and forth.
"Come on, guys, stop fighting," he said as he reached for both his and Mikey's plates, "At least wait until we're in the dojo." Balancing the dishes in one hand, he carefully shook his drowsing brother's shoulder with the other.
Using a step stool, Raphael roughly threw his now clean dishes in a nearby overhead cupboard. Slamming it shut, he gruffly got down, kicked the step stool away, and stalked out of the room. He made his way across the hall to the dojo. Sensei was already seated on the floor, meditating, as he waited for his students. Raph barely glanced at his siblings when they finally emerged, but it was hard to miss Michelangelo's loud yawn.
As their training session began, Mikey finally seemed to perk up. As if he'd been hit with a sudden burst of energy, he gleefully practiced the kata the ninja master was helping them perfect, adding in a few enthusiastic sound effects on occasion. But as their practice wore on, his form became more and more sloppy. The young turtle often had trouble concentrating, but Master Splinter found himself repeating his words even more than usual.
However when Raph and Leo started to fade as well, their sensei reluctantly agreed that they had all had enough training for one day. They would resume their regular regimen tomorrow. Grateful for the rare reprieve, the three tired turtles exited the dojo behind a lively Donatello who was practically racing back to his future laboratory.
"Hey!" Mikey spoke up suddenly, glancing at Donnie as he disappeared into the storage area, "We should all watch a movie! What do you guys wanna watch? It's Christmas Eve so it should be a Christmas movie. Ooh! How about the one where that guy becomes Santa and gets really fat and old overnight?"
Leonardo looked at his brother dubiously. "You could barely keep your eyes open just a few minutes ago. Maybe you should take a nap."
Michelangelo jumped in front of his brothers looking slightly panicked. "No!" he shouted before straightening up and clearing his throat. "I mean, we haven't watched anything on our new TV yet. We should test it out. You know, make sure it works. All three of us." He put on his best puppy dog face, a move he knew his brothers would have trouble resisting.
The two older turtles exchanged a look before Raphael finally spoke up. "I could watch a movie," he mumbled with a shrug.
The youngest turtle's face lit up. "Alright! I'll go find the right tape!"
As he excitedly jumped down into the recessed area and ran over to their small box of VHS tapes, his brothers collapsed onto the bench opposite the TV, leaving quite the gap between them. Despite their avoidance of each other during training, Raph's mood hadn't much improved toward Leo since breakfast. He eyed his older brother wearily as Mikey popped in the movie and raced over to plop himself down between them, a sleepy grin on his face.
Not ten minutes into the movie, Michelangelo was already fast asleep, leaning his head on Leonardo's shoulder. Pulling his brother closer, the eldest turtle yawned and rested his cheek on Mikey's head. Raphael tried to inconspicuously keep an eye on his siblings, noticing Leo's drooping eyes. It didn't take long for the blue banded turtle to join his brother in slumber.
Shooting looks toward both the storage closet and the hall leading to the dojo, Raph cautiously stood from the bench and waved his hand in front of the sleeping turtles' faces. When neither stirred, he swiftly darted toward the entrance of the lair, using everything Splinter had taught him in order to keep his movements silent. As he reached the turnstiles, he quickly glanced back before climbing over them, careful not to hit any of the bars. He knew he was breaking his father's number one rule, to never run off alone, but if he was quick, he just might make it back before anyone even noticed he was gone.
His green eyes full of fierce determination, the young turtle took off at a run, escaping into the dark sewers.
A/N: As always, critics and grammar nazis appreciated!