Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT.

07: Xmas Special

Emmeline followed her older sister, Vivika, down the hallway that led to the elevator. She punched the Down button and the two of them waited in silence. Emmeline adjusted the strap on her duffel bag, and made a mental note to pick up her messenger bag and jacket from Alex Matthews' house at some point. She wondered vaguely if he would let her stay with him again if she actually did sleep with him. The thought made her cringe internally.

The doors of the elevator opened, and Emmeline stepped inside silently.

"This really is for the best, you know," Vivika said, pushing the button for the lobby. She fiddled with the strap on her purse uncomfortably as she spoke. "It is what's best for Owen."

Emmeline scoffed, unable to think of an actual response that didn't involve some combination of the words "fuck" and "off".

"Emme," Vivika sighed, rolling her eyes. "I know you want to be in his life, but Mom and Dad are right. You're in a bad place right now -"

Emmeline scowled, cutting her off, "I did what I had to do in order to survive. You wouldn't know what that's like."

"And neither would you if you didn't keep getting involved with garbage," Vivika countered as the doors of the elevator slid open.

The doors were halfway open before Emmeline noticed a tall, familiar frame with jet-black hair, clad in a pair of sunglasses. Without a second's hesitation, Vivika had pulled out a huge, black Taser that was humming with electricity.

"Son of a bitch!" Hun cried out as she pulled the trigger on the weapon, launching the electrodes. They immediately attached themselves to the bare skin of his exposed neck. Then he dropped to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably as though he were having a fit.

Before she even had a chance to think about it, Emmeline threw herself at him. She kicked him hard anywhere she could reach him until his glasses broke in two with a sickening crunch sound. "I told you to stay the hell away from my family!" she screamed at him in between blows.

Then Hun reached out and caught her leg in his hand. He yanked on her hard, so that she fell to the floor. Then he angled himself above her, grinning and gasping for breath. "Aww, Snow," he cooed at her. "Just like old times - you know how much I like a fighter."

Emmeline rolled onto her hands and knees. Then she elbowed him hard in the face. "Run!" she screamed at Vivika, who stood in the elevator doorway looking terrified.

Hun reached out for her again, blood flowing freely from his nose, but Emmeline kicked out of his grasp. Then she pushed herself to her feet and tore through the lobby as fast as she could go. She pulled out her T-phone as she burst through the front doors of the building out onto the street, which was dusted with newly fallen snow.

"Yeah, what?" Raphael greeted her.

Emmeline glanced over her shoulder just in time to see her sister, running down the street in the exact opposite direction. "Just ran into Hun," she said, panting heavily into the phone. "Almost literally."

"Where is he now?" Raphael asked, his tone suddenly urgent.

"Hopefully bleeding to death in the lobby of my parents' apartment building," Emmeline said, rounding the street corner that led to the nearest subway terminal. She took the steps two at a time, checking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed.

Then again, if someone from the Purple Dragons or - God forbid - the Foot were following her, they'd probably be smart enough to stay out of sight.

"Where are you?" Raphael asked as she began rummaging through her duffel bag for her wallet.

She pulled her MetroCard out and swiped it at the turnstile. "On the first train away from him," she muttered as the Go icon appeared on the turnstile. "I was supposed to stay at my sister's house tonight, but I can't risk going to her place if someone is following me."

Raphael sounded confused when he spoke next. "Why were you going to her house in the first place?"

Emmeline paused beside the subway map to check when the next train would leave. It was 4 AM. The next train would leave in half an hour.

"Hello?" Raphael prompted her when she didn't answer right away.

"My parents threw me out, okay?" Emmeline snapped, scowling. She paced up and down the platform nervously. The station was practically empty at this hour, except for a couple of early morning commuters. "Do you think I'd be lucky enough to get hit by a train if I started walking down this tunnel right now?"

"Hold up a minute," Raphael said, now sounding more confused than ever. "Why, exactly, did your parents throw you out?"

Emmeline sighed and collapsed onto one of the benches that lined the subway platform. She noticed a nerdy-looking college student eying the stitched up wounds on her legs and scowled at him. "Got a problem?" she shot at him, and he quickly looked away. "Sorry," she added into the phone. "Anyway, it was probably because life is hard and they're crappy people who suck at being parents and I fucked up because I'm a bad kid, so they threw me out."

Raphael was silent for a moment as if uncertain about how to respond. "Well, that explains everything then, doesn't it?" he said finally. She heard voices in the background and then he added, "Leo wants to talk to you."

"Emmeline?" Leonardo said before she had a chance to respond.

"Don't you people ever sleep?" Emmeline said, annoyance creeping into her voice. She stared down the platform, looking for signs of the Purple Dragons or potential ninja, but the small gathering of people looked surprisingly normal given the circumstances.

"You're one to talk," Leo shot at her. "Where are you?"

"Subway," Emmeline said simply. "The one near what used to be my house."

"I see," Leonardo said, although he sounded like he didn't at all. "Where are you planning on sleeping tonight?"

Emmeline frowned. She had not actually considered this. "No clue," she admitted. "On the train, probably. In the morning, I'll double back and hit up the Department of Social Services and see if they can set me up with a homeless shelter or something."

"But those places have waiting lists," Leo reminded her gently. "Most people who have been homeless longer than you have never seen the inside of a shelter."

She turned her gaze to the blood-soaked flats that covered her feet, considering this. "Maybe I'll turn myself in then," she said at last. "Jail has to be better than being homeless, right?"

"Look," Leonardo sighed. "Why don't you focus on putting as much distance between you and Hun as possible - we'll figure out the rest."

"I don't need you to do that," Emmeline said quickly. The turtles had saved her life once already - they had done enough.

"Yes, you do," Leo told her sternly. "You're homeless now and you need a place to sleep. Let us take care of it."

Emmeline frowned hesitantly. "But -" she said, starting to object.

Leo cut her off assuredly. "We want to - just think of it as an early Christmas present."

"Christmas?" Emmeline echoed as she saw the bright light of the subway appear at the very end of the track. "Oh, yeah," she said, suddenly remembering the date. "That'll be happening soon, won't it?"

She didn't catch whatever Leonardo said next, even though she could clearly Raphael's annoyingly loud objections in the background. The other sounds were drowned out by the thought that she was, once again, helpless and this time she didn't even have Owen to give her a reason to keep going.

This time, she had nothing.


"She's not gonna be staying here, is she?" Raphael demanded as Leonardo hung up his phone call with Emmeline.

He and the others stood gathered in the pit while they waited with bated breath for a response.

Leonardo shook his head. "Actually," he said. "I had another idea in mind." He turned to April hesitantly.

Now, it was Donatello's turn to object. "No," he said, shaking his head and jumping in between Leonardo and April. "No, no, no - that girl is dangerous, Leo. Her friends are dangerous. She isn't safe for April to be around."

"To be fair," Leonardo said thoughtfully. "Neither are we - I mean, the Foot never would have gone after April if it weren't for us."

"Yeah," April said, crossing her arms across her chest. She scowled at Donnie. "And since when do you get to decide who I hang out with?"

Heat immediately flooded Donnie's cheeks as he struggled to come up with an appropriate response. "B-b-but you barely know her!" he managed finally.

April raised her eyebrows at him. "So?" she said. "You guys don't know her all too well either, and you still brought her down here." She gestured to the sewer lair.

"Point, April," Raphael deadpanned from his place in the pit.

Donatello scowled at him before turning his attention back to April. "We are ninja," he reminded her, gesturing to himself and his brothers. "And there are four of us - five if you count Splinter. We can handle one 90 pound girl with a gun."

"And I am a kunoichi," April told him, smirking.

"In training," Raphael chimed in. He turned to Leo. "Why are we even trying to help her - her parents probably had a good reason for kicking her to the streets. I mean, it's not like she has a clean rap sheet or anything, and Donnie's right - she is dangerous."

"Yeah," Leonardo said. "And so are we, but you guys saw the way she jumped into action when it came to her family. Emmeline is capable of being a good person - she's just never had the motivation to be one before now."

"So we're just supposed to help every poor kid with a sob story that comes our way?" Donatello demanded. "Even if it means putting our friends in danger?"

Leo turned to April. "Are you okay with putting yourself at risk to help Emmeline?" he asked her.

April smiled at him. "Of course I am," she said. "It's the right thing to do, and I know that if I explain things to my aunt, she'll definitely let her stay."

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Raphael said dismissively.

"Raph," Leo said, looking at him. "You had the chance to talk to her in private today, right?"

Raph's spine immediately went rigid at the mention of his conversation with Emmeline. "How'd you know about that?" he asked his brother.

Leonardo sighed, rolling his eyes. "Splinter saw you, okay, and then told me," he said. "Never mind how I knew - did you talk to her?"

Raphael nodded. "Yeah."

"And how did she seem to you?" Leonardo asked him.

Raphael thought back to his conversation with Emmeline in the bathroom. To the fear in her eyes and her unwillingness to share her past with him. Something had happened to her to make her who she was today. She didn't just wake up one morning and decide to start an exciting new career as a drug dealer. He saw that now.

He shook his head, trying to clear the image of her tear-streaked cheeks from his mind. His thoughts drifted back to the first night they had encountered Emmeline and what Splinter had said about her. "She seemed…" His voice trailed off as he searched for the right words. "Lost," he finished finally. "And afraid. I don't think that girl trusts anyone," he added, shaking his head again.

"Most parents would have filed a miss persons report if their kid disappeared for the night," April reminded him. "Hers threw her out on the streets."

"Yeah," Michelangelo said, wandering over from the kitchen while gnawing on a slice of cheese pizza. "And she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who has a lot of friends. You know, not one of the in-crowd."

"That's because she's not nice," Donatello said, not bothering to hide his annoyance at his brothers' willingness to put April at risk. "Or friendly."

"Well, maybe, we could change that," Leonardo told them. "Maybe we could show her how to be a better person, and live a good life - all it takes is one good person, you guys."

Raphael frowned, considering this. Then another thought entered his head unbiddenly. "But what if," he said hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. "What if she doesn't want to be a good person?"

Leonardo frowned at him. "Do you, honestly, believe that?"

Raph didn't respond - he didn't want to believe it. As much as he couldn't stand her, some part of him wanted to believe what his brother was telling him - that Emmeline was really a good person deep inside. But he knew that was the stuff of Hallmark movies and Christmas specials, and real life didn't work that way. In the end, he didn't know what to think.

"Look," April said when he didn't respond. "I'm gonna ask Emmeline to stay at my house whether you guys like or not." She turned to Donatello. "So you can activate the tracker in her T-phone, and help me find her or else you can stay here while I go look for her on my own. It's her Christmas present, remember?" she added, reciting what Leonardo had said to Emmeline on the phone only moments ago.

Mikey nodded enthusiastically, grinning. "Tis the season for tidings of kindness and joy while jolie ol' Saint Nicholas watches over us, and brings presents to the all good girls and boys."

"First of all," Raphael said, looking as though he might actually throw up from all the forced cheer and merriment. "We are turtles, and second of all, we aren't even religious."

"That's never stopped us from celebrating any other year," Leonardo reminded him, smiling.

"And, besides," April told him. "My family is religious - mostly, my aunt, though."

Raphael pressed his palm against his forehead and suppressed a groan.

"Fine!" Donatello exploded, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Fine - tis the freaking season! So let's do something special, and help Emmeline Harris. Let's take her to April's house, and let everyone who wants to hunt her down and kill her in her sleep follow her to April's doorstep in honor of Christmas spirit!"

"That's the spirit," April laughed, clapping him on the back. "Don't worry so much. It'll be fine."

"And if things get dangerous, you two can always hide out down here until everything blows over," Leonardo reminded her.

Donatello said nothing. Instead, he turned and stomped off to his lab to begin the process of tapping into the tracker on Emmeline's T-phone.

Raphael watched him go, and was surprised to find himself hoping that Leo turned to out be right. For once.


The first train Emmeline took brought her to Chambers and Broadway. From there, she caught a bus into the East Village. She wasn't sure if she was being followed or not, but if she was, she didn't want to make it too easy for them. When she took her seat at the very back of the bus, her T-phone went off.

"Hello?" she said, trying to ignore any weird looks the odd, little cell phone got her.

"Get off the bus in Alphabet City," Raphael instructed her. "Then meet April in the northern part of Tompkins Square Park."

"Got it," Emmeline said simply, and hung up the phone.

She rode the bus to Avenue B and then got off. Then she cut through the park until she got to East 10th Street where she found April waiting at a bus stop. By then, the snow had finally stopped falling, but April was dressed warmly in a thick, yellow puffer coat.

Emmeline adjusted her duffel bag. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"They're around," April told her, smiling. "Don't worry." Then she turned and started to walk away.

Emmeline stood for a moment, unsure if she actually wanted to go through this. Then she followed after the strange redhead, trailing a few feet behind her. "So where are we going?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over them.

"My house," April said, looking at her over her shoulder. "You can stay with me until you get things figured out."

Emmeline came an abrupt halt. "Are you sure you really wanna do that?" she said, unable to keep an uneasy tone out of her voice.

April smiled at her. "Of course," she said, nodding. "And, don't worry, I can take care of myself. I just have to let my aunt know…" Her voice trailed off as she continued walking.

"Thanks," Emmeline said, catching up with her. "Like, I mean, really thank you, April."

"It's no big deal," April assured her.

"So," Emmeline said in an attempt to ease the awkward atmosphere. "You live with your aunt, huh?"

April frowned. "No," she said. "I live on my own, actually, but my aunt is my legal guardian right now. There was an accident with the mutagen, and my dad got turned into a mutant."

"Oh, my god," Emmeline gasped in shocked surprise. "I'm so sorry. Is he alright - I mean, I don't even -"

"It's fine," April said a little too quickly. "We aren't really sure where he is right now, but Donnie's been working on a retromutagen. That way we can fix him whenever we find him again." She smiled a strained, hopeful smile.

Emmeline nodded, uncertain how to respond. It was definitely not the time for a clever and witty comeback.

The two them walked in silence for about ten minutes until they finally came to a shabby-looking low-riser with a sign that deemed it the Second Time About Antiques Store.

"You live in an antique store?" Emmeline asked, following April around to a side door.

"Above, actually," April said, pulling out her keys and unlocking the door. "I'll get you your own key by the end of the week." She pulled open the door which led to a narrow staircase in a cramped hallway.

Emmeline paused on the foot of the stairs. "You don't have to do that," she muttered quietly.

April smiled at her. "I want to - besides, you'll need one if you're going to be living here," she reminded her. "Hey, Donnie," she added when she reached the landing at the top of the stairs.

Emmeline followed her up the stairs and then paused when she got to the landing at the top where she saw that Donatello was, indeed, kneeled over in front of the door of the apartment. He was wearing a pair of thick goggles, and had brought a heavy-looking toolbox with him that seemed to harbor many unusual tools Emmeline had never seen outside of woodshop. He had pulled the electric panelling of the doorbell off, and was fiddling with a colorful bunch of wires that dangled from the panel like streamers.

"And what are you doing?" Emmeline asked, kneeling down so that she was level with the panelling.

Donatello pulled a pair of wire cutters from his tool box, and started clipping various wires. "Configuring an alarm system," he said as he worked. "You know, since you never know when Hun or his lackies might show up, and try to murder you in your sleep."

Emmeline straightened up with a frown. "You have an army of evil ninja and an alien race conspiring against you, and it just now occurred to you that your girlfriend could use a burglar alarm at her house?" she said, stepping over him. "And, yes, you are that obvious," she added when she saw the inquiring look on his face.

When she stepped over the threshold into the apartment, she saw that Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael were all gathered in a tiny living room that consisted of two couches - one navy and one a pale beige, a colorful rug, and a coffee table in front of the fireplace. April was bustling about the tiny kitchenette, making coffee for everyone as it was now five in the morning and the sun had just started to rise.

"You look like hell," Raphael said, crossing his arms.

"I look the same as I did last night," Emmeline said, dropping her bag onto the floor.

"So," April said, intervening quickly. "Since I live on my own, you can either sleep in my dad's bedroom or the blue couch is a pull-out."

"I'll take the couch," Emmeline said. "And thanks again for doing this, I really appreciate this."

Raphael bit back a smart remark, reminding himself for the millionth time that Emmeline was now homeless.

"Look," Leonardo said. "This isn't exactly the safest living solution, so we've been talking and…" His voice trailed off as a hesitant frown spread across his face.

"Now, hear us out," Michelangelo said, holding his hands up like a peace offering. "It's a crazy idea, we know -"

"Oh, my god," Raphael said, cutting him off. He pushed past his brothers and locked eyes with Emmeline. "Go to the police. Seriously, people are trying to kill you and we can't be there 24/7. Go to the police."

Emmeline scoffed, shaking her head. "Yeah, one problem with that," she said. "You really think they're gonna believe I was attacked by an evil ninja army in New York freaking City - what do I say? They jumped me in Little Tokyo?"

"So just tell them about the Purple Dragons," Leonardo told her. "We've been doing some research, and since this would be your first offense -"

"That we know of," Raphael added under his breath.

Leo cast him a dark look and went on. "They should go easy on you if you tell them you have information on Hun and the others."

"And if you ever wanna move out of here, you're gonna need a job," April said, carrying over some mugs and the pot of the coffee. "To get a job, you're gonna need to pass a background check."

"The Dragons would kill me if I snitched on them," Emmeline said, sinking into a sofa and pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Thanks," she added to April.

"Aren't they already trying to kill you, though?" Michelangelo reminded her.

"You don't have to go turn yourself in today," Leonardo said, smiling sympathetically. "Just think about it, okay, because if you ever want to make a real life for yourself, this is something you're probably gonna have to overcome."

Emmeline nodded, taking a sip from her cup. She hated to admit it, but he was probably right.

"If things get really bad, though, you're always welcome to stay at the lair," Leo told her. "Both of you - April knows that."

Emmeline smiled up at him. She knew that it was their fault she was in this mess. If the turtles had never confiscated that first canister from her, she would have never ended up in this situation, but they had saved her from the Foot last night. And, now, they had saved her from being homeless. She couldn't help but feel indebted to them.


Two weeks passed slowly, uneventfully. Emmeline refused to leave the safety of April's apartment. She knew there was always the chance that Hun could trace her back there. After everything that she and the turtles had done for her, Emmeline didn't want to put April's life in further danger. She didn't want to drag anyone else down with her. Whether or not that made her a good person, she didn't know.

As the days passed and winter further encased the city, depression settled deep into Emmeline's bones. She could go days without getting out of bed, she refused to sleep. She would stay up all hours until she finally, eventually, passed out. The only thing she looked forward to were Becca's phone calls about how Owen was doing. She was the only person from her old home that Emmeline was still in contact with. She made her swear not to give her parents her new number.

Emmeline and April developed an uneasy sort of relationship as roommates. Emmeline wasn't used to being confined to such a tight space, and the longer she stayed there, the more agitated she became. Rather than pushing her out, though, April had taken to spending her nights in the sewer lair with the turtles.

Leonardo texted her occasionally, but the other turtles kept their distance. Part of her almost hoped that Raphael would text her just so she'd have someone to talk to. She hated to admit it, but part of her had started to enjoy their bickering.

Then, on the night of the 23rd of December, Emmeline heard voices coming from the hall outside the front door. She sat silently on the pull out in the darkened living room she had made her home. The only light in the room came from her Macbook.

"You guys said she was a dealer," April's voice came through the closed door. "Maybe she was sampling her stash - she has all the symptoms."

"Or," Leonardo countered. "She could just be depressed from everything she's been through."

"We won't know until she takes the test," Donatello reminded them calmly.

"If she takes the test," Raphael now chimed in.

At this point, Emmeline rose to her feet, crossed the room, and threw open the front door. It slammed into the wall behind it with a loud bang, startling the group gathered in the hallway landing. They all turned to look at her in unison.

"Emmeline," Michelangelo grinned up at her, feigning innocence. "Hey, girlfriend. How you doing?"

Emmeline ignored him. "I have ears, you know," she informed the others, scowling at them.

"Look," April said quickly. "We're just worried about you -"

"Which is why you want me to take a drug test?" Emmeline finished for her. She stormed back over to the couch. "Yeah," she added, throwing herself down. "I figured out your little plan."

Leo rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I mean, given your history -"

"Which you know nothing about," Emmeline reminded him viciously.

"Because you won't tell us anything," Raphael shot back at her, crossing his arms.

April pushed past the others and went to go stand in front of her. "We are only trying to help you," she said, kneeling down in front of the pull out. "That is all we've ever tried to do, but we can't do that if you don't talk to us."

"What does it matter if I'm a cokehead?" Emmeline said. "I haven't had any access to the shit since the night you guys took that canister of mutagen from me. I have no money, and any dealer that isn't dead stupid won't to sell to me to stay on the Dragons' good side."

"So you have been using," Leonardo concluded, frowning.

Emmeline said nothing.

Raphael gaped at her as realization dawned on him. There had always been something about her that never made sense: If Hun had hurt her the way she had said he did, when had she kept on going back to him over and over again?

"That's why you kept hanging around the Purple Dragons," Raphael said, putting the pieces together. The others all turned to look at him. "He got you addicted, so you'd keep coming back."

"Is that true?" Leonardo asked, turning back to Emmeline.

She wouldn't meet his eye. Instead, she stared down at the newly healed wounds on her legs. "It's complicated," she said in a voice that was barely even a whisper.

"Statistically speaking," Donatello said from his spot in the doorway. "People who suffer from depression or other mental illnesses are ten times more likely to become addicts."

Emmeline scowled at him. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and when she spoke her voice trembled. "I am more than just some statistic!"

"Well, why then?" Raphael demanded. "What could possibly be your excuse?"

"Why this - why that?!" Emmeline said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Well, if I had to guess I'd say it's probably so I could forget the burning desire I have to stick a gun in my goddamn mouth!" She got to her feet and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

The others stood in the living room, staring after her. The air was now thick with shock and tension. None of them said anything as they absorbed this new information. What could they say?

Raphael clenched and unclenched his fist as he stared at the closed door of the bathroom. Finally, he sank to the floor with a sigh. "That was not the answer I was expecting."

Then a high-pitched beeping sound came from the small device Donnie was carrying - the mutagen radar. They all turned to him. It had picked up on a canister nearby, they all knew without asking.

"Is it, like, safe to leave her here?" Michelangelo asked, concern coloring his features.

"You guys go," Raphael said, making a shooing motion with his hand. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"Are you sure?" Leonardo asked him.

Raph shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. "I've got nothing better to do."

Leo nodded. "Alright."

Then he and the others turned, and left without a word.


Raphael spent that night on the floor outside the bathroom door. Emmeline never came out. He didn't know whether he should go to her or leave her on her own, but he knew what he would want if he had been in the same situation. So he left her alone, listening intently to make sure she didn't try to hurt herself.

At about 3am, he heard the sound of the shower going and then the unmistakable sounds of violent sobbing. "This is not how I wanted to spend Christmas freaking Eve," he said, pushing himself to his feet. He knocked on the door hard. "Yo, Emmeline, you okay in there?"

He jumped aside as the door swung open a moment later, and Emmeline appeared in a towel. "I'm fine," she said, pushing past him.

Raphael turned his eyes to the floor as she began rummaging through her bag of clothes that sat on the floor by the couch. "I heard crying," he said, staring at the thinning carpet.

"Maybe it was a ghost," Emmeline said, walking past him with a change clothes back into the bathroom. She closed the door again.

Raphael leaned against the door silently, uncertain of what to say. He was in no mood to argue with her. Not after last night. He didn't pity her, exactly. He just wished he could do something to help.

He cried out loudly as he nearly fell over when the door opened again.

Emmeline stood in front of him with a smirk, dressed in a black hoodie and ripped skinny jeans. "Pretty clumsy for a ninja," she laughed.

She pushed past him and grabbed her coat and her Macbook off the couch.

"Where are you going?" Raphael asked, watching her. "It's three-thirty in the morning."

"Which means it is officially Christmas Eve," Emmeline said, smiling at him.

"So what?" Raphael said. "All the stores are closed."

"We live in New York City," Emmeline reminded him. "Something will be open. Besides, I've had this planned for weeks." She strode across the living room, and out the front door.

Raphael followed after her. "Had what planned?"

Emmeline turned to him, smiling. It was almost as though last night had never happened, but, no, Raphael knew better. He saw the hollow look in her eyes. She was forcing herself to be happy. "How I'm going to say thank you," she told him.

"Thank you?" Raphael echoed, following her down the stairs and out the side door of the building. "To who?"

Emmeline looked at over her shoulder. "To you," she said. "And your brothers, and April and Casey. They should all be down in the lair by now, right?"

Raph shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

Emmeline spun around to look at him. "Well, then," she said. "It is your job to call them and tell them to get the hell down there, while we're out."

Raph stared at her. She couldn't be serious. "Out?" he said again. "Doing what?"

Emmeline turned and started down the sidewalk. "First, I'm gonna pawn this," she said, waving her Macbook in the air. "Then I have a few things to pick up."

Raphael followed her, partially stunned, through the city trying to figure out what the hell was going on in that four-foot-seven head of hers. After she ducked inside a shady-looking pawn shop, he pulled out his T-phone and dialed the first number on speed dial.

"Sup, bro?" Michelangelo greeted him. "Uh, Emmeline didn't off herself yet, did she?"

"What the hell kinda question is that?" Raphael said, unable to restrain himself. He didn't wait for his brother to answer he went on. "She's fine - she's acting like the whole thing never happened. Said she wants to thank us. She's in a pawn shop, selling her laptop."

"For what?" Michelangelo said. "Thank us how - she's not buying a new gun, is she?"

"Oh, yeah, Mikey let's just have the five-foot-five turtle peek in the shop window and see what's up," Raphael said, trying very hard to keep from rolling his eyes. "What would matter if she was buying a new gun?"

"Cause she might planning a Christmas Eve massacre!" Mikey told him, his voice rising to a shout.

"You're insane, you know that?" Raphael said. Then he heard the sound of shop bells jingling, and glanced down from his perch on the roof of the pawn shop to see Emmeline leaving. "Just get everyone down to the lair. Later," he said, hanging up the phone.

The next stop on the list turned to out to be at a store in the East Village that specialized in Asian candies and cakes. Raph waited on the roof of the store until Emmeline came back, carrying a large, white box. "Surprised this place was open at this hour," he said, checking to make sure there was no one around before he dropped onto the sidewalk. "What's in the box?"

"Mochi cakes," Emmeline said simply. "And a Christmas cake. I had to special order it."

"Mochi cakes?" Raphael asked her somewhat cluelessly. He only had the vaguest idea of what mochi was - a type of sweet, Japanese dough made from rice grains. Splinter had mentioned it a couple times, but none of the turtles had ever actually tried it.

Emmeline nodded. "You said Splinter was from Japan, right?"

Raphael stared at her. "What's that got to do with anything?"

She sighed and pulled a folded up sheet of paper out of her pocket, and thrust it at him. It was an article entitled Ten Fun Facts About Christmas In Japan. "I thought you guys might like an authentic Japanese Christmas," she said, watching him read the article.

Raphael stared down at the paper, uncertain of how to respond. This was, really, the first time anyone had ever done anything like this for his family. April always helped supply food during the holidays, but money was tight for everyone, so it was usually a small affair. And no one had certainly ever gone out of their way to make sure they had an "authentic Japanese Christmas," to use Emmeline's words. He thought back to the conversation he had had with the others on the night Emmeline had been thrown out of her home. Maybe she was a good person. Finally, he managed to force out the words, "KFC - this is stupid. Why is this so important to you?"

Emmeline turned and started down the sidewalk. "Part of my family is Chinese," she told him as he followed after her, her voice sounding every bit as sad as it had the night before. "But we're mostly white, so we never celebrated Chinese New Year or anything, even though I always wanted to. Then when my grandmother died, I started to realize how horrible it felt not to know anything about her culture. You guys still have Splinter around, though. It's not too late for you to learn, Raphael-kun."

Raph frowned at the use of the honorific. "Raphael-kun?"

"Too much?" Emmeline asked, smiling at him. "I learned that from reading manga."

Raphael refrained from asking her what the hell manga was. Instead, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. She paused and turned to look at him, frowning. "About what you said last night…" he said, his voice trailing off.

Emmeline's smile that had seemed forced and empty all night, now appeared genuine and sympathetic. "You too, huh?" she asked him knowingly.

He looked away from her, unable to admit that, of course, he had thought about it. He was a giant turtle, after all - a mutant. The by-product of alien slime used to create freaks and monsters. Instead he simply said, "Don't ever say anything like that again, got it?"

He let go of her wrist. Then he pushed past her, and started off down the sidewalk.

"Raphael?" Emmeline called after him, watching him go.

He paused and turned to face her. "Yeah, what?"

She beamed at him, her eyes sad and yet, somehow, hopeful. "Merry Christmas, Raphael."


A/N: Okay, you guys, this is the first time I have tried to write a Christmas special for any of my fanfictions, so I really hope you guys like it. I did a lot of research to make sure everything was accurate because I have never actually been to NYC, so….Yeah, if anything seems inaccurate just roll with it and correct me if you feel like it in your reviews.

Again, special thanks go out to Megmoo, TheUnknownLady, and all the guests who have read and reviewed this story. Thank you, guys, so much. I'm so happy that you all like my story and that you've stayed with it this far. Please, keep on reading and review because as I've said before, I love knowing your thoughts on the story.

That being said stay tuned, guys, because there is a lot more to come with this story.

I hope you guys all have a safe, warm, happy, and lovely holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :D