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Chapter 25
Christmas
"OOOOOOOOO! They're in trouble!"
"How come they weren't allowed to go in the room?"
"Because grownups make up rules just to ruin people's fun!"
"That's quite enough, little miss. Listen to the story."
All in all, Master Splinter was very calm about the whole blatantly disobeying him thing – aside from giving them six additional hours of training everyday for a month. At least he didn't tell the guys, he did however tell them that there was something he was going to require of them in several months – something that would lead to enormous changes in many lives.
They never spoke about anything they had seen in the throne room, especially not the portrait. Angela did not mention how the dark eyes of one of the princes were maddeningly familiar, Zoey did not mention the smile of the youngest prince, Gwen kept her confusion about her conflicting feelings for Donny and the boy with the dreamy smile to herself, and Julietta tortured herself with the knowledge that the smirking gypsy in the painting was the same one in her dream privately.
What was going on with this place?
But life went on as usual inside the castle, Gwen and Donny continued with their experiments and explosions. They redesigned their microscope and began staring at things under it – starting with the gunpowder. Six explosions later, they decided to try looking at something a bit more stable – like the blood trickling from Gwen's arm.
"Are you sure about this, Gwen?" Donny asked, carefully taking a drop of her blood onto a slide of glass.
"Of course, Don, it's my blood after all."
The turtle turned to her and took her injured limb gently in his hands. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
He wrapped her arm carefully.
She sighed. "I can do that myself, you know."
"I know."
She sighed again, but let him bandage her up. As he finished tying it up, he smiled at her.
Her stomach did a little jump and she smiled shyly back.
********************************
It was finished. The story book was finished. It had been wrapped in a leather binding and titled "Silly Stories" by Michelangelo Hamato, illustrations by Zoey Freeman.
"I can't believe this!" Zoey squealed, holding the book over her head in triumph, "It's finally finished!"
Mikey shook his clasped fists over his head like a champion. "Whoo-hooo!"
The two danced around the art room as though they had gone insane, Mikey grabbing her around the waist and whirling around. At last they collapsed on the floor, laughing.
Even as she celebrated, Zoey couldn't help to think that her best friend looked somehow familiar.
*********************************
Raph did not like this idea. "This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."
"Shut up and just hold on to Demonio," Julietta snapped at him. "I don't need him jumping around while I get on."
"The damn horse hates me, why are you asking me to do this?"
"First of all: I ain't askin', I'm telling you. Second of all: Demonio doesn't like any of you guys and you just happen to be the one with the least chance of letting him bolt while I'm mounting. And third: to control a demon, you must send in a demon."
Anger shot through him, but sputtered to a halt when he saw the teasing smirk on her face. "Fine. Whatever. Don't blame me if you get yourself flattened."
"Of course I will. Now wait here while I go get him."
The turtle scoffed and grumbled as the young woman went into the stables. Why was he agreeing to this?
Because he had been completely shocked when Julietta had come to him of her own free will to ask him for a favor – the sheer shock of that phenomenon had stunned him into agreeing before he even heard what the favor was.
Strangely enough, they had somehow managed to keep up their truce even after she had gotten better. The two weeks she had been confined to her room had been long and tense at first until they finally just decided to act as though nothing was wrong.
This lead to long arguments and shouting matches fueled only by the desire to pass time.
This in turn led to relatively civil conversations… that ended in arguments.
His attention was recaptured when she came out of the stables with the huge horse Demonio. The colt took one look at who was waiting for them and immediately tried to run, nearly yanking Julietta off of her feet.
"Okay," she panted, handing the lead rope off to him – which led to Demonio screaming and jerking furiously on the rope. "Here we go."
Yeah, here we go.
****************************************
Dinner that night was enjoyable, Zoey and Mikey smugly boasting about their finished project to anyone who would listen, Gwen and Donny discussing what they had seen in Gwen's blood under the microscope with Master Splinter, Leo and Angie were talking about the cooling weather, and Julietta and Raph were complaining about their nasty bruises from wrestling with Demonio.
When everyone was finished and had moved into the parlor for their after dinner gathering, Master Splinter spoke, "Christmas is coming upon us, and with our many guests, we will have a proper celebration. This means, of course, formal wear…" His sharp eyes lingered on Julietta's muddy rumpled short skirt, Zoey's paint splattered clothes, and Gwen's singed blouse. "And as it is Christmas –"
"Presents!" Zoey shrieked, clapping her hands in glee.
"Precisely. I will leave you all to it."
Immediately, excited conversation broke out.
*******************************************
"This just keeps getting better and better!" Rachel said, happily.
"That was a very good idea, Master," Vittoria commented.
"It really was!" Mary agreed.
The Lady was completely calm as usual. "Let's just hope it works."
**************************************
The next two months were filled with preparations and secret projects. Raph's hands were suddenly covered in deep nasty gashes. Leo disappeared for hours on end and Donny took to locking Gwen out of one of his workshops. Angela no longer did her needlework in public, choosing instead to barricade herself in her room while she worked. Zoey locked her art room door and Gwen spent hours in the library alone. Julietta was nowhere to be found after lunch for over three hours every day.
Thanksgiving passed with little notice, though Zoey and Mikey did their part to encourage mayhem by starting a food fight. For thirty minutes, turkey and mashed potatoes flew through the dining room, Gwen, Donny, Leo, and Angela taking cover behind the table, and Raph, Mikey, Zoey and Julietta taking shelter behind Master Splinter. The night ended with good natured laughter and bathes all around.
The next day was filled with sleepy recovery and continuing secret work.
The first week of the month they celebrated Angie's birthday with a large dinner.
Around the middle of December, Julietta lost her temper with Raph's closed-mouthedness about his mysterious injuries and, after a long battle that ended with an epic bit of vase throwing, rebandaged them herself, promising him that if she ever had to step in like this again that she would tie his hands together. He had scowled at her and complained that she wasn't his mother and that he could take of himself, but in the end had let her look after his abused hands.
Finally, Christmas Eve arrived.
***********************************
At around four in the afternoon, the girls were ushered away from their activities and taken into their rooms to get dressed.
Angela's long blonde hair was twisted up to show off her long graceful neck and secured with a silver hairpin. Her dress was a lovely bit of pale blue satin that had an elegant V neck, and was slick around the waist where beautiful beadwork glittered, then looser to fall in a solid wave down to her feet which were held in dainty silver shoes. The sleeves were sheer silvery material that puffed out neatly around her arms and were tight only on her shoulders and wrists. Makeup was applied sparingly to her fair complexion and the silver pendant that Leo had given her was strung around her neck.
I look, she thought in awe, staring at her reflection, like a princess.
Her thoughts suddenly swung to the handsome blond young man in the picture and then over to Leo.
Angie blushed scarlet.
**********************************
Far off down the hall, Julietta was, as usual, fighting with the servants. "He said formal! He didn't say to doll me up!"
The flames paid no attention as they dumped her in the bathtub and scrubbed her with scented soaps and shampoos and conditioners and God only knew what else. It unceremoniously dragged her out even as towels were rubbed all over her. Evidently they were taking no chances with her trying to escape.
Her hair was brushed and tended to until it shone and creams and powders were spread over her face. They gave her a slick silk red dress that had only one shoulder that slashed across the main part of the dress in a bold streak of gold. It went all the way to the floor and they forced a pair of high heeled shoes on her feet. Her hooped earrings were replaced with elegant golden ones and a matching bracelet was put on her wrist.
When she tried to tie back her hair, the flames swooped in and held back her hands. "What? My hair annoys me."
A mirror was shoved in her face and she reluctantly peered in.
She stared in shock. What the hell had they done to her?
***********************************
Gwen nervously allowed them to brush her brown hair and pull part of it back, fastening it with a clip. She was assisted into a dark violet dress with a full pale lavender skirt stitched with blooming flowers along the bottom and a black bodice that extended up to the middle of her back before leaving off to fasten around her neck and embroidered pale lavender flowers around the edges.
Long silver earrings were put on her and a matching necklace curled around her neck. Slippers were put on her feet and makeup was brushed across her face carefully.
She was offered a mirror… and couldn't believe her eyes.
Was that really her?
*************************************
Zoey giggled as they brushed her long wavy auburn curls and clipped it back with twin golden clips in the form of birds. Her dress was white with a lightly pleated skirt that was joined with the bodice with a golden belt. The bodice was white and simple, with a golden border around the back of her gown that tied behind her neck gracefully.
A golden chain with a pearl charm was around her neck and matching earrings were put on her. Make up was applied and shoes were given to her.
Finally, a mirror appeared on the wall.
She took one look and squealed with delight.
************************************
Leo stood nervously in the entrance hall, waiting with his brothers and father for the girls. He was dressed as he always was, though he had left his katanas in his room, belt, wrist wraps, and bandana. It felt rather pointless for the girls to be expected to dress up when they would be eating with giant turtles and rat.
But it reminded him of Christmas before they had been cursed. It had always been a huge affair, Christmas trees set up everywhere in the castle and decorations in every room.
Christmas Eve had probably been the best day of the entire year. They ate almost nothing until mid afternoon when they put on their formal tunics and ate a fancy dinner in the dining room. After that, they gathered in the family room to decorate the Christmas tree that stood bare in the corner of the room for the better part of December and spent the rest of the night playing and laughing. At midnight, they opened each other's presents and celebrated until sunrise. The next eleven days were filled with rich food and games and more presents. It was the best time of the year.
Needless to say, the Christmas spirit had been rather sparse the last few years.
This year, however, the castle was now strung with decorations – not as many as had once been the norm, but more than last year – and there was a bare Christmas tree surrounded by dusty boxes in the family room, ready to be decorated.
His thoughts drifted away from the Christmas preparations and went to the girls.
The longer they stayed here, the more and more optimistic he became that they could break the curse. Gwen and Donny were certainly coming along very nicely, he only had to mention Gwen and his brother would flush darkly. Zoey and Mikey were getting closer and closer. Raph and Julietta were… were… well, at least they hadn't killed each other yet. He wasn't entirely sure what love between two such wild individuals was supposed to look like, anyway. And Angela and himself? He didn't know, he like her well enough he supposed… she made him feel – different, good.
He winced and shook his head quickly, turning his eyes to his feet. Control yourself, Leonardo! He told himself. Don't do anything stupid.
"Good evening ladies," Master Splinter said courteously.
Leo looked to the grand staircase. His heart did a strange, but not altogether unpleasant, flipflop.
A beautiful blond woman in a delicate shade of blue was coming down the stairs with other lovely girls. But he had eyes only for the blonde.
She had one slender, graceful hand on the banister and was descending as gracefully and smoothly as though she was the queen of the castle.
He had never seen anyone more beautiful.
Beside him, his brothers were making hoarse noises, as though they were being strangled, but he couldn't tear his eyes away as she reached the bottom of the staircase and approached him confidently.
She glided over to him and gave him a courtesy. The kind a princess would give a prince.
And all the poised, controlled Leonardo Hamato could do was gape.
************************************
Mikey thought for sure he was dreaming. Stuff like this didn't happen. The prettiest girl in the world did not walk up to overgrown turtles and giggle a hello.
"Zoey?"
"Yup!" She turned a quick spin. "What do you think? Do I look okay?"
He shook his head. "Nu-Uh."
Her face fell. "Really? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. You look really pretty. Not just okay. Really, really pretty."
She hugged him tightly and he was overwhelmed with the sweet smell of honeysuckle, sunshine and clean cotton imbedded in her skin. "Thanks!"
The turtle could only smile back goofily.
"Shall we go to dinner?" Master Splinter asked calmly.
*********************************
Donny offered his arm dazedly to Gwen, who took it shyly.
He had always known that she was very pretty – but how could he have failed to notice just how pretty? How beautiful?
How had he not noticed it?
"Donny?"
"Huh?"
"What's wrong? You're staring at me…"
He jumped and blinked. "I am?"
She scuffed her foot against the ground. "Uh-huh."
"Sorry. It's just… you look… um… very nice…"
"I thought I told you not to patronize me? I know I look weird –"
"No." The words came out harsher than he intended. "You look beautiful."
"But –"
"You do. No arguments."
Gwen looked at him in bewilderment. "Ummmm… okay?"
There was a moment of embarrassed silence.
"You look very nice, too."
He looked at her, then down to himself. Turtle all the way. "Sure."
She slapped his arm. "Rule number three. No knocking yourself, after you've said I can't knock myself, remember?"
They scowled for a moment at each other before the smiles they had been trying to hide burst out.
**********************************
Raph stood impatiently as his brothers stood around him, staring stupidly at the girls on their arms. Where the hell was Julietta? Had she tried to make a break for –
Holy shit.
A young gypsy woman had appeared at the top of the stairs.
Holy shit, and holy shit again.
Was that really Julietta?
The girl grabbed the banister in a grim hold and tried to go down the stairs. She stumbled all the way down, cursing as she went.
Yup, that was Julietta.
He leapt to grab her before she hit the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought your feet healed already."
Her dark eyes skewered him. "They strapped these god-awful shoes on me. And now I can't even freakin' walk!"
Definitely Julietta.
"Then take them off, idiot," he hissed at her, offering his arm.
She looked about ready to take his head off. "Don't you think I've already tried that? They don't come off." She eyed his arm scornfully and tried to take a step by herself.
And promptly staggered.
Raph took her hand bad temperedly and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. "Just take my damn arm."
She spent too much of the walk to the dining room clinging to him to balance on her ridiculous shoes to snarl a comeback. This made it easier to take a good look at her – it was easier to notice just how attractive she was when she wasn't yelling or arguing with him.
For one thing, he had never actually seen her healthy and wearing her hair down, she was always tying it up out of her face. In the torchlight, her dark hair almost had a coppery shine imbedded in the curls. The dress showed off her graceful, lithe body far more than her wrinkled skirts, and ripped shirts ever had and whatever they had done to her face made her dark brown eyes seem even bigger.
They entered the dining room, and he led her to the closest chair. Pulling it out for her, he watched as she collapsed into the chair with a relieved sigh and walked to his chair.
Master Splinter said the blessing and food immediately appeared.
Mmmm… he had forgotten just how good food was at Christmas.
Roasted chicken, roast beef, chestnut-stuffed turkey, ham, goose, duck, and pheasant…
Corn, squash, green beans, yams, mashed potatoes, and rolls…
Hot chocolate, coffee, juice, wine, beer, water, and eggnog…
Raph happily loaded up his plate and set to work cleaning it. However, he seemed to have picked an annoying habit that was not going unnoticed.
"What are you staring at?" Julietta demanded for about the fourth time.
"Nothing," he grumbled around a mouthful of ham.
Five minutes later.
"Will you stop staring at me, goddamnit?"
"I am not staring at you!"
"You kind of are," Zoey said brightly, swallowing some mashed potatoes.
"I'm not," he growled, stabbing at his yam.
"You are!" she sang.
"Why the hell would I want to look at her?"
"What was that?"
Oops.
As usual, his mouth ran: "Was I talkin' to you?"
"That's enough you two." Angela glared at them from her chair beside Leo. "It's Christmas Eve, let's not fight."
When they had finally finished stuffing themselves, they leaned back contentedly back in their chairs. After a few minutes of digestion, Master Splinter dismissed them to retrieve their presents and asked them to come into the parlor.
Julietta needed Angela and Mikey to pull her to her painful feet and hobbled off.
Raph watched her stumble and groaned. "Wait up, Julietta. You're gonna take forever that way."
She spun around to yell at him, yowled, and fell gracelessly to the ground in a heap.
*********************************
Angela placed her neatly wrapped gifts on the sofa and turned to the boxes that surrounded the huge Christmas tree.
She hadn't had a proper Christmas for five years and it certainly seemed that the guys knew how to have a proper Christmas. For a wild moment, she felt like joining Zoey in her little wild hopping dance around the tree, but a lady was expected to hold her poise at all times.
"Don't be so stiff, Angie," Leo said suddenly, appearing at her shoulder. "No one's going to get angry if you loosen up a little bit for Christmas."
She looked at him with a rather weary smile. "Sorry. Long time habit."
He chuckled gently at her. "At least you aren't speaking so properly anymore."
Her hand flew to her mouth in surprise. "I'm not?"
"No, and you show more emotion now."
"I do?"
He smiled at her. "Don't worry, it's a compliment."
Angie blinked at him in confusion at him, before deciding to just go with it. "Thank you, My Lord Leo," she said with complete control, giving him a flawless curtsey, and flashing him humorous smile.
Returning her smile, he folded a hand against his plastron and the other on his shell and gave her a smooth bow. "It is my pleasure, Lady Angela."
They both laughed.
When Julietta came in, she was carried by Raphael. The looks on the two's faces dared someone to make a comment.
The red-banded turtle growled as he set down the gypsy on the coach.
"Are you alright, Julie?" Gwen asked with concern.
"These damn shoes! They're killing my feet and I can't get them off."
Gwen drew up her own lavender dress and peered at her very comfortable slippers. "Your shoes?"
Her dark-skinned friend drew up her red dress' skirt and showed dainty little high-heels that were strapped far too tightly on her feet.
"Oh wow. Ouch."
"Tell me about it." She dropped the skirt around her feet.
Leaving Julietta on the couch to wrestle with her shoes, the rest of the others began to decorate the tree. Zoey and Mikey laughed as they tried to tie up Raph with a string of popcorn balls with interesting consequences. Donny and Gwen strung a chain of enchanted glass balls that flashed different colors around the tree. Leo handed ornaments to Angela who hung them on the branches.
Master Splinter sat in the armchair and watched quietly.
"Think fast Julie!" The two masters of mayhem, better known as Zoey and Mikey, dumped an entire bucket of popcorn balls over her head.
With a sharp scream, she tried to leap to her feet, only to over balance and fall onto the floor.
"That will do." Master Splinter looked over the Christmas tree. "It looks lovely. Shall we begin the exchange?"
Angela bit her lip in unexpected anticipation and sat down between Leo and Julietta.
******************************
Zoey skipped back to her room, arms full of her presents, which included sketchbooks, pencils, paints, and an easel.
She had never ever had a Christmas like that. And it still wasn't over! They had just finished unwrapping presents when desserts appeared. Master Splinter had insisted that they go and put their gifts away before gorging themselves on sweets.
She finally made it to her room and dumped her things on her bed, before hurrying out.
Running through the halls, the young woman had almost reached the family room when –
"Hey, Z?"
The girl gasped and saw Mikey loitering nervously besides the door into the parlor. "Mikey! You scared me!"
The turtle moved nervously into the light, holding something behind his shell. "Sorry… um… listen… I wanted you to have something."
"OOOOOO!" Zoey immediately began bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, trying to see behind him. "What is it?"
His bright blue eyes found hers shyly as he drew out a messily wrapped gift. "Here."
Trembling with anticipation, she tore off the paper and saw the present. Her delighted expression froze.
She looked up at him. "Mikey?"
"It's the book we made." He shuffled his feet. "Don't you want it?"
Zoey stared at the beautiful leather binding of the book. "This is for me?"
"Yeah… I thought you should have it. Y'know… you helped me so much… and I… I just want you to have it!"
She hugged it to her chest and beamed at him. "Really?"
"Uh-huh!" His head bobbed. "It's more yours than mine anyway."
"No way!" she cocked her head sweetly at him. "But thank you, Mikey! You are the best friend anyone could ever have!"
And before he could say anything else, Zoey darted forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Without another word, she ducked inside the parlor.
Mikey stood outside the room for a long moment. Then, all at once, he leapt into the air and did a quick happy dance.
*************************************
Gwen closed her bedroom door behind her.
She couldn't wait to taste some of that fruit pie!
"Ummm… excuse me? Gwen?"
"Donny?"
There he was standing a little ways down the hall.
"What is it?"
"Ummmm… this is for you…" he offered a box.
"Umm, thank you…" She opened the top.
And gasped. "Wow."
"I…um… I know how much you liked looking at the stars last March… so I thought... well, I know I gave you a present already… but this… this seemed more… appropriate and I –"
He trailed off at the look on her face. "You like it?"
She brushed her fingers gently along the metal outline of the telescope. "Yes."
Her large hazel eyes met his, "Thank you."
He leaned forward a bit. "You're welcome."
She was closer as well. "I don't have anything else for you though."
"That's alright… I just… wanted you to have something special…"
The box was the only thing separating them now; they were leaning towards each other over it.
"Donny?"
"Yeah?"
She trembled when she felt his breath on her face.
And turned her head away. "Will you help me put this in my room?"
He straightened immediately. "Sure."
"And Donny?"
"Yeah?"
She pressed her cheek to his. "I love you."
Donatello Hamato suddenly wondered how many physics laws he had broken – one second he had been lower than dirt, the next he was floating among the stars.
************************************
The next few hours were filled with eating, drinking, talking, and playing games. Gwen and Donny were just facing off with Mikey and Zoey for a showdown of charades when Raph abruptly stood up and motioned to Julietta.
"What?" she demanded, her legs folded beneath her on the sofa.
"I need to talk to you."
"So talk."
"Alone."
She scowled up at him. "I am not getting up. My feet feel like they're about to fall off as it is."
"Didn't you tell them to take those damn things off?"
"Yup."
"And?"
"I'm still losing circulation." She held up a warning hand. "And don't even think about trying to carry me."
He glared. "I want to talk to you."
"You said that already. Now say something else."
There was a long standoff – amber eyes burning, dark eyes glittering – neither giving in.
Finally…
Sploosh
Splash
The stalemate was immediately brought to a screeching halt when ice cold wine was thrown over both bad tempered teens' heads.
"HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!" Zoey and Mikey laughed, each holding an empty bucket. The two pranksters took one look at their victims' faces and bolted.
With a snarl more appropriate for a wolf than a young lady, Julietta surged to her feet, only to curse and fall back down.
"Raphael?" she gritted out. "Would you be so kind as to come here?"
Said turtle abruptly halted in his pursuit of the troublemakers and turned to the gypsy. "What for?"
"Come here, damn it."
Raph had never heard her like this before; he had heard her screeching and ranting in fury, had seen her fight when in a rage – that hadn't been pretty – and had watched while she got so angry that she ended up hurting herself. But he had never seen her so angry that she could barely speak.
It was scaring the crap out of him.
So he found himself blindly obeying her, walking over to the coach.
"Get these shoes off of me."
"What?"
Julietta wrenched up her skirts to show the tiny elegant shoes she had been forced into. "Yank them off."
"Why?"
Her dark eyes glittered golden-brown in the firelight. "I want to join the hunt."
He grinned and grabbed one shoe. It came off with a powerful yank. The other came off after another forceful jerk.
Torture devices off, the young woman rose to her feet and faced him. "Join forces for tonight? Just until we catch the idiots?"
"Whoa, hold on, you two!" Donny shouted even as they nodded to each other and ran out of the room.
"Relax, Don." Raph turned his attention to the girl beside him. "Before we get too wrapped up in beating the shit out of those two, here."
Julietta blinked at the plainly wrapped box in her hands. "What's this?"
"Just… take it, would ya?"
With a suspicious look at her terrapin companion, Julietta ripped the paper off of the box.
Her eyes got big. Really big. You could see the white all around her irises big.
"I'm pretty good with my hands. Not like Donny and Gwen, though, I'm just not a half bad carpenter. And… well, Gwen told me that you really like the music box room so I figured, what the hell?"
It was a music box, expertly carved out of cherry wood. She ran her fingers over it in wonder.
"Did you make this?"
"Just the wood part, Donny and Gwen had to help me out with the music thing."
She opened it.
It was lined with velvet and in the middle was the figurine of…
Her wolf.
A tiny wooden figurine of the wolf she always saw in her dreams. His neck was arched and his golden eyes stared out at her proudly. He was jet black and, when she touched him, she could almost feel the soft fur beneath her fingers.
A low, mysterious gypsy lullaby flowed smoothly from it, adding to its beauty.
"If you don't like it you can give it to someone else."
"Shut up." She looked up at him and couldn't keep a slow smile from spreading across her face. "Thank you."
And it wasn't until after they had caught the culprits and locked them in a closet, and Julietta was in the parlor ignoring Leo and Angela's scolding and admiring her music box that she suddenly realized something.
Raph's eyes were the same gold color as her wolf's!
But then Angela shook her shoulder and demanded her attention, redirecting her thoughts from the thoughts of similar eyes to a new argument.
***************************************
It was almost sunrise of Christmas day and Angela was completely exhausted. Exhausted, but content.
The family room was now a complete mess, popcorn was all over the floor, wrapping paper was strewn over most of the furniture, cups had been upended, the Christmas tree was lopsided, and most of the castle's inhabitants were sprawled out on the floor and sofas.
Zoey and Mikey were asleep on the floor, covered liberally with popcorn. Mikey lay on his stomach, with Zoey using his shell as a pillow. Gwen and Donny were crumbled on the sofa together, Gwen's head on his shoulder. Julietta was curled up in an armchair with a wooden box in her red lap and Raph sitting against the side of the chair, his head hanging to his chest.
"That was quite a party, wasn't it Leo?" she smiled sleepily at the all but silent turtle standing in the shadows.
"You're getting very good at telling where I am, aren't you? Yes, we haven't had that kind of celebration in a very long time."
"Should we wake them or let them just sleep it off?"
"Do you really wake Julietta and Raph?"
"Good point. Well, I think I'll go to bed." She turned to leave.
"Wait. Angela?"
The blonde paused and looked at her friend. "Yes?"
"This is for you." Leo proffered a slender box. "I hope you like it."
Angela curiously took it and opened it. "Oh, Leo…"
They were earrings matching the ones he had given her for her birthday.
"I meant to give you those with the necklace on your birthday, but they weren't finished. Do you like them?"
She hugged the elegant jewelry to her chest. "I love them, thank you so much."
He grinned at her. "I'm glad. Merry Christmas, Angie."
"Merry Christmas, Leo."
"Bed time for all little children," announced the storyteller.
"WHAT?"
"No arguments – let's go."
"You'll finish the story tomorrow, right?"
"We'll see. Now come on. You need to go to bed."
Did you really expect Splinter to tell them so soon? Anyway, REVIEW and tell me what you think. Plot ideas are also welcomed - I'm running a bit dry on ideas.