Chapter 36 - Adventures In Decorating…

Michaelangelo awoke, and stretched. He turned to look at the clock. He knew that no one else would be awake at this time, so he quietly snuck down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Soon, the morning smells of coffee and frying bacon filled his senses, and he knew the others weren't far behind him in waking now.

He grabbed a glass of milk (he wasn't the biggest coffee nut in the world, much as it seemed otherwise) and sat down at the table, savoring the minutes before the kitchen exploded with activity. He loved his family dearly, and with everything he had, but he still loved these moments, of quiet, of comfort.

Soon, he heard the first rustlings of sound, and knew that his quiet time was over.

He grinned as the door to the kitchen opened, and Donatello came through, rubbing his shoulder.

"Morning." Mike said, grinning slightly.

"Mornin'." Don said back, and smiled. At his side, Lindy hung onto his hand, toddling her way into the kitchen, a finger in her mouth.

"Morning, gorgeous." Mike greeted her, bending down to pick her up when she walked to him.

"You better be talkin' to her." Raph grumbled as he entered the kitchen right after them.

Don smiled as he sat down with his coffee. Mike was happy to see that. After April and Don had that talk over a week ago, things had almost gone back to normal, though they were still inherently different. But it was good now. It was better.

Raph quickly removed Lindy from Mike's grasp, kissing her firmly on the forehead as he placed her in her highchair.

"Food?" Mike asked, starting to rise from his seat.

Don waved his hand dismissively. Raph nodded.

"Legs broken, Raph?"

They all looked over as Leo and April both entered the room. April grinned quickly at all of them, and put her hand on Lindy's head as she passed her, and sat down at her place next to Mike and Don.

Raph grunted slightly. "Hey, he offered…"

Leo sighed slightly as he sat. For a moment, it all seemed… So normal.

Talk faded into the normal noises at the table, as they all dug into their food.

"What's New York want?" Raph asked after a moment, looking over at April, who looked back at him with a bewildered look on her face.

"New… York?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

Raph looked at Mikey and sighed. Mike looked back at Raph for a moment, before jumping as if he were kicked, and looking at April.

"Oh, April… Sorry, yeah. You had a call from someone in the city; I wrote down the number." He looked at her sheepishly.

"Mikey." She breathed. "When?"

"Uh… about a day, or so, ago."

She sighed, standing up. "Where's the number?"

"On the stand, by the phone." Mikey looked almost pained. "I'm sorry, April, I just…"

She waved him off. "Don't worry about it, Mikey. I'm sure it's nothing."

Don watched her leave the room, a concerned look on his face.

"Don?" Leo asked, noticing the look.

"Yeah?"

"Something up, you think?" Leo asked, and his brother shook his head.

"Not that I know of." Don answered slowly.

"If there is…" Leo began, knowing that Don would find out before the rest of them, no doubt.

Don nodded. "Yeah. I'll let you know."

Leo nodded back.

"Uh huh…" April nodded as she spoke. "Thank you. Yes, I will. Thank you. Goodbye." She hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. A sigh escaped her as she slid down into a sitting position.

She'd been waiting for that phone call… Hoping that it would come soon, especially given the last few weeks situation.

Now? She wasn't so sure she wanted it as much as she thought.

Raphael breathed the cold air in deeply. It burned his lungs, but it also felt so good. He shifted the ax in his hand as he walked. He'd volunteered, after numerous promptings from April, to go out and look for a Christmas tree.

He grinned, remembering the day before, and April's many attempts at having a 'perfect family Christmas'.

"What do you mean you're not getting a tree??" April cried, her hands on her hips, as only she could do.

"Well," Leo began slowly. "We've never had one before…"

"But Lindy's older now! Think how excited she'll be!"

Mike nodded, a smile on his face. "C'mon… we've never really done the 'whole' Christmas thing, you know…" He began, his eyes brightening. "The fire, the chestnuts…"

"The stockings, and carols." April added.

"I am NOT caroling." Raphael said, crossing his arms.

"I highly doubt that we'll be going door to door, Raph." Don snickered.

"At least a tree…" April said.

"Tee??" Lindy repeated, looking confused.

"See? She wants one!" April said, leaning down next to the child, and putting her hands on Lindy's shoulders.

Raphael sighed. "If I don't gotta sing," He started. "I'll go get the tree."

So, here he was, walking around the forest, trying to find THE tree. He snorted softly to himself at the thought. He knew nothing about anything about finding a Christmas tree…

But… April was right. This was Christmas, and they had a house, and a fireplace… and this was as 'normal' as it was all gonna get. At least, that's what Raph thought.

He sighed heavily. There were so many trees to choose from! He trudged through more snow. He wrinkled his nose. Too short, too tall, too narrow… He went through the list in his head. This was Lindy's tree… It had to be… perfect. It might be the only one she ever gets.

He stopped walking suddenly, and looked in front of him. A grin broke out on his face.

A loud crash broke April out of her stupor, and she looked in the direction of the noise.

Leo looked over at her sheepishly. "Dropped the boxes." He said, and April looked down at his feet. Assorted ribbons and bulbs for a tree were laying on the ground.

She grinned, then stood up, and made her way over to him. She kneeled down, and began to pick up the pieces of an unlucky, shattered decoration.

"I can get them…" He began, but she stopped him.

"I'm already almost done." She said, and he quieted down. He remained standing behind her, however, unmoving. She could hear his breathing, and knew that he was undecided on whether to say something or not.

She sat back on her heels and sighed. "What is it, Leo?"

He looked at her, almost startled.

She chuckled lightly. "C'mon, Leo. I've known you guys long enough to know when you're stalling."

He grinned lightly at that. "Well," He began. "I just… wanted to make sure you were okay, is all." He said, his voice growing softer at the end.

She smiled at that. "I'm… fine, Leo."

"The call from New York? Everything's… okay?"

Her grin grew tighter with that. "Fine." She answered.

He grinned lopsidedly. He obviously didn't believe her. "Okay, April." He said, and almost dejected tone to his voice.

She sighed unhappily, and looked down at her hand. She wrinkled her nose as she noticed the small stream of blood running from her hand.

Leo followed her gaze, his eyes widening. "You're cut?"

"Yeah, but it's not too bad." April moved to stand.

"What's up?" Don said, as he came into the hallway, carrying Lindy.

"April cut her hand." Leo nodded towards April.

"Let me see." Don said, setting Lindy down next to Leo, who put down his box and grabbed her hand, so she wouldn't venture over to them in case there was more glass on the ground.

"I'm fine…" April began, her voice trailing off as he grabbed her hand gently.

"Let go of the glass." He said softly, breaking her out of her thoughts. He held a trashcan under her hand. She hadn't even noticed he'd moved to grab it.

After she's thrown the glass away, he took her hand and brought it up closer to his face, in order to inspect it better.

"We need to get this cleaned out." Don said. "But it doesn't look too bad." He looked over at Leo. "Leo…"

"Don't worry." Leo began. "Lindy and I are gonna go decorate."

"Oh, don't do too much." April said, as Don led her to the bathroom. "I want pictures…"

Raph grunted as he dragged the tree behind him. This thing was heavy. He should've brought someone else with him.

He smiled slightly. But he HAD managed to find the thing, and cut it down. He didn't do so bad, if he said so himself.

He neared the house, and slowed his steps. As he came up to the door, he stopped, dropping his end of the tree.

He hadn't thought of measuring the tree.

Shrugging, he grabbed the tree again and made his way to the door.

Mikey shivered as he walked through the hallway. It was awfully cold in there all of a sudden. Then, suddenly, a banging noise began. He ran to the source of the noise, and was met by Leonardo, Lindy in tow, who was looking at the doorway, a mixture of fascination and disbelief on his face.

Raphael was outside, trying to shove a tree into their house.

Michaelangelo watched for a few moments, as the string of muttered curses reached his ears. He smiled faintly.

"You just gonna stand there and watch, or what?!" Raph spit out, making Mikey jump. He hadn't realized he'd been staring.

He walked towards the tree slowly, taking in the size of it. "You sure that's gonna fit, Raph?" He asked. His question was met by a growl from the other side of the door.

"Just grab the tree and pull, huh?" Raph snarled.

"So, what happened?" Don asked nonchalantly, as he rummaged through the medicine cabinet.

"Leo dropped a bulb." April answered, knowing that he probably didn't mean about the glass.

Don smiled grimly at the answer, but said nothing. April watched as he pulled things out of the cabinet, setting them down on the sink.

He moved back over towards her. "Hand." He said simply, and she obliged, giving him her hand.

"You know," She began. "I can do this by myself. it's not like I've never cut myself before…"

"Shh." He said quietly, and, surprised, she did so. He examined her hand for another moment, then grabbed something from the sink.

"Still a piece of glass in there." He said simply, and she nodded. He silently went to work trying to get it out, and she watched, transfixed, for a few moments, before a loud crashing sound made them both jump.

"I wonder what's going on out there?" She wondered aloud, and he shook his head.

"Dunno." He said. "But look!" He said proudly, holding up the tweezers. "I got it."

She grinned. "Hey, you did that pretty well. I didn't even feel a thing."

He smiled back at her, then grabbed the washcloth. "We gotta get this cleaned out." He said.

He was just about to touch the cloth to her skin, when another crash, followed by loud banging, reverberated through the house.

"What are they doing out there?"

Leo sat on the couch, his chin on his hand, watching bemusedly as Mike and Raph tried to force a big tree through a not-so-big doorway.

"Mikey, move it to the right." Raph directed, sweat beginning to bead on his head at the effort. This tree would NOT beat him.

"It IS all the way to the right." Mikey complained, and Raph growled.

Leo leaned down to Lindy, who sat on his lap. "Those are your uncles." He said quietly to the child. "This is why you need to always listen to me and your daddy…"

Lindy watched, wide eyed, at the commotion around her.

"I can hear you out here, Leo." Raph complained. "You wanna comment, you can come HELP us, and comment then."

Leo sighed, standing up, and carrying Lindy to the playpen in the room. "Wish me luck." He whispered as he set her down, and walked over to the doorway.

"You know," He began. "It might be easier if you try to push it in the doorway going with the direction of the branches. Not against."

Raph grimaced. "Who asked you."

"I don't think I want to know…" Don said, and April nodded. The banging noises slowed, and then stopped, as they could hear muffled conversations.

Don chuckled lightly, shaking his head. He began applying an ointment to the cut.

April jumped at the sudden burning sensation. Don stopped what he was doing, looking at her. "Hurt?"

She nodded slowly. "Just burns a little. Startled me is all."

He nodded back, then leaned forward, and began blowing lightly on the cut. She shivered, but wasn't sure exactly what caused it.

He stopped, and leaned back a bit, looking at her. "Better?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She bit her lip, nodding. He grinned then. "Good." He said, then reached back for a bandage. She watched as he gently applied it to her hand, and rubbed it gently, making sure it stuck.

It wasn't until he turned to put the things away that she moved from her spot.

"Don." She grabbed his hand. He turned, surprised.

"I have to leave." She burst out, fixing her eyes on the ground.

"What?" He asked, tightening his grip on her hand, and moving to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

"The phone call from New York?" She said, and he nodded. "I was offered a job in the city." She couldn't look at him. She just couldn't.

He shifted where he sat, and gently pulled at her arm until she was embraced against him, his arms around her.

"I have to take it, you know." She said, and could feel him nodding. "The pay's not great, but it's a start. And I'll have enough money right now to make a real go of it. I can rent an apartment with the money I have saved now, and then I'll have this job…" She trailed off.

"I… don't know what to say." He said quietly.

Tell me to stay…! Her thoughts screamed, but she only shook her head.

"You guys are welcome to stay here, and use the house… for as long as you need it."

He looked down, and nodded.

"I wanted you to be the first to know, Donnie…" She got out, before she could feel the tears begin streaming down her face.

"When?" He got out.

"They want me there before the new year." She said, and he put his face down on her shoulder. She suddenly became aware of new wetness on her skin, as their tears mingled together.

It was silent for a few moments, before he slowly pulled away.

"Okay." He said. "Okay…" He repeated, looking at her. "We'll manage. We always have."

"I'll send money…" She began, but he cut her off, shaking his head.

"No," He said. "We're not your problem."

"You are my family." She said, taking his face in her hands. "You are never a problem."

He nodded, but kept his eyes down.

"I…" She began, but stopped, as a loud crash sounded, followed by a yell from Raphael, and a whoop from Mikey.

Leo was trying very hard to gain back some form of composure. But it was very difficult, when a tree had just exploded into the living room, followed by two of your brothers, who were piled in the tree like some overgrown ornaments.

"Funny." Raph growled, trying to get up. "You think this is funny?"

"I think," Leo began, his hands on his knees. "That you shouldn't have tried to fit that tree in this doorway. The tree is too big."

"Big tee!!" Lindy repeated, clapping her hands joyfully.

Leo and Mikey chuckled, while Raph glowered.

"You know Leo." Raph began. "Next time you want a tree, you can just shove it up your…"

"Ah, tis the season, eh?" April interrupted from the doorway.

Mike went over to them, and grabbed April's hands. "Look! We got the tree in the house…" He said as he led her over to it.

April surveyed the mass of pine needles and bark on the floor. "I… see." She said, then looked up at them and smiled softly. "Thank you." She said.

Mike looked at her face. "You okay?" He asked. He could definitely sense a trace of red around her eyes and nose.

Leo looked over at Don, who merely looked down in response.

"Hey," Raph broke the silence. "What say we get this baby set up and decorated, huh? I'm starvin'!"

"Right." April agreed. "I'll make hot chocolate, you guys set up that tree!"

Leo watched as she left the room, throwing Don a sad glance before entering the kitchen. He looked over and saw Raph was doing the same thing. He turned to look at Leo, and they shared a look. Raph shook his head slightly.

Mikey jumped up, and made his way to the CD rack. "Anyone for Christmas songs?" He asked, turning up the player. The strains of 'White Christmas' began flowing through the room.

Leo stood back a bit, and watched as Mike and Raph (despite his complaining) began wrestling the tree into its stand.

Don came up to stand beside Leo, who glanced over at him, before looking back to the others.

"Everything okay?" Leo asked, not looking over at Don.

"It will be." Was his brother's simple answer.

Leo nodded, looking back to the action in front of him. He could take that answer, for now.

It will be.

Author's Notes - Writer's Block and Real Life are a deadly combination on a writer. Heh, I apologize for this horrendous delay on my updates. And I thank everyone who waited for the update. Thank you.

It also occurs to me that I totally missed the one year anniversary of when I first published this fic!! I'm so happy and lucky that I have continued, and have been encouraged to continue this fic for so long.

I am guessing (averaging) that one or two more chapters, and this part of the guys and Lindy's life will come to a close. The sequel is just about ready to go, so there will be another story and adventure for them soon.

A special thanks goes out to Reinbeauchaser, who was so supportive, and aided me in getting rid of my Writer's Block. I thank you so very much for your support and help. Thank you.

Thanks -

LenniluvsBrian - Thanks. Glad you liked it.

Reinbeauchaser - Ah, Rene, you caught that, eh? ;) Yes, there is a discrepancy in SOMEONE'S story, isn't there? And yes, that DOES mean something… But I'm not saying what yet. Heh.

VestqueX - Ah, heh, thanks! And I hope I was able to help with your question…

Buslady Of SoCal - Here it is!! ;)

Bluegirl - Thanks. It did eventually pass, and here's the result. I hope you all enjoy.

Vegeta-Hiei Lover - Liv was involved with someone else when she and Casey had a relationship. How deep their relationship went, however, has yet to be revealed.

Lady Venom2 - I agree. Don needed some reassurances in that area.

neosun7 - Thanks!!

Brinatello - Ah, thanks, Brina! But, you know I can't answer that question quite yet. ;) Thanks for all the support. You know I appreciate it.

lestatlover - Thanks!

The Sadistic Cow - Thank you so much. It has also been a pleasure to write.

Heather - Thanks. Well, enjoy the vacation. Hope you enjoy it!

Starofoam - Thanks! And yes, I doubly agree with that statement, lol. ;)

Lioness Godddess - Thanks for the review!! Um, if I may ask… what is it you're doing now? Sounds cool. Anyway, here's the next chapter!!

Next chapter - Coming Soon (I promise, this time… it really is gonna be soon. ;) )