Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "A Very Turtle Christmas!!"

Author: Marsha Walters

Disclaimers: I do not own any of the original TMNT characters. Lori and Hari belong to my friend, ChibiJaime.

Claimers: I do own this story, myself, Shauna and Ukiyo(Means: 'Life' in Japanese)

Chapter 9

Raph decided to return home with Marsha and Leo at last. Shauna complained that she wanted to stay with Hari again, Raph was in no mood to argue, so they dropped her off at her shop.

After their little detour, they arrived at their home in less then 15 minutes. Lori and Mikey were the only ones in the main room at the time. Lori glanced up from watching Mikey play his game. "What happened?" She asked.

Raph didn't say a word. Instead, he went straight to his room. Lori wondered what was up with him, but decided not to ask and turned her attention back to Leonardo and Marsha.

"It's a rather long story, Lori...is Don still in his room?" Leo asked.

"Yeah...he was asleep earlier, but he should be awake now," Lori wanted to continue, but Leo walked past her to Don's room.

He knocked on the door before entering; yes, he respected his brother's privacy. "Who is it?"

A smile appeared on his face as he heard his younger brother's voice. "It's me, Don...can I come inside?" A second later, Don opened the door and his eyes widened.

"What happened?" he asked, staring at Marsha who still appeared to be in shock.

"Don...can you patch up her injuries? I'll tell you everything."

The purple-clad turtle nodded, taking Marsha from Leo's arms. As Don attended to Marsha's wounds, he listened intently to his brother. "Wow...you do know Raph won't let you live this one down, right? He's the type to hold a grudge, ya know..."

"Yeah...I know," Leo sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced up upon hearing Marsha moan slightly. "Hey...she's coming to! Don, you're a lifesaver!"

Don smiled sheepishly. "D-Don?" Marsha blinked her eyes a few times, seeing the Purple-clad turtle staring down at her; She was lying on his bed. She rubbed her forehead, trying to make the throbbing pain go away and stopped, upon seeing a bandage on her right arm.

"Marsha, how do you feel?" She looked up again to see Leo also staring down at her.

"I feel a little better..." she slowly sat up. "Thank you," she nodded to both of them and stood up, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Don asked quietly.

"I...I just want to check on Sensei..." she said, her voice just above a whisper. With that said, she left the room and walked towards Splinter's chambers.

She paused outside the door. "Come inside, my daughter..." she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his voice and entered his chambers, closing the door behind her.

"What is troubling you, Marsha?" he asked, his voice sounding more hoarse than ever.

"I...Sensei...everything in this family is falling apart, and I think it's because of me," she replied in a rather shaky voice as she sat down in front of him.

Splinter narrowed his eyes at this. "Please, explain, my daughter..."

Splinter nodded quite a few times as he listened to her story. "And you think that my illness is your fault?" he chuckled slightly at this.

Her face reddened a bit. "Well, it's not just that...because I mated with Leonardo, Raphael has refused to come out of his room...I just feel like all of this is my fault," she lowered her eyes. "I shouldn't be alive right now..." she muttered, bitterly.

"I know you do not really mean that, my daughter. My sons and I care a lot about you and your safety. My sons probably worry about you as much as they worry about me...in fact, I'm sure of it. Do not place so much guilt and stress upon your shoulders, my daughter," Splinter smiled warmly at her.

She smiled weakly back at him. "What about Raphael?"

"He will be fine in due time. He's just releasing his anger right now..."

Marsha nodded, then went over and gently hugged Splinter. "Thank you for everything, Master Splinter. I love you," she whispered.

Splinter smiled weakly. "I love you as well, my daughter..." he returned the hug.

Everything is back to normal now...it is my time... Splinter thought, tears lingering in his eyes. "I love you all..." he murmured, then silence.

Marsha paused, upon hearing what he just said. She pulled back and glanced at him in fear. "Master???" She whispered. No response; she checked his pulse and pulled back a second later, her eyes filling up with tears once more.

"No...NOOOOOOO!! SENSEI!!!" she threw herself at the limp body of Splinter, wrapping her arms around him.

Leo, Mike, Raph, Lori and Don jerked their heads up upon hearing Marsha's scream. Mikey dropped the controller and stood up, a worried look on his face. "Mikey...maybe you should stay here..." Lori started.

Michelangelo didn't listen to her as he was already making his way towards Splinter's chambers. Leo, Don and Raph were just behind him. Mikey opened the door to the chamber and peeked inside. His eyes widened as he saw Marsha crying as she hugged Splinter. "No...he can't be..." he murmured.

Leo, Don and Raph lowered their eyes sadly.

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

For weak and for strong

For rich and the poor ones

The world is so wrong...

To be continued...