A/N: Probably get the next chapter up tomorrow. Nearly done, just needs a polish. And don't worry I have a chapter for Cell and Serpents ready for Monday. : )

Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

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A couple of hours later Tausha pushed gently through the bedroom door, closing it silently behind her. "Hey." She offered their usual greeting demurely. Raph grunted sourly in response, not breaking the rhythm he'd established of lifting the weights off his chest to so much as turn his head. Though Tausha was glad for that, at he didn't catch her involuntarily rolling her eyes at his stubbornness, that would have just made matters worse.

After a minute of being ignored, Tausha moved to take a seat on the end of the bench. There wasn't a lot of room, though she managed to do it with only a light pressure resulting on his knee where his lower leg was tucked under the side. Raph slammed the bar onto its stand with a growl then used it to hoist himself up to address the girl sat practically in his lap. "That's distracting ya know." He snarled with a dirty look. "I know." She said simply with an apologetic smile. "But I just wanted to say sorry."

She sat hands in lap, head bowed. Well the sweet innocent act wasn't gonna work on him, he knew her too well for that. "Fer what?" he grunted as he grabbed a towel off the floor. She waited til he finished mopping his face before giving a small shrug. "Pissing you off." He crumpled the towel between his hands, leaning on it as he moved his face next to hers; his eyes narrowing to angry slits. "An' what about Ben, you sorry 'bout lyin' ta him?" "No." "Why not?" he demanded. "'Cos I didn't lie." She met his eyes as she said it, serious and a little sad.

Confused he tore his gaze away, before the look could melt his heart completely. He wasn't gonna give up on this that easily. "Yes ya did. How could ya tell him Santa was real when ya know damn well he aint." He folded his arms defensively. Tausha sighed "Of course he's not a real person, but the concept is real." "'Concept'? Huh, what the hell good is that?" Raph sneered derisively.

Tausha studied the floor, then quietly "I'm not gonna push this stuff on Ben, you know that. I get tired of all this sicky sweet shit too. But sooner or later he was gonna figure out for himself what Christmas is about, and you know I'm actually proud he's so excited by it. Kinda brings the magic back for me as well." She met his eyes again, willing him to understand.

"Besides I figure it's kinda like Bob the Builder." "Huh?" "Well, it's not real; just a bunch of puppets really. But Ben loves 'em and it has some good messages behind it. So I'm not gonna stop him watching it or tell him it's a load of rubbish. Are you?" She watched the cogs slowly turning in his mind. He had a bit of a soft spot for the gang of construction equipment, not that he would ever admit it, even to Tau. "Nah, guess not." He mumbled.

"I can't remember when I discovered Santa wasn't real. I must've figured it out when I was pretty young. I think most kids do. But wouldn't it be nice to think there is someone that good and magical out there? I guess I want Ben to have that sense of wonder, even if it is only for a couple of years." She looked back at the floor again, her shoulders sagging a little. "Dunno, maybe I'm just getting soft."

With a sigh Raph resignedly pulled her into his arms. Feeling her snuggle her face into his neck brought a half-smile unbidden to his lips. "Yer not getting soft" he assured "just better at giving me guilt trips." She laughed softly. "Yeah, right. Oh and thank you." "Fer what?" "Thumping Mike for risking Ben." Raph pulled his head back to look down at her. "How'd ya know 'bout that?" "He told me, so I thumped him too." "Ya did?" They shared the laugh this time.

"Hang on, you're happy to let Ben believe in Santa, but not to let him see 'im?" "It's not that so much, I just don't want him to think that everyone dressed like Santa will be nice and give him sweets. Do you know how hard it is to explain that to a three year old?" she said, exasperated. "Why do you think I took so long getting up here?"

"I thought you were just letting me cool off." "Well, there was that too…" she grinned cheekily. "Little minx, you're still gonna have to pay for slappin' me" cupping her face in his hand. "I do?" He moaned his affirmation has he kissed her deeply, pulling her closer as she ran her arms around his neck.

A loud knock on the door made them both start. "Stop killin' each other, time fer dinner!" Mike yelled through the door. "Damn" muttered Raph as they shared a despairing look.