Time to meet the Turtle Tots!

December 9, 2001

"Can we put the star on top yet?" Michelangelo begged, clutching the object in question.

Leonardo giggled. "Not yet, Mikey! We need wait for Sensei to get back. It's special!" Leo placed another ornament on the scrawny tree before he was punched in the arm. He glared at his red-clad brother.

"I don't know why you don't call him Splinter, or Pop, or Dad like the rest of us do." Raphael grumbled, searching for the perfect placement foe his toilet paper roll snowman ornament. "It's weird."

"It's not weird! It's respectful!" Leo retorted. "He said that he'll train us to be real ninjas one day. Real ninjas call their teachers sensei." He shivered. "Hey Donnie? I think something's wrong with the heat again."

As turtles, even mutated turtles, their metabolism and energy slowed as the weather turned cold. The little family had been through some tough winters; they did have an advantage this year.

Donatello was easily the most intelligent turtle out of the bunch, almost as if the ooze which gave them life gave him an extra dollop of smarts. Splinter had taken to bringing Donnie with him on his supply runs to the junkyard so that he could look for any spare parts he could use to create things to improve their home. Recently, Donnie had been able to hook up an HVAC system to the lair's ventilation. Its purpose was to keep the New York City summers from becoming unbearable and to keep their sewer toasty in the winter – the purpose it was currently failing.

"I know, I know! I can fix this! I can fix this!." Donnie tweaked something within the machine with a screwdriver, his tongue sticking out as he concentrated. After further fiddling with it, the turtle banged his fist on the contraption. The machine whirred to life, sending heat down the tunnels. All four turtles sighed in relief. Donnie pinched the bridge of his beak, pushing his glasses up his forehead. "I'm going to need some more parts to keep this thing running. Who knows when we'll be able to make another junk run again…"

"My sons!"

Four pairs of excited turtle tot eyes turned to the lair's entrance.

"Dad! You're back!" Mikey squealed.

Splinter smiled. "Yes, Michelangelo. I've returned. And I've brought a surprise for all of you." He crouched down, gesturing to something behind one of the entrance's turnstiles. "It's alright. They're nice boys. You'll be safe here, dear one."

Hamato Donatello would always remember what transpired next.

The creature that emerged from behind the turnstile – a girl, he told himself, despite never seeing one in person before – was a vision. She had a soft looking mass of red sprouting from her head, a grubby looking yellow sweater, and smudges on her face. Donnie's poor little heart didn't know what to do with itself. She was perfect.

"Boys, this is April." Splinter wrapped the girl in a hug. "She will be living with us from now on."

April rubbed sleep out of her eyes as she continued to wake from her nap during the trip to the lair. She suddenly woke up at the sight of four larger-than-average, bandana-clad turtles decorating a Christmas tree. The girl tucked herself behind Splinter as the one wearing the orange bandana rushed over to meet her.

Seeing that he startled her, Mikey contorted his face into something to make the girl laugh. It worked.

Her laughter sounds like tinkling bells… Donnie thought to himself.

"Sorry I scared you April. I'm Mikey! Dad calls me Michelangelo, but he's the only one that does. We've all got long names, but let me tell you the easy one!" Mikey turned around so that he could point at his brothers.

"Leo's the one in blue. He's the oldest." Leo waved, giving the newcomer a small smile.

"The red one is Raph. He's almost always in a bad mood." Mikey easily dodged the pillow that was thrown at him with a grin.

"And hiding back there with his machines is Donnie-" The orange turtle cast a glance back to where April had been standing behind Splinter, but the girl was gone. Turning back around, he saw that she had run over to gawk at a shell-shocked Donnie. Poor Mikey was a little hurt that April would run off during his introductions. His heart was a little lighter when he felt Splinter's arms encircle him from behind.

"It is alright, Michelangelo. She is just taking time to explore her new surroundings." His father murmured. "Thank you for being so welcoming, my son." Splinter pressed a kiss to the top of the tot's head before nudging him to go play. He turned his attention to April and Donnie.

"WOW!" She squealed, looking up at the boy in front of her. "You're tall for a baby turtle!"

"I'm not a baby," Donnie scoffed, finding his voice again. "I'm 4 years old with an IQ of 142!" He pushed his glasses up as they slipped again.

April squinted. "What's an… IQ?"

Donnie scratched the back of his head with the screwdriver, scrunching his face. "It's a test I took on the computer telling me how smart I am." The girl beamed.

"So, you must know everything!"

"Ha! Not everything. Like… I'm not entirely sure what's coming out of your head…" He gave one of her pigtails an experimental poke with the tip of the tool he held.

She reached up to feel her head. "What? My hair? I've always had it!"

"Hair!" Donnie reached out to feel it with his fingers, but drew back, not wanting to make April feel uncomfortable. She grabbed his hand before he could completely withdraw it.

"You can touch it. It's fine!"

Smiling, Donnie confirmed his earlier hypothesis; the strands of red 'hair' were indeed silky. "I've never felt anything like this. Splinter's fur is kind of coarse, but this…" He gave her a gapped-tooth grin. "It's really pretty!"

April cast a wary glance at the other turtles before lowering her voice. "Okay, Donnie. We're friends now. And because we're friends, I'm going to show you something I've never shown anyone else. Promise you won't tell?" He nodded, vowing to take the secret to his grave. April giggled before removing a well-loved, blue, stuffed dog from her backpack. "This is Boba. He was a present from my daddy when I was born." She shyly offered the toy to her new friend. "If you like soft things… do you want to hold him?"

Donnie's eyes went wide. He accepted the toy reverently, knowing how much it meant to the girl. "Whoa…" He whispered, feeling the worn fabric. "He's so soft… and cool! He rattles too!" A slight shake of the toy produced a rattling sound from a device within. "Fascinat-" Donnie's thought was interrupted by Raph snatching Boba out of his hands. He cackled as he ran around the room with the doll.

"You're right, Donnie." Raph teased. "This thing is really soft!"

Leo moved towards his brother, causing him to bolt. "Raph! That's enough!" Leo hollered. "Give April her doll back! This isn't how you treat someone new to the family!"

"Aw, come on, Leo! If Red's gonna be a part of the family, she'll have to get used to it!"

Leo launched himself at Raph, causing the two of them to fall into a tangled heap. They wrestled until a loud RIPwas heard. The room was silent.

"RAPHAEL!" Splinter commanded. "Enough! Bring me the doll." An embarrassed Raph did as his father instructed, revealing the two halves of the once whole dog. April screamed.

"YOU BUTTHEADS! You killed Boba! You killed him!" She shrieked. The girl lunged for the 'murderers', a crazed look in her eyes. Donnie, being the closest to April, grabbed her by the waist. Splinter moved in front of the now terrified Leo and Raph. The rat remembered seeing that same look in another set of eyes only hours ago; but her eyes… were they… glowing?

"Let me go, Donnie!" April tried to wrench herself out of his grasp, now turning her fury onto him.

"No, I won't." The boy tightened his hold, trying to calm her down. "It's gonna be okay, April. I can fix him!" The crazed beast within his grip suddenly went limp.

"Y-you can?" Her lip quivered.

Donnie gave her a reassuring smile. "No sweat. I can fix this."

The tiny red head in his arms grinned before bursting into tears. The purple turtle released her with a yelp, startled by April's sudden mood changes.

Splinter patted his son's shoulder before hoisting the crying child into his arms. April clung to his neck, unable to control her sobs. "Donatello, please try and have the doll fixed by bedtime. I have a feeling it will be beneficial to us all." Splinter turned his eyes to his second oldest who shrank under his gaze. "We shall speak later, Raphael."

"Yeah, Pop." The boy squeaked.

Splinter nodded as he took the still sobbing April to the room they had designated the Dojo. "Come, dear one. It's alright to cry after the day you have had today. Maybe you would like to try meditating with me for a bit…"

As Donnie found a needle and thread within his workspace, he set to restore his fluffy patient.

"Thanks for keeping Red from shredding us, Dee." Raph, Leo, and Mikey sat to watch Dr. Donnie at work.

"Maybe you deserved it…" He muttered.

"What was that?" Raph growled.

Donnie huffed as he spun to face his older brother. "April told me that the dog was a gift from her dad! Don't you treasure the things Splinter's given to you?" Raph shifted uneasily. "He also hasn't told us why an actual human is living with us now, so something bad must have happened to her or her family. This isn't a game, Raph. It's her new reality." The boy sighed as he returned to his work.

"I think I'll like having a sister." Mikey broke the tension that had been building. Leo chuckled as he gave his youngest brother a noogie.

"I think we all will, Mikey. Come on! Let's go clean out a spot for April and her stuff once she's done with Sensei!"

While Donnie stitched up the poor, injured Boba, the other turtle tots set out to make their new family member at home. An hour had passed before Splinter emerged from the Dojo, a hiccupping April following not far behind. Turns out, meditation with a near six-year-old – at least this near six-year-old – is quite relaxing.

Before Splinter had the opportunity to pull Raph aside to have their discussion about his earlier behavior, the boy in question shuffled up to April. "Hey… April… I'm sorry about earlier. I know how special 'dad gifts' can be. I didn't mean to rip your dog. Like the guys will probably tell you later, I tease and make fun of them; but I do it because they're my brothers." Raph hesitantly offered his hand. "If you'd give me a chance, I'd like to be a good brother you too."

A beat passed before April bypassed the handshake, pulling Raph straight in for a hug. "Thanks, Raph. It means a lot."

Raph returned her hug before tugging her towards the pit at the center of the lair. "Well, we've done something else. We wanted to do something to make your first night special!" Splinter followed the pair, curious as to what his sons were up to.

"TA DA!" All four turtles gestured grandly to a pile of blankets and pillows thrown together in a haphazard manner. April stood before the mass, unsure of what exactly she was looking at.

"It's a pillow fort!" Mikey led her inside. "Since it's cold in the winter, we usually pile together while we sleep to keep warm. We thought…" He trailed off.

"We thought you might not want to be alone on your first night with a new family." Leo finished as he entered the fort. He'd been observing from a distance since everything had blown up, but now he wanted to start repairing bridges.

Mikey sidled back up to April. "Do you like it?" April didn't think the kid's eyes could get any bigger.

"Maybe you'll like it more with a familiar face." Donnie slipped past Leo, presenting the restored Boba; a purple bow wrapped proudly around its neck.

April squealed. "You really fixed him!" She hesitated only a moment before throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Donnie." She whispered. Another moment. "Want to be best friends?"

The turtle wrapped his arms around the girl in return. "Best friends." He agreed.

The red head pulled the rest of the turtles into their hug. "And yes, Mikey. I love it! Thank you guys."

As the lights dimmed and the group piled together, before sleep claimed them all, April smiled. This was almost enough to make her forget about today.