This one is also dedicated to Frozen Wolf heart 22, who's kind reviews inspired me to stay up late on a Sunday night to finish this chapter. I'll admit that writing this chapter was not the ONLY reason I was tearing up tonight ;) Thanks for the motivation and hope you enjoy it!

PS: The title of this chapter has a total of 3 hidden "appearances"' within this chapter. The first one to correctly name all 3 (in the reviews or a PM) gets a shoutout in a future chapter!

December 5, 2007

"You want to what?"

Donnie shushed Mai as he closed the newly installed sliding door to his lab. "Would you keep it down? I'd like to try and keep this a surprise."

Mai rubbed a hand over her forehead. "Donatello, a surprise is getting April some Little Mermaid jewelry for Christmas, not actually taking her to see The Little Mermaid on Broadway!" She hissed. The young woman narrowed her eyes as Donnie jotted down something on a notepad. "Are you writing that down?"

"Why not? It's a good gift idea." Donnie tapped the pen on his desk. "You're still planning on taking April to get her ears pierced when she turns 16, right?"

"Yeah…" Mai waved her hands, getting the conversation back on track. "Anyway, what makes you think you'd be able to take April to see a Broadway show with…" She gestured to the boy. "…this whole situation? It's not exactly subtle… plus it would be dangerous for you guys!" She paused as the young turtle pivoted his chair to face her.

He began to tick off his fingers. "One, it would be WAY more dangerous for me than for April. Besides, I'd neverlet anything bad happen to her."

The older girl scoffed. "You're ten. What could you do against a guy twice your size?" Donnie kicked his bo staff, flipping it effortlessly into his hands. "Okay, kid. Point taken. Two?"

"Two, I've been following the development of this show for months and have been doing some online IT consulting on the side in order to make some extra cash. I've got enough for dinner and 3 tickets: one for me, one for April, and one for which ever human adult would like to be our 'chaperone'.

"Three, I may or may not have hacked into New York's Department of Buildings to find the floor plan for the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. I knew that we wouldn't be able to stroll in the front door and sit with everyone else. I found us a nook with a good view above the gallery where no one will see us. I've double checked, and one of the guys I've helped through my IT business works in the Theatre District; he was able to confirm that nook wouldn't be used. He owed my for the extra work I needed to do to get rid of a particularly nasty virus he had on his computer."

Mai opened her mouth to say something, but Donnie held up his hand to stop her. "And finally, this is something I need to do for April. The Little Mermaid has been our thing since the day she joined our family, and it was a part of her life long before she met me. She's our siste-" The boy fumbled over his words, sighing. "She's by best friend. I think this is an adventure she deserves to have."

Silence hung between the two before Mai moved to envelop the turtle in a hug. "I know I said you were ten, but you're a really good ten." She mumbled. "April's lucky to have you in her life. Your family's lucky to have to you, too, even if your brothers don't say it enough."

Donnie relished the embrace from Mai. While the young woman was close with the entire Hamato family, there was no doubt she had a closer bond with Mikey. Mai had majored in Computer Science at NYU and would return home on breaks to 'geek' out with Donnie about all she had learned as well as working on new projects. Now Mai also after her AOS Degree in Culinary Arts at the Escoffier Culinary Arts School. It wasn't unusual to see her in the kitchen with her Sous-Chef by her side creating a new dish. Donnie missed it when it was just the two of them. He raised his gaze to look at her.

"Does this mean you'll help me?" The boy asked hopefully, not below resorting to begging.

"I guess" Mai sighed dramatically. "And would it be too much to hope that I could be that 'human adult chaperone'? I mean, I'm the one who gave you guys the movie in the first place!"

Donnie giggled as he tightened the hug. "Of course! With you along, it'll be an even greater gift!"

xxx

"Thanks for bringing me out today, Mai!" April gushed as she pushed through the racks of clothing. The consignment store

"Absolutely, kiddo." Mai browsed her own rack. "Figured you'd want to get the guys their Christmas gifts sooner rather than later. Besides, you've earned quite a bit of cash from busing the tables at Papa's shop." The young woman held up large, dark blue hoodie. "What about this one?"

April wrinkled her nose. "Not quite what I'm looking for. Blue's considered Leo's color and I've already got something for him. Donnie's the last one I need to find a gift for. UUHHGGG!" She shoved a hand through her hair, further dislodging it from her ponytail. "I know him better than anyone! Why is this so hard?" She muttered to herself as she continued to push through the racks.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Why are you getting all worked up over Donnie's gift? You didn't have this much frustration planning your other brothers' presents."

"Donnie's my best friend. I've got to get his gift right." April huffed. "And… this may sound kind of weird… but I've really never seen him as a brother. Yeah, he's got my back like the rest of the guys, but we've been so close since Splinter found me. It's…" The girl looked to Mai pleadingly. "It's just complicated, you know?"

Mai chuckled knowingly. "I think I get it. Don't sweat it. He's going to love whatever you get him." She smiled as she held up another hoodie. "What do you think of this one?"

April breathed in sharply. "It's PERFECT."

xxx

December 25, 2007

"Michelangelo, would you please hand out the next gift?" Splinter asked as he sipped his Christmas morning coffee. Even without windows, the preteens were all up before dawn; that meant a loud and rambunctious wake up call for the rat. He had managed to placate them with a special breakfast before the opening of gifts.

Mikey, the self-appointed 'elf' was in charge of distributing presents. However, the elf was currently distracted by the art set April had gotten him. "Oh! Yeah, Dad. Let's see…" He dug further underneath the tree. "Looks like this next one is for… Leo!" The orange turtle proudly presented the gift to his biggest brother.

"Thanks, Mikey."

"Ah ah ah!" He held up a finger. "That's Elf Mikey to you, sir!"

Leo rolled his eyes before reading the tag. "From April? Can't wait!" He could see the anticipation on her face, eager for him to open it. "WOW! A Space Heroes blanket? Thanks, April! I LOVE it!" The blue turtle, already wrapped up in his new blanket, rushed to hug his sister.

"I'm glad you like it! Wait, Mikey." She reached out to stop the elf from grabbing a package from the back of the tree. "Could you wait to do that one at the end? It's super special."

He shrugged. "Sure. Can I give Raph his then?"

"Go for it."

"Kinda small there, Red," Raph teased at his small rectangular package. "I wonder what it could be- comics? Neat!"

April moved next to him to point out the character on the cover. "Mai and I went to the comic store next to the noodle shop after work one night and they had this new independently created story about a character called The Red Angel of Preventing Harm, or R.A.P.H for short. He's a vigilante fighting crime in New York! I went ahead and bought you the first couple issues. I hope you like it…" She giggled, noticing Raph already devouring the material.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. This is great, sis. Thanks!"

"Donnie, looks like this one's yours from April." Elf Mikey deposited the purple wrapped present in its owner's lap as April scurried back to her seat next to Donnie.

"If you don't like it, I've still got the receipt. The woman at the store said I could bring it back if-" Her rambling ceased as Donnie patted her leg.

"I'm sure I'm going to love it, April. You chose it for me, after all." Carefully undoing the wrapping paper, Donnie lifted the lid to the shirt box. The red head nervously bit her fingernails as he held the sweatshirt up.

"Don't be so…" The boy muttered, reading the phrase. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. April sighed in relief as Donnie clutched his sides.

"What does it say, Donatello?" Splinter shifted in his recliner in order to gain a better view.

Raph snatched it from his still guffawing brother. "Don't be so [Na] [Cl] [Y]… I don't get it, dude."

"It's…" Donnie wheezed between laughs. "…it's the chemical makeup of salt. It's saying, 'Don't be so salty'!" And once again, the boy was lost to a giggling fit.

"What nerds," Raph muttered before tossing the hoodie onto his brother's face. He was beaned in the head by a wad of wrapping paper.

"Nothing's wrong with a nerdy sense of humor, Red." April smirked. She rarely used the nickname, since it was Raph's nickname for her. "Come on, Donnie. I want to see if it fits!"

The boy had since returned to regular breathing, able to wrestle the fabric over his head. "Wow! It fits perfectly over my shell… There's even some room for me to grow! Thanks, April." Donnie leaned over to give her a hug. He hesitated before pulling back. "Mikey, can you bring my gift for April over?"

"Sure, Dee!" Mikey grabbed a small envelope off of the tree.

"Thanks." He accepted it, then handed it to April. "When you open it, you've got to promise me you won't freak out."

April squinted, noticing the mischief in the boy's eye. "I'm not promising anything." She declared before tearing the top of the envelope. Her voice stilled as she withdrew… "Tickets?" April whispered. "Tickets to… The Little Mermaid? On BROADWAY? Wha- I don't…" She frantically waved the hand holding the tickets, looking to Donnie for explanation. The other turtles appeared to as well.

"Yep!" The purple turtle proudly declared. "Mai's coming with us, but I've got it all planned out, so don't worry about the details. We're going to see The Little Mermaid January 10th. That's the official opening date after all of the stagehand strikes and a couple other setback they'd had- OOF!" Donnie's shell collided with the threadbare rug as he was tackled in hug. He could feel… tears?

"Thank you, Donnie!" April sobbed. "I-I-I don't know what else to say! This is one of the best gifts I've EVER gotten!"

Donnie smiled as he righted himself, tightening the hug. "Anything for you, April. I know we're going to have so much fun! And now…" He removed his arm from the embrace to pull at his new sweatshirt. "Now I've got a special occasion to wear this!"

"Uh, I hate to break up a perfectly good hug, you guys, but…" Elf Mikey held out the gift April had asked him to wait to hand out until the end. "Can I give this to who it goes to now?"

"Yeah, Mike." April wiped the tears from her face. "You can hand it out."

Splinter was surprised when the present was deposited into his lap. "A special gift for me, April? I don't even know what to expect…" He chuckled. April scooted closer to sit at the edge of his chair as the rat undid the bow, lifting the lid. All that was in the box was a piece of paper. The red head pointed to it.

"Do you mind if I read it?"

"Go ahead, dear one."

April stood, grasping the paper. She let out a shaky breath. "Splinter, I have lived with your family for six years now. They have since become my family, both in spirit and unofficially since I took the Hamato name three years ago. I see your sons as my brothers and I see you as my Sensei and a second father…" She choked. Tears also dampened Splinter's fur as they snaked down his cheeks. "To my knowledge, I do not know where my biological daddy is, but the man who has influenced my life the most is sitting right in front of me. We cannot make anything legal due to…" April made a circling gesture to the group surrounding her. "…this whole situation," Everyone chuckled, swiping at their tears. "And even though I've already taken the Hamato name, I'd love the privilege and honor of calling you… Father." She had barely finished before Splinter drew her own into a deep hug.

"I have always seen you as my daughter, dear one." Splinter rasped, his voice thick with emotion. "It would be my honor to have you call me father or any other variation you would prefer." He leaned back to wipe the tears from April's cheeks. "I only ask that you do not call me what you remember calling your biological father. There is still hope for him and I would not want to take such a special title from him."

The girl smiled through her tears as she pulled her entire family in for another hug.

"Merry Christmas, Papa."