"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la! Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la!"Michelangelo sung at the top of his lungs inside the lair. It was finally Christmas and the charismatic turtle wanted to let his family know as many times as he could. This was his favorite time of year and his favorite holiday. (His second being Halloween of course.)
"Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la la la, la la la! Troll the ancient Yule tide carol, fa la la la la, la la la la!" Mona Lisa added putting up the lights on the Christmas tree.
"What's the next part?" Mikey whispered to her and she laughed singing "See the blazing Yule before us, fa la la la la, la la la la! Strike the harp and join the chorus, fa la la la la, la la la la! Follow me in merry measure, fa la la la la, la la la la! While I tell of Yule tide treasure, fa la la la la, la la la la."
"Oh yeah!" He said back happily then went on singing. Mona Lisa shook her head, smiling at his innocence. Ever since she met the turtles her life had been given new meaning. Because of Captain Filch, she wasn't able to return to her family. Sure she called them once in a while to let them know she was okay, but that was all she could do. She could never tell them about her new life with the turtles and Master Splinter or it would put them, not to mention herself, in danger. So when the turtles invited her into their home she was only too willing to except. Mona Lisa picked up a boat shaped ornament and was reminded of the first time she had met them. She had met Raphael first, for he was her way onto the party boat without getting caught. He was so confused by her and still, to this day, could be at times confused, but she loved him anyway.
Mona made her way to the box of decorations and leaned over to grab an ornament that looked suspiciously like Klunk, when she felt a sharp stab in her belly. "Oh!" she gasped then looked down a her swollen stomach and placed a gentle hand on it. "Well hello little one." She said smiling at her tummy. Within seconds of her gasp, Mona heard a crash and a yelp from two not so happy brothers, only to see her mate and husband Raphael, rushing towards her.
"What's the matter! Is something wrong?! Do you need some water, something to eat?! Is it time?!!" He gasped holding her hand and supporting her back.
Mona laughed "No, Honey. It was just the baby saying hi. And besides, I've still got a ways to go. I'm only 4 months." With that she picked up the Klunk shaped ornament and walked back over to the tree to hang it.
Raphael followed her and once she was done forced her to face him "Are you sure you should be working like this and not sitting down and resting?" he asked her taking her hands into his.
She smiled at him again and said "Yes Raph, I'm sure. I'm fine and if I feel the need to rest, I promise I will." Mona placed a gentle hand on his cheek then stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. Once that was done she went back to hanging ornaments on the tree. Raphael watched her until he heard the irritated call from his older brother, who, in his hurry to get to Mona, was knocked down onto the floor and blown off. Raph sighed and returned to the dojo to finish sparing with Leonardo.
Mona Lisa had just finished putting the last of the ornaments on the tree when she noticed that Donatello was still at his computer. "Donatello, get over here!" she yelled to the purple wearing turtle. He jumped in reply. "You can't be on that thing forever! Come over here and help me and Mikey with the decorating!"
Donatello sighed and called over his shoulder "Alright, I'm coming I just need to finish this program and I'll be right there." Mona nodded in satisfaction then walked over to the kitchen to get herself some water.
After gulping down the clear liquid she yelled to the dojo "Raph, Leo get out here! You've had enough sparring to last you the rest of the week! Get your shells out here and help Donny with the rest of the decorations!" A few moments later the two turtles left the dojo with a sigh and walked up to her.
"What do you want us to do exactly?" Raph asked crossing his arms, Donatello finally coming and joining them.
"Donny, you and Raph go hang the lights while Leo you go and get the presents." She told them placing her glass into the sink and walking over to help Mikey put the tensile on the tree. "Oh and Mikey," the youngest turtle looked over at her "go and get a bowl and fill it with water. . . so we can water the tree." she added when he gave her a confused look. Without another word the four turtles went to do their jobs and in no time the lair was looking Christmas ready. Mona sighed happily as Master Splinter exited his room to join his family in the main hall. "Well Master Splinter, what do you think?" she asked standing next to Raphael as he placed his hands on her hips pulling her into his side.
"Well done, my children. It looks wonderful!" Master Splinter said smiling at his family.
"Don't thank us," Leo said holding his hands up "thank Mona. She's the one who organized it all."
"Yeah!" Mikey added "She's a wiz at this stuff!"
"I must say, her decorating tips are right on the mark." Donny agreed, nodding his head
"Aw thanks guys. That means a lot. Especially when there's only so much I can do." She told them placing a hand on her belly.
"HOHOHO! MARRY CHRISTMAS!" The six mutants turned their heads to see the Jones family walk through the lair door. Casey holding a his hands above his head indicating his earlier call.
"Casey!" Raph called then raced over to his best friend and tackled him head on. Not entirely taken by surprise, Mr. Jones grabbed the turtle's shoulder and forced him onto the floor first. After the initial fall Mona decided not to pay attention. Instead she turned to face her good friend April, who had rescued a couple of presents from the wrestling friends.
"April." Mona said smiling and hugging her.
April gave the presents to Leo who offered to help her while she readjusted her hold on her youngest son, Ethan. "Hello Mona. How have you been? You've gotten bigger." She said placing a hand on the mutant's belly to reassure her point.
Mona laughed and said "Thank you!" she leaned over and smiled at April's oldest son, Ryan "How are you doing? And where's your sister?" She added when she noticed that Ryan's twin sister Emma, wasn't with him. Ryan pointed over to Raphael and Casey still wrestling on the floor to see Emma watching them.
"Go daddy, go daddy! Beat uncle Raph!" Emma cheered.
"Traitor!" Raph yelled for a split second before he was engrossed in a neck bind.
Emma shrugged "I got to go with my daddy on this one, uncle Raph. It's nothing personal."
Mona and April looked at each other and laughed. Emma was just like her father. "Mommy can I go see uncle Donny now, please!" Ryan begged pulling on April's shirt. "He told me he would show me how to do the cosign inverse the next time I came over! Please!"
April smiled and said "Only if Uncle Donny says it's okay." Then without another word he raced off strait to Donatello. Don, who had heard the whole thing, was fully prepared for the tackle Ryan gave him when he finally reached the turtle.
"Boys enough roughhousing! Come over here so we can talk." Mona called to the still quarrelling man and turtle. They ended the match with it as a tie (it always ended that way) and made their way over to their wives. Emma realizing the battle was done raced over to Leonardo and demanded that he finish showing her his sword stances.
"Emma!" April scolded "You do not speak to your uncle that way. If you want Uncle Leonardo to show you something, you ask him nicely."
"Sorry Uncle Leonardo." she said lowering her head in shame.
"That's alright." Leo told her placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
She looked up at him and smiled saying "Can you please show me now?" He nodded and they headed for the dojo.
As they left Mona called back "Don't be to long, we still have our Christmas movie to watch." Leo gave a thumbs up before disappearing behind the doors of the dojo to show her that he had heard her.
Mikey, having grabbed a piece of pizza from the kitchen, walked over to April and said "Can I hold him, please?" April smiled and gave Ethan over to Michelangelo once he finished his pizza and washed his hands. He cradled the infant in his arms gently and smiled as the baby started to laugh at his green face. "He's totally awesome!"
April laughed and said "Thanks, Mike. I think he's pretty cool too."
After about a half an hour Leo, Don, Emma, and Ryan joined the rest of the family by the television sets to watch the annual Christmas movie. "So what do we want to watch this year?" April asked heading for the kitchen to heat up Ethan's bottle.
"The Christmas story!" Mikey and Ryan said at the same time. Everyone chuckled and nodded. It was a good movie and was a good choice. "I'll go make the popcorn!" Mike called then ran off to the kitchen.
"I'll get the drinks." Raph said getting up to join Mikey in the kitchen. "Beers all around?" he called not bothering to look back. When he heard the grunts of his family telling him 'yes', he pulled five beers from the fridge and pealed off the caps. He then pulled out the eggnog and milk then mixed them together in two cups for Emma and Ryan. With the aid of his brother, Raph gave the drinks to everyone only returning once to get water for Mona Lisa. The movie had already started by the time Mikey brought over three bowls of popcorn and finally joined everyone else, so he whined that they rewind to the beginning, even though he didn't miss anything.
Once the sound of Jean Shepherd's voice was heard from the TV screen Mona felt a wave of sadness wash over her and tears spill down her eyes. She immediately got up and left saying "Excuse me." Emma and Ryan were to engrossed in the movie to notice. The others simply looked at each other with worried expressions. Raphael, the most concerned.
He got up and followed her toward the door "Mona," he said trying to reach her before she got to the elevator, but failing and having to wait for the door to open again. He was about to step through the blue door, when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
He turned around and saw April holding two long scarves. One pink and one red. "It's cold out." was all she said. Raph smiled his thanks as he took the scarves, then headed for the garage.
Mona Lisa leaned against the garage door, one arm down by her side the other on her belly. She sighed as she watched the snow fall and remembered when she was little, and still human, how she would make snow angels outside, snow cones with her mother, and snowmen with her father. And on occasion, pummel her younger brother with snowballs in their all out snowball wars. The tears started to fall faster. She would never see her family again. She would never fight with her brother or roll her eyes at her father. She would never see her mother's beautiful smile ever again. That had all been taken away from her! Thanks to Captain Filch. That selfish jerk had taken it all away! She felt so alone right then that she wasn't at all prepared for the soft pink fabric that suddenly curled around her neck. She turned around to see her husband standing next to her with a worried smile and his own red scarf on. "Are you okay?" he asked sweetly.
She couldn't take it anymore. Mona had hit her limit. "Oh Raph!" She cried grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to hold her. "I miss them so much! I want them to be here! Here with me and with you! Here with us! I want my brother to run around outside trying his best to build a strong enough fort. I want my mother to yell at us for being outside without a coat! I want my father to run around like a mad man with his camera trying to record the same damn thing he recorded the year before." she sobbed pathetically.
There was a long silence "Your family's weird." Raph finally said quietly.
Mona looked up at him and chuckled. "The same could be said of your family, hon." she said wiping her eyes. Raph said nothing just smiled instead. "My mother always made Christmas cookies." Mona said unexpectedly. "My brother would always eat the dough before we had a chance to bake it and my father would scolded him for not sharing with me. So my mother let me lick the spoon"
"Oh yeah, is that why you're so big?" Raph said with a sly grin.
She punched him playfully in the shoulder. "No! I believe that's your fault."
"It's take two to Tango." He said back just as playfully. They stood there in the cold and quiet watching the snow fall until he broke the silence. "What else did you guys do?"
Mona Lisa smiled. She knew he was trying to make her feel better and oddly enough, talking about it did help. Go figure. "Well, every Christmas eve, my brother and I were allowed to open one present." She sighed then added dully. "They were always pajamas."
Raphael laughed. "Wow, your parents sure knew how to pick'm."
"Yeah they did." she sighed again and he pulled her into a tighter hug. Mona welcomed the comfort of his strong arms around her, what felt like, weak body. She then desperately felt the need to explain why she wanted her family so bad. "It's not that I want to be with them," she started and Raph looked at her quizzically. "It's that I want them to be with us." she finished and Raph nodded in understanding.
They stayed outside just watching the snow fall and occasionally talking about different things for what seemed like forever until she sighed and said "Let's go inside. It's getting cold and Everyone will start to worry if we're not back by the time the movie's over." Raph nodded and together they headed back down to the lair.
"Got any fours?" Moan heard Ryan ask Leonardo.
"No, go fish." The ninja answered. She smiled at them. The movie was obviously over so everyone else preoccupied themselves with other things.
"Michelangelo!" Mona and Raph looked over at the kitchen just in time to see Master Splinter smack Mikey over the head with his walking stick.
"Oww." Mike wined rubbing his head.
"Do not eat the dough!" Master Splinter scolded him.
"But it's just so good!" He wined back.
"Emma, Ryan, would you like to lick the spoons?" April asked her kids handing them the utensils. Mona smiled. This really was her family.
Ryan eyed the cream looking dough suspiciously "Is it any good?"
"Well of course it is!" Mona cried walking strait up to April and scooping a big chunk of dough into her mouth with her finger.
"Mona!" April cried. Mona smiled at her happily then went and got herself some water.
As she looked on at her family, she saw Mikey sneak over and look over Ryan's shoulder at his cards. He then held up a 5 with his hands and Leo asked Ryan "Do you have any fives?"
Ryan sighed, nodded then gave Leo the 5. Mikey snickered behind him which was a bad idea because Ryan heard him the jumped up and yelled 'Cheater' then chased him around the lair.
It was late and everyone had gone off to bed. The Jones had left long ago and everyone had retired to there rooms. . . All except Mona. She didn't know how long she stayed awake, but when she heard someone behind her yawn she knew it had to have been late. "Mona," Raph said coming to join her on the couch. "what are you doing up at one in the morning?"
"Is it that late?" She asked him moving closer to him.
"Yeah." He said nodding his head and yawning. "Why aren't you in bed?" he asked holding her.
"I don't know. I'm just not." She said not looking at him and shrugging.
"You know I've been thinking," Raph put his hand behind his head, just a bit shy. Mona looked into his eyes telling him to continue. "maybe we could go and see your family."
Mona's eyes got bigger "What?" She asked shocked. "We can't do that! It would put everyone in danger!" She cried.
"Mona, they're your family. They should except you whether or not you're human." Raph told her.
"I know that, but, but, but…" She couldn't think of a good enough reason to argue with him although she know there were plenty.
He smiled "Good comeback." She made a face at him, but still didn't say anything. "Just consider this an early Christmas present."
"But, what would Mater Splinter say about this?" She asked him exasperated.
Raph looked up at the ceiling and pretended like he was thinking hard. He then looked down at her and smiled "He would say 'just so long as I went with you.'"
"You asked him?!" Mona said shocked that he had already thought this through.
He nodded "Yep. I asked him if we could and he said just so long as we don't let anyone, but your family see us. We can leave as soon as you want."
She was quiet and smiled her thanks to him as a tear rolled down her green cheek. He hugged her tightly and she complied with her own hug. "Why?" She asked quietly after a few moments.
Raph looked confused. "'Why?'" he repeated bewildered. "I love you Mona." he told her simply. "I'd do anything for you."
She smiled at him and said "I love you too." He leaned forward and held her face in his hands and pulled her towards him. There lips met and they shared a long and passionate kiss. This was going to be a great Christmas. Not because she was going to meet her human family, even though that was wonderful, no this was going to be great because she was going to spend it with the love of her life, her mate, her husband, her Raphael.