Chapter 8

It was Christmas morning around 6 am and there was a bit of stirring in the Turtles' Lair. Michelangelo was the first to be digging under the Christmas tree looking for his presents. He could be such a big kid. Donatello was also up, but he was in his lab chatting with a friend of his who was a marine biologist and herpetologist. Her name was Atima Okonkwo and was related to one of the human Acolytes he and his brothers trained with under the tutelage of the Tribunal. Donatello had a feeling Faraji thought Donatello and Faraji's cousin, Atima, would hit it off. Don thought that was odd, considering they were from totally different species. He also thought it even more odd that Atima wasn't disturbed at all by him being a mutant turtle. In spite of all the oddness, Don and Atima did become very good friends, but nothing beyond that. On this Christmas morning he was in his Shell Cell with her seeking advice. He was kind of shy and embarrassed that it was romantic advice and Atima was teasing him a bit about it.

"What are you so uneasy about, Don? Does she have a boyfriend or something?" Don paused thoughtfully as he tried to figure out how to answer that question.

"Actually...she has a couple baby daddies, but that's not an issue," Don finally sort of explained while scratching the tip of his beak. Now it was Atima's turn for a thoughtful pause.

"Why do I get the feeling this conversation is on the edge of some weird territory?"

"Atima, you have no idea," came the Turtle's reply as he chuckled and shook his head.

In the mean time some other family members had shuffled into the living room. Casey was carrying a still sleeping June as April came up behind him yawning.

"Careful, April! Open your mouth any wider and you'll draw flies!" Michelangelo teased as he appeared to be trying to figure out the contents of one of his gifts without resorting to shaking. He was hoping it was something awesome to add to his Justice Force figurine collection and didn't want to shake and break. April slapped him on the back of his bald head as she flopped down on the couch next to Casey.

The still sleepy April leaned against her husband's shoulder as Raphael lumbered into the room doing his little joint popping routine, which the red-head found a bit disturbing. After some loud knuckle cracking he knelt down next to Mikey, who was still organizing gifts by name. Well, trying to find all the gifts with his name, actually. Raphael crouched next to his youngest brother, picked up one of his gifts (the one from Mikey), turned it over a few times them began to shake it.

"Hey, dude! Cut it out before you break it!" without a word Raph stopped shaking the gift and began to unwrap it instead. "Aw, c'mon, Raph! At least wait till the others get here to open presents! Geez!" Raph simply threw a balled up piece of wrapping paper into his brother's face. As Mikey came up with all kinds of colorful names to call Raph Donatello walked into to the living room while talking on his Shell Cell. He chuckled as he waved at the others.

"Atima says Merry Christmas everybody," Don greeted as he stepped over two of his brothers.

"You're talking to my sweet, sexy, chocolate goddess? Lemee talk to her, Don!" Donatello was already holding the phone out of his reach as Mike practically dove for it. After a brief game of keep away Mike tagged Don in his side causing him to lower his arm. Mike quickly grabbed the phone and started talking to Atima in his 'sexy, smooth, R. Kelly' voice, as he called it. Atima was laughing so hard everyone could hear it coming from Don's phone. Soon Donatello was chasing Michelangelo all over the living room while Mike started rapping about 'a turtle in love' with a 'sista with an ass that just won't quit.' His impromptu hip hop style sounded eerily similar to LL Cool J's rap ballad 'I Need Love.'

"That's right, my sexual chocolate, apple bottom beauty! Big Daddy T loves you!" Mikey crooned into the Shell Cell while cradling it in his hands like a lover. By now everyone else in the room was howling with laughter. All except Don, who was thoroughly embarrassed...and little June, who had no clue what was so funny.

"Hey, anybody see Leo and Venus?" Casey asked as Don finally pried his phone out of Mikey's hands. June was on her father's lap chewing on her teething ring.

"They're probably off somewhere bumpin' uglies," came Raph's response. That comment got him a fuzzy slipper tossed in his face. As he laughed and flung the slipper back at April they saw a tall, lean, blue-eyed Turtle holding the infamous swinging door open for a slightly taller, slender female.

"Hey, you two! Merry Christmas!" Casey greeted cheerfully before sharing a look with Raphael, who winked back at his human buddy. It took the others a moment to realize Venus was carrying something that looked like a basket filled with blankets. She was practically beaming as she gently set the basket down on the coffee table. April seemed to be the first to realize what the basket was and what was inside of it.

"What ya got there, sweetness?" Mikey had beaten April to the basket to peek under the blankets. Seconds later his head snapped up and he had such a look of horror.

"What the hell is wrong with you, ya retard?" Raph growled right before getting smacked with another slipper.

"Guys, it's official," Mikey sniffed. "I am no longer the cutest one in this family!" He pretended to break down with dramatic sobbing as he collapsed on the floor. April snickered as she pushed him out of the way to take a look for herself. When she pulled back the top blanket she was greeted by an adorable, little round green face with moist, hazel eyes. The cute yawn followed by a little squeak was what sealed her fate. She was now in love with an adorable baby mutant turtle.

"Oh, Leo, he's so cute! Oh, it is a boy, right?" Leonardo gave an assuring nod. "He's got your handsome looks." The new father couldn't have looked any prouder. "What's his name?"

"Tokio," was his reply, to which Raph responded, "Why am I not surprised?" His brother gave him an irritated look as he looked down into the bassinet. April moved out of the way so Raph could get a better look. He knelt next to the bassinet and gingerly touched a tiny, three fingered hand.

"Hey, there little fella. Welcome to New York. You be sure to be nice and listen to your mom, and don't grow up to be such a prick like your dad." Raph was able to dodge the smack to the head this time. He asked Venus if he could hold Tokio, but she said they all would have to wait until he had absorbed the yolk sack. That made Donatello want to at least examine the baby mutant visually. As Venus carefully pulled the blanket back Leonardo stood over them like a sentinel while Donatello examined the yolk sack at the bottom of Tokio's plastron.

"Not as big as I thought it would be. He may absorb it in a week or so. Is his shell soft?" Don had to ask since the baby was laying on his carapace.

"Yes," Venus nodded. "We're going to have to handle him very delicately."

"Maybe just you should handle him until he absorbs the yolk, V." Leo frowned upon hearing this.

"Are you suggesting that I might hurt my son?" Don looked up at Leo having forgotten he was standing there.

"No, not at all. I just think it's best that he's not passed around by multiple hands while he's so vulnerable."

"Here's an idea. Why don't his mother and I decided who handles our child? That work for you, Don?" The olive skinned mutant was a little disconcerted by his brother's offended tone, and he gulped before bowing out before things escalated into an argument. Verbally sparring with Leonardo on Christmas Day was not Don's idea of a good time.

The exchanging of gifts was an enjoyable time for the Turtles and their extended family. They even got a visit from Leatherhead, who was quite delighted to meet Leonardo and Venus' offspring. Leo's fellow master swordsman, Miyamoto Usagi, even stopped by. He paid proper respects to the proud parents as Leonardo presented his first born. Usagi was glad that Leo's son would have an opportunity to grow under his father's tutelage and care. Usagi had a son himself, but he didn't get a chance to raise him so the boy grew up calling another man father. Of course, Mikey just had to chime in to break the seriousness of the moment.

"Hey, Usagi-san! I got twins on the way! Wanna go see 'em?" Usagi seemed a bit confused by the question, but that didn't stop Michelangelo from taking the samurai rabbit by the arm and dragging him to the nesting area. Donatello smacked himself in the head hoping Mike wouldn't blab to Usagi about who the mother was. Before anyone could say "I'll go stop him," Leo was already through the door. There was a collective sigh of relief.

For the next few weeks there was an atmosphere of excitement mixed with a bit of anxiety in the Lair. Between watching over the nest and caring for little Tokio, Venus was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Donatello was helping with the nest, but he seemed more concerned about gathering data. When he wasn't doing that he was working his tech support job. He knew they were going to need a steady income with more mouths to feed. Mike's entertainment biz wasn't doing too bad either. There was always some kid in Manhattan having a birthday party somewhere so he didn't have much trouble booking gigs. April had hired Leonardo to organize her inventory in her Second Time Around shop, so he wouldn't have to feel guilty about not bringing home any income to help take care of his son. April didn't tell him that though.

Between training, patrolling, and working, the guys didn't have much free time on their hands. That meant that Venus spent a lot of time alone with the baby and the eggs. She was always grateful when Mikey would offer to care for Tokio while she caught up with her training with Leo. She suspected he did it mostly to get out of his own intense training. Leo could be a brutal sensei. But that was alright with her. She wanted to be just as prepared as the guys, if not more so, to protect their little ones from danger. Neither The Foot nor the Purple Dragons had set foot on the Turtle's territory in a while, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen.

In a few weeks Tokio had absorbed his yolk sac and the split in his plastron had healed. It was now safe for him to swim with them in the basking room. Leonardo seemed to enjoy his time swimming and splashing with his son immensely. Venus smiled as she watched them play, stepping over a basking Raphael, who was ignoring Mikey poking at his carapace with his nunchucks. She found Donatello in the nesting area checking the thermometers and looking over the eggs. Venus sat next to him in the seiza position as he wrote down some data. He sighed and tapped his pencil against his notepad.

"Is there something on your mind, Donatello?"

"Yeah. You." Venus gave him a 'what do you mean?' look. "Have you been getting enough rest?"

"Well, yes. I believe so."

"But you don't know for sure?" He noticed her shoulders slumping a bit. "Venus, are you sure you want to continue with this?"

"With what?"

"This whole...motherhood thing."

"Of course I do. I love all my little ones. The one that is here and the ones that are to come. Why do you ask?" Don laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"It just doesn't seem fair that you've given so much of yourself already and we haven't been able to give much in return. I just wish I could do more to help, but between work and Leo's grueling training..."

"Donatello, stop with the guilt already. I appreciate all that you do. I don't feel the least bit slighted at all." Don noticed her smile and the exhaustion in her eyes. He sighed as he gently placed his hand on her cheek. Even in her tired state she looked absolutely beautiful to him.

"You, my dear, have a god-like patience. I promise you I'm going to do whatever I can to lighten the load for you. You deserve it."

Venus blushed as she felt a fluttering in her tummy. Donatello, not being the affectionate type, rarely ever touched her that way. When he noticed her blush Don seemed almost apologetic as he pulled his hand away. Venus shook her head and kissed him lightly on the beak as a way of telling him it was ok for him to touch her. Donatello felt heat rising in an area other than his face, shot up and headed for the door claiming he had to take care of some files on his computer.

The young mother laughed inwardly at his sudden shyness. She now had a determination to bring the introverted Turtle out of his shell.

Next Chapter: Donatello and Venus have their first date, but not before a warning from Leo and Mike. Venus sees another side of Don she never expected.