Okay I know it is the beginning of Summer so it may be a little strange to think about Christmas, but when I began the story it was Winter and I wanted it to happen in the winter so that I could include Halloween into the story. So enjoy enjoy a second Christmas! LOL
As always thank you Forgottenforever for your awesome reviews!
Chapter 30
April strode down the hallway. She was frustrated because she couldn't find anyone. The girls were sleeping and so was Donatello because he had spent the entire night up with them. Michelangelo, Raphael, Katherine and Leonardo were all MIA.
It was almost noon and she had explored the house several times over. Casey was in the garage still drooling over the vehicles. He was itching to ask Katherine if he could drive the Porsche.
She knew which rooms were which. She also knew that Katherine was supposed to be with Michelangelo. She knocked on Michelangelo's door and walked in. The room looked slept in, but empty. She frowned. So where was she? It was like playing the card game where you had to find the Queen. The only reason she was okay with opening the doors and trying to rouse her hostess was because she knew she wouldn't be catching any of them naked and doing anything thanks to Leonardo's no touching ban. She looked at Raphael's door. She didn't really want to barge in and bother Raphael, but she didn't see there being much of a choice since she figured she couldn't be with Leonardo.
She sighed and opened Raphael's door. Light was streaming in the windows falling upon the figures in the bed. Katherine was laying on her back between Raphael and Michelangelo. Raphael was on his stomach half sprawled over her, while Michelangelo was laying on his side, facing her, one arm thrown over her belly. April blushed.
"What are you doing April?" Leonardo asked as he stood behind her.
She quickly closed the door on the sleeping figures. The last thing Leonardo needed to see was that.
"I...I'm looking for Katherine." She said lamely.
"In Raph's room?" Leonardo questioned as he took in her blush. He pushed her out of the way and opened the door.
"Since when did knocking become something no one did?" Raphael growled. April looked over Leonardo's shoulder. Raphael was pulling a hoodie over his head, standing in his underwear and glaring at her. "Knock much April, or has Kitten got you curious?" He asked with a leer. Of Katherine and Michelangelo there was no sign.
There was a loud thump and a shout further down the hall. Leonardo looked down the hall and strode to the first door coming up the stairs. April looked back at Raphael who had put on a pair of pants and who put a finger to his lips. Raphael walked up to her. "Didn't touch her April and neither did Mikey, but you know Leo." He said with a shrug as he exited the room.
Katherine and Michelangelo were heaving a mattress off a bed. "Morning." Katherine said brightly. "These sheets can go, and the mattress seems fine, which is a relief. I was afraid it had begun to burn as well, but I wanted to check underneath as well, just to make sure." Michelangelo stood behind the mattress chest bare and wearing only a pair of sweats. "Okay Michelangelo." She said as Michelangelo pulled the mattress back onto the bed.
"It will be nice to have my room back." She said to Leonardo. She turned to April. "I'm sorry April I know I am the worst hostess ever, but you can tell Casey he can drive whatever he wants." She said with a smile."I'm very excited." She said turning her bright smile to Leonardo. He blinked at her in confusion. "It's Christmas eve!" She said clapping her hands together, and we are going to open presents tonight since the girls will be awake, isn't that great?"
Leonardo and Raphael looked visibly stunned. "Yeah, great." They said without enthusiasm.
Katherine and Michelangelo shared a smirk with each other. "Hey April, can I talk to you a sec?" Raphael said practically dragging her from the room. Leonardo followed quickly on his heels. They dragged her down the hall, down the stairs and into the library.
"April what do we do?" They asked her desperately.
"Do?" She asked completely adrift.
"I never got Katherine anything for Christmas, in fact I never got anyone anything." Raphael said desperately. "I don't even know what to get her!"
She looked at Leonardo who was nodding, a desperate look in his eyes as well. April sighed. Who knew she would actually have to help the guys out with girl problems.
"You guys know that she knows that you never got her anything right?" She said to them.
They looked at each other. "But..." Leonardo said.
She sighed. Men. They were so clueless. She supposed it didn't matter if the man was human or mutated turtle, a man was a man.
"She isn't expecting you to get her anything, and I don't think she wants anything." April said to them. "She is excited for the girls and for Mikey who did get you guys something." They looked at her in confusion. "Mikey obviously managed to get out and by everyone something for Christmas. My advice, don't worry about it, just enjoy the fact that your girlfriend isn't high maintenance." April said with a shrug.
Blushes bloomed on both of their cheeks. April smiled at them. "She really does love you, all of you. In fact I am rather in awe of how much she loves you." She said quietly. "Love like that, it is something so rare. She loves you unconditionally. She loves you, just as you are." April said as she turned and left the shocked brothers standing in the library.
She bumped into a panicked Donatello a few moments later. She told him the same thing she had told Raphael and Leonardo, to not worry about a present for Katherine.
Katherine and Michelangelo disappeared for the better part of the day to wrap presents. Soon the house was filled with the excited chatter of the two girls. April hadn't really had a chance to talk or look at the girls much. But April couldn't deny that they looked exactly like carbon copies of Katherine.
They pulled their respective 'fathers' to the tree. They were very excited. They wanted to be the first to give their presents to everyone.
"Us first please daddy?" Starbright asked Leonardo.
He smiled at her. "Go ahead." He said as she watched the girls grab four presents from the tree. They gave one each to the guys. They looked at the small flat boxes in confusion.
"Mommy helped." They said proudly.
Katherine was smiling warmly. The brothers looked at the boxes and then opened them. Inside was a small rectangle with two handprints. One was Starlight's and the others was Starbright's.
The brothers looked at the pieces of fired clay in shock. "So you always have something to remember us by." They said happily. "Until we meet you again."
Leonardo and Raphael clutched their respective 'daughters' to them. "Thank you." The both whispered as they tried to manfully keep it together.
The girls then launched themselves at Donatello and Michelangelo who were also looking a tad misty.
After that it was a flurry of squeals of delight as the girls opened their presents. The adults all laughed at the joy and delight on the girl's faces.
April and Casey gave the gifts they had gotten the guys on their travels. Casey even managed to give her a beautiful necklace, one she had admired in London.
Katherine stood and gave her a gift and Casey one as well. "I didn't have time to go out and get you anything, and so I will admit to re-gifting as it were." She said with a smile.
April opened the gift and was shocked to see a beautiful antique fan. The ivory handles were inlaid with jewels and when she opened it, a work of art was revealed. Painted on the fan's surface was a seascape with a boat and a tower, tiny cherubs painted in gilt. April swallowed and close the fan. "I...I can't accept this." She whispered. "It...it's an 18th century fan from France in absolutely mint condition. This would probably be worth thousands." She said in awe.
Katherine smiled. "You appreciate it. That is what is important."
"But..."April protested.
Katherine ignored her and watched as Casey opened his gift. It was an antique golf club. "Raphael said you enjoyed sports, but I wouldn't recommend bashing anyone over the head with it." Casey looked shocked but nodded. Casey was rather in awe.
They of course had not thought to bring anything for Katherine, but she just waved them off.
Michelangelo gave his brothers his gifts which were a new hoodie for Raphael, Some meditation candles for Leonardo, and a subscription to a science magazine for Donatello.
"Can we give mommy our gift now?" The girls asked in excitement. With a nod the girls gave two gifts to Katherine. "They are from us and the daddies." They said proudly.
The guys looked at the little girls in shock. They looked at the presents as if they too were curious about what was in the boxes.
She opened the first present which was what looked to be an attempt at a mug. It was a little lopsided, and painted with flowers. Katherine's mouth twitched as she looked at Michelangelo and Raphael who blushed. Obviously unbeknownst to them they were helping the girls with their gift to Katherine. "Did Daddy Raphael make the mug?" Katherine asked. 'The girls nodded."And you both and Daddy Michelangelo painted the flowers?" They nodded extremely pleased with their mug. "Well I think this is the best mug I have ever seen." She said with a warm smile. Raphael and Michelangelo blushed harder.
Leonardo and Donatello looked at each other, now knowing what was in the other box. Katherine opened it and looked at the vase. It was better done than the mug. Dragonfly's decorated the surface. Katherine sent a warm look to Donatello and Leonardo. "Thank you, all of you. They are beautiful." She said sincerely.
Katherine put her gifts beside her and stood. She walked over to the tree and pulled out four gifts.
She sat back down and watched as they each opened their gifts. For Leonardo she gave him a leather bound copy of a magazine that first published Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven. Michelangelo received a first edition copy of the Golden Sentry, Raphael received an autographed chair used in the ring by Ice Cold against the Freemason, both had signed the chair, and for Donatello she had gotten him a telescope.
The guys were in obvious awe over their gifts. "Mommy there's one more." The girls said to Katherine.
She smiled as she motioned to the tree. "This is the special one." She said softly. "This is for all of you." She said to the brothers. "Leonardo, you should do the honours. It is heavy." She said as Leonardo brought the box from the tree to the table.
Leonardo undid the bow and the box lifted from the base. Leonardo dropped the lid to the ground as he looked at the statue in shock. There was a grey stone figure of a sleeping rat about the diameter of a soccer ball. The rat's body and tail curled protectively around four baby turtles.
"So he will always be with you, and always protect you." Katherine said softly.
"Did you...you?" Leonardo struggled.
"I carved it, yes." She said with a self depreciating smile. "I spent a summer learning how the ancient Greeks carved their stone sculptures. I had never really tried to do something as complicated as this though. But I think it turned out well."
April looked at it in awe. It was a work of art.
Leonardo stumbled over to Katherine's chair and she jumped as Leonardo fell to his knees in front of her. He put his face in her lap and clutched her. "It...it even looks like him. How do you do it? How?" He whispered. "How do you rip away every defence I have and lay bare my soul?" He asked her as he looked at her.
She put her arms around him. "It was supposed to make you smile, not make you sad Leonardo." She said as she looked at Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, all of whom wore similar expressions of shock and not quite sadness, but a happiness that brought tears to their eyes.
"Hey look, this one's got Raph's beak." Michelangelo pointed out.
Leonardo stood and brought Katherine with him. He pulled her into a bone crushing embrace. "Thank you Kitten." He whispered.
"When did you have time to do this Kitten?" Donatello asked as he looked at the statue.
"After I came here I began it. I couldn't sleep much and it gave me something to do." She said with a shrug.
"But, you even managed to get the nick in his ear right." Donatello said in shock.
Katherine just shrugged and smiled. "The stone chooses the form, the artist merely wields the tools." She said in a deep voice."That was the Mason I trained under. Brilliant man. He also said 'let people think your mistakes are purposeful.'" She said with a laugh. "I always imagined Master Splinter as a little bit of a scrapper, the nick just seemed right."
The rest of the evening passed in a flurry of laughter and games with the girls.
Raphael pulled Katherine close to him as they watched the girls playing with their toys. Michelangelo was laying on the ground playing with Starlight who was playing with a dollhouse, while Donatello was helping Starbright put together a model of a dinosaur. Leonardo was chatting with Casey and April.
"Thank you Kitten." Raphael said quietly. "You've made Christmas feel like Christmas again."
She looked up at him. "I'm just glad that everyone is happy." She said with a smile.
Raphael looked down at her. "You really mean that, don't you?" He asked in surprise.
"Of course I do. My favourite part about Christmas was always seeing family and being with friends. It has never really been about the presents. Though," She smiled as she looked at the mug he had made. "In some cases the presents are too special for words." She said with a soft smile.
"How did we ever get so lucky?" He asked her.
"Four brothers uneasily sharing one woman. I wouldn't say that was lucky." She said to him with a quirk of her lips.
Raphael shrugged. He didn't like it and knew she was going to choose one of them when this whole thing was over, but for some reason at this moment, everything felt right, as if it was the way it was supposed to be.
"Whatever happens, whoever you choose, I'll never regret knowing you Kitten." He said to her softly. Even though it would break his heart if she chose one of his brothers, what he said was true.
She smiled as she kissed him. She pulled away. "I'm heading off to bed, it has been a long day."
Raphael nodded. "I'll be right there." He said as he let her go. She said her goodnights to everyone and walked out of the living room.
He walked up to Leonardo, April and Casey. "Can I talk to you a sec Leo?" Raphael asked him.
Leonardo nodded and they walked over to a quiet corner. "You stayin' up with the girls?" He asked his older brother. Leonardo nodded. Raphael looked down at the statue Katherine had carved. He reached out and pet the rat. "How does she do it Leo?" He asked his brother.
Leonardo's eyes widened with shock, then he shook his head. "I don't know Raph. I really wish I knew. It doesn't seem like it should be possible for someone to just...know you so well, to know you better than you even know yourself." Leonardo looked at him. "Have a good sleep Raphael." He said as he went to turn away.
Raphael frowned and caught his brother by the shoulder. Leonardo looked at him in confusion. "No lectures. No telling me to keep my hands to myself and for Kitten to keep hers to herself?" He asked his brother.
Leonardo looked at him. "No." He pulled away from his grasp and went to sit down with Starlight who handed him a doll.
He looked after his brother in shock.
He slowly made his way upstairs. He opened Katherine's door and found her already curled up in the center of the bed. He gently closed the door and strode to his room. He changed into his sweats and brushed his teeth as his mind turned over the fact that Leonardo had said okay.
He walked down the hall and into Katherine's room. He closed the door and walked to the bed crawling beside her. She turned and curled into him. He clutched her to him fiercely. He closed his eyes. "Leo's lifted the ban." He whispered in her ear.
She looked up at him in shock. "I can touch you. I can finally do what I've wanted to do for weeks and now that I can, why can't I seem to do it?" He asked her desperately.
She laughed quietly. "Because you know that Leonardo is being an ass...again."
"He's still not okay with all of this, but he is doing what Leo does best, looking out for everyone else, no matter how much it hurts him. That bastard." Raphael growled.
"That about sums it up." Katherine said looking at him.
He looked down at her. "Part of me want to rip off all your clothes say screw him, but the other half of me really wants Leo to be okay. Damn him!"
"If you are going to punch him, do it tomorrow okay?" Katherine said as she snuggled into his side.
He looked down at the woman in his arms in shock. "Condoning physical violence Kitten?" He asked her.
She chuckled. "As brothers it is almost a necessity. So are we in for another stunning performance tomorrow, should I shine up the Oscar?" She asked.
Raphael grinned evilly in the dark. "It is as good as won Kitten."
Katherine sighed. "Too bad I won't be able to see it, oh well. Don't be gentle Raphael." She said to him.
"Wasn't planning on it. Bastard ruined my night. But I figure with Leo being awake all night, he is going to stew, all damn night." Raphael said maliciously.
"Goodnight Raphael." She said as she pulled him in for a kiss.
"G'night Kitten." He said softly as he pressed himself into her. "I'm going to floor the bastard." Raphael growled.
Raphael knew exactly where to find his brother. He figured he probably had tried to sleep but couldn't. He and Katherine hadn't gotten out of bed until somewhere around noon. They had gotten dressed and basically just chatted on the bed for a bit, just to make Leonardo stew even longer. Raphael pasted a self-satisfied grin on his face and strolled into the library.
"Hey Leo, you look like hell." He said to his older brother. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked as he perused the bookshelves pretending to look for something. "You know where that copy of Alice in Wonderland went? Kitten sent me to look for it." He lied as he watched his brother out of the corner of his eye.
Leonardo looked pale and pulled. He had dark bags under his eyes, in fact his brother looked almost ill. He almost wanted to tell him that nothing had happened, just to get the look of loss off his brother's face, but Katherine was right, he couldn't be gentle.
"It's over on the table Raph." Leonardo said quietly as he watched the flames dance in the hearth.
"Thanks." He said happily. He snagged the book and flipped it open stalling, waiting for his brother to break, to finally ask him.
"So, did you sleep well?" Leonardo finally asked to break the silence.
Raphael feigned surprise. "Sleep?" He asked. He thought about it. "What little I got, I suppose it was good." He said with a leer.
If it was possible, Leonardo paled even more. He ignored his brother's pale face. Now it was time to make his brother squirm.
"Leo, Kitten is...magnificent." He said earnestly. "To finally be able to touch her, do more than touch her." He said softly looking away from the anguish he saw in his brother's eyes. "Kitten lives up to her nickname Leo. She's a hellcat in bed. All she wants is more. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but we figured it out, and she's got some interesting kinks. Did you know she's studied the Kama Sutra Leo!" He asked his brother who looked as if he was alternating between rage and hurt. He ignored his silent brother whose fists were clenched together tightly, knuckles white. He looked his brother straight in the eye. "Do you know what it's like to make love to the woman you love Leo? To feel her as she spreads her legs and lets you slide yourself into her moist warm depths?" He asked. He could hear Leonardo's teeth grinding together. "No?" He questioned. His fist flew at his brother's face. He hit him square in the jaw but Leonardo only stumbled back. "Well neither do I you bastard!"
Leonardo looked at him in shock. "You are a stubborn, egotistical, idiot." He growled. "You don't have to martyr yourself Leo. If you are not okay with us touching her we'll wait. We don't like it, but we will wait for you to be okay with it. Kitten knows it is going to take time to wrap your head around sharing her, and that's fine, but don't pretend to be okay with something and then make yourself sick afterwards."
Leonardo opened his mouth as he rubbed his jaw. "Since when are you okay with sharing Raph? I seem to recall you saying you would never share her." His brother growled.
Raphael couldn't help the blush that crept across his cheeks. What was he supposed to say, that he had already basically shared her with Michelangelo and he hadn't had a problem with it? That would come out all wrong so instead he said, "I don't know Leo. I honestly don't know when I went from not okay to okay with sharing. All I know, is that I would rather have her, then go through a lifetime of never having her. Something is trying to kill her Leo and I can't lose her. She needs all of us to protect her. So I will share her for now, even with you." He ground out.
He looked down at his hand and shook it. "Damn, I know I can punch harder than Kitten, how the hell did she manage to floor you?" He asked his brother who was looking at him.
Leonardo smirked. "I expect you to punch me Raph, I never expected her to punch me, and besides she's got a really wicked right hook." Leonardo went serious. "Thank you Raphael." He said softly.
"Leo, I know I probably don't say this...ever, and I know I always get under your skin and try to find ways to piss you off, but...you're my brother and I love you. I would never do anything to purposely hurt you. Of course I am a bastard so if you hurt me first, I will get you back." He said with a shrug.
"Merry Christmas to you too Raph." Leonardo said as he walked towards him. He hugged his older brother close.
He pulled out of his brother's hug. "Kama Sutra Raph? Playing that one up a little too much. I should have guessed just by that." Leonardo said to him.
"Merry Christmas Leo." He said as he walked to the library door. He paused and threw over his shoulder. "Oh, the whole Kama Sutra thing, that was the only thing that was true." He said with a wicked grin as he closed the door gently on Leonardo's stunned expression.
Raphael chuckled to himself. Almost worth it. He thought to himself.
Awwwhhhh. =)