Nine days later
As the days passed, it was now Christmas Eve. With Christmas coming tomorrow, the turtles can hardly hold their excitement for tomorrow's big day. The tree has lights, ribbons, and ornaments with presents under it, the lair has lights and decorations, and we have even pulled out the Christmas movies, too.
Speaking of, the turtles are all sitting in the living room while watching a Christmas special of Jupiter Jim, where he went out searching for the alien Santa Claus who went missing during his gift ride by visiting each planet. Raph carried a bowl of popcorn to share while each had hot chocolate in hand.
Ginny has a massive smile on her face. "Jacob would love this. He is a super Jupiter Jim fan." She added.
Leo smiled warmly at her. "Your little brother has a great taste." He told her. "Which is his favorite?" He asked her.
"Jupiter Jim's First Trip to the Moon," Ginny answered.
Leo's eyes widened by this. "No way! That was a major classic!!" He exclaimed happily. If he had the courage to meet her family, he and Jacob would get along excellent.
Ginny let out a chuckle at his response. After returning from dinner with her family, she thought she would get into trouble for leaving without him. Only she finds him acting normal and happy she is okay and alive. Her homesickness is gone, and she can finally relax. The two begin to get close and become close friends.
The movie has reached the end credits, hinting the movie is over. The turtles all stand up and stretch their muscles from sitting.
"That was amazing!" Judi was bouncing on her feet. "I can't believe that they show how some creatures celebrate the holidays in their own way!"
"Yeah, quite amazing." Ginny nodded. Then she walked away from the turtles, heading to the kitchen. "Now, who's up for some cookies?" She asked them.
"Me!!" All replied, wanting some cookies.
Ginny grinned. "Great! Will get started right away!" She walked straight to the kitchen.
"Oh! Let me help you!" Judi ran off to catch up with her.
Ginny sighed. "Fine, but don't eat the batter!" The two disappeared from the entrance.
Donnie looks at his wristband, looking at the time. "Nina, it's time for our Chaquan lesson." He informed her. "Let's go." Nina followed him as they headed straight to the dojo.
Then, Leo and Julian both left, going to the game room and leaving Raph and Mikey alone to clean up. Raph put the empty mugs inside the empty bowl, then grabbed a broom and swept the extra popcorn into a hole that led to the other part of the sewer. He then turned to check his brother, only to find him staring in the direction Judi and Ginny left. He placed the broom by the wall and approached Mikey.
Mikey faced the way the two headed to the kitchen; he looked so nervous and doing his best not to freak out. But he can't help himself; he is a turtle in love with the sweetest being in his world. A being that has a protector that refuses to let her get hurt again. His legs start to shake, and his hands tremble, too.
"You okay there, little man?" Raph asked in concern.
Mikey turns his head to face his big brother. "I…I am falling hard for Judi; I am going crazy every time I look at her." He confessed to him. "I can't eat pizza when she's around; I can't sleep when I am dreaming about her. And the worst part is that I am scared of how I'm feeling or what I can do about those feelings." He added. "I need to tell her how I feel for her." He frowned deeply.
Raph placed a hand on his shoulder, making Mikey look up at him and see a grin on his face. "Then go to her." He implied. "I can tell how much you care for her and how you always help her. So tell her. Cause if you don't, who knows what can happen." He gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
Mikey nodded, getting what he was saying. He knows what he has to do. He relaxed his bones, took a deep breath, and headed to the kitchen. As he approaches closer, he can hear Ginny and Judi talking.
"Judi, I am still making the batter." Ginny told her. "wait for a bit."
"I'm being a taste tester." Judi protested. "Want to be sure it tastes just right."
Ginny glared down at her. "Not a chance, young lady."
"Aw, come on!" Judi whined.
Mikey smiled and chuckled, just loving the way Judi has a love for food. She has formed quite a sweet tooth during her time here. She may have gained a little weight from overeating, but he never cares about her weight as long as she is perfectly healthy and happy. She is still the same beautiful and comfortable Judi he fell in love with.
He breathed in and out; then, he entered the kitchen. He sees Ginny holding the bowl up high, away from Judi's reach. "Hi Ginny, Judi." He greeted them.
Ginny heard him and turned her head to face him. "Mikey! Thank god you've come." She rejoiced. "This girl can't get away from the batter, and I am still mixing." She glared down at Judi.
"I told you! I'm being a taste tester!" Judi pouted.
"At least let me finish first!" Ginny heaved.
Mikey chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I was wondering if I could borrow her." He swallowed. "If you are okay with it."
"Sure. Take her." Ginny nodded to him. "Anything to get her away from raw food."
"But they taste best when raw!" Judi whined.
Ginny glares at her, a look that reminds you of an angry mother handling a spoiled child. "Go with Mikey. Now." She told her.
Judi pouted. "Fine.." she huffed, leaving her side and walking to Mikey.
As the two were about to leave the kitchen, Mikey looked back at Ginny; he saw her giving him a wink. She knows why he came here, to confess his romantic feelings for Judi, and she can use some room to finish the cookies without interruption. Mikey blushed, seeing her wink.
He led Judi to a vast room with his paint canvas, paintbrushes, and paint spray cans. The two stopped at an empty wall.
Judi looks up at Mikey. "Why are we here?" She asked him.
"Thinking about doing some painting. You know, something that can keep us busy while the others are getting things ready for Christmas." He answered, facing her. "Are you up for it?"
Judi nodded. "Sure am."
Seeing the nod, Mikey handed her a paintbrush. He watched her take it and pulled out a spray can. He sprayed it on a vast canvas, bringing color to the blank whiteboard.
Judi dips the brush in an open paint can and paints alongside Mikey. She was smiling while painting, enjoying this with Mikey. She looked up and watched him spray-paint the canvas while she painted lines over it.
Mikey turns his attention to Judi but spots her eyes looking blank and empty. She stopped painting and then painted a figure of a young girl behind the couch with a man looking evil. She put down the caption 'You will never be rid of me' and put red paint on the man. He started to panic; she was having an episode of her lost memories. He grabbed her hand, stopping her from painting. He watched life come back to her eyes.
"W-what? What happened?" Judi asked, confused and lost.
"Judi, are you okay?" He asked her, concerned. This was the fifth time she painted the same scene of the man and the girl. "You seem to be okay painting this."
Judi looked at the painting, and then her heart froze. Her mind shows young Judi watching her parents from behind the couch, the evil look in her father's eyes, back at the foster care when she was blocking the voices and her father approaching her. She was getting scared; she was having memories that she didn't know were hers, and she couldn't figure out why she kept painting this scene.
"I... I'm sorry, but that was all I can think of." She apologized, a sad frown on her face. "It won't get off my mind; I'm scared, Mikey.."
Mikey let out a huff. This is a severe problem, and it won't go away. He promised Julian he wouldn't let her return to her former self, but how can he stop her from remembering the bad part of her life? He looked at the spray paint and the paint cans and then formed an idea.
Mikey grabbed a spray can, sprayed it over Judi's art, and replaced it with a night sky in a park. He added white specs that look like stars. "How about this?" He faced Judi. "We took turns painting a scene, and we finished the rest. Tell me what you see in this painting."
Judi looks at the scene, thinking of what she sees. In her mind, the image of the man faded away and replaced a scene of young Judi and young Julian looking at the sky with cookies Julian bought for them after sneaking out from their foster family's home. She grabbed a paintbrush and painted a figure of Julian and her sitting on the grass with a box of cookies between them.
"How's this?" Judi asked him.
"looks great! Mikey smiled. "You are very talented."
Judi smiled with a slight blush on her cheek. "Thank you."
Judi stares at the canvas. In her mind, there is a scene of Judi and Julian as kids running in a flower field while their mother watches them with a warm smile. She painted the flower field, and then Mikey added a horse running through. Judi smiled, looking at the horse.
They would take turns painting a scene for the past ten minutes while the other put in a figure. Like in a museum with a dinosaur on it. A skyscraper with a superhero on top and an island with a mermaid sitting on the sand.
Judi looks at Mikey, who is finishing putting a surfer riding on an ocean wave. She smiles softly with a slight blush on her cheek. Something about him made her feel like she didn't have a reason to be afraid anymore. She quickly turned away as Mikey turned to her attention.
"So, how are you feeling, Judi?" He asked her.
"Good, ready for tomorrow." Judi smiled nervously. She looked down and muttered. "Just hope it will be better."
Mikey blinked, hearing the last part. "What do you mean?" He asked her.
"Huh? What?" Judi blinked, lifting her head up to him.
"You said you hope it will be better." He mentioned her sentence.
"I did?" Judi asked, confused. "I don't remember." But she does remember; it was implanted in her mind, and it just scared her. "I'm sorry, you must think I am crazy." She frowned sadly.
Mikey set his spray can down on the floor and faced her fully. "Crazy?" He repeated what she said.
"I am saying things without noticing, I am getting flashbacks that I don't know if they're my own, and I keep having dreams of a girl that has my name, but she is miserable cause everyone believes she is crazy." Judi exposed all she was feeling. "I must be crazy; I don't think I am normal." She started to cry; tears fell down her cheek.
Mikey gulped. Judi is slowly getting her memories back in the form of dreams. It must have started when she fainted and was unconscious. But with her amnesia, she can't recognize if it is real or just in her mind, and it is making her so confused and more lost. He won't let that happen. He will not allow Judi to think she is crazy and will not turn her away when she needs help. Her happiness and her mental health is more important to him now; he will not be like the foster care.
Mikey places his hand under her chin, guiding her face to look him in the eyes. "Hey." He spoke softly. "You are not crazy. You are the most sane person I ever met; nobody is more creative than you." He smiled softly at her, using his thumb to wipe her tears away. "You have a wonderful imagination, and your brother knows it."
"He does?" Judi blinked.
Mikey nodded. "He does." He confirmed. "We're here for you and will always be there for you too. So don't ever call yourself crazy. Because you are the strongest person I know." He finished.
Hearing the last sentence, Judi's mind shows her the scene of the twins in the foster care kitchen as Julian hugged her tightly as they sat on the floor. Julian's face becomes recognizable to Judi, turning from human to his mutant self.
"You are the strongest person I know," Julian spoke with determination in his voice as it echoed in her mind.
Judi's eyes let out more tears, and she softly cried. Her brother's comfort and he's always being by her side was too much for her to take in. Now Mikey is doing the same to her as well.
Mikey wiped her tears off. "It will be okay, Judi, trust me." He pleaded.
"I do." She nodded, forming a smile on her lips. "Thanks, Mikey."
"Anytime." Mikey hugged her, who hugged him back. Mikey blushed a bit, can't believe he was hugging her. Shortly, he pulled away from her. He cleared his throat. "Let's get back to painting. I got another scene." He grabbed his spray can.
"Ooh!" Judi's eyes widened in interest.
The two went back to painting. Mikey painted a scene of Central Park on a snowy day. He watched Judi add a couple sitting on a bench. He imagines him and Judi seated on the bench with hot chocolate and cuddling for warmth. He can feel his face blushing red and his heart beating fast.
"There we go!" Judi smiled at her work. She turned to Mikey. "How does it look?" She asked him.
Instead, Mikey gave her a thumbs up, hinting it was great. He watched Judi give him a huge smile and return to painting, her turn to make a scene. Mikey had never felt so nervous before, all because of this beautiful turtle. Thinking back on what April and Raph told him, he has to make a move, or he can lose his chance.
He cleared his throat, getting Judi's attention. "Judi, have you ever felt anything other than fear or curiosity?" He began.
"Happiness, sadness, loss, anger and a scene of loneliness." Judi listed them with her fingers. "Why ask?" She tilted her head to the right.
Mikey rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I felt something. Something much stronger than that." He continued.
Judi placed her hands on her hips. "Mikey. What are you trying to ask me?" She was starting to get impatient.
Mikey inhales in and out; it's now or never. "Judith Miller, I feel great love for you." He answered.
Judi blinked, confused by what he said. "What? I..I don't understand." She replied.
"I love you, Judi," Mikey confessed to her. Trying so hard not to make it sound scary. "Your creativity, positive energy, sweetness, and strength. I may not know your past, and you may not notice them anymore, but I am willing to make you new ones to remember forever." He finished, holding his breath while waiting to hear from her.
Judi's face glows bright red. She never thought he would confess to her. During her time with them, she has grown quite a strong attachment to Mikey and how he always believes her and makes her feel like she can turn to without her brother. Her stomach felt like she had butterflies and felt sick, not in a wrong way, but in a happy way. Her eyes brightened, and her heart was like it was flying.
"Mikey, I…I feel the same way." She confessed as well.
Mikey gasped, surprised by this. "You do?"
"I do." She nodded. "I may not remember what my past was or who I was before I became a mutant, but you make me feel so safe, and I felt another reason to stay in my reality and not go insane." She smiled with all the love she had. "I don't know what I might do if I continued being lost forever."
Mikey let out the biggest smile on his face and so much love in his eyes. The girl he is madly in love with has just told him she loves him too. How he wanted to shout to the world that he was the luckiest mutant alive, and how he wanted to show the world he had a wonderful girl to be with in his life. He pulled her in a tight hug while she hugged him back.
Judi then kissed Mikey on the cheek, and she spotted a blush on his cheek afterward.
"I love you, Judi." Mikey smiled.
"I love you too, Mikey." Judi smiled back.
The two embrace each other, letting the world around them disappear and just being about the two instead.
Behind them, near the entrance. Julian was watching them, arms crossed and a smile on his face. He couldn't believe his eyes and ears when his sister confessed her love to Mikey; his little sister was growing up so fast. "Keep her safe and happy, Mikey, for me," Julian whispered. "You have given her the future she needs." He trusts Mikey to love his sister and knows he will not let her go back to her darkness.