Turtle Dove

Mrs. Cuddles

Ray, April, and the turtles were having a great time watching TV in the lair. "Congrats on the acting job, April! I'm so happy for you, I could punch a rainbow," Raph said, genuinely thrilled for April's success.

"It's just a tiny basic cable show," April replied humbly.

"Not so tiny. It knocked Scorpion Treadmill out of its time slot," Splinter chimed in.

"Chill, Splints. It's not like you are doing anything to miss your show," Ray teased playfully.

"Say, how'd you like to sit in the front row, Raph?" Leo suggested, guiding Raph to sit right in front of the TV.

As they began to watch the show, the screen showed April wearing a rabbit costume. "Hi kids. It's time for the Laffy Fun Time Hour with Mrs. Cuddles!" April said excitedly, revealing Mrs. Cuddles, a blue rabbit with a yellow bow and rainbow ears. "Let's be friends forever~" Mrs. Cuddles cooed.

Suddenly, fear bubbled up in Raph's chest, and he exclaimed, "What...?" The doll giggled with a wink, and then Raph screamed, diving behind the armchair. "NO!! NOT MRS. CUDDLES!" he shouted in terror, much to the amusement of the others.

"It's just as good as I thought it would be," Donnie chuckled, finding Raph's reaction hilarious.

"Hey, you guys know I can't watch this," Raph said, trying to compose himself.

"Is my acting that bad?" April asked, still laughing.

"No, no, no, no. It ain't you, April. It's..." Raph was interrupted by Mrs. Cuddles' voice, causing him to squeal, run into the wall, and fall over in fright.

"I feel bad," Ray said between giggles, trying to catch her breath. "It kinda is my fault that he's so scared of Mrs. Cuddles."

Leo draped an arm over Ray's shoulder and said, "It's no one's fault. You just sleepwalked as a kid and somehow haunted him with your Mrs. Cuddles doll." Leo's laughter continued as the rest of the group joined in, enjoying the lighthearted moment together.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Raph was in the kitchen, trying to calm his nerves by making a sandwich as suggested by April. "Wish I had sandwiches for brothers. They'd be better than those jerks. Okay, sure, I'm a little jumpy. But afraid? Raph don't do afraid," he muttered to himself. As he opened the cabinet, the stuffed rabbit suddenly popped out, and he exclaimed, "IT'S IN THE LAIR!" Startled, he fell back into the pot rack, and some pots clattered onto his head.

Just then, his brothers, April, and Ray appeared in the kitchen, bursting into laughter. "Oh, I am enjoying this," Donnie chuckled, reminiscing about past pranks.

April joined in, saying, "The guys told me Mrs. Cuddles totally freaks you out. So I brought her over in a trunk for a sweet prank."

"Good one, making my heart almost explode," Raph retorted, trying to hide his genuine fear behind humor. "And for the record, these are tears of laughter. I'm laughing at you."

They all left the kitchen, leaving Raph to recover from the scare. However, not even five minutes later, Raph let out a terrifying screech. His brothers and friends rushed back to find him still freaking out about Mrs. Cuddles.

"Scaredy-pants say what?" Leo teased.

"What? Okay. Fine. You were right. I am afraid of Mrs. Cuddles. But turns out she's really real," Raph admitted, his fear evident in his voice.

"He's so scared that he's hallucinating," Ray said, a bit worried for her friend.

"Okay, we get it. We took the joke too far," April said, feeling guilty.