A Half Shell Christmas

Chapter 6: Cookies and Santa Hats

Song: Jingle Bell Rock by Glee
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Despite the snow falling outside, the atmosphere could not be warmer in the lair.

The Christmas tree Mikey had been decorating was now lite up with white lights, which glistening beautifully off the ornaments April had lent. It was hardly even noticeable that there had been so many bare spots on the tree.

The group of mutants and humans alike ignored the couches that surrounded them, and instead sat in a circle around the radio, which was still playing Christmas tunes. Leonardo sat next to Destiny, and next to Des, was Scarlet. Raphael had taken a seat by his sister, and Casey and April sat close by. On the other side of April was Penelope, then Donnie, Tyler, Shelby, and Mikey. Finally, Master Splinter shuffled up to the ring, and Leo and Mikey moved over to give him room. He sat cross-legged, a loving smile on his face.

"I am so grateful we were all able to gather here for Christmas." Splinter explained, nodding to Scarlet, Penelope, April, and Casey. "Thank you for taking time out of your Christmas Eve to visit us here."

Scarlet smiled sweetly. "You guys were the first family I've ever known. Of course I'd be here."

Penelope nodded. "My family knows you guys mean a lot of to me; even if they've never seen you before."

"It's all good, Splinter. Casey Jones has come to really like this place." Casey stated in third person, flashing a jack-o-lantern smile.

April shot Casey a warning glance, before looking back to Master Splinter, her bright blue eyes churning with happiness. "I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be."

"Yeah, the only thing that could make this any better is Scarlet's pretty Christmas cookies." Mikey drooled, eyeing the platter of holiday treats.

"First things first; who wants a Santa hat?" Scarlet asked, holding up the extra four hats she had brought from the party.

"Hit me up, dudette!" Mikey yelled.

"Oh, I want one! I want one!" Tyler added.

"I'll take one too!" Penelope smiled.

Scarlet felt her heart surge with pride at the enthusiasm she created. She passed out the Santa hats to the awaiting mutants, and held up the last one. "Who else?"

"Shelby, you should totally wear one!" Mikey urged.

"Oh, I don't think so." Shelby muttered, shaking her head.

"I'll pass as well." Destiny announced.

"What, why?" Penelope inquired.

Des shrugged. "It'd impair my hearing, and that makes me feel tense."

"Oh! Give it to Splinter! Master Splinter, put it on!" Tyler begged. Scarlet reached over and handed the hat to Splinter, who put it on very slow and precise, making everyone giggle.

"I'm going to go make the hot chocolate." April announced, standing up.

"I'll help you." Destiny offered, following her lead.

"Oh, I want to come too!" Mikey scrambled up, racing to the kitchen. The girls rolled their eyes, but they still had the amused smiles on their faces as they followed the orange-clad turtle.

"Christmas cookie time!" Scarlet announced, and ripped the saran wrap from the platter excitedly. "Okay, okay, I have different ones for everyone." She stood up, and walked to Splinter, her braid swaying and her Santa hat bouncing. "I made you a yellow star with white and gold sprinkles." She explained, setting the cookie in his paw.

"Arigatō." He bowed his head, giving her a warm smile.

She moved to Leo. "I made you a blue bell with red accents. And this is Des's, a white angel with golden sprinkles." She said, handing off the cookies.

"Wow, thanks, Scarlet. These look great." He stated.

Scarlet continued with her task. "Raph, I made you a red present with extra frosting. Casey, you get a snowman with a green scarf. This is April's; she got a dove."

"Looks like a duck to me." Casey teased, earning a eye roll from the younger girl.

"Penelope, for you I made a green Christmas bell with red sprinkles. Donnie, you get a reindeer. Sorry, the horns broke off when we pulled it off the cooking tray. Ty, I made you an ornament, and Shelby, you get a snowflake."

Shelby sighed, "The irony."

"And this is Mikey's, a Christmas tree with red and gold sprinkles." Scarlet smiled, giving Shelby the last cookie, emptying the plate.

"Scar, where's your cookie?" Raph asked in confusion.

Scarlet smiled sleepishly as she took her seat next to him. "I sorta ate mine earlier. It just looked so good!"

The group laughed, making Scarlet giggle as well, and April and Destiny came out with 10 mugs of hot chocolate, each of them carrying five on a platter, and passed them out, save for Shelby, though she seemed unfazed. She couldn't drink hot chocolate anyways; what was hot to the others was like drinking fire to her.

Finally, Mikey came into the room carrying two more mugs of hot chocolate in his hands and crafted reindeer antlers under his arms. "Don't worry everyone, I came, and I brought antlers!" He exclaimed, giving Shelby her mug.

"Mikey, I can't-"

"Don't worry, Shelbs, the milk is cold." Mikey assured her, before placing a set of antlers on her head. She began to protest, but stopped herself.

"Thank you." She smiled, and sipped her cold coco, glad to have something to drink with everyone else.

Mikey passed out the remaining antlers to Leo, Des, and Donnie, before taking a seat as the group ate Christmas cookies and drank hot chocolate. Most of them sang along to the Christmas songs that came on the radio, while the others simply watched in amusement, glad to be surrounded by family.

Penelope eventually brought out her Whoville Heart Sizer, and hooked everyone up to it. The machine would take the person's or mutant's blood pressure, and judging on how quickly blood was flowing through their veins, the machine would measure the size of their heart and display it on the screen. Mikey, Ty, and Scarlet had size 5's. Master Splinter had a size 4. Destiny, April, Leo, and Donnie had 3's, Casey and Shelby had 2's, and Raphael had a 1, which was really no surprise.

Soon, Scarlet's mom was calling her, and they knew it was getting late. With wistful goodbyes and lots of hugs and merry Christmases, Casey and April left for home, and Penelope and Scarlet followed soon after; however, they received gifts from Donnie and Raph before they left, with the strict warning of not opening the presents until Christmas.

Finally, the radio was shut off, and the turtles gathered in the kitchen, and broke out the chocolate chip cookies they had been saving. Master Splinter hung seven sockings on the Space Heroes Pinball machine, and the boys set out a platter of cookies and milk for Santa Claus. Destiny, Shelby, and Tyler hesitated to participate, shocked that the turtles still held such a tradition at their age. Still, Des and Shelby received a kiss goodnight from Leo and Mikey, before everyone headed off to bed, and soon, the lair was completely silent, as if the sewers themselves were waiting with baited breath for Santa to arrive.

Translations:

- Japanese: Arigatō (ありがとう)
English: Thank you