The Call (a TMNT fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Christmas Morning

"Lexi! Get up already!" 

I pry my eyes open and see Rose crouching next to my bed, shaking me lightly. I smile and sit up, yawning.

Rose's pearly white teeth glisten as the light streams in through the windows. "Merry Christmas, Lexi. Brush your teeth and get yourself looking nice."

I snort and head to the bathroom. "Please. I'll brush my teeth. That's it."

In the mirror, my plain expression looks back at me, and I start to think that maybe I should put on a little makeup. I wasn't able to sleep last night, thinking about my kiss with Leo, and it is evident in the dark circles under my eyes. I wear checkered pajama pants and a black long sleeve with a jersey with the name KING on the back of it.

As I put on deodorant, I hear my sister sigh in frustration. 

"You're seriously going to go down there with all those people with all those cameras looking like you just woke up?" Rose asks.

I raise my eyebrows. "News flash, Rosie: I did just wake up." 

Rose's dark brown hair is smooth and brushed out. She has mascara and some lip-gloss on. She wears a long-sleeved white shirt with gems down the neckline, and her skinny jeans and silver hoop earrings.

I snatch my phone and head out the door. As soon as I walk out, I'm lifted into the air. When I try to turn, I see that it's Mikey.

"Mikey," I laugh, whacking his shoulder. "Put me down!"

"Merry Christmas!" He shouts and I grin.

"Merry Christmas!" I shout back, and I love how truly elated he looks. 

After a few minutes, everyone is down by the Christmas tree. We begin opening presents after everyone is settled. Mom makes sure she announces the rule our family has about Christmas.

"Everyone must watch and listen when someone is opening a present. One at a time," Mom explains.

I find Leo sitting next to the fireplace, watching everything unfold. My first thought is to sit somewhere else, as I feel a little awkward about last night, worried that I ruined our relationship. But as I am considering moving back, Leo looks over at me, and I move forward.

"Can I sit here?"

"No, Lexi, you're forbidden from sitting next to me," he says sarcastically, and when he says this, I let out a small sign of relief. "Yes, of course you can sit here."

I'm so glad that I didn't ruin everything.

"We'll have Splinter go first, since he's the one who raised you animals. No pun intended," I say.

"That wasn't a pun, that was an offensive remark," Donnie says, rolling his eyes.

Leo helps me gather all of Splinter's gifts. Once we place them in front of the old rat, he smiles.  He gives each of his sons a hug and a "thank you." He tenderly and slowly reads each note that his sons wrote him, drinking it in. I see tears form in his eyes when he reads the card from Raph. I look over at Raph when this happens, and I mouth, "I told you." He rolls his eyes at me, but he looks very tenderly at his father.

After he opened all his gifts, my family opens theirs. Then, it's time for the turtles to have their first Christmas.

The orange clad turtle rips open his presents like it's his last moment on earth. He squeezes practically everybody who gets him a present and can't stop going on and on about how excited he is to play his new video games and use all his gifts. He's literally a little kid on Christmas, bouncing off the walls. And although Mikey's brothers usually brush him off when he's excited, they all look so happy to see him happy.