*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, 'It's a Wonderful Life', or 'The Greatest Gift.'

*'Because You Weren't There' Summary: After an argument with his brothers, Donatello gets a chance to see what the world would be like if he had never been mutated. **Set during season two.

*Author's Notes: Ever since I was a little kid, 'It's a Wonderful Life' has been my very favorite movie and I've always wanted to write something along that line. So, here's my attempt to recreate the holiday magic that Frank Capra (film director and producer) and Philip Van Doren Stern (author of the short story the film was based on) did with their beautiful tales of how no man is a failure who has friends. Or, in this case, no 'turtle' is a failure who has 'family.' ;)

This work was originally intended to be a 'Shell Shot,' but it wound up a wee bit longer than initially planned, so I will be posting it as a short, multi-chapter story. I have been working on this piece for almost a year now and I'm really, really hoping you're all going to like how it turned out.

'Because You Weren't There' is dedicated to my extraordinary friend, Captain Vegeta. Her beautiful short story, 'What is Santa Claus?' inspired me to write a Christmas story of my own. I love you very much, my dear, dear friend.

All right, let's get this one started. Thanks so much for reading. ;)

CJ

Chapter 1 – Baby, It's Cold Inside

I stare down in glassy-eyed disbelief at the shattered pieces of my latest project. Nearly every waking minute of my 'spare' time the past two weeks has been devoted to the new pair of night vision ooze goggles that now lay broken in my trembling hands.

In a matter of five minutes, all my hard work and effort had been carelessly destroyed.

I'm not sure what hurts more. The fact that my invention is ruined or the fact that my own brother did this.

"Sorry, D."

These are two words I hear far too frequently come from the lips of my youngest sibling. While I can see that Mikey feels remorse for what he's done, it's impossible for me to take his apologies seriously anymore. Not when he's constantly wrecking my things. He knows how hard I've been working on this project, yet he used it for his own personal amusement.

"Sorry? SORRY!?"

The sheer volume of my voice makes Mikey shrink partway inside of his shell. It also makes my older brothers come bursting into my lab; their eyes wide, searching the area as though something had exploded. In a way, I guess it had. Or rather I had.

"What's going on in here?" The second Leo sees the busted goggles clutched in the palms of my hands, realization washes over his face and his shoulders sink like he's disappointed there wasn't an 'actual' emergency. He then sighs out the word, "Oh."

As usual, Mikey is quick to jump to his own defense. "It was an accident! I swear it!"

Is he freaking kidding me?

"That's what you say every time you break something, Mikey! You knew these weren't a toy, and yet, you treated them like they were! You have no respect for my stuff!" To say I had reached my boiling point would've been a severe understatement. Now, whether my sudden outburst is due to overworking myself, a lack of sleep, or a result of seasonal affective disorder, I couldn't tell you. What I do know is that my whole body is shaking with anger.

"Don't get your bandana in a knot, brainiac. He said it was an accident."

Hearing my hotheaded brother have the gall to tell me to calm down is just the proverbial icing on the cake.

When is Raph ever calm?

Oh, and Leo's suddenly hands-off approach really isn't helping matters any, either. He's just standing there, not even trying to contribute anything to the conversation.

Couldn't he stick up for me just this once?

Just one lousy time!

"Do you have any idea how hard I worked on these?" I hold up the fractured remains of my project and shake them for added emphasis. Am I being a bit overdramatic? Probably, but I can't bring myself to care right now. This rant is well overdue.

At long last, Leo speaks up, and I really wish he wouldn't have, because he only proceeds to make things worse.

"Don't you think you're maybe overreacting a little, Donnie?"

Seething with indescribable anger, I glare at my three brothers in disbelief for several, long-drawn-out seconds before I finally blow a fuse.

"NO! I don't think I'm overreacting! The three of you – it's like you don't appreciate anything I do!" I'm fairly certain my thunderous response registers at about a seismic level five quake.

Not the least bit surprisingly, my oldest brother has an expression of someone who's just been slapped across the face.

"What? That – That's not true!"

Of course Leo's going to deny my allegation. Heaven forbid anyone ever accuse Hamato Leonardo of not being perfect.

As expected, my baby brother chimes in next to try to smooth things over.

"Aw, don't be like that, D. It's Christmas Eve! 'Tis the season, bro! We should totally be eating, drinking, and being merry and stuff. Ooh! And remember, we were gonna watch 'Die Hard' tonight? The greatest Christmas movie of all time!"

"I don't want to watch a movie! Thanks to you, I have to start all over on my project!"

The hurt look on my younger brother's face is enough to momentarily curb my anger, but then, Raph reenters the fray and I'm both literally and figuratively seeing red.

"Oh, lighten up, Drama-tello! It's your own fault for letting Mikey anywhere near your stuff! You're the genius. You'd think you'd know better by now. Besides, it's not like you can't fix it."

The condescending way Raph says this instantly turns me into a 'snapping' turtle (pun intended).

"Go ahead, Raph! Make light of it! It's no keratin off your shell, right? Donnie'll just fix it! Just like he fixes everything else around here! No big deal!"

My highly sarcastic response makes Raph growl and I can tell that he's fighting the strong urge to call me a bad name or hit something.

He's not the only one . . .

Then, he just has to go and poke the already agitated beehive.

"So, what? You want like a medal or something?"

"What I want is a simple thank you every once in a while! Is that too much to ask?"

"A 'thank you?' For what? Yelling at Mikey? Spazzing out over some stupid goggles? Ruining a perfectly mediocre Christmas Eve?"

Out of sheer rage, I throw said 'stupid' goggles to the floor at Raph's feet. Silence suddenly reigns supreme, but only for a tense moment or two before I break it.

"That's it! I'm not gonna put up with this anymore! I've done it for far too long! From now on, you three can fix your own stuff! Consider this my resignation!" My fists are clenched at my sides as I storm past my brothers, heading straight for the lab doors. It's a knee jerk reaction to the immense pain I'm feeling inside, I know it, but I just need to walk away.

If I don't leave the lair right now, I'm going to completely lose it.

"Donnie, wait! Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here!" I'm sure the chill in my voice is colder than the below-freezing temperatures outside.

I don't bother to look back, even as I hear my oldest brother call out to me again or my youngest brother sadly whimper my nickname. The fact that Raph's voice is missing is not all that shocking, but stings nevertheless.

"Donnie!"

"Donnie."

Christmas Eve or not, I don't want anything to do with my siblings right now.

Without even a moment's hesitation, I stomp through the main living space of the lair, glaring at the Christmas tree as I trudge past it. I then flee into the murky depths of the sewer tunnels as fast as my feet will take me.

Away from the lair.

Away from them.

If there's one thing I love about being topside at the holidays, it's watching all the people scramble to and fro with colorfully wrapped packages stacked up to their chins. Sometimes even higher, depending on their sense of balance.

The night before Christmas brings out all the last-minute shoppers, rushing to find the perfect gift for their loved ones before the stores close for the evening.

There's definitely something to be said about procrastination.

While all the other, more organized consumers are out there, stressing for weeks over what to buy, these eleventh-hour dawdlers only have to stress out for one day. Plus, they invest considerably less time and money into their gifting than the early bird shoppers, who oftentimes spend more than they probably should because they keep finding great deals or even better gifts than what they've already purchased.

In other words, it actually pays to procrastinate, although I would never openly admit that to my baby brother.

Just thinking about Mikey makes me heave out a deep sigh and I watch as my breath swirls and dances about in front of my face.

Brrrrrr.

I wrap my arms around myself in vain hopes of conserving body heat.

It's certainly not a pleasant night, in more ways than one.

Still, I'm enjoying the festive holiday scene and the peacefulness of the rooftops. There may be a lot of hustle and bustle taking place on the streets below, but up here, it's nice and quiet. With no brothers around, things are so much more relaxing.

No Mikey to constantly pester me or break things.

No Raph to insult or threaten me.

No Leo to lecture me or tell me what to do.

Just me and the pigeons.

It's really quite nice, but as much as I'd love to stay up here and bask in these serene surroundings for the rest of the night, I realize it's not all that wise to stay out in this cold for too long.

Maybe I'll stop by April's place and wish her –

The logical part of my brain cuts my thought off midway through.

It's Christmas Eve, genius. Unlike you, she actually wants to spend it with her family. But then again, she doesn't have three ungrateful brothers to deal with.

While I'm sure there are a lot worse things than hanging out with my brothers, I'm having a really, really difficult time coming up with any examples at the moment.

Maybe stopping by April's isn't such a bad idea after all. I'm sure she wouldn't mind it if I just popped in for a few minutes to say a quick 'hello' and wish her a 'Merry Christmas.' I know that her dad's mutation has put a major damper on the holiday season. Perhaps a familiar, friendly face will make her feel a little bit better.

With my mind up, I hastily turn to leave when I slip on a patch of ice next to a roof vent. Though I do my best to break my fall, the bitter cold must have slowed down my reaction time and I wind up doing an epic faceplant.

Real smooth, Donatello . . .

Flurries and bursts of light flood my vision and I'm too dazed to get up for a good thirty seconds or so. It's kind of like in cartoons when the character gets a hard crack to the skull and has to wait for the stars and birds to stop circling around their head.

Once my eyesight is fully restored, I gingerly push myself up into a sitting position, still trying to get my bearings back.

That's when I notice that someone's looming over me; their huge hands coming right for me.

I let out a panicked yelp and try to back away, but the unknown assailant grabs me by the shell with an unusually strong grip and I suddenly find myself being hoisted up into the air.

Oh, this is just great.

Worst. Christmas. Eve. EVER!

To be continued . . .

*Author's Notes: Yes, even my Christmas stories have cliffhanger endings. ;)

I sure hope you enjoyed this first chapter. If you did and want to see more of this holiday story, please take a moment to favorite, follow, like, reblog, review, and/or comment on it to let me know. I would really, really love the feedback.

Just so everyone knows, I'm going to try my best to get all the chapters posted before Santa comes to town. *fingers crossed* Thank you so much for reading. ;) CJ