*Good greetings and Happy Holidays to all my dear friends and fellow turtle-lovers! As eager as I was to get this fic-let banged out, it took a little longer than I planned. I hope you're having a wonderful December, and finding some time for peace and quiet in the midst of all the busyness of the season.

I do not own the TMNT, except for Olivia, Nate, and soon to be two others who are allllllllllll mine. But I'll share them with you since you're all so nice. Thanks for reading.

November 26th

The overwhelming cacophony of the little ones combined with the television and two of his younger brothers fighting for dominance of the remote was a sound that had often driven Leonardo to seek some solitude in the past. While the blue-masked turtle still preferred peace when he could get it, he was much more willing to put up with the every-day madness after the summer they had experienced away from home.

Leonardo made an active effort not to dwell on their recent trip, but he couldn't deny feeling like he'd changed. Maybe that's not completely a bad thing, but I also can't live in the past. We're home, Christmas is coming…and it feels like every day should be a gift.

He broke out of thought just in time to prevent Olivia from colliding with the coffee table. The three-year-old turtle was bouncing up and down in a circle, oblivious to the danger of not looking where she was going. Leo firmly guided his niece over to the couch. "Watch out for the table, Liv."

Olivia grinned up at him proudly. "See my jacket?"

Leo smiled as he traced a hand over the back of her pink hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with glittering snowflakes. It had been a battle to get Olivia used to wearing clothes when she was younger, but the little turtle enjoyed it much more now that she was interested in emulating her mother.

"I see your 'jacket', Liv; it's very pretty."

Liv yanked the hood over her head and continued bounding across the room, now utterly blinded to any obstacles. Raphael caught her as she nearly ran into a lamp and whipped the toddler over his shoulder. Olivia squealed as he spun her around and pulled the hood off her face.

"You'd better go see what your Mom's up to, Kouen. She's probably ready for ya." The red-masked turtle pointed to the kitchen door.

"Oh! I wanna snack!" Olivia pranced toward the next room.

The red-masked turtle took the opportunity to make another grab for the remote. Mike appeared relaxed and unaware, but the moment Raphael's hand snaked toward him, he darted out of reach.

"Nuh uh, Raphy! We had a deal!" Mike insisted.

"The deal didn't include watching the sappiest chick flick you could come up with!"

"White Christmas isn't a chick flick," the youngest turtle argued. "And you're not getting the remote. These actors are some of the all-time greats, Raph. Show some respect!"

"I'm sorry," he answered sarcastically. "Breaking out into song and dance every five minutes just doesn't do it for me."

"You could always go get a snack with your daughter," Leo suggested. "You might keep her safer too. I never realized a sweatshirt could be so dangerous. I told her to watch where she's going, and she did the exact opposite."

"She's my kid, Leo. Does that shock you?" Raphael smirked, but it turned into a scowl when Tiger came tearing down the hall with Diamond barking on her heels. "I'm gonna barbecue that dog one of these days."

Mike's head shot up from the couch. "Ooo! You're gonna be in so much trouble when I tell Jazz!"

"I ain't scared of that girl, Mikey. But she's gonna be scared for her mutt if she doesn't stop picking on my cat."

The orange-masked turtle shook his head. "You can't talk about barbecuing someone's dog this close to Christmas."

"Where's that written?"

"It's not safe to tempt Jazz to come after you, Raph," Leo pointed out. "Haven't you learned that yet?"

Raphael snorted. "She's the one who needs to be worried, Bro. Jazz and Bran have it coming in a huge way."

Mike grinned slyly. "We can agree on that, but it's not for prying ears to hear."

Leonardo's brow furrowed. "Are you trying to keep secrets from me? The two of them attacked all four of us!"

"We remember it, Fearless, but y' act like you don't," Raphael retorted.

"Just because I haven't been chomping at the bit to retaliate doesn't mean I'm not thinking about it, Raph. If you try to leave me out of your planning, you'll regret it."

Raphael guffawed. "It wouldn't be half as much fun without you and Donny anyway."

"Speaking of Donny, has anyone seen him this morning?" Mike asked suddenly.

Leo shook his head. "He was still bogged down in his check-lists the last I knew."

The purple-masked turtle had been bouncing between so many tasks over the last week and a half that a sighting of him outside of his lab had become scarce.

We'll be leaving the city in another few days, Leonardo reminded himself. It's probably not wise to let him try to do everything himself. It's time to intervene. He leaned forward on the couch with a devious smile. "Who's up for invading the lab?"

Mike's hand shot up like an excited six-year-old who just knew he had the right answer. "Oh! Oh, I am!"

Raphael chuckled. "I dunno, Leo. Y'know the Genius can get uptight when he's interrupted. But that'll make it funnier for us."

The kitchen door flew open and a 21-month-old Nate toddled out, grasping a wooden spoon in one hand and a plastic spatula in the other. Mike went over to greet the little turtle, scooping him off the floor.

"We're gonna go drag your Uncle Donny out of the lab, Nate. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Yeah!" Nathaniel seemed to feed off his father's excitement.

"You bet it does. But on second thought, things might get a little rough in there. You better stay here and keep Uncle Leo company."

Nate looked over Mike's shoulder at the blue-masked turtle. "Leo!"

Leonardo smiled at Nathaniel while Michelangelo deposited him on the cushion next to him, and the toddler immediately scrambled into his lap. Leo smoothed a hand over the soft fleece material of Nate's sweatshirt. The kids sure dress nicer than we did at this age. But then, they're getting to have a lot of things that we didn't, like a Mom.

"We'll be right back, Leo; but you'd better cover the exits, just in case," Raphael told him.

Leonardo only chuckled, and continued gazing into the blue-green eyes of his youngest brother's child. "I think it's about to get louder in here, Nate."

Nathaniel glanced around the living area curiously. "Tiger?"

Leo shook his head. "I don't know where she is. She's probably still trying to avoid playing with Diamond."

"Puppy!"

"That's right, Nate. Diamond is the puppy."

"Puppy!" Nate repeated, pointing out the Aussie Hound as she trotted down the hall, looking very satisfied with herself.

Diamond sniffed the floor loudly as she traveled in a circle around the living area.

"I think she wants to make sure that she didn't miss any crumbs left over from breakfast."

The dog sauntered over to the couch, and Nate giggled as he turned around on Leonardo's lap to see her better. Diamond leaped against the side of the cushion with both front paws, and the little turtle laughed louder, reaching to pet the animal.

"Gentle," Leonardo said as a reminder to both Nate and the puppy.

"No! Stop it, you guys!"

The indignant cry that shattered the air made Leonardo snort under his breath. Donatello was usually obstinate about sticking to a schedule when he had a lot to do, but the other brothers weren't likely to take "no" for an answer.

"Let me GO!"

The blue-masked turtle became slightly concerned when he heard a series of crashes, but not worried enough to do anything. It isn't like they're going to hurt him, he reasoned.

The door of the lab swung open with a resounding bang, and a triumphant Michelangelo emerged first, pulling a length of power cord behind him. Leonardo was mystified until his brother dragged a rolling desk chair through the door, with a protesting Donatello still attached by what looked like a giant lasso.

"You're not funny!" Donny fumed.

Raphael's deep chuckle came from behind the chair, where he was pushing from the other side. "It's all about perspective, Don. From where we're standing, it's hilarious."

Donatello tried to dig his feet into the ground. "I've got too much on my plate to play around today! Don't you understand I'm trying to get ready for surgery on top of everything else?"

Mike shook his head. "I bet your wife might like to see you again before she goes under the knife, Donny."

"So help me, if you don't let me go—"

"Quit fighting us, Genius, or we're gonna have way more fun than you're bargaining for," Raphael threatened. "There are so many options when we've already got you tied down." He exchanged a cocky look with Michelangelo.

"Don't you dare." Donny's tone became dangerously low.

"Then save your breath and make a deal with us, Bro," Mike insisted. "It's break-time! To the kitchen – onward, ho!"

Leonardo's shoulders shook with laughter as Mike pulled and Raphael pushed the resisting purple-masked turtle into the next room. "I should have gotten a picture of that."

Diamond wriggled her way onto the couch and began exploring his leg with her nose.

"You won't find anything," he assured her. "I haven't even been anywhere today." He scratched behind the dog's ears, and she instantly tried licking his hand. "I doubt that I taste good, Diamond."

There was a rush of small feet exiting the kitchen, and Olivia bounded back toward the couch.

"Donnee in a chair!" she announced.

"I saw," he told her. "Did you get your snack?"

She opened her hand to reveal the two gingersnaps she was clutching. "Here, Nate – it's for you!"

Nathaniel sat up on his haunches to take one of the cookies from her and Olivia patted his head.

"Nate, did you see Donnee in a chair?"

The toddler beamed at her over cookie crumbs, and Liv tugged on his arm.

"Come on! Come t' kitchen and see Donnee."

Nate climbed down from the couch and scampered after his older cousin.

Leonardo stretched out his legs, enjoying the peaceful moment. It's not a normal day down here until someone's acting crazy. He sympathized with his brother's bogged down position. There were many tasks to finish before they made a return trip to North Carolina, where they would be spending several more weeks away from home.

Ever since learning of Jenna's pregnancy and when she would be due to deliver, the plan had been to stage the actual births at Lotus Salvus. There had been both excitement and nerves in the air for weeks as they'd gotten closer to December, and Leo knew they were more pronounced because of their experiences over the summer.

Leonardo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The battle for our lives and to get home is finished. I'm not going to be paranoid about returning to those mountains. I'm not.

To his right, Diamond suddenly began furiously scratching the couch cushion.

"That's not your nest, Diamond. Let's go see what everyone else is doing in the kitchen, huh?"

Diamond's ears perked up at the mention of the room and she vaulted off the couch. She looked back at Leonardo with a sharp bark, as if urging him to hurry up.

"I'm right behind you, silly dog. The party's just getting started."