MERRY CHRISTMAS AUTHORS AND AUTHORESSES!!

Yeah, I'm done now. This is a Xmas one-shot dedicated to my 3 best friends, Meg, Bree and Renee. I hope you guys enjoy it!
Oh, and everyone else, I hope you enjoy it too!

Summary: When a certain Authoress stays up too late on Xmas Eve, typing and worrying about money issues, the cast of Parallels decide to remind her what Xmas is really about; family, friends and fun! And she also receives a present from a certain turtle too...

Disclaimer: Honestly, what's the point of this? No one owns the turtles...I don't either. On with the story.

.~*~.~*~.~*~.

"Samantha! That computer had better not be on!"

"It isn't!" Sam called back as she quickly shut down her desktop computer, saving the documents that were open before she did so. A moment later an older version of the authoress stuck her head around the door and smiled when she saw that the computer was off.

"Goodnight, Samantha."

"Night, Mum!" Sam called back before her mum switched off the other lights around the house and went to her room. Sam waited a few minutes until she was sure that her mother was in bed before pressing a few keys on her keyboard, bringing the screen back to life. "Thanks goodness she doesn't know about hibernation mode." She muttered as she continued typing.

Bree bit back a scream when she saw an all-too-familiar face hold up Leo by the back of his throat. Leo had told her to run, but she knew that if she did and he was caught or worse, she'd never forgive herself. The red eyes narrowed on Bree's own ice-blue ones before throwing the lifeless body to one side. "Insolent child. No force on this planet can stop me." Shredder growled as he advanced toward the shaking girl.

"How about one that's not!" Blue yelled as she threw a ball of white light as Saki's helmet, knocking it toward the ground. It vanished before it touched the ground and Renee skidded to a stop beside Breezsha, holding up the metal helmet like a trophy in one hand.

"Bad move, Shredder. When you mess with one of us, you mess with the whole family." The girls growled together as they circled their metal enemy-

"Hey!" Sam yelped when her screen suddenly blacked out. "What the?!"

"You're meant to be in bed." A voice said from behind her and Sam turned to see a familiar girl standing behind her, the power cord dangling in her green hand. "It's Christmas Eve, Authoress. You need to sleep." Blue grinned and Sam's jaw dropped open as someone else stuck their head inside her small bedroom.

"Oh, hiya Sam!" Mikey grinned and Sam moaned as she dropped her head into her hands.

"I'm hallucinating..." She muttered as she climbed out of her chair and brushed past Mikey and Blue. "Too much fanfiction again...I'm gonna get some Panadol and a cup of hot chocolate, then I'm heading to bed. Three straight days of typing has done my head in..." She crept up the hallway, being extra careful to not stub her feet on the step to the main section of her house, and pushed the kitchen door open. "Aah!!" Three pairs of eyes met her own as she stood frozen in the doorway, and Meg grinned before glomping the stunned teen.

"Hey, Authoress! We were wondering where you were!" She grinned as she flipped her long brown hair over her dark grey shell.

"And wondering where the coffee is..." Don grumbled as he pulled his head out of the cupboard and glanced up across at Sam.

"Uh...top last cupboard." Sam muttered quietly as she opened the medicine cabinet. "Wow, talk about powerful hallucinations. I really need to rest."

"Well, it is just after 1am." Leo said from where he was seated at the small table in the kitchen and Bree nodded.

"It's Christmas, Authoress! You gotta sleep or Santa won't come!" Bree grinned and Sam huffed.

"Sorry, but I stopped believing in Santa when I was like, 4." She smirked as Bree's face fell.

"Aw...sorry, Mikey, no Santa suit!" She called down the hallway and Sam quickly shushed her.

"My parents are asleep!"

"Right, sorry." Bree shrugged as Mikey came into the kitchen.
"No dressing up?" He asked and Meg shook her head as she sat down at the table.

"Nah, she stopped believing in old 'Saint Nick' about 13 years ago."

"Aw man..." Mikey pouted and Sam had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. His puppy face was so cute...

"Uh...I'm gonna go to bed." Sam said before she left the room. Leatherhead stepped out from behind the door and rubbed his tail gently.

"Why could I not come out from behind the door again, Donatello?" He asked and Don sighed.

"We didn't know if she'd freak at the sight of a giant, walking, talking alligator in her kitchen." He explained and LH nodded.

"Understandable, but it did not require my tail to be partially crushed."

"Sorry." Don apologized as they all left the kitchen and went out the back door to stand under the shelter there. "We'll wait for Sam to go to sleep before we put our plan into action." He grinned and the others nodded.

"Hey, where's Raph, Splinter and Renee?" Blue asked.

"Right here." Renee saidas she climbed out of the Battle Shell, the other two behind her. "We were just fixing up a present for Sam." She grinned and the others nodded, but they all turned when Sam's bedroom light finally switched off.

"Showtime."


.~*~.~*~.~*~.


"Careful, Don!"

"I am being care-Ack!" There was a series of thuds and crashing noises and a flashlight turned to see that the brainy turtle had vanished.

"Don?"

"I'm fine..." Don muttered as he climbed back on the roof. "Blame last night's rain, it made me slip."

"Riiight..." Raph rolled his eyes before clipping another piece of tinsel into it's place on the drainage piping. "Ya done yet?" He asked and Don nodded as he finished clipping his section into place.

"Yep. I wonder how the others are going." He mused as he unhooked his shell-cell from his belt and dialled a number. "Hi Meg. Are you guys done yet?"

"Just about. Mikey somehow got wrapped up in the lights and we're almost finished untangling him." Meg laughed and Don smiled as he and Raph climbed off the roof.

"We're done, so now we've just got to do the inside of the house. Meet you inside the living room?" He asked and Meg grunted as they finally pulled the rest of the lights off the other turtle.

"Yep, cya in about 5 minutes."

Don hung up before he pulled piece of thin wire out from the duffel bag slung across his shell. He inserted it into the lock and after twisting it a few times, pushed the back door open. Leo, Bree, Leatherhead and Master Splinter met Raph and Don inside a few minutes later, just as the latter turtles had finished decorating the hallways.

"Well done, my sons." Splinter smiled, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the green and silver tinsel along the walls. "Miss Samantha will be pleased with your efforts, of that I am sure."

"Thank you, Sensei." Don and Raph nodded before everyone continued to decorate the house. About 5 minutes later the others came in and helped set out the remainder of the decorations. There was a quiet knock on the back door and Renee opened it to let April and Casey inside.

"Here's the presents. Sorry they took so long to wrap, but someone was being really annoying." April said, glaring at Casey, who had the decency to blush slightly.

"Sorry, babe."

April gasped as they entered the living room to see that it was decorated with tinsel, and there were small lights spread around the walls and in the tinsel. "Oh wow. It's beautiful, guys!"

"Thanks, April." The others smiled before she placed the bag that was slung over her shoulder on the floor before her.

"Presents!" Mikey cheered and Renee clapped a hand over his beak.

"Ssh!"

"Sorry, dudette." Mikey grinned as they each grabbed a present to place under the redecorated tree.

"A bible?" Leo asked when April pointed out what he'd picked up. "Who's it for? Sam's not going all religious on us, is she?" He looked slightly worried and April laughed.

"No, it's for her dad. He keeps losing his, and since Christmas was really tight for Sam's family this year I thought I'd get him one."

"What's this?" Don asked, carefully holding up a slim box.

"Candles for Sam's mum." April explained before stopping Mikey from shaking the package he'd picked up. "And Mikey's holding a glass ornament for one of the younger girls, Molly."

"And this is...?" Renee adked and April smirked.

"A packet of boy's underwear."

"Gross!" Renee threw the package away and April caught it, laughing.

"I'm kidding! It's really a book about birds and reptiles for the eldest boy, Matthew. Meg, that's the baby's present."

"Ooh, that's right! Clara's about 15 months now, isn't she?" Meg asked and April nodded as Meg gently placed the wrapped toys under the tree.

"Miss O'Niel, may I enquire as to what this is?" Splinter asked, holding a medium-sized box in his hands.

"That's a camera for the second eldest girl, Cathryn." April explained and the elderly rat nodded as he placed it under the tree.

"Hey, Ape? What's this?" Bree asked.

"Toys for the youngest boy, Chris. He keeps stealing all of Clara's, so I thought I'd give him his own."

"Not a bad idea." Bree smiled as she put the present in a clear space under the tree. "Hey, has anyone noticed that Sam seems...different?" There were numerous heads nodding around the room after Bree asked her question.

"Yes, she seems rather nervous and worried about going to boarding school to gain her final year of education." Leatherhead said and Don shrugged.

"And worried for her family. I guess it's because it feels so much like moving out to her." He guessed and Bree nodded.

"That's what I thought." She sighed and Blue decided to change the subject when everyone went silent.

"What's this, April?" She asked, holding up an envelope. "I thought we were giving them presents, not cards!" She grinned and April laughed.

"It's a gift card for one of the boys, Joshua."

"Oh." Blue shrugged. "That makes sense."

"And what this?"

"Art supplies for the other girl, Sophie. She's into art like Sam." April told Leatherhead, who put the bulky parcel under the tree. "And that's all!" she said, closing up the bag and slinging it over her shoulders again. "Let's go."

"I've set up cameras so we can see their reactions without being caught or seen." Don said as they all left the living room silently. "They should wake up around 7am, I'm guessing." He added as he closed the back door behind them. "Hey, where's Raph?"

"He's just doing a quick job." April smiled as they climbed into the Battle Shell. "He'll be back in a minute."


.~*~.~*~.~*~.


Raph pulled the package out from behind him after everyone else had left the house, then, using all the ninja stealth he knew, snuck into Sam's darkened room. He turned his torch on and saw Sam sleeping in her bed, her face turned away and an arm hanging over the edge of the top bunk. Raph knew that he wasn't the only one that could sleep through the sound of a subway train roaring over head yet wake up the instant someone entered their room. Sam was the same, and either she was really out of it, or she already knew that he-

"Who's there?"

-was there. Raph sighed. "It's Raph. How long were ya awake fer?"

"Only from the moment you opened my door." Sam yawned as she turned on the lamp beside her bed. She looked at Raph before rubbing some sleep out of her eyes. "So...I'm not dreaming? You're really here?"

Raph chuckled lightly. "Nah, I'm real. But ya should get some rest." He said and Sam smirked.

"Ok, now you sound like my parents."

Raph reached out a hand and found it easy to gently push Sam back down onto her bed. "Yer really exhausted, ya know that?"

"Mmm..." Sam mumbled as her eyes began to close. "But I had to update Parallels, and finish presents..." She managed to get out before she fell asleep again. "Night, Raphie..."

Raph growled quietly at the use of his hated nickname but decided to leave it when he saw Samantha smile slightly in her sleep. He gently tucked the package in his hand in Sam's arm and turned to leave the room. "Night, Sam."


.~*~.~*~.~*~.


"Sam! Wake UP!!"

"Hfuh? Sam mumbled as she cracked an eye open to glare angrily at Sophie as she sat on her stomach. "What?"

"There's lots or presents under the tree, and lots of tinsel everywhere!!" Sophie bounced excitedly and Sam groaned.

"Alright, off and I'll get up. Otherwise you'll make me sick with your bouncing on my stomach." She complained and Sophie ran out of her room, laughing happily. Sam climbed off the top bunk and pulled on her Japanese-style bathrobe before entering the living room. "Woah. Who decorated overnight?" She asked and the rest of the family shrugged.

"We thought that you might've done it." Sam's mum said and Sam shook her head.

"Nah-uh. You guys brought a lot of presents."

The others laughed at her change of topic as she sat on the far end of hte couch. After the family's normal bantering they opened their presents and everyone was surprised when they each opened a present that the turtles and their friends had left behind.

"Cool, an animal book!"

"Theses candles smell so sweet..."

"MONEY!!"

"It's not Money, Josh. It's a gift card."

"MONEY!!"

"Don't bother, Samantha. I got a bible? Dear, when did you buy this?"

"I didn't..."

"I got a camera?! Sweet!"

"Mum, look at this! It's a glass flower!"

"Toys!"

"Both Clara and Chris got toys?"

"Yup yup! I got arty stuff!"

"Cool!"

"Mine!! You got your own!"

"Goo!"

"Toys, Clara. Not food!"

Eventually everyone finished opening all their presents and Sam sat back to watch them with a small smile. She knew who had done this for her family, and if she knew Don right, they they'd be watching them right now. She glanced up at a far corner of the roof and saw the tell-tale red flashing light there. She smiled as it and mouthed the words, "Thank you so much," before picking up her presents and going back to her room. She placed the gifts on her bed and climbed up. There was a rustling of paper under her hand and she lifted up part of the blankets to see a black parcel there, it's red ribbon wrapped around it twice before ending in a knot. There was a note attached to it, which Sam opened.

Hey Sam. Merry Christmas and all'a that. Hope ya have a good day. Raph.

With the memories of last night playing over in her head Sam carefully opened the present. Sam grinned as she hugged the plush toy to herselfm her fingers playing with the end of it's red bandanna. "Thanks guys. For the decorating, the presents, and for everything." She smiled as she petted the turtle on it's soft head. "You guys are the best present by far. Thanks for reminding me how happy Christmas is meant to be."

The 6 turtles, Splitner, Renee, Bree and Leatherhead all grinned from where they sat in Don's lab, gathered around one of his computer screens. Mikey exchanged high-fives (or in his case, high-three's) with Renee.

"Mission 'Cheer-up-the-Authoress' accomplished!"

.~*~.~*~.~*~.

I hope you all enjoyed a little of turtle happiness! XD I just wish Raphie's present was real, I want one! D:

Review! It makes me see that my stories are actually worth-while!

You're a good writer. That much I definitely noticed.

But I felt lost pretty much the whole time, 'cause I didn't know half of the characters.

Nonetheless, keep up the great work! Did I say you were a good writer yet?

Lol aww, thanks! Yeah, after I posted this I realized that most people wouldn't know the characters, but they're from my Parallels fanfic I really should change it, shouldn't I? XD But thanks for saying I'm a great authoress ^^ But I'm not that good, I just love writing