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This was going to be the worst Christmas ever!

Raphael grumbled to himself as he stomped through the sewers towards the lair. He'd lost his temper while he was hanging out with his brother's and father at April's for a pre-Christmas celebration. This year April and her dad would be going to spend the holiday with her aunt at the farmhouse and of course, they weren't invited. He'd been a bit bummed out to say the least, not that he could complain about it, it wasn't his house after all and April could do whatever she wanted. He'd been really looking forward going back to the farmhouse for Christmas hoping that this time they would be able to spend it with a conscious Leo and Splinter.

He'd really liked it there and had been dying to be able to relax this time around with all his family, showing his dad all the cool places he'd found and just being out and in the snow, not the slush they got down in the sewers. Throughout the dinner he'd been getting increasingly annoyed at how cheerful everyone was. Christmas had been ruined as far as he was concerned, and when April began talking about all the things they'd be doing with her aunt at the farmhouse he'd lost it, snapping at April about how Christmas sucked if you couldn't be with your friends. Farmhouses were overrated and why couldn't she tell her aunt about them anyway? They'd been friends forever already.

Master Splinter had warned him to take control of his temper but there's nothing like a “calm down” to get the exact opposite effect and he'd ended up bailing out of there. He didn't need no stupid pre-Christmas celebration... that wasn't even a thing.

He suddenly stopped and huddled against the shadowy wall of the sewer tunnel when he heard a noise. At first he thought it was some sort of squeaky hinge or wheel or something but as he listened more closely it sounded like crying. Something tiny crying.

Oh no. He thought. Some kid must have fallen down here.

He walked carefully along the wall, trying not to make any sound until he was certain he'd been correct and he nearly walked past a small bundle of dirty fur. The poor thing was tiny, wet and shivering, their fur smudged with grey and brown and stuck together in places as it clung close to the small body.

He knelt beside what looked to be a little rat mutant and tried to make his voice sound as kind as possible. “Hey there, little buddy. Don't be scared. What's wrong? Where is your family?”

The bundle of wet fur turned suddenly and he realised it was no rat at all but a small rabbit mutant child with large, frightened pink eyes. The rabbit yelped and tried to scramble away but Raphael held his arms loosely around him to block any escape, not wanting him to fall into the run-off or scamper away and get lost with how dark and cold it was in these tunnels.

“It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'll help you get back to your parents, little guy.” He tentatively placed a hand on the child's damp shoulder, or more like a finger. He was so small! “Don't worry, everything is going to be okay, I'll take care of everything, all right?”

The small rabbit child looked up at him with big hopeful eyes, the little furry triangle nose bobbing up and down for a few seconds before launching himself to Raphael, whimpering and trembling as he tried to snuggle close to his warm body. Raph caught him and was alarmed at how cold the child was. He needed to get him back to the lair quickly before the rabbit got sick

“I gotcha, don't worry.” He repeated.

He held the rabbit close, not minding the sopping fur and tried to rub a little warmth into the tiny body. He set off in the direction of the lair straight away. He wasn't sure how old the child was, he didn't know much about children and wasn't even sure it applied to mutant ones either but he guessed this one must have been at least three or four to be able to understand him and move around so easily.

“Do you know where your parents are?”

The little bundle of fur shook his head, tiny ears tickling his chin with the movement from where he had burrowed against his neck pressing his cold little nose against his warmer skin. He smiled and touched one ear with a finger and it flicked away before returning. He hadn't realised the mutant was a rabbit at first because of how small they were. He always imagined rabbits having really large ears but these weren't like that at all. Maybe ears grow more slowly on rabbits, starting small and getting larger with age or maybe this kind of rabbit just has small ears, he mused to himself as he tickled the fuzzy ear again.

“I’m Raphael, what's your name? ” He asked as he drew closer to the lair.

The little rabbit answered against his skin and he had to strain his hearing to understand. “The lady with the curly hair calls me Daisy,” the muffled childlike voice answered, it wasn't a him but a her.

“The lady?” Raphael asked, hoping she would elaborate.

Daisy leaned back, lifting her face to talk up to him. “She's the nice lady that brings me food and talks to me. Sometimes she lets me out of my cage but she made me promise not to tell the others or she'll get into trouble and they won't let me play with her any more.”

Raphael's eye ridges shot up at the word cage and then furrowed. A lab rabbit? He thought to himself but instead asked, “Where is the nice lady now? How did you end up down here?”

The child whimpered and her bottom lip trembled. Raph held her a little closer and she rubbed her wet cheek against his shoulder before continuing. “She came before it was time to bring me food today and she was scared. She said the bad men were going to hurt me and I had to run away and never come back, so I did but it was slippery and cold outside and I fell into a hole. I kept running but I didn't know where to go.” She finished sadly crying quietly against him.

He rubbed her little head softly and she leaned into his touch calming down as he kept walking. She was a little warmer by the time they arrived at the turnstiles. Daisy's feet were tucked against his hand and the furry little toes didn't feel freezing any longer.

“It's okay, you can stay with me, all right?” He'd figure out how to tell Master Splinter later that he'd decided to adopt a mutant kid but there was no way he was going to abandon this child. “I live here, do you like it?”

Daisy twisted around in his grasp, her feet still tucked into the palm of his hand but she turned to sit on the inside of his forearm as she examined the lair, ears perking up and swivelling around with the chimes and beeps of the different arcade games they had plugged in around the lair. She looked at everything with awe, pointing and asking what each thing was. She probably didn't understand most of the names Raphael gave her but she seemed satisfied with the answers.

“Lets get you cleaned up and dry first, okay?” Raphael said, interrupting her barrage of questions and heading towards the bathroom.

“Okay!” She answered excitedly not really understanding what he was talking about.

The shower had been an adventure. Daisy had been terrified of the spray of water and Raph had a hard time coaxing her under it. He fished out the shampoo his father used and lathered up the fluffy fur himself when she seemed to not understand what she was supposed to do. He panicked when she got some soap in her eyes and wailed at the sting, hopping from foot to foot. He was trying to keep her from rubbing them with soapy paws but she wouldn't get under the water to rinse it out.

When they were done he made a mental note to ask April to get them some of that shampoo they made for babies that didn't sting if it got in their eyes he'd seen on TV. He towelled her dry, leaving several towels sopping wet in the process and was surprised to find out her fur wasn't grey or brown at all but pristine white. She looked like one of those rabbits they pulled out of hats for magic tricks only with really small ears.

The hair dryer wasn't as much trouble as he thought, probably because the poor little thing was shaking from the cold by the time he figured out how to turn it on and use it. He moved it around continuously after she yelped from it being too hot imitating the way his father would do it on himself and before long he had a smiling ball of fluff in his arms. The fur was different to Splinter's warm but coarse pelt. How could someone be so soft!

He headed over to the kitchen once she had assured him that she wasn't the least bit cold without any clothes on. He didn't really have anything that would fit such a small body but if necessary he could always just roll her up in a scarf or something.

First things first. Food. What do rabbits eat? Carrots and veggies, right? He opened the fridge after leaving Daisy sitting on the counter beside him and swinging her feet happily off the edge. He took out an assortment of lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers. No carrots, damn. He hesitated with the cheese, did rabbits eat cheese? Mice and rats liked it and they were kind of in that family, right? Daisy didn't seem to know what it was so he put it away just in case and made a sandwich with the other items.

He placed it on a plate by a regular ham and cheese one he made for himself, eyeing her closely to see what she thought of it but he didn't have to worry. He smiled when he noticed she kept looking at him to imitate the way he ate this strange new food and pretended not to notice but beamed when she seemed to think the vegetable sandwich was the greatest, most tastiest thing in the world. When he asked her, she described the food she usually ate as what Raph figured to be grain pellets of some kind but he made no comments about it and silently wished Donnie could get home to ask him if it was safe to give mutant rabbits some pizza.

It was getting late and there was no sign of the others. Daisy had been excited to find out about television but her head was now drooping slowly but surely against his plastron from where she was curled up on his lap. When she'd fallen asleep he decided he'd talk to the others the next day, turned off the set and headed to his room with Daisy in his arms.

He tried to be quiet as he walked around, figuring out what he was going to do with her. His eyes darted to Spike's old crate in the corner but he immediately dismissed the idea. He wasn't putting her anywhere near anything even remotely similar to a cage. He decided she'd sleep with him for the night, that way she wouldn't be scared if she woke up alone and he could make sure she wasn't cold and then they could figure out something tomorrow.

He pulled down the covers and placed her at the head of the bed. He expected her to to rouse and curl into a comfortable position but she didn’t even stir, limbs staying in the awkward position they had flopped as they fell. He chuckled as he watched the rabbit for a moment, dead to the world, heavy and warm with sleep before straightening her so she’d sleep more comfortably.

He crawled into bed beside her and covered them both, making sure his alarm was set for morning. Raph tried to summon sleep but he couldn’t stop looking at the small rabbit child. He didn’t care what Master Splinter said tomorrow, Daisy needed him and he would protect her, keep her safe.

Morning came and he woke before his alarm sounded, turning it off to not startle his new charge. He roused her gently, stroking a soft fuzzy cheek with a finger. She stirred and blinked lazily at him, confusion clouding over her features and nose wiggling faster as she woke up fully. A smile curled her mouth upwards when she recognised him and she crawled into his arms giggling when he bounced her in his lap before picking her up and carrying her out of his room and to the kitchen.

“You hungry?” She nodded eagerly and he chuckled. “You’re going to meet my family now. Last night they were out but they’re home now and they’ll want to meet you. Would you like that?”

“O-okay.” She said, suddenly shy and he patted her comfortingly on her back.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like them and they’re going to love you, you’ll see.”

He approached the entrance to the kitchen and heard the sound of dishes and cups as someone set the table, the smell of coffee and voices conversing. He poked his head through the noren, the cloth divider that hung in the doorway and they all turned and grew silent when they saw him, probably thinking he would still be angry since yesterday.

“Good, everyone is here.” He hesitated before starting to step through the entrance, the cloth ruffling the white fur which he smoothed back down. Mikey and Donatello who had been facing him at the time froze in place and stared. “I uh, want you all to meet Daisy. She’s going to live with us from now on.”

“Raph what are you talking abou-” Leonardo paused when he saw what or whom Raph was holding.

Raph’s eyes strayed from Daisy’s to watch his father’s reaction closely. Splinter's tea cup was hovering in front of his lips as his eyes darted from Raphael's to the child before slowly lowering it with a soft clink on the table. The small rabbit in his arms took one look at the group of people staring at her and burrowed shyly into Raph’s neck.

“Awwww! Is that a bunny?!” Michelangelo immediately responded once he realised what was going on, his hands covering his head as he gushed over the small fuzzy puff clinging to his brother. “You’re so cute!” He continued as he walked around Raph to try get a peek at the child’s face.

Daisy opened an eye to look at the other turtle as he got closer, his face open and kind and with a big smile on it and she smiled back. “Daisy, right? My name’s Mikey! You wanna live with us, huh?” He said as he rubbed a small four-fingered hand that was curled around the top of Raph's plastron.

The girl nodded and Michelangelo beamed. “So fuzzy and soft! We can keep her, right? We’re going to have so much fun! You’re going to love it here!”

“Raph, where did you find a rabbit mutant?” Donatello asked as he got closer, making the child press her face into Raph’s neck again.

“Donnie! Don’t scare her!” Mikey complained.

“How long have you had her here?” Leonardo asked, suddenly serious. “She’s not a pet you can just take a child off the street and keep it like Spike.”

“I know that, Leo! Do you think I’m stupid?” Raphael retorted somewhat annoyed but tried to not raise his voice.

“Raphael, you need to explain what happened, where are Daisy's parents?” Master Splinter gestured for him to sit down at the table and invited the rest of his sons to do so aswell except Mikey who began looking around for something to give the little rabbit girl to eat while Raphael told them the story.

“... And then last night on the way back I found her and brought her home with me. You like it here, don’t you?”

Daisy nodded eagerly with a mouthful of cookie, crumbs coating her furry face around her split upper lip and triangle nose. Michelangelo had displaced his brothers' usual spots at the table so he could sit beside her. Leonardo looked between Raph, the bunny girl and and his father, expecting Master Splinter to speak up about it and make some decisions but he did not.

“Well, I guess if she was mutated in a lab then she won't have anywhere else to go.” Donatello fingered the red plastic tab that was fixed to the edge of a small ear like a square earring. “This looks like some sort of chip, perhaps I can figure out more about the lab and what they were doing. This doesn't seem like the Kraang or the Foot, the government maybe? Perhaps a private company researching mutagen?”

“You can’t seriously be thinking about keeping her.” Leonardo blurted out and the small rabbit stopped speaking with Mikey about cookies to listen. “We’re ninjas, not babysitters... it could be dangerous and we aren't even home most nights to take care of her.” He tried to explain himself so he didn’t come off as heartless. “You know nothing about taking care of a mutant rabbit child, and we’re too young to be parents!”

“Nobody asked you to do anything, Leo.” Raphael answered, clearly annoyed. Did Leo think he hadn’t thought things through? “It’s not about ‘keeping’, she’s not a pet. She’s a mutant kid who needs a place to stay and someone to look after her.”

“What about the Mutanimals?” Donnie offered. He didn’t seem too sold on the idea of having a mutant child to take care of suddenly either. When he saw Raph and Mikey’s look of betrayal he held up his hands. “I’m only saying it because it’s dangerous to be around us. We’d be dragging her into a ninja feud and an alien war.”

“She’ll be in danger wherever she goes.” Raph argued. He’d had most of the night to think about making a case for this. “And the Mutanimals are a bunch of loners even less fit to be parents than we are. Heck, most of them haven’t been mutants for very long either, they can barely take care of themselves. We’ve got lots of space, every creature comfort and we’re a big family of ninjas. We can even teach her to defend herself, she’ll be much better off with us than anywhere else.”

Donatello nodded, not being able to refute that logic and they all looked to Leonardo and Master Splinter, the only two remaining to make a decision. Daisy, sensing something important was going to be said, turned around to look at them also. Leonardo sighed and nodded leaving the decision ultimately in Master Splinters hands.

“Master Splinter,” Raphael began saying softly, “where would we be if you hadn’t taken us in when we were mutated as children? Why is this any different?”

Master Splinter closed his eyes and took a moment before speaking. “I understand your reasoning, my son, but I do not think you understand the amount of work and responsibility bringing up a child entails. It will change your life forever. This is not like Spike whom you could leave in his crate when you had something else you wanted to do. There will be no other thing more important you can dedicate yourself to if you do this.”

“I understand, Sensei.” Raphael answered.

“No, I do not believe you do.” Splinter interjected, standing up and pacing as he decided how to continue speaking to make his son understand. “If you do this it will be your responsibility alone. It doesn’t mean we cannot help occasionally but this will be your decision and your burden and you will not be able to go back on it once you start. Are you prepared to be this child’s father? Do you realise how much you’ll have to change and sacrifice?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes, Sensei.” He answered seriously. “Even if I have to give up everything else.”

They sat in silence for a while waiting for one or the other to talk when Daisy spoke up. “Does that mean I can stay? Can I have my cage in Raph’s room?”

Splinter’s expression immediately softened and he approached the rabbit, placing a paw on the child’s soft head and ruffling the fur on her twitching ears gently. “No cage my child, never again. You may stay with Raphael until we prepare a room of your own. Welcome to the family, little one.”

Mikey cheered and the others gathered closer to welcome Daisy and congratulate Raph on his newly acquired fatherhood. He snorted at their remarks but was grinning wildly at the child in his arms. “I never expected you to make me a Grandfather so young, Raphael.” Splinter said and chuckled at his son’s embarrassed expression.

This was going to be the best Christmas ever!

Description
This was going to be the worst Christmas ever!

Raphael grumbled to himself as he stomped through the sewers towards the lair. He'd lost his temper while he was hanging out with his brother's and father at April's for a pre-Christmas celebration. This year April and her dad would be going to spend the holiday with her aunt at the farmhouse and of course, they weren't invited. He'd been a bit bummed out to say the least, not that he could complain about it, it wasn't his house after all and April could do whatever she wanted. He'd been really looking forward going back to the farmhouse for Christmas hoping that this time they would be able to spend it with a conscious Leo and Splinter.

He'd really liked it there and had been dying to be able to relax this time around with all his family, showing his dad all the cool places he'd found and just being out and in the snow, not the slush they got down in the sewers. Throughout the dinner he'd been getting increasingly annoyed at how cheerful everyone was. Christmas had been ruined as far as he was concerned, and when April began talking about all the things they'd be doing with her aunt at the farmhouse he'd lost it, snapping at April about how Christmas sucked if you couldn't be with your friends. Farmhouses were overrated and why couldn't she tell her aunt about them anyway? They'd been friends forever already.

Master Splinter had warned him to take control of his temper but there's nothing like a “calm down” to get the exact opposite effect and he'd ended up bailing out of there. He didn't need no stupid pre-Christmas celebration... that wasn't even a thing.

He suddenly stopped and huddled against the shadowy wall of the sewer tunnel when he heard a noise. At first he thought it was some sort of squeaky hinge or wheel or something but as he listened more closely it sounded like crying. Something tiny crying.

Oh no. He thought. Some kid must have fallen down here.

He walked carefully along the wall, trying not to make any sound until he was certain he'd been correct and he nearly walked past a small bundle of dirty fur. The poor thing was tiny, wet and shivering, their fur smudged with grey and brown and stuck together in places as it clung close to the small body.

He knelt beside what looked to be a little rat mutant and tried to make his voice sound as kind as possible. “Hey there, little buddy. Don't be scared. What's wrong? Where is your family?”

The bundle of wet fur turned suddenly and he realised it was no rat at all but a small rabbit mutant child with large, frightened pink eyes. The rabbit yelped and tried to scramble away but Raphael held his arms loosely around him to block any escape, not wanting him to fall into the run-off or scamper away and get lost with how dark and cold it was in these tunnels.

“It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'll help you get back to your parents, little guy.” He tentatively placed a hand on the child's damp shoulder, or more like a finger. He was so small! “Don't worry, everything is going to be okay, I'll take care of everything, all right?”

The small rabbit child looked up at him with big hopeful eyes, the little furry triangle nose bobbing up and down for a few seconds before launching himself to Raphael, whimpering and trembling as he tried to snuggle close to his warm body. Raph caught him and was alarmed at how cold the child was. He needed to get him back to the lair quickly before the rabbit got sick

“I gotcha, don't worry.” He repeated.

He held the rabbit close, not minding the sopping fur and tried to rub a little warmth into the tiny body. He set off in the direction of the lair straight away. He wasn't sure how old the child was, he didn't know much about children and wasn't even sure it applied to mutant ones either but he guessed this one must have been at least three or four to be able to understand him and move around so easily.

“Do you know where your parents are?”

The little bundle of fur shook his head, tiny ears tickling his chin with the movement from where he had burrowed against his neck pressing his cold little nose against his warmer skin. He smiled and touched one ear with a finger and it flicked away before returning. He hadn't realised the mutant was a rabbit at first because of how small they were. He always imagined rabbits having really large ears but these weren't like that at all. Maybe ears grow more slowly on rabbits, starting small and getting larger with age or maybe this kind of rabbit just has small ears, he mused to himself as he tickled the fuzzy ear again.

“I’m Raphael, what's your name? ” He asked as he drew closer to the lair.

The little rabbit answered against his skin and he had to strain his hearing to understand. “The lady with the curly hair calls me Daisy,” the muffled childlike voice answered, it wasn't a him but a her.

“The lady?” Raphael asked, hoping she would elaborate.

Daisy leaned back, lifting her face to talk up to him. “She's the nice lady that brings me food and talks to me. Sometimes she lets me out of my cage but she made me promise not to tell the others or she'll get into trouble and they won't let me play with her any more.”

Raphael's eye ridges shot up at the word cage and then furrowed. A lab rabbit? He thought to himself but instead asked, “Where is the nice lady now? How did you end up down here?”

The child whimpered and her bottom lip trembled. Raph held her a little closer and she rubbed her wet cheek against his shoulder before continuing. “She came before it was time to bring me food today and she was scared. She said the bad men were going to hurt me and I had to run away and never come back, so I did but it was slippery and cold outside and I fell into a hole. I kept running but I didn't know where to go.” She finished sadly crying quietly against him.

He rubbed her little head softly and she leaned into his touch calming down as he kept walking. She was a little warmer by the time they arrived at the turnstiles. Daisy's feet were tucked against his hand and the furry little toes didn't feel freezing any longer.

“It's okay, you can stay with me, all right?” He'd figure out how to tell Master Splinter later that he'd decided to adopt a mutant kid but there was no way he was going to abandon this child. “I live here, do you like it?”

Daisy twisted around in his grasp, her feet still tucked into the palm of his hand but she turned to sit on the inside of his forearm as she examined the lair, ears perking up and swivelling around with the chimes and beeps of the different arcade games they had plugged in around the lair. She looked at everything with awe, pointing and asking what each thing was. She probably didn't understand most of the names Raphael gave her but she seemed satisfied with the answers.

“Lets get you cleaned up and dry first, okay?” Raphael said, interrupting her barrage of questions and heading towards the bathroom.

“Okay!” She answered excitedly not really understanding what he was talking about.

The shower had been an adventure. Daisy had been terrified of the spray of water and Raph had a hard time coaxing her under it. He fished out the shampoo his father used and lathered up the fluffy fur himself when she seemed to not understand what she was supposed to do. He panicked when she got some soap in her eyes and wailed at the sting, hopping from foot to foot. He was trying to keep her from rubbing them with soapy paws but she wouldn't get under the water to rinse it out.

When they were done he made a mental note to ask April to get them some of that shampoo they made for babies that didn't sting if it got in their eyes he'd seen on TV. He towelled her dry, leaving several towels sopping wet in the process and was surprised to find out her fur wasn't grey or brown at all but pristine white. She looked like one of those rabbits they pulled out of hats for magic tricks only with really small ears.

The hair dryer wasn't as much trouble as he thought, probably because the poor little thing was shaking from the cold by the time he figured out how to turn it on and use it. He moved it around continuously after she yelped from it being too hot imitating the way his father would do it on himself and before long he had a smiling ball of fluff in his arms. The fur was different to Splinter's warm but coarse pelt. How could someone be so soft!

He headed over to the kitchen once she had assured him that she wasn't the least bit cold without any clothes on. He didn't really have anything that would fit such a small body but if necessary he could always just roll her up in a scarf or something.

First things first. Food. What do rabbits eat? Carrots and veggies, right? He opened the fridge after leaving Daisy sitting on the counter beside him and swinging her feet happily off the edge. He took out an assortment of lettuce, cabbage and cucumbers. No carrots, damn. He hesitated with the cheese, did rabbits eat cheese? Mice and rats liked it and they were kind of in that family, right? Daisy didn't seem to know what it was so he put it away just in case and made a sandwich with the other items.

He placed it on a plate by a regular ham and cheese one he made for himself, eyeing her closely to see what she thought of it but he didn't have to worry. He smiled when he noticed she kept looking at him to imitate the way he ate this strange new food and pretended not to notice but beamed when she seemed to think the vegetable sandwich was the greatest, most tastiest thing in the world. When he asked her, she described the food she usually ate as what Raph figured to be grain pellets of some kind but he made no comments about it and silently wished Donnie could get home to ask him if it was safe to give mutant rabbits some pizza.

It was getting late and there was no sign of the others. Daisy had been excited to find out about television but her head was now drooping slowly but surely against his plastron from where she was curled up on his lap. When she'd fallen asleep he decided he'd talk to the others the next day, turned off the set and headed to his room with Daisy in his arms.

He tried to be quiet as he walked around, figuring out what he was going to do with her. His eyes darted to Spike's old crate in the corner but he immediately dismissed the idea. He wasn't putting her anywhere near anything even remotely similar to a cage. He decided she'd sleep with him for the night, that way she wouldn't be scared if she woke up alone and he could make sure she wasn't cold and then they could figure out something tomorrow.

He pulled down the covers and placed her at the head of the bed. He expected her to to rouse and curl into a comfortable position but she didn’t even stir, limbs staying in the awkward position they had flopped as they fell. He chuckled as he watched the rabbit for a moment, dead to the world, heavy and warm with sleep before straightening her so she’d sleep more comfortably.

He crawled into bed beside her and covered them both, making sure his alarm was set for morning. Raph tried to summon sleep but he couldn’t stop looking at the small rabbit child. He didn’t care what Master Splinter said tomorrow, Daisy needed him and he would protect her, keep her safe.

Morning came and he woke before his alarm sounded, turning it off to not startle his new charge. He roused her gently, stroking a soft fuzzy cheek with a finger. She stirred and blinked lazily at him, confusion clouding over her features and nose wiggling faster as she woke up fully. A smile curled her mouth upwards when she recognised him and she crawled into his arms giggling when he bounced her in his lap before picking her up and carrying her out of his room and to the kitchen.

“You hungry?” She nodded eagerly and he chuckled. “You’re going to meet my family now. Last night they were out but they’re home now and they’ll want to meet you. Would you like that?”

“O-okay.” She said, suddenly shy and he patted her comfortingly on her back.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like them and they’re going to love you, you’ll see.”

He approached the entrance to the kitchen and heard the sound of dishes and cups as someone set the table, the smell of coffee and voices conversing. He poked his head through the noren, the cloth divider that hung in the doorway and they all turned and grew silent when they saw him, probably thinking he would still be angry since yesterday.

“Good, everyone is here.” He hesitated before starting to step through the entrance, the cloth ruffling the white fur which he smoothed back down. Mikey and Donatello who had been facing him at the time froze in place and stared. “I uh, want you all to meet Daisy. She’s going to live with us from now on.”

“Raph what are you talking abou-” Leonardo paused when he saw what or whom Raph was holding.

Raph’s eyes strayed from Daisy’s to watch his father’s reaction closely. Splinter's tea cup was hovering in front of his lips as his eyes darted from Raphael's to the child before slowly lowering it with a soft clink on the table. The small rabbit in his arms took one look at the group of people staring at her and burrowed shyly into Raph’s neck.

“Awwww! Is that a bunny?!” Michelangelo immediately responded once he realised what was going on, his hands covering his head as he gushed over the small fuzzy puff clinging to his brother. “You’re so cute!” He continued as he walked around Raph to try get a peek at the child’s face.

Daisy opened an eye to look at the other turtle as he got closer, his face open and kind and with a big smile on it and she smiled back. “Daisy, right? My name’s Mikey! You wanna live with us, huh?” He said as he rubbed a small four-fingered hand that was curled around the top of Raph's plastron.

The girl nodded and Michelangelo beamed. “So fuzzy and soft! We can keep her, right? We’re going to have so much fun! You’re going to love it here!”

“Raph, where did you find a rabbit mutant?” Donatello asked as he got closer, making the child press her face into Raph’s neck again.

“Donnie! Don’t scare her!” Mikey complained.

“How long have you had her here?” Leonardo asked, suddenly serious. “She’s not a pet you can just take a child off the street and keep it like Spike.”

“I know that, Leo! Do you think I’m stupid?” Raphael retorted somewhat annoyed but tried to not raise his voice.

“Raphael, you need to explain what happened, where are Daisy's parents?” Master Splinter gestured for him to sit down at the table and invited the rest of his sons to do so aswell except Mikey who began looking around for something to give the little rabbit girl to eat while Raphael told them the story.

“... And then last night on the way back I found her and brought her home with me. You like it here, don’t you?”

Daisy nodded eagerly with a mouthful of cookie, crumbs coating her furry face around her split upper lip and triangle nose. Michelangelo had displaced his brothers' usual spots at the table so he could sit beside her. Leonardo looked between Raph, the bunny girl and and his father, expecting Master Splinter to speak up about it and make some decisions but he did not.

“Well, I guess if she was mutated in a lab then she won't have anywhere else to go.” Donatello fingered the red plastic tab that was fixed to the edge of a small ear like a square earring. “This looks like some sort of chip, perhaps I can figure out more about the lab and what they were doing. This doesn't seem like the Kraang or the Foot, the government maybe? Perhaps a private company researching mutagen?”

“You can’t seriously be thinking about keeping her.” Leonardo blurted out and the small rabbit stopped speaking with Mikey about cookies to listen. “We’re ninjas, not babysitters... it could be dangerous and we aren't even home most nights to take care of her.” He tried to explain himself so he didn’t come off as heartless. “You know nothing about taking care of a mutant rabbit child, and we’re too young to be parents!”

“Nobody asked you to do anything, Leo.” Raphael answered, clearly annoyed. Did Leo think he hadn’t thought things through? “It’s not about ‘keeping’, she’s not a pet. She’s a mutant kid who needs a place to stay and someone to look after her.”

“What about the Mutanimals?” Donnie offered. He didn’t seem too sold on the idea of having a mutant child to take care of suddenly either. When he saw Raph and Mikey’s look of betrayal he held up his hands. “I’m only saying it because it’s dangerous to be around us. We’d be dragging her into a ninja feud and an alien war.”

“She’ll be in danger wherever she goes.” Raph argued. He’d had most of the night to think about making a case for this. “And the Mutanimals are a bunch of loners even less fit to be parents than we are. Heck, most of them haven’t been mutants for very long either, they can barely take care of themselves. We’ve got lots of space, every creature comfort and we’re a big family of ninjas. We can even teach her to defend herself, she’ll be much better off with us than anywhere else.”

Donatello nodded, not being able to refute that logic and they all looked to Leonardo and Master Splinter, the only two remaining to make a decision. Daisy, sensing something important was going to be said, turned around to look at them also. Leonardo sighed and nodded leaving the decision ultimately in Master Splinters hands.

“Master Splinter,” Raphael began saying softly, “where would we be if you hadn’t taken us in when we were mutated as children? Why is this any different?”

Master Splinter closed his eyes and took a moment before speaking. “I understand your reasoning, my son, but I do not think you understand the amount of work and responsibility bringing up a child entails. It will change your life forever. This is not like Spike whom you could leave in his crate when you had something else you wanted to do. There will be no other thing more important you can dedicate yourself to if you do this.”

“I understand, Sensei.” Raphael answered.

“No, I do not believe you do.” Splinter interjected, standing up and pacing as he decided how to continue speaking to make his son understand. “If you do this it will be your responsibility alone. It doesn’t mean we cannot help occasionally but this will be your decision and your burden and you will not be able to go back on it once you start. Are you prepared to be this child’s father? Do you realise how much you’ll have to change and sacrifice?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes, Sensei.” He answered seriously. “Even if I have to give up everything else.”

They sat in silence for a while waiting for one or the other to talk when Daisy spoke up. “Does that mean I can stay? Can I have my cage in Raph’s room?”

Splinter’s expression immediately softened and he approached the rabbit, placing a paw on the child’s soft head and ruffling the fur on her twitching ears gently. “No cage my child, never again. You may stay with Raphael until we prepare a room of your own. Welcome to the family, little one.”

Mikey cheered and the others gathered closer to welcome Daisy and congratulate Raph on his newly acquired fatherhood. He snorted at their remarks but was grinning wildly at the child in his arms. “I never expected you to make me a Grandfather so young, Raphael.” Splinter said and chuckled at his son’s embarrassed expression.

This was going to be the best Christmas ever!