Raphael's P.O.V.:

Leo and I slept for…well, I actually lost track of the days. Hypothermia kicked both of our asses, and we were both sick for like a week before we could get up again.
We basically lived in Donnie lab for days, unable to really get up and do anything aside from take our time and heal.
Leo was slower than me because he was actually hurt. Donnie actually had to reconstruct the bone in his right arm, which was hard to think about.
When Leo was done, his arm was encased in a giant cast, which was kind of hard to look it. It was basically a huge reminded of the beating Leo took for us, for me.
As for Christmas… We actually ended up celebrating a few days late because of our injuries. Leo and I were just too dead as our bodies slowly regained their normal temperatures which Donnie said could have taken a few days due to being cold-blooded.
It didn't affect our family one bit. Mikey even managed to wait to open his presents with the rest of us. We all exchanged gifts and spent the day together when April came home. It was just as good.
"Awesome, Donnie, thanks!" I told him as I unwrapped the electric shuriken he made me.
I couldn't wait to use them on the Kraang…or maybe a Purple Dragon…or Xever. The possibilities were endless.
I put them onto my pile of other gifts and counted. I had four gifts where as everyone else had five. Did April not get me anything?
No, she had given me the set of interchangeable dumbbells… Someone had skipped me.
I matched each gift to their giver and realize Leo didn't give me anything.
I looked over at him, confused. He didn't have anything else. Did he not get me a present? Dork…
"I got you something, Raph," he laughed. "You have to wait until tonight to get it."
The hours felt like years as the suspense built. I really was excited for whatever it was Leo had for me. I mean, it had to be pretty damn amazing if I had to wait until nightfall to get it.
What made me even more excited for it, was the fact that we had to travel topside to get to it.
Donnie told us we shouldn't have gone outside, but Leo assured him we'd be okay where we were going.
We ran, not as fast as usual, across the rooftops to wherever Leo's present was. We had to take it slow because too much movement hurt Leo's chest with his apparently cracked ribs.
I was pretty relieved when I found out they were only cracked. I don't know how Donnie could have gotten past Leo's plastron if he needed to do anything, and Donnie didn't seem to know either.
We finally stopped on a rooftop and Leo turned to look at me.
I knew where we were, it was so familiar. I knew I had been there before, I just couldn't remember when.
"Alright Raph, stay up here and I'll be right back," Leo said.
I looked at him warily, but nodded. He slipped down over the side of the building out of sight, and a small part of me wondered where he was going.
But once I couldn't see him anymore, I didn't think about it.
Honestly in the moment, I was more intent on remembering why I knew where we were.
What significant event had happened here…?

Leonardo's P.O.V.:

Her back was to me as she sat at her tea table, a box of crayons next to her. All the colors were spilled on the table as she concentrated on her work.
I tapped on the glass gently, trying not to make too much noise.
Sophie's eager eyes shot over to me, and a smile spread across her face as she ran to the window and opened it.
"Mr. Turtle!" she squeaked as she hugged me tightly.
"Hi again," I choked back a groan of pain as she practically choked me.
She backed away from me, noticing my cast and my wrapped up ribs.
"What happened to you, Mr. Turtle?" her face fell and concern draped her voice.
"I had a bad night," I told her honestly, sparing her five-year-old ears the details of how I was almost beaten to death.
That was what every five-year-old child wanted to hear…
She still seemed worried about it, but I smiled at her.
"Really, I'm okay," I said.
She nodded, her smile returning. Her smile of innocence and acceptance. Exactly what I was counting on.
"Do you wanna see the new drawing I made?" she asked, trying to pull me through the window.
"Actually, I have someone I'd like you to meet," I told her.
Her eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Okay!" she chirped.
"Put on a jacket," I instructed her. "It's kind of cold outside."
Was it as cold as it was Christmas Eve? No. Did I now have a new respect for the power of the cold and not want to take any chances with it? Absolutely.
Sophie ran in and out of her closet with her pink jacket, struggling to get it on. I laughed and helped her slide it on over her arms.
She jumped on my back and I used my good arm to support her weight. I piggybacked her out the window and up the fire escape just like last time.
I watched as Raph's eyes shifted as we appeared in front of him.

Raphael's P.O.V.:

It didn't take me long to remember where I was. This was where Slash and I had fallen through the roof during our first battle.
Where I found Leo and some little brat playing tea party or whatever.
A million questions ran through my head.
Why would he bring me here of all places? Did he know where we were? What could he possibly have for me here?
And when he popped back up on the roof holding a little girl on his back, one question rose above the rest.
What the fuck was Leo doing?
He has us completely exposed to a human. Not only that, but he was holding her.
He was insane. The pain meds Donnie had been giving him were too strong. He hit his head.
Something had to explain this.
I watched suspiciously as the Leo bent down and the little girl slid off his back, standing behind Leo and watching me nervously. Leo put his hand on her back and pushed her forward so that she was next to him. She latched onto his arm, terrified.
Well, I guess when your first impression of a person is that they crash in through ceilings and burst our through walls, you are kind of nervous about meeting them.
Everything about her face said fear, but everything in her eyes said curiosity.
"Uh," I was the first to speak.
Well, speaking, make a noise…same thing.
"Raphael," Leo announced. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Sophie. Sophie, this is my brother Raphael."
What the hell was this introduction? What was so special about this little girl that Leo completely trusted her enough to jeopardize our family by introducing her to me?
She looked back up to Leo and he looked down at her, nodding.
Reluctantly, Sophie let go of his hand and walked up to me.
I looked down at her, waiting to see what she could possibly do. Was she going to scream and run back to Leo?
Her eyes looked me all over, and the fear slowly melted off her face. Her frown was replaced by a smile.
I stared at her, confused.
"Hi," she said sweetly.
"H—hey," I stupidly replied.
"I'm Sophie," she told me.
"Raph," I said.
There isn't a way for me to describe what happened next.
She just…hugged me. It was the most sincere hug I'd ever gotten in my life.
I tensed up at first, honestly because I'd never felt anything like this before. This girl plainly accepted us, accepted me for what I was.
A giant, teenage mutant turtle.
It was something I'd never thought possible.
April accepted us because she had no choice. She was thrust into our world when the Kraang started going after her and her father. We were the only ones she could turn to.
We were thrust into the world of this little girl and she had the choice to scream. To turn us away and run.
But she didn't apparently.
Slowly, I hugged her back and looked up to Leo, who was smiling just as big as this child had been.
I nodded, because I finally understood his gift: someone who could accept me, just like Spike had.
I couldn't vent to this girl, but I had learned to vent to my brothers. And at the heart of everything, what I really wanted was for someone else – someone who wasn't already in my life – to see me for what I was and not turn away.
That was exactly what Leo gave me.
The new sword I gave him seemed pretty lame now…
Sophie pulled back and looked at me.
She reached up for my headband and pulled on it.
"So you're one of those ninja thingies too?" she asked.
Leo and I both laughed.

Merry Christmas.