Ninja Turtles: Quality Time After 1990 : The Epilogue

Authoress' Notes: As promised, here is Part One of the Sequel/ Epilogue to "Quality Time in 1990?". It's centered in the '07 'verse and focuses on Donnie and Kathy. Please, everyone, Read, Review, and, most importantly, enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own any of the characters mentioned or shown below, with the exception of Katherine "Kathy" Jones (no relation to Kat a.k.a. randomlass, before anyone asks); the rest belong to Mirage Studios (I think…), but definitely Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. I'm just borrowing them to satisfy my Muse.

Note: Leo, Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and Casey from '07 are going to be referred to as such, while the ones from the '90s are going to be referred to as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael or "the other" to avoid confusion as to who's being referred to.

Chapter One: The 2007 'verse…

April and Splinter watched as a dark blue vortex appeared above the pond that the Hamatos had in their Lair and six familiar figures fell from it with several large splashes into the pond. "Gerroff, Knucklehead!" Raph yelled as he surfaced with Casey clutching onto his shell.

Kathy huffed as she swam to the edge and her boyfriend pushed her gently up to help her get to the brick that surrounded the pond, "Idiots." Without commenting further, she took off her sopping wet shoes and hurled them with surprising accuracy at their heads; momentarily stunned, they re-submerged into the water much to the amusement of those watching.

"Babe, I think your aim's gotten better," Mikey observed, grinning.

"You should see me with Shuriken," she grinned evilly.

"My Daughter, I'm glad you're back with us, safe and sound," Splinter walked up to her and, heedless of her sopping wet clothes, hugged her warmly. "You've been missed very much."

"It's good to be back, Master Splinter," she smiled, stepping back only to be nearly strangled in April's hug as the older woman near-flung herself at her younger friend. "…" She gurgled a bit before her boyfriend, laughing at her, gently pried the redheaded genius off of her neck.

"April, we just got Kathy back; must you kill her by strangulation so soon?" Donnie expertly ignored the jibing Mikey was giving Raph and Casey while Leo just smirked at them.

"Yes," April nodded after a moment. "I love your new hair colour, Kathy," she smiled.

"Hey, Babe, where's my hug?" Having clambered out of the pond, Casey opened his arms for his fiancé; April just gave him a sceptical look before she came up and pecked him on the cheek. At this action, Casey's mouth formed a pout that looked very similar to his Cousin's.

"Tell you what, Mr. Big Shot, once you're in dry clothes, I'll show you how appreciative I am for you going after Kathy," April murmured into his ears; she grinned at the disgusted noise Kathy, who was in earshot, made at this insinuation.

Casey, on the other hand, lit up like the Lair at Christmas, "Later, guys," he grabbed her hand and took off out of the Lair like a bullet with April's laughter trailing after them. "Don't wait up, Kitten!"

"I wonder what they're gonna --" Raph, having just gotten out of the pond, was cut off by Kathy coming up to him and pushing him back into the pond.

"Come on, Beautiful; let's get you into something dry," Donnie, laughing at his brother's misfortune, took his girlfriend's hand and led her to his room; he took his Bo staff absentmindedly and swiped Mikey, who was making "kissy-kissy" faces at them, off of his feet and into the pond.

Kathy grinned, blowing a kiss to the two Turtles who were glaring at the couple and throwing a wink to the quietly laughing Katana-wielding Turtle, as she followed Donnie down the hallway. "I don't remember leaving any clothes here last time…" She raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, who was occasionally mischievous.

"… You didn't, Kathy," he admitted, a blush on his face.

"I hear a "But" in there, Handsome," she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him as far as she could whilst simultaneously closing the door to his bedroom with her bare foot.

He grinned like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "I might have gone downtown with the other April and gotten you something…"

She kissed him softly, "You know how I love presents, Don."

"I do," Donnie dipped her playfully, kissing her swiftly. He shrugged off his backpack and let go of her as he riffled through it, "Here it is," he handed her a plain yellow bag and she opened it to find a navy blue jean mini-skirt with a slight ruffle effect on the bottom and little brown swirls, a chocolate brown spaghetti strapped tank top and a matching navy blue three-quarter sleeved jean button-up that fell to just below her hips and had matching brown swirls on the hem and breast pocket.

Boldly, she took off her still-sopping clothes and smiled at his shyness as he gallantly turned away to give her some semblance of privacy; she took the matching bra and underwear set that was also in the bag and put everything on. With a girlish giggle, she tapped her boyfriend on his shoulder and he spun towards her, "What do you think, Donnie? Personally, I'm a little suspicious that everything fits so well…" With her tone teasing, she spun in a little circle to show off.

"I think I've never seen anything or anyone more Beautiful than you are right now, Kath," his chocolate eyes were dark with love and tenderness as he took her into his arms and nuzzled his beak into her dark hair, currently black instead of her usual chestnut, at her neck, inhaling her scent.

"And I think I have the sweetest boyfriend in both this World and the Next," she placed her hand along his cheekbone as she looked him in the eyes. "I love you, Donatello Hamato; I don't think I tell you how much you mean to me enough," she rested her forehead against his tenderly.

"I love you, too, Katherine Caprice Jones," he answered softly, lightly kissing her lips. "The few days I was without you… the only thing that kept me going was knowing that you were with Leo and that you were stubborn enough to get through anything. Now that I have you back, I'm never letting you go again."

"I think I might hold you to that," she whispered as they sat on his bed with her in his lap.

Several hours later, Kathy woke up in what she referred to as her "favourite place": Donnie's arms. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, lightly brushing her lips with his own.

"Mornin', Handsome," she murmured sleepily. "Wha' tahme is it?"

He couldn't help his smile at the sound of her "morning accent"; after living in New York for almost a year, her Southern accent was mostly absent in her everyday speech but when she woke up or she was worked up or she willed it, her original accent came out. "A little after five in the morning, Beautiful. Did you want to get up?"

"Not reallay, but I 'ave a lot to do today, apparentlay," she mewled in distress, causing him to chuckle at her antics. "April called and said somethin' 'bout me opening the shop this morning to Leo last naght."

"I'll go put on the cocoa," he slipped out of bed when she pouted at him; he quietly closed the door to his room and padded down the hallway towards the kitchen where the sounds of his younger brother making breakfast sounded. "Good morning, Mike," he smiled at his Orange-clad brother.

"Morning, Bro," Mikey chirped, flipping the pancakes; he chuckled, "I already put the kettle on for Kathy's cocoa."

"Thanks, Mikey," Donnie sighed gratefully.

"Have given her the gift that the other Leo made for her yet?"

"I knew I was forgetting something," his brother smacked his own forehead at his forgetfulness. "I'll go do that now, before I forget again," he turned to leave and got to the open doorway of the kitchen.

"Don?" Mikey called softly.

Donnie turned around and gave a quizzical look to his younger brother, "Yeah, Mike?"

"It's good to have you back, Bro," Mikey gave his immediate older brother a smile.

Donnie returned it with a smile of his own, "It's good to be back, Little Brother; it's good to be back…" With that comment, he turned and continued back to his room; before entering, he knocked, "Kath, can I come in?"

"It's your room, Don; of course you can come in," Kathy's voice floated out to him and he turned the knob to the sight of his girlfriend and lover buttoning a violet long sleeved blouse up to just below her breasts which showed off the silky black lace-trimmed camisole she wore underneath.

"Ah, my favourite outfit," his eyes lit up at the sight of her wearing his colour; he noticed that the black of her jeans and her camisole set of her still-black hair nicely.

Noticing where his eyes were, Kathy smiled sadly, "My hair'll be back to normal before you know it, Don."

"I kind of like it, Kath," he stepped up to her and twirled a strand around his finger. "Hm, next time, blonde, maybe?"

"Ooh, Mr. Hamato, I didn't know you were into the kinky," she laughed, holding onto his shoulders as she leant backwards. "I always knew you were into blondes, Lover," her hazel eyes sparkled at him as she pecked him on the lips. "What's Mikey making? It smells heavenly."

"Chocolate chip pancakes, Milady," he bowed mockingly. "But, before breakfast, and before I forget again, I promised Leonardo that I'd give you something."

"Oh? What is it, Donnie?" Kathy was curious, and a little nervous of what Leonardo could have given to her boyfriend and lover to give to her; she sat on his bed as he sat next to her and handed her a handmade wooden box.

"Open it and find out, Kath," he encouraged with a gentle smile.

She did so and gasped, "What are they, Donnie? They're absolutely beautiful…" She reached in and reverently took out one of the two bladed weapons; they were similar in form to a miniature sickle with a polished dark wood handle that was about thirteen or so inches long and the blade shone silver with sharpness. "They look like Kama, but I've never seen any with such designs on the blade," she referred to the four intricately carved diamond shaped holes that laid within the blade.

"They're called Kama; Phoenix Bladed Kama, to be precise, my Love," Donnie explained in his usual informative voice. "Leonardo wanted you to have a weapon of your own and apparently saw that you were most comfortable with twin weaponry but disliked the katana. He didn't know why."

"Leo, is all; despite us settling our differences and becoming friends, we still tend to rub each other the wrong way, Don," she smiled apologetically at him.

"No worries, Kathy; we're used to you two by now. Anyway, Leonardo decided that the Kama would be the perfect weapon for you as they're small, yet deadly and sharp," he laid his hand on her leg warmly. "He wanted you to be able to protect yourself if the need ever arose again… he really adores you, Katherine."

"I know, and if I didn't have you, maybe something might have happened; I don't know. What I do know is that he'll find the one he's destined to be with, just like I found you and vice-versa," she sighed, gently laying the handcrafted weapon back into the black silk lining. "It's extremely thoughtful of him to have made these; I especially like the ribbon," she toyed a little with the soft almond-coloured (very light brown) ribbon that was wrapped around the middle of the handles.

"Almond is a good colour for you, Kathy," he smiled. "It's said to be the colour that anchors, strengthens, and warms those around it."

"There's a note…" She took the folded piece of paper and read it out loud,

"Dear Katherine,

I'm sorry I couldn't give you my gift in person, but please don't think less of me for it; I couldn't give it to you myself because I didn't want you to chatisise me for having spent so much time on something for you when everyone but you seems to see how worth it you are. I hope you like them and I know you'll make use of them in the future.

I made them to thank you, for I never could in words; you've shown me that not everyone is against us or afraid of us. That there's people out there that can love us for who, and what, we are. Speaking with your Donnie, I came to realise that, despite the fact that you don't love me as I do you, that that's okay; sometimes, we have to let go the things that mean the most to us… in the end, it will make us stronger. Thank you, again, for your friendship and the hope you've brought into my life, and those of my brothers. Please, thank your Leo for me, too.

Yours always,

Leonardo"

Kathy sniffled as she reached the end of the letter and set it carefully back into the box. "Donnie, I hope that, one day, Leonardo will find the one he's meant for… she'll be one lucky lady…"

Donnie smiled gently and softly stroked her hair as she leant her head on his shoulder, blinking back the tears for the hurt she'd inadvertently caused the Young Turtle Leader. "Shh… there, there, Kath… he knew that you suspected, but he didn't want to confirm it for you…"

"I knew… but I… I didn't stop it when I could've…" she whispered, choked.

"That doesn't make you a bad person, though, Beautiful… it makes you human," he reminded her, kissing her forehead lightly. "Now, why don't we go have breakfast and then I'd love to see you spar against Mikey with your new weapons before you leave for work."

"I think that can be arranged, Handsome; let's," she closed the box and set it gently on a clear space on the top of his desk; turning, she extended her hand to him and they exited his room together. "… It's good to be Home…"

End of Part One - '07 Verse

Authoress' Notes: Well, there you have it, folks; part one of two of the sequel to "Quality Time In 1990?". It didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped, but it came out.

Part two will be based in the 1990's Universe and will center around Leonardo and how he's dealing with the knowledge that the girl he loves not only doesn't love him back the way he loves her, but also that she's now out of his reach, possibly forever. I'm hoping to have that up in the next few days, but no real promises.

Thank you, again, to everyone for reading, but most especially to those who take the time to Review; it means a lot. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Please Read and Review; the more reviews an Author/ess receives on a story, the more and quicker s/he is spurred to write. I accept all reviews: Comment, Compliment, and Criticism (preferably Constructive Criticism); I accept Flames, but nothing with swearing in it, since the Default Profanity Filter is on my reviews.

Cowabunga,

Laura a.k.a. uncutetomboy