The boys stayed until the snow melted enough to drive, which ended up to be about five days. Donnie said that they'd be able to catch a plane without much trouble if they were able to keep a low profile. That puzzled and worried me at the same time, but they reassured me that it was possible with a few ball caps, backpacks (to disguise their shells), some baggy clothing, and a cool head. So with a trip to the store for them and print out tickets, they were set.

"Thank you so much for helping us and opening up your home to us." Leo bowed respectfully to me when we arrived at the airport.

"You're welcome here anytime." I said with a smile.

"We can't thank you enough." Donnie smiled from under his hat.

"We'll miss you." Mikey said and hugged my waist.

"And I'll miss you too." I said and lifted up his chin to see his freckled face. "Contact me when you get home, I want to make sure you get back safely." I looked up at Donnie and said in a more serious tone.

"You got it." He winked. We'd exchanged e-mails and given him my phone number before we'd arrived.

"You boys better get goin', your plane starts boarding pretty soon." I sighed.

"Yeah, it's good to be a there a few minutes before boarding." Donnie said. They all looked up at me and all came up and hugged me; I squatted down and wrapped my arms around them.

"Be safe." I said quietly, sending it up as a prayer as well.

"Leo," I said as we broke and cupped his face in my hands. "Remember, be brave and don't ever think that you have to be fearless because of being a leader." My eyes began burn as a lump crawled up in my throat. "If you remember anything about me, remember that." Leo nodded as his blue eyes sparkled in the bleak winter sunlight. I turned to Raph

"Raphael, it's okay to cry," I chuckled. "You shouldn't keep things in for too long or they'll break you down. It's not healthy." I smiled and wiggled the bill of his cap.

"Mikey, keep an eye on your brothers for me." I winked.

"Aye, aye sir!" Mikey saluted and puffed out his chest.

"Donnie, please make sure you guys get in and board the plane safely, you don't need a repeat of last week."

"I'll try my very best. This plan should be fool-proof and if it does fall through, I have a Plan B and C." He said as he pulled out his ticket and waved it in front of him.

"Good," I smiled and pulled them in for one last hug. "Be safe…" I whispered as a tear ran down my cheek. "You'll always be in my heart."

I watched them walk through the glass sliding doors and waited a few minutes before getting back into the car and driving off with silent tears running down my face. It felt like I'd just watched my children go out into the world after graduating from high school and leave for some distant college. I felt like a piece of my heart was taken along with them; a hole in my chest where they'd once been. Of course they were still here, but it still seemed empty and hollow. It literally felt like I was their mother.

Later that night, I received an e-mail from Donnie that they'd made it home safely and surprisingly didn't have any problems with getting on the plane and with the flight. He also commented on how bad the airport security was and literally nobody paid any attention to them. I smiled and told him that I was already missing them and that they'd better behave themselves or I was going to have to go up there and straighten them out if they didn't.

We exchanged a few more e-mails after that but eventually lost connection, but the never left my mind and I'd think about them every now and then, wondering how they were doing and smiling every time they came to mind because, how could I not?