Yay! I got another chapter out, after literally a month! I'm so sorry for the wait but I've just been so busy, you know typical college shenanigans. I wish I could hug you all for all the reviews you've left me, lets see if we can get up to ten this chapter! I honestly should be doing a lab report instead of updating but it's my birthday! (*dances around in background*), What better gift to myself than a new chapter! With that...I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading!

Chapter Twenty-Five.

The first feeling that came to April was overwhelming joy, excitement beyond belief that her family had returned, then…the fleeting feeling of anxiousness and wonder. Could it be them? They had been gone so long that she couldn't even remember the way the van had looked, and she knew they had left with the bike too, but there was only one pair of headlights in the driveway, and the longer she stared into them the more nervous she became.

"Mommy?" The worry could be heard in her daughters voice too as they both watched with curious eyes, waiting to see just who would step foot out of the vehicle.

Then, the headlights went out and a surge of panic took over. Scooping Wren up she whispered to her specific instructions to stay in her room until she knew who it was. Letting the little toddler run to her room with scared eyes, she turned and headed for her own room where she knew Donnie would be sleeping.

Maybe she was over-reacting but the thought that there would be stragglers from the city looking for a place to take shelter had been running through her mind ever since they set up a home here. She had never fully prepared for this situation, and upon the thought that the people getting out of the car now may not be who she thought they were, she was not even close to being prepared to defend her family.

"Donnie!" She whispered, her voice was strained as she tried not to yell. She let the thought of intruders getting into her home fester in her mind and she shoved Don awake with urgent eyes. "What!" Donnie whispered back, rubbing his eyelids with the backs of his hands.

"There's someone outside." She said, and the way she had said it she knew he would understand. Instantly he pushed himself out of bed, and looked at her with curious eyes. "It could be them." He whispered against the darkness, watching the outline of her figure as she stared back at him with worry painted in her crystal blue orbs.

"Something tells me it's not." She sighed, pushing strands of hair behind her ear. "Something isn't right…I can feel it." She put her hand on his shoulder as if trying to convey to him how she was feeling in that moment, she didn't even have to say anything else though, Donnie knew she was being serious and he couldn't jeopardize his family by ignoring her. They still had enemies out there, he was wondering when they would start showing up again.

…

The van rolled to a stop and she could feel her eyelids slipping shut as the sound of the soft rain hitting the windshield drown out the world around her. Her head had been killing her since they had made it to the halfway point, and even with short naps, and a few painkillers, she wasn't feeling any better.

"I feel like my insides want out right now." She mumbled, letting out a soft groan as her abdomen tightened and cramped with every move she made.

"You'll be fine." The gruff voice in the driver's seat said back, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Ever since they had left the cabin, Alex had been complaining about the pain she was in, and how it just wouldn't quit. They had already pulled over four times just so she could spill her guts, and he couldn't understand just what the hell had gone wrong.

He flicked off the headlights, and killed the engine.

He sighed and rested his forehead to the steering wheel as she grabbed anxiously at the door handle, whipping it open and tumbling out just as her stomach began turning over on her again. He cringed at the noises, but he was no doctor, what the hell was he supposed to do for her, my god it sounded like she was dying.

"You need anything?" He asked, his voice gentle, but tired.

"No." She whimpered back and he could hear the pain in her voice and knew she was fighting every instinct to ask for help right now. She was strong as hell but whatever was going on with her was tearing her up, and he had no way to understand, or even help.

He heard her boots on the gravel as she walked around to the back of the van to sit down for a minute, catch a break.

They had stopped just outside the city, and the skyscrapers could be seen under the light of the moon, but it didn't make any aspect of it any more inviting. He had forgotten about the city, and hoped when they got back to the farmhouse it would stay that way. He didn't want to remember, didn't want to have those terrible, damned memories.

"Shit" he mumbled, finding Alex passed out, slumped up against the back of the van, her eyes closed shut, and her body unmoving. "Alex?" Raph questioned, instantly moving to her side to try and prod her awake, yet no answer, not even a mumble. "Fuck." He swore a little louder, as he looped his arms around her and brought her back to the passenger seat. Strapping her in she gave little movement to indicate she was still alive and he firmly pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before climbing back up into the driver's seat and taking off. They still had a long ways to go, and he was beginning to wish they had never left the cabin.

Now with the darkness fully closing in, and the love of his life passed out in the seat next to him, he was beginning to question just how amazing it was he was even here right now, beside her. After she began to stir again, and the occasional incoherent mumble escaped her mouth, he began to relax and for the first time in a while let his mind wander to more serious matters.

He knew that human love could get serious, and many days he had watched from rooftops, or under the shadows of the grates to see just how they interacted, to try and make himself like them, to feel more...human. They laughed over coffee, they held hands, they kissed, they confessed their love over a slice of fresh pizza, or fro-yo. He knew he would never be able to hold that kind of relationship with another person, until now. She was amazing, and even when he first met her after saving her from the kraang he knew she was something special. I mean who else would instantly start bitching at him for saving their hides? Only her.

He smiled, remembering that night. She wasn't as high strung anymore, and even the bright light within her had begun to fade away. She was lost, her life was a winding path that had dragged her from place to place never truly giving her a space to call "home". To her home meant Sicily, and he knew she couldn't return there, it would be to dangerous. Many nights she had talked about it with some glimmer of hope in her eyes, but she knew it was out of the question. Her fighting, and adventuring days were over.

It was time to hold on to what she had left in her life, and this was it, he knew she wanted the farmhouse to be the end of the line, to ride out the rest of her days with April and the guys just like old times. At the age of eighteen she had already accepted she would be wasting her life away with him in a little run down house, and he loved her for that.

He had always envied April and Don's relationship, they were running a household together and he saw the love in his brother's eyes for April, he knew it was the same way he looked at Alex. Love, he thought he would never be able to feel love for anyone besides his family, especially not some human girl.

He glanced over at her, her outline illuminated from the lights on the dash. He wished he was human so he could give her everything she ever wanted. A house in the mountains, dates out on the town, even a family. There was nothing he wanted more than to just hand her the world, to love her until they both faded back into the earth. Sighing he let his mind wander to the more physical side of her, letting that distract him from the overwhelming worry bubbling up in his mind over her current state. "Just a few more hours." He whispered, hoping she would hear him. "I'll keep you safe."

...

(Alex p.o.v)

The entire ride home I couldn't find myself able to drive. Raphael had done that for me, taking the risk of getting pulled over rather than me driving off the road completely. My head ached and with every wave of pain, every inch of my body shuddered, like some delayed shock.

Ever since we had dropped off Casey and left the cabin I could feel something. It wasn't any specific kind of pain though, and I had rolled through the first hour with just minor aches and casual pin pricks. Now as we inched closer to the farmhouse I could no longer tell what reality was and what was just my imagination.

My eyesight blurred, my head pounded like it could explode any minute, and throughout the last remaining hours I had completely blacked out. My last memory the view from the back side of the van, the last voice I had heard was Raphael cursing as my body became weightless. My body figuring it would rather succumb to shutting itself down rather than experience whatever the hell was happening.

The only thing is I think I would have rather dealt with the pain than live through the darkness of sleep.

There was something that lurked in my dreams that I hadn't encountered in so long I had almost forgotten about it. It was a shadow, a myth of a fantasy I once prayed for.

A child.

I had named her Eva when she had begun haunting me in my mind, playing with my emotions. Now I wish I had given her no name at all.

She is beautiful, I must admit, and since the last time I had seen her in my dreams she had seemed to grow. This time, as I lay passed out in the passenger seat of the van, she appeared to me in her human form, her hair mousey brown like mine, her eyes a striking emerald that seemed to peer right through me. In the darkness I just stared at her, taking her in as she walked towards me, her arms outstretched, the smile on her face seemingly happy to see me again.

"What do you want." I growled, flinching at the pained tone in my voice. I knew I was dreaming, but even in sleep I could still feel the pain that had followed me since we left the cabin. The child didn't halt, didn't seem hurt by my words, instead she just cocked her head to the side as if she didn't understand what I had just said.

"Why?" I simply asked, why couldn't I get her out of my head, why wouldn't she leave me alone. She just looked at me quizzically again before ending her trek over to me just inches from my feet. Sitting in the cool darkness the way I was, I still had some height on her, though not enough to force me to look down upon her.

As much as I wanted to turn her away, to scream until she fled, I couldn't. When I looked into her eyes I saw the one I fell in love with, the one I wanted to spend the rest of my days with. In her eyes I saw Raphael, and even if the rest of her looked like me I couldn't bring myself to curse her out of my mind.

I knew from visions and dreams that she was the supposed child of Raphael, my child. I had watched from afar in my own imagination our little family unit playing and laughing in fields of flowers, smiling as if the world was not so cruel, as if death was non existent.

She was a fantasy, I had always dreamed of having my own child, someone who I could protect, teach, watch grow. Someone who shared my blood. There was a cruel joke within this dream of mine though, the reason I wished I could forget about the child, forget about her face...I was barren.

I couldn't have kids. I could never bring this child inside my mind to reality; I could never make her existence real.

…

April crept down the stairs with Donatello by her side, both armed and ready for whatever was about to enter their porch. It could be her family finally returning to her from the cabin, but she could sense there was only one person in their midst. Something was wrong, and she was as prepared as she could be for the potential attack on her family.

It was odd, having her tessen back in her hands, like an old friend from the past. Seeing Donnie with his bow staff even brought on a number of memories she couldn't help but smile at. She pictured a much younger Don leaning against the very same staff, eyeing her down with his gap toothed smile.

In the midst of nostalgia the sound of a car door shutting drew them both out of their inner thoughts as both flinched at the noise. "Who do you think it could be?" April asked, her voice gentle and quiet even though whoever was out there probably couldn't even hear her, let alone know she was waiting for them.

"If it's not Alex, Raph, or Casey, I honestly have no clue." Don whispered back, following in April's steps, ready for the door to burst open any minute. They stood there for five minutes almost, staring down the door, listening for the footsteps. Nothing.

Then, the creak of a wooden step drew them both out of their concentration. It didn't come from outside though, it came from above.

"April, Don? What are you guys doing up so late?" The voice called, and April sighed, relieved to some extent the noise had not come from outside the door. "Someone's here Leo" Don whispered back to his brother, who crept the rest of the way down the stairs to their stationed point.

"Is it them?" The oldest asked, confused as to why weapons were drawn, and why April seemed so focused on the doorway. Before either could answer April caught it, boots recklessly making their way over the porch deck, the sound perfectly in synch with her heartbeat. Just as fast as they had come, they had stopped, right in front of the door. Don gripped his bow a little tighter, even Leo took a defensive stance. April just tried to hone in on whoever was out there, the overwhelming image of black and red gripped her mind, the flash of a Cheshire smile dotting the backs of her eyelids.

Stepping as quietly as she could over to the doorway she looked once back at Donnie before gripping the handle in her hands. "Now or never O'Neil" her voice mocked in her head. With Donnie ready to back her up, and Leo on his tail, she flung the door open, her tessen catching the light of the full moon over the treetops. Adrenaline raced through her veins, the thought of battle from years ago preparing her for an onslaught of enemies, except on the porch there was no one, not a single soul.

"Wh-" She was about to question the situation, stealing a quick glance back at Don before searing pain ripped through her wrist and with a dull thud her fan dropped to the wooden porch floor. With a small grunt she was pushed out of the way gripping her wrist as Don came through the door, realizing April had been attacked. April watched in horror as Donnie too was disarmed, quickly and effortlessly, only Leo stood left in the doorway.

"Leo! The light!" She yelled, and quickly Leo grabbed for the outer light switch before the attacker could do any further damage. Suddenly light flooded the porch and April had to squint her eyes just to make sure she could get a good look at the attacker before they ran off.

What she found was a surprise indeed. There, with her back against the house siding, under the porch light was a girl who she had known years ago. "Now, is this how you treat an old friend?" The girl asked with that same sickening smirk she had always worn. In one swift movement she kicked Don's staff up into her hands, and held it out to him, also bending down to pick up the old tessen. "Not as sharp as you once were." She whispered as she handed the weapons back.

Always so calm, so terrifyingly calm. It made April's insides crawl just seeing she had really not changed one bit. The city life, filled with mutants and rouge outlaws had really roughed her up, she looked tougher, her persona screaming she was bad news.

Then her heart broke in two as she remembered just who was standing in the doorway.

"Karai." He mumbled, like his heart had fallen out of his chest just at the sight of her. His eyes locked onto her, nothing else mattered anymore, it was her, the one he had been waiting for.

"Hello again, Leonardo." She whispered back, her smirk less terrifying now, but it still set April on edge. "Why are you here, Karai?" She asked, looping her tessen back in her belt.

Her answer was simple, and serious. "Alex."

For those of you who guessed Karai, you were right! Hope this chapter lived up to your standards! One more thing, what could be wrong with Alex? Leave your guesses and I'll see you all next chapter!