Sorry this update has taken so long! I'm almost done with my junior year in collage, and I've just been going through some struggles personally. I've also been trying to figure out where I exactly want this story to go!

Thank you to all my very lovely, patient reviewers (: I love you guys

Everything was a strange mix of numbness and burning. I hissed as I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the bright light of…my room. And not my little room in my rented bungalow, but my actual room. My room on Dogwood Drive.

When I had first arrived in Florida, my first thought was to head to the house that my dad had left to me. I never went there because I knew that would be one of the first places my brothers and my turtles would look. I moaned as I gazed at the light teal walls, not understanding how I got here.

"Yer awake."

The gruff voice made me jump, which made my body ache. With a groan, I turned my head towards Raph, who was sitting in a reclining chair by my bed. I felt a burning sensation in my throat and reached out for the bottle of water on my bedside table. I eyed Raph as I pushed myself up so I could drink. I couldn't help but take in the physical changes in my red banded turtle.

He looked so…sick. Like Leo had.

"Where have you been?" Another voice broke through my dull roar of pain. Leo was leaning against the door way, a frown on his face. The door inched open a little more and Mikey scooted in around Leo, with Donnie following in after and sliding the door closed.

I felt myself tense as they all surrounded my bed, feeling a little cornered. Mikey seemed to sense that and slowly curled into a ball on the bed by my hip. He began to slowly run his fingers over the outside of my thigh, which made a little fear go away.

"I've been…here." I said softly, unsure of what to say. What could I say? That I had started a new life? That I had new friends; people I considered new family members? My tongue was feeling strangely sore and dry.

"Stop being cute." Leo hissed, his blood shot grey eyes narrowing on me.

"Stop being a dick." I hissed back, my back straightening. "You come into my home and-"

"You left your real home." Leo said, suddenly standing at the foot of my bed. Every muscle in Leo's body was strained, the veins pulsating against his sickly colored skin. I felt my own hackles rise in defense.

"Oh, I didn't know home was where no one cared about me." I shot back, groaning at the sharp pain that suddenly sprang up in the bottoms of my heels.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. What were you planning to do? Hide underground your whole life just because one bad thing happened?" Leo growled, crossing his arms over his plastron.

"You seem just fine with hiding underground." I said, feeling myself getting angrier by the second.

"Katie…" Raph whispered, reaching out to grab my wrist. Screaming, I yanked my hand away and snarled.

"No! Fuck you!" I shouted, pointing at Leo. "I was scared! I wasn't ready to go back up yet, but did anyone care? No! Did anyone ask my opinion? No!"

"But babe…" Mikey whispered, the side of his face now pressed against my thigh.

"No! You all noticed I was scared and what did you do? You plotted against me to try and 'fix me'. To try and get your little slut back!" I shrieked, tossing my half empty water bottle across the room. It knocked over a mirror on my desk with a loud crack. All four of the ninjas froze, different looks on their faces: shock, hurt, confusion, anger.

Growling, I threw myself off my bed awkwardly. I stumbled, pushing away from Donnie who tried to help stabilize me. Angry and hurt, I stormed out of my bedroom and rushed towards the front door as fast as my battered body could carry me.

Shing

I froze as I caught sight of a quick flash of metal fly past my face. Blinking in shock, I spied a small throwing knife that was now embedded into the wooden door frame by my head. Slowly, I turned around to face Leo, who had two small throwing knives twirling around his fingers.

"After what my brothers and I've gone through to find you…you're not going anywhere." Leo said, his eyes hardened and emotionless.

"MASTER! LEO'S GONE CRAZY!" Mikey called, rushing towards one of the guest bedrooms. I growled, dropping into a low crouch. I was hurting physically and emotionally and I wasn't going to let Leo or anyone else push me.

Not this time.

"Leo, if you throw one more of those at me-" I said, but was cut off by another shink as another knife embedded itself in my door, centimeters away from my knee.

"One more and we're done." I threatened, hardening my stance. Some part of my mind didn't comprehend the whole 'I've been gone a whole year, he probably already considers us as broken up' situation.

Shink.

"Go to hell, Leonardo." I hissed, leaving the house and slamming the door behind me. I heard shouting from inside the house, but I had to go. Tears ran down my cheeks in rivers, which made no sense. How could it hurt so much to end my relationship with Leo when I hadn't spoken to him, let alone seen him, in almost a year? I raced away from my house as fast as I could, feeling my legs shake every so often. Just as I was about to make it off the block, someone grabbed me around the waist.

"Kate, where do you think you're going?" Henry shouted, his skinny arms wrapped around me. His cherry red hair was longer than I remember. His topaz eyes never seemed so bright.

"H-Henny…" I whimpered, turning around and shoving my face into Henry's chest. Henry stopped yelling and started rocking us back and forth. I began sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder and sniveling.

"I-I've missed you!" I cried, snot dribbling down my nose. "I'm just so…it hurts! No one cares and it hurts!"

"No one cares about what, Katie?" Henry whispered, wrapping his arms even tighter around me and dragging us down to sit on the hot concrete sidewalk.

"I-I was so scared! N-no one c-cared and just…expected me t-to be okay! No o-one cared ab-about how scared I was!" I screamed, rocking back and forth in his arms. "N-no one c-cared about MY feelings! I-I try so-so hard to p-please everyone!"

"I know you do, sweetheart." Henry said, tears falling down his face.

"I j-just…I want…all I-I needed w-was someone to u-understand w-why I was s-scared and…give me time! But no o-one cared eno-enough about me to give me that!" I screamed, completely hysterical as I cried against my big brother's shoulders. We must have sat there on the ground underneath the burning sun for hours. By the time I was all cried out, our skin was a tender pink and my face was bright red from so many tears.

"I-I broke up with Leo." I whispered, my voice hoarse as Henry picked me up into his arms.

"I was worried someone would push you." Henry rasped, clutching me to his chest. "I'm just happy I've got you back. I understand that you've been hurt, but this was a horrible way to express yourself. For a year…I couldn't boss you around for a year."

"I've missed you, Henny." I whispered, pushing my face against his bony shoulder as he walked us closer to the house.

"I missed you too, Katie." Was the last thing I heard when I fell asleep in his arms.

"Great going, Fearless." Raph growled, rolling his eyes at Leo, who was sitting outside in the garden. The eldest turtle was curled into a fetal position, his head so low that his forehead was almost pressed into the moist soil.

"I fucked up Raph, I get it." Leo said softly, sighing.

"You messed up. Big time. Ya' threw fuckin' knives at 'er, bro!" Raph hissed, rubbing his forehead. "Ya' fuckin' snapped!"

"I didn't mean to. I just…the thought of her…getting away…it felt like the frustration when an opponent gets away…but ten times worse." Leo said, lifting his head up and shaking it.

"She's mad at 'cha now." Raph said softly, sitting down.

"She's mad at all of us." Mikey said, coming out of the pool house, silently closing the sliding glass door behind him.

"Donnie's checking up on her." Mikey whispered, coming closer to his two big brothers. "Is she gonna break up with all of us?"

"I…I dunno, Mikey." Raph said, after seeing that Leo was too deep into his own pity party to answer the youngest turtle.

"This can't be happening. How did everything get so…bad." Leo said softly, looking up into the trees. The stars in Florida seemed so much brighter than the ones in New York. Angry with himself, Leo clenched his fist and pressed it against his forehead.

"We just gotta fix it." Mikey said softly, pushing himself to stand. "I'm gonna go sleep. I want to make sure she's not alone when she wakes up."

Mikey stood up from his crouch, wiping excess dirt from his knees and calves before opening the sliding door to the pool house. Raph sighed as he watched his youngest brother go and his eldest brother pity himself silently.

"Nothin' will get done if we just sit 'round." Raph said, shaking his head. Leo would either be too big to apologize to Kate, or his honor would be too damaged for him to ever look her in the eye again.

"I…I'll work something out." Leo whispered, clenching his eyes shut. Raph grumbled, shaking his head.

"Well, when yer ready ta' act, come tell me that ya' stopped actin' like a crazy turtle."

My purple guest room had been transformed into a Zen, tranquil meditation zone during the short time Master Splinter has stayed there. I noticed that some of the pictures were arranged differently, a few plants from outside had been plotted and brought in, and the curtains were pushed wide open.

"My daughter, what you did was very foolish." Master Splinter said softly, sitting cross legged on the purple covered bed. I sat at the foot of the bed, facing my Master and sitting exactly as he did. I opened my mouth to explain myself, but I found that no words would come out. All I could do was sigh and shake my head.

"But I understand." Master Splinter said softly, reaching his claw out and taking one of my hands in his.

"You knew…exactly where I was this whole time, haven't you?" I said softly, swallowing thickly. Whenever I would meditate, I would feel another energy poking at my own. At first, I thought it was Leonardo, but I corrected myself as I accepted the energy and examined it. The energy was a deep maroon, warm, and gave me the feeling of being held by a father.

"I lied to my sons. Pretended that I could not find you on the plain. You needed the time that many were too foolish to give." Master Splinter said, squeezing my hand. I let out another large breath, bending down so that my forehead pressed into the warm comforter.

"I just…It still hurts. I don't know what to do." I whispered, sniffling. I was so confused when I woke up back in my bedroom. I thought maybe it had all been a strange dream until I tiptoed out into the main room and saw the indents in my door frame.

Mikey snoring away in a sleeping bag at my bedside was another big hint that everything was real.

Raph was sleeping on the large couch in the main room, along with Henry and Casper who were sleeping on the pull out couch bed. Donnie was sleeping in the blue guest room. There was no sign of Leonardo, good riddance. I wasn't surprised that Master Splinter had been waiting for me with the door open.

"Do whatever you feel you must. Forgiveness is a two way street." Master Splinter said, leaning forwards and pressing his forehead to mine. I nodded, letting go of my Masters hand and slowly getting off the bed. My body was still so sore and now my legs had pins and needles from sitting so long with Master Splinter.

"Get some rest, Kate." Master Splinter said, stretching his own legs out. I nodded, bowed and quietly shut the door behind me. I heard Master chuckle a little, which made me smile. I froze in the hallway, looking between the long walk to my room and the three foot steps into the blue guest room.

As quietly as I could, I pushed open the door to the blue room. I smiled, seeing that Donnie was curled up in the blue and white checkered sheets. I closed the door behind me, which made Donnie grumble and turn over in his sleep. He pressed his face into the pillow, letting out a small sigh. I slowly got into the bed, curling up under the sheets that I somehow managed to wrangle away from Donnie.

With a frown, I focused on Donnie's changes. Donnie's army green skin had become so dry, that it was peeling away in some places. Some parts of his skin had rubbed away and become so raw that they were pink. Parts of his fingers, his elbows, and his temples were a very light shade of pink.

Frowning I crawled out of bed and inched towards the bathroom that was between the purple and blue bedrooms. I went under the sink and grabbed a giant bottle of unscented Vaseline lotion, the kind I used to use when I had rubbed my feet raw from dancing. I closed the cabinet doors softly and crept back into the room, shaking the lotion bottle.

"So many 'put the lotion in the basket' jokes are in my head right now." I muttered softly to myself, cracking a smile as I closed the door again. I crawled back into bed, pumping some of the lotion onto the tips of my fingers before I slowly started massaging it into Donnie's cracked elbows.

"Hmmmm…stings." Donnie moaned, squinting his eyes open. His beautiful brown eyes were bloodshot, the whites of his eyes were all pink and red. I shushed him, rubbing the lotion deeper into his skin.

"I'm just fixing your skin, Doc." I whispered, curling closer as I moved onto working on his other elbow. Donnie hummed in his half aware state, his toes flexing as I started to lotion and massage his raw fingers and knuckles.

"Mon chéri," Donnie whispered, his eyes slowly focusing a bit more. "Sleep." Donnie groaned, knocking the lotion out of my hands. He rolled onto his side and pulled me against his plastron. I snorted against his chest, listening to his heart slowly pound beneath his natural armor.

"I'm sorry, Donnie." I mumbled, running my fingers along the vines on the inside of his arms. Donnie's arms twitched for a moment, but slowly stilled. Donnie mumbled, nuzzling his cheek against my head, just like he always has.

"Donnie?" I asked softly, wondering if the brainy turtle was asleep.

"Yeah?" Donnie answered, his tone slightly slurred with exhaustion.

"Do you hate me? For…everything or anything that's happened." I said, staring straight into Donnie's plastron. I was way too nervous to stare into his eyes. Donnie grumbled, rolling onto his shell and lifting me up onto his chest.

"Not at all. Sure, things have to be ironed out. Mistakes were made. Thankfully they weren't mistakes that can't be fixed." Donnie said, smiling up at me. His brown eyes glimmered, catching the early morning sunshine from the half covered windows. I smiled, leaning down and pressing my lips against Donnie's. Donnie hummed slowly, his hands coming up to my shoulders and running down my back. I pulled away slowly, feeling electric sparks travel down my spine.

"Everything will be better?" I whispered, letting a true smile cross my lips.

"I assure you." Donnie said, pulling me back down to his lips.

"Good morning, Hen!" Casper said from the kitchen nook, watching his boyfriend slowly wake from his spot on the pull out couch. Henry groaned, stretching and cracking his back. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph were all sitting at the long breakfast bar, shoveling food into their mouths. Splinter, Kate, and Leo were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the others?" Henry mumbled, shoving the blankets off and shuffling towards the kitchen nook.

"Leo and Splinter are trainin'. Kate's off at the estuary." Casper said, cracking his neck. "Some turtles happened to give some of Kate's friends quite the scare. Her being dragged into a van and then disappearing for a day and all…"

"Well, excuse us!" Mikey said, grinning and rolling his eyes.

"Smart of her to train at an estuary thought. Fresh and salt water, most likely secluded." Donnie mumbled to himself, staring into his coffee cup.

"You guys should go down and watch her. She's been training hard. She was telling me about how much she's improved since she left." Henry said, opening the fridge and sticking his whole head in.

"Tink that's a good idea." Raph grumbled, pushing off the bar stool and started to head for the sliding glass doors. Mikey and Donnie slowly peddled after Raph, who was opening the back yard gate and keeping under the shadows of the trees that lined the wooded path to the estuary.

"It's about a twenty minute walk there and back." Casper whispered, watching the three turtles silently shadow down the path. Henry made an acknowledging hum in the back of his throat as he poked through the fridge.

"And Leo and Master Splinter are gone." Casper said, slowly turning to face his boyfriend, who was still shoveling through the fridge.

"And we're alone…" Casper said softly, watching with a smirk as his boyfriend's brain slowly connected with his body.

"Oh." Henry said, slowly closing the fridge and narrowing his eyes seductively at his much taller lover.

"Tueri" I said softly, holding my hands up, palms out. I felt more so than saw the green mist leave my palms and slowly harden into a shield. I held the shield up for fifteen minutes with both hands before I brought down one of my hands and held the shield up single handedly for thirteen minutes. Stretching as soon as I let the shield dissipate back into mist, I kept on practicing with different spells.

I took a break after an hour, and the world around me was quiet for a long time after that. I laid down on my stomach against the soft river side and thought about what I could do for today. I'd already spoken to Santiago and Valencia about what happened, and they seemed relieved that it was only a friendly misunderstanding. Frustrated with the turn of events, I dipped my fingers into the estuary.

"Katie!"

"Descendit!"

A huge flash of green filled my vision for a minute. It quickly dissipated, leaving me standing in the middle of a circle of frayed grass, about four inches in diameter. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph were all laid flat out on their shells about ten feet away, rubbing their heads and groaning.

"Sorry…you surprised me." I mumbled, feeling a little shy. My green flash bomb had recently been getting stronger and better. Raph was the first turtle to stand and shake his head.

"Wow, Midget. That packs a' bigger punch than I 'member." Raph groaned, scratching the back of his head and readjusting his mask.

"Extremely effective distance attack." Donnie said, offering a hand to Mikey, who still looked a little loopy.

"I've been…working on some stuff." I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. I nervously played with my orange, ankle length Bohemian skirt. All I had worn back in New York was jeans and tee shirts, but I had taken up the Floridian style once again. That meant a lot of flowing skirts, shorts, tank tops, light blouses, and off the shoulder shirts. I manage to wear my typical jeans and tee when it gets cold, but I felt so unlike myself dressed like this in front of my turtles.

"You look nice today, Mon chéri." Donnie said, as if he could sense my discomfort. I smiled, nervously pulling at the hem of my brown tank top.

"So you've become a better witch?" Mikey teased, cracking his back. I shot him a playful look, shrugging my shoulders.

"I've almost gotten through the whole book." I said, feeling my magika surge at my fingertips. Since I've come to Florida and started to train, I've never felt stronger. I dug my bare feet into the dirt and smiled as I felt the moist soil give way underneath my pads of my toes.

"Impressive." Raph grunted, a smile on his face. Raph looked a little better since I last saw him, but not by much. All of the guys looked better, excluding Leo. I'd almost ran into him and Master on my way out the door this morning, but I managed to avoid them.

"I'm sensing a demonstration." Mikey smiled, settling himself into the coarse grass. His brothers and I followed his example, and lowered ourselves into the dark green crabgrass. Slowly, I sat on the side of my hip, my legs splayed out behind me and my toes dipping into the water for a little power boost.

Wordlessly, I closed my eyes and imagined the water bending and flowing to my command.