Sorry this update has taken so long! I'm NOW done with my junior year in collage! I hit a rough emotional patch a few weeks back and I'm slowly getting back to my old self. There are just some days where I feel like I can write all day; and other days I question if I've somehow lost the ability to write anything half-way decent.

Also; I've got a shit-ton of stories in the works! If anyone's interested in: Rise of the Guardians, The Hobbit, The Avengers, or Criminal Minds, you should check out some of my new stuff!

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

"Deep breaths, my son. All will be well." Master Splinter spoke softly, curled against a large palm tree trunk. Leo was lying on the ground a few feet away, panting heavily. Leo took in deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He'd been working on katas and very strenuous exercises all day to try and rid himself of his horrible feelings.

"Leonardo." Master Splinter said after Leo's shallow breathing had returned to normal. The eldest turtle opened his eyes to look at his father, who was watching the horizon with a slightly somber expression.

"Yes, Sensei?" Leo asked softly, taking another deep breath of humid air. He missed crisp New York air. It wasn't as clean as the air here, but he held a certain fondness in his heart for New York air that he just couldn't forget.

"You do know that Kate wishes to forgive you and your brothers with all her heart, yes?" Splinter asked, slightly shocking Leonardo. Leo frowned, his hands clenching into the dirt beneath him. Leo nodded stiffly, his eyes trained on the branches of a nearby palm tree that were blowing in the breeze.

"She has been hurt, my son." Master Splinter said softly, kneeling before his son. "By those who she trusted whole heartedly. Imagine having your trust betrayed, then having the strength to try and forgive."

"She ran, Master! There's no strength in running. Why would she run from us?" Leo asked angrily, his fingers clenching the dirt beneath his palms tightly. Master Splinter nodded, understanding his son's pain.

"Place yourself in her shoes. You have just gone through something very traumatic. You are very frightened still, but you believe you are safe because you are with those you love. Suddenly, you are ripped from your cocoon of safety and thrown where you are afraid." Master Splinter reasoned.

"You forced me to get over my fear of heights in a similar way!" Leo said, shaking his head.

"I placed myself in danger. I placed myself in a situation that you wished yourself never to be in, and then hoped that you would rise up. Kate was pushed into a situation that she was afraid of, even after begging not to be. She was not being helped to rise up; she was being told to, as you children say, to suck it up." Master Splinter said, seeing Leo flinch.

Leo fought to hold back his moan of internal pain. Had he really done that? Forced Kate into a situation that she hadn't wanted; not in her darkest nightmares? Had she really felt that secure around him and his brothers; only for them to betray that trust? Had Kate felt misunderstood, uncared for, and forced? Had he forced her? That sounded too much like rape to him, and it made Leo's stomach gurgle unpleasantly.

"She ran, not as a coward does, but to defend herself. A coward runs because he does not know what he is to face. Kate ran because she knew what she was to face; her loved ones not understanding her fear." Master Splinter said softly, calling Leo back to the present.

"I…I can't believe I've messed up so badly, father." Leo couldn't help but sob. He bowed his head and let a few silent tears dribble down. Master Splinter scooted forwards and wrapped his arms around Leo's shoulders.

The two held each other for a long time, letting go of their fears and sadness.

"You've liked Florida?" Mikey asked innocently after my little magic show was over. The boys were very impressed with how I've improved. I was almost a full-fledged witch! I smiled at the youngest turtle while wringing out the bottom of my skirt, which had become drenched with water.

"It's been nice. Warm air, warm skin, clean water," I said, stretching out on the coarse grass. "Bright stars, long days, short nights. Things you can't get in New York."

"We have clean water, thank you very much." Donnie joked, tapping his fingers against his plastron.

"Depends on which burrow you're in." I joked, rolling over onto my stomach. Silence surrounded us for a few moments, creating a calm feeling that welled up inside of me. I couldn't help but sigh and press myself happily into the grass, feeling much more calm than I could remember being in the past year.

"Guys," I whispered, crossing my arms and resting my chin on them. "I just want to…apologize. I shouldn't have run. I should have found another way to express my feelings towards what happened. It would have saved all of us a lot of trouble."

No one spoke for a while. Raph was leaning up against a palm tree trunk, his hands rested on his plastron. His eyes were pointed upwards, staring unblinkingly at the sky. Mikey was lying back on his shell, much like Donnie was. The youngest turtle smiled at me and winked. Donnie said nothing, just stared at me with a pensive look in his eyes.

"Shit happens, babe," Raph suddenly coughed out. "Everyone made mistakes."

"Raph's right," Donnie agreed, nodding his head. "We all need to recognize what we did wrong, accept the consequences, and move on with our lives."

"I don't care what we have to do, as long as we go home together." Mikey said softly, his eyes turning misty. "You are coming home with us, right?"

I wish it were that simple. I had grown a new home here in Florida, and a part of me really didn't want to leave. As much as I miss New York, I love Florida. I love waking up to sunshine every day. The smells of the citrus fruits, the ocean breeze, and sun were to die for.

"Don't tell me ya' wanna stay here an' play Jungle Girl." Raph snorted, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Ya' need to come home! We miss ya'! We're sorry too, now pack yer shit an' let's go!"

A tense silence blew in the wind.

I burst into laughter so great that my entire being shook! I rolled onto my back and laughed so hard that my stomach quickly began to hurt. Mikey began to laugh along with me, while Donnie chuckled softly, and Raph shook his head.

"Jungle Girl?" I wheezed, barley managing to breath. "I fuckin' love ya'!"

Raph smiled, shaking his head.

"I…need some time to tie some knots. Quit some jobs, pay some bills, and say bye to some people," I said after I had calmed down. "There's something I want to tell you guys though…about my magic."

"What about it?" Donnie asked, his brown orbs brightened in curiosity. I swallowed thickly and looked over towards the water, which was gurgling as it always had. I took a deep breath before pulling my magika book out of my backpack and began flipping towards the back of the tome.

"Well, nearly all my spells are based on water manipulation; obviously," I muttered, flipping to one of the very last spells, one of the hardest of them all. "But there's this one spell…I've only tried it once and it's very disturbing."

"Disturbing?" Mikey asked. "As in powerful disturbing or spooky disturbing?"

"Both, I'm presuming." Donnie said as he sat down beside me and read over my shoulder.

"I've only done it once…It's manipulating water on a more…personal level."

"Personal? Whadd'ya do? Take someone's wata' bottle?" Raph scoffed, sounding slightly nervous.

"Donnie, my love, my heart, my soul: what is half the human body?" I asked softly, showing them the images in the book that went along with the spells. Donnie's mouth dropped open.

"Water. The human body is filled with water, blood, mucous, other liquids," Donnie groaned, looking at the image of a wizard controlling a living person by manipulating the water that was inside their body. "You can fully control them?"

"I was jumped once after work and I accidentally took control of the attacker," I said, passing the magika tome to Mikey and Raph. "I almost sucked all the water out of his body on accident."

I was met with a slightly uncomfortable, stifling silence. I didn't know what to do, so I stood and began to pace.

The house was calm and silent that night. I found myself in my room alone, sitting on the bed with my legs tucked underneath me. Everyone seemed exhausted today, which left a sleepy mood to flow around the house. I could hear Mikey and Raph snoring away on the couches in the living room. Henry and Casper were sleeping on the pull out couch in the living room as well, speaking in hushed tones.

"Hey."

I looked towards my doorway where Leo was leaning against the white wood. I fought with what words to say, I was afraid that everything I'd say would come out wrong. I was still flaming mad about the knife divots in the front door frame, but those could be fixed.

"Hey." I parroted, tucking my knees up under my chin. Leo frowned, his mask tugged down to hang around his neck. Leo's stormy gray eyes looked clearer than he had before, but he looked like he would benefit from a long nap.

"Do you mind if I…?" Leo trailed off, his arms hanging limply by his sides.

"Sure." I said slowly. Leo took a few cautious steps into my room, and slowly slid the door shut behind him. It clicked shut behind him, but it wasn't locked. Leo's eyes roved around the room for a moment. My desk chair was covered in clothes, so there wasn't anywhere to sit except the bed.

"There's nowhere to sit." I said, making sure Leo knew that he wasn't welcome on my bed with me.

"Standing's fine." Leo said softly, leaning the back of his shell against my wall. His arm crossed across his plastron, a deep frown marring his sickly colored skin. We were left in a stiff silence, torn between looking at each other and looking away from each other.

"Kate…I want to apologize for what happened in New York." Leo said softly, rocking on his heels. "What we did…what I did…we didn't have a right."

"No, you had a right. You were trying to help me, but you guys went about it the wrong way. Sometimes things don't have a quick, easy fix." I said, picking at a loose thread on my bedspread. Leo cleared his throat, his gray orbs fixated on mine.

"You're not a thing. You're a person; my person." Leo said carefully. I couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my lips.

"I was just so hurt." I said, my throat feeling raw. "I felt like you…I felt like you thought I was weak. Like I wasn't good enough. Like I wasn't healing quickly enough."

Leo frowned, his eyes becoming a misty shade of gray; like fog after a storm. "That's not how I felt at all. That's not how I feel. I didn't want you to wallow, I was worried that…Sometimes with fear, it sucks you in. You can't get away from it."

"I wasn't sucked in. I was clawing my way out. Don't forget that I didn't always have you guys in my life and I know how to handle my own emotions. I just don't understand why you felt the need to try and control my reaction time." I said, forcing myself to look Leo in the eye.

"I might have felt like…less of a man for not being able to protect you." Leo said, his voice breaking with emotion. I felt my mouth drop open in shock. Why? Why the hell would Leo feel like that?

"Leo, Baby, h-how?" I whispered, my entire body shivering. "You've always done what you could to protect me, Leo. You've helped me physically, mentally, and emotionally so many times. No one makes me feel as protected as you and your brothers do."

Leo's frown softened and his shoulders sagged in a big show of relief. I smiled at Leo, trying to convey that I never thought of Leo as lesser because of the horrible things that had happened. Leo always tried his hardest for everyone and no one was harder on Leo than himself.

"Leo…thank you." I said quietly, cautiously stepping off my bed. With small steps, I made my way in front of Leo. He stood stone still, but held his arms out. It was my choice whether we touched or not. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly.

Our fighting wasn't over; but we could begin healing.