AUTHOR'S NOTE: sorry that chapter two took so long to be put up. I've had a time finishing it. I've had lots going on in the last few days, but here we are now!

That evening, after three solid hours of unpacking, I kicked back on the small porch attached to my new home. I still had a little bit to do, but for the most part it was finished. Sighing, I sipped the tea I had made myself. It warmed me up despite the cooling air outside. I scanned the city, watching a few people come and go. Some probably were getting ready for a night on the town while others might be going to work on a nightshift. I enjoyed people watching. It was interesting.

Just then, I heard something that sounded like metal scraping against metal. Curious, I looked around to see where it might have come from. My eyes rested on an opened manhole in the middle of an alley that was right across the street from my condo. I watched carefully as four very familiar figures climbed out. It was them! I was so elated I almost shouted at them so they would see me. Fortunately, I caught myself. One did not want to announce their presence. It was part of being a ninja, as Splinter had told me.

Instead, I watched them while excitement bubbled away inside me. I noted that they were certainly less gangly than they had been. Their muscles were clearly defined and well-built. I noticed that they had all grown, too. They certainly would prove to be an intimidating sight to anyone who tried to tangle with them.

I watched Raph freeze for a moment then turn in my direction. A huge smile was suddenly plastered across his face. I smiled and waved back. He nudged Mike who was closest to him and pointed at me. Mike did the same thing, only he was waving frantically and nearly toppled onto his shell. I suppressed a chuckled and waved back at him too. Mike excitedly tapped Donny and Leo on the shoulder too. They too waved and smiled.

Mike gave a signal that they were going to head up in my direction. Within seconds, they all stood on my small porch.

"Hey, welcome back Christine!" Mike said, hugging me tightly. "I missed you!"

I hugged him back just as fiercely. "I missed you too, Mike."

Once he released me, he gave me a once over. "My...you have certainly grown up since I last saw you! You're nearly as tall as me!" he said, chuckling.

I grinned. "You have about 6 inches on me!"

Mike smiled. "So, I do! Close enough." I laughed.

I turned to look at the others. "You guys have grown too! Now I feel small!"

"Awh," said Raph, "You ain't small; you're just the right size."

"Thanks, Raph." I said, patting his shell.

"So, are you visiting again?" Donny asked.

"No," I said, smiling, "I just moved here. I'm going to eventually open an art gallery here."

Leo smiled. "Just like you told us you were going to."

I nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I'm very happy to be finally living my dream."

Mike smiled. "Way to go! So, you got any food in this joint?"

Raph glared at his brother and smacked him upside the head. "You already ate!"

Donny smirked. "That doesn't matter, Raph. He's always hungry."

Raph laughed at that. "True enough."

I walked over and patted mike's shell. "It's okay. You're more than welcome to some frozen pizza I picked up the other day."

His eyes twinkled. "Right on!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Alright then, I'll get it all going."

And with that, I turned on the oven so it could preheat to the right temperature. Once that was done, I threw in the pizza and set the timer.

"So, what have you guys been up to lately?"

"It's still pretty much normal." Leonardo said, "Don finally got some cable on the TV he installed in the lair."

"Nice! I remember Mikey complaining about that in his last letter."

I looked over at him and smiled. He gave me a goofy grin back. I chuckled. I really had missed seeing those. I should have tried to come back sooner. I felt a small stab of guilt for that but squelched it. There was nothing I could have done. Funds, well my funds, couldn't finance another trip. But, here I was now and that was all that mattered.

I watched Mike's smile turn from goofy to tender while I looked at him. I felt unexpected warmth in my heart upon seeing it. Now that was new. Still, it was unsettling. I stifled it and decided not to think about it.

"Pizza's almost ready." I said and turned to check on it. I noticed Mikey frown from the corner of my eye. I wondered briefly why but shut the thought away.

I sighed as I heard the ding from my oven a few minutes later. I grabbed my oven mitts and pulled the pizza out onto the counter.

"Now," I said, addressing my green friends, "You have to let this cool for a minute or two or you'll burn yourselves."

"Yes, mom, we got it." Raph teased.

I rolled my eyes but chuckled despite myself. "Very funny, Raphael I appreciate you thinking of me as a mothering type." I said sarcastically, but I was smiling.

"Well, we need someone to." Mike pointed out, "We have Splinter fathering us already." He joked.

Everyone laughed. "That's very true, Mikey." Donny said, still chuckling at his brother.

I served them each a couple of pieces and had one myself. They ate the pizza with great enthusiasm which, of course, was expected of them, as they were great pizza lovers.

"Thank you very much for feeding us." Leonardo said in a very gentlemanly like manner. Being the unspoken leader, he figured he had to be the polite one. I knew that he didn't trust his brothers to follow suit unless they were asked to. It frustrated him to no end, but they wouldn't change their ways. They were stubborn just-out-of-their-teenage-years boys.

What had amazed me most about all of them was that they were very pronounced individuals. Each had their own distinct personality. Raph was the one with the rough exterior. He had a short temper and smart mouth. To top it off, he had the thickest New York accent I had ever heard. Donny was the shy, sweet scientist one of the bunch. He was forever curious about the world around him. He was the one that they always depended on to fix things and make life easier for them. For example, he had put in showers so they could clean the sewer smell off of them after being out.

Mikey was the goofy one with the classic surfer accent. Despite that, he was still pretty perceptive and smart when he wanted to be. At the time I had met him, I was much the same way which was why we bonded so strongly. I still was in a way but I had matured since then. But then again, so had he. I watched him out of the corner of my eye while I gathered up their dishes and set them next to the sink.

He was sitting in the middle of the floor cross-legged looking at the PS2 I had bought a year or two earlier. His eyes were lit up like a kid's.

"I'll have that hooked up pretty soon, Mike, don't worry. Then you can play it all you like."

He blushed slightly at the fact that I had read his thoughts so clearly, but that was short lived as his excitement took over.

"That would rock!"

Donny shook his head. "Now you've done it, Christine. We'll never see him again!" The purple masked turtle laughed.

"We'll come around and haul him home for training though." Leonardo said, joining in on the joke.

"Hey!" Mike said, clearly not impressed with their making fun of him.

They all just laughed. Mike grumbled and chose not to say anything. It was obvious he was used to this sort of thing.

"Speaking of home, we have to get there right away. Master Splinter wants us to clean up a little." Donny said and sighed.

They all groaned. "Oh I hate cleaning!" Raph grumbled.

"I second that!" Mikey said and stood to stretch.

"Well, thanks for having us. It was nice seeing you again." Leonardo said and hugged me once more. In turn, the rest of them followed.

I felt that same warmth again when it was Michelangelo's turn. I unconsciously lingered for a moment, just enjoying his embrace. Afterwards, we inadvertently locked eyes. Something flickered there, something that I couldn't put a name on. Whatever it was had me transfixed.

He broke the connection, smiled, and took off after his brothers. I stood on my porch and watched them leave. What had just happened there a few moments ago? Why was he making me feel all those foreign emotions?

There were too many questions that I didn't have the answers to. Sighing, I waited until they were out of sight before I went back inside and did the dishes. As I did, I tried not to think of that orange masked turtle as anything other than my best friend.