Epilogue
"Cooooommmmmeeeeee onnnnnnnn, please? You're the only one that gives me any competition," Mikey whined.
"Maybe you should, if just to shut him up for a while," Raph said.
"Ok," Elizabeth said. Mikey and Raph stared at her and then at each other and Mikey winked. Elizabeth and Mikey settled themselves in front of the TV and Mikey put on the new game that he had yet to play. Raph decided to leave them at it and he headed for the dojo and Punchbag Paul.
Mikey looked at his niece, her face set in concentration as the two raced their virtual cars around the track. Her car slammed into a barrier and his shot past across the finish line. Mikey leaped to his feet and whooped, doing a little dance as he did so. He stopped when he noticed her shoulders shaking and he knew she wasn't laughing.
"Hey," he sat down next to her.
"It's just a game. You'll get me next time," he handed her a tissue and she grabbed it and wiped at her eyes with it, but continued crying and Mike hugged her until she stopped.
It was later that night when the four turtles were gathered in the dojo for an impromptu practice session.
"I don't get it though, she just started crying and all we were doing was playing a game," Mikey said. Don sighed, shaking his head.
"It wasn't the game, Mikey," he said.
"Huh? Then what was it?" Mikey asked.
"Ever since we brought her back from Shredder she had this wall built up around her. Then Raph," he nodded in Raph's direction for emphasis.
"Had that talk with her the other day and all of a sudden those walls came crashing down and all of a sudden she has these emotions to deal with. They're going to come to the surface at strange times because she doesn't know how else to handle them. She could be having a great time and in a really good mood and next thing BAM!" Don smacked a fist into his palm as he said it.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Mikey. In fact you did exactly the right thing, she needs to know that when this happens we're not going to run away screaming,"
"So what you're saying is that she'll do it unexpectedly at any time?" Leo asked, slightly confused as he had only caught the last bit of what Don had said.
"Exactly," Don replied.
She poked him slightly, trying to wake up her father. With a groan he rolled over onto his carapace and blinked sleepily at her and then sat up.
"Another nightmare?" He asked. She nodded mutely and Raph patted the bed next to him, were he hugged her tightly.
"Like it happen all over again," she sniffled.
"I know, Lizzie. But he can't get ta ya here, ya know that right?" He asked.
"Yeah, still scared," she whispered. Raph wondered why he hadn't woken up as he had for the last few nights when she screamed from the torment within her own mind.
"Ya wanna sleep here tonight?" He asked. It was something she hadn't done in years, but Raph was willing to make an exception.
"Yeah," she curled up on the bed next to me and I tucked her in. I figured she might be able to get at least a couple of hours of sleep before she had to get up in the morning. A few hours later she woke up screaming and again two hours after that.
The next morning Elizabeth came into Don's class looking tired and worn out.
"Rough night?" He asked sympathetically. He knew she had, they had all heard her screams.
"Yeah," was all she said before taking her seat.
"Okay, see this sentence I've written on the board? I want you to tell me what's wrong with it
jack walked down the road he was on his way to cheque the gate were locked.
She stared at the board for a long moment.
"Big J," she said.
"Why?" Don asked.
"Name, first word," she told him.
"Very good anything else?"
"Cheque, check. Were, was,"
"Excellent," he looked at her waiting for her to continue. A moment later she shook her head and shrugged. He fixed all the mistakes and she nodded once and Don knew that she was paying attention so that she wouldn't make the same mistake again. He gave her a few more sentences to fix and she picked out almost all the errors in them. He let her take a short break and then gave her some math work to go over. She was actually working on them, even though she hated math. She laid her head down on her folded arms on the table and started to cry. Don went to her and held her as she cried like a baby.
"Sorry," she mumbled when she was finished.
"It's alright," he reassured her.
When class was over she went to the dojo. Leo had decided it was time to allow her practice her high kick, now that Donnie had agreed it was okay to do so. Elizabeth took her place, arms raised in the correct position. Leo watched from the sidelines, not interrupting yet. She tried a few experimental kicks and after a moment she settled down as I joined her.
"So why don't you show it to me?" I said, acting like I hadn't been watching her and she hadn't noticed me. She nodded once with a frown of concentration on her face. And then she pulled it off almost flawlessly on her first try. I smiled proudly at her.
"That was great, Elizabeth," I praised her. Her lip trembled at my words; she sniffled and then burst into tears. What did I say? Leo wondered. He went to her and held her as she cried. After a while her crying stopped and she just sniffled quietly. I sat back from her.
"Feel better?" I asked.
"Yeah, cry on you," she said sheepishly. I waved a hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it," I told her.
"To finish off today's lesson I want to tell you the story of a young ninja called Tadake, he was fourteen years old when his clan went into a battle. It was at the time a huge war, the entire clan was called upon to fight. Tadake was still in training to become a full ninja, but he wanted to be a part of this battle. As the oldest of the ninja in training he was told that he was responsible for the young ones when everyone else left for battle. He tracked the rest of his clan and followed them to this battle and what he saw was something that he knew he should not have. His clan was large and strong, filled with able ninja. The clan they faced however was stronger and Tadake did not understand how almost all his clan had been killed. Then he saw his older sister; Miko, come towards him and he ran to her. Instead of greeting him in her usual style she rebuked him; harshly, for he had broken the most important rule, to disobey the Sensei of their clan. This was not his first time doing it, but this time his actions had far reaching and devastating consequences for he had left the young of their clan defenseless. When Tadake and Miko returned to their clan home they found that the young were all dead," Leo said.
"It was the day that Tadake chose to leave the clan home to follow the army that he lost his honor. For even though his clan and Sensei were gone he could have still died with his honor intact. Instead he threw it all away for something that he wanted and was not yet ready for."
"Tomorrow I want you to tell me what you learned from Tadake's story,"
"Ok," she stood up and the two left the dojo to go get some dinner, but stopped in the living room where Raph was turning up the volume on the radio. And then Raph started dancing to the music.
"Uh…Raph? Are you feeling alright?" Leo asked over the sound of the music.
"What the heck's he doing?" Mikey asked from behind.
"Mikey?" Leo looked at him.
"Yeah?" Mikey said.
"Just checking," Leo groaned. Raph danced towards them.
"Dance with me, pretty lady," he said to Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked towards Leo, an eyebrow raised in question. Leo just shrugged, he had no idea what Raph was up to either.
"Aww, she won't dance with me," Raph made a face and then grabbed Mikey instead and twirled him around the room. The song switched to Billy Joel's 'The Longest Time' and then Raph started singing, loudly and badly.
"If you said goodbye to me tonight, there would still be music left to write," Raph sang.
"Oh, honey! I knew you remember our anniversary!" Mikey cried out and he kissed Raph. Leo heard a strange noise and turned to look at Elizabeth. Her good hand covered her mouth. Then she gave up all pretence at trying not to laugh and started giggling loudly and Leo knew that had been Raph's intention all along. It was the first time that he had seen her laughing in a while and the sound was refreshing.
"Hey, what ya know she does remember how to laugh," Raph stopped singing and shoved Mikey away.
"She might," Don was smirking at him evilly a small video-camera in one hand.
"I got that whole 'Raph remembered' scene, so the question is, do you know how to laugh?"
"Gimme that!" Raph launched himself at Don who tossed the camera to Leo.
"Lizzie! Catch!" Leo threw the camera in her direction and she caught it. Raph stopped in front of her, right now he wouldn't do anything to her. She grinned at him.
"Here, dad," she handed him the camera.
"Aww, Lizzie, after all the trouble I went to get that!" Don joked.
"Ha! See my kid will always help me out!" Raph crowed, grinning at Don and Leo.
"So true," Leo said, but he said it in a good natured way.
"Uncle Donnie," Lizzie said.
"What?" He asked.
"You know better," she held up the videotape that she had taken from the video-camera before giving it to Raph.
"Why you little…!" Raph growled good naturedly. He ran after her and with a small screech she took off, but of course he caught her.
"Give it to me," he tickled her
"Don't have!" She laughed.
"Oh, Raaaappphhh, over here!" Mikey held the video tape. Raph hadn't even seen her throw it to him.
"Oh, ya think yer smart, do ya?" Raph asked.
"Yeah," she nodded and grinned at him.
"I'll get you later," he told her, letting her go. And the game of toss the video tape continued for another few minutes.
"Someone has to go get the pizza," Mikey groaned from where Raph had knocked him to the floor.
"It's your turn," Raph said.
"Nu uh, it's Don's," Mikey said.
"I am not falling for that again," Don said.
"Fine I'll go get it," Leo said.
"Come?" Elizabeth asked. Leo glanced at Raph, knowing that his brother probably wouldn't want her leaving the lair ever again. He was surprised when Raph nodded his permission and Elizabeth went off to get a sweater.
"Just keep a close watch on her, Leo," Raph said.
"You know I will, bro," Leo assured him.
"Ready to go?" He asked his niece when she returned.
"Yeah," she replied.
"You go on and collect it, Lizzie," Leo said. He saw the look in her eyes.
"Go on, I'll be right here if you need me," after a moment she took off into the pizza restaurant. He stayed in the shadow, but kept a close eye on the restaurant until he saw her come back out.
"Uncle Leo," she called.
"Right here," he said.
"Uh…someone meet you," she said. She knew that humans weren't meant to see her family.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"Miss Hart, you find in school, bring out," she said. She seemed to sense his indecision.
"She know not human,"
"Ok, where is she?" Leo asked.
"I'm right here," a female voice said and then the woman that he had rescued from the school stepped into the light.
"I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life," she stood up on tip toe and kissed him on the cheek.
"You are welcome, Miss Hart, but I and my niece must return home now. It was nice meeting you." For once he meant to words, there was something about this 'Miss Hart' and he couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"Pizza get cold," Lizzie said.
"Alright, I'm coming," he looked at the woman before she stepped back out into the street and left them alone.
"Uncle Leo, girlfriend," Lizzie laughed at her own little joke.
"That's enough from you, Miss Smart Aleck," Leo was glad for the shadows that hid him blushing.