Epilogue

3 hours later…

After the wedding service ended with April and Casey kissing in front of a beautiful sunset near the lake, nightfall came shortly afterward and the wedding after-party was in full swing where most of the guests danced and sang their hearts out to the music that was being played by the DJ. There were also some of the guests surrounding the food buffet to get their hands on their favourite treats, which nearly resulted in a tug of war battle due to many people wanting the same thing.

However, another little celebration was happening inside the shared bedroom in the farmhouse with April and Casey as the honoured guests; the arrival of baby Reina.

With help from Raph and Leo, April had brought some of the party food and sliced pieces of the wedding cake, which had a top chocolate sponge and a bottom plain sponge with buttercream in the middle, for each of the turtles and Master Splinter. Reina, however, was given another feed with a bottle of warm milk by Donnie to allow his mate to have a break and enjoy the party treats and his piece of cake.

An hour soon passed, and Mikey was sitting on his bed, which was cleaned by putting new bed sheets on as soon as they came back inside the farmhouse, and he was now holding his daughter again whilst he was talking to April and Casey.

"Sorry that we couldn't stay long at the after-party, guys…" He said with a sad smile.

"No worries, Mikey, we understand; you've been through a lot..." April said with a smile of her own.

"Yeah, man...! You've got a kid of your own ta look after now, right?" Casey said in agreement whilst placing a hand on Mikey's shoulder. Leo then came over with a half-asleep Kane in his arms.

"Besides, Mikey; Kane was starting to get tired after all that dancing with Raph and our friends, so it was good timing when you and Don had decided to head back to the farmhouse early..." He told his little brother before looking at his son who yawned and was trying his best to keep his eyes open.

"Bedtime for you, my son..." Leo said softly to Kane before turning towards the small bed, which his son had been sleeping in since last night, and laid him down before tucking him in with his blanket just as Raph came over to say goodnight to his son as well.

"Night night, daddy (Raph)…night night, fa-der (Leo)…" Kane said sleepily before falling asleep instantly.

"Goodnight, Kane..." Leo and Raph replied in unison before they each gave their son a goodnight kiss on the forehead and left him to sleep, and that's when Mikey spoke up quietly.

"Hey, Leo? Would you like to hold Reina? You and Raph haven't had a chance to cos of the Cyber Shredder earlier."

Leo looked at Mikey and then he looked at Raph before they both smiled and turned to Mikey again.

"You're right, Mikey, and I would love to..." Leo replied whilst still smiling and approached Mikey's bed to sit next to his little brother.

Everyone watched with heart-warming smiles on their faces as Mikey gently passed Reina into Leo's arms. After noticing a change in the hold, Reina began to fuss and was starting to show signs of crying for her mother. Leo knew what to do straight away and began to gently rock her back and forth.

"Shhh…It's ok, Reina…" He comforted her soothingly, resulting in her calming down straight away. Reina then slowly opened her eyes as if wanting to know who was talking to her and looked up at Leo, who smiled warmly at her before he spoke to her in a loving tone.

"Hello, little lady… I'm your uncle Leonardo. Welcome to the world, and to our family..."

Reina cooed with a little smile in response to her blue-banded uncle's words and unclenched one of her hands, which Leo reached and touched it with his large finger, and then watched as his niece's tiny fingers wrapped around it before closing her eyes again. Leo felt like his heart was being melted by a warm and fuzzy sensation in his chest before he gave his niece a kiss on her head.

"Aww…look at that; Reina has already made a bond with you, Leo!" Mikey said quietly but proudly to his oldest brother, with everyone nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, she has… Thank you, Mikey, and you too, Donnie, for bringing this beautiful bundle of joy into our Hamato family..." Leo replied whilst turning from Mikey to Donnie.

Again, everyone around them agreed with a nod and said 'thank you' to them, making the couple blush and smile shyly.

"Aww, you guys…" Mikey said bashfully, and then turned to Raph and said, "Would you like to hold Reina next, Raphie-boy?"

"Err…sure, but I think she looks pretty comfy with Leo at da moment, bro..." Raph replied with uncertainty due to the risk of making his niece cry once she sees him.

"Don't worry, big guy, she'll be fine. Here, sit next to me and I'll pass her over to you..." Leo reassured his mate and patted on the empty space next to him on Mikey's bed, signalling his mate to come and sit next to him.

Raph hesitantly sat next to Leo, who then slowly passed Reina over to him and into his arms. Raph looked at his niece with a smile whilst she again noticed another change in the hold and grunted in frustration before opening her eyes again to see her red-banded uncle for the first time.

"Hey there, kiddo… I'm ya uncle Raph. It's nice ta finally meet ya in person..." Raph said softly to his niece, who had let out a coo and then closed her eyes once more before she suddenly started to snuggle more into her uncle's arms, leaving Raph stunned.

"Well, that was unexpected...!" Leo said with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, maybe Reina sensed Raph's protective side and felt that she would be safe in his arms..." Donnie theorised whilst observing his daughter.

"You may have a point, Donnie; they say that babies are able to detect changes in emotional energies within those around them..." Leo said in support of his brother's theory since he saw Kane do the same when he was born, before looking at Mikey who seemed to be in his own world with a slight frown on his face. "Mikey, you ok?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah, I'm ok, bro…" Mikey said after taking a few seconds to snap out of his deep thoughts. However, the others already knew that something was troubling him right after seeing the sad look on his face earlier.

"C' mon, bro, we all know dat ya not, so talk ta us!" Raph said firmly but softly in concern since he wanted to know what was making his youngest brother sad.

Mikey was starting to feel a bit scared about the idea of confessing what he was thinking, but he knew his red-banded brother was right, so he took a deep breath in and then spoke.

"Don't get me wrong; I'm happy with how things turned out today, especially with Reina coming into our lives...But…I-It's just… I'm worried that…" He then began to stutter as he struggled to speak whilst trying to keep control of his emotions at the same time.

Seeing this, Donnie crouched down to Mikey's level and held his hand before speaking.

"It's ok, my love, take your time…" Mikey nodded his thanks to his mate before continuing.

"I wanna be able to help you guys out more in times of need, as well as be a good mother to Reina, but what if I mess up again like I usually do? What if a life is lost and it's my fault because I wasn't doing my job right? I don't want to screw things up or make things harder for anyone anymore!" Mikey finished with tears beginning to develop and fall from his now-closed eyes.

Everyone looked at Mikey with surprised looks on their faces. They couldn't believe that he was thinking about this just now and didn't say anything until he was encouraged to by those around him. Leo began to rub his little brother's back and Donnie got up to sit next to his mate and wrapped an arm around him to give him a sideways hug.

"Oh, Mikey… that won't happen, because you have never let us down, meaning that you will do great in looking after and protecting our daughter..." Donnie told him softly.

"Yeah, nobody's perfect, little brother, and we make mistakes ourselves too...!" Leo said in the same tone but with a bit more seriousness.

"You're a great uncle ta our Kane, bro, so I know fa sure dat you'll be a great parent ta Reina..." Raph said before turning back to his niece, who was still asleep and smiling in his arms, before he continued.

"Look, Mike, ya maybe an oddball at times, but dat's what makes ya good at makin' people laugh and smile, no matter what's been thrown at them!"

"Raph's right, Mikey. You helped keep my chin up when my apartment and shop was destroyed by the Foot, and you have also been a great help when preparing dinner during special times of the year...!" April said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, and you've been a big help in keepin' me on my toes durin' combat practice with ya never-endin' ball of energy, man...!" Casey said with a smirk.

"Do you see now, my son? Your light-filled heart has helped to lift and brighten everyone's spirits, no matter how dark the atmosphere gets..." Master Splinter told him after placing a comforting paw on top of Mikey's hand.

"You have always brightened mine whenever you come home safe with your brothers, as well as keeping me on my toes when you do something silly..." He added with a chuckle in the end.

Mikey lightly chuckled back and then embraced his father in a gentle hug, which Master Splinter happily accepted, whilst whispering the words 'thank you, father' with a smile. After releasing his father from the hug, Mikey began to yawn.

"Are you tired, Mikey?" Leo asked softly.

"Yeah, a little…" Mikey answered whilst rubbing his tired eyes.

"I think me and Casey will head back to the after-party and leave you all to rest..." April suggested as she grabbed Casey's hand.

"Yeah, ya did good today, guys. Thanks again fa savin' us, by da way...!" Casey said in agreement.

"No problem, Casey. We all might be asleep by the time you return, so we'll see you in the morning..." Donnie said as he waved them off.

"Ok. Goodnight, guys...!" April said before leaving with Casey.

"Goodnight..." The turtles and Master Splinter said in unison as they watched the couple head towards the stairs.

"I will be downstairs if you need me, my sons. Sleep well..." Master Splinter said before he gave Reina and Kane a goodnight kiss before heading towards the stairs himself.

"Goodnight, father…" The turtles replied back to their father.

Raph then gently passed Reina back to Mikey before he got up and headed towards the bed that was next to his mate Leo's after they both said goodnight to him and Donnie, to which they replied back.

Mikey laid on his bed with his back on the headboard and Reina in his arms before his mate joined him and watched his daughter sleep with a warm smile.

"Isn't our daughter just amazing, Donnie…?" Mikey asked his mate as he looked at his daughter in awe.

"Yes, my love…she's perfect…I still find it hard to believe that this little bundle of joy was inside you this whole time...and I fell in love with her the instant she appeared and landed in my arms..." Donnie replied as he stroked Reina's head gently before looking at Mikey as he spoke next.

"I know...and I'm so thankful that she's healthy..."

"Yeah...and not only that, but she has your cute and charming smile too..." Donnie replied lovingly with a small chuckle.

"I hope that she has your smart mind though, Donnie..." Mikey then said with a sad smile.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with our daughter having the same mind like yours, my love...all that matters is that she has a gentle and caring heart like yours too..." Donnie replied soothingly.

"Yeah, you're right...Thanks, Donnie..." Mikey said with a happier smile.

"No...thank you, Mikey…for giving me this beautiful gift..." Donnie whispered before kissing Mikey softly on the lips, which he returned to Donnie.

"Like I said before, anything for my Donnie…" He said with a tired but warm smile.

They both chuckled quietly to those words whilst nuzzling each other with their noses before they both looked at their daughter and continued to do so until they decided to go to sleep in their own beds since there were only single-sized beds.

Reina was placed in a Moses basket, which was made by Usagi and the Ancient One the night before, next to Mikey's bed and her parents both gave her a goodnight kiss before saying,

"Goodnight, little one..."

After saying that and leaving her to sleep, they didn't notice the warm smile developing on her face as she cooed and finally settled down to sleep.

The End.