"Okay guys, that's good for today." Cassi said after noticing how tired they looked.

"Good!" Mike exclaimed. "My hands are starting to hurt from playing the same thing over and over."

"Better get used to it, Mikey," Don grinned, "We've got years of this ahead of us."

Cassi looked at her watch, "Yeah, I hope so, but right now time's calling me to a visit with Chris in half an hour. You guys go have some fun. I'll stay here and finish saving the sound clips we did get recorded." She said with an insisting tone.

By this time, all four knew better than to argue with her, so Leo and Don - Raph just left without a word - said goodbye to her and headed out of the studio. Mike hesitated a moment, then stopped by Cassi to talk to her.

He watched her type in the song titles for a moment, and then cleared his throat. "So, you're not our sister, right?"

"Right," She replied, but Cassi already knew what he was going to say.

"Are you and Leo...?"

"We're not going steady, if that's what you mean." She told him, not looking up at him to see Mike nodding. The orange masked turtle didn't notice the tiny traces of hurt in Cassi's voice. We haven't even gone out once since I've been back.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go…I mean, you don't have to…" He trailed off, trying to find the words.

A pleasant smirk crossed her face, as an idea crossed her mind, "Sure, Mikey, I'd love to go surfing with you later tonight." She answered his unspoken question. What Mike doesn't know won't hurt him, but I hope Leo finds out about this. I want him to be jealous. Maybe it'll convince him to finally do what I want him to. Who knows? This evening may even be fun!

"You would? I mean, uh, is it a date?" Mike asked hopefully.

Cassi grinned, "If you want." Outside the room, Leo couldn't believe what he had just heard.

---

"Do you think we'll become famous?" Cassi asked as the two walked to where they kept the surfboards.

"With your voice, defenitly!" His reply made Cassi blush.

Once they had their boards, Cassi switched on the machine that formed the waves. They had to wait a few minutes for the waves to get big enough. Setting her black surfboard down gently, Cassi sat down on the ledge of the wall and dipped her feet in the water.

"You're much more serious than I remember, Mike."

Mikey shrugged and sat down beside her. "I guess the years you were 'dead' really changed all of us. Everyone was so down, it seemed impossible to smile. The way it felt, it would've almost been wrong to smile.

"When Leo perked up, we all did. Things went back to normal, normal as in before we met you, but we couldn't call that normal anymore. There was still something missing. You were missing."

"I'm back now, to stay." She eyed the wave size and grabbed her board. "You watch too many soap operas, you know that?"

"Me? You had a sappy reply too!" Mike grinned. "I'm back now, to stay." He mimicked, using a gushy tone.

In a few minutes, the two were riding the fake waves up and down the tunnels Cassi had designed. Cassi lead the way in front and Mike followed close behind her. Her spirits soared. It had been way too long.

I can still hang ten, er, four, She thought happily. I'm still pretty good. Her thoughts came too soon. Cassi lost her balance and fell backwards. Although he was laughing, Mike managed to catch her just in time. Her board floated away and out of her reach. Mike moved back and helped Cassi get her balance on his board.

"Didn't I do this to you last time?" He asked. Cassi laughed.

"Yes, you did," Cassi grinned as she recalled their sixteenth birthday, "Except you were able to get back on your board." She pointed out as her board drifted further away. I hope Mikey has a good sense of balance, better than mine at least she thought to herself about thirty seconds before they both ended up taking an unexpected swim.

They both surfaced about the same time. Seeing Cass coughing and sputtering, Mike grinned.

"Good thing it's only filtered river water, huh?" He asked. Shooting him an annoyed look, Cassi splashed him and swam over to the ledge. Mikey beat her there. He grabbed her shell and dunked her under.

"You are so dead, Michelangelo!" She threatened playfully when she surfaced again.

---

A short while later, after putting away the boards, Cassi and Mike headed back to the turtle's home. Cassi had to leave her necklace with Leo before she went back to her apartment. After wringing out her bandanna tails, she smiled at Mikey.

"You know Mike, for a first date that was pretty fun. I had a good time."

"You did? I mean, yeah, uh, of course." He corrected himself. "I did too."

When they got back to the home, Cassi said good night to Mikey and headed up to her old part. The recording studio was her destination. Gently, she picked up a guitar, sat down on a maroon couch and began to play softly. Leo opened the door and quietly came in.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" He asked, pretending to look at the clock.

"Spit it out Leo, what's wrong?" She asked him, looking him in the eye. Cassi already knew, but she also knew how much the boys hated her reading their minds.

"I think you already know."

He knew her too well. "You're right, I do." She put the guitar down, and held up her three fingers, "Three things. First, I'm not their sister. Second, you and I aren't going steady," Secretly, she hoped her tone was enough of a hint, "so there's no reason why I can't date them too. Third, remember what happened last time one of us let jealousy get the better of us?" After saying this, she looked down at her necklace and grinned.

"I remember." Leo couldn't help grinning too. "I don't know, I guess I'm just worried I'm going to lose you again."

"Isn't it a little early for that?" She asked, and he shrugged. Leo you moron, do something about it! If you're scared of losing me so badly, make sure you don't! Ask me steady!

When he didn't answer, Cassi sighed, "I've got something to show you. It may make you feel better." It won't help me, though Cassi lead him down to another room in her old home. Sitting in the room was Splinter's Battle Nexus things, and a rose encased in a glass dome. Cassi walked over to the rose and looked at it fondly. "This is it. This is my most prized possession."

Leo was confused. "A rose?" she nodded. "You've got a whole green house filled with roses. I should know, looked after them while you were gone. What makes this one so special, Cassi? After all, it's…dead."

"I didn't grow this one. Someone special gave this rose to me. You gave it to me."

At first, Leo looked stunned. Then, it began to dawn on him. "You mean, this is the rose from…" he didn't need to finish. The answer was clear from the look in her eyes.

"I couldn't bring myself to part with it." Cassi's voice sounded distant. She turned back to Leo. "Feel better?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I do." Then show it she still held a fake smile, but she was dying inside. How long would it take him to get the hint?

A/N: Heylo all :D If you read this chapter, please review! Also, if you could, in your review, please answer this question. Is Cassi a Mary Sue? This has become somewhat of an obsession of mine. I'm trying to change her, but I don't know how well I've succeeded. Opinions wanted, please!