Raph was watching his son crying in his room and his heart ached for him. He wished he could go be with him, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't allowed. He sighed heavily and continued gazing at his boy. "Raphael," a voice said.

"Yeah, Gabe," Raph said, looking up and seeing the Arch angel.

"You look so forlorn. What ails you?"

"My boy's cryin', Gabe, and I can't be with him. I'd like ta be with him and ta talk ta him and Leo. I know it ain't possible, but I wish ta hell it was."

"You can go back, Raphael, but when I call you back, you must come."

"In my spirit form?"

"Yes. Your boy will see you and so will Leonardo, but only if they acknowledge that they really do believe in the afterlife. It may take some convincing with Leonardo. Since you left him, he lost his faith. Maybe you can restore it."

"Thanks, Gabe. I owe you one," Raph said, and waved goodbye. Then he entered the farmhouse and went into Tyler's bedroom.

XXX

Tyler was crying in his room when he sensed a presence. Looking up, he saw someone who was the spitting image of him. "Daddy Raph?" he asked in surprise.

"Tyler," Raph said and smiled at him. "It's okay, my boy. Wow. Look at ya," Raph added. "Yer beautiful. Me and Leo did good. Can I have a hug?"

"But how can I see ya? Yer not alive?" Ty asked, wrinkling his snout in confusion.

"I don't know, but I see ya all the time. Ya and yer daddy and I hate seein' ya sad."

"If ya come back, I won't be sad, Daddy. Can ya?"

"I am always with ya, Ty," Raph said, placing his hand on the boy's heart. "Give me a hug now. Please, Ty."

The boy nuzzled into Raph's plastron and both shed tears, as Raph wrapped his arms around him. "I've dreamed of this moment," Raph said, choking back a sob.

"Me too, Daddy," Ty said tearfully.

They hugged fiercely for a long time. Then Ty pulled away and said, "I love ya, Daddy."

"Love ya too, sweet boy," Raph said, and kissed his forehead. "Soon I'm gonna be my yer side all the time, Ty, but after tonight I gotta go back until then."

"But how if ya can't come back? I don't understand, Daddy."

"Do ya know what reincarnation is, Ty?"

"No," Ty said, and shook his head. "What is that?"

"When people die, they sometimes come back in different forms, like a man will come back as a dog or a butterfly, but no one will know who he is. Ya follow me?"

"Are ya sayin' yer gonna come back, but I won't know ya?"

"No, ya will definitely know it's me, but until that day, Ty, I want ya ta do somethin' for me. Be a good boy for Daddy Leo. He loves ya so much and so do I."

"If ya love me so much, why did ya leave?" Tyler demanded.

Raph pulled his son down onto the bed and sat down beside him. "I didn't wanna leave ya, Ty, but I didn't have a choice. The injuries from the train were too severe and too much of a toll on my body."

"I wish Donnie had died instead! I hate him!"

"Now, now, none of that talk," Raph said crossly. "Donnie's a good person, Ty, and he loves ya."

"No, he doesn't. Not like ya," Ty said, tears in his eyes. "Yer my real daddy and my hero. Donnie says I'm obsessed with ya and he hates me talkin' 'bout ya."

"Because he feels he can't compete with a ghost, Ty, and he feels like he's in my shadow. He felt it when I was alive and he's still feelin' it. It's hard for him bein' a step dad and knowin' he was never Leo's true love and he'll never be it. He knows if I hadn't died that Leo and I'd still be together. Ya give him such a damn time and I understand ya love me, but ya gotta cut him some slack, my little man."

"He's an asshole!" Tyler growled. "Why are ya defendin' him, Daddy?"

"Ya not only got my accent, ya got my foul mouth and I bet it drives Donnie nuts. He always hated my swearin'. Yer quite a firecracker, Ty. Chill. Look, I know Donnie can be a bit annoyin', but he ain't an asshole and he loves ya. All he wants is for ya ta love him."

"But I don't love him like I love ya. It's disloyal if I do, because he's not my Daddy and…"

"He ain't yer daddy, but it's not disloyal ta me if ya love him. It's okay. I want ya ta. Ya will always be my little boy, Ty, but it's okay ta love Donnie and he needs all the love he can get. Things are gonna be tough when the babies arrive and he's gonna need yer help. Will ya help him?"

"How? I ain't a babysitter and I ain't gonna change diapers."

"One of the babies is gonna have huge problems, Ty, and both Leo and Donnie will be extremely stressed and will need yer help with them and yer other siblings."

"What kind of problems? And how do ya know this?"

"Little birdy told me. Do it for me and for Leo then. If not for Donnie. I love Leo and miss him so much. Please, Ty."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Great," Raph said and smiled. "Will ya make up with Donnie?"

"Do I have ta?" Ty huffed.

"Yeah. See when ya fight with Donnie, it makes Leo extremely tense and sad, because he feels caught in the middle. He loves ya both."

"But me more."

"Of course. Yer his baby, but do ya understand what I mean?"

"Yeah. Fine. I'll talk ta him."

"That's my good boy. And Ty, I'm so proud of ya and yer gonna be an incredible ninja someday. I've seen ya trainin'."

"Really?" Ty asked excitedly.

"Yeah, but ya gotta control yer anger a bit more and listen ta Leo more. Do yer katas, focus durin' trainin' and don't get so damn angry."

"I'll try."

"I gotta go, but know I'm with ya always, my sweet boy," Raph said and pressed a kiss on Ty's forehead.

"Where ya goin', Daddy? Don't leave me?"

"Yer grandpa's got dinner waitin' for me back at our house."

"I thought ghosts didn't eat."

Raph chuckled and said, "No, we do."

"I don't want ya ta go, Daddy. Please stay," Ty begged. "I'll get ya some dinner from the kitchen if ya stay."

"Ya do that. I got somethin' ta do and I'll be back now."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

XXX

While Ty was in the kitchen, Raph went into Don and Leo's room. Leo was sitting on the bed and Raph's heart overflowed with love, as he gazed at him. Leo sensed a presence in the room and said, "Is someone there?" Getting no answer, he said, "Now I'm imagining things. Don't be silly, Leo. There's no one here, but you."

Raph opened the dresser and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Leo watched in shock, as the dresser opened and a notepad hovered in the air before settling on the bed. Then he watched as the pen began to write on the paper. "First I'm hearing things and now I'm seeing things," Leo said, clapping a hand to his head. "I must be delirious."

"Ya ain't," Raph wrote on the paper. "I'm back, Leo, and if ya say ya believe it's me, ya will see me. Come on, Leo. Say the words."

"I'm seeing things. Ghosts don't exist."

"Fuck, yer stubborn!" Raph wrote. "Fearless leader…."

"Now the ghost is writing the nickname Raph had for me. Could be it him?"

"Yes! Open yer eyes properly, Leo, and look at me. Say ya believe in me and the afterlife. Come on."

"But how?"

"Leo!"

"Raph? Is it really you? I'm not dreaming?"

"No," Raph wrote. "Say ya believe. The kid saw me, because he believes in the afterlife and we talked."

"You talked to our boy? I believe, I believe. I want to see you, Raph. Show me you. Please," Leo said, stretching out a hand.

Raph took it, squeezed it and said, "Can ya feel it? Can ya see me?"

"Yes," Leo said in shock, seeing his mate beside him. "I see you, but how, Raph? All this time I've wanted to see you. Why do you suddenly appear now? Why didn't you come sooner?"

"I don't know, Leo. Fuck, yer gorgeous, ya know that? Just as gorgeous as when I was last with ya."

Leo blushed and said, "You are too, Raphie, and you haven't aged a bit. I miss you so much, you know."

"Me too, Leo, but I'm always with ya and Ty and I watch out for yer other kids too. They're excellent kids and yer an amazin' daddy and I always knew ya would be. I'm proud of ya, Leo, and I love ya."

"I love you too, Raphie," Leo said, blinking back tears. "I will always love you and I wish you hadn't…"

"Me too," Raph said, gently thumbing Leo's tears away. He pressed his lips against Leo's, kissed him and said, "Do ya feel that?"

"Yes," Leo said, leaning against Raph. "I didn't know ghosts could kiss."

"Neither did I," Raph said and grinned. "But now I do, I don't wanna stop kissin' ya."

"Then don't," Leo begged. "Stay with me."

The bedroom door opened and Don entered. "Don?" Leo said in surprise. "You're back."

"I am," Don said coolly, removing his coat and throwing it onto the bed. It landed on Raph. "You should go talk to your son. He told me a ghost made friends with him and the ghost was hungry, so he got leftovers and took it to his room. Ghosts? They don't exist. Casey has a shrink friend we could take the kid to. He's got a few screws loose just like Raph did."

"Raph wasn't crazy," Leo said defensively. "And neither's Ty, Donnie. He's just a…"

Raph clenched his fists angrily and bit his tongue. How fuckin' dare Donnie say that, he thought. Ty's not crazy and neither am I.

"Just what, Leo? He's fucked-up. Just like Raph was," Don said. "And he's going down the same way as Raph. A terrible foul mouth sometimes, that accent and his anger issues."

Raph angrily picked up the coat and threw it on the floor. It landed at Don's feet and he said, "How did that coat get onto the floor, Leo? It was on the bed."

"Maybe you upset a ghost and it did that."

"Very funny. I'm seeing things, but your kid is mixed up and I love the kid, Leo. I'm only saying that because I love him and I want him to get help. And I want our family to be like it was. Happy and I want your kid to love me. And I don't want us to fight. We need to be a united family, especially with two more babies."

"I agree, Donnie. I want us all to get along."

"And tell him to stop comparing me to Raph, Leo, because it hurts me."

"I told him that," Raph whispered. "Leo…"

"Did you say something, Leo?" Don asked.

"No. Maybe it was the ghost."

"Hahaha. Funny. I'm going to watch a movie. Come join me?"

"I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Leo."

When Don had gone, Raph said, "I should go too, Leo. I promised Ty I'd be there for him."

"No, Raphie. Get Ty and stay with me tonight. Don't go."

"All right. How can I resist ya?" Raph said and smirked.

XXX

Tyler had fallen asleep and Raph fetched the sleeping boy, placed him on Leo's bed and covered him with the blankets. Then he crawled into the middle and said, "Just like old days, Leo."

"Just like," Leo said, looking at him tenderly and placing a kiss on his beak. "I hope you don't have to leave again."

"I will have ta, Leo, but not tonight and soon enough ya will have me again."

"Huh?"

"Nothin'. Just lie there, Fearless. I'm here and as long as I can, I'm gonna stay here with ya and Ty, but if ya wake and I'm not here, know I got called back and I didn't leave because I wanted ta."

"Okay. Kiss me, Raphie."

"Ya know it's cheatin' on Donnie, right?"

"I know, but technically you're not real, so it's technically not cheating, Raphie. Kiss me or do I have to beg?"

"Ya know I love it when ya beg," Raph said, and winked. He smashed Leo's mouth onto his and they kissed deeply, until both were gasping with air. Tyler, thankfully, was a deep sleeper and didn't stir. The lovers snuggled up next to one another and Raph whispered, "I love ya, Leo, and I always will."

"Love you too, Raphie."

Leo soon fell asleep and Raph watched him sleep and thought, this is heaven bein' with my mate and baby and if only I could be here forever. I know Donnie's a good mate ta Leo, but I'm who Leo loves most and why can't time be reversed and we go back and the accident never happened? I wish ta hell the Great Being could do that for me, but I know It's pointless. I can't change the future or the past and I just gotta be grateful that I got this time and ta tell them I love them, because when I come back, I'll probably never be able ta communicate properly and tell them I love them.

A/N I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages. Been a bit stuck.

I've always believed in the afterlife and believe that once we pass, we watch over our loved ones.

Thank you to everyone supporting my stories, especially Christina and Rachael. And Christina I have a little surprise for you in another story, but it won't happen for some time :)