A/N: Just thought that since it may be the end of the world (lol) and Christmas is only a few days away that I should let you guys have an early Christmas gift. Enjoy!
Epilogue:
"A Lemon Drop and a Strawberry Daiquiri," Raphael smirked and handed over the two drinks to the couple on the other side of the bar.
"Thanks, Raph," Analise smiled and licked at the sugar on the rim of her glass before she took a sip of the Lemon Drop, "Perfect."
"And how's your drink, miss?" Raphael asked with a quirked eyebrow at his younger brother.
"Very funny, Raph," Michelangelo frowned and took a gulp of the proclaimed 'girly drink' that he was fond of.
"It's okay, I don't care what you drink as long as you keep up what you're doing behind closed doors," Analise smirked and sat herself in Michelangelo's lap.
"That and more," Michelangelo smirked back at her and wrapped his free arm around her waist.
"Please don't give me any more details," Raphael put out his hand to stop them from going any further.
"This is nothing compared to some of the sweet nothings that you and your woman say," Michelangelo pointed at Raphael from around his glass.
"We can't help what slips into the hallway."
Raphael's face lit up with a smile as he caught sight of the woman who spoke. Deidra chuckled a little and pushed herself up to sit on the bar just to the side of Analise and Michelangelo.
"How was the debriefing?" Raphael asked and poured her a couple of shots of Jameson.
"Thankfully shorter than I was expecting," she stretched her arms over her head, which gave Raphael the perfect view of specific curves of her body.
"You keep that up, and I will take you on this counter, no matter who is watching," Raphael growled. Deidra's eyes suddenly dilated as she stopped in her stretch and eyed Raphael slowly.
"See what I mean?" Michelangelo pointed between the two of them.
"We will continue this later," Deidra smirked at Michelangelo's discomfort and heard Analise's giggle.
"I guess that means that you and I get a night out on the town," Analise said to Michelangelo as she took another sip of her Lemon Drop.
"That sounds fantastic."
"So, I am eager to know what this great gift that you and Mikey have for us," Deidra said and took one of the shots of whiskey.
"You'll have to wait until tomorrow, I already told you that," Raphael towel dried a couple of glasses.
"But it's almost new years!" Analise came pretty close to taking on a whiney voice, but stopped herself short.
"It will be worth it, dudette," Michelangelo finished his drank and wrapped both arms around Analise, "I promise."
"Speaking of surprises," Analise said suddenly and dug into her bag for her shell cell, "I got a call from Donnie earlier to pass the word. He has his own surprise for us later tonight. Whenever we can make it down to the lair; he said he would be working on it probably until we got there."
"Mikey, you heard anything?" Raphael asked.
"Nah, nothing," Michelangelo shrugged his arms.
"What time you off, bar tender?" Deidra asked Raphael.
Raphael turned to another bartender behind him, "Ey, Ben?"
"What?"
"Watch for the rest of the night?" Raphael put his towel up on one of the counters near the sink. He pointed to Deidra and the others with a lift of one eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, get outta' 'ere," the other guy waved at him and gave him the finger.
"Yeah, I don't swing that way, Ben," Raphael said back, jumped the counter and picked Deidra up in one move.
Analise and Michelangelo finished their drinks and followed the couple out.
"Hey Donnie!" Michelangelo yelled into the lair when they arrived.
"In the lab," came the reply.
The two couples walked into the lab space where Leonardo was sitting on the edge of one of the counters. He smiled when he saw his brothers and the two girls that had become like sisters to him.
"Okay, so what's going on?" Analise asked and leaned back against Michelangelo.
"It took me a week to do so, but I did it again," Donatello leaned back in his chair and turned toward the others. He held a small tray of anti-mutagen in his hands and looked up at his brothers, "Michelangelo's quick thinking saved us from Edmunds-"
"Bastard," Deidra intersected.
"- it also took the last of the anti-mutagen that could get us back to normal. So, I now present the full line of anti-mutagen," Donatello smiled slightly and nodded to the tray.
After a few seconds, no one moved to reach for the tray, including the one who developed the vials.
Analise smile faded and looked up at Michelangelo and then over to Raphael and Donatello, "What's with the long faces, guys? You get to undo what that monster did to you."
"Do you want me to go back to the way I was?" Michelangelo asked suddenly.
"What?" Analise turned in his arms and looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
"If I take that stuff and turn back into a turtle…" he eyed the vials with hesitancy and then shifted his eyes back to her, "… I won't be able to walk out on the streets with you without a trench coat. Or enjoy a movie in the front row. Or meet your parental units. I am starting to wonder if it's worth it."
"You loved being a turtle. You were so accepting of it," she put a hand to his face, "I will love you as much as ever if you are like you are now, or green skinned with a shell on your back. I want you to make this decision for you. Not for what you think I want. I love you, Michelangelo, not the human skin you just happen to be wearing. Understand?"
Michelangelo looked deep into her eyes and cupped her face in his hands before he kissed her long and sweet. He broke from her and looked her in the eyes again.
"I loved being a turtle," he nodded and looked at the vials and then back to her. There was no fear in her expression that he was expecting. He would have thought that she would fear him going back to turtledom, but she was telling the truth. She would love him whatever he chose. He smiled warmly and hugged her closely, "But I love you more."
"Mikey…" she whispered into his neck.
Michelangelo turned to Donatello, "I appreciate the work, Donnie, but I'm going to have to decline. I think I'm good being a plain human ninja."
Donatello nodded and looked at Raphael and Deidra.
"Don't even think about asking me, Don," Raphael said without hesitation.
Deidra looked up at him from where he had his arm draped over one of her hips, "Raph-"
"No, already made up my mind," he shook his head, "You're worth it. The struggles that I am going to have with a job and everything else that's coming down the road. I mean, from what I hear meeting your parents are going to be a challenge in itself, I can only imagine how it would go if I had a shell on my back."
"I don't want you to chose this for me," Deidra frowned.
"I love you," he said in a strong tone and stared down at her while he moved to hold both her hands, "And I always will. Turtle or not. But… you know how long I've wanted to be somewhat normal? To be able to walk around in the sunlight without any problem? Be able to have a possible future with someone that I love. I am doing this for you, yeah. But I'm also doing it for me. I am tired of hiding. It's not who I am."
Deidra's face split into a grin and she nodded before standing on her tip toes to kiss him. After the kiss Raphael turned back to Donatello.
"Sorry about all that work, Don."
"It's no problem," Donatello shrugged and put the vials on the counter and pushed them away from him, "You guys aren't the only ones changing your mind."
"Donnie?" Michelangelo asked.
"The whole time that we've been like this… so many experiences that we've never had, always missed," Donatello explained and shook his head, "I am ready to explore all of them. I've become spoiled, I think. I can go study and go anywhere I need to for research. I don't have to bother April for it."
"Why do I think you're keeping something else from us?" Deidra asked.
Donatello blushed a little, "… and I started dating Quinn."
"Ah, little Donnie is growing up," Michelangelo smiled and gave Donatello a noogie.
As the others laughed at the antics of the two brothers, Deidra looked over to Leonardo who was quiet. She noticed that he hadn't said anything during the whole exchange, but held a sad smile on his face. His eyes shifted and connected to her own. He looked back down at the tray and Deidra saw that one of the vials was already empty.
"Leo?" she asked.
Leonardo stood and searched the faces of his brothers and the girls. He took a deep breath and nodded, "I already took it."
"Leo… why?" Raphael took a step toward him, "You could have gone and trained anywhere in the world. Became one of the best fighters in history."
"If you cannot accept yourself, you cannot accept your fate or destiny," Leonardo put a hand on Raphael's shoulder and everyone noticed the green sheen that had already come to his skin, "You have done what is right by you and the one that you love. I am doing what is right by me. I can never accept myself as a human. I have seen too much and experienced more than I choose to as a human. This isn't who I am."
"Is it who I am?" Raphael asked.
Leonardo looked from Raphael to Deidra who stood with Analise and Michelangelo. He smirked and nodded as he looked back at Raphael, "Only you can answer that. I don't have the right of that judgment, even if I wanted to. But I will say this…"
Raphael gritted his jaw to wait for Leonardo's lecture about true self.
"…I am proud of you and the decision you have made."
Raphael gasped a little at the statement. He paused a moment and watched as Leonardo's face shifted in front of his eyes back to the brother he had grown up with. The hand that was on his shoulder dropped to Leonardo's side with only two fingers instead of the four.
"Thank you," Raphael said softly.
"Thank you," Leonardo nodded, "You gave her something that I could have never given without giving up myself. And you know that wouldn't have happened."
Raphael felt a bit of anger well in his chest, but he knew it was true. And he accepted that about his oldest brother.
"We are still going to be a team, right?" Michelangelo asked and looked between his brothers, "Still bros?"
"We will always be brothers," Leonardo smiled at Michelangelo, "And I expect you all to be ready for recons as usual."
"Aye, aye, captain!" Michelangelo beamed and saluted Leonardo. Analise hugged Michelangelo's arm and giggled.
"And what about us?" Deidra asked and crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk, "You don't expect us to stay behind and be good house wives, do you?"
"God forbid," Raphael whispered.
"I did say all," Leonardo smiled back at her. The baggy clothing that he had chosen to wear for the anti-mutagen to take affect was just a bit on the snug side after his shell began to take shape again.
"Can't wait," Deidra smiled.
"Neither can I," Analise joined it, "My kicks need more control now that I have that new power behind it."
"I see that you all have decided on your paths," Splinter said as he came into the lab area. He looked over the three that had chosen to stay as they were and then to Leonardo who was able to shift out of the slowly growing smaller shirt.
"We have," Michelangelo nodded proudly and pulled Analise back to him.
"Since we are all together, maybe some practice can unify us once again," Splinter waved his hand toward the dojo.
"Not that I am turning down meditation and practice- because I am not," Analise clarified, "But when were we ever not unified?"
"Well said," Splinter grinned and turned toward the dojo as his students followed.
"You will know where we are as soon as we enter the building by the sounds, so we are going to take the blindfolds off out here," Michelangelo stated with his hands still around Analise's eyes despite the aforementioned blindfold.
"You guys are enjoying this a little too much," Deidra said from behind her blindfold.
"You didn't complain the last time we used blindfolds," Raphael whispered to her low enough that the other two didn't hear.
"Shh," she smirked.
"Okay," Michelangelo paused and turned to Raphael and gave him a nod, "Open."
Both blindfolds dropped and the girls gasped as they stood in front of a shelter. Both faces lit up with joy.
Analise turned right around and flung herself into Michelangelo, "Really? A puppy?"
"Whichever one you want, dudette," he chuckled.
She squealed in excitement and grabbed his arm to drag him into the shelter.
Dedira turned to Raphael and held his hand, "Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."
"You gave me some idea," he shrugged.
As the girls moved through the aisles of puppies, Analise looked over each one. She was moved by each of them, but knew that there was only one with her name on it. Maybe someday she would open a no kill shelter like this one and give a home to other dogs that may need it. She knelt next to a cage that held a brother and sister golden retrievers. They barked and wagged their tails at her from the other side of the gate.
"Hello," she smiled at them and let them lick at the tip of her fingers, "Aren't you adorable?"
"Do you want to hold one?" Michelangelo asked her.
"I don't think…" Analise paused and looked in the cage next to the one with the retrievers. There sat a darker orange and white colored border collie. Her breath caught as tears almost came to her eyes. She looked at the little one and then up at Michelangelo, "That one."
"Okay," he shrugged and caught the eye of one of the shelter workers. They opened the cage and handed the small puppy to Analise.
Analise looked at the little girl in her arms as the puppy looked up at her. The little tail swung from side to side and her little tongue popped from her mouth and licked Analise's nose. She squeaked a little in the cute overload and looked at Michelangelo.
"That's it," Michelangelo told the shelter worker, "We'll take her."
"I'll get the paper work started," they said with a smile and walked away.
"So what's her name?" Michelangelo rubbed the puppy's head and she wagged her tail even faster and licked at his hand.
"How about Klunk?" she asked and chuckled at his expression.
"How about Kameko?" he asked instead.
"Tortoise child?" she laughed back and looked at the puppy, "Kameko?"
The puppy just tilted her head and licked at her face again.
"Kameko it is," she nodded and cuddled the puppy closer.
Raphael stood next to Deidra as they saw Analise walk around with her new addition tight in her arms.
"That pup is going to be so spoiled," Raphael shook his head, "Between the two of them, it will want for nothing."
"She's good about raising them," Deidra smiled and turned back to the cages when something caught her eye. In one of the last stalls was a dark colored husky mix. The eyes were a light yellow that reminded her a bit of Raphael's and the dark, red tint of the fur drew her to it.
"Would you like to see him, ma'am?" one of the other shelter workers asked, "Not a lot of people want to see him. They think his mother was a husky breed with a wolf."
"Don't need to see him," she shook her head and knelt down in front of the cage where the young pup walked straight to her and licked at her fingers, "I will take him."
"Are you sure?" the shelter worker asked.
"You heard her," Raphael answered for her and the worker took in his tone and ran for the papers after unlocking the cage.
Deidra picked up the pup and put her nose to the puppy's, "We got something in common, don't we, little man? Both have got a little wolf in them."
"As long as he doesn't get any ideas," Raphael put his arms around her and put his head on her shoulder. The puppy looked up at both of them and seemed to smile. He put his paws up on Deidra's chest and licked at Raphael's face. Raphael smiled slightly and then looked at the puppy's paws.
"Hey, I said don't get ideas," he frowned playfully at the pup who yapped at him slightly.
"Come on, the guy you scared has the papers and it looks like Analise is ready to head home," Deidra chuckled and patted the puppy on the head as she walked to the office to fill out the paper work, "Let's go home."
Leonardo stood at the top of the building near down town Manhattan. His brothers had already finished their sweeps and went home to their girls. Deidra and Analise had finished with their sweep of the metropolitan area and met up with Raphael and Michelangelo on the way back to the lair. Leonardo shifted his back under his shell and smiled at the familiar weight of it again.
He felt someone behind his right shoulder, but he didn't reach for his katanas.
"Foot coming back anytime soon?" he asked.
Karai stepped from the shadows and walked up calmly to step next to him, "Maybe, turtle."
"Why are you up here?" he asked and turned to her.
"Hun, he was gravely injured by you and your brothers, but managed to survive," Karai explained, "He wishes to take back the clan with Purple Dragons. I will not allow that."
"Are you asking for a truce?" Leonardo asked with a tilt of his head.
"For the time being," Karai nodded, "I feel that our skills and leadership may be more useful if used together instead of against one another."
"Skills and leadership usually is," Leonardo nodded and watched her closely.
"But be warned, Leonardo," she shifted her gaze to his face, "I am still my father's daughter. And it may be that we are always destined to cross paths. And at times, cross swords."
"Only if you choose it," Leonardo offered.
Karai paused for a moment and then turned back to the cityscape in front of them. No more words were spoken between the two warriors as they watched over the city.