Despite their late night, Jenna was awake much sooner than she needed to be. She alternated closing her eyes and staring at the ceiling for several minutes, hoping she would fall back asleep. It wasn't happening.

She finally sat up with a little frustration, and got to her feet. Just for something to do, she started pulling clothes together. April had been kind enough to get her a few things, and now that she was leaving, Jenna tried to give them back to her the day before. Of course the woman had turned her down. It would have been nice to donate them, but there was a part of the teen which wanted to hold on to a piece of her new friend. I can still let go of stuff later.

After packing a few things, the young woman hesitated by the mirror to brush out tangles. Then she swept hair back off her shoulders, and expertly wound it into a braid. Finally she pulled on a sweatshirt over her tank-top against the slight chill in the air.

As she trotted down the stairs she was met by the sound of Leonardo and Raphael, bickering over the remote control.

"I'm sure we've seen this one," Raph was insisting.

"All I said was I don't remember it. Just give it a couple minutes so I can–" Leo cut off instantly when he saw Jenna, and tossed the remote at his brother. "Good morning."

Raph dropped the remote too; suddenly neither of them seemed to care what was on TV. "Yes, good morning," he repeated gleefully. "How was your night?"

She dropped into the arm chair across from them. "We had a nice time." Jenna intended to be calm, and give nothing away.

Mike crossed out of the kitchen. "Guys, how do you want your eggs-hey, Jenna. You're up early." The orange-masked turtle interrupted himself when he saw her.

"I couldn't sleep any more. I suppose I'll have plenty of time on the plane," she answered lightly.

"Want some breakfast? I've got french toast about to come out."

"Sounds good."

"Do we have an egg consensus?" Mike asked his brothers.

"Scrambled is fine - thanks, Mike," Leonardo called over his shoulder, and turned back to Jenna. "So what's your time frame today?"

"My parents chartered a plane out of Newark. I'm supposed to meet them around 8pm."

"Private plane, means you can leave whenever you want. Nice," Raph remarked. "How long of a flight home is it?"

"We're supposed to be stopping over in California. It would be around fourteen hours from there. But we're not going straight home, so I'm not sure how long of a flight it will be."

"Are you ready to get out here?" Leonardo asked her.

"Yes and no. I'll be glad to see my parents, but I've had a great time. Meeting you guys has changed a lot things." She suddenly felt like withdrawing, and found herself staring at the wall.

"We enjoyed it too," Leo said carefully. "You're welcome back anytime. You know that, don't you?"

She nodded, but didn't look at him.

"Hope we didn't screw things up too bad," the red-masked turtle lamented. "We might have been over the top yesterday, but we only wanted you guys to have fun."

"We did," she reassured. "I wasn't ready for it to end. I'm still not."

"It does not end," Splinter's spoke up from the hall, before entering the living area. "We will not forget you because you leave. And neither will Donatello."

Against her best efforts, Jenna knew she was turning red. Then she didn't care. "I told him...I wasn't giving up on us. I won't forget about you guys either. You opened your home, you protected me, and made me feel some things that I didn't expect to. But I think I'll be freer as a result. I swear, I will be back. Don't know how long it will take, but you're right, Master Splinter. It's not ending, because I won't let it."

The purpose in flying out of Newark was for simple crowd control. April had offered to drive them outside the city with about an hour to spare before they really needed to be there. Space was more limited in the rental car, so Jenna said most of her good-byes while they were still underground. Donatello was the only one riding along with them to the airport.

They had exchanged several meaningful looks throughout the course of the day, but she tried to keep things light in their exchanges. When they reached the airport, Jenna asked April to park as far out as possible for their privacy.

"Okay, guys. I'm gonna go inside, and get something to eat," the woman told them. "I'll be back out here by...oh, 7:50. That will give me time to drive up to the front, and drop you off, Jenna. I'll see you in a few." April hopped out of the car and disappeared across the parking lot.

Don pushed up the driver seat and passenger side to give them more room to maneuver in the back. The purple-masked turtle hit the button for the rental's moon-roof to let in the night air, and they settled back against the seat to find a comfortable spot.

"So," Jenna finally said to break the silence. "Have your brothers hit you up for what we did last night?

"Mike did, the second I got in the room. I didn't really tell him anything, except...something happened. That was all he really wanted to hear."

"Makes me wonder how long they'd been trying to plan something." She laughed.

"Their execution needs a little work, but I suppose their hearts were in the right place. I hope all this didn't embarrass you too much."

"Why would I be embarrassed? I'm not ashamed of anything we've done - are you?"

"Not ashamed, no. Surprised? Yes. Every time I look at you, I'm still surprised."

"Well, you're gonna have to cut it out. I have no intention of flying home and forgetting you."

"I know that, it's only...I told you I would try this, Jenna. And I mean it. But I also want to keep a strong grip on reality too. I know it isn't the most romantic thing I could possibly bring up at the moment, but..."

"Go on," she relented.

"There is nothing in this world that I want more, than to be together. I still don't feel like it's fair to you, Jenna. Forgive me for thinking this far in advance, but I couldn't marry you. You wouldn't have children. The life everybody dreams about, the house, the picket fence...you can't have any of it with me."

"Donnie, the only dream I've ever had is for someone to know me. For years I hid everything, because I couldn't stand what I saw in myself. You've brought something out of me, so I'm not afraid to see it now. You're all the dream I've ever wanted."

She leaned across the seat to kiss him. He felt stiff initially, but slowly relaxed.

"Don, this isn't hopeless, you know. Difficult, yes. But as long as we're breathing, the chance to be together remains."

"I don't want you to think that you're beholden to me in any way. If you were to meet someone–"

"I'm not interested. There isn't anybody else like you, Donnie. Don't you get that? Not for me anyway." She sighed heavily. "I don't want to spend the rest of these last few minutes trying to convince you this can work."

"I'm sorry–I really am."

She scooted over on the seat, until she was nearly on top of him. "I can barely grasp how hard this must be for you. All I ask is that you try, Donnie. Please, just try."

After sharing another lingering kiss, Donatello suddenly sat up straighter.

"I have something for you."

He reached into the pocket on the back of the seat, and handed a manilla envelope over to her.

She looked at it quizzically for a second.

"Don't open it now," he said quietly, as she nearly started to. "Just sometime later, when you want to remember...what we've had. Okay?"

She nodded, carefully stowing the envelope into her backpack. Before she could start to relax again, Donatello was searching for something else.

"I almost forgot about it until this morning. I fixed the clasp on your medallion, and then I lengthened the chain like you asked me to." He held out the necklace to her, and she took it.

Jenna stared at the tiny sapphires, shining lightly in the faint glow from parking lot lamps. Then she glanced back up at Donatello.

"I want you to keep it." She placed the medallion back in his hand.

"I couldn't! Your father gave this to you. You said it meant the world to you."

"You mean more to me than any trinket. Keep it, Donatello, and remember me."

"I don't need this to remember you by," he still protested.

"I want you to have something tangible, a piece of me that's real. You'll keep it safe, won't you?"

With a soft sigh he closed his hand on the necklace. "If it makes you happy, I won't refuse."

Minutes later April returned to the car, popping in apologetically. "Okay, guys. It's time to go."

Jenna climbed into the passenger seat up front, while Donatello ducked down, hiding in the back. April pulled the car out and started driving up through the rows of cars, towards the main terminal. They were still a couple of rows from the front when Jenna asked her to stop, so she could watch for signs of her parents

At a couple minutes before 8pm, Jenna saw them both emerge from the main doors and walk outside to wait for her. She didn't fail to notice the existence of officers scattered around the front of the building, with no express purpose except watching.

"Okay. That's them."

She flipped the lever on the side of her seat so she could reach the back. Jenna kissed Donatello for several seconds, not caring in the least if April saw. "I'll write to you as soon as I have Internet access."

"I'll watch for it." His fingers traced the back of her head again, stroking her hair.

Tears rose while she wrapped both arms around his neck and clung to the turtle.

"Can you make yourself any smaller? They're letting me have three carry-ons." Her voice quivered. Nothing was funny right then.

"I wouldn't make it through customs." He wiped her tears and forced a smile. "We're trying, remember?"

She nodded, and insisted on kissing him one last time.

"You better go."

"Do I have to?"

He laughed in spite of himself, and squeezed her hand. "Go, before it gets any harder."

Jenna forced herself to sit up, and thanked April for everything she'd done over the last weeks. After giving her a hug, she picked up her back-pack and got out of the car.

April popped the trunk for her suitcase. After retrieving it, she hesitated a beat longer, before willing herself to walk away from them. She cut through a couple more rows of cars instead of taking the direct route, so her parents wouldn't be able to see which one she'd actually come from. As she approached the terminal, they seemed to recognize her from a ways off, and were already moving her direction.

Jenna sprinted out of the parking lot to meet them, leaping into Victoria's waiting arms. Michael quickly threw his arms around her too, and the three of them stood outside the terminal in a fierce embrace.

"You're all right, you're not hurt?" Victoria was finally able to say.

"Not a mark on me. I'm fine, I really am. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you where I was!"

"It doesn't matter now," Michael declared. "All we care about is that you're here, and you're safe. We love you so much, Jenna."

Her shoulders shook as she cried. "I love you guys too! I thought about you all the time, and how worried you must have been. I'm sorry to put you through all that, but I felt like I didn't have a choice."

"Are they here right now, the people who saved you?" Victoria asked.

"One of them is." Jenna glanced backward at the parking lot. "He had to see it through to the end."

At least, the end for now.