Michelangelo reaches the rooftop patio, crashing to the Astroturf. He holds up a white envelope in the air. He heavily breathes out his words. "Ralph! She… letter… here!" He gets up once more then falls onto one of the large floor pillows beside Raphael who is completely surprised.

Raphael takes the letter addressed to 'The Hamato Family' in his hands, rubbing a thumb over her written words. "Amber… huh." A small smile creeps over his face. Just when he stops waiting, here she is. Splinter comes over to the table and slowly lowers down on a pillow. Leonardo and Donatello quickly emerge from the stairway and find a place at the table as well.

"So, she really wrote us?" Donnie asks.

"I never doubted she would." Splinter says.

"Let's stop talking about it and open it. Come Ralph!"

"Mikey quit it with the damn Ralph… here Leo you read it."

"Why me?" Leo asks.

Raph flips the letter over to him. "It's addressed to all of us so it don't matter who reads it."

Leo shrugs his shoulders and Mikey strains to hide his smile.

Leo unfolds the paper. "Ok. Here we go…"

'To my Dear Family,

By the time you receive this letter, my tour of the wondrous land of Japan will be coming to an end. I miss you all so much and think about you everyday. Keeping busy, immersing myself in the rich, ancient culture and getting my feet wet as an international buyer has helped to stop my weeping every night. Did I mention how much I miss you? Uncle Splinter, you were a patient and helpful teacher but compared to all the different dialects and slang spoken here, my Japanese is kindergarten level. But the locals here so far have been very nice. Some of them speak English too so that's a plus. I've made some strong business connections just because I'm Uncle Bubba's niece. His few friends here, warehouse and small business owners in Yokohama, remember what a wonderful man he was and have become my friends as well. I'm encouraged about my plans for the bookstore and will tell you more about it once I return.

Some fun things I've done; I went to the heart of Tokyo. Donatello, you would appreciate the many cool technologies they have here. It's a cyber wonderland and every one has access to it. I felt like I stepped into the year twenty-one hundred! Don't worry. I'm going to bring you something back, just haven't figured out what exactly. Mikey, did you know that anything you could ever need can be bought from a vending machine? Toothpaste, fruit, earphones… For dinner last night I bought pizza from a vending machine! It wasn't as good as yours but it was an interesting experience. I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Kyoto. There was a serious-looking man in blue robes who did a magnificent weapons demonstration. He was a master with his katana blades and reminded me of you, Leonardo.

Before you start to worry Raphael, let me assure you that I have not been wandering around Japan all by myself. I admit I was lonely for the first week and a half but I now have new friend. Her name is Arimi. I met het at Tokyo tower. She's a self-appointed tour guide and expert historian of everything Japanese. She's young and fun and I'm so glad to have met her. We've really clicked. We've been riding the Shinkansen Railway everyday like we own it, visiting some really awesome places.

There is so much more I want to tell about what I've seen and done. Some things I've discovered are going to blow your minds. I won't spoil it in the letter. Oh wow, you're not going to believe it! I will be returning on the fifteenth and cannot wait to see your smiling faces.

Love to love you forever,

Amber

PS. I have a ton of photos. Get ready for an awesome slideshow'

"Oh Amber, what a sweet child. Her mother and uncle would be proud." Splinter says.

Whoa! That's totally wicked. A pizza vending machine! I need one of those." Mikey says. "I am so ready for her to come home though."

"We all are." Leo says as he folds up the letter and places it back into the envelope. "I hope she took some videos as well as photos. "

"She'll be back this Saturday. That's only in two days. I can't believe it's almost been a month since she left on her trip. The time certainly flew by." Donnie muses.

"Maybe for you." Raphael says. He had been sitting quietly the whole time listening. Now that she finally sent word that she was alive and well, He still feels a little empty. He certainly expected something more about him in her letter but everything was pretty general. It's just as well. Back in March when she had mentioned her wanting to take this trip Raphael did not like the idea at all. He was a bitter baby when she left for the airport. He could have given her a better goodbye. He rises to leave when Mikey grabs his attention.

"So, did you like her letter to us Ralph?"

"Yeah Mikey, it was real nice. Stop callin' me Ralph."

"Yeah. It was so nice of her to mention all of us in her letter huh?"

"Yeah Mikey… some more than others." He mumbles.

"Yeah. You'd think since you two are a hot couple she would have said more to you huh?"

Raphael doesn't say anything, just purses his lips and clenches his fists. Mikey continues. "Yeah, me too. You'd think she would have said more to you in the letter since you love each other so much, but she didn't. That's strange, huh Ralph?

"Quit with the Ralph and shut up Mikey. " Raph is already boiling inside.

"Yeah, if she were really smart she would have sent a second letter addressed only to you so she could tell you all her gushy, smutty feelings that are for your eyes only, huh Ralph? Maybe this letter?" Mikey holds up the other white envelope addressed to a Mr. R. Hamato.

Raph sighs hard and tries to hide his smile. He snatches the envelope from his prankster brother's hands. "Good one Mikey… " He says before knocking him in the back and the head and jogging downstairs. "And no more Ralph!" He wants to read this letter in private.

…

Raphael hurries down to the second floor apartment and runs into the bedroom he and Amber share, closing the door behind him. He plops on the bed and rips open the envelope. He's so excited and doesn't care that he may look like a spastic schoolgirl. Unfolding the paper, the smell of her perfume hits his face. He closes his eyes and sucks in the scent, suddenly struck by her 'presence'. He groans a little and shakes off the rush of arousal that hits him. He was used to having her around and able to be near her whenever he wanted. After a month of cold sheets and empty arms, it's not surprising that Raphael has become a little 'sore in the shell'. Pacifying himself takes the edge off but his appetite for Amber still craves to be filled.

"Just a few more days, Raph." He tells himself. He begins to read her letter.

'To my Dearest Raphael,

I cannot wait for you to pound me ballistic. '

"Oh my God!" He winces at the first line. The first line?! How will he make it through the whole thing if that's how she's greeting him? She's never really voiced her desires to him like this, so for her to write it down so plainly almost drives Raphael insane. He pulls down on his bandana in frustration and continues.

'… Sorry. I miss you too much not to tell you how I feel upfront. Let's get the regular stuff out of the way. Yes, this trip has been fantastic, lots of new things I've discovered and seen, no place like it, and the food is weird.

Ok. Now back to you; I really, really miss you. No one here looks like you. Everything here reminds me of you. I sleep with a bunch of pillows every night just to fill up the space where you should be. I am never staying away from you for this long again. Yes, I am so happy for all that I got accomplished here but I'm going to pieces without you. I feel like I cut off a limb! Raphael, I hope your feelings didn't go stale with out me there.'

"No chance is hell, babe." Raphael says.

'Do you miss me?'

"Oh, yes."

'Are you wanting me as much as I want you?'

"Oh yeah, maybe a little more."

'Are you hungry for me like I'm hungry for you?'

"You have no fuckin' idea."

'I can't satisfy myself the way you do. My fingers are a poor substitution for yours. I'm begging you to touch me all over when I get home! Pretty please?'

"Aye yie yie." Raph whines. His bandana is hanging around his neck. He's unraveling quickly.

'I'm going to stop here before I one of us jumps out the window.'

"Oh thank God!' Rapheal exhales.

'I count the days before I'm in your arms again. I will be home early Saturday morning. Until then, I'll see you in my dreams.

I love you fiercely,

Amber

P.S. I've been doing a lot of yoga with my new friend here. I'm much flexible now so... use your imagination.'

"Oh holy cow!" Raphael desperately needs to get a hold of himself, literally. It takes all his mental strength to reel his thoughts in. He folds up the scandalous letter and pushes it under his pillow. He won't fall into temptation. He will wait for her to come home and at the next opportune time, make sure to answer her correspondence to the 'T'. For now he settles on taking a cold shower, read a sports magazine, maybe beat up on Mikey. The next forty-eight hours will either be the death of him or bring the breath of life.

He leaves the bedroom and makes his way to the kitchen to grab a beer. He sees Mikey making a sandwich using a cleaver to spread his mayo.

"Uh, hey Mikey."

"Hey Ralph, er Raph, Raphael!" He doesn't want to get hit again. "Did you like Amber's letter? Was it spicy hot?"

"Yeah Mikey, flames of fire." He rolls his eyes. "What are ya doin'?"

"Making myself a sandwich, duh!"

"I see that, Half-baked! Why are you makin' a sandwich in my kitchen? Don't cha got one upstairs?"

"Well, yeah but my kitchen is dirty and I don't have any clean knives."

"Why didn't you use Master Splinter's?"

"He doesn't have any bread."

Raphael smacks a palm to his face and looks around the kitchen. He doesn't have any clean dishes either, hence Mikey using a cleaver. He just never got around to putting them in the dishwasher. Lazy-ass turtle. He didn't sweep the floors or dust the books. The place slowly became disheveled and nobody did anything about. He doesn't even want to think about the other apartments. Splinter is not an issue but his brothers… Amber never pressured them to keep tidy. Her feminine presence demanded it and the apartments kept clean with no problem. But she's been gone a month and the turtles have gotten a little too comfortable. Mikey drops some mayo on the floor. He looks down, dabs it with one of his toes and ignores it. Raphael sees his brother's disgusting cleaning habits and immediately starts to panic. They have so little time!

"Shit! We need to clean this place up!" Raphael shouts.

…

From top to bottom the Hamato brothers make sure Amber's home was the way she left it. The place isn't totally trashed but it does look like typical bachelors live there. Four recyclable bags full of pizza boxes, beer bottles, water bottles and newspapers are tossed to the curb in the cover of night along with six more black garbage bags. Hopefully the trash collectors come before Amber arrives. Even if she did see the mountain of rubbish on the sidewalk in front of her store, she would never know what the inside looked like before they cleaned. Leonardo sweeps and mops. Donatello gathers the bedclothes and does the laundry. Michelangelo finds all the dishes throughout the house, cleans each kitchen and runs the dishwashers. Raphael takes care of all the bathrooms. Splinter stays out of the way, tidying the rooftop patio and feeding the koi.

They finish at two AM, Saturday morning. Amber would be walking through the door in a matter of hours. They turn off the Ipod, douse the main lights, put away the cleaning products and wearily make their way to bed. Raphael decides to camp out in the bookstore and brings a small snack of pop and pizza with him. He wants to be there when she first walks in. He plans on staying up until she comes. He grabs a random book and starts to read. Either he was tired from all of the cleaning or it was a really boring book, he isn't sure. But he drifts off to sleep, letting the stiff arm of the old velvet couch catch his head.