Milo jogged up the steps to his townhouse, the keys already out in his hand as he fit them into the large brass deadbolt, hearing it turn back away from the doorframe. What he didn't hear were the silent steps crossing the street only a few feet behind him. Once in the warm, dimly lit entryway, he was greeted—as always—by the excited faces of Gracie and Cujo as they sat by the kitchen, wagging their tails on the hardwood floors, waiting for Milo to come home from work and feed them their dinner. Milo knelt down so they could run up to him, licking him and rubbing against him and sniffing his clothes. Milo paid extra attention to Cujo, the only piece of Kait he still had, as he picked her up and walked into the kitchen, setting her on the countertop as he decided what treat to give them before dinner.
But when he opened the drawer with Cujo's treats and foods, the cat jumped off the counter towards the door, opposite her usual pounce into the drawer itself. But Milo ignored it, blaming the dog doing something the cat found entertaining, until he heard a female giggle. A familiar female giggle.
Milo's head shot up as he jogged back into the entryway, his heart in his throat, hoping he wasn't imagining the oh-so-familiar laugh. As he flicked on the hall light, the room was bathed in a warm glow, part of which reflected off an unmistakable splash of strawberry blonde hair.
"Kait!" Milo almost shouted as he slid across the floor to reach her as she knelt down with Cujo, throwing his arms around her small shoulders. "Oh my God, Kait, you're here." He spoke quickly into her hair as he stood up, taking her with him. They both began to half laugh and half cry as they embraced each other, just standing in the entryway, until a male voice cleared its throat.
"She's still healing, Milo." Don murmured politely, reaching out to beckon Kait towards him.
He nodded as he released her back to the ground and Don's waiting arms. "I thought you were still hiding at the farm?" he asked, his voice thick with the joyful tears he had shed into Kait's hair.
Don shook his head, answering for the whole family. "After what happened to Greg," he felt Kait stiffen against his side and saw Milo visibly wince. "We are coming out of hiding. We are bound and determined to tear them apart now, piece by piece."
Milo nodded, his face set in grim lines. "Is Kait safe back in the city?" The accusation was clear in his voice as he stared at Don.
Kait nodded, taking the reins away from her boyfriend. "I'm safe here, Milo. I'm safe with them." She smiled at him, tucking even tighter against Don. "I promise." She gave him a smile.
Milo nodded, giving her a smile back. Don even broke into a smile, gently kissing the top of her head.
"Can I see them?" Milo asked sheepishly. Kait paused for a moment, not knowing what he was talking about. But then it occurred to her that Milo hadn't seen her since she had been taken by the Foot, so he had never seen her wounds.
She nodded and gently held out her hands, her fingers caught in a lifeless curl. Milo's long and calloused fingers caught hers, moving and exploring the delicate hands that he had been familiar with for most of his life. He found the circular scars quickly, his finger tip running back and forth over it. "Is there internal damage?" he asked carefully, looking at Don rather than Kait, knowing Kait would stubbornly deny any injury she might have.
Don nodded slightly. "She is regaining motor control, but the feeling is still lagging behind in a few fingers." Milo nodded as well, letting her hands go and looking at the two.
"Raph and Emily are getting married tonight." Kait piped up quietly, hoping to lighten the mood.
Milo and Don both smiled at Kait's enthusiasm. "Are you coming to get your mom's dress?" Milo asked playfully, his head jerking up to his attic, where all of Kait's possessions now resided.
She shook her head slightly as she climbed the stairs. "Just the veil. She's wearing April's mother's dress. She's too small to wear Mom's dress." She had to remember that Milo had never met Emily. "Come tonight." She offered quietly, her eyes traveling to Don's to ask for belated permission. He gave her a minute nod to reassure her.
Milo nodded with a smile, his face lighting up slightly. "Gladly. How nice should I dress?"
Kait shrugged. "Jeans a nice shirt, I guess." And with that she had disappeared upstairs and through the door to the attic stairs.
"You better keep her safe this time." He murmured to Don as he stared down at the ground.
"I will." He mumbled back. "I love her too much to lose her or even see her get hurt."
Milo nodded sharply. "Good, because I do too."
Kait came back down a few minutes later holding a ball of cream fabric in one hand and a pile of knit fabric in the other. "Sweater." She explained to the men around her as she curled into Don's side.
"Well, we'll be heading to the wedding now. If you want to come with us, we need to leave soon." Don spoke up quietly, sad to ruin the moment between the almost siblings.
Milo nodded and quickly fed Gracie and Cujo before grabbing a scarf off the coat rack. "I'm ready to go." He smiled down at Kait and gently smoothed out her hair.
It would have been a quick jog to the rooftop if it had been just Don, but he had an injured Kait and an un-athletic Milo in his wake. It took almost twice as long as it would have taken him, but the arrived still quite early.
It was by no means a formal event. Casey wore a dress shirt, black scarf, and jeans with his hair actually brushed. April, Emily's maid of honor, wore a thick red dress with sweater tights. All the brothers wore scarf to stay warm and held bags of a mystery substance in their hands. Emily was hiding behind the roof entrance, trying not to fidget too much in the long white dress she was in. Kait walked over to her quickly, holding out the veil for her to see.
Emily spared her a smile, her blue eyes very bright and wide. "Thank you." She murmured quietly. The two had formed a slight alliance since the death of Greg. Emily now saw that they had something in common and had begun to see the strength that Kait actually possessed. Not physical strength, like Emily and the boys, but emotional strength that took every blow thrown at it and kept going.
"You look gorgeous." Kait whispered conspiratorially. "I think Raph might pass out." She tried not to giggle.
"I might pass out." Emily grumbled, fidgeting with the veil.
Kait smiled genuinely, reaching up and fixing the veil for the other woman, situating it over her face. It was difficult, trying to convince just the few working fingers to grab the thin and delicate material, but she managed it.
Kait almost squealed when Emily leaned down and wrapped her arms around her neck in a tight hug. From what the blonde understood about the other woman, affection was not in her repertoire. "Thank you." Emily whispered again.
With a small nod and smile, Kait walked back around the walls to stand with Don, whose arm came tightly around her shoulder, holding her close. He may have been cold blooded, but he tried hardest to keep her warm.
"Female bonding?" he joked quietly, kissing the top of her head.
Kait could only smile and nod before the music started. The music was not coming from some orchestra or elaborate sound system, but from the speakers of Mikey's game system. Emily was slow to take the turn around the wall, but when she did, she took everyone's breath away. No one had ever seen her in a dress before, not even Raph, but she was gorgeous; the dress clung and floated in just the right places to give her figure a fighting chance. Her veil covered part of her face, which seemed to falter for a moment as she looked at the small group, searching for someone. Kait did not see who was missing, everyone was there.
"Her father wouldn't come." Don whispered to Kait, seeing the look on her face.
Kait saved her questions for later and returned her attention back to the bride. She had reached Raph by now, her slender fingers fiddling with the bouquet of carnations and roses, all red, in her hands. Raph whispered something to her, too quiet for the others to hear, that made her smile, lighting up her face to the point it hurt Kait's heart. They were truly, completely in love, but because of what the brothers were, the whole world couldn't be brightened by their connection. Or Kait and Don's connection, for that matter.
Casey's words were quiet, barely heard by everyone on the roof, but they weren't the important ones. The ones that heard the words nodded every now and then in agreement with Casey, but never taking their eyes off each other. Very quickly, he was reaching the final words. "Raphael, do you take Emily to be your wife, in sickness, health, comas, battles, moodiness, and betterness?" Everyone laughed as Raph looked down at Emily with the purest smile Kait had ever seen on anyone.
"I do, if she'll have me." He murmured lovingly.
Casey nodded and turned his attention to Emily. "Emily, do you take Raphael to be your husband, in sickness, health, injury, hard-headedness, anger, stupidity, and occasional good moods?" he raised an eyebrow comically, waiting for her answer as another chuckle spread through the group.
"I do." She murmured, her gaze completely fixed on Raph.
"Well," Casey smiled. "By the power vested in me by absolutely no one, I suppose it's about time we start callin' you two husband and wife, and let Raph take on anyone that says otherwise. Raphael, you may now kiss the bride."
Kait expected something passionate, knowing the two of them, but it was anything but. Raph gently lifted up her veil, letting his hands linger on her cheeks before stepping towards her and gently kissing her for a few moments, her body lingering close to her even after he had pulled his lips back.
Everyone applauded, the boys hooped and hollered for bit before throwing their bags, full of rice and glitter, at the pair. Emily turned bright red as she looked at everyone, smiling slightly. April, the closest to her besides Raph, whispered something to her that made Emily smile even more. Before Kait knew what was going on, April was pulling her towards the center of what had been the aisle as Emily turned around.
"Really, April, I don't want to try to…" Kait couldn't finish her sentence before a bundle of red and green was flying at them, more of a line drive than an arc. Kait squealed and ducked out of the way as April courageously caught it, holding it tight to her chest and looking pointedly at Casey, who began to turn almost as red as the bouquet.
Raph held Emily close as everyone moved to congratulate them. Kait noticed Casey hand a key to Raph with a wink and a pat on the shoulder. Kait looked up at Don, about to ask a question, but he beat her to it. "Casey and April are staying with us for a few days and giving Raph and Emily their apartment for an impromptu honeymoon."
Kait nodded slightly, tucking close against Don to fight off the cold. The celebration wound down and the slowly separated into three groups: the newlyweds, the family, and Milo standing off by himself. Cautiously, Milo walked over to Kait, his hands shoved shyly into his pockets.
"Is that going to be you someday?" He asked quietly, quickly glancing up at Don.
She shrugged, looking at the group around her. "Maybe." She sighed heavily. "Why does it matter, Milo? I'm dating someone, I'm happy, I'm in love. Does it matter if it's with a man, a woman, or a…"
"A turtle." Milo cut in sharply. "You know I'm just trying to protect you. That's all I've ever tried to do." He shook his head and suddenly pulled Kait into a tight hug. "I guess I should petition to get it changed to LGBTI so you can be covered, too." Kait only smiled and let herself be held and rocked by Milo, the last bit of old normalcy in her life, but not the only rock she had to grip. She had never been less alone in her entire life. She had a whole loving family around her that had accepted her and brought her in. "Well, looks like I'll never be a godfather." Milo sighed theatrically, releasing Kait from his grip.
She smiled shyly at that. "I wouldn't be so sure about that one. I have some ideas, but it all depends on time and Don; mostly Don." Smiling at Milo's look of pure confusion, she returned to Don, sliding her hand into his.
"You'll have to tell me about these ideas." He whispered quietly.
Kait only smiled, watching Milo descend the ladder to return home. Soon, Raph carried Emily off the rooftop to their "honeymoon," and the others started their happy but quiet journey back to the lair.
While the evening had brought some happiness to the family, it meant that little separated them from the struggles ahead; that now they had to step up and take their final stand against the Foot, to that the threat out of their lives so that they could be safe, so that their loved ones could be safe, and so that they could be safe to love. Leo and Mikey still hadn't found the connection to another being that would make them take on the world, but they hoped. Seeing Raph and Emily and Don and Kait, they hoped. But there was a war ahead of them, and they knew that as they descended to the sewers. There was a war coming that they had prepared their whole lives for. A war that could be the end of all that they loved and all that they knew.
AN: I'm so so sorry!
I know this has taken me forever to put up, but school got the better of me and I have just found time to sit down and write.
So….this is the end of Logic Puzzle….
I know I promised another chapter, but it will be an epilogue set well after this story. Well after Random Reviewer the 2nd's story.
And so that brings me to my next point. Don't forget, this is not the end, there will be a third installment, but not by me. But I will make sure you all know when it gets put up.
And I promise, with all my little heart, that the last chapter will be up by the end of the year. I promise. If it gets close and I haven't put up yet, feel free to send me angry messages to get my butt in gear.
Sincerely,
C M