Last chapter….wow, after two years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, this fic has come to an end.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your support so much and love each and every one of you.

10 YEARS LATER…

Leonardo smiled as he slowly came back to consciousness, arms lifting up over his head in a lazy stretch as silvery birdsong drifted through the open windows of his bedroom.

It was a perfect morning. A sweet breeze fluttered through gauzy curtains while the room was flooded with the golden rays of the sun. A sight that, after so many years living underground, Leo wouldn't grow tired of any time soon. Readjusting his body on the silky sheets he noticed that a certain someone was missing, heaving a yawn, the turtle listened for any sounds from his wife that might give a clue as to her location. Judging by the water running in the bathroom, she was probably taking a shower. Leo smirked at the thought, and immediately pulled himself out of bed so to silently pad over towards the splashing in the next room.

Glancing around the partially open door, the world walker admired his wife's figure as it stood under the shower spigot, watching as the rivulets made their way down her swollen stomach, then disrobed out of his pajama pants so to join her. Stepping behind the mermaid, Leonardo trailed his fingers across her waist and settled them to cradle the distended abdomen, one thumb caressing her soft skin.

"Good morning," he whispered in her ear, "how are you feeling?"

"Nauseas," Glimmer sighed, giving her husband a tired smile, "and your son keeps kicking me in the ribs."

"You're pretty confident it's a boy, aren't you?" Leo chuckled.

"Well, our daughter made me just as sick, but she wasn't nearly as active as this little one," the mermaid scowled lovingly, cupping her stomach with tender hands, "so I can only assume that it's a little boy who takes after his Daddy."

The turtle hummed in acknowledgement of his wife's hypothesis, nibbling along the webbing of her ear and then trailing kisses down the side of her neck, "Oh no, you don't," Glimmer giggled, nudging him away, "that's what got me into this mess, I want to take my shower in peace."

Leonardo chuckled leaning back in close, "I seem to remember that the particular shower that got you into this mess," he growled seductively, "featured you interrupting me."

"Don't get hung up on details, my love," Glimmer said with a sniff, then cast a mischievous grin over her shoulder, "are you ready for today?"

"By today, do you mean the surprise party I'm supposed to not know about?" The Walker sighed.

The mermaid giggled, turning around so to wrap her arms around her husband's neck, "Or, the surprise party that your family has very lovingly planned, to commemorate ten years of being a world walker, and all that implies?"

Leonardo gave a noncommittal grunt, uncomfortable about being the center of attention, "All that implies," he echoed, "so, it's really a celebration of a new life that involves everyone, not just me. So, why do I have to be the main event? Can't we just give a toast saying, 'Here's to family!' and be done with it?"

Glimmer rolled her eyes, stretching up on her toes to give the turtle a peck on the cheek, "None of this would have been possible without you, just do yourself a favor, my dear, and bear with it!" She sighed, caressing a green cheek and looking deeply into his eyes, "We love you, and that isn't going to change."

"I'm not asking for you to change your love for me," Leo smirked, pulling her closer, "but does said love have to include a party?"

The mermaid paused, brow furrowing as if in deep thought making the turtle chuckle at her theatrics, before brightening back up, "Yep!"

Leonardo shook his head, smiling fondly down at his wife, eyes shining with affection, "What am I going to do with you?"

Glimmer gave an unrepentant shrug, "Love me in spite of my many quirks?" She grinned.

"Oh, I do that already," the walker dipped down, capturing his wife's lips in a passionate kiss.

The mermaid sighed, tightening her arms around her husband's neck, but the couple was quickly distracted by the sound of knocking on their bedroom door, "Your grace?" The sound of a palace guard called through the wood, echoing across the chamber and into the bathroom, "Your Grace, you're due at the training grounds."

The green head fell down to rest against Glimmer's, Leo heaving a groan of complaint as their morning was unceremoniously interrupted, "I tell them to leave me alone until I come out," he grumbled, "you'd think that they could follow a simple instruction."

"My love," Glimmer whispered, green eyes twinkling in amusement, "take comfort in the fact that at least they've finally learned the concept of knocking."

The turtle shook as a snort of laughter rocked through his shoulders, an amusing but mortifying memory, from right after their honeymoon, of when the palace guards did not know how to knock coming to the forefront of his memory, "Touché."

More knocking, "Your Grace?"

A growling sigh, and then Leonardo lifted his face, "I'm coming, just let me get out of the shower!" He bellowed.

Glimmer cuddled the yellow plastron, rubbing her nose on the smooth armor, "It's okay, love, go and check on your brother, I'll be here." She soothed, pressing a kiss to the pulse point of his neck.

Leo pouted down at his wife, "Why?" He said in an uncharacteristic whine that only his wife has heard, "What if I don't want to?"

"You have to," the mermaid giggled, as her husband buried his beak in her neck, the terrapin nuzzling her blue skin, "you have responsibilities!"

"I always have responsibilities," was the grumbling reply, "what if I choose to take today off?"

Glimmer gave a fond sigh, stroking the turtle's head, "Take tomorrow off, love," she suggested, knowing that her husband wouldn't, "today is already full of things you promised you'd see to, and they're all waiting for you downstairs as it is."

For several seconds, the only sound in the bathroom was the pounding water pouring from the shower head, but eventually Leo gave a resigned sigh, then extricated himself from his wife, "Fine," he huffed, stepping out of the stone stall and grabbing a towel, "I shall do as you say, princess."

The mermaid smiled, following her husband and grabbing a second towel so to help him dry his shell, "That's a good boy." She teased.

Leonardo turned to wrinkle his nose playfully at the Mer, but Glimmer stuck her tongue out at him, "Go, fulfill your myriad of responsibilities!" She said, using the fabric to give an affectionate wack on the turtle's shell, "I'll be here, growing our child."

"Ah," the terrapin mused with a grin, pecking her on the lips and walking out into their bedroom to throw on his ceremonial clothes, "a far more sacred and challenging endeavor, to be sure."

Glimmer scoffed, "That better not be sarcasm, mister!" She squawked, "Because I'd like to see how YOU would handle pregnancy!"

Leonardo turned to see the fierce pout adorning his wife's face and burst into laughter, "Never would I use sarcasm on you, sweetheart," he assured, hurriedly buttoning the shirt, "I understand that we men are desperately inadequate in that field, and I would never demean the strength you ladies display when it comes to bringing a new life into this world."

The princess gave a nod, mollified, "That's better," she sniffed, though Leo could still see how her eyes danced with silent laughter, "and don't you forget it."

Having finished dressing into the ceremonial garb of the Duke of the western territories, Leonardo gave his wife one last kiss, "Have a wonderful day."

Glimmer leaned into the kiss, then smiled up at her husband, "You too, I'll see you later at the party."

The turtle nodded, then strode to the door and threw it open, "I'm here, are you happy now?"

The guard blanched, then gave a hurried nod, "Yes, your Grace," he stammered, "Sir Raphael is waiting for you at the training grounds to review the latest recruits. He said that he needs you to approve the boot camp he has planned for them."

In the ten years since moving to Avalon, Raphael had succeeded Merrick as Captain of the Guard, and as Leonardo always suspected, was a natural leader. The quality of soldiers that the brawler churned out were second to none, and the two brothers enjoyed going over training regimes to make them even stronger. In the last five years alone the manor's security was completely revitalized, its private militia an elite squad that had everything from footman, an equine division, heavy artillery, all the way up to a shadow ops team that would handle jobs that required more finesse. Raphael was showing the multiverse just what his brand of leadership looked like, and Leo swelled with pride at his little brother's accomplishments. He and Mona also had married nine years ago and had a pair of twin boys that were a handsome mix of the two, already skilled fighters at just eight years old, they kept their parents on the run. They also displayed a keen interest in martial arts and ninjutsu. If they weren't in school, then they were at the training grounds following their Dad around, copying his every move.

"I'll head straight to the training grounds, then," the world walker nodded, "what else is on my agenda, today?"

"Sir Michelangelo has reserved an hour of your time to discuss the truce he's negotiating between the nations of the Tengu and the Fox people," the guard answered, flipping through a daily planner to their current date and reading everything that had been scheduled, "it's been almost year and they refuse to come to the table to discuss terms and his Lordship is losing patience."

When Mikey lost patience, you knew the the situation was headed for trouble. As Avalon's interdimensional ambassador, and consultant to dueling nations to negotiate peace, Mikey had blossomed from the awkward and dorky teenager into a wise and thoughtful leader. The youngest had successfully stopped wars, drafted hundreds of enduring peace treaties, and even helped bring multiple kingdoms into a new form of government that was beneficial for everyone. Leonardo couldn't be prouder of the turtle. He and Nessa were the first to get married among the brothers and were at four kids and counting (three girls and a boy), what with the dragon maid pregnant with number five. Out of all the clan, their wing of the manor was certainly the liveliest.

"I should tell him to do what we did with the Plaktons," the walker grinned mischievously.

The palace guard paled, "You mean," he spluttered, "invite them individually to the castle for a dinner, and then lock them in the same room until they draft a treaty they can both agree to?"

Leonardo nodded. It wasn't his favorite tactic, and certainly could be considered as playing dirty, but if they refuse to cooperate and keep acting petty, then they could ALL be petty, "If Mikey is about to lose his cool, then it's about time to bring out the big guns."

"But, your Grace," the guard whined, "last time we did that we had to completely remodel the green room! It was utterly destroyed! And I had to help clean up! This time we may have to remodel the entire wing, if the Tengu and the fox nation really get into it!"

The Walker chuckled, giving his attendant a teasing grin, "I was right next to you cleaning up, if you recall," he reminded, "and I'll help this time, too."

The guard slumped, then nodded, "At any rate," he continued in a bereaved sigh, "after that, Sir Donatello states that he has an important advancement to show on their study of the multiverse. He and his wife seemed very enthused about it."

Head of the science division, valedictorian of his class in the University of the nexus and at MIT, and CEO of a large research company that spanned the multiverse, Donatello was living his best life devoted to science and to his family. He and Venus were married only five years ago, as their passion for science kept distracting them from dating. Eventually, though, they got around to tying the knot and Donatello was the proud father of a four year old son who already was displaying the superior intellect he inherited from his parents. Having built his first successful rocket at only three, it meant Donnie and his wife were learning the joys and terrors of raising a gifted child, much to the amusement of Splinter. Nowadays, he and Venus were once again delving into the mysteries of the multiverse, goin deeper than ever before and had made some exciting discoveries. While Leonardo didn't understand most of it, he still liked setting time out of his day to listen.

"Anything else?" The walker asked briskly.

"The royal physician, Doctor Lowery, will be returning from his trip this afternoon," the attendant continued, "I've already informed the maids to freshen up the linens in his room, and have it ready for his arrival."

Anthony Lowrey and Radar had moved to Avalon a little over six years ago. The elderly veterinarian successfully retired, handing his practice down to a younger and trustworthy doctor who'd care for his clients with the same devotion as the war veteran. Since then, the man seemed to have gained a new lease on life. The very air of Avalon seemed to invigorate the man, and he'd been traveling the multiverse studying all the myriad of animal life that he could find. Leonardo happily funded the expeditions, as it helped increase their knowledge of the many worlds attached to the nexus and the tree. Splinter often joined his friend, but also would stay behind so to dote on his many grandchildren. The two had become quite the duo and had hundreds of stories to tell about their adventures.

"Oh, also you are scheduled to oversee the installment of the new forge," the guard popped up, realizing he'd forgotten an item on the itinerary, "a mister Rawgrim has just arrived by boat, and is eager to inspect his new lodgings."

Leonardo grinned at that. He'd been working for the past ten years to negotiate Rawgrim coming to settle in Avalon. The Minotaur was very attached to the fishing village where they'd met and was unwilling to leave. The young Walker understood how he felt, and had taken his time with the negotiations, even taking his whole family on a trip to show them where he'd spent his self imposed exile. However, the manor didn't have a blacksmith of Rawgrim's caliber, and Leo still felt indebted to the Minotaur for his patient care all those years ago. Which was why he began his slow campaign of convincing the Nexian to come to Avalon. It had taken the whole ten years, a lot of letters back and forth, and more haggling than Leonardo thought himself capable, but finally the turtle was able to convince his old friend to come and be the master of the forge in the manor. Rawgrim didn't ask for much, he simply stated that he had no wish to live in the luxury of the castle and wanted his forge to be a short distance away to ensure his privacy maintain the quiet life he'd become accustomed to. Leonardo agreed, and oversaw the building of a fully equipped forge, complete with a cozy apartment and apprentice quarters.

"Perfect!" The turtle nodded, "I'm excited to show him what we've made, I'm sure he'll love it!"

"Also, the lady April, little Shadow and Sir Casey will be arriving later on so to attend the-eep!" The guard shut his mouth quickly, face growing a rosy shade of red, "uh, I mean, they are arriving to….to…to view the new rose bushes that Lady Kinuye planted! Yes! They're coming to see the roses!"

Leonardo snickered quietly, that's right, he's supposed to be in the dark about the party. His family really should have known better than to try to keep a secret around him. He may be a stuffy Duke now, but he was still a master ninja in skills. He knew everything that happened in this castle, including the secrets, "The roses that she planted a month ago and they've already seen?" Leo asked innocently, "Three times, I might add. While they're lovely, I don't understand why April and Casey are making the trip a fourth time."

That sent the attendant floundering, "Well, they haven't seen the….the…um, that's right, the chrysanthemums! The chrysanthemums are quite recent."

The ninja chortled, unable to keep teasing the man, "I know about the party," he chuckled, "you don't need to keep trying to cover for it, I've known for weeks."

The guard deflated, relief evident in his features even as he breathed a sigh, "I figured, but I wasn't sure," he confessed, "but if anyone asks, you didn't find out from me."

Leo winked, granting the attendant a sideways grin, "Of course, not."

Finally reaching the main doors leading outside, Leonardo pushed them open, breathing in the blast of fresh air laced with the scent of freshly cut grass. Today marked ten years since they'd made a new life here. Ten years of struggles, of mistakes, of successes and lots of joy and laughter interspersed with surprises and the new beginnings of each child birthed into their growing clan. Ten years of hopes found, dreams realized, and the joy of family making each day sweeter than the last. In the past decade, each brother had been broken down in numerous ways, discovering what worked and what didn't in their new roles, but in time, they were able to grow into the warriors and leaders they were always meant to be.

Sapphire eyes lit up as a sweet voice of a six year old Mer and turtle hybrid shouted across the lawn, "Daddy!"

Leonardo melted, stooping down to scoop his daughter up into brawny arms, and hug her tenderly, "Good morning, little princess," he cooed, kissing the smiling face that was a beautiful mix of both his and Glimmer's, "what are you up to, today?"

The child burst into a gale of story that included her many cousins, and as Leo listened to her ramble, a fresh wave of warmth settled in his chest. His life was perfect, and he couldn't be happier.

Fin.

Thank you everyone. You've made this journey so meaningful, and it's truly become a part of my life that I look back on and treasure.

I plan to continue writing. Separate stories that aren't part of this universe, but I won't leave this alone, I promise. I'll add one shots to check in on the guys, here and there.

Thank you for your support, and please, feel free to leave one last review as a sweet farewell for now to this world that, somehow, grew in the last two years.