Now and Forever


Epilogue



The air was warm for mid-November, but a light rain had begun to fall. He sat still in the grass, allowing it to beat down on his skin, and to soothe his tired muscles. It had been a long workout. Leo had insisited that they spend the whole morning training and doing katas. Raph had thought the whole thing was pointless, and he had told him so. Of course, that had started an argument.

He longed to go back to the city, to leave the memories of the countryside behind him, but Leo and Splinter said it wasn't time yet. It had been almost a month since she'd left, and he still couldn't shake the feeling of loss. He wondered where she was right now and how she was doing; if she'd met someone new. It wasn't a thought he favored, but he knew that it might be a reality.

He had almost picked up the phone a hundred different times, but he couldn't bring his fingers to dial her number. Although he didn't want to admit it, even to himself, part of him was afraid of rejection, or worse, that he'd break down. So he had tried his hardest to block her from his mind, dwelling on practice and even farm work to keep himself busy. Still, at times, she forced her way into his thoughts anyway.

The rain began to beat down harder, but he didn't care. He was actually enjoying the drepressing gloom. He gazed up at the overcast sky, the clouds heavy with moisture. He would just sit here all day and let the stinging water do its worst.

He picked up a rock and threw it out across the pond, watching as it skipped across the water before plopping into its depths. He thought about his brothers and Splinter, back in the farmhouse, warm and dry. The threat of a storm had forced them inside. Saved by the rain.

"Raphael?" A voice spoke his name. Someone was near. He lifted his head to gaze out over the field, wondering silently who he'd allowed to sneak up on him.

A girl was standing just a few feet in front of him, her long dark hair matted to her forehead, her clothes dripping with water. A long trenchcoat hung from her shoulders. His trenchcoat.

"Megan?" He couldn't believe his eyes.

She stepped toward him slowly, her expression a mixture of joy and apprehension.

"W...what are you doing here?", Raph asked, stunned by her sudden appearance. He couldn't help but wonder if this was all a dream.

"I had to come back.", she smiled lightly, a sudden insecurity gripping at her. But still she waited. She had to know if this thing was right. She had to find out the truth once and for all.

He stared at her for a moment in disbelief. "But, why?" He watched as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded peice of paper.

"Because of this." She handed it to him, watching as he took it reluctantly and unfolded it to reveal her drawing and the message he had left for her.

He stared up at her, saying nothing, gripping the paper tightly in his hand. She smiled weakly, unsure as to what to say. She studied him intently, waiting for a reaction, but he remained still, only moving his head to stare down again at the drawing.

"I just...I just wanted to see you again.", she said softly. "And to tell you that...I miss you."

He looked up at her again, his heart racing. "Y...you do?"

She nodded, and gulped back the tears that threatened to surface. "But...I'm sure you've got things to do, so I'll be going. I just wanted to see you one last time. To get a chance to say goodbye."

He stared at her in silence again, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. She had come back! He knew that she hadn't traveled here all this way again just to tell him she missed him. She could have used the phone for that.

"Goodbye, Raphael.", her voice came almost as a whisper. "I love you." As she turned to leave, Raph stood up, beckoning her to face him once again. He said nothing, but walked toward her, his eyes penetrating into hers. This was his chance. It was time to tell her what he had been afraid to for so long. "I love you too, Megan. I always have." He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, the rain pelting their heads as they kissed.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Guys! Hey, look!", Mike ran into the kitchen, dragging Leo and Don by the arms. "C'mon, come here, you gotta see this!"

Donatello and Leonardo exchanged glances and followed Mike reluctantly into the living room.

"Look!", Mike drew the curtain back, revealing a stormy sky.

"Hey, neat.", Don joked, "rain."

"No!", Mike became aggitated. "Look who's coming!"

Don and Leo scooted closer to the window, their eyes almost bugging out of their heads as they spotted Raph and Megan hurrying toward the door.

"Megan?", Leo wondered outloud.

"They burst through the door, dripping water all over the floor, laughing hysterically. Don, Leo and Mike just stared at them in awe for a moment, before Mike ran over and gave her a big hug.

"Megan! What are you doing here?"

She returned the hug and smiled. "What can I say? I just couldn't stay away from you guys."

She noticed their curious glances, and decided to explain. "I sold my mother's house. Got a pretty good sum of money for it too. There was this guy who's been wanting to buy it for the longest time. He gave me cash for it.", she smiled, and then grew serious as she thought about the old house she grew up in. "It just held too many memories for me. I needed a change. And then I packed up my stuff, quit my job and came back here." A smile spread across her face as she looked from turtle to turtle. "I missed you guys, and I figured here is as good a place as any."

"Welcome back, Megan.", Don smiled and took her hand.

Splinter, Casey, April and Shadow heard the comotion and came running.

"Megan, you're back!", April called.

Splinter limped up to her and smiled. "See, I told you."

She smiled at him curiously for a moment. "Yeah, but how did you..."

He laid a hand on her shoulder, but said nothing.

"So you're back for good then?", her cousin asked.

"Yeah.", she flahsed Raph a quick smile.

"Do you need a place to stay, cuz you can always--"

"No, thanks, Casey. I found a perfect little house for rent, and I've already got a job at this really neat advertising company." She smiled at him happily. "But I could use some help with some of my bags."

Casey led the way out the door. Megan stopped short and turned around, tossing something at Raph.

He reached his hand up to catch the object and stared down at it in awe. "What's this?"

"It's a key.", she smiled. "To our new house."

He stared up at her for a moment, and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"If you'll stay with me, that is.", she smiled.

The grin grew wider, as he stared at her. Me? Living with a girl? Well, it sure will be a nice change from the sewers!

As he watched her and Casey run out to the moving van, he knew that things would be okay. He didn't know what the future held, but he knew that he had found something special in her. He glanced around at the others. Besides, he had his brothers, his sensei, and good friends, and those were things he could hold on to, now and forever.


THE END



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