She ran through the lair and into the laboratory, a look of overwhelming excitement on her face. Don nearly dropped the vial as he set it back into its holder, before standing up to welcome her.

"So...?"

Robyn's grin spread from ear to ear. "I got it! I can't believe it, but I got it!"

Don's eyes lit up at her excited screeches. "You...you got it? Wow, this is great! See, I told ya you could pull it off!"

He let her jump up and down for a moment before embracing her in a hug. She felt safe in his arms, like nothing could ever hurt her. This was it, the beginning of a new life, one that would hopefully be much more memorable than the last.

Don grabbed a chair and wheeled it over to her. "Tell me all about it."

Robyn sat down, but just on the very edge of the seat, unable to relax. "Well...it's just a secretarial job, you know, but the pay is pretty good, and I get weekends off, and there's great benefits."

Don smiled at her. This is what she had wanted for so long. Now they would be able to find a nice place, and she would no longer have to live in the stench and filth of the sewers. He welcomed the change as well, although he promised himself that he would never forget his roots, that he would come here daily to work in the lab, and strive to find new and better ways of improving the world. That, after all, was what he felt was his calling.

He enjoyed seeing her happy. It was great to see her smile again. It had been so long since he'd seen that sparkle in her eyes, but there it was once more, and it was a welcomed sight. He turned his attention to the vials again as she began to describe her office and her new boss. He was really beginning to hope that his experiment would bring out something beneficial. It would be great if he and Robyn...

"Don?" Robyn had stopped her anxious chatter and was now looking at him curiously.

Don looked up at her innocently.

"What is all of this?"

Mike scooped the baby up into his arms. "Phewwwwy! I think someone made a doody in his diaper!" He laid the baby down on the couch, hoping that April wouldn't walk in and kill him for it, and waited for Shadow to return with the new diaper. This was great. He loved being around kids, even through the messy stuff like this. One thing he wasn't so fond of though...

Taking a deep breath, he began to pull the tape from the sides of the diaper, hoping like heck that his hands would work fast. He rolled up the diaper and set it on the coffee table, another thing April would scold him for if she knew. After making sure the area was clean, he let the air out of his lungs and slid the diaper under Christian. As he stared down at the tiny creature before him, he smiled to himself. "Man", he said out loud. "I have to get me one of these some day."

Mike rose to his feet and hurried to get the baby powder as he had seen April do a few times. When he returned, he stooped down to sprinkle some on Christian, but it seemed the baby had plans of his own, as a yellow fountain sprayed up and over, falling onto the couch cushions. Shadow let out an entertained giggle.

Oh no! April's gonna kill me!

"It's been really hard, you know."

He looked at her seriously. "I know."

"I just wish...I wish I could get him back."

Don stood from his chair and knelt down next to her. "You can."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You can get him back, Robyn, and I'm going to help you."

"But...how?"

He laid a hand on hers and smiled up at her. "I'm a ninja. I can be very sneaky."

She smirked back at him. "Oh? What are you going to do? Go into invisible mode and steal him from Collin's house? Check the internet for hitmen? Enter his apartment late at night and scare him to death?"

He had that mischevious gleam in his eye. "Something like that."

Suddenly, Robyn grew serious again. "Don, why are you doing this? Helping me with this, I mean?"

He swallowed and stared at her, that lost feeling that emanated from her eyes almost melting him. "Because...I love you."

It was the first time he'd actually said it, and it made him a little nervous. Yet, it felt so right. She smiled back at him, a little surprised by his words, and took his hand.

"I love you too, Don."

He threw down the katana and plunked down on the old, worn out training mats. Exhausted from the work out, he laid his head back, allowing it to rest on the wall behind him. His thoughts turned to Splinter and his brothers. He wondered what they were all doing right now.

Michaelangelo was probably off meditating somewhere. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

He claimed that he had actually had a conversation with Splinter on the astral plane, although Leo wasn't quite sure he believed him fully. Not that he would lie about something like that, just that Mike had been under a lot of stress lately, and maybe his mind was making up these things to help ease the pain. Whatever it was, Leo realized that he himself wasn't ready to face his master just yet. What would he tell him?

Raph was probably home with Megan. She had probably cooked him a nice dinner that he was enjoying right now, instead of the stale old pizza he had just eaten less than two hours ago. Suddenly, life just didn't seem fair, and he had that same feeling of dread he had gotten so long ago when they had first met up with Karai. He remembered feeling sorry for himself back then, as if his life had never really had a purpose. Of course, he had realized later that he had been foolish to think such a thing. Everyone had a purpose, otherwise they wouldn't be here. He realized that maybe he was a little jealous of what Raphael had. Why him out of the four of them? The angry one. The hot-headed one. The one that always seemed to get them into trouble. Still, he had to be happy for him. He saw the ways that Megan had changed him for the better, and that was a good thing.

Don...hmmm...Don was probably cooped up in his lab somewhere. He seemed to be occupying that room frequently the last few days. He wondered what he was up to, but promised himself he wouldn't butt in until Don said it was time. Whatever it was sure seemed important. Last night he had awoken at three in the morning to Don's racket. He must have pulled another all-nighter. It was good to see Don back to his old self again though. His hand seemed to be healing nicely, and he was back in his element once again. He sure seemed to be taking a liking to Robyn too. Maybe they would get together soon, and then it would just be him and Mikey left to battle over who got the girl next.

He thought about his human friends too, about Casey and April. Things seemed to be picking up for them as well. Christian was home from the hospital and in good health, and Casey just got a promotion. April seemed so happy that she was finally a mother, and even Shadow was excited about her new baby brother.

He thought about his own life, the things that had happened so recently. Splinter's death no longer haunted him. Instead it filled him with a sense of peace and closure. If Mikey had been right, he was still there watching over them. There really was something to look forward to after death. He had to admit to himself that he had seen Splinter's image the other night when they'd all gotten together to meditate. With everyone back together and happy again, he figured he really couldn't complain. Life was good, and with time, he knew he'd find his way as well.

Don held the slide carefully between his thick fingers, his hand shaking slightly as he tried not to drop it in his excitement. He picked up the eye-dropper carefully, holding it steady, just inches above the material on the slide. Gently, he squeezed the rubber end, allowing a small drop to fall onto the thin rectangle of plastic.

He set the dropper aside and laid the slide carefully under the microscope. This was it, the moment of truth. Something he had waited for for a long time. What would the dye reveal? He couldn't wait to see the results. He was shaking, he was so nervous. He knew this could mean the future for him and his brothers, and this wasn't something he was taking lightly. He would have started this experiment long ago, if not for his underlying fear of what it would reveal.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered his eye to peer into the microscope. Here goes nothing... As he stared down at the tiny cells, he found something amazing. Blinking, he frowned harder into the eyepeice, almost crying out at the discovery.

"Holy shit! I can't beleive it! But how...how could I have missed that before?"

Leo opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. "I know what I have to do." he said aloud. Rising to his feet, he resheathed his katana and headed out to the living room to grab his coat. He searched through the kitched drawers until he found a pen and a peice of paper to leave a note.

Dear guys, I'm leaving for a few days. There's something I need to take care of. I'll be back soon. In the meantime, watch out for our human friends, and eachother.

Leonardo.

He taped the note to the refrigerator, and after grabbing up a few more supplies, headed out the door.

"Okay, I'm here." Raph tossed his bag down to the ground and took off his coat, dropping it next to the bag. "Now what was so damn important?"

Don glanced down at Raph's stuff and then up to his face. "Did you bring it?"

Raph shot him a curious frown. "Yeah...look, what do you need a strand of Megan's hair for anyway? It's not like--"

"Look, I'll explain everything to you as we go, okay? Give me the hair."

Raphael shot him another peculiar glance and hesitantly brought out a baggie that contained a couple strands of Megan's long dark hair. "It wasn't easy either." he said, annoyed. "I mean, how do you tell your woman, 'hey, hold still for a moment, I want to pull out some of your hair?'"

Don smiled at him coyly. "Yeah, well, all in the interest of science!"

"Ha! Yeah, well, good thing I found these suckers in the shower. Otherwise I woulda had to explain why I found it necessary to try to make her bald!"

Don laughed and motioned for Raphael to step foward. "Here, there's something I want you to see." Raph followed him to the old microscope and stared at it blankly. "It's a microscope. Yeah...so...?"

Don closed his eyes and shook his head in annoyance. "Not the microscope, you dope. Look at what's in the microscope!"

Raph leaned over and gazed into the eyepeice, staring at the contents for a long time. "Hmmm...so what is this stuff anyway?"

"Those are chromosomes. Your chromosomes."

"My what?" he frowned up at Don in confusion.

"Chromosomes. You know, the things that help determine your physical appearance, gender, race...species."

"Ohhh! Those chromosomes. Yeah, I knew that..."

Don smirked at him. "Anyway...there are two copies of each chromosome in every one of your cells. Every living thing has them, humans, plants, animals. You get one set from your mother, and another from your father. And as you know already, human chromosomes and animal chromosomes just don't mix."

"Yeah..." Raphael suddenly thought about Megan, about all the times she had expressed such a yearning to have children. Now he figured it would never come true. The way Donnie explained it, it was impossible.

"Okay, now look..." Raphael couldn't quite figure out what Don was doing to the strands of hair, but eventually, he laid them under another microscope and allowed Raph to study it as well. "What do you see?"

Raph continued to stare into the scope. "I see little strips of stuff with lines on it, like some of them chromo-thingys in the other one."

"Exactly!" Don shouted.

Raphael wasn't exactly sure he understood Don's enthusiasm.

"Don't you get it? Look in there again." He motioned toward the first microscope. Reluctantly, Raph sighed and did as Don requested. "What do you see?"

"Like I said Don, I see those same little chromo-watchits as I did in the first one. And some of them look like they're connected. Some are strait like those and some are kinda...different."

Raphael looked up at Don, noticing the big cheesy grin on his face. "Donnie...?"

"Don't you get it, Raph?" Donatello was almost screaming in his excitement. "This sample of Megan's hair shows chromosomes that almost exactly match some of the chromosomes in this sample of your tissue over here."

Raphael still wasn't sure he understood. He just frowned at Don curiously, waiting for him to continue.

"Well...the fact that you have two different types of chromosomes in your body is, well...incredible! You see those kinda odd shaped ones?"

Raph peered into the microscope once again. "Yeah. They look different from those straight ones in

Megan's hair..."

Don grinned. "Now I'm no cytogeneticist or anything, but..."

Raph frowned at him "Cyto...who?"

"A scientist who studies chromosomes. Anyway, I'm no cytogeneticist, but I have enough knowledge to know that this is impossible!"

"What's impossible, Donnie, I don't get it."

Don grabbed Raph's shoulders and smiled into his face. "Those straight strands in your blood...those

are human chromosomes!"

May 25

Well, I finally got the kids into bed, so I thought I'd take some time to write again. The events of the past few days have left me more confused than ever. Raph's been acting very unlike himself lately, almost giddy in fact. And Don...well, he's been cooped up in his lab for three days straight! Sometimes when I'm down in the lair, I'll catch Raphael sneaking in there. He doesn't know I see him. I wonder what the two of them are up to.

I haven't heard from Splinter in almost a week. I just can't seem to concentrate long enough with all that's going on. I sure do miss him. Still, I know that he's there watching over us, and that's a comfort. I just hope things get back to normal soon. What am I saying? With us, things never really are quite normal.

"Wait just a darn minute. Are you telling me--"

"Yes. We're part human, Raph."

"But...how could that be? I mean, the mutagen made us bigger, yeah, but human--"

"I know it's crazy. I mean, stuff like this just doesn't happen, but it did, Raph. Somehow when that mutagen mixed with our DNA, it transformed us."

"But how? Was there human DNA in that junk?"

"I don't know, Raph. I believe the only ones who would really be able to answer that question are the Utroms, and as far as I know, there aren't any to find on this planet anymore."

"Holy shit..."

"It makes sense when you really think about it." Don was hoping Raph wouldn't go into a frenzy at the news. "I mean, we stand upright like humans, we possess the same speech patterns as that of humans, we think similarly to humans, heck, we even have teeth!"

Raphael was silent for a long while. Them, part human? It just didn't seem fair! He despised most humans. All they seemed to care about was themselves, and so many of them were so stupid. Dammit! Why? Why do we have to be one of them?

Don laid a hand on Raph's shoulder, trying to remind him of their purpose. "Look Raph, it's not all that bad. I mean, look at what this means to us!"

Raph frowned up at him. "Yeah, some existence--"

"Do you realize that because this mutation took place in our bloodstreams, because of the translocation that occured between the human chromosomes and our own, that you...all of us..." His voice grew quiet suddenly. "Can mate with human beings?"

Raphael stared at him in shock. "W...what? Are you serious, Donnie?" he whispered loudly.

Don nodded and continued. "At myosis, or cell division, the chromosomes duplicate so that each of the daughter cells can have a complete set of chromosomes. This means that when a baby is formed inside the uterus, it will get a duplication of each of the parent's cells. As you can see if you look again into the first microscope..."

Raphael did so without hesitation.

"...most of our chromosomes have undergone reciprocal translocation, binding the mutated turtle cells with those of the human cells--"

"Recip...what!?!?"

"Reciprocal translocation. The two different sets of chromosomes were broken, and the genetic material was swapped, thus fusing together the human and turtle chromosomes to complete the mutation."

Raphael stared at him blankly for a second. "So this means..."

"The deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA as it is more commonly called, was altered by the mutation, therefore permanently altering the chromosomes it makes up as well. All of this leads to a permanent fusion of the mutated cells, which also means that a child could come out perfectly human, or mutant such as us."

Raph scratched his head. All of this scientific mumbo-jumbo was starting to give him a headache.

"Can you explain all this in English, Donnie?"

"In a nut shell, you and Megan should be able to reproduce. However, the outcome of the child's appearance will remain a mystery until it is born."

"So...we can have kids?"

"If all of my obeservations are correct, and I believe they are, then...yes."

Raphael stood there in awe for a moment. For one of the few times in his life, he was speechless. Him being a father? The thought was almost too unreal. He couldn't wait to tell Megan. He knew that this would make her happier than she'd ever been, maybe even more so than...

"All I need now..." Donatello's voice snapped him from his thoughts. "Is a sperm sample."

Raph's eyes grew wide. "Ohhh no you don't, Donnie! You ain't comin' anywhere near my sperm!"

The morning was bright and beautiful. Shards of bright yellow and orange light shot through from between the tree branches, like daggers, causing the lanscape to take on an almost eery, fantasy effect. He grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way up the mountain before taking off the blindfold.

Megan's eyes darted back and forth at her surroundings. She had been here before, what seemed like so long ago. But now all the darkness and pain was replaced by beauty and tranquility. She glanced down the hillside, toward the flowing river, just beyond the crumbled rock where the fortress once stood.

"Raph? Why did you bring me here?"

He looked into those sparkling brown eyes, at the flecks of gold at the center, and was almost consumed by them. He felt lost, yet comforted at the same time. He remembered back to that night when he and Casey ventured here to save Shadow, how he had stood on this very peak, gazing out into the distance. He remembered how beautiful it was, how he vowed to himself that some day he would bring her back here, to bask in its beauty. He couldn't think of a better time than now.

He closed his eyes remembering the horror of the night they met, how he almost lost her forever without ever even getting to know her. How far they'd come! He wished he could relive that first kiss forever, but now it was time to move on, to leave the past behind them and journey forward.

"I...I always wanted to bring you here."

Megan stared at him curiously for a moment before taking his hand. "It's beautiful. I just--"

Raph kissed her just then, not quick or harshly, but tenderly, enjoying the warmth of her mouth. Please don't ask me anything. I want to tell you my own way.

When they finally broke apart, Megan remained silent. Raphael certainly wasn't acting like himself this morning. Being romantic and mushy just wasn't his style. Still, she wasn't complaining.

"Megan." Raph said softly. "I love you. You know that, right?"

Megan nodded. "Of course I do. And I love you too."

He let go of her hand and glanced away uneasily.

"Raph, what is it?"

His heart began to pound a mile a minute, and the sweat was beading up on his palms. "Look, I...what I mean is..."

Suddenly, he spotted a turtle crawling around in the undergrowth. Hmmm...a perfect ice breaker...

"I'll be right back." he said, before plundering off into the trees after it.

Megan watched him go, a peculiar feeling creeping up on her. Why was Raphael acting this way? Something about him was different, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Raph came back a few minutes later, carrying the turtle. It wasn't much bigger than his hand, and it sure was cute. He handed it to Megan.

"I figured that since we don't have any kids of our own, well...maybe we could adopt this little guy."

Megan smiled at him. It was a nice gesture.

"Of course it won't replace an actual kid, but, I figured--"

"It's great, Raph. Thanks."

She studied the turtle, noticing the light markings that filled the shell like brushstrokes, forming an almost artisic pattern. Very unique...kinda reminds me of Raph's shell...

He was looking at her, studying her every move, his eyes darting back and forth as he stood there in silence. She gazed up at him, noticing the seriousness behind his eyes, the hint of nervous anxiety. "Raph...what is it?"

He pulled her down gently to sit next to him on a giant rock. Gazing out over the landscape, he could hear the birds chirping softly in the trees, feel his palms sweat up again, feel the breeze tugging at his bandana tails.

"I have something to tell you."

She studied his face. Oh god, please don't let it be anything bad. Please don't tell me you're leaving...

Raph took her hand and swallowed hard. "Remember all those times you talked about having kids?"

Megan nodded. Only yesterday, in fact, she had brought it up again briefly. She wondered if that was why he brought her here, to tell her that he couldn't handle it anymore, and that was why he had to leave her. She bit her lip and waited for him to continue.

"Well...I've kinda been thinking about it too..."

Oh boy, here it comes...

"And I decided..."

Megan closed her eyes, readying herself for the worst. v"I want one too."

She opened her eyes, unsure about whether she heard him right. "What did you say?" vHe smiled at her nervously. "I mean it, Megan. I really want to create a life with you."

Excitement and despair filled her at the same time. "But that's imposs--" v"I had Donnie do a little experiment. He's been staying up for the past few nights. Poor guy looks exhausted."

She stared at him curiously. "Experiment?"

"Yeah..." He lowered his gaze to the ground, to the lushious green foliage that had sprung up here and there on the rocky surface. "He was testing our DNA, and--"

Megan's eyes grew wide. "God..." she whispered.

Raphael figured he might as well just spill it. "It worked, Megan. Don found human DNA in my blood! Human!"

Megan wasn't quite sure she believed all of this. "So...so what does this mean?"

"Figuratively speaking, as Donnie would say...we can have kids."

Megan stared into his face, a feeling of excited disbelief washing over her. Suddenly, without warning, she threw her arms around him, gripping him tightly.

He stood at the river's edge, silently watching as the water flowed slowly by. As he lifted his eyes skyward, he felt a peace he hadn't known in such a long time, overtake him.

Finally, after all this time, he could put Splinter's spirit to rest. Only the memories would stay with him now, and in their vividness, their happiness, their comfort, they were enough. He knew now why Splinter had asked him to keep his death a secret. The memories were the most important thing. How else could a person live on in others' hearts?

Leo glanced down at the worn red fabric in his hands. Master Splinter's first kimono. It was what he wore long ago, in a time of great hardship, after he'd found four baby turtles and watched them mutate and grow. When they'd had little or no food on which to survive. When their lives were a struggle to keep alive day after day. Now, those days were just a memory too, a memory which he knew would always stay with him, but which he wanted to let go of. From now on, he would only remember the happy times, the important lessons his master had taught them, and he would forever cherish the times they'd had together.

Taking a deep breath, he unrolled the kimono and held it out before him, studying the worn pattern, breathing in the scent of his master one last time. "I will never forget you." he said softly. He laid the kimono out on the water's surface and watched as it was slowly carried away into the distance.

"Goodbye, master. Ai suru. I love you."

Raph could feel his heart pounding in his chest. The easiest part was behind him. Now came the hard part, the part that would change his life forever. Breathing deeply, he tried to calm his nerves. He never imagined himself in this position before. He didn't know what had come over him, but it felt right - more right than anything he had ever done in his entire life. He turned to her and took her hands, shaking from the nerves that just wouldn't calm down. Clearing his throat, he spoke to her softly, trying to fight the shakiness in his voice. "Megan, you mean the world to me."

She smiled at him, unsure as to why he seemed so frightened, so utterly pale and awestruck. His hands were clammy too, and she would have pulled away to wipe them dry, if not for the urgency in his face.

"When we first met, and I thought I was gonna lose you..."

"Raph..."

"Well...I just...I can't imagine my life without you. I'd die for you Megan."

Megan stared at him in awe. Those were very powerful words. No one had ever spoken them to her, and with such meaning and conviction. She opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her.

"I know that I'm not the world's best boyfriend. Heck, I don't even know what I'm doing half the time! I can be unattentive, rude, self-centered..."

She smirked at him. "Yeah, but you sure are cute." she joked.

He smiled at her briefly, then grew serious again. "I know that you could find someone better than me, but I just..."

As he stared into her eyes, a strange feeling came over her. This was Raphael! She had never seen him this way before! She couldn't help but wonder what it was that drove him to act this way, to pour his heart out like this. But soon, she wouldn't need to wonder.

The pulse was beating in his head now. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stare her in the eyes. "Megan..." he blurted. He laid a hand on her cheek, brushing back the stray strand of hair. She tingled at his touch, but held his gaze, almost afraid to break it.

Raphael got down on his knees on the ground by her feet and broke eye contact, nervously searching in his belt for something. Megan could feel her heart begin to race as she watched him fidget with his sais before producing a little square box.

He opened the lid carefully and held it out to her. "Will you..." he swallowed hard and stared her in the eyes again. This was it. No turning back now. "Marry me?"