"Hey Donnie, get in here!"
"Raphael, let go of your brother."
"Didja set the camera right?"
"Yeah, leave it alone! Don come on, the timers gonna run out."
"I'm here, keep your shell on."
"Leo, move, you're taking up the whole screen."
"Am not!"
"Are so!"
"Boys!"
"SMILE!"

FLASH

The picture slid out of view as Michaelangelo carefully thumbed through the photo album. He ran his fingers gently over the frozen images, wishing he could return to those simpler times when adventure meant a family picnic in the abandoned railway, and danger was reaching too close to the fire.

He crouched, safe and hidden in the alcove he'd been led to. Unnoticed, the paper tucked close in his belt fluttered, caught in an imaginary breeze. The printed words lazily reached out, falling back disappointed when the whisper disappeared, sinking away down the tunnel.

The rumbling of the entrance door betrayed the presence of the visitors; a following call of "Anybody home!" effectively killing the silence for good.
Splinter gathered his remaining frayed nerves in anticipation of the coming event.
"April," he greeted as he approached the pair, "Casey. I'm afraid my sons are out for the moment. They all have…business they need to attend to. Please, make yourself at home."
"We brought food," April offered.
"And beer!"
"Washing up liquid…"
"Movies!"
"Batteries…"
"And lots of other boring stuff. But mainly beer and movies." Casey finished with a grin.

"I see. Well, thank you, we were beginning to run quite low on our supplies. Perhaps you would like to help me sort these items, Casey? April, I believe there is a message waiting for you." Splinter gestured in the direction of Donatello's room, before taking the bags from April's hands.
"Shall we start in the kitchen?" Splinter ventured, heading in the mentioned direction.
"Be right there!"
Casey simply shrugged in response to April's questioning look, "how should I know what he means?"

"Ssshhh, you're gonna wake 'em up."
"You're the stomper."
"I don't stomp."
"Boom. Boom. Boom."
"Mikey! My feet do not make that sound!"
"…Ka-Joom?"
"Yeah. I cause earthquakes. Just take the picture."
"Aw, look at the 'ickle babies, s'weepin toge'ver"
FLASH
"…wha?"
"Run!"

The camera hadn't lasted long after that, once Raph and Leo got their hands on it. Shame, he and Donnie had become masters of stealth to get those pictures. Mikey breathed in deeply, as he flicked back to the start of the album.

Keep the laughter alive

"I will bro…" Mikey murmured as he fingered the leaves of paper tucked in his belt. "You bet I will…"

Family is the one thing that will stay with you forever

April cautiously entered the darkened room, fingers tracing the wooden grooves of damaged worktables.
A message, Splinter had said.
A computer fan kicked into high gear, and she moved forward, intrigued by the throbbing light emanating from the screen.
Her eyes narrowed as she spotted her name amongst those of her friends, three of whose names were faded gray compared to the bright white of her own. Her eyes flicked to the bottom of the screen as she took a moment to process the senders name and date of delivery.
"You sneaky turtle you…"

April

When I was young, I used to gaze up at the human city, wondering what it would be like, how they'd act, where they were going. But sensei always warned us against human contact. Warned us to trust only those we were close to – each other.

And then you came. And you didn't care that we were different, that no-one else would have accepted us. You trusted us, and let us place our trust in you without fear of betrayal. You listened and talked; discussed and aided. When we needed help you would be there, even though it generally ended in disaster due to our part.

And your friendship is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been granted. I can't put into words how miraculous you're friendship seemed. To have someone I could discuss theories with, work alongside, share my secrets…it meant more to me than you'll ever know.

You were a blessing in our lives, and I can only pray my brothers know the same. I'll miss you April. Look after my family for me. And you never know; maybe life really does exist after death.

Goodbye.

Sender: Donatello

A/N: OhMyGod, another chapter already! O.o Yeah, I had the skeleton of these two, they just needed tidied up. Although I'm regreting adding April and Casey to the letters. April I finally got something, but what would Don say to Casey? I mean, he's more Raph's pal, right? *sigh* At least Splinter shouldn't be so hard.

On the optimistic side, hey I updated! ^^' Eventually...jeez, I'm sorry. I knew when I was moving house I'd end up taking a break, then stuff just kept happening. I promised myself 'I'll write after X', 'I'll write after Y'...Bleh.

Also, new fandoms! Supernatural, Bleach, Chuck. Those are the main ones I'm enjoying right now. And I keep reading instead of writing xD It's all your fault for writing new fics hypothetical people! Gosh darn it, I'll never get anything done with hanging around, waiting, with all those fics just needing to be read.