*This...has been a long time coming. Too long. I meant to finish this short little fic-let last year, but it ended up being harder than I imagined. The last several months has seen a drought of writing in my life, but I think things are starting to turn around. At least, I hope they are.

This story is written in the memory of my father's own legacy, but my thoughts also turn to a dear friend who very recently lost her sister. Though I didn't have the privilege of knowing her personally, I can gather that she left quite a legacy of her own. I can say with certainty that just because their lights go out, doesn't mean their memory or the impact they made on lives will ever fade. One day, I hope I can leave half the impact my father is responsible for.

The timeframe of the ending of Legacy coincides with my third fic, Sacrifice, and events in this chapter allude to scenes from that early story. If you're curious about the events leading directly up this scene, they're a part of chapter 66 of Sacrifice. Thank you for reading.

Seven Months Later

Leonardo shot his purple-masked brother a warning glance when he heard him snicker in the bed across from him. Luke and Jenna were barely out of earshot of the Lab, but the fact had little impact on the younger turtle. Leo tried his hardest to maintain a severe glare, but caught himself stifling a chuckle too.

"Doc sees everything, Leo. I told you not to try it."

"I was trying to give you and Jen some privacy," he protested. "And what do I get for it? You think him busting me out of bed is funny."

"It is funny, bro! I'm surprised Doc didn't try to throw you over his shoulder."

Leo shook his head. "For not being a ninjutsu master, his timing is scary accurate. Guess we're still not going to be able to get away with anything."

Donatello's smile eased slightly, and a wistful expression took its place. "We never could, Leo. It's nice to know some things stay the same, in the midst of…everything else."

The blue-masked turtle leaned back in bed, resting his arms behind his head. "It's nice to be able to rely on certain things, but change is inevitable…even if we try to avoid it. We can't grow without changing. It can be an uncomfortable process, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing." When his brother didn't respond, Leo raised his head to search him out. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm not the same," he admitted. "A little over a year ago, I was trying to end things with Jen for good, all because of my fear. I never enjoyed the thought of Jenna giving up her life to be with me anyway, but deep down…I've just been so scared of losing her that I didn't want to risk hanging on."

"And now?"

"I'm going to stop beating around the bush, Leo. It's time. Shell, it's past time, and I know it. I gave her so many opportunities to walk away, and she refused to take any of them. All Jen wants is for this to work, and I've dragged my feet long enough."

Leonardo's smile returned full force. "You're finally going to ask her to marry you?"

"I've had the ring for weeks."

The blue-masked turtle nodded. "You do it, Don. You know we all support this fully." He was waiting for his brother to break into a grin of his own, but Donatello's expression remained stoic.

"I'm not sure why it takes so much to get me to move sometimes."

"What do you mean, Donny?"

"I mean…it took the bombing at the United Nations to get me to fully commit to my relationship with Jenna. And it's taken losing Sensei and feeling this…empty, to realize I don't want to live life without her. I don't know if I'm making any sense, but this hole in our family, it's made me realize even more fully how much we need each other, and I need her."

Leonardo opened his mouth to speak, but sensed his brother wasn't finished.

"And part of me feels guilty that it took all that for me to change, that I couldn't work up the motivation to set my priorities straight without the threat of losing something."

The blue-masked turtle hesitated another beat. "The past is for learning," he said, more to himself than his brother, then sat up farther to address him. "There's no point in dwelling on guilt for what you didn't do before. The important thing is where you are now. Don't grieve because you didn't have the motivation or drive previously. Just embrace the change, and live your life. That's what Sensei would want…and that's what will ultimately fulfill you."

Donny nodded. "I didn't expect to feel hope again this soon. It's been so long since I really saw any, not since Sensei first got sick. But it's there now, and I'm not even nervous to ask Jenna to marry me. There's just one more thing I have to do first."

"What's that, Don?"

"I think a little talk with her Mom might be in order. Do you think Doc would notice if I vacated my spot in the lab for a couple hours?" Donatello shot him a smirk.

"Maybe you could get Mike to stand in for you or something," Leo quipped.

"Yeah, because Doc won't see right through that. I'll have to give this some careful thought."

"In the meantime we could try just doing what he says for a change," the blue-masked turtle suggested.

"Are you implying we could shock him into submission, Leo?"

Leonardo shrugged. "I'll try anything once."

Three Weeks Later

The blue-masked turtle felt more relaxed than he could remember experiencing in months. He was content to let the others chatter endlessly in the background of their small campfire, even to allow them to fight over the remaining marshmallows without bothering to interject anything. A residual ache throbbed within, but each time emotion threatened, he found himself grasping the creased envelope hidden in his belt for peace.

"Don't you see how much more appetizing mine look?" Luke waved his stick in front of the orange-masked turtle, displaying a perfectly light-browned marshmallow.

"That thing's only half-cooked, Doc." Mike scoffed.

"I don't know who taught you how to roast marshmallows, but the point is to end up with something that doesn't resemble charcoal."

Mike grinned back, pressing both roasting sticks he was wielding farther into the fire. "You have your way, Doc, and I have mine."

"Let it go, Doc," Donatello advised. "As long as he doesn't burn dinner, what's an annihilated marshmallow in the long run?"

Raphael snorted. "Annihilation is more Fearless' style."

The oldest turtle crossed his arms. "I fail to see what I have to do with Mikey setting all the s'mores on fire."

"They're still more edible than anything you've tried to cook for us," Michelangelo offered.

Leo's dark eyes narrowed, but all he did was calmly twist the cap off his water bottle and dash it in his youngest brother's direction. He smirked at the orange-masked turtle's yelp and held the bottle out threateningly. "You want to keep pushing, Mikey?"

"Raph's the one who called you the Annihilator!"

Marcus rolled his eyes and nudged Luke's side. "Have you ever seen anyone make such a big deal out of s'mores before? Battle-hardened warriors, fighting over who the worst cook is."

"Who's fighting?" Raphael wondered. "We all know Leo's got the touch of death—"

The blue-masked turtle cleared his throat before his brother could finish. "I think what Marc's trying to say is we've obsessed over snack-time long enough. It's getting late…and tomorrow's an important day." He fixed Donatello with a meaningful glance.

Don released a soft breath. "Yeah, I'm ready to go up if you guys are."

While the others began to pack up belongings and put out the fire, Leonardo was rooted to his spot. His fingers grazed the letter on his belt one more time. He didn't know what was written within its pages, but he was absolutely certain it would mean the world to Donatello. Being responsible for delivering some of his Sensei's final words to his brother for this important moment was kind of exciting.

It's not the same as if Master Splinter were really here, witnessing them getting married himself. But I think he had faith this day would come…and I'm glad Don can have this, at the very least. Hopefully it will make things feel a little more complete.

Complete, Leonardo repeated to himself. I'm still not sure anything can fill this hole. But life is going to continue, with or without Sensei. It won't ever be the way it was…but there's a future. There's hope. Everything he ever taught us is still IN us, so his legacy continues.

"Leo, are you coming?" Luke called.

The leader glanced over his shoulder, and noticed the entire group was now waiting on him. "Yeah. I'm right behind you."

Michelangelo chuckled, shoving Raphael to the side to clear a path. "So not where you belong, dude. You're supposed to lead the way."

Leonardo smiled grimly in the darkness. God knows, I'm going to try.