Sorry for the long awaited update, I've been out of college a month now so there's no excuse why I haven't updated. Even so I'm transferring to a new school on Long Island in the fall so that has been taking up a lot of my time too with having to get all my paperwork in. This is the final chapter of Recollection by the way! WE MADE IT! This story had really burnt me out, but it was my very first story I had ever created on my own and I am so proud of it. I have been revising Runaway on my account on quotev and I have to say the chapters needed fixing so eventually once that is all revised I will begin to revise this one also.

Thank you all so much for sticking with this story, you guys have been the rock on which I built myself up as a writer from, and I cannot thank any of you enough. I wish I could hug each and every one of you! Serioulsy I love you guys! Anyhow, lets get down to it...

This is the final chapter, and it includes time skips and the last half will be written in someone's P.O.V as a journal entry just how I wrapped up Runaway if any of you remember. So thank you for sticking by me, and this story, and Alex. Especially Alex.

Chapter Twenty Nine.

It was quiet the next morning, and Alex had woken up with a slight head-ache alone in her own bed, surrounded by her own sheets. There was something missing though, and it wasn't the giant red banded brute. Sliding from her bed she let her feet hit the wooden floors with a soft thud as she stretched and made her way to the stair case. The sweet smell of waffles drifted through the air as her hand guided her down the stairs by the polished railing. She could hear hushed voices, and she smirked as she realized everyone was out of bed and huddled in the kitchen all getting ready for breakfast and fawning over a certain tiny bundle of blankets.

Standing in the door of the kitchen she slumped against the wooden frame, smiling at the family gathered around the child. She watched them for a moment, none of them seeming to notice her presence until she cleared her throat and every single head in the room snapped in her direction. "You guys." She mumbled looking at each and every one of them with curious eyes. When did they all get so old? She thought, they were nothing less than a huge family now, when did the time disappear. She was only a teenager when she had met them, she was only now just into adulthood.

She still remembered the first day she met the brothers, save Raphael. They had all been so kind to her...save Raphael, who had mocked and ridiculed her. So how the hell had she ended up with him? Now she smiled at him, his emerald eyes lighting up as she looked to him. He was the father of her child, only yesterday she was risking her life looking for him. They had both been so broken, now they had a child to bring them together once more, only strengthening their bond.

She wished that Casey could have been here but she knew he was happy where he was. With a small sigh she made her way to the sound of whimpering and a reluctant April held out the bundle of cloth to her as the rest parted from around the child to let her through.

"I've already done what tests I could, she's perfectly healthy." Donnie spoke up from behind April, a giddy Wren on his shoudlers trying to sneak a peak at the little baby in her arms. "Thank you Don" Alex said back, looking at her child now, and with gentle fingers she pulled back some of the cloth surrounding the childs face.

This would be the first time seeing the child since she was born, and she had to admit she felt an instant connection to her the moment her hazel eyes met the brightest emerald sea she had ever seen. "She has your eyes." She whispered to Raph who placed his hand on her shoulder looking down at the kid also. "Yea, she does." he said back, allowing a finger to brush at the little girls cheek affectionately. She had never seen Raph so careful, his eyes cautious and calculating making sure he didn't hurt the baby.

"Have you picked a name yet?" April said from the other side of her, and she looked up as if realizing the poor baby had gone un-named for a good twenty-four hours. "I had thought I would name her Eva, after my mother" Alex said with sad eyes, "but I don't think I could place such a burden on her now."

She hadn't really thought of any other name other than Eva, since it was the only name she had ever wanted to have as a part of hers to remember her mother by. Now it was nothing but a cruel memory though, yet she clung to it, not wanting to let go of the name just yet.

"Evany!" Wren exclaimed from her fathers shoulders. "That's different from Eva, right?" April looked up to her daughter with a small smile, then looked back to Alex. surprisingly she actually liked it.

Looking up to Wren with a smirk she spoke to the toddler, "You would let me use that name for my daughter? I Like it a lot Wren."

"Of course!" Wren shouted squealing with excitement.

Alex just smiled, looking down at the little baby girl in her arms.

"Hello, Evany." She whispered.

. . .

(Time skip, two years)

The house was quiet as April watched from the windows the curious little group playing in the dirt outside. It only felt like yesterday that Wren and Oliver were just born, now they were well on their way to forming full logical sentences, and even operating bicycles by themselves. They had grown up fast, yet she enjoyed their childlike antics still, there would come a day they would be adults..so these small moments were cherished.

"I hope they aren't giving each other mud-baths again." A tired voice spoke from April's right, and she turned looking to Karai with a small smile.

"Not yet at least, I've been keeping an eye on them though." She mused back, both women watching the kids with mugs of fresh coffee in their hands. The silence between the two was comfortable, in the past two years Karai had become as much of the family as Alex had and had stepped up her game when it came to watching the kids. She was surprisingly good with them too, especially Evany who in a few days would turn two.

Both Karai and April chuckled quietly as Mikey joined in with Wren as she began to chase Oliver around, the little sucker had used his gifts to form a rain cloud over the little girl and she was positively fuming.

"I hope this never gets old." April whispered, Karai nodding with a small smile on her face.

..

"Happy birthday baby." Alex whispered to the small brunette child wrapped up in her arms. They were laying in bed together, Evany sound asleep as Alex traced little circles into her soft cheeks. The two of them were a tangle of mousey brown hair, Evany having slightly curlier hair than her mother, and even more freckles than Alex could count. Her tiny fingers gripped Alex's loosely and there was a small content smile on her face as she slept.

"You two ever gonna get out of bed?" A groggy voice came from the doorway and she looked up with a smirk on her face knowing exactly who it could be. There he stood, to her still as youthful looking as the day they met, his red band may be a little more tattered than it was back then but she loved him all the same. Two years, two years and they had raised a child together, two years and they had become closer than ever, and she loved it.

"Yeah, yeah." She whispered, shooing him away with her free hand. "We'll be right down."

With a small sigh Raph retreated from the doorframe and she listened to the familiar creak of the staircase as he left for the kitchen. Looking down at her baby she smiled, nudging the little girl gently. "Love, it's time to wake up." She cooed as Evany cracked open her emerald eyes confused for a moment before she smiled brightly at her mother.

There was something special about Evany, that much was obvious. She didn't inherit Alex's gifts, it seemed instead she took on her own and watching her use her gifts was beautiful. She seemed to have a natural affinity for animals, they would flock to her whenever she stepped foot into the woods, squirrels, birds, even the occasional deer would come to visit her. They did her biddings for her also, though Alex never heard her speaking to them she assumed she communicated to them through her mind possibly. No one really knew for sure, Evany was a curious little thing.

She also had another gift which stumped Donnie. It had shown up so early, and none of them had suspected anything because she was so small yet they soon all became a little skeptical. Evany was what Don had called a "pathfinder" meaning she could mentally map out where anyone she wanted to seek out was, which began to make sense after she had easily been able to maneuver the house for the exact caregiver she needed at the moment.

She was only turning two and the little bugger had already proven she was an independent sucker who only needed her parents when she was hungry and ready for bed.

"Let's write another birthday in the books kid, you ready?" Alex mused lifting the tiny girl from the bed and carrying her down th stairs to greet the awaiting family. Evany just laughed her innocent little laugh as the family at the bottom of the steps wished her a happy birthday, one by one as she was passed through their arms.

. . .

"Bring it on little girl." Wren mused, brandishing her katana, formerly Leos. The brunette before her circled the mutant with careful emerald eyes, glistening in the summer sun.

"Careful what you wish for." Evany said back with a smirk, drawing her nodachi out of its sheath, the feel of it in her small palm was familiar to her.

Alex watched from the porch with an amused smile as she eyed her daughter holding her old blade with pride. Wren had grown into quite the little kunoichi thanks to Karai, and Evany was not too far behind at the small age of eight. The sword rivaled the small girls height, and it was amusing to watch her wield it but she was pretty good for her age.

"They're getting pretty good." A rough voice next to her spoke up, she turned to find a familiar pair of green eyes watching the girls with nostalgic shadows in his eyes. "I bet we could show them up though, I've still got some energy left in me." A certain orange banded turtle laughed next to Raphael with a smile on his face.

When had they all gotten so old? Evany had grown into a beautiful young girl, her long brown hair now rivaling the length of her mothers. Her gifts had grown too, being a pathfinder she was able to track down Casey Jones for the family just to see how he was doing, April had even set out to visit with him after Evany had given her exact directions.

Evany had also made quiet the friends in the forest next to the farmhouse, so much that some mornings Alex would walk into her room to find a certain raccoon curled up next to her that she had named Remy.

Dragged from her thoughts she let out a small gasp as strong hands clasped around her waist, pulling her down into a lap. Out of habit she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer as Raph breathed into her neck, sending chills down her spine.

"Don't you ever miss the old days." She mumbled into his ear, rubbing her forehead against his affectionately.

He just hummed back.

"Remember when you came looking for me in that mutant infested city?" He mused and Alex just chuckled. "How could I forget, I wish you still had that little get-up. What did you call yourself, the night watcher?" She laughed, Raph only piched her sides.

"It was a good name!" He defended, looking into her eyes now. They sat like that for a while, just listening to the two little girls spar.

"You know you saved me in that city." He whispered, bringing their foreheads together.

Alex smiled lightly, closing her eyes at the contact. "No Raph, I think it was you who saved me." She whispered back, leaning in to plant a small kiss on his lips, one which he returned passionately.

"I love you." His breath on her neck sent another wave of chills down her spine, and he began to pepper small kisses there. She only leaned into the action, closing her eyes as she let the sensation take over her body and mind.

"I love you too."

. . .

(April point of view)

Journal entry #50

I'm reluctant to admit I haven't written in a while, but I think I should note that everyone is doing just fine here at the old farmhouse.

Donnie has been fixing some old pipes up, and he even made plans to extend the side of the house to put on a new addition, seeing as we've become a little cramped in the past few years. Oliver is now old enough to be allowed in the barn with all of Don's crazy experiments, (yes he's still into that stuff) and the kid's becoming just like his old man. I'll have to keep an eye on those two though, there's no telling what sort of odd contraption they could come up with together.

As for Wren and I, well we've been the same as ever. My little bean helps me around the house when Karai or Alex isn't able to lend a hand; she even helps Mikey make dinner some nights. She's quite the little busy body.

I'm proud of her though, she's come a long way, she's a beautiful girl and somewhat of a role model for the youngest of us all.

Speaking of the little bugger, she's been growing up so fast I felt like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms as a baby, just barely a day old. Now she's eight, with a fiery spirit just like her fathers, thank the lord she didn't inherit his short temper though.

She did however inherit her mothers inability to be reasoned with, she's a stubborn little thing but kind, and gentle all the same.

Leo and Karai have stepped up and taken the role of Aunt and Uncle pretty well for the three stinkers, and I give them credit, it gets hard sometimes. Leo is especially fond of Evany, it's clear to everyone who is willing to acknowledge it. She is a spitting image of her mother, but with eyes like his brothers. I think being around Evany reminds him of the times in the lair he used to take care of Alex when we were all so young and ignorant. That has to be why he's always keeping a close eye out for the little girl, watching over her like the protector he always was.

Mikey hasn't changed one bit, I'm serious, it's like he hasn't aged a day. I'm going to have to ask him how he does it before I start getting gray hairs. He's the house chef, the babysitter, and even with the difference in age he still manages to play with he kids as if he was still their age. I envy him.

As for me, I've grown up. A lot actually since I made the farmhouse a permanent home. Maybe it was becoming a mother, maybe it was keeping a household together with just two hands and a determined mind, I couldn't tell you…but I can feel it.

And finally, the final couple of the household.

I don't know how they do it, their relationship only seems to grow stronger everyday. Sometimes I'm a little jealous; Raph is always all over her, showering her with kisses and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Donnie needs to step up his game.

In all seriousness though, I've never seen Raphael any happier than he is now, and it's all because of the girl who stuck by his side through hell.

Alex, I envy you, not for your bizarre sword wielding skills or your care-free attitude, but for your willingness to never let go. You're my best friend, my sister, without you I don't know where I would be. I'm glad you came back to us after the city collapsed, I'm glad you let us welcome you to our family with open arms. I'm glad I met you that fateful night in the hockey rink with Casey.

You are my rock, and I am forever indebted to you. Thank you, for everything.

There it is, the final chapter.

It's not as detailed as the others because I want to leave you guys with a little room as to what the family is like and what they've been doing over the years. Evany is probably my favorite little creation so far in writing and I have to give a special thanks to Starlite Moon for suggesting the name. It's beautiful and if you were wondering I've been pronouncing it (Ev-an-knee). I decided against going into detail on Alex's child just because the story is about Alex, not about Evany, Evany's story is beautiful though because it's being left up to your imaginations!

Anyhow, thank you all again so much for following this story until the very end. Unfortunately this story had to end sometime, today is just the fateful day.

I love you all so much for your support through the months of the development of this story, and the development of Alex, my first ever OC. Sadly her story has come to a close, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

-S