"Please say that if you hadn't of gone now

I wouldn't have lost you another way.

From wherever you are . . . come back.

And these days, they linger on - And in the night, as I'm waiting on

the real possibility I may meet you in my dream,

I go to sleep." – Come Back by Pearl Jam

"I believe I've belonged to you, for a long time,

and my heart says . . . No. No one but you." - Prisoner of Love by David Bowie

Epilogue

Four months later

On the black rocks that jutted out over the shoreline, the humidity was not as cloying, as suffocating, as it was when he pushed and threaded his way through the jungle undergrowth to reach his sanctuary up here. Even down on the beach below, the thick air wrapped around you if you sat too still for too long. Besides there was ever the possibility that someone may see him if he wandered out in the open. One of the villagers or worse, one of the gun men from the cartels that seemed to appear randomly and with no reason to actually be in the jungle other than to make as much noise cursing in Spanish, stomping and cutting paths through the vines and ferns, as possible. Twice he'd nearly been seen by the men. And though it had been some time since he last spotted one of the camouflaged-clad men roaming through his part of the forest, he had to stay alert. Had to stay hidden.

The sun glowed like melting gold as it sunk into the faded horizon where the sky met the ocean. Broken and stretched clouds spanned the deepening indigo of the sky, painted scarlet and shades of violet. Below, the white capped waves of the pacific were rimmed in gleaming, sparkling gold; breaking into hissing foam along the shore. The ocean was slowly turning into a sea of ink as the light faded.

A Harpy Eagle rose out from the forest on his left. The piercing lonely cry catching Leonardo's attention. It was the largest bird Leonardo had ever seen. He had a momentary flare of fear rise up in his chest. He watched it warily as it rose higher and higher into the sky before it dipped one wing and made to circle back over the tops of the trees beyond his sight. He released his held breath. It wasn't the first time he'd been afraid and he knew it wouldn't be the last.

After he'd arrived and gave his stiff farewell to April, he headed off into the thick forest of the Corcovado National Park. It was late October. The rainy season. He'd had no idea what to expect and had spent the first several nights sopping wet, shivering and hungry. He never had time to prepare for what awaited him in the jungle. Master Splinter had sent him immediately and with naïve determination and a bubble of fear residing in the middle of his chest he had set off to do his time, resigned to accept it for what it was. Something to get over with.

The first night, when he tried to sleep on the forest floor, on a bed made of thick serrated leaves, he found insects crawling all over his body as soon as the light of the day faded and his eyes slipped shut with exhaustion. The sheer amount that he'd brushed off his body when he jumped up with a shuddering shout would have served to give Raphael nightmares for the rest of his life. Shivering, he'd shimmied up the tree he was next to and found he couldn't sleep the rest of the night despite his extreme exhaustion. He kept feeling the bugs crawling up and down his limbs, in and around the crevices of his shell. So he sat huddled in the crook of a thick branch and the trunk; shaking and wet as the thundering torrent of rain poured down on him.

The next morning, he climbed and slid down the trunk of the tree and set off to continue on his search to hopefully find some place he could use as a shelter. Seven hours of clamoring over and trudging through the rain forests' unyielding floor of tangled roots, fan-like ferns and strangling vine, some thicker than his thigh, left him aching and beyond exhausted. And still without a proper place to claim as a shelter.

Panting, he stopped and looked around, drenched in sweat, muscles quivering from exertion. The green and gray of strange foliage surrounded him punctuated by brilliant reds and yellows of flowers with thick petals. Above it was the same, more twining vines, exotic looking flowers and more leaves bigger than his head. He sighed. It all looked the same to him. He didn't know which direction he was heading in and the few times he'd pulled out the small compass that was packed for him, he'd only confused himself with trying to understand how to use it. He thought he did, but apparently he wasn't an expert at orienteering. Not even close. Frustrated, weary, and aching he dropped down where he stood with a grunt.

His stomach growled and cramped. He suddenly felt ravished. He fished around his bag for something to eat with trembling hands. Thankfully, April had stuffed his backpack with granola bars and a few bottles of water at the airport before they'd boarded. With his mouth full of two granola bars and another quickly being unwrapped in his shaking hands, he closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks for the angel that was April O'Neil. His dear friend. Really, more like his loving older sister.

The thought of her sent a profound and painful blast of home-sickness through him. The reality of his situation struck him like a thunderbolt. He would be here, alone, a year. Three hundred sixty five days spent away from everything and everyone he knew and loved. He already missed his brothers and father so much. But more than anyone else . . . so much more . . . he forced the thought away, trying to be brave and stoic. But her beautiful oval face, her dark eyes staring at him, rose into his mind, nonetheless.

He choked on the mass of granola in his cheek and dropped his head, heart hammering from the sudden rush of emotion and pain. Too exhausted to hold them back, and too angry to care, tears formed, burning his eyes and began to streak down his cheeks. Once free, the tidal wave of anguish rolled freely through him sucking him under the powerful tow. Leonardo cradled his forehead against the heels of his trembling hands as an agonized sob broke from his chest. His shoulders shook as his breath came in ragged bursts and gasps.

He wanted to go back to New York. The only place he'd ever known. He wanted his brothers. He just wanted go home. Leonardo rocked a little where he sat; lost and frightened and miserable and broken-hearted.

"I learned my lesson, Sensei," he choked through another sob, "Don't make me stay here a year. I-I'm sorry . . . I . . . I'm . . ."

He sniffled; his words falling away to shuddering intakes of breath. But wait . . . No. That wasn't right. He wasn't sorry. Not for loving Karai. That's what this punishment was for. And he would never be sorry for that. He clenched his jaw. Never, he thought stubbornly.

With his breath hitching in his throat, he pressed his hands hard into his eyes, feeling foolish and deeply ashamed for this outburst of self-pity and weakness. He choked back the last bite of tasteless food and shoved the rest back into his bag. Blaming the exhaustion and fear for his breakdown did little to assuage the burning feeling of shame that coated his pounding heart. He wiped angrily at his face and chided himself hotly for being a baby full of self-pity instead of the warrior he was supposed to be.

Feeling full of self-loathing, Leonardo stood up and slung the pack over one shoulder. Enough of this whining and pathetic crying, he thought. Squaring his shoulders he wiped his nose with the back of his hand once more and continued on in his search for a shelter.

It was days before he finally found the cave he now called home.

The jungle behind him was coming to life with the dying of the light. A group of howler monkeys began their nightly screaming and screeches and somewhere off to his right he heard the undulating roar of a puma or jaguar, he wasn't sure which; he was only glad it sounded a few miles off. He untwisted his body from when he spied and watched the graceful flight of the eagle and adjusted his folded legs out from under him so that he now sat crossed-legged on the cooling rock beneath him.

Raising his gaze to the heavens, he noticed the first of what would be thousands of stars gracing the sky. They twinkled above winking on as though some celestial hand were flicking a light switch. He'd never seen stars like this in the city. Never more than one or maybe two that shone through the haze of light pollution and the heavy yellow grunge that seemed to have permanent residence above the city at night. But here was so different. The beauty of the Central American sky was incredible. It took his breath away. He sighed, wishing then that he'd brought his paper and pen with. For as lovely as the sky above filled with stars was, it only reminded him of someone else's beauty that matched and surpassed even those heavenly bodies above.

Leonardo had written his family as regularly as he dared; keeping them updated with his health and progress; making trips in stealth and shadows to deliver his letters to the mail box in one of the larger towns outside of the national park he roamed. Those were the letters he'd actually delivered. There was another stack of letters that he kept to himself. In one dry corner of his cave they sat, collecting dust. Love letters he'd written when his heart was aching for her; when it was too much to hold inside; when he was struck by something that reminded him of Karai; or when he found something or some view that he wished she could see with him.

He was sure that the prose and poetry he'd penned was amateurish and silly if it were ever read, but he just couldn't help but put his deepest, most earnest feelings of longing onto paper. Imagining her face as she would look reading the letters helped him fall asleep. Dreaming of her arms wrapped around him, so painfully real, kept him looking forward to day turning to night. Besides foraging for anything edible and catching fish to eat, it was the only thing he really ever looked forward to during his long lonely days.

A breeze rose up, cooling the sweat against his body. He closed his eyes with the refreshing feel of it. This was another reason he was so fond of this spot; his sanctuary. This precious bit of outcropping that offered seclusion and no small amount of tranquility. The breezes that wafted up from the crashing waves below served to rejuvenate him and helped him center himself on empty meditation. Not only that, but he had a clear view of the beach some fifty feet or so below.

He blinked then turned his head. He frowned as he concentrated on the line of thick bushes and tall scrub grass that met the rocky part of the beach before it smoothed out into the warm sandy shoreline. Something made the undergrowth shake violently and Leonardo trained his gaze there. He wondered if it might be one of those fat weird looking creatures. Tapirs, he remembered.

He blinked, trying to clear his vision. Not an animal, Leonardo realized with a shock. A person emerged. A villager, Leonardo thought and felt himself start to relax. From the shape of the person, it looked like maybe a petite man. His frown deepened. No, that wasn't right. The person stumbled forward and pitched onto their hands and knees.

Leonardo jumped up. Were they hurt? Should he investigate? Part of him wanted to turn around and blend back into the protective shadows of the rain forest. But another part, the lonely, aching part that longed for company and conversation and something other than hunting, sleeping, hiding and dealing with constant stomach problems urged him forward. Quickly and silently, he climbed down the jagged cliff and landed in the sand with a slight thud. He leaped into the black shadows of the tree line and crept closer. He was only a few dozen feet away from the figure who was sitting up, drinking from a large bottle of water, when his careful footsteps faltered.

Moving by inches, he straightened from his crouched position as his glassy eyes grew round. The roaring sound of his pulse filled his ears drowning out the cacophony of noises coming from the jungle behind him. His heart hammered painfully against his chest. Suddenly it was very hard to breathe.

Am I hallucinating? Have I lost my mind?

The woman wiped her mouth, then pressed a hand to her forehead. Panting, she dropped her hand. She looked around, up and down the beach only to drop her head and huff a soft sigh. She sat staring at the near empty bottle in her hand, cradled in the center of her folded legs. A large backpack packed for hiking and a smaller bag were laying near her where she'd dropped them.

Leonardo stepped out from the shield of the shadows. As if sensing him, her face snapped in his direction. His mouth hung open, one hand held aloft as if reaching for some invisible solid thing to brace his weight. He took another stumbling step forward. She blinked. The expression on her face raced from suspicion to recognition to joy. She rose up on wobbly legs.

"Leonardo?" she asked in a gasp. "Leonardo . . .!"

"K-Karai?"

Upon hearing his voice, she dropped the bottle where it rolled into the sand. Stumbling a little on the uneven ground, she dashed towards him. Without thinking, he felt his toes dig into the spongy earth beneath his feet as he pitched forward and started running towards Karai, still feeling as if he were in the middle of a dream. If he was he never wanted to wake up.

In a matter of seconds, they closed the distance between them. Karai half-leapt, half-collapsed into Leonardo's open arms. The impact made him stumble back. He lost his footing and fell straight down onto his rump then careened backwards onto his shell. An embarrassed laugh broke from his lips. He pulled her close with his strong arms as she wrapped hers around his neck, gasping and making a sound like bubbling broken laughter.

"Leo! It's you!" she cried and repeated between gasps and kisses.

Frantically, she kissed him, over and over all over his mouth, chin and nose as he tried to find her lips to return the ardent affection. The wetness of her warm tears surprised him. More so when he realized he was crying as well. Laughing and crying they rolled to one side. Karai pulled away, looked at him then pulled him close again; kissing him with renewed fervor. Leonardo closed his eyes and soaked in the precious overwhelming feel of her presence, of her scent, of her lips and the curves of her . . . A soft frown puckered at the edge of his smile. He pulled away, looking at her face, then down to her stomach, not understanding what he was feeling . . . or seeing.

"I've been searching for months for you," she panted, fresh tears spilling over her face. "Why did you have to be such a ninja about hiding, you bastard!" She pushed at his shoulder and choked out a near hysterical chuckle.

"Karai, I had no idea you were tracking me." He rose up on one elbow and looked down at where she lay beneath him; feeling a surge of painful desire and longing, but he pushed it back as dread shrouded him in its chilling shadow. His dark blue eyes sparkled in the starlight and bounced between hers. But they slowly dropped down as he gently placed a hand on her firm, but rounded stomach. They rose again to meet hers full of questions and laced with hurt. "Karai . . ." he started uncertainly and his voice was choked.

Karai placed her hand over his and bit her bottom lip. He blinked in confusion as she gave a small shake of her head and fresh tears spilled down her face. He felt his heart stop as she spoke.

"Leo . . . I'm . . . I'm pregnant." When the shadow passed through his eyes and the devastated hurt fell over his face he slowly pulled away from her; throat working; unable to hide his crushing pain from her. She grabbed him firmly by his cheeks, turning his face back to her. "It's yours. It's yours, Leo," she added quickly, her voice full of amazement.

He blinked rapidly as she pressed his cheeks together. "Say it with me . . . It's yours."

"It . . . It's . . . but how? How?"

She let go of his cheeks and rose up on her elbows. She shrugged as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Hm, I guess it was by some magical . . . baby-turtle-hybrid . . . spouting fairy . . ." she trailed off and snickered. She swatted at him, still sitting dumbfounded and shaken. An elbow draped over one bent knee; thumb and finger mashed against his chin and mouth as he sat deep in thought. "How do you think?"

"Karai, this is . . . serious. This . . . this couldn't have happened."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? This is serious? Phew, I'm so glad you warned me. And sorry to be the one who shatters your perception of reality, but it has happened. It is happening." Her face lost all mischievousness and fell into a worried mask. "Y-You're okay, though. Right? I mean, you . . . you want it . . . don't you?" she finished with a whisper; eyes widening.

Leonardo's head snapped to her. His intense stormy eyes were burning in the twilight, holding a churning mix of emotions that were unreadable. He asked softly, barely more than a whisper, "Do you?"

Karai nodded firmly. "I really, really do. But . . . only if it's what you want . . . only if you'll be there . . ."

Before she could say anything else, he was lifting her up where he knelt; crushing her body to him; burying his face into the side of her neck. She felt his body shaking and trembling violently as he nuzzled her even closer. His words poured out in a rush of fevered, earnest whispering.

"K-Karai . . . Yes! Ohho, yes, I'll be there. I'll always be here. For you, forever. Oh, Karai, Karai. I can't believe this. This is . . . This is c-crazy! B-But you've made me so happy. Stay with me forever, say yes, please say yes."

He held his breath, trembling from head to toe, as he waited for her answer. Knowing they were risking everything. Knowing the entire world was against them. That it had always been against them. Knowing his child, if it survived the pregnancy and birth, would face a world that was full of everything it could ever want, but would withhold it all if for only because he or she was different. His child would have to fight for what it wanted; fight just to exist. But Leo was more than willing to devote his life to protect and care for his wife and child as he had always done with his brothers and father. He had more than enough room in his heart for two precious more. And through his brothers' love and support and maybe one day, his father's, perhaps one day his child would be as happy as he was at this very moment.

He pulled back, enough to stare into her eyes, waiting desperately for her reply. One hand cradled the back of her head, the other was wrapped around her lower back. His eyes danced over her face down to her lips; holding his breath as he watched them form one word that changed everything, forever.

"Yes."

A/N: Thus ends Part 2 of The Tender Trap. Did you like it? Did you like my ending? I'm not one for dragging things out too long and find endings better when they're more open-ended. . .

(Oh, If you haven't heard that Pearl Jam song, man, it's so perfect, you may shed some tears if you listen to it as you read this last chapter.)

So, some have asked about a possible Part 3 and I say, hmmm, it's a possibility! Right now, though, my muse seems intent on giving me only super disturbing and depressing ideas and when I write the next part of this, I'd like to have more neutral ideas to start with, heehee. But be sure to follow me as I know I'll be adding to this universe. Maybe with some stories centering around Mikey and/or Raph as Nightwatcher since I've added some element of the '07 movie in here. And maybe with a part 3 if I'm pestered enough along the way and my muse cooperates. So stay tuned!

Thank you, my sweet reviewers, followers and favorite (ors? favoritors?) You've given me such a gift with your kind words, you've boosted my self-confidence as a writer and emboldened me to write on. And I promise I will. See you in another story . . .

xo

2014 UPDATE: I have begun Part 3, titled: Sins of the Fathers - if any of my readers, new or old are not aware...it picks up a few weeks after the end of this story. :D