Hello hello hello! Alright everyone this is it, the final chapter to the story. Honestly I can't believe it is already here so I am just going to get right into the chapter and chatter as much as I want at the very end. As always I do not own TMNT, only my OCs. Please enjoy:).

Chapter 28: Home Is Where The Heart Is

Three Months Later…

Verena's P.O.V.:

I flutter my eye lids open and yawn quietly, stretching out my body from a great night sleep. The bed feels so comfortable and soft while the blankets give us warmth. I turn my head to my right and see my handsome Leo still sleeping, wearing his bandana and lightly snoring with his mouth open. His chest is moving up and down, nice and slow as I hear his steady heartbeat; it's still a beautiful sound. I lift myself carefully on my arms as Leo's hand slides down to my hip, not even waking up to my movement or stirring in his sleep. My right hand cups Leo's cheek gently, brushing my fingers on his soft skin until I touch his lips. I cannot help but smile seeing how cute he looks in this moment, and how his lips look so tempting to kiss. Then I come up with an idea to wake him up, the best way to wake any man up.

I lay my body on top of Leo's gently and I start to kiss his lips with so much love and affection, wanting him to wake up. My hands rest on his chest and I give it a deep rub, still trying to get him up but nothing seems to be working. I am about to give up until I feel Leo's arms wrap around my back and waist and he began to kiss me lovingly. He made me feel so happy now that he's finally awake, and it took me a little bit of work just to get him to kiss me. I feel our kissing die down as he is sucking on my lower lip and I pull back slowly, seeing him open his eyes and smile at me as I smile back.

Leo yawns and then caresses my face with his hand, "Good morning, Beautiful."

"Good morning." I said and kiss his cheek, "Happy Birthday, Leo."

"Thanks." He said with a light chuckle and pecked my lips.

"So," I brush my fingers sideways on his forehead, "how does it feel not being a teenager anymore?"

His hand strokes my long straight hair, "Surprisingly different, but more in a good way. I admit being a teen was fun for a while, but I'm eager to see what it will be like as an adult. You know taking on more responsibilities, becoming a good leader to my family, those kind of things."

I giggle, "My, my, aren't we sounding so mature."

"Hey, not bad though for turning twenty, don't you think?"

I shake my head slightly, "No, not at all." I moved my hand to his cheek and smile bigger, "In fact, I actually love this mature you, Leo."

He gives me a smirk as he tightens his hold on my waist, "Really?"

"I do, and to be honest it's kind of a big plus to have it."

"Well then I guess I have to start showing you just how mature I can be." Leo joked and stuck his tongue out like a child.

I laugh and slap his plastron playfully, "Really being mature, Leo."

He puts his tongue back in his mouth and laughs along with me, making our bodies shake together from our fun. The laughing slowly stops and Leo pulls my head down to his to give me a deep kiss, my eyes shutting as he's kissing me with his sweet lips. Not even a moment later we break the kiss and the two of us stare into each other's eyes, seeing a giant sparkle in his beautiful eyes that made me melt in his arms. I move my hands away from Leo, grab the blankets, and pull them over until they covered our bodies from head to toe.

I lay my head next to his ear, "I love you so much, Leo." I whisper softly and feel his body shiver.

Leo turns his head to me slightly, "And I love you, Verena, with every beat of my heart." He whispers in a loving tone.

I close my eyes and started kissing Leo on his lips, gentle and slow. My hands rest on his chest as his breathing begins to go faster and our kissing becomes more intense. I slowly lick Leo's bottom lip asking for entry and he chuckles as he opens his mouth, letting my tongue explore inside. The flavor in his mouth is so strange and yet so… minty, like toothpaste. Leo totally brushed his teeth. Either way the taste of the mint-like paste is too good as my tongue rubs on his, hearing him moan low in pleasure. I feel his hand slide down from my head to my back, stroking it gently on my nightgown as I continue to move my tongue deeper into his mouth.

Leo lets out a soft gasp as I massage his chest up and down, being delicate along his warm skin as we're still kissing. I part my lips from his and kiss down his neck, planting sweet kisses all over and I touch his pulse and started sucking on it. His moans get a little louder as he places his hand back on my head and grips my hair gently, feeling it between his fingers. Once I am done with his neck I slowly kiss down to his chest hearing him catch his breath and have the chills go all over his body. I then kiss his plastron and work my way down, hearing his moans get louder than before as I stop halfway seeing his face. I was about to kiss Leo's lips, but suddenly he rolled us over where he was now on top of me silently panting.

I felt Leo pin my wrists above my head with one hand while the other strokes my cheek gently. His eyes look at my lips closely for a moment until he molds his lips with my own into a passionate kiss. The hand that's on my cheek makes its way to my side, digging his fingers in my skin and massaging me there. As I gasp from the sensation, Leo sneaks his tongue into my mouth deepening the kiss; him and his Ninjutsu training. Leo let's go of my wrists and slides his hand down carefully to my thigh, lifting my leg to wrap it around his waist as I do the same with the other pulling him in.

The bed feels as hot as a sauna with the two of us starting to sweat, but we do not care because this feels so good. We lift up the blankets for a second and Leo pulls them further over us until there is no opening to fresh air. His lustful side is now in full control and I do not mind it one bit. Leo looks at me and then attacks my neck lovingly, sucking my pulse into his mouth deeply as I moan in awe. Dear Gods his hot mouth is making my body perspire even more, and I keep my hands over my head on the pillow not wanting to move.

Leo moves both of my gown straps down my shoulders slightly as he plants gentle kisses in those spots, taking his time. I suddenly gasp as Leo gives me playful kisses and licks above my breasts, and I arch my back for him to continue. He then trails his tongue slowly from the center, up my neck, ending right below my ear as he kisses it and nips at my ear lobe making me moan. I wrap my arms around his neck and we reconnect our lips, kissing rapidly as we hear nothing but our deep panting. Leo cups my face with his hands as his kisses mold more onto my lips, feeling a spark flow within us as we close the gap between our bodies into a loving embrace.

Sadly the kissing slowed down as we relaxed and calmed ourselves. We give each other one last kiss and push the blankets off of us, finally being able to breathe and feel the fresh cool air touch our heated skin. The sweat from our bodies disappeared and our breathing became normal again. Leo slides off of me and sits on his side of the bed as I do the same, smiling at him and rubbing his cheek with my hand. I look at the clock on his desk and see that it's almost seven in the morning, and we know the others will be up soon. Leo gets out of the bed and walks over to me, taking my hand, and we leave his room after he makes the bed.

The whole Lair is so peaceful and quiet this morning, for once. Ever since I came back here to live with the guys and Master Splinter things have become more crazy and exciting. The Foot has left New York for good under the command of Karai, never again to inflict any harm on the Hamato Clan and to restore their honor to a good name. Since then all we have been dealing with is the Purple Dragons and some rogue Dark Benders that are still here. For the most part New York has been very well protected and always will be no matter what threat pops up to ruin it. It's what we do.

Leo and I go down stairs and start walking over to the kitchen when all of a sudden he gets tackled down to the floor by three shadows. Or I should say three brothers.

"Happy Birthday, Leo!" Mikey shouts out to his older brother, rubbing the top of Leo's head.

"Happy Birthday to you too guys." Leo laughed out trying to sit up, "Now can you all get your big shells off of me?"

"Okay, shesh, keep your bandana on." Raph said and all of them finally stand up.

I giggle and give the other three a big group hug, "Happy Birthday boys."

"Thanks Verena." Donnie said cheerfully.

"Yeah, thanks V!" Mikey said and lifts me up into one of his tight hugs.

I laugh as he sets me down, "My goodness, someone's very happy this morning."

"I don't blame him, even if he is more annoyin' than usual." Raph said messing up my hair as I giggle, "It's not every day we get ta experience leaving our teen years."

"I'll say." I said smiling at them.

Soon Master Splinter walks in to join us with a gentle smile on his face, "Happy Birthday, my sons."

"Thank you, Father." All four of them said and hug him together.

This sight made my heart melt and I almost begin to cry. I have never seen a family so loving and supportive as this one, besides my own and a few others. The moments like this one are the reason why I get up in the morning and go on with life, to have more unforgettable memories to cherish and share with others; especially when I one day have a family of my own.

I see them break away and smile, "Well now that everyone is here, how about I make you all a birthday breakfast." I said being in a good mood.

"Now you're speaking my language! Let's go!" Mikey shouts out, again.

The six of us walk in the kitchen and I immediately get started on the cooking. I pull out a carton of eggs, some bacon, and bread for the French toast along with the other ingredients. The guys kept asking if I needed any help being the helpful turtles that they are, but I tell them no and to just relax because I have it all under control. When it comes down to cooking I find it to be very easy and relaxing, if you know what you're doing; and I also had help from Mikey. About ten minutes later I finish breakfast and all of us eat together happily, having a great morning, and they couldn't wait until later on when April and Casey come over to celebrate.

6:00 p.m.

The Lair has been quiet and relaxing throughout most of the day. After breakfast Master Splinter had us do our morning training for a good couple of hours, which felt like it flew on by. Not long after that Sensei had surprised his sons with another training session, only this time I was the one teaching them. I finally convinced him to start letting me train them in my martial arts, and he was more than pleased and gave me his blessing. The guys faces looked like they saw a ghost, but were quickly replaced with smiles. I did not go too far with the session today only because it's their birthday and I wanted them to feel energized. So, what I taught them today was something very simple and very effective to both the body and spirit, a different form of meditation. This meditation allows one to focus all of their energy into the different movements as well as connecting to their spirit to find the perfect balance. It was easy for them after I showed the arm and leg movements, and I realized that my way of meditating was a lot like Earth's Tai Chi. Luckily I made the session last for half an hour and they all went off to shower.

Once they were all cleaned I had them help me get the Lair ready for April and Casey when they arrive. There wasn't that much to do except for fixing up the living room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. With the Lair all nice and clean I started to cook dinner for tonight and this time I am making chicken scampi with a green salad and garlic bread. The chicken is sizzling on the pan and I toss in the pasta with the peppers ready to transfer it, the garlic bread is already done and out of the oven, and the salad just needed dressing. I am mixing the sauce with the pasta, peppers, and chicken when all of a sudden I feel a pair of arms circle around my waist gently. I turn my head to the right and was met by a pair of soft lips that belong to my handsome Leo as his kiss is sweet and warm. He kisses down to my neck and I can't help but giggle as Leo's lips tickle my sensitive neck. I hear him chuckle into my neck and he comes back up and pecks my lips, resting his head on mine.

Leo smells the food cooking, "Verena, the food smells amazing."

"Why thank you, Leo. I just hope everyone else likes it." I said as I toss the food together in the pan.

"Hey, don't worry about it okay? Everyone is going to love the meal you made." Leo reassures me.

I nod, "Alright. Thanks Leo."

"Of course." He said and kisses my forehead, "Now, is there anything I can help you with?"

I turn off the stove and look at him, "If you can just check if everything is set on the table that would be great."

"Sure." Leo said and walks out of the kitchen.

I walk over to the counter and grab a giant white bowl, and then go to the fridge and take the salad out. Taking the large pan and wooden spoon I pour the scampi into the bowl and feel myself give off a satisfied look. For the salad I just splash some dressing and mix it together, and with that I am done. Outside the door I hear the guys greeting April and Casey as they wished them a happy birthday. I use my telekinesis to hold the food and walk out to where everyone else is near the set table. I carefully place the dishes on the table and go over to meet April and Casey.

They were so happy to be here as much as we were having them over to celebrate the guys birthday. With our greetings said and done Master Splinter calls for all of us to gather at the table for dinner. Each of us take our seats with Master Splinter at the head of the table, then Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Casey, April, myself, and Leo. We start to pass the food around the table so all of us has enough on our plates and then we eat. I am so nervous to hear what they all think of the food as I take a fork full of chicken and pasta.

"Verena," I hear April say and I brace myself, "the food is delicious."

I look at her in shock, "Really?"

"Yeah! V, this is amazing!" Mikey said taking another bite of his food.

"I didn't even think ya can cook this good." Casey said smiling.

"Man, Verena, we should have ya cook more often instead of Mikey." Raph joked as Mikey gave him a look.

"The dinner is great, Verena. You did a great job." Donnie said smiling at me gently.

"Thank you." I said feeling so relieved and glad they like it.

Leo places his hand on my lap and rubs me softly, telling me that I had nothing to worry about and he was so right. All of us talk and laugh so much during dinner that I almost forget about the food. The meal was delicious. Even everyone else thought my cooking was good. After dinner I wash the dishes with some help from April as all the guys are sitting at the table. April takes out the cake she baked and puts on the candles as I light them when she's done. We take the cake over to them, turn off the lights, and sing happy birthday to the four turtle brothers. The guys blow out the candles together and we cheer for them, and I start to cut the cake passing each slice to everyone with my telekinesis. My Gods, April's cake is so good and sweet; it's one of the best cakes that I have ever had.

After we were done, April and Casey gave the guys their gifts handing it out to them one at a time. They were so happy with the gifts they got which consisted of movies, video games, incense, a laptop, and new meditation mats.

Then I immediately remembered the gifts I got for them, "Hold on a second guys, I'll be right back."

I jog off into my room and find their gifts in my closet, all wrapped and ready to give. I go back to the guys and place their presents on the table, seeing their smiles that made me smile.

"Mikey, I will start with you first." I said giving him his gift.

He laughs in excitement as he rips the paper apart and opens the box, seeing his gift with a confused look, "It's cool, but what is it V?"

I laugh and take his gift for a moment, "This, Mikey, is one of Kennistar's jet boards." I throw it in the air and it opens up into a short electric board, "I remembered you telling me at one time you had a flying skate board, so I got you the next best thing."

"Wow… this is beyond awesome!" Mikey said and hugs me tight, "Thanks a lot V!"

"You're welcome, Mikey. C-Can I breathe now, please?" I ask him.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He said and lets me go.

I smile and give the next gift to Donnie, "Here is your gift, Donnie."

"Thanks Verena." He said and tears off the paper and opens the box, taking out a couple of books and a Kennistarian tool kit, "Wow, these are very nice."

"I thought so. I knew you wanted to learn more about my people so I got you a history book and a book on Kennistarian technology. And the tool kit already has everything you need for your research." I tell him happily.

"This is a great gift. Thank you Verena." Donnie said and gives me a gentle hug.

"You're welcome, Donnie." I said and grab Raph's gift with both hands since it's a tad heavy, "Alright Raph, you're next."

He takes his gift and rips the paper revealing two large dumbbells, "Hey, these are nice. I've been meanin' ta find some new ones."

"Well these aren't ordinary weights Raph, these are made of pure Krytanium. I figured you wanted heavier weights so I got you the next size up." I said and put the weights closer together, "And if you want something different," I smash the ends together to form one giant dumbbell, "all you have to do is smash the two together and when you want them separate then just pull it."

Raph gives me a firm hug after putting the dumbbells down, "Thanks a lot for the gift Verena."

"You're welcome, Raph." I said and smile.

"I wonder what she got you, Leo." Mikey whispers to him as I look at them.

"She didn't have to get me anything." Leo said in a very sweet tone.

"Of course I had to." I tell him and hand him his first gift, "Here's your first one."

Leo takes the long gift and opens it revealing to us a beautiful white silver sword, "Verena… this is flawless."

"This sword is given to the warriors on my planet when they are knighted into the army. My family wished to give this to you as a token of their appreciation." I said to him thinking about my family for a moment.

Leo places the sword on the table, "I really have to thank your family the next time we see them."

I smile and hand him my gift, "And this one is from me."

He slowly opens it and sees a photo album like mine, except this one is made of gold. Leo opens it and reads the inside cover, "To my best friend, my heart and soul, my knight in shining armor. With love forever, Happy Birthday Leonardo." He stares at me, closes the book, and pulls me in for a passionate kiss that took my breath away. Leo's eyes look into mine with so much love, "Thank you for my gifts, Verena. I love them, and I love you with all of my heart."

"I love you too, Leo." I tell him and peck his lips.

During the rest of our get together all of us just stayed in the Lair talking and catching up with what's been going on. I feel so comfortable talking to anyone about anything, especially Leo; after all they make me feel like I am part of their family. It's strange when I think back to when I first came to Earth how uneasy I was, being so private with my problems. However, as the days went by I started to see that these people were more than just strangers, they somehow became my friends. Even with my nightmare, the Dark Benders, Shredder, and Umbra they stood by my side to the very end like one big family. That is what I see them as now, my second family. A family that I love being with and sharing memories with every day, see that's my kind of family. And I would never trade it for anything in the world.

Close to two hours later April and Casey said their good-byes and went home, leaving us so we can get ready for patrol. The guys and I run through the sewers and climb out to one of the buildings and start running around the brightly lit city. We stop on this one building and look at the beautiful view of the water and where the Statue of Liberty stands; she looks amazing in the night. A cool breeze blows in our direction and it sends a chill up my spine as I stare at her. Leo comes up and hugs me close to him as I feel his warm skin radiate on mine and his arms give me protection from the cold. Our moment is interrupted when we hear a woman scream in a nearby alley to our left. All of us look at each other and smirk, pulling out our weapons as we dash over to the sound. When we get there we see a group of Purple Dragons trying to rob a young woman at gunpoint, laughing their heads off as they're enjoying this. As we jump off the roof I can't help but smile and think of one thing in my head since I came back to New York.

"I love these guys."

The End… For Now.

Ta da! So… what do you all think of this final chapter of the first book? I would love to hear what your thoughts are and of course you are my judges. To be honest, this chapter was kind of tricky to finish, but I am deeply satisfied with the finished product and I hope you all are too.

So since this one is now complete I will be working on the sequel "Turtles and Benders", possibly starting a new one called "A Megatropolis Love Story" with the Super Turtles, and maybe just maybe a Call of Duty fanfic with my favorite character, John "Soap" MacTavish. But I would love to hear from you all what you think about these ideas in your review or PM, that would be great:).

I still can't believe that my first fanfiction is done! I really want to thank all of you that have favored and followed this story because I seriously wouldn't have continued without your fantastic support. I also want to thank TMNTFANGIRL1116 for helping me out with some of the story; I couldn't have done it without her help and her brilliant work. And of course SakuraNinjaress, tmntlover2013, and pokemonjkl for mostly reviewing my story and for telling me like it is. All of you in the favorites and follows are amazing and I promise to make the next stories even better the best I can.

Please R&R, or PM anytime you like. See you all real soon:)!