Chapter 47: Happily ever after

So we'd won.

There was no 'war' so to speak; well, apart from our little scuffle inside TCRI. And although there were obvious casualties inside the building it was better for that to happen than an army of mutants to rampage the streets. From the reports after the fire, all the monsters had been killed as there were no survivors. When those mutants had surrounded me I could hear their thoughts, feel their pain. They were suffering so cruelly, they had wanted release - freedom from the torture of living; I guess that the tiny bit of humanity that resided in them realised what they had been forced to become so at least now they were at peace.

During that episode I had also learnt to embrace my 'other side' - the part of me which was a Lightgiver had come through and I had been okay with that, I hadn't run and I hadn't felt scared. Of course I'd needed a little prompting and owed a lot to both Kavon and Michelangelo. The former had not been seen since TCRI but I knew he was okay and that our paths would cross again sometime in the future; that was a given really.

And then there was dear Mikey, he had once again come through for the team. According to Leonardo he did have a habit of doing that. But without his intervention I could have well still been tied up in that chair with a very different future ahead of me. Now, here I was, hugely pregnant surrounded by the best friends a girl could wish for and one of the most wonderfully caring boyfriend to boot.

I had never seen Raphael so protective. He didn't want to leave my side and was constantly fussing over me, making me snacks and drinks, rubbing my feet and giving me shoulder massages. I loved it all.

Even though Donatello was convinced that everything was going fine with my pregnancy and I felt just about ready to pop I still felt worried. I was no good with pain and I only had access to a limited amount of supplies to control it. Donatello's pharmaceutical hoard was not the most varied or the most well stocked.

That evening I had gotten ready for bed and was propped up flicking through one of Michelangelo's old comic books. Raphael was not far behind me and once in bed next to me took time to gently kiss my exposed arm taking his large fingers up to the back of my neck to stroke me there and give me goosebumps. I giggled and squirmed under his contact and that only appeared to fuel him further as that same hand descended under the sheets to caress my thigh.

"Stop it" I whispered in the firmest voice I could muster "I'm reading"

"That rubbish" He snatched it out of hand and tossed it onto the floor "and you don't need it babe" He carried on kissing my arm and then moved onto my neck.

"Hey" I giggled "I'm a pregnant lady, I do not need this kind of harassment"

He pulled me under the sheets, ignoring my protests and silencing me with a firm kiss on the mouth, teasing my lips with his tongue and causing my body to flush up in response. I laced my hands around his neck as he let me go.

"So when will we be meeting this baby then? Donnie says it should be any day"

"He does. Between you and me, Donatello is taking his role as a midwife very seriously" I found myself smiling.

"I know but I'm not very happy about him, you know, being down that end..in fact I find it a little... unsettling"

"Well, he's all we have..." I looked away

"You okay sweetheart?" As I met his eyes I felt my stomach flip.

"I'm just a little scared" I murmured "Not only about the whole birth thing but what if I'm not a good mom, what if.."

He silenced me again with another soft kiss "There are always what if's babe but I will be right there with you to face all of them" He caressed my cheek with a finger "You are going to be an amazing mom"

"You really think so?"

"I know so and I think that the sooner we meet this little one the better and I got an idea on how we can move things in the right direction.." He nuzzled my neck. I knew exactly where this was going and after he informed me how good sperm was for starting labour and that sex would help me relax and soon I found myself buckling; especially after he dropped his hand into my pants, yes at that point it was definitely a done deal.

Two hours later I was not so perky and was instead crippled by pain. His sperm had done the trick and sent me straight into labour. I had been prepared for labour to be difficult (the clue was in the name) but it seemed that I had underestimated it by at least another 50 thousand levels of pain. I felt like my body was being torn in two and although Raphael stayed by my side throughout this wasn't something which we could overly 'share' though I would have gladly given it over to anyone at this point.

"You're doing great babe, really great, just keep breathing...remember deep breaths" Raphael was keeping one eye on Rosie but another one on his brother who kept disappearing down the lower end of the nurses couch "And you're there to do a job" he growled "No lingering"

"Let him be" gasped Rosie, squeezing his hand as another contraction took hold. Raphael wondered if he would ever regain the feeling in his fingers again.

The night was long and tiring for everyone, no-one went to bed, not even Mikey. And at exactly 6.05 a.m that very next morning baby Melody Rose took her very first breaths. Raphael could barely contain himself as the tears fell freely down his face; at this point he didn't even bother to pretend to be macho. Even Donatello had taken to sniffing as his brother locked him in a stranglehold type embrace.

"Thanks bro...I mean really, thank you...this is...it's just..." Donatello returned his brother's hold with similar enthusiasm. He had never delivered a child before but had put in hours of study before the intended due date.

Now wrapped in a blanket all Raphael could do was stare at his new daughter. Her skin had pinked up and she had a thick head of dark hair just like her mommy. She had traits from his side too - three fingers instead of four and he could just make out emerald green eyes just like his own.

As he held her in his arms and felt like everything was complete - it was like the final piece of the jigsaw; it was perfect.

Looking at Rosie he bent and kissed her head. Never, ever had he felt such happiness. Never had he felt so content. He had a family of his own and he couldn't be happier.

Seeing Raphael cradling our new baby girl I felt such a rush of love. I had been alone and now I wasn't. Fate had laid out plans for me and I never imagined that my life would take this path, could never have predicted that I would fall for a 6 foot turtle and then have a child of my own. But, I realised, this was my destiny and finally I was excited about the future. Finally I had a place to call home.

THE END