I am sorry for the delay. College is… Grrrr…

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Chapter 29: It Ends

Leo held the bottle steady as Kiziah bit at the nipple and tried to pull it out of Leo's hand. "Strong already, Kiziah," Leo murmured. His family had left him alone a few minutes ago, but the time seemed to both crawl and fly by.

Kiziah waved her dark little arms and legs are him, cooing gently. Leo smiled and pulled the empty bottle from her carefully. He leaned forward and nuzzled her forehead with his beak as gently as possible. Her skin was cool and harder than his.

She bopped him in the nose with one tiny fist. Leo chuckled. "Gently, Kiziah." Humming softly, Leo rocked Kiziah back and forth in his arms until she yawned and fell asleep, her arms and legs tucked in close to her shell.

Carefully, Leo stood. He cast a glance at the other egg, which sat next to the shell of Kiziah's without a change. It looked solid, and he hadn't heard squeaking, so he figured it was safe enough to leave for a few minutes. Just long enough to get a blanket for Kiziah from the closet, and maybe another bottle of milk to keep in the nursery for when she woke up.

Leo popped into the kitchen and found Mikey already filling the half-dozen bottles. The youngest glanced up and grinned at the tiny turtle in Leo's arms. "Hey, Mikey," Leo greeted softly. "Can I have one of those? I'm going to watch over the other egg, but Kiziah might get hungry again."

Mikey nodded and handed him one of the bottles and then began packing the others into the fridge. Leo thanked him and headed towards the closet. Once he found a small blanket, dusty and lying behind a stack of other blankets.

Master Splinter looked up as Leo went back into the nursery, closing the door behind him. He was proud of his son, but he was also worried – the joy and happiness at Kiziah's hatching was too precious to be lost, and the aging rat feared it would be if the fourth egg followed the fate of the first two babies.

At the very least, Master Splinter hoped the fourth egg wouldn't do anything for a while and allow Leonardo to bond with his daughter properly.

~~TIME WARP~~

Leo held Kiziah all night, rocking her gently when she woke and cried. She would fuss in his arms for a moment or two, squealing, before calming down and sticking something – her thumb, Leo's bandana tail, or the bottle – in her mouth. After a few interruptions to his sleep, Leo was beginning to realize what parenting would include over the next few months.

The other egg sat calmly all night, without a peep, for which Leo was partially grateful. He was also worried, however, that the fourth egg would hatch a baby that couldn't live, and he held tightly to his daughter when those thoughts plagued his waking moments.

Don checked in on him early the next morning – or evening, technically – and brought a fresh bottle of warmed milk for Kiziah. Leo let the braniac feed the hatchling while the eldest took a shower and ate a quick breakfast. When he returned to the nursery, Don was cleaning spittle off his shoulder.

Leo chuckled. "She likes to burp on you. She hasn't on me."

Don glared playfully. "Yet. She will. Besides, I'm honored to be her first burper."

"Right," Leo chuckled, taking Kiziah back gently so Don could go shower. Mikey popped in a few minutes after Leo had arranged himself comfortably against the wall. The orange-banded turtle sat next to Leo and watched Kiziah avidly, his eyes tracking every shift she made in Leo's arms.

~~TIME WARP~~

Leo sat up; Kiziah was sleeping happily in her blanket next to him, her little shell rising and falling. He looked around – he wasn't sure what had woken him up, but he had a foreboding feeling. He checked the egg, but it was intact and didn't look injured. He heard, in the distance, Raph snoring. Leo chuckled softly; when Raph slept in a particular position, he snored loudly enough to wake the dead. Usually, one of his brothers would go into his room and nudge him until he rolled over.

Suddenly, a soft sound drew his attention to the egg. Leo gently picked Kiziah up and stood. He grinned as he saw the egg rock gently and another peeping sound rose from it.

Leo glanced at the clock and then at the egg. Making a hasty decision, he jogged – carefully so as not to disturb his sleeping baby girl – to Don's room and knocked on the door. A groggy genius grumped through the door, and Leo took that as an invitation to enter.

"Don, the second egg is hatching," Leo said, shaking his brother gently with one hand. The braniac quickly sat up.

"I'll wake the others. You go help the hatchling. Give me Kiziah," Don ordered, gently whisking the hatchling from her father's arms before the eldest could protest. Leo nodded, turned, and sprinted back into the nursery.

Don rubbed a hand over his face and grinned at the baby watching him. "You're going to have a sibling before the night is out," Don told her quietly. "Let's go wake your uncles." For simplicity, the brothers had agreed that Leo would be "Dad" and the others "Uncles." Splinter was, of course, "Grandfather."

Kiziah wasn't speaking yet, but she'd been growing over the past few days. Don estimated that she would be walking within three months, though whether on two feet or four was unknown.

Raph and Mikey quickly rose when Don shared the news. Lil' Sis found herself locked in Raph's room again and the hothead went to inform Master Splinter. Mikey prepared warm milk and warm water to wash the hatchling in before joining the rest in the nursery.

Leo was just breaking open a large piece of shell when he arrived. The hatchling inside had gone silent, but when Leo lifted away the white piece of gooey shell, a little creature spilled into his lap. It looked wrong – Mikey realized that immediately.

There seemed to be at least six limbs – he was thrashing around as he tried to right himself. Leo gently grabbed the squirming hatchling and sorted him out. Don blinked in astonishment; the hatchling looked to be winged like his father.

Leo washed away the goo from the egg and they all saw him in better light. He gleamed a light green, paler than any of the adults, and stood on his four legs without problem. The wings lay limply across his shell; they were nearly a foot long in wingspan. The hatchling himself was smaller than Kiziah had been, and the wings almost shrouded it like a blanket.

Leo carefully picked the infant up and looked at him, and then silently glanced at Don. The infant opened his eyes and gazed blearily around; the irises looked dark, perhaps brown or dark hazel.

"It looks like your bat genes carried over," Don said quietly. "He's lucky, Leo."

"What gender?" Leo asked carefully, grinning at the hatchling. Mikey tenderly stroked the baby's soft wings.

Don gently handed Kiziah to Raph, who held her like she was spun glass, and accepted the hatchling from Leo. A quick inspection left Don chuckling softly. "A male. He's built like us, too." Don flushed slightly; he was still embarrassed about his blunder with Kiziah. Leo took the little one back and looked at Master Splinter.

"What is his name, my son?" Master Splinter asked gently, smiling at the baby.

"I want to name him Alexander. Hamato Alexander. His middle name… We can decide that later," Leo decided.

"It is a good name," Master Splinter said. "May I hold him?" Leo gently passed the baby into his father's arms. The infant peered up at the rat and his wings flapped clumsily as if in greeting. "Hello, Alexander."

Alexander cooed. Leo accepted Kiziah back from Raph and Mikey held Alexander as the adults introduced the siblings to each other. Kiziah tried to grab Alexander's face, but the male was having none of it. He bit her on the finger and she wailed loudly, shocking Alexander into flapping his wings and bouncing off of Mikey's arms before the youngest managed to catch him.

Don laughed. "He's already intelligent," the brainiac noted. "He's got more turtle and bat genes than human, I would say."

Leo frowned slightly. "Will that be a problem?" he asked carefully. He didn't want any more disappointments – or surprises of any kind, really.

"It could be, but he seems fine. He might be a quadruped all his life, though." The hatchling squeaked and tilted his head, peering at Don. "Yes, you, Alexander," Don chuckled, reaching forward to tickle his nephew's chin.

Alexander was passed around and it was agreed upon that Mikey would be the second "dad" figure, though Leo was officially the father. The youngest adult would help with the feeding and burping and cleaning.

Mikey had already fallen in love with Alexander, though it was clear the hatchling was going to be a handful. He nipped at anything that tried to approach his face, including his father's hands, and squeaked often and loudly.

"He may be partially blind," Don guessed. "Bats use sonar to "see," and our turtles cousins don't have the best eyesight, either." He left to ponder the genetics and various possibilities; Raph followed to check on Lil' Sis and let her out. Mikey and Leo fed the babies as Master Splinter retired to his room.

~~TIME WARP~~

"Leo!" The shout rang through the lair; Leo was out of his room within seconds, Kiziah carefully clutched in one arm. She had grown in the week since Alexander had hatched, but her growth was nothing compared to her brother's.

"He's on th' ceiling again," Raph explained, pointing up. Mikey was also there, and had obviously pulled Raph from the kitchen – the hothead was still clutching a mug of coffee – to call for Leo. The mute turtle had been Alexander's main caretaker, since Master Splinter wanted them all to share the responsibility, and Raph and Don weren't the best of fathers. Raph was – ironically – too gentle, almost afraid to even feed the babies. Don saw how much Mike enjoyed taking care of Alexander and let the youngest brother take his shifts, though he spent a lot of time with both hatchlings.

The eldest glanced up and saw a light green spot far above. Leo sighed softly and handed Kiziah to Mikey.

Alexander had learned to fly within two days of hatching; he was walking as soon as he was hatched. He hadn't spoken yet, but Don guessed it wasn't too far coming. The hatchling had tormented Mikey by flying away right before Bath Time, finding niches in the ceiling and high on the walls to hide in.

"Hamato Alexander, you know better than this," Leo scolded. He unfurled his wings carefully – so as not to hit anything – and laboriously flapped his way up to the green speck. Carefully, he pried his son from the pipe he had been clinging to and brought him back down. "We'll tether you if we have to. You could get seriously injured if you fall."

Alexander squeaked at him and snuggled into Leo's arm. The hatchling had doubled in size, and its shell was stretched to the limit. Don had given him calcium supplements to help with the growth, and also suggested they keep him as full as he could possibly get.

Mikey and Leo swapped babies. Alexander nipped at Mikey's plastron, but the youngest adult was ready for it and gently held him far enough out so he couldn't get a hold of his uncle's skin.

"He's got your temper, Raph," Leo noted dryly. "We might just have to make a tether for him… I don't want him falling."

"Yer kid's happier in th' air than on th' ground," Raph suggested. "He's like a fish… If th' air were water…. Or somethin'."

Mikey and Leo chuckled at Raph's assessment. "With the rate he's growing, he'll be flying regularly before we know it," Don said, emerging from his lab. "He tires quickly now, but soon enough…"

"He's certainly better at it than I am," Leo chuckled softly.

"Alex was born with wings," Don pointed out. "You weren't. If you'd been born with them, you'd be just as graceful in the air as you are on the ground. It's reversed for him."

Lil' Sis chose that moment to make an entrance. She snorted at the babies; she didn't quite know what to think of them. Alexander hissed and mantled his wings; he didn't like the big furry animal. For that matter, he didn't particularly like Master Splinter, either.

Kiziah, however, burbled happily and reached out to her. Lil' Sis let the baby tug on her nostrils with a level of patience she didn't display elsewhere.

"Well, it's time for a bath," Leo said. Alexander flapped his wings but Mikey held onto him. Leo led the way into the bathroom. They removed the diapers – gifts from April and Casey – and tossed them before cleaning each baby while the tub was filling.

Kiziah splashed happily in the lukewarm water that came up to her hips when she managed to totter into a standing position, holding onto Leo's hands. She loved the water.

Alexander kept trying to fly out of the water; thankfully, the ceiling was low enough that Mikey could grab him if the hatchling got away. Eventually, the bathroom soaked from floor to ceiling, the two babies were clean and wrapped in towels.

Raph and Don came in to mop up the water, letting Mike and Leo feed the little ones and then put them down in a nap. For his own safety, Don had built a top on Alexander's crib. They didn't want the little one straying and perhaps making it out of the lair.

Once both were asleep in Leo's room, the two adults sat down to a late breakfast. Don and Raph joined them, and Master Splinter appeared for a cup of tea.

However, Leo was confident he could protect his younglings. He had banned patrols until the babies were able to be left – Lil' Sis was watching them while they ate. She was trained to whinny if one of them woke up, and she knew what to do if a stranger approached her.

The nursery had been cleaned and emptied. Leo and Raph were going to remodel the room with the school equipment, and put in two desks and a chalkboard for Don to teach the children later. Mikey wanted to repaint it in gay colors with drawn pictures of their friends from other dimensions, so the young ones would understand that all creatures, whether human, mutant, or alien, were potential friends.

They talked of what was to come.

Alexander would need a tether, Don suggested. Mikey agreed with the braniac and sketched out a plan for a chest harness that wouldn't interfere with the tiny turtle's wings. Leo and Raph were planning a play pen with a roof for the hatchlings. Raph had pictures of slides and playground equipment, and the location of a closing school they could plunder.

Don and Leo also discussed tutoring; with the rate of the hatchlings' growth, especially Alexander, it wouldn't be long until they began to speak. They all agreed that the children should receive tutoring in science, human history, their history, reading, writing, English, Japanese, and other topics.

Master Splinter let them plan. It was obvious his son Leonardo was growing and learning from being a father. Michelangelo was happier than the oldest mutant had seen him since his voice box was removed. Raphael and Lil' Sis were obviously bonding closely. Donatello appreciated being home, as did Splinter. The TV had died while the braniac had been gone, and the rat practically moved in with April to watch the operas he loved.

Unfortunately for them all, the future wasn't clear. There would be dangers, especially to the hatchlings. The biologist woman was still out there. Saki was also on the loose. Bishop and Stockman continued to be a constant thorn in their side. They all knew what would happen if the scientists got their hands on Alexander and Kiziah. Stockman would breed his mutant army using their genes; Bishop would dissect them and then breed his own mutant army.

Though it was wrought with danger, each turtle looked forward to what the upcoming days and weeks would bring.

It's finally done! Yayyyy! I will, of course, be writing a sequel. XD I didn't make NaNo, but that's okay with me. I wrote over 50k in research papers anyway.

In your review, please leave ideas for titles for the next book, which will be about the hatchling years of Alexander and Kiziah.