Authoress' Notes: I'm alive! I'm alive! Heheh. Sorry to everyone who's been waiting for so long; I'm not very good at catching curveballs and Life seemed to enjoy throwing them at me as of late.

Please, everyone, I hope you read, enjoy, and, if possible, review.

Thanks goes out to randomlass and AshK, the only two to review Chapter Five. Thanks, you two!

Story Dedication: To Donnie's other Kathy, randomlass; thanks so much for your continued support for the Kathy Chronicles, Kat!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own any of the characters mentioned or shown below, with the exception of Katherine "Kathy" Jones (no relation to Kat a.k.a. randomlass, before anyone asks); the rest belong to Mirage Studios (I think…), but definitely Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. I'm just borrowing them to satisfy my Muse.

Note: Leo, Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and Casey from '07 are going to be referred to as such, while the ones from the '90s are going to be referred to as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael to avoid confusion as to who's talking.

Chapter Six: New Understanding and Going Home FINAL CHAPTER

"I'd like to know exactly what's happened from the moment you first met Leo and Kathy to now, please," Donnie requested.

Seeing it as a reasonable request, Leonardo told what happened from his point of view; he was trying to seem like he only saw Kathy as a friend, but he was thrown when Donnie chuckled softly at the end of his story, "It's easy to find yourself falling in love with Kathy, isn't it?"

Leonardo spluttered, "I - no -"

Donnie eyed him knowingly, "A beautiful girl comes into your life and is everything anyone could ask for in a Life-mate: courageous, loving, knowledgeable, stubborn, but most of all… she doesn't care that you look like a monster, or that you live in a sewer." He put a comforting hand on the younger Turtle's shoulder, "I'm not mad, nor will I try to kill you in a jealous rage, Leonardo. From your comment earlier to your brother, Raphael, am I right to assume that Kathy told you about us?"

Leonardo nodded, avoiding the elder's eyes, "Yes; she really loves you. I, uh, kind of came onto her and she told me about you." Slowly, he raised his black eyes up until they connected with the brown eyes of the Turtle he was confessing to, "I really do like her, I think I might love her, but I - I know that if I came right out and told her that she'd be heartbroken… not for herself, but for me."

Donnie nodded, "Yeah; she would. Kathy… she's special like that, you know? She's so full of love for… well, not everything, because she absolutely hates the Foot and celery," Leonardo laughed at the off-handed way Donnie spoke, "and let's not get started on needles… but, most creatures, or people, she will do anything for."

The Blue-bandanad Turtle smiled in agreement, "She's quite possibly the most understanding person I've ever met. You're extremely lucky to have found her, Donnie… and she's lucky to have found you, too." He seemed to have come to a decision, "I'm very lucky to have met her and to be able to call her a friend."

"That's the spirit, Leonardo; besides," the Bo-wielding Turtle smirked knowingly, "there's someone out there for everyone that's truly their better half… you'll find them someday."

Leonardo stared at the blank wall, "One day, I hope." He glanced over at his companion, "Would you do me a favour, though, Donnie?"

"It depends, I suppose; what did you need?"

"I have something I'd like you to give her when we return to the Lair… but I'd rather you wait until you're back in your own Dimension, if you could," he stood up and stretched.

Donnie nodded, smiling as he did likewise, "I can do that." He looked over at the younger Turtle, "I'd like you to do me a favour, too, Leonardo."

Agreeably, he nodded, "Sure."

"I'd like it if you'd help my Brothers watch over Kathy while Donatello and I are in his Lab; I know her and she'll be likely fighting to get out of bed until everyone gives into her stubbornness. Unfortunately, my Brothers, especially Raph, and her Guardian, Casey, are pretty much putty in her hands. Can I trust you to keep her in bed?"

"Of course," Leonardo agreed, eager to spend as much time as he could with Kathy while she was still in his Dimension. They walked in silence back to the Lair and Donnie silently followed Leonardo to the Dojo-area. Leonardo went over to a corner and picked up a box before he brought it to him, "Lee-o has been training Kathy in Ninjutsu, and she seems most comfortable with twin weapons, but she didn't seem too fond of the Katana, so I've been working on a gift for her. I finally completed it this morning before she woke up."

"May I?" Donnie asked politely; when Leonardo nodded, he lifted the lid and whistled lowly at the twin Phoenix Bladed Kamas that laid within.

"Do you think she'll like them?"

"She'll love them, Leonardo," Donnie assured. "These were masterfully crafted; did you make them both yourself?" Leonardo nodded bashfully, still nervous. "I'm impressed; as I said, these look like they were made by a Master."

"Thank you, Donnie," Leonardo beamed, happy that the older Turtle wasn't about to pound him into the ground.

"No problem, Leonardo," Donnie chuckled, replacing the lid and handing it back to Leonardo. "Now, let's get back to our Brothers, huh?"

"Alright," the younger Turtle agreed. They heard yelling coming from Leonardo's room and rushed out of the dojo and over to it. "Donatello, what is going on?" He demanded of his brother when he entered his room to find his brothers looking concerned, Donnie's brothers looking torn between worried and mad at themselves, while Casey looked furious with himself.

"This idiot fell asleep and when he woke up, Katherine was gone," Donatello explained.

"Alright, quiet, everyone!" Donnie attempted to get their attention; when the first attempt failed, he shouted, "Everyone, shut it!" Immediately a silence fell over them and they were able to hear shuffling coming towards them.

"What's with all of the yelling?" Kathy asked, looking sick to her stomach as she shuffled back into the room; almost immediately she was jumped by eight worried Turtles. Startled, she stumbled backwards and bumped into the wall, "I… I think I'm gonna be sick…" She gulped, her face paling before she rushed out of the room, stumbling.

"Is she supposed to be getting sick?" Leo asked his genius brother, concerned as they stayed back with everyone but Mikey, who slipped out after the currently onyx-haired teen.

"Unfortunately for her, yes; her vomiting is just telling us that the Antidote, however synthetic it is, is doing its job of flushing the poison from her body," Donnie explained in laymen's terms as he followed the sounds of retching with his brothers and Casey while Leonardo stayed back with his to explain what was going to happen over the next few days.

"Shh, Babe," Mikey was knelt beside a retching Kathy, holding her hair out of her face with one hand as she bent over the toilet bowl while he rubbed her back soothingly with the other. "Can one of you run me a cool washcloth?" He looked back at his brothers as he cooed at Kathy.

"I hate Antidotes," she muttered, leaning back into Mikey's embrace as she fell back off her knees; since he was knelt mostly behind her, his plastron braced her back.

"How'd y' know it's the Antidote, Kat?" Raph questioned, curious as Donnie ran a cold washcloth for his younger brother and passed it to him. "It could be the poison."

"I'm occasionally dense, Raphie, not stupid," she replied dryly, sighing as Mikey gently wiped the cloth across her face and neck. "Mmm…"

"And absolutely correct, Beautiful," Donnie chuckled lightly, watching her carefully. "Being sick is telling us that your body is fighting the poison and flushing it out of your system; similar to a cold."

"Lovely," she murmured sarcastically. "By the way, have I ever mentioned how absolutely sickening vomit tastes?" When the brothers groaned at her lame pun, she gave a small smile, "Hey, I can't help it if the truth is cliché."

"C'mon, let's get y' back to bed, Kat," Raph told her, rolling his eyes as he carefully helped her up off the floor and supported her leaning against his side an arm around her waist.

"Raphie, make the room stop spinnin', please," Kathy requested, closing her eyes and gripping his side as her head unconsciously leant against his shoulder.

"Dizziness is another symptom; all you can really do is sleep it off, Kathy," Donnie lamented, watching her with a hint of regret.

"Don't even go there, Donatello Hamato," she spoke without opening her eyes. "I'm fully aware that it was my own stupidity that got me poisoned, as well as naivety when I didn't think that you'd have Mikey put a sleeping pill into my tomato soup."

"She's got you three down to a science, guys," Casey spoke up from where he was watching her warily from the doorway; it was already fairly crowded in the washroom with his cousin, Mikey, Donnie, and Raph in it while Leo hovered behind him.

"Four," Leo spoke up reluctantly. When the others, including Kathy who stood up straighter as she leaned on the sink in accordance to her boyfriend's silent request, looked at him in surprise and confusion, he elaborated, "I never realized it, but Kathy's quite adept at reading me like a book; the past week has been an eye-opening experience. She's much more observant, and more of a friend, than I've given her credit for since knowing her."

When they looked at her in disbelief, a small giggle escaped as she leaned back against her boyfriend's plastron as he supported her back against him with one hand while his other was helping her brush her teeth. A few moments of silence past before she rinsed her mouth with the cup of water that her boyfriend handed her, while he rinsed off the brush, "Leo and I came to an agreement of sorts after the first few days here; since we were the only familiar things in this Dimension, we'd have to rely more on one another and that meant that we couldn't be fighting over everything. He even started training me in Ninjutsu, which he would've never done had we not been forced to get along. Did he tell you that, before I fainted after we rescued Michelangelo and their Sensei that he called me "Imouto"? I think it's safe to say that we won't be arguing nearly as much as we usually did after we get home," she didn't notice the saddened look on Raph's face at this mentioned new closeness as she flashed Leo a smile. "It was nice to know that I wasn't wrong; after all, I do love being right."

"Babe, you've been hanging out with the Don-ster way too much," Mikey joked, sensing his usually hostile brother's down-trodden mood. "Come on, let's get you back to bed," he took her hand and mock-guided her out of the washroom with a hand on her back. "Think you can handle something a little more substantial than tomato soup, Babe?"

"Ask my Doctor," Kathy replied dryly, following along with the ploy; despite feeling somewhat sick to her stomach, Kathy was feeling much better than she had felt when she'd woken up earlier and she knew it was due to her boyfriend, his brothers, and her cousin's presence.

"Doctor, may your patient have something that's tastier than that tomato soup?" Mikey stared at his genius brother, who was walking behind the troublesome duo, imploringly.

"I'd rather she not have anything more than chicken noodle soup, Mike," Donnie caved under their pleading stares. "Alright, maybe some chocolate or ice cream… no sundaes this time!"

"Could I have some cocoa?" Kathy questioned, knowing her boyfriend was wont to deny her anything.

"If I can't see your pout, Kathy, than I shan't cave," her boyfriend answered dryly, walking ahead of them with his face pointedly staring straight.

"Smart guy," Casey snickered as he, Raph, and Leo followed the prank-loving duo who were now following the genius.

"Back to bed with you, Katherine," Leonardo appeared in the doorway to his room.

Kathy's face blanched at the thought of more bed-rest and, predictably, turned around in an attempt to escape. "I don't think so, young lady," Leo smirked, blocking her way; when she made a move to bolt around him towards the left, he moved to block her, losing his balance when she, instead, bolted to the right…

… where she was met with a solid plastron. "Raph, put me down!" She squirmed around in an attempt to get out of his grip as he lifted her easily into his arms bridal style, careful not to jostle her upset stomach any more than it was.

"Yer too predictable, Kit-Kat," he smirked down at her pouting form as he carried her into Leonardo's tidy domain. "Don' worry, girlie, I'm sure Don'll only keep y' on bed rest for another day or two," he took great glee as her pout turned into a glare; with more care than he'd ever admit to having, he placed her underneath the covers that had been turned downwards.

"Why is my best friend such a jerk to me?" Kathy whined in a melodramatic way as her boyfriend lovingly tucked her in; Donnie brushed a kiss to her brow.

"If you need me, I'll be down the hall in Donatello's Lab, Beautiful," he whispered tenderly.

"'Kay, Handsome. Love you," she gave him a bright smile when he bent down again and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"And I love you," he replied before he exited the room.

"'Cause yer bein' a brat an' won't listen t' yer boyfriend, who doubles as yer Doctor," Raph answered after Donnie left, feeling an odd warm feeling he had been unaccustomed to before he met friend's cousin when she sulked at him; he'd never admit it, especially not to her cousin, but he adored the spirited young woman and had more than a small soft spot for her.

"Katherine, rest really is the best thing for you right now," Leonardo spoke up quietly from the foot of the bed where he'd been watching them with curiosity. When the duo turned their attention to him, he flushed noticeably, "I mean, Raph, was it?" When the older Turtle nodded, he continued, "Raph's right; the more you concentrate on getting better, the sooner Donnie will take you off of bed rest."

"Cap- Katherine, here's some chicken noodle soup; it's from a can, but Mikey said that you're not too picky," Michelangelo entered the room with a tray, which held a bowl of chicken noodle soup, crackers, a spoon, and a glass of orange juice.

"No, I'm not. Thank you, Michelangelo," Kathy gave him a smile as he set the tray across her lap. She ate quietly, knowing instinctively that her boyfriend would have recruited the Younger Turtles in his efforts to aide her recovery; he was especially picky about her not eating everything on her plate that she could when she was ill. Casey, Leonardo, and Raph were the only ones left in the room as the others all went off to find something to do that didn't include Kathy trying to pout her way out of her mandatory bed rest; Raph and Casey were teaching the Younger Turtle the basics of Poker.

When she finished, she looked at the three and asked, "Raph, do you know how we're supposed to get Home?"

Raph looked up from teaching Leonardo Poker and answered after a moment, "Don's tryin' ta build a machine that's similar to the one that sent you an' Leo here."

A pensive frown came over Kathy's features, "Then how did you all get here, if not the same way?"

"Yer boyfriend worked day and night for four straight days, tinkering with the Portal thingy that he, Raph, and Mikey stole from the Purple Dragons. He managed to fix it, with April's help, but it kinda… blew up as we went through," Casey replied with a shrug.

"Well, if anyone can find us a way Home, it'd be Donnie and Donatello," Kathy agreed whimsically, idly brushing a stray stand of hair away from her hazel eyes. "Thanks for letting me commandeer your bed all this time, Leonardo."

"Anything for a friend, Katherine," Leonardo beamed at her and she was, again, struck with how different the two were. Leonardo was open, fun-loving, relaxed, and very much accepting of change which was much like Donnie's personality, whereas Leo usually was closed-off, serious, tense, and tended to fight against too much change. He stood up and stretched, "Well, I'm going to go get something to drink, and take your dishes back, Katherine; does anyone want anything while I'm up?"

"Hot cocoa. Please, Leonardo?" Kathy widened her hazel eyes hopefully and he chuckled at her.

"Donnie was right; your looks are lethal," he teased her, a soft smile on his face as he organized her dishes on the tray. When she began pouting, he gave in partially, "I'll see what I can do, Katherine."

Her face instantly transformed and she was beaming at him, "Thanks, Leonardo; you're such a sweetheart."

He blushed darkly, averting his eyes from her, "It's no problem… really. Anything else you'd like?"

"Just cocoa," she replied sweetly. "With marshmallows, if you have any?"

"Alright, then; a cocoa for the not-so-patient Kunoichi-In-Training. Raph, Mr. Jones? Would you like anything?"

"Coke, if ya got it," Raph answered.

"Same, I guess; obviously you guys ain't got no alcohol," Casey grumbled to himself.

"Of course not; why would we need alcohol?" Leonardo looked confused, "We're not legal in any State, so why would we have it?"

"Just be glad you don't have Raph for a best friend and Casey for a Guardian; being Legal means nothing, then," Kathy made a face, remembering an incident in particular that involved Casey mixing Rum into her coke a little after he'd found out that she and Donnie had "done the deed".

"… I don't want to know," Leonardo hid a smile as he walked out of his room.

))) Three days later… (((

"Oh, Katherine! It's been so wonderful to get to know you!" April O'Neil cried, hugging the younger girl tightly.

"We'll really miss having you around," Irma added, smiling sadly.

"Take great pride in yourself, your accomplishments, and your family, Young One," Splinter told Kathy who smiled indulgently. "You'll take your world by storm and love."

"Thank you, Master Yoshi," she gave a formal bow as she spoke in a low, grateful tone as April had finally released her. "I will. I'll miss you all, and think of you often," she told the Young Turtles who were quietly having tears fall down their cheeks; surprising them, she quickly leapt forward and kissed each of them on the cheeks as she swiftly hugged each of them, ignoring the dark colour they turned as they blushed at the unexpected action. She held on a moment longer with Leonardo, who took the opportunity to inhale her scent for what he was sure was the last time, "Thank you, Leonardo… for everything. And, I'm sorry I couldn't return your feelings," she pulled back a bit to look him seriously in the eyes and continued in the same soft voice, "but, please know that I'm confident that there's someone out there who's made just for your love. You'll find her, perhaps… but, I think she'll find you." She gave him one last, small smile as she choked back her own tears whilst walking away to join her boyfriend and their family who were waiting patiently, "Thank you all for your hospitality… and your friendship. It means a lot to Leo and I."

"Again, thank you for taking care of my brother and Kathy," Donnie agreed, squeezing her hand softly as she placed hers in his. "It means the world to us, and we're in your debt," his dark chocolate eyes connected with Leonardo's coal black and a wave of understanding past between them, with him ticking his eyes to the backpack he had strapped to his shell; it seemed the gift that Leonardo had made for the vivacious Kunoichi-In-Training currently resided in it.

"In our debt, huh?" Raphael spoke up, "Don't forget 'bout us and yer debt's repaid." He roughly rubbed his eyes.

"Done, Junior," Raph gave his Twin a rare smile. "I'll think 'bout y' every time I look in the mirror."

With that said, the Young Turtles, Splinter who was also known as Hamato Yoshi, April, Irma, the Neutrons, and Vernon watched in varying degrees of sadness as their new friends turned around and walked into the dark blue vortex and disappeared.

End… Possibly.

Authoress' Notes: I'm so SO sorry about not updating QTi1990 in nearly a year; Life just didn't want to play nicely with me. Hopefully, this'll make up for everything.

I think this chapter turned out nicely, but it was sad at the end. Officially, this story is finished; but, I am thinking about doing a Epilogue. However, I am marking this story as finished on the site. Not a very action-y read, but I felt this to be more of an emotional chapter; not common for the Turtle-verse.

Thanks goes out to all of my lovely, patient readers and reviewers; the Chronicles wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you all.

Please Read and Review; the more reviews an Author/ess receives on a story, the more and quicker s/he is spurred to write. I accept all reviews: Comment, Compliment, and Criticism (preferably Constructive Criticism); I accept Flames, but nothing with swearing in it, since the Default Profanity Filter is on my reviews.

Cowabunga,

Laura a.k.a. uncutetomboy