Raphael heard about Taylor on the news only a few days after his rescue. It wasn't specifically stated that it was her, but he knew. The news story recounted almost every detail of the Purple Dragon member that turned herself in.

He has to admit, he didn't think that she was going to go to the police station. She had been so afraid of it before.

A week or so after her arrest, the Hamato Clan sees a news story in action. They watch the Mutacorp building from afar, surrounded by police cars with officers guarding the perimeter. Raphael can't help but smirk at the sight of Dr. Sabrian being shoved into a police car, complaining and shouting the entire time. Many of the other scientists are taken to the cars while others are kept outside, being interviewed by news stations and officers alike. Destiny points out Hanovitz among the latter group and while not overjoyed, the team can't help but feel a little bit of relief.

Apparently, Sabrian planned for the press to arrive on this day to document his discoveries. Instead, the cameras and microphones captured his downfall.

"So that's the end of Mutacorp," Leonardo says as he moves to perch next to Raphael.

Raphael eyes him sideways. "Yup. I bet it helped that they had a few spies on the inside."

The brothers linger at the scene. Hanovitz nods to a police officer and they lead her to one of the cars, although she isn't cuffed. Raphael allows himself a moment to wonder what will become of her and another moment to wish her luck. Behind him, his team starts back towards home.

"Raph, you coming?" Leonardo asks.

Raphael sighs and gets to his feet, tearing his eyes away from the scene. "Yeah," he says. Leonardo starts to walk away. "Hey, uh...Leo?"

"Yeah?" He turns to face him with a calm smile.

The red-masked brother rubs the back of his neck. "I don't think I ever apologized for what I said," he says. "Y'know, during our fight? I'm sorry."

Leonardo's eyes widen, he blinks, then his expression melts into teasing. "Wait...what?" he asks, reaching a hand to his ear.

Raphael shoves him with a small laugh. "You heard me."

Another smile. "Thank you, Raph. I'm sorry for how I acted too."

They rejoin their family, leaving Mutacorp behind for good.

----------

In the coming weeks, April and Casey keep the turtles updated on Taylor's court case. It goes smoothly, they tell them. She pleads guilty to most of the charges presented, but thanks to a history of abuse within the gang and the fact that she is trying to get out, her final judgement wasn't as harsh.

"Probation," Casey says. He doesn't look up from the TV screen, game remote buttons clicking. "I think the dude said it was going to be a year, maybe less if she stays on good behaviour."

"Wow," Michelangelo murmurs, narrowing his eyes as he swerves his character expertly. "Sounds scary."

"Better than jail. Good thing Tay wasn't involved in any crime before the Dragons. April said that can affect the sentence."

Michelangelo glances towards the kitchen as their race ends, where he can see April telling the others about what's going on. Raphael is the only one missing, still practicing in the dojo.

"So what happens to her now?" Michelangelo asks.

Casey shrugs. "She wears an ankle tracker thing, she obeys every law there is, she reports to a probation officer, and...I don't know, life goes on?" He purses his lips. "It's her new start, I guess."

"Yeah...I hope so."

----------

Days pass in a whirlwind for Taylor. After her sentence, she begins the long process of getting her life back on track. Step one was to find a place to live. Her old townhouse was repossessed soon after she ran away and, as she later found out, all her remaining belongings were packed up and put in a storage container that was paid for by the closest available family member: Taylor's Tía Carmela and Tío Héctor, her papá's sister and brother in law currently living in New Mexico.

Taylor stays in a halfway house in the city while the tougher things get figured out. With a dad in jail and a mother halfway across the world, options are slim. Furthermore, the circumstances of her probation forbid her to leave the city.

It isn't too long before her probation officer finds some good news to tell her. The same aunt and uncle who so diligently paid for the storage container are willing to come and take care of her. Taylor has to admit, she's shocked that they would care so much. She only has a few poignant memories of them, nice ones at least. She agrees to the idea, already far too eager to get back into a real home.

Taylor listens to her tía chatter away on the other end of the phone, slipping in and out of Spanish as she goes. She tells Taylor all about how they've been planning to move closer to her "pequeño hermano estúpido" ever since she found out about his jail sentence. While most of her talk is sprinkled with encouragement, Carmela takes a good chunk of time to tell Taylor off for being so foolish as to run away.

"Do you know what kind of infierno you put us through? You and Jack are all we have left, chiquita. You think we don't care?"

"I know, tía. I know," Taylor mumbles, guilt making her feel heavier by the second. She'd be lying if she said she had given even a second of thought to them before she ran.

"Well, it's okay now. Your tío and I have been ready to move for ages and now we have a good reason again. We will see you soon, nena!"

"Sí, adiós, Tía Carmela."

The days go faster.

She stays in the halfway house until her family arrives, after which they move into a townhouse not far from where Taylor used to live. Carmela can't seem to get over what a lucky break they got with getting the place, talking about it constantly. Héctor is more soft-spoken and resorts to signing to Taylor whenever he turns off his hearing aids.

"You did not turn them off again," Carmela gasps, wide brown eyes on her husband as she grips the moving box in her arms tighter. "Héctor..."

He smiles and signs to her about how even he thinks she talks too much sometimes. "I don't want to hear you all the time, mi corazón," he teases. She starts ranting in Spanish and he winks at Taylor, making a few funny faces as he waves his hands about.

Taylor reminds herself to brush up on her ASL even as she breaks into a tiny smile at his antics. This is going to be okay, she tells herself over and over again. I am okay. I will be okay.

----------

Raphael expected it to be easier to get over her, but he isn't so lucky. He thinks of her multiple times a day, try as he might to avoid conversations involving her, and it just makes it worse. He hears a song playing and he thinks of her voice. He finds himself taking detours during patrol just so he can try to catch a glimpse of her.

Sometimes, he thinks he can hear her singing.

He checks their rooftop but she never goes there anymore. It makes sense, her probation officer would probably notice if she started climbing buildings in the dead of night. He stops going there too. It's too painful.

She goes back to school, wearing clothes that cover her tattoo, dealing with the whispers that accompany her every step with her head held high. Casey and April are the only ones who stick by her side and help her feel normal again, whether that's with studying or something simpler like walking home with her.

She stays up late every night, finishing homework and doing her extra e-courses, just trying to catch up with the material she missed after grade nine. When she finishes, she goes and sits by her window and watches the rooftops in hopes that she'll see him. He never shows. She closes her curtains and goes to sleep with her tear-soaked pillow.

Eventually, she forces herself to come to terms with the fact that maybe he didn't feel the same way that she did. She stops looking for him and tries to focus on getting enough rest. She misses being around him every day.

Red represents the best thing to ever happen to her and in turn, the biggest mistake she ever made.

She tries to go out with other guys, but between studying, extracurriculars, and whatever else, it never works out. If she tried, she could find someone else. She doesn't want someone else.

He sees her with other guys. She looks better, healthier, a little more hopeful. He doesn't want to admit how much it hurts to not be a part of her life anymore and he hopes that one day, things will be different.

Right now, he isn't so sure.

End of Book Four