Gavin was... disquieted. Bella could be a passionate woman. Ravenous, even. But she'd been more... enthusiastic than ever since receiving the news from her doctor. She seemed excited about this evening, and Gavin had to admit that the effect on his wife was exciting him as well.

Still, he couldn't quite chase the voice inside his head that whispered words of warning. He'd spent most of his life chasing women, seducing women, and when he'd found his world suddenly shifted to Bella, he'd cut himself off harshly and permanently from thoughts of pursuing others. 

And now, there was another woman waiting for him in their bedroom.

Walking inside the music began and he felt some combination of being trapped and being excited. He was used to action, and being pinned in one place was making him feel like... prey. On the one hand, Bella seemed like she was ready to walk into an amusement park. But Gavin also felt keenly for the first time in years that there was something threatening his partnership with Bella- and it would have to be navigated carefully. Their lives had been at risk countless times- but their relationship had been safe for years. Still, even that came with a certain unknowable element of risk. And he'd never shied away from that.

He tried to think of the last time his life had been at a crossroads like this, and all he could think of was Chicago. He'd arrived for that meeting a determined bachelor, and when he'd left Bella's company he'd been... changed. Almost against his will. Could the same thing happen tonight, with Gavin waking up tomorrow spun out again into the universe, on the prowl for another woman? Another good time? He'd found himself surprised in Chicago, risking everything and "losing", looking down into the face of a woman that he had suddenly realized he loved. He didn't want to change either, but he still sensed the fault-line that he and Bella sat on: tonight would either cement their partnership or begin to dissolve it. Despite that, he'd never been particularly good at resisting temptation, and he wasn't sure he could stand up and walk out of the room now even if his brain told him to.

Faith was beautiful; there was no denying that. Objectively, he had to admit that she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, and he looked at her like a boy looking at a fire, debating whether or not it was worth playing with it. She was a graceful dancer, using the fans quickly to hide and reveal tantalizing glimpses of her body. Bella seemed ready to pop out of the chair and tackle the woman, and for a moment Gavin wondered if he hadn't miscalculated. If Bella and Faith were emotionally close... would Bella be the one to walk out of the room needing something more than Gavin could provide?

Her response now wasn't exactly reassuring to him; he could see her in her chair, hands twisted in her lap, and a familiar look of lust in her eyes- she was nearly drunk with it as Faith approached her and the blonde let her fans fall to the floor. Faith continued the dance, even after the music had stop, climbing on Bella and beginning a slow, ponderous process of removing the raven haired woman's clothing. When Faith kissed Bella, holding his wife's lower lip, Gavin was torn between wanting to take a picture and wanting to intervene, the way he would when Bella was approached at a bar. Still, he stayed frozen, rarely choosing inaction over action, as Faith stepped back and led his wife to the bed. Bella seemed gone, lifted to another world, as Faith began tracing her tongue down Bella's neck and raised her knee between Bella's thighs. 

His wife's moan jolted Gavin back to reality and he shifted in his chair. He stood, stripping as he walked toward the bed, tensing as time slowed down and he recognized another linchpin moment in his life. He suddenly saw the future branching out before him, seeing clearly where his decisions would lead them.

Walking toward the bed, Gavin couldn't help but look at Faith. He would go to Bella first of course, but if he focused on Faith as the night went on... well, who could blame him? He could easily defend himself with the novelty of it. He indulged his imagination for a few moments, seeing all the ways that he would use Faith's body; a woman who wanted to run an outfit of courtesans would be experienced, of course, but Gavin had always loved laying with experienced women. There was that moment... that one moment, where all their expectations were shattered, and he succeeded in breaking through their facade to surprise them. Bella would notice his focus, of course, and work to earn it back- she might even succeed, challenge to do 'better' than Faith had done. Two women, competing with each other for his pleasure, in every sense of the word. It would be an amazing night... too amazing, perhaps. Gavin wouldn't suggest for a while, waiting for Bella to do so. When he did bring it up again, would she question whether she was enough? She'd be up for it, most likely, at least at first- saying no would be revealing her own insecurities... and Gavin would be back on the prowl, looking to introduce new 'third parties'. How much of a slippery slope would it be from Bella selecting someone to Gavin selecting someone? And as Gavin moved through life now appraising every beautiful woman he met as the next potential "third", how long until he decided to simply take what one of them was already offering? Bella would forgive him. And if it became a habit? Well, as long as he kept it away from home... hadn't Bella said in so many words before, that as long as she didn't know...

He backed away from that path as he perceived it, his anger briefly flaming for a moment at Bella. She'd had no idea how much fire she had been playing with, and for a moment he was tempted to burn down their life just to show her.

Taking a deep breath, Gavin instead touched Faith's arm gently, only to get her to move, as he locked his eyes on his wife. He could feel Faith's eyes on him as she turned toward him, her hand outstretched for him, as he deftly-without making it seem too intentional- avoided her as he came to his wife. They were both greedy, and Gavin channeled his love, his lust, his anger, and most of all his fear into his wife. Perhaps that was why Chicago kept coming to mind: fear. Fear of a night that changed his life against his previous will. 

"Say it."  He whispered bending down to kiss her neck. She writhed under him for a moment, forcing him to repeat it, until she finally made the connection. As soon as she began to say "Please", he finally relaxed his control and, giving into temptation, threw himself at his wife.

***

"Ya know... when Bella invited me in here, I didn't think I'd be watching."

Gavin was standing, pacing around the bedroom with restless energy that still filled him even after he and Bella had finished. His wife was in the shower, needing some time to "cool off". He was wearing his shorts, but nothing else. He could feel Faith's eyes on him; she seemed to aesthetically approve of lean muscle and scars, but didn't seem too personally interested in the same way she was with Bella.

Gavin, despite his prior feelings, smirked. Rolling around with Bella had mellowed him out a bit, and he forced himself to sit down and relax.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Well, I didn't say that. The two of you even gave me a couple of ideas for future clients."

Faith was laying on her side on the bed, naked and facing Gavin. He had no trouble meeting her eyes, but she smirked as she could tell he was refusing to glance down at her body. He was smiling, but his voice was dry and serious.

"Happy to assist."

"Do you not like me?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not looking at me. And most men, when presented with two naked women, beautiful women, wouldn't simply fuck their wives silly and make the other woman watch. So what else am I to think except that you don't like me?"

Gavin allowed himself a single wolfish grin as his icy eyes bore into Faith's.

"Just the opposite, actually. Have you ever heard the expression 'giving a drunk a drink'?"

Faith nodded slowly as he continued.

"Well, you're a particularly tempting drink."

"Then why say yes at all?"

"Bella. And I can't admit to being a little... tempted. When I agreed to this, I wasn't sure how it would go."

Faith spun on the bed, crawling toward Gavin on her hands and knees before laying on her stomach and resting on her elbows, lacing her ankles in the air. She smirked wickedly, as she finally got a sense of exactly what, and who, she was dealing with.

"Ooo. And now you know how this is going to go, hmm? Is that why you encouraged Izzy to take a shower?"

Gavin just smiled for a while, finding his center before he spoke.

"I like you, Faith. You're fun as hell, and I'm inclined to like any friend of Bella's. As it stands right now, you're going to get all the money you want to set up this new 'project' of yours..."

Gavin leaned forward, his poker face betraying nothing as they both listened to the shower through the closed door of the bathroom for a while.

"... when my wife walks out of there, we're going to give her the best night of her life. I want her so exhausted and satisfied that she sleeps until dinner. I have ideas... as I'm sure you do... what we can do to her. This isn't your first time in something like this, and it's not mine either."

His voice grew slightly colder and more serious.

"But I want to make it very clear to you that if you touch me tonight, you're not only not going to get your money, but I'm going to have one of the most powerful information brokers in the country work tirelessly to ruin you. Let's have fun... but that's my line. Agreed?"

Faith let her legs fall back onto the bed as she sighed.

"Agreed. Of course. Hate to burst your bubble, but you're not really my type."

Gavin finally allowed himself a smile as he poured three glasses of champagne and handed one to Faith.

"I know. But you're mine."

"Blonde?"

"Beautiful."

Faith grinned as the shower cut off and she and Gavin simultaneously downed their champagne. The conversation had been more confrontational than Gavin had intended, but he'd rather err on the side of knowing how serious he was. Knowing how clearly the line had been drawn, Gavin found himself relaxing and chatting with Faith. When Bella emerged, she saw her old friend and her husband sitting in chairs waiting for her; both of them grinned wickedly at her.

Bella had seemed a bit reticent when she emerged, as if she had half expected to walk into the bedroom and find Faith and Gavin rolling around together. But as she followed their instructions and sat on the bed across from them, she grinned as she looked between them.

"And what have you two been talking about?"

Faith replied.

"What we're going to do to you."

Bella leaned back on the bed, smiling wickedly as the last few droplets of water traced pathways down her body.

"And what are you going to do to me?"

This time, Gavin answered as he and Faith both stood up and moved toward Bella.

"Everything."

The warm wind tempted her to lay back and sleep again.  She'd been kept up all night and her limbs were heavy with weariness even after the short nap in the car. 

"Sleepy or thinking?"

"Both."  she said smiling, still not opening her eyes.  He didn't ask her what she was thinking about, perhaps because it was all things that didn't need to be said, but she wanted him to know and so she kept talking.

"I think that this is what my heaven will be like."  She smiled.  "You and me on a warm sunny day that we never grow tired of and never ends.  Just lazing about in fields of tall grass.  A steady breeze keeping it from being too hot.  An endless bounty of good food and wine - with nothing to trouble us.  Whatever terrible thing that took us so far from us that it's not even a thought or forgotten nightmare.  I just feel like I could fade away into nothing right now and that would be okay."

She sighed, seeming to end her sharing for a long moment before admitting, "I'm so impossibly happy right now." 

She gave in and laid back on the blanket.  She opened her eyes to see huge fluffy clouds racing by. 

"Will you get my sketch pad and pencils?"  She asked him.  

Gavin didn't say a word, merely rose and walked off, back towards the car.  For a long while, she listened to the sounds of bugs, birds, and wind through the grass.  She stared up at the endless blue sky, comparing it to the blue in Gavin's eyes, wondering if their child would have such eyes of beautiful blue.

It wasn't long until he returned with the book and Bella sat up.  

"We're gonna be here a bit?"  

"Yeah."  She said, already sharpening a pencil.

Gavin nodded towards the car, clearly indicating to their companions they could relax and settle in for a wait. 

Looking up at Gavin she gave him a smile and then, her face became intensely focused.  

"Do I need to hold still?"

"Well, don't get up and dance or anything... but talking and eating is okay."

He nodded and then, for nearly twenty minutes, Bella said nothing.

"I imagined last night somewhat differently."  He didn't need to ask how he knew the statement was made as an introduction to a conversation which she was likely to dominate and so, silence fell between them again for a short time.

"You asked me, six years ago, to teach you about love and being in a relationship."  She chuckled, smudging a shadow into place, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth.  She pushed a raven lock behind her ear, getting a bit of black on her cheekbone.

"No can plan for love.  And even if they do... those plans are useless when it finds you."  She said looking into Gavin's eyes in a way she never had before and then, she turned back down to the paper.

"Chicago."  She said without more explanation than that - again silence hanging between them.

Gavin relaxed on the hillside. It was peaceful... he glanced around, looking at the hills and fields draped in yellow and gold. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Kassandra had leaned back against a wooden fence and fallen asleep, lightly snoring. Gavin propped himself up on his elbow, reclining next to Bella. 

He wanted to disagree with her... but she wasn't wrong. This was close to perfect.

 It was a bit strange, sitting there knowing that Bella was drawing him. But few men were as content with silence as Gavin was, even as he listened to her comments about relationships. 

"And how did you imagine last night? I hope this isn't your way of telling me that you just fell for Faith the way I fell for you in Chicago..."

He smirked.

Bella laughed not looking up from her paper.

"No, god damn it."  she chided him mockingly.  "I was trying to tell you what you've taught me about love."  

She sighed, a smile still pasted on her face.

"I stupidly imagined that we'd go in together, that she'd dance her dance and you'd ... have your way with her.  Enthusiastically."  She smirked.  "I would be there with her, loving you all through it and then ... well, you would have been satisfied.  You'd walk away attributing your carnal bliss to me and my gift... not her and her gifts.  That it might have shown you something about the depth of my love for you then you'd know I had this utter unflappable belief in the indestructible nature of this thing we've become."

She shakes her head and looks up at Gavin, not into his eyes but at them really, before looking back down and carefully putting down lines.  "Stupidly was the key word there."

Bella smirked. 

"So, before you asked your question, I was starting to explain to you all these lessons that I've learned from you over the course of our relationship and how you taught me something new last night.  I was also going to tell you what a fucking travesty it is that you doubted how much you knew about love when we first started down this road."

She looked up, this time into his eyes, "Because I've never met anyone with more sense of who they are and what they're about than you... and almost everything I've managed to learn about love, I've learned by loving you.  Not the other way around."

Gavin smiled. There wasn't much to say to respond to that.

"I learned along with you, I suppose. How do I look?"

He pointed toward the sketchpad.

"I can never capture you."  She says looking at the paper disappointed. 

"I swear I've been able to put every person I've ever known to paper, but not you.  It's not for lack of trying.  I've drawn you everywhere and in every way.  I notebooks full of sketches of you... doing all manner of things, but they're all wrong.  It's your eyes.  They're never right in my portraits.  I just can't grab hold of the light in them.  It's like trying to hold water in my hands.  I mean, I can see it. I can picture it perfectly in my mind, but when it's on the paper it's like its..."

She struggles to find the right word settling on, " ... trapped.  I feel like you're not there, like it's how some describes you, not how you really are.  It's similar but I know there's something missing and while I've kept them all to see my progress and skill growing... I hate them.  It's why I've never shown them to you.  I draw others and they're just alive on the page, but it's like you just don't want to be there."

She sighs.  "Here, I'll show you."

She turns the paper towards Gavin and revealed an image that takes up three-quarters of the page.  His chest on up to the top of his head is featured.  His hair is drawn so well that the motion of the wind in his hair, above in the clouds, and through the tall bits of grass and wheat distantly behind him can almost be felt. 

The smirk Gavin is so known for is on his face, but his eyes are almost serene.  There's something there that isn't when Gavin looks in the mirror at himself.  Something that doesn't quite fit with that smirk.  It's tempting to say immediately that's the problem, but as he looks at it, the expression begins to make sense.  Of course, he never sees that look in the mirror... it's how he's been looking at Bella.  In truth her talent has grown wildy since she'd done the sketch of William.  If she hadn't been a mobster, she might have found a career in the arts because the man lightly drawn on the page is, contrary to her own harsh opinion, unmistakably Gavin.

"It's worse in the ones I draw from memory."  She says disappointed.  "Though, I do like some of them.  The ones where I don't draw your eyes... their magic.  But I want to draw you like this so... it's a little frustrating.  I guess I'll just have to keep trying."  

She chuckled dryly, "Aurora won't have a shortage of pictures of you when we're gone, that's for sure... even if they aren't quite as I'd like them."

"I can never capture you."

Bella's disappointment was matched by Gavin's grin. Gavin looked at her with his head tilted as he talked, struck by the way the soft sunlight seemed to illuminate her face. Standing, he excused himself back to the car, telling the driver and the other man to take a ride. Returning to Bella in the secluded countryside, with only the lightly snoring Kassandra for company, he saw that she'd pulled out a larger sketch of him.

Gavin was silent for a long time as he looked at it, eventually breaking out into the genuine grin that sometimes overpowered his smirk. 

"I love it. I love you."

He didn't say it as often as other men, but he always loved Bella's reaction when he did: her eyes snapped up to him and she beamed. 

"But if you don't think it's a good enough likeness, I'll have to give you something else to remember me by."

He ran his hand up Bella's thigh and kissed her, before moving his tongue to her earlobe and whispering two words.

"Slowly. Please."

After a few moments, and some adjustments with their clothing and the blanket beneath him, Bella climbed on top of him and took his face in her hands to kiss him as her hips began to move rhythmically. 

Rarely, Gavin closed his eyes. When he opened them to see his wife- to feel his wife- surrounded by the green and gold fields and pleasant breezes... well, he might have believed Bella's earliest statement about heaven.

It was dark when the car finally pulled up to Stella's home.  They were meant to be there by dinner, but they'd long since past that deadline and both Gavin and Bella were drunk on the last of the wine from the picnic basket.  

As Kassandra opened the car door for Bella she and Gavin stumbled out, laughing far louder than was 'polite.'

"If you could have seen the look on that Moose's face!"  Bella laughed so hard she snorted.

"He started it."  Gavin asserted, laughing and stumbling a step.  

"I'm sure there is some law against assaulting innocent moose that you violated, Mister."

"Innocent?  Do you know what I paid for that car?"

Kassandra pulled the Byrne's bags out of the trunk, smirking at the two's antics.

"STELLA!"  Gavin called out loudly.

"SHHHH!"  Bella said in a too loud 'whisper' voice.  "You're gonna wake everyone up!"

"She won't mind - STELLA WE'RE HERE!"

Bella laughed.  

"Pretty sure they know we're here,"  Kassandra said pointing to a light that had come on in a window by the door.  Someone was coming out, whether they'd be happy to see the drunken Mr. and Mrs. Byrne had yet to be seen.

Stella had been awake for hours- not unusual for her. She couldn't sleep, even if she'd wanted to, for excitement of seeing Gavin and Bella again. Travel plans were fickle, so she knew that there was a chance they wouldn't arrive by dinner. She liked to be prepared for any scenario, so she had two plates of food warming in their villa, along with a basket of fruits, nuts, and cheeses. 

The headlights of a car illuminated the windows of the study. Stella grinned and grabbed her cane, walking briskly to the door and turning on a few lights in the house on the way. She heard Gavin's distinct voice holler into the night. Laughing quietly, she looked to the butler.

"Roberto, coffee, please."

An older, distinguished looking gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair nodded and made off for the kitchen. Stella's slippered feet padded across the black and white marble floor of the front entryway, and she turned on the brass carriage lights at the front door, then opened it.

"Benvenuto, my friends!  I'm so happy you're here!"

She stepped down the two front steps and approached Bella first to give her a hug. They both had obviously been enjoying wine, by the grins on their faces and the rosiness in their cheeks. She hugged Bella tightly.

"I've missed you!  Come, come inside. Roberto has coffee going.  We'll chat and then I'll show you to your villa."

As Stella hugged Bella first, Gavin couldn't help but smirk. Deja vu all over again...

He reached an arm around Stella and gave her a friendly, one armed hug.

"Thank you for the invitation, Stella. Really good to see you again."

Bella kissed Stella's cheeks and greeting her in Italian, "And so we find the Angels in our Heaven." 

Bella then switched to English as she stepped back to let Gavin greet his old friend.

"It's so good to see you again, Stella." 

As they went inside the house she continued in English, "I'm so sorry we're late.  We took a picnic lunch in the countryside and once I broke out my sketchbook I think we were doomed.  When I get to work, well, there is absolutely nothing Gavin could do to stop me.  I'm afraid once I start on something I enjoy, I'm there until I'm done."

When Stella wasn't looking she gave Gavin a wink and promptly failed to stifle a giggle brought on by the wine and memories.  She tried to go back to being serious, knowing how silly they must look so drunk on the alcohol and each other.

"I really can't get over how beautiful it is here!  Marie always told me about the Old Country but I figured everyone is fond of their home and speaks highly of it... obviously, I should have listened to her more and come here a lot sooner."

They were taken to a lovely table where coffee was brought out for everyone.  "I hope we didn't keep you up too late?  What time is it?"

Ushering them inside, Stella shook her head.

"Not at all, I'm something of a night owl anyway. It's just a quarter past midnight, anyway."

Stella took the cup of coffee Roberto poured for her and added just a touch of sugar and cream.

"Everyone is so excited to meet you. Sienna tried to stay up late, but she couldn't make it, silly girl. Oh, and I can't wait for you to meet the baby. Emmaline is her name, but we call her Emmi. She is adorable and just a little joy. But you'll meet everyone tomorrow at brunch, around eleven in the morning."

Glancing to Gavin, she smirked.

"I'm glad you two enjoyed your trip out here. The Estate is yours to roam as you please. Tomorrow, after brunch, I'll give you a personal tour of the grounds, and you'll have a car and driver at your disposal. I can't wait to show you the villa you'll be staying in.  It's the one I used to stay in, but it's been remodeled as I would like all of the villas to look when we launch the resort. It's got everything you could need- kitchen, spacious bedroom, bathroom with marble everything, a porch that looks out over the vineyards, and more."

Bella seemed to sober up slightly at the mention of the car to take them places, as if she had suddenly remembered something utterly important she'd put completely out of her mind.

"The DiCaprio vineyards."  She spoke up.  "I have some business there.  If your driver knows the way, I'd like to get that out of the way tomorrow so we can focus on other things."  

She reached her hand out and put it on Gavin's leg.

"I don't suppose I could impose upon you to impart anything you know about that family and their business?  If it's something you can't speak of, I understand.  I'm told they have a long reach and I wouldn't want you to do anything to offend them."

Stella's eyes glanced up from her coffee cup with surprise.

"You know the DiCaprio family?  I see Donna DiCaprio from time to time in the plaza or market. She seems to be doing alright, but old age isn't being terribly kind to her. I think she's been struggling with a hip problem. But the vineyards are still running. I see the boys more often. I actually make it a point to visit her once a month and bring her some of Carmela's cookies. We chat a bit and have coffee. She knew my godmother Sofia very well, and also Zia Regina. She's a proud woman, and she is very serious about protecting the poorer families around. I don't know how she manages it all."

Putting the cup down on a saucer, Stella reaches for a chocolate biscotti.

"But, of course, Angelo knows the way and will be happy to take you at any time you like."

A man dressed in a suit rounds the corner into the kitchen. Stella grins and gestures to Gavin.

"Ah, Paul, I'm glad you're up.  You remember Gavin Byrne. Bella, this is Paul Manno, my absolute most trusted guard. He's been with me since my days in Philadelphia."

The man was tall and built like a brick house. Even his handshake was intimidating. Stella got up and poured him a cup of coffee.  She smiled like she hadn't smiled in years. She loved her adopted family dearly, but having friends here made the palatial old house feel warmer.

Bella smiled at Stella indicated she knew the DiCaprio family and she knew their Matriarch.  All of this spoke to a better discovery than she feared she might make upon arriving here.  Whatever had happened, in some form the family of LuckyLucy and Frank-DiCaprio was still operating here in the Old Country and there had been someone for Sonny to return to.  Freed of some of her fears, she smiled at the large man who was introduced and shook his hand with a chuckle.

"You're a big one... lord he's bigger than Neil!"  Her smile touched the corners of her brown eyes and then she yawned.  "Oh dear, I'm sorry."  She blinked away her sleepiness and said, "It's been a very long last two days... honestly, I'm hardly certain to tell where one ended and the other began or if I'm not really sleeping and this is all part of a lovely dream."

She smiled at Stella.

"Do you have a phone here?  I should call and check in on Aurora before we rest.  It'll be daytime there."

"Yes, of course, come with me."

She lead Bella from the kitchen through the hallway and into the study where she'd been reading before they arrived. There was a large, oak desk, a few leather arm chairs, and bookshelves filled with all sorts of literature. 

"The phone is on the desk. Please take all the time you need, and whenever you are ready, Paul and I will take you both down to the Villa and settled in for the night."

With that, Stella slipped out and closed the door slightly, giving Bella some privacy. Paul was waiting outside the door.

"You still planning on seeing Marconi today?"

Stella looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I think so, but I'm going to make him wait. Don't want him thinking I give him any sort of priority."

Paul smirked, shaking his head.

"Still don't see why you don't just let me handle it. He's a punk, not even worth your time."

"That may be true, but he needs to know that I don't hide behind my men."

They returned to the kitchen where Gavin was into his second cup. Stella took the seat across from him and smiled, not saying anything for a while.

"I'm glad to see you here again. You can actually enjoy your stay this time, huh?"

Two rings and the phone picked up.  A moment later and Aurora was on the line. 

"MOM!" She squealed.  "I miss you!"

"I miss you too, sweetie.  How have you been?  Are you being good for Aunt Tara?"

"Aunt Tara took me to lunch with the bankers.  She said I helped her close the deal.  I'm gonna be just like her when I grow up."

Bella pulled her wallet out of her purse and looked at her daughter's photo as she listened.  "I have no doubt."

"Have you got me anything yet?"

Bella chuckled.  "We're working on it."

"John says all they have is grapes in Italy, is that true?"

"They have olives too."  Bella joked.  "How's Linval holding up?"

"I think he's bored.  He doesn't play house as well as Neil."

"And Neil, how is he?"

"I'm letting him be the dad today.  He's out working.  Linval is playing the bad guy this time.  Aunt Tara and I bet cookies on whether Neil will catch Linval first or if it will be the other way this time."

"Sounds like you've been getting Aunt Tara to let her hair down a bit."

"Most of the time it's up."  Aurora remarked.  "Wanna know about my tooth?"

"Sure."

"I lost it and the tooth fairy gave me a whole dollar for it."

"The tooth fairies at Aunt Tara's house are pretty generous."

"Wanna know how I lost it?"

Bella hesitated.  

"I jumped off the swings and I was flying.  Aunt Tara actually screamed real loud and like twenty guys came out of NOW WHERE!  It was the bee's knees!  Aunt Tara thought I broke my arm, but I didn't.  I told her I'm super tough and I don't break easy."

Bella sighed.  "You're so much like your father, you know that?"

"Thanks, mom!  When are you coming home?  Is it a bunch of days still?  Will you be home for my birthday?"

"We'll be home in time for your birthday but not many days before I'm afraid.  It's a very long trip... we've only just arrived here actually."

"Whatcha gonna do there?"

Bella paused, "Well... ride horses, go exploring a bit, maybe even go fishing.  Visit distant family and some friends... your dad's friend Stella is here.  We're staying with her.  And I'm is going to visit a young man named Santino DiCaprio and see how he's doing.  We haven't seen each other in a while and I've been thinking a lot about him lately."

"Tell Stella and Santino I said hi."  

Bella chuckled, "I will and..."  Bella stifled a yawn.  "I'll have your dad call tomorrow during the day.  Okay?  It's very late at night here so I need to get some sleep."

"Okay mom.  I love you."

"I love you too sweetie."

Gavin, as tired as Stella ever saw him without a war involved, grinned at Stella.

"I enjoyed my last stay as well, with the exception of all the people trying to kill you. Even that was going well until the end."

He shrugged, the smile slipping off his face and falling to the floor. 

"I'm really glad you're okay. Up and about. "

He nodded silently for a moment, then looked at her seriously.

"Tell me about your recovery?"

Stella sat up in her chair, then leaned over the table to look him squarely in the eye.

"Wait, Gavin. We're going to clear the air on this right now, because I don't want this hanging over your head another second. There was nothing- absolutely nothing- that you could have done to stop what happened to me. None of us could have known about the leak. I thought I could trust every one of those men, and that's on me. Everything you did, every plan you made and every move you made kept me alive and saved lots of others.  Trust me, I've gone over it all in my head a thousand times.  If you hadn't done exactly what you did, I wouldn't be here at all."

Whether it was the remainder of the wine or the sting of the memories, she could see in his clear blue eyes that he wasn't convinced. 

"Listen to me, Gavin. Life has a funny way of giving us what we need, exactly when we don't think we need it.  I was young and took so many risks, not thinking of the consequences of any of it.  I was a child living the life of a rich woman. Now, I'm a little older and a lot smarter. I learned what real struggle is. I learned how to fight without the convenience of using a gun. I learned how to fight with my heart and my will. I don't think that lesson would have stuck so well without having lost something important to me.  Like my ability to walk..."

She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Or you. When you left...I all but gave up. I didn't think I'd ever feel the same way for anyone that I felt for you. Marco wanted to be more than friends, but every time I looked at him, all I saw was you. It was that way for a while, even though I told myself you wouldn't have been happy tied down with me. But time heals, Gavin.  I promise. You and I...it was what I needed then; and I'm so grateful for that time."

Stella picked up her coffee cup and took a sip.

"Recovery has been an adventure of it's own. I've gained more upper body strength than I thought possible for a woman my size. It's amazing what you can learn to do when you're too stubborn to ask for help. I finally grew out of that, too. I know my limits, and I've adapted.  Walking is somewhat painful, but I refuse to sit for my entire life if I have the ability to take a few steps here and there. The cane helps ease some of that. I still use a wheelchair sometimes, mostly at night if I've been up too much. But, I'm doing more than anyone thought I'd ever do again."

Her smile was soft, but genuine as she looked at Gavin once more.

"Promise me you'll let it go. Promise me that you will forgive yourself.  It's time."

Gavin shrugged, but walking back into the vineyard had disturbed some things he'd tried to bury.

"Stella, you got shot and I was there. There's no argument in the world that will convince me I couldn't have done something more to help. If I'd gone and taken down Carlito myself, you wouldn't have had the need to bring in extra help in the first place. I'm glad you've found so much strength in your recovery... but I wouldn't be so hard on the person you were. You took risks, yea, but you didn't have to have to learn that lesson quite so hard."

If anything, he felt worse as he heard the emotional damage he'd caused. He'd cared deeply for Stella, but his guilt and the distance between them had been too much for him to bridge. And then after he'd met Bella... but his mind was lightened once again as he listened to Stella.

'I'm glad you're feeling better, even though there are still challenges."

He grew quiet and thoughtful for a moment.

"You know... and I'm sure you're sick of hospitals and doctors... but if you wanted to try it... well, you're smart enough not to hope for miracles- at least a larger miracle than you've already accomplished. But while I'm not sure anything can fully get your mobility back, maybe there's a way to at least reduce the pain? I have a... well, former colleague who's a doctor. She worked in the business for a while, but wound up bolting with one of Race Street's captains to get out of the life and raise a family. She's somewhere around here. Italy? Sicily? Tara might know. Or Bella. But she's the smartest doc I'd heard of, and maybe there's something she could do to help you out. Like I said, she's out of the business, but technically so are you- and maybe she'd help for old time's sake."

"And I can't promise to let it go. I don't make promises I can't keep. But I promise to try."