"Oh Billy."  She said leaning in to kiss his cheek before sitting down. 

"It smells amazing!"  She spread the napkin across her lap.

"Gavin's really missing out."  She smirked.  "When he hears I had this for dinner tonight he's going to be totally jealous he and Will are eating whatever carry out they probably dug up tonight."

She smiled and waited for Billy to serve the meal onto their plates before bowing her head for grace - which, she allowed him to again lead.  There was something nice about a man at the head of the table leading prayer over dinner.  She always wished Gavin had come around on the topic of religion but she'd not yet wore the Wolf down and she dreaded that she never would.  She prayed nightly that God was good and forgave Gavin the hardness of his heart towards heaven so that he would be allowed in, because, despite all the wrong they'd done, she would not imagine him in the fires of Hell.

As soon as they were finished with the prayer she eagerly dug into her dinner, savoring every bite.  She smiled at him brightly and between bites she said, "If you've cooked for her... this is probably why she's stuck around.  Good Lord, Billy, if you fail at being a Don you could always have a career as a Chef."

She chuckled.

Billy shook his head.

"No, I haven't. Maybe I'll try that next time I see her. I'm much better at breakfast food. Tomorrow I'll show you if we spend the night anywhere near one another."

He began to eat a bit himself and after a moment he poured another glass of wine as his first was gone.

"I would like to make a deal with you. If you're still asking me to keep an eye on the place for you that is."

He took a sip and another bite. The chicken was not quite as juicy as he would have liked. It was good, but it could have done with a sauce this time to help it along. Next time.

"I need you to take that picture at the bottom of the stairs. Take it away with you. I don't care where, I just can't walk into this place to make sure nothing is wrong and see his face staring back at me. My dad did a lot of good in his life for a lot of people. He did a lot of bad for two people in particular though."

He put down his glass and continued to eat then, letting her come to her decision on her own.

Bella nodded and stood up and walked out to the framed artwork.  When she took the picture off the wall, Billy could easily see, there as no shadow on the wall - no dust.  As if it had only been hung recently.

She walked back to the table and began to open the frame.  She pulled the picture out and held up the art so he could only see the back where, in pencil, she'd written something.

For Billy.  <3

"It's yours to do with as you like.  If you want, I'll burn it.  You can hang it on a dart board if it suits your needs or rip it up... I won't be hurt or offended.  I found this the other day when I got here.  I put it up hoping that I might bring you back here, that you'd see it and want it."

She shrugged.

"You don't need to feel bad."  She rolled up the art.  "I'm the queen of feeling angry at my father... I get not wanting to see his ugly mug or worse to... ruin it.  So... whatever you want or need, we'll do that."

Billy waved his hand.

"I've got an idea. Do you have anything here to draw with? I remember when you and I were in your office you wanted to draw me. What if we replace that picture with your drawing now? I'll put that one in my dad's journal when I get it back."

He finished his glass of wine and took a little more pasta out of the bowl for himself. He filled up her glass and then his own. Nearly emptying the rest of the bottle.

"You don't have to of course, but I thought it would be a nice idea."

Bella nodded.  

"I'll go upstairs and get my art supplies."  

She left the portrait of Marie and Lordian on the table.  As she disappeared into the room at the top right of the stairs, Billy could hear a noise on the front porch followed by a very loud, authoritative knock.

Billy shot bolt upright as soon as he heard the knock. Bella had specifically said that not many people knew about this place and if anyone from her family had come to Detroit with her they would have been there alongside her all day long. Or they would have just walked in.

Billy shot across the house as fast as her could and made it to the bottom of the stairs before he saw the handle of the door start to turn. He reached into his suit jacket as he bounded up the stairs two at a time and then crouched at the top of them guns drawn aimed at the door. It had not yet opened. Bella might have locked it after they walked in after all. She was smart like that. She never let her guard down.

So there he was, crouched waiting for either the door in front of him to open, or the door behind him to open. He hoped and prayed it was Bella's door that opened first. At least then they could plan together how to deal with whatever was on the other side of door number two.

"Billy, did I..."

Bella came out of the room and stopped abruptly when she saw Billy with her father's guns drawn, crouching at the top of the stairs.  Instantly she knew she HAD heard someone knocking and put down her artwork.  

She lowered her voice, "Two people know of this place other than you and I.  One is in LA.  Or he should by now, the other... should be at home with our son in Philly.  But... it's possible either of them could be at the door.  If we hear a key, it's Gavin.  If the person keeps knocking... it might be Joey.  But I swear we should have heard his bike.  It's terribly loud." 

Without taking his eyes off the front door he spoke in hushed tones to interrupt what Bella was saying.

"Wrong. Three. Aurora was here."

He moved slightly to his right so he could try to get a better look through the small window near the top of the door.

"Might be, can't see anyone through the window."

"Wait... what?  Aurora was..."

Knocking again and then, Gavin's voice could be heard.

"BELLA!  IT'S ME!  OPEN THE DOOR."

Isabella froze.  For a moment the blood drained from her face as she wondered what he might have come here tonight.  He wasn't supposed to be here.  

"Oh god..."  She whispered, and then began to move to go down the stairs.

Bill felt Bella move beside him and watched in horror as she made her way down the stairs much faster than he would have liked. He had no choice, he leaped down five stairs and cut her off half way down. He kept his voice as quiet as he could.

"The fuck are you doing?! Get back somewhere safe dammit! If someone other than Gavin is out there they are clearly here for you and not for me right? If it's really Gavin, he has a key right? Why would he just shout for you if he has a key? He'd let himself in. He's not stupid, he's trying to warn you. Get upstairs now!"

He used his frame to block her going down the stairs and further and slowly backed his way up the stairs. Again, he kept his eyes, and his guns on the front door. At least he knew now not to shoot first when it opened. Look for the guy behind Gavin instead of hurting the old man. That could have gone badly if Gavin had just opened the door in the first place.

The key slid into the lock, Gavin turned the knob and opened the door slowly.

"Bella..."  He called out with a bit of caution in his voice.  He did not stand in the open, but to the side of the door and peaked in.  "Bella I'm coming in... don't shoot me for Christ's sake!"

Gavin came in, his gun drawn.  Spotting Billy he sighed.

"Damn it."

He holstered his gun and Billy did the same.

"Gavin?"  Bella called out from upstairs.  "Is everything okay?  Are the kids alright?"

Gavin closed the door behind him as Bella came down the stairs behind Billy.

"Funny you should ask..."  He said, looking back to his wife, blue eyes as cold as iced steel.  

Bella stopped dead in her tracks.  For a moment Mr. and Mrs. Byrne looked at one another.  Gavin lifted his chin slightly.  Bella withered under his gaze.  

"Oh."  She said softly and swallowed.  She glanced to Billy, "Billy my husband and I need to ..."

"No."  Gavin said firmly.

Bella looked back to her husband pleadingly.

"You brought him here."

"It had nothing to do with that."  She insisted.

Gavin stared.  He said nothing, but Bella clearly was going on the defensive.

"I spent the day with Billy because I said I would.  It had nothing to do with ..."  She hesitated and looked to Billy, clearly desperate for him to believe her.  "Today wasn't a lie.  I swear to you.  I wanted to spend the day with you and we had... I had a great time.  Please, please believe me."

"Uh. okay?"

Billy was thoroughly confused. More than he imagined he could be. There was clearly something he was missing a big something.

"Gavin, is everyone ok? Is Aurora ok? And Will? Did I miss something?"

He shuffled his feet a bit not sure what to say or do. He felt like an idiot. Whatever he had missed they both clearly knew, so it had to be something obvious. He hated feeling like he was stupid, but it happened more times than he cared to admit. He was the last person to come to any conclusions about things.

He sighed.

Nothing to it now, he was just going to be dumb and in the dark. Might as well scrounge up what he could of the evening.

"We can talk about it in the kitchen. Bella and I were just having dinner, there's plenty. Come on then. It's weird being the inviting one right now, it's not my house, but obviously you two have something going on, so I'm just gonna be cheery over here and pretend nothing is wrong until someone decides to clue me in."

He smiled a big smile then and made his way toward the kitchen.

"Wine sounds good..."  Bella starts following Billy.

Gavin barked, "Isabella."

Bella froze.  She couldn't remember the last time her husband called her by her given name.  Maybe not since they were dating.

"If he wants to drink with you after, fine.  I'll drink, but not until we all know."

Isabella sighed.

"He's suicidal.  He was going to kill himself."  She said to her husband trying to explain.

"No I'm not."  Billy inserted.

"Not you."  They both turned to Billy and spoke in unison.  Bella and Gavin look back at each other and then Bella looked to Billy.  

"Joey Ferrari.  He even wrote a note.  He was going to end it."  She looked sad.  "We talked about Kenzi, I thought I was helping and he begged me to give him a job like I used to do when he was young.  He said he just needed something to do - to get his mind off Kenzi and how she died.  I... I couldn't do it and send him alone and while I was thinking about who I could send with him that his mom would trust..."

She shrugged.

"Aurora came to mind."  she said with a bit of regret.  "I sent Aurora with Joey Ferrari out to LA to wack an asshole who ran off with the money I should have used to launch my crew."

Her shoulders sank.  Gavin raised his chin slightly, waiting.  His eyes looking down at her as if he KNEW there was more.

"I knew she could cheer him up... but more importantly I wanted her to see what it looked like... what it might be like if she... lost you."  She looked sideways at Billy, clearly ashamed.

"I thought," she whispered, "that maybe if she saw how much hell he was going through she'd understand why I didn't support the two of you being together... but I swear, Billy, today everything changed.  You know it did!"

She looked back to Gavin.

"I gave him my blessing and you KNOW my plan is doomed to fail.  She's not going to walk out on Billy because of anything I say or do because she loves him!"

Gavin crossed his arms, "You hope." 

He shook his head. 

"You're playing with her emotions.  Do you want her living in fear of death?  Afraid to give her heart to someone because of what COULD happen?"

"No." Bella whispered.

"And you're using a grieving man to do it, Bella!  To say nothing of what you might have done to Billy." 

Her chin fell.

"I'm so sorry..."

Billy looked at both of them. He thought for a moment. A long one. Probably longer than he should have. And then it hit him, and he chuckled. The chuckle turned into a bit of laughter before it subsided and he looked at the two of them entirely sure that they thought he was crazy.

"That's the dumbest plan I've ever heard."

He turned and started heading toward the kitchen.

"Come on, the foods gonna get cold and the wine's gonna get warm. Don't worry Gavin I made plenty, hope you like chicken."

With that he disappeared back into the kitchen and started rummaging for another bottle of wine since their first one was out.

"I know you have more wine than one bottle, where do you keep it?"

He shouted back toward the hallway.

Bella and Gavin looked to each other and then back to the kitchen. 

Bella called out, "The door beside the fridge."  She looked back to her husband, "You came all this way just to yell at me?"

He shook his head as he began walking towards the kitchen.

"No."  He said putting a hand on her back and leading her towards Billy and the food.  "I came all this way to find out why and then to go talk to him so he could go after her... that's what family does.  We see a problem and we face it together... even if the problem is caused by my well-intentioned if misguided wife."

He smirked.

She shook her head.  "So that's why I married you..."  She picked up her wine glass.  "... to clean up my messes."

Gavin nodded.  "Part of the job description when marrying a Luciano, I think."

Billy popped a cork in a new bottle of wine and poured three new glasses.

"So let me just get this straight."

He grabbed a fresh plate from the cabinet and began to fix Gavin a plate, almost setting it in front of him.

"Grace. At least pretend, don't want to ruin Bella's whole day by messing up the flow."

He set the plate down in front of the man and continued to talk, mostly to Bella.

"Your plan was to show Aurora that death sucks and it hurts right? And that was supposed to drive her away. Or at least into thinking harder about whether she wants to deal with that pain? Sorry but it doesn't make sense."

He sat down and took a sip of wine.

"First off, it's not like she hasn't lost people she's loved before. It might be different with a lover than a family member, but it's still loss and heartache, it never quite goes away."

He picked up his knife and fork.

"How's the chicken Gavin? I thought it came out a little dry this time. I'm thinking hollandaise next time to spice it up and keep it moist."

He cut another piece of chicken for himself.

"Second, just look at you two! When Sal died it's not like Bella spent the next two weeks alone right? Don't you want somebody around to hold you when you're sad and hurting? Isn't that the whole point?"

He popped the bite of chicken triumphantly into his mouth and chewed. It wasn't as dry as he thought. Then again, maybe he was just feeling particularly good in that moment.

"I mean, if you were planning on getting her to never feel heartache, the hell are you gonna do, live forever? It's not like you can make sure she never mourns. You think it's just gonna be her and Will against the world when God's plan decides to catch up with you and take you into his arms? Wouldn't it be better to have someone with her who actually cares and isn't just her brother? I mean, you guys are as close to parents as I ever am gonna get, and when you go I don't know who the hell I'm gonna turn to, but you can be damned sure I'm gonna need somebody."

He picked up his glass of wine and took a drink turning and looking to Gavin then.

"Well? Dry right?"

Gavin gave a thumbs up while chewing and listening to Billy speak.  The chicken was good, but the boy was playing with fire.  Poking the Dragon about her parenting and then bringing up Sal in the same damn sentence.  Even he coudn't save the boy from this shit and the chicken was too good to even stop and try.

"In fairness," Bella began, not missing a beat.  "I don't even know for sure or... I didn't think she could love you so fast.  She's slow to change her opinions and open up to people.  I've known her the whole of her life you know.  Quite frankly, in my experience with her... she falls fast and hard for boys with big muscles and fast cars and it's over as fast as it starts.  And I didn't want her getting mixed up in some fly by night obsession with a Don."

"I mean... christ, the ramifications of your break up alone could mean death for any or all of us.  You make a good point about not being able to be here forever... it's what I was thinking about on the boat today.  You're a good boy.  I'd like for her to have someone in her life like you... but, I also have concerns and not all of them are about protecting her from grief.  Though... admittedly, a good deal of them are.  Speaking of which... what did you mean by Aurora knows about this place.  How the hell would she know about it?  I JUST told Joey yesterday and you today.  And I know Gavin didn't tell her..."

Gavin swallowed his chicken, "Probably Tiny or Tim or both."

"Fuck.  Four."  She muttered.  "I forgot, my damn bodyguards.  Shit."

Gavin chuckled.

"Oh it's really funny is it?  You know, there's a very good chance she saw some artwork that came into our possession from Aurelio."

Gavin choked on his chicken and grabbed for his wine so fast he nearly spilled it all over the table.  He coughed and sputtered as he forced it down.  Bella just smirked and turned to Billy.

"Thank you for your input."  She said, clearly trying to be polite.  "You're not wrong, but if our daughter loves you... and doesn't just... like you ... a lot, has yet to be seen.  Love is... more than just... what you kids likely do in a backseat of a car on a sunday night."

Gavin choked again.  Bella glared at him.

"Ignore him.  I know he's the last person to make judgements on the activities of young people.  And Aurora's opinions on such things are largely informed by her father's grand wisdom.  I don't doubt for a moment she's taken more after him and his worldly ways than after me and my ..."

Gavin cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow at his wife.

"Okay, I wasn't a saint but I was no Gavin Byrne."

Gavin chuckled.  "A fair statement."

Bella nodded.

"She's probably a bit more experienced than you... and I don't think that's a bad thing.  Maybe she needs someone like you to show her your opinions on the matters of the heart.  I can't say that I understand everything about Aurora's point of view.  I, regrettably haven't been around a lot for this part of her life."

For a moment Bella looked sad, but she passed back into calm again.

"If she wants to see you, I can't think of a better boy she's brought home to meet us yet... so at least her taste in men is improving."

Gavin scoffed and nodded.

Bella looked back to meet Billy's eyes, "But speaking for a moment, not as Aurora's mom, but as the woman who you've asked to look after YOUR well-being after a fashion, please... do be careful.  I had assumed, in correctly that perhaps it was you who had more experience in the matters of the heart.  I mean, look at all the women in your crew.  You can forgive me for assuming there was a reason they flock to your banner.  And ... well, you'd probably be smart if you made sure that Aurora wasn't making the same assumptions I was."

"She won't."  Gavin threw out.  "She's not the jealous sort."

"Really?"  Bella inserted.  "Have we forgotten about that incident with the boy... what was his name, you know the one with the nose."

Gavin laughed.  "I forgot about him."  he shrugged.  "Okay, maybe she's a little jealous... but I like to think of it as competitive."

Bella looked back to Billy, "Yeah, well just make sure your girlfriend doesn't competitve your crew members into a hospital bed when she makes a wrong assumption."  

Bella took a drink of her wine and decide to get seconds on the chicken.  It was a little dry, but it was good.

Billy shrugged.

"I always figured they came to me cause I was a good leader and a nice person who treated everyone fairly no matter who they were. Not like women get a fair shake in the world unless they take it. I give everyone a fair shake so I'm bound to gather the people that society thinks are outcasts."

He took another sip of wine.

"What I have learned from that though is, society's outcasts are the most trustworthy and reliable people I know because they want to prove themselves."

He nodded and took a little bit more pasta, that was almost gone.

"As far as Aurora goes, you're right. I know how I feel in this moment, but I don't know how she does. I know what she says and I know how she acts around me, and that's about it. But part of life in general, not just this life, is learning about other people and dealing with reality. If she doesn't love me, I can't force her, but..."

He patted his holster under his jacket.

"...you can be damned sure I'll protected her for the rest of my life."

He looked Bella in the eye across the table then.

"As far as my state of affairs and mind. I'm all alone here so yes, I have little and less experience in matters of the heart. I'm not a fool to think I have answers. I just know what I'm supposed to do. I'll wait until I'm married. I'll do my best to be a good husband and make all the money I can to support her. I'll shower her with love and gifts, and in return hopefully she give me babies and takes care of the house. That's the trade off. I know that, I understand that. It's all the other stuff that's going to elude me for now."

He shut up then and ate some more.

Gavin and Bella exchanged glances through several parts of the conversation with Billy.  Finally at the end it was Gavin, who strangely chose to speak - not Bella.

"I respect you having principles you hold to."  He said nodding.  "Waiting for marriage because you actually care about following your religion, that makes sense.  Though I gotta say, picking and choosing which to follow out of your book... it never made any sense to me.  I mean... you pretty much just admitted you were comfortable killing for her, but you won't have sex with her?"

"Gavin!"  Bella snapped, with a look of shock.

"I'm just saying it seems odd to put one of your God's commandments above the other that way.  The not killing one is on the ten biggies list, I've gone to church enough to know that... pretty sure I didn't hear the one about being a virgin on your wedding night in God's top ten."

Bella rolled her eyes.

Gavin kept on, "But if it's important to you, then that's fine.  I just don't think it'll matter one bit to Aurora and not just because she doesn't give a lot of thought to a big man up in the sky... but because even if you had been with a dozen women before her, she doesn't care about the 'before her' part, it's what happens now that probably matters to her.  But um... the whole home making babies and cleaning house bit.  You might find a little pushback on that."

Bella nodded taking a bite of food.

"Her birthmother was Godmother, her Aunt was a Godmother, her own mother is a Don... two of those women had families and homes and marriages they balanced against their careers."

Bella swallowed.

"While I would prefer our daughter step away to be a mother and good wife," She shook her head, "I am afraid Gavin is right.  Aurora's never really shown much affinity for the domestic side of life.  She can clean... she's good at it, but she never had so much as a baby doll and even her stuffed toys as a girl were..."

"She used to pretend they were her crew."  Gavin chimed in.  "Most little girls play house and mommy... our daughter played hostile take-over, kidnapping, and hitman."

Gavin chuckled.

Bella spoke quickly, "I don't want you to think bad things about her or us as parents.  Aurora was a happy little girl with normal loving impulses and childhood in so many other ways, but like most children she grew up wanting to do what her parents did for a living."

"And we don't lie to her."  Gavin said flatly.  "Either of our children.'

Bella nodded.  "It's just a bridge you and she will eventually have to cross together.  And who knows, maybe by the time you propose she'll have a different point of view but..."

Gavin was shaking his head.

Bella kept on anyway, "... but she might not.  She might expect that you knew her mothers and wanted a woman just like them.  God willing though, she'll see sense."

Gavin chuckled.  "Why is it sense?"

"I'm not saying you did a poor job."  Bella looked to Gavin.  "But one of us did have to step away and it was you because I was a right-hand... Billy is a Don.  If they have kids it's clearly going to fall to her to step aside like you had to."

"Had to?"  Gavin arched an eyebrow and put down his fork.

"Yes."  Bella said not backing down.

"I seem to recall it was something that I wanted to do and it just happened to fit very well with our needs at the time.  If I hadn't, we would have hired nannies and maids just as we'd been doing since Aurora was a little girl."

"And how well did that go for half a dozen men?"  Bella took a bite of her chicken calmly chewing.  "How many more would have died if you hadn't been there full time?"

Gavin sighed.  "We would have managed.  Aurora and Billy will too."

"Well, that was the nature of the conversation,"  Bella said.  "But it's as much about what's nature and right as it is practicality.  She's an enforcer and hitman... Billy can't be expected to stop working and raise my grandchildren.  It's going to have to be her, if this is what she wants."

"You're talking about speculative Grandchildren as if they are on the way already."

Bella shrugged.  "Is it wrong I look forward to that?  It's been a long time since I've held a baby in these arms and I'm not getting younger."

Gavin looked to Billy, "I'm just saying, you might have a fight on your hands.  I think even Bella can agree with that."

Bella looked to Billy and nodded.  "But we'll make her see sense, when the time comes."

"If the time comes."  Gavin corrected picking up his fork.

"When."  Bella threw out and ate another bite of chicken.

Billy scratched his head.

"I uh... I never said Aurora you know. I mean. I want that, don't get me wrong, but if she doesn't well, that's gonna be a deal breaker. No reason I can't still love and protect her, but marriage with no children is not going to be my life."

It was clear in his tone that he was making no fuss about it. That's how it was. Period.

Then he turned to Gavin.

"And for the record, I made peace with God a long time ago about what it is that I do. Waiting till marriage is only partly about The Church. You have to realize one thing. I was raised with certain beliefs and some of them stick with me. One of those beliefs is simple. I care. I care about what happened before. I care about whether or not I can say that I gave myself to her and only to her. Even if she doesn't care, it means something to me. It means all the more to me that, as of right now we can say the same thing. That might change in time. I hope it doesn't but it might."

He turned back to Bella for this part.

"And I won't lie to either of you, if it does, it will make me feel some sort of way. Not an, 'I can't love you anymore' sort of way, but more of a, 'I thought we were in this together and you betrayed that', sort of way. I've made very very clear how I feel. If she doesn't respect that, that will have an impact, and not a good one."

He thought for a minute about the fact that she had admitted to him about the kind of boys she liked. About the fact that she was in LA, going to kill someone, with a boy on a motorcycle.

"Fuckin eh."

He shrugged to himself. Nothing to be done about it, it either was or it wasn't. There were going to be times, Billy knew, that he was going to have to trust her implicitly with things. He wasn't always going to be there. Might as well start now.

"I just realized that one of the shittiest things about life is being able to trust other people not to hurt you. Worse than that is, sometimes they do."

Shaking his head he drained his wine.

"Can you slide that picture over to Gavin Bella? I'd like him to put it in my dad's journal if he would be so kind."