As he brushed the hair behind her ear, Aurora found herself staring at him with a desire to pour everything in her heart out right now, her rage at the Conti and Luciano families, the bitterness that only now - with Billy dead had Nonna accepted her, and of course her conflicting feelings about Philly and what they'd been a part of. 

As he spoke of her importance to him, of their eyes mirroring one another - the last good conversation they'd had, she leaned towards him and put her head on his shoulder, hold her own knees close to her chest.  For a short while, they contemplated Billy's future accommodations in silence, together.

She found herself lifting up off his shoulder as Alucard called her Roar.  Her amber eyes considered him then, trying to focus less on the one word that stung than the whole of his statement.  He wanted to help her.  He was here to help her... but all she could hear was 'Roar.' 

Billy called her Roar.  Only Billy.  She hadn't been ready to hear it today, or ever again.  It was an identity she as prepared to bury with her lover.  It seemed fitting somehow to leave a bit of herself with him.  She hadn't thought about Alucard having heard Billy call her that ... nor had she considered he would like the nickname so much to have used it. 

If he'd done it while Billy was still alive she supposed that she might not have cared at all.  It was really only because Billy was gone that she felt protective of his name for her.  Aurora pushed the childish reaction which she nearly had down into the pit of her belly and decided to answer his question instead because there was something he could do.  It was something she needed desperately now more than ever before though asking it was just about the most manipulative thing she'd ever done. 

In truth, it smacked horribly of her mother and yet... her mother had survived though just about everything imaginable.  In truth her mother had protected this family... at least those within it, and now would live to see her grandchildren a feat that many in this life never did.  Her mother had done all of which should have been impossible and more and still, the world yielded to her whims utterly.  Was there anything in all the world which her mother had ever REALLY wanted which she didn't get?  Even now, she sat her at the grave of a man her mother didn't want her to marry, carrying a child in her belly she knows her mother will be over the moon for... even Aurora's greatest loss, the Dragon's will was done.   

Aurora stared at the grave and sense of coldness began to ebb and flow through her as she wondered if there was there a point to how the Dragon lived her life.  If she had spent as much time studying her mother, as she had her father, would Billy still be here?  Would she have had the ruthlessness, the wisdom and wit to have juggled all the parts of her life and kept him here with her?  Would she have seen the conflict coming?  And, if she acted more like her mother now... would her and Billy's child have a better chance of survival?  

She glanced at Alucard and silently wondered just how far she as capable of going to protect the next generation of the Byrne family.  Was it even conceivable that Aurora could be anything other than who she was - learn to be more like Will and her Mother, for the good of her baby?  She had no easy answer to the questions in her head right now.  It all felt wrong.  The world felt wrong right now and so when she spoke, it was the subject matter at the forefront of her mind and the words flowed out unfiltered.

"I'm pregnant."  Like saying the sky was blue and the water was wet, she spoke the words with no more significance than making either pronouncement.  She stared at the empty grave, taking a small bit of comfort in the presence of one of her only friends in all the world.

She hadn't wanted to say it to her father, he felt bad enough for her already, but coming out here to tell Alucard about the war wasn't just a matter of giving a friend bad news.  No, it meant allowing herself to think about the other losses she'd taken too.  Integra had been the first female friend, the first woman not being paid by her mother and father to be around her, that she'd had for as long as she could remember.  Now, she was gone.  And now she was about to tell her only other friend in all the world that information and destroy his world forever. 

A part of her considered, very seriously, pulling her gun and shooting Alucard.  Sparing him the pain she felt now.  She damn well knew he had no one.  No one would be there to demand revenge for his murder.  No one would be left bereft at his loss.  The man would die here in a beautiful country, on a peaceful night, next to a friend - he would never see the bullet coming.  He would never feel the pain of being without Integra.  Considering just how much she was hurting right now, it would be a mercy.  And, if he knew, if he had a choice and was able to make it without having to first know why... she strongly suspected the man with the scars would be happy to die without the worst one being given to him by the hand of a good friend.

Aurora drew a breath and keenly felt the weight of the black guns in her shoulder holster.  They were guns made for work of this nature.  Guns meant to kill those who you loved.  Billy's hope of redeeming them had never been achieved.  The road to doing that - never started.  She imagined the taste of the gunsmoke, the way the recoil would feel, the echo of the shot across the land... and then the silence after.  There was always a feeling of peace in the heartbeat after squeezing the trigger on a gun.  A moment when all the tension you felt in preparing for the shot just floats away and at that moment Rora always felt truly herself.  It would be nice to feel that feeling right now, if only for a moment.

Aurora sighed.

Her father thought her far stronger than she felt.  As usual, he asked of her more than she'd ever thought that she was capable of giving him.  And yet, she trusted her father.  How many times had he pushed her to do something she didn't think she could do, physically speaking at least?  And how many times had he proven to know her better than she knew herself?

The words continued to flow over her lips unfiltered,  "Doc Eva says I'm hypertensive... it means too much blood pressure.  Told me to stay calm and free of stress."  she chuckled as if this were a great joke.  "I told her, what stress can you possibly have on a vacation?"

She glanced back to Alucard, it wasn't too late for him.  In his world, Integra was still alive and beautiful, powerful and his.  If she said nothing now, Alucard would sleep tonight and dream of her - his beautiful blonde angel.  She swallowed the lump in her throat, never having wanted a shot of whiskey more in her whole damn life.

She looked back to the grave.

"In fairness..."  she drew a breath.  

'One step...'

"None of us could have expected a war between Detroit & Philadelphia."

All the emotion and color drained from his face upon hearing his friend speak the simple phrase, "I'm Pregnant."  He knew damn well the weight of those words. The fact she talked to Doc Hadley meant it was a discussion she had before they left. He understood all those implications.  He took in a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill his lungs.

Alucard couldn't help but hear an echo of a conversation he had with a teen at the homeless shelter he ran.  The teen stated that while having family was a good and comforting feeling, knowing they'd always be there.  The girl said there was also a feeling that they had to be there because they were family... and the pain sets in when you realize there's no one who actually wants to be there.

That was a feeling he could empathize with, so he would offer her his services, to help however he could. He knew she had family that would be there for her, and he had very little skills that could help with bringing up a child, but he wanted her to know that there was someone making a conscious willing choice to be there on her behalf.  He didn't want her feeling the way that teen did. 

His slow stance to his feet ended in a sudden halt upon hearing the words, "War between Detroit and Philadelphia" and he collapsed back to his knees.  He knew she had no reason to lie to him, they'd had that discussion about lying.  His head felt heavy in his hands, as he thought he was piecing everything together.   It all made sense, how Bella knew where he was, that meant either Integra or Wesley were more than likely dead, if not both. His body double as well, and if they hunted him down... the double didn't work.   He cursed himself at being so well manipulated, pulled to Sicily to make sure the Aurora was safe, then put to rest before they left. 

"I see, this was very well played indeed," Alucard said as he slowly turned to face his last remaining friend in this world. He took several long, slow breathes, sliding his M1917 revolver at Aurora's feet. "It's okay Aurora, I won't fight you. I will accept my fate. If your mom is still standing the victor of that conflict is clear.  I'm the right-hand man of a rival family. I need to die..."  

He looked down as he dug into his pockets, finding the rings.  He looked back up as he found the rings, he gazed upon her through his raven hair, he held out his hand to his friend. "Take these, if Integra is dead, bury them with her.  They were to be our wedding bands. And Aurora, I am glad it's you in the end."   

The man spoke with the quiet confidence of knowing what the future would hold, and he accepted it.  On his knees, in front of the last person on earth who had any care for him at all, he closed his eyes, and waited for the inevitable.

Aurora looked at his revolver and still, her words came as smoothly and unfiltered as they had few heartbeats ago, "I thought about shooting you without telling you what happened, figured it was kinder than putting you through what I just went through inside and am still coping with now... but it turns out that I'm a real shitty friend."

She let her chin fall, "I've killed dozens of men in the last ... well, nearly ten years now, you'd think one more wouldn't matter.  You'd think I'd want to let out some of this anger."

She reached over and put her hand lightly on top of Alucard's.  

"But no.  Right now all I can think is that you're the only person in all the world who knows how absolutely devastated I am.  You're the only one who can grasp what I've lost... and what life is going to be like going forward.  And apparently, I'm a far more selfish twat than I want to admit because..."

Aurora exhaled a ragged world-weary breath, "It feels good to have you here with me right now.  So... no, unless you ask me to do it, I won't kill you.  I'm all alone in this shit show and my mother asked you to save me.  Well, I didn't need rescuing from farmers with guns, but I damn well might need saving from myself before this is all done because,"

She looked at the eyes that so mirrored her own and spoke with a numbness wrapped around her like a protective blanket, "I feel like I'm dying and I don't know how to make that stop - but I gotta.  I don't have the luxury of crawling into that hole with Billy tomorrow."

She put a hand on her belly, looking down at it sadly and then she looked back to Alucard, "So... which is it?  Do you have the strength left to help me through this... or,"  she pulled out one of the coal-black guns, the silverfish cool against her palm, the familiar weight of the gun giving her an odd sense of comfort in this horrible moment.

"Are you going to ask me, as your friend, to end it?  I'll do it.  If that's what you want, not because there was a war, but because you asked me to.  I know you think you have nothing left.  I can't blame you for feeling that way, hell there was a moment where I considered it too.  I wanted to die, but we're different.  You and me, I have people... and reasons.  And I know that we barely know each other but ... well, you said I don't know how much I mean to you.  And you're right about that, I don't.  So, I have to ask you about the bluntest and horrible sounding thing I've ever said before."

She wet her lips, "Am I enough of a reason?  Maybe just... for the next few months, until this baby is born?  I'll still have my gun then, and if you want me to, I can do after the baby is born.  I'll swear an oath to it, and I think you know what that means to me.  But ... if you can't.  If it's just too much to bear..." 

She checked that the gun was ready to fire.

"I'll do it.  Quick and clean.  You won't see it coming, you won't feel a thing.  Just say the word."

His mind reeled in the confusion that instead of a bullet, he found honest words. Instead of the warmth of blood, he found warmth in her touch. How could this be, it didn't make sense, a damn war between their cities and she's not killing him.  It wasn't until he heard her mention that it was good to have him with her, that he opened his eyes.  He ran his fingers back through his long black hair, quietly listening to everything she had to say. 

He reached for his revolver as he slowly, and intentionally made his way to his feet.  While on his feet, he holstered The Jackal and took a step towards Aurora, and he gave her a half smile, "It sounds like my work here isn't finished yet.  I can't go leaving this world with a job half done."

His heart was aching for her, just seeing the pain she was going through, hearing it in the cadence of her voice. He put his own confusion and pain away, for right now in this moment and the immediate moments to come, his friend needed him and he would not abandon her.  He looked down at her, keeping his eyes trained on hers. "Yes, you are enough. More than enough reason."

He placed his hand to her lower abdomen.  "I wil be here for you, until the baby is born and after.   Then I will be there for both you and the child.  I don't know the first thing about taking care of a child, but I will do everything I can to support you, and be there for you.  When the time comes, that you realize you don't need me around anymore, we can revisit this conversation of my death.  But until then, you have me.  This is an oath I would make to you as well." 

His words mirrored hers, as their eyes mirror each other's, and he softly placed a kiss to the top of her head.  He waited a moment for Aurora to holster her gun, before wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him. "Whatever you need of me, you just ask it my iris." Alucard softly whispered into her ear. 

He didn't know what the future would hold, or how he would feel when he finally made it back to the states, but right now he had a fight and a resolve to make sure his friend would not feel like she was alone in her journey. 

Gavin had his head lowered, his chin touching his chest, as he glanced up at the body of Billy Mastrosimone. 

"I'm not good at this shit, Billy. And the fact is that I didn't get to know you as well as I wanted to. I'd resolved to do that, after you'd asked for my blessing, but... here we are."

Gavin sighed.

"If I'm being honest with you... and I have no reason not to, now... I don't even think you're hearing me. But I can't be sure, so it can't hurt."

There was a long pause as Gavin tried to find the words.

"I guess the best thing I can say about you is that you reminded me of one of my oldest and best friends. I named my son after him. You had a lot in common, and having a grandson, having you there too... it would've been good, Billy. It would have been good. Wherever you are, I hope you'll know I'll take care of her."

Gavin's hand clenched into a fist and he bumped it against the table. Aurora shouldn't have to deal with this shit. Bella had gone through something similar when she was Isabella-Luciano. This particular history repeating itself left a vitriolic taste in his mouth.

"Rest well, Billy."

Gavin made his way outside into the evening, bristling up at the stars over the fate they'd written for his daughter. He turned the corner and silently positioned himself against the wall. He glanced over to his daughter and LordAlucard and found himself unable to do anything but stare at them for a minute or so as they were talking. 

Gavin couldn't hear their words, but he could see their actions. First, Alucard kneeling in front of Bella and giving her his gun. Aurora checked it. Then talked. A lot. Aurora was more like her mother than she wanted to admit. Then Alucard stood... touched Aurora's stomach... and kissed the top of her head before wrapping her in a hug and whispering in her ear.

What the fuck?

He'd started moving without thinking, and he forced himself to take his hand off his gun. He kept his voice quiet, but only with a little bit of effort. Gavin didn't seem angry, but there was certainly some confusion in his eyes.

"Okay... well I'm going to to assume the two of you..."

Gavin swallowed the "fucking" for the sake of his grieving daughter.

"... know each other. But even if you do, you're probably going to want to give her a little bit more space, Wild Card, or someone else is going to wind up putting a..."

fucking bullet in you

"... negative word in your mercenary satisfaction survey."

Gavin glanced at his daughter and held back. His daughter was old enough to make her own decisions and have her own reactions, of course, so he intentionally switched to more passive body language to show that she was in control here. 

Aurora startled at her Father's abrupt appearance and slid out of Alucard's embrace.  Gavin very clearly had not heard a word they'd been saying, perhaps he only saw the embrace and she stared in wonder at the situation unfolding.  Her father was reacting from a place of love for both her and Billy.  Even in this horrible, dark moment, standing at the side of Billy's graveside in the dark of night - her heart swelled.  

Aurora's features softened and she gave her father a somewhat goofy grin before turning to put a hand out on Alucard's arm, discouraging him from responding. 

She looked back to her father and held his gaze for a moment.  Some things surpassed the need for words and so, Aurora walked up to her father and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you."  She stepped back from GavinByrne and fastened up the snaps to secure her own gun in its place. 

Looking back to Alucard, "We'll call my mom tonight, explain the situation.  Then you go on to Philadelphia."  

Aurora's words were spoken as if they were orders and not a suggestion.

"Mom's a Godfather.  She'll most likely make you one of her associates which should keep any trigger happy assholes from taking a pot shot."  Aurora stepped back towards Alucard, "If she can't ... or if she won't spare you - which I can't see happening since she went to the trouble of contacting you to come after me... well, I'm owed a favor by the Godfather Chairman of Philly.  If it comes down to it, I'll call in my chip.  One way or another, when we're done, you'll be a part of Race Street Operations." 

There was a determination in her tone, darkness in those amber eyes that suggested she would have her way in this matter and she hadn't even considered any other options as possible.  The irony was, she could not hear the hints of the Dragon and her Aunt Tara peaking out in her tone as she gave her instructions.

She looked to her father,  "I have some plans with my father." 

She looked back to Alucard,  "We'll reconnect when I get back.  But I will come back.  Do you have access to cash?  Enough to get settled in Philly?  Or... to handle any arrangements you might need to take care of?"

She tilted her head to the side trying to keep eye contact with him., "If you don't, I can help."

Under normal circumstances, Gavin's ignorant anger and assumptions towards him would have set Alucard off.  Something Aurora knew quite well, when she placed her hand on his arm to discourage him from acting how he normally would have.  It's exactly how he would have reacted if he was in Gavin's shoes. For a brief moment, he wondered if that meant he had some sort of a fatherly instinct.  But that wasn't something he could let himself believe, his past is far too dark and empty for him to have that sort of love inside him.

He listened to Aurora make her suggestions to him. "I trust you, and I will go back to Philly... eventually.  As you probably realize, I will have arrangements I need to make, and things I will need to settle in Detroit.  I hope your mom will give me leave to do so once we contact her. So while you do your plans with your father, I can take care of "

He gave Aurora a quiet nod when she asked about his financial situation. "I am doing well cash wise, the hotel is still doing well and some of my other investments are still pushing on for now. I have enough to get me by until I can re-establish myself under Race Street.   Thank you though, I appreciate you wanting to take care of me.  And I meant what I said, Rora, whatever you will need of me you'll just have to ask it. I will be there for you and your child as long as you'll need me around."

Alucard finally turned to look at Gavin, "I know I don't need to tell you this, but your daughter is quite a remarkable young woman.  And,  I hope I'll get a chance to get to know you a bit more Sir."   Alucard extended his hand towards GavinByrne. 

As he stood there hoping that Isabella-Luciano would give him the time he needed in Detroit, the full weight of what was waiting for him stateside hasn't even begun to sink in yet, and it wouldn't until he was forced to be alone with his own thoughts. 

Gavin was content to hand over the situation to Aurora; as she kissed his cheek, his expression didn't change. He trusted his daughter to understand his intentions and thought process, as she did the vast majority of the time. Crossing his arms, he listened to Aurora and Alucard make their goodbyes. Respectful of the losses that both of the younger people had suffered and still somewhat distracted by his recent thoughts about Billy, he stayed quiet. When they were done, he shook Alucard's hand.

"Thanks for your help, Alucard. And I'm sorry for your loss. Glad we didn't wind up needing a demon-mode or whatnot. I have a feeling we'll see each other again."

Gavin walked over to the car to wait for his daughter.

The phone rang.  Bella startled awake and scrubbing sleep from her eyes, pieces of paper fell from the places it had stuck to her skin thanks to having collapsed atop it sometime in the impossibly late hours of the previous night.

"Hello,"  She said pulling the receiver to her ear.

"Hi, Mom."  Aurora said quietly.

Bella sighed.

"Your father?" 

"He's here.  Alucard too."

Bella smiled and nodded.  "Where's here?"

"Catania.  We're about to board planes."

"Planes, not plane?"  Bella sat up in her chair and grabbed for a pen and some fresh paper to write on.

"Dad is taking me on a little side trip."

"Are you ... okay?"  Bella knew the answer.   If she was physically harmed she wouldn't be calling, but emotionally, mentally - Bella would not relax until she could put eyes on her daughter and pull her into her arms.

"I will be.  I just... need you to promise me that Alucard has a place in Race Street with us."

Bella paused, there was a likelihood he might want revenge, might try to get it.  Bella KNEW taking him in could prove a risk.  Alucard was a killer.  She's hired him to go after her daughter for a reason.  And yet, she HAD trusted him to go after Aurora knowing his closeness to her little girl.  It was a gamble... but could she kill another man Aurora cared for?

"Mom."  Aurora pressed.  "He's -"

"I know.  Look ... tell him that he has my protection ... but Rora, if he goes down a path to revenge..."

"He won't, Mom."

"I hope we're both right."

"He is gonna go home and see to the funeral arrangements for some of his family... then he'll come back to Philly,"  Aurora added.

"Tell him we'll be waiting for his arrival.  As for you..." She stifled a yawn.  "Rora, I am... so so sorry."

"I know."  She muttered.  "I should go. I'm beat.  I'm dying to get on the plane and get some real sleep."

"I love you, baby girl."  Bella said through a veil of unshed tears.

"I'll be home soon."  She didn't say the word.  She was safe, even if she was utterly destroyed inside, she was physically safe & not off to do something reckless or she would have said it back.  Bella closed her eyes, relieved, and for not the first time ever found herself thinking of how much Aurora was like Gavin and unfortunately this time, considering all the girl had been through, so much like herself.