Integra sighed heavily as she blew the smoke from one of six remaining cigars. It was all she had with her, along with a case of money and some random clothes she had purchased that were not like her normal suits. She thought heavily on what her actions could cause. Billy lay sleeping on the bed in front of her, passed out from the knockout drugs they had to use. She really hoped it wouldn't have come to such a thing, but being as stubborn as her brother was, she had prepared for it.

Using half the money from the suitcase, she paid him for the use of said drugs and his silence, allowing him to leave. She knew the man personally wanted to stay under the radar and so he would stay silent on ever dealing with them. She glanced at the sleeping form of her brother before inhaling deeply from the cigar, releasing the smoke slowly as her hand went to rest on her stomach. The child growing inside of her was dependent on her surviving this… and keeping her brother alive as well. Would they forgive her for this? Would Alucard and Aurora forgive her for enacting a safety protocol to keep herself and BillyMastrosimone alive while allowing their loved ones to assume they were dead.

Alucard… she almost felt tears drop from her eyes at the thought of the man, praying he would never find the note she had written before the attack… the note that would tell him she was pregnant with their child. An idea he would then have to bury… she didn't want to imagine the pain and suffering he would have to go through for it would surely kill her… she wanted him to know so badly, for Aurora to know so badly that they were alive, but then they would be hunted and they would die… for wars did not leave Dons alive… especially not the crew leader or their right hand, even if marriage and children were on the plate… wars did not discriminate, it killed all who were a threat…
 

Billy’s eyes fluttered open slightly, and then he squeezed them closed as he took in a sharp breath through his teeth. His head was pounding harder than he had ever felt in his life.

“Fuck.”

Whatever the guy behind him hit him with, it had to have big cause Billy hadn’t felt a goddamned thing. He was fine one second, and then next it was…

He opened his eyes again. A hotel room?

He looked around the room, threadbare for the most part. One window, a chair, and… a woman? Aurora!? No. His heart sank back into the bed again. The hair was too long, though he couldn’t see much else, he would know the silhouette of his sister just about anywhere.

“Alright. So tell me how I fucked up, and where my Roar is. Just tell me she’s alright and we can talk about whatever you want. Aurora first, because goddammit Integra, if she’s not perfectly fine in every fucking way, I swear to Christ I’ll burn all of fucking Sicily to the ground.”

It struck him then.

"We ARE still in Sicily right?”

The woman had an outward appearance of being calm, though if one got close enough her eyes would betray the burden she felt upon her shoulders. She could hear her brother stirring as she took another slow, long pull from the cigar before slowly exhaling it.

“You didn't fuck up. Billy….” She paused as she shifted how she was sitting in the chair, running a hand through her hair as if what she was planning on saying was still weighing on her.

“Detroit is gone… there was a war. I had a double follow you… otherwise you would have been six feet under.” She took another drag from the cigar. Before continuing.

“The only news i have… and the last news i have… is that Gavin Byrne landed on the island… Aurora will be fine. And by some goddamn miracle Alucard was with Gavin…” she laughed slightly, but it was a strange short laugh, almost as if the situation was something she couldn't fully believe, or want to believe.

“We aren't in Sicily…. This small motel room is just on the outskirts of Verzino… quite a ways from the Island.” 

She finished off the cigar as she snuffed it out in the ashtray before turning to really face him. 

“I let body doubles take the hits for us….. as far as anyone outside this room knows… Don Mastrosimone and his right hand Integra Hellsing were killed…” she swallowed the anxiety that pricked at her, simply going quiet before saying the sentence she pretty much dreaded… the unknown.

“We have to stay under the radar… i don't know how long for..”

Billy sat up in the bed.

“No, we need to get going. If there is a war, we need to fight it. There’s no waiting or holding back. Let’s get on a plane and go. I’m glad Aurora is safe with Gavin, but clearly we need to do something about this. Who are we going after? I’m assuming it’s the west coast. New York doesn’t have the manpower to assault us on their own and Ligambi’s got a good relationship with Philadelphia. Not to mention the fact that I’m tied in with one of their prominent families, the Byrnes have a history in Philly, I’m sure they still have a seat at the table when it comes to shit like this. So who was it?”

He knew he was rambling, but as he did so, he was getting dressed. Despite the fact that he could barely keep his head on straight for the pounding. He looked to Integra, and she hadn’t moved an inch, except to smoke her cigar some more. That was a bad sign.

“You mean it don’t you? You really think we can just lay low and let it blow over? Aurora is out there. Alucard is out there! My orphans are out there. Oscar, Rebecca, and Charlie. Oscar has a family, a wife and kids! What the fuck are we gonna do here?!”

He was starting to get angry, but that was making his head worse. He had no choice but to let his own weight take him back onto the bed.

“And what the fuck did you do to my head?”

She listened to her brother ramble, finally standing up and moving to sit next to him on the bed, not looking at him before placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Seattle killed Godmother chairman Constance and her hands… Godfather Zoom is dead… in the middle of the night, Philadelphia came for us… by the time i got word that there were uppers from Philly in Detroit… mostly everyone was dead. I enacted the body doubles in hope of keeping you alive and i just barely made that deadline Billy…”

She sighed heavily as she took her hand back to her lap, going quiet for a bit, feeling as if she had a large failure hanging on her shoulders. “The war is already over… i have nothing to tap… unless i dare risk us getting found by our enemies and I…” she took a breathe again. “I can't afford that Billy… not only for your sake… but for this child I'm carrying to have a chance… Aurora and Alucard are safe…. And I'll do whatever I need to get us back there but… we have to be careful Billy. If someone finds out we are alive it could put them in danger…”

She got up to get him a glass of tap water before offering it to him. “Your head is an after effect from the knockout drugs… i was hoping you'd go quietly… but i know how you can get… it tightens the money a bit, but we should be fine.. i grabbed what I could.” She sighed again before sitting on the bed again.

“I know this situation sucks… and I hate to do this.. but i had to keep you alive.. not because you were a crew leader, but because you are my brother as well… it's my job to keep you safe..”
 

Billy took the glass of water and drank it all at once. His head was the least of his concerns at the moment. It was his stomach that was doing summersaults. Philly? It had been Philly? Had Bella really hated him and Aurora that much? Was she just placating them the entire time they were together until she could get him into a weak position away from his power base?

His mind flashed back to just after the political party. The desk strewn with maps of Detroit. Maps of HIS city. He hung his head.

“The Dragon did this.”

He could feel the rage boiling inside of him. He had taken a bullet for Aurora. He had loved her, was she just pretending the entire time to help her mother manipulate him? He stifled that thought. That couldn’t be true, not of his Roar. Her mother though? No, now was not the time. There would be a time. Right now, his sister needed him. So he put his glass down, reached out, and held her close to his chest.

“It’s going to be alright. I promise. Everything will be fine. We have to lay low for a while like you said, but I can make a mountain out of a molehill. I did it before in Detroit and I can do it again. This time though, I won’t let things slip by me. This time, I strike first from across the sea and see how they fucking like it.”

He reached over and took the cigar from his sister’s hand, placing it gently into the ashtray. He then kissed her forehead and leaned back onto the bed, pulling her down with him.

“My head is fucking killing me, and I’m sure you’re going through a lot of shit.”

He dropped his hand to touch her on the belly.

“We’re gonna get you both home before this little one even knows something went wrong. For now, let’s take a nap like that night we did when we lost Kenzi. When we wake up again, we can talk about where to go from here. But right now, we both need to let things rest for just a little bit. The world already came crashing down right? Fuck it, let’s get some goddamned sleep then, cause it doesn’t get much worse than this.”

Something as simple as a small embrace from her brother made her realize that things could indeed be okay. The most important fact right now that she needed to focus on instead of worrying about the unknown, was that they were alive and okay. Sure they had to lay low for awhile… but they were alive and could get back to Aurora and Alucard. 

Sighing as she simply said nothing instead of nodding while exhaustion started to dig its claws into her. She didn't fight or argue as he pulled them both into laying down, she hadn't slept well at all since hopping on a private flight to get out here to her brother. She truly did hate flying and not being able to sleep due to worrying she had made a call too late had kept both her and her flying anxiety up.

“A nap shouldn't hurt… we do need to get out of Italy though…” she was already drifting off as she laid there on her side, her eyes heavy as she tried to finish her sentence.

“Need space…. Vatican…” she barely got the last word out as her body forcibly made her sleep, going a few days without was not something she should have been doing anyway.
 

When Billy woke next Integra was still sleeping, and her cigar was untouched. It must have gone out instead of burning down to nothing. He rolled and then looked out the window. It was early morning.

“Time to get up and start your new life. Or get back to your old one. Decide now Billy, because it’s going to dictate everything you do from here on out.”

He turned and looked at his sister sleeping there quietly. She was pregnant. Aurora wasn’t, but she was alive. Alucard was alive, he would be happy to see a pregnant Tegs. Billy was alive himself and would be happy to see Aurora no matter what. The orphans? He shook his head. He had to focus on the things he knew were true, not things that might or might not be.

“Yeah. We’re fucking going home.”

He went to take a shower then, it would help him think on where to go next. As he made his way across the room, his stomach rumbled. It was going to be a long while before he had himself a decent breakfast again.

It wasn't until after Billy had finished his shower that Integra finally stirred herself. She felt better than she had the previous day, but getting some much needed sleep could do that for a person.

As she sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her face, not saying a word due to not being fully awake yet and simply grabbing some clothes before heading into a shower.

The clothes she grabbed were different than normal. Instead of constant suit pants and button up tops, she had simple dresses. She knew that she would stand out if she was in her usual dress. 

After the shower she worked on drying the long hair of hers before glancing towards her brother. “The suitcase has money in it… it should have Fifty-thousand… i'd grabbed more but i paid that small man for his silence and the drugs to knock you on your ass…” she offered a half smile to her brother.

After towel drying her hair she glanced at him. “It should be safe to grab something to eat before heading wherever…” she didn't want to push him, she knew he had been having a lovely vacation with Aurora… and because of circumstances she had to rip him away from that. Something she was struggle to not feel guilty about. Even if it was better than the alternative.

“You want breakfast? I don’t know if there is much around, but if you know of a place.”

Billy shrugged.

“You uh… look… weird.”

He tried really hard not to say that, but she did. She never wore those kinds of clothes, and it was really throwing Billy off. Integra was never that kind of a lady to him. She was the strong, take charge, sort of person. For the first time in his life Billy noticed just how small and fragile Integra actually was.

“It’s nice, but I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to it.”

He turned and headed for the door.

“You’re in charge of the suitcase though. Only give me what you are comfortable with. You’re the one with the plan that kept us alive. I’ll use what you give me and bring back more, but whatever plan you’ve got cooked up, that comes first.”

He cracked the door and peeked outside before nodding.

“Looks like the coast is clear. Ain’t a damned person around. We got a car, or are we hoofing it?”

Hearing her brother mentioned that she looked weird. She couldn't help but chuckle lightly, shaking her head slightly as she worked on putting her hair up so it wasn't so noticeable.

“That's the point dear brother. If i wore my usual dress we would be noticed right away. There's a car we can get started in, but honestly we should change it every now. Just to be safe.” 

She wasn't too worried about people recognizing them here, unless he was well known in these areas. She had made sure to grab her personal duffel bag and the suitcase full of the money. She nodded when he mentioned she would be in charge of it.

“I know we need to get out of Italy… i know a few languages from younger days… but what are you comfortable with headed to?”

She kept her voice low as she walked next to him, heading to a standard car that wasn't very flashy. Putting the suitcase and bags in the back seat, grabbing some money from the suitcase before handing it to him. It was about five grand for the moment, she wouldn't tell him no to taking more, but she couldn't see them needing more than this for the time being. 

“I would just walk as normal, though, if we act too on edge it will just draw attention to us.”
 

“On edge? Why would I be on edge? I’m already dead, what else is there?”

He took the cash and flipped through it quickly, it was just shy of five thousand. He could make it work.

“Am I supposed to drive, or you? I mean, you probably know the place better, but the people here…” he shrugged “...I have a feeling they wouldn’t like a woman behind the wheel.”

He made his way to the driver’s side of the car and got in.

“I don’t really care where we go, changing my clothes isn’t gonna help me blend in. I’m not exactly an average size here. So you tell me, where can we go to hideout? Point in a direction and that’s where we go for now. Once we settle in, I’ll figure out a place to make some money.”

“It would seem i'm the one on edge then, i'll have to remedy that.” She let him take the drivers side as she got into the passenger seat, going into the glove box in order to take out a carefully folded map. Undoing it and folding it to a point before putting that in her lap. Her eyes scanned for a small mark she'd made, though said mark didn't correspond quite well to where they were going, just off kilter of where they actually were. 

“There's a small agricultural town of Kleinlützel, in Switzerland… it should be a good place to lay low for a bit. How's your French?”

That had been a few days ago… now they were settled in a small farm on the outside of an even smaller town that dealt with mostly farmers. Integra had given her brother the pair of fake IDs they would need to get through the borders. 

She hadn't slept much in the car, if at all, and the first thing she did to try and take down noticeable features of herself was to cut her long hair. Not too badly, but it no longer hung down around her waist, instead it was up by her shoulder blades hanging low around that area.

She was currently going through what was available in where they were staying food wise. “You know… i'm kicking myself in the ass for never learning how to cook, now would probably be a good time than any to learn…”.
 

Billy sighed.

“Do you want me to teach you? I was never bad at it. I was never good at it either, but you should learn because it’ll be easier than digging ditches or milking cows all damned day. I don’t think you should have to do that, but you know, I want you to be able to take it easy, especially in a couple of months when you really need to.”

He pulled out some pots and pans and looked around for some vegetables.

“I’ll go get some well water. Fucking lack of plumbing.”

He would not get used to that. That would be the biggest pain in the ass of all.

“You can at least boil water right?”

Integra offered her brother a small smile, it didn’t really hit her eyes and almost seemed apologetic in nature as she watched him. “It might be better that you teach me than me trying to learn on my own… I’d much rather not burn the place to the ground… through a cooking accident.”  She knew this was definitely a different kind of style of living than they were both used to. Especially the lack of plumbing… she was going to have to make sure they next place they get to absolutely had plumbing… otherwise things were going to get very annoying.

“I’ll make sure the next place has plumbing… didn’t really think this place would be without…” She sighed as she ran her hand through her shortened hair, thinking about a few things before leaning against one of the counters, out of Billy’s way. There was something about hearing him mention the fact that in a few months, she would truly need to rest for the child in her stomach would be growing. She grew quieter as something tugged at her heart, most likely the fact that the father of her soon to be child wasn’t here to help her through this. As much as she cared for her brother… it wasn’t the same as seeing the excitement she was sure Alucard would of had during this time.

“I doubt I could catch water on fire..”
 

Billy smiled.

“Good, then I’ll go get some water, and we will make some pasta and some sauce. Worst case scenario we can make that every day for the rest of our lives.”

With that Billy made his way out to the pump. He took in a deep breath. The air here was crisp and cooler than back home. It had a different smell too. It was nice, but that didn’t mean he ever wanted to get used to it. He made his way back into the house then and poured a pot of water, putting it on the fire.

“So, let’s get the water to a boil, and start on the sauce.”

She offered a small smile back as she watched Billy smile before heading out to go get the water. She was still leaning on the counter, never really having been a person who did anything in the kitchen, so she didn’t really know where to start. At least, learning now, she could have something to keep herself busy, and hopefully it would keep her mind off of things that were going on at the moment.

When he came back and poured a pot of water, she moved over towards the stove so she could start learning.

“So.. what all do we need to get this sauce started?” She really didn’t have any clue and would just have to go off of whatever instructions that her brother gave her.
 

“The biggest pot we’ve got and a few tomatoes and some spices. That’s really all sauce is in the end.”

Billy nodded, and looked around.

“Wait a minute. We need to go shopping first don’t we?”

He stopped putting wood into the stove and instead brushed himself off.

“Alright then. I guess we will have to make our first foray into town and buy our ingredients. Maybe we should introduce ourselves to a few of the locals as well. We still good with being married? For how long? Where did we meet? And most importantly, what is our name again?”

“We do still need to go shopping, yes… we haven't really bought much.” she watched him brush himself off. “I should remember enough French to get us through… ummm for the other questions.”

She took a few moments as she thought for a bit, recalling thoughts. “Being married with me being pregnant seems the only option. If you don't feel comfortable with that, its fine, we just might need to move about more or find a spot a bit more remote and away from things… i would say maybe a short period? Between 1 to 3 years? There is no hiding that i'm British so maybe we met in america and moved back over here… names… i believe..” she rummaged through a few things, looking for the fake IDs she had given him back when the first crossed the border from Italy into Switzerland. "Jean-Claude and Claire…" she scrunched her nose a little, not liking how the names sounded… it sounded foreign… and not like them… she would have to really remind herself that he wasn't Billy… and she wasn't Integra…
 

Billy shook his head.

“Last name. I’m not changing my first fucking name. I did that once, and I picked the one I wanted.”

He looked to Integra then.

“As far as being married, I agree, it’s the only real option. I’m not going to wear a ring though, get that thought out of your head. I’m only ever going to wear one ring in my life, and it’s not for a fake marriage. Two years though I think is good, and there’s no reason to lie about how we met. We DID meet in a bar in the United States after all.”

He grabbed a small basket from the corner.

“Come on then darling, we have shopping to do. I figure it’ll be easier to just call each other pet names rather than our names if we have to. If you want me to call you Claire I will, but judging by your face, you really don’t like that either. Problem is, Integra isn’t exactly as common as say Billy is.”

He furrowed his brow and scrunched up his mouth in thought for a moment.

“What about Peg? It sounds a little like Teg if you say it fast enough, and it’s a pretty common name. Peggy.”

He held the door open for her then and they began to walk down the road.

“When we have a little bit of money to spare, we should also think about buying a second-hand bicycle. My nonna has one, it makes it much easier to get around in the countryside.”