Integra watched her brother silently as he spoke, having never realized something about him. That he had every changed his first name. Of all the time she had known him, it was now that she was starting to realize there wasn't much that she actual knew about the man she cared for as a brother.

“I never knew you changed your first name. I do hope you wouldn't think so low of me as to expect you to wear a ring… for this fake marriage. I'm not that much of a fool, Billy.”

She grew quietly again before saying a simply sentence once he had finished speaking. “Peggy is fine if you wish… as for a last name… how about Bellegarde.” She walked through the open door, her mind whirling with thoughts that she shouldn't be getting stuck on, but she couldn't help it really.

“We have whatever money we need… i don't think we will burn through what we have quickly… we are both smart with money, you more so than I am… but we should be fine, so a bike shouldn't be too much trouble.”
 

Billy shook his head.

“We don’t need it yet, and people need to see us as poor, so if we go in and just buy a bike they will think we have enough money to buy something like that any time we want. We need to earn everything except this first set of groceries or we are going to draw attention to ourselves.”

He sighed.

“I know we are both used to a certain lifestyle, but let me tell you. You never forget how to be poor when you are at least once. It never leaves you. There’s always something with you telling you that what you’re doing is a waste, that it’s not good, and you should be more frugal. Always.”

He looked forward toward the town.

“So Mrs. Bellegarde, let’s go to market, we need flour, and eggs, yeast, tomatoes and some herbs. I like Basil and oregano myself, but you can get whatever kind of herbs you want, it’s going to be your sauce after all. Oh, and if we can afford it a little it of a cheap cut of meat won’t hurt either.”

He smiled at her and then looked at her head.

“We are going to need to get you a hat too or you’ll burn.”

She listened to her brother as she walked with him, keeping up with him somewhat easily, being used to walking fast to keep up with those taller than her. “That will be something I’ll have to get used to, for now it’s probably best if you are keeper of the money that we use each week, at least until I can get into a rhythm of it.”

If Integra was to be honest, it felt quite strange being called Mrs. Bellegarde, she would have to remind herself constantly that she’d need to react to said name, if this was to be successful. She thought over the list of items they would need for the food they were going to cook, nodding as she mentally tried to remember some of the french words.  It had been some time, but she’d taken many years of it and one of the families she’d worked with before in England spoke a bit of french. 

“Let’s see if I can bargain my way to get some lower prices so we can get some meat then for this.” She knew she could bargain… but to do it in another language and without outing either of them would be a bit of a task. 

When Billy mentioned that they were going to need to get her a hat or she would burn, she could had a ghost of a smile flash across her lips as she shook her head slightly. “As surprising as that might be… I don’t actually burn easily… I have quite a few reasons to believe my mother was Indian… it’s why i'm not extremely pale.. I couldn’t verify it though as no one talked about her, nor were there many pictures…”

“Really? You are English but you’re not afraid of the sun? Weird.”

Billy shook his head as they came over the crest of the next hill to see a small town in the distance. The landscape, dotted by farms all around them, but the town was clearly visible due to the steeple.

“Always one church. I’m gonna have to make a hell of a walk on Sunday’s. That will be a day for simple food, smoked meat, prosciutto, pepperoni, salami, you know the kinds. Maybe a little bit of cheese. Hell, the little place that we have isn’t much, but I think within a few weeks I can swindle someone out of a dairy cow. We aren’t going to be growing much. Only what we can reasonably have you handle. I’ll be working on the surrounding farms, and negotiating for 10% if I can get it, of whatever I can haul in for the the day. And if it’s not harvesting, well then there’s going to be payment in cash, or livestock, or seeds, whatever we need at the time.”

He nodded. A plan was coming together the more he talked about it. And then they started in on the town.

“I’ll keep my mouth shut for now, but I won’t be afraid to speak English if anyone can. We established that story for a good reason.”

She felt unusually quiet, simply allowing Billy to speak as they walked, her own mind contemplating how different things were from so many years ago. She needed to stop feeling stuck in the past and it was annoying her that her mind kept seemingly going back, as if a part of herself was mocking her for this position she was in. Reminding her that she was a Hellsing, the last in line of a family that supposedly never bent to anything, one that always struck down their enemies. 

While it seemed her brother was formulating how to make them earnest money, her mind was wandering to figure out a way to build a silent army, not that they could afford one right now, nor could they risk the exposure.

She sighed softly before glancing at the town that was drawing closer, calming her thoughts and placing them on a back burner, now wasn't the time for such thoughts. “I can't remember the last time i set foot in a church…”

As the town drew even closer and she heard some people speaking French, she wondered if she remembered much of it at all… she had studied it quite thoroughly and had once been quite fluent in the language… but there could be some rust, hopefully which would rub off.

“I can start teaching you some french when we get back, i should remember a good bit of it.. not sure how rusty I am…”
 

Billy shrugged.

"I guess I should learn at least a little bit."

As they made their way through the small town, Billy noticed something quaint. There was no outdoor market. All of the roofs on the houses and buildings were slanted here, like back in New York. The weren't wider and flatter like in Sicily. For the first time Billy realized that buildings evolved like people did. Based on their environment. The ones who only cared about what looked nice would be destroyed when mother nature had her way with the world, but the ones built to stand up against the weather of that area, they would live. Billy would have to figure out what kind of weather he would need to stand up to.

Continuing on, there was a chocolatier, a flower shop, a butcher, and a small grocer's market. The church stood dead center of the square, and there were even cows walking down the road. Billy spotted a small newsstand then and made his way over, pulling out a few pennies.

"Hi, do you speak English by chance?"

The fellow behind the stand nodded.

"I do. Learned in school. Not from around here are you?"

Billy shook his head.

"No, just moved into the farm out of town by about a mile to the southeast."

The man stroked his graying beard and nodded. Billy guessed that he wasn't much older than 40, and had a good build.

"The old Liniger place. Yes I know of it. I am glad to see it put to good use. I am sure you are looking for the market, it is just down the street, you already passed it."

Billy smiled and gave the man a single nod.

"Aye, but is there any way you could sell me an American newspaper? My name is Ben by the way."

He held out his hand to shake.

"My wife Peggy and I just came in to go shopping. She's English, always wanted to live here and well, she managed to convince me to leave the States, but I gotta tell you, between us, I miss it."

The man behind the stand spread his hands.

"Mr. Ben, I can't sell you what I do not have. We do not get much demand for newspapers from the United States here."

Billy frowned.

"Do you think, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Rato." The man nodded with pride.

"Rato, do you think you could get one for me? I'd pay you for it obviously, but I would like to keep up on things. Perhaps once a week?"

Billy put five pennies on the wooden counter in front of him and Rato looked down at them. Rato nodded and then spoke again.

"They may be a week in post, but I can get these for you."

Both men smiled then and Billy returned to Integra.

"Well, we can get our news starting next week and at least parse out some of the things going on out there. It's a small bit of hope. Now, let's go buy some tomatoes."

While her brother had headed through the market at a seemingly faster pace, Integra took her time going from stall to stall, looking at the different items and listening to the different items that were being sold. Between the Chocolatier, florist, butcher and the smaller grocer's stand full of vegetables and fruits it wasn't as crowded as she had once thought it could be. Just another thing that really showed how small a town this place could be. Of course, most people probably came through to buy their items early in the morning where they could start cooking breakfast or start on something that had a longer cooking time so it'd be ready by dinner time.

Whatever the reasoning, this place was quiet. Almost too quiet for the blonde with the deep sapphire eyes, it left too much silence that allowed her mind to wander. Focusing on the French that was being spoken at the different stalls though did help some, as did keeping in mind the different items they were needing to buy today.

She was currently standing at the grocer's stall, looking over the different vegetables, her sharp eyes finding a few of the tomatoes before looking towards the vendor with a polite smile. She started with an easier French word she could remember, a simple greeting before asking the question, though she paused between a few words as she seemed to contemplate the correct order or the correct word.

"Salut... combien pour... les tomates?" She waited a few moments for the vendor before smiled back warmly, greeting her with a bit of enthusiasm.

"Bonjour ma chérie, les tomates? Quatre pour un quart." She smiled softly and was just about to say something as she heard Billy come up behind her commenting on Tomatoes. Standing up a little straighter she glanced over her shoulder at him as she stepped just a bit out of the way. "Oh, perfect timing. She's actually selling four for a quarter. We should be able to get most of the fruits and vegetables here... and the butcher is just next door so at least it's all close together."

She kept her voice a bit low before realizing he'd mentioned something about getting news. Though it wasn't so much as words that came out of her as it was her eyes lighting up. The thought of them being able to still receive news, even if it was a week behind was something she would be quite glad for.

Billy looked over the tomatoes.

"We're going to need a dozen of these. And if you want we can get some cheaper sausage, that will go well with the pasta, but we don't have to. I know we are on a budget here."

He smiled, and then put his arm around his sister, letting it rest on her waist. He smiled to the grocery woman then before looking back down to Integra again and lowering his voice.

"Remember, married, and you can use Ben in public if you have to, but never Benny."

He was visibly pained by the last word leaving his mouth. It was as if it were a razor blade to his heart that sliced as it came up from his lungs to betray him by escaping into the air.

"Once we've got our stuff, we can head back home and finish the sauce."

Integra listened to him speaking, leaning into him as she felt his arm come to rest around her. She was playing off the married imagine as best she could, which thankfully would be made a bit easier due to the fact that she was comfortable around her brother. Looking towards the woman, she smiled softly as she spoke softly in French again, relaying the amount that her brother had stated they would need.

"Peut-on avoir une douzaine de tomates?" The woman smiled as she nodded and started packing up a dozen tomatoes for them, before holding out the bag for them. 

"Bien sûr, ce sera soixante-quinze cents, s'il vous plaît." Integra glanced up towards her brother so she could translate for him, looking as relaxed as she could at the moment. "She said it is going to be seventy-five cents for the dozen. Did you want me to ask her for anything else, Ben?" She kept her voice soft, almost as if keeping the usual hard edge that she carried herself with, toying with the idea that she was a gentle person, something she hadn't been in years.

She had noticed that he seemed visibly pained by the name he'd asked her to never call him Benny, she couldn't ask about that now, but later she might be able to. 

"Sausage sounds nice actually, would add to the sauce."

Billy nodded and smiled, handing the grocer seventy five cents before taking the tomatoes in their basket and heading next door to the butcher.

"We don't need anything fancy, cheap stuff, end cuts, whatever he's got."

Billy looked around at the hanging meats and took in the smell. It was very much the same here as it was in Siciliy, and it was in Lorenzo's in Corktown. The same animals all over the world meet the same fate when the butcher comes to call.

Integra thanked the woman before walking with Billy towards the Butcher. the smell of the place made her stomach do a flip as she tried to ignore it. Focusing on the man behind the counter as she spoke with him.

"Combien pour certaines viandes?"

The man glanced up from the meat he was currently cutting before rattling off a few prices.

"Bacon est de treize cents la livre, dix-neuf si vous voulez le couper en tranches. Chuck Roast, Hamburger et Roast Beef valent dix cents la livre, treize si vous voulez une coupe de choix. Côtelettes de jambon et de porc, est de huit cents la livre. Saucisse, steak, longe coupée tourne à vingt cents la livre." She listened to the man before turning back to Billy, calmly letting him know the prices of the different meats.

"So, Ham and Pork Chops run about eight cents. Chuck roast, Hamburger and Roast beef are ten cents, thirteen if we want a prime cut. Bacon is thirteen, or nineteen if we want him to slice it for us. and Sausage, steak, and Loin cuts are twenty cents a pound. What all cuts did you want to get?" She watched him quietly.

"A couple of sausages, we don't need anything crazy."

He made his way back outside again and then looked out toward the horizon where he knew the house lay. He would not get used to this for quite some time.

Integra ordered some sausage, making sure to translate for Billy_Mastrosimone so he could know what was needed to pay. The walk back to the house seemed to be a quiet one, as was the rest of the night. Learning to make a sauce wasn't as difficult as she had originally expected, but it would certainly take some time before this could even be something for her to feel comfortable to attempt it by herself.

After a month or so of being in Kleinlutzel, Integra would have taught her brother as much French as she could for days when he wanted to head into town on his own, or when there were mornings where she just felt like utter shit due to the morning sickness of the pregnancy and couldn't go. She looked a bit different than she had some time ago, now her hair was not only cut to the bottom of her shoulder blades, but it was dyed a soft brown color. Furthering the difference in how she would have looked if she'd kept the long blonde strands and the suit outfits. At least now she could mostly be covered. 

It was a pretty normal morning in the essence that morning sickness had once again made her feel like shit, so she was trying to get some warm tea down as well as some pieces of toast, never really feeling quite so hungry in the morning after getting sick. In the quiet morning, drinking her tea, letting her mind wander to all the things that had changed over the past month and a half. She'd gotten quieter over the time, not talking too much lately unless needed, mostly allowing her mind to just wander about different things, most of it being back to what was going on in the states and how Alucard and Aurora were doing, as well as everyone else.

It had been two weeks in their small town. Billy had still not quite gotten used to everything here, but he was able to find a way to make a tiny bit of money on the side he did not tell Integra about. It's the reason he went into town every Sunday. After making his way to church on the bicycle that was given to him by a very nice older couple who had no longer needed it, he made his way straight to the newsman again.

"Morning Rato, happy Sunday to you."

He smiled and picked up the copy of the New York Times that Rato was keeping for him waiting.

"Any news as of late?"

Rato shrugged.

"Only if you're interested in the weather."

Billy nodded. That meant simply that Rato hadn't found any buyer for the piece of art Billy managed to snatch up. There was an art collector in town that Billy had gotten to know at Church. He was very loose with his tongue, and what he told Billy was simple. Germany was cracking down on all art within the country. That meant that art from there was going to be worth a pretty penny, already was skyrocketing. He had a few connections, but not enough capital to make a real go at hiring some folks. His name was Julian, and he seemed like he enjoyed to talk a big game.

Billy had the money though. So he went into business with the man, spent a little more than he should have and suddenly found himself waiting for a buyer. Julian would be the only loose end to tie up if he had to hide quickly, and that was one scrawny man. Wouldn't even take a bullet.

"Thanks Rato, see you next..."

Billy dropped the bike and stared at the paper. A picturesque view of a home he knew. A place in Philadelphia, he would bet his soul on it. He felt his heart flutter a moment before looking at the headline.

Nationwide Mob War Leads to Countless Dead

"Oh shit."

He uttered the words before he knew what he was saying and then picked up the bike, he started at a run and hopped on clutching the newspaper as tight as he could along the way.

He didn't know how long it took him to get back to the house, but he knew it felt like forever. He also knew that he was drenched in sweat and that it was the fastest he'd ridden in his life. He was gasping and gulping for air when he burst into the house through the one small door leading to the kitchen.

"I... Teg...It..."

He tossed the paper onto the table and felt his own weight pull him to the ground. Lady_Integra would know what to do next. Integra always knew what to do next.

It had been quiet for some time that she'd finished the small bit of food that she was eating, and her tea, having just washed them in the sink when she heard her brother come bursting into the house. Her eyes flashed with worry as she saw his state, grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the tap before moving to his side and holding it out for him, her hand on his shoulder as she listened to the words he was trying to spit out.

It was then that her eyes followed to the newspaper, standing up as she went to read it, a look of absolute calm on her face face. If one had just glanced at her she wouldn't have looked bothered by the headline or it's picture. However, she moved a chair over to sit down, holding the paper in one hand, a tenseness in her jawline as her eyes scanned the paper, taking in every detail. She could feel the dread in her heart and the empty pit of a feeling in her stomach. There was no real movement or sound from her for a few moments before she closed her eyes and took a breath. Things were changing and their plan was going to have to change as well. With almost all of Philadelphia dead, there was one thing they could do... Go home.

"Gather your things, Billy. I think it's time we go home. We need to see what's left..." She glanced towards her brother as she set down the folded paper, she was trying to hide the worry in her eyes... The last she had heard was that Alucard was with Gavin Byrne in Sicily... did all of them get back to Philadelphia? Who was left alive? The papers had mentioned that the Dragon was dead, along with countless others in one hell of a bloody war that had shaken the entire city. What had become of the two people they had been fighting to get back too for all this time. Were Aurora and Alucard safe? They wouldn't be able to find out, until they headed back for themselves... 

Billy looked up from the floor, taking the water and downing it before he nodded.

"Yeah, except we can't go back alone. We gotta gather up whatever strength we can. I want to go back to Sicily, pay a visit to whoever is left out there. Maybe we can go to Philly with at least a couple of bodyguards or something that we borrow from DiCaprio."

He made his way into the bedroom while continuing to talk.

"And my nona will be glad to see me I'm sure. Not to mention I gotta give Gio my blessing to marry the coffee shop girl, and see if Addie is gonna you know, find someone."

Then it struck him and he poked his head out of the bedroom.

"Hey! Maybe my cousin will come with us, that'd be a treat. She can be a bit rough sometimes but I think we might need some of that. What do you think?"

She listened to her brother speak for a few moments, sitting back in the chair so that she could really think about what he had said. She thought long and hard about the option that was presented before them. They could head immediately home from where they were, making no stops anywhere else and possibly put themselves into danger without knowing what the fuck was waiting for them back in the states. Her arms crossed loosely in front of her body as she contemplated. Finally closing her eyes and sighing softly and nodding.

"You're right, we cannot go back alone. We have no idea what would really be there for us when we get there... we should technically be prepared for anything." The wheels in her mind were turning and it could be seen through her eyes as they seemed to flash. This was the most she'd been able to really use her mind since they got here, and she was quite grateful indeed for the mental exercise.

She had gotten up along with her brother so they could go pack their things and get ready to head out. Hearing him ask about his cousin and how she could possibly go with them and that it would be a treat. She thought for a moment as she continued to fold up some clothes from the dresser.

"We could, it'd be a long drive if we go that route, we could lose a day or two, but If we are heading back to the states, there's no reason why we couldn't stop at your family's place in Sicily."

"Should be interesting meeting them by the way..." She was feeling the tinge of nervousness at having to go near the Vatican city again, but they truly could use whatever help they could get if they were going to head back to the States and into the unknown. It was like going in blind without a bulletproof vest. It would be stupid. At least if they had some backup things could be safer and they would have extra eyes to watch their backs.