It had been two days. Billy had driven hard and fast out of the countryside the same day that he found out about the war in America. He and his sister came in contact with some folks at the harbor later the same day and hopped a boat. Luckily the boat, small as it was, did have a motor, so it was off quick enough, and it wasn't all that far to Sicily.

Once there though, there was no car waiting, not this time, so a taxi would have to do.

"Vai ad est e ti dirò dove andare quando ci avvicineremo."

He tossed the bags into the trunk of the car and flashed a hundred dollar bill to the cabbie. There was a familiar wide-eyed face in front of Billy then. It was a face of awe, and greed, and most importantly, it was the face that Billy knew meant that he was getting anything he wanted.

About an hour in, the cabbie being directed to where he needed to go, Billy tapped the man on the shoulder. He did his best to slow to a stop, but Billy did not wait. He was out of the car and running toward the house immediately.

"Nonna!"

Billy saw Gio step out of the house then and the man's face went pure white. He turned and screamed into the house, but not for Nonna, for Addie.

"Hey Gio. Where's Nonna?"

He looked toward the house as his cousin's lithe frame began to emerge.

"Hey Adds. I know I've got a lot to explain, but there's some urgent shit going on, can we talk?"

Integra had slept as much as she could along the car ride when she had a chance. It made the time go by much faster what little sleep she did get, though most of it was spent awake and trying to squash the fear of the worst that could have happened in Philadelphia. Her mind worried more so about Aurora and Alucard, and what friends they had left in Philly... She truly did hope they were alright. Unfortunately, the papers had notated that the Dragon of Philadelphia had been slain. It was disheartening to hear and even saddened Integra a bit, she had not known the woman all that well, had only really met her once. But she had come to respect the woman after seeing how she carried herself and how she cared for her family.

As they crossed the water on the boat and traveled via taxi to Billy's home, Integra watched her brother quietly, trying to focus on making sure he was alright. She could barely keep up with his longer legs once he bolted from the car before it had even stopped. Trying her best to notate for the man in the taxi to stay. She'd never really learned Italian. Latin she knew, as well as enough French to get by in the small towns and read the newspapers. Even a little German could get her further than trying to speak Italian, at least her cooking had gotten better... to some degree.

As she walked up to the house, her eyes moved around, taking in their surroundings as she only headed towards the door, glancing back a few times to make sure that the Taxi-man would stay where he was parked. She poked her head into the door as she glanced around for her brother. "Billy... I don't think charging into the house was a good idea..." She sighed softly, running a hand through her hair. 

Addie stood fixated to the ground half-in and half-out of the house.  Her face was pale and her eyes were wide in shock and disbelief.

"Billy?" she breathed in almost a whisper.  A part of her feared that any sound louder than that whisper might dispel the mirage that was before.  Was she seeing an apparition? Billy was dead.  She had seen the body, touched the body, and cried over the body.

In a haze she walked up to him.  It was such an odd feeling.  She knew it was her body that was moving, but she felt like it belonged to someone else.  Hesitatingly, she reached out to touch his face.

This time she spoke a little louder, "Billy?  Is it really you?"  

Billy smiled and nodded.

"Yeah Addie. It's me. I know I've got a lot to explain I'm sure. But really it's pretty simple. The guy who died only looked like me cause well, you know what kind of work I'm in, so it was safer to have a guy like that around."

He gestured to Integra behind him.

"This is Integra. She's my sister, not by blood, by choice. She's the reason I'm still here."

He leaned again the wall then and took a deep breath while wiping his brow.

"Addie, I'm going back to the United States. Gio here is, well, he's gonna inherit the farm, and he's gonna marry that girl who runs the coffee shop. But I want to talk to Nonna about you, I want to talk to you too. I want to know what you're gonna do. I'm leaving later today to go home, and I was wondering if you want to come with me?"

He peaked inside then.

"Also, can I get a glass of water, it's really hot out here. And one for Tegs too, she needs to keep cool."

Suddenly Addie threw her arms around her cousin and hugged him fiercely.  He was alive.  So how he was actually alive.  Gio joined them in the hug and they held each other tight.  Then she realized that he did not know.  It broke her heart knowing she was going to have to tell and she squeezed him even tighter.  After a moment she pulled back slowly and looked deep into his eyes.  "I am so sorry Billy."

Shaking her head slightly she told him, "Nonna is dead.  She died a week after we buried you.  Her heart could not take it."  Once again she reached up to caress the side of his face knowing what this knowledge was going to do to him.

Billy opened his mouth, and then shut it. He opened it again, and nothing came out. Instead he felt his legs give out underneath him and he fell. He did not try to grab onto anything, or brace himself. He just fell. And everything else came crashing down with him. The whole world came crashing down with him.

There was only one time before this that Billy felt this way. He never cared about his mother's passing. He did what needed to be done then. And his father had died off and away somewhere and he was angry for being abandoned. This was exactly what he felt when Kenzi had gone. This was all his fault.

He punched the ground and screamed. It was nothing but primordial rage and a keening that all men knew deep down and never wanted to let bubble to the surface. Billy burned men alive last time. This time? There was nobody this time to blame, it was only him.

And then the tears ripped through him. Deep racking sobs, uncontrollable humanity in it's most true form. Billy loved his Nonna, Billy loved his sisters. Billy loved his Aurora.

Billy only had one of them left now, and that was still up in the air.

Addie went to the ground with Billy and managed to control their fall somewhat.  The scream and burst of anger was expected, but the sobs that followed gutted her like a knife to her gut.  Each one was a twist of the blade and she held him tightly against her bosom.  She spoke no words.  She just cradled and rocked him softly as she kissed the back of his head and coo'ed softly hoping to bring him comfort.  Tears welled in her eyes so that she could barely see Gio when she looked at him.  Nodding towards the house the twins wordlessly communicated.  Gio nodded and went into the house to retrieve cups of water for Billy and Integra.  Gio was never one to be comfortable with emotions and Addie knew he would be welcoming of the distract.

Softly she stroked his hair and let him mourn the passing of Nonna like she had done a month ago.  She did not know how long they remained there, but when finally the sobs began to somewhat subside she tried to ease his pain.  "Billy, listen.  Aurora.... Aurora is alive!"

It was a snap. Like that of a dry twig that had been sitting on the forest floor. An echo through his mind, and all emotion was pierced through by this one thought.

Aurora, alive.

It held back his tears, his sobs, his passion for anything except the woman he loved faded out of his existence and he pulled his head back from Addie.

"How do you know?"

He turned and looked to Integra. Their journey from the little hamlet to this place had been all but silent. Neither one of them wanted to pierce the air with what was obvious. Now he plead with her wordlessly to tell him if she thought Aurora could have survived. There was no need for words, Integra would nod, or shake her head, and that's all he would need. Just a sign.

There had not been a single time that she had really seen her brother breakdown kike this, not even when Kenzi had been killed in an accident could she remember him screaming out like he just had. She averted her gaze for a moment, giving him what little privacy she could afford to give him.

She had felt this like a pierce through her heart again, feeling the guilt that had been building like a snowball falling down a mountain. She found herself stuck in her own thoughts up until she heard Addie mention that Aurora was alive. Her head turned back towards the two on the ground, her eyes goong over Addie before looking into her Brother's, seeing the pleading look in his eyes.

She knew what he was asking, and she knew that he knew she wouldnt lie to him in a moment like this, that she would be blunt and straightforward with him. Aurora being alive after all that bloodshed in Philly? It was what she was truly hoping for them to find but now she actually contemplated the odds. If Gavin had stayed with Aurora here... and Alucard was with them, there was a good chance they were alive. Besodes, she had seen Hollowood, the place was harder to get into than a military base, there absolutely would of given people enough time to get out. With those thoughts in her head she gave her brother a simple notion. She nodded.

Billy looked from his sister to his cousin. The tears had been dammed. His sorrow was overcome by hope.

Billy Mastrosimone stood up from the ground in that moment and looked toward the sun.

"Thank you Addie, but now I'm not asking you anymore. Pack a bag, you're coming to America with me to help me make this right. People attacked our family. People attacked my sister, my girlfriend, and me. It's time we do something about it, and I know that you want to."

He turned to Gio then.

"We both know you're a scaredy cat."

He smiled then and patter his cousin on the back.

"Which is a good thing, because someone needs to stay here and take care of the farm and get married and have babies right? We need to have our ties to the old world stronger than ever. The new world is full of monsters and murderers. We can't afford to lose the old one."

He took the glass of water in Gio's hand and then gestured toward Integra.

"Sis, you thirsty?"

Billy stood and stared for a good few minutes. If Aurora had carved this herself, then she saw the body. If she saw the body she got away from the Conti's just like Tegs had said. If she saw the body... she knew he was alive.

A broad smile crept across his face and he chuckled before reaching out and ripping with all of his might. He could feel the splintered wood under his calloused hands. Could feel the hard earth give way as he tore the makeshift headstone away from the man to whom it did not belong.

"I'm taking this with me. I have a feeling I'll need it one day, but Sicily always knew that one of her sons wasn't buried here. Now the whole world can know."

He turned first to Integra.

"Sis, I hate the name, always have, always will. Now that you know, I gotta ask you, beg you, don't tell anyone else."

He did not wait for a nod, he knew she would understand. He knew that she was aware of how much meaning people would put into a name. if they didn't why did a name like Windsor matter? It was just as made up as his was.

"Addie. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you or to tell you what to do. But you also need to know that when we get to the U.S. there might be some times that you are just going to have to listen to orders alright? You lash out like that against someone who outranks you and, well, I'm gonna have to kill someone because you're blood. I don't want to do that."

He started back toward the house.

"Now come on, we gotta pack your shit. Oh, and tell me one more thing? What knife did you give her to carve this with? I want it."

Integra thanked both her brother and his cousin for the water before drinking it, sighing softly as she quietly followed both Billy and Addie out to the gravesites. She had never been a fan of grave sites. She felt like she'd spent so much time at them before she ever first came over to the Americas. A shiver ran through her spine as she walked behind the pair, and saw the hand-carved headstone that was left at his grave and felt guilt stabbing through her heart again. Just how much pain had she brought onto people to ensure the safety of her brother, herself and the child growing in her stomach? His grandmother had passed away thinking a loved one was dead... and she'd seen the pain it had caused Billy.

Hearing him state how he hated his full name right before asking her to never tell anyone, she simply nodded. "No need to beg, Billy. I understand." Her voice was low as she thought or a few moments before following him closely, waiting for him to stop speaking for a moment before reaching to grab at his arm.

"Billy..." Her eyes glanced upwards to his for a moment before she dropped her gaze, not wanting to see the hurt look in his eyes when she burst the happy bubble that she could sense around him at the moment. He might not have said anything, but she could see the change in his attitude and she had to ruin it. Again.

"Billy... Stop. Think for a moment. Why would she have carved this headstone... if she thought you were alive. I...I need you to be prepared that they've both been dealing with us dead." She didn't dare look up into his eyes. She didn't do anything but look at his hands, as she gently reached to take one into her own, squeezing gently. "Billy... we have to be prepared for that...and I'm sorry. I could have prepared more... so we wouldn't be where we are... but this is where we have landed... I just..." She dared to glance up at him, dared to risk seeing the possible pain that could be on his face, or the disbelief, she wasn't sure, but she kept talking as she looked him in the eyes and did what she'd always done. Told him the hard truth of things.

"If Aurora thought you were alive... why would she have carved this... why would she not have tried to find you... to burn everything in her path to find you... especially if she had her father and Alucard with her. You know she wouldn't do these things unless she truly thought you were dead... and the body double was close in looks... a few small differences... but he... he fooled your Nonna Billy... I..." She stopped. She could no longer look up at him, the pain of guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders and the piercing pain in her heart struck like lightning through her body with each beat of her heart.

"God... I wish I could fix things... I wish that I'm sorry was enough to fix all of this..." Her voice came out almost a whisper, it was the lowest she had ever felt and the farthest from how she normally was. At this moment she was not the strong-willed Right Hand and Sister to Don Mastrosimone. Right now she was just simply the sister of a man who she felt she had wronged and hurt in the worst of ways... with no real idea on how to help fix this except to try and hope that things could be fixed when they got back. 

Billy pulled his sister into an embrace.

"Tegs. There's nothing to fix, nothing that you did wrong. I'm sorry for not being smarter about this, about not bringing bodyguards."

He squeezed then and kissed the top of her head.

"Everything is going to be alright though. We are going to go home and find everyone. I won't lie. It's not going to be easy, but nothing that we have done in the past was exactly easy."

He pulled back then.

"You're right though, they probably think we are dead. That was the point of it all right? Well. Let's go home and give them the surprise of their lives."

Addie pointed to a nearby tree and spoke to Billy, "I suppose it is up there where Aurora sat craving it, if she left it there.  You would just have to go see if it is still there."  

Leaving Tegs and Billy, Gio and Addie went back into the house.  While Gio helped her to pack, Addie also prepared a small meal for everyone.  Her Nonna would roll over in her grave, if failed to offer hospitality even in this situation.  So she sat out on the table some bread, olive oil salt and pepper, cheese, and some grapes. 

While the others ate, she finished her packing.  She kept it light for she figured they would be moving a lot for a while.  Also she did not have many possessions to begin with.  This really was her best chance to get to the State.  She did not have the money to make the trip, but her cousin did.  He was the only one in the family that could provide her with this opportunity -- an opportunity to see the world beyond her small little island.

 The others were finishing their meal when she came out of her bedroom with her bag.  "I am ready."

Bill smiled and gestured to the table.

"Thank you Addie. I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."

He looked to his sister then, knowing that she was eating for two, and also knowing that they were about to take a flight. This was not going to go well, either she would be hungry and cranky, or she would have eaten and be nauseous.

""Tegs, do you want to take some cheese to go? Might get peckish later. Gonna be a long flight."

With that he stood and nodded.

"I'm going to see if I can't find the knife. Then we can take the car to the airport and make our way home. Philadelphia is our next stop."

Integra sighed into her brother's embrace, it was welcoming and for the moment it took away the guilt, but it still hung around the back of her mind... it probably would until they were reunited with Aurora and Alucard.

As they headed inside to eat, she felt her stomach turn. She definitely didnt want to eat too much knowing the plane ride would probably make her sick. "Cheese for later sounds fine, Thanks. If it's gonna be a long flight no food right now would probably be best... and then I swear... i never want tos tep on another plane...."

She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, drinking the water