Guys, from the bottom of my heart thank you so much for continuing to read on! I hope you enjoyed the one shots while I have been working my way to get the sequel written out! I want to give a special shout out to Emerald Fier who gave me an idea for the core of this story. Anyhow, I hope you all continue to enjoy these as much as I love writing them. The next chapter might not be out for another day or so because I am going to be taking a much needed break after doing finals. Plus I have some editing to take care of with this. As always, don't be a stranger and leave a review or PM me! It is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

Two years seemed to go by in a blink of a second. Helena walked out towards the apartment's balcony and could see the city in its full glory. She had missed this place and even a part of her enjoyed being back in the states. The smell of the wind, the textures of the buildings, everything just felt right. Not having to worry about the Family tailing her every move was also a plus. Italy had become a second home to her though and she found herself missing it from time to time since she had returned a few days ago. Helena gently closed her eyes and began to think. The Middle East incident was way past her now as were the missions Leon and her had been on in Europe within the last couple of years. For some reason she felt more content and in fact a bit peaceful during the last few months since Leon and her finally tied the knot. Helena leaned on the edge of the balcony and took in a deep breath. There was a lot to take care of and she already found herself exhausted. Getting their citizenship back, their records, and even the apartment in one piece was no easy task. A part of her was beginning to stress out until she felt Leon's arms around her waist. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and she lightly giggled as he kissed her.

"Hey, how are you holding up?"

He asked sweetly, his eyes traveling down the road below them to see the people wandering about with their daily lives.

"I'm fine, just tired that's all."

"Do you want to take a nap?"

"No, there is still a lot to do with the apartment."

Leon nodded and let Helena go before leaning up against the balcony himself. He played with his thumbs a bit as he began to think about the changes the pair had been going through. Claire kept their apartment clean for the most part while she lived there until they could return. Leon had even thought about just letting her keep the place during his and Helena's two year run from the Family, but she finally got with someone and moved in with him however. It was strange news for him to take in. Since Steve's death, Claire was always free spirited and carefree when it came to relationships but from what Chris had told him on the phone the previous night, she was taking the guy seriously, but in a healthy way of course. Leon smirked a bit, remembering how addicted he has been to Helena. A part of him couldn't blame Claire for her behavior; it's only natural when you love someone.

Though he was more than happy to be back, there was something about Italy that made him feel comfortable. Then again Leon loved the fact that it was just him and Helena, no one else. Now that they were back in the USA the couple would be going back to the tedious missions and the long periods being away from home. He wasn't looking forward to it, and he had a feeling Helena wasn't either. Being in Italy gave him a sense of freedom, and even a taste of what retirement was going to be like. Leon made it clear before Helena and him traveled back that he was only going to fight B.O.W's for another two years and that would be the end of it. All he wanted since he married Helena was to live for her, and hopefully live their lives in peace without worrying about the calamity in the world. Chris had offered him a job as a trainer for SURGE recruits so that Leon wouldn't have to travel or even face B. . Leon thought about taking up Chris on that offer, but he had to think it over especially with Helena. Leon looked over at her and could see the tired look in her eyes. Her body looked weak as well as her fingers lightly trembled. He came over to her and stroked the side of her cheek as he pulled her into a warm embrace. Helena found herself melting into his arms as she sighed and closed her eyes, fixating her ears to the sound of his heartbeat. Leon stroked her hair gently and rocked her a little bit hoping to ease up some of the tension and pressure she was feeling.

"Everything is going to work out Lena."

Leon whispered to her as she took in his scent and looked up at him.

"I hope so. I just can't believe how much we have to go through to set things normal again. Did Hunnigan ever call you back about the meeting you, me, and Manuela are supposed to attend?"

"No, she hasn't gotten back to us. She did say though the other day that we should go over to HQ and pick up some paper work for our passes and such. If you want I can go in myself and take care of it. You look like you need a break from everything."

Leon smiled at her and Helena shook her head with a smirk.

"Leon, I'm not getting old. I can take care of this too just as well as you can."

"Fair enough, but I just thought I was being nice."

"When are you ever nice?"

"I'm nice to you all the time! I take you out to eat, buy you things you shouldn't really have but I do out of the kindness of my heart, and I even did the laundry plus dishes the last few nights all by myself."

"Well, aren't you a big kid now?"

Leon lightly chuckled as he kissed Helena briefly, her lips lightly shaking a bit as she giggled. His smile turned into a huge smirk as he looked at Helena longingly. She shot a playful glare at him, taking the hint.

"I don't think I'm going to be up for it today."

She said in a faint voice as he kissed her neck tenderly.

"Why not?"

"I'm too tired, but maybe tomorrow?"

Leon stopped for a bit and kissed her forehead. He sighed a bit, seemingly disappointed but he shook it off though. Now that he was thinking about it, it wouldn't be a good time anyhow. There was still much to go through in the apartment and also to prepare for the night. Chris had been asking Leon since he returned if they could have a guy's night out like they use too after their AA meetings. Leon didn't see any harm in that, but he couldn't help but catch onto a negative vibe that radiated off of Chris and heck even Jill. Leon could recall during the car ride home that the two seemed tense throughout the trip. They barely even spoke to one another and it was only because of Claire they even muttered a single word. Leon remembered talking about this with Helena, and some part of him worried about Chris and his relationship with Jill. They just seemed off, and Leon didn't want to admit it but it was starting to grow on him. He was already worried enough about Helena's well being since they returned, and adding Chris to the list further complicated his mind. Leon found himself forgetting about it though when Helena gently pressed her forehead to his and relaxed her soft arms around his neck. It was little displays of affection such as this that made him feel less panicked. He looked deeply into her eyes and sighed happily.

"How did I end up with someone so beautiful?"

"How did I end up with someone who picks cheesy one liners?"

"Oh, Lena why do you have to kill these moments?"

Helena giggled as Leon rolled his eyes and pulled away from her. He found himself smirking a bit before he decided to head back into the apartment. Leon traveled to the bedroom and sighed, seeing that there was still quite a bit of mess leftover from their unpacking. Their passports were splayed out on the floor as were their clothing. The room was like one giant tumbleweed of papers and trinkets. Leon lazily shoved all the items off of the bed and lied down, folding his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. For some reason he started thinking about the wedding coming up. A part of him found it odd that Helena and he were going to go down the aisle together once more, but another piece of him couldn't wait for that. He loved the calm and serenity of the day Helena and he made their vows in Italy but he wished he could share it with everyone back home. Now that he had his chance, he was a bit nauseated from over thinking the situation. Leon found himself rolling his eyes as he recalled Claire and Hunnigan both inviting practically the entire D.O.S. and SURGE agents to the event. Leon closed his eyes, trying not to stress out so easily. He heard a small creak come from the hardwood floor, and immediently opened his eyes and perked up slightly. A large smirk descended upon his lips as he gazed up and down at Helena who was wearing nothing but one of his white dress shirts, slightly unbuttoned at the top. Leon recalled leaving one of the clean shirts on the couch earlier and found it missing later on. So this is where it went to...he thought as Helena leaned on the doorway and smiled at him mischievously.

"What's all this for?"

"I changed my mind about earlier. The one liner got to me."

"I knew you couldn't resist those deep down."

"Shut up."

Leon found himself laughing a little bit as Helena slowly made her way over towards the bed. Leon just gazed at her, and admired the every curve and crevice of her body that he could make out through his shirt she was wearing. Helena kept her composure as she crawled onto the bed. Leon tried to make a move on her but she instead shoved him back and got on top of him. Helena leaned in quickly to give him a kiss.

"Do I get laundry points for good behavior?"

Leon said in between their kissing. Helena rolled her eyes a bit, remembering they had an agreement about chores and what not. She could recall the half assed point system they had come up with a long time ago, well what Leon developed so he could avoid having to do some of the house work. He always lost though, but as he kept on kissing her ferociously, Helena felt that maybe this time he might win.

"Depends on whether or not you can satisfy me."

"Are you saying I'm not good enough for you, Harper?"

Their voices were getting clouded and scattered as were the minds. Helena managed to stop though real quick as she shot a quick glare at Leon.

"That is Ms. Kennedy to you, and you better start proving yourself."

"If you be quiet and let me kiss you I'll show you."

"Fair enough."

Nothing mattered anymore in this moment as they began to lose themselves within each other.

A few hours later Helena found herself relaxing in the bath tub and enjoying the sweet aroma of incense that filled the room. Steam rose up from the water as she sunk her face halfway into the tub and closed her eyes. After a few moments she looked over to the other side of it and could see Leon studying her. She couldn't help but feel pulled to him as she moved over to his side and laid on top of him, resting her head on his bare chest as he stroked her back. Leon smiled and closed his eyes as he breathed deeply. For some reason in this moment between him and Helena, it reminded him of their night together when they got married. His thoughts were stricken down though when he could hear his cell phone ring from the other room. Helena propped her chin up on his chest and looked at him with a bit of sadness.

"It must be Chris."

She stated as he nodded and slowly began to rise up from the tub. Leon groaned a little bit, the water was like extra weight and he felt somewhat dizzy. He went over to the counter and picked up one of the towels he had out for Helena and himself. He started to dry off and he looked at Helena real quick before leaving the bathroom. Helena took a moment to gaze at his body, taking in a few final moments before Leon was to leave.

"I'll be right back."

"No problem."

She smiled as he left. Leon shut the door to the bathroom slowly as he approached the bedroom and picked up the chirping phone at the foot of the bed. Leon clicked a few buttons so he could have Chris go on speaker and began to take out some clothes from a nearby drawer. He slipped on a pair of boxers and took out a couple of other pieces of clothing before replying.

"Hey Chris."

"Hey, nice to hear your voice finally. We were supposed to meet up at the meeting spot a half hour ago, what has been keeping you?"

Leon looked over towards the bathroom door and could see Helena coming out from the tub. After she retreated from the tub, Helena walked in and came over to give Leon a quick peck on the cheek before walking back to the bathroom to get her towel so she could dry off. Leon just gazed at her the entire time, almost oblivious of Chris's question until he heard the phone tick a few times.

"I'm sorry Chris I'm kind of side tracked."

"Oh, that's fine…you and Helena must have a lot to take care of over there especially with Claire living at your place for the last two years."

Out of the blue and unbeknownst to Leon as he was pulling up his pants Helena came darting out of the bathroom naked and grabbed him, kissing Leon wildly. He found himself smiling as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. He broke the kiss in between the contact and managed to reply back to Chris.

"You can say that again Chris."

"Hey man, are you going to be there or not? Also you sound 'distracted'."

"Don't worry Chris I'll be there—I just need to take care of a few more things."

"Alright, I'll see you in a few."

With that the phone clicked and Leon quickly returned to Helena as he found himself getting on top of her. He was grinning at her as he pinned her arms to the bed and began kissing her neck. Leon pulled back though and looked at her with passion in his eyes as she smiled warmly up at him.

"Now isn't a good time. I can't do that again for a while."

"Maybe when you get back?"

Helena cooed a hint of playfulness in her voice that made Leon shake.

"As long as I get those points then yeah…You're making this very difficult for me I hope you know."

"It's my job, Leon."

He captured her lips once again. The contact was brief and short lived but he had to tend to Chris now. Helena got up from the bed and began to go through the closet picking out some night clothes to wear. She looked over at Leon real quick who was now pulling on his shoes and wearing a casual red t-shirt along with one of his black dress shirts. Helena sighed and went outside of the room and into the kitchen. She was beginning to feel famished and started looking through the fridge. Helena took out some left over's from a diner she and Leon had been to the previous night and popped it in the microwave. As she was waiting for her meal, she couldn't help but look at the artwork that was still on the fridge from their time with Marlene and the rest of her brothers. She smiled, recalling that they still kept in contact during their two year getaway in Europe. A part of her missed that moment in time, but she didn't miss the hurdles she had to go through though in order to be with Leon however. Helena looked up more at the fridge and could see Claire's number on an emergency list. For a while since they had got back, Helena was thinking of giving her a call to check up and even possibly hang out. It had been a long time since she had a moment with another female, and she figured it would be great to make a day out of it so she could catch up on all that had changed.

The microwave let out a dinging sound, and Helena took the bowl out with the food still gently tucked inside. Leon came out of the bedroom after another ten minutes or so and greeted her. He pulled her into one more quick kiss before heading for the door. Helena sat down at the table and began to play with the food somewhat as she watched him take off.

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Call me if you decide to stay over at Chris's place and all."

Leon nodded at her and headed for the door. Despite a growing negative feeling inside of him, he couldn't wait to have a one to one conversation with Chris, but he also yearned for Helena though. She was highly addictive and he found himself stopping on the occasion to look back at the apartment door before he took off down the stairs. If he had it his way he wouldn't have left her. Leon came out of the large doors leading to outside, the night air was crisp and the streets were alive yet calm. He began the long trek to the café were Chris told him to meet up at. Despite the stress of trying to adjust, and despite his fears about readjusting to the hectic world of the D.O.S. and now SURGE, Leon felt relaxed as he walked down the sidewalk, taking in the moment to come to terms with the fact that he was home where he belonged.