-Finishing this fic, here's the last chapter; I'm making some of this up along the way, and it's kinda longer than the others-SF12

From outside, they heard a faint "I'll get it" after their knock.

A girl's voice.

The door swung open, and a girl of perhaps eleven appeared. She looked much like Hornet, minus the long braid. And when she saw Hornet, her jaw dropped.

"Ho-…Hornet? But…" She seemed at a loss for words.

Prosper stepped back so the two could embrace, enjoying the wonderful scene.

Finally finding her voice, Romana whispered, "You shouldn't have come back. I've truly missed you, but you have to get out of here." She glanced fearfully into the house.

As if on cue, a booming male voice resounded from inside the house. "Romana? What the devil you doing?" A burly man stomped toward them. He was very red in the face, and a bottle of whiskey hung from his left hand. He stopped dead at the sight of Hornet.

"YOU! Caterina!" he bellowed drunkenly. "You came back? After what you did, and now you're back?" He moved towards Hornet, dropped the bottle, his ham-sized fists raised.

Prosper stepped protectively in front of her. Signor Grimani's red face-color mixed with an enraged purple. "Boy, I dunno who you are, but get outta the way!" He snarled.

"No. You're not hurting her!"

"Boy, if you don't get out of the way, I'm gonna…" Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. A bullet ricocheted off the doorframe. The four people stopped their conflict for just one moment, looking around curiously.

Victor Getz and Scipio Fortunato ran up the drive, revolvers drawn. "I suggest you freeze, Signor Grimani. That was just a warning shot."

Grimani did not go quietly. "People comin' onto my property, tellin' me what t' do…what kinda authority you think you got?"

Victor looked coldly at him. "Signor Grimani, I'm a private investigator. I'm arresting you on charges of child abuse and attempted assault. Scipio, if you will?"

Scipio nodded, flashed a brief smile at Prosper and the Grimani sisters, and then led a resisting Bruno Grimani towards the downtown Athens Police Station.

Victor now turned toward the remaining trio. "Now, you have some explaining to do. What in all of Europe possessed you to go on this journey?"

"Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing, Victor." Prosper replied.

Victor tried to remain cross, but a smile tugged at his lips. "Doesn't mean it's smart thing to do. Well, we'll discuss on the way back to Venice. Come on, Ida and Bo are truly worried about you." He looked at Romana with curiosity, then said "You, too."

"What about Mom?" Hornet ventured, but stopped at the look on her sister' face. Romana said only one word, and she spit it out as if she detested saying it. "Cirrhosis!" Hornet was barely saddened at this, for unlike her sister, she had never seen much good in either of their parents.

Prosper grinned. "Imagine, we spend all this time try to get to Athens-we've been here for all of an hour."

7:30, the same day, on an Italy-bound ship

Once aboard the ship, Victor explained how Ida, worried sick, had sent him and Scipio after Prosper and Hornet, tracing their steps to Mosca and Riccio's place. And from there to Athens.

Prosper didn't think he had ever talked so much, and next to Victor, he talked the least. Hornet and Romana relived what few happy memories they had together and began new ones. The group, including Scipio, spoke briefly of their adventure with the lion's wing and Conte Renzo "Valaresso".

Prosper slowly and gradually fell silent, eventually zoning out of the conversation and closing his eyes. However, his ears did perk up slightly when his name was mentioned.

"So, Hornet. Uh-what's your relationship to Prosper?" Romana asked slowly. Though he couldn't see Hornet, she knew her face was flushed with red.

"Erm…I like him."

"Like?"

"Oh, shut up." Prosper smiled as he dozed off.

Ida greeted the adventurous pair with a bone-cracking hug. It seemed that they had been gone for weeks on end, not three days. Bo's grin had never been wider, happy to have his big brother back. Riccio and Mosca were there as well; glad to see their friends safe. But through the joy, Prosper's eyes met Hornet's, and the two slowly and inconspicuously left the scene.

The two walked for a while, not speaking, until reaching a small square and bridge.

Stopping on the bridge, Hornet again looked at Prosper and asked softly, "Why did you do this for me?"

"I told you; I'd do anything for you."

"Yes, yes, but why did you do this thing in particular for me?"

He sighed. "A lot of reasons, but the biggest is that I knew how you felt. Do you remember the night when the police found you and Bo in the Stella?"

"Of course." How could she forget?

"That night, I was the most miserable, hopeless person in all of Venice. The two people I loved the most in this world were gone, and I thought I'd never see them again."

He moved closer to her; and then it hit her.

"Did you just say…?" But he cut her off with a kiss.

"What do you think?" he whispered in her ear.

She smiled at him, kissing him again before finding the right words. "I think we're in love. Both of us. I also think everyone is going to have a field day over this."

He laughed, fluttering her heart.

And though Riccio and Mosca teased them mercilessly, love shrouded them all around, making them ignore those comments. And besides, from the way Romana and Mosca were eyeing each other, there might soon be another romance in the group. Who knew?

But they did know one thing-life was not life without love.

-I really dunno about that ending, but I had use the MoscaOc part somehow. Please review and tell me what you think. Oh, and while I'm at it, I'm thanking whomever gave me ideas, whether you know it or not. And that Life-Love quote might not be mine, it sounds like what some one else would've said. Like, JKR or C.S. Lewis. Go figure. But if I've stolen that quote from someone, I apologize. If you liked it, great, but I don't plan on making a sequel, I have a total of zero ideas-SF12