One more time, a very big thank you to all those who've read, alerted, favorited, and reviewed :) I really appreciate the support :)

Alright, well this is it; last chapter. I was originally a bit upset with this one because it seemed so short, but on proofing and editing it, I grew to really like how it played out. Anyways, here's hoping you all enjoy it :)

The following night, the scene in Rock and Revy's 'living room' was one straight out of a horror movie. Sonny and Rock had cut the leg of her sweatpants off to allow him complete access to her wounded calf. Nearly every inch of her exposed flesh, of the couch beneath her, and of the two men that had both subdued and operated on her was stained with blood. It had been nearly a full day's time since they had pulled the bullet from Revy's leg, against both Rock and Sonny's better judgment.

Rock remained kneeling at the side of the couch, his body draped across Revy's. His torso lay across her slumbering form, his right hand draped at her left shoulder, bearing the distinct mark of a bite. He had cursed himself so much inside, having to forcibly cover Revy's lips as he did. Her screams, her anguish was beyond what either of them ever could have imagined. Then there was the blood that came out with the bullet; blood that poured like a fountain. The next few moments were a blur. Tying off the gaping hole to stop the bleeding, wrapping it over and over again to keep it as tightly closed as they could.

Sonny had simply passed out a moment after tying the last of the crude bandages. Rock carried him into the bedroom and upon returning to Revy's side, fell in the position in which he currently lay on top of her, tightly holding her while she screamed in surreal agony.

After hours of unconsciousness, Revy's eyes finally opened slightly, then completely. The first thing her eyes took in was the ceiling of their shitty apartment, shortly followed by Rock's unconscious face. She smiled, and just as she lifted her hand to do the same as he had for her the day before, she felt the weight of his arm atop hers. She turned to see the blood on his hand, and quietly spoke, "Sorry, Rock."

Looking all around without moving too much, Revy saw no other way to get up. She twisted her body slightly beneath Rock's, gently at first, and only increasing in intensity till she saw his eyes crack open. He blinked the exhaustion from his eyes, and at the sight of Revy's open eyes, was completely awake within seconds. He pushed himself up and immediately expressed his concerns, "You're awake. How do you feel? Are you alright?"

"I haven't tried to feel out my legs yet," Revy coarsely replied. She smiled slightly and continued, "Think I can spend the rest of my days right here?"

Rock returned the smile, "If you really want to."

Still looking quite content, Revy quietly and lucidly spoke, "Why're you so fuckin' good to me, dumbass?"

"What can I say?" Rock asked. "I love you, Rebecca. I think I might have loved you from the first moment I saw you all those years ago."

Revy beamed as wide as her stiff, aching jaw would allow, and tapped her lips together lightly. In that moment, seeing her innocently request a kiss; Rock's heart melted completely. Luckily he was able to snap himself out of it and do as she asked. As his lips touched hers, Revy felt a wave of pass over her; a comfortable warmth throughout her cold body. He pulled his lips from hers a few seconds later and with peaceful eyes, Revy asked, "Where's the kid? I should probably thank him."

"Ah," Rock exhaled as he stood. Taking the moment to look herself over while Rock straightened out his knees, Revy finally got to see just how much blood was on her, and took in a silent gasp, "Fuck". As he headed to the bedroom to get Sonny, Rock continued, "He passed out after we tied the last bandage around your leg. I wonder if he's…"

His silence was immediately uncomfortable. Rock stood in the doorway to the bedroom for just a second before rushing in, and Revy concernedly asked, "Rock?"

He came out to the living area just a moment later, panic all over his face as he shouted, "Sonny's gone."

Revy instantly knew what the little boy had done, and wasted no time barking in anger, "That fuckin' idiot!" She twisted on the couch, the pain in her leg evident, but not debilitating, not yet at least. She placed her feet on the ground before Rock could have stopped her, "He went to the restau-"

As soon as she attempted to put weight on her leg, she saw stars. He might not have been able to keep her from trying to stand, but at least he'd made it to her in time to place a hand across her lips. His insides tore themselves to pieces at seeing her in so much pain. Luckily, not long after lifting her foot from the floor, her screams slowed. As she reeled from the pain, she again asked in a fit of breath, "Alcohol!"

"You have a hole in your leg, Revy! You can't thin your bloo-"

"I don't fuckin' care, Rock!" Revy interrupted. "He might be a dumb little shit, but we both owe that kid, and I can't thank him if he's fuckin' dead. Now get me that bottle and get me off this fuckin' couch!"

Once again Rock was stuck in an awkward place. On the one hand, he wanted to help Sonny, but on the other, he didn't want Revy in pain. A part of him understood why she needed this, but the cost of going to Sonny's aid, the pain she would suffer, if she could stand at all; Rock couldn't bare it.

"Revy, I can't," Rock pleaded, almost as though he were begging. "You can't even stand up; we can't go with you like this."

Now she was simply losing her patience, "Gimme that bottle and ten fuckin' minutes, and I'll run out of this fuckin' place, Rock."

Like it or not, her look was the same as it had been the night before; she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. If he pushed her much further, he stood to upset the love they'd found; but if he cared too little, she might well make her injury more severe, or perhaps even worse.

"Revy…" Rock paused, and in that second, Revy gave him the time, "…I'm against this; I want you to know that. I know why you want it, and I respect that, but I can't stand the sound or sight of you in pain, Revy."

She heavily blinked her eyes, the edge of her lips perking up into the slightest of smiles as she replied, "Gimme the bottle, Rock."

Sonny yelped in pain as Michael whipped the back of his hand, then the front of it, across the boy's face. He did it over and over again, slapping him back-and-forth with every ounce of strength he had. With Sonny's blood on his palm, and finally on his fine white suit, Michael retrieved a rag from Rock's dishwashing station and wiped his hand.

"Who did it?" Michael barked. He threw the bloody rag in Sonny's face and took a tight hold of his chin to flip his head back, "All you have to do is answer me and I'll make the pain stop."

Sonny remained tightlipped, and again Michael raised his hand. Finally Sonny shouted through the pain he felt, "Wait! I'll tell you!" The boy weakly turned his head to the side, and requested of Michael, "Closer."

Michael played along with what he assumed to be one of the young boy's games, leaning his ear down to Sonny's lips.

"Fuck you," Sonny hissed through his teeth.

Michael straightened himself out and pulled a gun from beneath his suit. The cold barrel of the P229 on his forehead, Sonny kept his lips locked, slammed his eyes shut, and held his breath as he waited for the shot. When it finally came, it was accompanied by two sister shots, and the screams of both a woman, and of a man, "REVY!"

Sonny's eyes burst open and looked all around the kitchen, before finally centering on Rock who now held an even further blood soaked Revy in his arms. She'd broken her promise to not kill Michael, but saved Sonny's life in the process. However, at the sight of blood pouring from her chest, Sonny realized the cost of his life might well have been her own. Rock forced his hands to the wound and turned to the battered boy, screaming at the top of his lungs, "CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

Sonny ran off to do as he was told, and Rock struggled to keep Revy's eyes open, "C'mon stay with me, Revy!" Her head slumped around heavily in her battle to remain conscious, and Rock continued to scream and yell at her, "Revy! REVY! Stay awake dammit!"

She broke her lips open, and managed a few words, "Rock…"

"Don't talk, Revy; just-"

"…hide my cutlass," Revy finished.

Sonny ran back into the kitchen and shouted, "They're on their…"

Revy's eyes fell shut, and again Rock screamed from the very core of his being, every last ounce of his heart and soul infusing his words as tears saturated his red cheeks, "REBECCA!"

One month later, Sonny and Rock stood before a gravestone in a cemetery just over the Triboro Bridge. Both dressed in suits, Sonny's eyes leaked a slow, but steady stream of tears, while Rock merely stood there. The pain he felt, the voids that filled his eyes, the complete and utter emptiness that was written clear as day on his face; grieving was an unsuitable word for what Rock was experiencing.

Through his tears, Sonny wiped his eyes with his wrists, and quietly spoke with a heavy waiver in his tone, "I'm sorry, Rock. I'm sorry the two of you got involved in all this. You and her finally found a life together and then I…" He sniffled and continued, "…if I hadn't come to you after what happened to dad…" He looked up to Rock and tugged at his suit as he cried out, "…it was all my fault."

Rock knelt beside him and fixed the collar of the boy's suit, "No it's not; you hear me? You were born into this world. This is what your life was to become, Sonny. Cemeteries, death, watching your loved ones die; now you can take that fresh start."

Sonny slipped his hands around Rock's back, and Rock too offered the boy his embrace. The simple hug wasn't much, but it made the both of them feel just a little bit better. Rock pulled himself back and wiped the boy's eyes for him, "C'mon, let's go." He stood and offered his hand to the boy, a bit of false cheer invading his words, "You have a restaurant to run, remember?"

The boy looked up to Rock, smiling just enough, and took his hand. They stepped into the backseats of the Towncar that was waiting for them just outside the cemetery, and were soon on their way back to Hell's Kitchen. They both sat with their eyes glued to the windows of the vehicle, observing the city with nothing behind their gaze. It was larger, and more sophisticated than Roanapur, but at the end of the day, New York City was the same. The wicked took from the weak, the innocent were nothing more than fodder, and life was just as meaningless.

A half-hour later, the Towncar pulled up in front of DaNico's, and Rock simply looked across and through the window on Sonny's side of the car, remembering the first day he walked through that door. Remembering the conversation he and Revy had, just before he stormed out of the apartment that night. His arm had long since healed, but he'd never forget what pushed him to walk through that door.

"You alright, Rock?" Sonny asked, his tone and composure much calmer now that they were far away from the cemetery.

Rock offered him the slightest of hollow grins, "Yeah, I'll be alright."

"C'mon," Sonny requested with a smile as he stepped from the car. "It's almost time to open."

They stepped through the door, greeted by a familiar, happy yet coarse voice, "Well if it ain't my two favorite men."

From the entrance, Rock observed Revy as she wiped down a wineglass behind the bar. Beneath her left arm, a crutch was firmly fixed, helping her remain upright. She wore the same slit neck top she did the night she first went out with Rock, sure to keep the dressing on her chest covered. "Sorry I couldn't come with you guys," She remarked as they stepped over to her.

Sonny climbed onto a barstool and replied, the innocent smile only a child could give on his lips, "It's alright. We said 'hi' to dad for you."

"Thanks, kid," Revy warmly replied.

"How'd it go at the hospital?" Rock asked.

"Another month of this shit," Revy replied as she twisted her body on the crutch.

"And the other?" Rock asked of her second, more serious gunshot wound.

"They checked the stitches, and changed the bandage," Revy replied with a smile. "I told you it was nothin' to worry about, Rock."

Rock's eyes widened and he immediately lost his calm, "You got shot in the chest, Revy! How could I not have reacted the way I did?"

"You really think I'd let my last words be, 'Hide my cutlass'?" Revy asked, wearing a confident facade. She reached out with her right hand, taking a light hold of Rock's suit and bringing his lips down to hers. After a brief but calming kiss, she let him go and finished her thought, "Dumbass."

Sonny grinned at their exchange and finally commented, "So you think you'll be alright to run the bar, Rebecca?"

Revy flipped the wine glass in her hand and replied with a wink, "I think I'll manage, kid."

Rock turned to Sonny and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay in the kitchen, Sonny?"

The boy looked away slightly, "I don't really know anything about running this place, Rock. All I'm really good at is washing dishes and getting people cleaned up." Rock and Revy didn't see one another's face, yet they both shared the exact same smile, grateful that Sonny was proficient in the latter. "I'm sure you'll do better than I ever could. Besides, I'm sure it's what dad would have wanted. You know he once told me that he trusted you more than any of his own men? That's good enough for me."

Rock ruffled up the boy's hair and replied, "Thanks, Sonny."

The boy stepped into the kitchen, leaving Revy and Rock alone. Rock turned and made his way behind the bar, his eyes locked with his lover's. As they came within inches of one another, their hands slid onto each other's sides, carefully finding their way into an embrace. As they held one another, Rock asked, "Are you sure you're alright, Revy?"

"It sure is fucked up, Rock; us living like this," Revy replied. "But it's good," she continued. She looked out to the street in front of the restaurant, "This city, this place; it's never been more than a bad fuckin' dream for me. But being here with you, making this whatever it is between us-"

"We're a couple, Revy," Rock interrupted with a smirk.

"Yeah I know," She quickly deflected. "What I'm trying to say is…" She collected herself, finding her words, "…even after everything that happened; it's nice being here with you, Rock. We might be one seriously fucked couple, but what we've got together…"

Rock interrupted her, forcing his lips to hers, and gently tightening his hold on her. Her right hand wrapped around him, pulling his body tightly against hers; so much heat erupted so quickly in that single kiss.

A light groan of pleasure escaped her lips as the kiss broke, and finally, through a satisfied smile, she finished her thought, "…I wouldn't trade it for the world."

And that as they say, is that :) Once again, my deepest gratitude for the support and kind words I've received throughout this fic :)

I am tossing around the prospect of perhaps following this story somehow, but unless an idea hits that I absolutely need to write, I may leave it be for now.

Again, thank you all so much for your kindness and support :) I can't tell you how good it made me feel to be welcomed back to this archive with open arms :)

Hope to be back soon,
-jm