Thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I really had a hard time trying to write this chapter. I debated what Romano was going to do and how he would deal with the situation.

Romano is a bit OOC in this chapter but it works for the story.

Time felt as if it was moving in slow motion. Romano watched in horror as his little brother stared at him with wide, terrified brown eyes. Pain and hurt was flashed across the younger Italian's face. Romano felt his stomach drop and he watched as Veneziano swayed on his feet and fell forward. Romano caught him and felt his own legs threatening to give out.

His little brother had been shot.

And he was the one who had shot him.

Romano leaned against the wall and held Feli against him. "Mi dispiace fratellino! (I'm sorry little brother)" He chocked out, trying to keep his emotions in check. The shot was in no way fatal but he had shot his own brother! Why didn't he notice him following him?! This was completely his fault. Suddenly he heard car doors slamming and the sound of several voices coming towards the alley. "Shit." Lovino cursed under his breath. He forgot he had said that if he took too long he'd need help cleaning up the mess. He cringed at how horrible that sounded. He hadn't ever wanted Veneziano to see him when he was working.

"Fratello…?" He flinched and looked down to see Veneziano's face screw up in pain and he gripped his shoulder tightly with one hand.

"Eh, Romano! What took you so long?" He stood quickly causing Feli to groan in pain and he mentally cursed himself. How the hell was he supposed to get Feli to a hospital with these idiots around?! "Who's that guy with you?" One of the three men called and Romano mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do. Ti prego perdonami Veneziano. (Please forgive me Veneziano)

"Nobody. He got in the way while I was working." He answered coldly. With a little difficulty he shifted Veneziano in his arms so that he was holding him bridal style and he stalked past the 3 men in the alley. He saw that they had brought a fancy black van. He placed his brother in the backseat and closed the door. The three men looked at him suspiciously. "You have something to say?" He asked, his voice like ice.

"If he's nobody then why are you putting him in my car and messing up my leather seats?" The biggest man asked. Romano chuckled and looked at him darkly.

"You think you can speak to me in such a disrespectful tone? I would suggest you remember your place or I can take actions that will help you remember." The man looked at him, slightly startled and nodded. "Now get in your car and drive behind me to the hospital." He wanted to take Veneziano in his own car but he couldn't show any favoritism towards his brother. He couldn't let them know he had any connection to Veneziano. He gestured for one of the men to ride in his car with him and a moment later he was speeding down the street, checking his rearview mirror every 2 minutes to check for the black van behind him. He couldn't let anyone see the worry that was gnawing at his stomach and the guilt that was tightening around his heart.

They arrived at the hospital about 15 minutes later. As much as Romano hated it he had to let one of the other men take Veneziano into the Emergency Wing and he watched as the man carelessly dropped his brother outside and called for a doctor. A moment later several nurses rushed out and put Feli on a stretcher and he was gone. I'm so sorry Fratellino. I'm sorry I can't be there for you.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Romano arrived back at the house of the Don of this part of the mafia. He rarely came to the boss's house because he saw it as a waste of time. The Don was the boss of this branch of the mafia but Romano saw him as far below him. He usually dealt with all the mafia branches when they either asked for his assistance or he thought they were going out of line. The Don had asked for him specifically this time. He arrived at the house and parked his car in the driveway. He had no intention of staying here long. He walked hurriedly down the decorated hallways to the Don's office. He opened the door and saw the head of the 'Ndrangheta* mafia sitting at his desk waiting for him. "Bello vederti Romano. (Good to see you Romano.)" He said calmly. The man had broad shoulders and slicked back, dark brown hair. He was wearing a navy blue jacket and a white dress shirt. Romano couldn't even recall the man's name.

"Why did you call me here?" He asked trying to keep his voice level. He forced himself to push his chaotic thoughts of his injured brother in the hospital out of his mind. The man looked at him seriously and laced his fingers together on the hardwood desk in front of him.

"I understand you let that pathetic man get away from you. And then you wastes time taking a man to the hospital. I called you here to work for me not to stumble around the city doing whatever you please." The man looked at him seriously with a dark glint in his eyes. "You may think that you can do whatever you want but when you come to Calabria you are in my city." Romano frowned and his hazel eyes narrowed. This man was scolding him? He always wanted to stay on all the bosses' good sides but no one told him what he could and couldn't do in one of his own city.

"I understand but I think that you are slightly misunderstanding the situation." South Italy answered.

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning back in his chair. "How so?"

"You seem to have forgotten that I am not working for you and you are not my boss. This is my city and this is my country. Io sono l'Italia (I am Italy) and you have no authority over me." Lovino crossed his arms and gave the man an amused smile. "I mean you no disrespect but don't forget, I have lived for centuries and I am still young. Your life is a minute compared to mine. I am the overseer of 'Ndrangheta, as well as the other branches of the mafia. I can go wherever I choose." The man looked startled and then his face turned red with anger. His hand twitched towards his gun and South Italy just chuckled. "Do you intend to shoot me?"

"I do not need you here. You come in here and you show me this kind of disrespect?! I can shoot you and nothing will ever happen to me." The man snarled angrily. The previous boss was much more level-headed. The thought ran through his head as he watched the 'Ndrangheta boss send him a furious glare. The man was young, maybe around his early 30s. He could've used a few more years to prepare for him to be the boss. Romano's calm reaction to his threat only caused the man to grow angrier. His hand hovered over his gun and Romano raised his hand to stop him.

"Please understand that I sincerely mean you no disrespect. You simply need to remember the difference between the two of us. For example," Romano pulled out his own gun and immediately thoughts of brother flashed before his eyes. He tried to not think about that and focus back on the man in front of him, who was debating whether or not to shoot him. "You can shoot me and I will be mildly injured. Now I can shoot you and you will be in the hospital for several months, if you're lucky." Romano laughed at the surprised look on the man's face. He walked over and shook the man's hand and headed out the door. Before he left he turned around and gave the shaken and angry man a slight smirk.

"I am sorry that I never learned you name but if you can get shaken by such a simple conversation you will not last long in this business." And with that he closed the door behind him and headed to the hospital.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Italy groaned in pain as his mind slowly attempted to come back to the life of the living. He felt waves of pain from his shoulder into his chest. He forced open his eyes and immediately bright white light attacked his sensitive eyes. "La mia testa fa male…! (My head hurts.)" He whimpered, his face scrunching up in pain. He saw noticed the lights dim and he cautiously opened his eyes again. After his eyes adjusted he could see that he was in a hospital room. His bed was positioned next to a large window that over looked the sparking city of Calabria. The sky was a dark blanket of navy. "I'm glad to see you're awake." He slowly turned his head to see a tall nurse smiling at him. She had light brown hair tied back in a bun and chestnut brown eyes.

"When did I get here?" He asked, his mind was foggy. The previous night was a blur. The nurse looked through a couple papers before she answered.

"About midnight. You were dropped outside and had lost quite a bit of blood. But the injury was not as serious as we initially thought. You were very lucky." She paused and smiled at him. "You'll be out later today." Italy looked at her confused. He was dropped outside? What about his brother? Where was Romano?

"Why am I here? I can't remember what happened…" He pried into the memories of last night but there was something blocking him from remembering. Like he wanted to forget it.

"You were shot below your collar bone. You are very lucky the bullet didn't hit your heart." The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile then she suddenly looked through the papers she was holding. "I just remembered, because you were dropped off with no one with you we never got your name of information. What's your name?"

"Veneziano Vargas." He answered and she looked at him, surprised.

"You're Veneziano? A young man has been in the lobby for some time yelling about seeing you. He has been claiming to be your older brother. His name was…Lovino Vargas I believe. Can I let him in?" Veneziano nodded, suddenly he felt a headache blossom behind his eyes. The nurse left and Italy closed his eyes and tried to calm the sudden pounding in his head. Abruptly the door to his room opened and in the doorway stood Romano. He looked disheveled and the moment Italy saw him everything came rushing back to him in a blur of quick flashes.

He remembered the conversation between Romano and the terrified man named Mario. He remembered seeing Mario holding a gun to Romano's chest and Romano's taunting glare. Then he remembered jumping out to stop Romano from killing Mario and the horrified look in his brother's eyes before everything had gone dark. His eyes widened and he gripped his head tightly with his good hand. He stared at Romano but the southern nation wouldn't meet his gaze.

They stood in the silence before Romano cleared his throat and shifted in place. "H-how is your sh-shoulder?" He asked, his voice cracking on the last word. For the first time Italy looked at his shoulder and saw it was tightly wrapped in gauze. There was a constant pain that went from his shoulder to his chest.

"It alright…" Italy answered awkwardly. Italy could see the pain in his fratello's face as he looked at him. His green-hazel eyes were dull and filled with guilt and his shoulders hunched forward as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. Italy forced a smile. "Ve don't worry Romano. I'm ok. It was an accident." Italy gestured for Romano to come into the room and he sat stiffly in the chair next to Feli's bed. Abruptly the southern half-nation's composure collapsed and he fell forward onto the edge of the younger Italian's bed.

"I'm so sorry Veneziano! I never wanted you to get involved in any of this! I'm so s-sorry!" Romano's words were muffled by the loud sobs that racked his body. Italy wanted to reach out and help his brother but something was holding him back. He felt as if he couldn't forgive his brother. Even though he wanted to and he knew Romano was truly sorry, his mind still remembered the cold look in Roma's eyes when he was about to kill one of his own citizens.

"W-why did you do it?" Romano's sobs subsided slightly and he looked at the younger half-nation with confusion. "You were going to kill him Roma! Why would you do that?!" Lovino looked at him, startled at the anger in Italy's voice.

"I…" Italy cut him off. Feli saw the hurt in South Italy's hazel eyes but he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't stop himself.

"I saw everything Roma! You had no compassion for that man! You were going to kill him and have no regrets of what you had done! How could you do that?!" Italy paused to catch his breath and he felt the pain in his shoulder increase. "When I saw you today…You weren't even my brother. You were cold and emotionless! I knew about all the mafia in south Italy but…y-you're a part of that? You told me you were trying to stop it! You lied to me Roma!" By now tears were streaming down Italy's face and his throat burned. Romano wouldn't look at him, his eyes stared at the white hospital sheets. Time ticked by before Romano shook his head.

"I-I couldn't tell you. I didn't want you to get involved in any of it." Lovino's voice was subdued and he was holding the white sheets tightly in his hand. "I have to be a part of it. It's…it's part of my half of the country. I'm trying to keep it under control."

"You keep it under control by killing your own people?" Romano flinched at the sharpness of the question. South Italy knew he deserved his brother's anger. Veneziano had every right to be furious at him.

"You don't understand…" Romano said quietly. He turned to Italy and met his brother's angry brown eyes for the first time since he'd arrived at the hospital. "I'm trying the fucking best I can! I do what I have to do to keep my citizens safe. If I don't help the mafia and do what they need done then there is no telling how far they'll go! Some lives can be saved and some can't." Both of them sat in complete stillness. Both of them were exhausted and emotionally drained. Italy fell back against the pillows of his bed and looked out the window at the shining lights of Calabria. He felt Romano shift next to him and his chair scratching on the white linoleum floor.

"Si ri diritto. (You're right.)" North Italy sighed. He was too tired to argue anymore. All his anger had evaporated and he was left with a deep feeling of guilt over having yelled so harshly at his brother. He turned his gaze to Romano and gave him a slight smile. "I don't really understand but I trust you. And you're still mio fratellone (My big brother)." Italy nearly jumped out of hospital bed when South Italy stood and gave him a tight hug. Feli paused for a moment before tightly hugging his brother back, careful not to move his injured shoulder.

"Awww, così carino~! (How sweet)" They both turned and saw a large group of nurses watching them. Veneziano blushed and waved at them. Romano turned a deep crimson and immediately jumped away from the tight embrace and scowled at all the nurses.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?! Get out of here you bastards!" With that Romano stormed towards the door and all the nurses scattered out of the way as he slammed the door shut on them. "Perverted bastards." Feli felt himself smile at the all too familiar scowl on Lovino's face. This was the brother he knew and loved. Even if Romano was involved in such a dark business Italy knew that Romano would always be the same fowl-mouthed, short-tempered brother he loved.

"What are you smiling like an idiot over there Veneziano?" Romano asked, leaning against the door incase any of the nurses tried to peep on them again. North Italy just laughed causing the older Italian to give him a confused face. "What are you laughing at, you idiota?"

"Ve~ your face is so red Roma." Italy laughed. The southern Italian's mouth twitched upward until he was smiling. "Fratello?" Italy asked suddenly serious. Romano looked at him, worried about the sudden change in tone. The younger Italian looked at him seriously.

"Do you think they have pasta here?" There was a moment of silence and then both of them burst out laughing.

THE END

Wow! I cannot believe how long this chapter turned out! I worked on it for about 4 or 5 days and I'm really proud of how it turned out! Please review and tell me what you thought!

*'Ndrangheta is a branch of the mafia centered in Calabria. It formed in the 1860's. There are about 160 clans and approx. 6,000 members. They specialize in kidnapping and political corruption, but also engage in drug trafficking, murder, bombings, counterfeiting, gambling, frauds, thefts, labor racketeering, loansharking, and alien smuggling. There are about 100-200members in the US in New York and Florida