Stepping into the lobby of Cairo's international airport, Joseph Joestar couldn't help but stop and glance around suspiciously. It had been almost two months since his grandson defeated Dio once and for all but being back in the place where he'd lost so much had him on edge. The sacrifices his friends had made here were still very much a fresh wound in his heart and the fact he'd very nearly lost his own life as well wasn't exactly helping the matter.

But no matter where he looked, Joseph couldn't spot anyone who looked out of place. Not one familiar face in a sea of countless people, each and every one of them a stranger. It was a comforting feeling, even despite the smallest tinge of loneliness that accompanied it, so he forced himself to relax.

Dio was dead after all. Any of his subordinates that had survived their encounter with Joseph's merry little band of travelers had absolutely no reason to come after them now. Of course fanaticism counted for something, but with their master dead what else was there left to fight for? Revenge? Surely the Stand users who'd been fortunate enough to walk away from the battle would've realized after the fact that Dio had only been using them, more than willing to sacrifice their lives for his own desires.

Or at least, Joseph hoped that to be the case.

He wasn't entirely sure his body could handle another surprise attack from a Stand user so he really hoped that to be the case.

Adjusting his blazer, the older gentleman set off across the lobby towards the row of glass doors on the other side of the room. Being back in Cairo felt so surreal, almost like a waking dream, but he'd given it a lot of thought before coming back here. Call it unfinished business if you will. Or perhaps he was just a foolish old man with a penchant for masochism but it had been nagging at the back of his mind even in the days leading up to their fateful encounter with Dio. And once everything had been said and done, in the wake of Dio's death and its aftermath, a few weeks had passed before those ugly thoughts reared their heads again. It was something he couldn't seem to shake so, knowing he had to at least try, he'd made the decision to return.

But what exactly did he think he was trying to do? That was the real question here. What did he hope to accomplish and, more importantly, what did he think was going to come of it?

Those were the questions that had run through his mind over and over again during the flight here but still, over ten hours later, he didn't have an answer for a single one of them. Maybe it was gut instinct or maybe he was starting to go senile in his old age but the why didn't really matter. It was the principal, he tried to convince himself.

Joseph pushed his way through the glass doors and stepped out into the blazing Egyptian heat. Somehow it felt even worse than he remembered and it certainly hadn't been a picnic the last time he'd been here so he had to take a moment to adjust himself to the weather. The first thing to go was the blazer. Then he rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up to his elbows and popped the top two buttons open. Why the hell did I wear thick socks today? He wondered, shifting uncomfortably under the sweltering heat.

Cicadas were chirping loudly in the distance and their high pitched songs only seemed to succeed in making the oppressive heat feel all the more suffocating. It was like stepping into a roaring furnace and he swore it hadn't been this bad before. He just couldn't fathom how was it even possible for the temperature to be any higher than it had been not even a whole two months ago. Was Cairo situated directly over top hell itself, or what?

Heaving a sigh, Joseph makes his way down the short set of stairs leading directly into the airport lobby and glances around for his rental car. There were so many people milling about that it takes him a moment to spot the sign but when he does, he waves to the man holding it. The Speedwagon Foundation employee waves back, dropping the sign to his side as he moves to meet Joseph halfway.

"Hello, sir! Did you have a nice flight?" The young man queries enthusiastically.

"As nice as constant turbulence and airplane food can be," Joseph grumbles back, shifting his blazer from one arm to another. He was already soaked in sweat. "Is the car ready?"

"Yes, sir! A full tank, just like you asked." He holds out the keys and Joseph takes them, grateful.

"Thank you. I'll call you if I need anything." The man nods in understanding and Joseph steps around him, making a bee line for the car he'd been standing in front of. The door slams shut and he immediately starts the engine, cranking the air to full blast. He couldn't help but think that a heat stroke was certainly in his very near future.

Leaning back into the plush seat, he sits in silence for a moment and just basks in the cool air washing over him before reaching into his left pants pocket. He withdraws a neatly folded piece of paper and glances over its contents for what felt like the millionth time since he'd left New York that morning. It was an address to a hospital about two hours away. His ultimate destination and the reason he'd come back here.

But first …

Joseph shifts the car into drive and checks over his shoulder before pulling away from the curb. Before he did anything else, he set off in the direction of where Dio's mansion had been. It was out of the way from the hospital but he knew he had to pay his respects to his fallen comrades before he moved on to his own personal matters. It was his duty to do that much for them.

They'd paid the ultimate sacrifice to stop an evil monster, after all. If it weren't for them he wouldn't have still been alive to make this trip in the first place.

XxXxX

Night had fallen and with it came a certain amount of reprieve from the Egyptian summer. The humidity remained but the temperature was in the low seventies now and Joseph was thankful for even that much.

The hospital was in poor repair and, really, only a hospital in name. It looked like it might collapse at any given moment and the staff were few and far between. As he made his way down the barely lit halls, Joseph couldn't stop himself from thinking that this looked more like somewhere you come to die rather than a place you go to get better. He couldn't imagine a facility like this performing many life saving procedures but hopefully they weren't too bad at mending broken bones.

He finally comes across the room number he'd been looking for but hesitates just outside the door. Uncertainty rises in the pit of his stomach and he wonders if maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. Perhaps he should have contacted her first before coming here? What if she didn't want to see him? What if she attacked him? There were so many what if's floating through his mind now that he could barely process them all.

But Joseph had never been the sort of man to let uncertainty stop him so, steeling himself, he gives the door a curt knock before turning the doorknob. The room is silent as he enters and for a split second he wonders if she isn't already asleep but then his gaze lands on the hospital bed and there she is. Wide awake and staring at him with an increasingly startled expression. She even seemed to grow a little pale at the sight of him. What was he, a ghost or something?

"Hello, Mariah."

Her lips move but no sound comes out. It was obvious she'd never expected to see him again so he waits patiently for her brain to catch up.

"W-what are you doing here?" She finally manages to get out, her wavering voice barely above a whisper.

"I came to see how you were doing." Joseph sends a quick glance down the length of her body and he's not at all surprised to see she's still covered in casts. One of her legs, both arms, her entire midsection. There was even a small brace around her neck. He didn't even want to think about what she'd looked like immediately following their fight but he didn't feel much sympathy for her. She'd (literally) brought it on herself.

Mariah shakes her head, struggling to shift her broken body further away from him. Terror dances in her golden eyes but he stays motionless in the doorway. This was the kind of reaction he'd been expecting after all so he took no offense to her extreme reaction, not even when she started to frantically yell. "No … no! Just leave me alone!"

"I'm not here to hurt you." He tries to explain but she won't have it.

"Bullshit! You're here to finish the job! You just want me dead!"

Joseph frowns at that. "Hey! Technically you did all this to yourself. I never actually touched you."

"Shut up!" She shrieks as she finally manages to pull herself up into a sitting position. Her thin frame was starting to shake from the strain she was putting on her body and in the harsh fluorescent lighting she looked almost possessed at that moment. Gingerly, she slides her cast-free leg over the edge of the mattress only to quietly seethe in pain at the motion. Apparently it wasn't in working order just yet and he couldn't help but feel some amount of concern for her.

Joseph takes a step forward, already lifting his hand to reach out for her. "I don't think you should be trying to get up just yet. You need to stay in bed!"

"No! Get the hell away from me before I kill you!"

Joseph raises a brow at that, stopping mid step to look at her incredulously. "Hey, you're the one throwing around death threats here, not me." He then tsks, before quietly adding. "Besides you didn't exactly do a great job of that the first time you tried."

Mariah lets out some kind of unearthly scream that makes his eardrums vibrate and he watches with growing trepidation as she grabs an empty vase off her nightstand. Her movements were awkward and stiff thanks to the cast covering her arm from wrist to shoulder but that didn't deter her from slamming the vase against the stand and brandishing the broken piece at him. "Get out!"

Joseph lifts his hands in surrender and heaved a tortured sigh. What else could he do? It was obvious by now that even after all the commotion no one was coming to check on her but if she kept this up, he was certain her body would give out on her sooner rather than later. And despite what she clearly believed, he really hadn't come all the way here just to kill her so it was probably best if he left now before the situation escalated further.

Not that she was much of a threat even with the broken vase she was wielding at him like some kind of old world street tough with a beer bottle but still.

"Fine, I'll leave. But I brought you something." Her heated glare never wavers as Joseph reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small box of chocolates. He'd debated about getting it or not, unsure of the protocol for the situation, but since he hadn't been able to find a get well card that said something to the effect of 'you tried to kill me and nearly succeeded but I managed to trick you into smashing yourself between a bunch of junk and now every bone in your body is broken. Get well soon!' he'd decided to settle on the chocolate.

And showing up empty handed was certainly out of the question so he was going to make damn sure he gave it to her, one way or another.

Determined, he holds it up for her to see and silently hopes she'll understand that it wasn't a weapon or anything of the sort. Mariah doesn't move or speak, she just continues to watch him with a glare sharp enough to cut, so he uses an underhanded throw to toss it onto her bed. The box bounces once and settles next to her immobile leg but still, she doesn't even look at it. Her eyes were locked on him like a viper ready to strike and, conceding defeat, he offers her an apologetic smile. "Sorry for bothering you. Have a good night."

Careful not to make any sudden movements, he tips his hat and backs out into the hall. He'd never turn his back on her, especially not when she was holding a jagged piece of glass like that. He may have been a fool but he certainly wasn't a suicidal fool.

The door swings shut with a soft click and he stands there in the proceeding silence, just numbly staring at the faded wood before him.

Well, that went splendidly.

Had he really expected anything different? What other reaction could she have possibly had after the conclusion to their last encounter? Mind you, he certainly didn't feel bad for any of it. She'd made the decision to attack him all on her own and he'd even given her two chances to stop before delivering the final blow, but it was obvious she hadn't gotten over that yet. When deciding whether or not to track her down, Joseph had certainly considered the possibility that thoughts of revenge might be clouding her mind but that didn't seem to be the case here.

No, Mariah was just terrified of him. Just like all the other Stand users he'd encountered on his way to Cairo, she'd never expected to be defeated. She thought she was invincible and that had been her downfall. She'd been so confident when him and Abdul had surrounded her on that back street that she hadn't even realized what kind of trouble she was in. Narcissism affected her judgment, made her complacent in those final moments, and that was the only reason his plan had worked. If she'd just stopped for a minute and looked around, Mariah would have surely realized that standing between them was a very bad idea. If she'd figured that out and moved, he would've died right then and there.

And if Mariah had won, she certainly wouldn't have paid any visits to his grave (if he'd been given one) let alone track him down in a hospital like he had done for her.

Maybe he really was just an old fool after all.

Finally turning away, Joseph silently makes his way back down the hall with doubts racing through his mind. He didn't like doubting himself but, in cases like this, it was sometimes hard not to.

And foxy grandpa strikes again!

Just kidding, just kidding. This is my OTP so please feel free to tell me what you think! And if you happen to be reading this expecting a romance novel, please don't. Its gonna' be smut with a plot so buckle up!