A week later, Iryna was putting the final touches to her holiday packing. She was still blissfully unaware of the fact that, according to some plans that had been based around the difficulties of actually following her to Italy with their young daughter and all of Natalya's 'observation' equipment, her scheming siblings had carefully hidden bugs in various items of her luggage while her back was turned and planned to monitor everything from the safety of their own home.

Therefore, she was more excited than she might have been if she had known what else was going on. To her mind, she was just going to have a nice break with her friend and possibly engage in some fun pranks with other acquaintances.

She might even get a date out of it, although she was trying to put her love life out of her mind for a little while after all the recent trouble caused in the name of 'improving' it. But she would see how Emma's plans went, she decided as she tossed a couple more outfit choices into her suitcase.

Right, the Ukrainian thought, one last check to make sure she had everything she needed and then she would be ready to set off in the morning!

Her sister was also making some final checks before Iryna's trip began. Natalya was sitting at her computer, making sure she could get some form of connection to all of the cameras and sound devices she had planted among her eldest sibling's belongings, even though at the moment, they were in a case and so she wasn't finding out anything important.

Only once both women were satisfied with their preparations did they retire to their respective beds for the night.

In the morning, Ivan 'generously' offered to take his elder sister to the airport, picking up her friend along the way, while Natalya planned to stay at home and run some more tests on her spying devices, while keeping an eye on their daughter.

While the Belarusian woman was checking that they wouldn't lose track of their Dear Sister's activities while she was out of the country, Ivan was trying to focus on driving while eavesdropping on the chatter of his two passengers.

Both women were excitable due to their upcoming holiday and therefore, ever since Ivan and Iryna had picked Emma up from her hotel, they had been talking constantly. On the off-chance that this conversation was important to what he and Natalya were trying to achieve, the Russian man was doing his best to listen while he drove.

So far, he had only learnt of the impending prank war, the fact that Emma had forgotten her sunscreen, and that the flight would take four hours. Nothing that seemed useful whatsoever.

He was just starting to get fed up of listening to this, to his mind trivial, conversation, when Belgium revealed something very interesting.

"Are you still looking for love?" She asked Iryna sweetly and, upon the Ukrainian woman's slightly embarrassed but nonetheless honest nodding, added, "I wonder if we'll be able to set you up with anyone while we're away, then. I'll talk to Antonio, Lovi and Feli to see if they're interested!"

Iryna blushed more and chose not to respond to the Belgian's somewhat tactless remark. While she wasn't against the idea, she wasn't planning to discuss her love life in front of her brother again, after all the previous incidents. She decided to wait until Ivan had left to talk about that idea in more detail.

But, at least for the time being, Russia had heard enough to, despite earlier assumptions, know their true plans for the holiday. Safe in the knowledge that Natalya's bugs should find out more, he filed away that information for later and tuned out, instead focusing on turning into the airport's car park and stopping the car.

"Okay, here we are! Have a fun holiday, da?" He called out to them when they were parked, interrupting their conversation to say goodbye to them and briefly stepping out of the car to give Iryna a hug before she left.

Goodbyes said, the two women wandered towards the airport while Ivan got back into his car and headed home. Iryna and Emma checked in, then sat down to wait for the flight to start.

Now that they were able to talk in peace, without any overly-interested little brothers hanging around to listen, Iryna returned to the idea of Emma's plans. "So...You're planning some more matchmaking? What's the plan?" She asked her friend curiously. She was still excited by the idea that she might find love, yet she was nervous, hoping it would go better than previous attempts had done.

"I still need to talk to everyone, so we'll have to wait and see!" Emma answered, frustratingly unable to explain properly, but still here to help.

"Well, it's definitely worth trying. Thanks for the help..." Iryna responded with a little smile, bashful about how involved others around her had become in her love life recently, but still very glad of her friend's help.

Emma smiled, "No problem! I'm sure this holiday will be great fun and great for your romantic life too!" She enthused.

While the eager holidaymakers chatted and waited for their flight to begin, Ivan had driven home and discovered Natalya. The two siblings were now having a much graver discussion of Iryna's situation. They were very serious about making sure their sister ended up happy, but safe.

Firstly, Belarus relayed information to Russia, "All my bugs are working. We will be able to make sure nothing happens to Sestra while she's with her...Friend. Girlfriend. Whoever she is..." She explained.

On the topic of who Belgium was to Ukraine, Ivan had some more information and announced it to her, "They are just friends, I think. Emma is planning to set Sestra up with Spain or one of the Italies. So they must just be friends, da?"

"Hm...I suppose so. But if Sister is planning to date, then we will still need to watch over her..." Natalya mused about this revelation.

Ivan was frowning as he thought about it more too. "Wait...If Sestra still wants matchmaking...Why did she say she didn't and not come to us for help?" He questioned, obviously unaware of how over-zealous and intimidating he and Natalya sometimes seemed.

The Belarusian woman was unsure too, but she brushed this off as a secondary issue. "We'll have to deal with that later, Brother, when we are able to interrogate Siastra properly. In the meantime, we must ensure her safety."

"Da, we'll watch over her carefully until she's home," Ivan agreed firmly.

And so the holiday began...