It's finished!

We have reached the last chapter of this story!

I would like to offer a HUGE thanks to my betas (Wuchel1 and Dlldarkwolf) as well as all the readers ad reviewers who have supported me through my very first POI story. You are ALL awesome! :)

Here is the final installment of "From Italy with Love," enjoy ...

Chapter 21

Grace drank in the warmth of Harold's embrace, breathing in his scent and wonder how she ever thought she could leave him. She had apologized for her actions, he had apologized for not preventing them, but now they just held each other in silence. She might have have thought he had fallen asleep, except that his fingers continued to caress hers. She shivered under his touch, thrilled to finally have him for her own, now and forever.

"You warm enough?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Grace replied, before having another thought. "Are your ribs okay? I'm not leaning on you too hard, am I?"

She started to sit up, but Harold pulled her back down, a smile spread across his face as he assured her that she was not hurting him. Even so, she made sure to keep her weight on his shoulder and off his ribs. Soon, the feeling of euphoria returned and the world outside the back seat faded away.

There were only two people in the world, now and forever.

*P*O*I*

Harold rested his head against Grace's, thanking God to have her in his arms again. His world had stopped when she disappeared and never wanted to feel like that again. He couldn't risk losing her, not to Wayne Myers, Mason Thorn, Decima, or anyone. But what could he do? There was no way to guarantee her safety, aside from shutting her away for the rest of her life, but that would be no life at all. No, life would not give them even the promise of tomorrow. In that case, there was really only one thing he could do. As carefully as he could, Harold pulled his cell out of his pocket and did a quick search.

"What are you doing?" Grace asked in a tired voice.

"Shh," Harold hushed, stroking her hair with his free hand. "Just go to sleep. Everything will be alright in the morning."

He felt her relax and continued his search. It didn't take long to set it up, but their window was rapidly closing. Slowly, so as not to disturb Grace, he held his phone over the front seat.

"Mr. Reese, would you mind turning around and going to this address?"

John took the phone and checked the display, his frown visible in the review mirror. He could understand his skepticism, but under the circumstances, there were no other options.

"You sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Harold replied. "How long until we reach the harbor?"

"Just a few hours."

"Good. We'll also need some clothes."

"I'll take care of it," Miss Shaw volunteered. "Why don't you get some sleep while you can."

Harold decided to take her advice and rested his head against his beloved. The morning would bring new challenges, ones he never thought he would ever have to face. Yet here he was, about to literally sail into uncharted waters.

His thoughts and feeling wrestled as he drifted into an uneasy sleep, until someone touched his shoulder. Harold's eyes snapped open and he found himself staring into John's smiling face.

"Good morning."

Suddenly feeling stiffness in his back, he almost shifted, but didn't want to disturb Grace. Lucky for him, John's greeting seemed to be enough. She sat up, blinking in the morning light.

"Where are we?" she asked, checking her watch. "6:30? Harold, what's going on?"

"Uh … um," Harold stammered, stretching as well as he could. "Do you remember when we talked about taking a cruise?"

"Yeah … in 2010, to the Greek Isles."

"Well, this isn't to the Greek Isles, but it's still a start."

She looked confused, glaceing to the small cruise ship in the harbor and back to him. After a moment, realization dawned and she started to cry. For once, her tears didn't fill him with regret and he couldn't help but smile.

"You mean? Oh, Harold!"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, while any doubts that he might have had about this trip faded away. After a moment, John opened the car door and helped them out, six suitcases sitting on the pavement beside him.

"Do we need that much luggage?" Harold asked. "We won't be gone much longer than a week."

"Shaw wanted to make sure we were prepared."

"We?" Grace questioned, looking from the ex-op to her fiancé. "John's coming with us?"

"Just for security reasons," he assured them, picking up two of the bags. "Besides, you're gonna need a witness."

He was right about that, Harold just hoped he had decided to pack a more conservative bag for this trip. He did not want the port authorities called due to an obscene amount of firearms. However, the three of them made it onto the ship without indecent and soon were settling into their rooms.

"This is really it, isn't it Harold," Grace gushed, putting her case next to his in the spacious closet. "We're really gonna do it."

"We're four years past due," he replied, taking her in his arms. "Don't you think it's time?"

She smiled and gave him a kiss, before leaning into his embrace. The ships horn blew and Harold felt the ship begin to move away from the shore, leaving everything behind. Tonight, their new life would begin.

Tonight they would finally say "I do."

What do you think?

After everything I put them through, I had to end on a happy note.

Before you get too sad about this story coming to an end, I would like to remind you that this is the FIRST in a series.

COMING SOON: Story #2 "Over Troubled Waters"