Wow, what a time of year! I meant to have this done and dusted by Christmas, but I've been so busy that the only free time I've had to write, I've been far too tired.

Well anyway, here it is. The final chapter. The end of an era - for me anyway. This is the longest thing I've ever written. For those of you who have been following from the start - thank you so much! For those of you who have read the whole thing, despite not having English as your first language - you are hardcore! This is so emotional for me...

Anyway, please enjoy this, the final chapter!

Being a Good Brother is Hard.

Vash had a special talent for always knowing when people were lying to him, and this was no exception. However on this occasion he hoped his inclination was wrong, as he really, really wanted this to be the truth: Patrick Kirkland, out of bed but still clearly ill, sat lawyerless on the hard metal chair of the interview room, confessing to the murder of his father. He filled in every last detail – Henry had turned up to see Peter, father and son had quarrelled, opening old wounds, and the good doctor had struck him in a fit of anger. The old 'red mist', as it was known. By the time he came to his senses, his father was dead.

He claimed to have had no accomplices – Owen couldn't keep a secret, Arthur was all but comatose and Angus was in such a state from his wifes death that Patrick had decided to deal with the problem on his own.

"What about the garage?" Cameron asked, clearly as sceptical of his claims as his partner was "How did you convince Angus to pull it down if he didn't know whose blood it was?"

"I was injured in the fight." Patrick claimed "Nothing serious, but it bled a lot. I told him it was my blood: he was in no state to question me. We were just going to relay the concrete, but we got talking about how Peter would need an au pair. I managed to convince him to knock it down."

"You and your brother are close." Vash noted.

"He's my best friend."

"And after all this time, you never told him what happened? Not even a hint?"

Patrick shook his head, sighing in exhaustion as he shook a little.

"I couldn't. I couldn't drag him into it. Not after losing Meredith. If I got him involved, he might have lost Peter as well. I couldn't do that to him."

Patrick shivered terribly, so much so that Vash was considering turning up the heating. Wrapping an arm around himself, he finally took his eyes off the table.

"Would it be alright if I had a cup of tea?" he asked Vash "This fever just won't break."

"Sure." Vash conceded, standing from his seat "I could use a coffee too. Cameron?"

"Milk, two sugars." he requested, pausing the tape machine for the moment.

Odd, Cameron usually preferred black coffee. He only took milk and sugar when he was celebrating something... Ignoring his partners subtle unprofessionalism, Vash got the drinks and ran back to the interview room. The entire station stood around, gossip flying – it was rare to have a murder around here (so rare in fact that the last one was 15 years before), and now the perpetrator was in their clutches. Cameron started the tape back up as Vash returned, passing around the drinks.

"So what was it about?" he asked.

"Pardon?" Patrick responded, taking the tea.`

"The argument." Vash clarified "Must have been a doozie for you to beat him to death over it."

"Ah, that."

The doctor sighed, took a sip of his tea and shook his head.

"It was Arthur." he revealed "You'd like to think that after all this time and everything that happened, that he might have changed, even a little. But no." he shook his head, closing his eyes sadly "The second he got there he was picking on him again, just like before. It was... something else. He didn't just think he was right about Arthur, but that it was his right belittle him... All of a sudden he was every abuser and criminal I ever testified against..."

The officers stayed patient as the doctor struggled a moment, clutching his Styrofoam cup.

"You don't realise how fucked up the world is." he muttered "The things I've heard from my kids... This world is such a dark place. As bad as what that man put Arthur through was, it could have been so much worse. When we finally got him back, when we were finally a family again... but then that man showed up... you know what I mean? I just wanted to protect him. I thought... since I was his big brother, I thought I could protect him." he laughed bitterly "Francis made it look so easy. It wasn't easy at all... I failed..."

There was no argument from either officer. Patrick laughed self-depreciatingly.

"Will you do something for me, officer?" he asked "Don't let my brother find out about this from the tabloids."

While neither of them were in the habit of doing favours for murderers, they agreed nonetheless.

"Wh... what?"

Francis covered his mouth with his hand. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Patrick had confessed? But... why? Arthur couldn't believe it either, it seemed, as he just stared at Vash, mouth hanging open, not moving at all. Vash, despite no longer being on shift, sat patiently, waiting for them to respond. Seeing Arthurs brain had stopped working, Francis stepped up to the plate.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked.

Vash nodded.

"All the evidence points to someone in the Kirkland household." he said simply "And the weapons were found in Patricks room. Given his intelligence and his history... a conviction is almost certain."

"My god..."

"It doesn't... make sense..." Arthur muttered.

"Pardon?"

Francis and Vash looked at him, but his eyes remained blank, fixed on the floor.

"It doesn't fit." he muttered again "It doesn't fit at all..."

Dear god, he wasn't remembering, was he?! Francis' heart stopped in his chest, every fibre of his being willing his memories to disappear back into the murky void. Vash, however, nodded understandingly.

"It may take a while to wrap your head around it." he figured "We have a counsellor at the station that specialises in helping people in this situation."

Vash reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it Francis.

"Just a heads-up." he warned "Arthur may be called to testify. He should get his head straight as much as he can – I'll talk to Kiku for him."

"Thank you, Vash."

"I should take my leave." he said "You should tell Alfred before his next shift at the station."

"I will, of course." Francis swore.

Vash insisted on not being seen out, partly because it wasn't exactly that far and partly because he could see the state of disbelief Arthur was in. Francis sat on the sofa beside him, reaching out for his hands, but stopped short. What could he say? What should he say? He knew the truth, but... he didn't want Arthur to know. It would destroy him. He might confess... after how hard he was working to rebuild his life...

Perhaps noticing Francis' reluctance, Arthur finally looked up at him, green eyes confused and pleading. The older brothers heart broke a little, and he wrapped his arms around the youngers shoulders. Neither cried or yelled or spoke, but sat there in silence, just letting the events sink in.

Things for a while after that were pretty strange in their mundanity. The Kirklands had a good lawyer, so Patrick was given bail with very little fuss. Since the crime had happened so long ago, and the good doctor was known to the court already (what with having testified so many times in his official capacity), things were surprisingly lenient. However, he was placed under house arrest but for five hours a week until the trial, and considering Patrick Kirkland wasn't considered to be dangerous the trial itself was tabled for quite a few months. Whether it was the courts suggestion or Angus' order as the older brother was unknown, but he didn't attempt to contact Arthur. Surprisingly, it was Owen that kept the channel of communication open, calling Arthur for a catch-up chat once a week. For his part, when the time came, Arthur sent little Peter a birthday present in the post, and was more than happy to talk to him for an hour and a half during his 'thank you' phone call.

Arthurs book had been released. In a relatively short time it had garnered great acclaim, and risen to number 17 in the national best sellers list. Naturally, everyone was thrilled, and the writer was even interviewed for a national newspaper. While it never rose higher than its rank at 17, it was a personal high point for Arthur, and his publisher was already encouraging him to write another. Much to Francis' extreme relief, Arthur had made most of the changes he had suggested, although he made it clear he wasn't overly happy about them. He made Pearce the killer, as everyone suggested, but also made it known how much he didn't want to. Despite his changes, Lizzie did pick up on the books autobiographical content, but if anyone else did they certainly didn't say anything: Alfred got to the first sighting of the dead mans ghost before throwing the book against the wall in terror, while Matthew reserved passing judgement until both he and Maddy had finished it. Whether or not they read it through, everyone Arthur knew bought a copy, with Francis, Ivan and (a little surprisingly) Katyushas husband Eduard being the first in line to get the hardback.

Vash also read the book. He only ever mentioned to Arthur that it didn't seem right to have Pearce as the killer, and upon hearing who the killer was supposed to be originally, just nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. Makes sense." he supposed.

And no more was ever said on the matter.

Naturally, Miguel and his new wife came back from their honeymoon cruise in this time, ready to have young Feliciano at home with them again. Both he and Romano sulked something terrible for days, until Antonio managed to convince his older brother that maybe it was best for Feli to stay with them a little longer – give the newly-weds a chance to start their own family. Since Feliciano was a sensitive kind of boy, Miguel and his wife took great pains to assure him that they did still love him and wanted him to come home as soon as they had some good news on the family starting front. Feliciano didn't actually mind – he was getting to know his moody big brother, had made some good friends and developed a crush in his time in Hetalia, and the more laid back lifestyle suited him well, compared to the humdrum and stress of the city.

While he would never admit it, Romano was also thrilled that his brother was staying longer, muttering in Alfreds ear that he hoped the newlyweds had fertility problems, which earned him a hissing reprimand. The three older boys, while of course concerned with the ongoing events, were soon preoccupied with applying to universities and the demands of their final exams. The twins were lucky - they were naturally quite bright, so managed to catch up with what they had missed by the time revision began (although that did include nearly two months of late nights and weekends doing all of their coursework - any dissent was met with a swift backhand to the head from Arthur). Alfred had opted to study political science at Hetalia University, since he already knew he wanted to be a policeman, while his brother had his heart set on studying in Montreal, but what he had yet to decide. Romano wasn't even sure that he wanted to go to university, causing more than a couple of arguments with his guardian.

"What, you want to work in the restaurant your whole life?!"

"Maybe I do, eh?! What's wrong with that?!"

"It's pathetic, is what! You want to be waiting tables when you're 30?!"

"It was good enough for you!"

"Children should exceed their parents, not become them!"

But after a few months back and forth, Romano was convinced to go, if only to get Antonio off his back. Antonio himself felt completely satisfied with the charges levied against Patrick, and would have been more than happy to testify against him, had he known anything of use. Other than that, he carried on as always, happy to have another younger boy around to play with again.

Gilbert was also happy to have another kid around, but in his case he liked Feliciano because of how close the kid was with his little brother the games teacher (but not too close, in spite of Romanos fears). Gilberts secret plot against Roderich and his not-so-secret affections for Lizzie continued on their planned trajectory while he spoiled little Delilah rotten. Her parents relationship got a little bit worse every day, exacerbated by Roderichs refusal to see his wifes point of view and the fact that the money left to him by his father was quickly disappearing (not that he told anyone...).

Ivan and Arthur knew their relationship was on the right track the first time they had a blazing row. It was over something stupid – Arthur had left his muddy shoes in the entranceway rather than putting them in the kitchen – but it had ended in Arthur storming out half an hour later to go and sulk at his brothers house while Ivan went to cry on his sisters shoulder. Two hours later they had apologised and were eating dinner together. After the fourth time in a month this had happened, they had cemented their status as the couple that always argued and made up almost immediately which, for reasons people couldn't really put into words, was somehow healthier than their previous relationship.

By the time the trial actually came around, it was safe to say the residents of Hetalia had all but forgotten about it. While Arthurs stomach and memory problems had improved a little over the months, the court still declared him an unfit witness, so he wasn't called to testify for or against his brother. All of the brothers turned up to show their support on one side or the other – Angus took a moment to see how Arthur was doing, filling him in on what Peter had been up to before before standing behind Patrick. Owen had shown up with some news of his own – not only had he managed to convince Anya to come back to work for them, but he had also convinced her to marry him! Arthur hadn't known the two of them had even been that close...

The trial itself was a short one: Patrick pleaded guilty, didn't contest the evidence, didn't argue with the prosecution at all. It felt more like they were going through the motions having a trial, the evidence presented only for the benefit of the jury. The accused didn't even look around, just kept his eyes on the table the whole time.

The 'trial' was over before the day was, the jury being called out to deliberate before 3pm. The gathered crowd loitered outside, most unconsciously (or not) forming a human wall between Arthur and his older older brothers. Taking a moment to call and check on the babysitter, Francis went outside, hiding under the foyer from the cold spring rain. As his phone call came to an end, Vash came out of the courthouse, immediately pulling out a package of cigarettes and patting his pockets down looking for his lighter. Francis pulled his own out of his pockets and lit the cigarette for the officer. Vash nodded in thanks, taking a big drag and sighing it out.

"I thought you quit." he noted.

"I did." Francis admitted "I only smoke when I get stressed now."

"Yeah? Makes sense."

Vash sighed again, his whole body tense and stiff. Francis sympathised: he hadn't been called to testify, but Vash – as the investigating officer – had been. The Kirklands lawyer was a thorough bitch – definitely worth whatever she was being paid – and while she couldn't change the fact her client was pleading guilty, she did everything in her power to paint him as the victim. Vash had been turned inside up, upside down and backwards during his testimony.

"I didn't know you smoked." Francis pointed out.

"I started recently." he admitted.

"Who starts in this day and age?" Francis laughed.

"Had to keep my hands busy." Vash sighed "And my mouth plugged. It was cigarettes or food."

"Is everything okay?" Francis asked, concerned "It's not like you to keep your mouth plugged."

Vash chuckled, knowing he was right. He sighed again, cricking his sore shoulders. Francis waited as the officer found the words, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"It's hard." the smaller man admitted, eyes fixed on a random spot across the carpark "When you're confronted with a truth that makes you question what kind of man you are."

Francis' curiosity was piqued, but he stayed quiet, knowing he'd probably get more information out of him if he didn't ask. He was right, as Vash sighed yet again, ruffling his hair distractedly.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he wondered aloud "Is it right to let a guilty man go free because he's a good man... to send a man to jail because he's a bed person... but not technically guilty? I have no doubt Patrick's done many terrible things, and he's certainly guilty of a lot... The world will be better off with him behind bars, even for a short time, but..."

Francis' throat had gone dry, a cold shiver run down his spine.

"You... knew...?"

Vash finally looked at him, giving Francis his usual disgusted cat expression. The hairdressers heart didn't start beating again until the officer looked away.

"Knew what?" he answered "I don't know anything."

Vash took another long drag, stubbing the fag end out below his shoe. There was no doubt... Vash knew the truth. But... he was a policeman! Why hadn't he arrested Arthur if he knew? Vash went for another cigarette, but remembering he had just had one, huffed and put the box back in his suit pocket.

"The difference between right and wrong... you think it would be easy." he went on "I don't know anymore."

Francis reached out to him, but stopped himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a minute of impotent silence, Francis wrapped his arms around himself, focusing on the same point in the carpark that his companion was.

"I don't know either." he admitted "I always thought the truth was always the right path, that lies and secrets would just come back against you. If something is held together by lies, it'll fall apart. But those lies are holding things together, and I'm not sure if the truth can put them back together again."

"Hmm." Vash agreed "I understand. If all you know are lies, then the truth will just destroy everything..."

Vash sighed for the final time, stretched importantly and turned to Francis.

"Now this is all over, I don't want to see any of you ever again." he told him "Seriously – if you're being burgled, call someone else. I'm sick of your faces."

Francis chuckled. Before he could respond that the feeling was mutual, the smaller man turned and marched back into the building. Arthur appeared almost immediately, poking his head out of the door.

"Hey, you have to..."

Arthur pulled a face, sniffing the air.

"Did you smoke?" he asked.

"Vash did."

"He smokes?"

"So it seems."

"Unexpected." Arthur commented "Anyway, you have to come back – the jury's back."

"That was quick."

"Tell me about it."

"Arthur?"

"Hm?"

Francis looked at his brother. He still didn't remember... by not telling him, was Francis just as bad as Arthurs other brothers? But even knowing that...

"You feeling okay?" Francis asked him.

Arthur smiled at him, a little sadly.

"Somehow." he admitted "It's like... this should have ended a whole ago. All the drama is gone now."

Francis smiled back. Without another word, he followed his brother back into the building.

To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Patrick was found guilty of killing his father. He was also found guilty of gross misconduct and stripped of his medical license. His lawyer, however, more than earned her fee: he was sentenced to only five years in prison, followed by a suspended sentence of 10 years thereafter. Angus and Owen were elated – Antonio and Romano were absolutely furious.

So Patrick went to prison without a fight, but Arthur wasn't the only person to feel somewhat... cheated. There was no full stop, no dramatic end, no satisfying conclusion. Everything just kind of... went on.

Epilogue.

17 year old Delilah fiddled with her phone, feet up on the sofa. She had been ready for ages – what was taking those two so long? She looked up as Gilbert finally appeared in the living room doorway. He looked annoyed a moment, then noticed the young lady wasn't actually wearing any shoes, at which point he relaxed. He straightened his tie and posed.

"How do I look?" he asked "Peachy keen? Awesome sauce? Razzle dazzle?"

"Stop that." Delilah quipped "You look very sharp."

"Of course I do." he bragged "I'm awesome that way. Stand up and let me look at you!"

The young lady did as requested, spinning around in her dress. Gilbert squealed and threw his arms around her.

"So cuuute!"

"Argh, I'm not 'cute'!" she insisted "I'm 17! I'm 'sexy'!"

"Never going to happen." Gilbert grumbled "I won't allow it."

"Aw jeez."

She sighed as he released her, smiling at him.

"What am I supposed to do – on the one hand I have you threatening to kill any man who gets close, and on the other my actual father trying to set me up with a marriage! I can't win!"

"Your dad's a prick. Ow!"

Gilbert rubbed the back of his head where Lizzie had smacked him, appearing behind him in the doorway.

"Don't disparage Roderich in front of Delilah." she scolded before turning to her daughter "Sweetie, you look lovely!"

"Thank you!"

"But not sexy. Not until university."

"You're mean." Delilah pouted.

"Have you heard from your father lately?" Lizzie asked as she ruffled through her bag, making sure she had everything she needed.

"Yeah, he called me yesterday." she admitted, going past them both to put on her shoes "He's found another rich old suitor for me."

"Fucking creepy." Gilbert complained as he put on his summer coat "He could at least find you a rich young suitor."

"So you can chase him down the road with a plank of wood like the last boy Delilah bought home?" Lizzie chuckled.

"A father has his limits!"

Both women laughed, kissing Gilbert on different cheeks.

"I love you too, Daddy Gilbert." Delilah chuckled "Let's get going – we're gonna be late!"

As soon as the three reached Carriedos, Delilah was grabbed by Michelle, the two of them running off to their corner, soon joined by Cheryl (despite the fact she was a year younger than Michelle, which was a lifetime of difference during puberty). A lot of people were already there; Antonio was going back and forth between the kitchen and dining space, bitching at Romano about plates and cutlery and cleaning up those damn glasses, what were you raised in a barn?!; Alfred did his best to be subtle as he changed out of his uniform in the corner, but with his physique he easily caught the attention of the young girls giggling in the corner – Romano slapped him on the arse as he walked between the bar and the kitchen, smirking as the policeman yelled at him; Katyusha and Eduard sat with their two youngest, the boy playing on his gameboy and the little girl watching him; Francis sat with them, all of them nursing a glass of wine.

Francis beckoned them over, shuffling his chair up as Gilbert and Lizzie joined them.

"Afternoon." he greeted "You're late."

"But not the latest." Gilbert pointed out as he pulled out the chair for Lizzie.

"Where are the newlyweds?" Lizzie asked as she sat.

"Sonogram." Francis told them "They're finding out the sex today!"

"Oooh, exciting!"

"It was!" a voice called from the door.

They all looked around to greet Matthew, who stood holding the door open with a massive smile on his face.

"You'll never guess!" he declared.

"Well, it's one of the other." Katyusha pointed out with a chuckle.

With a flurry of little footsteps, a small blonde woman with fluffy hair and big round glasses appeared under Matthews arms, holding her obviously round belly carefully.

"Have you told them?" she asked excitedly.

"Not yet, Maddy." he promised.

"Let's tell them together!" she squealed.

Closing the door, the newlyweds turned to the crowd.

"3, 2, 1, IT'S A BOY!" they both declared, throwing their arms up in celebration.

The crowd applauded, pulling up a chair for the expectant mother as Alfred (now mostly dressed) threw his arms around his brother.

"Congrats, man!" he declared.

"I know!" Matty agreed "And it's not twins!"

"Aaww." Alfred moaned.

Romano, stood behind them both, just held out his hand. When nothing was forthcoming, he cleared his throat and flexed his fingers. Alfred grumbled and pulled some notes from his pocket, slapping them into Romanos hand.

"Mm, hm." he knew, finally turning to Matty "But seriously, congratulations. Did you want a boy?"

"We didn't really mind this time around." he admitted.

"But I hope the next one's a girl." Maddy piped in from her seat between Katyusha and Francis.

"So do I!" her husband agreed.

"C'mon, lemme pour you a drink." Romano insisted, taking Matthew around the shoulders and herding him to the bar.

"Hey, where's the man of the hour?" Gilbert wondered, looking around conspiratorially.

"I thought your brother was keeping him busy?" Eduard recalled "Won't they be here around six?"

Gilbert looked at his watch – those other guys better get here on time! Right on cue, the door opened to the sound of boys screaming, Ozzy bundling through in his usual fervour.

"Vanya, you chubby geek!" he yelled "I bought my DS – let's battle!"

"Ozzy, don't call Vanya a chubby geek!" Arthur scolded, running in the door after him "That's not nice!"

"It's true though!"

"That's not the point!"

Everyone chuckled, including Vanya, who shuffled aside as Ozzy sat next to him. Arthur, still grumbling, was followed by Ivan, who held Winnie in his arms, Toby clutching his pocket. Katyusha and Eduard laughed at his haggard expression.

"You alright, little brother?" she asked.

"This is why I wanted girls." he grumbled, even as Winnie decided now would be a good time to start pulling his hair.

"It was too sad to separate siblings." Arthur reminded him "What do you kids want to drink?"

"Coke!" Ozzy knew immediately.

"Ooh, Daddy, let me pick!" Toby requested, letting go of Ivans pocket and running to Arthur.

"Daddy?" Owen grimaced "You're six years old, at least call him 'Dad'!"

"I'll call him whatever I want!"

"Don't you two start fighting again, or I'll tan your hides!" Arthur warned, even as he picked Toby up so he could see over the bar.

Ivan wordlessly sat next to his sister, who chuckled again.

"Hello Winnie." she greeted her niece "Your ponytail is cute. Which daddy did that?"

Winnie answered as best she could, but at her age it was mostly nonsense. Katyusha laughed anyway.

"Oh, is that so?" she said.

"How's fatherhood working out?" Eduard asked.

"Haven't slept in six months."

"Haha, great isn't it?"

Antonio burst into the restaurant, shushing everyone furiously.

"They're two minutes away!" he hissed at them "Shut up and get down!"

They all went silent, turning off the lights and crouching down. A few seconds later, the front door opened to a familiar airy laugh. The second Feliciano was safely through the door, everyone sprung back up.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Feliciano shrieked in the most unmanly way possible, jumping back into Ludwigs arms a moment before realising what was going on. Everyone laughed at his surprise, cheering as he started to laugh himself.

"I can't believe my little Feli is already 20 years old!" Antonio moaned as he stepped forward to hug him "How did that happen?"

"How does anything happen?" Romano agreed "Hey Brawny, two steps back, eh?"

With the guest of honour arrived, the birthday party finally got started, Feliciano pulled over to the table to open up his presents.

With the party in full swing, Francis took a moment to find where his brother had gone: Arthur was watching Ozzy and Toby play in the carpark, the older brother trying to teach the younger to climb trees. Arthur looked over and nodded in greeting as Francis joined him.

"How's the not smoking going?" Francis asked his brother "Still on the gum?"

"It's better than those e-cigs." Arthur grumbled "At least I can keep it away from Ozzy. He's into everything at the moment."

"Just when Winnie grew out of it." Francis chuckled "Ivan looks exhausted."

"That old man is being pretty demanding." he explained "He knows he's going to die soon, so he's being as annoying as possible to see who deserves to get how much in his will."

"That's mean." Francis laughed.

"It's not mean." Arthur insisted "That's literally what he told me when we went to see him at the home the other day."

Francis continued to laugh as Arthur explained what Grandpa Yao had told him: Katyusha and Ivan were getting the lions share in his will, including his businesses and properties, while Natalya (still in New York) was only getting money – but it was admittedly a massive amount. He had organised trust funds and private school tuition for all six of his grandchildren, and was in the process of deciding who was getting his antiques and other paraphernalia. Despite the old mans impending end, it was nice to know he was as spirited as ever.

"He bitched so bad about my last book." Arthur went on "He said a Chinese ghost would never be that inept!"

"He would know!" Francis chuckled "At least he bought it!"

"He got it from the library."

"Cheap bastard!"

Hearing the kids yelling happily on the other side of the carpark, they both looked over, but the boys continued to play. Still on the ground, Ozzy tried to push Toby up the tree, but pushed too hard, both boys calling back onto what was thankfully a grassy verge.

"Oi!" Arthur declared, going to tell the older brother off for being too rough.

Francis stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm, smiling reassuringly.

"The twins were rougher with each other." he reminded.

"The twins were the same age. Same size too! Ozzy shouldn't be so rough with him!"

"He'll learn that on his own." Francis assured.

Sure enough, little Toby started to cry, half from pain and half from the shock of suddenly finding himself on the floor. Ozzy was immediately beside himself, panicking as he tried to calm him down. The men watched them, Arthur tensing a little as Toby cried louder, resulting in his brother picking him up and tossing him up and down a little to make him laugh. Francis chuckled to himself.

"He'll figure it out." he knew "Being a good big brother is hard, you know?"

The door to the restaurant opened, Michelle popping her head out.

"We're about to cut the cake!" she declared "And it's strawberry! You'd better get some before I eat it all!"

Michelle ducked back in, followed by her father. Arthur called the boys from the carpark, joining everyone else inside the restaurant.

So yeah... that's it. It's over. It's bloody cold at the moment, so it's funny to look back over my authors notes complaining about the heat last summer... A lot's happened since I started writing this; we had a crazy heatwave; I lost my job and got another one; some of my friends have gotten engaged; an Englishman won Wimbledon; it snowed in Egypt; I started a tumblr... what a year...

I hope you've enjoyed reading this - I've certainly enjoyed writing it! And I genuinely mean that. The only things I've enjoyed more than writing this is reading all your lovely reviews! I'm sorry that the ending kind of fizzles out rather than explodes, but life is like that sometimes, isn't it? At least there was a twist... kind of...

So, what now? I was going to take a little break, but I don't think that's possible! Unless I'm once again struck by inspiration (as happened with Unwanted), I'm going to complete Three's A Crowd. It might take a little while, though, as I want to focus on my original work for a while - I won't get published writing fanfiction! Although if I could...

So a big thank you once again to all my readers, old and young! I hope you enjoyed it and, for the last time ever, please review!