Author's Note: Here's the epilogue—009/003 fluff galore—enjoy!

EPILOGUE—WHERE THE HEART IS

The sun was lazily hanging amidst a veil of lacy white clouds as it made its way to the western horizon, the warm breeze tickled at the forlorn figure with hair the color of newly minted gold as the strands danced about in the playful wind. Francoise sat on her designated rock by the shore, allowing the music of the waves soothe her troubled spirit as she thought of Robespierre.

She sighed as she remembered his confession of his true identity but she still saw him as Robespierre, her friend from the past. What she was doing in actuality was reliving the brief time with him, sitting with him as he recovered from the crash that had brought him into her life, the way he saved her from the tornado, and when he had confessed his love for her. She felt an almost overwhelming sense of guilt, because she could not reciprocate his feelings, her heart was already spoken for. She also was amazed by the fact that Robespierre or Gerard had the same sad background as Joe, the man she loved. There had been similarities between the two she was beginning to realize and that was the chief reason she was so drawn to him.

Francoise sighed again as the seagulls flew about, their shrill cawing adding to her melancholy mood, and she wistfully wished she were one of them so she could fly fast and far away. She watched as the snow white birds only concern was how to obtain food for survival. She envied them their uncomplicated lives as she watched the clouds float languidly by, and her eyes became blurry with tears yet again. It had been two days and she was still in a mixed state of distress and deep soul searching as to the direction of her life. But as a cyborg, had she really any other choice?

Over at the beach house on the deck, Joe was leaning on the rail watching Francoise, her shoulders slumped in the picture of utter desolation and his heart constricted in pain for her. He felt sorry about his past behavior and attitude toward 0017 as he pondered the story of Black Ghost's cruel use of yet another unfortunate human that had his life stolen from him at their wicked hands. The unfairness and outrage of it all served to infuriate him and strengthened his already steel resolve to defeat them at all costs.

With a look of concern Joe made his way over to the blonde cyborg as she gazed at the gradually waning afternoon light, the sun becoming obscured by the thickening veil of clouds. The wind freshened as a change in the atmosphere was apparent, reflecting the moods of the figures below.

Francoise picked up the sound of someone approaching and she knew who it was. In a hollow tone she said, "I'm okay, Joe. I'm just sitting here watching the waves. It calms me and helps me to ease my mind."

"I know, Francoise. I just wanted to see if you were okay. You know that I do the same thing, watch the sea as if to get answers I can't find when I feel helpless. Isn't that how you're feeling now?"

Francoise gave him a rueful smile. "You really know me don't you?"

Joe returned the smile bashfully as he replied, "I've enjoyed spending the last year observing every wonderful thing about you and it's uncanny how alike we are. I sometimes feel that our emotions are a mirror image."

Francoise nodded and turned her attention to the pounding surf. "I've often felt the same way, that in many way we're kindred souls." She spoke again, "Joe, I want to tell you something."

He sat on a rock along side of her as the salty breeze blew his mahogany tresses over his warm caramel eyes, ruffling them to allow both his eyes to regard her expectantly. "Okay."

She swiveled on her rocky perch to face him. "I'm sorry that I was so preoccupied with Robes-uh, Gerard that I lost sight of our objective, to be on the lookout constantly for Black Ghost." She lowered her head in shame as she added, "You saw something strange all along, something I was too blind to see."

Joe reached and took her chin in his fingers to raise her eyes to meet his. "Koishii, don't beat yourself up over it. You thought he was your dear friend from the past, a past that had many happy memories for you."

Francoise smiled in gratitude. "You're always so supportive and encouraging. You're right, of course, I did see Gerard as a way to go back to the happy times with my brother. I miss Jean Paul so!"

Joe pulled her into a warm embrace. "I know you do. I wish with all my heart that I could take the pain of losing your family away forever. But, koibito, you have to realize something, that it's natural to look back at our pasts with regrets and yearning but no matter how hard we try, we can never go back."

Francoise nodded reluctantly as she said with wistfulness, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could turn back the clock, redo our mistakes and make better decisions? And we could've avoided the traps Black Ghost set for us."

"Yeah, it would," Joe agreed. "But we can't drive ourselves crazy with 'what ifs'. Life goes on, even for cyborgs. It's true, you can't go home again."

Francoise pondered his words of wisdom in her heart. For one so young, Joe had an incredible grasp of reality and common sense that she ascertained came from growing up in an environment that obviously forced him to mature quickly with very little room for childhood dreams and whimsy. And Black Ghost's framing him of the Father's murder and capture of him did nothing to diminish this characteristic or his kind heart, which she treasured. She snuggled closer to his comforting circle as she became shyly hesitant in her next question.

"Joe?"

"Huh?"

She took a deep breath. "Don't you ever think about what your life would've been like if you hadn't been accused of murdering the Father and you didn't run away. If Black Ghost hadn't taken you and made you into a cyborg."

Joe's brow was furrowed in deep thought. He finally answered, "I honestly don't know, Francoise. I know that the Father was murdered on my birthday and being 18 I was thinking about leaving the orphanage. As a matter of fact, he and I were discussing my plans for the future the day before." He sighed as the pain of the memory attacked him anew.

Francoise was immediately contrite that she had brought the subject up. "I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories." Her tropical lagoon eyes became luminous and showed her remorse.

Joe smiled sadly at her as he reassured her, patting her hand. "It's okay, don't worry about it. Yeah, I do think about it. The Father was talking to me about attending the university and getting a degree. I didn't know what I wanted to do just that like the Father, I wanted to help people."

Francoise gazed steadily at him and remarked, "I can believe that, Joe. You are always trying to help others, like the way you tried to help 0013."

"A lot of good that did," he said bitterly.

Now if was Francoise's turn. She shifted in his arms to face him as she said with conviction, "Joe, you did everything you could. If anything, Black Ghost is to be blamed for 0013's demise as they are with all of our shattered lives."

Joe nodded as he answered, "You're right, I know. But sometimes I can't help feeling that I could've done something to save him." He was engulfed in a mental flood of self-recrimination just as he always was when he thought about the tragedy of 0013.

The mood between them somber, they sat quietly for several moments as Joe then said, "I owe you an apology as well."

Francoise looked at him in wonder. "Whatever do you mean?"

Joe faced her directly as he replied, "For my attitude and the way I've acted during 0017's stay with the team. I was just wrong but I felt like you were slipping away from me and I didn't know how to stop it. I felt powerless and frustrated so I struck out at you. I'm very sorry, koishii."

Francoise threw her arms around him and hugged him tight as she responded, "It's all right. We were both wrong. But, I want you to know something, Joe. I was drawn to 0017 because I thought he was my old childhood friend, I never felt that way about him. You never had a reason to feel threatened about him."

"I know that now but I was afraid at the time I was losing you," he said against her hair as he returned the hug. "Of anything I can claim as mine, I'm most afraid of losing you."

They drew apart long enough to come together in soft loving kiss, their lips meeting as their hearts beat in perfect harmony, their tongues probing, exploring as the two expressed their deepest and most profound love for each other.

As they finally separated Francoise whispered, "As long as you want me, you'll never lose me."

Joe smiled affectionately with his eyes aglow. "You asked me before if I regretted having my life stolen by Black Ghost. The answer is yes in most cases except one and that is that if they hadn't taken me and made me into a cyborg, I never would've met you." He ran his the back of his hand along her soft, ivory cheek in a leisurely caress.

She giggled softly like the tinkle of a delicate bell. "Even though I'm really an 80 year old woman?" she asked coyly.

Joe nodded and grinned as his eyes danced in merriment. "I always preferred older women."

He cupped her lovely face in his hands as he teased her mouth to receive him once more as the sun peeked between the building white plumes, bathing the couple in warm welcoming rays and the sea serenaded them with her siren song.

END

Author's Note: I would just like to thank each and every one who read and reviewed this. To my faithful reviewers Wicked Enough, Sorrowful, Wolfwood, Serene Faerie, Sweet Dark Angel 009, Lil Rose Angel, Hawk Sage and my Kindred Soul Friend Jen23 I thank you all for your encouragement and support. Coming from writers of your caliber I am deeply grateful. I hope the story met all of your expectations