Disclaimer: I don't own the Lupin characters or anything related to the show, manga, movies, OVAs, horrendous live-action 1970's film, etc., etc….

Hi!

You know what music really, really reminds me of the music from the Lupin TV show? ABBA. No joke. It's kind of scary, but true. Especially songs like Voulez Vous… But, on a lighter note, I've passed the 50-review mark! Yes! I'm glad you guys like it—I love all of the positive response and tactful critiques! Keep sending in your reviews, and let me know how I'm doing. If you have any ideas for the story, or things you'd like to see, don't be afraid to write them in the review section!

'I once had a girl

or should I say,

she once had me,'

--The Beatles, 'Norwegian Wood'

Chapter Fifteen

Later that Day, After Jigen and Lupin's talk: At Last

Lupin looked from the back of the church up the aisles. He gulped dryly, and stuck his head back into his prep room. Jigen and Goemon sat there, watching the thief curiously, "I—I can't do this…. I can steal anything in the world, break into any safe—But I can't get married…. It's not going to last… You guys are right…."

"Jesus, she's carrying your kids!" Jigen said.

"I know; that's okay…. But I don't want any sort of commitment…" Lupin replied.

"You're the one who proposed to her, Lupin," Goemon reminded him.

"I know! I didn't want any bastards for kids!" Lupin yelped.

"There's nothing wrong with a bastard child," Jigen said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"See!" Lupin laughed triumphantly.

"But I do have a problem with you not going through with getting married. Believe me—You'll live to regret it. It'll be years before you meet a girl like that again," said Jigen, "Come on, it's like you two are married already. Lots of fights, no sex—Just like getting hitched!"

"Well…" Lupin looked outward, and then turned back to Goemon and Jigen, "Okay. I'll meet you guys out there…."

"No, you're friggin' coming with us," Jigen said, taking him by the arm, "I know you. You've probably got a crow bar behind that vanity there, just in case you change your mind."

"I would do no such thing!" Lupin yelled in defense. He paled as Goemon reached down behind the vanity and pulled out a crowbar, "Jeeze… How'd that get there?" Lupin inquired innocently.

"The power of God," Goemon replied wryly, tossing the crowbar aside and walking out with the two. They walked down the stone aisle, finally getting to the altar after some protesting from Lupin. They finally got him to stand next to the priest, and Goemon and Jigen stood next to him.

Lupin looked out at the crowd to see who had arrived. A few select family members, many business partners—Collin, Natasha and Ravi had all made it to the wedding as well. They had been personally invited by Lupin. Lupin's blood stopped cold as his eyes fell upon a dark-haired man towards the back of the crowd. So his father had come.

Meanwhile, in the back of the church, Fujiko was having problems of her own. So bad were these problems that she locked herself in her room, and Ming and Yukiko were working on picking the lock while Amaya went to find her father, who had more experience in this field. She came back with Zenigata in tow, and the retired inspector bent down, examined the lock, and opened it within a matter of moments with only a bobby pin from his daughter's hair.

"Fujiko?" Ming asked in concern, peeking her head in. She quickly drew her head back out as a tissue box came sailing from Fujiko's room. Ming closed the door and turned to the others, "Okay…. I don't think she's in a talking mood right now…."

"Let me go. I can take more damage to the head," said Amaya, opening the door once more and gingerly stepping in. She saw Fujiko with her head down on the table, and her shoulders bobbing up and down. Amaya leaned inward, and put a hand on Fujiko's shoulder, making the bride jump, "Fujiko, are you all right?"

"No," Fujiko shook her head, "I can't do it! I just can't! This is all one giant mistake! It's not going to last, anyway!"

"Sure it will," Amaya sighed and seated herself next to Fujiko, "Believe me, Lupin's for real about this. If you compare the guy from a few months ago to the one now, there's a complete turnaround! And from the stories that Goemon had told me, Lupin has always been there for you."

"I know, and I hate it! I wish he wouldn't be so Goddamned forgiving, the poor hopeless idiot! I've treated him like a tool, and he still treats me like a princess! I don't know whether to love him, or pity him! I've been such a bitch to him sometimes…." Fujiko trailed off and rubbed her eyes.

"Stop," Amaya took her hand, "You'll smudge your makeup. You're just stressing out. Now come on—Stress isn't good for your complexion or for the babies. It's rare for Lupin to hold a grudge against any friend and you know it! Now, he's waiting out there—They're all waiting out there. The music's going to start in less than five minutes."

"I always pictured it like this—Except in the picture I wasn't pregnant, and, there was someone to walk me down the aisle…" said Fujiko remorsefully.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about the baby, but maybe I can help out with the other thing…." Amaya said with a smirk.

Amaya and Ming walked up towards the altar several minutes later, when the wedding was moments away from starting. Lupin looked over at the two women questioningly, "Amaya, where's Zenigata!? He's not in his friggin' seat, and the wedding's about to—" Lupin turned his head as the loud organ began to blare in the huge cathedral pipes, and turned his head. He stood straight up once more as Yukiko, the flower girl, began to walk down the aisle, tossing the flowers from side to side with a bored look on her face. She sighed in relief as she finished and stood next to her aunts, and all watched as Fujiko came down the aisle—With Zenigata.

Lupin had to stifle a laugh of disbelief, and saw as Zenigata gave Fujiko away, and then took his seat. Amaya smiled warmly at her father, and Zenigata simply nodded and turned his attention back to the wedding.

The rites were read out in French, and all cheered as they two were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. Arsene Lupin the Third. Fujiko looked over at Lupin, and shook her head. She and the little idiot thief had finally legalized it, and there was no more running away for either of them. But she didn't seem to mind this, however. Lupin reached inward, and kissed her, drawing another cheer.

The two walked down the aisle, Lupin smiling widely. His smile briefly faded, however, when he locked eyes with his father. The two exchanged an icy stare, but Lupin was drawn away as he felt the sunlight on his face. Jigen was among the first to throw rice at the couple.

"What it is with these Western customs of wasting perfectly good rice…." Goemon grumbled as he stood next to Amaya outside of the church.

"Oh, stop," Amaya laughed and put a hand on his arm, "It's cute, Goemon… Everyone's getting married in one big clump…"

"We might as well while we're all still together," Goemon said quietly to himself as he watched the newlyweds enter their limousine and drive off towards the reception hall.

"Hey, I'll be over in a little while. You catch a ride with Amaya and Goemon," Jigen said to Ming.

"Okay," Ming nodded, "Are you feeling okay?" she inquired with a sense of worry in her voice.

"I'm fine. I just want to do something…" Jigen answered. Ming reached up on her tiptoes, kissed Jigen, and then exited the church with the other attendees. Jigen sighed heavily, and turned back towards the church. He reached over to the holy water, blessed himself, and went to kneel in one of the back pews.

"Hey, Sakura, if you can hear me, it's Jigen…." Jigen said quietly, "I haven't done this in a while, I know… I don't go to church much anymore, although I know you always wanted me to go more often…. Yukiko's getting pretty damned big, you know… She, uh, looks a lot like you…. She has a beautiful voice like you, too… But I think she's going to have a personality like me—Sorry… I just wanted to ask if you could watch out for her… I thought I'd ask while I was here…. Could you watch out for her, and for Ming? Yeah, I know she's not exactly my type, but just something about the girl makes me feel like I used to with you…. I know you're happy for me—You'd want me to be happy above all. I still love you, Sakura. I've got to go now, or everyone will think I skipped out on them, and I'm not that much of a creep. Say hello to my mom for me."

"Why should she?" Jigen heard, and turned. It was the woman from the airplane that he had gotten drunk with, "You can tell her for yourself…."

"Huh?" Jigen frowned, and rose from the pew.

"I heard you. So you're married? Is Yukiko your daughter?" asked the woman.

"I—" Jigen trailed off in pure disbelief, "You can't possibly be… How?"

"Some detective work from your friends," she answered, "A certain Ms. Mine, Ms. Zenigata, Ms. Ming, and Ms. Jigen. You call yourself that now? Daisuke Jigen? You followed my advice after all?"

"Yeah," Jigen nodded, "Listen, prove who you are," he inquired more sternly now. He could not let his guard down; this woman could very well be someone out to get him.

"My, just like your father in that sense…." she sighed and shook her head, "Well, let's see… How can I prove it?" she muttered, pacing back and forth, "Daisuke Jigen is your grandfather. You were always a very timid boy, and you didn't like to talk to the other children because they made fun of us. We lived in a small apartment in Ise. I made you leave after one man pulled a gun on us while he was in the apartment and robbed us…."

"Were you really a prostitute?" Jigen asked painfully, and then reminded himself that this woman might not be who he thought her to be.

The woman nodded, "I'm not proud of it, but yes. I had no other option. My parents sent me out of the house for disobedience, and I had to earn money somehow. I was only fourteen at the time!"

"I…." Jigen shook his head, "No, it, it can't be you! If, if you really are my mother, what's my real name?"

"An Americanized version of your father's, which was a form of your grandfather's. Allen Capone," Jigen shuddered involuntarily, but then looked up at the woman in shock.

"No one except my family knows that… It really is you, isn't it?" Jigen muttered.

"Yes," she nodded, "I was told to meet you here at one in the afternoon, but I chickened out—That's why I'm here at two…. And here we are…."

Jigen took a few uncomfortable steps forward, and twitched as his mother embraced him, and sighed as she began to cry, "Mom… Hey, Mom, stop that, please… Please don't cry anymore…. Every time you cried it killed me…. And then that always got me a little, you know…" he choked.

"I'm sorry," she looked upward and laid a hand on his face, "My goodness, you're thin as a rail, Ally… It's all that running from the law, isn't it? I would've never figured my boy would've… I mean, I had heard of Daisuke Jigen, but I couldn't believe you were the same person! I just couldn't! Who would recognize you, with that hat and beard!? If your own mother can't, well, not many others would be able to!"

"Don't call me that in front of my friends…. I hate that name," Jigen replied in a grumble, "And the nickname's even worse…. Just Jigen, or Daisuke…." His mother nodded, and Jigen put an arm over the tiny woman's shoulders, "Do you want to come with me to the wedding reception? It's my best friend's wedding…. I've got a crap load of stories to tell you, Mom."

Later that Day, the Reception Hall:

"Who's that with Jigen?" Lupin muttered as his gunman friend entered with a middle-aged woman.

Fujiko turned, and saw Jigen and the woman, "Oh, that's a little surprise we put together for him…"

"You actually did something nice for Jigen?" Lupin inquired.

"It was Yukiko's idea," Fujiko replied, "She got the idea from you…"

"Really? See, I have good ideas, too!" Lupin left Fujiko's side, and walked over to Jigen, "Hey, who's the escort, Jigen?"

"This…. This is my mom…"Jigen replied slowly, as if it he were uttering some foreign language. Lupin looked at him in surprise, and then at the woman, stunned.

"Your… Wow… It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," Lupin said with a small bow, "Are you Ms. Jigen?"

"You can call me Ryoko," she replied with a smirk, "You must be Arsene. Al—Daisuke told me about you on the way over here… You are a very loyal friend, from what I understand…"

"Oh, are you kidding, he's even more loyal to me!" Lupin said with a laugh, "He's a good kid!"

"Kid!?" Jigen snorted, "Please! I'm seven years older than you!"

Lupin was about to retort, but was quickly stopped as he heard a familiar laugh. He turned around, and saw his father standing next to him. Lupin jumped slightly, and stood next to Jigen and his mother.

"Well, quite a night! Parent conference night, huh!?" Lupin the second laughed, "I'm really surprised you decided to get married, Arsene…. Did you like the gift I gave you yesterday? I thought you'd like the fireworks…"

"I told you I didn't want you here," Lupin growled, clenching his teeth together, "I told you to stay as far away from France as you could…"

"What!? I live here! I'm not leaving the country so you can marry some bimbo! I've been following you over the years, to see how you're doing with the family business…. And may I just say, while we're both in the same room, that you've turned it into a joke. A samurai, a mobster, and a femme fatale? Sounds more like the plot of some cheesy Saturday afternoon cable movie…. We used to actually respected in our profession… Your grandfather was feared by men and loved by women…. As was I…. Instead you're all buddy-buddy with people who would kill you at the drop of a hat and you follow one woman around the world, even when she continually stabs you in the back! You can have any woman, you realize!?"

"Yeah, Dad, I know…. But this girl's special…" Lupin answered.

"You get that sentimentality from your mother…." Lupin's father growled.

"And thank God I do!" Lupin snapped in response. His father grew angry at his son's insolence, and raised his hand to smack the loud-mouthed brat down. But he was quickly stopped by what looked to be a sword sheath. Lupin looked over, and saw Goemon holding the sheath in between him and his father's hand. Lupin the second backed down, and put his hands in his pockets.

Lupin smiled cockily and turned his head, "What's wrong, Dad? You know, I might not be able to beat you alone, but that's why I surround myself with the best fighters and the best friends in the world."

"I'm leaving, but keep in mind, you little abortion gone wrong, I will restore the Lupin family name, even if it means busting that other bastard son of mine out of the slammer," said Lupin's father. He turned, and came face-to-face with Jigen's gun, "Get that thing away from me, cretin." He growled and shoved Jigen out of the way, and stormed out of the reception hall.

Lupin let out a long sigh, and sat back in a folding chair that had been placed nearby. He saw a hand held out, and looked upward to see Fujiko looking downward at him, "You want to dance?"

Lupin smiled, and rose, "Shall we dance?" he laughed, and walked with her out to the floor.

"Well, he did that in the normal Lupin fashion of forgetting it…." said Jigen.

"Better that than having him dwell on it," Goemon added.

"Do you usually carry a gun around with you?" Ryoko asked quietly, looking down at her son's firearm.

Later:

"Hey, guys, Fujiko's going to throw the bouquet!" said Yukiko cheerily.

"You go on ahead, Yuki. I think your dad would get upset if I did that," Ming smiled. Yukiko chuckled, and ran over to the group of single women forming in the center of the reception hall.

"You okay?" Jigen inquired, looking over at Lupin briefly.

"Yeah, fine… I'm just afraid now that my dad's going to keep his word and bust Remy out," Lupin replied quietly as he looked out at the crowd.

"Hey, come on!" Jigen nudged him, "You finally married the bitch! Cheer up!"

"I'm cheery!" Lupin snapped in response, "I'm one of the most cheery people you'll ever come across, dammit!"

All turned their heads as the bouquet was thrown, and waited to see who would come out victorious. Lupin was near seeing who had caught it, but Zenigata suddenly stepped in front of him. Lupin cursed quietly under his breath and looked upward at Zenigata expectantly.

"I wanted to give my congratulations," said Zenigata.

"No problem, Pops," Lupin answered laughingly. Who was he kidding? Zenigata had in a sense been there for him more times than his biological father ever had been. Zenigata cared about upholding the law, but Lupin could also see that part of the inspector also wanted to make sure that he was kept safe, "Thanks for taking care of Fujicakes for me…"

"It was Toshiko's idea," Zenigata admitted, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, guess what I caught," Natasha said, walking over to the detective and handing him the bouquet. Lupin began to laugh hysterically, and fell back in his chair, "Immature little creep…" Natasha laughed and shook her head. She turned back to Zenigata, but saw that he had already gone, "Koichi? It was just a joke! Oh, come on!" she said, and began to search after the hiding inspector.

Ming looked over at Ryoko, and then at Jigen. Both looked very much alike, she could see by just looking at both together for a few moments. She put a hand over one of Jigen's, and he looked downward in surprise, and then back up at Ming. She smiled, and laid her chin on his shoulder, "You know, for some guy who usually can't stand women, the three most important people in your life are all, incidentally, women…."

"I know. But you guys are different…." Jigen answered.

"You know, Yukiko's birthday is coming up…." Ming said quietly.

"You ask her what she wants yet?" Jigen inquired.

"Uh-huh," Ming nodded, and smiled.

"What is it? It's that bow and arrow kit, isn't it? The kid loves sharp objects…." Jigen laughed proudly.

"No, it's not that," Ming shook her head. She leaned inward a little more and whispered, "She wants a little brother…."

Jigen jumped in surprise, and turned to Ming, "Well, what'd you tell her?"

"I'd convince you it was a good idea," Ming replied, "And even if you said no I'd get pregnant anyway."

"I—" Jigen stopped, and shook his head, "I don't believe this…. Are…. Are you sure you want this? I—I mean, are you really ready for that responsibility?"

"If Fujiko can have a kid, anyone can," Ming answered.

"I've never raised a baby…."

"You'll be okay…. Plus you won't be the only guy in the family anymore!" Ming said cheerily.

"We'll see…." Jigen sat back in his seat and turned his attention back to the people dancing in the middle of the reception hall.

"Only a few days until our own wedding, Goemon," Amaya reminded the samurai, "Say, what's wrong with you? You look upset…. Don't ask me how I know—It's just intuition."

"I'm simply wondering how long this is going to last," Goemon replied, "I was still very, very young when I came into the group—This has come to be the only type of life I know. I do not think I'll be able to go back home and settle down in Japan…"

"I never asked you to do that!" Amaya laughed, "We're a family, Goemon-san! We can't separate a family! It would be wrong!"

"Are you certain this is the life you want for our children?" Goemon inquired.

"Listen, we aren't even married yet! Don't go immediately worrying about children. A child would enjoy a life like this!" Amaya suggested, "I always thought my life was very boring, growing up! Now, look! I found plenty of adventure, a place to use my skills, and a very cute husband who would make any of my old enemies jealous of me."

Goemon smirked and folded his arms, "You liked me for only my looks—Not my virtue?"

"Virtue came afterwards, Dear," Amaya laughed at the look on Goemon's face, "I'm only joking! My goodness, you are especially high-strung right now!"

"The thought of seeing my family…" Goemon gave a small shudder, "It's going to be interesting…. I only hope you'll still like me afterwards…"

"Why wouldn't I?" Amaya inquired. There was suddenly a loud crash, and all turned their heads. One drunk family member had fallen back against a table. Amaya and Goemon sighed, and both shook their heads in jaded solemnity.

"I'm thinking you, me, a game of mahjong, and a bottle of sake…." said Amaya.

"It's a date," Goemon answered as he watched several other Lupin family members trying to help the woman up from the table which she had fallen into.

Later That Night:

Fujiko looked downward at the wedding dress, which now laid spread out on her bed. She was still in shock over the whole ordeal. She could barely believe that she had finally given it all up, and was now married. She still was unsure if it would work, but she could always run again. There was no shame in running away. But she would wait until the children were born, at least.

"You okay, Fujiko?" Lupin inquired as he came out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, I guess…." Fujiko replied absently as she laid out on the bed stomach-down, "It's just… Weird, I guess…. It's like we really are a family now, right?"

"Oh, we were before, just without kids," Lupin responded.

"Well, if you don't count yourself," Fujiko smirked, "Are you happy now?" she asked.

"Yeah…. Too happy, I guess…" Lupin sighed in discontent, "But I guess it'll change when the kids come, huh? Hey, is Ryoko still here?"

"Yeah. She's in the living room with Jigen and Yukiko," said Fujiko, "I never would've thought I'd see the day when I helped out Jigen, of all people! But he seems a lot happier, as creepy as it is to say. We all do, I guess…."

"For someone who just married a wealthy playboy you sound depressed," Lupin muttered.

"I guess…. I just don't know if settling down is for us, Lupin! And I don't mean just you and me, but I mean all of us! We aren't exactly the Partridge Family…. We're more like the Addams Family!"

"Yeah—Stick two more feet on Goemon and he'd be a dead-ringer for Lurch," Lupin chuckled, "Come on, Fuji, cheer up!" he sighed and laid down on the bed next to her and put a hand on her back, "We'll straighten it all out! I'm worried, too! I'm worried about my dad coming and beating my ass in, I'm worried about Remy breaking out, I'm worrying that I'll be a bad dad—But, come on, look on the bright side! Hopefully the kids won't get our personalities!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fujiko inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Baby, we aren't exactly saints," Lupin smirked, "Not that I want the kids to be perfect angels—God knows if that happens, they'll probably get their asses kicked in school! But I hope they at least get our good looks, and my brains."

"God," Fujiko put a hand to her face and shook her head. The thought of her children having Lupin's mental capacity frightened her more than the sight of an approaching police car.

"What!?" Lupin asked with a laugh.

"Nothing," Fujiko sighed and rose from the bed, "I'm going to put my dress up. You get some sleep…"

"On the wedding night!?" Lupin yelped.

"Lupin, I don't want the children to get brain damage!" Fujiko answered.

"Crap," Lupin grumbled irritably, "Fine…. I'll take a rain check! No 'I've got a headache tonight' B.S.!"

"Thanks for understanding," Fujiko smirked, "I'll make it all up to you in a few months—Promise…"

"Your promises have about as much worth as a fortune has to a dead man!" Lupin snapped in response, "And I feel like I'm a dead man...."

Downstairs:

"You painted over the truck!?" Ryoko gaped in shock as she sat across from Jigen in the living room.

"Yeah! Solid gold truck! And we would've gotten away with it, if it hadn't been for Fujiko!" Jigen answered.

"I wonder what would've happened had I… Had I not sent you away…." Ryoko said quietly, looking downward.

"I probably would've ended up being some sort of dorky librarian!" Jigen answered, "Don't worry—I was mad at you then, but I'm not anymore…. I've come to terms with everything, even if it took me three decades…. The past is the past. We can't change it, we can't take it back. We might as well forget about it and appreciate the time we have."

"You always were quite precocious…" Ryoko smirked, "You're still good with voicing your opinion, I see…. You get that from me…. I always had to have the last word in every argument. But, no matter how mad I got, I would go running back to the person I fought with, even if I knew they were the one at fault…. You also get that from me, don't you? Once you come to love someone, you're loyal to them."

"After I lost you, I swore I'd never let anyone leave me again," said Jigen, "I promised to myself a long time ago. That's why I'm loyal to Lupin. I may not always like his friends, but I'm one of those friends, and I'll never let myself lose his friendship, even if he acts like an idiot sometimes…. If anyone's going to be doing the leaving, it'll be me. And even if I try to leave, I know that they'll just track me down. They're as loyal to me as I am loyal to them."

"I'm glad you found your place. I spent years worrying about you, wondering if you were going to follow my words of advice, or if you were going to turn into your father…." said Ryoko.

"Sorry. I kind of took up the family profession," Jigen answered quietly.

"You may have taken up your father's career, but you're as different as your father as I had hoped," Ryoko smirked, "Now, I don't want to go, but I have to…. I'll see you again very soon, Daisuke-Chan…"

"Mom," Jigen turned a light shade of red, "Please…." He stood and walked his mother to the door. She stopped at the door, tilted his head downward, and kissed him on the forehead.

"Be sure to take care good care of that family of yours, eat well, and don't forget to get a haircut!"

"Mom, I wear a hat… I don't need it…" Jigen responded.

"But you look Amish!" Ryoko sighed.

Jigen paused, "You know any good barbers?"

"I thought that'd get you. I'll see you later. Good-bye," Ryoko smiled as she exited. Jigen sighed heavily, and shook his head as he closed the door. He looked out the window for his mother, but it dark out, and he could not see her anymore, "Good to see you again, Mom. You never left me, after all."