Dear Reviewers:

MlynnBloom: I'm so happy that you're so happy! Thank you so much!

WonkaVision: Aw...There, there. –Pulls out a box of Kleenex- Thank you for reading!

QQuagmire: Wow, thanks! I love to build up the suspense. It makes it...suspenseful.

Arden C. Evans: The Baudelaires deserve a happy ending. This story won't be as unfortunate at the end, I'm glad to say. And I'm thinking of writing another fic in the form of Sunny's diary, about what happened after, so a sequel is very possible...

Lady Emily: Yay! I feel like dancing too! –Does a dance while playing "Scream and Run Away" on the accordion- Wow, that's hard to do!

NewbiaTheElf: Thanks! And I noticed that the first line isn't italicized. It was in italics on my word processor when I wrote it, but somehow it got "lost in translation"...

Phoenix72389: Aw, here's a tissue for you. We are getting closer to the end, but don't worry, this chapter isn't the last. And, like I said a while ago, Sunny will find out soon enough...

SaturnStorm: Wow, thank you! I try my best...

Powerof1P3PadfootsGrl: Oh boy, I'm gonna start running out of Kleenex! Here you go. Thank you very much!

I'd just like to say (as I've said countless times before) that without you guys, there wouldn't be any story. I signed on today and looked at the reviews and I couldn't help grinning like an idiot, I was so glad that you are enjoying it. So, thank you everybody!

Chapter 13: H o m e w a r d B o u n d

"...And so a few years ago, I decided to become a private investigator. But, you know, nobody really wants to hire a kid, so it's been more of a part-time job," Klaus said. "I'm hoping to be a writer someday."

Violet sighed. "Wow. So much has happened," she said.

The two walked down the steps in front of the library's entrance. Klaus couldn't help but agree. A lot had changed. And he still didn't know what half of it was. He hoped they would be able to talk about most of it on the way back to hotel.

It was early afternoon by the time they left, and there were more crowds, tourists and residents alike scrambling to get to their destinations. Cars honked their horns and people shouted, mostly in French. The siblings didn't notice much of it though; too much was on their minds.

Violet suddenly stopped. Klaus turned and found her staring at something across the street. He followed her gaze.

There, leaning against a signpost, was a man wearing a long coat. He was tall, and he had his hat pulled down so the brim covered his face. It was the same man Klaus had seen at the train station. It was the same man who had followed them all the way to France. And it was the same man who had helped Klaus find his sister.

Violet smiled slightly and waved at him. Klaus's jaw dropped when the man reached up with a gloved hand, pulled off his hat, and waved back at them. But he was not surprised that the man knew Violet. He was surprised that he recognized the man's face.

"It's...It's..." Klaus stammered. "It's Fernald."

Violet nodded. Fernald smiled, turned, and walked away.

"But... But his hands..."

"...Are mechanical," Violet said. "I asked him if he could find Sunny for me, so I did him a favor."

"Which is why he was following us," Klaus realized. "So that means that you're still an inventor?"

Violet shrugged. "From time to time, when the occasion calls for it."

The two turned and started walking again. "Fernald helped us escape from Olaf. He was planning on leaving the troupe himself, after...you know...after what happened to Fiona..."

Klaus looked down at his feet and nodded sadly.

"I thought Sunny was right behind me." Violet shook her head. "I should have been more careful. We couldn't turn the ship around, after so many people began to suspect that I was on it. So I contacted Fernald and asked him to keep an eye on her."

She stopped and looked at her brother. "But I guess someone else has been doing a fine job," she said, her eyes smiling. Violet sighed deeply and tried not to start crying again. "I can't believe I didn't get to watch you grow up."

Klaus stared at the ground. She wasn't the only one who regretted being apart from a younger sibling for so long. He started walking, trying to figure out what he was going to say next.

"Sunny doesn't know who I am." It was more like a question than a statement.

Violet looked down also, searching for an explanation. "Klaus..." She sighed. "Well you see... A long time ago," she began, as if she were telling a bedtime story, "I made a promise to Mother and Father." Violet fiddled with her ribbon, which she had taken out of her pocket. "I told them that I would take care of you and Sunny, that I would always protect you since I was the oldest."

She turned and walked backwards, so she could look at him while she spoke. "When they told me you were dead, I felt like I had failed in everything I was meant to do. I was your big sister, I was supposed to watch out for you, but you ended up dead anyway! Or at least I thought you did. But still... I wanted to tell Sunny. I really did. She asked me over and over who you really were, but I couldn't tell her, Klaus."

Violet halted and stared straight into his eyes. "It hurt too much."

Klaus stared back. He realized he understood completely what she was saying, and that there wasn't a spark of anger or regret in him. He thought back to the many times when he had tried to remember his sisters, how hard it was. It hurt him too.

"You'll tell her now though, right?" he asked.

Violet hooked her arm around his. "Of course I will."

They continued walking in silence, pondering everything that had occurred. Klaus almost couldn't believe what was happening, almost convinced himself that he was dreaming again. Over the course of his sad and miserable life, so much misfortune had befallen he and his sisters. He was used to tragedy, he knew what grief was almost better than he knew his way through his way through a library. Everything was going so perfectly, and he expected it to go wrong at any moment. Maybe when they got back to the hotel they would discover that Sunny had gone missing, or maybe that the police had tracked them down and were arresting her and the Quagmires at that very moment.

But when they arrived at the hotel, everyone was still there, anxious to see if Klaus had found his sister.

"Violet!" Sunny cheered when they entered the lobby.

"Sunny!" Violet cried, kneeling and scooping her up in her arms. "Oh, Sunny, I'm so sorry. I thought you were right behind me. I didn't mean to leave you." She hugged her sister tightly before stepping back to look her in the eyes. "Were you scared?"

Sunny grinned and shook her head. "No, I wasn't scared. Just like you taught me."

Violet smiled gently. "Just like I taught you," she whispered.

Sunny looked down and bit her lower lip. "Violet," she said quietly, "I'm really sorry, but I lost your ribbon."

Violet stood up and held out the ribbon. "No you didn't. Klaus had it."

Sunny let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Klaus," she said.

Klaus nodded quietly, wishing more than anything he could be a part of the family reunion. But he couldn't, not yet. Sunny would find out soon enough.

"You keep it," Violet said, tying it into a bow in Sunny's hair. "Take good care of it."

"I will," she promised. Then her face lit up. "Violet, lean closer," Sunny ordered.

Puzzled, Violet obeyed. Klaus grinned.

"Hmm..." Sunny mumbled, inspecting her face closely. "Well, would you look at that!" She reached behind Violet's ear and pulled out a coin. "A quarter! You really shouldn't have. But thanks anyway!"

Violet beamed, shaking her head. "I can only guess who you've been hanging around," she said.

"Somebody mention me?"

Violet straightened and turned. Duncan was standing there, his trademark smirk on his face, along with Isadora, whose eyes were smiling. For a moment, Violet could only stare, amazed to see her two friends.

And, to put it simply, the rest of the day was spent in a way that Klaus hadn't experienced in a while. It was hard to get through a conversation that recounted the missed years without somebody beginning to cry, somebody who was mostly Violet. She had felt so shut out, like she and Sunny had skipped the last decade, and everyone else knew what was going on and she didn't. Even Klaus couldn't help but let his eyes get teary from time to time.

Sunny couldn't help but wonder why no one mentioned her brother.

Finally, when evening drew near, everyone's thoughts turned to the prospect of returning home. They didn't want to think about how they would clear Violet and Sunny's names. They didn't want to think about where they would live. They didn't want to think about all that lay ahead. But everybody knew that they would leave Paris soon. Everybody knew they couldn't stay forever.

In the stillness of that quiet moment of knowing, Sunny started humming. Klaus thought he recognized the tune.

Homeward bound,

I wish I was,

Homeward bound,

Home where my thought's escaping,

Home, where my music's playing,

Home, where my love lies waiting,

Silently for me.

Klaus glanced at the calendar. December 23rd.

They'd be home for Christmas.