I don't own Italian Job.

Chapter 2- Several Months later…

The apartment:

When Stella told Charlie about her dream, he felt as though no matter what he did, Steve would always haunt their lives. He stayed up all night worried about her, watching her sleep. As she started to wake up, he gently trailed his hand up her arm to her hair, where he pushed it out of her face.

"Morning baby", he said as she opened her beautiful eyes.

"Morning honey", she replied as she snuggled deeper into the covers. Charlie started to softly kiss her face to try and help her wake up. The sound of the ringing phone made him reach over to the night table and grab it.

"Hello".

"Hey Charlie. It is Rob. I was talking to Napster and he said that he found the safe that we were looking for. It's in England."

"Ok, good, I call you back in an hour and we can discuss the details".

"You haven't told Stella yet, have you? Look man, keeping secrets is not the best way to start a relationship. Call me back and let me know what the plan is".

"Bye". As he turned off the phone, he realized that handsome was right. This was not definitely not a conversation that he was looking forward to.

"Who was that".

"Handsome, Napster found a safe that we have been trying to track down for years. What do you think about doing another job?"

"Charlie, I don't know. What you do is illegal. I used to crack safes for the police and I changed sides for my dad, but I do not know if I can do this again".

"I am not going to pressure you into anything, but it is not going to be the same without you. We are going to have to find someone else."

"Wait, Charlie, I'll do it".

"Wait, I am confused, you just said that you did not think that you could do it?"

"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you, and I was not there to see you. I don't want the same thing that happened with me and my father to happen to me and you. And also, the adrenaline rush is kind of nice."

"Look, Stella, I can't promise that nothing will happen, even if you are there with me, and I don't want you to make this decision based on me."

"I want to do this".

"Ok, I will go call Handsome". As he got up he kissed her forehead and went to the terrace.

"Hello"

"Were in. Let's meet in England, at the warehouse. You can book hotel reservations and all of the usual things".

"I didn't think that you could convince her to do this. How did you, never mind. I do not want the answer to that. Ok, I will call everyone else and we will see you there this weekend."

"Bye". Charlie walked back into the bedroom and noticed that Stella was still in bed staring out the window.

"We are going to a warehouse that we own in England this weekend. So, we should probably start packing". As he started to leave, he noticed that she did not move.

"Are you ok?" he asked with a concerned look spread across his face.

"Yah, I just feel a little sick to my stomach. I probably have a bug or something".

They made all of the arrangements and started to pack. They were to leave tomorrow for England. Both of them were a little nervous, but for different reasons. Obviously Stella was a little worried about the job and Charlie was worried about Stella not feeling well. Also, now they had gotten closer he had become more protective of her and was a little scared for her safety.

The next day, England, hotel

Today was the first day in several months that everyone would see each other again. After everyone exchanged hellos, and they decided to put business of until tomorrow and to catch up with each other. Handsome was still seeing Courtney and things were getting serious. Much to everyone's surprise Napster was dating a girl named Adella. He was a little nervous because this is the first time since they got together that they would be away for this long. Wrench was engaged to his girlfriend of three years, Emme. And Left ear was flying solo. He had recently adopted a dog, Nebraska, whom he absolutely adored. As they continued their conversation, Charlie's arm was around Stella's waist. Stella's head had found it's way to Charlie's shoulder and after a couple of minutes, she was fast asleep.

"Charlie, Stella is asleep", Napster said.

"Yah, she thinks that she has a stomach bug and she has been really tired lately. We should probably go to sleep soon anyways, it is getting late and we have to do a lot of planning." With that Charlie carried Stella to the room and gently laid her on the bed. After a few minutes he got into next to her and pulled her in his arms as he did every night and fell asleep thinking about the wonderful person in his arms.