Begin!

~Duncan's POV

Quigley's been staying on the home with us for a couple days now and there's still no word from the Baudelaires. And just yesterday, Hector showed us with his spyglass that Hotel Denouement, the last V.F.D. safe place, burned down. My siblings and I could only hope that some people were spared from the blaze. We had received a telegram calling volunteers for a meeting there, but Hector sensed danger and told us we wouldn't attend. Thank goodness he did because otherwise we might have been in that fire too.

I looked over at my siblings who were reading some books to pass the time. That was most all we did up here since we arrived. I think Isadora and I have read at least half of Hector's library by this point. But the books were necessary to us; we needed them to distract us from worrying about the Baudelaires. I didn't have that distraction right now. I wanted to think about Violet.

It was the sixth day after her coming to Prufrock that I plucked up some courage and asked her to go for a private walk with me after one of Nero's recitals. She accepted, and to this day we consider that our first date. I remember how it was actually kind of fun to sneak out together to be alone. Her siblings were unaware and we were only out for about 2 hours before heading back to sleep. We climbed the stairs up to the roof of the school and had our first kiss under the stars. We didn't even mind that we were almost caught by Carmelita while she patrolled the grounds. It was a perfect night.

Of course after we started our relationship, Isadora discovered it by accident, and promised not to tell anyone until we were ready to be open about it. Thanks to Carmelita, the whole school already thought Violet and I were dating so it wouldn't have taken long. If it hadn't been for Olaf showing up a couple days later we probably would have too. We had to postpone our secret interactions with him there... otherwise he would have found out sooner about the Baudelaires having strong allies at their new home.

I'll never forget the words Violet said when we kissed for the first time.

"Prufrock is a really shitty home, Duncan; nearly everything about it is awful on every level. But with you here... it's a home I'd be more than happy to stay in."

"I feel the same way Violet..."

I miss her. I miss her family too; Klaus is the best friend I ever had. He's also the only guy in the world that Quigley and I would trust with Isadora. And Sunny is a sweet, intelligent, kid who's going to do great things when she grows up. I wonder if she's learned to talk yet.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of our telegraph printing out a message. Hector stopped the ship for a moment and Isadora grabbed the paper to read it aloud for us.

To the Quagmire triplets,

Kit Snicket tells me you're still on the hot air mobile home, and that you've recently reunited with your lost brother. Miss Snicket just left for a special mission to search for the Baudelaires. Just below you right now is a submarine called the Queequeg; and I give you permission to come aboard.

-Fiona Widdershins.

P.S. I miss you Quigley.

Quigley practically snatched the paper from Isadora, "Fiona!"

He then smiled at us, "How would you guys feel about going to stay on a submarine?"

"Well... we're not going to find the Baudelaires while we're living up here," I said. Though I could tell my brother was so excited about the prospect of seeing his girlfriend that he'd probably leave without us if he chose to.

"I think it sounds great," Isadora said, "And I want to meet the girl you won't shut up about."

"Then it's settled, we're going!"

Quigley used his spyglass to look over the side of the ship and saw that indeed the telegram was correct; a submarine was resting on the ocean's surface ready for us to board. He also noted the disappearing figure of a raft heading away from said submarine, which we assumed was Kit. Hector went to the helm and took the ship downwards so we could drop the ladder. Isadora and I didn't have much to pack, other than the clothes Hector gave us when we stopped for extra supplies. (He felt bad about us having only our Prufrock uniforms for so long while we were kidnapped.) And Quigley already had his own backpack full of things he received from Jacques Snicket.

Once the ship was low enough for us to start climbing, the three of us thanked Hector for taking us in, even though he hadn't needed to. He assured us he'd be fine on his own and hoped that we had a good life and future without him. And so the three of us climbed down with Quigley leading the way; within minutes we had all carefully situated ourselves on top of the submarine. We watched as Hector pulled the ladder up and drove back into the clouds.

Quigley eagerly knocked on the hatch. Instead of asking for a password, like he had told us happened in his survival tale, the hatch opened instantly. They really were expecting us. Quigley hopped onto the inside ladder first and we followed down after him.

I thought it was honestly funny that Quigley was so excited, but when I get to see Violet again I'll be acting the same way so I'm not one to judge.

Quigley dropped past the last 4 steps on the ladder and disappeared into the halls without waiting for us. Once Isadora and I reached the bottom we followed the sound of happy voices to what appeared to be the main deck of the ship. We entered the area and smiled at the sight of our brother tightly embracing a pretty girl with triangle-shaped glasses.

"My doll, I've missed you, my mycologist."

"I missed you too Quigley," Fiona said rubbing her eyes behind her glasses from happy tears, "I'm so glad to see you're ok. When Violet told me how you went down the Stricken Stream I just couldn't stop worrying about you."

Quigley grinned at her, "It was a rough ride, but I pushed through it. I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that."

Fiona turned her attention to us after a moment and we finally got to introduce ourselves. I also noticed that we weren't alone in the room. There was an unfamiliar cheerful looking man with an amputated leg, who introduced himself as Phil, and another man with shiny, silver hooks for hands that we did recognize.

"You," Isadora said moving behind me, "You're the one who kidnapped us from Prufrock."

Fiona stepped between us, "I know this is going to be difficult to understand, but Fernald is my brother and I assure you he's had a change of heart."

Fernald nodded. "I left Olaf before he went to the meeting. I was done working for him and I'm not going to hurt my sister's... friends."

I saw his gaze shift warily to Quigley. Apparently he didn't like the idea of our brother sharing such an "intimate" moment with her just now. I guess all older brothers are the same no matter which side of the schism they were on. I held back a snicker at Quigley taking a subtle step back from his girl.

"Fernald, we talked about this..."

Fernald didn't look pleased to be reminded of such things but he did lay off on glaring at Quigley for now.

"Where's your stepdad," Quigley asked, attempting to change the subject.

"He's on a mission; said he would be back in a few days." With that, Fiona told us to follow her downstairs to drop off our bags while submarine was started up by Fernald and proceeded back down in the ocean.

Once we reached a room with many bunk beds Fiona told us that she intended for us to stay here until we are with the Baudelaires again.

"So Kit knows where they are," Isadora asked.

"She said she had a theory but wanted to investigate first. We felt horrible letting her go off on her own, she's very close to having her baby..." Fiona looked worried for her friend. "But she's also a resilient volunteer. I've known her my whole life; she'll find them for us."

~Isadora's POV

Fiona took me into an opposite room while my brothers changed. (She mentioned her stepfather will want us wearing uniforms while we live here, standard rules.)

"Before I let you change, I have something to give you." Fiona handed me a folded piece of paper from a notebook.

"What's this," I asked.

"When I helped the Baudelaires escape from Olaf, Klaus asked me to give you that. It's from his commonplace book. I swear I don't know what it says; he said not to read it because it's private."

I smiled, "Klaus wanted to give me a message?"

"He did, he speaks highly of you," She smiled, "It's adorable actually. Come back out when you're ready."

I felt my face get warm as she left the room. Klaus thought about me! I quickly changed into my comfortable new submarine clothes and then opened the paper.

Isadora,

I don't know yet how I'm going to get this letter to you, but I'm writing it anyway in the V.F.D. headquarters on Mount Fraught. I just finished some very important research while Violet and Quigley are looking for Sunny. Yes, your brother is alive and well, and he misses both of you very much.

There's something I want to say and I don't know if I'll ever have another chance to say it so I'm going to ease my mind and do it this way. And if I can find some way to get this to you, then I'll do it without a second thought.

Isadora, I love you. I think I always have... But I was a fool who couldn't bring up the courage to tell you those feelings when I had the chance. I've never been particularly good at talking to girls... But you could probably tell since I could barely talk to you. And I've also never felt this strongly about anyone before. When you kissed me that night at Prufrock, I was so shocked that I was almost afraid to hope that you meant that kiss the way I wanted it mean. But that hope is still there.

When we sent you up in the hot air mobile home, you said, "If we never see each other again..." I hate to tell you, but you're wrong my love, we will see each other again. It'll be a while, and we might be a bit older, but it will happen someday. You'll be with your brothers, both of them again, and I'll be with my sisters as always; and we'll be a joined family one way or another. The world will be quiet for us when we reunite, I promise you that.

I love you Isadora Quagmire, and I hope you're safe and happy wherever you are.

Until we meet again,

Klaus

I reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek. I love you too, Klaus Baudelaire, and you're right. We will see each other again. I tucked the letter away in my pocket and went out into the hall.

Before I could say anything, Quigley and Fiona jumped apart from their "private moment" and avoided eye contact with me. Catching those two together definitely helped lighten my mood. Duncan joined us afterwards and we were told that we would be able to replace our destroyed commonplace books. Quigley said he remembered where they kept their supplies and took us with him while Fiona went back up to the main deck.

"So since we're going to be here a while," Quigley said as we walked, "I'll uh, keep the PDA to a minimum. You know for courtesy and all that..."

"I was avoiding walking out into the hall because I saw you guys together from the doorway and I was like, 'what can I do to postpone walking out there until it's over,'" Duncan said.

"Very funny," Quigley replied, "But seriously, we'll be discreet."

I laughed, "You need to be discreet because I'm pretty sure her brother will actually kill you if he catches you guys together."

Quigley's face paled. "That too... Fernald is uh going to be hard to win over..."

~…

He eventually did get Fernald to warm up to him. My brothers and I spent a whole year living with the Widdershins family on their submarine. The captain came back after the first few days and was delighted to see we were together again. He even told us amazing stories about our parents' days in the organization and how they were good associates of his.

Quigley kept his promise to keep his and Fiona's couple interactions to only when they're alone together. On more than one occasion though, either me or Duncan would walk in on them; which was something they couldn't control. But it was nice to see Quigley committed to a girl, especially one who treated us with kindness too.

During my time on the ship, Fiona and I developed a strong, sisterly, friendship. Even if it annoyed Quigley because she told me about her oh so glorious pet name for him that he was adamant about us not knowing. I couldn't resist the opportunity to teasingly call him "Quiggles" whenever he needed to be taken down a notch. But I know my brothers better than anyone and I can tell he doesn't mind it when Fiona calls him that. Much like how she doesn't mind being called "his doll."

Phil was exceptionally kind to us too; he's seriously the nicest man I've ever met. Fiona even mentioned once that the reason he was hired was because he was so eager for the job. (And her family may or may not have unofficially adopted him...)

Fernald was a little hard to get used to at first. He was kind enough, but it sometimes felt like he was only putting on a show for his sister's sake. He was much more interested in ensuring that Quigley respected Fiona. (Which he did.) But after the first few weeks, we warmed up to him. He was actually quite nice once you got to know him. And he seemed genuinely interested in rebuilding his relationship with his family. And he did apologize for all the things that happened. Duncan and I got to know him enough to be able to say we forgave him. That fact seemed to make him very happy too.

Fiona told me her brother was actually a big softie, which was an appropriate description once we spent time with him.

~…

But after that year passed, with us discovering things together and helping out around the ship, the day we had waited so long for finally arrived. It happened when the submarine was resting on the surface while the captain and Fernald were out getting us more supplies. Fiona told us that a small boat bumped into us, and in looking through our periscope she knew it was something we would want to see.

She opened the hatch and after some minutes of waiting we were greeted by little Sunny running into the room and hugging each of us.

"I'm so happy to see you guys," She shrieked excitedly.

"Sunny you've gotten so big! And you can talk," I said giving her a tight hug.

After a moment, Violet and Klaus joined us carrying some kind of basket with them. They set it on the floor before turning their attention to us.

"Duncan!"

"Violet!"

My best friend and my brother embraced very tightly. Once they forced themselves apart, Violet gave me a hug too. I smiled as Klaus and Fiona shared a friendly hug before I went to give him a much closer hug. God I don't know what to do... Klaus looked so handsome in his white linen outfit. And his hair is a little curlier than the last time I saw him. I can't wait to get him alone so we can "talk."

"What's in the basket," Quigley asked after we had all finished our happy reunion.

They looked a little sad but also happy to show us. Violet reached inside and gently picked up a tiny baby girl.

"Oh she's beautiful," I said. "Who is she?"

"This is Kit's daughter. She wanted us to name her Beatrice, after our mother because they were close."

"Then what happened to Miss Snicket," Fiona asked.

The looks on their faces were all we needed to know that we had lost another volunteer.

"At least she got to have her baby..." Quigley muttered softly.

"Fiona, you know Kit's family, does Bea have any living relatives," Klaus asked.

"Kit had two brothers, Jacques and Lemony," Fiona explained, "Lemony Snicket is very hard to contact though but she does have one uncle at least. Last anyone heard of him he was staying in a place called Stain'd By The Sea with his wife."

"That's wonderful," Violet said, "She has a blood uncle and an aunt by marriage. Maybe you'll meet them someday."

Violet then set little Beatrice down and told Sunny to take over watching her. With all of us together again, the only option left now was to get back to land to start our new lives together. Fiona had recently convinced her stepfather to let her leave the organization so she could have a life with Quigley, meaning she would come with us. Tomorrow morning the Queequeg would drop us all off at Briny Beach to go do whatever we wanted until we were old enough to claim our inheritances.

I then noticed Violet and Duncan try to stealthily slip away so they could have a private moment. Not that it mattered because I don't think anyone was going to stop them. Quigley and Fiona took Sunny and little Beatrice with them down to the kitchen to try to find something soft for the baby to eat. My brother may be full of himself, but he's actually pretty good with kids. (A fact I'm sure didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend...) This left me alone with Klaus at last.

"Um... Izzie?"

I smiled. I let everyone close to me call me that but it feels so much more special when he says it. "Yes Klaus?"

He avoided eye contact with me. "...I missed you..."

"I missed you too," I reached over and gently grabbed his hand.

He's so cute when he's all flustered. He blushed darkly behind his cute glasses.

With my other hand I reached into my pocket and pulled out the letter he had sent me. I kept it hidden from the others out of respect and never let it out of my sight.

He smiled that stupidly shy smile I loved so much. "You got my letter?"

I put it away before responding. "Yes I did. I read it countless times when I felt lonely and wanted to think about you..."

"So... you-"

I interrupted him by doing something I should have done ages ago. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. He was stunned for a moment but then I felt his arms around my waist and kissed me back gently. His lips were so soft, just like I imagined so many times when I thought about my love for him.

When we did pull apart he looked like he was on cloud nine, and I'm sure I didn't look much different.

"I love you Klaus."

"I love you too Izzie." We kissed again, but deeper this time.

He had been right in his letter; one way or another, our families were joined now. Whether it was because Violet and Duncan were the ones who got married first, years later, or if it was because Klaus and I were finally together; either way made it true. But the best part is that I had both my brothers with me again and my brothers were with their soul mates. We wouldn't be separated ever again.

We weren't her blood relatives, but Beatrice Jr. would always have a pretty big family to take care of her.

~The End!

I didn't know this story would go on for this long but it's done now! Yay! See you in the next one!