Like waking up from a nightmare, Lupin only felt a rush of panic as he sat upright, questions stamped in his mind before he had completely regained consciousness.

"Sarina! Nonnika! Are they?" –

"What in the world?" Zenigata scrambled forward to take hold of Lupin's shoulders and keep him from leaping off the hospital bed.

"Lupin, are you listening to me?" Zenigata made eye contact with Lupin, who was slowly starting to register Zenigata's presence, register his surroundings.

"If you're talking about the little girl, and the manager Bellman was talking with, they're both fine," Zenigata said. "I should know. We were all held up together for 30 minutes while you were out there. I tried to sneak out, but Bellman knew he could call on any of his men to beat my ass in if I stepped one foot out of his jurisdiction."

"They're fine," Zenigata repeated. Lupin looked at Zenigata and took a deep breath, his shoulders lowering as he relaxed.

"We were lucky to find you when we did," Zenigata continued as Lupin rested his head back on his pillow. "The bubble you were in probably saved your life. No internal injuries, no broken bones, no head injuries, you barely had frostbite. You'll stay here overnight for observation and to warm you up a bit more. You might be sore for a few days, but nothing that Tylenol or a few days' rest in a prison cell can't fix."

Lupin blinked, taking in the information.

"I'll be here to stand guard, and supper should be coming in a few hours," Zenigata continued. He stared furtively at an open door on the other side of the room. "Er, if you need to relieve yourself, the bathroom is over there."

Zenigata paused and studied Lupin's expression. "Lupin, I'm surprised."

Lupin turned to Zenigata, looking puzzled.

"You haven't asked once about the diamonds you stole," Zenigata said. "We have them in custody now. Bellman is prepared to pick them up at an undisclosed location in the morning. Instead, the first question you asked is whether Nonnika and Sarina are safe."

"I've known you for a long time, Lupin. I've made it my life's work to put you behind bars. You have almost always put whatever you decide to steal as top priority, even above your own life." Zenigata gave Lupin a thoughtful glance from underneath his hat. "Could it be that this time that instead of stealing what you want, your heart was stolen?"

Lupin turned his head slowly toward Zenigata, giving him a goofy smile. "You're awfully sentimental, Pops," he said weakly.

Unperturbed, Zenigata stared back. "I could say the same about you."

Lupin suddenly crouched forward. As though a wave had hit his body, he felt the soreness from his encounter with the avalanche, and the exhaustion from not sleeping the past week, come full force.

"I'm all right," Lupin said as Zenigata sat up in alarm. "Just sore."

"Understand," Zenigata replied. "I'll have the nurse send in some pain relievers."

Zenigata sat back, taking stock of this new development in his adversary. He had known Lupin to be protective of women and children. It was another matter for them to be the first thing Lupin would ask about when coming back to consciousness. Zenigata had assumed that crime was Lupin's lot in life. His companionship with Jigen, Fujiko, and Goemon the closest to anything he had resembling a family.

Something pulled at Zenigata's imagination: Lupin finding happiness, fulfillment even, with a wife and family. His devotion to them, not wanting harm to come to them or himself, would enable Lupin to end his thievery. Perhaps he could even use some of his skills productively, contributing to a better society rather than to its chaos.

Zenigata's throat tightened. It was difficult to hope for it, but perhaps life in prison didn't need to be Lupin's only fate. If there was a way to prove Lupin's genuine change in values, he could get a reduced sentence.

"Lupin," Zenigata started, clearing his throat. "Have you thought about"—

Zenigata stopped when he saw Lupin gingerly sit up and pull the covers off him. Zenigata moved to stand up, but Zenigata found that his arm was attached to a handcuff. The other handcuff was attached to the bed railing.

"Lupin!" Zenigata yelled. Idiot, Zenigata thought to himself, He probably stole them while you were busy planning out his rehabilitation.

Lupin, only in his underwear, stumbled out of the bed, his bare feet hitting the cool floor. He sneezed and grabbed onto the edge of the bed, willing his aching limbs to carry him to the other side of the room.

Zenigata scrambled to hit the emergency button on the bed's remote, but the remote had slid underneath the bed. He also used his free hand to pull the handcuff keys out of his jacket, but he couldn't find those either.

Lupin finally reached a small closet, where he slipped on his shoes without tying them. He wasn't able to find his other clothes. They were probably too wet once Interpol found him. He pulled down the only article of clothing he could find, a trench coat with a warm inner layer of fabric. He sheepishly turned in Zenigata's direction.

"Go ahead," Zenigata said, resigned. "I have one just like it."

Lupin noticed that the trench coat Zenigata was wearing now was much thicker than his other trench coats. Glad to see Interpol finally dressing their crew for the weather, he thought.

Zenigata was surprised to see how grateful Lupin's expression was as he put on the coat and stumbled to the window, undoing the latch and sliding himself down to a balcony directly below the window.

Zenigata, after finally finding the key ring and unlocking the handcuff, ran to the window. By the time Zenigata looked down, Lupin was out of sight and had already left the hospital grounds.

The four of them had returned to an apartment that Lupin had only been to a few times before. They'd only stay overnight until Fujiko was able to finalize the deal she had made with the party that would be moving the diamonds. To everyone's surprise, they paid in advance.

Fujiko stared appreciatively at the suitcases full of cash, and at a few of the larger diamonds she kept for herself.

"We found where Interpol was hiding the diamonds and stole them back," she explained when she saw Lupin's quizzical expression. "It was fortunate that we had a tracking device on you. We wouldn't have known otherwise that they had taken the diamonds you stole."

"We also knew from the tracker that Lupin had survived the avalanche," Goemon added, giving Fujiko a sharp glance.

Fujiko averted her eyes, face reddening. "That too," she said quickly.

Jigen was stretched out on a couch, hat over his eyes. Lupin thought he might have been asleep, having both driven the helicopter and the getaway car bringing Lupin from the hospital to the apartment, but he turned his head in Lupin's direction.

"Next time you plan a heist, maybe don't time it with a freaking avalanche," Jigen remarked.

Lupin, wrapped up in the trench coat he stole from Zenigata and feeling like he could sleep through an avalanche, nodded. "Yeah, should probably check the mountain conditions more closely next time," he said weakly.

Fujiko grabbed a thick fleece blanket from the top of her chair and walked over to Lupin, wrapping it around him. Lupin smiled gratefully, face also reddening.

"We each share a fourth of the cash, is that right?" Goemon asked. Both he and Jigen watched Fujiko closely as she sat back down on her chair, preparing to attack if she decided to run with the money.

"That's right," Fujiko said, moving away from the suitcases, as though to show she wasn't out to steal them. She kept the diamonds, however.

"So Lupin, what are you going to do with your share?" Jigen asked.

The three of them were surprised to not hear Lupin answer right away. Until they realized that Lupin had fallen asleep and would be dead to the world for the next 24 hours.

It wouldn't be until a few months later that Lupin would use part of his share to visit Norway again. While there, he would spend an evening having drinks, a nice dinner, and dancing with Sarina, Bellman Resorts' newest head manager.