Begin!

~Normal POV

"Klaus if you'll just let me explain!"

"Tell me where you are right now, Sunny!"

"It's a long story-"

Sunny heard the sound of frantic voices over the phone and the voice of Isadora took over, "Where the hell is my daughter Sunny?! So help me god if my baby is hurt-"

"Izzie they're fine! They're all safe with me!"

"Tell us where you are," Isadora demanded. Sunny had never heard her so pissed off.

Sunny took a deep breath, "Look I will explain everything when we see you guys but for now we're on the Queequeg and we're all together."

As expected, Fiona's voice took over, "Put my stepfather on the phone this instant!"

Sunny flinched at the harshness of her voice. Anyone who knew the Baudelaire/Quagmire family was well aware that Fiona was one to watch out for when she was angry. Sunny was often in awe at how much that woman could swear in one sentence; despite the fact that the adults tend to hold their tongues around their kids to teach them proper manners. She reluctantly agreed and went back over to where the captain was driving the ship.

"Um, Captain sir? It's Fiona and she wants to talk to you right away..."

He gave Sunny a wary look, "How mad is she?"

Sunny only nodded her response. That was all the captain needed to know that he was about to get an earful. He took the phone and Sunny could only watch as his stepdaughter screamed at him through it. She could barely hear what she was saying but it didn't sound pleasant. This went on for several minutes. Everyone else who was in the room could only imagine what was being said as the captain looked pale and scared of his stepdaughter's fury.

After some time apparently someone else took over on the other end of the conversation. The captain hung up and handed the phone back to Sunny.

"Change of plans," He said, "We're dropping you off at the harbor, and their parents will be waiting for us. Beatrice, call your mother and have her arrange transport for the kids' friends. We'll be arriving there within a few hours."

As Beatrice pulled out her own phone to call her mother the captain leaned over to Sunny and added, "By the way, Violet and Klaus said you're grounded."

"I suppose that's fair."

~…

When the Queequeg arrived at the city harbor everyone exited the submarine with mixed emotions. The submarine with its crew of three now quickly departed from shore as soon as its passengers were on the shore. Captain Widdershins was obviously not interested in sticking around with his very pissed off stepdaughter here.

Sunny was scared of whatever other punishments she was going to receive from her family members when they heard the full story. Nikki, Lizzie, and Sam happily rushed to their parents' arms; their parents fussed over every little aspect of their appearances to ensure they weren't hurt. Kit had arrived in her taxi to take the other kids to their homes and to take Beatrice with her. Hunter also left with Beatrice and her mother, as Kit said she would take him back to Hotel Denouement to continue his volunteer training. This left Sunny and Trevor alone with her family; awaiting the inevitable screaming that was going to ensue.

Sunny and Trevor were told to get into Violet's car as Duncan drove; the others would be following them home in their cars. Nikki gave her aunt an apologetic look as they were driven home. None of the adults had dared to speak to Sunny yet. She could tell they were all filled with relief after seeing their children safe, but they also looked like they were holding their anger in.

After some time Duncan interrupted the silent drive with a simple question, "Trevor, were you aware of what was going on?"

Trevor paled; Duncan was usually polite to him, but his voice was strict and angry like a stern father, "Ahem, yes sir..."

"Then you're coming home with us for now. Wherever you're staying over summer break we'll take you there later," Violet said. She sounded mad too, and Trevor had been told that the women of the Baudelaire/Quagmire family were all particularly infamous for having fiery tempers. He also knew Sunny was no exception to this.

Trevor swallowed nervously and replied, "Yes Mrs. Quagmire..."

~…

When everyone arrived at the estate the children were instantly sent to their rooms and told not to come back down until they were given permission. Sunny and Trevor were ushered into Klaus and Isadora's home by the adults.

"Sit."

Sunny and Trevor didn't object and quietly sat down on the couch.

"First of all," Violet started, "Did John tell you you're grounded?"

"Yes he did," Sunny replied softly.

"Good. Now, Sunny, when Duncan called you while we were in Paris, he realized something was wrong by the sound of your voice when you talked to him."

Sunny took a shaky breath, "I figured he might..."

Duncan nodded, "So we took an express flight and came back early to find the houses empty of everyone except Monty, and Bea's bat, Tawni. I'm sure she'll come pick her up later." He gestured to the two cages in the room that had the snake and bat in them. Monty looked guiltily at his mistress; obviously he wished he could have done more to help.

Klaus seemed to want to get to the point faster as he asked, "What the hell happened?"

"And don't leave out any details," Isadora added with a glare.

Sunny glanced at her family members one by one. Here goes everything. She told them what happened. Every little detail that could even be remotely important she told them. How the kids got taken, how they met new friends in their prison, how they figured out where they were being hidden, how Sunny dealt with Dr. Orwell's evil brother; she spared no details at all. Once she was finished she reached into her pockets and pulled out the spyglass and Klaus and Isadora's commonplace books. She handed them over and apologized for stealing them; even if they ended up being necessary.

"There," Sunny finished the story, "Now you know what happened. And I am so sorry that I didn't tell you immediately! But you had just left... and I didn't know what would happen if you knew right away! So I just thought we could handle it and then I'd tell you after we saved the kids and hopefully you'd understand but I guess you don't. I'm sorry ok? I don't know what else to say except I'm sorry."

There was a pause. Sunny waited for the inevitable shouting. She was already grounded so what was the point of arguing anyway. But to her surprise they didn't start screaming.

"Sunny we're not mad about you going after them. We're mad because you lied to us about it," Duncan said.

"You're a damn good aunt," Fiona said, "And we're extremely grateful that they're not hurt."

"You did a very brave thing; even if you dragged the others into it on the way," Violet said, "Thank you for doing your job."

Sunny smiled at them, "You really mean that guys?"

"Of course we do," Klaus replied. He then paused and added, "But you're still grounded."

Sunny's spirit fell a bit as she responded, "I understand... but can you lessen the sentence at least?"

"No," Violet and Klaus said simultaneously.

Sunny nodded, "It was worth a try..."

"Next time we go on vacation," Quigley started, "We'll take the kids with us."

Duncan offered to drive Trevor home. A while after they were gone, Beatrice came by to pick up Tawni. Sunny happily told Fiona that Fernald had been let out of prison and was working on the Queequeg again permanently. Fiona was ecstatic to hear the news, and made sure to call him that night to congratulate him.

Later that night, when Sunny was about to go to bed in the guest room at Violet and Duncan's house, she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door. She opened it to see her nieces and nephew had come to see her.

"Nikki shouldn't you be in bed? Lizzie, Sam, your parents will freak if you're not in your houses after what happened today."

"We know," Nikki said, "We wanted to talk to you."

Sunny shrugged and let them in, closing the door behind them. The three sat down on Sunny's bed.

"We're sorry you got grounded," Sam said, "Do you know when your sentence will be over?"

"No idea," Sunny replied casually, "All I know is that I've haven't seen Violet and Klaus this mad at me in ages. I'll be fine, and they'll calm down eventually."

"Thank you for saving us Aunt Sunny," Lizzie said.

"Yeah, we don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come for us so fast," Nikki said, "Thank you!"

"And we're really glad you saved our friends too," Sam added, "Thank you!"

Sunny smiled fondly at them and quickly wrapped them in a tight hug.

"You're welcome kids..." Sunny felt a few tears sting her eyes, she held them in and said softly, "Your Aunt Sunny will never let anything happen to you. I promise."

Sunny had kept it in during the mission but she had been scared to death the second she read that ransom note. She felt like a failure for not being able to protect her family. These three may have only been her two nieces by blood and a nephew by marriage but they were as much her children as they were their parents'. Sunny had meant it from the bottom of her heart when she said that these kids meant the world to her. They were a reminder that life had changed for the Baudelaire/Quagmire family. They were a symbol that they were all together at last and nothing would tear them apart ever again. They were a symbol that life had gotten better after so many unfortunate events plagued their past.

And that's why Sunny never had children of her own when she became an adult: she already had kids.

~End of Chapter!

This story isn't over yet; there will be an epilogue!