~Location: Varies - Paris, France~
~Date/Time: Present Day (Seven Months Since Sly Disappeared), Mid-Afternoon to Night~

Carmelita didn't see Sly since that first date. The days before Friday evening passed uneventfully for the fox. Work had been rather slow since she dropped her two weeks' notice earlier in the month. Crime never stopped, but it didn't disturb the fox at all. Of course, reports came in to headquarters and had to be taken care of. The odd thing was that Carmelita wasn't assigned for any of them. All she had was some paperwork to take care of.

Her boss was rarely seen as well. Carmelita thought that he was simply training her replacement and didn't think much of it.

A few days before their date was supposed to take place, Bentley contacted the fox with a few details about Friday night. According to his instructions, she was to meet with a dress designer that would create her outfit for that night. What she didn't expect to happen was that her dress designer was none other than Dimitri Lousteau.

"Ey! Copper-Lady!" The lizard actually greeted her this time.

"What are you doing here?" Maybe she was still a bit moody to notice that he wasn't cowering.

"Cracker-box and I had a bit of a deal-e-oh to settle. He spelled out my IOU and wanted one last from me. I said to him that the IOU and his other vowels don't matter as long as I can show off my style."

"So, you're gonna dress me in a glittering dress?"

"Harsh Momma; glitter is funky, but not funky for want I'm putting on you."

"Alright, then. Show what you have."

True to his word, he didn't dress her up in something over the top. He fitted an elegant and sleek cream-white dress for her to wear. After giving her a private room to change in, she walked back into the room with the dress on. He stood back and admired his work, walking around Carmelita as she was elevated on a platform.

"I... am... good. You look foxy, Copper-Lady."

"It's a bit tight in a few areas."

"Darn... Well, I'm no magician, but leave it with me and it'll appear for you to wear on Friday."

Carmelita nodded and excused herself to take a call. It was Barkley. The news he was giving wasn't very good and he told her to come back as soon as she can.

According to her superior, the Felon's Law had been reviewed over some time. It was expected that the proposed bill would float around jurisdiction until it would either be accepted or rejected. Unfortunately, the Felon's Law was put into effect sooner than anyone expected. Standard issue weapons were going to be upgraded to allow a fatal charge to be administered. Carmelita's shock pistol received the same upgrade. There was a meeting that Barkley held himself on Thursday that instructed his officers on the protocol behind the new system. Once an officer in pursuit can identify the target as a wanted criminal on the loose, the information would be sent via radio and headquarters would confirm the target's status. The officer would then receive an authorization to use deadly force if necessary.

It would only be used against repeat offenders. Carmelita's heart sank as someone had posted a list of wanted subjects marked for death. Sly Cooper was among the names; close to the top of the list, to make it worse.

###

Friday couldn't come as soon as hoped for until Carmelita found herself slowly drove up to the restaurant. It was her unmarked cruiser, so it had a radio to headquarters on the dashboard.

She parked off to the side, getting out of the car and simply leaning on the door with a low sigh. The white dress that Dimitri had selected for her now hugged her curves and fit her perfectly. She continuously glanced at her watch, looking around for her date. Sly wasn't late. She was just early. Her nerves from Yesterday took a toll on her. She hadn't received a single word from Sly or any member of the Cooper Gang since the Felon's Law was publically announced. If she could only know that he was okay...

About a half-hour later, Sly was officially late and she was officially a nervous wreck. The sound of an alarm siren made her jump. That never happened before...

"All active units, report your status and current location." The voice on the radio was new, but Carmelita knew that she won't have to get used to it.

The fox responded over the radio and was informed on a jewelry store alarm being triggered. The owner of the business was present and mentioned the intruder taking off in a direction towards Carmelita's location. Her orders were to pursue and identify.

She drew out her pistol and waited for the figure to approach. Her eyes fell to the end of her pistol where the yellow-ish ring used to be. It was now replaced with a black ring at the end of the barrel, a constant reminder that she had the ability to kill. Not a nice thing to think about on a date...

The figure had stolen some loot as it was carrying a plump sack over its shoulder and behind its back.

"Freeze! Hands where I can..." The figure was illuminated under a streetlight, letting Carmelita get a clear glimpse of the raccoon. "C-Cooper..."

Sly started backing away from her before he turned and ran down the alley. The fox chasing him was not very happy. "How many times are you going to break my heart, you... Criminal!"

The alley that Sly ran into ended abruptly, the raccoon about to make his way up onto a roof before she pleaded for him to stop running.

"Sly, stop... If I lose sight of you, I have to call it in. Back-up won't hesitate to kill you anymore. Just let me cuff you this time."

Sly climbed down and nodded, dropping the sack and turning around with his arms behind him. "I'm sorry that I'm late for our date. Can I explain?"

She didn't say much as she harshly clasped the cuffs on his wrists. "Don't waste your breath..."

"Just please... Hear me out..."

Inspector Fox quickly turned him around, forcing him back into the wall like a common thief. Sly gasped as the lock-pick he slipped from his glove had fallen to the floor.

"No. You hear me out... I've loved you, Sly. Ever since I finally realized it, I've wanted us to be a normal couple. My job and your... hobby... always kept us apart. When you told me that you loved me, I was so happy to hear it. I hoped that you would settle down so we can be a couple, but... you kept using me... I don't know anymore."

"Carmelita, I... I do love you."

"How can I trust you? How can I know that this isn't some scam like your amnesia fake-out?"

"The only scam behind that was that I remembered everything. What happened between us was... real... I really do want that."

"So what does this robbery have to do with our date?"

"Maybe you should... secure the stolen goods."

The fox raised a brow at him, going over to inspect the large sack. Despite being full, it was surprisingly light. Carmelita opened it up and expected to find a collection of stolen gems but what she found was a collection of stolen pillows.

"Cooper... I don't understand you..."

She looked back to notice he was kneeling now, taking slow, deep breaths in and out. "So now he realizes how serious this is."

"Just keep looking. It's in there." "So nervous..."

Carmelita called back to her radio, giving dispatch an update on Cooper. "Target identified as Sly Cooper. Target is in custody. Stolen items are seized. Any word on what was reported stolen?"

"Copy that, Inspector Fox. The item reported stolen was a small black ring case. Confirm that the stolen goods are retrieved."

"Understood." Carmelita dug around in the sack, pulling pillows out and setting them aside until she found the black box tucked safe in the center.

"Dispatch, the case is secure." Carmelita heard a short, high-pitched noise in her ear-piece, adjusting it and trying again. "Did you get that, Dispatch?"

"Roger, Inspector, open the ring case." For some reason, the voice sounded familiar as if she heard it before, but different than the voice she heard just a few minutes ago.

Carmelita tucked her pistol into its holster and slowly opened the small black box. Inside was a gorgeous diamond ring. It made the fox's eyes light up like a brilliant star. Sly actually started counting the seconds that were passing while she was staring at the ring, still down on his knee and still handcuffed.

And then Carmelita remembered that she was on duty and that the ring was stolen property. "The ring is secured. What is to be of the suspect?" She glanced at Sly who was starting to sweat. "Yeah... He gets it now."

"Suspect confirmed as Cooper? Sly Cooper? Orders from headquarters are coming in now. Stand by."

Carmelita agreed and drew her modified pistol, raising it and aiming it at the raccoon.

This was his cue to speak up; sweating bullets as he spoke. "Before... You do it... Can I ask one question?"

"I suppose, Cooper. Ask away."

"Will you marry me?"

The fox was left dumfounded for a moment, taking into consideration that he was kneeling on one knee and he had provided a fabulous engagement ring.

The radio signaled before she could answer. "Inspector Fox?"

"D-Dispatch... Orders?"

"Orders are for you to say 'yes'."

###

Bentley cleared his throat, rolling back from a workstation to where the Thievius Raccoonus now rested. He pulled the book from its gravitational confinement field and opened it to an unfinished section.

"Hmm... Where was I...? Oh yes..." Keeping traditions alive, he picked up a quill and ink, starting to write.

"The entire idea was Sly's idea from the start, him telling us about it as soon as he came home. We didn't know how Inspector F- how Mrs. Cooper would react to it; even though we took precautions. Her shock pistol wasn't made lethal at all. In order for that to happen, we needed her boss's help. Obviously, she said yes. Although... She did question if the ring was stolen and he assured her that it was bartered for with the gems from Ancient Egypt. Technically, the payment was stolen, but she was a bit to delirious to care about that detail.

The second surprise was having the wedding that very night. Inspector Barkley walked her down the aisle, Murray and I were Sly's best men, and Penelope was the maid of honor after posing as Dispatch. The wedding went smoothly, the new bride blushing at every chance her husband had to kiss her.

The last thing I know about those two was that their honeymoon was set in Spain. I really shouldn't know anything after they were whisked away, but I do. I did hack into their hotel's internet server and routed myself straight to the browsing history of the computer in the Honeymoon Suite. A few searches at about midnight with search queries containing tags like 'unprotected', 'first time', and 'newlywed' gave me some personal insight as to their future. I'm leaving them on their own from now on.

We had another couple at the wedding. Our wolf comrade and his girl showed up. Diana Strauss still has her day-job as a psychic and Grimm became Carmelita's replacement in an international task force after donating nanotechnology to the medical field. Their relationship sounded cute and innocent until they came to the wedding. All I can say about that is as soon as Diana caught the bouquet, Grimm popped the question. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Dimitri returned to his party life and we all just let him do his thing. Murray and I see each other often... He runs a fitness gym down the street. Last I saw of him was one of his regular customers walking by his side after he closed the gym for the day. They looked like a cute couple.

As for myself? Well, when we found Penelope, I gave her instructions to meet me in front of a café. Instead of weapons-manufacturing, I talked her into a business proposal of manufacturing defensive systems. We took a break from that momentarily as she agreed to help me with the proposal and wedding. Lately-"

Penelope walked behind the turtle with a small grin, slowly rubbing his shoulders. "Almost done yet?"

"Yeah. Almost."

"Well, hurry up... You know I can't fall asleep without you."

"I'll be there in a minute."

As she turned and walked away to their bedroom, Bentley pressed the quill to the page to write one last sentence or two.

"Let's just say that a plutonic business partnership is now a romantic relationship again. I couldn't be happier."

Bentley closed the book once the ink dried and set the book back in its security field. He passed by the Cooper safe, testing the system on that before he joined Penelope in bed.

The End...?

###