Joey and Alessandro left for their honeymoon. They were going to Italy, Alessandro's motherland. They boarded the plane, and Alessandro slept most of the way there, while Joey stayed awake for a large portion of it.

When they finally arrived, they went to their hotel. Joey was so tired that she almost immediately fell asleep on the bed. Alessandro laid by her and stroked her hair. It soothed Joey and helped her sleep.

The next morning, the newlyweds went out for breakfast and did some sightseeing. They went to an art museum, and ended the day at a park.

At the park, Alessandro was unusually quiet and sullen. Joey noticed this and asked him, "What's wrong, baby?"

"I'd like to go to the place where I used to live."

"Okay. I don't mind."

"I feel like I need to make peace with what happened."

Joey knew what he was talking about. He was still hurting from when his biological parents basically discarded him four years ago. Although he loved his adopted parents and were grateful for everything they had done for him, there was an emptiness and pain inside him that was constantly there.

The following day, Alessandro and Joey went to the section of the city where Alessandro and his biological family had lived. Joey held on to his hand, nervously. She didn't want to be separated from her husband.

Finally, they stopped in front of a house. "Is this it?" Joey asked. Alessandro nodded and held his breath. He hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door.

A man opened the door. Alessandro shook a little, but when Joey squeezed his hand to comfort him, he relaxed.

"Hello, Papa," Alessandro said, softly.

The man gave him a strange look. "Alessandro?"

"Yes, Papa, it's me. This is my wife, Josephine."

The man invited them in, and they came inside the house. There was a woman, two teenagers, and three small children there.

The woman looked at Alessandro, shocked. The teenagers and children turned their attention to Alessandro and Joey, and Joey suddenly became uncomfortable.

"Hello, Mama," Alessandro said.

The woman sat in silence.

"I know you are both surprised to see me, but I'm an adult, and I needed to see you both again."

"We never expected to see you again," the man said.

"I want to make peace with you both and what you did. I couldn't go the rest of my life wondering what I did wrong and wondering if there is any love left in your hearts for me. If you hate me so much still, then simply answer these two questions, and I will leave forever."

The man and woman told the other children to leave the room. They didn't seem to even know who Alessandro was, even though he was their own brother.

Alessandro and Joey sat down. The woman spoke. "We will answer your questions. You were a very strange child. No matter how hard we tried, you were always too different."

"I wasn't who you wanted me to be."

"No."

Joey couldn't believe what she was hearing. Alessandro's biological parents just told their own son that they didn't accept him. She started to say something, but stopped. She didn't want to make the tension worse.

"I haven't changed. I still don't like sports, and I'm going to art school very soon. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not, and I never could, not even for your sakes."

"At least you got married. When are you having children?" the man asked.

Joey's heart sank.

"Never," Alessandro replied. "We are choosing not to have children."

The man and woman looked shocked. "Not having children? Are one of you infertile?"

"No, we just don't want any," Alessandro replied, calmly.

"But you need to continue the family line! You need to have children."

"I don't care about continuing the family line. I no longer have your last name, anyway. We want to be happy, and having children would not make us happy."

The man and woman started criticizing both Alessandro and Joey. Alessandro stood up and took Joey by the hand. They quietly left. Before Alessandro left, he asked his biological parents, "Is there any love left in your hearts for me? Any at all?"

The man and woman said nothing. Alessandro took one last look at them, then he and Joey went out the door.