~Sly

Bentley gave Annika some more pain meds after she had gone to sleep.

"She should be okay for a bit," Bentley reported.

"Can you keep an eye on her for me?" I asked him.

"Going to see Kaylita?"

I nodded. "She needs to know that Annika is okay and breathing. She will hunt me down if I don't."

I took off into the night. I stopped by Annika's first to pick up her mother's police file then headed down to the station. As expected, Kaylita was one of the few people there still filling out paperwork while her sister was napping. I tapped on the window to get her attention. She rushed over and let me in.

"Is Annika okay? How is she?" She asked as soon as I got through the window.

"Annika is safe," I assured her. "She woke up today for a little bit. So, I took the time that she had awake and asked her some things. But first," I handed her the file, "this belongs to you."

She took the file without question and looked through it to make sure nothing was missing. She looked up at me.

"Annika… She's Scarlett Reeves, isn't she?"

I was surprised. "You knew?"

She nodded slowly. "I figured that the new thief and Crim were connected somehow because she had only appeared when Archimedes had shown up again. When you told me that the thief was really Annika I… I just put two and two together. Now it makes perfect sense. But what I can't understand is why Archimedes let her go as a child… She was defenseless. She made a perfect target for him. It would've been an easy kill."

I shrugged. "We will never know, I suppose. But, Archimedes is dead. Maybe she'll go back to being the Police Girl we all know and love instead of the thief that she was born to be."

Kaylita shook her head at me. "I disagree. How could you possibly hope for that? Annika never felt right being a cop. I think she found a piece of herself that she had always been missing. It would be out of her character to deny it." She paused. "How did she even find out about her mother and her heritage anyway?"

"Funny you should ask that," I said as I moved to her desk to fumble with a paperweight. "She said that a package had come in the mail for her the night she had decided to go back. And, in that package, was her mother's personal diary as well as a letter from her old guardian."

"Do you mean Tyga?" She moved to put the file away then came back to her desk. "I only know a little about him. She didn't like being open about her past. Especially not when she was here working."

"Well then, that's news to me."

"How so?"

"Because she pretty much told me her whole life story in one night."

Kaylita's face dropped. "When was this…?"

"When she was on probation. It was pouring outside and she was home."

"And she let you in?"

"In more ways than one."

She sat in her chair in utter disbelief. It was shocking to me too. The fact that she would let me in on everything that had happened to her in the past instead of telling her best friend. To be honest, I didn't know what to tell Kaylita. Annika hadn't told her anything and then she finds out that, I, a thief, knew more about Annika than she did. You might as well had kicked poor Kay in the shin.

"Why wouldn't she tell me…?"

I shook my head. "I don't know." I let go of the paperweight and went to stand in front of her. "I'm sure she had good reason, Kay. That, I'm almost positive of." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Cheer up okay? The good news is, the worst of the mess is over. Now she has to decide for herself what she wants to do."

Kaylita looked up at me and smiled. "Thank you Cooper. I really appreciate what you've done for me and Annika." She got up from her chair. "Can I ask one more favor of you?"

"Anything."

"Let me know when she's awake again? And, maybe you can tell me everything next time."

"Of course."

We went to the window and she let me out. I went straight back to the safehouse. As soon as I got in, I noticed that Annika was on her feet getting her things together.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Bentley just gave me some pain meds. So, while they are still working, I'm going to go see Kay."

I kept her from grabbing one of her things.

"Not a chance. You're going to reopen every wound on your body if you don't take it easy. You need to rest."

"I'll rest when I'm dead."

I stopped her again. "Annika, please. Go back and sleep it off. I'd rather not have to tie you down to the floor."

She arched a brow. "You would do that?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to stay in one place and take the time to heal, then yes. Yes I would."

She thought it over for a moment then went to sit in one of the chairs.

"You went to see her already, didn't you?"

I nodded. "I did."

"And?"

I moved to sit in the chair beside her. "She knows that you're Scarlett. I didn't even have to tell her."

"I have so much to explain to her…" she murmured. "There's so much that I kept hidden from her for so long…"

"You never told her about Tyga. How could you keep that from her and tell me instead?"

She looked up at me. "I told you because… Because I knew you would understand. And, at the time, even still, I feel like I could tell you anything and you would understand… Kaylita still had her sister while I had no family. I'll be honest and say I'm a little jealous of that. Hell, I'm even jealous of you because you have Murray and Bentley." She sighed. "I could probably tell her everything now. I really want to explain to her about everything. I'm not alone anymore. No matter how I felt, I never was. I know that now."

She poured her heart out to me again. It felt nice knowing that she could trust me. At the same time, I wondered why she was so comfortable. She had changed… Something in her changed because of the recent events that have occurred. She knew her heritage now. And with Archimedes' death, her mother was avenged and Annika could live without a constant shadow over her at every corner. She now had a new peace about her. And, somehow, I think I felt it too.

She looked over to me and smiled. "I'll do you a favor and go back to sleep like you want." She got up, came to me and removed my hat so that she could kiss my forehead. I was so dumbfounded by her action that I couldn't move. I didn't even realize that she had put my hat back on me.

"Goodnight, Sly Cooper."

She crawled back into her bed and fell right to sleep.

I wasn't quite sure how to feel about her little gift. But, at the time, I was just happy that she was herself again. I went and covered her with the blankets and smiled.

"Goodnight, Annika," I whispered and left it at that…

"~~/~~/~~

My sweet baby girl is a week old today. My little Scarlett… As I write this, she sleeps in her little crib beside me. She's the most beautiful and precious thing that I had ever seen. Both Tyga and Bill had gotten a chance to hold her already while at the hospital. They have been coming by when they can to check on her and take turns with her so I can sleep. They are so good with her.

Cooper had also dropped by with his son Sly. Poor Sly didn't know how to react around Scarlett. My daughter reached out to the little raccoon immediately. Sly, of course, giggled then clung to his father's leg. Cooper then proceeded to ask me what my plan was for her. Naturally, she would continue my legacy as the next in line for the Reeves clan. I would make sure that Scarlett would have a wonderful life, no matter what happened. Then he went and picked her up. He fell in love with her instantly. He was under her spell. I kind of chuckled to myself. All Cooper could say was that she was beautiful. Other than that, he was completely speechless. In this same visit, Cooper finally agreed that our children could meet as soon Sly was old enough to be passed down the Thievious Raccoonous. Then, and only then, would Scarlett and Sly meet. I had finally won this round… Finally.

~Annika

I woke up to Bentley toiling around in the safehouse. Sly wasn't too far off. He had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, laying his head in his arms on the table. It was too adorable. I put the blanket over him then left him be. I turned to Bentley.

"How are you feeling this morning?" He asked before I could say anything.

I smiled. "Much better. I don't feel any pain or anything right now. So, I guess that means that I can-"

"Not so fast," he said. "You're not going anywhere until you pass my inspection."

I sighed. I knew I wasn't going to pass this. In all honesty, I was still really sore and most of my cuts and scratches were still a hazard to my health. Bentley proceeded in changing my bandages and such. Of course, every time he dabbed at one with antiseptic, I winced. I looked back to Sly, who still slept soundly in the chair.

"How long has he been sleeping like that?" I asked.

"He's been asleep for awhile. He's quite exhausted from keeping watch on you and going to see Kaylita."

I flinched again from another cut-cleaning. "He went to see her again after I went to bed?"

Bentley nodded. "He's been keeping her up to date with how you're recovering and such. She worries about you, you know."

"I do…"

Poor Kaylita. I wish I had known sooner that she had gotten Sly to keep her posted on me. I felt so horrible for keeping her in the dark about everything. The one person I could trust more than anything but had told her nothing. Gosh, I'm such a despicable being…

"Bentley," I said softly. "Do you think I should tell Kaylita everything?"

"I think you should be honest with her," he said bluntly. "I think you owe her that, don't you? Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait a few more days. You're not quite healed enough to pay her a visit just yet."

I nodded. "Okay…"