I spent most of the night tossing and turning. It was so hard to sleep with him so close. I got up from bed and decided to go out for awhile. I went into my nightstand drawer and pulled out my thieving outfit. I quickly changed and took my leave out my window. The New Orleans night life was as spry as ever. Roaming the rooftops was something I hadn't done in a long time. At least, not since the last party I went to. Even then, I was chasing Sly…

I'm such a coward. There's so much I want to tell him. So much of my heart that I wanted to share with him. Even with him sleeping next to my room, I couldn't get the courage to tell him anything.

I sat down on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the river and watched as a ferry pulled in. I was alone for a few minutes when I heard some footsteps and a familiar voice.

"You're thinking awfully hard, Annika," Sly said from behind me. "I can practically hear the gears working overtime."

I grinned. "I'm going to safely assume that you can't sleep either."

"Not in the least." He came up beside me and took my hand to bring me to my feet. "But I figured that you would be feeling the same way and followed you here."

Here we were. Me and him, by the river, alone… It was the perfect time to tell him how I felt about him.

Just as I was about to say something, he put a finger on my lips.

"I have something very important to tell you before I miss the chance," he said.

My heart began to race. Please don't let him break me down again… Not after all this…

"Annika, I… I don't even know where to begin honestly…" He said nervously.

It was so adorable watching him fumble with his cane. He stood for a moment trying to get his words together.

"I care about you a lot, Annika. I think deep down, I always have. You've been so comfortable with me, telling me secrets you hadn't even told Kaylita. You've had my back on our biggest heist and… You never gave up on me. Even when I left you hanging and made a promise that I didn't keep." He paused a moment and looked me in the eyes. My heart began to race. "I'm in love with you, Annika. No, Scarlett Reeves. I need you in my life more than anything. I just hope you feel the same way…"

I couldn't speak. I could barely breathe because of how happy his words made me.

I looked up at him as a tear of joy escaped me.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that, Sly Cooper." I quickly wiped at the runaway tear.

He seemed a little confused. "So… That's a yes?"

I giggled. "Yes. I love you too." I stepped up to him and grabbed his collar. "Now shut up and kiss me."

Before he could respond, I kissed him with everything I had. He fell into it quickly, dropping his cane and cupping my face. This was really happening. After all the heartache I went through, he and I were finally together.

He pulled away slowly and smiled.

"You took this a lot better than I thought you would," he admitted.

I stepped away from him and returned his smile. "I think I've been quite obvious about my feelings for awhile now. I'm upset that Bill had to tell you instead of me."

"You knew?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course I did, you dummy. Bill came clean later and told me what he said to you. I'm a little embarrassed actually. Nobody but me was supposed to know what was in my mother's diary. Not even Bill was supposed to know her deepest secret. But he saw it plain on her face every time she saw your father. He saw the hurt and the courage it took to try to hide the pain. "

"Just like he saw it on yours every time you saw or thought of me." He picked up his cane then came over to hold my hand. "I don't want that for you anymore. I want you to be happy. I want you to be with me if that is what you really want."

I gave him a nod. "Yes. It's what I want. There's just one problem."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"How are we going to tell Bill and Tia?"

He laughed at me. "No clue. But, in the meantime, we should get home and get some sleep. We'll figure all that out in the morning."

We went back to Bill's house at that. I awoke the next morning on his bare chest with him sleeping soundly. While gazing at his sleeping face, I realized something very important…

For the first time in my life, everything felt right. This moment, though small, was absolutely perfect. He was really here, with me.

I quietly got out of the bed and made my way downstairs. Bill and Tia were in the kitchen sipping on coffee. Well, Bill was sipping on coffee. He had made Tia some concoction to help with her massive hangover. She looked rough.

"Good morning," I greeted. Maybe I said that a little too cheerfully. They'll know something is up. With that in mind, I took my place beside Tia at the bar.

"Good morning to you too, Scarlett," Bill said as he handed me my cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded and turned to Tia. "How are you feeling this morning?"

She rubbed her head. "Once I can keep this down I'll be much better."

Bill set his cup down and leaned over the counter to me.

"So… You and Sly snuck out last night, huh?"

I turned beet red. "How did you…"

"You still have a lot to learn, sweetie. I was your mother's partner remember? It'll be a while before you can sneak anywhere without me knowing it." He took a big gulp of his coffee. "Where did you go?"

"I went to see the ferries come in," I answered honestly. "I needed to go out to think and he followed me. We, uh… Had an interesting conversation."

"So you told him."

Geez, he was sharp this morning… A little too intuitive for my taste.

Tia gaped. "No way! Tell us everything!"

"Well… He told me before I could tell him anything…" I was so flustered. I didn't expect to be interrogated this early in the morning. "Things just worked out, that's all. I don't know if we're together now or if it's just a fling."

"Believe me, it's not," Bill said, finishing off his coffee and putting the cup in the sink. He didn't seem too happy about any of this.

"Bill, what's wrong?" I asked.

He didn't turn to face me or anything. "It's nothing. I'll be in my office if you need me."

It was just me and a hung-over Tia sitting alone.

"Did I do something to upset him?"

Tia sighed. "He's just being an overprotective parent."

"What do you mean?"

"Sly worked a little faster than Bill anticipated. He didn't think that you would be so forgiving so fast. He feels like Sly is taking you away from him."

"Taking me away from Bill? No one is taking me away from Bill. You and Bill are the only family that I have left. Why would I let Sly get in the middle of that?"

"Then you should explain that to him," she said. "He'd appreciate it."

I took her up on her suggestion and walked over to Bill's office. He was going through some paperwork when I walked in. I took a seat that was in front of his desk.

"We need to talk about this," I said quietly.

He looked up at me through the top on his glasses for a moment then back down to his papers.

"I don't know what you mean," he replied, dodging the conversation.

"You know exactly what I mean, Bill. Please don't try to ignore this. Talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."

When he didn't respond I leaned onto his desk like he did to me in the kitchen,

"Please Bill."

He stopped what he was doing to look at me through the top of his glasses. When he took them off I couldn't get over how miserable he looked.

"I just feel like I've let him in too quickly," Bill admitted. "I wanted you to find love and be happy just like Crim had always wanted. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed it."

I paused for a moment to let that sink in. I knew in my heart, and from what Tia told me, that he wasn't telling the truth. Instead of asking him straight out, I did my usual game of beating around the bush.

"That isn't the real reason, is it?"

He gave me a sad smile and shook his head.

"I… I just got you back, Scarlett. After so many years of not knowing if you were alive or not, you are now safe and where you belong. Then Sly comes into the picture and he threatens that. It's too soon… You've only been with us for a few months and now he's going to take you away again."

Yikes… Tia was right about "overprotective father figure." He was losing his mind over this. I reassuringly put my hand on his.

"No one is taking me away from you, Bill. You and Tia are the closest thing that I have to parents. There's no way that I would let anyone or anything get in the way of that. I promise you."

He took my hand into his and gave it a light squeeze.

"I'm sorry. I know you're a little old for me to be this way with you."

I giggled. "Maybe a tad. I don't mind it though. I love you, Bill. I promised Tia that I would never hurt you again. Just because Sly is here won't change anything. Well… Depending on how things go I might move out but nothing is set in stone. I don't even know if he's serious about being with me or not."

"Why don't you go ask?"

I got up from the chair. "Heading up there now."

I left him alone then went upstairs to check on Sly. When I opened the door, I found him already half-dressed. He turned to me, putting on his shirt.

"Good morning," he said.

I panicked a little. "You're leaving?"

"I figured I would go to Paris and check in with Carmelita and such. I will be back before you know it."

I felt my heart begin to break again. Surely, after everything he said…

"So… What you told me last night…"

He took the few steps to me and kissed me. It caught me by surprise.

"I meant every word. I'm not going to let you down this time. Would you like me to call you?"

"You would do that for me?"

He gave me a funny look. "Of course. I'll even go see Kaylita for you. How long has it been since you've talked to her anyway?"

At the mention of Kaylita, I couldn't help but feel abandoned by her. I also felt a little guilty because I kind of abandoned her too. At least I tried to reconcile. It was her own fault that she wouldn't meet me half-way.

"I haven't talked to her since the Cooper Vault job," I told him. "I tried calling her when I got to Bentley's but she… She's decided otherwise I guess."

He softened a little. "I'm sorry Annika. Do you not want me to say anything to her about you?"

"You can do whatever you want Sly. Just come back to me soon. You better not break my heart again."

I walked him downstairs and watched him walk out the door. As soon as he was gone Bill and Tia approached me.

"What?" I asked, immediately on the defensive. "He's going to Paris to take care of some things."

"That's the story he told you?" Tia questioned.

"He said he would call me but I won't keep my hopes up. In fact, I'm going up to the library to keep my mind off of him."

I left them before they could say another word about it.

I was up in the library for a few hours just rummaging though each row of books. In the row of encyclopedias and other research books, I came across a small leather-bound, antique looking book. I pulled it out and dropped it on the desk to take a better look at it. It had no title or anything on the outside to indicate what was on the inside. On the back cover though, there were tiny initials in gold on the corner closest to the binding. It was a very elegant "CR".

"Mother…" I murmured out loud.

I finally opened it and found a bunch of scribbles and notes written all around a branch of some sort. The branch had names everywhere, all of them with the Reeves surname. Then it looked like she was cross-referencing into the Cooper line. It was so thoroughly done… I should've expected no less from my mother.

I closed the book and went downstairs to talk to Bill. He was in his usual spot in his office with Tia sitting in front of him. He noticed me step in immediately. I watched his expression fell when he saw the book in my arms. He slowly got out of his chair.

"Scarlett… Where did you get that book?"