Paris, France, Present Day

Jean-Luc LeBeau had checked his mail every single day since he moved to his Paris penthouse, but he had never received more than flyers. But this particular morning, he checked his mail and found an envelope. He frowned in curiosity and took the envelope back to his penthouse. He didn't look at it, didn't even check to see who it was from, until he was sitting on his couch in his living room, safe away from the outside world. Jean-Luc may have retired from being leader of the Thieves Guild, but he was still a thief at heart, and always would be. He preferred to stay in the shadows, away from everyone, even now.

Jean-Luc smiled when he saw the handwriting on the envelope. It was a letter from Mattie, the only person who knew where he was. He opened the envelope and pulled out the scented paper.

The letter itself made Jean-Luc smile as well.

"Dear Jean-Luc,

I know you told me to not contact you unless it was important, but I thought you should know about this.

Two weeks ago, Etienne came home and it looks like he's going to stay. Remy and Theoren decided to give him a second chance at his tilling, since Candra and the Pig interfered with the first one, so if he succeeds he will actually be a member of the Guild. It's really nice to have him back, everyone's happy about it, especially Theoren, who is just glad his brother's alive, and Emil, who's been planning a party since the day Etienne got here.

Etienne brought Claude's and Genard's younger sisters with him when he came. Danielle Potier and Victoria Alouette are two of the nicest young women I have ever met. They are so much like their brothers, it's almost scary. Dani decided to stick around for a few extra weeks, but Rory went home earlier today, and took Genard with her, so he could see their mother. He'll be back in a week or two, I'm not sure.

I'm not expecting a reply to this, since I know you don't want the others to know where you are, or that I have that information. It would have been nice if you could have been here, but maybe someday you'll get to see Etienne again and meet the girls. Anything is possible.

Love Mattie"

Jean-Luc read the letter over three times, and he kept smiling. He had always known Etienne would return to New Orleans eventually, and he was glad it had finally happened. Added to the fact that Claude and Genard had finally been able to meet their sisters, Jean-Luc figured the Guild members had a good two weeks.

'I wish I could have been there,' he thought with a sigh. 'I may have to go 'gainst de prophecies an' visit dem. I would love to see Etienne 'gain. Maybe someday…'

Los Angeles, CA, Present Day

"Genard, come here for a moment, I'd like to talk to you." Yvonne said, patting the spot on the couch beside her.

Genard shoved his glasses up on his nose, a move that was as natural to him as breathing, and sat down beside his mother.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

Yvonne sighed. "I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

Genard thought for a few moments, trying to figure out what she had done in the past five days to warrant an apology. When he couldn't think of anything he looked at her, confused, and said "What for?"

"For leaving you."

It was Genard's turn to sigh. "You don' have to 'pologize for dat, Mom. I mean it was twenty-five years ago. Look, I won' lie to you. It hurt when you left…I was only a little kid, I didn't understand why you felt you had to leave. It took me a long time to figure it out, and if it hadn' been for Claude, I might not understand today."

"I shouldn't have left you, but I thought maybe your father would be angry with me." Yvonne told him.

"I don' know what he would have t'ought of dat. I know he missed you, an' I know he was upset dat he couldn' watch Rory grow up, but I t'ink he knew dat you were doin' what you t'ought was best for her. Maybe he even agreed wit' your logic. I know Claude an' his father did." Genard replied.

"Perhaps." Yvonne said softly. "But I am sorry. I've always regretted leaving you. I have to admit though, they did a very good job raising you. I'm not sure I could have done better."

"You did a good job with Rory." Genard commented. "It's rather ironic dat she an' I have totally opposite professions…"

"I didn't want Rory mixed up wit' de Guilds. Maybe I was wrong, but I wanted to keep her sheltered from that life. Nadine is worried that Dani will decide to stay there for good…"

Genard shook his head. "She won'. She jus' wanted to spend more time wit' Claude…perhaps away from Rory. She'll come back when she's ready to. Nadine doesn' have to worry."

New Orleans, LA, Present Day

"When are they going to come back?" Dani asked for the twelfth time.

Theoren looked at her. "Why are you so impatient? If Etienne fails at dis job, he can' join de Guild. I'm de one who should be impatient."

Dani rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. But I'm really excited. I hope he succeeds as much as you do."

"Can I ask you somet'ing?" Theoren asked, suddenly serious.

"Yeah, if you want. Go ahead." Dani replied, having a feeling she knew what Theo wanted to talk about. She had told him and the others the truth, that she was a cop, and while none of them had changed their attitudes towards her, they also hadn't talked about it with her. They avoided the topic like the plague, and were even careful not to say the words 'police' or 'cops' around her.

"Is dis awkward for you?" Theoren asked. "Bein' here, I mean."

"It can be. I don't fit in here, I'm not one of you and I never can be, while Etienne is the exact opposite." Dani said. "But even though it is a little difficult, I don't mind it as long as you guys don't."

"Oh it doesn' bother us, even though we might act a little weird around you. But isn' it hard to know what we do, an' not arrest us?" Theoren commented. "Seriously, you know what Et's doin' right now, an' it doesn' bother you?"

"Like I told Claude the other day, I'm willing to pretend I don't know anything because I like you guys. I can't say I'd do the same for the assassins, but you never know." Dani explained.

Emil walked in at that moment. "Dey back yet?"

"No." Dani replied. "Want to join us? We're waiting for them."

Emil flopped down on the loveseat. "Sure. What're we talkin' 'bout?"

"Dani bein' a cop." Theoren replied, watching his young friend sharply for a response. Emil didn't even blink.

"Ah. Is it hard?" he asked.

Dani looked at him, tilting her head. "Is what hard? Being a cop?"

"Well yeah…you mus' hate people like us."

"The only people I hate are murderers, rapists and child molesters…" Dani grinned. "People like you? Nah."

"So," Emil said, sitting up and facing her, obviously getting intrigued by the conversation. "What kinds of cases do you handle de most?"

"Well, I work with the SIU, so we deal with murders, narcotics cases, things like that." Dani explained.

"Wait a minute. SIU, is dat like de one on 'Nash Bridges'?" Emil asked, eyes wide.

"Essentially, yes. But our offices aren't on a barge, and Don Johnson is a lot better looking than our Captain." Dani laughed. "You watch 'Nash'?"

"B'lieve it or not, an' as ironic as it seems," Theoren chuckled. "We never miss it. Well, except for de past three weeks, but dat doesn' count, we were sidetracked."

"I'm…speechless. It is ironic. Wow." Dani said.

Mercy stuck her head in the doorway. "Dey're back, c'mon!"

Theoren, Dani and Emil jumped up from their seats and followed Mercy to the back of the safehouse, where Claude and Etienne were waiting with Remy and Zoe in the kitchen.

"Well?" Theoren and Emil demanded in unison. They couldn't wait another second to find out if Etienne had been successful in stealing a priceless jewel from a museum in Rome.

Etienne smiled and held up the jewel for everyone to see. "Ta-da!"

"Woohoo!" Emil exclaimed. "You did it!"

"Oh Et, that's wonderful!" Dani said, hugging her friend. "I don't care if I'm a cop, I am very proud of you!"

"So are de rest of us. Congratulations Et." Mercy said.

A little while later, while Emil and Zoe were putting the final party plans together, Etienne went to talk to Dani in private.

Dani was sitting at the desk in her room, writing a letter to her mother. She looked up when Et joined her, watching him sit uncertainly on her bed.

"What's up, Et?" she asked, putting her pen down and swiveling to face him fully, a smile on her face.

"Did you mean what you said b'fore?" he questioned, a strange look in his eyes.

"Of course I did." Dani replied. "You accomplished something that means a lot to you, of course I'm proud of you."

"What do you t'ink Rory told Captain Garner 'bout me stayin' here for good?" Etienne wanted to know, his voice quiet.

"I don't know. I don't think she'll come out and tell him the truth, I mean if she did that, he'd end up calling the cops here and get them to arrest you and the others. She wouldn't do that."

"True. When do you t'ink Genard will come back?"

"When he gets homesick." Dani grinned. "Just like I'll go back to LA when I start to feel like I've had enough of New Orleans."

"I'm glad you decided to stay for awhile. An' I know I'm not alone in feelin' dat way." Etienne smiled.

"So am I. I just wish California and Louisiana were closer so we could do it more often."

Tante Mattie stood in her kitchen and stared out the window, watching the sun set, a feeling of contentment in her heart. She could sense that, in spite of separations and adjustments, the people she cared about most in the world were happy.

And knowing that those people were happy made Mattie happy as well. All she ever asked from God was that the people she loved were safe and happy. They may have been thieves, but they were good people, and they deserved to be happy. Mattie cared about the assassins too, but the thieves had always been her favorites and she never denied it.

"All is well wit' de world." She whispered to the falling sun. "An' dat's jus' how it should be."