Later that same evening, Remy was laying across his bed reading a comic book. The door suddenly flies open and Lapin walks in. " You got no manners?" His cousin looks up from his book and shouts at his guest. " You ever heard of knockin'?"

" Why should I knock when dis is gonna be my room for de next week." Lapin plops down on the bed. " Got news for you Cousin, you an' me are sharin' dis room."

" Oh no, we're not!" Remy drops his book and rolls off the bed. " You get outta my room b'fore I throw you out."

Lapin starts laughing. " Try it, Crevette!"

" Stop callin' me dat." Remy glares at him, opening the door. " Get out!" He screams at the top of his lungs.

" Non!" Lapin starts giggling. He crosses his arms and adds. " Crevette."

" Dat's it!" Remy slams the door so hard that it shakes several figurines in the room.

Downstairs, Therese glances up the stairs before turning to Henri. " Well?"

" Well, what?" Her brother asks her almost smiling as he hears something upstairs breaking for the third time.

" They're up there fighting. Don't you think you should get up there and stop it." Therese asks him as a large thump rocks the house. " One of them is going to get hurt and you are just going to let it happen." She gets to her feet and heads up the stairs. " If you will not do anything, then I will."

" Soeur, non!" Henri calls up to her making her stop at the bottom of the balcony. " Petite frère is learnin' a valuable lesson dat he will not soon forget." He waits until his sister walks back down before he would continue. " Remy has pushed de wrong person t' far dis time an' Lapin is accommodatin' him." Hearing nothing for a few seconds, he smiles. " See it's over already."

Upstairs, Remy, on his back was trying to squirm free. He was trying to twist and turn but to no avail. " Get off me!"

Lapin sat on top of his cousin, pinning both of Remy's wrist to the floor. " Now, dat we have settled who is de boss, I will be nice an' let you sleep in your own bed."

" You ain' stayin' in my room, Bugs Bunny, you can go outside an' dig you up some carrots for all I care, dis is my room an' you are gettin' out." Remy suddenly turns his head and bites Lapin in the arm causing him to release him. Once free, Remy shoves him down and runs out of the room.

Lapin rubs his injured arm before he runs out after his cousin, only to be tripped by Remy's foot. Lapin falls down on the carpet almost hitting the wall. He sits up watching his cousin's silhouette in the darkness. Remy's eyes give his position away very easily. " You better stop dis now Remy b'fore you get hurt."

" I'm not de one on de floor." Remy points out as he goes back into his room. He grabs his comic book and goes back to reading pretending that nothing has happened. He decides on another strategy, ignoring his cousin completely. He figures if he pretends that Lapin was not around he would give up and leave.

Lapin simply walks back into the room, grabs the remote to the television and turned it on. He sits down in the rocking chair and preceeds to watch cartoons ignoring his cousin as well. He started to notice that Remy was peeking up from his book to watch the show. " Want me t' turn it up?"

" I ain' watchin' so why do I care if you turn it up!" Remy snorts as he pretends to read the comic but watching the cartoon instead. Without meaning to, he drops the book to prop up on his elbows to watch television.

Lapin jumps on the bed with his cousin and both watch TV together. Neither would speak to the other one for several minutes until Lapin finally had enough. " You tryin' t' be sociable now, Cousin or are you jus' gonna ignor me?"

" Jus' member one t'ing, Lapin." Remy sits up and looks at his cousin while a commercial was on. " Dat Papa is de leader of de Guild an' dat means dat you an' Uncle Jacques have t' do what he says, an' since I am his fils dat makes me, Prince of Thieves, so you got t' do whatever I say."

" I don' care if you are de Prince of Egypt, I can still beat your butt anytime an' anywhere." Lapin lays down on the bed and eyes his cousin carefully before another cartoon came on.

Remy makes a face at him but decides to watch the television instead. For several hours they sat without talking to each other. Lapin sighs deeply. " I'm goin' downstairs an' get somethin' t' eat, you want me t' bring you up somethin' or are you t' good t' eat wit' your cousin, your Highness?"

" T'erese won' let you in de kitchen b'cause she t'inks it will ruin your appetite if you eat anythin' b'fore supper time." Remy looks at his cousin and shrugs. " Mebbe she let you do it, but she won' let me."

" I'm a guest, she'll let me do what I please." Lapin grins as he leaves the room. He was gone for only three minutes. Angrily stomping back into the room he sits in the rocking chair and folds his arms. " She threaten t' spank me if I step one foot in her kitchen."

" Mon soeur, she is a softy but she gets strick when it comes t' my studin' or eatin' junk food an' Tante, she be worse dan her." Remy tells his cousin.

" I'm hungry now!" Lapin growls while rocking in the chair. He looks over at Remy and confesses. " I was only kiddin' 'bout takin' over your room. I'm sleepin' in de next room. Jus' wanted t' get you mad so I could fight wit' you."

" It worked!" Remy admits. He starts laughing. " Listen, go t' de door an' make sure nobody is up here." Remy gets off the bed and goes to one of his clothes drawers. He waits until Lapin nods his head that the coast is clear. " Ok, lock de door an' come over here." Lapin joins his cousin as he pulls out a false bottom of the bottom drawer. Remy then pulls out a small backpack and opens it. " Help yourself."

Lapin looks inside the backpack and then at his cousin. " Wow! You got everythin' in here, candy, potato chips, cakes, cookies." He reaches in and grabs a hand full of things and zips the bag up. " I don' want t' be in your shoes if Tante finds dis."

" You not goin' t' tell are you?" Remy smiles slightly as he puts the bag away. He closes the drawer and goes to the door and unlocks it. " Sit down b'side de bed an' dat way if somebody come in here dey can not see you eatin'."

" You not eatin' anythin', how come?"

" Not hungry." Remy simply says as he sits back down on his bed and goes back to watching television. He didn't want to talk anymore.

" Remy, Uncle Jean doesn' wanna leave you anymore dan you want him t' leave." Lapin sits down on the bed beside his cousin. " I can remember when Père started goin' on dose trips an' I hated it, but after awhile, I got use t' him takin' dem an' trust me lil cousin, you will too."

" Non," Remy lays down on the bed and turns his face away to stare at the wall. " Lapin, sorry for callin' you Bugs Bunny, an' givin' you such a hard time, it's not your fault dat Papa might have t' leave. I keep hopin' dat he will stay home. He hasn't decided what he is goin' t' do."

Jean-Luc and Jacques stood outside in the back talking in private about the upcoming meeting. " You want t' let Lapin stay de night? No since draggin' de boy out of bed dat time of de mornin', jus' t' bring him back over here."

" Oui, dat was my thinkin' too, wit' de plane leavin' at five tomorrow mornin' might as well leave de boys sleepin'." His brother -in- law lights his pipe and starts smoking. " Constance jus' called an' said everythin' is ready. Dey figure over five hundred members in de hall an' you are de guest of honor."

Jean-Luc rolls his eyes, " All dis is gonna be is a room full of hot air, Jacques an' you know it." He sits down on the lawn chair and then looks up at the house. " We got enough problems wit' de Assassins t' keep my attention for years, an' dat's not even de tip of de ice burg."

" You worried 'bout Remy?"

" Oui, very worried. De petite had nightmares every night for de first three weeks he came t' live with us. He still has dem but not like he use to. I'm afraid dis is gonna set dem off again." He sighs. " Dis is tearin' me apart t' leave Remy. I'm almost tempted t' call de whole trip off."

" You do dat Jean, an' Pierre will have your head. Refusin' t' appear at dis meetin' will only serve as another weapon for him t' use against you t' take your leadership." Benoit takes a deep breath. " I still say you were wrong not t' strip him of his councilship. De man is trouble, de sooner he is gone from our Guild de better I will sleep at night."

" I can handle Pierre, he's nothin' more dan a power hungry weasel an' I have taken care of his kind for years." Jean-Luc suddenly turns around to see Remy and Lapin come out of the house. A smile emerges across his face, " Come here mon petite, Papa wants t' talk t' you."

Remy glances at his uncle and then back at his father. " Papa, you're leavin' me, aren' you?" He quickly runs into his father's open arms and tries hard no to cry.

" Fils, you know I would never leave you unless it was necessary. I promise you dat I will be back b'fore you know it." He holds the boy tight in his arms and lifts him up. He motions for Lapin and Jacques to go back inside.

" Papa, please don' leave me." Remy shuts his eyes to keep his tears from leaking out. He wanted more than anything for his father to keep holding him. In his father's arms nothing could or would harm him. He feels a cold blast of fear hit him in the stomach as his father puts him down. He turns his head, nobody was going to see him cry. Nobody turned out to be Jean-Luc LeBeau.

" Remy, your frère an' soeur will be here wit' you until I get back. Nobody is abandonin' you." His father wipes the boy's tears away with his fingers. " I need for you t' be strong mon petite. If dis is goin' t' be too much for you den I will stay home. Nothin' is more important dan my family."

The boy takes a deep breath and tries to smile but comes up sighing instead. " Oui Papa, but I'm goin' t' miss you."

" An' I you petite." Jean-Luc picks his son up in his arms. " Papa promises dat dis separation will not be t' long jus' one week, seven days. Dat isn' long is it, Remy?" He smiles when Remy wraps his arms around his neck and hugs him to let him know that he understands. " We are goin' t' have a family meetin' t' set down some rules while I'm gone an' I want you t' listen t' what I have t' say b'cause dis mostly concerns you."

" More rules, Papa?"

Before Jean-Luc could answer, Lapin sticks his head out the door. " Supper's ready an' T'erese say t' eat it now b'fore it gets cold cause she ain' gonna reheat it." He waits until his uncle comes back inside before he closes and locks the door back. Rushing to the large table in the dining room, he takes his seat next to Remy. Seeing that Therese, Henri, his uncle and father were drinking wine, he looks directly across the table at Therese. " How come me an' Remy have t' drink milk wit' our spaghetti an' everybody else gets t' drink wine? Remy an' I are old enough t' drink it too."

" Really?" Jacques asks his son, sitting next to him at the end of the table. " Tell me mon fils, since when have you decided dis?" He eyes the boy as he places his wine goblet back down on the table. " You b'come a man without your mere an' I knowin' it?"

" I am a man!" Lapin straightens up in his chair. He elbows his cousin. " Ain' we Remy?"

" Well mon fils, you still goin' t' bed at nine." Jacques tells his son as everyone at the table starts laughing.

" Nine!" Lapin shouts louder than he wanted to. He lowers his voice. " I bet Remy doesn' go t' bed at nine." He looks at the head of the table, " Isn' dat right, Uncle Jean."

" Oh you're right, Lapin." Jean-Luc grins down at his brother -in- law before addressing his nephew. " I would never let Remy go t' bed at nine," He watches as Lapin sticks his chest out before finishing. " Mon petite is in de bed at eight-thirty an' when school starts it changes t' eight." He then clears his throat, " Now t' get some business out of de way b'cause Remy an' Lapin will be asleep when Jacques an' I leave in de mornin'." He makes sure dat everyone had stopped eating to listen to him. " Henri is in charge, what he says goes."

" Oh great, he's bossy enough as it is." Therese remarks as she throws her napkin down beside her plate and turns to Henri and sarcastically salutes him." Heil! Hitler."

" T'erese!"

" It was a joke, Henri, sheesh!" She remarks as she playfully hits her older brother in the side." You have no sense of humor, Big brother."

" Sure I do!" Henri replies as he raises his goblet to toast his sister. " Want t' see somethin' real funny, T'erese, look in de mirror."

" B'fore I was interrupted," Jean-Luc continues. " Remy, is t' be in bed at his regular bedtime, no exceptions." He glances at his youngest, who lowers his head and dropped his shoulders. " Sorry petite but you are t' cranky if you don' get enough sleep an' you know it. An' since Lapin is de same age, he is goin' t' bed at de same time."

Remy starts laughing at his cousin's shocked face. Lapin looks up at his father as Jacques grins. " Next time, mon fils, you will not run your mouth 'bout how grown up you are."

" Oui Père!" Lapin answers.

" Henri, as you know de Assassins are still swearin' revenge for dat death last week, I want you t' keep our people on alert." His father orders him. " An' jus' t' be on de safe side, de boys are not t' leave de property." This caused a major uproar from the two ten year olds. But the mutiny was quickly silenced by their father's threatening glares. " T'erese, you let Remy out of his studies for dis comin' week. Let de boy enjoy himself."

Therese glances over at her younger brother, who starts laughing and making faces at her. " Enjoy yourself little brother, because next week you will have tons of lessons to make up for your little vacation."

" Papa, she can't do dat can she?" Remy asks his father.

" I t'ink she jus' did." Jean-Luc replies as he starts eating. As the meal continues without further interruption, he notices that Remy was at peace. He pats the boy on the shoulders. " Petite, I'm gonna bring you an' Lapin somethin' back wit' me if you two b'have yourselves." He watches as two sets of eyes look at him. " An' I will be callin' home t' make sure dat you are b'havin'. Any word from T'erese an' Henri dat you are causin' dem any problems an' I will come back home an' deal wit' you myself."