A/N- So far so good? I hope you guys are enjoying, please leave a review if you like. Thanks already for the Alerts and Favorites! :) I appreciate it. Shall we jump in?
The sun was slowly rising over the horizon, dew had settled over the green plains. The morning was calm, peaceful, the sound of the ocean echoes in the distance. I had already opened the windows, letting in the cool morning air. I stand barefooted in my kitchen in nothing more than a pair of baggy sweat pants and a tight black tank top. My hair was pulled up into a messy bun, but my lips had a small smile still lingering on them from last night. I admit, I hadn't expected it, but it was a welcome surprise never the less. It was a night I had only dreamt of for the years I spent away from my boys.
I stand in front of my stove, cooking eggs, pancakes and frying bacon, yes I admit, I spoiled my boys. Just like I could get away with almost anything in their eyes, they could do the same with me. I move around the kitchen quietly, pouring juice and setting the table. I glance towards the hallway, I heard someone moving around. I knew it was Connor, he was an early riser. Sure enough, minutes later Connor graced me with his presence. He was only in his jeans, hair a mess and eyes still a bit hazy with sleep. I look over my shoulder and watch Connor slowly walk towards me. He wraps an arm around me and kisses the top of my head as I lean back against him and exhale softly.
"Good Mornin'" I say looking up at him.
"Mornin' Meg." He answers back.
Connor playfully peeks over my shoulder at me finishing up the pancakes and placing them on a large serving plate.
"An what's all this?" He jokes.
"Oh, I don' know. There's these two "ruggedly handsome", foul mouthed Irishmen whom I brought home last night. Figured they'd be hungry, after, well, properly introducin' themselves." I say nonchalantly.
"Well, I'm sure they'll appreciate it, lass." He says.
I turn around to face Connor. I reach up smoothing his hair and beard down before kissing him sweetly. I feel his arms tighten around me a bit as I break the kiss and gently lay my head against his bare chest.
"I guess its up ta me ta go and wake Murphy?" I laugh.
"Aye, I'm sure he'd rather it be you than me." He says laughing.
I slowly pull myself away from Connor and smirk. I turn for only a second and grab the serving plates of food to sit on the table. Connor goes about helping me by grabbing the plate of eggs and the pitcher of orange juice.
"I guess I will go wake Murphy up." I say softly.
"Good luck with tha." Connor says.
"I don't need luck, I gots me charm which Murphy can't resist." I joke.
Connor just laughs as he sets plates around the table. I make my way towards my bedroom and smirk at the sight in front of me. Murphy laid on his stomach, face buried in the pillow, shielding him from the morning light. He had kicked most of the blankets off so the only thing covered was his bare behind. I slowly walk towards the bed and gently shake Murphy, he groans and grumbles.
"Fuck ye, Connor." He mumbles into the pillow.
I smirk, Murphy was like a little boy, it would take forever to get him up and moving sometimes. I climb up onto the bed and straddle his hips. I lean down and put my lips to his ear and speak in a sweet tone.
"Aw, now come on Murph. Tis not any ways ta be talkin' to such sweet angel like myself." I laugh.
Murphy doesn't answer at first, instead just lays still for a few moments before turning over. I land gently on the bed and soon Murphy is pinning me down to the bed, smiling at me from behind his beard, under a mess of hair. I laugh and look at him innocently as I speak.
"Ye always did like it rough." I tease.
"Didn' hear ye complainin' las night." He says.
"Oh hush, now get yer lazy bones up outta bed. Unless ye want Connor ta eat breakfast and leave ye none." I say.
Murphy leans down and kisses me before getting to his feet. He grabs his jeans and slips them on before pulling me up out of bed. I go to walk away, but Murphy grabs me and pulls me back towards him. He looks down at me and smirks. I feel him reach up and tug at the hair holder keeping my hair up. I shake my head gently and let my hair tumble down my back as Murphy tosses the hair holder aside.
"Much better." He says.
"Damn ye Murph!" I tease.
Murphy only smirks and lifts me from my feet, holding me tightly around the waist. I brush his hair from his face and kiss his forehead.
"Tis a good thing I love ya." I say.
"Aye, tis a very good thing." He answers back.
He gives me a quick peck before sitting me down on my feet. I grab his hand and lead him back towards the kitchen, smirking as we enter. I motion for the boys to sit down while gathering up silverware and the bottle of maple syrup I had made fresh the other day. I sit down at the table and after a small prayer, thanking the Lord for all he has done and for bringing us back together, we dig in.
"So, how's life been back in tha states?" Murphy asked.
"Same ole, same ole. You boys are still in tha news, talk about cha's a lot. How ye boys seemed ta have struck fear inta tha hearts of Boston's finest criminals." I say softly.
"It still seems as if it were jus yesterday." Connor says softly.
"Never thought it would go so far." Murphy added.
"But ye both left ta lastin' impression. Ye both stood for somethin' and tha's more than most can say." I tell them.
I give them both a small smile, letting my eyes convey the message of how proud I was of them both. We ate in silence, wasn't really an awkward silence, but more of a peaceful silence. I was still expecting this to be a dream, I had longed for this moment so many times over the years, but I knew it wouldn't have been safe for me to follow the boys until now. I owe it to Agent Smecker though, he ensured me my boys and Noah would be safe, I took his word, because I couldn't do much else. I guess I had been thinking too hard because as feel a hand on my shoulder and eyes staring at me. I look up and meet Connor's blue eyes as he speaks.
"Somthin' wrong lass?" He questions.
"No, the opposite actually. I remember sittin' at home back in Boston, wonderin' about my boys. Hopin' ya both were ok, patiently waitin' on tha time ta come when it was safe ta come be with ye. I admit, t'was hard tha first few months. I missed ye both somethin' fierce. I missed Murphy playin' with me hair and listenin' ta you both bicker." I say softly.
"We missed ye to lass. Not a day went by we didn' think of ya. Missed wakin' up with ya, we got accustomed to havin' ye around. I know Murphy feels the same way." Connor says.
"T'was the hardest thing we had ta do, leavin' ya behind. Didn' like tha fact we were tha cause of yer tears that night." Murphy added as he looked at me.
"But Smecker promised us, told us you'd be safe and not ta worry, but ya know we did." Connor says as he places a hand over mine on the table.
"The feelin's mutal, I was afraid ye'd forget about me." I say joking a bit.
"Never, told ya you were tha only girl for us." Murphy says, smirking from behind his beard.
I smile and blush a bit, of course any girls loves to hear they are the only girl for their guy, or well in my case, guys. I look at them both and count my blessings, I had a home with them and I would always have arms to hold me and lips to tell me how wanted, loved and needed I was. We spend the rest of breakfast talking, catching up and laughing. I stand to start cleaning up and I laugh as the boys go about helping me.
"I know you boys have ta get back ta the farm, so I am going ta visit yer Ma today, she insists." I say as I place the dishes in the sink.
"Aye, have fun with tha." Murphy jokes while he and Connor clear the table.
"Aye, now Meg I knew ye musta been one hell of a woman ta be puttin' up with both me boys. Tis a wonder ye haven't done em in!" Connor says as he imitates Ma Macmanus.
"Now boys, ye better be count' yer blessin's, not ever day ya find a girl willin' ta put up with tha both of ya, ya ungrateful pissants!" Murphy says in his own imitation.
I shake my head as I take the two plates full of food from Murphy, one for Noah and the other for Annabelle. At first Annabelle wasn't sure of what to make of us, wasn't sure exactly how things worked out. But soon she realized I loved her boys, I would do anything for them and in return they would do the same for me. After that, she accepted me into the family, even told me she thought of me as the daughter she never had. I exhale softly as I turn towards the boys who were just finishing clearing the table.
"Be nice, she only wants what's best for her boys." I laugh
"Aye, yer right. She has been wantin' us ta come for dinner, I guess tonight it tis." Connor says.
"Look at cha, makin' decisions all on yer own." Murphy teases.
"Shut it, tis what we older brothers do." Connor says with a cocky smirk.
"Oh fuck you, yer not older. Yer too much of a retard to be older, with yer stupid fuckin' plans and yer stupid fuckin' rope!" Murphy said.
"Respect yer elders Murph, tis one of the golden rules." Connor says.
"I'll teach ya respect, I'll respect tha hell outta yer face with my fist." Murphy said, motioning with his fist.
I just stand and watch the boys argue, wouldn't be the first time a fight broke out in my kitchen and it wouldn't be the last. I just laugh and shake my head as they both look towards me, I knew what they wanted.
"No, I'm not tellin' ya who I think it tha oldest. Doesn' matter ta me" I say as I walk past them. "I'm gonna take a shower, then we can head out." I say disappearing down the hallway.
I stop dead in my tracks, "oh shit", I thought to myself as I wondered why in the hell I just told them that. I hear Murphy say "shower", before I can run arms grab me from behind and lift me off my feet. I glance down at the word "Veritas" tattooed on the index finger of the hand around my waist, it was Connor. I laugh and squirm to get away, but Connor keeps a firm grip on me.
"Oh, this isn' fair at all!" I playfully whined.
"Sure it tis!" Murphy laughed as he walks up behind us.
I'm sure you can guess what happened next, no need to go into detail, but let's just say I made Murphy drop the soap a few times. After our fun in the shower, I watch the boys get dressed as I pick my clothes out. Another long skirt, white this time, a dark green tank top and tan boots. I tied my damp hair up into a ponytail and swat Murphy's hand as he tries to take it down. I straighten my clothes and look at the boys before we head into the kitchen to pack up the food. Minutes later we're on our way out.
"I just realized somethin'" I say. "Um, Murph doesn' have a horse." I add with a laugh.
"Ah shit, that's right." He says.
"Hows about Connor head to tha farm and ye can take me ta Ma's and then borrow Riley." I suggest.
"I don' see a problem with that." Murphy said.
"Aye. Then it's settled." Connor says kissing my cheek before climbing up on his horse.
Murphy waits for me to climb up, before following suit. Connor nods and we head off in our separate directions. I wrap my arms around Murphy as we ride, laugh as the wind blows his hair back in my face. He looks over his shoulder for a moment at me as I rest my forehead against his shoulder.
Soon we arrive at our destination, a small little neighborhood just outside of town. It was one where there was plenty of space between the houses and green fields for miles. A few people smile as we pass, a few kids wave and everything seemed just so warm and welcoming. As we approach the home of Ma Macmanus we see she was already out, hanging laundry and cursing about the damn birds. Murphy stops Riley right in front of the house and hopes down. Annabelle turns around and smiles as Murphy helps me down off the horse. Annabelle makes her way towards us as I take down my satchel from Riley's saddle.
"Tis about time ye come visit yer poor ole lonely Ma. Where's tha other lil bastard?" She asks.
"At tha farm, I came ta drop Meghan off. Connor and I'll be back for dinner tonight." Murphy says kissing his mother's cheek.
"Aye, you had better. Tis tha least ye can do for ruinin' my girlish figger, ya ungrateful little bastards!" Annabelle said as she swatted Murphy on the butt.
"Yes mother." Murphy says with a laugh.
"Alright then, go on. Stop standin' round like ye ain't got stuff ta do." Annabelle said.
"Yes, mother" Murphy smirks.
He kisses us both on the cheek before climbing back up on the horse. We wave to him as he rides off, back down the trail that led through the neighborhood. I shake my head and smile as I turn to Annabelle and hold up my satchel.
"I brought breakfast." I say softly.
"Well then, come in here dear." Annabelle says.
She shoos me inside the house and closes the door. We walk towards the kitchen where she already had the ingredients for stew sitting out. I place my satchel down in a chair and pull out the aluminum foil wrapped packages, placing them on the table. Annabelle sits plates down and pours us both a cup of coffee. She tells me to sit down as she moves around the kitchen before taking a seat herself. I hand her the packages and she unwraps them, plating up the reminder of the food from breakfast. I sip from my cup of coffee as Annabelle speaks.
"So tell me, how have ye been?" She asks while taking a bite of the pancakes.
"I've been good, enjoyin' life away from tha busy city." I say.
"Tis good, I'm sure yer happy ta be home with me boys." She says.
"Of course, I missed them so much. Even with noisy city, life seemed ta be too quiet with out em. No one ta fight in the middle of my livin' room, no one bickerin' over who's tha oldest." I laugh.
"Tis funny ta listen to. Like I'm ever gonna tell em who came out first." She laughed as she ate.
"Don' tell Connor or Murphy, but if I had ta guess...I would say Connor did." I laugh.
"Most say tha, I just let em believe it. Tis a secret I'll take ta me grave." She says.
"And tis a secret that will forever taunt them. I find it quite amusin, two grown men fightin' over who came out first." I laugh.
"Boys, will be boys. Nothin' with me boys is ever been easy or simple. Guess it's a good thing, they are both good boys." She says sipping her coffee.
"Aye, they are. Ye did good with those two, from the stories ye told me from when they was little." I laugh.
"Hellions they were I tell ya. Always gettin inta somethin', little pissants they were, but I love em none the less." She says softly.
"Someone's gotta." I say with a smile.
"Aye. Tis why they found ye. I look at me boys faces an I can see how happy they are. I admit, at first I didn' see how tha arrangement would work. I mean puttin up with em both at that same time? Enough ta make anyone stark ravin' mad. And in God's eyes, it didn' seem right. But then I know God has a plan and that plan was for me boys ta find one strong willed woman ta keep em both in line. How could I not approve of that? And ye haven't wanted ta do em harm, tis always a plus." Annabelle says as she laughs.
"Aye, it tis. I do love yer boys, nothin's ever gonna change that. Even if there have been times I've wanted ta harm em. They can be so hard headed at times." I say sipping my coffee.
"That they can be." She laughs.
Annabelle and I continue to talk as I help her tidy up, help prepare a big pot of beef stew for dinner tonight. I laugh at the stories she tells me, how the boys would be sent home from school for fighting because someone said something about them. How Murphy was always the one to throw a punch first and ask questions later where Connor was more likely to try and talk to you before hitting you. The hours passed quickly, dinner was almost done and Annabelle was laughing as I told her about my father's reaction to the boys.
"I remember it well, my father took em both out back an gave em a good talkin' too. My ma did tha same." I laugh.
"As any good parent would. I know tha boys use ta bring home some intrestin' girls. There was one, oh I woulda liked ta wring tha little wrench's neck. She thought she knew it all, Connor dated her for about a month, then I told him she had ta go. Bad news she was." Annabelle say as she sits down at the table. "And Murphy, brought home a real floozy once. She woulda been nice if she hadn't had every other guy in town up her skirt." She added.
"Aye, well no worries. I'm not ta floozy, nor am I a know it all." I laugh as I sit down at the table.
"Tis why I am glad me boys have ya in their life." She smiles as she pats my hand.
Annabelle and I continue talking for a few more hours as I help her set the table, cut bread and other little things. Soon it was time for the boys to arrive, I could hear Connor and Murphy laughing as the front door opened. They both kicked their dirty boots off by the door and walked towards the kitchen. They both smiled as they entered, walking over and kissing their ma's cheek.
"Tis about time ye lil bastards showed up!" She says. "Look at ya's, half expect ya ta be livin in a cave somewhere." She adds with a laugh.
"Love ye to, Ma." Connor says laughing.
"Aye, if I didn't love ye both, I would of sold ye's off a long time ago." She says looking towards Connor.
The boys laugh and sit down at the table. I shake my head and look towards Annabelle, she gives me a wicked smirk. I knew what she was smirking for, we were about to give the boys a heart attack, so to speak. I watch Murphy get up for a moment, retrieving two bottle of Guinness from the fridge, handing one to Connor.
"So boys, I've been meanin' ta ask ye both somethin'." Annabelle says.
"Aye?" Murphy says before taking a drink form his bottle.
I try not to laugh as I cut the loaf of bread for dinner.
"Been thinkin', I'm gettin' older...not gonna be round forever. I wouldn' mind havin' me some grandchildren, ye know? Meghan agrees. Don' cha dear?" She asks looking towards me as she took the stew off the fire.
"Oh yea, ya know a whole house full. Seven or eight would be plenty." I say with a straight face.
Connor about choked on his beer as Murphy spit a bit of his out. They both stared, unsure of what to really say. Annabelle and I both look at them, keeping straight faces, even though we were laughing on the inside.
"S-seven o-or eight?" Connor chokes out.
"Yeah, I would be hopin' for maybe a set or two of twins in there." I say with a sweet smile.
"Twins run in my side of tha family." Annabelle assures me.
"Well? Why are ya both sittin' there lookin' like tha cat's got yer tongue's?" I ask.
"I-I Um, well I..." Murphy stuttered.
"Oh for Christ's sakes, we're only jokin' ya. Calm yerselves." Annabelle laughed.
Both boys stared, but then laughed when Annabelle and I started laughing. I shake my head, tossing a piece of bread at Connor and hitting him in the forehead.
"Evil women..." Murphy mumbles.
"But ya love us all the same!" I say placing the bread on the table.
"Aye." The boys say in unison.
A bit more laughter echoes as we all settle in for dinner. It was a nice evening spent. Annabelle harassing her boys, me teasing them and everyone with big smiles on their faces as we ate. This was my family...this was home and nothing was ever going to tear me away from it.
A/N- Short chapter, I know. But it was a nice place to end it! :) More to come!
