A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, PM's and favourite story and author adds. I'm completely surprised with the response to this story, and I am very humbled by all of your comments.
As always I'd like to thank Purdy's Pal and DaisyDay for reading through parts of this. Both of you as well as Jedi Skysinger and haunted-Eternity are some of the most talented and nicest people I've ever known.
2
Silence echoed around the room causing the thudding of Fiona's heart in her chest to seem so much louder. Everything was muddled inside her head and the heartache from the past was colliding with the feelings now churning with her. Those empty, desolate emotions that had caused her to cry herself to sleep on the lonely nights after she'd left Ireland had all seemed to surge back inside her.
Biting her lip to stop a sob from escaping she focused on the empty space where her little girl had been standing only moments ago. Already the ache of loss resounded inside her heart and she couldn't seem to shake it this time. What if Caitlin grew up to resent her for missing the first five years of her life? What if she didn't want to stay? Movement behind her forced her back into the present and she suddenly didn't know what she was supposed to do now.
She knew she had to face the consequences of keeping Caitlin a secret, even though her reasons seemed to be so plausible at the time. Swallowing the lump in her throat she closed her eyes before she trusted her voice not to break when she spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"When?" his voice was low, eliciting a deep tone of shock as he tried to fathom what had just happened. "When were you going to tell me, Fiona?"
Shaking her head she turned around to face him and felt herself grow weak in the wake of the resentment that was rolling off of him in waves.
""Wha—"
"How could you forget to mention to me that I had a daughter?" he asked lowly as he stepped towards her. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
"I…it wasn't—"
"Why?" he ask her, his voice slipping even lower as he came to stand before her, "Just tell me why you did it, Fiona."
"Why?" she asked, her voice breaking as she spoke. "You say that as if I had a choice—"
"YOU had a choice," he snapped angrily, unable to reign in the bitterness from his voice. "YOU chose not to tell me."
"It wasn't…they told me I had to leave her," her voice shook as she spoke and she found herself turning away from him to avoid his gaze. "I wanted to tell you so many times but in the end I had to do what was best for you."
"Who gave you the right to decide what is best for me?" His voice rose again as he took a step closer, trying so hard to curb the anger from his words. "You should have told me."
"How could I? You're always so wrapped up in your damn job; everything you do revolves around it."
"This again," he groaned as he threw his arms in the air. "You know how important getting my job back is to me."
"Yes I know Michael you tell me enough times, and that's exactly why I didn't tell you."
"You never mentioned a child, Fiona," he told her as he grew more and more frustrated. His eyes flared angrily as he glared at her, his voice rising. "I HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW."
Fiona shook her head and looked up to the ceiling as she tried to find the right words to say. Blinking back the moisture in her eyes she drew in a shaky breath before she turned to look at him again.
"Just a few months ago you threw everything back in my face and told me I should support you if I cared about you, so how was I supposed to tell you the real reason why I wanted you to give it up...You only ever think of what you want."
"Do you really think I wouldn't have wanted to know? I can't believe you saw me every day and never once mentioned her…" taking a step closer he waved his hand in the general direction of the door. "How do you think it makes me feel finding out like this that she's mine?"
Fiona tried to control her voice but she couldn't keep the trembling at bay. They hadn't had an argument like this is a very long time. A sob caught in her throat when she tried again to get through to him.
"I never thought I'd see her again and I always knew you never wanted children. You said your enemies would use them as leverage against you. What was I supposed to do? You wanted your job back… I was trying to protect both of you…"
She turned away from him and pulled her robe tighter. She felt too raw and exposed and completely terrified all over again. Her mother had forced her to give up her child and even though she'd known that her brother could keep Caitlin safe, it still hurt more than any wound she had ever suffered. She could never expect him to understand that pain, not when he couldn't see beyond his own hurt feelings.
Michael's voice brought her back to him again and she forced herself to try and understand his side, but all she could see was the ache of his rejection all over again.
"I can look out for myself," he ground out as he glared at her, his anger preventing him from seeing anything but her deception. In all the years he had known this woman he couldn't ever remember a time when he had been so mad with her, but she had betrayed him in an unforgivable way. "I don't need protecting especially from—"
"But Caitlin does…"
Her voice cut through his causing his retort to catch in his throat when he saw the pain in her eyes. There was something hauntingly familiar about the way she was pleading with him to understand that brought back painful memories of his own childhood and he suddenly realised he was portraying shades of his father.
Biting back the anger he took a breath and forced himself to calm down, for his sake as well as hers. Whatever her reason's for keeping his daughter a secret from him, he had to try and curb his temper. Swallowing the burning words in his throat he closed his eyes briefly before he opened them again to focus on her trembling form.
"Just because I didn't plan on having children doesn't mean I never wanted them. You never gave me that choice. You took her away before I had a chance to find out for myself!"
"I couldn't tell you," she told him brokenly. "How could I tell you you had a daughter when you didn't even want me?"
"What do you mean I didn't want you?" he asked her heatedly. "I always wanted you."
"When?" turning on him she fixed him with a fiery glare that would have been enough to bring any mortal man to his knees. "You spent so many years pushing me aside and telling me constantly that we couldn't be together!"
"Fiona," Michael's voice seemed to echo throughout the room and she found her eyes closing against the wall of intense emotion that filled her eyes. "You shouldn't have kept her from me."
"What would you have done if you'd known?" she asked hopelessly as she turned towards him. "You never had room for me in your life so how could you make room for a child?"
"WHAT?" he asked, his voice rising as he moved towards her. "Is this some kind of punishment? Is this you getting even for something that happened years ago?"
"Is that what you really think of me?" she asked him bitterly as a tear leaked from her eyes. "You think I could do that to her, to you?"
Turning her back to him she could feel herself slipping away into the memories of the past. All those times she had wished for him to come back to her, to both of them. If he had been with her she wouldn't have had to leave Caitlin behind and they could have been together…but in the end it was all some fantasy, someone else's dream, not hers.
"YOU left me to deal with them all on my own…" she told him, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I couldn't fight them…I couldn't keep her…"
"You think I wanted to leave?" he asked incredulously. "My cover was blown, I—"
"Your damn cover again?" she hissed. "I didn't know I was pregnant until after you left and by then it was clear to everyone that you weren't coming back."
"Okay," he nodded defensively. "So what about when we met up again? You had plenty of opportunities to tell me."
"And how would you have reacted, huh?" she asked him bitterly. "I saw the way your face dropped when Samantha came back and mentioned her son. You were terrified that he was yours…"
"That was different, I didn't have any feelings for her…You had no right—"
"You gave up your right when you left," she growled as she turned away. "You have NO idea what I went through."
"Then tell me," he told her as he caught hold of her arm and turned her around to face him. "What did you go through that could be worse than me finding out I have a daughter who's…what…five?"
"You bastard," she hissed angrily as she yanked her arm from his grasp. "I had to go through it all alone with my mother quoting the bible in my ear. Have you any idea what it's like to be told you're a slut who will burn in hell for her sins, by your own mother?"
Michael's eyes softened when he caught the haunted look on her face. Stepping towards her he touched her arm with gentler fingers and turned her to face him.
"I'm sorry you had to go through it alone, but you should never have kept her from me."
"You think I kept her from you?" she asked brokenly as she pulled away from him again. "I carried her for nine months…I loved her and I fought for her because she was yours. I had to keep her safe from the enemies we made and you ask why I kept her from you?"
"I had a right to know."
"Which brings us back to the same question," she groused as she turned back around to face him. "What would you have done if you'd known about her?"
"I—"
"What would you do Michael?" she asked, anger flaring in her eyes. "Push her away just like you did me? Leave her in the middle of the night? Leave me to tell her your job is more important? What Michael? You tell me what I was supposed to tell you!"
Michael stepped forward suddenly and grabbed hold of both of her arms to keep her still. "I don't know what I would have done Fi," he told her as he tried to keep his voice calm. "I'd like to think I would have been there to support you…both of you."
"Yeah?" she asked shakily. "I could really have done with that support, Michael. I was all alone with a child on the way and a mother who told me over and over that she wasn't going to let me keep my baby..." memories invaded her mind and she closed her eyes to try and shut them out but they bombarded her senses. "I had to fight for her even before she was born…and I wanted her so badly because she was yours…so you can think whatever you want about me because I tried to be the best I could even though I know whatever I did wasn't good enough."
"Ya let me down girl," her mother hissed out angrily as she descended on her. "Ya let yer da' down too. I didn' bring ya inta tha world ta commit sin wit' a man who left ya wit' his bastard child."
"Me babby ain't a bastard," she cried, sliding a hand protectively over her flat stomach. "Michael will be back an' yer'll see tha' he loves me."
"Yer wrong girl, ya gave him yer body an' he left like tha bastard he is."
"Yer wrong mammy, he—"
"Listen ta yerself Fiona. He ain't comin' back. He'll be leavin' wit' a new girl an' do tha same thin' ta har."
Fiona shook her head and turned her back on her mother as she pulled the kitchen door open with a furious grown. Michael wasn't like that, he wasn't.
"Don't ya think yer keepin' it yerself. Fadar O'Mally is comin' fer supper to pray fer ya," Colleen told her angrily. "Yer can give it ta tha right people when tha time comes."
"WHA'?" Fiona turned on her mother and glared at her with so much hatred that she saw the older woman take a step back. "Yer not be takin' ma babby…never…I'll kill ya befer I let tha' happen. Yer hear me mammy, yer never gonna take it."
"Yer brought shame to tha Glenanne's, yer sister'd never had done tha' to us."
"Ya, well maybe it shoulda be me tha got killed, ya woulda been happy then wouldn' ya?" Fiona stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind her knowing that the battle with her mother for the child she carried inside her was only the beginning.
Fiona couldn't help the slight tremble in her body when she could see him trying to figure out what had happened. He was looking at her as if she had grown an extra head and was unsure what he could do about it. She hadn't expected him to be overjoyed, but she hadn't expected him to be like this either. She could already feel the irritation creeping back into her emotions, and her mouth seemed to have a mind all of its own.
"I didn't plan on getting pregnant," she snapped, already on the defensive before she could even open his mouth. "If you think I was trying to make you stay then you'd be wrong."
"Fiona... I don't know what I'm supposed to say…"
"Then don't say anything, Michael," she told him impatiently, her eyes daring him to challenge her. "Do what you always do and walk away."
"Fiona…" his voice was shaking when he took a step towards her, but he halted in his tracks when he saw her anger suddenly transform into sadness. He loved this woman before him more than he had ever loved anyone in his life, but right now he didn't know if he could ever forgive her for this. He was in the middle of silently cursing his inability to tell her how he felt, when she spoke again, throwing him off balance.
"Michael," his name came out on a resonated sigh as she tried to stop her voice from shaking. She chanced a look into his eyes hoping to see some kind of acceptance in them, but his expression was unreadable and that only served to scare her more. Taking a breath she tried to smile but her lips refused to cooperate, so she shook her head before whispering the words that she had always been dreading to say. "If you decide that you don't want to be a part of her life then I won't force you into something you don't want."
Turning away from him she focussed on one of her snow globes that bounced light onto the wall. Inside she was silently pleading for him to want their daughter and wrap his arms around her in reassurance, but he hadn't moved. Maybe he really didn't want to be with her; after all if it came down to a choice between her and his job, she had always known that he would never choose her. Swallowing hard she forced her voice to remain level, even though her whole body was trembling.
"No one has to know she's yours…she doesn't know about you and she doesn't have to if that's what you want, but please don't punish her for what I did—"
"Fiona, I…"
"I don't blame you for hating me Michael," she whispered. "I hate myself too."
Michael could hear his heart thumping inside his chest and he knew he had to say something to make her see that he just needed time to recover from the shock. "I never said I hated you."
"You don't have to," she told him through tear glazed eyes. "I can see it on your face…but it doesn't really matter now. Caitlin needs to know at least one of us wants her and I have to hope that she doesn't one day hate me for not fighting hard enough for her."
Fiona could already feel her defences slipping. Her head was starting to ache again and she couldn't deal with his rejection right now, not after everything that had happened. The unrest she was feeling right up until this moment slowly ebbed away to leave a brief flash of anger that gave her a strength that she'd almost forgotten she'd had. This was their child, a beautiful miracle that they had created together and she was totally unaccustomed to the powerful surge of love and protection she felt when she thought of the dark haired little girl that accepted her so easily.
"Fiona," his voice softened when he saw her looking so defeated. Taking a step closer towards her he stopped in his tracks when she spoke again, taking his breath from his lungs.
"Look, if you think I'm asking you for anything, then don't. I've been supporting her on my own for five years and I'll carry on supporting her. I just need you to know something before you decide anything okay."
"Fi—"
"I'm not trying to push you into a commitment… I know we never would have had a house or the white picket fence… I know you were never interested in stuff like that."
Michael watched her silently, her words seeming to echo in his mind. He had lived all this time loving the woman before him but now there was a whole little human being who would depend on him and he didn't know whether he was elated or terrified by the prospect…He'd always thought he would never have the chance to become a father, but here she was, this beautiful woman offering him a life he never thought he'd have. Taking a breath, he stepped closer, his fingers desperate to touch her.
"What if one day I want all of those things, Fi?"
"Maybe you will," she told him as the tears returned to her eyes, "But I've never really been sure if you wanted them with me."
Her words cut right through him and he could already feel the anger inside him slowly subside. How could she think that there could ever be another woman who could ever match up to her?
"I won't leave her again, Michael," she told him softly before he had time to speak. "Not for anyone."
"I never thought you would," he all but whispered. "I just need time to…adjust…"
"I understand," she told him through tear filled eyes. "I do…just don't turn your back on her because of me, okay…"
"You really think I would turn my back on either of you?" he asked her incredulously. "You think—"
"All I know Michael is five years ago you left me and I wasn't strong enough to fight my mother on my own. I let her take my daughter away from me and I will never forgive her or myself for as long as I live…" shaking her head she lifted the palms of her hands to her face to wipe away the moisture building in her eyes. When she chanced a look at him again she turned away from him and made her way towards her bedroom door. "I need to get dressed…I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now…they took her away and now suddenly they thrust her back to me expecting her to want to live with me." She stopped and turned to him helplessly, "I mean look at me…would you want to live with someone like me?"
Michael watched her retreating form and tried to process everything inside his mind. He was a father…a father. The thought both terrified him and exhilarated him at the same time and even though they still needed to talk about the past and how Caitlin came to be in her brother's care, he knew the second he'd laid eyes on that little girl, he was lost.
Moving swiftly towards Fiona he caught her arm before she could leave and pulled her around to face him.
"We have to talk about her," he told her firmly. "I want to know everything you're not telling me…but, I'm not turning my back on her, or you, okay?"
Fiona tried to smile but all she seemed to be able to do was nod while he hovered beside the front door.
"If you're not going to stay then I'll tell her about you myself." she told him in a dejected whisper when she saw the tell tale signs of a man wanting to flee. "Call if you want to see her, okay…"
When she turned away from him he finally found his voice and surged towards her to catch her arm. "I'm going to head back to the loft to change, but I'll be back."
A single tear slipped down her cheek unchecked as she nodded numbly when he grabbed his shoes beside the couch and slipped out of the door.
000
Two hours later Fiona was hovering beside the window and looking out whenever a car drove past. The longer the time elapsed the more anxious she became and no matter how many times she tried to force the worry out of her mind she couldn't help the fear that her daughter had been returned to her only to be ripped away again.
Michael still hadn't returned either and even though she was expecting him to avoid her for a while, she had hoped that he would have wanted to be back for when Caitlin came home. Maybe it was all too much, maybe he wasn't ready to be thrust into the realms of fatherhood. He'd no doubt be at the loft trying to think of a way to get out of this whole mess…
The door suddenly barged open causing all of her thoughts of Michael to scatter when Caitlin trundled into the room with an armful of flowers that she tried to keep from falling. Looking around the room she caught sight of her mother and ran towards her to thrust the blooms in her direction.
"Look mammy," she squealed excitedly. "These are fer ya ta keep."
Fiona came down to her knees and took the flowers from her daughter's arms and reached forward to pull her into a tight hug.
"Thank you," she smiled brightly even though her eyes sparked with emotion. "They're beautiful. Did you pick them out yourself?"
"Yep…Smell em," Caitlin giggled as she leant onto her mother to smell the flowers before pressing one to Fiona's nose. "I like tha pink best."
"Me too," Fiona beamed a smile at her daughter and instantly felt herself relax with her. She had been afraid that she wouldn't feel the maternal bond that she'd once had with the child she clutched tightly against her, but when Caitlin leaned against her with the same warmth that she'd had when she was a tiny baby, the love came flooding back in a wave. Standing to her feet she held out her hand to the little girl beside her and led her towards the tiny kitchen.
Sean looked around the room and narrowed his eyes before he turned to Seamus. "Bring tha babby's things outta tha car. I'll be wit ya in a minute."
"He ain't here is he?" Seamus seethed angrily. "Tha bastard's gone an left har again."
"Calm down Seamus," Sean snapped, shooting his brother an angry glare. "Just go ta tha car."
The younger Glenanne turned and stomped out of the house muttering obscenities about the man he wanted to rip apart with his bare hands. Sean looked after him and shook his head when his brother sauntered away. He knew what he was feeling because he'd felt the same way many years ago. He'd wanted to find McBride himself and beat him to a bloody pulp before the rest of the Glenanne clan had their go with him, but that was before he'd seen them together a month or so ago.
"So," his voice brought Fiona's eyes away from her daughter to look up at him. "How'd he take it?"
"He's gone home to change," she told him quietly before she turned her attention back to the little girl by her side.
"Tha's not what I asked ya Fi," he sighed. "Did ya tell him?"
"Yes I told him," she hissed out, trying to keep her voice low. "Can we not talk about this now?"
"Is he comin' back?"
Fiona closed her eyes in frustration and swallowed the lump in her throat before she looked up at her brother with tear filled eyes. Not trusting herself to speak she shrugged her shoulders and dropped her gaze back to her daughter. She honestly didn't know what Michael was going to do; she didn't even know what she was going to do. Lifting her gaze back up to her brother she tried to offer him a smile but it fell from her lips the second she saw the fury in his eyes.
"Seamus is gettin' Caitlin's things…I'll be goin' out fer a while."
"Sean," she called, his name coming out louder than she'd intended. When he turned back to look at her his face was unreadable and she shook her head as tried so hard to control her voice. "Don't, okay. Whatever it is your planning to do just, don't."
"I'm not plannin' anythin' sis…I'll just be payin' Michael a visit tha's all."
"Sean—"
"I'll be back fer supper."
Fiona's heart thundered inside her chest as she turned her eyes back down to her daughter who was arranging the flowers she'd brought into a vase. Fiona lifted her hand and ran her fingers over Caitlin's long hair before she turned to grab her phone from a shelf in the kitchen. Dialling Michael's number she held the phone to her ear and cursed silently when it went straight to voice mail. Shutting it off she looked down at the blank screen before writing a brief warning that her brother was on his way before she hit the send button.
"Mammy," Caitlin's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked down at her with a bright smile. "I made em all stand up."
Fiona's eyes slipped to the brightly coloured flowers all arranged in the vase with half of the petals squashed but she didn't think she had ever been given a more precious gift before.
"You did a good job," she smiled brightly as she helped Caitlin down off of the stool and started to pick up the mess but stopped when Seamus barged back into the house.
"Where'd ya want har stuff Fi?" he asked breathlessly as he carried a hefty suitcase with both hands. "What did yer auntie Marie pack in this thing, squirt?"
Caitlin looked up at her uncle and giggled brightly as she swung back and forth between the couch and the chair.
"Caitlin," Fiona called as the little girl turned towards her. "Shall we find somewhere to put your things?"
"Okay," she beamed and clutched onto Fiona hand to bounce all the way along the small hall until Fiona led her and her uncle into a small room that was next to hers. Pushing open the door she looked around the bleak room that housed a small single bed before she looked down at her daughter apologetically.
"I know it's blue," Fiona told her when Caitlin let go of her hand to go and sit on the bed. "But we can pick up some paint and make it whatever colour you want, okay?"
"Pink?" Caitlin asked excitedly as she flung herself back onto the bed and bounced herself up and down.
Fiona watched the little girl exude so much energy and for a moment she was suddenly struck with the inevitable surge of fear. How was she going to cope with a very lively five year old when she'd become so used to living alone. Glancing down at her daughter she smiled despite the lingering fear when Caitlin beamed a big toothy smile in her direction.
"If you want pink, we'll make it pink," Fiona grinned when Caitlin sat back up to launch herself towards her. Picking her up, Fiona held her tight and kissed her cheek before planting her feet back onto the floor again. "We'll go shopping tomorrow and buy you some nice sheets for your bed too, okay."
"Okay," Caitlin nodded and sank down beside the case on the floor to wait patiently as her mother slowly unzipped it before she piled in to retrieve some of her toys that were mixed in between the clothes.
"We'll need some new clothes, too," Fiona told her when she saw the assortment of sweaters, jeans and thick winter clothing that were all folded neatly inside the case.
Fiona watched her silently and suddenly felt completely overwhelmed. Her life was about to change in ways she had never imagined and she didn't know whether she was elated or terrified. With O'Neill's arrest she couldn't be sure if he had given her location to her old associates. She would have to look for somewhere else to live, somewhere that would be suitable for a child.
"Mammy," Caitlin's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she gazed down at her with suddenly sad eyes when her daughter handed her a toy wrist watch that had dials and buttons on it. "I hide ma secret's inside," she told her as she leant against Fiona's knee to open it and show her the empty space inside. "look."
"You hide secrets in there huh?" Fiona asked her incredulously. "You sound just like your da—" Tears sprang to her eyes and she suddenly knew that she wanted Michael to be here to see for himself just how much his daughter resembled him.
Turning her head away from her the child beside her she wiped a tear away from her cheek before plastering a smile to her face. Sitting up onto her knees she helped Caitlin take the clothes out of the case and hung them up in the small closet until everything was put away.
"Come with me sweetie, mommy want's to show you something," she said softly as she waited for Caitlin to take a hold of her hand before leading her back out into the living area to sit her down on the couch. Once Caitlin was settled she moved towards one of the cabinet draws and pushed some papers out of the way before she pulled a small photo album out to hold it against her chest.
Seamus looked up from the newspaper he was reading to regard her curiously before he looked back down at it again, pretending to be interested in the news and not what was going on with his sister.
Fiona came over to the couch and sat down next to Caitlin who looked up at her with wide eyes, curious as to what she wanted to show her. Placing the small album onto her lap she lifted one arm up so that the little girl could snuggle into her side to look at the first photograph on the page.
"That's you Caitlin," she whispered as she pointed to the photograph of the tiny baby lying in a crib. "Your uncle Sean took that photo."
"Tha's me?" Caitlin asked with wide eyes.
"Yes it is," Fiona smiled when she gazed down at the worn photographs that held so many memories. "You were just over a week old and that red suit you were wearing there," she told her as she pointed to the little red and white romper suit. "That was the first thing I brought for you."
Flipping over the next page she pointed to another photo that Patrick had sent her a few months after he'd managed to track her down. "That was you trying your first spoonful of food."
"I look funny," Caitlin giggled.
"I don't think you liked it," Fiona told her with a smile as she nuzzled her lips into Caitlin's hair. Turning the page over she pointed to another photo, chuckling along with her daughter when she giggled at each new image of herself as a baby, until they came to the very last page in the book.
Fiona let her fingers linger over the smiling faces of her and Michael before she held her daughter tighter to her and kissed her head.
"Tha's yer friend mammy," Caitlin told her with a big smile as she grinned up at her.
"He is," Fiona swallowed hard before she laid her lips against her little girl's hair as she whispered words that she had wanted to tell Michael for so long. "But he's really special to mommy and to you. Do you know why?"
Caitlin shook her head and looked back down to the photograph of her mother and Michael with their arms wrapped around each other.
"This, Caitlin, is your daddy."
000
Michael was sitting in the charger parked a short way from Fiona's house, staring off into space when he heard a tap on the window. Reacting quickly he pulled his gun and pointed it towards his unwelcome intruder only to relax when he recognised the man looking at him through the window.
Sean pulled the door open without an invitation and climbed into the passenger seat to looks across at the man he had always thought of as a brother.
"She's somethin' ain't she Michael?" Sean asked him with an awkward smile. "Just like har mammy in every way."
"Sean," he sighed. "I…"
"Look, I know it's a lot ta take in," Sean told him. "But ya know Fi didn' really have a lotta options back home."
"All these years, Sean," shaking his head Michael put the gun he was holding back into his pants before he regarded the man beside him. "I had a daughter…all these years…"
"Ya look like a man in need of a drink," Sean chuckled. "Ya life'll never be tha same."
"Sean," Michael sighed as he shook his head. "I need to know what happened after I left Ireland…I need—"
"I need a drink," Sean interrupted him and patted his shoulder. "Yer gonna need one too when ya hear what I have ta tell ya."
"Fi's got a bottle of single malt whiskey back at the loft," Michael nodded knowingly. "That good enough?"
"That'll do," he nodded only to grin at the man beside him who was staring at the street where he knew Fiona and Caitlin were only a short distance away. "Well whata ya waitin' fer man."
Michael closed his eyes briefly against the mixed emotions that were swirling around inside his head before he started the car.
"One thing befer we go," Sean's voice broke through his thoughts and he turned to look at him. "Do ya love my sister?"
Michael's breath caught in his throat before he could find his voice. Nodding his head he turned away to look out of the window before he uttered a small, "Yes."
"Good," Sean told him with a wide smile as he sat back in his seat. "I may not kill ya after all!"
TBC
