A short author's note before I start on the third chappy! Give me a review and let me know what you think thus far. Any ideas? Give'm to me so I can possibly put them in! Thanks for reading any way!

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Finally, the last term was over for Cathleen and she kicked her books aside. Adriana had the swift idea of burning the books, but they'd need them again for their spring term.

"Connor said when the baby comes I don't have to go to school anymore," Adriana shrugged and took a swallow of orange juice.

"Yeah, well Murph said to me that when your baby comes I still have to go so there!" She answered and laughed.

"Let's go shopping!" Adriana suggested.

"With what money?! I have to budget for new socks and pants for Murphy and me. 'Till the economy stops sucking it's needle and thread for me!" Cathleen replied and held up a pair of Murphy's torn pants.

"You got a point, plus we're all saving to fly to Ireland for Christmas right?" Cathleen nodded as she pricked her finger.

"Fuck, yeah, we've got just enough for the tickets, maybe some for shopping. I've saved up for almost a year now. Even with Murphy running two jobs, we still barely get by because this place sucks. Luckily for us, Doc lets us live here for free, just pay utilities and phone."

'That's right; you and Murphy have been together for two years(ish)." Cathleen nodded her head.

The phone rang and Cathleen dashed for it.

"Hello?'

"Cathleen, is that you dear?"

"Hi, Da, what's going on?"

"I heard from the boys that you and Adriana were going to Ireland with them," Da tipped toed around the real reason for the call.

"Let me guess, Da, you want to come with right?"

"Annabelle might have a few choice words for me," He muttered and lit up a cigar.

"Want me to find out for, ya?" Cathleen asked, also tip toeing around the fact that Connor had yet to say anything to Adriana.

"Thank you, darling. So when's dinner then?"

"Be here around 6, I'll try to make something edible," Cathleen replied and giggled.

"I'll be seeing you then, good bye Dear," He hung up the phone without a reply from Cathleen. She sighed.

"Da, wants to come with us now," Cathleen took out her green note book. "I've saved up almost two grand! If we end up paying for Da we'll break the bank!"

"He's got money of his own he'll be fine, call Annabelle though," Adriana suggested. This was one call she wished the boys were around for. She dialed the International line and waited for the operator to connect her.

"These calls like this are killing us too!" Cathleen complained.

"If you didn't want to call her then why did you?"

"One because you said I should and two the boys aren't here to protect me! All I need is Annabelle jumping off the deep end!" Cathleen replied.

"Since when do you listen to me?" Cathleen waved at Adriana to be quiet.

"Annabelle McManus? Hi, it's Cathleen,"

"What a surprise, Dear! I wasn't expecting a call until your next pay day! What's happened?"

"Nothing, Mrs. McManus…"

"Call me Annabelle, or Ma," Annabelle said soothingly, now Cathleen really had to step lightly.

"I was just calling to check up on a few things before we headed over. We'll be getting there around the 16th at like 5 a.m."

"Yeah, Cory's picking you four up," She answered in a rough tone as she took another shot of whiskey.

"Speaking of four…Mr. McManus wants to come with…" Cathleen trailed off and flinched as she waited for a response.

"Maedoc? That lowly son of a bitch wants to come back to my life! He ups and leaves me with two baby boys! Now he wants back!" Cathleen cringed as she heard the screaming. Annabelle started rambling off in Gaelic.

"MA! MA! Settle down! Ěist leis seo anois, MA! Stad!" The boys walked in laughing and heard Cathleen screaming in Gaelic.

"Ma's flipping out!" She handed the phone to Murphy.

"MA! It's Murphy, listen, what happened?"

"Your father wants to come back!" Annabelle screamed and started taking deeper drinks.

"Put the bottle down! Is Aintin Sissy there?"

"She's right here, what you want to talk to her for?" Annabelle asked.

"I don't I just wanted to know," Murphy sat down. Connor waved over Cathleen.

"What's going on?" He asked and watched.

"Da called said he wanted to come with us, but He didn't want to call Her, so I did, cause I still had to finalize everything, and I happened to mention that Da wanted to come with and she went off the deep end." Cathleen looked and the ground, with utter embarrassment.

"Tell her about the baby!" Cathleen muttered to Connor. He waved his hands back and forth.

"She'd really go off the deep end," Connor muttered. Murphy over heard their conversation when Ma wasn't screaming.

"Hey Ma, Connor's got a big surprise for you," He handed the phone to Connor. He hesitantly took it.

"Guess what Ma, I and Adriana are going to have a baby," He said in a hushed tone. The line went quiet.

"WHAT! MY BABY'S HAVING A BABY! PRAISE THE LORD!" She screamed happily, Adriana, Cathleen, and Murphy could hear her. "Let me talk to her!"

He handed the phone happily to Adriana who shook as she took it from him.

"Hello Mrs. McManus," Adriana greeted.

"May the good Lord bless Thee! You'll be so big when you get here! Tell Cathleen to call me on her next pay day we'll discuss things later." Annabelle said and also hung up her phone. Adriana handed it to Cathleen, who hung it up.

"She forgot about, Da" Adriana muttered.

"That was excellent! At least you didn't stutter like I did when I first talked to her," Cathleen said and giggled, Adriana did too.

"So he's going with us then?" Murphy asked; Cathleen nodded.

"We'll talk about this when he comes over for dinner," She replied and looked at the clock. "Speaking of dinner, can you guys go down to the store and pick up this stuff? Da, wants corn beef, cabbage, and potatoes. She's craving the rest. Here's twenty, get smokes if you need them." Cathleen said and handed Murphy the money.

"Did I tell you I love you?" Murphy asked and kissed her.

"You just did," Cathleen answered. "By the way I'm fixing the rips in your pants, because I didn't budget for new clothes until next paycheck."

"Ok, sounds good, we'll be back in a few," Murphy answered and grabbed a heavier coat. Connor kissed Adriana and they left.

"They better hurry back with my double stuffed Oreos." Adriana said grumpily.

"Here, turn something on," Cathleen said and tossed her the remote.

Doc knocked on the front door and waited. After a few minutes of no one answering he unlocked the door to find Cathleen and Adriana vegging on the couch.

"Tttt-The new sss-shipment is here, you need to direct the boys where to ggg-go." Doc said and left the apartment.

"Duty calls," Cathleen muttered and shoved the clothes off to the side. She meandered downstairs to the loading dock behind the bar.

"Ok, Guys. Listen up! Guinness, anything from the Boston Beer Company, Murphy's, O'Hara's, and Finnegans go downstairs directly across from the stairwell. Samuel Adams, any port, gin, vodka, ale, and Killians, goes behind the stairs along the back wall. Any food gets put in the back cooler, and any American brews get put along the left wall! I've got six guys down there sorting everything out, just follow them." Cathleen yelled to the stockmen and the deliverers.

Murphy and Connor rounded the corner, arms full of groceries, and found Cathleen sorting shipments.

"Mercy Mary! NO! This is gets put in the back behind the old shipments, Davy will show you!" Cathleen yelled to a confused waitress.

"You tell her, Catty." Murphy said and helped Cathleen off the truck.

"Take that upstairs; I'll be up in a minute to help Adriana with dinner." She said and gave Murphy a kiss; she went back to yelling at the deliverers.

The twins trudged up the stairs and into the apartment, where Adriana was staring mindlessly at the television. She bit her nails and knocked on the furniture as a cartoon rat also got caught by the Mouse Brigade. Connor shook his head and walked into the kitchen with Murphy.

Ten minutes later Cathleen came storming through the door and headed straight into the kitchen were Adriana was boiling potatoes.

"Sorry, sorry, those guys…don't get me started." Cathleen said and scrubbed her hands.

"Baby, bring me a beer," Murphy yelled.

"Get up and get it your self. I've got dinner to make!"

"Awe, come on pleeeease!" Murphy whined. She tossed him a beer from the door way of the kitchen and went back to work. Adriana giggled and looked at Cathleen.

"I know, I know," Cathleen replied and went back to work. She checked the corn beef in the oven and helped Adriana finish the potatoes.

"Smells like home, only better!" Murphy laughed as Connor changed the channel.

"Hey! Turn that back!" Murphy yelled, like a small child.

"You boys play nice now," Cathleen said from the kitchen in a motherly tone.

"Aye," Murphy replied, she brought him another beer and answered the door when someone knocked.

"Evening Da," Cathleen said and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Evening everyone," He replied and waved to Adriana in the kitchen. He sat down with the boys and looked at Connor.

"Did you tell her yet?"

"Of course he didn't! He's holding out!" Cathleen answered for him.

"She'll run away or get scared, what the fuck am I supposed to do!?" Connor yelled in a hushed tone. "You tell her."

"Me? Bullshit I will," Cathleen answered. "She's your girlfriend."

"She's your best friend," Connor snapped back.

"You knocked her up!" Cathleen shot back in a whisper.

"I-I…well you…" Cathleen laughed as Connor ran out of comebacks. Murphy looked back and forth at the two.

"Kind of reminds me of ma," Murphy muttered to Da.

"She's Irish," Da replied.

"Just fucking tell her already!" Cathleen nagged.

"Now you know why I left your mother!" Da chirped in and laughed. Cathleen looked at him.

"He's your son, you do it," Cathleen said and left the living room.

Adriana walked out as Cathleen walked in.

"Dinner's almost done, maybe about ten or fifteen minutes," She said to the silent living room.

"Ady, I have to tell you something." Adriana's stomach dropped in a split second.

"CATHLEEN!!" She screamed and ran into the kitchen. Cathleen ushered her out into the living room and sat her next to Murphy.

"Just listen to him," Cathleen said and looked at her friend, distress was written on her face.

"Ady, what I'm going to tell you might cause you a bunch of problems, but…"

"They're the Saints, hun." Cathleen said and left the living room. Adriana scooted away from Murphy and hugged the arm of the couch. Cathleen walked out with drinks.

"There's no alcohol in this one, Adriana so you're gonna have to suffer with reality for a bit." Cathleen said and downed a shot. She popped open beer bottles for the boys and Da.

"You said it yourself that they were the best things to happen to Boston, own up to it." Cathleen said and looked at her friend. "Trust me, if they had wanted to kill you they would have."

"Like that comforts me!" Adriana retorted.

"No innocent blood. No women, no children. It's a rule of conduct, just evil men." Da said and walked over to Adriana. Cathleen scooted on Murphy's lap.

"Dear, you're a kind soul with a clear heart; I would more than welcome you to the family." Adriana looked around the room. Connor was pale as snow and wasn't even looking at her.

"How long did you know?" She asked Cathleen.

"Eh, well I and Murphy have been dating for two years or so, so two years." Cathleen answered her.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!" Adriana accused.

"It's a loyalty issue. Speaking of which," Cathleen rushed into the kitchen towing Murphy and Da with her.

"They have to talk this out themselves. Both of you set the table while I plate this stuff." Cathleen closed the shutters over the kitchen bar, closing off the kitchen and living room.

"He's scared to death," Murphy muttered to Cathleen.

"Trust me, she's taking this better than anyone," She reassured him. Adriana and Connor walked into the kitchen.

"We talked for a little bit, and we decided we're getting married at the beginning of the year." Adriana said and ran over to Cathleen. The two girls squealed happily.

"This is a happier day than when gas went down below three dollars!" The girls laughed.

"Come on, we got food now." Cathleen said and carried the plates of food over to the small table.

Cathleen grabbed her green notebook off the counter and started flipping through it.

"Ok, so we have three weeks until we have to leave for Ireland. Da, I called Ma and she flipped a lid, but you can go. Your cousin Cory, Aunt Sissy's son is picking us up at the Dublin Airport." Cathleen said and carefully checked everything.

"Adler from the plant knows that we're taking off for Ireland, so we have off until the 7th of January," Murphy said and took a swig of beer.

"You and me have to get meds refilled and put them in our suitcases," Cathleen mentioned to Adriana.

"When do you want the wedding, dear?" Da asked, as Cathleen continued to go a mile a minute.

"We were thinking Ireland?" Adriana said and looked at Connor happily.

"Damn right! A traditional Irish wedding!" Murphy yelled and toasted his brother.

"Banba, are you visiting your parents?" Cathleen dropped her fork. She had thought about it, but she didn't know.

"I got hold of my mother a few days ago, they moved to Maynooth, just north of Corbally. They might come to Dublin, the night we fly in. Michael and Tanner are more than excited." Cathleen muttered, attempting to sound happy.

"What?" Murphy asked.

"Nothing, it's nothing," She replied and looked down at her plate.

"Her Da, and I were in the same cell together for two years. Her brothers passed through the gates, their fair share. Her ma left with her brothers when they lost their visas. She was brought her when she was 5 and adopted by Doc when she was 8." Maedoc tried to explain.

"I just don't want you guys to fly off the cuff with my brothers. Doc's told you about them a lot though, but they haven't killed anyone, only attempted." Cathleen muttered trying not to cry. "They're good men though. Best brothers I could ever ask for."

Murphy lifted Cathleen's head.

"Family is family. You're my family, so they're my family. Family stays together and remains loyal. They'd kill for you and so would we." Murphy whispered to her and kissed her cheek.

"Speaking of which, boys, we have an agenda this evening." Da said and wiped his mouth.
"Da! No business at the table!" Cathleen said and slapped his hand.

"Sorry, dear." He apologized. They finished their meal in peace, forks and knives quietly clinking on the plates.

"That was excellent!" Da exclaimed after his plate was cleared.

"Thanks, babe," Murphy said and kissed Cathleen's cheek.

"Love you, Ady," Connor whispered and pecked Adriana's cheek. She blushed deeply.

"Ok, guys take business into the living room and we'll clean up." Cathleen said and started clearing the table. The boys walked out into the living room and started plotting.

"Da, if you want to stop by afterwards, I'll have some leftovers wrapped up." Cathleen said from the kitchen.

"Oh, that's great, thank you." Da yelled back. "Ok boys, near the Waterhouse by the docks, a man by the name of Jahn Micoviski is waiting for a drug pick up from Seamus O'Farley."

They heard a plate crash to the floor in the kitchen. "Sorry, sorry," Cathleen said and cleaned up the mess. They looked at each other, but continued to plan.

"Seamus is the ticket in. He sells drugs to any one, any age."

"He hasn't dabbled in drugs for six years; he's into bigger things now." Cathleen said and brought out coffee.

"What do you mean?" Murphy asked.

"What do you think? Ever since the Russians and the Italians started working together against the Irish and freelance Russians, everything's gotten fucked. Most people go to Don Giuseppe Giordano. He lives in New York, but keeps a place in north Boston. His brother watches stuff around here." Cathleen rattled off information. "Getting O'Farley doesn't work anymore, he's fallen through every crack in the system, plus since his last drug deal went south, he hasn't worked with Micoviski. Micoviski is a package boy anyway; best bet is to follow him, after the pick up." She finished and walked away.

"God I love her," Murphy muttered and sighed as he drank his coffee.

"See me boys, that's what observations get you. Take out Micoviski and any of his men left." Da said. "We better get going; they're bound to be leaving anytime soon."

The girls waved from the kitchen and watched as they boys walked away.

"They'll be fine, they always are." Cathleen said.

"I know that,"

"I wasn't trying to reassure you," She replied and dried the dishes.