A/N: Warning, there is religious debate in this chapter. If you are particularly sensitive to that sort of thing, please skip past it. The views expressed here are not necessarily my own.

"And when it rains,
Will you always find an escape?
Just running away,
From all of the ones who love you,
From everything.
You made yourself a bed
At the bottom of the blackest hole (blackest hole)
And you'll sleep 'til May
And you'll say that you don't want to see the sun anymore"

~When It Rains - Paramore~

Connor heard the crash from the kitchen, and followed the noise to find Murphy holding his bleeding knuckles while one of the cabinet doors stood bashed in two. Connor sighed. "Ye gotta stop doin' that Murph."

He sat down heavily in one of their kitchen chairs. "Fuck Connor. Doesn't it bother ye?"

"Aye, it bothers me greatly." Connor replied lightly, keeping his anger in check. "But until we get a description of those fuckers, we can't do a thing."

"Which is the fuckin' problem." Murphy looked across the table to his twin. "This demands bloody bloody justice brothar."

"Aye, that it does. We'll find them, track the bastards down, and take them out like the scumbags they are." Connor looked back at Murphy, unflinching in his decision, just as he knew that Murphy would stand by it unwaveringly.

Murphy nodded slowly. "I need a fuckin' drink." He got up and went to the fridge.

"A-fuckin'-men." Connor chuckled. "I'll check on Laura first though. She's havin' a hard time of it."

"Doubt ye'd do much better if ye went through what she did though." Murphy pointed out, taking a swig from his beer. "We should've fuckin' been there Connor."

Connor paused in the doorway. "I know Murphy. But sayin' that won't change that we weren't. S'in the past now. Let's just make sure this never happens ta her, or anyone else, ever again."

Murphy nodded as Connor left. "Amen."

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

Connor softly padded over to the guest bedroom, quietly opening the door to look in at the girl who was supposed to be sleeping. For all accounts, it looked like Laura was sleeping – she had her back to the door, and wasn't moving except for the steady even breaths she was taking. Except, when he looked closer, Connor noticed that the breaths were neither steady nor even, and she was moving – she was shaking. She was crying.

"Oh, Laura…" He walked to the side of the bed, and sat down beside her, gently stroking her hair. The door closed on its own, leaving the two of them in semi-darkness. He noticed that she had changed into her pyjamas while he had been gone, and he sighed. She obviously intended to suffer in silence. Too stubborn, too much pride. "Laura, look at me." He directed, and was moderately surprised to see her roll onto her back to look up at him, wincing from the pressure on her bruise rib. Connor could feel his heart wretch as tears rolled silently down her cheeks. "No love, don't cry." He gently brushed the tears away with a finger, smiling down at her. "It's not worth your tears." He received a weak smile, and was relieved to see no new tears falling.

Neither of them spoke for a while, Laura unmoving as Connor stared into her eyes, moving his fingers through her hair. She slowly reached a hand out to touch his leg, to make sure he was really there, to make sure he was actually real. "C-Conn-or?"

"Aye?" The frailty in her voice almost made him wince.

"Why?" It was nearly inaudible, and for a moment Connor didn't think she had said anything at all. He sighed, and hoped she was talking about her attackers, and not him and his brother.

"I don't know Laura. But ye can't be frettin' over this for the rest of yer life, or ye'll be stuck here forever. Jus' remember – none o'this is yer fault." She nodded slightly, and he smiled again. "Here, ye should go ta sleep." He made to get up, and she grasped onto the fabric of his pants.

"Don't go. Please." Connor didn't know if it was her frightened eyes, or her almost desperate tone that made him stay, but he lay down beside her, shaking his head. "Alright Laura. But just for tonight. Relax, sleep now." Rolling back over, she closed her eyes, relaxing in his arms. Connor was struck at how oddly comfortable this position was for him. As Laura moved closer to him, he came to the conclusion that he was strangely alright with how things were turning out. A wave of exhaustion came over him, and Connor closed his eyes, quickly falling to sleep.

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

A half hour later, when his beer was long done, Murphy wasn't very surprised that Connor hadn't come back out of Laura's room. He just hoped that his twin was showing some common sense when it came to the traumatized girl. Turning off the lights, he headed to his room with a small smile on his face, and looked wistfully at the empty room before falling asleep.

Early the next morning, Connor was annoyed to find himself being shaken awake by a smug Murphy.

"Thought ye were goin' ta just check on her?" He chuckled and Connor reached around to smack him.

"Fuck off Murphy." He growled, obviously wanting to go back to sleep.

Murphy poked his brother. "Can't. If ye go back ta sleep, and she wakes up, she'll fuckin' freak, and ye know it. She's too worked up fer this right now."

That made Connor sit up rather abruptly, making Laura moan in her sleep. Both of the brothers froze, looking at the sleeping girl in something akin to terror. When she didn't wake, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before she wakes up." Murphy whispered, and Connor quietly slipped out of the bed, following his twin out of the room.

Connor went to the counter to grab himself a cup of coffee, and Murphy sat down at the table, allowing the companionable silence to stretch between them.

"Da called." Murphy said unexpectedly. "Wants me to go met him at the church."

Connor leant against the counter, looking at Murphy curiously. "Just you?"

"He knows about Laura." Murphy replied as a means for explanation with a shrug. "He agrees that she shouldn't be left alone."

Connor glared at his brother. "So why are ye going?"

Murphy snickered. "One, I was up first. Two, she trusts ye more."

"Ye don't have any proof that she trusts me more than ye." Connor replied stubbornly.

He laughed. "Conn, she fuckin' let you sleep in her bed last night. Given what she's been through, that's the proof – that's a lot of fuckin' trust." Connor simply glared in response, unable for once to come up with a logical counter-argument. "In any case, we still need ta know about those men. Fuck Connor, she actually listens ta ye, ye might be able ta get something useful out of her."

Connor sighed. "I guess. I don't like this splittin' up we've been doin' lately." The unspoken fear rested in the air between them; they were both aware that if one of them left alone, there was the chance that he'd never come back.

"Usually it's me doin' the worryin'." Murphy tried to joke just to break the tension. Connor snorted into his cup of coffee. "Fine, get yer ass outta here."

Murphy paused at the door. "I'll be back in a couple hours. Should we tell Smecker?"

"We'll track them down ourselves."

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

Laura awoke feeling fully rested, like a weight had been lifted from her mind. Stretching out on the bed, she was vaguely aware that she was missing something, or that something was missing, out of place. Running her hand under the sheets across the other half of the bed, she noticed that even though she hadn't been sleeping there, it was slightly warm. Almost as if someone had slept there the night before, and had only just gotten up. The memory hit her, and she coloured bright red in embarrassment, burying her face in her hands. He's going to think I'm a desperate freak! Taking a few deep breaths, she looked around the room. Nothing had really changed, though there was a black duffle bag resting in the corner near the door where there hadn't been one before.

But what was worse was the quiet, coming in from all sides and embracing her like a scene from some eerie horror movie. The apartment was silent. Laura could hear the ticking of the clock from the kitchen, and muted noises from traffic outside her window. She sighed. Though she was used to being left to her own devices, she didn't like the idea that she was being left behind intentionally, especially in a place that was in no way hers. It was the sound of a chair leg scraping across tile floor that caught her attention – either there was someone still here, or someone had broken in. Laura shivered, and forced herself to remain calm through the onslaught of her memories. Gathering courage that she didn't know that she possessed, Laura slid out of the bed, moved on soft feet to the door and looked out into the seemingly empty apartment.

There were definitely noises coming from the kitchen, that much she could tell. The noises didn't sound too menacing, in fact, it sounded more like someone drinking something while reading off of papers. Curious, she peered around the corner of the door to look into the room, and was greeted with the sight of Connor sitting at the kitchen table, wearing only a pair of grey sweat pants, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. He hadn't noticed her arrival yet, for which she was glad as she got the rare chance to actually look at him. Her eyes drifted up from his pants, hidden under table, to his bare torso, with visible muscles that Laura hadn't ever noticed before, to his lean jaw, up to his dark blue eyes and short dirty blond hair. The problem with the MacManus brothers was that they were constantly in motion, never just staying in one place. Even at the sitting bar, there really wasn't a chance to see them; there was always something that was happening where they were the center of attention.

Then he looked up, and she was frozen, looking into those same dark eyes that captivated her so. And he smiled at her, so she blushed, muttering a quiet "good morning".

Connor was bemused by Laura's odd behaviour, but said nothing of it, pushing it to the back of his mind for later contemplation. "Good mornin'. Come sit down Laura." He watched her intently as she came into the kitchen, acting very much like a skittish animal. "Would you like some coffee?" He asked as she sat in the chair across from him.

"No, thank you." She whispered, looking over at the window by the kitchen sink, drawing her legs up so she could sit cross-legged on the chair.

They lapsed into silence for a moment, until Connor broke the silence. "Ye seem ta be havin' trouble sleepin'."

"Uh huh." Laura muttered, looking at her hands folded in her lap.

"Is tha' somethin' new?" He leant over the table to try and catch her eye.

She looked up for a second, then right back down at her hands. "No. Not really. I - I've had bad dreams ever - ever since I was a girl." She played with her fingernails.

Connor leant back in his chair. "What are they about?"

"I, uh, I'd rather not talk about it."

Connor raised an eyebrow. That's unusual. She never directly tells ye that she doesn't want ta talk about something. Outwardly, he nodded. "Alright, fine enough." She seemed releaved. He cleared his throat. "Laura…" Her head snapped back around to look at him, and he paused, considering what he would say. "Laura, we need ta know anythin' ye know about any of those men, names, how they looked, anythin'."

Laura swallowed nervously. "Uh, well, they didn't speak English, except for when they were talking to me. Other than that, I don't think I can help you, there were so many of them, they always wore black suits, one of them had glasses, another had a fedora… it's not much to go from." She shrugged, an apologetic expression her face.

"That's alright. D'ye know what they were speakin' when they weren't talkin' ta ye?" Connor leaned forward, curious. A language would give them a place to start looking.

She blinked. "I'm not entirely sure. It was… kinda like French, and kinda like Spanish, but not." Laura shrugged. "I don't really know, they were always talking really really fast, and half the time I, uh, couldn't focus on what they were saying anyway."

Connor sighed, leaning back in his chair. Another dead end. "Ah well Laura. Ye did what ye could. Perhaps Murphy can get some more information."

"Is he still sleeping?" She looked around as if to see him appear from behind the couch or through a door.

"Nah, he went out a bit earlier."

Laura glared at Connor. "Is it the same 'out' as yesterday?"

Connor laughed sheepishly. "Just ta church."

She raised an eyebrow. "Where did you go yesterday Connor?"

"Uh… jus' ta get a few things."

"May I ask what sort of things?" She posed drily.

He cleared his throat uneasily. "Jus' some clothes and such, fer ye."

"From my apartment?" Connor couldn't tell exactly what she felt from the question, but had a feeling that he was getting into something bad.

"Aye, from yer apartment."

She left the room without another word. He heard the click of the door to the guest bedroom shutting quietly, and again there was silence in the apartment. Connor sat, looking at the space where she had just been, then down into his almost empty coffee cup. What the hell? He quickly got up and followed behind Laura, hearing nothing from inside the bedroom. Cracking the door open slightly, he peered inside, and was horrified to find that there was no one inside the room either. Forcing himself to remain rational, he crept into the room, looking around to see if perhaps Laura had hidden herself in a corner, or something like that. He soon found that the door to the balcony was slightly ajar, and he spotted her foot while the rest of her remained out of view. Letting out a breath he hadn't been aware that he had been holding, Connor walked to the glass door, opening it to allow himself to get outside.

She was standing with her back to him, looking out over South Boston. He leant against the door frame, and watched her for a moment. "Laura..." He paused, decided to forgo the accusations for the time being, deciding to reason with her instead. "What the fuck was that about then?"

"You weren't supposed to go there. You weren't supposed to see that." She said bitterly, looking down at the cars speeding past on the street below.

"Not seein' it wouldn't change that it has happened." He pointed out, and she growled.

"I could pretend that it didn't." She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning further out from the balcony.

"Pretending won't change reality love." Connor said softly, moving slightly closer to her.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't want to change it, I just want to say that it isn't so. That it never happened."

He laughed. "That doesn't usually work either. Most times what we wish to ignore the most comes back ta bite us."

"Oh, as if you would know." She spat out bitterly, angrily brushing her hair out of her face.

"Laura, don't make assumptions on things ye clearly don't understand." Connor replied coldly, face becoming stony. He saw her shiver, and decided to change his tactic. "Look, Laura, ye told us what happened ta ye, so why are ye so upset that we went to see yer apartment?"

"Because... I... It's – it's nothing, okay? Nevermind." She crushed her indecision with a brick wall, not giving Connor anything further to work with.

He moved to stand behind her. "Ye can't pretend it didn't happen by not lettin' us see yer apartment – we know ye too well, and this person isn't ye."

Laura shook her head. "It's – it's not that. If... if you and Murphy had seen it, well, then... now it's... real." She hung her head, and her hair fell around her like a curtain, blocking her from Connor's sight.

He stared at her, at a loss for words for a moment. Clearing his throat, Connor said, "It was real before hand Laura, whether or not ye decided to believe it was."

"Yeah yeah, and it's still all my fault too." She muttered under her breath, hoping that he wouldn't catch what she had said.

But he was standing too close to have missed it. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. "Wait a fuckin' minute! What the fuck is that about?! Ye can't be tellin' me that yer actually blaming yerself fer this Laura!"

"What else I am supposed to do?!" She glared at up at him, staring him down.

Frustrated, he rubbed his face. "Laura, they fuckin' tortured ye. That's not yer fuckin' fault!"

She shook her head. "You don't understand Connor."

"Then why don't ye fuckin' explain it ta me?" He glared at her, speaking tersely.

She sighed. "L-listen. They… I didn't exactly tell you everything. Not quite. W-while they were actually talking to me instead of just creeping me out, they'd say a lot, more than I told you. Things like how… how this was caused because…" Laura stopped, taking in a shaky breath. "Caused because I had started a fight when I shouldn't have. And that sometimes those people have connections to very powerful members of The Family."

"The Family?" Connor paused to mull over her new information. "Wait, started a fight? What's this now? Ye never start fights."

Laura coughed, turning slightly red. "Well, there actually were a few…"

"What d'ye mean, a few? Ye haven't fought since I've known ye." She looked down at the grating beneath her feet. Connor couldn't quiet hear the name that she muttered, sounding rather embarrassed. "I can't hear ye Laura. What fight?"

"I said, my family wasn't the nicest to be coming from. There's a lot of people who'd want to use to me to cause them pain. But... none of those fights were ones that I started. The only one I had started was… a month ago…"

"With who? And what's yer family got ta do with this?" The deeper he dug, the more convoluted the story became. Connor was beginning to get the feeling that, for once, both he and his brother were in over their heads.

Again, Laura turned red, and ducked her head, muttering her response towards the ground. Connor rolled his eyes. "Laura, I'm up here. Talk ta me, not ta the floor. Now, who?"

Hazel eyes met blue, and she swallowed nervously, afraid of the reaction her response would yield her. "Arlene. I started a fight a month ago with Arlene."

Connor cleared his throat, but wasn't sure what to say. "Look, are ye sure she's the only possibility? I... I know that ye and her never really got along Laura, an' I know she wasn't the best person..."

"Of course I don't know Connor! But you asked me for what I thought, so there you go!" Her yell took him aback, he wasn't used to Laura being quite so abrupt. He managed to clue back into what she was saying in time to hear her mutter, "typical males..."

"And what's that supposed ta mean?" He asked sharply, making Laura look up suddenly.

"That you'd much rather think with you prick instead of your head you stupid fucker." She shot back, fixing him with a fierce glare.

"Oh cut the self righteous feminism crap!" He crossed his arms, matching her glare, before adding, "I got enough of that with fuckin' Rosie."

Laura giggled. "Still haven't recovered from trying to make friends Conn?"

The look he gave her clearly expressed his opinion on her comment. "Ye still haven't explained what yer family has ta do with all this." He pointed out, trying to change the subject.

She shrugged. "Well, like I said, it could be about my family, I'm not sure at this point. I don't know all of my father's... contacts, especially not as of late. I could be totally off though, it could be about something totally different."

"What's yer father do? Ye've never told us." He leant back against the balcony railing, pleased to have narrowly escaped another argument. Connor noticed that Laura seemed a bit reluctant to respond to his question, making more questions pop up in his mind.

"He, uh, is in the field of ... well, as he put it, 'trading and acquisitions'."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Connor regarded her critically as she fidgeted with her fingernails.

"Uh, well, he never really told us." She looked away over the city again.

Ye know, don't ye? What are ye protectin'? Who are ye protectin'? Connor decided that now was not the time to voice his suspicions. "Well, yer safe now. Like I told ye, the Saints'll protect ye." He asserted, and she scoffed.

"Your romanticised view on reality is quiet quaint Connor, but a religion based around an absent God can't protect anyone." Laura pushed past him to get inside again.

Connor followed her with a frown on his face. "And what makes ye think he's absent?"

"If your God loves the way it is claimed that He does, then why is there so much suffering? W-why..." She stopped for a moment, rubbing at her watering eyes as she pressed on. "Why do things like this happen to people who have done no ill?"

"Why is it that yer so good at findin' questions so difficult ta answer Laura?" He smiled wanly at her.

She smiled slightly. "M-must be a gift."

"Aye, and some gift it is." Connor grinned at her, and remembered an observation from a while ago. "Laura, a good friend of mine once said, 'the Lord works in mysterious ways', and he was right. Fer all of the terrible things that've happened ta ye, can't ye find at least one good thing that's come of it?" He pleaded, watching her eyes.

Laura sat down on the bed, deep in thought. "I... I guess..." She finally said, after a long moment of silence.

"Without these terrible times that we all have ta live through, we wouldn't know how good our lives truly are. Trust me when I say Laura, that the Saints will protect ye, from here forward."

"But Connor, there are no saints anymore!" She cried, looking for him to understand. "There are no saints, no messiahs, no more holy men. In their place are psychopaths claiming that they do their own Gods good work, committing terrible crimes and killing innocents in their way to an promised afterlife. This world is godless, for all the different gods that there seem to be! Your God is absent – all of those saints you hear of, they're all from ages long past. We have been abandoned, and must fend for ourselves. That is the way of this world."

He sighed. "If my view is too romantic, then yers is too dreary Laura." Connor moved to sit beside her. "I'm not askin' ye fer much. I just want ye ta trust me. Can ye do that?"

"Of course Connor." Her instantaneous reply was comforting for him to hear.

"Then trust that when I say that ye'll be protected, that ye will." His smile was warm, and she unwilling smiled back at him.

"All... alright. But only because you asked."

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

The conversation had been left after that, Laura asking for Connor to leave so that she could change. Instead of looking for breakfast afterwards however, she became interested in the morning news while Connor sat in the kitchen, looking woe-begotten at a half finished beer. It was then that the phone rang, a shrill noise that made Laura look up. Connor ignored it, staring somewhat vacantly at the beer in front of him. It rang again, and still Connor made no attempt to retrieve it from his coat pocket. Laura shrugged, and turned back to watch the entertainment report. On the third ring, Connor sighed, picking up the phone.

"Aye?" A pause, and Connor spoke again. "Aye, shouldn't be too hard. I got some of the information, but there's more here than we're being told again."

Laura listened intently to the conversation in the kitchen, straining to hear what Connor was saying, unable to hear who was on the other end of the line.

"Ye want us ta go ta the diner? As we are?" The question was somewhat sceptical. Laura listened to the pause, very much wanting to know the whole conversation. "Oh fuck ye Murphy!" Connor angrily shut off the phone, slamming it down on the table. Laura walked to the kitchen door, and saw the scowl on his face. "Fuckin' dress..."

"What?" Laura looked at him, confused.

"Eh? Oh, Laura." Connor smiled slightly. "Don't worry about it. Murphy's jus' bein' an idiot. Da and him are at the diner, we're headed down there now."

"I don't want to go." She turned to go back into the living room.

"What? Why not?" He stood up, following her as she left the room.

"Just... don't want to." She stood midway between the couch and the door to the guest bedroom, looking lost.

"Laura..." He gently touched her shoulder. "Ye can't hide away here forever."

"And why's that?" She demanded.

Connor smiled at her arbitrary argument, seeing his friend again. "Because the world won't be waiting fer ye ta catch back up."

With that assertion, she wilted, shoulders drooping, head dropping to her chest. "I know..." She whispered. "But I just wish it'd slow down for a just a bit."

"Well, I can't promise ye that, but I can try ta help ye get back ta speed Laura. And this is part of it." He replied coaxingly. She nodded, and walked with him, hand in hand, down out of the apartment.

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

Murphy hung up the phone, still chuckling.

Il Duce tried to cover a smile. "Ye shouldn't tease yer brother so. Was the mention of lace and ruffles really necessary?"

Murphy grinned. "Aye Da, essential even."

He laughed, shaking his head at his sons' antics. Taking a sip of water, a thought occurred. "What d'ye suppose they've been doin'?"

"From what I've seen, she talks more ta him than ta me, so hopefully he's actually payin' attention ta her fer once." Murphy rolled his eyes, and his father raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so ye've seen it too." Il Duce smiled. "Good ta know at least one of my sons isn't completely oblivious."

Murphy sighed. "I don't see how he can miss it Da. I mean, I know it's Laura, but still. Usually he's the first ta pick up on these sorts of things."

The older man shrugged. "The world is most blind ta what they most need."

At the door, they could see Connor holding the door for Laura, and the two men in the booth exchanged a smile. Laura looked about in the dim lighting of the diner before Connor gently took her arm and guided her over to where his brother and father were already sitting. Seeing the remnants of the abuse that Laura had been through, Il Duce's expression grew grave, but he quickly covered his displeasure as her eyes fell on him. She slid into the booth first, sitting across from Il Duce while Connor sat across from Murphy. The two of them had now engaged in a glaring contest, making Laura laugh slightly.

"How've ye been lass?" Il Duce asked, concern colouring his tone.

"Uh, alright I suppose..." She didn't look away from the menu she had picked up. "I guess that one of them told you about what happened then?"

"Aye." He nodded.

"So there's no use in trying to deny it?" Her question was extremely bitter. She didn't wait for a reply as she pressed on, looking directly into Il Duce's eyes. "I'm not doing too well Da. But... well, there's not much I can do. Not yet at least. I'm pretty sure that I can deal with these two though."

His eyes widened in surprise. "On yer own? After what they did ta ye already?"

She shrugged, not noticing how intent the twins were on her conversation, again staring at the menu. "They're not going to be expecting repercussions for their actions. That's why all mobsters act like they do – they know that no one can touch them. Or at least, that's what they think. With the stories of the vendetta style shootings going on recently, and the surprising job that the police is managing to do about some of the higher ranking mafia members, well, I'm hoping that the idea of untouchable men is quickly disappearing."

A waitress appeared at the table to take their order, doing a double take at Laura's appearance, but saying nothing. "What'll it be then?" Her smile was more fake than the cheese that they used on the hamburgers.

"Um, some pancakes please? And some orange juice." Laura spoke hesitantly.

"Two regular breakfasts, and two black coffees." Connor spoke for his twin with a smile at the woman.

"One of those omelette sandwiches ye have here, an' a refill on my coffee if ye please." Once Il Duce had made his order, the waitress whisked away back to the kitchen without another word, leaving a semi-awkward silence at the table.

Il Duce was the first to speak. "Laura, have ye been ta a hospital ta be checked out yet?"

"N-no… but I don't like doctors." She looked away quickly. He looked to his sons, asking them with his eyes why she hadn't been taken to one.

"Haven't had the time yet Da." Connor defended. "It's only the second day since she got here."

His father shook his head. "It should've been yer first priority. Especially with what's happened."

"Well, I don't want to go!" Laura glared at all three of the MacManus'. "Unless I don't have a say in this either."

"Laura-" Murphy started to speak, but was cut off by a gesture from his father.

"No, let the lass speak. There are obviously things on her mind." His tone spelt out a clear warning to Laura, who swallowed nervously.

"Da, I'm sorry..." She sighed when Il Duce indicated that she should continue. "Look, I don't like doctors, or hospitals, and I'd really rather not have to go to one. If you're worried about infections or whatever, then I'll go to a drug store and pick up one of those tests. I... just... No hospitals, okay?"

Slowly, he nodded. "If that's yer wish lass, I don't suppose I can dissuade you from that. But no more of this nonsense of this bein' yer fight alone. I'll not be lettin' ye get yerself killed fer pride. Everyone needs help."

Thoroughly chastised, Laura nodded meekly. "Yes Da."

"Good." He nodded, pleased with her response. "An' here's the food." He smiled at the waitress returned with drinks and their breakfasts.

The meal was filling, good, but an extremely awkward event for Laura. As she stared down at her pancakes, she got the distinct feeling that she was being watched, but each time she'd look up, the men were all conveniently engaged elsewhere, either looking at something in the diner, or talking to each other. Finally, when she looked up, she saw Murphy staring at her.

"What?" She demanded, feeling rather annoyed. He chuckled, and held his hands up in appeasement. Laura glared at him, but finished cutting up the final pieces of her pancake, looking suspiciously at the three men around her while she chewed.

When all four of them were done, Laura sat back into the corner, looking at the men while Connor and Murphy spoke in hushed tones, and half sentences that she couldn't quite follow. Il Duce smiled at her. "So what d'ye feel like doin' now lass?"

Laura blinked, the question coming rather unexpectedly to her. "Uh, I don't know. M-maybe I could go to my work, and talk to my boss, if he's in." If he hasn't replaced me already.

Connor looked over. "S'good idea. Da, ye and Murphy were headed out, right?"

"Aye." Il Duce nodded. "Ye were headed ta the church?"

Connor nodded. "Laura, would ye want ta go with me? Yer works' on the way..."

Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "I have a feeling that even if I didn't want to go with you to the church, you'd go with me to my work anyway."

Connor smiled innocently at her, and Murphy chuckled. "Ye've got the idea of it Laura." Murphy joked, making her smile despite her annoyance.

"You two – three – are impossible!"

~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~

Out on the street, after Murphy and Il Duce had left them, Laura fell into step with Connor. It was bright, cheerful, warm summer day. But Laura found no enjoyment in it. She was looking at Connor, who seemed perfectly at ease, smoking a cigarette. After a few blocks of silence, he sighed, throwing away the cigarette butt, and turning to look at Laura. "Enough already, what?"

Had she been in a better mood, she probably would have laughed at his aggravation. "I don't like this sneaky... stuff that your family is doing. Whatever you're up to, just stop it. I can manage myself just fine that you." She scowled at him.

He snorted. "And ye fuckin' proved that well enough already love. Laura, hasn't it occurred ta ye that we might be trying ta help ye?"

Laura shook her head. "Doesn't matter! If you were really trying to help me, you'd tell me what it is that you guys keep sneaking around doing! I'm tired of you treating me like I'm naïve or something, especially with wh-what's happened."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Laura, we're not tellin' ye stuff for a couple of reasons – yer fuckin' reactions, and some of this stuff are things that ye really don't need ta know. Yer actin' like a child."

Her glare grew worse, possibly because she was aware that he might just be right. "I... I'd just rather that you could trust me." She said bitterly, looking down at the sidewalk beneath her feet.

"I do trust ye Laura, but some of the things... Some things that Murph and I do aren't fer ye ta know. When it comes ta this, we're just tryin' ta look out fer ye. Ye've already said no ta us goin' ta the police, and I know that yer not gonna like knowing that we will-"

"Hey!" She interjected, looking rather hurt.

"Because it's what's best fer ye." He continued as if she hadn't said anything. "We can't hope ta find these bastards without outside help. And ye know that ye can't kill them." Connor smiled sadly at her. "I asked ye ta trust me, and ye said ye did. Show me that ye do."