Dani's POV:

"Crap, that was awful close. Good catch, Conn." Murphy whispered, making the recliner creak as he moved.

"Shh." I shushed him, taking my hand off Connor's shoulder and placing it in my lap.

"Mommy, is Dee okay?" I heard my other daughter's voice from the hallway. "Did she get a boo-boo?"

"No, honey. She's alright. Your daddy caught her in time." I got up from the couch and walked toward my oldest child. Isabella stepped into the dimly lit living room, holding her stuffed green rabbit, Clover.

"I'm thirsty, Mama. Can I have a drink?" She asked me, looking up with those clear blue eyes of hers.

"Yes, you can have some water. But, then you gotta go to bed so you can be ready for school tomorrow." I bent down and lifted up my daughter to carry her to the kitchen. Glancing over at the couch, I saw Connor slowly stand up with Delilah in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. He nodded his head to me, silently communicating that he'd put her in bed while I took care of Isabella. "The girls' room is down the hall, at the first door on your right." I pointed down the hallway with my finger. The Irishman nodded again in thanks and walked in that direction, walking carefully so he wouldn't jostle the little girl he was holding.

For some reason, my heart swelled with joy at the sight of Connor cradling our child with the utmost care. I was mainly thankful that he saved her from hitting her head and possibly having to get stitches. The last thing I needed right then was a trip to the emergency room…

As I set Izzy down near the fridge, I heard Murphy move around more in the recliner, pushing down the lever on the side to pop up the footrest.

I got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with clean water from the filter built into the steel refrigerator. Izzy took the glass into her small hands and gulped down all the water. For some strange reason, I was reminded of a memory from six years ago, of a certain morning I mostly wanted to forget…

Me sitting on Connor and Murphy's tattered sofa in their apartment, both of them clad in worn-out bathrobes… Murphy handing me a glass of water to heal my dry throat and Connor never taking his worried eyes off of me…

"I'm done, Mommy." Izzy yawned at me, holding her glass up for me to take it. I set it by the sink to deal with it later.

"Alright, off to bed with you." I took her hand and led her to her room. When we passed the den, I saw Connor sitting back on the couch, untying his boots. Murphy lay stretched out on the recliner, his arms positioned under his head for a pillow.

"Night- night, Daddy." Izzy turned her head and waved at her father. I didn't turn to look at him, but I heard him chuckle in an amused way. We were definitely going to talk here in a minute…

Izzy climbed into her bed quietly, holding Clover tightly in her arms. "Goodnight, baby. Sweet dreams." I smiled, giving her a quick Eskimo kiss, making her giggle.

"Goodnight, Mommy." She yawned again and closed her eyes.

I looked over at Dee for a brief moment to make sure she was really asleep. The green blanket that usually lay at the foot of her bed was covering her up to the shoulders. From the serene look on her face, I knew she wouldn't wake up until morning. After giving her a kiss on the forehead, I walked out of the room and left the door cracked open.

I made it back to the living room to find Murphy snoring softly on the recliner. Connor was leaning forward on the sofa, twiddling his fingers together. He looked up at me as my shadow neared his feet. "I guess we oughta have a talk, hm?" He asked me, his soft gruff voice sending a shiver down my spine.

"Yeah…we need to talk about some things, Connor. Come in the kitchen with me. I have to make the girls lunch for tomorrow." I nodded at him, beckoning for my former flame to follow me. His footsteps sounded behind me as I made it to the fridge and started to pull the ingredients I needed to make ham-and-cheese sandwiches.

As I gathered the bread and condiments together, I saw Connor lean onto the counter in front of me, standing on the side that included the dining room. I was standing on the kitchen side, laying out the wheat bread and lunch meat within my reach. Concentrating on my task, I waited for him to say something.

"Danielle…" He started, sighing out my name as if it took great effort for him to say it. "If there is anythin' else I need to know about…ya better tell me right now, girl."

"Connor, now is not the time or place for us to get into one of our heated arguments." I didn't look at him as I spread mayonnaise onto the bread slices. "I've told you everything I needed to last night at the bar. There's nothing else that I feel like you need to know right this very second. I'll tell you everything else when I'm ready."

"Fine. Whatever ya want. Its yer house we're stayin' in, so whatever ya say goes." He drummed his fingers onto the polished counter. "What do ya think about all this shit with Father McKinney?"

"I think it's horrible. I actually met with him a few times after…after you and Murphy left. I confessed to him that I was pregnant with twins, but I wasn't married." I paused and let out a breath of air, feeling irritated. "God, I was nothing but a blubbering mess." Placing the ham slices onto the bread, I did my best to blink back the ridiculous oncoming tears.

As I opened the silverware drawer with my hand, I felt Connor gently take hold of my other hand. I still refused to look at him, but I could feel the burning blue of his eyes on my face. "Danielle, ya gotta know that I didn't want to leave ya behind. But…when I saw ya pass out in the courthouse after seein' what we did to Pappa Joe, I just knew that you'd been through enough hell because o' me."

"That's not the first time you've seen me faint before. And it was because I was sick that it happened." I tried to pull my hand out of his tender grasp, but to no avail. I managed to pull a knife out of the silverware drawer to cut the sandwiches in halves. "Besides, I really don't want to reminisce about you having to rescue me again." At last, I tugged my hand free and held the paper towel down so I could slice the bread into pieces small enough for the girls to eat.

After I finished that task, I took some Ziploc bags out of another drawer and placed the sandwiches inside them so they would stay fresh for the girls' lunchtime at school. I heard Connor step around the counter, basically feeling his strong presence even closer to me. "I am proud o' ya, Danielle. Fer raisin' those two beautiful lil' ones. They're both gonna have boys linin' up at the door fer their hands." I heard him chuckle before I finally had the will to look right at him.

Connor MacManus…the stupid Irishman who managed to irritate the hell out of me.

Who managed to love me despite my convictions that I was no longer worth loving. He taught me that just because I wasn't a virgin anymore, it didn't mean that I was a useless slut.

Connor Liam MacManus, the man of my dreams to this day…

Not responding to his comment, I walked straight to the sink to wash off the knife I had used to cut the sandwiches. And yet, the man continued to talk. "Ya look tired." His voice was grave as he said that.

"I've been tired for the past six years. What did you expect?" I began scrubbing food scraps off the knife viciously with a rag growing more flustered with each word I was saying to him. Before I could think about it, I felt the sharp blade pierce my palm. "Ah, shit!" I half-whispered, trying my best not to shout.

"Dani!" I felt Connor's hands on my shoulders instantly, turning me around to see the damage. "Oh…you're gonna be alright. Where do ya keep yer medicine?"

I pointed to the medicine cabinet and grabbed another clean rag to quell the bleeding. Scarlet liquid gushed from the long cut that ran all the way across my palm. "There's a box of bandages and gauze somewhere in there."

He found both easily, walking back to me as I held my hand under the faucet of cool water. "Here." His voice was soothing as he took my wet hand and dabbed it with a dry washcloth. "Its so the bandage will stick." Connor pulled a small Band-Aid out of its box and carefully set it over the cut, covering it entirely. Then, he unrolled a long piece of gauze material from its roll and began wrapping it around my hand. "Murph and I used to get cut pretty bad on the sheep farm. That's why I know how to do this."

"Yeah, Murphy wrote that you were on a farm in Ireland." I couldn't stop the yawn that overwhelmed the end of my sentence.

"I suppose lil' Dani needs to get to bed?" He held my bandaged hand very gently, almost as if it were made of glass.

"You're right. I need to get some sleep. I've had a hell of a day." I felt Connor pull me away from the sink slowly and tug me along away from the kitchen. "You don't need to escort me to my room. I'll make it there unharmed." I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips.

"I know. But its only me instinct to make sure the people I care about are kept safe." I saw his eyes light up with that familiar glint, which I recognized only when he would look at me…

"Well, as long as you don't suddenly sweep me off my feet and carry me there, then we'll have ended this night on a good note." We walked through the darkness of the hallway to my bedroom.

"Careful, lass. Ya don't wanna tempt me to do just that." I could hear the smirk in his tone.

At last, we made it to my bedroom door, standing inches away from one another with Connor still holding my injured hand. I could almost see his eyes stare at me in the blackness…and the strange comfort that he was near me rippled through my veins. "Thank you for helping me." I whispered, hanging my head.

"No. I oughta thank you, sweet Danielle." His fingertips caressed my knuckles as he cradled my small hand in his. "Fer lettin' us stay here in yer house. Ye truly are an angel."

I was at a loss for words. His other hand warmly rested on my cheek, and I couldn't find the sense to pull away.

Don't fight it. Its pointless. You know you still want him. No, you love him. You always have…

The nagging voice in my head reminded me of Eunice's words. I didn't want to push Connor away again. After all, who knew how much time we had left in this world?

Before I could even comprehend an answer, I felt his warm breath fan my face, and I made no move to stop him.

Then, his lips were on mine… My heart began racing as I placed both of my hands on his chest, feeling the familiar fabric of his gray shirt. I kissed him back, somewhat reluctantly, then it became more casual, like I'd been waiting for this all along.

And to be truthful…I had been.

Connor's lips were slow on mine, not pushing me to go any further. He wanted me to be comfortable with this reprisal of our relationship…

Finally, I couldn't keep up with it anymore and I pulled away from him, still keeping my fingers tangled in the front of his shirt.

The man before me didn't say anything as he slowly raised his hand off my cheek, but still allowed his fingertips to stroke it. "Dani…I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay. You didn't frighten me. I…I just need to think about this." I opened my bedroom door, stepping across the threshold. Connor stood on the other side as if there were an invisible line separating us.

"Ya know I'd never make ye rush into anythin'. I…How about we just take it a day at a time, let the girls get used to me." Connor sounded nervous, which was strange considering his personality.

"Okay, that's fine." I began to shut the door, but not before I felt him take ahold of my bandaged hand again. He held it to his lips and kissed my knuckle.

"I genuinely thank ye, Danielle Kristina Smecker, fer lettin' us stay in yer lovely home." He smiled my favorite dimpled grin of his as he released my hand and did a little bow before me as if I were a royal queen.

"You're very welcome, Connor Liam MacManus." I smiled myself, performing a curtsy in front of him. Shaking his head, he beamed mischieviously at me again and walked away back into the den.

As I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it and pressed my hands to my heart, letting the joy, ecstasy and fear combine inside it.

To be in love, or not to be in love: That is the question.

.

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Connor's POV:

Less than 24 hours after I had kissed my beloved Danielle for the first time in six years, Murphy and I stood hiding in one of the back rooms at the Bunker Hill tanning salon, where we would find Gorgeous George and figure out what he knew.

He finally came in and settled into the tanning booth, wearing nothing but a bright pink Speedo and singing some stupid tune I failed to recognize. Murph couldn't help but snicker next to me as we came closer to the gangster. I held one of my guns to his head where he lay while my brother leapt up and sat down right onto the lid of the tanning bed, trapping George underneath it. The man grunted under its weight, but I continued holding my gun to his temple.

"What a lovely singin' voice there, Georgie. We'd like ya to sing fer us. Can ya do that fer me?" I asked him in a calm voice before the anger inside me overwhelmed my tone. "Can ya do that fer me?!"

I tapped my gun onto the bottom of the tanning lid, signaling for Murphy to get off of it. We dragged George off the platform and pinned him against the nearby wall, each of us holding a gun to his hands.

"We want the name o' the shooter you motherfuckers used on that priest!" My brother growled fiercely.

"What priest?" George asked, gullibly. Before I could do anything, Murphy backhanded him across the face.

"His fuckin' name!" Murphy nearly shouted.

"I don't know who it is!" The gangster cried out in desperation.

"That's fucking bullshit!" Romeo pointed out behind us. Murphy and I cocked our guns, ready to crucify George with bullets.

"It's the truth! Concezio didn't tell nobody what he was doing 'cause he knew nobody would've okayed it. The shooter's an independent contractor. That's all I fucking know!"

Getting angry at the thought of this shooter coming anywhere near Dani and the girls, I grabbed the gold chain of George's necklace and pulled it tightly around his throat. "Where the fuck is Yakavetta hidin'?"

The man choked against my grip as he answered. "Prudential Building. F-fortieth floor! Jesus Christ!"

Then, his cell phone began to ring. Romeo grabbed it off the table and threw it at Murphy. My brother caught it in his hand and read the text message on the screen. "Ya meetin' someone tonight?"

I let go of George's necklace so he could answer clearly. "Yakavetta's racket chiefs. Street guys. Your kind of guys." Murphy handed me the phone so I could read the message for myself. "You could take a real bite out of crime here. And I can help you."

I smacked against his cheek, getting his attention. "What the fuck is that?" I held the small screen to George's face so he could read it.

"Nobody forgot what you guys did to us last time! Everybody's hiding indoors. They give out the location an hour before." He informed us, his eyes bulging with fear.

"My uncle's place is closed tonight. And I got the key." Romeo told us, a sinister tone to his voice.

I slapped my hand against George's face again. "How's Mexican work fer you, George? Would ya like that?"

"Doesn't matter to me. I think I just shit my European-cut Speedos. You guys are even worse than those two bitches from the other salon."

That statement caught me off guard. "Women? What the hell are ya talkin' about?"

"Yesterday, a redhead cop and a real cute brunette practically attacked me outta nowhere, asking me about Yakavetta and all that shit."

"The brunette, what'd she look like?" Murphy asked him his eyes narrowing with interest.

"She wasn't a cop from what I could see, but she had a small gun on her. But, she was real pretty, you know? From looking at her, you can't even tell she'd even be involved with interrogating gangsters."

"Ah, shit! I knew this Dani chick was onto us, asking questions!" Romeo almost yelled in disbelief.

I had no words to say. Only some thoughts jumbled around inside my mind...

Damn it, Danielle. You've done it again.