Author's Note: Yup, me again. I don't think I even give you guys time to let the last chapter settle before posting another one. Questions will start to be answered here. I hope it works. Thank you to all that read/review/fave/alert. It makes my day! And in turn makes me post way too quickly! Huge thanks to... "Megan", BlueMoonSaint, iforgiveyou, gurl3677, Conspicuously Shrouded, "Lucy", "Anonnie", "Alessandra", SilverMoonlit, Valerie E. Mackin, "Beth"... Best ever.

Disclaimer: I do not have any claim to Boondock Saints/All Saints Day/Connor/Murphy or any other character that appears in the film. That belongs to Troy Duffy who I am so jealous of his brilliance. You may recognize different pieces of this story from the second movie, but I did try to put my own little twist on it if you will. Any song titles or lyrics do not belong to me. Ashes & Wine is A Fine Frenzy. Think Twice is Eve6. Also, this little work is unbeta'd. All mistakes belong to good ol' me.

Chapter 10 (Think Twice)

"When all is said and done and dead... does he love you the way that I do? Breathing in lightning, tonight's for fighting... I feel the hurt so physical..."

I yanked the door open. "What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

Stefano leaned against the doorframe and gave me a smile. "That's all I get?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, of course not. You just surprised me, that's all." He pulled me into a hug and lightly brushed his lips over mine. I forced a smile and stepped back. "How'd you know I was here?" I asked, cringing internally as he made his way into the apartment.

"You weren't home and when you're not there you tend to be here," he replied. "Not used to it being so quiet."

"Ava's on a date and Aiden's asleep," I replied, my eyes darting towards Aiden's door that was still closed. "How about I call you when Ava gets back and I'll meet up with you when I leave?"

Stefano raised an eyebrow. "You alright? You seem a little… jumpy."

I shrugged. "Hyped on sugar, you know how Aiden is."

He gave a nod. "I would've expected you to be a little happier to see me considering I haven't been around much. Seems like you're trying to get rid of me."

"Stef, I am happy to see you, I just don't want you to be stuck here while I'm baby-sitting. I know that's not your thing."

Stefano walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "If you're here, I can handle it. And the kid's asleep, right?" he asked with a grin, leaning in.

"Wha' th' fuck es dis?"

Stefano glanced over his shoulder and I shut my eyes, wishing it was all a dream. When I opened my eyes, Stefano had his back to me and Connor was standing outside of Aiden's room, his hands clenched at his sides, his body tense with anger.

"Who the fuck are you?" Stefano asked.

I took a deep breath and moved in front of Stefano. "Alright, how about we all calm down for a minute?" I offered.

Stefano narrowed his eyes at me. "Thought you were alone watching Aiden."

"I never said that," I replied.

"But you conveniently left out that you had help from whoever the hell that is," he growled, pointing at Connor.

"Don' tal' ta 'er like tha'," Connor snarled, stepping forward.

"I'll ask you again," Stefano hissed. "Who. The. Fuck. Are. You."

"Th' ma' who's 'bout ta kick yer ass, ye fuckin' wop," Connor growled. "Dat enou' o' a intra-fuckin-duction?"

"What the hell did you just call me?" Stefano barked, taking a step closer.

They inched towards each other and I put my hands on each of their chests, forcing them apart. "You two need to stop this," I told them, shoving them lightly.

Connor's eyes narrowed. "I though' I didn' like 'im befer, bu' no' I really question yer choice, Kher," he remarked.

Stefano's eyes narrowed as well. "Kherington, who the hell is this Irish fuck?"

I thanked the heavens that Stefano wasn't managing to put everything together to figure out exactly who Connor was. "He's a friend, okay? Just a friend."

Connor looked at me, a look of betrayal flashing through his eyes. I shook my head lightly.

"Acting like he's more than that to me," Stefano hissed, his hand grabbing my wrist off his chest, his fingers digging into the skin.

"Stefano calm down," I told him, pulling at my wrist. "Let me go and we'll talk, okay?

"Who the fuck is he?" Stefano snarled, pulling me closer.

"Are ye fuckin' daft? I jus' fuckin' tol' ye," Connor growled and I felt him approach, the heat from his body on my back. "An' th' lass tol' ye ta le' 'er th' fuck go."

"'ow 'bout ye min' yer own fuckin' business?" Stefano snarled, mocking Connor's brogue.

"Oh, God," I whimpered as I felt Connor tear me out of Stefano's grip, shoving me behind him. I watched in horror, almost in slow motion as Connor brought his fist back and throw it forward, slugging Stefano in the eye. He stumbled back, his hand moving to his eye. His expression turned murderous as he looked at Connor through his good eye, his mouth curled into a snarl. "Omigod! Stop!" I shrieked as Stefano charged Connor, knocking him on his back as they fell onto the coffee table, shattering it. Stefano moved to get a punch into Connor's jaw, but Connor blocked the hit and managed to roll Stefano to his back, pinning him to the floor. I looked up at the door as it opened, my eyes wide. Murphy and Ava were laughing but that quickly stopped when they saw what was happening.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Ava shrieked as Murphy came forward to separate the men. Connor was punching Stefano in the face, his knuckles coming away smeared with blood. Stefano had his arms up attempting to block each hit while trying to get in some of his own. Murphy grabbed his brother around the waist and hauled him off the Italian.

"Fuckin' le' me go!" Connor barked, thrashing in his brother's arms, trying to break his grip.

"No' dis time, brudder," Murphy muttered, dragging him out the door.

Stefano slowly pulled himself to his feet, blood dripping from his nose, his eye already swelling.

"Stef-"

Stefano held up his hand, cutting my off. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose, shoving the cloth into his pants pocket. Without a word, he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Ava looked at me wide eyed. "What the hell just happened?" she asked, looking around the apartment, making sure it was all in order. She frowned at the sight of her splintered coffee table and moved to start cleaning it up.

"I don't know…" I told her, bending down and picking up pieces of wood. "Everything was fine and then Stefano showed up and Connor got pissed and then they were fighting and then you and Murphy showed and omigod this could be really bad."

"Breathe," she told me, her fingers gently touching my wrist. "Just breathe."

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "You're just lucky Aiden's a heavy sleeper. He didn't need to see that."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I'll help you clean this up and then I need to get back to my apartment," I told her.

She nodded. "That's probably a good idea."

I stood outside my apartment building as the cab pulled away from the curb. I wasn't sure what to expect. Would Connor be upstairs? Stefano? Neither? Both? I took a deep breath and entered the building. Walking through the lobby, I waved absently at the concierge. I bided my time, checking my mailbox and stood beside it sifting blindly through my mail. Bill... bill... catalogue... bill... junk... I exhaled a breath when I realized I had wasted enough time. I moved past the elevator bay and walked to the stairwell. I open the door and slowly made my way up the stairs, dread weighing down on me with each step. I finally reached my floor and pushed the door open, dragging my feet, approaching my apartment. I paused outside the door, struggling to hear if anyone was inside. Silence. With shaking hands I lifted my key and slid it into the knob, turning the lock. I pushed the door open and walked inside, turning to shut and lock it. I closed my eyes, leaning my forehead against the painted wood.

"Took you long enough to get back."

I slowly turned around to face Stefano, meeting his eyes. I bit my lower lip as I took in his appearance. His normally perfect hair was askew. His nose needed to be reset and had the shadows of bruising. His eye was puffy and taking on a black and blue hue. A blood vessel in the white of his eye had burst, making it a deep red color. His bottom lip was split and swollen. Drops of blood stained the collar of his pristine white button up.

I tossed my keys on the table beside the door. "Wasn't sure you'd be here," I replied quietly. I cautiously approached him and stopped a just barely in arm's reach. "You alright?"

He laughed without humor. "Do I fuckin' look alright to you?" he snapped.

"You should put some ice on it," I told him, walking to the freezer and grabbing a bag of frozen peas. I made my way back to him and held out the vegetable. He snatched it from my hand and hissed as he pressed it to his face.

"I would say thank you, but it seems I have more than enough things to thank you for tonight," he told me bitterly, sitting on the couch, leaning his head back.

I walked over and sat in the recliner. "You should have called," I told him.

He shot me a look. "Why should I have called you? So you had enough time to get rid of him? Keep pulling the wool over my eyes? Keep cheating on me with that Irish prick?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I haven't been cheating on you."

"Oh? So who the fuck was he? And don't give me that cock and bull story that he's 'just a friend'," he snapped at me, complete with air quotes.

I shrugged. "I don't know what else to tell you. He's just an old friend of mine and Ava's and he happens to be in town. He was helping me watch Aiden, that's all."

He narrowed his eyes and stared at me in heavy silence for a few moments before he leaned forward, tossing the bag onto the coffee table. "How stupid do you think I am?" he snarled.

I shook my head. "I don't think you're stupid, Stefano."

He scoffed. "Please. If you didn't think that you would come up with a better fuckin' story than some old friend. Granted, you've never exactly lied well, so I shouldn't expect it."

I gave him a look. "What does that mean?"

"Kherington, I knew the minute that arrogant little shit opened his mouth who he was," Stefano spat at me.

"Oh really? Then who is he exactly?" I asked, my voice calm, but inside I could feel my stomach tying into knots.

"You don't think I know what those fuckin' Saints look like? What they sound like?" he hissed. "You don't think I know who you are?"

I swallowed thickly and shook my head. "You're mistaken."

"Oh, fuck off Kherington. Do you forget what I'm a part of? What I do? You think you and me, that was just some wild coincidence?" He scoffed. "Knowing you, that probably is what you think."

I took a deep breath, attempting to keep my cool. "Why are you telling me this? Why now?"

Stefano smirked, crossing his legs and folding his hands over his knee. "Because I don't want you to keep thinking you can play me for a fool. You're not the only one that came into this with ulterior motives and separate… how should I say… goals?"

I bit my lower lip. "Care to elaborate?"

He gave me a look. "So you think you're smart enough to orchestrate this whole plot to bring us down with Boston PD, but you can't even think for yourself to figure out what I'm saying? And yes, I'm aware of your arrangement you have with those three moron detectives as well."

"I'm just interested in what you have to say, that's all," I told him quietly.

He rolled his eyes. "I watched you for a long time, Kherington. The night we met wasn't the first time I saw you. Not by a long shot."

I felt a shiver of fear run down my spine. "What?"

A smirk spread over his face. "I think you can figure out when I first had the pleasure of seeing you. I'll give you a hint… it was back in June of 1999…"

I whipped my head up to look at him. "What?" I breathed.

He chuckled. "You figure it out I assume?"

"You were there…"

He moved off the couch and stood over me, his hands resting flat on the arms of the recliner. "Of course I was there. Yakavetta was my uncle."

I choked on my breath. "Omigod…" I muttered. "I'm going to be sick."

"I remember seeing you there like it was yesterday," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Those two and their father bursting in spouting their ridiculous speech… you and your little friend watching them as if you were watching your two war heroes go into battle." He rolled his eyes as he leaned in closer to me. "Would've been quite the moment if it wasn't so pathetic," he hissed.

I didn't reply, my eyes stuck on him as I pressed myself deeper into the recliner trying to keep him from touching me.

"Oh, now you have nothing to say?" he snarled. "You're usually so quick with a retort." He shoved himself away from me and I exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. "So… why not just go after them? What did you need with me?" I asked.

He cocked his head to the side. "C'mon, Kherington, you can figure it out. It's not enough to just bring down the infamous Saints of Boston. It's better to get them where it hurts first."

"I don't follow."

His eyes sparkled with malice. "Think about it. Ideally, you want to separate them. You can really get them if you attack the other. But that's too obvious and honestly, next to impossible. But then there's you and Ava. Their other weakness because you're all just so 'in love'. And you made it so easy. You practically fell into my lap."

"So?" I asked. "What did all this get you?"

"The Saints back on our turf, of course," he replied.

I shook my head. "That went really well the last time. And they were amateurs then."

Stefano waved his hand, brushing off my remark. "We're ready for them. And the fact that you're in our crosshairs makes at least one weak which in turn weakens the whole."

I bit my lower lip. "So what are you going to do?"

He grinned. "I'm leaving that part up to Concezio. All I had to do was bring you in. And I appreciate you being so willing and making my job so easy. No matter what your motives would've been. You may be a terrible actress and an even worse liar, but you do commit to the part," he told me, a leer on his face.

I could feel my heart racing, my stomach turning in disgust and shame. "And why do you think I care what happens to him? Or his brother? I mean, it was a really long time ago."

He snorted. "Please. You can act however you want, anyone with half a brain knows you've been pining over that waste of space for years. And with one comes the other."

I swallowed and blinked rapidly. I'd been played. This whole time. I felt like my entire world was crumbling around me.

Stefano sneered. "You're fucking pathetic." He stood from the couch. "At least you served your purpose," he told me, moving to his feet. I stiffened as he bent closer, his mouth at my ear. "Only a matter of time now," he breathed before making his way out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

AN2:

Megan: I love Aiden! He's just so cute. Baby MacManus, haha. I hope the suspense wasn't too much to take and it's now relieved!

Lucy: Besties! I may (emphasis on the MAY, I don't want to make any promises) write a companion piece with the Ava-Murphy side of things, but it would take me some time. I'm just so sunk into the Kher-Conn that it would be really hard. So I'm not saying I won't but I don't want to lie and say I will if it doesn't happen. Yeah, ConKher need to get it done already, haha. ;-) \

Anonnie: I know, I'm a jerk, cliffy! I'm glad you liked the chapter, even if you didn't like the cliffhanger, haha. I try to throw in a little lightheartedness every now and then! Can't be drama and fighting and sappiness all the time, haha. I'm so glad you look forward to updates and take the time to review. It makes this so fun for me! :)

Alessandra: The walls are comin' down! ConKher may finally reunite! Haha, you make me laugh. And I have to respond! You take the time to give awesome reviews! And I'm ready to create MacManus brothers! I mean, I could "settle" for either, but I have to be honest, Connor will always have my heart. :) :) :) Love you!

Beth: Bahahaha, amazing. Um, the movies are so epic and you need to fix that! Yes, I'm a total Connor girl myself. I love Murphy and believe me, I wouldn't say no, but given the choice? Connor. Every. TIME! And I totally support you introducing the epic Connor MacManus that way, haha. I know, Aiden interrupted. Silly kids! At least we're getting somewhere! I love that even though you "knew" who was at the door, you still didn't "know". :) Makes me feel like I did something right. And I love the smiley face, exclamation point SPAM. Bring it ON! And I don't mean to update so fast, I really don't. But (1) I really hate when stories aren't updated for like 3 years or get abandoned and (2) reviews are seriously like crack. I just want to keep getting review notifications. I'm like a drug addict!