Chapter 10

A/N: Thank you to PastaMonkey and Shannon78 for your great reviews :)

The spring night air came over Adddie as she stepped outside and she wrapped her arms around herself, doing so gently because of her hand. She hadn't realized how cold it really was outside, and found it no surprise now that her apartment was freezing. She wondered how long Murphy had been outside for, and more importantly, what the hell he was doing. Or thinking, she thought glumly.

She came around the corner and saw him slumped against the wall, a cigarette hanging in his hands. He looked pitiful, and she instantly felt a little guilty. She took a moment to study him, and tried to think of what to say to him. They both had a lot to explain, and it wasn't going to be easy.

. . .

Murphy was freezing, but he'd never admit it. Spring in Boston wasn't usually this cold, but tonight must be a fluke. He had sat outside of the apartment building for God only knows how long, and he hadn't figured out much since this morning. This morning, he was about to walk away from Addie without another thought- because the Saints, of course, came first. But then JT came through that door, and he had realized quite quickly that walking away from Addie meant the exact opposite of everything that the Saints stood for.

But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.

She needed someone to protect her from him- or did she? It sounded like she was involved in something pretty deep herself, and that had his head spinning. There had been some talk of a court case, going to prison, and the rest was all a buzz in his head. He had slowly convinced himself that she was probably just an innocent bystander in the whole thing, but what if she wasn't?

And then he had gone and fucked up and mentioned that he had killed people before. It had slipped, he was just trying to prove his point in the heat of the moment, but it was a huge mistake. Now Addie probably thought he was some crazy serial killer, and he had no idea what to tell her about that. He toyed with the idea that he could just tell her he wasn't serious, that he had just said it to scare JT off, but he knew that probably wouldn't fool her.

A pack and a half of cigarettes later and he just felt more confused than when he had arrived at this very spot 6 hours ago. If he could just talk to her, and work things out. But he had no idea what he would say to her if he even got the chance.

"Murphy?" came a quiet voice from somewhere by the door. He whipped his head around to see Addie standing there, and he instantly felt warmer.

"Ad- ya alright?" He hopped up quickly and went over to her. He didn't know where to begin, but once he started talking he couldn't stop the words from falling out.

"Look Addie, I'm so sorry 'bout this mornin'. I just didn't want ya ta get 'urt- but ya did, an' I fucked up, an' I'm sorry, but I couldn't sit there an' watch ya get hurt-"

"Shh." Addie reached out with her good hand and grabbed his. Her eyes were still averting him, and he was desperate for her to just look at him. " l came to thank you. Well, my heats out, so that's the real reason I went looking for you guys... but I also did need to thank you. Someone needed to put JT in his place." Her gaze finally met his. "But..you do have some explaining to do." She added quietly.

"So do ya." He retorted back.

"You first." She said with a small smile.

"Why?"

"Well, because you told my husband that you would kill him, and that you've killed other people before, and to me personally, well, that's just kind of a big deal."

"Aye... I... I can explain tha..." he shifted uncomfortably on the sidewalk.

"Please do." There was long pause where he felt the cold creep back in his veins.

" I will." he said finally, very quietly. "But not tonight." He reached out and took her hurt hand in his and studied the haphazard bandage she had put around it, running his thumb over it for a moment.

"But for now I can promise ya I'm not gonna hurt ya...and that I've never hurt anyone else who didn' deserve it."

Addie just looked up at him, not sure what to make of him.

"Why didn't ya go ta the hospital?" He asked gently.

"Can't afford it."

"Suppose ya won't go if I give ya tha money."

"Nope."

"Figured as much. Yer stubborn." He saw Addie's eyes drift towards the cigarette in his hand.

"Mind if I have one?" she asked quietly.

"Knock yerself out lass." He produced a cigarette and lighter, which she took. She then stared dumbly at it and looked back to Murphy, who realized he was being an ass by not lighting it because of her hand.

"Ah, come 'ere. Sorry." He deftly took the cigarette in his teeth and threw the lighter up to it. Addie couldn't stop her mind from wandering to this morning as she studied his mouth. He noticed her staring and she caught a glint in his eyes.

He offered the lit cigarette out to her, but before she could reach it he pulled his hand back above his head, teasing her with it. She took a step forward, and reached for the cigarette, only to realize that she was now about an inch away from his face- which is exactly where he had wanted her. He met her eyes and took the hand that wasn't holding the cigarette up to cup her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled back before she could really start to return it.

"'Ere." he passed the cigarette to her. "But I don't wan' ya smokin'. They'll kill ya."

Addie rolled her eyes at him. "Yes dad." she shot a grin at him expecting it to be returned. He only gave her a small half-smile, and when she met his eye she saw something in them that surprised her- but she had no idea what it was, so she started on her cigarette. She filed the thought away, reminding herself to ask him or Connor about it later.

"Ya cold?" Murphy finally broke the silence between them once she had finished her cigarette.

"A little." Addie admitted.

"Well lets go inside." he said as he wrapped his arm around her. "Conn give ya my coat? "

"Mmhm." Murphy silently thanked his brother.

"Ya wanna go to my place or yers?"

"Wherever it's warm." She shrugged, truly not caring.

"Well, me and n Conn can keep ya warm...and we 'ave beer..."

"Your place it is then." She said with a smile. "Can ya do me one favor?"

"Anything."

"Diezy needs to go out, and I don't think I can manage him with this hand."

"Aye. I'll just have Conn take him out. They can..get to know each other..."

Murphy followed her back into the apartment, having finally fully convinced himself that leaving Addie to fend for herself would be be very un-Saint like. And if Addie happened to like him, and the feeling was mutual, well, he couldn't help that.

. . . .

A/N: I'm happy (and surprised!) I've made it all the way to Chapter 10! Things are getting a little busier in my crazy life as summer ends- who's still out there reading this? If you're out there and want me to continue just drop a line in a review even if it's just to say hi! :)