Sorry for the wait, guys. I have had a bit going on lately. Here is the next part! Sorry if this chapter seems a bit like filler. I have more written, and just needed to find a good place to split it, and this was the best I could come up with. If everything goes well, I should have the next bit up this coming weekend! I hope that you guts like this! Please feel free to leave a review!

It seemed like hours that Kerrianne sat in the store's cramped, dark office with only Trinity for comfort, but in reality, it was probably only a few minutes. Trinity was leaning against the desk, her arms crossed over her chest, chewing on her lower lip. They could both hear Maureen just outside the door. Her heavy footsteps back and forth, back and forth, along with the muttered curse words that made their way under the door, were evidence of the stress that she was feeling. It was something that both the girls could relate to. With the events of the day, piled upon the events of the last few months, there wasn't a single one of them that couldn't use a good, long vacation somewhere warm and sunny.

Kerrianne jumped about ten feet in the air when the door actually swung open. She was on her feet and ready to fight in an instant, for better or worse. Luckily, it was only Maureen and her own Ma on the other side of the door, and not somebody who needed to get hit. The look in her Ma's eyes was instantly all too familiar to Kerrianne. Her Ma was in survival mode, but she didn't hesitate to rush over and gather Kerrianne into her arms. She knew that, only a few feet away, Maureen was doing the exact same with Trinity. She was a fifteen year old girl and, under ordinary circumstances, she would never allow for this, but right now, Kerrianne was happy to be exactly where she was.

Gemma was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, gun still clutched tightly in her perfectly manicured hands. "We can't stay here. Jimmy knows where we are and he could come back with more than one gun for backup. We need to get out of here quick," she spoke up, finally walking into the room, clearly ready to end the display of affection. Kerrianne didn't miss the stiff way she walked, as if she was in pain. She wondered for a moment if Jimmy had hurt the California woman, but quickly put it aside and listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Aye," Maureen spoke up. "I called Kel. He is on his way with Sean. They will be here any minute now. We need to head them off before they go upstairs and see Michael laid out on my kitchen table."

Gemma nodded in agreement, before turning to leave, with Maureen and Trinity following. Her Ma made to leave, too, but Kerrianne held her back for a minute. "Ma, where is Jimmy?"

"He and Donny are gone, Lovely. They left, I promise you," Ma told her, squeezing her hand tightly. "Father Kellan is coming and we will all be safe."

"But Ma, we were supposed to be safe today!" Kerrianne argued. She had been trying to snuff it out, but Kerrianne couldn't help it. She was panicked. "Michael was supposed to keep us safe, but Jimmy killed him."

"I know, Kerri. I know," her Ma said, hugging her close again. "Everything will be okay."

Kerrianne nodded, trying to calm herself. There was so, so much more Kerrianne wanted to say, but the urgency on her mother's face couldn't be denied. Her Ma had proven today, beyond all doubt, that she would keep Kerrianne safe no matter what. First on the agenda was getting someplace safe, right now. Kerrianne forced herself to nod and accompanied her Ma out into the main shop.

The next few minutes were kind of a blur. Father Kellan and Sean Casey arrived shockingly quickly, and then everything turned into a fine mixture of concern and fury and sadness. It struck Kerrianne to realize that, as annoying and overbearing and obnoxious as he was, Michael Casey had been somebody's brother. He had been loved by somebody, and now he was dead. The sadness emanating from Sean and Father Kellan was enough to drown them all, but there was little time for grief. All five women were loaded into what looked like an armored van and they were all on their way back to the rectory within five minutes of the men arriving.

It seemed like only an instant ago that Kerrianne had been complaining about her music being uninteresting and lame, but now she took solace in it. As they sped through Belfast, crammed in the back of the all too silent van, Kerrianne let the music fill her ears and her mind. If she could focus on the song that was playing, and nothing else but the song that was playing, then maybe she could forget about the dead man back at Maureen's house. Maybe she could forget the look of furious determination that she had seen on Jimmy's face. Maybe she could forget the fact that her Da was out there somewhere, completely unaware of the danger that he might be in.

When they finally arrived at the rectory, Father Ashby quickly ushered the women away from the nave, where Sean Casey was collecting himself. He corralled the women towards the stairs that would lead them to the rectory, but Kerrianne noticed that Gemma refused to be corralled. It looked as if she wanted to have a conversation with Father Kellan, and it probably wouldn't be a very good one. Four of the five women made their way upstairs, and Kerrianne couldn't help but wonder, in a fight between Gemma and Father Kellan, who would come out on top.

Once inside the rectory, Ma bolted the door, taking pains to ensure that each and every lock was securely in place. Kerrianne couldn't for the life of her figure out exactly why. They were deep within the rectory, surrounded by about a hundred guards. She found it a bit silly to be locking the doors, but then she remembered Jimmy stomping his way into Maureen's house and the destruction that he left behind. Suddenly, locking the doors didn't seem like the worst idea that there had ever been.

She chose the chair closest to the door, even though it wasn't even close to the most comfortable in the room, and parked herself in it. Everybody around her found something to occupy their time. Trinity was by the kitchen table, texting somebody. Her Ma and Maureen were in the kitchen, pulling out the things needed for tea and putting the kettle on. After a moment, Gemma came up and demanded entry. They were all doing something useful, but Kerrianne just remained perched in the mustard yellow chair, staring intently at the door. She needed to be here right now. She needed to hold vigil, needed to be right here waiting when her Da finally came in.

Kerrianne had no idea how long she sat there, just staring and waiting. It could have been a matter of minutes, or a matter of hours. The battery on her iPod died, but she didn't bother to get up and plug it in, or remove the headphones from her ears. She heard the kettle go off and she was aware of people talking and moving all around her, but she didn't pay it any mind. She just sat, waiting and watching. Eventually, the noise around her died down. She should have noticed the footsteps as they approached her, but she managed to be completely surprised when her Ma walked up and gently plucked the headphone out of her ears, handing her a chipped orange cup.

"Your tea is getting cold, Baby," Ma said, pulling an old wooden chair up and situating it right next to Kerrianne's own chair.

"Oh, yeah," Kerrianne replied, sitting up a little bit straighter and taking a small sip from the cup. The tea inside was already cold, but Kerrianne wouldn't tell her Ma that. "Thank you, Ma. I appreciate you looking out for me."

"Aye, it's my job," Ma told her with a smile, putting an arm around her. "I know today had to be scary for you, Kerri. None of us were expecting anything like that to happen. I guess I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

Kerrianne knew that her Ma was trying to reassure her, and she wanted to speak up and tell her that everything was fine and nothing was wrong. She couldn't, though. Kerrianne just wasn't ready to hash out what happened. She shrugged off her Ma's embrace, and took another gulp of her tea. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not, but I'll let it go, for now," Ma sighed, exhaustedly, and it made Kerrianne feel awful. They were quiet for just a moment, sitting in their side by side chairs, sipping tea. Neither of them knew it, but their thoughts were centered on the exact same things. An outside observer would probably stand and marvel at the two of them. They were very nearly identical in their silent brooding. Ma didn't let it stand for long. "Are you going to tell me why we are sitting here, staring at the rectory door?"

A part of Kerrianne wanted to snap at her to mind her own business, but she just couldn't do it. She knew how hard her Ma was trying and she was also well aware that her mother was probably the only other person in the world who could understand what she was thinking and feeling right now. Kerrianne turned and looked her in the eye and noted that her Ma looked just as concerned as she herself was. She turned her eyes back towards the door and quietly admitted, "I'm waiting for Da."

Part of her was glad that she wasn't actually looking at her Ma right now, because she wasn't sure that she could take the look she would surely see on her Ma's face. It was a minute before she replied, "Aye. I kind of figured that much."

That didn't surprise Kerrianne even a little bit. She could deny it, but it wouldn't do much good. Her Ma could always read her like a book. Instead, she looked at her Ma and asked, "Shouldn't he be back soon?"

"I am sure he will be," her Ma said, with a nod. "Maureen called McGee as soon as she could. It takes a while to get here from the meet up location. I am sure that your Da is moving heaven and earth to get here, Baby."

Kerrianne knew that. She knew that nothing would stop her Da from getting here; nothing except…

"Ma," Kerrianne started. "What if…I mean, how do you know that…"

Kerrianne couldn't finish, but then again, she didn't need to. Her Ma immediately shook her head emphatically. It was clear that she was not willing to let Kerrianne go down that path. "No, Kerrianne. Absolutely not. Your Da is fine. He is on his way here now and we will see him soon."

"But Ma," Kerrianne argued. "How do you know?"

"I just know, Kerrianne," her Ma insisted. Her voice was probably harsher than she knew, but it let Kerrianne know just how serious she was. "I just know. You may think that it is ridiculous, but I love him. If something had happened to him, I would know it. No, Kerrianne. Da is fine."

Kerrianne took a long, hard look at her Ma. It was then, and only then, that she realized she was not alone in her panic. She may have been sitting here, worried about her Da, but her Ma had just as much at stake as she did. Kerrianne was young, and she had never been in love before, but as she gazed at her Ma, she knew for sure that she was looking right at it. She made a conscious decision, right then, to believe in her Ma and have faith that her Da was going to be just fine.

Kerrianne wanted to ask. She wanted to sit for hours and question her Ma about whatever cosmic connection her two parents seemed to share. This love, this history, this whole relationship was a complete mystery to her, and she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything, but she didn't ask. Instead, she just reached over and took her Ma's hand, squeezing tightly as they waited, together, for whatever was going to come through that door.