Aoife locked the door behind Gemma, activated the alarm system and slumped against the door, crying. After a few minutes, she dried her tears with tissues from the end table and picked up her phone. She hadn't made a call like this since she was in university, and even then she'd only done it a few times. When Aoife had relationship issues, she would not take them to her mother, whose judgment when it came to men was suspect at best. Aoife felt tears flow down her cheeks as Rois answered the phone, "Aye?"

"I'm sorry to call you so late, Rois."

"Aoife, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"It's Filip," Aoife poured out the story.

Chibs knocked on the doorframe to Rois' room. "Afternoon, Rois. May I come in?"

She looked up from her recliner and slid her book in the side pocket. "Good afternoon, Filip. I thought you might come." Her expression was inscrutable.

"Aoife called you." It wasn't a question. Rois nodded in affirmation. He placed the bottle of Tullamore Dew on the dresser. "Haven't seen you since I picked this up for you. Mind if I sit down?" The elderly woman gestured at the arm-chair across from her. He did, and the two of them stared at one another.

"I'm so sorry," Chibs started. She picked up her hand in a gesture for silence and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Aoife's coming over this afternoon. If you don't convince me you deserve the chance to explain yourself to her, I will ask security to remove you."

"Aye, that's fair," Chibs agreed. It was a good deal, and his best shot at salvaging his relationship. He'd learned his lesson from the last time and had left Aoife alone today. He'd checked on her, of course, but kept out of her sight. Then he'd remembered the plan to see Rois today and gambled on the elderly lady's fondness for him. Chibs looked up at Rois' expectant face. "Where do I begin?" he asked rhetorically, and immediately felt the tears burn in his eyes. "Aye, technically I'm married, but I haven't seen Fiona in over ten years. Haven't talked to her in over a year. The last time she called was to tell me that our daughter had broken one wrist and sprained the other. Kerrianne's not exactly graceful." A smile played across his lips as he thought of the photo of his daughter proudly holding up her cast and wrist brace.

Then he bit his lip and remembered why he was here. "'Spose I need to start a lot earlier than that." He spilled out the whole tale to Rois – born in a Glasgow slum, moving to Belfast and meeting Fiona, joining up with the IRA, getting married and having Kerrianne. "We didn't have much, but we were happy. Just a couple of stupid young kids in love with a kid of our own. Didn't even see the danger coming till it was too late. That's when things in the IRA shifted and I ended up working directly for Jimmy O."

"Jimmy O'Phelan?" Rois inquired softly.

"You know him?" Chibs asked sharply.

"Know of him," Rois nodded. "Dangerous man. Very dangerous." Her expression thawed incrementally.

Rois rose unsteadily from her chair and used her cane to walk to the bottle of whiskey Chibs had brought. As she passed him, she paused and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze, and Chibs let a little spark of hope spring in his chest. She pulled two shotglasses from her cabinet and placed the whiskey and glasses on a small tray. She made her way slowly back while he picked up the story.

"Fiona was 3rd generation IRA. She had known Jimmy since they were kids, and even her parents thought he was a better match for her than me. He had fancied himself to be in love with Fiona since the day he laid eyes on her, and he hated that she'd chosen a foreigner. That bastard made my life hell. I did all the shit work. He sent me on jobs with no back-up and no escape plan, hoping I'd get killed. Always said I was like a cat, with nine fucking lives. Every time I came back, he just got fucking angrier and the next job would be riskier." Rois poured whiskey into the glasses and pushed one towards Chibs. He took a drink and continued.

"Finally, there was a night that Fiona and Kerrianne went on a weekend holiday with Fi's family. I couldn't go because Jimmy told me he needed me for a kill. As soon as Fi and Kerrianne left, he showed up, told me to pack a bag to go overnight. He drove me to the docks and told me to get the hell out of Belfast. Jimmy said me that if I ever so much as spoke to Fiona or Kerrianne again, he would kill me. Then he had a couple of his thugs beat me to a pulp." Chibs stopped talking long enough to wipe his tear-stained cheeks and regain his voice. He drained his remaining whiskey to fortify himself. Rois immediately poured another.

"I managed to drag myself to where one of the Sambel brothers stayed, and they took me in. I prospected and patched in, and they were willing to transfer me to Samcro to get me further from Jimmy. I didn't want to go without Fi and my baby girl. I tried twice to rescue them before Fiona begged me to stop. No matter how clever I thought I was, Jimmy would find out, have me beaten, and smack Fi around. Finally one night, Jimmy and one of his henchmen beat me so badly that I ended up with three broken ribs and a punctured lung. While I was lying on the pavement gasping for breath, Jimmy carved these into my face," Chibs traced his scars with his thumb and middle finger, "and told me that if he ever saw me in Ireland again, he'd make me watch while he killed my wife and daughter. McGee had me transferred to Samcro as soon as I could travel. I thought I was protecting my girls by getting out of Ireland, but I'm still living with that guilt. I left them behind with that monster." Chibs hadn't told the whole story in nearly a decade. His heart ached, and the quiet tears gave way to sobs. Rois reached a trembling hand across the table and put it over Chib's clenched fist.

"For the first year or so, I was faithful. Never touched another woman; cried myself to sleep thinking of Fiona and Kerrianne. I tried two more times once I got here to make arrangements for her and my baby to join me. Finally, Fiona called me here at the garage and told me to stop contacting her. She said she would never leave Ireland and that all I was doing was making things worse for her. Six months passed before she called again, and she never spoke about us as a couple again. She calls when something important happens with Kerrianne, but that's all we talk about. She's my wife, but she isn't."

Rois poured again and examined him. "You still love her?"

Chibs stared into the amber liquid, thinking. "Aye. She was my first love. She's the mother of my child. I'm never going to not love her. If I can ever get her away from Jimmy O, I will." He sipped the whiskey. "But I don't love her like a husband should love a wife."

"That's fair." Rois replied softly. "Do you love my niece?"

"I do." He stared into Rois' eyes, willing her to see the truth of his words. I love her so much that sometimes it feels like my heart is going to burst from how full it is," Chibs' voice was strained, but he was out of tears. "I fucked this up, Rois. I didn't mean to."

"Why didn't you tell Aoife?" Rois accused.

"Been asking myself that question all day. I started to, the other night. Aoife called Fiona my ex-wife, and I realized she needed to know the truth, but it was too damn late and I was too damn tired."

"That's a weak answer, considering you've been with her for months."

"With everything going on, Aoife's been scared. I didn't want to admit to her that the last time I was supposed to protect my family, I failed."

"You let your pride get in the way," Aoife's voice called from the door way. Chibs twisted around and saw his old lady leaning against the doorframe, her eyes red from crying.

"Aoife," Chibs stood up and faced her, opening his arms as if to embrace her. As they both stood unmoving, he let his arms fall helplessly to his sides. "How long have you been there, lass?"

"Long enough." She walked slowly to his side. "I heard your story, and I can't find it in myself to be angry about the fact that you're married." He let out a long, shaky breath. "But you didn't tell me, and that hurts. It hurts a lot."

"I know," Chibs replied. "I am so sorry. I was trying to protect you."

Aoife inhaled, preparing an angry retort, when Rois stood shakily and took each of them by the hand. "Aoife." She shook her head and gave her niece a warning glance. "Do you want to try to salvage what the two of you had, my niece?"

Aoife nodded. "Aye. But I can't handle more secrets and lies."

Rois turned to Chibs. "Filip, you want the same?"

"Aye," he answered hoarsely. "More than anything."

"Then you, my lass, have to figure out what it will take for him to earn back your trust. And then you, lad, can't ever do anything like this again. Because if you do, I'll skin you myself."