"Maggie, wake up."

"Hmm?" I yawned and blinked only to slip back into sleep.

"Maggie!"

This time I was rudely shoved. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and frowned at the face above me. My vision cleared and Murphy's face came into focus. I propped myself up on my elbows and gave him a sleepy smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I said it after that first night I met ya and I'll say it again; it's quite nice, waking up with a beautiful women in me arms."

"I was referring more specifically to your shoulder."

Murphy grimaced. "Hurts like a fuck. I could really use some pain killers right about now."

"I'm sorry. The most I can do is to get you some Tylenol."

"There has got to be some way to make this fucking pain go away."

I got up so that I was resting on my knees beside him. "Well, I can't make it go away, but I might be able to make you forget about it."

"And just how are you going to do th…"

He didn't finish his sentence because my mouth was occupying his. When I pulled back in order to catch my breath his eyes opened lazily and once again they were a swirling storm of blue grey. He gave me a satisfied smirk. "I told ya ye'd be the one to start it."

"Murphy now would be a real good time to stop talking."

He lay completely down and with his good arm pulled me down against his side. He slid his hand up the back of my shirt and began to trace lazy circles along my spine. I wrapped my left arm around his head and rested my right on his stomach feeling the muscles contract under my fingertips. I pressed my mouth back against his and slipped my tongue in. He eagerly reciprocated my actions. As his hand traveled up my spine my shirt was gradually pushed up. The feeling of his skin against my own bare midriff was addicting. I knew given the state of his shoulder this couldn't go very far but I still wanted to be as close as I possible could without actually causing him any additional discomfort.

I pulled away much to his disappointment, but his disappointment soon turned to surprise when I grabbed the bottom of my tank top and pulled it up and over my head, allowing it to fall to the floor. Murphy drank in my upper body with his eyes. Now I had examined my figure many times in the mirror, my breast were firm and round, and my figure soft and curved ever so slightly, but he was the first to ever see me as such. I recognized the appreciation and desire that I saw in his eyes as he looked at me. And for the first time in a long time I blushed. His eyes traveled back up to my face.

"Why?" he breathed out

"Because I love ya ya Irish fool," I replied mimicking his accent.

He ran his hand up my arm and around to the back of my neck. I lay down pressing my bare chest against his and relishing the feeling. His mouth practically devoured mine as his arm pressed me tightly against him, and my fingers traced the lines of his body.

"What the fuck?"

Murphy and I both froze in our exploration. Murphy's eyes focused on the person behind me. If my face had been red before now it was on fire. I didn't even bother turning around I just buried my face in Murphy's chest. "Oh lordy," I mumbled.

"Fuck Maggie. I said ya had to tell him, not that ya had to fuck him."

"Connor, yer my brother and I love ya. But get the fuck out!"

"This is the living room Murphy. Not the fucking room."

I don't know why, perhaps it was just the absurdity of the whole situation. But I started to giggle. And then it turned into a full blown laugh. Both Connor and Murphy stopped arguing and looked at me as though I had lost my mind.

"Maggie?" Murphy pulled my head back so he could look at me. "Are ya alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just that," I stopped to catch my breath, "you think Connor catching us was bad. Imagine if your Da had come in." Fresh laughter overtook me.

From behind me Connor spoke up. "That, Maggie, is just plain disturbing."

"Yes it is," Murphy agreed, "way to ruin the mood."

"Sorry."

"I'm just going to go back to bed I think. Whatever appetite I had for breakfast is gone now thanks to the two of ya." I heard the door to the bedroom close.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes."

"Good." I pulled away and reaching over the edge of the sofa retrieved my tank top pulling it back over my head.

"Now why did ya go and do that for?"

"So that the next time he comes in we won't have a repeat of what just happened."

"Well maybe next time he'll learn to knock."

I leaned back over and gave Murphy a long lazy kiss. I pulled away leaving him with a content smile on his face.

"Ya know Maggie; I really should have gotten shot a long time ago. Move things along quicker." The minuet the words left his mouth I could tell he regretted them. He began to sit up but stopped as he placed strain on his shoulder.

I looked at him the hurt evident in my eyes. "That isn't funny Murphy McManus."

"You're right and I'm sorry Maggie. I wasn't thinking,"

"No you weren't. And neither was I."

"What? Maggie."

I left him lying there and entered the bedroom slamming the door in the process. Connor looked up at me in surprise. "Honey moon over already?"

"Shut up Connor." I began to pace back and forth. I felt a hand on my shoulder and spun around to face Connor. "Your brother is… okay, I don't know what he is it. But whatever he is he way to much of it." I sat down in a huff.

"What did he do this time?"

I told him.

"Oh." Connor sat down beside me. "Look Maggie, I know this is hard on ya. But that is the sort of thing that Murphy and I do to deal with what we go through. We use humor. To be honest, with the sort of stuff that we do neither of us ever gave too much thought as to what would happen were either of us ever to meet a girl let alone fall in love with one."

"He's right Maggie." At some point Murphy had entered the room and I hadn't even heard him. Connor stood up allowing Murphy to take his place. "Ya weren't something I had planned on. But now that I've got ya I don't want to lose ya over something as stupid as my mouth. And ya know I would never do a thing to hurt ya."

"What about this?" I gently ran my fingers over the bandage that covered his left shoulder. "This hurt me Murphy. Every night that you come in late after doing what you do hurts me. And it isn't just you; you all do it to me. You are my family now. What you do hurts me even when you don't mean for it to."

Murphy pulled me against him in tight hug "All I can say is I'm sorry. But ya know I can't stop."

"I know. I just wish I could be certain that I'm not going to lose you."

"You'll never lose me. I'm yours. I love ya Maggie Dane." He held my face in his hands and kissed my forehead, both eye lids and my lips. "And I always will."

"I'm not getting kicked out of this room too am I now?"

Murphy relinquished his hold on me. "Aye Connor, and ya mind closing the door on yer way out?"

"No Connor ya don't have to leave." I stood up. "I'm going to go make breakfast."

"What, we can't continue what we started?"

Connor covered his ears. "I don't want to hear this."

I leaned down placing my mouth next to Murphy's ear and whispered, "If it ever continues it will be after you have healed." I blew on his ear and felt him shudder.

"Would the two of ya knock it off already."

I walked over to Connor and hugged him. "We need to find you a girl."

"No what I need to find is a room that doesn't have the two of ya in it."

"Nah, Connor, I agree with Maggie, we need to find ya a girl. Yer way to uptight. Ya need a girl to loosen ya up a bit. If ya know what I mean." I gave Murphy a slap on the back of the head. "Ow! I'm already injured."

"You know I don't like those kinds of comments."

"Murphy, ya thought I needed loosening up? Maggie here is the one who needs it." Connor tried with very little success to keep a straight face

I placed my hands on my hips. "Just for that you aren't getting any."

"Maggie I love ya, but yer Murphy's gal. I wouldn't be getting any even if I wanted it."

My face turned red.

"Murphy, the blush is back!"

"I know, isn't it grand."

"That's it. I'm not staying in here a minuet longer with you two morons. And as for not the getting any, I was referring to breakfast." I turned on my heel and marched out of the room, their protest falling on deaf ears.