"Heartlines" by Florence + the Machine

Thank you so much for reading! :)

The McManus/McCarthy house stood still and empty at the top of the hill as a van full of seven siblings pulled into the driveway. The eldest two were in the driver and passenger seat, the youngest in the very back. Kelly McCarthy, the eldest of the lot, parked the car and turned off the ignition before looking at her twin brother. Declan looked as nervous as she felt about this. But they tried not to look very nervous in front of the youngest siblings, who were just shy of their sixteenth birthday.

"Where did Mom say everything is?" Matteo broke the silence, his blonde curly hair was far from being tamed that day. All of them looked slightly disheveled, but he and Freddie looked the most unkempt due to their unruly curls.

"She said everything should be in the containers in the basement," Kelly responded as she opened her door. The rest of the siblings followed suit. Declan led the way to the house and unlocked it without bothering to wait for everyone to make it to the side door. And, out of habit, they all took off their shoes at the door. Cecilia McCarthy would either murder them or make them clean the floors if they got any mud on the floors.

They went into the basement without looking at anything else. Freddie and Vittoria still lived there but the triplet still visited at least once a week. The only two who were around less often were Kelly and Declan but that was due to their jobs as field journalists. They were often in other countries for months at a time. But they always kept in touch with everyone back home. If nothing else, Cecilia and Murphy had managed to instill strong family values in all of them even if their family is unconventional.

"Do you know which container?" Vittoria asked the older twins, rubbing her temples at the sheer amount of filing boxes that were in that room.

"No idea. I assume it'll be one of the easy to access ones," Kelly shook her head.

"Knowing Mom, though, it might also be hidden in the back," Declan chuckled. "Only one way to find out, though. Everyone grab a box and start looking."

The rest of the siblings followed Declan's lead and searched in relative silence for several hours. That is, until Matteo found the box showing Cecilia and their Uncle Tyler in a band. "Whoa, wait, Mom was in a band with Uncle Tyler?"

"Lemme see that," Conan declared, abandoning his box to go to Matteo's side. Dina followed him silently and dug another photo out of the box.

"Yeah, she doesn't talk about it much," Kelly and Declan replied. They realized that at some point along the way, Cecilia had stopped integrating music into their lives as much. Neither Kelly nor Declan could think of the last time their mom had gotten out her acoustic guitar and had a sing-a-long around a campfire. The thought made them a little sad. Their mother's passion for music had been an inspiration for the two of them to follow their hobbies into careers. Kelly loved writing and had a strong sense of justice. Journalism had been a natural fit. Declan, however, had discovered a love of documenting things through picture and film. So he followed Kelly on her crusades, both watching over his sister and getting to experience the world in ways that not many people could or would.

"Can I put this on?" Conan asked, holding up the CD he had found in the box.

"Yeah, I don't think she'll mind," Declan said and pointed at a CD player over in the corner. Conan quickly put the CD in it before someone could object. To his surprise, it was a rock band.

"I would never have thought that this would be a band Mom was in."

"It's cool-I mean, Mom is always cool, but this makes her cooler," Dina agreed. The triplets resumed actually looking through the boxes but made sure to put the music box off to the side so that they could look at it more later. And also pester their mother about it when she and Murphy got back from the hospital.

"These are some old journals," Vittoria sighed, pushing the box aside. Freddie's dark, curious eyes fell on the box. While Vittoria got up to retrieve another, he took hers and pushed his aside. His was full of old property contracts anyway. No medical histories or insurance papers there.

"Oh, this is it," Dina called the others over to her box. Vittoria, Kelly, and Declan abandoned their boxes to go help while Conan and Matteo began putting things back. Freddie ignored them as he started looking through the journals. The dates on them were from before any of them were born. And they were better kept than her current journals, which now last her years instead of months.

He ran his hand along the top of them to get a feeling of which one to start with. One of them seemed to almost call to him. He pulled it out and flipped it open about halfway. Cecilia was arguing with Connor and Murphy about...rope?

Freddie furrowed his brows but kept reading until he felt his breath catch in his throat as his blood seemed to stop like ice in his veins. He started reading aloud: "'And, so, that's how I learned that the McManus brothers had taken up the mantle of being the Saints of Boston and murdering all of the crime lords in the city. After they finished recounting falling through a ceiling vent, killing nine men, and then terrifying Rocco: I just sat there in silence. I didn't really know what to feel. On one hand, I was in shock, but I also felt angry, sad, and a little appalled. It's not that I'm against the death penalty, but vigilante justice is another thing entirely. I was conflicted. It was also hard for me to come to terms with the idea that God told them to murder all of the crime bosses in Boston. I was raised Catholic, but I don't adhere or follow anything to do with the Church. I'm not even sure if I believe in God or not.'"

"What the fuck is that?" Declan asked, looking at Kelly in concern. His elder twin shook her head, red curly hair framing her face as she turned to look at Freddie before walking over and sitting next to him. They read a few pages together in silence while the rest of the siblings sat and stared.

"Well, apparently being in a band isn't the coolest thing Mom has done," Kelly said softly before reaching for another journal. She flipped it open near the end. It was when Cecilia had left for Germany alone. She had been terrified and confused.

"I don't think we were supposed to know about this. Probably ever," Freddie looked up from the journal. He was a little teary-eyed. His mother never seemed this vulnerable to him before.

"Guess this explains that incident when we were kids," Declan said softly, looking over their shoulders at his mother's neat, cursive handwriting spilled across the pages.

"You mean that time that drunk guy came onto the dig site and everyone tried to politely get him to leave but Mom got a shotgun and threatened to shoot him?"

"Yeah, that time. Also explains why Da didn't even bat an eye when it happened."

"What, you think this is true?" Conan asked skeptically.

"I'm pretty sure," Kelly nodded. "We learned about this case in class. But briefly. The Saints disappeared entirely after they came back to Boston and wiped out the Yakavetta mob. But someone inside the FBI helped them escape. So any evidence that was catalogued was mysteriously lost or destroyed. It's part of the reason that database security has improved so much."

"Also explains why Da wasn't there," Declan referenced their time in Germany. Kelly nodded. Cecilia had always told them that it was complicated but not malicious. The twins had struggled with it for a bit, but believed it after meeting Murphy and realizing that their dad just wasn't like that. He tried really hard to be in their lives and be there for them as soon as he knew they existed. That's not something that someone who carelessly abandons people would do.

"I know this is a lot, but we do need to get this stuff back to the hospital. They're going to wonder where we are," Dina interrupted. She and Matteo had found the forms needed while the rest of them were looking at the journals.

"You're right," Kelly agreed. "We'll take care of this later. It's not really something we can unlearn now that we've learned it." She and Declan also wouldn't let it go, even if the younger siblings would.

Freddie frowned. "I don't want this to be some big thing while you guys are here. Can't we just have a nice visit?"

"It won't be a big thing," Declan reassured them while shooting Kelly a reminder that their family wasn't their next big story. Kelly rolled her eyes and gave him a look to remind him that he was insane and she was clearly aware that this wouldn't be a big story.

"It'll be fine. No one needs to be involved that doesn't need to be." She stood and dropped the journal back in the box. "Now let's go get these papers to the hospital since they lost them when they went fully digital."

"Right," the triplets said in unison. They put most of the boxes back into place, leaving out the Saints and music boxes, and locked the door again behind them. The drive back to the hospital was in silence, each of them working through the information that Freddie had found. Though it seemed like something that should just be left alone, they knew that they wanted to know the truth about it.

"I'm telling ye somethin's changed," Murphy insisted from the hospital bed. Cecilia looked at him with raised eyebrows, clearly questioning this belief that he had conjured out of thin air. He rolled his eyes. "If Rocco showed up, ye'd believe it."

"Yeah, because I know he's dead and not just a figment of my imagination," she replied as she patted his arm. "Besides, you fell and possibly hit your head."

Murphy clenched his teeth in impatience. "I did not hit me head. I fell and broke me arm."

"You get more Irish when you're upset."

"I am Irish."

"I'm just telling you that I touched a nerve."

"Ye're still too sassy for yer own good."

"I think you mean I'm too sassy for your good."

"I'm going to remind you of this the next time one of the kids sasses you."

"It won't change anything."

"What won't change anything?" Rocco asked, leaning at the foot of the bed. No matter how often he pops in, Cecilia can never seem to get over how he just looks like he always has. He never changes.

"See? Somethin's happened," Murphy said triumphantly. Cecilia rolled her eyes but looked a bit concerned.

"The kids found your journals when they were looking for the medical papers."

"What journals?" Cecilia asked, hoping she was wrong about which ones they had found.

"The ones full of all the damning evidence about our escapades in Boston."

"Oh, those journals."

"Ye kept those?!"

"Well, yeah, but I thought they'd find them when we were dead and gone and they'd just think we were cool, mysterious badasses." Murphy looked torn between being happy that she had kept the records of their time together and also pissed that the kids had been able to find it so easily.

"Just wanted to give you a heads' up. They're gonna pretend that they don't know when they get here. But they definitely know." Rocco laughed and shook his head. "Kelly is exactly like you. Give the girl one clue and she wants to know it all."

"Yeah, she is," Cecilia laughed with a shrug. "Thanks, Rocco, we can handle it."

"We can?" Murphy questioned, raising his eyebrows at his wife. Cecilia rolled her eyes.

"Of course we can. We agreed we'd just tell them the truth if they ever found out."

Murphy stared at Cecilia, unwilling to admit that he had said that only so that she would let it go and that he had never thought that the kids would actually find out about that part of their lives. But, of course, Cecilia would keep those journals somewhere that they could very easily find them.

Cecilia rolled her eyes when he didn't respond, clearly not having any of his non-compliance on this issue that they had settled before after a very lengthy argument when the triplets were born. And she certainly wouldn't have forgotten an argument she had won.

"Well good luck. I'll be watching. Too bad I don't have popcorn."

Kelly and the rest of the siblings arrived back at the hospital and gave the papers to the check-in nurse. The nurse took them before saying that someone would come get them from their dad's room as soon as they were done entering the information.

The eldest twins were silent, walking behind the rest of the siblings as they found their way to Murphy's room. Dina, Conan, and Matteo were picking on each other to try and lift everyone's spirits. Vittoria and Freddie, meanwhile, were whispering to one another and trying to figure out the proper way to act when they walked into the room. Before they had formed a plan, however, they were greeted by Cecilia waiting for them in the doorway.

Declan glanced at Kelly and mouthed 'she knows.' But Kelly already knew that, too. Their mother has a tendency to just know things sometimes. They've always thought she was psychic and they hadn't honestly come up with another reason other than that.

If only they knew that their mother was frequently visited by a dead best friend and whispered to by the various angels who have come into and out of her life. It was the only way God was able to speak to her. It was how she knew things that she would otherwise never know. Cecilia was still too angry over how life had been before even if she was grateful for the way that it was now. But she upheld the values that mattered even if she refused to put a name to it. And that was all that really mattered in the end.

"What are you guys up to?" Cecilia greeted them, focused on the youngest twins specifically. Freddie and Vittoria swallowed.

"She definitely knows," Dina shrugged. "How's Da?"

Cecilia stepped aside so that they could enter. "He's fine." They all filed into the room to gather around their dad. Cecilia shut the door behind them after making sure that there wasn't a doctor or nurse headed their way.

"Well, we know Mom picked the cast color," Conan grinned with a laugh. Murphy's cast was hot pink. Their dad's cheeks went a bit pink as he muttered to himself under his breath. Their mom grinned and patted his unbroken arm.

"How do you just know things?" Declan asked, curiosity killing him. Cecilia and Murphy exchanged glances.

"We'll explain. Just not here," Murphy said, surprising himself a bit.

"It'll make sense," Cecilia promised.

"So ye're sure about this," Murphy asked Cecilia, glancing over at his wife as she drove them home. Kelly was in a van behind them with the rest of their children. Like her mother, she was an extremely careful driver.

"I don't think we really have a choice, Murph," Cecilia laughed. "Knowing them, they probably found the journal that I said explicitly that you guys are the Saints."

"Who do ye think found it?"

Cecilia thought for a few seconds and then laughed. "Freddie, probably."

"Why Freddie?"

"He's the sweetest and the most curious other than Kelly and Declan. He probably found it by accident and was so surprised that he shared it with everyone else. Kelly probably took the lead after that. Or Declan. Sometimes they like to change it up."

"They take after ye."

"Bullshit, they take after both of us." Murphy laughed but would never admit that she was right. But Cecilia knew that he already knew she was right. And she didn't need anyone to tell her otherwise. They pulled into the driveway. Cecilia turned off the engine. "Do you need any help over there or can you handle it?"

Murphy shot her an unamused look before dramatically throwing open the car door.

"No need to be sassy about it," Cecilia feigned hurt feelings.

"That's hilarious coming from ye."

Cecilia had barely unlocked the door and opened it before Freddie blurted out: "How did you become the Boondock Saints?"

"I told you so," Cecilia laughed, entering the house without answering.

"Yeah ye did," Murphy agreed with a small chuckle before sitting at the kitchen table.

"Is anyone hungry? Or thirsty?"

"Coffee would be great," Declan spoke up. Freddie looked at him as if to ask why he's delaying the conversation further.

"Actually, do you have any leftovers you can just heat up?" Kelly spoke up.

Cecilia smiled at her oldest and nodded. "Yeah, I've got that potato casserole you guys love."

"That would good. We miss your cooking."

"Ye need help?" Murphy asked, going to stand once again.

"No, don't break your other arm," Cecilia waved him off with a smile.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of this."

"Never."

"Why are you all just acting totally normal?" Freddie threw his hands up.

The oldest twins shrugged. "No matter what the story is, we're still family," they said in unison.

"Just sit down, Fred. You're too young to worry this much," Vittoria pushed her brother gently down into a chair before sitting beside him. The triplets also took their normal chairs at the table while Cecilia started the oven and put the leftover casserole in it to heat up. Usually she waited for it to be preheated, but it was probably better to just stick it in so she wouldn't have to keep getting up and down to deal with it. She sat beside Murphy, who rubbed her arm absentmindedly.

"So you guys read some of my old journals," Cecilia took charge of the situation, studying their faces as she spoke.

"Yeah, we read the part about you finding out Da and Uncle Connor were the Boondock Saints," Freddie nodded. "Or are? You aren't still the Saints, are you?"

"Not for," Murphy paused and looked at Cecilia for confirmation. She also had to think a few seconds.

"About twenty years? That sounds about right. Maybe twenty one."

"It was right before ye three were born." Murphy motioned to the triplets.

"Fun fact, I was pregnant with you three when I got shot in Boston." All of the kids looked at her in surprise while Murphy placed the palm of his hand on his forehead. "Oh, you guys didn't get that far?"

"You got shot?!" Declan and Kelly asked, staring in disbelief that they hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, it was fine. Missed the babies and most of the vital things." Cecilia lifted her shirt and pointed to a scar just under her bra. "That's what that's from."

"You said you got caught on some chicken wire," Conan raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I lied. It's complicated, but I was kidnapped and then I tried being helpful and saving your dad's life and then I got shot instead. I was not very useful in combat."

"Not at all," Murphy agreed. "Feckin' smart about everything else though."

Cecilia shrugged. "Connor did tell me I have the big brain when we all met for the first time."

"He wasn't wrong."

"Should we call him to come over or do you just want the story from us? I'm sure Connor's got some stuff to add that I don't know about."

"I don't think he needs to add in anything. Unless it's about that stupid feckin' rope."

"That rope is part of why I figured out it was you guys."

"Why are you guys talking like this is totally normal?" Freddie asked.

"I mean, it is for us. I've known your dad since I was twentyseven. There's not a lot we don't know about each other's lives at this point."

"How'd you get away with everything?" Vittoria asked. "We've left the country. You've used passports with your real name-oh god, Murphy McManus is your real name, right?"

"Yeah, it's me real name," Murphy said indignantly. "It's a family name. Just like Connor and Noah."

"Did granda know about it?" Dina asked, tilting her head curiously. Cecilia knew she was asking how many people knew.

"Almost everybody knew or helped or was involved in some way," Cecilia answered honestly. "Adrienne didn't. At least I don't think Uncle Connor ever told her. She would've given me shit if she knew."

"Aunt Eunice? Uncle Tyler? Grandma?" Matteo thought aloud. Cecilia nodded.

"They all knew. Aunt Eunice is part of the reason why your dad and Uncle have no record. And why all of the records got messed up any time the Saints were mentioned."

"She was FBI," Kelly realized. "So was Uncle Paul."

"He trained her, yeah."

"Uncle Tyler wasn't?"

"No, no. Tyler's been my friend since college. He got roped into it because I got roped into it by falling in love with your dad." Cecilia paused. "Maybe I should just have you all read the journals. Actually, on second thought, I don't know what all I've written in them. There might be some sex stuff."

Murphy nearly spit out his coffee and choked on it instead to stare at his wife, who shrugged.

"I wrote what I wrote."

"Jesus feckin' Christ, nothin's ever sacred with ye," he laughed. Cecilia grinned cheekily and shrugged.

"Well I'm glad we didn't read that," Kelly laughed and got up to get the casserole out of the oven. "Who wants some?"

"Oh, me!" Dina and Vittoria declared together and got up to help.

"Be careful, don't burn yourselves," Cecilia cautioned.

"I've got it, Mom," Kelly assured her mother as she expertly served the casserole. "Decs and I have to cook on those little butane fires you used to use when we were really little."

"I forgot all about that."

"We didn't," Declan smiled, taking a plate from his sister and immediately digging into the food. "Oh god, we need the recipe for this for when we're homesick."

"I'll write it down for you before you guys leave."

"Make sure that's all ye write down," Murphy teased her. Cecilia lightly slapped his chest. The oldest twins laughed as Kelly sat after getting everyone some casserole.

"You need some help there, funny guy?"

Murphy stuck his tongue out at her but she countered by kissing it and startling him. Kelly and Declan exchanged smiles. They had been old enough to remember what it was like when Murphy came into their lives. Before then, they hadn't ever seen their mom that happy. But with Murphy she was happier, more relaxed, and just seemed better equipped to handle life. It made them happy to be reminded that those feelings had never faded for their parents.

"Does Uncle Klaus know?" Declan realized. "Uncle Romeo?"

"Both helped the second time," Cecilia nodded. She looked over at Murphy. "Maybe we should start at the beginning?"

"We'll forget something that way," Murphy agreed.

"I'll get the journals," Declan offered.

"Grab the music box, too, I wanna hear about Mom being cool and a badass," Vittoria called.

"I'll help," Freddie laughed at his sister before following his oldest brother into the basement. They returned with the two boxes as Cecilia cleared away the empty plates into the sink to deal with later. She already knew she'd have to fight Murphy to do them even if he only had one good arm to do them with.

"Music first," Conan and Dina insisted. Cecilia glanced at Freddie who shrugged and then nodded.

"Too bad Tyler's not here, he'd absolutely love getting back into this," Cecilia said as she pulled out some photos and started passing them around. Murphy didn't have very much to add to this part of her story, so he simply watched her speak. Over the years, Cecilia hadn't become any less charismatic and magnetic when she spoke. He had worried that she might have fallen apart after what happened in Boston, twice. But she seemed more at peace after they came back to Ireland. It was as if she had gotten the answers that she needed to fully live her life. He had wondered more than once if it would have been better if she hadn't knocked on Noah's door that day. But as they grew older together, he realized that that was a silly idea. It had been God's plan to bring them together. Even if his hard-headed wife wouldn't admit it. They needed each other no matter where they were.

"That's so fucking cool," Dina sighed as she looked at pictures of Cecilia on stage. "No wonder you never got all weird whenever I wanted to join a band."

"You guys look so young here," Matteo blurted out. He was looking at a picture of Cecilia and Murphy at McGinty's when they had first started dating.

"We're still young," Murphy scoffed and laughed.

"The fuck we are," Cecilia laughed. Eventually, they were out of pictures and stories to talk about. Cecilia assured them that Tyler would have more to add. "Now for the heavy stuff, yeah?"

"Yeah," the kids all said in unison, watching their mother's hands lift some journals out of the box. She looked through the first few pages of a few of them before picking up what she deemed to be the first one.

And, so, Cecilia and Murphy read through the journals (omitting anything that would've made the kids blush) and provided anecdotes about their life at that time. It was late into the night before Cecilia closed the final journal and looked around the table. A few of them had cried at certain points-hell, she and Murphy had cried at certain points, too. That time in their lives felt like so long ago.

"Would you do it all again?" Freddie asked softly, studying his parents as they looked at one another. They were both puffy eyed and tired but they smiled, staring into each other's eyes.

"Again," they replied softly.