Irene wasn't someone that was surprised easily, she had seen and done too much for small things to surprise her. If the last year had taught her anything it was to expect the unexpected. So when Ada Shelby had shown up at her front in floods of tears it shocked her to find that this had, in fact, surprised her. Ada was the last person she would ever have expected to see on her doorstep at Two O'Clock in the afternoon.

Her hair was still in tight pin curls and her rouge nail varnish was still wet in preparation for tonight. Her initial reaction was to slam the door in the young woman's face but she decided against it. What would Thomas say if he knew she had turned his sister away? Irene wants to roll her eyes at the thought of Tommy. Why should she care what he thought of her? She never had before.

Ada sits down at her kitchen table and watches as her old friend places a glass of water in front of her. "Sorry, I don't have tea," Irene grumbles as she lights a cigarette and leans against her cream countertop.

Ada nods along to her words, wiping away the tears from her crystal blue eyes. Corrine watches her for a moment, allowing the girl to compose herself.

"Have you seen Freddie?" Ada splutters, snot dripping from her nose. Irene passes her a tissue and frowns, what a mess she was.

"No." She states drily, blowing her smoke into the air. Ada's mouth forms an 'O' and she begins to cry again, her whole body shaking with every sob. Irene fights the urge to go to her, this was the same women that had given her a black eye last Christmas when she had tried to stop Tommy and Freddie from fighting. She owed her no compassion instead she waits for her to stop crying again. "Why?" Curiosity gets the better of her, normally she wouldn't get involved in her brothers business but when it came sobbing to her front door she had every right to ask questions.

Ada looks up at Irene, her face distorted and her lips pressed together tightly as she shakes her head. "I can't." She whispers, Irene notes that Ada's whole body is still shaking. Whatever it was she was scared to talk about it.

Irene shrugs her shoulders and picks the glass up from the table in front of Ada and places it in the sink. "Then leave."

"They'll kill me." Ada shakes her head in disbelief.

"Who?" Irene questions, offering Ada a cigarette in order to calm her down. She would be lying if she said that that was her only reason for giving her one. She craved another herself and it was much easier to chain smoke if someone else was doing it with you.

"Tommy." Ada breathes, her voice feeling a lot less shaky as the nicotine eased her nerves.

Irene wants to laugh as she hears his name, of course, Tommy was involved in this. There couldn't be a drama in this godforsaken town without him being involved. A million thoughts fly around her head, what was Tommy doing involving himself in Freddie's business? He would never tell her, they had strict unspoken rules that they would not discuss their business with one another. Ada looks up at Irene expectantly, the brunette raises her eyebrows in response urging her to proceed.

"I love him." It's almost a whisper but Irene's ears prick up at the words and she grimaces. "He loves me."

"I'm not sure my brother loves anything," Irene grumbles, her frown becoming a permanent fixture during this conversation. What on earth where they thinking, Tommy wouldn't allow this for a second. "Apart from the good old cause of course." Her frown his lost for a second as she makes a playful stab at her brothers work. Ada smiles weakly in response. "I'm presuming that's not what you came here to say?" Irene flicks her ash into the ashtray on the table and places a hand on the table in front of her, getting close to Ada's face she analyzes her closely. Her face is swollen glancing down she can see her breasts nearly pouring out of her bra. "How late are you?" Irene snaps as she pulls away from her. She had seen Ada Shelby naked many times over the years and her breasts had never been that big.

"A week." Ada avoids her gaze as she looks down at her fingers. "Five, seven if you count weekends." Irene rolls her eyes at her coyness, trust Ada to avoid the truth at all costs.

"Does my brother know?" Irene hisses, her face hardened. Ada shakes her head in response, taking the final drag of her cigarette. "I suggest you speak to your Aunt Polly and never let this be spoken of again because you are right, Tommy will kill the both of you."

Once Ada had left Irene had opened a fresh bottle of rum and drawn herself a bath. She had tried to get the bobbed haired bitch out of her mind but she couldn't, the silly cow was pregnant! How had they let this happen? She should have known that night when she had run into Ada coming out of Freddie's house that it was more than just business. Maybe she hadn't wanted it to be anything more than what she saw if she did she would have had to speak to Freddie about it and the less she spoke to him the better. Before Ada's unexpected visit she had been enjoying her life as an accountant. Numbers where simple, they didn't cause any drama. Sure it could be boring sometimes but she found her kicks in other places.

Rising from her bath she dries herself with her favourite brown towel and wraps it around her petite frame. Carefully she undoes each pin and lets down her curls, carefully handling them and spraying hairspray on each one. Irene then dips into her eyeshadow pot and brushes it over her eyelids.

She had decided from the moment that she left Tommy at the door the week before that she would be late the following week. He had become too used to waltzing into the Garrison and her being ready and waiting. As the clock strikes 10 she throws her cigarette to the ground and grinds it into the pavement with her heal. As she enters the pub she is welcomed by the energy that buzzes around her like electricity. Grinning she makes her way towards the bar but before she can make more than three steps her whole body is pulled sideways and her body is pushed against a wall.

Tommy's blue eyes bore into hers as his arm pushes against her neck forcing her in an upright position. "Tommy!" Irene gasps, her eyes beginning to water as she struggles against him.

"Did you know?" He shouts, pushing into her further, his mouth only inches from hers.

"What?" Her brain races at a hundred miles an hour with a million possibilities as it lands at the only one it could be. "She told me." Irene pushes against him again, her foot kicking his shin should have caused him a world of pain but he doesn't flinch. "Today." She gasps taking in a deep breath as he releases her but its only for a minute as he pushes his head against her own.

"Bull shit!" Tommy spits, his eyes searching her own. Irene knows that she should be angry with him for treating her this way but the way he was looking at her so intensely and how forceful he was being drove her crazy. Before she has the chance to second-guess herself Irene pushes her face upwards and their lips collide. Time seems to slow as they fight within their kiss, each trying to fight for power over the other. Eventually, Irene breaks the kiss, finally pushing him away.

"Truth."