It took Danny all of three seconds to take in the gravity of her words and he bolted out of the car almost as fast as Allie. She was half a step ahead of him as they clambered up her front steps, and Danny nearly slammed into her as she fumbled with door, struggling to get it open.

Now, to realize the full severity of the situation, one must know the facts. Mikey was almost always asleep by eleven, twelve at the very latest, preferring to rise with the sun and start his day in the most positive way he could, given his lifestyle. Two in the morning was never an option for him, even when Sonny was out partying until all hours of the night. Aileen O'Brien, for her own part, owned a bookstore that was open seven days a week, come rain or shine. She bedded down as early as possible in order to be refreshed for a day of dealing with stubborn customers and people who "just didn't understand fine literature". Lights on in the O'Brien household at two in the morning only happened in times of great joy, like a birth, or in times of anxiety and fear, like a death.

Allie couldn't name any relatives off the top of her head who were pregnant, and no one she knew of was deathly ill. That could only leave…

"Ma, where's Mikey?" Allie's voice was shrill as she burst through the heavy door and she could feel Danny panting behind her. A flash of navy blue caught her eye and she turned her head to see a police officer taking notes on a small pad. Panicked eyes swept the room, halting their search when they landed on Maria Messer comforting a distraught Aileen. A cry tore itself from Allie's throat and she rushed to her mother, flinging herself into Maria's warm embrace. The tears fell fast and hard, choking Allie with such force that she found it difficult to catch her breath.

Danny's wide eyed look wasn't missed by his mother and she nodded to the O'Brien's living room where, upon further inspection, Danny found a blood-spattered Louie standing with his hands in his back pockets, giving information to a cop. The officer looked the young man over once suspiciously before passing Danny and heading out into the night to walk to his squad car a few blocks away.

"What happened, Lou?" Danny cursed the tremor in his voice and Louie's tired eyes closed as he collapsed onto the weathered couch, holding his head in his hands. "He was leavin' tonight," he muttered, so quietly Danny had to come closer to hear him. "He wanted me to be behind him when he got his out date and I told him I would be. When we went to tell Sonny, he was a lot cooler about it than I thought. He just nodded and told us to come with him, for one last party. I figured we were headed to the one you and Allie was at." Louie stared at his hands, twisting his fingers together. "When we saw that Sonny was headed to Pelham Bay, Mikey started to back out; said he was done with Pelham and Tanglewood, and was gettin' out to protect his family. Sonny started to yell at him and they got into it. Then we were ambushed by a bunch of Pelham guys. There was this gunshot, and a flash of light, and Mikey was bleedin' on the ground. Pelham disappeared and Sonny and Sal took off."

"You called the cops?" Danny asked quietly, amazed that his brother would be the one to contact the authorities.

Louie scoffed, looking up at his younger brother for the first time in many minutes. "Don't be stupid, Dan. The neighbors said they'd heard a brawl, called the police in on a disturbance. That's when they found Mikey." He stopped to clear his throat and Danny could tell that his tough older brother was on the verge of tears. "He was dead when they got there. I just stayed by the body, so's I could identify it and all that shit." He shook his dark hair out of his eyes, glaring up at the ceiling. "They dragged me back here, to tell Aileen and Ma." He smirked and glanced at Danny, who balled his hands into fists in anger. "They're out there lookin' for a Pelham boy with blood on his hands."

"Why shouldn't they, if it was a member of Pelham crew that shot Mikey?" Danny asked calmly, feeling his heart rate speed up as Louie stood to face his brother full on.

Louie's eyes were blank as he studied Danny for a moment. "You know Sonny's temper, Dan. He doesn't take rejection lightly." He stretched, reaching his hands above his head. "Well, this'll be a good chance to start a blood demand. Sonny's gonna want revenge on the idiot that shot Mikey. Put a bullet in his gut, see how he feels." He shook his head, stilling any more questions in Danny's mind. "Go comfort your girlfriend," he muttered as he swept past his younger brother. "Sounds like she needs it."

Danny turned and watched his brother, the man he had idolized for so many years, walk into the night and down the street without looking back once. An evil thought was eating away at the young man's mind, but he pushed it back quickly, unable to deal with the burden that came with thinking such thoughts. Danny ran his hands over his face before stumbling back into the front hallway where Aileen was nowhere to be found and Maria was comforting a still-sobbing Allie. "Take her upstairs," his mother told him quietly, passing Allie to him and he nodded, wrapping his arms around the grief-ridden girl. "Aileen and I are going to start making arrangements." She patted his cheek for a moment and his throat ached as he saw his mother's eyes fill with tears. "Thank God it wasn't you or Louie," her eyes said and he diverted his gaze, feeling guilty that his mother was thankful on a night such as this.

"C'mon, Al. Let's get you upstairs." Danny wrapped an arm around her waist guided her upwards. He knew which room was hers after five years of sneaking out and crossing the space between their houses to creep to her room, to get homework answers or simply to talk. Her head buried into the crook of his neck and he could feel her shake against his body. Swallowing hard a few times, it was all Danny could do to keep a calm face. Inside, he was as torn apart by Mikey's death as she was. God, he's really dead, isn't he? As Danny nudged open the door to her room with his foot and slowly led her inside, he bit his tongue hard, holding back tears. Mikey had been an older brother to him when Louie didn't want to be. Danny could have told Mike anything with the faith that none of it would be repeated to anyone. Now, the only other person he could trust as much as that was Allie, and she was having a rough time of it as it was.

Muttering condolences and words of soothing comfort, Danny gently placed Allie on her bed, crouching in front of her. He gently touched her cheek, drawing her eyes to his and in the dark he could see the tears glisten on her face. "What do you need me to do?"

Surprisingly, she let out a watery chuckle, making him grin. "I don't think you can do what I need," she whispered, and Danny's breath caught in his throat. She drew him up next to her on the bed and turned to face him. "Is that a fact?" he whispered back, reaching out to brush a lock of hair from her face. Allie nodded, her eyes focused on the dark window where raindrops were beginning to spatter the glass. Danny watched as she bit her lip and heaved a great sigh, letting the breath out slowly.

"Have you ever killed someone, Dan?" The soft-spoken question caught him off-guard and he blinked in surprise. "W-what?"

She turned her face to his, eyes serious. "I mean it. Have you ever killed someone?"

He shook his head slowly, not sure what else to do. His voice didn't seem to be working, and he cursed his lack of brain waves. The question should have sent of alarms in his mind, clues that Allie needed more help than he could provide. But he couldn't move, couldn't think, and couldn't speak.

"Neither have I. But I think I could, if the situation required it." She looked away from him slowly, staring out the window again. "I want him dead, Danny. I want all of them dead."

He let out a shaky breath, understanding now what she was talking about. "I know, Al. Sonny's gonna go to Pelham, demand a blood price for whoever killed Mikey—"

"Not Pelham boys. They're not responsible for this." Her voice was sharp and Danny nearly drew blood from his lip at what her words were suggesting. "What the hell are ya talkin' about, Al? Louie told me, they went to Pelham Bay and were attacked by a bunch of crewmembers. Simple as that."

"Yeah, Ma told me Louie's story too, and it doesn't match up." Her voice shook and Danny clenched his fists in attempt to keep the evil thought at the back of his mind from rising. "Anyone could have jumped them down there; why Pelham boys? Louie knows the names of all the members down there, why didn't he give names? Because, Danny," she rose from the bed and moved to lean against the wall, hugging her arms to her body tightly, "it wasn't a group of Pelham boys that attacked them. There never was a group of Pelham Bay members. The brawl the neighbors heard was Sonny beating the crap out of Mikey, and Louie and Sal were there to hold him back. Simple as that."

"So you're sayin' my brother shot Mikey?" Danny's accent was strong with anger and he stood as Allie slowly sank to the floor. She shook her head, eyes closed. "No, Sonny shot Mikey. Louie had to know about it, though. Hell, he brought Mikey to Sonny!" She looked up at Danny with begging eyes. Please, accept that you know what I say is true.

"No, Al. Louie wouldn't do that. Mikey was his friend. Mikey wouldn't—"

"He's dead, Danny." Allie's voice was thick with tears as she sat on the floor, curled into a protective ball. "He's dead, and THEY shot him. His friends." Her sarcasm and anger came through thick, despite the sadness in her eyes. "Louie Messer, Sonny Sassone, and Sal Zabo shot him in the back, pretending that it was a Pelham Boy. They used his death as an excuse to start a territory war!"

Danny shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe a word of it. "You're wrong," he said flatly, voice low with anger. "Louie wouldn't do something like that. My brother, while an idiot for his affiliation with Tanglewood, is not a murderer."

"Oh, would you listen to yourself?" Allie stood quickly, her lips trembling as she attempted to hold back the biting words racing through her brain. "You're just as bad as he is. Pretending nothing's happened, when my brother—my brother… Oh, my, god." She sank back onto the bed, holding her head in her hands. Danny stood with his hands in his pockets, biting his lip.

"Allie, I—"

"Get out." The words were clearer than anything she had spoken since he had gotten her there, and she raised her tearstained face slowly. There was a determination burning in her eyes he had never seen before, and Danny stepped back, stunned. "What?"

Allie nodded her head, tears starting to fall again. "You can't be here, not now. And I can't look you in the eyes, knowing you're defending Louie in all of this."

"He's my brother, Al! What do you want me to do? Pretend that family doesn't matter? I can't do that! I hate to say it, but it's kinda Mikey's fault that this mess happened at all." He was digging a hole, deeper than one he would be able to escape. Danny knew that when Allie looked at him like she was doing right now, with rage and disbelief in her eyes, he was going too far. But his stubborn pride wouldn't let him stop. "Thanks to your brother, you feel this way. It was his choice to go tonight." Danny's voice was husky, as though he couldn't quite breathe. Allie flinched at his words before raising her eyes to look at him again. "Yeah, well, thanks to your brother, my brother's dead."

Danny shook his head. "No, Allie. Louie didn't kill him." He turned to go, stopping at the door. "Did you know Mikey got his outdate tonight? He didn't have to go down to Pelham, but he did. He chose to go with Sonny." He flung the door open and raced down the stairs, ignoring his mother's questioning look. Danny ran out into the rain, spreading his arms as the cool drops struck his body.

"It's not true. Louie didn't know Mikey was going to die." No matter how hard he tried, Danny couldn't erase the gnawing doubt in the pit of his stomach and he leaned against the railing of the O'Brien's front steps, attempting to stop the pain in his chest. He felt the burning in his throat and he retched, emptying the contents of his stomach into the gutter. I'm dyin', he thought vaguely and he raised his eyes to the heavens, blinking tears out of his eyes. I'm dyin', and I killed her.

---

A/N: I know I haven't updated this story in a while: I apologize. But now I'd like to know, what are you thinking?