A/N- I decided to try something new this chapter- different POV. I like how it worked out, personally.

All rights to whoever.

Murph paced back and forth, fidgeting, alternating between chewing on his thumb and running a hand through his hair. Jose was surprisingly calm as he sat between Rocco and me. It was strange, considering minutes before he had been quaking with rage and anxiety. Roc tapped his foot, sometimes shifting in his seat. I stared straight ahead, trying to cover our bases.

Wrong time, wrong place. That's all it was.

It was probable that two kids would stumble into the middle of a drug deal.

It was probable three people would stumble across the kids that had stumbled into a drug deal.

And it was probable that said three strangers would help the said two kids stumble into the emergency room.

Probable, possible, but not likely.

The cops are gonna get called. They won't believe this pile of shit anymore than I do.

I glanced up and Murph. He roamed around the waiting room the way a lion roams its cage at the zoo. I knew he was taking this hard- We had never- never- lost an innocent life before. Murph felt like it was his fault that Maria was hurt- I didn't have to ask him to know. In my opinion, there wasn't much we could have done- had we moved sooner, we only would have gotten hurt ourselves, and probably gotten Jose or Roc killed in the process. The thought that rattled around in my brain was the fact that we didn't take those fuckers out.

It was TWO GUYS. TWO FUCKING GUYS.

That should have been a fucking piece of cake. Instead, we took out the lackey, the other guy- the head honcho- getting away, leaving us with a bleeding little girl and her kid brother.

Why weren't we prepared?

That was easily solved. We hadn't planned on taking anyone out- all we planned on doing was talking to the kid. We didn't have all of our gear on –just our guns. To add to our sheer stupidity in the whole situation, we hadn't been properly covered up- our neck tats were a dead giveaway to the man who called himself Otets- we had been ID'd, indefinitely marked.

How fuckin' stupid can three people get? It baffled me. Out of Roc, Murph, and myself, not a one of us thought to maybe have a little caution- No, we just dived right in, digging a giant whole and making a mess out of everything.

"What a clusterfuck." I murmured aloud.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

I jumped a foot out of my chair, as did Roc. Ericka stood in front of me, expression blank.

Murph pounced on Ericka. "The girl- will she be alright?"

"Yeah, I want to know how my sister is doing. Is she alive?" Jose spoke in a low, calm voice, but his eyes flashed. Ericka looked around quickly before kneeling in front of us.

"Yeah, she's alive. I can't give specifics yet, but she's going to be fine. In a few minutes, a doctor is going to come out here and talk to you, and rest assured, the cops are on their way- protocol to call in a gunshot wound. Better have your story straight- that little girl is lucky to be alive. As for you three-" She looked `around at us. "You're going to get the fuck out of here. You're going to meet me in front of my apartment in exactly one hour, and you're going to explain everything. And I fucking mean everything."

She spoke with such firm authority- I wasn't about to challenge her. Nodding my head with an almost whispered, "yes ma'am" we stood up one at a time and left the E.R. I felt Ericka's eyes burning into my back as I left the building.

"What in the fuck are we going to do?" Roc asked. He was panicking, and it was starting to grade on my nerves.

"We're going to go and talk to her. We don't have much of choice. She can turn us in." Murph was silent, but I took that to mean he agreed with me. Roc kicked a trash can.

"So we fucking run then!"

"No, Roc." I felt the edge in my voice. "I have a feeling about her. "

"For fuck's sakes, enough with the intuition bullshit! I say we whack her, dispose of the body and then get the fuck out of Boston."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Since when has my intuition been wrong? How many times have I saved your ass?" I had to fight the urge to yell. "Ericka is a good woman. Whatever her motive is, it's not harmful. But if you want to jump ship and run like a fucking pussy and keep working your stupid ass package boy job for Papa Joe until you get set up again and killed, go for it. We're not keeping you here." I guess I hit a nerve, because Roc said nothing more as we walked to Ericka's.

We sat on the steps as we waited for her to show. Murph was chain smoking, flicking his silver Zippo lighter open and closed in attempts to keep busy. I twirled a cancer stick in my fingers, not really sure why I wasn't lighting up.

Murph and I glanced at each other, sharing the same thought.

I hate waiting.

Ericka's POV

Everything had been going fine. Just fucking fine.

The guy I met in the bar after that brutal twelve hour shift in the ER- Connor MacManus- was adorable, and after our date, I wanted to see him stick around for a while. He had lifted my mood and actually made me laugh- Something completely different from the typical men who asked me out. He wasn't boring, he had faith- he asked me out in Catholic church- and he had passed my test- he didn't try sleeping with me on the first date. And he could hold his alcohol. Granted, I knew little about him- I'm not even sure what we talked about at the bar, just that I was super engaged in conversation.

One thing that concerned me though- he seemed very over protective. He followed me home after I told him not to- Though admittedly, seeing the look on his face after watching me lay out those drug dealing kids was amusing. And he had a gun. There was nothing I loved more than a man who could handle a gun.

Two days and I'm hooked. Fucking figures. It seemed ridiculous to me that this perfect stranger hadn't left my thoughts since I had met him. I had hoped and prayed that there wasn't a catch. There was always a catch when I met a seemingly decent man- which was few and far between.

But of course, there was.

I was just getting off of work when Connor happened to waltz into the ER with his brother, who was carrying a bloodied up teenager, with another teen and a guy who looked as if he hadn't showered in a week. I recognized the brother and the guy- Muprh and Rocco were their names. I remembered them from the night I met Connor.

Murph had the look of a guilt stricken man- yelling at the tops of his lungs for a doctor. The teen- the uninjured one- stood there shaking, swearing a little in Spanish. Roc sat down in the first chair he saw and watch the events unfolding as he wasn't affected in the least. Connor's face was blank, but his eyes were unfocused, like he was replaying the events in his head- until he caught sight of me. His eyes widened and I felt him staring as I ran after the girl on the gurney and doctor.

After the doctor and a few other nurses got her stabilized, they sent her up for surgery. I didn't work on her- just stuck around long enough to make sure she would make it. I went back out into the waiting room. Murph was pacing the floors- he reminded me of a tweaker with all of his fidgeting. Connor leaned forward in his seat, fingers laced together- deep in thought. I stood in front of him as he let the words, "What a clusterfuck."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

I dropped to my knees and talked to the brother first, then the other three. I was surprised at how willingly they complied to going to my place and talking- Connor even addressed me as "ma'am." I hadn't been addressed with such respect since my military time- a period of time in my life I tried to forget about.

I watched them leave, and decided to follow from a distance. I wanted to be sure that I was going to get the whole story out of these three- I really didn't want to involve the police, but would if I had to.

I followed the three men from a distance. Due to the fact Rocco had no perception of volume control, I could hear most of the conversation.

"For fuck's sakes, enough with the intuition bullshit! I say we whack her, dispose of the body and then get the fuck out of Boston."

I felt the faintest trace of panic before Connor stopped walking and got up in Roc's face. "Since when has my intuition been wrong? How many times have I saved your ass? Ericka is a good woman. Whatever her motive is, it's not harmful. But if you want to jump ship and run like a fucking pussy and keep working your stupid ass package boy job for Papa Joe until you get set up again and killed, go for it. We're not keeping you here."

I was touched by Connor's assumption that I was a good person- even if he had told me the other night, it was nice to know he meant it. I was also surprised my joke about Rocco working for the Mafia happened to be true.

Ego boost +10 points.

I followed them carefully until they made it back to my place. I left them sitting on the steps, heading over to the local gas station. If I was going to get them to talk at all, I had to get them to trust me.

With a carton of smokes and twelve pack of beer in my hand, I approached them half an hour later. I all but threw the beer at Rocco, who looked at me with an incredulous look on face.

"What the hell-"

"You can carry that in for me," I said dryly. I entered the building, and as we walked up the staircase to the top floor, I swear I heard Connor say, "Told you so."

As soon as were in my apartment, I left them in the kitchen and changed into jeans and tshirt. I wanted a shower, but that would have to wait. There were more pressing matters at hand- like getting answers out of the two Irishman.

I returned to the kitchen to find them standing there, coats still on. I quirked an eyebrow. "You can sit down. No need to be so fucking stiff." They looked to each other – I didn't miss the grin that passed between Connor and Murph.

I sat down at the table, opening a beer. They did the same, saying "thank you" as they cracked open their beers. A few moments of silence passed. I cleared my throat.

"So." I leaned forward in my chair, elbow resting on the table. "Start talking. I want to know who you are, what you do, and how in the fuck you became involved with that girl and her brother."

Connor and Murph had a silent conversation, one Rocco seemed to miss out on. Finally, Murph nodded to Connor.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ericka," he started. I heard the hesitation in his voice- it would have gone completely missed if I hadn't been looking for it.

"How do you feel about the Saints?"

I felt my stomach drop.

There's the fucking catch you were looking for.

Review? Bitte, bitte, bitte? :)