A/N: Short chapter, I apologize. I realized only after re-reading it that I stopped sooner than I meant to with Chapter 7. This is the mini-chapter before the next full one. Thanks so much for the reviews so far! I'm glad I'm not the only one enjoying this (because I have to tell you, I'm having a blast writing it...does that make my life boring:) Please continue to R & R!

While it may have been a challenge, she thought maybe she could coax herself to sleep. Racing thoughts filled her head, tangling and knotting any semblance of order in her head as she had attempted to focus on simply breathing in and breathing out. She gave up trying to sleep after a full hour of tossing and turning.

Sitting up with a sigh, she leaned back against the wall and raised her hand to her lips again. He'd kissed her. Murphy had kissed her. And then as soon as Connor had called, he'd walked away. Her chance to kiss him back was gone.

She'd found herself watching him at random moments. Just a little crush, she'd convinced herself. After all, what American girl wasn't attracted to a good Irish accent? It was practically in her raising, in her culture. But this wasn't just an Irish accent. This was Murph. Murphy. Her friend. Connor's brother. Da's son. And the man she had to live with for who knew how long?

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. What was she still even doing here? They'd saved her life, not invited her to live out the rest of her life with them. But she knew they wouldn't push her away. It was up to her to leave if she was going to. But did she want to?

The thought of leaving scared her. More than it should have. This wasn't the first time the mob had followed her. But now it was affecting the lives of the three men who'd saved her. They hadn't asked for this. She had every reason to leave and remove the threat from their lives. Allow them to find their own way without her interruptions. It made sense to her brain.

But to her heart, she had every reason to stay. Not that she expected any whirlwind romance with Murphy. After all, it was just Murph. He'd probably already written off the kiss as another impulsive thing. Something that didn't need to be followed up on. And somehow, she knew she could convince herself to be okay with that. If that's how things were meant to be.

Katie lifted her head and stared out her doorway, wondering if the two brothers were asleep. And if Da was home. They'd become her reasons to stay. Somehow, in a time shorter than a week, they'd become the closest thing to family she'd had in a long time. As with nearly everything else in her life, she'd lost that with Brett's death. While she had every reason to leave, she didn't know if she had the strength to. The strength to walk away from the McManus brothers and their Da. To walk out of their life forever. Because it would have to be forever. If she left now, she knew she'd never likely find them again.

"I've really fucked up this time." Her voice softly echoed through the room. Katie ran a hand over her face and slid off her bed. If she wasn't going to sleep, she was going to be productive. Then maybe that feeling in the pit of her stomach would go away.

Shuffling softly to her door, she shut it quietly. She didn't want the light to wake anyone up. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk to a McManus right now. Pulling out the two bags she'd brought home, she pursed her lips. It's a good thing she'd kept all of the shopping bags. She had a feeling they were going to need them.

It was nearly four o'clock in the morning when Katie finally leaned against the kitchen counter for a break. Her bags were packed. The bathroom had been scrubbed and left ready for a quick wipe down in the morning before they left. The kitchen had also been scrubbed after she'd tiptoed down the hall and shut the door so that light wouldn't wake up Da. She'd packed all of the non-refrigerated food into a few grocery bags on the counter. The counters were clean, the floor had been swept. She'd even made pancake batter for breakfast.

Her hands were raw and both her mind and body were exhausted. But she still couldn't sleep. Sitting down at the table, she began to feel emotional again and she didn't know if she could stamp it out this time with some menial chore. Moving always made her feel uprooted, but this was ridiculous. She felt hallow inside and as she stared at the pink and red hearts on her phone, she knew there was only one thing to do.

Katie picked up the phone and after forcing herself to take a deep breath, she dialed the number she still knew by heart. It was time to call home. After a moment of indecision, she pressed send. Putting the phone to her ear, the lack of ringing confused her tired brain. Then the automated message answered her yet unasked question. Peter's number had been disconnected.

"What?" She muttered and dialed the number again. She must have dialed wrong. His number couldn't be disconnected. The message echoed out of her phone again and she resisted the urge to hurl the plastic phone across the room.

Tears ran down before she could stop them. Peter was gone. Her last thread to home had snapped without her knowledge. Giving in finally, Katie buried her face into her folded arms and cried.

Da heard the sobbing from his chair across the room. He'd heard her come down the hall over an hour before. He didn't understand what she was doing, but he'd learned long before to give an emotional woman her space. And everything about Katie told him she was currently very emotional. But enough was enough. She needed sleep and so did he. And neither of them were going to get it if she continued crying behind the closed door of the kitchen.

Getting up slowly, he felt his limbs stretch and creak. Fuck, he was getting too old for this. He was slowing down, that much he could feel. He just wondered how long it would be before the boys noticed it. Then they'd insist on doing everything. Just like they should be doing this! He thought as he walked quietly to the kitchen door.

The sounds of crying inside had lessened but he still pushed open the door. Katie glanced up as he came in looking five years younger and much more vulnerable. She sniffed and looked back down at her hands.

"I didn't mean to wake you up."

He shook his head and slid into the seat next to her. "It's okay, Katie. How are ye doing?"

She shrugged.

"Ye should get some sleep, lass. Tomorrow's a busy day."

"I know. I already packed everything and cleaned stuff up."

Da finally looked around the room and raised his eyebrows. "The boys could've cleaned this in the mornin'."

"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep, so I figured…"

"Well, I don't suppose it was cleanin' that made ye cry. So what's going on?"

"I just…" Katie paused and looked up again him. "Peter's gone."

"Peter's your brother, right?"

She nodded.

"How do ye know he's gone?"

"I tried to call finally. The boys told me to a few days ago. But I didn't try until tonight. The phone is disconnected."

"Maybe he moved."

"Yeah…but it was our parent's house. I didn't think he'd ever sell it. At least without telling me."

"A disconnected phone doesn't mean he sold the house, m'dear. Is there another number ye could call?"

"No." She covered her face with her hands and wiped away a few new tears.

"Now there's not much ye can do about it tonight."

"I don't think I can sleep, Da."

"Try for me. Please."

"I already took the sheets off my bed."

"Then take the couch. Ye need some sleep. Maybe a chance of scenery will help ye sleep."

She met his gaze again and nodded slowly. They both got up and Da put his arm around Katie. He led her to the couch and motioned for her to sit there. Leaving the room, he came back after a moment with her pillow and comforter.

"Thanks, Da. You guys are too good to me." She laid down and pulled the blanket over her. Relaxing back into his chair, Da just shook his head. "Night, Da."

"G'night, Katie."

After forcing herself to breathe slowly, exhaustion finally weighed down on Katie and before she realized it, she was asleep.

The shuffling down the hall a couple of hours later woke Da again. He opened his eyes slowly to see a grinning Connor followed shortly by Murphy. They both stopped at the sight of Katie curled up on the couch. Da shook his head at them and motioned to the kitchen.

Murphy moved to the coffee pot and blinked slowly at the bags on the counter. After looking for a moment, he pulled out the ground coffee and got a pot brewing.

"What's going on, Da?"

"Katie couldn't sleep. So I guess she got a few things done."

"So that's why the bathroom's clean." Murphy sat down next to Connor, who tossed the pack of cigarettes to him. They lit them together.

"Why couldn't she sleep?" Connor tilted his head to look at Da who leaned back in the chair.

"Don't know for sure. I'd say she's got a few things on her mind. And she tried to call her brother." He grabbed the pack of cigarettes from in front of Murphy and lit one himself.

"Really? I thought she'd done that already."

"What happened?" Murphy rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"The phone's disconnected. It upset her ta say the least."

"Why would that bother her?"

"He lived in their parent's house. She thinks this means he moved."

"Might have." Connor agreed with a nod. Murphy frowned.

"I can't believe he'd move without telling her."

"Well, they haven't exactly been on the best terms, Murph."

Da glanced at the coffee machine and saw there was enough for him to pour a cup. Getting to his feet, he looked down at his sons. "Just let her sleep awhile longer. I'll go shower first."

Both twins nodded and watched him leave the kitchen with a steaming mug in hand, closing the door slowly behind him. Connor took a drag before glancing at Murphy.

"How long do ya think it'll take us to get packed?"

Murphy shrugged. "Less than an hour, I'd say. Especially now. I can't believe she did all of this."

"I wonder what was bothering her." Connor caught the uneasy expression on Murphy's face. "What'd ye do, Murph?"

"Nothing."

"Murphy."

"Nothing, Connor."

"Ye didn't fight with her too, did ya?"

"No, I didn't." Murphy got to his feet and went to the fridge. "I'm starved."

After a second, he turned back to Connor with a grin.

"What?"

"Katie made pancake batter."

"What?"

Murphy pulled out the bowl and set it on the table. Connor raised an eyebrow.

"She really was looking for a distraction."

"You get to make them."

"How do ye fuckin' figure that, Murph? You found them."

"Aye, so I've done my work, Katie did hers, now it's your turn. Besides, yer much better at it than I am."

Connor just shook his head with a soft laugh. He grabbed the bowl and hit Murph on the side of the head with his other hand. "Fine, but if there's an odd number, I get more."

"Of course." Murphy grinned. Leaning back, he took another drag.