Connor came home with a pizza for supper to find that Murphy had finally returned. He'd been worried but he knew that calling his brother wouldn't solve things. If Murphy needed to be alone and miserable, then adding on guilt for leaving Connor alone all day wouldn't help things.

Grabbing two beers from the fridge, he set the box on the coffee table and collapsed on the couch next to Murphy.

"Hungry?"

"Sure, why not." Murphy opened the box and grabbed a beer. "Thanks."

Connor nodded and they ate in silence. He didn't know what to say to his brother. His role had always been that of the solver. And for once, he didn't know how to make this better.

A phone rang from the kitchen table and Connor exchanged a look with Murphy.

"It's not mine." Murphy pulled his phone from his pocket. Nodding, Connor got up and grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Connor. It's Smecker."

"I know." Connor smiled slightly. "Caller ID. What's goin' on?"

"Couple of things. First, I convinced Katie to come to my apartment. And, I need you two to come over. We all need to talk." Smecker sighed.

Connor nodded and glanced at Murphy, who was watching him with an eyebrow raised. "Okay. When?"

"When can you get here?"

"Give us twenty minutes." Hanging up the phone, Connor took another quick bite of his slice of pizza and moved his finger is a circle. "Grab some to go. We gotta fuckin' get to Smecker's."

"Why? What's the fuck is goin' on?"

"Group therapy. Fuck if I know. Katie's there too." Connor grabbed his beer and started drinking it quickly. "Finish yer beer here."

"I'm not a fuckin' idiot." Murphy glared at him before standing up from the couch. He grabbed two more slices and stacked them on his hand. Taking two more drinks, he drained his beer and slammed it on the table. "Let's go."

Sighing, Connor nodded and followed Murphy out the door. This should be a fuckin' fun filled night.

Da was at Smecker's when they walked in. He gave them each a half smile before he puffed at his cigar. Murphy looked at Connor who shrugged. Why was Da there?

Murphy glanced at Smecker. He nodded to the kitchen. "She went to get a drink."

She was at the sink with her back to him but when she tensed slightly, he knew she was aware of his presence. Murphy opened the fridge to see if Smecker had any beer and was surprised to find the white bag in there. Frowning he pulled it out and set it on the counter. Katie still hadn't looked at him.

"Have ye eaten at all today?"

"I'm fine, Murph." Her shaking voice made a liar out of her and he stepped closer.

"Look at me."

"Go away." She rubbed her palms underneath her eyes as he gently made her face him. The tears didn't surprise him but the fact that she was avoiding his eyes did. He noticed the shaking in her hands as she wiped away another tear. Putting an arm around her, he led her to the kitchen table.

"Sit. Please."

She kept her eyes away from his and sat down, folding her arms in front of her on the table. Rubbing his hand on the back of his head, he grabbed the white bag and pulled the box out. He tore the top half off and set it in the microwave. After turning it on, he turned to look at her.

"Ye need ta eat."

The beeping of the microwave was his only answer. He found a fork and stirred up the spaghetti. After punching a few more numbers again, he started the microwave.

"I want to go home." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Murphy felt a lump in his throat grow as he watched her. He crouched beside her chair and looked up at her, putting his hand on her knee.

He was quiet for a moment, trying to catch her eye. "Ye can have my home."

She finally raised her eyes to look at him and tried to smile. She started sobbing instead. Murphy pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

"I wish it were that simple, Murph."

Closing his eyes, he forced himself not to respond. But it is the fuckin' simple. Anger wouldn't work. Especially anger that wasn't even directed at her. A large part of him wished she would be a little less concerned about others. About him. Because he'd risk anything to get her back home.

"Everything okay?" Connor's voice came from the doorway quietly. Murphy pulled away and looked up at him. Glancing behind him, Connor nodded toward the living room. "Smecker's ready to start as soon as ye get in there."

Nodding, Murphy looked back at Katie. She met his eyes this time. "What's going on?"

"Smecker has ta talk to us, I guess."

"About what?"

"Group therapy?" Murphy smiled when she laughed softly.

"Bad joke."

"Wasn't mine. Connor said it first."

"Yeah, sure. Blame it on poor Connor." She seemed to have relaxed a little bit. Murphy breathed easier, putting his hand back on her knee. As least the tears were over, that's all that mattered at the moment. He could handle anything else.

"Oh, he got enough fuckin' blamed on me when we were lads. Fuckin' little angel Connor never did anything wrong." He got to his feet and held a hand out to Katie. After she stood up, he put his arms around her again. For just a moment, he needed to hold her. And somehow, he knew she understood.

"Did ye find any beer in the fridge?" She laughed when he pulled away and grinned.

"How'd ye know that's what I was goin' for?"

"Because I know you, Murph."

"Aye, I think there might be a few."

"Spaghetti and beer. Not quite as catchy as pizza and beer, but it'll work."

"Yer catching on, Katie." Murphy pulled the box out of the microwave and handed it to her. She looked at it and smiled again.

"This is from that one diner. The one we hid in that day."

He nodded. "Yeah, I knew ye liked it then."

Katie opened her mouth to speak but then stopped. Instead, she stepped close to him and kissed him on the cheek. He put his arm around her and she leaned against him for a second.

"I'm not any good at this stuff, Murph."

Laughing softly, he rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm not exactly the best either. Connor's always been the smooth one. But I think we'll be fine."

Following Murphy through the door, Katie realized she was getting three confused looks from the other three men. She glanced around the room and smiled slightly.

"Group therapy, huh?"

Connor grinned at her. "Christ, that's all it took? I would have said that earlier if I'd known."

"He really did say it, Murph." She chuckled as Murphy rolled his eyes.

"I told ye he did."

"Yeah, yeah. Fucking little angel Connor." Settling on the end of the couch closest to Connor, Katie smiled slightly as Murphy sat next to her. Twirling her fork to wrap spaghetti around it, she pointed it at Smecker. "What's up?"

"We have a few issues to discuss."

"Wow, and I don't have to leave?" Katie shot a knowing glance at Da who shook his head with a small smile.

"No, lass. Yer involved now."

"Yer nearly one of the fuckin' Saints now." Murphy glanced at her.

Shaking her head, she nodded at Connor. "Nope, I haven't been properly initiated yet."

"Ye have ta be initiated now?"

"Ask Connor."

Murphy raised an eyebrow at Connor, who just shook his head at her. "Jesus, ye have a long fuckin' memory Katie."

"What is the initiation?"

"Never mind, Murph." She smiled and took a bite of her spaghetti. It was bad timing to discuss Connor's idea of initiation. Murphy wouldn't think it was too humorous. Da took the open silence as his cue.

"We've got ta do some plannin' tonight."

"So that's why yer here." Connor looked at Da who nodded.

"You two boys aren't exactly known for yer fuckin' plannin' ahead. And luck won't work this time."

Connor turned towards Katie and managed to speak in a voice nearly identical to Da's. "And ye're not known for planning anything at all, lass."

Between choking laughs, she pointed her fork at him and shook her head.

"To the business at hand." Smecker eyed Connor then Katie seriously. "We have lots to discuss tonight."

Taking another bite of her spaghetti, she leaned back against Murphy's arm. "So, what specifically are we planning tonight?"

Smecker exchanged a glance with Da before motioning for him to continue. Da nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. He sighed.

"We've known this day might be comin' for a while now. The very men we track down are now working together to strike back at us. We need to be prepared and we need to decide if we want to continue."

"First, we have two families with power who have never been known to work together joining ranks with each other. The Fertittas and the Yakavettas are dangerous alone. Together, they will believe they are unstoppable." Smecker shifted his gaze around the room as he spoke. "And now, the Russians. Katie, the man in the alley was a Russian mobster."

She nodded slowly. "So what does this all mean?"

"It means either we do something fast or we face them unified." Smecker pulled a cigarette out and lit it slowly. "Obviously doing something fast is the fucking better option."

"Aye, but what should we fuckin' do? We're just glorified hit men. This'll be a fuckin' war." Murphy muttered.

"Two choices. Either hide or fight." Smecker held his hand up as both Connor and Murphy moved to interrupt. "I know how you two stand on that issue. However, there is more that complicates this situation."

"Me." Katie picked up her beer and took a small drink. Smecker nodded at her.

"More than you realize."

"Paul, what are you talking about?"

He exchanged glanced with Connor before sighing. "Connor asked me to look up your brother, Peter."

Katie turned to stare at Connor, shocked. She'd never thought of enlisting Smecker's help. Not that she'd had much of a chance to think about it. Nodding mutely, she looked back down at her half-eaten food. "What did you find?"

"To start, he has two addresses listed for him. One in Stillwater, NY."

"Our house." Katie smiled slightly and nodded for him to continue.

"And the other one is in Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn?" She frowned. "Where in Brooklyn?"

"Ah…Loft Street."

Katie grinned. "I lived on Loft Street. Bastard probably took over my apartment."

"So that means he definitely went to New York to look for ye. If he's livin' at yer place." Connor pointed at out her. She pursed her lips together and nodded.

"Hold on." Smecker held up his hand. "I did find that he was working as a detective in Manhattan."

"Was?"

"He's now listed as being on leave. Indefinite leave."

"What does that mean, Smecker?" Katie set her food on the floor and moved so she was sitting cross-legged. "Why would he be on leave?"

"He's on paid leave, Katie. It's been my experience that generally, that only means one thing. He's undercover. Undercover enough that they won't put it officially on record. Even my high clearance found nothing more."

"He's fucking gone in."

"Aye, that's what we're thinkin', lass." Da's voice was low.

"It's likely he went lookin' for an undercover assignment that would get him in ta find ye." Connor added. Murphy leaned forward then.

"When did ye figure this out?"

"Today. We just put it all together when we got here."

Murphy nodded shortly and Katie looked between the two of them. She knew things were a bit rough between them at the moment. And she knew she was the cause. But at the moment, she couldn't allow herself to care.

Pulling away from Murphy's arm, she stood up quickly and walked near the kitchen door. She rubbed her hand on her forehead as she stared at the ground, only slightly away of the stares.

"Katie?" Smecker's spoke up finally.

"He fucking went in because of me. Brett I understood. But not fucking Peter."

"Brett?"

"Her older brother." Murphy supplied, his eyes on her. Da leaned in closer.

"Why did ye understand his involvement but not Peter's, Katie?"

"Why does it matter?" She opened her eyes and looked at Da. He watched her closely.

"Understandin' everything will help us."

She sighed. "Peter's the innocent one. Black and white. Fucking law and order. For Brett, things were blurred. Lots of gray zone. Especially as he got further in. After he fucking became one of them. Brett told me things that I can never repeat to Peter."

Katie looked at Connor and then Murphy. She spoke faster, her voice starting to shake again. "Brett was logical. He did what he needed to. Peter. Peter's kinda like Murphy. More emotionally driven. This is gonna fucking destroy him. Christ!"

She started pacing again. Connor reached out and grabbed her arm. Stopping, she stared down at him.

"Calm down, Katie. You gettin' fuckin' worked up isn't gonna save him."

Continuing to stare down at him, she shook her head. The anger and the helplessness boiled inside of her and she forced herself to take a steadying breath.

"He's been pulled in because of me. You've all been pinned in this fucking mess because of me. And I don't even know why. That's the fucking kicker, Connor. I don't know why. So of course, I can't save him. I can't even fucking save myself." She yanked her arm away and slammed through the kitchen door. Leaning against the wall on the other side, she knew she should cry now. But she had no more tears left.

Murphy stood up as soon as she went through the door, ready to follow her. Connor got up and stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"Get outta my way."

"Murph, stop. You goin' in there isn't gonna fuckin' help."

Trying to push his brother aside, Murphy felt his heart racing. He needed to get to her. But Connor held on tight.

"Yer too fuckin' emotional, Murph. Ye'll just fuckin' stir her up more."

"And you think ye'll be better? All the fuckin' logic and reason in the world isn't gonna make this fuckin' better. Knowin' she's got someone who cares will. Now get the fuck outta me way." Murphy got into Connor's face, anger pumping through his veins. Connor didn't move, just held tightly onto Murphy's shoulders and stared back at him.

"That's enough!" Da's voice rumbled making them turn their glares elsewhere. Da had gotten out of the chair and was walking toward them. Murphy was surprised to find no anger in his face.

"Sit down." He was quieter this time, gently pushing the two brothers apart and pointing them to their seats. "Ye two have good intentions. But yer not in a place ta make this better for her. She's got ta work through it herself."

Da looked at each of his boys for a moment before moving toward the kitchen himself.

"So what are ye gonna do then, Da?" Murphy asked quietly from the couch. Da stared at the wood grain of the door for a moment before glancing over.

His voice was low. "Sometimes a girl just needs her Da. I'm gonna see if I will do instead."

Murphy watched him walk through the door. He pulled his cigarettes out and lit one. Tossing the pack in Connor's direction, he refused to look over at his brother. Smecker's quiet sigh was the only sound in the room.

The door squeaked slightly as it opened, but Katie refused to look. She couldn't deal with answering anything else right now. And that's all they seemed to want. Answers. Even if it was just answering that she was fine so they didn't have to worry.

The lingering smell of cigar smoke surprised her and she found herself turning despite herself. Da leaned against the inside of the door frame, watching her. She sighed and faced forward again.

"Please don't, Da. I just need to be alone right now." Her voice was a whisper but the room was silent enough she knew he'd hear her.

"But is bein' alone the answer, lass?"

"Fuck, I don't know. I don't have the energy to find out right now." Katie brought her hands to up to cover her face. They were both silent for a moment.

"Ye've been hit with a lot lately. It's hardly fair ta expect ye to bear it alone." His deep, soft voice floated around her. She sighed.

"I know you all mean well and want to help…"

Da interrupted her. "I was talkin' about you, Katie. It's hardly fair for you ta force yerself ta handle it alone. Ye've got two boys out there who'd whisk it all away if they thought they could. If they thought ye'd let them. How long has it been since ye've allowed yerself ta lean on someone. Ta depend on them?"

"I've almost always had someone there for me, Da. I've always had support. I've been lucky."

"Aye, ye've had support but have ye opened yerself up and let them support ye?"

Katie pulled her legs up on the chair and wrapped her arms around her knees. She leaned her head on them. "I just want to go home."

"Why?"

She raised her head and turned to look at him. "Why does it matter?"

"Why do ye want ta go home? What is home for ye?" Da stepped closer. Katie swallowed hard. She thought about it for a moment.

"Home is when I was sixteen and my parents were still alive. When my brothers were still innocent. And when I wasn't afraid of anything because I didn't know there were things that existed to be afraid of yet. I want to go there. I want to go home, Da." She let the tears fall, unwilling to be ashamed of them. Da moved into her vision and sat down across from her.

"But that is in the past, Katie. Either ye choose ta focus on the past that can never be again." Da paused and put his hand over hers as she started sobbing harder. "Or ye do what ye need to ta find yer way home again."

Katie let her knees go and stared at him. Da opened up his arms and she leaned forward, allowing herself to be held.

"I know I'm not yer real Da, Katie. But if it helps, ye can pretend I am."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Thank you, Da."

He just kept rocking her gently back and forth without responding. Her tears soon dried up, and she relaxed against him. Thoughts whirled through her head.

"They're gonna find me, aren't they Da?"

"I don't know, lass. But wouldn't ye rather be ready if they do?"

After a little while, Connor glanced at his brother. "Murph, can I talk to ye outside?"

Without looking at him, Murphy nodded. Connor turned his eyes to Smecker. "If they come out..."

"I'll come get you two."

"Thanks." Smiling slightly, Connor followed his still silent brother out the door.

The air was cold and they breathed out white puffs of air in a muted stillness.

"I'm sorry." Connor finally spoke up and turned to face his brother. It took Murphy a moment to glance up. He nodded. Connor sighed. "I just…I can't stand ta see this fuckin' tearin' both of ye apart."

"Keepin' me from her isn't gonna fuckin' solve that."

"Da's right. Neither of us wouldn't have helped." Connor paused, hoping Murphy would jump in.

"Aye, I know. You were right too. I've just been fuckin' stirrin' her up all day." Murphy stared at the ground as Connor waited for him to continue. "Christ. She fuckin' loves me, Conn. She told me when she thought I was fuckin' sleeping."

"I'm glad she realized it." Connor grinned wider as Murphy raised his head and smiled. He shook his head then.

"Only fuckin' thing is I couldn't leave it alone. There's so much fuckin' shit goin' on and I fuckin' put that out there for her."

"What are ye talkin' about?"

"I left her a note today. It was fuckin' stupid. But I thought if she knew, she'd come home."

Sighing, Connor rubbed his hand through his hair and looked over at Murphy. "That night. That was a fuckin' tough night. On all of us. Especially on her."

"I-"

"No ye don't know, Murphy. You were normal. Then all of a fuckin' sudden ye were…" Connor forced himself to stop. He couldn't say it. He couldn't verbalize just how fucking helpless Murphy had been. "We had ta fuckin' drag ye home. Ye don't know how fuckin' hard that was."

"I'm not sorry I drank it."

"What?"

"I'm not sorry it was me."

"Well, don't fuckin' tell her that. She's got enough ta worry about without you playin' fuckin' hero." Connor pulled out another cigarette and lit it. Murphy grabbed the pack out of his brother's pocket and got his own.

They were silent for a moment as the smoke floated between them. "If I'd known she was that upset, I'd have talked ta her. But I was too fuckin' blind to see it."

Murphy reached out to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Connecting them again. "It's not yer fault. She fuckin' hides things well."

"That she fuckin' does."

They finished their cigarettes together and Connor pointed his finger at Murphy. "I should of fuckin' thought of this earlier."

"What?"

"I'm callin' Sara. She knows Katie. Maybe she'll be able to make her think clearly." Connor pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open.

"Maybe she can stay with her too." Murphy glanced back at the door. "I don't think she'll fuckin' consider comin' home with us tonight."

"Good idea. I'm glad we fuckin' thought of it." Connor smiled as Murphy grinned at him. At least for the moment, things were okay between them again.

Sara sprinted into Smecker's apartment about twenty minutes later. Her heart was still racing from running the last two blocks. She'd been worried about Katie. Even after Connor called her that morning to tell her she'd been found and that she was alright. She knew Katie. And she knew Katie wasn't alright just yet.

Connor smiled and came over to her when she came in. His arms wrapped around her and she felt the night chill being chased away by his warmth. She let herself relax against him.

"Where is she?"

"She's okay, Sara. I didn't mean ta panic ye."

"I just…I want to see for myself." Sara pulled away from him and looked up into his face. He nodded his understanding.

"She's in the kitchen with Da, Smecker and Murph." His words were barely out before she'd pulled away from him. He followed her quickly through the kitchen door.

As Sara entered, her eyes immediately fell on Katie, who was smiling slightly as a cleanly dressed man who was in the middle of a story. Katie looked up however, and lost her smile as she saw Sara.

"Rosie." Katie breathed and Sara stepped closer to her. The girls embraced tightly and Sara felt her heart lighten. Katie was okay. At least for the moment.

Pulling away from her friend, Sara stared at her. "Don't fucking scare me like that again."

Katie nodded and gave her a small smile. "I knew I'd be in a bit of trouble with you."

"Fuck, Katie. You're in trouble with everyone. I'm just the only one who doesn't have to be a gentleman about it." Sara glanced around the room and saw a few hidden smiles as she spoke. Connor still stood to the side of her and Sara realized they were all quietly watching them. She waved her hand through the air.

"On with your conversation. Nothing to see here."

The nicely dressed man stood up and held out a hand with a grin. "Now you are someone I'd like to meet. I'm Paul Smecker."

"Sara Moretti."

"You must be Connor's girl."

"Or Connor must be my guy." Sara grinned back at Smecker.

"I think I like you already." Smecker glanced at Connor. "An Italian girlfriend, huh? Somehow, that seems almost fitting."

Sara watched Connor just smile and shake his head. She turned to Katie. "You look beat."

"Gee, thanks. Love your outfit too." Katie smiled slightly.

"Why don't ye go home, lasses? We can continue out discussions later." Da nodded at Katie.

"Sara, this is my Da." Connor stepped forward them. Sara looked at Da surprised. After a second of psyching herself out, she held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Call me Da." His gripped her hand gently and smiled at her.

Sara shook her head and opened her mouth to respond. Katie laughed softly and put her hand on Sara's arm. "Just do it. He'll continue to insist otherwise. Stubbornness runs though this family if you haven't noticed."

"Okay, then Da it is." She gave him a small smile and tried not to be intimidated. She didn't know she'd be meeting Connor's Da tonight. The bastard hadn't prepared her for that. Turning to Katie, she nodded. "Let's get going."

As she nodded at both Da and Smecker, Sara saw Katie start to approach Murphy out the corner of her eye. Murphy stood up instead. "We'll walk ye to the door."

Connor pulled on Sara's hand and led her to the door. "Thanks for comin' ta get her. I wish ye could stay longer." He kissed her gently. Sara smiled up at him.

"I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow. I can't imagine your brother staying away from Katie any longer than that." She nodded towards where the two stood, holding each other tightly. Murphy leaned down and kissed Katie lightly before he stepped away from her, brushing hair back from her face.

"Good night, Connor." She kissed him again and then turned toward the door. "Good night, Murphy."

"Good night girls."

With a smile, Sara took Katie's hand and led her out of the apartment. They were outside again before she spoke.

"I think it's time for some girl time."

"I think you're right, Sara." Katie smiled at her. Sara flagged down a cab quickly. They stepped into the cab. She couldn't help but notice that both she and Katie had turned to watch the apartment disappear from sight. Smiling, she kept silent. There was a lot they needed to catch up on.