A/N: Temporarily unbetaed. :) Thanks so much for being patient. As I told a few of you, this was a very busy two weeks because it's good ole moving season. But I'm all settled in now and I should get back to my normal writing schedule! Thanks for all of the great reviews and for the support!

One o'clock closed in on them before she knew it and Katie found herself attempting to lead Murphy to the old meat packing plant. It would be much easier to just ask him to take her there, but she wanted it to be a surprise. Wanted him to know that this was for him, not her. She wanted this to make up for her reckless behavior just a few days earlier.

But now they were lost. Fuck, she was lost and her heart was racing. Murphy, on the other hand, knew exactly where they were and was confused as to where she was trying to lead them.

"Where the fuck are we goin'?" He asked her for the third time in ten minutes. She pressed her lips together and raised an eyebrow at him.

"And what makes you think I'm going to tell you now?" Squinting, she glanced around them again and wished she'd paid attention the last time they'd gone. But she'd been a bundle of nerves then. Those nerves were still there, hiding beneath her forced calm surface; but this time, she had a hold on them. This time, she knew she could do it.

Murphy put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "If ye gimme a hint as ta where we're goin', I can point ye in the right direction."

"I want it to be a surprise."

"It can still be one. But we have ta get there for it ta be a surprise." He smirked at her as she sighed in frustration.

"But I don't know how to tell you without just telling you."

"Than just fuckin' tell me."

"Murph." She eyed him again and then smiled. "Maybe I'll just call Connor. He can direct me."

"Christ. Are ye fuckin' dependent on me brother?"

"Jealous?" She pulled out her phone and laughed as he tried to pull it away from her.

"Of Connor? Fuckin' hardly."

"Then why don't you want me to call him?"

"Because, I want ta help ye." He took advantage of her frowning at him to grab her phone from her hand. Stuffing it into his coat pocket, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Murph…" She stopped as she stared off into the distance and grinned suddenly. Grabbing his hand, she started pulling him down the street. "Nevermind. I know where we are."

She recognized the graffiti on the alley wall and the mental landmarks all fell into place. Within five minutes they were less than a block away from the twins' old work place. Murphy kept glancing down at her as they neared the building, a confused look on his face.

"What the fuck are we doin' here?"

"Where did you think we were going?"

"Fuckin' ice skating. I don't know."

Katie laughed despite the nerves twisting in her stomach. Now that they were here, she couldn't hide from them anymore. Something must have shown in her face because he slipped his arm around her.

"Are we here for what I think we're here for?"

She just nodded slowly and watched the surprise flicker across his face. "Ye don't have ta do this, Katie. Not for me."

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. "Yes, I do, Murph. I have to do it for both of us. Besides, I should be an old pro by now."

He ran a hand over her hair and kissed her gently, his lips then brushing over her temple. "Thank you."

"We'll both feel better once this is done." She just smiled as he stared down at her, watching her. "Let's go in. Connor and Sara are probably waiting inside."

"Sara's here too?"

"Yup. That's part of the reason I set it up with Connor. She needs to learn too."

Murphy frowned slightly before moving his head in agreement. "Ye're probably right. I keep forgettin' this could touch her too."

"It already has touched her. Long before she met you two."

"What do ye mean?"

Katie tilted her head up at him. "Well, first off, she knew Brett. She was around when it began to really affect my life and Peter's life. And I know she tried to find me after I moved to New York. Had a guy named David or Davis, I can't remember the name exactly, looking for me. Fuck, he nearly found me once."

"Couldn't that have risked yer fuckin' exposure?"

"What exposure? Sure, I went by Donna, but that was only to try to distance my connection with my parents. And with Brett. But even if they'd found out, I don't think it would have been the end of me. Everyone has a past in the mob. Even smart, sweet and innocent looking bookkeepers." She smiled slowly. Murphy just laughed

"They fell for that?"

"You didn't?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Sweet, yes. Innocent, not a chance. Ye've got more tricks up yer fuckin' sleeve than anyone I know." He squeezed her shoulder and steered her toward the entrance.

"This coming from the man who can drop his accent with ease." She grinned up at him, concentrating on him. She could do this. She could face this now. Murphy was beside her.

"That coming from the woman who passed as a fuckin' hooker with ease." He winced as she elbowed him but pushed her through the door into the cold air inside.

Connor heard the laughter getting louder and he exchanged an amused glance with Sara. She sat a few feet away with her coat wrapped tightly around her.

"So why are we in here again?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's our own personal fuckin' shootin' range." Murphy's voice echoed through the doorway as a response. Sara turned toward him and smiled slightly.

"Ah, so the Saints have their own shooting range? And it's a meat packing plant. Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"Somethin' tells me that very fuckin' little surprises ye anymore." Connor leaned closer to her, grinning as his eyes roamed her face. He could still see the pain there as well as the grief. But she managed to hide it well, despite the fact that she was around them and shouldn't feel the need to hide anything. He wasn't sure if that meant that she didn't trust them. Or maybe that she didn't trust herself.

Connor reached beneath his coat and pulled the two guns out of the holster. He saw that Murphy's eyes were on Katie as well as they both watched her flinch. Hands steady, Connor handed one to his brother without speaking.

"Wow, guns from the personal collection of the Saints. These could be worth a lot of money someday." Sara forced a smile as she reached out to take the other from his hand. He held it tighter and chuckled softly.

"Whoa now. Lesson one, never grab the fuckin' gun from the muzzle end."

Sara's hand pulled away and she looked up at him surprised.

"She's a fuckin' newbie." Murphy grinned at Connor.

"Aye, and it'll be up ta us ta teach her right."

"Actually." Katie spoke up and Connor couldn't help but notice that her eyes were landing on everything that wasn't a gun. "Connor, wanna help me target better? Murph can get her started on the basics. I have a feeling she'll be a quicker learner than me."

The question caught them both off guard and Connor exchanged a confused glance with Murphy. "Why don't ye let Murph help ye? I'll take care o' Sara."

"I thought you said you were a better aim than he is."

Connor narrowed his eyes at her, hearing Murphy laugh softly next to him. Since he'd never said anything of the sort, he could only figure that she wanted to talk to him. Shaking his head slowly, he shrugged. "Fine by me. Okay with ye, Sara? If Murph helps ye instead?"

"Sure." She offered a smile to Murphy who was still glancing between Katie and Connor, looking rather confused.

It was only after Connor had talked Katie through the initial nerves of holding the gun again that she finally spoke up. "She okay, Conn?" Her voice was quiet but he looked behind him to make sure no one else had heard the question.

"Well…" He paused and leaned slightly closer to her, acting as if he was directing her in aiming. "I think she'll be fine. But a fuckin' friend o' hers was found floating near the docks this mornin'."

Katie's eyes widened and she glanced over his shoulder at Sara, who was laughing softly with Murphy, oblivious to their attention. "Fuck, poor Sara. Who was it?"

"An old colleague, I guess. He was fuckin' killed here, Katie." The words slipped out before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant to tell her yet; he'd meant to talk to Murphy first.

"Here? By our mafia?"

Pursing his lips, he nodded slowly. "Aye."

"Not a fucking coincidence, is it?" She raised her eyes back to him and he could see fresh fear in her eyes.

"Not fuckin' likely."

"You know that bad feeling I had this morning, Connor?"

He frowned at her. "Yeah."

"It's getting worse."

"Ye're not fuckin' alone there." He put his hand under her gun hand, raising it back up to point at the target. "But we've got ta take one moment at a time. And in this moment, you need to hit the fuckin' middle of that meat."

Katie smiled slowly and nodded, turning her eyes back to the hanging meat near the wall. Connor watched her take a few deep breaths and knew she was trying to work past the nerves. Her finger steadied on the trigger.

"Wait." Connor breathed quickly and her eyes flickered up to him before she smiled again.

"Safety." She laughed softly. With newly gained skill, she flipped the safety off and pulled the trigger smoothly.

Connor grinned at the hole now directly in the center of the piece of meat. He heard Murphy laugh behind him.

"Christ, Katie." He shook his head down at her. "I don't think ye need fuckin' help with this. Ye're a fuckin' natural shooter."

"Gee, just what I've always wanted to be."

"Yeah, seems like a real fuckin' Katie type o' dream." Connor just kept smiling as she lined up another shot, the nerves seeming to have left her for the moment.

Murphy nodded slowly at Sara whose steady hands now pointed her gun at the hanging meat. He reached out and adjusted her grip slightly. "Good. Now try ta sight the meat."

"Sight the meat?"

"Get it between the two metal ridges here, remember?" He pointed to the top of the gun and she just laughed softly.

"I know, Murph. It just sounds weird to be told to 'sight the meat'." She shot a grin at him before closing one eye and focusing across the room.

He just shook his head with a smile and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her. She turned out to be a pretty good student and was catching on pretty quickly. Which made it easier to for him to keep an eye on Katie.

There must have been a reason she wanted Connor over there, that's all he could figure out. His brother wasn't necessarily a better aim than him. And he doubted that Katie even cared either way, knowing that she'd rather not learn how to shoot if she really had the option.

So what was the reason? His ears had picked up Sara's name at least once, but Sara hadn't noticed. Murphy kept watching her as she raised her eyes to his.

"So do I get to shoot now?"

He grinned slowly, seeing humor in her eagerness. This was definitely different from teaching Katie. "Sure. Know how ta load it?"

"Can't be too hard. This is just a six shooter, right?"

"Aye." He shook his head slowly. "If ye knew so much about guns than why haven't ye shot one before?"

Her eyes were on the barrel as she loaded the bullets, but she grinned again. "My dad collects antique pistols. I used to play with them when I was little."

"That explains a lot."

"Shut up, Murphy." Her laugh was quiet as she clicked the barrel shut. "Can I aim now?"

"Christ." He chuckled. "Shoot away."

She had the safety off and had already fired three shots before he could give her any further instruction. Murphy let out a few laughs as they both squinted down at the still moving piece of meat. He glanced at Sara and saw she was grinning too.

"Well, ye hit it, but…" He laughed again. Three small holes were widely spaced across the meat, none of them even close to centered.

"Okay, so I'm not John Wayne. Yet." Raising the gun, she fired the last three shots before he could say anything else.

"Christ! Connor, yer girlfriend is fuckin' nuts." Murphy glanced behind him, shaking his head with a grin. Connor had started towards them and simply shrugged.

"Ye think I don't already know?" He winked at Sara. "But the important thing is, is she a good shot?" He eyed the meat target and laughed. "Huh, I guess ye can't be perfect."

She swatted her hand on him and he held her wrist to stop her. Glancing at Murphy, he kept out of the range of her other arm. "Katie's ready for the rest of her lesson."

"What?" Murphy pulled his eyes away from the meat. He frowned at his brother. What was the rest of her lesson?

"The rest of her lesson, Murph." Connor stared at him for a second before nodding toward the targets. It hit Murphy what he was getting at. Katie may be able to shoot old meat, but could she aim a gun at a person?

Nodding slowly, Murphy chewed on the edge of his thumb as he turned toward Katie. She watched him with a raised eyebrow, the gun held unnaturally far away from her body. He doubted she even realized that she was trying to get the gun as far away as possible even while it was still in her hands.

"What, did Conn give up on teaching me?" She forced a smile. Murphy couldn't get himself to give her one in return.

He wished this was different. He wished that they could just let her live in her own private world of nearly conquered fear without needing to finish this. He wished it wasn't so necessary for her to need to be able to shoot someone.

But the reality was that she needed to learn. He needed her to learn. The images of his nightmare swam through his head and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment. Christ, I need her to learn.

Katie's eyes were on him as he opened them again and he knew that she was able to read his tension immediately. She stepped forward slightly, her own fear forgotten momentarily as she watched him carefully.

"Murph?" Her voice held the question neither of them wanted her to ask. Are you okay, Murphy? Fuck, no I'm not okay. But I have ta be fuckin' okay. I have to be okay so that ye'll be able to do this. He responded only by tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear as he eased the gun from her hand.

She jumped at the click of the barrel, but Murphy kept his eyes on the gun. She'd fired all of her shots. He knew that Connor would have made sure of that, but double checking was always necessary. Especially with what he was about to do.

Handing the gun back to her, her eyes widened as he stepped forward slightly. Her hands shook as she shifted the gun to her left hand, to the side furthest away from him. He ignored the thumping of his heart as he glanced at her. Shifting her eyes away, she pressed her lips together and stared at the other side of the room.

A hand landed on his shoulder, as Murphy turned to walk out in front of the target. "I'll go. She won't be able ta aim at ye, Murph." Connor's voice was next to his ear. The hand squeezed slightly and Murphy felt Connor move away.

Giving an unnecessary nod, he moved to stand next to her again. "Ye okay?"

"I can't do this."

"Yes, ye can do this."

"Fuck. No."

Murphy raised his eyes to where Connor stood nearly fifty feet away, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on them. Connor had been right. She wouldn't have been able to point a gun at him. Even an unloaded gun. But Murphy wasn't sure she could point one at Connor either.

"He traded places with you, didn't he?" She raised her eyes to his. He had to force himself not to put his arms around her. Not to take her far away from this.

"Aye, he did."

"Christ, Murph." Raising a shaky hand to her forehead, she rubbed her palm over her temple. "What makes him so much different? So much different that the two of you think I can point a fucking gun at him?"

"The gun isn't loaded. Check yerself if it'll make ye feel better."

"I'm afraid my fucking fear doesn't specify loaded or unloaded guns." Biting her lip, she moved her gaze out to Connor who gave her an encouraging smile and nod.

"Ye can do it, Katie. Point the fucker at me."

She just stared at him, and Murphy noticed the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of her right hand. She was trying to work up the courage. He wished they could wait. Wait for her to ease into this. Wait for her to be ready. But as she had reminded him, they didn't have weeks.

He didn't want to force her to do this. But he had to. So, he took the only sure step and hoped she wouldn't hate him for it.

"Do it for me, Katie." His voice sounded slightly demanding to his own ears and the sick feeling returned to his stomach. Her eyes were on his as he struggled to make the choice. To make the choice between his twin and his love. Swallowing hard, Murphy pushed the image away, hoping that it didn't show in his eyes.

If she noticed, she didn't show it, only pressing her lips together and nodding slowly. "For you." She bit off the words and clenched her hand one last time before bringing them together on the gun, aiming at the ground in front of them.

Murphy wanted to give her encouraging words, but his mind had slowed, his eyes stuck on her face. On the fear there and on the pain hiding around the edges. He felt warmth behind him and glanced to see Sara stepping closer, her eyes on Katie as well.

"You can do this, Katie." Her voice was soft and Katie made no sign of hearing her. But Sara didn't seem to take that as discouragement. "Remember that Physics professor we had sophomore year? That asshole who used you as an example of a scientifically-challenged person? Pretend Connor is him."

The corner of Katie's mouth lifted slightly and she let out a shaky breath. "I hated that prof."

Murphy found himself holding a breath in as she raised the gun to point at Connor. Connor's eyes shifted to him and they exchanged a surprised glance. It was working. Katie's hands steadied and she smiled a little more.

"I'm doing it."

"Now pull the trigger." Murphy spoke softly and stepped closer to her. His hands were ready beneath hers as she went to lower her arms. Her eyes met his and she shook her head.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"But it's part o' bein' able ta shoot someone."

"I can't do this, Murph." Her voice had begun to shake. Murphy moved one hand away from supporting hers and ran the back of his finger down her cheek.

"Ye can, a Ghrà, ye can."

Blinking her eyes shut for a moment, she opened them and stared at him for a moment. He noticed that she seemed to do this when she was most afraid. As if she was trying to draw strength from him. Or as if she was waiting for him to save her.

Finally, she nodded slowly and the cold air hit Murphy's hand as she raised the gun up again. Her eyes found Connor's and Murphy was finally able to pull his gaze away from her face. Glancing down, he smiled slightly as he saw the Connor was making a face.

"Just pretend I'm Tommy." He set his hands on his hips and scowled. "My name is Tommy and I'm a fuckin' real Irish wannabe prick."

Katie let out a choked laugh. "I think he is a bit jealous of you two."

"Who wouldn't be?" Connor grinned widely as his voice echoed throughout the room. "Pull the trigger, Katie. Shoot the fuckin' Irish wannabe prick."

Murphy grinned finally when his brother through his arms out wide and attempted to imitate a riverdance. Sara's laughter joined his own chuckles.

"I thought you were the riverdancer in the family." She muttered.

"Well, we do share everything. Even bad dancing skills." Murphy glanced at Katie, whose finger was whispering over the trigger. His heart skipped a beat as he realized she was getting ready to pull it.

"I didn't know hitting a moving target was part of the plan." She kept her eyes on the still dancing Connor. Murphy chuckled again.

"It's simply a part o' Connor."

Her hands jolted slightly and her finger left its floating position over the trigger.

"I can't pull the trigger at Conn." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Ye can do this."

"Professor Marks. Wasn't that his name, Katie?" Sara's voice was louder, making Katie glance past Murphy at her. Smiling slightly, she nodded. Murphy heard Sara laugh softly. "Don't tell me you can't pull the trigger at him."

Moving her eyes back to Connor, Katie's hands stilled as she took a deep breath. Murphy kept his encouraging words silent, afraid to knock her off her careful balance of nerves again.Her finger fluttered slightly over the trigger and he saw her swallow hard. The click echoed across the room as she yanked her finger back. They were all silent for a moment.

Finally, Connor let out a whoop and hurried toward Katie, his arms open wide. But as he neared her, she pushed him away and turned, tossing the gun to the side. Her hand shook as it covered her mouth and Murphy stepped toward her quickly. She held her arm out again, keeping him away as well.

"Katie."

Shaking her head, she took a trembling breath. "I thought I'd feel better if I just did it."

"Ye okay?" He kept his voice soft and stepped slightly closer.

"I thought I'd feel better, but I don't. I feel sick inside."

Sara stepped toward Katie from the other side and was able to put her hand on her shoulder without Katie pulling away. "Why do you feel sick?" Her question was calm.

Katie choked out a half sob, half laugh. "Because now I'm capable of the same thing they did."

They. Murphy bit back a sigh at the surge of anger. They. The hands that shot her parents. The hands that still mocked her in her nightmares.

He stepped in front of her, cupping the back of her neck with one hand and tilting her chin up slightly with the other. She raised her eyes to meet his. "Ye're not them, Katie. Ye'd never shoot an innocent."

"Ye may be capable, Katie. But ye're nothin' like the bastards who did that." Who shot yer parents. Connor left the words unsaid and Murphy met his stare. "Having the ability doesn't mean ye have ta use it."

The shrill ring of a cell phone cut off Katie's reply. Connor lifted the phone out of his pocket and answered, turning slightly away.

Murphy took advantage of the moment of silence and pulled Katie into an embrace. He rested his chin on top of her head and smiled as her arms went around him. "I'm proud of ye, Katie." He whispered next to her ear and felt her sigh against him.

"Thanks. Now can we get out of here?"

He laughed softly and felt her smile against his chest. "Sure."

Keeping his arm around her, he pulled away and saw Connor tapping the antenna of the phone against his lips. Their eyes meet and he knew something was wrong. But Connor played it cool as he forced a smile.

"That was Smecker. Seems he'd like ta fuckin' speak with us down at the precinct."

"What the fuck did we do this time?" Murphy played along as the icy feeling slipped through his insides.

"Who fuckin' knows? Maybe it's about the fuckin' car."

He could feel Katie's eyes on him but Murphy forced himself to clear his expression before smiling down at her. "Will it ruin yer plans if we meet ye back at the apartment?"

"I can just come to the precinct with you."

"Ah, why don't ye just stick with Sara?" Connor stepped in and Murphy watched as Katie nodded slowly, understanding something his brother wasn't saying.

"Okay. But if it's anything important, you'll tell me, right?"

"You'll tell us, right?" Sara spoke up. Connor's eyes floated past Murphy to look at her. He nodded slowly.

"We'll keep ye both informed."

"We've learned the hard way not to hide anything." Murphy winced when Katie elbowed him again. "Watch the fuckin' ribs, Katie." He stepped away from her. Her lips parted as she stared up at him.

"I'm sorry, Murph. You okay?"

Successful distraction. He rubbed his hand gingerly over his ribs. "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled then, seeing the worry on her face. "I'm fine, Katie."

She stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. "We'll see you at the apartment. I'm starting to feel frozen."

"Fuck, I thought I was the only wuss here." Sara grinned at the two of them as she moved to Connor. They hugged and Murphy noticed that Connor was holding her tightly. His brother was worried. What the fuck did Smecker tell him?

Sara put her arm over Katie's shoulders; her boots making her appear even taller than Katie then before. Both girls glanced back at them.

"See you boys later." Sara grinned but Murphy noticed her eyes weren't smiling. Instead, she focused on Connor for a moment before turning around. Katie nodded at them both and let Sara pull her out of the room without another word.

They waited a few seconds after the door closed to look at each other again. The stress was now clear on Connor's face. Murphy frowned and stepped closer. "What the fuck did Smecker tell ye?"

"We're ta meet him and Da at the station in twenty minutes."

"Aye, but what else?"

"Smecker spat out some shite about them findin' the fuckin' car. Said Peter visited him this mornin'."

"And?"

"And they fuckin' know we're alive, Murph. And they don't plan on fuckin' keepin' us that way."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, fuck. Smecker also said somethin' about them havin' a fuckin' informant or somethin'. They're getting' inside information way too fuckin' easily." Connor pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one before handing the pack and lighter to Murphy.

Murphy took a drag before saying anything. "Who do ye think it is?"

"Fuck, I don't know. But we've got ta fuckin' watch what we're sayin' 'round people." Connor blew smoke out slowly before scowling down at his cigarette. "Katie's right. And now I've got a fuckin' bad feelin' too. Too many fuckin' coincidences."

"What else happened?" Murphy frowned over at him, confused. Connor ran his thumb along the bottom of his lip slowly before glancing over at him.

"A friend of Sara's was killed last night. He had connections with the mafia."

"Fuck, is she okay? I mean, she seemed distracted…but fuck, I didn't think…" Murphy shook his head slowly and brought his cigarette to his lips. Inhaling, he thought about her behavior and realized he didn't know her well enough yet to know when she was acting differently.

"I found her at her apartment after searching for over an hour. Fuckin' scared me. Even more so when she answered the door, cryin' her fuckin' eyes out. This guy was a close friend of hers at one point. And he was killed here, in fuckin' Boston, Murph. Probably less than a mile from where we fuckin' stand."

Murphy knew there was more to the story and waited for his brother to continue. But they both finished their cigarettes in silence, crushing them to the frozen cement floor at the same time. He'd get the rest out of him later. There were times when Connor just didn't want to talk. Wanted to process his information. But Murphy could wait. He could wait because he knew that those times were always followed by an outpouring of everything soon after. He just hoped the information would come from his brother sooner rather than later. As he'd been reminded, they don't have weeks to work with here.

Stooping down, Connor lifted the gun off of the ground where Katie had thrown it. Slipping it into the holster underneath his coat, he nodded toward the door. "Let's go see what else Smecker had ta tell us."

Nodding slowly, Murphy followed his brother out of the building. And for once, they walked in complete silence.