A/N: A bit shorter than planned...but I thought it was a good breaking point. That and I wanted to get something up here before I went to bed. Sweet dreams all and I promise, much more to come very soon:)

Katie only realized she had fallen asleep against Murphy's shoulder when the front door slammed open, waking her up. Feeling Murphy jolt as well, she knew he was either sleeping or nearly there. She fell back against the couch as he jumped to his feet and stepped in front of her.

They both watched as Connor walked straight past them into the kitchen, where he yanked open the fridge and pulled out a beer. He twisted the cap off angrily and tossed it to the side before upending the beer. Downing it in five swallows, he slammed it on the counter.

She watched as Murphy stepped toward him then, moving slowly. "Conn, what's goin' on?" He kept his voice quiet. Connor raised his eyes and from her seat on the couch, Katie could see the fury and the pain there.

"She. I. She…"

Katie got to her feet and moved to stand beside Murphy, as Connor still struggled to form a complete sentence. Raising her hand up, she got his attention. "Did you and Sara fight?"

"Did we fight?" He forced out a laugh. "Fuck, fight doesn't even fuckin' cover it."

Despite the fact that Connor was obviously upset in front of her, Katie's first thought was of Sara. He was here and this upset. What was she like there? Fuck, he'd walked out on her. After a fight. After a clearly bad fight.

"You left her there? Alone?" Katie raised her thumb to her mouth and began to chew on her nail.

"Aye, what the fuck else was I supposed ta do? Drag her fuckin' back here?"

"Couldn't you have just got to a separate room to cool off? Instead of leaving her there alone?"

He stared at her for a second. "Ta fuckin' cool off? Katie, ye don't even fuckin' know what yer talkin' about."

Murphy stepped closer to Connor. "What happened?"

"She fuckin' used me, Murph. I'm the fuckin' means ta information ta her." Connor moved past him and pulled another beer out of the fridge. Murphy pulled out another one and opened it at the same time as him. Taking a drink, he leaned against the counter near his brother.

"What information?"

"You just fucking left her, Connor? Do you realize what that's going to do to her?" Her voice had gotten higher and she got surprised looks from both twins. Murphy shook his head slightly but Connor stood up and stepped closer to her before Murphy could answer.

"She fuckin' used me, Katie. Or does that not even matter ta ye, since she's yer fuckin' friend and all?" He kept his eyes on her as he took a drink but Katie refused to let herself be intimidated. He really hurting if he was willing to try to scare her. But thoughts of a hysterical Sara kept her pushing.

"Did you even hear her out? Or did you just assume you knew everything before judging what you saw?" She bit off the words, the anger flooding her as well.

"Katie." Murphy's warning came out but neither she nor Connor paid attention to it.

"She had a fuckin' file on us, Katie. She was plannin' on turnin' information over ta someone about us. Is that enough ta matter ta ye?" He stopped and continued to stare down at her. After a second, his eyes widened. "Unless ye already fuckin' knew."

"Connor." She managed to sigh before he broke in again.

"Christ, Katie, yer the fuckin' same as her. Don't tell me ye were in on this too. Were ye in on this?" The bottle was suddenly spinning on the counter and his hands gripped her arms, forcing her to face him again. "Were ye just here ta get information on us?"

Her heart raced as she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her. His grip wasn't tight enough to hold and she managed to step away. Crossing her arms over her chest, she caught the wide-eyed expression on Murphy's face and realized that he didn't know what to do. He didn't know who to side with. Moving her attention back to Connor, she saw that he was still staring at her.

"You're pretty fucking quick with the accusations here, Connor. But did you even stop to think? Yeah, she might have a fucking file on you. But is your trust of her…fuck, trust of us so little that you can only think of one fuckin' option?" He remained silent as she took a shaky breath. "We'd planned on giving information, yes. But Christ, Connor. She'd die before revealing your true names. We both would."

The tears were threatening again and Katie knew she had to get out of there before things got uglier. She looked at Murphy for a second and saw that he was still at a loss of what to do. Giving a shaky sigh, she grabbed her coat and purse off of the table and walked out the door without a backward glance.

It was only once she was safely outside the door that she allowed herself to pause. Leaning against the wall next to the doorway, she closed her eyes. There was no sound of footsteps, no door being yanked open. No calling of her name. A few tears escaped as she pushed off of the wall and walked out of the building. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Sara needed her right now. She could sort out everything else later.

There was no hysterical Sara waiting behind her apartment door. In fact, Katie's heart began racing as she found the door unlocked and no Sara inside at all. She took a little comfort in the fact that there were no broken dishes or upturned furniture. Where was she?

Katie's question was answered a few painfully long minutes later when the front door creaked open again and Sara appeared. She wore running tights and a long sleeve shirt. Her face showed no emotion, not even surprise at finding Katie in her kitchen. This wasn't good.

"Hey."

"Sara. Are you okay?"

"How'd you know?" Sara sat down on her couch and began to untie her shoes, her eyes focused on the ground.

"Conn came back to the apartment."

Sara simply nodded at her words and stayed silent. Her shoes were off finally and she slid back on the couch, curling her feet beneath her. After waiting for a response and getting none, Katie worked her way over to sit down next to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Katie. You didn't need to come check on me."

"Yes, I did." She put her arm around Sara, who held back for only a moment before giving into the hug. Katie held onto her tightly but the tears she was waiting for didn't come.

"He's not Greg, Katie."

"What?"

"He's not Greg. I think somewhere deep down I knew that all along. And Connor walked away with good reason."

Katie tried to pull back to look Sara in the eye but found that she was just being held tighter instead. "He'll listen to reason. He has to."

"No, Katie. I lost him." It was the resignation in Sara's voice that made Katie bite back her reply. What her friend needed now was support, not quickly formed false hopes. And after seeing how Connor reacted to her, she wasn't sure she could guarantee anything about him anymore. And it made her sick to know that this could be it. This could be the end of everything with the McManuses.

It was only as the door slammed that Murphy looked back at Connor. Their eyes met only for a moment before Connor picked up the still wobbling bottle and took another long pull from it.

"What the fuck is goin' on, Connor?" Murphy kept his voice quiet despite the pounding of his blood through his veins. He hadn't seen Connor this mad in a long time. And it'd been aimed at Katie. At his Katie. And he hadn't been able to get himself to step in.

"She has a fuckin' file on us. With a fuckin' picture from when we did Papa Joe."

"She has a picture?"

"Yeah, Murph. A fuckin' picture. What the fuck else was I supposed ta think?" Connor's eyes were focused on his bottle and with one quick movement he threw it against the far kitchen wall. The bottle shattered, sending shreds everywhere and beer pouring down the wall. Turning on his heel, he left Murphy alone in the room, slamming the bedroom door.

Forcing a deep breath, Murphy stared at the broken glass and new crack across the tiled wall. He knew he should leave Connor alone. It's what they'd always done. Given each other a chance to cool off before attempting any further discussion.

But this time he couldn't. Things were too volatile. And for once, he felt like he was the only one left in the dark. Connor had the answers and he was damn well going to get them now.

Setting his barely touched beer down on the counter, Murphy rubbed his hand over his face and made his way back to the bedroom. Connor was stretched out across his bed with his arm over his eyes and didn't move when Murphy walked in.

"Go the fuck away."

"Aye, once ye tell me what the fuck is goin' on here." Sitting down on his bed, he leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. Connor remained motionless for a second before peeking out under his arm at him.

"I found the fuckin' file. It was a request ta find more fuckin' information on us. On the Saints. And it was on her fuckin' desk, Murph."

Murphy nodded slowly, pressing his hands together. The knot had started forming in his stomach but he knew it wasn't half the pain that his brother was feeling.

"And it was bad fuckin' timin', I guess. She hasn't been able ta…" He paused and let out a long breath.

"Been able ta what?"

Connor arm went back over his eyes. "She hasn't been able ta say that she loves me, Murph. And she got real fuckin' upset this time. So I thought…"

"Ye thought it was because she was playin' ye." Murphy finished softly and felt the unnecessary anger building. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

Sara was too straight forward for that. Too much like Connor, in fact. While they both hid their feelings quite well, neither of them were particularly good at pretending to be something else. Pretending to be false. It's why Connor had never been successful bait for a hit. His attempts were awkward at best.

But Katie on the other hand… Murphy swallowed hard and shook his head. He couldn't allow his mind to go there. There was no way she'd do that to them. Could do that to them. He wouldn't even allow himself to think it.

"I don't think she's been playin' ye, Conn." Murphy finally was able to offer and he heard Connor sigh heavily.

"I know. Now." He sat up fully and sat on the edge of his bed, facing Murphy. "Christ, Murph. What have I done?"

"Ye acted like a man who just found out his girlfriend was fuckin' lyin' ta him. About somethin' rather fuckin' important, too."

"Aye but in normal fuckin' circumstances she'd have no fuckin' reason ta even let me back inta her apartment. And less reason ta listen ta me." Connor rubbed a hand against his temples, squeezing his eyes shut.

"We're hardly in fuckin' normal circumstances, Connor. And I'd say she owes ye a fuckin' explanation. In fact, they both owe us a fuckin' explanation."

Connor's eyes opened and met his gaze with new intensity. "Fuck. Katie." He ran a hand over his mouth and Murphy knew he was replaying the whole scene again in his head. Guilt played across his brother's features and Murphy shook his head.

"Conn."

"Christ, Murph. I practically fuckin' accused her too. And I know I scared her." His eyes fell on Murphy's again. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Murph."

"She pushed ye Conn. And I can see the logic in yer fuckin' response."

"Ye can't be fuckin' sidin' with me here. I fuckin' manhandled yer girlfriend-"

Murphy held up a hand, cutting Connor off before he could keep going. "First off, as much as I usually don't admit it, Katie can take care of herself. If ye were really fuckin' hurtin' her, she would've told ye. Secondly…" He dipped his head down to make sure Connor was still meeting his eye. "Secondly, I trust ye with her. Just as much as I trust ye not ta hurt Ma or Aunt Lucy…or Sara."

Connor swallowed hard and nodded in response. He was silent otherwise.

"Conn, ye acted like anyone else in yer fuckin' situation would've. Fuck, I'd've fuckin' raised some more hell than ye even did. And the fact is…is that our girls have been playin' with fuckin' fire here." He heard the hard edge to his own voice and could feel the frustration building. "And maybe havin' ye yell at them a little bit is exactly what they need ta realize it's not all just fuckin' daisies and sunshine. It's our fuckin' lives…and possible deaths. We should have some fuckin' say in it too."

Connor nodded again slowly and stood up. He gave Murphy a small grin. "When did ye get so fuckin' calm and rational?"

"When you decided ta get so fuckin' emotional and girly on me. I had ta fuckin' balance us out some how." Murphy stood and threw his arm over his brother's shoulder, attempting to pull him into a headlock. But Connor knew his moves too well and it was Murphy who ended up in the headlock.

"Give it up, Murph." Connor let go of him and pushed him out the bedroom door ahead of him. "Ye'll never be able ta beat me."

"And ye'll never be able ta beat me either."

"Humm…I kinda like it that way. A fuckin' challenge."

Murphy squeezed his hand on his brother's shoulder before giving him a small shove toward the door. "Well yer first fuckin' challenge is ta go talk ta Sara. Get the full fuckin' story."

Connor nodded slowly and picked his jacket up from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He pulled it on slowly and gave Murphy a hesitant look. Rolling his eyes, Murphy nodded. "Don't worry, I was plannin' ta call her. I wouldn't send ye in ta face the two of them at once."

"Thanks."

"Besides, I think Katie and I need ta have a bit of a talk ourselves. Get Sara's story and we'll compare tomorrow. Make sure the two of them line up."

Connor smiled. "Make sure they aren't just throwin' us off again. Oh, and Murph? Leave enough of Katie left for me ta apologize to, please."

"I'll try. Maybe even enough that she can apologize, too."

Murphy watched Connor make it nearly out the door before he glanced back. They shared a long look of understanding and Murphy nodded again. Connor simply smiled and pulled the door shut behind him.

Shaking his head slowly, Murphy let out a long sigh. He hadn't had to diffuse Connor like that in a long time. If anything, it was usually the other way around. Sara had really been able to get to him. Which meant that she really meant a lot to him. Christ, this better fuckin' work out. Otherwise, Murphy knew that even he might not be able to put Connor back together again.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Murphy pressed the speed dial and held his breath for Katie's answer. Her voice was soft and thick and she simply said his name.

"Murph."

"Katie. I think we need ta talk."

"Okay." She said slowly and he knew she was going to put him off until later, until she knew Sara was okay.

"Connor's on his way over."

"What? Why?"

Murphy closed his eyes. "Ta get the full fuckin' story. Which is why I need ye ta met me."

She was silent for a minute and he could swear he could hear her mind working quickly. "I…okay. Where?"

"McGinty's?" He offered.

"Too busy. And too loud."

"How about that diner?"

"Okay." She sighed lightly. "When?"

"Leave now. I'll meet ye there."

"Okay."

Murphy switched the phone to his other ear as he picked up his keys and made his way to the door. "Oh, and Katie? I love ye."

"Murph. I love you, too."

Hitting the end call button on his phone, Murphy slid it into his pocket and quickly locked the door behind him. And to think, when he'd left the apartment earlier in the day, he thought that things had finally slowed down. That they might be able to breathe. Smirking slightly, he pushed his hands into his pockets and walked down the hall. He'd been wrong then. But really, how much worse could it possibly get?