Three

Murphy didn't have time to see Lily in two days. On the morning of the second day, just after the strange call from Rocco, he phoned Lily's apartment. Connor teased him for memorizing the redheads number, and Murphy had to slip out of the kitchen to avoid his twin's banter as he talked to Lily.

Her voice was hoarse, croaky and a little pathetic. He wished that there was more he could do for her, but she told him that she had always been a little sickly- she'd live. Murphy glanced over his shoulder at Connor who was busy lighting up a cigarette. He felt guilty about wanting normal life, to settle down and start a family. But he'd do more good for her by getting rid of the kind of men who had raped her.

"'Ow 'bout ye and yer brudder come fer supper Friday?" Lily wheezed, Murphy could almost see the smile on her face- as sweet as the flower she was named after.

"Are ye sure?" Murphy asked, frowning. "I don' want ye to trouble yerself with our sorry arses."

"It's no problem." Lily sighed, Angus gurgled in the background. "Besides, I owe ye one. It was right kind of ye to take care of Angus fer a while. No one's ever done that before."

Murphy wanted to tell her that he had only gone there to give her the flowers and apologize for the bar fight she was almost mixed up in- she had smashed a bottled over one of the Russian's heads. But he couldn't ignore the fact that she was under the weather and needed to rest. He'd wished that someone would have done the same for his mother once or twice- he was making up for it now. And he could make up for it some more.

"Sounds lovely. Been a while since we've 'ad a 'ome cooked meal." He said, grinning when his brother's head perked up at the sound of free food. "We'll be there at six."

Xxxxx

Murphy didn't want Rocco to tag along, but there was little he could do to get his best friend to stay behind while he and his brother went off to dinner. Lily didn't seem to mind but Bella did, and she made it known. Rocco wasn't allowed to touch the baby or go near the baby or even look at the baby. Murphy and Connor, however, were more than welcome to handle the wee baby Angus while Lily set the table.

"So you're painter?" Rocco asked after a sloppy bite out of his cheese and onion pasty. Bella cringed at his manners but her sister gave a forced smile.

"I'm an illustrator fer children's books." Lily scooped up a spoonful of baby food. "I fuckin' 'ate it."

"Seems like an 'onest job," Conner added, leaning forward with his elbow on the table. "More pay in it than packin' meat, aye."

Murphy would have added his two cents but he was cut off by Rocco making a comment about working for the mafia. The last thing the youngest twin wanted was for his budding love interest to figure out his nightly activities. Instead, Bella waved him off and said her job as a stripper paid shit. Murphy felt released that the two pretty Scottish women weren't easily phased.

After dinner, Bella went about heating up her rhubarb crumble while Conner dragged Rocco into doing the dishes. Murphy carried a sleeping Angus to the tiny bedroom painted blue. Lily tenderly tucked her son into his crib, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Murphy watched on from the rocking chair in the corner of the room by the window.

The night light made stars and planets dance across the shadows, chasing them away. The ceiling was painted black, but Lily had painted the Milky Way in glow-in-the-dark paint. Murphy was shocked by the amount of love the woman had put into her son's room. Most women got rid of a child forcefully conceived or never loved the child forced upon them, but Lily never treated Angus any differently.

Lily glanced at the younger Macmanus brother with a tired expression. Murphy wordlessly patted his knee and curled his arms around her when she sat with him. In the still darkness they could hear Bella scolding Rocco for "fuckin' up me kitchen" and Conner's boisterous laughter. But if she closed her eyes and focused, the only sound Lily could hear was the steady beat of Murphy's heart. She felt strangely comfortable in his embrace; safe.

"Ye know... When we first came ta America... We was runnin' away." Her voice was soft and muffled against his shirt. Her slim fingers drew swirls along the soft fabric, her eyes staring into the tiny, pinched face of her son.

Murphy's fingers lightly brushed through her wild hair, careful not to tug on the tangles. "And what were ye runnin' from, lass?"

Lily could feel his voice rumble in his chest. Her fingers stilled and dropped into her lap as though she had suddenly become numb. Murphy craned his neck to peer down at her and was surprised to see her face scared and pale. His chest tightened, his pulse skipping and she felt it.

"Me husband," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "Bastard used ta beat me, rape me... God, I thought 'bout killin' meself almost every damn day. Papa sent Bella and me ta America ta save me from 'im. I came 'ere ta be free and I'm raped in the street."

Tears whispered down her freckled cheeks, startling Murphy. He shifted and wiped away her tears with the pads of his thumbs, chasing each one as they slipped over her eyelid. After a moment, Lily giggled quietly and took his hands in hers. They were smaller than his, and as cold as ice. It was odd that they had a few callouses and her ring finger had a writer's bump. She wasn't perfect and that's what he loved about her.

"But, I think God saw me struggle and gave me Angus; me angel." Her forced, sorrowful smile made his heart sink. He knew she was trying to see the good in everything that had happened to her, but even she struggled to believe herself.

Murphy kissed each of her knuckles, then her eyelids, her eyelashes damp from her tears. "God sent ye two Saints ta make sure no more bad luck finds ye, love."

A/N: God, it's been forever since I updated this... I've just been so busy and honestly this was only intended to be a one-shot... But I have been bouncing around a few ideas for it and since I can't update by Walking Dead FF until November I figured I'd work on this one.

Please Review... Is this chapter alright? I feel like its all forced...