I know this is a little later than when I usually update. And those of you following "Unacceptable"… I haven't forgotten that fan fic! It's been really busy around here. I passed my nursing exam. ;) Promise to update Unacceptable within the next week. Just been trying to decide where I want to take that story line. Anyway… here we are… romance coming soon. ;)

"You're drunk as fuck," Jem spoke to Kate, trying to make himself over the music and the other people in the bar. She smiled wildly and shook a finger at him.

"Am not," she slurred. Doug had left them to talk with a girl on the other side of the bar, leaving Jem to babysit. "Nine shots and don't even feel it!"

"Uh huh," he mocked while lighting a cigarette.

"Can't believe you still do that." She slumped against the bar, holding herself up with just her elbow. He took a long drag off of the cigarette and looked over at her.

"I still do a lot of things." He blew the smoke from his lungs out of his mouth, feeling the heat leave his chest. "Wear the same clothes, go to tha same bar, hang out with tha same friends…"

"It's nice though. I don't have any of the same things." She pouted slightly and took another drink from her glass.

"An' what are me an' Doug?" he asked with a smile. "We don't count?" She smirked slightly and bumped into him with her shoulder. "Because, I'm pretty sure we're still tha same."

"Hush, you know what I meant." He laughed and bumped back into her. They both looked across the bar at Doug to find him kissing the blonde he had been talking up. "Hope he lets her come up for air soon." Jem laughed again and pounded his cigarette out in the tray on the counter. "You find yourself a girl, yet?" she asked casually, leaning back on the bar.

"Nah," he answered.

"Why?"

"Don't really have tha time an' I ain't found one I can really stand bein' around." She nodded with a smile. He always so awkward when they were dating, mainly because he just wasn't used to being that way. She imagined him showing up at the door with flowers, looking disheveled and anxious, afraid people would see the infamous Jem actually being sweet.

"Sure it isn't the other way around?" she asked, teasingly. He smirked and looked down at her.

"Ya better watch yourself." She gave a small laugh. "What about that boyfriend of yours? He treat ya okay?"

"Really well actually, he is really great. He takes good care of me and is always making sure I'm alright."

"Good, I don't feel like puttin' tha hurt on the chief of police," Jem quipped as he drank his beer.

"Wouldn't ask you to anyway, Jem. I don't want to see you go back to prison and I'm pretty sure that would earn you a first class ticket back to a cell in Walpole."

"I don't give a shit. Ya don't deserve one of these assholes treatin' ya like that." They sat silently for a few minutes, drinking, looking around the bar at the other drunken people talking and dancing with each other.

"I've got to ask you, if you could go back and stop what you did, would you?" He sat quietly thinking about her question before answering. His eyes searched into hers, the neon lights from around the walls reflecting various colors off of them.

"Knowin' how my life is now, yes. I always thought that you were gonna be there the day I got out, that ya would have came an' visited me or at least sent me a letter. If I would have known your dad was gonna take ya away like that…" He shook his head and looked back across the room at Doug. "I wouldn't have pulled that trigger that day."

"I wish you hadn't." Her lip turned into a frown. He shook his finger at her and leaned in.

"Ya got tha life ya always wanted, Kate. Think about tha life ya would 'ave had with me. Never home, out gettin' inta shit all tha time, leavin' ya home worried an' stressed takin' care of kids… not really a life."

"I would have been with you." He looked down at the floor for a minute, feeling his chest ache a bit. Older feelings of guilt and the pain from not being near her almost pulled him to the floor.

"Kate…" he started to talk softly when she held her hand up.

"If we start talking about this I am going to cry. And I don't want to start crying in front of these people. I just want to go home."

"Let me just go get Doug." Jem patted her shoulder and slithered through people to Doug. Doug had his face buried in the blonde's neck, he was smiling at Jem from over her shoulder as he approached. "Hey, Kate's ready to go. If ya want, I'll jus' run her back, ain't no big deal. Ya can stay here."

"Thanks, man," Doug called back turning himself back into the girl. Jem nodded and turned on his heel, rubbing the back of his neck. When he returned he found another body on his stool seated next to Kate. Fergie. His face flushed as he watched Fergie smile wickedly at Kate. She had backed herself almost completely against the person sitting behind her, turned to face Fergie head on.

"Tha fuck are ya doin' here?" Jem asked stepping up beside Kate, putting an arm tightly around her waist. She practically did everything, but climb onto him like a koala bear on a tree to get off of the stool and away from Fergie.

"Jus' stoppin' by for a good ol' drink on my way home. I see you two are gettin' rather cozy again," Fergie answered, motioning towards Kate hand tightly holding Jem's.

"This ain't nothin'" Jem spat back, breaking his hand out of hers.

"Got a good job comin' up here soon I think you an' Doug would be rather proud ta be apart of it."

"He's got a job and it's a damn good one," Kate piped up, her drunken anger getting the best of her. Her pride for Jem and the way she felt about him mixed in with the alcohol made her lose all common sense.

"Keep ya mouth closed, bitch," Fergie growled. "I wasn't talkin' ta you." He tapped his chin and looked between the two of them. Kate bit her lip and swallowed her anger for a second as Jem gripped her forearm tightly.

"Anything else?" Jem questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"Who ya been workin' for in that suit? I don't know many places where suits are required that would hire a fuck up like you."

"Me," Kate spat, taking a short step forward. "And he's not a fuck up. He's brilliant at what he does." Jem grabbed onto Kate's shoulders and shoved her behind him, turning his back to Fergie.

"Keep ya fuckin' mouth shut. Are ya kiddin' me? I've heard of liquid courage an' shit before, but this is Fergie, Kate. He could fuckin' destroy anything he wants to. Now shut the hell up," he growled, turning back around. Jem rubbed the back of his neck again and shifted on his feet, looking up into Fergie's eyes. They almost seemed to glow with hatred. He had a sinister smile on his face as he looked back at Jem. It was the first time Jem could remember being uncomfortable since his first shower in prison.

"You an' Doug are workin' for that cunt?" Jem gave a subtle nod of his head, looking over to see Doug smiling and laughing without a care in the world. Fergie followed his eyes and smiled wider. "You two better watch ya asses, if ya know what's good for ya. That pretty little green eyed girl of yours better, too." Anger swelled in his throat as he heard the words.

"I understand. We're gonna go now, alright?" He looked at Fergie, monitoring his movements, ready to do whatever necessary if he pulled out a gun.

"Sure. Just keep your gun loaded," Fergie warned with a wink of his eye. Jem turned quickly and pulled Kate behind him to the door. He breathed in and out quickly as they hit the outside air. She stood on the sidewalk watching Jem pace back and forth.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

"What's the big deal? Some old man threatens you and-"

"Kate," he cut her off and stood in front of her. "He's trained all of us. You know that. He doesn't play around. He's got plently of boys in his pocket ready to release on command. I don't even know how many he's got now." She dropped her head to look at her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's gonna be on our asses now. He's gonna do everything he can to ensure something happens to any one of us."

"I don't know what to say," she muttered under her breath.

"Ya shouldn't have said a damn word ta begin with!" he shouted. She nodded her head and started walking up the sidewalk to the corner, holding her hand out to a taxi. "What tha fuck are ya doin'?" he asked, angrily as she opened the door to the car.

"Going home. I told you I wanted to go home before you went to tell Doug. So, I'm just going to do what I said I was going to do."

"Why tha fuck did ya open ya mouth like that in front of Fergie, of all people?" She smirked and shook her head, looking out towards the highway, away from his face.

"Sorry I still have feelings for you, Jem. I wasn't going to let him talk to you like that."

"It's Fergus Colm, Kate. He can call me a fuckin' fairy if he wants." She shook her head and looked back into his face. His eyes were wild with frustration, his jaw set.

"You know maybe you were right the entire time. Maybe I should just stop caring about you." She sat down on the seat and watched him walk around to look at her as she sat.

"An' that's it then?" he asked, grabbing a hold of the car door.

"That's it," she whispered, pulling the door closed.

Her home was empty. Quiet. It was nice to be in silence after the buzz from the bar. She shut and locked the door behind her, kicking off the heels she had been wearing and wondered up the hallway stairs, turning the light on as she entered her bedroom. With a quick flip of her wrist she threw her cellphone and change purse onto the bed. She undressed quickly, replacing her clothes with a pair of dark green flannel pajamas. There was a loud pop sound as the lights went off. She jumped and yanked her cellphone off of the bed, staring outside to look at the other well lit homes on either side of her. "What in the fuck…" she whispered, stumbling over to the window. There was a loud blare of a horn from the street, causing her to drop down to her knees and hands as she peered out over the windowsill. Her eyes caught a glimpse of three men in masks holding assault rifles standing beside a black car. Her hands began to shake as she pulled her cellphone up to her ear. She put her mind on autopilot, dialing any number she could first, as she tried to focus on the situation unfolding before her.

"Kate Faust, consider this a friendly reminder that we know where ya live," yelled a voice. She breathed a few short shallow breaths as the cellphone dialed the number. "We'll be watchin'."

"Answer," she whispered quietly, slumping against the wall, watching, listening, and waiting for someone to come barreling into her room at any second. Her mind replayed thoughts of Brian falling to the ground, blood spewing from his chest. She closed her eyes tightly as tears fell, clutching the phone against her ear, her heart thumping in her chest.

"Tha fuck do ya want?" Jem asked from the other end of the phone.

"Jem-" she breathed between quiet sobs. "Jem, I need you."

"Tha fuck is goin' on?"

"Fergie's sent guys out here. They-they-" she stuttered and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "They have guns. I don't know what they are gonna do."

"I'll be there in a two minutes. Just breathe. You're gonna be fine. Did ya see how many are out there?"

"Three, but I- I'm afraid to look again."

"It's alright." She could hear shuffling in the background and the clanking of metal.

"I'm sorry-" she breathed, running a hand through her hair, as her eyes refocused on the doorway.