Chapter One Summary: It's been eight years since Anna kidnapped and tortured Murphy. The twins are incarcerated at the Hoag. After defending themselves, they're kept in solitary for a night. Murphy has a nightmare about Anna, something that's common to the twins. Connor brings him back, but it's obvious that Murphy is still suffering from his past...

AN: Popped out another angsty one! Have fun!

Demons of Saints

Ghosts and Fears

By Candra Hastings

The twins didn't sleep the rest of the night. Instead, they sat quietly against the bars that held them apart, trying to take comfort in each other's presence. When morning came, a guard who happened to be sympathetic to the Saints, came to let them out early instead of the regular twenty-four hours.

The bars slid open and the guards cuffed the twins with their hands in front of them. Before they could be moved, though, Connor moved to his brother and looped his bound hands around Murphy's neck, hugging him as best he could, finally getting the physical contact that he'd missed all night.

Murphy leaned into his embrace and fisted his cuffed hands in Connor's shirt. "We're fine," he mumbled to Connor. His twin's reaction was to give him a little squeeze before letting him go.

The brothers were lead out of the dark cell block and to the mess hall. They were released from their cuffs and they picked themselves up trays of breakfast. In the light, Connor noticed that Murphy's bruises had bloomed over his face. The dark circles under his eyes from the sleepless night didn't help his appearance, either.

They found their normal table. Romeo was already waiting for them. "You two look like hell," he greeted as the boys sat down.

"Aye, but yah really should see the other guy," Connor grinned proudly.

"Yah really should," Murphy agreed with a wry smile. "Connor tossed 'em a good one.

"And you both are alright?" Romeo asked.

"Peachy," Murphy confirmed.

"Wasn't our first brawl. Felt good to get the blood pumpin'," Connor elaborated.

"What about you?" Murphy asked the Mexican. "Miss us?"

"Yeah, a bit," Romeo admitted.

"Aw, did yah here that, Con? Rome missed us last night!"

"Did yah cry for us, Rome?" Connor teased his friend.

"Oh, screw you two. I don't know why I stick around you guys."

"Because yah love us," Murphy grinned.

"Plus, we don't give yah hell for your stupid catchphrases," Connor added.

"At least I have a catchphrase!"

"And we have our prayer," Connor shot back.

"Which is pretty sweet," Murphy added.

"So shove it," Connor finished.

Romeo was about to argue with them some more when a bell rang, telling them they all could go outside for an hour. "Bout time," Murphy grumbled as they went outside. "I need a smoke."

Connor pulled three out of his pack and passed them to his brother and friend, handing Murphy the lighter first after igniting his own. Murphy lit his and passed it on to Romeo who did the same and gave the lighter back to it's owner. The three stood in silence, enjoying the peace and the taste of the drag.

A humming sound in the distance like a wave of the ocean caught Murphy's attention. "What's that?" he asked.

Romeo gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Your adoring fans. They've been out there about a month now screaming at the city of Boston to let you guys free."

"They're still out there?" Connor asked incredulously. "After a bleedin' month? They must love us."

"Heh, lot o' good it's doin'," Murphy mumbled.

"We'll all be gettin' out soon enough," Connor said fervently, trying to convince Murphy and Romeo in something that even he didn't really believe in. Who was going to fight for them? Da was dead, as was Smecker, and Bloom was somewhere in Cambodia or somewhere of the like. As much as the brothers loved Dolly and Duffy, the two didn't have enough pull in the city to get them released.

That left them screwed and at the mercy of the American government. Very screwed, indeed.

"Mr. Murphy MacManus," an unfamiliar voice called to the darker twin. All three turned around and found three guards waiting for them. Murphy stepped forward, Connor leaning closer towards him in a protective motion. Never before had only one of them been called out.

"Aye, that would be me."

"You are to come with us to give us an account of the events of yesterday," the guard said. He had a cold, professional air about him. Connor could just tell that he wasn't a friend to them.

"I'm goin' with him," Connor said.

"We only need Mr. Murphy MacManus for the account as he was the first upon the scene," the lead guard said in an icy tone.

Connor ground his teeth, wanting to blow up on this man who thought he could separate the twins. "I was there, too. I should go as well."

"Like I said, we only need your brother."

"Can a guard stay with Connor?" Murphy asked. He feared for his twin's safety while he was gone.

"That's unnecessary. Now please let me see your hands," the guard commanded. Murphy didn't want to, but he knew he couldn't refuse. He offered himself up and ignored the metal encircling his wrists. Before he was lead away, he cast a worried look over his shoulder at Connor and Romeo.

Connor put a fake smile on his face, trying to ease Murphy's worries for him. He wasn't worried for himself so much as being upset at the separation. Last time Murphy had been out of his sight for more than a second, and he ended up with a busted face.

Still, the smile didn't comfort Murphy as he was led away into the official part of the prison where the guards met and things of that nature. He hadn't been in here since he and Connor had officially been processed in. Even then, he'd been bleeding out and could barely remember it.

He was led down a grey, bare hall to a door at the end, reminding him very much of a scary movie. He was lead into the room where a bare table with an empty chair seated by it. He was guided to the chair and sat down in it while his still cuffed hands were chained to a clip in the table.

He didn't like this one bit. It felt like one of those movies where the dude in the interrogation room had the hell beat outta 'em.

The cold guard who'd brought him in left as soon as Murphy was chained down and had left one of his men to loom in the corner with a very large gun. Murphy refrained from looking at him, instead choosing to stare at the thumbnail he desperately wanted to bite but couldn't.

He had no idea how long he waited there. He had no idea what was coming, he just knew that for every moment he wasn't with Connor, something bad could be happening. He moved restlessly in his seat as the minutes passed and he became more anxious.

As time crept by, Murphy couldn't help but begin to feel suffocated. He hated being restrained, even more so than Connor after the whole Anna business. That woman had worked him over all those years ago. He hopped that she was still in jail where she belonged.

Suddenly, the door opened and a figure entered, scaring the living hell out of Murphy. The Irishmen couldn't help but gape at the person as they entered the small room and sat down at the table across from him.

"I don't think those are necessary," the ghost said, pointing to Murphy's cuffs. "Murphy... It's been a while."

B~D~S

Connor paced. It had been well over an hour. He hated that Murphy had been taken somewhere else. It was driving him mad with worry. What were they asking him? Was he cooperating or running that big mouth of his? Was everything okay?

Connor was so busy worrying that he didn't hear Romeo trying to warn him. Only when he paced right on into the chest of a rather large man. A man who's face looked like it had been through a blender.

Oh, hell. Connor knew what had happened to that face. He'd messed it up yesterday.

The man shoved Connor away from him into the arms of two waiting inmates. "Where's your brother, now?" he asked with an evil grin.

"Connor!" Romeo shot to the twin's defense, but was stopped by another inmate. The Mexican was fast, though. He dodged the prisoner and went around him, elbowing the man in the back and dropping him to the ground. "Ding, dong'!" he spat before coming to Connor's aid.

Connor took the moment to jerk his arm free and slugged one of the guys holding him in the face. He dropped the other guy in and instant and was about to go after the first guy when Romeo jumped in, handling two of the four inmates.

Connor turned his attention to the leader. "Back for another go? Maybe I didn't beat your ugly mug enough the first time," Connor spat viciously.

The man sneered back. "We'll see about that." With that, the two lunged at each other. Fists flew and blows met their targets. Connor tried to get the upper hand and tried to bring him to the ground, but the man saw his goal and ripped away at the last moment while the other prisoner came from behind and got Connor in a chokehold.

The leader sank a fist into Connor's gut. He was about to do it again when out of nowhere, an enraged voice screamed, "Get the hell away from my brother!" Murphy came out of nowhere and plowed into the leader, sending him to the ground. Murphy delivered an unforgiving kick to the man's side before turning his attention to the man who had a hold of Connor.

"Let 'em go," he snarled before launching himself at the inmate. Terrified, the prisoner let Connor go before running right into Romeo's fist. The Mexican had managed to knock out one of his two and the other one was just staggering to his feet.

A shot went off and everyone froze. The cold guard who'd taken Murphy in the first place came in, an army of troops behind him. Murphy reached out to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder before asking, "Are yah alright?"

Connor was panting, but nodded. "I'm fine. You?"

"Great. Just great."

"Everyone freeze," the Guard called. Just as the day before, all involved with the fight were cuffed and lead to separate cells. Connor again was faced with the agony of separation as Murphy was placed in the cell next to his instead of the one across, where Romeo ended up. The twins ended up sitting back to back, backs pressed against the wall separating them.

"Yah sure you're alright, Con?"

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Romeo? Ya okay?"

"Just fine," the Mexican called over from his cot. "I got them more than they got me."

"I'm sorry, the both of you," Murphy sighed. "If I hadn't left-"

"It's not like yah had much o' a choice, Murph. We're just fine, so get over it," Connor pointed out.

"What? I don't get to mother-hen yah?" Murphy teased, the worry dropping from his voice.

"Nope. That's the job of the older twin."

"It was forty-seven seconds, Con!"

"Still forty-seven seconds older than you."

Murphy grumbled something unintelligible through the concrete wall, but Connor could've sworn he'd heard something along the lines of, "rope-lovin' airhead."

Connor chuckled, amused by his twin's antics. He desperately wished he was in the same cell as him so that he could reach out and ruffle his hair.

They sat in silence a while until the soft sounds of Romeo's snores filled the air. It was then Connor remembered. "What did they want yah for, Murph?"

"They... Con, you're not gonna believe this, but they wanted to talk to me about getting released."

Connor frowned. "How's that? Who's pushin' for us?"

"Besides the whole city of Boston? Again, yah won't believe me."

"Course I'll believe yah," Connor disagreed. "You're my brother, ain't yah? I'd believe yah if yah said yah had a pet unicorn, now out with it, Murph."

Murphy didn't respond for a while. Finally, he sighed and said, "Smecker. I saw Smecker today."

It was Connor's turn to be silent a while. "Are yah sure?"

"Course I'm sure! He was right in front of me. We talked a long time. He told me a lot 'o things. Says he's got it set up that we'll be gettin' out free o' charges soon enough. We're goin' with a story that we happened upon Da's crime scene. That it was defense, that we picked up the guns there."

"And they'll buy that?" Connor asked.

"Sounds like," Murphy replied. Still, something in his voice troubled Connor.

"Murph, what else? What else did he tell yah?"

"Can we just go to sleep, Con? I'm tired."

"Hell no, Murph. Tell me right now what's got yah bothered," Connor barked, pressing his face against the bars, trying to get closer to Murphy. His twin was lucky they were separated, otherwise he'd knock some sense into him.

"He told me... He told me that she was let out. Parol or somethin'. Then she went missing and they have no idea where she is," Murphy whispered.

Connor's throat constricted. Though he already had an idea, he had to confirm. "Who?"

"Anna," Murphy croaked. "They lost Anna."

Connor's breath hitched. The monster who'd haunted and tormented his brother for all these years was walking around free as a bird and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Connor had no idea what to do. He wanted to take his brother in his arms and hold him, let him know he was safe, but he couldn't.

Instead, he reached his hand out through the bars and managed to tap one of the bars to Murphy's cell. In response, Murphy also reached out and searched blindly until he found his brother's hand. When he found it, he clung to it like a lifeline tethering him to all that was safe.

It was an awkward position and it strained their wrists until it hurt, but there they clung to each other through the night, even as they fell into restless sleeps, matching tattoos on their fingers, matching scars marking their wrists, and matching fears playing through their heads.