AN: Here's another one. There should only be one or two left after this. Thanks for the support. Again, I do not own the Black Donnellys.

"You see, because Brigit worked such weird hours, she missed a lot of important stuff. If anything happened at night, she was too busy workin'. If it happened durin' the day, she was sleeping. She was only involved if she was purposely pulled into it by one of the brothers or if it happened after seven in the morning but before noon.

"So for the two days after Tommy's dog bite, she didn't see us all that much, except Kevin and Jenny. She always saw Jenny at the Diner and knew every time that creep Samson came by. She didn't involve herself in that though, Jenny wasn't lookin' for help, just someone to talk to . And Kevin, well, he tried to see her whenever he could, but it was harder and harder because he became busy with Franny Kelly and then Anthony Lino.

"Luckily, she got two days off after that and they were on the most important days… for her, the Donnellys, and the neighborhood."

Brigit sat at the Diner's counter, relieved she did not have to work for a few days, but as she watched Jenny, she knew something was wrong with her friend. When first asked, Jenny brushed the question off, until it was asked two or three more times, when she could no longer ignore it.

Finally, Jenny broke and told Brigit how Teach's body had been found -- Jenny was officially a widow. Adding those facts to Samson's borderline stalking, Brigit felt bad and scared for Jenny. Things seemed to be getting nothing but worse for everyone.

Once she was assured that Jenny was going to be all right, Brigit made her way over to the bar, intent on staying for a short while before going home to nap after a twelve hour shift.

What she found at the bar was not at all what she expected. Joey, Tommy, and Kevin were huddled together, whispering angrily, with Jimmy strangely missing.

At the sight of her, Tommy ordered Brigit upstairs to check Jimmy for any injuries. She rushed to the bathroom to find him covered in what smelled like motor oil and he only seemed to have patches of hair left on his head. Joanie was gently wiping away the oil.

Brigit cleared her throat, not really wanting to disturb them. "Hey… I was just going to check if Jimmy's hurt," she turned toward Jimmy, "Are you?"
"Nah, nothing but pride," Jimmy chuckled.
Brigit forced a smile, "Well, you take care of him, Joanie."

Joanie practically grinned, happy to feel accepted by someone within Jimmy's group. She longed for some kind of family and she knew Brigit Murphy was one of the Donnelly family, though unofficially.

"Brig had grown up with the Donnellys -- she knew everything about them, but the things that were happenin' then were worse than they had ever been and she began to wonder if she was really up to it.

"Whether she had been told or not, she knew Huey had been killed because he threatened to kill Jimmy… now someone had actually put his hands on Jimmy. She knew what Dokey had done would force a response from the Donnellys and she knew it would not be pretty, but what she didn't know was if she could handle the trouble that was just getting started."

Brigit walked down the stairs slowly, trying to prolong the time when she would have to face the brothers. She knew now why they were huddled together, whispering: they were planning something, most likely revenge. It made her stomach churn… or at least, she thought it did. Being pregnant made her feel nauseous at a lot of things.

She made her way quietly, hoping not to be caught sneaking out, but she was never known for being stealthy.

"Hey, where you goin'?"
She swung around at the sound of Kevin's voice, "Uh… I think I'm going to go visit my parents for a bit, you know, and then go home to sleep."
"Good," Tommy spoke up, "Be careful. Don't open the doors for anyone but us."

She kissed Kevin on her way out so no one would question her hasty departure and finally let the breath she had been holding in out once she was out of the bar.

Maybe it was not such a bad idea to visit her parents… at least they could calm her down. Then again, she still had to inform them of her condition. Her parents, though somewhat lenient and very loving, were still Irish Catholic parents and for them, it might a bit too much to find out their only surviving child was unmarried and expecting a child... who happened to be a suspected criminal.

Despite this, she told them as they all sat together at the kitchen table. For a moment, they were speechless, but eventually the scolding came and then the happiness. Kevin Donnelly did not have the greatest reputation for responsibility but John Murphy knew Kevin would do right by his daughter and his wife, Maggie, was excited there would be a child she could spoil.

After the conversation, Brigit went to rest in her old room and her father came to sit with her, a box in his lap. He had heard everything that was going on and he knew what kind of trouble Kevin -- and the rest of the Donnellys -- were in, and, in turn, what sort of trouble Brigit may be in.

"Listen, your mother doesn't know about any of it," he shifted the box, "Or that I'm offering you this."

To her questioning look, he opened the box and she saw there was small .38 revolver. She had always known her father had a gun -- especially in their neighborhood -- but she had never seen it or known where it was and now, here it was, being offered to her.

She wished she could play dumb and ask why he thought she needed such a thing, but they both knew such a question was unnecessary. Stumbling over her words, she thanked him for the concern but refused to take it, wondering if she could ever even shoot a gun, let alone hold one.

She remained at her parents' for as long as possible, wanting to relax in the security being there brought her but was rocked out of such a feeling when her phone rang.

On the other line, Kevin was practically screaming -- something about how they had found Dokey and Tommy had literally dragged him into the streets, beating him along the way. Finally, Tommy, his foot on Dokey's neck, pointed his gun at the older man, ready to shoot, but never did. The three of them had to run from the place, Dokey throwing threats at them for blocks.

After he hung up, she stood alone in the hallway, at a loss for what to do. She wanted so badly to not go back, to stay with her parents, and be safe. But somehow she knew that such security could last only so long.

Then she wondered: if she left, would she able to return? How bad was this going to get? Surely now the Donnellys and anyone close to them would be hunted. Brigit wanted to escape but she knew she was in too deep to get herself out… she was with Kevin and his family, for better or for worse. Her parents could still be saved, though, but only if she left.

She stayed the night, though, using the excuse that she did not want to go back after dark but in the morning, she knew she had to leave.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for whatever lay before her, and went out into the living room to say goodbye to her parents. After doing so, her father offered to walk her outside if only to make sure she left all right.

Again, he offered her the contents of the box and finally, she accepted it. She had to accept her fate.