Thank you all for the amazing reviews. Really didn't expect it

Mark

Dermot looked up as Maria walked into the kitchen. She sat opposite him, knowing the whole family was still in shock.

"Deano and Rory settled the triplets. I think Paul is teething."

"Poor kid, first George now Paul." He shook his head. "If Mark."

"Don't." Maria looked at her husband. "Don't talk like that." She took his hand.

"Maria, Frankie was a nightmare waiting to happen. How he lived as long as he did I'll never know. Not with all the crap he put in his system. Ma nearly fell to pieces. If Mark does die. If he does, it'll kill her. And I know her and Cathy bicker."

"Only because they are so alike." Maria smiled. Dermot nodded.

"But. What I'm saying is. Now we have our boys I think I get it." He paused. "You don't bury your kids. It's the wrong order of things. And mammy has had to do it once already."

"Hey." Maria crossed the room to hug him, knowing the jokey, ex con was more worried than he let on.

Ccccc

Mark laid motionless in the bed. Nurses checked his blood pressure, wrote in his notes, gave him IV antibiotic medication and checked his catheter. All why Betty sat holding his hand.

"Mrs Brown?" Betty looked up to see a nurse holding out a mug of coffee.

"Thanks. Call me Betty. Mrs Brown makes me sound like my mother in law." Betty smiled as she took the mug from her. "How is he? Really?"

"Blood pressure is better than earlier. His kidney function has improved."

"Good."

"Get some rest. He'll need you when he wakes up."

"Thanks."

The nurse raised an eyebrow.

"You're the only one to say when, not if." The nurse squeezed her shoulder before heading back to the nurses station.

"Did you hear her? Mark? She said when, so come on now." Mark remained seemingly immobile but something had changed. She just knew.

Xxxxxxx

Mick put the phone down, glad that Cathy was home safely. He had no doubt the nurses at the hospital would take excellent care of Betty and Mark. It was the rest of the Brown family that concerned him. Grandad was an old man, nearly 90 by Cathy's reckoning although the old man still had a spring in his step and an eye for the ladies. Agnes wasn't a girl either, at 74 she was far from frail but he new Cathy worried. Then there was Rory, Deano, Simon, Maria, Trevor and Dermot as well as the young children to consider. He knew Cathy had been keeping the stalking from them until Mark had found out. She had wanted to keep them safe. Glancing at his mobile he picked it up, deciding that a favour was in order.

"Sinead, hi. How are you? I know it's late." He paused. "Look, can you check something for me? Frankie Brown. That is Francis Arthur Brown, died fifteen years ago" he paused as he heard the older woman swear.

"Jeez, don't I know? The man is dead but his sister is very much alive and very concerned that her family is being terrified by a Michael Dowd. I just wanna check that I'm right the link between them is just Cathy and not something I'm missing." He paused again, wincing at the expletives fired at him.

"And you, Sinead Nolan, a good catholic girl. I will not feck off." He laughed. "Thank you." He hung up before driving off, hoping that Mark would pull through and Michael would be stopped before anyone else got hurt.

Cxxxx

A/n please review