**BDS does not belong to me. This chapter is a bit sad and for that I apologize. It is a necessary train of thought for the eventual ending of this story. Please enjoy!**

Chapter 7

Monday brought groans as we untangled ourselves from each other, work a dark cloud hanging over us. I had lost count of whose hands belonged to who, who lips were on my skin, whose turn it was to make me scream. I had never known such incredible pleasure and even small bits of desirable pain. The last thing I wanted to do was drag my ass to work, but bills had to be paid.

Aileen gave me a knowing smile as I finally clocked in. The boys had argued over who got to walk to work with me, and in the end I had two gorgeous escorts. I made sure to say goodbye to each of them before shooing them on their way.

"I take it ye didn't make a decision on which boy to be with?" she asked good naturedly.

I grinned. "Didn't need to." The phone rang and I grabbed for it. "Baker's Dozen Bookstore. This is Siobhan. How may I help you today?"

"Siobhan, this is your great aunt Mary."

I looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning. "Hi Aunt Mary. I haven't talked to you in a while. How did you get this number?"

My aunt sighed. "Listen, deary. Your Gram is going to be furious for me calling you at all, let alone taking your work number out of her address book, but someone needed to get ahold of you."

"What's going on?" I tried to keep the panic from my voice, but having my grandmother's sister calling me first thing in the morning was not a good thing.

"Honey, you need to come home."

Aileen came up behind me and rested her hand on my shoulder. I appreciated having her there, but it still didn't answer my question. "Aunt Mary, I can't just drop everything and come home without a reason. What's wrong?"

I could hear her sniffling on the other end of the line. "It's your Gram. She's sick. You need to come before it's… too late."

I think I said goodbye. I think I told Aileen what Mary had said. I think I did a lot of things, but one moment I was in the store, the next I was at home. I stared blankly at the television even though it was off. Hours must have passed because it was dark before I shook myself awake.

"Easy, lass. Ye're not alone." Murphy's arms were open for me. I collapsed into them and wept. "Aileen told me about ye're call. I'm so sorry, love."

I could only nod against his chest. I had told him about Gram, more than I had told Connor. Sometimes, it was easier to talk to one of them versus the other. They didn't take it personally, for which I was grateful.

"Con got ye a plane ticket leaving tonight inta O'Hare airport. Is that close enough ta where ye need ta be?"

"Yeah." I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve and headed into my bedroom. I grabbed my duffle bag and began throwing random pieces into it.

"Let me help." He took the sweater I had balled up in my hands and smoothed it out. "Sit."

I sat.

He took everything out of my bag and began again. I watched him methodically pack underwear and bras, jeans and nice shirts, two sweaters, and a couple of t-shirts to sleep in. I managed a smile when I realized that they belonged to my boys, a piece of them to take with me.

"Do ye want one of us ta go wit you?" he asked, zipping the bag closed. "I'm sure Con could pull a few strings."

I shook my head. "You have work and I have no idea what I'm walking into." I hugged him close. "I'll be okay."

He cupped my head and held me close. "Just say the word and we'll get to ye."

I promised to call him with an update. It was no surprise that the boys would be hanging out at McGinty's, especially when he said to call them there. He walked me outside where a cab and Connor were waiting. I let go of Murphy's hand to slide my arms around his brother. Amid more offers of company, I realized that this was going to be tough, but I couldn't drop them on my Gram not knowing what state she was in. I kissed them both and got in the cab.

My plane ride was uneventful, albeit a little turbulent but I could handle that. Murphy had thought ahead so I that I didn't need to check a bag so getting to my Gram was one step faster. I hailed a cab and gave the driver directions to the hospital that Gram had been moved to. It was late by the time I arrived, but something made me suspect that one of my boys had called ahead. There was a nurse at the door, waiting for me.

"Miss Gray?" she asked, holding the door open.

I nodded, happy to get inside. Illinois was always cold and the snow on the ground didn't help. "Please, just call me Siobhan."

"This way, Siobhan," she directed, leading me to the elevator. "Your grandmother is on the tenth floor."

I looked at the chart on the wall and felt my heart drop into my stomach. The oncology ward was on the tenth floor. "Cancer?"

The nurse had a sympathetic look on her face. "I'm sorry."

I felt so cold, being ushered through the hallway and through an imposing set of doors. A doctor in a lab coat was reading a chart outside of the room the nurse took me to.

"Ah, you would be Mrs. Gray's granddaughter, yes?"

"Yes, I'm Siobhan. Please, what's wrong with Gram?"

He closed the chart and put it back in its holder on the wall. "My name is Dr. Wilcox. Why don't you go in and see her first? I have rounds to make and then you and I can talk."

I agreed and tried to steel myself against whatever was to come. I knocked lightly on the door and opened it slowly, almost afraid.

"I'm not asleep, child. Just come in already."

That voice warmed me right up. She still sounded like herself, but the visual was very different. She looked so different from the woman who raised me. She was small and frail. She looked…

"Old. Yes, my dear. I know how I look. Still not realizing that you're talking out loud? No matter. Come sit beside me. Let me have a good look at you."

I moved over to the bed, grateful she was in a room by herself. It was nice, and not hospital-looking at all. She appeared to have all of the comforts she could, despite being hooked up to monitors and tubes. I hugged her gently, surprised at how much weight she had lost. I pulled a chair up to the bed and took her hand in mine.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Of all the first things to ask, that was not how I wanted to start this conversation.

She sighed and settled back against her pillows. "Because I knew you would drop everything to come here and take care of me. There was nothing that you could do. There's still nothing you can do and my sister knew that, but called you anyway." She smiled. "But I'm glad you're here all the same. I've missed you, darling."

"I've missed you too. So what are the doctors saying? What kind of treatments are we looking at?"

She squeezed my hand. "None."

"None? At all?" This couldn't be happening. "You can't just give up!"

She closed her eyes and spoke in even tones just like she was dealing with me as a child. "I've lived a long, happy life, my darling. It's my time. The good Lord knows when to call us all home."

"But I don't want to lose you!" I know I sounded like a whiny child, but she was all the family I had left.

"Siobhan Gray, you will never lose me."

I climbed into the bed beside her and let her comfort me. I did my best to ignore all the medical equipment and pretend we were back at home, me having woken up from yet another nightmare. After a while, I realized she had fallen asleep so I made my way to the nurses' station to find Dr. Wilcox.

"Is there really nothing that we can do?" I asked him, sipping on a cup of coffee in his office.

"Unfortunately, no. Even if she would consent to treatment, your grandmother's cancer is at such an advanced stage. At best, all we can do is make her comfortable in the short time that she has left."

Another question I didn't want to ask. "And how long is that?"

The doctor must have dealt with Gram long enough to know she hated people sugarcoating things. He must have assumed I was the same way. "A few days. A week at most."

I knew deep down that she was still trying to protect me when she didn't call, but she could have passed away without me even getting to say goodbye. Our weekly conversations on the phone were going to be a thing of the past. She was never going to meet Connor and Murphy.

"Shit!" I hadn't even called to let them know I was okay. I found a payphone and dug through my purse for change. I found a new roll of quarters waiting for me. Bless those Irish hearts.

"McGinty's!" a man yelled into the phone. I asked for either of the boys and the line went quiet.

"Make it okay there, lass?" Connor's voice was calm, and didn't sound the least bit drunk thought I knew it was well past midnight at home.

"Yes. Thank you for… everything you both did to get me here." I leaned against the wall as I talked.

"Not ta rush ye or anything, but how is ye're Gram?" Murphy must have found another phone to be on the line.

I told them as quickly and as unemotionally as I could what I had found out. "I won't be coming home for a few days at least. Can one of you please let Aileen know? I didn't bring her number with me."

"I will," Connor promised. "I'll stop by on the way ta work tomorrow."

"Do ye want us ta fly out ta ye?" Murphy asked, concern filling his voice. It did make me smile, knowing both of them would come out if I asked them to.

"No, I'm okay. I have a few things to do here and then I'll be coming home. Just be waiting for me when I get there. I'll let you know more as soon as I have more details."

We said our goodbyes and I love you's. It wasn't enough. I wanted them here, but if what the doctor said was true, I would be home sooner than I wanted to be. Gram was awake when I got back to her room.

"So, tell me about Boston."

I rambled on for a bit about my job and Aileen. I left a lot out about Richard, just enough said so she would know I was okay and he was an asshole. She wasn't stupid though.

"I never should have said so many nice things about him. He was just always so damn polite on the phone. I thought he was a real catch." I shrugged and tried to change topics, but she wasn't so easily swayed. "So if he's out of your life, have you found a man to replace him?" She waggled her eyebrows in true Gram fashion.

"Well, actually Gram… I found two." I grinned and she laughed out loud until a coughing fit took her breath. I waited until she was looked over by a nurse before continuing.

I told her everything, not leaving anything out. Okay, I may have left out some details about the recent nights we had spent naked, but I didn't want to give her a heart attack. She listened intently, asking questions every now and again. She seemed pleased that they were Catholic, and when I told her about always having an escort around town, she beamed.

"Sounds like you found two of the few good ones left."

I nodded. I pulled out my wallet and pulled out the one picture I had of the three of us. Rocco had taken it with my camera at McGinty's and even in the picture, it was obvious how happy I was. I showed it to her and she scrutinized every inch of it.

"Very handsome. Do they love you as much as you love them?"

"Yeah, I think they do." I was suddenly shy. These were my boys, and I loved them, but I needed her to be okay with this very unconventional relationship.

"Well then who am I to complain?" She was happy. Her words could have been construed as something different, but the look on her face was pure joy. She knew that I would be taken care of after she was gone. "I know that we already went through most of my things when I moved out of the old house. You have your mother's possessions and a few pieces of furniture that you liked."

"The desk is working out great. I love the old roll top. It reminds me of Grandpa and when he used to write those long letters."

She agreed. "I have a box of photo albums and small mementos that you'll take back with you, but I wanted to give this to you as well." She reached over to the nightstand and pulled something out of the drawer. It was as familiar to me as my own skin and I wondered how I had missed that it wasn't around her neck.

"Your rosary?" I whispered, shocked as I held it in my hands. It was one of few blessed by the Pope himself when she and Grandpa had visited Rome before I was born. The silver cross was slightly tarnished, but the pink glass beads still shone like new.

She took both of my hands in hers and kissed each. "My dying wish to you, my darling girl… hold onto the love you have found with both hands and with all of the faith you can find. Family, love, and faith are the only constants in life. Have all three and think of me often."

If I had known it was the last time I would ever talk to her, I would have found something better to say, but I promised her I would and told her that I loved her. She was gone the next morning.