Realistic or Modern Family Ties: 1980s Gangs - IC (Ended)

[BasDorcha]

BodyWorks Gym
~Dublin, Ireland~
Ruby Miller​

Ruby looked at the mustang as they walked back into the parking lot. It was a nice car. She ran a hand over the smooth paint, lovingly. There wasn’t a vehicle alive that Ruby didn’t admire for something or other. Plus, she liked to drive fast. Her little red truck was faster then it looked, the old model body was hiding a supped up little engine inside, and tires meant to grip the streets if she wanted to fly. Most of the time, she got out into the country and hit the empty roads there, not in town, and just experience the open air.

Popping the tailgate down on her little white truck, she sat down, throwing her bag behind her in the bed. Taking another long sip of water, she pulled an unopened water bottle out of the pouch to offer to Stella, “Thirsty?” She finished her water and put the plastic bottle away. “I wouldn’t mind checking out something new. I’ve run out of stuff to do here besides retake classes I’ve already completed or practice what I know. So yeah, I’d like to join you.” She smiled a broad smile, her dimples appearing in the corners of her mouth.

“Let’s put some stuff together, you can take my number, and we can start practicing together. Just let me know when the next class is. We can also plan to go to the gun range and you can star teaching me the ins and outs of those metal beast, what do you say?”

Interactions BloodLightning27 - Stella Kwon

 

[Pyroclast]

Roxie's House
~ Dollymount, Dublin ~

Syd Porter
Jane Carriveau-Porter​

Syd was surprised at the ease with which Roxie delivered the news. He smiled at her from across the table, but was soon distracted by Jeanie asking them if they were back together. A light blush surfaced on his cheeks at the suggestion and he looked back at Roxie, his smile now all but disappeared as he prepared for their children’s reactions to the truth.


Jane couldn't remember a single time the five of them had sat down for a family meal, so when Roxie announced that she was pregnant, her first thought was that Syd was the father. Why else would he be involved in the conversation? Jeanie was asking all the questions that were going through Jane's head, but unlike her sister, she could feel herself getting hopeful that maybe, finally, they could all become one family again.

That hope shattered when Roxie clarified that she and her father were not in fact getting back together and that the baby wasn't his. Jane frowned and set her cutlery down on the table, too mystified by the situation to concentrate on her meal. In a matter of seconds, however, that confusion transformed into something far more intense and uncomfortable; upon hearing that Roxie was pregnant with Matthew’s baby, Jane’s heart started pounding in her chest and she felt sick all of a sudden. Jeanie seemed equally overwhelmed by the news, though her way of showing it was far more confrontational. Jane tried to listen as her sister fought against the idea, pointing out how damaging their parents’ business was to them and how awful it would be to bring another child into it. Jane might have agreed if she weren’t so overcome, but in that moment all she could think about was Matthew, and how he would never know that he had left a child of his own behind.


It was hard to explain why, but Jeanie’s reaction to the announcement brought on some serious guilt for Syd. Of course, it was hard keeping the three of them sheltered from the violent life that he led, let alone from his mental illness, and he knew they had still been affected by it all over the years - yet, it still hurt to hear Jeanie point out so spitefully that he and Roxie had messed them up so much that they didn’t bring another child into the world. Being an emotional conversation, he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but not far below the surface he did believe that what she was saying was true. He loved his kids more than anything, but he knew he wasn’t the best parent in the world and had caused his own children some emotional trauma along the way. It just hurt to hear Jeanie lay it out to them in such spiteful words - especially when he knew how conflicted Roxie felt about the whole situation, too.

Having also abandoned his meal, Syd watched with regret as his eldest daughter and his son argued across the table about whether another baby in the family should be welcomed or not. When he turned to Jane, who had remained silent throughout the whole conversation, he could see in her the signs of an oncoming panic attack. Roxie asked her if she was mad at her like Jeanie was, but rather than shouting or screaming, Jane’s eyes filled with tears, her chest heaving up and down as she breathed rapidly from the stress. Syd placed a hand on the table near her for her to hold, but she didn’t take it, instead burying her face in her hands and bursting into tears.

Unsure of what he could say that would satisfy all three of his children, Syd looked to Roxie for a moment to make sure she was okay. “It’s alright, Janey,” he murmured, using his deepest, most soothing voice for her. Keeping his hand near Jane in case she decided she wanted the touch, Syd looked towards Jeanie and JJ. “Listen, I know this is a big deal for you all, but we’re all going to have to get on board with this,” he firmly said. “I know we haven’t brought you up in the easiest of circumstances, but we do our best. You have a comfortable life here and two parents who love you, and that’s more than a lot of your classmates have. You’re safer with us than a lot of other kids are with their families. I know it’s not easy, but life isn’t easy, Jeanie…you’ve got to look for the good, and right now that good has come in the form of a baby. Matthew’s baby. His last gift. So if you want to honour that man and keep his memory alive, you’ll welcome your new sister into the world and love her like we love you.”

Syd glanced at Roxie, himself struggling slightly to get over his own internal conflict about the fact that the baby was Matthew’s and not his. It was something he would have to adapt to, especially since while the man had been alive Syd had been jealous of him. Somehow it was easier to respect him now that Roxie was acting much more warmly and more intimately with Syd. Conflict aside, his mind was racing with thoughts of the baby girl whose gender Roxie had only just revealed. He couldn’t wait to sit down with Roxie and talk about it in more depth when they were alone.

“I miss him,” Jane whispered through choked-up sobs, tearing Syd from his thoughts.

“I know, baby.” Syd knew for a fact that he wouldn’t have felt sad about Matthew’s death had it not affected Roxie and their children so deeply. Seeing them in pain was the worst thing in the world.

“He’ll never know he had a kid!” she wept, and when Syd opened up his arms and beckoned her in, she stood up and came to sit on his knee, burying her face in his shoulder. Syd held her in a comforting embrace, but his eyes settled on Roxie, worrying that she would be finding it hard to keep it together.

Interactions
Bellz Roxie, Jeanie, JJ

 

[Pyroclast]

St. George's Channel
~ The horrible rough sea between Rosslare and Fishguard ~

Billy King​

As with anyone he cared about, Billy didn't enjoy seeing Jeremy so downhearted, and if it were anyone else his friend were in love with he surely would have been encouraging of him in pursuing her and not giving up. But Harper was his sister, and he was always going to side with her before anyone else. If she didn't want Jeremy's affection, then that was how it had to be. So, as much as he wanted to tell Jeremy it would work out the way he wanted, Billy knew the man had to accept that he might end up as nothing more than Harper's bodyguard.

When he had prompted Jeremy to tell him if he had done something wrong to Harper, he hadn't actually expected him to start confessing to something. Billy turned to face him, eyes narrowing as he told him he hadn't handled the rejection well. He couldn't imagine Jeremy turning aggressive against Harper, but if he had then Billy wouldn't hesitate to punch him in the face. Instead what came out was the last thing Billy was expecting to hear.

He listened to the man's full explanation, how he had immediately left in search of affection after being rejected by Harper, got drunk and woken up outside Harper's hospital room the next morning with lipstick stains on his neck which made everything between the two of them even worse. He listened - but if he were being honest, he hardly took much in after the man admitted he was still a virgin.

"You are so full of shit, Jeremy," Billy said, not sure whether to laugh. "You expect me to believe you're a virgin? How does that even happen? You're…I mean, you know…" He found himself struggling to make his point, not wanting to embarrass himself by calling the man attractive. "Didn't you have girls falling at your feet all your life? And ain't it better to get good at it before you meet the one so you can show her a good time?"

If Jeremy had told Harper that information, Billy wouldn't have been surprised if that was part of what had put her off him. He himself was worried about what he and Erik would do if they ever got to that stage. They had already gotten close to doing it a couple of times before, but Erik's years of experience being with men intimidated him somewhat, given that he had absolutely none. He wasn't even sure if he'd like it. And if he didn't, then Erik might get bored and start seeing other men instead. The pressure was high, but Billy couldn't see why Jeremy would deny himself the experience of having sex. It's not like there would have been any repercussions for him.

"Well, whatever, I guess," he shrugged, turning back to look out across the sea. "But seriously - turning up outside Harper's room the day after telling her you loved her, covered in some other girl's lipstick, and you don't get why she's mad?" Without making eye contact, Billy brought a hand up to Jeremy's shoulder and gave it another squeeze. "You insulted her, mate," he said. "Just 'cause she turned you down don't mean she wants to see what you can get from someone else. If you do wanna go out and get some action, then do it, but don't then rub it in her face. It looks like you're tryna' spite her for turnin' you down - which she's allowed to do, by the way."

Taking his hand off Jeremy's shoulder, Billy shook his head with a sigh. "Sorry," he muttered. "I don't mean to be a twat, but she is my sister, you know? Much as I care about you, she's always gonna come first…" He let a silence hang in the air as he figured out how to make up for his harsh words. "My advice - wait for her, but don't put any pressure on her. And don't wait forever, neither - you don't wanna die a virgin, do ya'?"

Interactions
BasDorcha Jeremy

Mentioned:
Bellz Harper
Melanin-Gxdess Erik

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Sullivan's Weapons Warehouse
~Dublin Port~

Reina Richards​

The gunman before Reina had started laughing only pissing her off even more. A simple day had turned into a fire-fight and she didn't really appreciate it. She'd been shot at a handful of times in her life but never as much as she had working for Roxie. For split second she began to rethink her choice of profession before punching the man in the face. "Answer my question!" She shouted. He stopped laughing and turned to her with a serious look on his face. "You Irish are all stupid, lot. But it don' matter now anyway. Our boys will have killed the Sullivan scum by now," he said, causing Reina's eyes to grow wide. "The fuck are you-,"

An explosion in the background caught Reina by surprise. She ducked down to the ground out of harm's way and hoped James and Edwards had done the same. The sound was sickening as debris flew all over the place. The screams from the soldiers soon followed, implicating that the blast had been a bit premature. The look on the gunman's face had said that much, but Reina missed it. She was watching the orange hues glowing in front of her as her mind tried to figure out what to do next. Most of the gunmen had been closer to the warehouse. Hopefully, that meant they'd been taken out by the initial blast, if not the flying shards of wood and other materials. She looked by down to the man she held tightly in clutches and frowned. "I'm gonna shoot you in the dick if you don't tell me who sent you and why!" Reina was then met with a bloody spit. Out of annoyance she slammed his head to the ground and wiped her face.

Just before Reina left her cover, she heard the sound of a car turning over in the background. It waited for a few minutes before leaving the parking lot in the opposite direction. She watched it disappear down the street before she left her spot and glanced around. With a semi-automatic in hand, she stood up and made sure to keep aware. Just because the warehouse had been blown up didn't mean their enemies were all dead. "James? Edwards?" She harshly whispered. Someone stutter-stepped, Reina quickly turning to face him only to watch him fall dead to the ground. Letting out a small breath of relief, she quickly headed for the opposite side of the area. Hearing a few hushed voices, she slowed down. Creeping behind the corner she quickly aimed her guns at them only to lower it back down. "Whew. I'm sorta glad to see your faces," she said, glancing around. It was clear no one else was around - though she remained alert in case someone was.

She looked to James with a slight look of concern on her face. She didn't believe for a second that they'd actually been able to take out Conor, but she couldn't be sure. "I think... I think this may have been a diversion or something." Rubbing her forehead, she continued to glance around before settling on James again. "I don't know what, but we may have trouble back home. One of the guys - he mentioned something about killing a group of Sullivans." She stopped and pointed in the direction of where an empty car sat with its headlights on. "Didn't really answer my question but it's enough to know we need to get the hell out of here." Without waiting for any hesitation Reina took the lead in case someone slipped her sweep. Once they got to the car she asked Edwards to remain on guard while she checked out the vehicle. Deemed safe for them to take, she beckoned the other three men inside before sliding herself into the passenger's side. "I'll let you drive since you know the area better! Let's go."

James ( Misty Gray ) Edwards ( BloodLightning27 )

 

[BasDorcha]

St. Georgie's Channel
Jeremy Gray​

Jeremy shifted awkwardly when Billy didn’t believe him. It was easy to understand why he didn’t believe him, he had personally worked very hard to make it seem like he was a normal guy. Many nights, when others crashed at the party house, to hook up with someone in a room not their own, he would stay sober enough to leave, making sure no one could question whether or not he had performed expected duties. The girls were never the kiss and tell type, so he never had to worry about them ratting him out – no one wanted to admit they’d been rejected.

Shoving Billy lightly, trying to brush off the embarrassment, he mumbled to Billy in a hushed voice, “Shove off, Little King. It happened by choice. I just never felt like it with them. Sure I’ve had lots of the other stuff, you know. It’s more of a technicality at this point, I guess, but still…” He trailed off, the flush of his cheeks sounding even in his voice. “Yes, I had girls sniff about, but just cause they’re interested doesn’t mean you got to. I mean, you’re right, skills ye want, but I wanted to be able to give that one something no one else ever had, something special to her.”

He realized how stupid he sounded, his thumnb lifting to his lips to be chewed again. Turning around, his back to the rail, he looked up at the stars then turned his head enough to drop his gaze to Billy. “I get your sister being mad if she thought I was just trying to lay a line on her, but Harper would call that bullshit. I couldn’t lie about that, but why would she be insulted? That doesn’t make sense unless…” Jeremy stopped, a shocked look slowly spreading across his face. “Oi, mate, I’m a right arse. “ A kind of suddenly happy look flashed over his features as he grabbed Billy around the shoulders, spinning him around to head back to the van with his arm draped around Billy’s back, checking in with the other guys.

Of all the men in their group, Jeremy was the only one looking mildly happy. Before he released Billy, he said quietly, “I would be disappointed in you if you chose me over your sister. It’s one of the reasons I love you like a brother. I’ll give her some space, stick to my job, and if she never comes around, I’m sure someone else will.” He ruffled his hair, thinking again to the realization he had. Maybe I do have a chance, after all, it only makes sense for her to be mad if she feels something for me.

Mentions Bellz - Harper
Pyroclast - Little King
Misty Gray - Spencer
Melanin-Gxdess - Alex

 

[BloodLightning27]

~James Edwards: Chapter's End~

---

Dublin, Ireland | Dublin Port, Sullivan's Weapons Warehouse

When Edwards was beginning to lose hope after getting no response back, he heard a few faint gunshots which left him rather alarmed. If both Reina and James had been killed, it was likely not going to be long until he was next. His fears were quickly unfounded though as James had made his way back to Edwards, having likely followed his weary voice. "Likewise, partner." He chuckled at his friend's tone.

Once asked where Reina was, he only looked at the bodies on the ground. "Your guess is as good as mine-" Before he could even finish that sentence, or even continue it, an explosion interrupted him. The warehouse went up in flames, leaving him partially demoralized as he thought about how that explosion killed Reina. Thankfully though, they were a little further away as to not be hit by debris or feel the shockwave of the ensuing explosion. "So much for a night on the town. Any idea who the hell attacked us?" He asked, before checking his pistol to see how many rounds remained.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Edwards turned around with his gun at the ready, only to see Reina with hers at the ready too. "Good to see you too." He replied, happy to see that the explosion didn't kill her like he had originally thought.

His blood ran cold though when Reina said that she thought that the attack on them may have been a diversion, something to distract them before mentioning that there was trouble back at home and then explaining that one of the enemy combatants had said something about killing a group of Sullivans, which made his heart sink as he thought about his visit to the Callahan Family at the Hospital a few weeks back. Soon, it came time to leave, and Edwards followed his companions as they got ready to leave the Docks, preferably before the Police and Fire Department arrived. After checking out a vehicle that was ready to go, it was time for the trio to leave...Where to from here, Edwards wondered. "So...Who were those men that attacked us?"

---

Interactions: James Porter Misty Gray | Reina Richards Melanin-Gxdess

 

[Misty Gray]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Spencer King​

The journey back to London had been a long one which had commenced late the night before, immediately after they they walked away from Conor. The Kings had avoided Dublin Port and instead travelled back by ferry via Rosslare Port where they were picked up in Wales to be driven back to London. Along the way, Spencer had been treated by the medic as well as he could be in the back of a transit van. Between the cuts and bruising, especially to his face, the worst of Spencer's injuries was to his ribs from the violent impact of Conor's knee. The medic was sure the bottom rib on Conor's left side was cracked, but Spencer had no intention of getting it checked out at the hospital, no matter how much discomfort there was.

The Kings had arrived back in London the following afternoon. Spencer's first stop had been home where he could finally have a shower to wash away whatever blood was still on him and then assess his injuries for himself. He'd spent a short time catching up with Shona and holding Eddie close. However, he knew he couldn't settle until he'd met with Bruce for a debrief. After firmly assuring Shona he was okay and would be back home soon, he headed out to his uncle's place in the early evening.

Although Bruce had been given a brief update on the outcome by phone before the Kings left Dublin, Spencer wasn't looking forward to speaking to his uncle about what was essentially a failure on a job he'd been entrusted to complete. Whilst the most important thing to him had been making sure all of his brothers got home safely, Spencer knew it didn't distract from the fact he'd failed his objective.

Once parked outside his uncle's house, Spencer climbed out of the car, wincing as the movement triggered further discomfort in his left side. Sucking it up, Spencer stood tall and composed himself as he entered Bruce's house. "Bruce?" Spencer called out before finding his uncle in the living room. Sending the man an acknowledging nod, he slumped down on the sofa across from Bruce's and looked directly to the older man's face. "Alex, Billy and Jeremy all got back home safe," he started off with the positive news. He pushed the loose hair back out of his face, revealing more of the cuts and bruising he was sporting. "We had him, Bruce. We kicked the crap out of the arsehole and he was out cold. It was so close." He let out a frustrated sigh, clenching his fist at the thought. "But I didn't finish it before his guys showed up," he admitted.

Pyroclast (Bruce)

 

[Pyroclast]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Bruce King​

After finding out that Trevor was also May’s father, Bruce had fallen into a sour mood. He knew that he and Darcey would work it out, because although they may have their differences, they had worked well as a team ever since they first came to know each other as children. Right now, however, he was worried that May’s connection to the family would only bring Trevor further into his niece and nephews’ lives. Added to the stress of Harper’s health condition and trying to keep Trevor away from her as well as May having a brother working for the Irish Mob and also his nephews and Jeremy out on a dangerous mission in Dublin, Bruce was finding it hard to find a moment of peace.

So, when he got the phone call that his boys hadn’t managed to kill Conor, that stress turned into frustration. He couldn’t wait to hear Spencer’s explanation. It wasn’t that he had lost confidence in himself and his ability to handle the situation - he never had a choice, anyway - but given how meticulous and thorough their plan had been, he found himself questioning Spencer’s reliability. Whenever a job went wrong in the past, Bruce didn’t tend to lose his cool, nor did his confidence waver, and would happily sit down with whoever was responsible and work with them to come up with something better. But this time was different.

After a night and half a day of stewing in his thoughts, Bruce finally heard Spencer enter his house and call out his name. “In ‘ere,” he replied, and stood up from his seat in the living room. He knew the conversation was going to be tough so there wasn’t much of a friendly tone to the greeting. When Spencer came in, the pair took seats across from each other and Spencer had the good sense to start with positive news, that Billy, Alex and Jeremy had made it home safe. “Good,” he said. Seeing evidence of Conor’s fighting skills on Spencer’s face almost made him soften, but he didn’t feel sorry for him for long when his nephew went on to explain how close they had been to finishing off Conor before being interrupted by his men.

Bruce sighed, and let his words hang in the air for a moment. After a few seconds, he leaned forward towards Spencer and linked his hands together. “Do you understand how hard it is, Spencer, to bring down a man like Conor?” he asked. “I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout the beating you clearly took for it. I mean the organisation of it all. Takin’ down a man like that, that’s more than just any old hit. It takes time, meticulous organisation, a foolproof plan - all of which we had. You know how long it took to get us ‘ere, ‘cause you yourself helped orchestrate this. So tell me, Spencer, why the fuck you wasted this chance.”

 

[Misty Gray]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Spencer King​

Over recent years, there hadn't been many times at all where Spencer thought his uncle was angry or disappointed with him. Hell, he couldn't remember when he last knew Bruce was pissed off with him. Except, of course, less than two weeks ago when the older man learned Spencer had paid Trevor to disappear and then kept it to himself. Though his uncle forgave him and allowed them both to move past Spencer's indiscretion, it stood out now that Bruce was once again unhappy with him and in such a short space of time.

Spencer listened as his uncle reminded him of how difficult it was to take someone like Conor down. He pointed out how they'd have a meticulous plan to kill the Irish boss and remove him from their lives for good. Spencer nodded along in understanding as it was said that he'd been a part of plotting and orchestrating that very plan. Bruce then got to the matter at hand and demanded to know why Spencer had wasted their chance.

Spencer sat forward but stayed silent for a moment as he thought back to the night before and how in control he had been of the situation, of his brothers, and even of Conor to some extent as he'd led the Irishman into taking his bait at the start of their fight. Spencer had been in full control, until suddenly, he wasn't. He looked to Bruce and lightly shook his head. "Because attacking Conor was personal and I let it become personal until we ran out of time," he admitted. "That piece of shit has been sticking his nose into Alex's life with Callum. He had me beaten up. He planted a bomb in my fucking nightclub that both injured the people we love and killed innocents whose safety was my responsibility inside of my club. He didn't deserve a quick death for that. He deserved to suffer first for the shit he's pulled on us."

Pyroclast (Bruce)

 

[Pyroclast]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Bruce King​

"That ain't good enough, son," Bruce growled. "All that stuff you just told me now, that's exactly what we was doin' this for. We and the Irish, we used to have a sturdy relationship, no reason to cross each other, you remember? So of course it was personal when things got sour between us, it was always gonna be bleedin' personal when we have Callum tyin' us together!"

Bruce was well-practiced at managing his emotions, but it didn't stop his eye from beginning to twitch. "Look," he continued, drawing a deep breath. "I get the urge to make 'im suffer for what he did. Hell, if I didn't have so much other shit to sort out and I was faster on my feet then I'd have been out on that job with you to watch him die. But I've gotta trust you to do this stuff for me, Spencer - if you're ever gonna take over from me someday, you've got to get wise. That decoy we set up, tricks like that never last too long, now, do they? That was the time for you to weaken him enough to get him in that van, then you could drive him away and do whatever you wanted to give him that slow, painful death you wanted for him. If you were runnin' out of time and he still wasn't in that van, you shoulda' set aside your need to watch him suffer and just got the job done like we agreed. Suffering was a bonus, but the job was to kill him, and you prioritised the wrong bleedin' thing."

There was a hard edge to his voice, and though the initial sympathy for Spencer's fresh wounds was wearing off, he still acknowledged the man's suffering. "I know you've been through it, boy, but if you want to make it in this business then you've got to learn not to let your emotions get in the way. I thought you already were good at that, but clearly I was wrong. That job was one of the most important missions I've ever planned, Spencer, and if you can't make it work then..." He shrugged, giving an exasperated sigh. "Then I don't know who I can trust."

Dragging a hand down his face, Bruce let himself slump against the backrest of the sofa. "Tell me the damage, then," he demanded. "What mess did ya' leave behind? What do I have to worry about next?"

 

[Misty Gray]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Spencer King​

Spencer tightened his jaw when Bruce told him his explanation wasn't good enough. He'd known his uncle wouldn't have been happy, but it didn't make it any easier to hear straight from the man himself. The man pointed out that Spencer's reasons for the attack turning personal had actually been the reasons for the attack in the first place. Spencer sat back as Bruce told him had needed to be able to trust him to carry out the tasks he set him. Hearing his uncle tell him he had to get wise was a blow to Spencer. He'd spent so many years trying to behave in such a way and he'd believed he was wise as well as worthy of his uncle's trust and respect. Now it felt like he still had a long way to go if Bruce was going to trust him. After everything he'd done and sacrificed to prove himself, it felt like it was now a waste. Years of hiding his emotions and passing up on the normal, fun activities his siblings got to experience, it all felt like it was a waste if he was simply incapable of following in Bruce's footsteps.

Bruce reminded Spencer that he had been meant to weaken Conor enough to get him into the van and if there hadn't been time to get him in the van, he should have just killed him when he had the chance. Instead, it was clear Spencer had made the wrong decision. He'd put his need for revenge, to watch Conor suffer, before completing his objective and killing the enemy while they had the chance. Spencer dug the fingernails of one hand into the sofa arm as he found himself once again, in the space of a day, struggling to hold back his feelings. Annoyingly, it came at the same time as his uncle was lecturing him about how he had to learn not to let his emotions get in the way. As Bruce drove home the fact Spencer had wasted one of the most important missions Bruce had planned, Spencer could feel his heart racing in his chest. He felt sick to know how much he'd disappointed his uncle, but at the same time, he felt angry that the older man was being so scathing in suggesting he couldn't trust him.

When asked what mess he'd left behind for Bruce to worry about next, Spencer had to fight to hold back his irritation at the question. He wasn't sure why his uncle was getting to him so much when they normally communicated so effectively and agreeably. Relaxing his hand that had been digging into the sofa arm, he tapped the seat before sitting forward to look directly to his uncle. "Conor was left unconscious and in a mess of his own blood - unless he's superhuman, he won't be strutting around Dublin in a hurry. One of Conor's men was killed when he showed up and attempted to intervene. It was that Aidan bloke, so one of the more senior Sullivan gang members. It was Billy who killed him," Spencer revealed.

Spencer was sure Bruce wouldn't be happy to hear about Billy killing one of Conor's men. As the atmosphere surrounding him and his uncle began to feel more suffocating, Spencer couldn't hold back from speaking out again. "You know. I left my wife and kid to go to Dublin, to put the plan into action and protect my brothers along the way. So Conor ain't dead, but at least none of my brothers are either... Maybe you can get one of them to clean up the fucking mess that I've left behind. It's clear I can't be trusted, so you go to my brothers. You find someone else who's willing to put in the same graft I've put in since I left school." Spencer stood up and shook his head. "Are we done here?" he asked his uncle, even if he doubted they were anywhere near finished.

Pyroclast (Bruce)

 

[Pyroclast]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Bruce King​

Even Bruce himself was surprised at how heated the debrief with Spencer had become. The stress was clearly getting to him, because he didn’t usually take anything out on Spencer, instead able to understand where his feelings were coming from. His anger and frustration towards the failed hit on Conor was real, but where he could normally see beyond his own emotions, this time he was struggling to find it in himself to be lenient towards his nephew. Still, he appreciated that Spencer was at least answering his questions honestly.

Bruce kept a steely gaze on Spencer as he explained in more detail what they had done. That Conor had been left in such a state wasn’t much consolation to him - his nephew may have been joking, but the Irishman was probably the closest person Bruce could think of to being superhuman, in terms of size, strength and skill. If he heard that Conor was back on his feet within a few days, he wouldn’t have been surprised. What really bothered him, however, was hearing that Billy had killed one of the Sullivans’ senior mobsters.

“That’s great,” he grumbled. “That’s just wonderful, that is. So there was time to kill one of theirs, just not the right one, is that what you’re tellin’ me?” Bruce could see the pressure building up beneath Spencer’s skin - the way he clenched his jaw, gripped the leather armrest of the sofa on which he sat. But he wasn’t in the mood to go easy on him this time. “Well, Spencer, since you were in charge of this operation, and therefore responsible for it goin’ to shit, I’ll put you in charge of watchin’ over your brother, too,” he added. “He ain’t just gonna laugh this off, you know - probably drink himself into a stupor like he always does.”

As expected, Spencer’s frustration at being spoken down to finally broke through the surface. He pointed out his success at keeping his brothers alive on the job - which Bruce was undeniably relieved for - and then challenge him to find someone to replace Spencer who had put in an equal amount of effort and devotion over the years. When he stood up and asked if they were done, Bruce stood up with him and took a couple of steps closer. “Don’t get cocky with me, son,” he warned him. “You are the best I’ve got, and that’s why you’re my right hand. But if you can’t take criticism, if you think all that time and effort you devoted to the firm means you got no more learnin’ to do, then you’re no better than the rest.”

Standing tall over his nephew, Bruce pressed a finger into Spencer’s chest. “I’m tellin’ ya’ why that job failed and what you did wrong. If you can’t handle bein’ told that, then you ain’t ready to be in charge. Only reason I put this pressure on you is 'cause I need to know you can take it, that you can carry the weight when things go balls up. You need to be able to take the blame, Spence, because sometimes, things are gonna be your fault. Shit goes wrong, people die, and you'll find it's on you. So toughen up, and come back when you're ready to be a real leader.” Punctuating his sentence with a sharp jab of the finger into his nephew’s chest, Bruce moved away and towards the inner porch, indicating that he wanted Spencer out. “You go home, be with your wife and kid,” he commanded, now softening his tone a little as the weariness set in. “I’ll check on Billy tonight. Just go.”

 

[Misty Gray]

Bruce King's Residence
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
~ Thursday 11th July 1985 ~

Spencer King​

It was bad enough seeing how Billy was after he'd killed Aidan, but it stung Spencer hearing Bruce point out that was his responsibility as he'd been in charge. It came as no surprise that his youngest brother wasn't going to handle it well that he'd killed a man and for the first time. Of course, Spencer would make sure to look out for his brother, with or without his uncle telling him to.

When Spencer had stood up, Bruce followed suit and stepped closer to him. The older man warned his nephew not to get cocky, which only made Spencer come close to behaving in exactly that way. Of course he was prone to being cocky, it was sadly one of the things he couldn't deny he'd inherited from his waste of space father. It was unpleasant to hear the suggestion he couldn't take criticism and that despite all of the hard work he'd put in, he might not be better than anyone else in the firm.

When Bruce pressed his finger into his chest, Spencer looked down and fixed his eyes on the man's hand. It took a lot for Spencer not to react angrily and yell at the man to back off. Instead, he took in a deep breath in a bid to compose himself then looked back to his uncle. "There's telling me what I did wrong and there's talking to me like I'm a piece of shit. I know where I fucked up, but that doesn't mean you get to talk to me like dirt," he snapped back at Bruce.

When Bruce told him to toughen up and come back when he was ready to be a leader, Spencer saw red. He'd spent so many years having to be tough. He'd recently taken a beating in Alex's name and had just taken some heavy blows from Conor himself last night. It pissed him off to hear Bruce tell him to toughen up. So when his uncle jabbed his finger into his chest, Spencer was quick to swipe his arm up to bat his uncle's hand away. "Don't fucking touch me," he growled back at him.

Spencer didn't need telling twice as he followed his uncle to the porch which lead to the way out. He was exhausted and he'd had enough for one day. When Bruce told him to go home to Shona and Eddie, he dismissively shook his head. As he walked to his car, he briefly stopped and looked back to his uncle as the man said he'd check in on Billy. "Yeah. You do that," he grumbled back at him.

Pyroclast (Bruce)

 

[Bellz]

Lucy Porter
Thomas Porter
Dublin Hospital
~Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

After managing to evade any sort of questions the police had tried to ask, Lucy had piled the kids into her car. She couldn’t count how many somber car rides she had taken in her life but this was probably one of the worst ones. Lucy kept checking on the three of them in the back seat. They had all decided to be next to one another and Thomas’s eyes met hers for a brief moment as he silently cried to himself. Lorelei had been holding Benjie as the young man requested to be dropped off at Chase and Jasmine’s place.

Once parked in their driveway, Lucy got out to walk Benjie up to the door with Lorelei and when he was safe inside, the blonde thanked Chase before placing her hand around Lorelei’s shoulders and moving to get her to the car.

The car ride was still dead silent as Lucy drove Lorelei to Gwen and Jason's place. The girl had expressed not wanting to be at her place out of fear and Lucy completely understood. Once Lorelei had been dropped off, Lucy told Thomas to join her in the front seat and he did reluctantly.

"If you ever need to talk, Thomas...you know I'm here." Lucy tried to make small conversation. Although she had been solely focused on the kids, who had been offering her a distraction from thinking about the shape her brother was in, the silence was now starting to get to her.

Thomas turned his head slightly, his eyes looking at his mother briefly as he saw the tears forming in her eyes. Although he wasn't in a talkative mood to try and distract her, the young man reached out his hand to take her free one that had been resting on the armrest of her seat. He squeezed it ever so slightly and Lucy sucked in a deep breath.

They drove that way until Lucy pulled into the lot of the hospital and once she turned the car off, she stared at the building for a long moment...not wanting to go in to face the reality of the situation. Thomas sat waiting for her to get out, wanting to make sure not to leave her alone in the car. Lucy looked at the building before turning to look at Thomas, letting out a shaky breath, Lucy nodded her head at her youngest son once before moving to open her door.

They stepped into the hospital hand in hand, Lucy not feeling strong enough to let go and Thomas feeling the same...
walking towards: Ali + Leo Melanin-Gxdess ; Sinead Misty Gray
mentions: Benjie Misty Gray ; Chase Pyroclast

 

[Bellz]

Clayton Byrne
One-Act Arcade
~ Outskirts of Dublin City Center, Dublin ~ ​

Clayton raised a brow as Emery mentioned that not a lot of men in Dublin would admit to going soft. "Ah well, Em. I'm not like other men in Dublin." He pointed out confidently with a smirk before rolling his eyes as she said a lot of men worked overtime to prove they were macho men. "Well, if you haven't noticed, it's the macho men who are getting slaughtered around here. Can't get killed if no one has a problem with you or at least that's what I'll continue to tell myself to sleep at night." Clay said a bit nervously.

Clay found himself once again rolling his eyes as Emery said that she had gotten into trouble for saving his arse. But he was intrigued as she admitted that she would do it again. She winked his way and Clay's cheeks warmed. "Huh? You'd save my arse again? Well shit, maybe I should start walking around like a macho man again just to see you kick around some sorry guys. It's kinda hot, not gonna lie."

Clay smiled at the redhead as she flirted back with him and was delighted when she agreed to follow him to the next place he had decided within a few seconds to head to. "Blue eyes? Now here I thought my eyes were brown." He teased softly before they started walking in the direction of the place Clayton was wanting to head to.

He looked forward for a few moments before he couldn't control himself and snuck a glance at Emery's way. Her features were so unique and beautiful that it was hard for him to look away. As her face turned serious, his smile that had been permanently glued on his face almost the entire conversation had turned into a frown. She stated that she wasn't exactly addicted to danger but she just got bored easily. A small smirk appeared on Clay's face. He could definitely relate to that. It was one of the main reasons that he would return to gambling, even if he tried to quit for a while.

When she called him a weirdo, Clayton placed a hand to his heart in fake surprise. "Hey! I'm not a weirdo. I'm just...different." He tried to say in a serious tone, though laughter quickly followed his words. "And if it's fun you are looking for, well, then you have bumped into the right person Ms. Callahan." Clay said before pointing up ahead of them. In Neon Lights, a theater sign that read One Act Arcade lit up the sidewalk. "You like playing games? Sometimes, I like to just come here to blow off some steam and remind myself that being an adult doesn't necessarily mean you have to act like one."

As they walked up to the building, Clayton moved to open the door for her, "M'lady." He said with a cheesy smile as they walked inside the arcade that was full of children and adults alike. "I'll get us some drinks...but here." He reached into his wallet and handed Emery some cash. "Go get some coins, I'll meet you over by Mr. and Mrs. Pacman."
with: Emery Misty Gray

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Le Hospital
~Clontarf, Dublin~
Aliana Sullivan​

Hearing that there was an attempt on her husband's life nearly stopped her heart. She'd always worried about the day her husband would be taken from her but she never thought it could be so soon. Her hands started shaking as she shut her eyes, the tears continuously falling from them. It took everything in her not to buckle - instead, turning to Sinead to comfort and be comforted. Ali had lost three people now that she held dear to her heart and the idea of losing yet another was too much to bear. Leo watched as his mother and aunt wrapped their arms around each other, a growing pain in his chest. The feeling of failure had begun to settle in. If his family knew anything it was getting revenge for the ones you loved. Which meant going to any and all lengths to make sure it happened. Spencer was right there. Right in front of him and Leo had the upper hand. All he had to do was apply a little pressure and pull the trigger, yet he couldn't. How was he supposed to protect anyone, he thought, or take over someday if he couldn't do something so simple?

Sinead then advised them to forget about Spencer and his brothers - focusing on Conor for now. It was hard for Ali to do until she was able to get an update on Conor's condition. The familiar feeling of anger had already started to boil up inside her, but she knew better than to express it so early. It wouldn't do anything for them right away so she would save it for later. Ali and Sinead then took a step apart - Sinead turning to Leo to address him. She reassured him that Conor was going to make it and stated how resilient he was. Leo tried his best to believe what she was saying, but she hadn't seen the state he was in. It was nearly identical to when Ali had gotten her throat slit. Thinking about it now made him look over to her eyes full of sorrow and fear. He never thought he would have to see both parents in such a state so soon from each other.

The thought of losing both of his parents was unnerving. He was so close to his mother and looked up to his father that he knew he'd be broken if either - or both - of them had been taken. And what about the girls, he wondered, what would happen with them? Of course, he would be their guardian and raise them, but what about the long term? There was no telling what it would do to them mentally and Leo would never want his sisters to go through that. Leo wasn't strong enough now to deal with it all and he worried that he never would be.

"Has- Has the nurse come back to you since you've been here," Ali suddenly asked, grabbing Leo's attention once more. He softly shook his head before glancing over to the nurse's station. "No. No, they haven't. Do you- Should I ask for an update?" He hadn't even really waited for an answer before telling the two of them to stay put while he did so. A part of him just needed another minute alone to himself and to his thoughts. Once he reached the nurse's desk he actually waited until he was addressed just to kill more time. The nurse glanced up with a startled look on her face, Leo furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Oh, dear, you've got blood all over your face! Do you want to clean that up?" Leo touched his cheek where he could feel the dried-up blood. He hadn't even realized it was there and neither Sinead nor Ali had mentioned it. "I will, yeah, but I was wondering if you could... If you could give me some sort of update on my dad? Conor Sullivan - he just got brought in." The nurse informed him that she would send someone back and in the meantime, he could use the washroom. He walked back over to his aunt and mother, informing them he'd be right back.

Ali watched as Leo quickly walked away to wash his face off. She turned to Sinead once more about to say something when she saw Lucy and Thomas walking down the hallway towards them. The two were holding hands - something Ali was at least happy to see. The two of them had been fighting ever since Thomas came home so it was nice that the two of them were able to reconcile. She wished she was able to enjoy it but considering the circumstance behind them being here she couldn't. The moment they were within arms reach she pulled them both into an embrace. Once separated she looked to Thomas - the same look on his face that was on Leo's. Her heart broke for him seeing the red in his eyes and Lucy's. Leo rejoined them and as soon as he saw Thomas he nearly broke again. He wanted nothing more than to give his cousin a hug, but he wasn't sure how he would take to it.

"Are you all here for Conor Sullivan," a nurse asked, causing them all to turn around. "Yes! Yes, we are." Ali quickly responded, finding her way to Sinead's side once more for comfort. "I'm here to update you on his status."



Sinead, Liam ( Misty Gray ) Tom ( BasDorcha ) Lucy, Thomas ( Bellz )

 

[Bellz]

Roxie Carriveau
Jeanie Carriveau-Porter
JJ Carriveau-Porter
Roxie's House
~ Sobfest, Ireland ~ ​

Although she was overcome with emotion, Roxie hadn't expected anything less from Jeanie's reaction. The girl practically jumped at any chance she could to heckle Roxie about anything and everything. Roxie wasn't even sure why she had spent any time cooking, knowing that dinner was effectively ruined. Knowing that Jeanie's words were well deserved didn't make them hurt any less. JJ attempted to soften the blow by saying that he was excited that he didn't have to be the little brother anymore and Roxie looked the boy in the eyes, offering him a small smile just as Jeanie kicked his shin.

"Jeanie, what have I told you about hitting your brother. Apologize." Roxie scolded and the girl just rolled her eyes. "Apologize? Me? Don't you think you two should be the ones to apologize to us?" Jeanie asked with venom lacing her every word as she looked between Syd and her mother now. Roxie had to force herself to ignore Jeanie for the moment as she looked to Jane. Her question was genuine, Roxie knew Jane tended to follow the chaotic tendencies of her sister because she looked up to her but Roxie also knew that the girl had her own thoughts and feelings.

Roxie's own eyes watered as Jane collapsed in on herself and Jeanie had thankfully been stunned into silence as she watched her sister openly. Syd's eyes met hers and she gave him the slightest nod of her head to let him know that she was managing...at least for the moment. Roxie's eyes stayed on Jane as Syd looked to their other children as he went on to defend himself and her. They really had been trying and even though they disagreed on things, she wasn't sure how else they could show their children they loved them.

Roxie's eyes moved from Jane to Jeanie and JJ, watching as Jeanie's eyes started to water as well. Roxie reached out her hand to her and she was surprised to see her daughter take it. Syd mentioned the baby being Matthew's last gift and it struck an emotional nerve that Roxie had been doing well to control. Her lower lip trembled and she bit down on it to stop it from moving however, she was unable to keep the tears that fell down her cheek.

Glancing at Syd, his eyes followed hers and Roxie mouthed thank you to him silently. While she had known her love for him had never faded away, it was increasingly growing with this seemingly new man that he had become. While she was sure that he would never be able to get past the emotional issues and personality disorder...she could at least see that he was trying to. In the past, Roxie had been the one to take care of him...holding her own emotions and issues back in order to not overwhelm him yet here he was, handling a whole room full of emotions like it was almost nothing.

Finally, Jane spoke up, saying that she missed him and it took everything Roxie had not to fall apart in front of her kids. She wept like Roxie had wept for weeks on end about Matthew never knowing he'd have a kid. A baby girl. "He knows, Janey...I can't tell you how but, he does. And I'm sure he'll love her just as he loved you kids...just as much as he loved me."

Roxie couldn't tear her eyes off of seeing Syd comfort Jane, holding her in his arms but hearing Jeanie mumble an apology to Roxie captured her attention. "You don't have to apologize to me, Jean." She murmured to her daughter who stood up from her seat to walk towards Roxie. She yet again surprised her by wrapping her arms around her and JJ quickly joined in. "You all are our world. We know how much you've been through and how much things have changed." Roxie said, kissing their heads before squeezing them tighter. Still able to see Jane and Syd, she offered him a small smile as she met his eyes before saying, "I love you all...and nothing is gonna change that. Having this new little baby will just add to the love."

~ End of Scene ~​

with: Syd + Janey Pyroclast
mentions: The dead guy

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Stella Kwon: Chapter's End~

---

Dublin, Ireland | BodyWorks Gym Parking Lot

Stella proceeded to lean on her Mustang once the girls had made it back to their cars. It wasn't often she sped in the Mustang and the one time she did need to go fast, she didn't exactly have access to it. When Ruby offered her an unopened water bottle, she declined. "Oh, no, thanks." She responded.

As Ruby expressed interest in trying something new and that she'd like to join Stella in checking out the Martial Arts dojos in town, the Bounty Hunter was very much thrilled. There were several other Martial Arts in addition to Karate that they could check out. Just a bummer that Jeet Kune-Do, a Martial Art founded by Bruce Lee was not on the list since she doubted that there were any instructors outside of the United States, where the art originated and where Bruce started teaching Martial Arts on the West Coast of the United States. "Oh for sure. I'll give you a call. Or if you have a Pager, I'll contact you through that as well." She smiled back.

Stella was even more delighted when Ruby wanted to start planning ahead, which would hopefully make life a little easier given the lives they now led. "I look forward to that as well. We can plan that after we figure out our work schedule too. There are a lot of different guns too, so be ready to pick a favorite. Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, you name it, chances are I have it and I can teach you how to use it. But we'll start with pistols since those are more commonly used. You can't exactly fit a rifle or shotgun in your pocket. Well, not yet anyway." She chuckled.

As the conversation continued, Stella's Pager went off. "Alright, it was nice meeting you, Ruby. I gotta go. But I don't think it'll be long until our paths cross again. So I'll be seeing you." She said before giving the other woman one last smile before turning to walk away, namely into the gym so that she can make use of one of the phones. After dialing the number, her blood began to run cold.

---

Interactions: Ruby Miller BasDorcha Post-Credit Scene: Dublin Hospital...Following the phone call, Stella quickly made her way to the Dublin Hospital. Her Boss, Conor Sullivan, had an attempt made on his life that resulted in him being badly hurt. Whoever attacked Conor, would surely pay. Stella wanted to pay them back with the blood of war, but knew that she wasn't the one to make that call, let alone being high enough in the chain of command to have a say. Nonetheless, they could always just send the American that James brought back home with him...If he was as good as he says...to exact revenge. Once more, Stella's blood ran cold as she entered the hospital. What greeted her in the lobby made her heart sink...

 

[Misty Gray]

Chapter 13: Making Up for Lost Time
Thursday 18th July 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Late Afternoon - Warm, Cloudy, Breezy
London: Late Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Dry
New York City: Mid-Afternoon - Humid, Cloudy, Rainy

******************************

******************************

Dublin Hospital
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~
​

Conor Sullivan

When Conor had been rushed to hospital in an unconscious state following the attack, he had been taken straight for a brain scan and chest x-ray. One of his upper ribs had been broken in the fight and he had to be fast-tracked into surgery to fix it to prevent any chance of the sharp bone from puncturing a major blood vessel. The operation had been straightforward and successful, with a metal plate put in place to help secure the repaired rib. Conor hadn't been awake from the anaesthetic for long before having a seizure, thankfully whilst under close observation by the medical team. The blows to the back of his skull had caused a swelling to his brain, for which the doctors had considered putting him into an induced coma. In the end, Conor had instead been kept under heavy sedation in order to keep his stress levels low and allow the swelling to go down on its own.

Conor had also suffered from a broken nose and surface level cuts and bruises, but those were all considered minor. It had been the head trauma that the doctors had been most concerned about and the reason why he'd been kept sedated and under observation for the last week. Earlier today, the decision had been made to fully wake Conor so they could assess him whilst he was conscious. After a few hours, the doctor had finally spoken with Aliana to update her on her husband's state. It was made clear to her that despite the bruising and severity of his wounds, the physical and surface damage would heal. Their initial tests had suggested there were no signs of paralysis or any severe impairment to physiological function, though there was still chance of minor lasting effects. The main concern they had were around behavioural and cognitive effects, which could only be fully assessed over time now he was regaining full consciousness. He had presented confusion and agitation, but they were most likely to be due to him having just fully woken after more than a week.

Aliana had been given the go ahead to return to Conor's bedside where he was now sitting upright and awake in the hospital bed. Between a whole array of dreams and memories flooding his mind over the last week, Conor was finding it difficult to piece things together. Whilst he recalled the Kings attacking him, a lot of the time such memories were mixed with others, such as Vinnie Romano standing over him as he was tortured with drowning or the ambush at the train station in New York. There were mixed up memories of Angel luring him into a trap whilst at the same time he'd been led there by the Phelan decoy. Part of him knew this time it was only the Kings to blame, but then another part brought on doubt and caused him to question what he was remembering at all.

As soon as he saw Aliana, some level of reality seemed to unconsciously take over as he remembered Leo and Thomas were also involved las week. "Ali..." he greeted her, managing a weak smile. "You're okay," he said, clear relief in his voice. He hadn't recalled his wife being in any danger, but it was a natural state to expect any of his loved ones to have been hurt at times like this. "Where's Leo? Are Leo and Thomas okay?" he asked, the beeping of the heart rate monitor speeding up as the anxiety within his began to raise. "And Aidan?" he asked with uncertainty. He vaguely recalled catching a glimpse of Aidan during the attack, but wasn't certain it was actually him nor if he was remembering correctly at all.

*****​

As expected, there was a lot of security around the hospital - security of the Irish Mob kind. Edwards was presently stationed directly outside of Conor's hospital room, where Michelle would also be waiting to visit her father after Aliana had some one-to-one time with him. Dermot had also been assigned to the hospital, where he'd been shadowing Aliana for most of the time when she'd had to leave Conor's side. With her now back in the hospital room with her husband, Dermot decided it was time to do another check around the hospital to make sure his colleagues were all still in place and there were no security concerns.

"Edwards, it's my turn to do the rounds and I'll phone to check-in with the guys at base. You good staying here?" he informed him. Once he had confirmation, he headed down the long corridor to check in with their team.

Interaction: Melanin-Gxdess (Aliana)
Nearby/Outside the room: BasDorcha (Michelle) BloodLightning27 (Edwards) Me (Dermot)

Benjamin Reznik's House
~ Fairview, Dublin ~
​

Benjamin Reznik

The three days following Aidan's death had felt both surreal and incredibly suffocating. Benjamin had been given what felt like an overload of information and decisions to make, of which he felt mostly numb about answering. He was glad for the likes of Chase and Adam being around at the Zegarras place to offer their own input; helping Benjamin to decide what he wanted to do with regards to Aidan's funeral arrangements. Even though they had put ideas together on how to give Aidan the best send off, it didn't feel real, especially not when a funeral date couldn't be set yet. The fact was, Aidan had been murdered and the police investigation meant the man couldn't be put to rest yet, despite the mob's best efforts to speed things up.

One thing that hadn't been delayed was the visit from one of the mob's lawyers who confirmed what Benjamin already knew: that he had inherited Aidan's house and possessions. His guardian had no family and had always made it clear to Benjamin that everything would be his if the unthinkable happened. Benjamin had always brushed it off and assured Aidan he wasn't going to be dying any time soon. Compared to his own tiny flat and the second-hand car Aidan had recently gifted him, inheriting a house and everything else Aidan had owned was a big deal, but Benjamin hadn't found any joy in it when having Aidan around was preferable to any material possessions.

Benjamin had been grateful to Chase and Jasmine for letting him stay with them. The children, as always, were sweet and adorable. Although they were enough to bring a small amount of light into the grieving man's heart, they weren't enough to distract his mind. Really, it was with Chase where he felt the most connection. Chase's father had been murdered by Gabriel Moretti, whilst Benjamin's mother had been killed by Francesco Moretti. It was a terrible thing to have in common, but it had meant Benjamin did feel like Chase understood how he felt, which now extended to Aidan having been killed by a Sullivan enemy - albeit, a different enemy this time around.

Of course, Benjamin had appreciated Lorelei's presence and comfort more than anyone else's in the days that followed. It was because he loved her so much that he felt so bad that she had to get dragged into his grief. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't shake off the dark cloud that had been surrounding him, not even to show her his usual warmth and love towards her. A few days ago, Benjamin had made the decision to to get away for a few days to clear his mind. As much as he knew Lorelei would want to go with him, it was something he felt he needed to do alone. He was angry and heartbroken, and he didn't want anyone to see him at his worst. After his mother's death, his father's incarceration, and now Aidan's death, Benjamin couldn't help but isolate himself. Was everyone he cared about destined to be taken away or die in front of him?

Benjamin had packed a bag, a tent, and especially his cameras, before heading over to Wales where he spent a few days at Snowdonia National Park. It wasn't the first time he'd been there, so he was already familiar with the mountains and lakes, which he hoped would help him clear his mind and find peace as they usually would have. But, as beautiful as it was, it did nothing to help him and he ended up forcing himself to return to Dublin to face the future that awaited him.

Benjamin had arrived back in Dublin the previous night and had finally decided to accept Aidan's house as his home now. Still, Benjamin had ended up crashing on the couch, despite the fact the bedroom he'd occupied up until he moved out a few years ago was still exactly the way he'd left it. Then, since waking up, Benjamin had still only occupied the lounge, sitting with the the television on despite not paying any attention to it. The telephone had been ringing out early that morning, but he'd responded only by unplugging the cable to silence it. Along with keeping the curtains closed, Benjamin was clearly not ready to face the world yet. Even the constant niggling feeling that he should reach out to Lorelei wasn't enough to force him out of his deep, restricting sadness.

Pyroclast (Kurt)

Cormac Sweeney's House
~ North Strand, Dublin ~
​

Adam Harper and Cormac Sweeney

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Adam that since he and Blake had shared their feelings for each other, Conor had been putting him on fewer hands-on jobs. Whilst he had no issue with commanding a team of soldiers, Adam liked to be a part of the said team, getting his hands dirty along with his comrades. Adam was fully aware of why Conor was doing it - because the man didn't want to put him in a situation like the one Jackson had been killed in. It wasn't for Adam's sake that Conor was reducing his employee's risky jobs, but for Blake's, which Adam did understand, even if he wasn't on board with delegating the dirty work and wearing suits more often than not. Still, it had given him more time to spend with Blake and Elena, even if he hadn't yet been able to have them both together along with Natasha and Collin.

Since last week, things had taken a drastic turn. With Conor hospitalised, the responsibility of the Irish Mob fell into the hands of Syd, with Adam naturally stepping up the ranks to work closely alongside the interim boss. This meant the extra time Adam had to spend with Blake and Elena was to be once again reduced, but he was a resourceful man and knew he would make it work. Right now, the business had to take first place, especially as he would be playing a big part in ensuring the safety of not only Conor's family, but Blake and Elena too.

The fact that Conor had been hospitalised and his friend, Aidan, had been killed had Adam itching for Kings' blood. However, with Conor in hospital and his condition uncertain, the decision had been made to focus on maintaining security and chasing up on any leads for the time-being. Between him and Syd, the priority was protecting not only their family and friends, but also the Sullivan business assets. Adam was aware that they wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer without showing retaliation towards the Kings. Whether they liked it or not, the mob had to continue to assert their dominance and send a clear message to those who had attacked them on their own land. Unless Conor was able to give his input in the next few days, Syd, Adam, and other senior members would need to come to a decision how how they were going to retaliate towards the Kings. If not for Conor himself, Adam wanted them to pay for killing Aidan.

Adam and Syd had spent much of the day checking in on their most important business; both assessing the security and making sure things were running as they should be. However, a call from Cormac Sweeney had given them an excuse to ditch the paperwork for a while and potentially get their hands dirty. Adam had a lot anger to get out of his system and even if the Sweeneys had settled down lately, some kind of trouble was never too far away from them.

When Adam pulled up his car at the bottom of Cormac's driveway, he stopped the vehicle and peered out of the window to see the homeowner waiting for them outside. "Alright, Syd, let's see who he's got for us," Adam said, keen to see who was so important that the middle Sweeney brother felt the need to call him directly. Armed with two loaded guns and his trusty knife, Adam climbed out of the vehicle and approached Cormac, who proceeded to lead them to the rear of the garage that adjoined his house.

"First off," Cormac began, as they walked. "I can tell you without a doubt that Phelan was nowhere near Conor and the others that night," he assured Syd and Adam. "Got plenty of witnesses who can attest to the fact my brother was in the local boozer, admittedly, making a nuisance of himself by hogging the dart board..."

"S'alright. We know it wasn't him. Your brother ain't that good at running, for starters," Adam gruffly replied.

"Yeah... I just want to assure you both that my lot are still keeping to the agreement and we're on your side," he assured Syd and Adam. Cormac then proceeded to open the rear door that led into the garage. On the floor of the mostly empty garage, a man sat with one hand chained to the thick iron pipe. Beside him was a metal bucket, clearly for him to do his business in. "We hadn't intended to keep him in here this long, but you lads are difficult to get hold of... especially under the circumstances," he pointed out. He paused as the man mumbled some words, muffled beneath the tape that was stuck over his mouth. "We picked up this Cockney fucker fleeing the docks after the explosion. He had some kind of concussion and I got one of my guys to deal with his dislocated shoulder, so here he is, alive and kicking. He's one of the guys involved in that whole shootout and wrecking the warehouse." Cormac shrugged his shoulders. "Call it a peace offering from me for some of the shit Phelan pulled?"

Pyroclast (Syd)

The Royal Taphouse
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
​

Kerry Patrick

After Trevor and Harper ended up talking in the pub, Kerry had been left feeling uncomfortable by the whole situation. Her natural instinct had been to tell Alex and the others about the unplanned meeting, given that she knew Trevor was meant to stay away from the Kings. But Harper was also her friend and she figured she wouldn't want her dropping her in any trouble with her family. As it happened, Kit had no issue with fulfilling her duty and had informed Bruce about what had happened without any hesitation. Thankfully, Kerry was spared the possibility of upsetting Harper by doing it herself.

Last week, following the failed attempt on Conor's life, Kerry had been working in the pub when Alex had shown up there. He filled her in on what had happened; that Conor was still alive. As expected, it was clearly taking its toll on him and no doubt the rest of the Kings. The Sullivans had already blown up the nightclub and nearly wiped out the Kings, so Kerry couldn't help but feel concerned about how the Irish would retaliate after the attack on Conor and Aidan. Still, Kerry had maintained a brave face for the sake of helping Alex offload and relax when he needed to.

More than a week had passed since the Kings returned from Dublin, but Kerry hadn't set eyes on Spencer in all of that time. It wasn't that the man had to be at the pub to micro-manage the bar staff, and the rotas had been agreed a couple of weeks in advance, but it was still odd not to see him in some capacity. He would at least show up for a drink or to have some private family or business meeting in the back office. In the end, Kerry knew it wasn't really her business, and it made her feel even more comfortable about the arrangement she'd made with Alex for him to meet her at the pub once she'd finished her daytime shift there. She figured they could have a couple of drinks at the pub before moving on somewhere else to give them both a change of scenery.

Kerry had been warned to be careful with Alex by Harper, not to mention she was more than aware of the man's reputation with women. But this was just two adults choosing to have drinks together. They'd spoken a few times recently and Kerry had learned a lot more about Alex, seeing beyond the mistakes he'd made in the past. There was nothing wrong with two friends meeting to have drinks together. Still, Kerry had turned up for her shift looking even more glamourous than she usually did and Alex had been finding his way into her mind more than usual recently - not just out of concern for him, either!

She had been talking to one of her barmaid colleagues until she noticed Alex enter the pub. Breaking away from her conversation, she stepped away from the bar to greet him. "I still almost didn't recognise you," she joked with him as she reached up to lightly touch the top of his head. "It suits you," she said, in reference to his haircut. "You doing alright?" she asked him, hoping he hadn't been hit with any more problems since they last spoke. "Ready for our first drink? Just let me know if you need to me to go easy on you, there's no shame in being outdone by a lady," she teased him.

Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)

King Remedial Headquarters
~ City of London, London ~
​

Spencer King

Since he'd failed to kill Conor and had a falling out with Bruce, Spencer hadn't felt or been himself. In fact, recent events had led the man to questioning who he was at all and who it was he really wanted to be. Since returning to London, Spencer hadn't had much contact with his brothers or Harper, nor had he spoken with Bruce at all. He was in a state of hating and being angry himself for his failure and leading Billy into a situation where he had to kill a man, whilst also being pissed off at Bruce for the way he belittled and disrespected him for it. It wasn't just his family members he'd kept his distance from, but the pub and gang businesses too. Perhaps it was stubbornness or simply the rare doubt that was keeping him from the business, with him only putting his efforts into the mostly legitimate pharmaceutical operations of his uncle's empire.

The first couple of nights after returning from Dublin, including directly after his altercation with Bruce, Spencer had gone out drinking with Jeremy. By the time the clubs were closed it was extremely late and Spencer was very drunk, so had crashed at Jeremy's place on those two occasions. But after those two nights, Spencer had decided to keep his distance from Jeremy too, knowing how close he was to the rest of the Kings and not wanting to burden him with anything that would put him in an awkward position. Instead, Spencer had still been going out, but returning to his own home around 2am and sleeping in later than normal. He was trying to be there for Shona, but he was struggling to convince himself he was any good for her. This had led to a couple of arguments with a stressed out Shona confronting Spencer about his reckless behaviour, telling him to man up and help her out. Though they did both calm down to talk more calmly, Spencer had still felt like there was a wall stopping him from breaking out of his behaviour. The alcohol had been doing a better job at blocking out the pain in his healing ribs than any medication could, and it also happened to let him forget about all of the shit on his mind for at least a short time. But when it came down to it, he'd still failed to kill Conor and avenge those who the Irishman had hurt, which in turn meant his family was still in danger, if not more at risk than ever. What if he brought danger onto his own doorstep? He didn't know what he'd do if anything happened to Shona and Eddie.

What Spencer did know was that recent months had been overwhelming and showed no sign of slowing down. He'd felt a deep sense of responsibility and the need to prove himself since before Trevor even left. He'd spent most of his life fighting to prove himself and show he wasn't "useless". He'd certainly been doing everything he could to make sure he was nothing at all like Trevor. Now, he couldn't see past his mistakes. He felt it was his responsibility to protect those at his nightclub when it blew up, wondering if he'd been more on the ball he'd have seen it coming. Then there was his failure to kill Conor, which also led to Billy's struggle after killing Aidan, and Bruce's disappointment towards Spencer for wasting the opportunity to kill the Irish boss. Then with Trevor's return came the revelation Spencer had paid the man to leave over twelve years ago, which of course led to Alex feeling betrayed, not to mention another reason for Bruce to be disappointed. Spencer prided himself on being honest, hardworking, and successful, but recent weeks had done nothing but contradict his beliefs. With his uncle and brothers let down by him, Spencer knew it was only a matter of time before he failed Shona and Eddie too.

Spencer had left the house earlier in the day, making a quiet entrance into his office at King Remedial, locking his door and closing the blinds. Whilst he'd avoided his pub and any of his gang-related responsibilities, he had still been doing his job for the pharmaceutical company. He hoped if he focused on the latest contracts and paperwork to be dumped on his desk for his approval, it would distract him from everything that was on his mind. It didn't work as there was too much already clouding his mind and preventing him from focusing. This was the first time he'd ever experienced such doubt and he hadn't questioned his own abilities since back when he was still in high school. Everything was usually so certain to him, including his confidence and self-belief. He'd been fighting to prove his abilities to both Bruce and to himself since Trevor have walked out on the family, and he thought he'd got long past that need some years ago.

Now it seemed like he still wasn't good enough for Bruce. Perhaps he would fail Shona and Eddie too. His mind naturally cast back over the last few days and how his going out drinking into the late hours had led to him and Shona arguing. It all suddenly felt very familiar to him. In his mind, he could picture Laura holding baby Billy in her arms as she and Trevor argued in the living room. Spencer remembered the endless cycle of being glad when Trevor spent so much time away from the home but then having to listen to the arguments that started when he spent enough time at home. Although he still believed Trevor walking out on Laura played some part in her soon after dying, he had also savoured not having to live in a house where his parents argued so much.

Spencer's healing chest felt tight and being sober meant there was nothing blocking out the discomfort. He was in a building specialising in drugs and he had a bottle of painkillers sitting on the desk in front of him. After staring at the drugs for a time, he grabbed the box and tossed it across the room. There was no way in hell he was going to become a low-life junkie like Trevor. "Fuckin' bastard..." he grumbled to himself as he was forced to realise his current behaviour with Shona and the drinking was exactly what he remembered from his childhood with Trevor around. Was he really destined to become just like Trevor? Was it best if he left Shona and Eddie now, saving them further heartache down the line? In that moment, he knew he needed to either step up to his responsibilities or do everyone a favour and just leave.

Right now. He needed to get out of the office and get some fresh air.

[Closed for interaction ✗]

Savannah Callahan's House
~ Dollymount, Dublin ~
​

Savannah and Liam Callahan

Liam only had one more week of school to go before the summer holidays began and he couldn't wait. Whilst he did like learning, he didn't like certain classmates and with yet more trouble surrounding his family, he was finding it difficult not to react when one of the other kids annoyed him. Today hadn't been too bad, but he'd still been glad to get out of the classroom once the school day ended. He'd made sure to drop into the church straight after, so he could give Father Healy a birthday card, having been forewarned about the day in question by the chatty Patience.

With his parents having arranged some kind of a date night together and Braden no doubt out on business, it had been arranged for Liam to stay over at Savannah's house whilst Emery had offered to look after Hattie. Liam could have stayed at Emery's, but he wanted to spend some time with Callum. Not only that, but of all of his siblings, he found he had the most in common with Savannah - primarily, the fact she wanted no part in the family business and she didn't mock him about religion the way Emery tended to.

Savannah had appreciated Liam coming over to stay, if only so he could give Callum some attention whilst she tried to get her thoughts straight. Two days ago, she had received a letter from Alex informing her of the intention to start court proceedings over custody of Callum. With Conor been attacked and Aidan killed, she hadn't yet told anyone about the letter, not wanting to give her family even more stress and upset. Savannah believed Alex had no right to demand custody of their son after he was at fault for the mess in the first place and up until recently, he hadn't shown much interest at all in being a full-time parent. It would be laughable if it wasn't so serious. Savannah was a smart person, and whilst she knew she had done nothing wrong and was the best person to look after Callum, she knew it wouldn't be that straightforward in court. Her family had a reputation, but even more than just hearsay, there was a long list of crime tied to her family. Peter, Conor, Syd, James... the list went on as to how many people with direct contact to Callum were convicted criminals. Even Sinead, who had no part in the mob business, had at one time been sectioned after a nervous breakdown - would the Kings really drag everything up? A good mother or not, Savannah was sure the courts would look down on her, not to mention bring a lot more problems onto her family's doorstep.

Savannah couldn't let this go to court, she was certain of that much, no matter how much trust and faith she'd have in Roxie to defend her. The way she saw it, there were only two options. The first was letting Callum live with Alex without dragging it through the courts, which she wasn't sure she could do or even live with herself for doing. The other was to take Callum with her and run--

"Sav?" Liam repeated, tapping his fork on the plate as he and Callum sat across from her at the dining table. "Callum wants to know why you're not eating if he has to," he informed his sister. His words prompted her to pick up her fork and start forcing down the salad she'd made herself. She didn't eat much these days, but always had to make a salad if only to lead by example to get Callum to eat his meals.

"I'm giving you boys a head start. Trust me, Callum is a slow eater when it comes to eating proper food," she pointed out. "Yet, somehow, it only takes seconds to wolf down sweets and junk."

"Is Conor going to be alright?" Liam suddenly asked his sister, aware the man had been attacked by the Kings. It wasn't a secret to Callum either that his uncle was in hospital, but the little boy was just led to believe he'd had an accident and of course was perfectly fine.

"I... I think so," Savannah said, lightly nodding. The fact was, she hoped her uncle was going to be okay. Her last words to him had been telling him to go to hell and for that she was feeling a heavy amount of guilt. It wasn't that she thought her words had in any way led to him being attacked, but she was sure she played a significant part in it for ever getting personally involved with Alex. She hoped she would be able to speak to her uncle again and certainly couldn't bear knowing her last words to him were something so cold. "It sounds like he will be waking up soon and we all know how tough he is. If he wasn't going to be okay, I think we'd already know," she reassured her little brother.

"Yeah..." Liam trailed off. He paused to help Callum cut up his fish finger before focusing back on Savannah. "I don't get why you're here, Sav. You could be anywhere in the world and you're here. As soon as I'm old enough, I'm getting out of Dublin. I love this family, but I don't want to be stuck with all of this violence for the rest of my life. Plus, the weather sucks," he added, realising he was doing nothing to help his already dejected sister.

[Open for interaction ✓]

Currently Active Cast: Misty Gray Bellz Pyroclast Melanin-Gxdess BloodLightning27 BasDorcha​

 

[Pyroclast]

Chapter 13: Making Up for Lost Time
Thursday 18th July 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Late Afternoon - Warm, Cloudy, Breezy
London: Late Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Dry
New York City: Mid-Afternoon - Humid, Cloudy, Rainy

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The Mercury Nightclub Building Site
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Billy King
​

The journey home from Ireland, while seemingly endless, had actually felt somewhat cathartic to Billy after the attempted hit on Conor had gone badly wrong. He had had numerous conversations with Jeremy and his brothers that had either comforted him or helped to get his mind off what had happened, to the point where Billy was left feeling more positive that he would be able to put it behind him. He thought about Erik a lot as another coping mechanism, as the man’s face alone was enough to make his heart feel lighter and the air easier to breathe.

All night, Billy had longed for his chance to call Erik in New York and hear his voice. But when they eventually did arrive home, he couldn’t get through to him all day and so, disheartened, he ended up making himself a drink. By the time Bruce came by that evening to check on him, Billy was too drunk to even register him. Seeing the condition his nephew was in, Bruce stayed over for the night, even taking Billy’s phone calls for him while he slept everything off. Sensing that the week ahead might not look much different if he didn’t intervene, he forced Billy out of bed before he could get any worse and gave him a long list of tasks to do. Jobs and errands always did help, but sometimes Billy found it hard to think of things that needed doing when he had so much else already weighing on his mind, so it helped to have someone else make a list for him.

It was only when Erik was finally back in London several days later that Billy was able to tell him what had happened. Part of it was knowing not to talk about anything incriminating on the telephone, but another part was knowing that as soon as he opened up to Erik, he would crave his physical presence even more. It was already hard to be without him, but especially at a time when he was dealing with something heavy - something he couldn’t even talk to him about until he came back. But, as expected, being around Erik made it far easier to be sober and after his arrival all Billy wanted to do was lie in bed with him.

After only a few days of Erik’s curative presence, Billy felt ready to dive back into work. Not much progress had been made on the nightclub - debris was still in the process of being cleared and the process of stabilising the building’s remaining structure was yet to begin. After the attack, Billy had assured Spencer that he would take on the restoration project and work closely with his brother to bring the nightclub back - a new and improved version that would be more successful than ever before. He intended to be involved from the very first stages and so had decided to visit the site to meet with a chartered surveyor and discuss the damages that had so far been assessed.

It wasn’t the first time Billy had stood inside a dilapidated building, but it was different when it was a building he had known inside out before it had been destroyed. There were the remains of the bar, blackened by the fire, and the spot where he and Erik had been sitting together before the blast. There was the hole in the ceiling from which the beam had fallen, crushing Harper and almost killing her. Yet, by now it all looked so different to that night - so quiet and empty and lifeless - that, with his architect brain in gear, Billy could almost completely detach the building in its current state to the traumatic event he had experienced there.

Once the meeting was over and everyone had cleared out for the day, Billy began to gather his things, ready to lock up. But before he could make it out, the door opened once again and he saw Erik walk in. Billy’s eyes lit up and a broad smile grew on his face, but as he approached the man, he let his face fall into a more serious expression. “Uh, this is a closed site, sir,” he called out in a professional tone. “Any civilian who sets foot on the premises is trespassing…” Walking straight passed him, Billy locked the door from the inside so they couldn’t be disturbed. Erik’s trip to New York was the longest they had been apart since Billy had realised he was in love with him, and even though he had been back for a few days now, he still felt like they had some lost time to make up for. As such, he had been finding it hard to keep his hands to himself when Erik was around, and so even though they weren’t in the privacy of one of their homes, Billy was willing to take a chance on the site. After all, nobody else was due to visit or work on the site until the following day, so locking the door gave him enough confidence.

Standing mere inches from the man, Billy removed his hard hat and reached up to place it on Erik’s head. “There,” he said, softly. “Now you can come in.”

He brushed his hand against Erik’s but didn’t quite take it, instead walking ahead into the open space. “Watch where you step, there’s still glass and shit on the ground,” he lightly warned, turning back to face him. The sight of him in his hard hat put a smile on his face. “Did you just come ‘ere to see me, then?” he asked, a flirtatious look in his eye. “This ain’t your usual choice of club for pickin’ up guys. It don’t even serve alcohol and there’s no music playing. Only other reason for Erik Snowden to come to a pit like this is to see a guy he’s already got…”

Interactions
Melanin-Gxdess Erik

 

[Bellz]

Chapter 13: Making Up for Lost Time
Thursday 18th July 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Late Afternoon - Warm, Cloudy, Breezy
London: Late Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Dry
New York City: Mid-Afternoon - Humid, Cloudy, Rainy

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Thomas Porter
Lucy Porter
Dublin Hospital
~ Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

8 days earlier...​

"Thomas?" Lucy said gently, causing him to stir and open his tired eyes. She kept her distance in case he jolted out of sleep in a panic, not wanting to be within arms reach if he swung out of instinct. To her relief, he only let out a breath before rubbing at his burning eyes. "I thought you had decided to take my car home, love." His mother said gently, moving to sit beside him as she watched him look around in confusion.

He had said he was gonna head home after he saw the condition that his Uncle had been left in. He couldn't stand to see him look that way, especially knowing that Thomas could have done something to prevent it. "Thomas, love." Lucy said again, noting that he hadn't heard her the first time. Her son looked at her openly and Lucy reached out to caress his cheek comfortingly. Despite the gentle gesture, Thomas flinched and recoiled, causing her to drop her hand immediately.

"How come you stayed?" Lucy asked, "You should be sleeping in your bed." Thomas nodded his head but then shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to leave you all alone." His mother gave him the smallest of smiles. "Your Aunts are here with me." She reasoned and Thomas shook his head. "You know what I mean. Dad and Syd aren't here...It doesn't feel right leaving any of you alone without protection." He answered dejectedly and Lucy understood.

"We appreciate the thought, love. But you need to go home. I'm sure Elena is worried sick about you." Elena's name coming from his mother's mouth caused him to freeze and his eyes widened. Lucy looked at him with a tired yet amused expression. "Did you think I wouldn't hear about your living arrangement sooner or later, Thomas? Word gets around, especially since the majority of women in your family are gossip queens." Lucy smirked. Thomas found himself smiling slightly and scoffing, "Should've known." He admitted and his mother laughed. "You know you don't have to hide that stuff from me. I think what you are doing for that young woman is noble and sweet." Lucy complimented and Thomas gave her a weird look. "Here I thought you'd pull out all the stops to get the dirt on her and tell me to stay away." He admitted and Lucy shook her head with a sigh.

"I had to learn the hard way with your brother that there are just some things I need to keep my pretty little nose out of. Your love lives are none of my business. But of course, I can't help but tip the scales when I need to. Especially since you and Syd seem to have the same sense of cluelessness when it comes to love like any other man in this family." Lucy rolled her eyes with a sigh before placing her hand delicately on his.

Giving it a gentle squeeze, Lucy smiled at him, "You both as well as Olivia need to realize that we don't need your protection. You and Olivia are still young, you have so much life to live. Your own lives should be far from any of this chaos. Syd...is in a little too deep at this point. He's let life pass him by and now...he's making up for lost time." Thomas looked down at her hand on his before taking it and squeezing it back.

His eyes moved to look up at hers, "You want to take advantage of the time you do have instead of chasing it for the rest of your life, Thomas. Just think about that, okay?" Lucy asked and Thomas nodded his head silently. At this point, he was too tired to argue. "I love you, my boy. It's going to be okay." His mother murmured before pressing a kiss to the side of his head. Thomas closed his eyes, for once allowing himself to be taken care of after so many years of fighting against his mother's maternal ways.

***
Thomas Porter
His Apartment
~Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

Present Day​

Thomas wasn't sure how he had gotten home 8 days earlier after speaking with his mother. But he had woken up in the earlier hours of the next morning in a cold sweat. That was the most sleep he would get for the next week. After explaining everything to Elena a day after it all transpired, Thomas had isolated himself in his room.

The lack of sleep was making him see things, shadows in his room at night that he knew weren't there but still setting him on edge at every waking moment. Sleeping pill after sleeping pill, none of it was enough to soothe his racing thoughts, the twitching of his muscles under his skin. Halfway through the week he had given up on the pills and just allowed himself to be as he naturally was. Lucky was doing everything in her power to keep him calm, he stroked her fur and sometimes it brought him comfort while other times it only agitated him when she nudged at his leg to warn him that he was spiraling.

Elena had sweetly tried to coax him out of his room but Thomas had ignored her. With the lack of sleep and his ongoing spiral, he couldn't trust himself not to hurt her. He couldn't even bring himself to tell her that for fear that word would get out to his family how unstable he had become in just a matter of days. Nothing was working, everything was failing and the words that his mother had spoken about making up for lost time had nagged him to no end.

2 years of his life he had wasted being held hostage and the years after he had wasted ignoring his family, treating them like shit. He had so much time to make up for but he felt that he couldn't get stable enough to actually do it.

In the moments of delusion and hallucinations, Thomas had managed to fall asleep at some point. His brain just shut down without his permission. His mind conjured up the night he'd let his entire family down...

His Uncle laid in a bloody heap in his arms but this time when he looked up, Leo was also on the ground, his face so beat that his eyes were almost swollen shut. Unlike Conor, Leo's body didn't move with his breath. He wasn't moving. Thomas shot to his feet and went to check on him, shaking his cousin and best friend as tears fell from his eyes. He caught the sight of his hands covered in blood and gasped, holding them out in front of him to examine them as blood dripped from them, a mixture of his own and his family's that laid dead before him.

Thomas shook his head, "No!" He cried out before Lorelei's voice sounded out from behind him. "What did you do?!" She screamed in accusal and Thomas turned to look at her, too stunned to speak. "You killed them!" She said, her voice making him flinch with how harsh she sounded, having never heard her take such a tone in all of the years he'd known her.

"Rory! I didn't mean to!" Thomas reasoned but the woman shook her head, slowly starting to back away from him out of fear...

Gasping awake, Thomas shot up in his bed, a strangled scream escaping as he moved to cover his mouth. Lucky started barking in alarm, doing what she was trained to do, needing to alert someone. Thomas looked to her for a long moment as he caught his breath before slapping his face repeatedly to snap himself out of it. "I'm okay." Thomas said to his service dog, whistling low to call her to him. He looked towards the door, wondering if Elena had heard any of it before looking to his window to see some light shining through his blackout curtains.
mentions: Elena Pyroclast ; Conor Misty Gray ; Leo Melanin-Gxdess

Peter Callahan
The Funky Cat
~ Dublin City Center, Dublin ~​

The situation in Dublin was getting heavier and heavier by the minute and while Peter had been doing his best to only work when he was absolutely needed, he had a feeling that would come to an end at some point. After Conor had almost been beaten to death by the Kings, things in the Callahan family had been tense. With juggling Sinead, Savvy, and Liam's depression spirals, Peter had hardly any time to take care of himself these days. He couldn't remember the last time he and the wife had been out on a date so Peter made sure to keep both of their schedules clear so that they could go out. After dropping off Liam at Savvy's for the night, Peter got back into the car where Sinead was waiting for him, looking as beautiful as ever.

Once he buckled himself in, he lifted his wife's hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "Now I know I haven't quite told you where we are going yet but I think it'll be fun for both of us to blow off some steam in a way that we both love to. Lorelei was sweet enough to reserve us a private booth at her club." Peter smiled at Sinead before pulling out of Savvy's driveway. Heading in the direction of the city center, Peter hummed for a moment before looking at Sinead.

"You know I'm extremely proud of the way you've been handling all of this, love." Peter said to his wife, giving her a sympathetic look, "I know none of this has been easy and it might feel like to some degree it's never been easy. But, I think you are doing great with all of this and I can't speak for you but I feel like our relationship has been stronger than it ever has before."

Peter quickly realized how bad that might have sounded, "Not that I don't feel we haven't ever had a strong relationship...I just mean, I think you and I can both handle things a lot better, in and outside of our relationship." The silvered hair man said chuckling to himself, "God I feel like I sound like an idiot." He muttered, "Quick, say something before I say more stupid things." He told his wife as he looked ahead towards the open road.

The City Center wasn't usually busy on a Thursday night which meant The Funky Cat wasn't busy either, despite it being Karaoke night. Many people had started to catch on to all the crime taking place within the city and were not going out later in the day, even the late afternoon. Peter figured these people were smart enough, however, he just didn't see the practicality in hiding in the house all the time.

He'd go stir crazy if he had to stay locked up. Was he fearful? Of course! But he'd been dealing with this stuff for decades. He had to give people the benefit of the doubt, knowing that normal people didn't deal with these types of situations and if they did, it scarred them for life.
with: Sinny Misty Gray

Harper King
Her Apartment
~ London ~ ​

The last week had been a rather busy one for Harper. After multiple doctor's visits, she was able to snag more pain pills to help her sleep without waking up in pain at three in the morning. She was also able to switch from the wheelchair to a walking boot that could be aided with crutches. The pills were certainly a big help in making sure that she could get around with them and there was no chance in hell she was going to get off of them any time soon.

Without anyone's pushing, Harper had tried to ease up on them earlier in the week and even not take them one night. That had been a mistake and she woke up gasping for air, the pain in her ribs and collarbone feeling as though someone was taking knives to her. Stabbing her over and over until the meds she had taken in almost a handful kicked in.

Things had been...weird since her brother and Jeremy had come home from their hit on Conor Sullivan. She'd heard that it had been unsuccessful and naturally, that meant that security was going to be elevated tenfold. Although he hadn't immediately returned to watching her, Harper and Jeremy were now back to their regularly scheduled programming with him breathing down her neck 24/7. Since the hit went to shit, she now had about 3 or 4 more clones watching her from a distance. The constant feeling as though someone was watching her made it hard to know if it was something she should be alert about or if it was just her stupid family's goons watching her like a hawk.

On top of it all, Harper had a talk with her Uncle Bruce about her interaction with Trevor. He warned her to stay away from him. Harper respected what he had to say, knowing that the man had taken up the role as her father as well as her brothers. He told her not to let her fascination with him blind her judgment. Harper agreed with her Uncle that she had no reason to trust him. Trevor was the reason that her mother was dead after all...

Harper had let all of that sink in but after her interaction with Trevor, she couldn't shake the sense that he was being genuine in his redemption. The way he had looked at her...before knowing who she was, the recognition in his features as he saw how familiar she looked to Laura. Harper didn't know anyone who could fake that kind of shock...that kind of nostalgia.

She didn't have any reason to trust him and yet...he'd been the only one to give her a choice in getting to know him. A choice was a hard thing to come by in her life. Billy had been sweet enough to give her a few in all of their years growing up together but...he now had his own things to deal with.

Harper couldn't help but feel a bit alone in her experiences now. All the men around her were knee-deep in the violence as she had concluded before, Harper just wanted some breathing room. And she wasn't going to get it being watched as she was now.

Currently, Harper was sitting watching TV on her couch, trying not to focus on Jeremy who was clearly watching her rather than the TV. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wanting to find another comfortable position to sit in. In her squirming, one of her many broken ribs sent a stabbing pain in defiance to her movements in her side. Letting out a small hiss of discomfort, Harper let out a growl before slamming her walking cast onto her carpet.

Sucking in a deep breath, another wave of pain caused her to growl again. "God I can't even breathe anymore without it hurting." She hissed out, "Please Jeremy, just put me out of my ever-loving misery." Harper said, looking to the man with a deep frown. Her tone was dead serious. After a moment, she reached for her water and took a hardy sip. "You've been awfully silent. Did I scare you into silence for yelling at you at the hospital?" She asked openly.
with: Jeremy BasDorcha
mentions: Bruce Pyroclast ; Trevor Misty Gray

​

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Chapter 13: Making Up for Lost Time
Thursday 18th July 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Late Afternoon - Warm, Cloudy, Breezy
London: Late Afternoon - Warm, Sunny, Dry
New York City: Mid-Afternoon - Humid, Cloudy, Rainy

******************************

******************************
Training Area
~Dublin, Ireland~

Leo Sullivan

​

It had been a week since Spencer and his brothers had attacked Conor. Leo had been struggling to cope with it all. The guilt. The remorse. The shock. Those around him had been doing their best to reassure him that he couldn’t have prevented what happened, but he wasn’t listening. There was definitely something he could’ve done but instead of doing it, he pussed out. This was the second time he had felt so helpless - so weak to do anything against those who would hurt his family. He couldn’t do anything when Aliana was hurt all those times and the one time he had an opportunity to do something he hadn’t. Letting Spencer go scotfree had been his biggest regret and he felt like a coward for not pulling that trigger. “Just because you didn’t kill him doesn’t mean you’re any less of a man, Leo,” Ali had told him in support. “Not everything has to be dealt with in violence.” Leo just snapped at her out of frustration not wanting to hear it. There wasn’t really anything she was able to say to him to get him to understand, so she let him be. Deep down he knew she meant well, but the fact that she had participated in violent acts before pissed him off. If she truly believed what she said to him then she wouldn’t have gotten closure for those responsible for Tommy and Leonard’s deaths. It felt hypocritical of her to say and Leo made sure she knew it.

Leo wanted to do something, anything to make sure the Kings didn’t get away with the transgression against his father. If he were on the fence about mob life because of Natasha, the attack on Conor only made it clear what he had to do. When he told her about it she was more than upset. While normally he would have consoled her he hadn’t this time. He wanted her to see and understand that he had to - that this wasn’t a decision made on a whim. It kept him up late at night and consumed his every thought until he was sure. The only problem now was finding someone to train him, and who better to do that than his Uncle James? Leo knew the man was done, retired from life but since he had been doing it for so long Leo figured he’d be the best to turn to. Even if it were just to train him in firearms or more effective training he would take it. Leo never wanted to be left useless again and with James’ help, maybe he wouldn’t have to be.

Aliana had told Leo about Tom and what he did for her and Sinead while they were out. He appreciated the guy for defending his mother and aunt and decided to ask if he’d like to tag along. With him also being a former military, he thought he would also be able to give him some tips and tricks. Otherwise, his uncle would be able to vet him for some type of security if needed. Working in the garage with him for the past couple of months he figured the guy was alright. A bit on the bubbly and talkative side, but with a sister like Sydney and a girlfriend like Natasha he was used to it.

Leo had taken his mother and sisters to the hospital for another visit. Sydney and Rhiannon had both been shaken up - Rhiannon more than Syd. She’d had a suspicion that her mother was attacked the same day as her aunt and that’s where her scar came from, but she hadn’t confirmed it yet. With Conor now in the hospital a little over a month after Ali, she was starting to come to the realization that her family was in a dangerous business. Her mother had done her best to shield her from the mess but the facade had broken. She had so many questions but could never find the opportunity to do so. “I brought another picture!” Sydney said, waving a white piece of paper with a sun drawn on it in crayon. She’d been drawing Conor pictures every day in the hopes they would make him feel better. Ali gently took it from her hands and smiled. “He’ll love it.”

The rest of the visit went better than most days with Sydney brightening up the room. Her sunny disposition was like a weight lifted. She knew her father was hurt and those around her were worried, so she figured she was helping. When it was time to go she almost didn’t want to but causing a scene wasn’t what Sydney was known for. Leo drove both of his sisters home in silence, Allen waiting for them. Once Leo was sure they were safe inside he drove off to meet his uncle and Tom at a nearby shooting range. The entire drive he thought about what he was looking to accomplish and wanted to make sure he did before the end of their session. An hour into his training, James had Leo using a rifle and the two of them were pressed against the ground on their stomachs. Tom had set up another target to shoot for him. The man had also given Leo some tips - firmly holding the gun in his hands and not jerking because of the recoil. Once Tom was safely off to the side Leo pulled the trigger - something he had been practicing not shying away from. The semi-automatic rifle then let off a few shots before Leo rested his finger. His aim was still bad and he sucked in air through his teeth when he saw. “How do you guys not miss? I feel like a fucking stormtrooper,” he said, the annoyance he felt with himself in his voice.

​

James ( Misty Gray ) Tom ( BasDorcha )

King's Pub
~London~
Darcey Hargraves

​

Christians' revelation of May’s family tree had caused Darcey more drama than she was prepared for. As if May being a Sullivan wasn’t bad enough she had a bit of King in her as well. It complicated matters in a way that she didn’t think was even possible. If she wanted to get to know Trevor that meant keeping him around - giving him access to his other children, just as Bruce said. However, a part of her felt like they couldn’t just keep May away from Trevor if she wanted to get to know him. It wasn’t fair of them to do but she also understood the reasoning behind it. Darcey was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not only did she have to deal with the news, she had to deal with Bruce and his attitude. The two of them had rarely ever argued, but this time around they had. She was annoyed with him and his behavior during the meeting even though she knew it wasn’t his fault. Making her verbally choose between his kids and May was incredibly shitty and she made sure to let him know.

As if the meeting hadn’t been stressful enough, Spencer and the others had returned home - their mission a failure. Whilst she hadn’t taken part in a lot of the planning, she still knew how meticulous it was. When they all put their heads together with Bruce leading them they were able to come up with something airtight. So, hearing that Conor was still breathing felt like a letdown. She knew Bruce wouldn’t be happy with Spencer and even figured he’d blame him for the failure. He’d always been a bit hard on him. But because Darcey was still pissed with him she kept whatever advice she had to herself.

Darcey had to keep the secret she knew from May for an entire week. While most would’ve given off that something was wrong or they were bothered, Darcey hadn’t. It was business as usual down at the Golden Galleria. When asked if she had heard anything new she informed her she hadn’t, though reassured her Christian would be back to them with information soon. She felt bad having to lie to her but it was necessary until the boys and Bruce had voted on what they wanted to do. Luckily today was the final day she had to keep such a secret as that meeting was later that day. Whatever they decided Darcey would go with seeing as it affected them too. Though it also affected May and her relationship she started with Trevor - assuming she would want one, of course - but her loyalty lay with Bruce and the kids.

Sitting in the pub alongside May and Christian, Darcey was growing impatient. She truly wanted the whole thing to be over so she didn’t have to think about it anymore. Although, with her drink in hand, she thought about what would happen if they said they didn’t want to tell her. What would happen next? Would they just make sure she didn’t bump into Trevor? Tie him up somewhere until they figured out what to do with him? There were so many possibilities running amok in her head that she had already thrown back 4 shots and chugged two glasses of whiskey. Her mind was still sober though she could feel the effects starting to settle in. “I’m going to get us another round,” she said, noticing the empty cups around the table they were sitting at. She walked up to the bartender, deciding to wait until her order was fulfilled. The more time she was able to spend away from May right now, the better. Her nerves were all over the place and she didn’t like how it was making her feel.

The moment the drinks were slid in front of her, Darcey managed to expertly carry all three cups back to the table with ease. Carefully she set them down before taking her own seat. After a few seconds and a sip, she turned to May. “So, you think you’re getting the hang of things,” she asked, “You know. Ordering parts and such before we get to the point where we’re almost out? My last assistant was horrendous at that part.” She rolled her eyes at the memory. She then turned to Christian with a knowing smile - grateful that he was here to at least alleviate some of the stress she was feeling with his company. “Whenever you decide you’re tired of digging up dirt there’s always a place for you down at the garage,” she teased.

Christian ( Misty Gray ) May ( BasDorcha )

 

[BasDorcha]

Le Hospital

Michelle Romano​

The last week had been hell. When Michelle heard about her father, she had immediately rushed to the hospital. She knew that after her blow up with Aliana that things had been tense, but Michelle counted on everyone putting it aside in a time of crisis. Petty squabbles were for time when life didn’t hang in the balance. Since finding out that Conor had been hospitalized, they had been at least civil, and no one had brought up the incident at the house. It had given Michelle a chance to figure out things in her head and come to her senses.

Michelle had been back and forth to the hospital daily, staying until late in the evening or even early morning, sometimes sitting in the room quietly watching his father, sometimes outside letting Aliana have a chance with him, or any of the rest of the family. Since she wasn’t working yet, she had a little more freedom then some of the others who were busy working to secure themselves and the family. Truth be told, Michelle was feeling like an outsider, not being around the family enough to really understand these situations or be prepared for them the way the others seemed to be.

Mentally, she decided to talk to her father, then possibly Aliana, or maybe Aliana first to put away any bad feelings about her outburst, which now seemed so far away and so little. She had done a lot of thinking about why she felt the way she felt, and why she had spoken about it now, after so long of putting it away. Michelle had realized that it really came down to the situation she was in, and how much negative emotions had been revived over the divorce. For many years, she had felt fine, living without speaking her childhood feelings to her step mother.

The stress of the marriage ending, her children now coming from a split family home, had awaken them. A sigh escaped Michelle’s lips as she sat fiddling with a stray strand of string from her coat, twirling it between her fingers. She needed to apologize, and mean it this time. It wasn’t Aliana’s fault, any more then it was Michelle’s fault her husband cheated, and it was time she made her peace with it. She still needed to speak with her about it, she just needed a better time.

As she sat, she saw Conor's body guard's swapping out places, nodding a hello to them both as she sat quietly, still fiddling with the string. She didn't know either of the men personally, probably her fault for never being around enough to know anyone. Just one more problem she was going to need to fix - she needed to get to know everyone.

Mentions: Misty Gray - Conor
Melanin-Gxdess - Aliana
Kids
BloodLightning27 - Edward

Harper's Apartment
Jeremy Gray​

The week since they got back had been rough for everyone, all the way around. Spencer had spent some time with Jeremy, and they’d spent those hours drinking. Spencer had gotten well over his limit a few times, and Jeremy had driven them to his house, where he crashed on the couch. Shona had called and checked on him, and Jeremy assured him he was safe and asleep. He had tried to speak to his friend a few times, but it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about things yet. Jeremy had been doing his best to support his friend, as well as Billy and Alex after the fall out of the failed mission. Spencer and Billy seemed to be taking it the worst.

Since he had spent the first few days back with Spencer, Harper had received a few more days without his presence. He’d hoped she appreciated it, because he personally didn’t, even though he needed to space himself. Plus, with Bruce already on a short fuse, when he had politely but firmly asked Bruce to allow Harper a few more days of time to break from him, and to give him some recovery time, he’d received a right smart arse chewing before being told okay. Jeremy had been processing a lot in his mind, trying to figure out what to do next with his own issues. Being back around Harper was tedious, and tense at best. As he sat in her apartment, it no longer felt like the warm, welcoming spot it once had. It was just another job at this point – she had made it clear she wanted nothing more.

The first two days he’d been back, he sat in silence other then minimal interaction, trying to just be present and not watching physically or interfering with her choices. She wasn’t in much of a place to be able to go to crazy. Today, he sat watching the TV over her shoulder, but he wasn’t really watching. Truth was, his gaze had kind of unfocused as his mind was somewhere else entirely. He was brought around by her growl and the steep breath she took. He didn’t move – she hadn’t given any indication she was alright with him touching her again, for any reason. When she asked him to put her out of her misery, he shook his head, declining silently.

Her question about him being scared was met with a roll of his eyes. He couldn’t find it in himself to come up with something funny to say, his mind was too full of things. “Nah, I cant be scared of such a tiny woman, the men would never let me live it down. You tell them otherwise, I’ll deny it till the day I die.” Jeremy gave a slight smile, before standing to grab the kettle he had put on a few minutes prior. He had decided against drinking too much since the night with Kit at the bar, and had barely touched the stuff except to go out with Spencer. If he was going to make bad choices at least he’d only have himself to blame, and a clear mind to think his way out.

Bringing the cup back, he offered to top hers off, before filling his own and dragging the tea bag through the boiling water. This still didn’t feel right. Jeremy felt his most normal self around Harper before all this, but he realized now it had a lot of emotion mixed into it, and he couldn’t be that person with her at this moment. After the silence stretched out, Jeremy finally found Harper’s eyes and tried to give her a bright smile, “Forgive me Harper, for the way I acted. I’m sorry. If I’m awkward for a while, you’ll have to bear with it. Believe it or not, I’m not very versed in matters of the heart, or being around someone I have feelings for, but I promise I will not let it interfere with protecting you.”

He knew that she didn’t want him up her arse, constantly dealing with him, but Bruce would have it no other way. He had been going home at night since they came back, and two night guards would simply watch from outside the apartment, but day shift was his, and he no longer crashed in her spare guest room – it wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do and still make his boss happy.

Mentions: Bellz - Harper
Misty Gray - Spencer
Pyroclast - Bruce/Billy
Melanin-Gxdess - Alex (briefly)/Kit (briefly)

 

[BloodLightning27]

~James Edwards: Chapter's Beginning~

---

Chapter 13: Making Up For Lost Time | Thursday, July 18th, 1985 …8 days later... | Dublin, Ireland | Late Afternoon - Warm, but Cloudy And A Little Breezy​

---

Dublin City Center | Dublin Hospital

Eight days ago, Edwards was caught up in a firefight while out with James and Reina. Following the firefight and explosion at the docks, the trio ended up going to the Dublin Hospital, where the Boss, Conor Sullivan, had been badly hurt in an ambush. His Sons were also caught in the sweep. Considering that the attack on the Boss happened around the same time that the trio was ambushed at the docks, it didn't exactly take a genius to figure out that the two were connected in some capacity. Even though he didn't know Conor that well, Edwards still showed concern for the older man's health, especially know the big family he'd leave behind if he were to succumb to the severe injuries that he sustained. He may be a part of the family, but Edwards still fresh blood and, in some aspects, an outsider. An American who just happened to be half-Irish and only recently set foot in Dublin, so there wasn't really much he could say, let alone do. So one could imagine the shock he had when he was recruited to be a part of the Security Team at the Hospital, even more so when he was stationed right outside the room that Conor was staying in while he recovered.

This took Edwards back to his Military days, as there had been missions where he was on protection detail, granted he was usually perched up on a roof with a Sniper Rifle. This time though, he was standing next to the door, armed with a Pistol and wearing a suit, not body-armor. The last couple of days while Conor recovered, Edwards stood outside the door, usually keeping tabs on who enters the room, granted he wasn't all too worried because the people who entered were always relatives or his immediate family, so everything was going smoothly. Another one of the guards, Dermot, soon approached him.

"Edwards, it's my turn to do the rounds and I'll phone to check-in with the guys at base. You good staying here?"

Edwards looked towards the other man upon hearing his voice. "Yeah, no problem." He responded. "See you when you get back."

Once Dermot turned around and walked away, Edwards looked back at the door, frowning. Sighing, he went back into focus, wondering who was going to show up next. Just as Dermot walked away though, a woman entered the room and greeted him as they made eye contact. Looks like she was here to see Conor as well. However, he'd never seen her before, so he could only wonder who she was. Conor had a rather big family, so it was difficult to remember who was who at times. But she wasn't present when he first arrived in Dublin. Not wanting to be rude, he smiled back. "Good Afternoon, Ma'am. I'm guessing you're here to see Mr. Sullivan?" He asked, not wanting an awkward silence as he had already dealt with that enough as the day began.

---

Interactions: Dermot Misty Gray | Michelle Romano BasDorcha

 

[Misty Gray]

The Funky Cat
~ Dublin City Center, Dublin ~

Sinead Callahan​

It hadn't seemed like two minutes since Aliana and Leo had been hurt, something she had still been concerned about them both for now. Now Conor was in seriously injured and in hospital, it was difficult for Sinead to fight off the anxiety with everything seemingly building up once again. As worried as she was about her brother, Sinead was having to force herself to put on a brave and positive attitude for the sake of not adding to how unhappy Liam already seemed. She hoped him having a change of scenery at Savannah's and being able to spend time with Callum would help take his mind off of his worries for a time.

Sinead had been at the hospital every day since Conor had been taken in. She'd been there earlier in the day today, before he'd been woken from his sedated state, and had since received a call to let her know he was awake and seemed to be stable. Sinead had yet to learn the full outcome of his tests, but she felt reassured enough to be away from a telephone for one evening. Peter had arranged for them to go out together and Sinead was looking forward to spending some well overdue alone time with her husband.

Sinead had made sure to give Liam a big hug and a kiss before Peter walked the boy into Savannah's house. As much as she wanted to go with them, Sinead knew she wouldn't want to rush away once she set eyes on Callum and got talking to her eldest. That could wait until tomorrow. She smiled brightly when Peter returned to the car and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

She listened as Peter brought up the fact their destination had been a surprise - something she was eager to find out about. When he told her he'd got them a private booth at the Funky Cat, she quickly nodded her head. "Oh, that sounds fabulous!" she enthused. "It's been a while since we both went out together like this."

Sinead looked out at the road ahead once Peter had set off driving. When he told her he was proud of how she was handling everything, she turned to look at him. "Oh, it's really hard, Petey... But our children and our grandchildren are suffering too. I have to stay strong for them, and for Ali and Luce and anyone else who needs us." Perhaps it was the many losses and the torture she had suffered herself over the years that made her feel stronger now. Somehow, she was still standing and she was sure much of that was due to the support of her loved ones. So she knew she had to be that loved one now - someone people could rely on to support them.

Sinead lightly nodded her head when Peter said their relationship felt stronger than it ever had. Her husband then backtracked, trying to elaborate on what he really meant. Sinead let out a small laugh at her husband when he said he felt like an idiot. "Hmm, maybe I should let you keep taking. It makes a change from me being the one saying dumb things," she teased. Turning a little more serious she nodded her head more firmly. "I know what you mean, though. We've not been good at handling our problems and stresses in the past. Of course, I've always loved you, but we did have a lot of rocky patches over the years. Now, I think we're both older and wiser, and we know how to deal with things. Our marriage has never felt stronger than it has over the last few years and I'm so happy for that. I guess we had to ride out the rough to get to where we are now."

When they arrived at the club and were parked up, Sinead got out of the car, smoothing out her emerald, below the knee dress as she did. She looked Peter over before linking her arm with his. "You look all kinds of handsome, darling," she told him. "You'd best get be in that club before I drag you back home," she playfully told him, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red as she did.

Bellz (Petey)