Well, I’m updating! Yes, I know, the blue moon is shining bright tonight. Anyways, in honor of this momentous occasion, I am doing review thankies at the end! So enjoy those!

Dedication: To Blue Oyster Cult for their song ‘Fire of Unknown Origin’! What? I write with music playing… Ok, it was either them or my gimped roommate. They won, hands down.

On with the show!

Layne's POV

The next time I woke up was in a dark room with someone curled up around me. I took a deep breath and relaxed. It was West’s smell: lye soap, confidence – if that was even a scent – and aftershave. It was one of my favorite smells in the whole wide world. I tried to remember when he could have got here, but I didn’t even remember how I got to be here, but here I was and West’s presence was calming. My arms were bare and chilled in the night air, but I didn’t bother to rub some warmth back into them. I didn’t have the energy and waking up West didn’t seem worth it. I supposed West or Rock had taken the sweater off me along with a few layers of socks – judging by how easy it was to move my feet. I sighed and tried not to squirm the way I had been. I just wanted to sleep and for West to quit breathing on the back of my neck. It felt weird, like he wasn’t breathing right. I figured out why that was when he sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

“You should be asleep.”

“So should you,” I replied “What time is it?”

“Nearly four, I think,” West answered tiredly “Six is going to come too early for my liking.”

“What’s important about six?”

“That’s when Rock said he wanted everyone awake.”

We laid there quietly for a bit, him running his hand through my hair lightly and me getting my courage up to ask something I didn’t want to know, but had to know.

“What’s he going to do, West?” I asked

“He’s going hunting,” he stated simply

I didn’t know what to say. It was the one answer I hadn’t expected. I’d expected West to say that Rock was on the phone, demanding satisfaction or maybe he would call all the gang leaders together and state his case before them. I never thought he would go hunting. People would die and not just on their side. Who would it be? Will, Joe, Rock, West? Could my conscious bear any of that?

“West, we can’t let him.”

“And what makes you think we have a hope in hell of keeping him from doing anything?”

“We can try,” I pointed out, trying to wiggle out of West’s grip so I could do just that.

West pulled me closer to him and laid his cheek on the side of my head so his mouth was right near my ear.

“It’s four in the morning.”

I stopped then. He was right. With any luck Rock was asleep and this kind of wake up call would not be appreciated. West did say they would all be getting up at six. It could wait until then. I sighed and hugged West’s arm to me. His muscles were solid and reassuring. They held so much strength, but he had the skill and the grace to use them properly. It was no wonder he was such a great boxer.

“You won?”

“Was there ever any doubt?” West muttered back and I patted his arm lovingly

“Any wounds?”

“I’ll do. Now, shut up and let me sleep.”

I smirked in the dark. He wasn’t brain damaged at least. My arms warmed up a bit with West rubbing them and I closed my eyes. West always did have an internal furnace. He was never cold. He hugged me a little closer to him and settled his cheek on my head again. I sighed and drifted towards sleep. West muttered something I didn’t catch before his breathing became light and even with a hint of a snore to it. As much as I wanted morning to come, I was reluctant to even think about moving. I was warm, safe and loved and that’s all I wanted.

When I did wake up I was confused. West and I had been sleeping in Rock’s bed, which meant Rock hadn’t wanted to sleep. I sighed and made to wake up West before I figured out he was gone and the sun was fully risen. I wanted to yell right then. They’d been long gone and West hadn’t cared enough to let me state my piece. No, he’d wanted to go as much as Rock had. I scolded myself for thinking any different. West was the type that acted. This was just the easiest thing for him to do.

I finally managed to pull myself out of bed and stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. Someone told me once that the best way to judge a man was by the way he kept his bathroom. By Rock’s bathroom, I had no idea what to think of him, but I had an idea of what to think of West. It looked like a tornado had been through there at one point, a wet tornado. My socked foot sank through a cold puddle and I pulled it back in shock. The puddles on the floor were freezing and now so were my, well, Rock’s socks. I pulled them off before pulling a damp towel off the rack and laying it across the floor. Hopefully it would soak up the water. I glanced over at the open, wet, shower door and figured someone must have had a shower…right before he ran off to go hunting. I sighed, wanting to cry from the frustration of it all, but I didn’t. I’d learned a long time ago that crying was ok, because I was a girl. But if Rock and West couldn’t let themselves cry, neither would I. I just needed a hot shower. That sounded nice right about then.

Something caught the corner of my eye and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned my head sharply and was calmed when I saw it was only my terrified reflection looking right back at me. I had read about ladies who had been treated the way I had last night and some who had been treated much worse. A lot of them stayed scared. I didn’t blame them. It was the next morning and I was in the safest room in the whole building, but I was still frightened by something so small it was dumb. I took a deep breath and chided myself. I was just being stupid. I lifted the edge of my shirt up and was instantly convinced I was anything but stupid.

I stared at my reflection with horror. Never had anyone hit me to hurt me. Rock would have killed anyone stupid enough to try and Merit evidently felt the same way. I touched the bruises from the different fist falls. He’d only punched me two or three times, but you’d swear it had been more from all the tenderness. I scolded myself for being such a wimp. Anyone of my brothers would have thought this was nothing. But anyone of my brothers had taken a dozen or more different punches. They wouldn’t have been so helpless or so weak. They would have thrown punches back, and moved on, they would have sought revenge and they wouldn’t have shuddered every time they remembered that boy’s pooling blood pulsing between their fingertips…

I raised my eyes from the sight and nearly jumped out of my skin when my eyes locked with those of none other than Michael Garren. I slowly pulled down the hem of my shirt, wondering how much Mike knew about what was going on. I figured he would know just because he was who he was. Gang leaders at least had that privilege.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“It’s no wonder he was so mad.” Mike completely ignored my comment

I blinked and broke the spell that had me frozen in place. I turned slightly and tried to read Mike’s body language. He was leaning in the doorway, looking as cool as ever, but his shoulders were tensed and his arms showed off all the muscle there. Then there was the typical look of discontent on his face. He never smiled…

“It’s nothing,” I said trying to sound like I didn’t care “Rock’s got other things to be mad over.”

“You’re blind some days,” he informed me

“What do you want, Garren, besides to bother me?” I asked leaning on the counter so my forehead and that of my reflection were almost touching

“I came up here to see if you were alright and to let you know that I’m sorry.”

I blinked again and tried to catch Mike’s eye in the mirror. Mike Garren wasn’t ever sorry for anything. I opened my mouth to ask why he would lie like that, but he had such a fierce look in his eye that I closed it and waited.

“Last night Rock asked me to pick three boys to stay up on the rooftops and make sure you were safe. I picked two and went myself. Then Graves showed up and convinced me I needed to go and have a drink,” Mike paused looking more fierce than ever “I should have stayed right there and taken my blows and dished them back. I could have stopped them.”

I didn’t say a word as he took a deep breath or two and seemed to relax a little bit. I knew the behavior well, but to see guilt from Mike Garren was something so foreign to my eyes that I was frozen into silence. I knew I had to say something, though. That’s what he may not have known he wanted, but I knew he needed it.

“You couldn’t have stopped them,” I stated “And I like you better alive than dead.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Mike looked back at me in the mirror and I looked down at the sink, thinking about everything that had happened. It was my fault and here Mike was blaming himself. Who would have thought? I sighed and decided to trust him with something like he had trusted me.

“It’s not your fault, Mike,” I said sternly “It’s mine. They wouldn’t have been after me –”

“It is not your fault,” Mike replied looking angry “They came here after you to get to Rock and they did a pretty damn good job of that.”

“But –”

“You didn’t see him this morning. He was mad when he gave his orders. It’s too bad he doesn’t let it cloud his judgment. Then they would have got the full effect they were looking for.”

We were both quiet for a few minutes after that. I had no idea how to reply to that. How did someone reply to that? I sighed and wondered how life had become so complicated suddenly.

Mike sighed and came to lean beside me in front of the mirror. He looked more serious than I had ever seen him before. I guess that was what was bugging me so badly. Mike looked like he had given himself the same ‘I refuse to cry’ pep talk at one point. That scared me more than anything. He held my eyes in the mirror for a moment before looking away and putting that indifferent look of his back on again.

“It’s not your fault, Finn. It’s mine and it’s Rock’s,” he stated bitterly “We screwed up and good people are suffering for it. He let you get hurt and I dumbly went along with it.”

Something about the tone in his voice left my head empty of all thought. It was frank and true and Mike hadn’t said it to be mean. He’d said it because he believed it. He didn’t elaborate on it and I was still in a bit of shock, so I let him kiss my cheek and leave the room as silently as he had entered it before closing the bathroom door and locking it. I turned the hot water on in the shower and shook my head furiously. No. Mike had the wrong idea. It wasn’t his fault. He may have been an ass, but there was something about him that made him an honest ass and he stood by the gang. It wasn’t Rock’s fault, either. Rock had always tried to defend me. He’d been more of a father to me than my own had ever showed interest in being and he had taken care of me when I was sick. Somehow those thoughts hadn’t stopped the uncertain thoughts from coming. I felt them crash against each other in my head as I pulled the shower door closed and felt the hot water seep down my back.

He had grounded me. He had emptied the entire building to teach me a lesson. He didn’t care who watched me as long as he didn’t have to do it. He wasn’t there when I needed him. I had almost been abused and violated… and he hadn’t been the one to save me…

The full meaning of that last thought hit me and I let out a moan of misery, shaking my head furiously. It wasn’t like that, but no matter how often I repeated that to myself, I couldn’t seem to convince myself. He wasn’t there. I needed him and he was nowhere to be found. I was angry with myself and with him as I slid down the side of the shower and sat under the hot water.

I don’t know how long I sat there thinking on it, but it seemed like hours after the hot water was gone and the cold was pummeling my head that I finally got to my feet. I shut off the water and climbed out to find there were no dry towels. I didn’t care at that point. I was cold the whole way through and it didn’t seem to matter to me if the towel I was using to get the water off me was cold, warm, wet, dry, thread bare, dirty or full of ticks. It did its job and that’s all I needed it to do. I pulled it around me and picked up my clothing before venturing into the hallway of Rock’s apartment. His room was right across from the bathroom and I wanted that sweater and those socks something awful. I pulled on my clothes once I was back in his room and shook with cold. It was the middle of summer and it was a gorgeous day outside. And here I was as cold as I would have been in the middle of a nasty winter. Irony was out to get me.

It was a while after that when I managed to screw up my courage and wander downstairs. The building sounded like it was in full flurry below and above, but there wasn’t a single soul on this floor. I supposed they were all giving me space. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t a fragile little thing who would break. I just liked to pretend I was as much as they believed it. Now they probably thought I was even more so. I was never going to be on my own again, that was for sure. I didn’t know how I felt about that right then. I shook my head and shoved that thought from my mind. I didn’t want to think about anything but a warm mug of tea in my apartment. Maybe Morrosco would be down there and we could sit and enjoy the sun through the windows. I doubted the last part as I made my way out onto the stairs. West said they were going hunting…

I stopped in my tracks when I got to the landing on the fifth floor. The bloodstain was almost completely gone and I could smell the powerful aroma of the bleach that had been used to get it up. I could almost feel the boy’s blood on my hands and I had to look at them to reassure myself they were clean. I looked back down at the floor and wondered who had gone to all the trouble. Then I thought about the boy whose life had been in my hands and how I hadn’t been able to stop him from dying. I was sickened mostly as I wiped my hands unconsciously on my legs. This was all that was left of a boy’s life: a body most likely disposed of and a faint stain on a landing. All because they wanted to push my brother around. The only problem was that he pushed back.

I sat down on the step and watched that stain for a bit. I looked up when Joe Rielly wandered out of his apartment with a box of what looked to be torn, blood stained blinds. He didn’t bother explaining and I didn’t bother asking. He just came and sat on the step with me for a few moments before yawning and rubbing he sleep from his face. It was obvious to me that he had gotten up at six when he was told to and he hadn’t been to bed much before that. I guess that explained why he was just sitting there with me. That or he was looking to avoid whatever cleaning he had in mind.

“Rough night?” I asked

“Disposed of a body, drove Merit over to see Tell, cleaned up the mess and now I'm working at getting my apartment back into a less-shambled state,” Joe yawned again “Rough night’s an understatement.”

“Did you sleep at all?”

“Some, but not nearly enough for my liking. You?”

“More than enough for my liking.”

Joe glanced over at me and sighed. “Tell me you’re gonna get over this and move on.”

“What?” I blinked

“Look at it from the point of view of someone exhausted, sore, and cranky from cleaning up a mess that wasn’t his. This whole night was a big mistake. It should never have happened and it won’t happen again. You can either dwell on it or show them up by not letting it get to you.”

Joe ran a hand through his hair and I wondered how he had got so grumpy. He was the happy brother, usually. I guess what Tom told me once was true. There were two things you didn’t mess with when it came to a Rielly: family and routines. Joe’s sleeping routine was off by a long shot. No wonder he was so testy. It made me testy that he was so testy. We sat in on the stair for another couple minutes before I got my head around what I wanted to say.

“I’m not going to shut down or anything like that,” I told him flat out “I refuse.”

Joe sighed, smiling at me a little

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I keep thinking that I’m either gonna sob or yell, but neither one seems like a good option. So I don’t know what to do.” I shrugged not bothering to add that ‘Don’t get mad, get even’ is the immediate family credo. We always got even. I planned to get even.

“I’d like it if you tried to make things as normal as possible around here.”

“How am I supposed to do that after what happened?” I asked, not believing this talk was coming from the muscle man.

“Listen, I can’t make you do anything, but you need to try so Mike and Rock can move on. They’re both takin’ this like they were forced to watch and couldn’t stop it. And if they keep on goin’ the way they are, someone is going to end up dead.”

So that was it. He didn’t want anyone else dead. Joe and I were friends, not close, but he was a member of Rock’s gang, Will’s kid brother, and the man you went to when you needed a job done. He’d seen more death than most and he must have been as sick of it as I could imagine he was. And here he was, telling me what I needed to do. I was mad, clean through, but some part of me understood. Things needed to return to business as usual or they’d win. Who ‘they’ were made no difference. If it wasn’t a Lupin coming out on top, it didn’t matter.

“Do you know where my bother is?” I asked, calmly

“You gonna give him grief?”

“Possibly.”

“He’s in the office,” Joe stated with a sigh

We both got up, him picking up the box, and started in different directions. I headed for the seventh floor and Joe would most likely get sidetracked on the fourth floor before ending up in the garage where the garbage bin was. I shook my head, wondering if he found me just as predictable as I found him. As much as I promised myself I would get mad at my brother, I wasn’t at all sure I could keep up with that assertion. He may not have been perfect and I may have been frustrated, but he’d felt the same over some of the things I’d done and he’d never lost it with me before. What I wouldn’t have given for a time machine, just to go back and make different choices would have made everything so much easier to deal with.

When I finally got to those towering oak doors, I didn’t bother knocking. I opened he right one and looked into the office, not at all surprised to see both Will and Rock in there. Will glanced up and offered me a weak smile before closing the book that had been open in his hands and stiffly getting to his feet.

“I think it’s time I go and check on things,” he offered and Rock merely nodded, not looking up from the stack of papers on his desk and not inquiring what those things were.

Will walked past me into the hall without another glance, pulling the door closed behind him and pulling away any silent escape that was once available to me. Damn those Riellys. They were all out to ‘help’ me today. So I stood there, watching my brother pour over everything in front of him until he sighed and set the papers down, running a hand through his hair. He looked tense and tired.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked softly and I jumped

“That depends. Did you go hunting?” I asked

“No, Rielly talked me out of it.” Rock sounded defeated and I felt relieved

“Then I’m not mad at you,” I assured him, coming around the desk

Rock smirked a little and it was Ranse’s trademark ‘yeah, right’ look. I sighed, wondering how I could do what Joe suggested and just make everything better. I suddenly wanted that more than anything. I wanted to more on and pretend nothing happened, at least for a little while anyways. I could tell he wanted the same, but he was a realist. He knew just as well as I did that it was a matter of time and probably some nasty fights ahead, but it would eventually get there. But we also knew I had to take the first step. So I hugged him from behind, looping my arms around his neck and nuzzled my cheek into his shoulder. He tensed for a minute, waiting to see if I was tricking him somehow, before seeming to relax fully. It was like a weight had been taken off his shoulders and I felt better, too.

“Hey,” Rock said after a while, lifting my chin up so we could see eye to eye “I’ll make you a deal. Promise not to scare me like that again and I promise that I will never punish you again.”

I wanted to laugh. We both knew we couldn’t keep that promise, not even if we tried really hard and were extra careful. Heck we would most likely end up driving each other and Will nuts in the process. But that wasn’t what he was asking and I knew he wanted an answer.

“I promise.”

“Good. Now maybe I’ll be able to relax around here.” He smirked

“You should get some sleep,” I told him, laying a kiss on his cheek and letting him go

“And what do you plan to do while I’m sleeping?” he asked in a mock suspicious tone as I walked towards the door. I noted he didn’t deny it, which meant he really was tired

“Well, assuming everyone in the building is doing some form of cleaning, Morrosco is most likely trying to put my apartment back together. I think I’ll go down and save him from himself.” I shrugged “And that booby trapped closet.”

“Everyone needs to get a frying pan to the head once in their life,” Rock pointed out

“Yeah, but today is not Morrosco’s day.”

Rock smiled, a little one, but it was still a smile and I smiled back. Yeah, we were going to be just fine. I didn’t ask about tomorrow. I didn’t ask about what he was going to do now. I didn’t even bother letting myself think about it. I didn’t want to know until I had to directly deal with it. Maybe then it would be easier. I doubted it, but it was a good thought. Still there was a nagging thought at the back of my mind that I had to ask.

“Hey, what happened to West?” I asked, leaning in the doorway

“I sent him over to see Tell for a while. He was hell bent to kill someone, so I thought the peacemaker of the family could work his magic. If not, Tatton always did duck fast after he said something dumb.” Rock shrugged “Either way, West will be happier when he finally does come home.”

I nodded. Yeah, that was something at least. I opened the door and nearly crashed into Will. He straightened up from where he had obviously been listening by the keyhole and tried to look natural.

“Dropping eaves again, Shakespeare?” I asked

“I-I was…”

Will tried to find something to say, since being at a loss for words was something completely unbalancing in his world. I patted his arm in understanding and left him standing there as I made my way down the hall. I was nearly to the stairs when I heard Will ask Rock what was so funny before sighing dramatically. I could imagine they both had smiles plastered all over their faces and it put a smile on mine.

As much as I wanted to think Joe Rielly owed me big time for that laugh and that staged sigh, I knew I was the one who owed him. The whole building did. And who would have thought it was all made possible by the muscle man.

Ok, sappy chapter ending! On to the thankies!

Girlimposter: Oh, I plan to go on, it’s just a matter of when ;) I’m the worst updater in the history of updating things, but it makes for a good read when I do get around to it! I hope this answered some of your pressing questions and that you enjoyed!

Taurus: Will made an appearance in this one just for you! Be happy! I should send you the pics I did up and played around for of the guy I think could be him. They’re interesting. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and don’t worry; Mike will have worse moments of horrid moods, promise.

Kiks: Just you wait. I have the inspiration, just not the will. And now, the time. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! And break’s over…. just kidding, unless it really is, then you can tell Clay it was my fault you’re late and he’s old. That’ll twist that metaphorical knife deeper…

Gena: You deserved a dedication! I’m thrilled you liked the chapter and I know, I do set Mike and Layne up for those roles, don’t I? Merit is cute in my mind, too. I always saw him as a young Guy Pearce from his Snowy River days with shorter hair. I can send you a pic sometime if you want. I have tons of him and Mike. Boredom does crazy things, let me tell you. Well, that’s enough from me, hope you enjoyed!

Tinlizzy80: You know, I love getting reviews from you. So structured and on the point and just plain flattering! I’m really glad you found so much to like and that it was all so believable. I really tried – could you tell? – so yay! Anyways, thanks a bunch, as always. Always means a lot to get a review like that from someone you’re a huge fan of, on and off the writing circuit. Hope you enjoyed this one.

Well, that’s it for me. Hope you all enjoyed and all that stuff. What? It’s late! All my brilliance is spent for now and the Blue Oyster Cult is still going strong!

Any comments at all are welcome and yada yada…

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Sonah