For three days Father Sibeal MacManus had been stuck on a boat with a rowdy lot of workers who had little care for the word of God or for a priest. For three days Father MacManus had been quietly conspiring with Father Daly, his traveling companion. For three days he had been trying to keep an antsy redhead preoccupied. For three days he had tried to keep her from breaking away from the safety of her room and doing something rash. For three days he had watched as the woman tried to deal with the vast array of emotions that kept flooding her mind. She was troubled and he knew he could not help her with her troubles. He did not fully understand them, either.

Three days had passed, though, and Sibeal found himself staring at the dock, watching as the men unloaded the things and headed inland for a drink…or ten. Finally, all of the turmoil the poor girl had suffered would come to an end. Sibeal moved back down to the lower part of the ship and had Father Daly aid him in removing her things and getting them into the car that waited near the docks. The two priests spoke in hushed whispers as the woman stood nearby, watching the cheerful people pass her, either loading and unloading or making jokes as they headed to the town to enjoy themselves.

With everything loaded into the car, he helped the young woman into the back seat and slid into the driver's seat, looking back at her momentarily. "It will be a while before we reach where we must go. Rest, child. I know you are weary." It was obvious by the dark circles under the girl's eyes, and Sibeal knew rest would do the woman well. As she settled into the seat, eyes closing only briefly, he began to maneuver the car out of the docking parking lot and onto the main road. He had truly hoped the girl would go to sleep, if only because she needed it.

That and he really did not want her knowing exactly where they were living. Of course, she was quite unfamiliar with the territory, but still, Sibeal could not be too careful when it came down to family. His nephews had risked their lives doing what God commanded them to do, and while Sibeal was a recent convert to the holy church, he felt that it was their right and duty to protect them. After all, the world was better off without the low-life scum running around trying to control it, was it not? The Church had covered up many things, and while they could not cover up what Connor and Murphy had done, they could protect them. That's all Sibeal had asked of them.

That's all that he had asked and that's what they had done. The elderly man had far too much time to think about everything during the drive. And what was the young woman thinking about? Nothing, apparently. She was fast asleep in the back seat, curled up within herself. Sibeal looked at her only briefly, seeing now why the boys had been so fond of her—she vaguely resembled Annabelle. From his recollection of her reaction in the restaurant, she also had Annabelle's attitude. Heaving a sigh, he turned his attention back to the road, noting the markers that alerted him to the distance they had left to the cottage.

What seemed like hours had passed, at least it seemed that way to Sibeal, and when he finally pulled up to the house, he crossed himself, hoping things went well between Adrienne and Noah. Taking into consideration that neither of the boys had exited the house, Sibeal assumed they were still gone, probably working out in the pastures still. Sliding out of the driver's seat, he moved back to open up Adrienne's door, gently shaking her shoulder. "Wake up, child. We're here."

The moment Sibeal had shook Adrienne's arm, she was awake, looking around at their surroundings. They were here, he said. They were here! She felt her heart begin to race, wondering how things would go. Removing herself from the back seat, she studied the small house, trying to get a feel of what things were like now. Back in Boston, they had been happy with the few things they had. The grimy little illegal loft was home; now this little cottage was home. She followed Sibeal to the back of the vehicle and pulled out the last bag that Sibeal was unable to grab. "Are they…here?"

She finally spoke and Sibeal felt worried. "I don' think so, child. They're probably workin' still. But—" Before he could get out what he was to say, the door opened and Noah appeared. He smiled over at Noah and then motioned Adrienne to walk to the house. "Noah's here, though."

"Noah?" she whispered back to him, wondering just who this man was. Before he spoke, she studied his features closely, taking note of the little things—the tattoo on his hand, his graying beard, the long, slightly curly hair.

"Put 'er t'ings in tha boy's room, Sibeal." The man's tone was firm, almost commanding. The priest nodded his head and moved past the man, giving the two a little time alone. "Yer Adrienne?" Noah, like Sibeal, studied the young woman, taking note of her appearance. He came to the same conclusion that Sibeal had—she reminded him of Annabelle, and for a moment, he felt a twinge of pain. He missed Annabelle and now those old regrets began to crop up. Pushing the emotions back, though, he extended his hand. "I'm Noah."

For a moment she was unsure as to whether or not she should accept his hand, but slowly she placed her hand within his and gave it a gentle shake. "Yes, I'm Adrienne." Releasing his hand, she looked around, and then looked back to him. "So, apparently you know who I am, but I don't know who you are."

"Aye."

Well that sounded a lot like Murphy and that was frustrating. As Sibeal appeared at the door, Noah shook his hand in thanks. "Come in for a cup o' tea," he offered to the man, who turned around to go back into the house. Looking back to Adrienne, he motioned to the door. "Come in, lass. Have a cup o' tea, too."

Given an invitation to enter the house, Adrienne moved inside, studying the quaint little interior. It was a complete change from what they had back in Boston, but this seemed more…natural for the two. She did not understand why this seemed more natural but it did.

Lost in those thoughts, she was unaware of Noah taking her bag from her and motioning for her to sit down at a chair near the fire with her back to the door. Sibeal was beside the fire, working on getting the water to boil. With the bag put away, Noah came back to prepare three mugs for the tea. The house was silent, an almost suffocating silence, and the man knew that the young woman was nervous. She sat rigidly in the chair, watching the two men in curious silence. Then, he noticed her expression had changed. Something had registered in her mind. A light bulb had went off.

"You're Il Duce!"

Sibeal seemed tense, looking between Noah and Adrienne, and all Noah could do was smile. "Aye." Without another word he went back to what he was doing, leaving the young woman sitting there in suspense.

"But…who are you? Why are you here?"

Sibeal was about to speak out, explain things, but Noah only shook his head, holding his hand up. "In a little while, Sibeal." Looking over at Adrienne, he handed her the mug and then went to fetch the kettle. "Let's 'ave a cup o' tea first, lass."

Knowing that there would be no need to argue with the man—there was no point in ever arguing with the Twins, after all—Adrienne waited patiently for Noah to fill her mug. Picking up the string of the tea bag, she began to move the cloth in and out of the steaming hot water, eyeing the liquid as it began to turn from that crystal clear color to a darker, richer drink. Who was Noah? Why was he Il Duce? Why had he been with the Twins when they had executed Papa Joe in public in the courthouse that day? Drawing her attention back to the two men as they settled down into the chair, she studied both, trying to figure out their connections with the two men she had known and loved.

Finally, someone spoke, breaking the silence. "Perhaps we should tell her now?" It was Sibeal, looking at Noah, who was staring down Adrienne.

"Tell me what?" She was nervous, to say the least. Were they going to tell her that the Twins were dead? That they did not want to see her anymore? Were they going to tell her that the Twins hated her now? Or maybe they were going to tell her that they had moved on. Any of the options in her mind were not pleasant, to say the least.

Noah leaned forward, noticing the slightly troubled expression on Adrienne's face. "Aye. I s'pose we shoul'." Placing the mug down on the table, he looked at the young woman, wondering where to begin. "I'm sure yer wonderin' just who I am."

"Well, to tell you the truth…yes, yes I am. I'm a little fuckin' confused about all of this. I know you're 'Il Duce' but that's about it. I mean, how do you know Connor and Murphy?"

He knew she was about to begin rambling off questions so he cut the young woman off before she got started. "All righ', lass. Slow down." He knew the boys would be home soon, or hopefully they would be, so he needed to get their discussion over with soon enough.

"I'm sorry. It's just…so much has happened in the last few days."

"I know. To answer yer question, I'm the boys' da." Her reaction was expected—she was shocked. He could tell it by the expression on her face and the way she stared at him.

"But they said…you were gone…"

"Aye, lass. I was. I was in jail. Dey got me ou', Papa Joe did, to kill tha boy Rocco. I didn' know my boys were wit' 'im. We were brought back together in 'ard times. Joe 'ad killed Rocco, and when I went in to do my job, dey were dere."

Things were beginning to make some sense, now. She could see why he was with them on the day they executed Papa Joe, especially if Joe was the reason Rocco was dead. "But how did you know it was them? They said that you left when they were young."

"Aye, I did leave when dey were youn'. Seems my Annabelle taught dem righ', though." Noah smiled to himself, glad to know that Annabelle had taught his sons and that she had taught them well. He watched Adrienne try to digest everything, try to wrap her mind around it. She was not having that hard of a time. She was everything the boys had said she was, so far.

"Does Annabelle know?"

"No. She talks wit' tha boys when dey go inta town. She knows dey are home, but not abou' everyt'ing else."

"Are they okay with it?"

"Dey accepted it, lass. All dey can do."

"When can I see them?"

"When dey come 'ome. Dey are ou' wit' the lambs."

So they would be home that night. She was glad to know she would get to see them, and hopefully soon. Remembering the cup in her hand, she took a long drink of it and then looked back to Noah, who was still watching her.

"What?"

"Not'in'. Just seein' why my boys fell so hard for ye."

Cheeks coloring red, Adrienne looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. So they had told Noah about her. From the way he spoke, they had spoken about her often. "What did they say?"

"Dey said you were amazin' in lots of ways. Smart, beautiful, kind…ye remind me of Annabelle in some ways. I see why dey fell for ye, because dey do love their mother." Noah loved Annabelle as well, and sometimes he wished he had told her that more often. "If ye love my boys as much as ye say ye do, then ye are a wonderful woman, Adrienne." Of course he had no doubt that she loved them—she was here, after all. She had traveled all the way to Ireland to see his two sons, as well. She loved them, he did not doubt that.

"Thank you, Noah, thank you very much."

"Yer welcome, lass." Looking over at the window, Noah listened intently to the noises outside. "Sounds like the boys are home." He sipped at his own tea then before rising to go put the large, cast iron pot over the fire. "Are ye ready, lass?"

Adrienne looked over at Noah and then to the door. She smiled at him then, trying to force the tears back that she felt rising in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm ready." She felt that, if she was standing, she would not be standing long once they walked in. Once more her emotions were tumultuous, and all she wanted to do was get the initial "hellos" over with. Did they know she was there? Did they know she was coming?

Draining the mug of the tea, Adrienne felt her heart leap to her chest as the sound of heavy footfalls landed on the porch outside. Her eyes moved over to Noah and then to Sibeal, and then to the door. The moment the knob of the door turned, she felt her heart stop pounding.

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A/N: Comments and critique welcomed. And yes, there will be more!