Blaise reached in through her car window, capturing her lips in a lingering kiss. Niamh had never viewed a kiss as sweet, but that is exactly how his had felt. He drove her back to his house so that she could make her way back home in her own car. Blaise let out a heavy sigh, and Niamh didn't know if she were supposed to continue kissing him or break it. She awkwardly opened her eyes to see what she could of his face. His eyebrows were posed in a contorted way. Pulling her head back, she watched him take in a deep breath committing the feel of her lips to memory.

         "Keep your cool while I'm gone , how bout it?" She leaned over her steering wheel in a cheesy manner winking at him. He reached in to cup her face. He tugged on her ear lobe and thought hard.

     " I'll try." Was his quiet response. Backing up, he finally gave her the room she needed to pull off. She did so quickly, glancing up into her rearview mirror to see him still standing in the spot she left him.

     Niamh mounted her phone onto her windshield, leaving her hands free to roam about the wheel. She rolled down her window, letting the hard wind rip across her face.She kept it quiet in the car usually while she drove. Today was no different.  Coming to a stop light, she was given the opportunity to close her eyes and collect herself. She thought back to Blaise's kiss. The man was courteous-much more than she has ever been introduced to-and she couldn't find a reason to dislike him as much as her family did. They each barely knew him, and with Niamh coming around to him, she could see only the parts that would make him an amiable person. She didn't view him as a stepford, he had his own faults and she could see that.

     Deep in the recesses of her mind Niamh became lost. The screeching sound of her ringtone set for her mother dragged her back to reality. She was startled; she couldn't help but fumble with the telephone trying to unlock its screen pad. The drivers behind her laid on their horns as the light had turned green for quite some time. She raised her hands apologizing to the man behind her.

     " Hello?"

    "Niamh, what's all that noise?" Lorraine asked at the yelling voices coming through her opened windows. Niamh rolled them up as fast as she could, blocking out the curses thrown her way.

     "People and their road rage. Do you need something?" She asked settling back into the groove of things.

     " Can I take a gander and guess that means you're coming home?"

   "Yeah. I've become fed up with the bull."

   "It didn't have to be bull, you made it this way."

   "No Mama-" Niamh halted her words, not wanting to begin pointing fingers." I'm just ready to be in my place, smelling my air, eating my food."

   " I wouldn't want you anywhere else.I'll be so happy knowing that you're home and not out running around where I can't find you."

   "You could always find me." Niamh mumbled.

       "How am I supposed to know if you're in safe places? Have you been watching your surroundings? You'd be so caught up in other things that you wouldn't even catch the slightest out of place things."

      "Mama, I'm alive aren't I? I take notice of everything, not a child here. I am the most aware unaware person."

   "Yeah well, this just sits better with me. So is it okay to say that no throats will be slit? At least until something else comes along to stir us up?"

    "I'm not up for it, but if push comes to shove...."

    "No one is going to hammer you. I'll promise to try not to."

   " Is this our peace treaty?"

    "You could call it that."

   " Hmm. I don't think I trust this."

    " Well then, I can't help you. I can only give you my word that I will try my best protect you."

    "Here you go starting it again. What are you protecting me from? There is nothing to be a guard dog for!"

    "I know what you're thinking. You probably think I am the biggest fool you have ever met. I'm sure if I had grown up with a mother, I would have-"

   " Mama, don't go there please."

  "No listen. Everything probably sounds dumb coming from my mouth. Useless. Questionable. Whatever you may think of it. You're at the age where pretty soon, all that I have said, all that I have tried to enforce will suddenly be clear."

    "I can't drive with so many distractions. Let me let you go now..."

    "You talk on the phone all of the time when you drive! Don't give me that shit."

    "Well today I don't feel as confident in my amazing skills. Don't take this the wrong way-there is no ill intent at all-but I'm hanging up." Niamh turned off the Bluetooth above her head,restoring the quietness back into her car. She chose to drive the speed limit and take her time. Maybe even some back roads just for the hell of it.

Ooooooooooooooooo

    Lorraine sat at the kitchen table, gripping the phone in her soft yet hardened hands.

    " What am I supposed to do Lord? I know you're only using us, but I've been here before. Give me a sign that this will see itself through." She prayed.

    Lorraine had been on her way out of the building, wanting to get some grocery shopping done before the day was over. Just like the days before earlier in the week, she caught a glimpse of a strange man linger around. He had the same type of aura as the men from The Family. She tried to ignore the thought of them snaking their way back in to their lives to suffocate them. He had made no outward sign that he was there for bad business, but she just knew it.

    She could feel it.

    She came back into the house immediately phoning her daughter. The feeling was too close to a old one she had when she thought she had let Niamh slip right through her legs. Hearing her voice allowed for her to breathe again. Easing her heart.

     The lock on the front door sounded as Niall walked in to see his sulking mother.

      " Why are you sitting over there like that? Your face will get stuck if you don't fix it." He threw his gym bag beside the couch along with his shoes. His doctor had given him a clean bill of health after getting his brace removed from his leg. A natural athlete, Niall sprung right back into his exercising routine, wanting to build himself back to his original health. He took a seat from across his mother, reaching out to caress her hands.

      " What's up?" he asked lovingly.

     Lorraine's eyes filled with tears, as she bit her lips."Your sister."

    Niall felt a hard blow to his middle, sinking back into the chair. The air in his throat caught, choking him. He had no idea what her cryptic tone meant, and could only think the worse. His palms instantly became sweaty.

     "Wha...What about Nia mama? Where is she? What about her?!" The urgency in his voice snapped Lorraine out of her gloomy reverie.

    " Oh no no! Nothing bad per se. I was just thinking....I just got off the phone with her and she says she's on her way home for good."

   Niall's body shook as he released his relief. " I thought.... I've seen some people and just figured."

    " People?"

     " It's my imagination." He said waving the comment off." How long until she gets here?" Niall was going through withdrawal for his sister. They have been close their entire lives. Niall and Niamh. Niamh and Niall. That's all he has ever known. She was his best friend, the only person he trusted as much as he did. It was taking a toll on him, not having her around the house to tease and love on. He couldn't see how some siblings could be so distant after they "grew up." Their relationship is the same now as it was twenty some years ago.  He knew that everything wouldn't be peachy when she returned, that he couldn't pick up where they left off before this wedge came between them.

    He just needed to see her.

     " No we aren't Niall." Lorraine read her son's mind as he watched her unwavering.

     "You don't think that we've blown this up bigger than need be?It could be just our fear getting to us. It doesn't have to get to her too." Niall seemed to be the only one showing regret in their behavior. Suddenly, things that they were feuding over seemed so trivial, and like they should have no part in any of their lives.

     " Niall, we could never make this as big as it really is. Do you think I'm wrong?" Lorraine became defensive.

     " Paranoid, maybe." He said quietly. The heat radiated off of her and he looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes.

      " You know. You of all people know. I can't let the fact that she has just so conveniently met these people.  There's no way on God's green earth that this is pure coincidence Niall..."

    "Mom-"

     " I know what you meant when you said ‘people'; You've seen them too Niall and that is one obvious clue right there, right underneath our noses. I have no idea if after all of these years, they've come back to finish with what they started. I wouldn't put it past them, and I'll be damned if I sit back with this aching feeling and not be on my toes. They've had us running for so long Niall, it's time for us to come to a stop." His mother banged her fist against the glass table.

    Niall understood where she was coming from, why she was so adamant on keeping Niamh close to her. He can still vision the night that they ran around town looking for Niamh when she had turned up missing.

       Lorraine and Niall entered the corner store, ringing the bell above the door.

     " Find you something quick okay? Try to keep it under a dollar." Lorraine encouraged him. They had came to get Niamh her favorite bubble gum since the hospital gift shop had been long closed. Lorraine knew that her time could be used more wisely trying to figure out what to do with her kids, than keeping Niamh from being sad or upset. She wanted to make sure she kept both of her kids calm as they went through this surprise "relocating."

     " I don't want anything." Niall held onto her arm tighter, not wanting to be too far from his mother. For the past two days they have been ducking and diving the men that worked for Mr. Saslow, he couldn't understand why.

     " Come on now, who knows the next time we'll have time to do this." Reaching the counter, she placed the pack of gum for the cashier to scan." Hurry up." She patted him on his behind as he finally dashed off to get something of his choosing. Lorraine looked to the man behind the register, giving him a weak smile.

    " Long night?" He asked striking up casual conversation.

   "And tiring." Lorraine didn't want to be rude and ignore his obvious attempts at being friendly. Her mind was too caught up in checking outside of the window, making sure she didn't see a certain black suburban hiding off in the shadows.

     She had managed to skip town with both of her kids untouched. They would've been further, but she knew NIamh couldn't make it for too long. She had been in a hospital receiving medical attention a couple of weeks ago, but out of nowhere Daniel had dropped the bomb on her that he couldn't afford to add Niamh in to his own problems.

    Problems.

   Lorraine knew things were amiss when he had the nerve to pull the only support she had ever asked from him for their daughter. She never thought that it would have come to this now. Her position with The Family had been terminated.  After how faithful she had been to him, after everything she had given up under his orders, he decided to fire her.

     Getting fired by Daniel wasn't like any old firing. Just years before talk of Carol's ‘termination' had been up in the air among the house employees. Anyone being relieved of their duties was unheard of. The possibility of Carol losing her job hopped around like wildfire. Lorraine could still picture the panic among the woman's face when news got around to her.

      The day before she was to be called in front of the committee, Carol had vanished. Lorraine couldn't process how a wife-a mother-could just up and leave her husband and son one day. Of course then she had no idea how grave her decision would turn out to be.

    The rumors were that Carol was sent off to live underground out in the desert, along with others who weren't following procedure.

    Or that she was dead.

    There stood Lorraine in the same position that Carol had managed to avoid. Hearing the same exact words. The only difference between the two women was that Lorraine had absolutely no intentions of leaving the home alone.

     " It seems as though you aren't meeting the criteria anymore Lorraine dear." Smiled Daniel.

    Joseph stood off to the side not saying a word-not making any eye contact-as she stood there speechless.

   Finding her voice again she had said," This is what Carol got out of. Wasn't it?" The gleam in Daniel's eyes grew stronger as his smile turned into a sneer.

    " I'm not Carol, Daniel."

    " Carol who?" He asked snidely.

      Lorraine knew that soon that would become her status among him. She turned around and bolted out of the door, racing off to gather her children and get away from the hell. She left Joseph alone in the room to look scathingly at the older man before him.

     "What did she mean by that?" He said, clenching his fists.

   " Oh don't get worked up. I saved you the heartache Joe."

   For a whole day, they made progress moving along without getting shot down on the spot. She figured she could breathe for that much, but knew not to let her guard down for too long.

    " I got chocolate Mama." Niall returned putting the candy on the counter.

    " You don't like chocolate Niall. Please just get something you want."

   " I got it because you said it calms you down. We can all split it, ‘cause I want to be calm too." Lorraine sighed as she rubbed her son's hair, accepting his decision. She felt blessed to have such a caring young man under her care; he always thought of the girls in his life.

    Paying for the items, they started back out of the store toward the hospital. Niall latched onto her arm again as they walked. Bright headlights shined on them as a suburban whizzed past them on the street.

    "Fuck!" She screamed " Run baby, we have to get there faster." Their feet pounded away on the pavement as she dragged Niall behind her.

    "What is it?" He asked breathlessly. Lorraine couldn't answer him, her panic overriding every sense. When they reached the sliding doors to the hospital, they ran up to the pediatric ward trying to get to Niamh's room.

     " Oh, Mrs. Deges! Your husband already checked her out, you should have met him down in the lobby. She seemed so excited to leave." The young energetic nurse stopped them before they got around the front desk. She had been so helpful in the time that they had been here, but now every nice accommodation she had made for them was thrown out.

     " I'm not married!" She wailed sinking down to her feet. The torn sounds leaving her throat brought all attention to them.

   "Get up mama..." Niall asked jumping up and down, trying to not let himself cry. He tugged at her shoulders, unable to move her larger body.

    " He said that he was....Miss Deges he said that he was your husband!" The nurse realized the error she had made." Oh God." She panted out knowing that she may have just jeopardized her job-a little girl's life-by releasing her to a man she had never seen before.

    " I'll get my boss Miss Deges. We'll call the police..."

   "No! You've done enough!" Lorraine pushed herself to her feet seething with rage as she pushed the young woman out of her way. She raced off to the room, to see that it all was really happening. Her bed had already been fitted with new sheets. Lorraine began to destroy the bedding,throwing it around the room.

    " Wait! There's a piece of paper." Cried out Niall as he ducked underneath the sheets his mother was tossing around. He crawled back from underneath them, thrusting the paper her way. Lorraine's eyes scanned the familiar address. Her hysteria went away, and was replaced with murderous intentions. Her face hardened as she crumbled up the paper and stuffed it into her jacket pocket.

     "Come on Niall." She said, leading the way out of the room.

      Niall thought back to the home they had went in search for. His mother brought him to an elderly couple's home, one she seemed to know by memory. They had stumbled upon Niamh eating in the couple's kitchen, the wife had came forward looking worried to death. Lorraine had looked at her with no warmth at all. The woman was grouped in the same category as her son. She could only look at the woman she once saw as her mother with distrust and disgust.

     Joseph's intentions were overlooked that night. He wanted to save them the only way he knew how. Daniel had let them get a head start, wanting to give them some false hope that in no way they were being followed. The period didn't last long. He had known of their whereabouts the whole time, and raced off to warn them, but had only seen Niamh there. He couldn't believe that the nurses released her to him, but he was thankful. He thought that by taking her to his parent's he could lead Lorraine and Niall there out of Daniel's radar. Always a questioning child, Niamh had asked him countless times why they weren't "home."

      "You win! Joey said you'd be here faster, but you weren't!"  Niamh stood up in her chair jumping up and down as she clapped her hands." You can't get the treasure. I'm the treasure Mommy! You have to do a challenge I come up with." Niamh innocently began conjuring up a way for her mother to finish the game she thought they were playing.

     "Lorraine..." Mrs. Kincaid said lightly seeing the beautiful woman before her." What's going on dear?" She took a step closer to her, reaching out her hands, but was quickly shot down as Lorraine turned on her giving her a look that shook her knees. She had no idea why her son had rushed to their home after years of being away. The child he had dropped off completely confused her, she had no idea what to do with Niamh except watching her like Joseph so desperately asked.

      Her eyes fell to the young boy pulling his screaming sister down from the chair.

    He was a replica of Blaise and Joseph.

   " No! Niall! Put me down now!" Niamh shrieked.

    "Niamh! Hush!" Lorraine commanded ending the fuss of her children. She went to a wall in the kitchen, picking up their few bags.

   "Grab your brother's hand Niamh. We're leaving."

  "But the game mommy-"

   "Don't make me say it again."

   "Lorraine, won't you slow down a bit. Explain what's going on please. I have cookies the kids can have let's go sit down." Joseph's mother tried to console the angered mother.

      She went to the curly head boy caressing his undeniable face as he looked up at her.

   "Get your hands off of him!"

   "Jesus Lorraine is he-"

     "Get a good look. Make sure you tell that bitch you call a son to go to hell."

     The children had become quiet as the intensity of their mother's voice rocked through the room.

    " Mama, I heard those bad words. Niamh's in the room." The little girl whispered.

     Picking up both children, Lorraine stormed out of the room and off into the night, in search of another destination.

     "It's not like how it was then Mom."

     "You can't be too sure."

      "I don't know how many times I have to tell you; she doesn't remember anything so let's drop it. Please for our sanity."

     "That's what messes with my mind Niall! Why doesn't she, how couldn't she?" Lorraine never had an answer to why her daughter seemed to have just dropped all remembrance of the life they had before they were on their own.

     Niall shook his head, not knowing what to tell her." Hell, I can't remember half the things from my childhood unless it was a big thing. Maybe it's just slipped from her over the years."

       "It's just unordinary."

        "Well we can't explain it."

    " Explain what exactly?" Niamh stood at the doorway peering in on the two's conversation. They hadn't heard her come in, and had no idea how much she had heard, or what she could take from their words.