by Alex Tryst

Disclaimers: See Part 1

Feedback: Feel free to drop me a line at alextryst@e-scribblers.com.

Copyright © January, 2005 by Alex Tryst. All Rights Reserved.

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That night when the firefighter arrived, she parked her bike in Anna's spot as usual before heading up to the apartment. Even though she had a key to the place, she decided she better knock, since she hadn't met Anna's father before. Moments later Blair answered the door.

"Dylan, hey. Come on in."

"Thanks. How are you? I haven't seen you in awhile, but from what I've heard you've been keeping Michael busy," she joked.

The other woman smiled wickedly. "You better believe it. Michael's actually here. Thought you could use a friendly face since you've never met James before."

"Thanks. Is he here yet?"

"Yeah. We were just waiting on you. You'll be fine," she assured, leading the way to the kitchen.

When they entered, Anna smiled as she went to hug her girlfriend. Dylan returned the embrace but didn't try more as steely blue eyes studied her behind wire-framed glasses. She wasn't sure what Anna might have told her father, so she played it safe. Once the brunette released her, Anna turned to her father and said, "Dad, I want you to meet Dylan Flannery."

He smiled at her as he extended his hand. "James Porter. Nice to meet you Dylan."

"Hi. Nice to meet you too," she replied, taking the offered hand.

Anna could sense the redhead's nervousness but didn't say anything as she announced, "Well, dinner is ready. Why don't we all go into the dining room?" Everyone agreed, adjourning to the room next door. Anna quickly pointed out where everyone was supposed to sit, allowing her father and Dylan to be at opposite ends of the table.

As the redhead took her seat, she smiled. "You learned how to draw the shamrock in the head of the Guinness," she observed, picking up her beer.

"That's cool, Anna. Did Keane teach you that?" Michael asked, looking at his as well.

"Actually Davin showed me how. He said that was the traditional way to serve it, so I might as well learn it."

"What do you all have down there? Is that Guinness beer?" James questioned.

"Yes, sir," Dylan replied.

James smiled. "Oh, that takes me back to when I was your age. Guinness was my favorite too. Anna, do you have another one of those?"

"You want a beer instead of wine?" she asked in dismay.

"If it's okay."

"Sure. I've just never seen you drink a beer in your life."

"Well, tonight I feel like a change."

"All right. One Guinness coming right up. Blair, do you want one?"

"Can't. I have a big shoot tomorrow morning."

With that Anna disappeared into the kitchen to get another beer. When she brought it to her father, he thanked her. "That is neat how you drew that shamrock on there. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Dylan's brother Davin taught me. Their family owns a pub. Not too long ago Dylan had sprained her ankle, and I offered to fill in her shifts until she was on her feet again."

"You've been working at a pub?" he questioned.

Seeing the look on her father's face, she explained, "Just for fun and to be helpful."

He shook his head slightly but didn't comment further. Instead he took a sip of the beer. "Oh, that's nice. So, Dylan, your family owns a bar?"

"Yes, my father does. It's Flannery's Pub down in the theater district. The rest of my family and I work there on occasion."

"So what do you do then?"

"I'm a firefighter. Michael and I actually work in the same fire company."

"And we're in a band together too," Michael added. "Dylan's our lead singer."

"Oh really? What kind of music?"

"Mostly Irish but we also do contemporary stuff. Anything that has a part for the piano is always good, because that's my main instrument. Michael is the bassist. We play different pubs around the city. We're actually playing at my father's pub on the 11th. We love to have an audience of people we know, so please feel free to join us. I hope Anna and Blair are going to be there."

Anna nodded. "I wouldn't miss it."

"Neither would I," Blair added.

James smiled warmly at Dylan. "Well, thank you for that invitation. I may just have to join them if it fits my schedule." For the rest of the meal the four younger people carried on conversation as James merely observed. Every once in awhile, Dylan would look up and see him staring intently at her, but after a couple of beers her uneasiness with it waned. However, once dessert and coffee were on the table and a lull in chat occurred, James turned to his daughter and mentioned, "It's a shame Julie couldn't be here tonight. I haven't seen her in awhile. The two of you have kept me so out of the loop on your wedding plans."

"Wedding plans?" Michael inquired in confusion before Blair could deter him. "You're getting married, Anna?"

The brunette didn't answer at first as her eyes immediately went to Dylan. The firefighter showed no emotion at the comment, but she could tell it had upset her. "Yeah, Anna's engaged. I take it you didn't know?" James asked.

"I knew," Dylan stated.

"Have you met Julie yet? She's quite a prize for my little girl."

"I've had occasion to cross paths with her," the tall woman answered.

"It doesn't sound like you were impressed."

Dylan shrugged, trying desperately to hide her own feelings of hurt that Anna hadn't even bothered to tell her father the truth about them. "I just don't take kindly to anyone that would raise a hand to a woman, but that's me. Their relationship is their business, and Anna's going to do what's best for her. I suppose Julie can take care of her better than anyone else."

"What? Julie tried to hit you?" he questioned his daughter in concern.

The brunette tried to downplay it. "It was just a misunderstanding, Dad. I don't want to talk about it now."

However he didn't appeared satisfied with that answer as he stared at the redhead. "Dylan, what happened?"

She shook her head. "That's between them, sir. I won't tell a lady's secrets." Just then her cell phone rang, breaking the awkwardness. Fishing it out of her pocket, she saw it was her brother and silently praised him that he had remembered to call as they had agreed. "Excuse a moment," she said, rising for a moment and then answering it. When she was in the privacy of the den, she whispered, "Am I glad you called. This is awkward as hell. Michael's here with Blair and Anna's father just brought up her ex in conversation. You have to get me out of here."

"Didn't you tell Anna that you had to babysit tonight anyway?"

"Yeah."

"Well, tell her that I called to remind you and then make me your excuse to leave. Tell her we decided on an earlier movie or something."

"But Michael's here. He knows you're at work."

"Say Stacie asked you to watch the kids, so we could have an evening to ourselves. I get off soon. Say she wanted you to take them now, so she could prepare the apartment. Say something and then get out of there."

"All right. I'll think of something. God, and this evening was okay until James mentioned their upcoming wedding. Michael looked totally lost and confused. He was genuinely shocked."

"I'm sure he was, considering he's seen the two of you sucking face for the last two months. I can't believe she hasn't told her father she broke up with that woman. That's just awful."

"Yeah, well, she's scared, but still I thought I was going to meet him tonight as her girlfriend, and it just hasn't turned out that way. I don't even know what to think right now."

"Well, just tell them you have to come home. We'll sort it out when you get here."

"All right. Thanks for remembering to call. This is just torturous. I owe you."

"Just get here safely. That's all I need. See you soon."

"Okay. Bye." Taking a deep breath, Dylan returned to the dining room, glad to see that everyone else had gone about eating in her absence. "I'm sorry about that. That was Stacie. She was just reminding me that I had to get home to babysit. I'm really sorry I have to cut this so short, but she's planning a special evening for her and Davin, and I said I'd take the kids."

"You can't leave now. You haven't even touched your dessert," Anna said with a pleading look. She could tell Dylan was upset, but she didn't know how to correct it at that moment.

"I'm really sorry, Anna. You know they don't spend enough time together as it is. I'm just trying to help them, and you know I would do anything to help my family." Moving to where James was sitting, she extended her hand. "Mr. Porter, it was nice to meet you. I'm sorry I have to end this night so early."

He stood and shook her hand. "That's all right. I understand. Family is important."

With a nod she turned to Blair and Michael and said good bye. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Michael."

"I'll walk you out," Anna said.

"Don't do that. I know my way out. Thank you for dinner. Good bye."

"Good night, Dylan. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Silence encompassed the room as the redhead left. Anna just stood there looking at her retreating form until the front door closed before moving to the blue eyes of her father. She could tell he was suspicious of something as he looked at her quizzically. Finally he remarked, "You better be careful with that one, Anna. She looks at you with stars in her eyes."

"I know," she admitted quietly, breaking their gaze. Looking at her friends, she tried to compose herself as she asked, "Anyone want more coffee or dessert?"

Blair shook her head. "No. We should probably be going too. Michael and I both have early mornings."

"But it's early," she objected.

"All the same. I think it's time to go."

"Well, okay. This was not the way I had intended dinner to go, though," the brunette said as she let her friends say good bye to her father. Once she had walked them out, she went into the dining room, but her dad wasn't there. She found him in the den, looking out the window.

"That was certainly an interesting meal," he said, not turning from the view.

"It didn't go exactly how I intended."

"And exactly how was it supposed to go?" he inquired, turning to look at her. "Did you actually think I wouldn't notice that something was going on between you and Dylan? Tell me. How long?"

"Dad, you don't understand."

"Don't understand? Oh, I understand what I saw. She couldn't keep her eyes off you the whole night, Anna. She tried. I suppose it was to throw me off, but she failed miserably. That woman has feelings for you. That's obvious. What I want to know is how long this has been going on and if Julie knows about it?"

At the sound of her ex's name, Anna fell into the couch. Her father immediately came and sat next to her. "A few months," she whispered as tears flooded over her face. "And yes, Julie knows."

"You can't tell me she's okay with it."

"She's not."

"Did she break up with you? Is that what Dylan's story was about her trying to hit you?"

Anna shook her head. "I broke up with her, Dad."

"Hopefully not for Dylan."

"No. We broke up before I even met Dylan."

"So, you've been broken up for months? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid you'd be mad. You love Julie. You talk about her all the time. You were so proud of your future daughter-in-law, and I just didn't know how to tell you."

He nodded. "Why did you break up?"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Well, then why did she try to hit you? I won't stand for that."

"I don't want to talk about that either, Dad."

"Then what do you want to talk about? You have some explaining to do."

"I know, but if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about it now. Right now I have to think of a way to make this right with Dylan."

He nodded. "Well, if I were her, I would be mad at you, Anna, but I would be able to forgive you too. You should be able to work it out. Tell me though. Is this serious between you?"

She shrugged. "I love her, Dad. I can't help it."

"She's a firefighter. She doesn't make a lot of money, Anna. She can't care for you that way. I want someone who can take care of you. Not only that she puts her life on the line every day. Is that something you can live with? I don't think I could if she was my daughter-in-law. It would drive me crazy to think of her out there."

By the time Dylan got home that night, she bypassed Davin and Stacie's place in her anger over the way the evening turned out and headed straight for her own apartment. Slamming the door she bounded into her kitchen and grabbed a case of Guinness sitting in her refrigerator before heading up to the rooftop for solace. She took a seat on the swing under the arbor as she popped open her first can and took a long sip. The feeling of the dark liquid sliding down the back of her throat made her sigh. She couldn't believe what had happened. She had tried to hide her feelings from Anna's father when he mentioned Julie but wasn't sure she had quite been successful. She just couldn't believe that after two months of them being together the brunette still hadn't confessed the breakup to her father. It made her feel used, far more so than even the night they met, and her heart hurt deeply from Anna's inconsideration.

For the rest of the night, Dylan stayed on the rooftop consuming her case of beer and thinking about everything in her life. Suddenly her relationship with Anna didn't seem as strong as she thought it had the propensity to be, but even more her thoughts lay elsewhere. Danny plagued her as she thought of him. She recalled that day to herself, the way she did everyday, but after three years, it was still as fresh as it had been when it happened. The pain of losing her brother, her best friend, her confidant, was just not something she could even express, much less overcome, and she knew she would never be able to have the world's understanding of her anguish.

In the morning the redhead slowly rose from her seat on the roof, knowing that she had to go to work. She knew it was not going to be easy to go that day, but it was her duty. Heading down to her apartment, she showered and then took the subway to work instead of her bike. When she arrived, no one said anything to her except a morning greeting. She knew without asking why, because when she saw Michael, he gave her such a pained expression of sympathy. However, she ignored him and stumbled to her locker. Opening it she just stared into it aimlessly until she heard her brother's voice behind her.

"Morning, Dylan. How are you feeling?"

"Life sucks, Davin," she grumbled, looking over her shoulder at him.

He nodded but then looked at her closer. "Dylan, are you drunk?" he whispered, looking around to make sure no one else could hear them. "Your eyes are bloodshot."

"What if I am? What are you going to do about it?"

"You can't be here drunk. You know that. Do you want to get suspended? You have to go home sick. You can't stay here like this. It's dangerous. You aren't going to be able to pull this off."

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't. Don't be stupid."

"I'm not stupid, Davin! I said I'd be fine!" she screamed, pushing by him.

"Dylan!" he yelled, following her into the garage.

"Don't yell at me, Davin! I know what I'm doing!"

"The hell you do! If the captain sees you like this, you're going to be in trouble!"

"If I see her like what?" their captain questioned, interrupting their heated exchange.

"Dylan's sick. She needs to go home," Davin tried to explain.

The captain shook his head as he approached the redhead. "What's the problem, Dylan?"

"No problem, sir."

"You mean other than the fact that you are staggering drunk?" he jabbed. "In the office now." The woman sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother but did as she was told. When they were alone, he sighed as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Look, Dylan. I know tomorrow is the anniversary of Danny's death, and I know you're fighting with Anna, but that does not excuse you from showing up here like this. You know the policies. Intoxication at work is intolerable. You leave me no choice in this matter. You either tell me you're sick right now, and I let you take a sick day, or I have to suspend you. Now are you sick as Davin suggested?"

"I'm not sick, Captain! I'm perfectly capable of doing this job!" she snarled.

He shook his head. "Dylan, don't make me do this. Your father would never forgive you. You come from a long line of firefighters, and no Flannery has ever received anything other than commendation. Don't mar your family's name by doing this, Dylan. Just tell me your sick, and you can go home to try again another day. This is your last chance. Think about it."

"I'm not sick, Captain. I'm here, ready and willing to do my job."

"You're not here, Dylan. You haven't been here in three years. You haven't been ready to do this job for three years. Physically you're fine. You're in the best shape of your life, but mentally you're still at the World Trade Center. You haven't left that place. You haven't left that moment, whatever that moment is. Maybe time off is what you need. You're on a two-week suspension starting today. Now get out here and find your head. Next time you will be fired."

Without a word the redhead left the office. She didn't speak to anyone, not even Davin, as she immediately stormed out of the firehouse. She didn't know where to go just then. There was no one she could confide in, because everyone in her family was working, and she was still mad at Anna. Her world felt as if it was collapsing in on her suddenly, and she didn't know where to turn. Hopping on the subway, she headed down into the financial district and then walked to the now gaping hole where the Towers had once stood. Leaning with her head against the chainlink fence as a misty rain drizzled over the city, she just stared into the pit as she thought of Danny.

Life had just not been the same without him, and Dylan wasn't sure it ever would. She just couldn't move on the way the rest of her family seemed to have done. She knew she held the secrets of that horrific day deep inside her heart, secrets that made it impossible to forgive or forget what happened. He had meant everything to her, and she had lost her most beloved companion that day. She had lost her soul in that pile of rubble. Now even all of that had been removed to make room for a new beginning, but she just didn't know if she could do the same or if she even merited a second chance at life. Danny never got that opportunity, and she felt he had been far more deserving. Turning her head skyward, tears cascaded over her face, mixing with the rain.

For the rest of the day, Dylan stayed there just glaring at the place where her life had forever been changed. What once had been full of happiness and hope had twisted itself into an excruciating torment. Every breath pained her, for it was one more that Danny didn't get a chance to take. Finally as dark covered the city and the lights of the memorial came to existence, the redhead turned to go. Her head and heart hurt in unfathomable pain from the emotions and lack of nourishment. Not wanting to go home though, she walked a few blocks to a tiny pub she had visited with her band before, and she remained there stuck on a barstool drowning in her only shield from agony until it closed. Loaded up on food and alcohol, she returned to that place where she had stood the entire day, to resume her vigil.

It was only when morning came, and she heard the bells of various churches signal their continuing remembrance of the city's tragedy, did she turn to leave. People were starting to gather, and she did not want to be amongst a mass of the grieving. Returning home she immediately crawled into her bed and cried herself to sleep. It was late when she roused from a restless sleep. Immediately she went into the kitchen to seek out her old friend, always faithful, sitting in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator. Taking that first swallow, she tried to relax her mind. She hit the blinking light on her phone to listen to the messages waiting there. Three from Anna. One from Davin and one from her father. She erased them all and checked her watch. Her band had a show to do in three hours, and she needed to be down in the pub to set up for the concert.

Going through the motions, she showered and dressed before heading downstairs. Her father was not there, but she wasn't surprised. He usually took that day off himself but knew he'd be around later. Immediately taking advantage of that fact, she poured herself a pint and then headed to help her band set up their equipment. No one spoke to her though unless absolutely necessary, but she knew it was only because they had been trained to stay away from her when she was in that kind of a mood.

It was only when she handed out the play list for the night that Davin spoke to her. "Dylan, what the hell is this?" he asked, pointing to the last song of their set.

"It's a song, Davin. What's it look like?"

"You never sing this song. You always refuse. Why start now?"

"Because I feel like fucking singing it. Even if I'm the only one up there doing it, I'm singing it tonight. If you don't want to, you don't have to."

Her brother shook his head. "Don't do this to yourself, Dylan. Intentionally inflicting pain on yourself isn't right."

"It's for Danny, and I'm doing it. I don't care what you say," she snipped, stalking off to get another beer.

Uptown Anna and Blair sat in Anna's apartment debating whether or not she would attend the concert that night. "She hasn't even bothered to call me, Blair. I don't know if she would want me there."

"Well, I'm going for Michael. I think you should go. I'm sure she could use your support, Anna. This has probably been a tough few days for her. Michael told me she got suspended from the firehouse. The girl is obviously in pain over Danny. If you love her as I know you do, you should be there even if she still is mad at you."

"You're right. I know you're right. I just don't want to fight tonight, and I know we're going to as soon as she sees me. I could tell she was angry when she left here the other night, and given that she hasn't returned any calls, I'm expecting a huge blowup."

"Well, you should have handled things with your father differently."

"I know. I'm glad it's out in the open, because Julie's finally stopped harassing me, but I knew he was going to be less than thrilled with Dylan."

"Did he actually say that?"

"He just said she couldn't care for me the way I deserved and that the fact that she's a firefighter is unnerving. He would worry about her out there. It's hard enough to let her go and do that, but to have my father worrying as well, it's too much. I love her though, more than I've ever loved anyone. I just don't know what to do."

"You need to do what's best for you if even it means telling your father he's wrong. If you really feel that strongly about her, you're going to have to take that stand. I think he'll come around given enough time."

"I don't even want to think about that right now. We should get going to this concert. It's starting to get late," she said, checking her watch. "Let me just go change."

Half an hour later they arrived at the pub. As usual it was packed with patrons, but they all greeted Anna and Blair as the regulars they had become as they made their way over toward the bar. Keane was serving the drinks that evening and smiled at the two of them pleasantly. "Anna, Blair, what can I get you two?"

Both declined a beverage. "How long have they been on?" Anna asked.

"Not too long. You've only missed a couple of songs. I should warn you, though. Dylan's in rare form. I've never seen in this bad a shape."

"She seems to be singing all right."

"Yeah. She's singing fine, but she's in a nasty mood, and she's had a lot of Guinness. You might be better off just steering clear."

The brunette nodded at Keane's warning as she watched her lover across the room. Outwardly Dylan looked drunk as she sang but not upset. However, she knew Keane was a good observer. Even more she could see the redhead look her way once and stare for a long moment before breaking their eye contact, not to gaze at her again for most of the rest of the concert, which was a sure indicator something was amiss.

Dylan did her best to ignore Anna and Blair, but her rage at Anna started to simmer through the pain she was trying to suppress. She didn't like having her there on such a night. However, she knew there was nothing to do, at least until she left the stage, so she carried on the best she could. Finally at the end of the night just before the band sang its last song, Dylan looked at her brother. He shook his head at her, but she ignored it. Casting her eyes back out over the crowd, she swallowed hard.

"All right everyone. As we close tonight, there is a song I want to sing. Looking out over this crowd, I see that I'm among friends here, and as friends of mine, you all know that three years ago today my brother Danny lost his life at the World Trade Center trying to save the lives of other innocent people. In his memory, I would like to sing a song. It's an old Irish favorite, one that I have refused to sing for long time until tonight. The song I'm going to sing is called, 'Danny Boy', and if you know the words please feel free to sing along in my brother's memory." Finishing off her last bit off beer in her glass, she cleared her throat as a hush fell over the crowd and began singing with tears already starting to flow down her face,

"Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying
'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so
And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me.
And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.
I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me."

When she finished with her song, she silently left the stage and headed outside to get some fresh air. Leaning up against the window of the front of the bar, the tears streamed down her face as she allowed herself to feel the pain in her chest. She was so far removed from her surroundings that she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Dylan looked up and saw Anna's blue eyes. Suddenly that pain transfused into anger as she spat, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch you sing. I've been worried about you since the other night."

"You shouldn't be! After all, I don't seem to mean enough to you that you'd tell your father about me!"

"I'm sorry about that, Dylan. I should have. It was a mistake, but I love you."

"Well, I don't love you, Anna, not any more! You know I've never felt as out of place as I did that night! You might as well marry Julie! You're as bad as she is! As far as I'm concerned, this is over between us! I never want to see you again!"

"Dylan, please, you can't mean that," she pleaded as she began to cry.

"I mean it, Anna! Julie's right! You two are meant to be together! You deserve each other! Apparently all I was to you was a distraction! You wanted some lover to heal those wounds that she inflicted! Well, I did that for you, Anna, and as she asked, I probably taught you a thing or two along the way! Now just go back to where you belong!" she yelled, starting to walk away. She heard the door of the pub open as she turned the corner of the building. However, she didn't bother to see who it was as she went to the garage and fumbled with the lock.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" Davin abruptly inquired from behind her.

"I'm getting out of here! I don't want to see the sight of her any more!" she screamed, thrusting a finger in Anna's direction as she opened the lock. Throwing open the garage door, she went over to her motorcycle.

"Dylan, you are not getting on that bike!" Davin yelled. "You're drunk!"

Ignoring her brother she shouted, "Just try to stop me!"

Davin grabbed her by the shirt as she tried to back the bike out of the garage. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Oh, yes I am! Now leave me the hell alone!"

"I will not let you get on this bike! You're going to kill someone with the shape you're in! I will not let you turn into a murder like the guy who killed Ma!"

"I am not drunk, and you can't stop me from going, Davin! Now just get the hell off of me!" She shoved him back as she continued to maneuver her bike out toward the street.

Nevertheless, he grabbed her again, muscling her away from the motorcycle. It landed with a loud crash against the pavement. "You want to go, Dylan, you do it over my dead body! I'm not going to let you kill yourself or some innocent person! Now just leave it alone!"

"No!" she screamed.

Before Anna even realized it, a scuffle ensued as the siblings tried to wrestle each other to the street. Finally though Davin pushed his sister so hard, she stumbled, losing her balance. Landing hard against the cement, her head smacked against the brick of the building. She groaned in pain but remained slumped against the ground. Anna screamed as she saw blood start to saturate her lover's hair. Instantly Davin was on the ground next to his sister. "Oh God, oh God! Anna, get Da! We need an ambulance!" Turning to his sister, he whimpered as he cradled her. "Dylan, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Rushing inside the pub, Anna grabbed Keane by the sleeve. "Keane, we need an ambulance! Dylan's been hurt!" she exclaimed frantically.

He shouted at the bartender to call an ambulance and then followed Anna out to the street. A crowd started to trail behind them. He knelt next to his kids. "What happened?" he asked of Davin as he gently parted his daughter's hair to try to find the wound.

"We got in a fight. She wanted to leave on her bike, and I refused to let her. We started shoving each other, and she hit her head against the wall," he whimpered (What word do you mean here??) in remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

Keane nodded calmly but instructed, "Get that bike back in the garage, Davin. I don't want the cops showing up and thinking she was trying to drive drunk." Turning to the brunette, he dug some keys from his pocket. "Anna, go up to my apartment and get my first aid kit. It's in the kitchen under the sink."

Anna did as she was told, rushing up to Keane's apartment. Getting back downstairs, he had apparently found the cut on his daughter's head and was applying pressure with the apron he had been wearing. She handed him the kit and asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"No. She's going to be fine, just needs a few stitches. Everyone just go back inside the pub, even you, Anna. She's been ranting about you, so just go away. Davin and I will wait with her until the ambulance gets here."

"But," she began to protest, but angry brown eyes glared at her. She knew Keane wasn't upset with her, just the situation, but she couldn't help cowering a little. Nodding her head, she whispered, "Okay."

Heading back inside the brunette stood at the door, watching for the ambulance. She was worried about the redhead, even though her heart hurt for what had been said. Dylan had broken up with her, and she was still in shock over it but had no time to think as she saw flashing lights zoom by. Unable to stay where she was, she went outside once again and hung around at the corner to watch from a distance. The EMTs carefully loaded Dylan into the ambulance, and then Keane joined them before they took off once again. Seeing Davin just standing there holding his head in his hands, she approached cautiously.

The man looked up at the sound of her footsteps. "She's going to be okay, Anna," he tried to assure.

She nodded her head. "Are you?"

He shrugged. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to push her that hard. I just didn't know how to keep her off her bike."

"You did the right thing, Davin. She could have killed someone."

"I think that was the point," he mumbled. "I just don't know what to do for her. She's out of control."

"You just keep loving her no matter what."

He nodded. "I'm sorry she ended things with you. You're a nice girl, and I thought she loved you."

"I thought so, too, but I guess it's over. She made it pretty clear she doesn't want to see me again," the woman said as she began to cry.

Davin put his arms around her. "You deserve happiness, Anna. Dylan's just not able to have a relationship right now, not with you, not even with herself. You shouldn't sell yourself short. Life is too precious to take less than the best."

"But I love her, Davin."

"You're a good woman, Anna. She was lucky to have you, even for a short while, but it's over now, and she's going to suffer for that."

Clinging to him a little tighter, Anna just tried to take deep breaths. After a moment she asked, "How do you do it? How do you cope with Danny's death? What do you do that she can't seem to do?"

He shrugged as tears wet his eyes. "It's hard. Don't get me wrong. He was my little brother, and he had such a full life ahead of him. When he died, I wasn't sure I was going to make it either, but I had people counting on me. I had a wife and son and daughter at the time who needed me. They were my reasons for living. They were my reasons for getting out of bed everyday and putting on my gear to go to work. They needed me then, and they need me now. Whenever I feel like it gets to be too much, I just look in Stacie's eyes, and I remember the reasons for living. Danny didn't get that chance, so it's my obligation to live enough life for the both of us. Dylan didn't have anyone counting on her when Danny died. She had a serious girlfriend, but they were twenty-one years old. Their relationship couldn't stand up through the stress. If I hadn't known Stacie for most of my life, I'm not sure ours would have either. Dylan just became so far removed from everyone that cared about her, and she remains that way until this day. My relationship with her has never been the same, because she keeps me out. She keeps Da out. She will not talk about her pain. You know, the last time I saw the two of them together, they were racing up the stairwell of the first Tower. I watched them go, but I never once thought I wouldn't see him again. Something happened up there, and whatever it is, it's keeping Dylan in anguish. I think I know, but I've never been able to ask her. I think she was the last person to see Danny alive, and that is what makes it so difficult."

Anna sobbed into his shoulder as they held each other closely for several minutes. She could feel Davin's pain acutely, but the man seemed to at least have his life in perspective, even in his grief. She just wished Dylan did as well and mourned the fact that she had been dismissed from the redhead's life when she knew she had love and support to extend. Knowing there was nothing she could do though, she reluctantly pulled herself out of Davin's strong arms. "I guess I should go. Dylan's lucky to have you for a brother. Please take care of her."

"I'm going to try," he promised. "I'm sorry she's caused you this pain, Anna. I wish I could make it better."

The blue-eyed woman shook her head. "This was my fault. I brought it on myself. I just never thought it would end this way. I'm just going to go now."

"Take care of yourself, Anna."

"You too, Davin, and if you get a chance, tell Dylan I'm sorry."

Going back into the bar, she found her best friend sitting with Michael. "Are you all right?" Blair inquired.

"No. Dylan broke up with me. I'm going to go home now."

"I'll come with you."

"No. You stay here. I'm just going to go to bed and try to forget these last few months ever happened."

Continued in Part 7

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