Chapter 13

Doyle sat outside the house and watched the people inside. He recognized one of the women and he knew that the boy was his cousin. He wondered why they fled Boston, but he heard a little bit about the worry. He was worried about the boy. He didn't know why he was in hiding and why he wasn't a Doyle. He could only wonder what happened after Ian died, but family was family. He'd already proven that with Maura. He wasn't going to let anything happen to this boy. He not be his son, but he would protect him like he was. Ian failed him somehow, he would not.

He lifted the dump phone a little more and took some pictures. He would send them to his contacts to get more information. He wasn't going to make contact today. He wasn't that stupid. He would wait, but he would watch. He still had resources. The government was dumb to believe that he couldn't do things from prison. He was still calling shots in Boston. But, it was more for bigger issues and not the day to day problems that might arise. His lieutenants were loyal. That is why he chose them. And, they'd stepped up to protect all of Doyle's assets.

He knew that meant Maura was still protected. He wasn't as worried about her now that Jane was in the picture. He knew that Jane would take care of Maura. Love would make people do crazy things. He'd proven that to Maura and he'd seen Jane do the same thing. He was proud of his daughter and all her accomplishments. He was slightly disappointed in the fact that she'd sided with the law against him and that she chose her girlfriend, Jane, over him, but he understood it, too. As much as he hated Jane, and it was mostly just because she was the law, he admired the spitfire detective, too.

He knew that it would cause trouble for them all if he contacted her, but he didn't see any way else around it. He'd wait until he had the information that he was looking for first. He didn't want to tip his hand until he knew what cards he had to play with first. He knew that he had to be careful when it came to Jane anyway. She had too many contacts in the law enforcement world and he knew that she had them with the FBI. She'd proven that before when he got caught. Of course, it was only because he'd been shot, but the FBI was there.

He made his way back in town. He would stay at the local hotel for the night and he would find somewhere else in the morning. Hopefully he had the information that he was looking for by then. He knew that his men were loyal but they were dealing with their own problems since he broke out. He knew that it would take them awhile to find the hole he used. It had been years in that place and he asked to move there. They should have known that he could get out of the prison if he wanted to. He was Paddy Doyle after all and it took them years and basically his own daughter to catch him. He didn't doubt that Maura would turn on him again given the chance and he honestly couldn't blame her. He'd brought her nothing but trouble since they'd met. He could only hope that she understood why he was back on the East Coast.

Declan was his blood and he needed to make sure that he was cared for. He had been away from his family for too long. And, he'd heard about Ian's death and threats against all Irish Doyles. He knew that it didn't mean him or his boys, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to protect his cousins. Blood meant everything to him, even when it turned on him. Ian was a fool, but his son had been without his father longer than Ian had been dead. He wasn't sure what he thought about that, but he intended to get to the bottom of it.

Emily sat in the cottage over looking the mountains near by. Athena was in the house and checking out vantage points. She would have a shipment brought tomorrow. Emily didn't ask. She knew that Athena would take care of everything dealing with their protection. They would go over it as soon as Declan went to bed, until then, Emily was worried about Declan. He was her responsiblitiy and she was going to fight for him. She had to. She owed him.

She looked over the provisions that Jane had sent. They weren't the greatest, but she would be able to make do. She'd had worse on assignments before. She glanced at her watch and then over at the lump on the couch. She knew Declan was tired and he was upset. She didn't want to push him. They would talk more later. Right now, she was worried about protecting him.

She couldn't discount Paddy leaving prison to protect him. She was amazed that no one in Interpol or the FBI ever made the correlation between the two Doyles. It was obvious to her that they were related. They had the same piercing blue eyes. The same eyes that Declan had. She didn't want to admit that, but he did. They were the same eyes that she'd fallen in love with so many years ago. Declan's however were softer...like Jen's.

She closed her eyes and mentally slapped herself. JJ was so giving with her. She needed to do something for her when this was all over. She owed her just as much if not more than Declan. Declan might have saved her soul, but JJ saved her life too many times to count. She was the one that kept her alive while she was on the run and chasing Ian. Declan hadn't been on her mind because she knew that Declan was safe, hidden, and free of Ian's philosphys. JJ was the one that played online scrabble at varying times of the day to help her keep her sanity. JJ was the one that worked with the State department to keep her out in the field and undercover as she hunted Ian down. She was the one that kept Emily informed and ahead of the authorities. She was the one that signed off on her "death" certificate. She hid her whereabouts for months. She took the brunt of Reid's anger. She owed JJ and yet, JJ never let her falter more than she could handle. JJ stood beside her and held her up when she couldn't do it for herself and vice versa.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Dec?"

"Do you think that Paddy wants to hurt me?" Declan asked her.

"No, I don't. I think he wants to meet you. Family means a lot to him and he wants to make sure that you are cared for. He must not have known you existed like a lot of people diddn't because Ian made sure they didn't. I am sorry that you never had a big family or got to really know your real family."

"You are my real family, Em. You always have been. You've been protecting me for ten years. You've done things that no one else in my family ever did."

"I couldn't let him raise you, Declan. I just couldn't. You were innocent. I couldn't let him corrupt you like that. You deserved to make your own choices."

"I know. Thank you for that. I am not going to lie and say that isn't hard knowing that such a man was my father, but he wasn't my Dad. That was Tom. Tom was my Dad and he was the man that I respected. Just like you aren't my mother, you're my Mom. I respect you more than I could ever respect that woman just because she bore me. I know it sounds crass, but I was given the opportunity to be more than my blood and I've chosen my family. I didn't ask to be a Doyle any more than Maura did. She gets it. I'm glad that I got to meet her, but I don't want to stay with her. I want to live with you. If that means that I have to have Athena with me, so be it. I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of running from my father's past. I am not a Doyle anymore."

"The sins of the father shall be visited upon the sons..." Emily murmured.

"So, God is punishing me because I am Ian's blood?"

"Not if I can help it, Declan. Never if I can't stop it. You are not your father, that is the truth, but your father was a bad man and he pissed off a lot of people. Hell, even your mother wanted you dead if you didn't become what she wanted you to be. And, Lachlann MacDermott wanted you dead just because you are Ian's. I am sure that there are more, but I've been trying to scrub every mention of you. I've changed your names so many times. I've done everything that I can to protect you, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Someone always get through..."

"You are enough, Mom. You have always been. You've been fighting for me since I was a toddler. And, I am so grateful, but none of this is your fault. I can't blame you for taking me away from that. I can't blame you for trying to save me. I can't blame you for making sure that I was loved, educated and protected. You had no idea that my mother was still alive and you had no idea that she was psychotic. Everything that you have ever done concerning me has been on my behalf. So, please, stop being upset because you didn't know I had a mob boss cousin. It'll do us no good."

"When did you get so smart?" she asked him through a weak smile.

"Must have been all that private schooling you helped pay for," he quipped.

She stood up and crossed the room. She faintly regarded Athena as she moved around the house as she made her way to the couch that Declan was lying on. He'd sat up and she sat down beside him. She reached out for him and he moved to snuggle into her side.

"You know that if I could have been your mother, I would have, Dec," Emily lamented.

"I know. I never forgot you. Your name and hair may have changed, but I never forgot the woman who took care of me in France. I remember us playing hide and seek in his villa. I was sad when you left, but over the years, I've come to realize that it was for my safety. I didn't understand it when I was little, but I knew it when we moved to Connecticut."

"Meagan told you?"

"She explained some things. She made me understand that you didn't love me any less because you weren't with me. But, I finally knew who my father was and what he did. Things started to make sense from when I lived with Tom until you got me with Meagan. She did everything that she could to keep me safe and off of everyone's radar. I think she did a really good job of it. I don't think that she was shot because of me or you. I think it was random," he told her.

"Why do you think that?" she asked because she wanted to really know his point of view on this.

"I doubt that anyone knew where we were. She took precautions. She made me take precautions. She taught me to hide in plain sight, Em. She did everything that she could to make sure that no one ever knew I was anyone other than Gerald Declan Prentiss. You've been careful."

"But, doesn't explain her call, Dec. It was frantic. And, there were somethings that she said that didn't really make sense. Is there anyone back there that I should get the team to talk to? Anyone that they might be able to ask about you and Meagan?"

"Our neighbor. I think he had a crush on Meagan or something. He might know something. His name is Tyler. I am not sure of his last name, but I think Meagan had him vetted or something. She was on the phone a lot with someone about digging into him as soon as we moved in."

"Why?"

"He was really nice and kept coming over to say hi," Declan told her.

"I see. I'll see what I can find out about him and send JJ to go talk to him. Is there anyone else that you can think of? Anyone that stands out that might have said something to anyone? Anyone that you told the truth to? Anything like that?" Emily asked him.

"No, I never told anyone. And, when the secrets became too big for me, I would just talk to Meagan. We both did that. We used each other. Plus, I never got close enough to anyone in school. It was too dangerous. Trust me when I had friends, though, but I didn't really try to date."

"Why not?"

"How could I? I couldn't ever tell them the truth. My whole background was a lie and I couldn't risk exposing myself, Meagan, or you," Declan told her.

Emily hung her head. It was something else that she could be mad at Ian for. Declan's life was full of lies and subterfuge. He couldn't help it though. She knew how lonely that was. Hopefully now, he would be able to have a fuller life. He would be able to really live a life without too many worries. She would find a way for it to happen. It wasn't fair that he was still having to pay for his father's crimes.

"When we get back to DC, I don't care who you tell. It's over. Ian's dead. His organization is gone. Chloe is gone. I will protect you but you shouldn't have to stay hidden and not be able to talk to anyone but us. You deserve to have a normal life. That's all I ever wanted," Emily told him.

"I've had as normal a life as I can, Mom. You did what you good and I'm eternally grateful for it. But, I know that I might never be able to tell anyone who my real parents are. As far as I'm concerned, my parents are you and Tom. That is all I need to know," he replied.

She ran her fingers through his blond hair. She held him as tightly as she dared. She knew that it wasn't enough, but she would try to make it enough for him.

She watched as Athena finished her sweep and her notes. Their eyes met across the room. She nodded at the assassin and started to move. Declan let her up, moving off her lap and giving her a quick smile.

"He's a good kid," Athena told her as they met up in the kitchen.

"He is."

"He's been through a lot."

"He has."

"You're afraid that he is going to be us, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Would that be so bad?" Athena questioned.

Emily sat down hard on a wooden chair at the kitchen table. She regarded the woman before her. Would it be so bad if Declan became like them? She honestly didn't know. He would be fighting on the side of good, but he would still have to tap into something that she'd tried to protect him from. She knew that he had a darkness in him and she knew that Ian's criminal celebrity would haunt him no matter what. She didn't want him joining Interpol or the CIA. She knew how those jobs would work out in his favor. She didn't want him to because a star on the wall. She wanted more for him.

"It could be, yes," Emily stated frankly.

"Fair enough. I know that I wouldn't want any children I had to be like me. It's loney, rough and hard. No one should be me successor. I should be one of a kind and let it go. I hope to do that," Athena told her.

"You're out of the business now, Athena. You aren't going back. I am about to make you a public profile in DC. You will have a job and a respectable pay grade. But, there will be no side jobs. There will be no going back under once I expose you. If that is going to be a problem, I need to know about it, now. So, I can start to make new arrangements for DC."

"You don't need to do that. I knew that going into this. This is my last job. I get it. He is my responsiblity."

"You aren't going to be alone in taking care of him. JJ and I are going to help. We are all going to make sure that he is cared for and protected."

"Emily..."

"No, he is my son. He is my responsiblity. He is going to have as normal a life as I can give him."

"And, if he wants to go back to school?"

"Then, I will find a way for it to happen."

"Even if you have to quit the FBI?" Athena asked her.

"Yes," Emily said resolutely.

"Then, we are going to make sure that we figure this all out. I kinda like you having a badge. It'll make things easier for me later," Athena told her.

Emily shook her head, but smiled at her old friend.

"What do I need to be worried about?"

"Nothing much that I can't handle. I'll set some traps and some warnings for us. My cache should be here soon. I'll go pick it up. Don't worry about that. However, I would prefer if he took the inner bedroom."

"Done."

"I'll take the front one and you can take whichever you like from there. Your friend did good. Jane knew what she was doing when she brought us here."

"She did."

"And, don't worry. I'll have a laptop for you to use soon. I know that you want to talk to JJ. I'll make it happen. Not even Garcia will be able to find me or us after I'm done rerouting everything. Besides, I know that she won't be looking because she'll be protecting us. So, that will make it easier for us. Now, go get some rest. I'll make sure that we're okay for now."

Emily nodded and went back into the small living room. She reached out for Declan. He took her hand and she lead him to the inner bedroom. It wasn't closed off from the rest of the house, but it was the least likely for someone to attack it. Emily could tell that Jane had done her best to give them the most defendable house that she could. She would thank her for that later. Now, they just have to settle in and live for now.