This Fire Burns, Always

[BeautifullyxMad]

Reserved for LeighaMoscove.

OOC

The rain was steady that day. They said April showers brought May flowers, but this year May seemed to be a lot more rainy than April had and it was barely a week into it. May 7th was a very bleak day in the Amato family, and for The Family in general, but as her hazel eyes stared down at the cold stone, placing a small bouquet over it, Nichole Amato didn't cry like everyone else had expected her to. When she was 8 years old and this was new to her she cried. She cried for days, weeks even, but after she found out what happened, Nichole went cold. Everyone had noticed it, her father... The members of The Family... Even the one person she didn't ever want to see her as cold. Her sister, Sara. She and her sister, though two years apart in age, were close. Nichole would do anything for her family, Sara especially.

Her eyes, however, remained on the cold stone as the rain poured down, and Nichole held the black umbrella over herself to try to keep some of it at bay. Her black dress was similar to the ones she had worn in previous years, and just like every year, she was given her own time. First, her family would stand there for a while and then they would all take turns at the grave throughout the day. Today, Nichole decided to pay her respects after Sara had, and now all she could do was stare at the cold stone. She never cried anymore it felt, and she almost felt inhuman, though she didn't want to feel that way.

She sighed and read the stone again. Every year for the last 14, she had done that. "Well, mom, look at me now." she finally spoke in a low whisper. Despite the rain, the air was oddly warm, and the warm breeze blew over Nichole's features. "Just the same as ever. I won't cry, I feel like I can't anymore. Antonio thinks there's something wrong with me because he's even seen dad cry, but I just can't anymore. I think all my tears dried up when, as dad says, I went cold. He's proud of me though. He says you would be too, but I don't know. I wish you were here, mom." she said, and though she was done speaking she still stood there, and after another moment, she walked away from the headstone.

Sara and their driver for the day, Damon, were likely going to be waiting for her in the parking lot, and her mother's gravestone was far from the parking lot as she walked through the cemetery. She looked around. No one else was there, aside from those from the funeral earlier that morning when her father, Sara, and she had all been there paying their respects. However, there was another figure, staring at a gravestone off in the distance, and she saw a few more people heading to pay their respects.

With a sigh, Nichole looked to the ground, her heels clicking against the wet concrete path she found herself on, and she soon bumped into someone and nearly dropped her umbrella and fell down. She did drop her purse, and she bent down to pick it up. "Sorry." her voice came out, void of emotion as she stood back up.

-&-

A rainy day, Damon Hart noted, was when he always seemed to be assigned driving duties. A recruit in the family for the last three months and Damon had done what other members of his family could not. He got recruit status. Still, driving around the beautiful blonde girl, and her older sister, a beautiful brunette, was odd. Sara, the blonde, was almost always caring and concerned it seemed, and then there was Nichole, the cold and ruthless one. It wasn't hard to see that the sisters took things differently, but that wasn't what got Damon thinking about it. It was how, despite their differences, they still got along. Damon had family that he just couldn't get along with because they were so different, but seeing two sisters, so completely opposite, get along. That baffled him.

Standing outside the car with Sara as they awaited Nichole's return from their mother's grave was different though. He held up the black umbrella over Sara's head and let the rain fall on his own. They had sat in the car for a while, in relative silence, but the car got to feeling too cramped, and Damon loved the rain. His suit was covered by a water resistant black jacket that his mother had gotten him for his birthday just a month earlier, and he just watched the blonde with intent.

Driving these girls was a task that most recruits got, but it was also somewhat difficult for some of them. Though they were supposed to protect these girls and keep them out of trouble, Damon knew one thing better than the others. It was likely because most of his recruit work had been driving the two around, but he knew that if you tried to tell either of them anything about keeping themselves safe, you wouldn't be listened to. He had a feeling it was because they were so protective of one another, though there was an obvious killer and an obvious peacekeeper.

The silence was killing him. Cemeteries, though they were meant to be quiet, always felt odd to him and Damon spoke to Sara. "Would you like to sit in the car again?" he asked her.

He tried hard not to look her over like he had been, but he couldn't entirely help it. She was beautiful, and she was smart too. However, she was his boss's daughter and he knew any shot he had with her was gone the moment he entered The Family. Single life was just wonderful... Damon hated it. Being around beautiful women, and waiting on one to come out of the cemetery, was something he might not have minded so much if he didn't already know and work for them and their father. Damn recruit status...

[LeighaMoscove]

Jackson had been walking towards his mother's grave. Another rainy day to fit his mood, but he would not cry. Mourning was considered okay, but crying made him weak. At least that's what his father always told him. Before his mother was killed, she told him it was okay to cry, and that's what he kept in mind when a few tears dripped down his cheeks. His mother thought it would be okay, so he could cry for his mother. It seemed that nature was crying as well as the rain fell in heavy drops. Nature always cried with him. He refused to dress up to visit his mother. He just wore a black shirt and loose pants. Something about formal wear made it seem inappropriate to cry, and he didn't want to associate wearing formal clothes to the sad feeling of visiting his mother. Others from his family were there as well, but they were not here to see his mother. Someone else that worked for the O'Connells had died. Jackson forgot to get his name, but he didn't care. He was here for his mother, and he couldn't find himself to care about anyone else. All he knew was that they weren't part of his family.

However, his mother was. She was the closest person the he ever held to his heart, and he liked to keep it that way. Vengence would be his in the end. He would be sure to make The Family pay. Of course, there was no proof the The Family was the cause of it. For all he knew they could be as innocent as he was in the ordeal, but he still blamed them. Some way or another, it had to be their fault. Jackson could no think of anyone else that would be brave enough to mess with the O'Connells and think that they wouldn't get hurt for it. Jackson was very much a mommy's boy in every meaning of the word, but he wouldn't say it allowed. What he would admit is that his love for his mom could rival his father's, if not beat it. It wasn't like his father came to mourn as much as Jackson did. By now his clothes were soaked, but he didn't mind. Not even the rain could distract him from memories of his mom.

Bumping into someone had distracted Jackon from his memories, and he immediately grabbed for his daggers, only to remember that he didn't bring them. His mother would not have approved of him having them, of what they symbolized. Looking up, he relaxed realizing the person was not a threat. "Don't be sorry, beautiful." It wasn't flirting, just a compliment because his brain stopped working when he saw her. All that he could process what that she was not a threat and she was beautiful. How could his brain process anything else? That kind of beauty could not be forgotten, and his mind was yelling at him to not miss this chance. Never had Jackson been as lost as he was now. Sure he was a natural flirt, but his mind was mixed with so many different emotions that words didn't come to him. Usually he wouldn't need words to come on him on these days, but it seemed like today was the day that he had to speak. To say something.

---

It was raining, and Sara couldn't help but feel glad that it was raining. Like it suited her mood. A few tears ran down her cheeks, but most of the crying had stopped when she left the grave. Her sister was not crying right now, and Sarah took it that that meant that she shouldn't be crying either. She always looked up to her sister and wanted to be like her. That mean that she would not cry if her sister did not cry, but her heart hurt. She missed her mom, and she couldn't help it. It just wasn't the same without her. Of course her sister did well in replacing her, but it never would be the same. Nichole was not her mom, regardless of how great of a sister that she was in Sara's life.

When Damon spoke, Sara looked at him, only to end up looking away again blushing. She shook her head at his question and wiped her eyes, "No, I like the rain. T's almost like the angels are crying with me, with us." Sara looked back at Damon with a smile, "Don't you think?" She tried not to look away again. By now, she was used to his stares, but that didn't make it any harder to look him in the eye when he was staring at her like that. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone about it. Honestly, she didn't see anything wrong with it.

Sara wiped er eyes again and looked at the sky, "I feel like I'm closer to her when I'm outside. I can't explain it, but something about being inside makes me feel cut off from her. Of course, Nichole knew more about her. Nichole could probably remember mom better, she was older." The smile stayed on Sara's face as she thought about it. How could she have hard feelings about her older sister when her sister was always there for her? Of course Sara was jealous, but Nichole was always a kind sister, better than what Sara could ask for, and Sara loved her sister for it.

[BeautifullyxMad]

Nichole looked to the man who had spoken to her, her eyes barely falling over him once before they went right back up to his face. He wasn't bad-looking, but he wasn't the most gorgeous man she had ever met. He was attractive, but her face probably didn't show much interest. More often than not, Nichole went through her day in a numb haze, and here especially. She was sure it was just her mind's defense mechanism. She took in his words, but she stood there a while longer, looking at him before she spoke. She really needed to be getting back to her sister, but something kept her in place. She would have smiled if her mind's numbness hadn't been so amplified today, but she nodded to him. "My name's Nichole, but thank you for the compliment." she said to him, her voice still slightly hollow.

Her eyes traveled to a motor coming through the cemetery and she brought her umbrella closer to her as they drove past her. Just a few days ago, Nichole had gone off on a rager. Very rarely did it happen, but when it did, Nichole wasn't herself. Professional or casual. She and a couple of the recruits had met up in the neutral area of town to discuss a few matters that her father had asked her to handle when an O'Connell came in and began giving her grief. One bullet right between his eyes, and Nichole hadn't thought twice. Her gun, though not on her currently, generally didn't leave her hip unless it was in use. Per request of her father, she never carried it to the cemetery because of what it did. It dealt death. Her father didn't want her to ever desecrate the grounds of the dead by killing there, and she respected his wishes and always went unarmed.

She forced her lips to twitch into a small, barely there, smile. "Just be careful when walking around here, it's very slick and it's beginning to get muddy." she told the man before she began walking again, her eyes involuntarily looking behind her. Apparently she had slowed in pace too because she realized that she was reading the names on the headstones as she walked past them. She generally wasn't so up in the clouds, but today she was allowed. Today, 14 years ago, her mother had been killed.

And every year for the last 14 years, Nichole had done the same thing that she is doing now. Paying her respects to the dead, even the ones she didn't know.

-&-

Damon simply nodded to Sara when she spoke about the rain and wanting to be outside. When she said it was like the angels were crying with her and asked his opinion he nodded. "I think so." he said to her, quietly, and he continued to watch the cemetery gates, waiting on the older Amato sister. Of course she could handle herself if need be, but he had heard horror stories of leaving one sister behind. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Damon could feel the rain pick up and he saw some O'Connells heading into the cemetery. He had his weapon on him, like he was told he needed to at all times, but when they didn't notice them he was glad. They were in a car after all. That put him a little more at ease, but the longer Nichole took, he was sure, the more obvious it was that he had never accompanied the sisters for something of this nature.

He decided to put worry from his mind, despite knowing that Nichole's gun was in the car, and despite knowing a bunch of O'Connells were in there. They wouldn't shoot in a cemetery, would they? With a long sigh, and switching hands to hold the umbrella, Damon continued to watch the gates a while longer. Sara's comment had lingered in his mind a while. She felt closer to her mother outside it seemed, and he could respect that. Granted both his parents were still alive, but he could understand what she meant. He spoke again, "You feel like you can connect with her better outside?" It was a quizzical statement, but he figured that a small amount of small talk would be alright whilst they waited.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he looked inside his jacket pocket at the message. Antonio had sent it.

Hold off on bringing the girls home.

It was all the message said, and after sending back a "yes sir," Damon looked to Sara. "Is there anything you and your sister normally do after you come here?" he inquired, trying to see what he could work in on not bringing the two home right away.

[LeighaMoscove]

His mind kicked in when she responded. Of course he looked like an idiot with that kind of line, and this was a cemetery. Places like this were not places to be checking out girls, and doing so was disrespectful to the people buried here, the people him and her were mourning for, and his mother. That was what was important at this moment, so he should keep focused on that. Of course, just being polite never hurt, "Nichole, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He smiled at her. Everyone had told him that he had his mom's smile, and he was sure to keep it after her death. That was what she would have wanted, and he wanted to keep the part of him he got from his mom. It only made sense to him to give her a smile. It was a polite gesture that his mom would have wanted him to give. It didn't make sense to him, but he loved his mom.

When she mentioned being careful, he was confused. Did he really seem like he would fall? Yes, he was distracted earlier and bumped into her, but the chances of him falling were next to none. That would require him to lack an amount of grace that he prided himself with. Perhaps she was just being polite too? "I appreciate your worry, but I will be fine, even if I were to fall. I don't care too much. You on the other hand should be careful. It would be a shame if a beauty like you was covered in mud because she managed to slip." He said this loud enough so she would hear as she began walking again. He was coming here for a reason, and he couldn't get distracted by a girl, no matter how beautiful and what his mother would think about passing up the chance. She seemed too distant for him to get through to anyways. It wasn't really worth fighting for someone he could never get.

Sliding his hands into his pockets, he continued towards his mother's grave, giving a silent nod towards the funeral procession going on. It was a shame anyone had to be here, but there would always be death if there was life. That's at least what his mother told him when he was upset by people that worked for the O'Connells dying, and that's what he told himself these days to make himself feel better about killing anyone. To take someone's life was very personal to him, but he stopped caring after seeing his mother get killed. How could one grieve harder for a stranger than they did for their own mother? If he wouldn't allow himself to cry for her then he couldn't allow himself to cry for anyone else. If he could only respect her memories by keeping her in his heart and mind, then he couldn't remember anyone else. None of them mattered compared to her.

---

When she heard Damon's statement, she could only nod. Her mind was often not something easy to explain, so she figured she wouldn't do it. As long as they knew how she felt then the rest didn't matter. Of course, she was oblivious to the fact that he had attempted small talk. There wasn't much else to say to that, so a nod was all she can do to finish it. It seemed like it didn't matter whether or not she knew about his attempt at small talk, because he asked her a question that she had no problem answering and explaining every little detail about. This was something that she could ramble on about forever.

Sara's eyes brightened as she looked at Damon with a smile and nodded eagerly, "My sister and I normally go get ice cream after this! It had started the first few times we came here! I would get so upset and cry so much that my sister would recommend ice cream to cheer me up! I would always cry for my mom. I miss my mom." Her face grew sad again, but she continued, "Even after I stopped crying like I did, we would still go. I guess it was more out of habit than anything, but I try to stay happy now. I think that's what she would have wanted." Just another statement that she couldn't explain. How could she really know what her mother wanted when she could barely remember her mother? It didn't matter, because that's what she thought and she stuck to it. It helped that her sister never questioned one of her thoughts about their mom. Maybe her odd thoughts weren't so far fetched, and some of them were from her sister's stories. Sara always loved to hear stories about their mom.

[BeautifullyxMad]

[For flow's sake...]

Damon looked to Sara and he nodded to her as she told the story. They went out for ice cream? That seemed oddly childish, but at the same time he really couldn't judge. It was a habit that they had grown up doing, and he knew that children the age they were didn't drink. If they did there was something severely wrong with the world, or their world. He nodded to her. "What is the name of the ice cream shoppe?" he asked her, and soon his phone vibrated again. Antonio again, but this time Damon gave him the answer that he would be able to delay bringing them home. It felt odd to him, that Giorgio Amato trusted a recruit member with his daughters. Then again most of the recruits were afraid of his wrath, not to mention they had all seen how drop of the dime Nichole was when she killed.

After a few more moments, the older sister came into sight and he was glad to finally head out of there. Of course his face wasn't known by many O'Connells, nor were the faces of the two girls, but that was for opposite reasons. Where Damon was still a new recruit into the family and hadn't really been up against any of the O'Connells, the girls had grown up learning to hate them. Every O'Connell who had seen their faces was dead, and he was sure that was why Nichole was so eager to get out of the cemetery all of a sudden. A group of O'Connells, despite not knowing who they were, was still a bit shady. Three members of The Family were here and the whole O'Connell family seemed to be there. That put Damon on edge, but soon he was holding the umbrella over the sisters' heads as they got into the car.

He received the name of the ice cream shoppe and he began driving them there. He was familiar with the shoppe in general, it was one where he had gone as a kid and was surprised still stayed afloat, but once he parked, he got out of the car and opened the umbrella for the sisters to stand up and he walked in with them before he saw the older man behind the counter smile to them. "Nichole, Sara, I almost thought you weren't coming in today." he said to the two.

-&

Nichole shook her head at this mysterious man's comments. He was either really far gone today, or he was just not in a good frame of mind, but who was she to judge? Anymore, she wasn't in a good frame of mind, and when she was it quickly turned into her shooting someone in the head. Her good frames of mind never lasted long, so as she walked about the cemetery and finally made it to the gates she let out a long sigh. She noted their driver, Damon, and her sister standing in the rain waiting for her. As another car passed, Nichole brought her umbrella closer to her face and she approached the two looking to Sara and then to Damon.

"Better get out of here. This place is crawling with the O'Connells, and I personally don't want to deal with them today." she said to them, and Damon opened the car door for the both of them and Nichole shook her umbrella out a bit before she got in the car, closing it. She picked up her piece and sighed, tucking it inside her small purse. It may have been a small purse, but Nichole made sure to leave room in it for her piece. Her gun. She felt naked without it and when Damon got into the car and drove off, she looked to her sister. "Sorry I took longer than usual, bumped into someone." she apologized before her eyes looked to the window and when they got to the ice cream shoppe she opened her umbrella and stepped out with her sister.

When the ice cream shoppe owner smiled to them she nodded back. "Of course we are here today, Daniel." Nichole spoke to him before she handed him some money and he took it before looking up at her, quizzically. "I know what happened, my condolences, but I'm sure you know what I want by now. What do you want Sara?" she asked her sister as the man tucked the money in the register and began scooping some mint and chocolate ice cream into a bowl for Nichole, and he smiled to Sara and made up her order.

"Anything else?" he asked. Nichole looked to Damon.

"If you want something, go ahead and get it. He makes good coffee if you don't like ice cream." she said to him before she walked with her sister to a table near the window, and Damon got coffee and sat in a table behind them. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do here, and he felt almost like he was intruding, but it was his duty to watch over them.

[LeighaMoscove]

When he asked the name of the ice cream shoppe, her smile brightened. It had become a ritual long ago when she couldn't stop crying at the memory of her mom's death, and it would disappoint Sara if it stopped now. Back then, it was the only thing that could keep her from crying, and it still kind of was. How could someone be sad while eating ice cream? Sara couldn't see a way, but that was a question for another time. "I think the name is 'Sunday's Sundaes' we only go once a year, so I have a hard time remembering the name." Despite her apparent love for sweets after visiting her mom's grave, that was the only time she really wanted them. Any other day of the year, she would turn down the thought of ice cream without another word.

"Who'd you bump into sis?" Sara looked at her sister questioningly. The only reasons that she could think of that her sister would be held back by the incident would be either if she knew the person or had a problem with them. Mainly Sara was worried that her sister ran into someone she had to deal with with the O'Connells in the cemetery. She knew better than to think that her sister would start something, that would disrespect everyone buried there, even their mom, but she did not know if that would prevent the O'Connells from doing anything, and her sister would protect herself it she had to, regardless of where she was.

Any concern Sara held was gone when they got to the ice cream shoppe. It served as a good distraction from anything serious, because Sara thought the idea of being serious over ice cream was ridiculous, which was another reason why she wasn't much of a sweet person. If she wanted to be like her sister, then she couldn't eat sweets. A small sacrifice for the sake of being serious. "I'd like vanilla today, please, Daniel." Sara smiled. Not too sweet, but still a good flavor. That was all that mattered to her. She took her sweet ice cream and sat down with her sister eating it eagerly.

---

It didn't take long for Jackson to visit his mother's grave. If he stayed too long the rest of his family would find him and wonder why he didn't go to pay his respects to the 'fallen comrade'. That's what they called him when the man was dead at least. When he was alive, the man was nothing more than a pawn used to further their goals in taking down The Family. It was always about taking down The Family, and the thought of changing his view of someone for the sake of respect made him sick. It wasn't long after he slipped out that he found his car. It was small and fast, but not much else. Only two people could sit comfortably in it, but that was how Jackson liked it. It was only him when he had his car.

His father had, of course, recommended bringing someone along, 'for protection', but his father didn't even know he wasn't visiting the funeral. What his father didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and Jackson had his gun. The moment he got into the seat he put his revolver in it's rightful place and drove off. There wasn't a select destination in mind, but he remembered a place that served awesome coffee that he'd go to every once in a while. A small place where no one would look for an O'Connell. An ice cream shoppe to be specific, which made it even less likely that someone would be searching for him there. Someone like him, seeking for vengeance with his every move, was not childish enough to eat ice cream. Coffee on the other hand was pure pleasure to him.

When he got there, he was shocked to see the beautiful girl from earlier. Now that he was no longer depressed about his mother, he could think more clearly. Jackson was slightly embarrassed by his actions earlier. Of course he looked like an idiot when he spouted out things like he had earlier, but he was more prepared this time. Now, he knew he could get a sentence out without spouting out nonsense that probably left her confused.

Composing himself, Jackson got out and made sure his revolver was well hidden before going inside. There was no need to raise alarm by showing off a concealed weapon. That would be too suspicious for his liking, and Jackson was proud to say that he had not raised any alarms or revealed that he was an O'Connell to anyone but his family thus far, and that was hard to do considering the length some of these people went through to find out who Murphy's son was, or to learn who would be the next head of the family. It was dangerous for him to just be alive, not including being reckless or doing jobs.

When he walked inside and gave Daniel a nod, "A coffee please, Daniel. Black, as usual." Jackson pulled out the required amount of cash and handed it to Daniel who slipped it away and rushed to get him his coffee. Coffee in hand, Jackson smirked and headed towards the table the beautiful girl was sitting in, and it seemed that she had a couple of friends as well. "It's a fancy seeing you here again, Beautiful. I didn't take you for an ice cream person."

[BeautifullyxMad]

Nichole allowed a small, barely there, smile to take form on her face as she watched her sister. It was days like today she almost missed having some form of innocence to her, but Nichole was far from having it anymore. She had killed, lied, hustled, and done horrible things to people without ever thinking twice on it and no regrets. She had gotten sloppy one day and now there was a funeral commemorating what was left of that man who found out that she was part of the Amato Family. Him being an O'Connell had indefinitely sealed his fate and she replayed that in her mind. She never regretted what she did, but sometimes she was weary of it. She would never tell anyone though because Nichole Amato wasn't the one who was supposed to grow weary of her place and job within the family.

Nichole took a spoonful of her ice cream and popped it in her mouth before looking to Sara. Her sister meant the world to her and seeing her not sad was something Nichole wanted to see everyday. But with their mother gone it had been hard, and as she thought about it she found herself playing with her ice cream. A voice came from her side and she looked up to see the mystery man from the cemetery there. What a coincidence. Still, doing her best not to screw up this day, Nichole sighed a bit. "I do recall giving you my name, mystery man, so you wouldn't have to call me beautiful." she recalled and she received a look from Damon who set his coffee on the table. Before he could do anything stupid, Nichole gave him a look and she looked back to the man.

"And to be honest, I'm not much of an ice cream person, but I do like to indulge every once in a while. Days like today bring out that part of me." she answered before lazily popping her spoon in her mouth, and she looked to her sister. Today wasn't a day she would like to be picked up by some man, or even have some man attempt this, but this was the first guy who hadn't prodded at her the first time he saw her. He was different somehow, but today wasn't the day. It took every fiber of her being to try to string together something that wouldn't come off as super rude. Tonight would be different. Tonight she would probably go off to some bar and get drunk, of course she would have someone with her to drive her home, but it was how Nichole had gotten anymore. Booze numbed her in ways she couldn't describe. Still, her mind was everywhere at the moment, but come tomorrow she would be perfectly composed again. It was just how today always played out for her.

She wanted to say something else to the mystery man speaking, but Damon soon cleared his throat and spoke, which surprised her.

-&-

Damon sat with the sisters in silence. It was like most of the sisters interaction was through some kind of look-signal sort of telepathy and he just didn't understand it. He drank his coffee before someone came in and he tensed up a moment, placing his coffee down and getting ready to move if he needed to grab his piece. Granted an ice cream shoppe was not the place for this, but if they moved in a threatening manner they would be blown away in a few seconds if any at all. Still, he approached the table casually and began... Flirting? Flirting with Nichole it seemed. He was more tense now because on more than one occasion he had heard a story like this where the bullet ended up between the guy's eyes, but he was soon assured it was alright.

She was speaking with him so, casually, and Damon cast a sidelong glance to Sara before he went back to his coffee. However, the next look that Nichole shot Sara, he knew. This guy was just an innocent bystander who had been in the cemetery for some reason, probably to pay respects. Hitting on one of the Amatos wasn't okay, and he knew that giving away their real identities was far from okay with the boss so he cleared his throat and looked to man.

"I don't mean to be rude, but my sisters and I have had a pretty rough day today, and I really don't appreciate what you're doing." he said to him and this earned him a couple of looks. He improvised, and took a long sip of his coffee. His sisters? Psh. These girls were far from Damon's sisters. They were his superiors, his bosses, and though he was still pretty new to the family, he had been given this duty. And he didn't want to mess it up at all.

[LeighaMoscove]

When the man approached, Sara was nervous for a moment, but continued eating happily. Her sister would protect her, and Damon was here too. There would be no need for her to get involved, so she ignored the man. Although she was hesitant to kill anyone, she wouldn't be the least bit bothered if Nichole killed the man here. Her sister knew best, and judging by the look Nichole had sent her this was the man who she ran into in the cemetery. It was a shock that he was still even alive if this was how he acted in the cemetery, but she would not question her sister. Instead of thinking about it too much, she ignored the man and continued eating her ice cream trusting the other two to deal with him appropriately.

When Damon called them his sisters, she gave him a confused look, but it only lasted a moment before she masked it. If that was how he planned to get rid of the odd man that approached their table then it was best that she not give away his lie by her questioning look. Perhaps she would question Damon on his ability to come up with a good lie later, because that one wouldn't work. While her and her sister shared an obvious sister relationship and looked similar, Damon didn't. Hopefully this odd man would just buy it and go on with his way. Anyone flirting with her sister made her uncomfortable because she knew how her sister reacted to it.

Deciding to make the lie more convincing, Sara looked up at Damon with a smile, "Brother, are we going home after this? I don't want to, father can so depressing on these days." The statement served several purposes. First, it would dismiss the man if he could catch the hint, she was ignoring him and trying to get Damon to do the same. Second, it enforced his lie on their relationship. Third, it also reinforced the idea that it was a rough day. Fourth, it would hopefully give Damon an idea to excuse them if the odd man didn't catch the hint that they wanted him to leave. Perhaps Damon could say that it reminded him of something and they had to go home? That wasn't up to her, she just kept a calm expression and continued eating her ice cream, nearly finished by now.

---

The girls seemed calm enough, but Jackson didn't miss the male at the table tense. Jackson took a step back to show that he meant no harm. It was out of habit more than anything, he was used to hanging around dangerous people, and he knew when to back off. Of course the people he hung around knew who he was and knew better than to hurt him. These people didn't and that made them more dangerous. It seemed that they were a family, and he had figured that at least Nichole would be upset for whomever she had went to the cemetery to pay her respects to. The brother seemed to be trying to dismiss him and the blonde girl was ignoring him, which was fine enough to him. "I apologize, Nichole. I didn't think that you would mind the compliment of being called beautiful."

Jackson met the male's gaze and held it. He did not mean these people harm, but he would not allow one of them to dismiss him. He had been talking to Nichole, and this man had seemed to jump in with an attempt to dismiss him. "I understand that any day one has to visit a cemetery and pay someone their respects is a hard day, for I am also having a difficult time. I just find it easier to relax and focus on the good things rather than the bad. Is that so wrong?" He attempted his best innocent look, but he never could manage to get it to reach his eyes. Someone that made it their life to avenge their mom's death through more death never could be completely innocent.

By now, Jackson was tense, but her tried to remain calm and looked back at Nichole with a charming smile. "I apologize though for bothering you, and will leave you alone if you wish, Nichole." This was who he was here to talk to, and he would only let her dismiss him. The girl ignoring him and the brother didn't matter. In truth he had hoped Nichole would not dismiss him, but he could tell by the other's reactions that she probably would. It was a shame, but he would deal with it. After all, he had approached a girl that he knew would probably be having a bad day if she had been to the cemetery, but it was as he said. He had to go through the same thing, for his mom. It just suited him better to forget the bad and continue with the good. The beauty of this girl and her sister was a good thing, a ray of sun shine in his gloomy mood. How could he not be attracted to it like a moth to light?

[BeautifullyxMad]

Nichole looked to this man with interest. Most of the time someone would back off when their appointed "bodyguard" of the day spoke to them, but this one different. Then again, it wasn't likely he had any clue who they were and it would stay that way as long as she needed it to stay that way. She brought another bite of her ice cream into her mouth before placed her spoon in the melting dessert and turned to face him completely. "What's your name?" she asked him, and she could feel that she was getting a look. She couldn't help it, when something interested her she wanted to know things about said item or person. It was a good thing when she had to do digging on recruits, and it was how most of them were welcomed into the family, with a packet of information on them.

She brought the spoon up to her mouth again before tossed a look to her sister and Damon. For the moment this man was alright, but if he didn't turn out to be, he wouldn't be around much longer, her gun not far from her. Her trigger finger wasn't itchy yet so it wasn't a bad thing at the moment, but Nichole was always suspicious. Call it that feeling she always got, but she was amazed at what lengths people went to figure out the inner workings of The Family. Of course, every time there had been a rat they were sent to one of three people. Her father, Antonio, or herself. She loved torture, and she loved dealing with those who broke the code that she bore on her wrist. Loyalty and Honesty.

"I would like to be able to relate a name to the person with whom I am speaking." she said. She really had been watching too many old films, but she liked them and their language. It was beautiful. She soon turned to her half-eaten, melting treat and took another bite before Damon stood up, her eyes looked to him.

"We should get going, Nichole." he said.

"Alright, I'll be out shortly." she informed him and he nodded before she stood up and discarded her trash in a nearby receptacle and she stood before the man, her purse over her arm and umbrella in hand. She studied him for a moment before she dove her hand into her purse and grabbed a pen with little effort. "Got a piece of paper?" she asked him.

-&-

Damon was a little irritated with the way the man just dismissed his attempt of dismissal and it definitely made him a little angry when he dismissed Sara too. Perhaps it was his territorial side coming out, but he hated guys like this, who just couldn't take a hint. However, Nichole's actions were a bit odd to say the very least. How could the coldest and most emotionless person find this man to be worth her time? He definitely didn't seem it. He wanted to ignore the urge to punch the man in the face, but it was still there. He turned to Sara at her question and nodded. "We are." he informed her and when he got a message saying it was okay to bring them home he was almost relieved at their timing. He had no idea why they were being held up, but he didn't care. The sisters were easy to take care of because they mostly took care of themselves.

"We should be going, Nichole." he said to her, but she dismissed him. He was even more taken aback at that and he waited a moment for Sara, and watched Nichole reach into her purse before he turned away with the umbrella and he looked to Sara when Nichole walked away. He looked to Sara and he headed to the door, opening it for her before letting her in the car. The rain seemed to be letting up, which was a good sign, and he got into the driver's seat of the car and he looked back to Sara.

"I know that was a bad lie, forgive me. It was the first thing that came to mind." he apologized to her. His phone went off again. Another text, but this time from Giovanni. It looked like he had a job to do when he got back, something to do with scoping out a possible area where the O'Connells were. It was something that Giovanni had been having the recruits do because their faces weren't well known to the O'Connells yet. He sent a text back and continued to await the other Amato sister before looking back to Sara. "Is there anywhere else you were wanting to go before I took the two of you home?" he asked her, turning back to look at her from the front seat.

[LeighaMoscove]

Now, Sara was confused. The odd man couldn't seem to take the hint, he had completely ignored both her and Damon, and now Nichole wasn't dismissing him. Since he seemed to be here for her, she could guess that he would leave once Nichole had dismissed him, but she didn't. Since when was the last time Sara hadn't seen her sister dismiss some guy that walked up to her flirting? He had done so in a way that she would consider rude, but she wasn't about to say anything. Her sister could handle herself much better than Sara could, so she could trust Nichole's judgement. If this mad became a problem then he wouldn't live much longer. If he was sincere, then maybe having him around wouldn't be a bad thing. It's been a while since her sister had shown interest in much else than her family and herself. What kind of interest? Sara wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. She trusted her sister completely.

Glad that Damon took her cue to leave, Sara stood and gave her sister a confused look, but walked with Damon out the door anyways. If there was something that she had to know, Nichole would tell her later. If Nichole wouldn't tell her, then it wasn't anything important to note. That was how Sara saw it, and she took pride in saying that she understood her sister pretty well. Better than most, but that probably had something to do with their close nit relationship. Nichole was the closest thing to a mother figure that Sara had after their mother's death, and she loved her sister to death for it. It probably took a lot to take care of her, especially since she wasn't as willing to do the darker side of business as her sister and father were.

Anywhere else where she wanted to go? Honestly, as far away from the odd guy would be a good bet, but saying that would be weird. "There's no where else." The fact the odd guy had walked right up and started flirting with her sister, and the fact that he wouldn't back off after he was told to, bothered Sara. Even if they didn't know who Nichole was, most people could take the hint and back off. He should have done so to at least be respectful, but he seemed intent on staying. What was his problem? Sara rid that thought of her mind before looking at Damon, I'm not bothered by the lie. It wasn't a good one, but he seemed to buy it well enough. I'm more bothered by the fact that he wouldn't leave after you told him to." Okay, so maybe Damon hadn't directly told the odd man to leave, but he had certainly implied that he wanted him gone. Anyone looking in on the encounter could tell that.

---

So she hadn't dismissed him. That was a good sign, and he was more than happy to stay. Although, it seemed that her sister and brother were more than ready to leave. It was no problem to him, because Nichole had wanted to stay. "My name's Jackson, but you could call me handsome if you like, beautiful." Jackson winked. She almost sounded like those old films that he watched as a child. For some reason he had some bizarre idea in his head that that was how being an O'Connell would be like. He had, of course, grown out of them when he realized that it wasn't, but he thought it was cute the way that she sounded. If she watched old movies, then perhaps he should pull his old box of them out and watch them to have something to discuss if he ran into her again. Fate was on his side so far, and he could trust it again.

There was no reaction when she reached into her purse, but a smirk spread across his face when she pulled out a pen and asked if he had paper. "As a matter of fact, I do have paper." He pulled a few small sheets of blank paper out of his back pocket. He had originally planned on using it for a job he was going to deal with later, but he didn't mind wasting it on a pretty girl such as Nichole. He would just have to grab some more before he went to his job. It seemed that some of the people working for the O'Connells were getting nervous after this most recent death, and he had to deal with it. He would never understand how someone could get so shaken up after one person in their line of work died. That was normal, and he dealt with it often enough. He supposed that was one of the reasons why his father had sent him to deal with it. That and the fact that he was cold when working. While he had plenty of time to flirt and be friendly here, it would get him killed in an instant to by someone who knew who he was.