thelostbrennan

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[thelostbrennan]

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I know what I am. I always knew it would catch up with me.

AIDAN TURNER as PHILIP LOMBARD in And Then There Were None (2015)

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A “Warm” Welcome to the Family

Odd couldn’t fully describe how Ciaran felt right now. Awkward. Unwanted. Traitorous. 

Terrified. 

All of them fit really, but especially terrified. He was a lone Irishman in Shelby Tower, sitting outside the office of Elizabeth Shelby... handcuffed to a chair. There was nothing to not be terrified about in this situation. 

Well.... at least he wasn’t dead already. That had to mean something.

Coming back to this reality had been difficult enough. He hadn’t forgotten that it had taken holding someone at gunpoint to get through in the first place and they obviously hadn’t forgotten either. They were ready to attack the moment he came over but Merrick Shelby, despite all of their issues, actually acted as a shield for him; literally putting himself in between the Americans and Ciaran. It was unexpected to say the least. 

Birmingham was another story. Word must have gotten home quickly because stepping off the plane, Elizabeth Shelby was there to greet them. That was far more nerve wracking than the Americans pointing a gun in his direction. Isa held him back on the plane as Merrick went down the stairs to speak with her first. The discussion didn’t last long before Merrick was looking back at them nervously and Lizzie was gesturing for them to come on down. And that was how he ended up here. 

His fate rest on how well Isa and Merrick could convince Lizzie that he would be an asset. While he knew that Isa was stubborn and not the biggest fan of not having her way, what she wanted didn’t matter to Lizzie. What Merrick wanted only mattered slightly more because of his status as heir, but she still only truly cared about what she felt was the right thing to help herself and the Blinders. 

When the door finally opened, it was Isa approaching him. “Isa...” He started but she only shook her head, shutting him up in an instant. As she unlocked the handcuffs to release him, she gave his hand a quick, out of sight squeeze.

“She wants to talk to you.” She spoke softly, well aware of the other Blinders in the room. “It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking, but... I don’t think it’s good.” Isa pulled him to his feet and when his eyes met hers, all he could see was her trained Shelby mask.

“Ciaran Brennan.” Elizabeth Shelby was sitting at her desk and Merrick stood behind her, looking every bit the dutiful son. Ciaran always knew that people feared her, but he never fully understood it until now. The power she commanded even just sitting there could make even the most courageous falter. “My children tell me you no longer happy with the Irish gang. I-”

“With respect, ma’am,” Merrick tensed at Ciaran interrupting her, but Lizzie seemed to not react. “It’s not that I am no longer happy with the gang. With my family. In fact, it’s my love for them that drives me here.” He shifted his stance, he couldn’t afford to falter. “It is important you understand that I am a loyal man. Loyal to a fault in fact. My loyalty to my brother almost overshadowed my loyalty for the Irish.” He paused for a moment before sighing and looking out the window. “Dom has lost control and is going to destroy all that I love. He is going to destroy my family and himself. I can’t let him do that. ” 

“So...” She let the pause hold for a moment until his attention was back on her. “You want to work with the Sheby’s to protect the Irish interests?” 

“Yes. Dom has this wild idea that he can bring you down but... the Irish will never be more than the Shelbys and I don’t want that anyway. I just want what is best for my people and that’s working with you all.” Lizzie looked between the three of them as he finished his appeal. Her gaze lingered on Isa a little longer before turning back to him.

“And how much of this is actually to do with yours and Isa’s relationship?”

“Liz-” Isa’s protest was cut off by Lizzie slamming her hand on the table. 

“Do you all think I’m an idiot?” She yelled, getting to her feet. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath now.  “Do you think I am blind?” Her voice was no longer raised, but there was no less severity in it. None of them responded as she moved from behind the desk to approach Ciaran. “You chased after her into another world. That means something.” 

“I won’t pretend that that isn’t a part of this.” Ciaran watched as Merrick rubbed his brow, hiding his face. This obviously wasn’t going as the man had hoped. Ciar let out a soft chuckle; it was time for a new tactic then. “I won’t just be a Shelby by allegiance, I will be one by name. At least... I already am in that other world. You can’t buy that kind of loyalty.” Isa and Merrick, both usually so good at keeping their reactions hidden, stared at him with mouths agape. Even Lizzie seemed to be stunned into silence for a minute. 

“Well then.” She sat back against the desk, arms crossed over her chest.  The slight clench of her jaw was the only real sign of the extreme anger she felt. “I can’t say I’m happy to hear that, but it certainly makes this decision easier. You will be a Shelby by name. We will make it official here, but only once you are the new man in charge of the Irish. It will be a great show of how the Shelbys are happy to make alliance and accept others into the family. In the meantime... you’re going to lay low until we start to put together a plan to bring this all about.” She pushed away from the desk and waved Isa and Ciaran away. “Now, get out of my sight. I need to speak with Merrick.” Merrick’s face grew grim as he gave a slight nod to Isa. The two of them left quickly, hoping to find somewhere the two of them could speak. 

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Aidan Turner photographed by David Goldman for Article Magazine (2017)

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Aidan Turner | Philip Lombard

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Ciaran filled it slowly, glancing at her every once in a while. “Shall I start with what was possibly one of the worst days of my life? Watching you get dragged away and taken from me when there was nothing I could do?” He shifted, uncomfortable at the memory, and then moved to set the bottle down. “I struggled to fight until they knocked me out cold. The first thing I saw when I came to was Domnall’s face. A sad replacement for you.”

betterthedevilsyouknow:

Isa tensed in his arms. Tears were weakness and the steely part of her still refused to let anyone see she had any weakness. She wanted to ask him how it was so easy to read her mind. The words would not form though. She let her fingers graze over his arms as he pulled away. Once he was gone she quickly pulled on an oversized shirt and wrapped up in her robe for Merrick’s benefit if he happened to return. She cleared her face of any sign of tears and made her way to the kitchen.

Ciaran was staring at his glass when she came out to the kitchen. He had been having his own worries that it was a dream, even though he had been the one to travel to her. A world where they could be together just didn’t seem real. Though if he was honest, all of his time with her felt like a wonderful dream he didn’t deserve. “Do you ever think about how… despite our lives, our families, everything that says we never should have been together, despite all of that, here we are? I was never one to believe in fate until I met you Isa Shelby, but now…” He paused to smile softly at her. “How could it be anything but? Maybe I was always meant to come here. Maybe things were always going to happen this way.”

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“I mean... I told you the short version.” He chuckled, picking up the bottle and moving to her side. “But, if you’d like to hear the long boring version with all the tiny little details... I think I can oblige you in that.” Ciaran lightly caressed her cheek as he walked by.

betterthedevilsyouknow:

Isa tensed in his arms. Tears were weakness and the steely part of her still refused to let anyone see she had any weakness. She wanted to ask him how it was so easy to read her mind. The words would not form though. She let her fingers graze over his arms as he pulled away. Once he was gone she quickly pulled on an oversized shirt and wrapped up in her robe for Merrick’s benefit if he happened to return. She cleared her face of any sign of tears and made her way to the kitchen.

Ciaran was staring at his glass when she came out to the kitchen. He had been having his own worries that it was a dream, even though he had been the one to travel to her. A world where they could be together just didn’t seem real. Though if he was honest, all of his time with her felt like a wonderful dream he didn’t deserve. “Do you ever think about how… despite our lives, our families, everything that says we never should have been together, despite all of that, here we are? I was never one to believe in fate until I met you Isa Shelby, but now…” He paused to smile softly at her. “How could it be anything but? Maybe I was always meant to come here. Maybe things were always going to happen this way.”

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“And somehow you put up with me long enough to fall in love with me.” Ciaran smiled at her as he poured a new glass for himself. “Romantic and sexy aren’t mutually exclusive, you know that right?” He chuckled before taking a drink.

betterthedevilsyouknow:

Isa tensed in his arms. Tears were weakness and the steely part of her still refused to let anyone see she had any weakness. She wanted to ask him how it was so easy to read her mind. The words would not form though. She let her fingers graze over his arms as he pulled away. Once he was gone she quickly pulled on an oversized shirt and wrapped up in her robe for Merrick’s benefit if he happened to return. She cleared her face of any sign of tears and made her way to the kitchen.

Ciaran was staring at his glass when she came out to the kitchen. He had been having his own worries that it was a dream, even though he had been the one to travel to her. A world where they could be together just didn’t seem real. Though if he was honest, all of his time with her felt like a wonderful dream he didn’t deserve. “Do you ever think about how… despite our lives, our families, everything that says we never should have been together, despite all of that, here we are? I was never one to believe in fate until I met you Isa Shelby, but now…” He paused to smile softly at her. “How could it be anything but? Maybe I was always meant to come here. Maybe things were always going to happen this way.”

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betterthedevilsyouknow:

Isa tensed in his arms. Tears were weakness and the steely part of her still refused to let anyone see she had any weakness. She wanted to ask him how it was so easy to read her mind. The words would not form though. She let her fingers graze over his arms as he pulled away. Once he was gone she quickly pulled on an oversized shirt and wrapped up in her robe for Merrick’s benefit if he happened to return. She cleared her face of any sign of tears and made her way to the kitchen.

Ciaran was staring at his glass when she came out to the kitchen. He had been having his own worries that it was a dream, even though he had been the one to travel to her. A world where they could be together just didn’t seem real. Though if he was honest, all of his time with her felt like a wonderful dream he didn’t deserve. “Do you ever think about how... despite our lives, our families, everything that says we never should have been together, despite all of that, here we are? I was never one to believe in fate until I met you Isa Shelby, but now...” He paused to smile softly at her. “How could it be anything but? Maybe I was always meant to come here. Maybe things were always going to happen this way.”

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Ciaran turned as she pushed him away and instantly pulled her into his arms once again, without turning her towards him. He’d let her hide her tears but he was still going to try to comfort her. “I love you, Isa Shelby. And I’m here. You aren’t going to be losing me, my love.” He kissed her shoulder and gave one final squeeze before pulling away to go to the kitchen.

betterthedevilsyouknow:

“For you… It wasn’t that hard,” she chuckled. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled against his chest. “Just don’t make me say anything like that for a while. It takes far too much out of me.” 

“I promise I won’t. I’ll just replay what you said over and over again in my head. It’ll last me for a while.” Ciaran chuckled as he hugged her. “Besides, I know you love me, I don’t need you to keep telling me.”