Um... Surprise?, Flynn

[Maura McCabe]

~2 July~
~5:15 pm~



Very soon now Maura would have to tell her brothers and father about her engagement. She wanted them to be at her wedding, and knew they'd want to be there for it. But with as overprotective of her as they were... well, it was only to be expected that she'd be anxious about dropping that sort of news on them and introducing them to her fiance. She was going to have to tell them today or tomorrow though. Bastian was coming over the day after tomorrow to meet her brothers and father. She had introduced him to her mother already, just the day before. Maura wanted the men to have at least a little time to get used to the idea.

But would it be better to tell them all at once, or one by one? All at once would make it go by faster and get it all out of the way. The downside to that though was that they were likely to all feed off of each other voicing objections of one sort or another and trying to talk her out of it. They were always worse when there were two or all three together. No. One at a time was the way to go. It was much easier to handle them that way... and they were more inclined to be reasonable.

The real difficulty now was in figuring out which one to tell first, and how to catch them separate from each other quickly enough that she could break the news on her own without one running off and telling the others. Maybe she could convince them individually to let her tell the others herself? She could hope at any rate.

With her mind made up on that score, Maura focused her full attention on finalizing her planned dishes for Wednesday. The meats would be done on the grill, so she was mostly focused on sides and desserts. She had her cookbooks spread out on the coffee table and the sofa beside her, and a notepad on her lap. When she heard the door open, she looked up at it.

"Hey, Flynn. How'd your day go?" she asked with a smile. She moved the books from the sofa to the table so her brother could sit down if he wanted. And she should probably clear up her things anyway. Cian and their father would likely be getting home soon too, she noted when she saw the time. How the hell had the day gone by that fast? And had she really been at her planning that long? It felt like she had only just gotten started on it.

[Flynn McCabe]

What a day.

No, seriously. What a day. It wasn't often you got a job and a bride, and some pretty freaking crazy news from your mother, all in the same day. Flynn was actually having a little trouble processing it all. He'd gone from home this morning to a job interview at Everbooks, and from there straight to the library to open his match envelope with his mother. He'd opened the envelope and then - boom. He was engaged, just like that. His match wasn't just an idea anymore, she was a she. With a name. Catriona. And they were getting married, probably within the next week. Of course, all of that didn't keep him from noticing how worn out mom had seemed, and poking and prodding her until eventually she told him the truth. She wasn't running herself ragged, she wasn't going through menopause early or having some kind of hormonal imbalance... she was pregnant. Honest to God pregnant at 45. Flynn and Cian and Maura were going to have a little brother or sister, that was at least 18 years younger than all of them. Being that there was a 23 year difference between him and said baby, it was a little hard to grasp seeing as he was old enough to be its' father (not literally, of course). But still, at the same time it was kind of awesome. In a weird, terrifying, yet really really awesome kind of way.

After that little bombshell, he'd gone home, picked up Ody, and taken him for a walk. During which, to top off all the other stuff that had gone on that day, the bookstore had called to offer him the full-time job. Of course he'd said yes, and then he and Ody had jumped/danced around the park for a little while before heading home. Now though, everything had caught up with him and he sat behind the steering wheel of his car in the driveway for a few minutes, just staring at the front door, trying to absorb all this new information. He'd been there for at least five minutes when Odysseus, the French bulldog, had looked over at him from the passenger seat and whined in his usual snuffly way. "I'm going," Flynn groaned, unlocking the door and pulling the key from the ignition. He took the keys in one hand, Ody's leash in the other, and let the small dog follow him out of the driver's side before closing the car door with a loud bang. Letting himself in, Flynn pushed open the front door of the house and bent down to unhook Ody's leash from his harness, the black bulldog immediately making a bee-line for Maura with a little wuff of joy. He was a sucker for cuddles, and all the McCabes knew it, so it usually wasn't long before he found someone willing to let him up in their lap. His sister, as usual, was surrounded by cookbooks, which made Flynn smile. The fourth of July was coming up on Wednesday and he had no doubt she'd be in full entertaining mode, which meant lots of delicious goodies for all.

"Hey," he replied. "My day was... busy. But good, I think. How was yours?" Kicking off his shoes, he made his way to the couch and flopped down next to Maura and Ody, who had already made himself comfortable. Reaching up, he untied his bow tie (none of those tacky clip-on ties for Flynn!) and removed it, undoing the top button of his shirt for comfort. "Found a job, finally. The bookstore was looking for full-time help... it probably helps that my mom's a librarian so I know a lot of the cataloging stuff already. How about you, are you planning for the Fourth of July? Whatcha making?" Flynn could cook a little, he wasn't helpless. And seeing as how he was such a mama's boy he'd spent enough time in the kitchen with Selby that he could cook some things. Still, what he knew was basic compared to Maura, who was a whiz in the kitchen. When she cooked it was always perfect and tasted amazing. On her turn to cook during the week everyone was lined up at the kitchen door just waiting because it always smelled so good they couldn't wait. He picked up one of the cookbooks and glanced through the recipes. A lot of the time he couldn't tell how it would taste just by reading it, but he knew Maura would pick out something good. "This looks good," he said, pointing to the page. "Do they have any good cake recipes in here? I was kind of wondering if you would make me a cake." He didn't want to come out and say 'for my wedding' just yet, because he wasn't sure how Maura would react, but he did want to ask her to make a small cake for his wedding, just something the family and he and Catriona could share. Sort of a nice gesture to show his bride that he was a thoughtful kind of guy, something like that.

[Maura McCabe]

"Good, glad to hear it" she said, adding her notepad to the stack of books and patting her lap to encourage Ody to come up. Not that he particularly needed it. Maura had a tendency to spoil the dog. Along with any other animals she interacted with. "Mine was alright. Work went well. And I've found several new recipes I want to try out." She rubbed Ody behind the ears and grinned at her brother's ever-present bow tie. She had to admit he wore them well. Only he could pull them off in semi-casual wear without looking like a moron. Well. Him and the Doctor. But Maura wasn't sure the Doctor really counted, since he could pull off anything without looking like a moron and he was a fictional character to boot.

"Oh, good! Congrats." Maura was happy for him. Both that he got a job, and that it would be doing something he was likely to enjoy. Of all of the three of them, Flynn was most likely to enjoy working at the bookstore. She enjoyed reading well enough and treated books gently - in part because she wanted them to last and in part because her mother would skin her alive if she didn't - but it wasn't what she was most passionate about.

She nodded and showed him her list. "Yes, I am. I figure we'll need a lot of food. We always do. Here's what I have in mind" she continued. There were some pasta salads and fruit salads on there, with abbreviated titles and page numbers scrawled beside them. There were appetizers and desserts too. Maura didn't say that she was making more extra dishes than normal because they had at least one other person who'd be there besides the five of them. Not yet anyway. That would come in due time.

When Flynn picked up a cookbook and leafed through it, she was both surprised and not. He and Cian both sometimes did that, but not often enough for her to not be surprised about it still. Her eyebrow rose when he asked about a cake. That was even more rare of an occurrence. "The desserts start on page ninety of that one" she answered. "And of course I'll make you one. What sort of cake did you have in mind? Any particular size? What about flavor? What sort of icing, and do you want any decorations on it or just plain?" And what's the occasion? she added in her own mind. Her expression asked the question anyway though, even if her voice did not. It couldn't just be to celebrate his getting a job. Maybe an academic accomplishment. Something to do with college. Or maybe there was no ulterior motive to it at all, and he was just in the mood for cake.

[Flynn McCabe]

Ody flopped down across Maura's lap with a contented sigh, not at all too proud to beg. She rubbed his ears and in minutes the dog was half-asleep in doggie heaven. Flynn just chuckled at the dog and shook his head, leaning back into the couch with his feet on the coffee table - placing them carefully so as not to bump the stacks of cookbooks. "You know how much everyone likes when you try new recipes." He couldn't reiterate it enough, Maura could cook. She could probably cook something with her eyes closed and it would still turn out perfect, which is why he wanted a cake from her. "And thanks," he replied to her job congratulations. "It took long enough. I know dad probably thinks I was being too picky, but me being a lit major and waiting tables would be like you working in a shoe store. It just doesn't make sense." One of his cousins owned a coffee shop where Cian now worked, and Flynn knew he could have pulled the family card and worked there too, but he really had wanted something in his field. He also had wanted to get the job on his own - and yes, he'd referenced his mother the librarian in his interview this morning, but he had enough of his own experience to be confident that wasn't totally the reason he'd been hired. That was the great thing about him and his siblings. They all had their own strengths and interests, and always had, but they all still got along really well. Maura loved to cook, Flynn loved books, and Cian had been great at sports. He probably still would be except for his injury and having to take it easy.

Taking the list Maura handed him, Flynn glanced down it. It had page numbers and shorthand titles, some of which he recognized and some he didn't. He knew he could find the recipes if he wanted, but it wouldn't matter. Just by reading a recipe he had no idea how the food would taste. And he trusted Maura. She cooked for them all the time, and she knew what everyone liked. "This is a lot of food. That's good, though. Plenty of leftovers." He smiled and gave the list back to her to work on. Meanwhile, Ody grumbled at his lack of attention and rolled over, sprawling on his back to beg for belly rubs. Flynn laughed and reached over to pat the dog, tweaking his ears before flipping through the cookbook he'd picked up to the aforementioned dessert section. "Page 90, right? Hmm." He glanced at the recipe names, scanning down them for something that looked good. Flynn liked lemon cake, but he realized he didn't know what Catriona liked, or if she had any food allergies. He cut his eyes to Maura, leaning his head back on the couch. "It doesn't have to be big, just a little cake. A round one, I think. I'll leave the decorating up to you, but definitely white icing. It has to be mostly white." Flynn paused slightly, the tips of his ears reddening. "I, um... I got matched. My envelope came today, so... I was kind of hoping to have it for a wedding cake. Like a surprise for my match." It was no secret in the family that Flynn had signed up for the Vow. He'd joked around about it a lot before actually getting up the nerve to do it. No, the one that surprised them all had been Cian, since he'd never had any trouble with the ladies. Flynn on the other hand, had had all of two girlfriends and not managed to keep either of them for more than 6 months.

It wasn't that he wasn't a sweetheart, and a really romantic guy deep down. It was just that Flynn was awkward. He had great ideas, but his execution needed work. That's where Maura came in. He could make a cake himself, but it would have to be a boxed caked mix and it wouldn't taste or look nearly as good as if Maura did it. And the thought still counted, right? He pulled the folded envelope from his front pocket and waved it before setting it down on the couch between them. "Her name's Catriona. I haven't really talked to her yet so I don't know when the wedding will be, but I guess within a week, right? And the other problem is... I don't know what kind of cake she likes, or if she's allergic to anything. So... what do you think? Honestly. Is the cake a good idea, or kind of cheesy? I need a girl's perspective."

[Maura McCabe]

"Yes, I know" Maura beamed. She liked cooking, but more so she liked knowing that her family enjoyed what she made. She didn't always do off the wall things or fancy recipes, but she did like trying them out. Especially ones that seemed like a bit of a challenge. Constantly pushing herself to be better and to improve was a habit that she had developed over the years when she began to realize what the attention lavished upon her meant. Despite her frustrations with the high expectations everyone had for her, she hadn't yet managed to break that habit. Deep down inside herself, she wasn't really sure she wanted to. How else would she achieve her goal of owning her own restaurant if she wasn't constantly pushing herself to be better, to improve, to take risks and try something new?

She understood where Flynn was coming from on finding a job that was a good fit. 'Yeah, it wouldn't make any sense at all." The thought of working in a shoe store and potentially touching the feet of strangers made her shudder a little in revulsion. It was one thing when it came to family or close friends, but people whose names she didn't even know... that was out of the question as far as she was concerned. That aversion to touching strangers in any way that was even remotely personal - outside of a handshake - was probably a large factor in why she hadn't decided to go into the medical profession. That and she was not about to subject herself to any line of work where bedpans might be involved.

Maura nodded in agreement at the comment about leftovers. She never minded having leftovers when she cooked. Sometimes even she wanted a break from cooking and she knew they'd be gone within a matter of days anyway.

As Flynn talked about the cake he wanted, Maura made mental notes on it. Her curiosity rose more and more, but it wasn't until he mentioned that it had to be white that she nearly burst apart at the seams with curiosity. She kept her silence - though with effort - and let him tell her in his own time.

"That's great!" she said, hugging him tightly. "Tell me about her. Everything you know" she demanded, sitting back again while he did so. Not knowing if she had any food allergies certainly did make things more of a challenge. "Of course it's not cheesy" she answered, giving Flynn a look that said she thought he was silly for even asking. "It's sweet. And if she doesn't appreciate the gesture, then she's a fool and doesn't deserve to be married to you." In her own way, Maura was every bit as protective of her brothers as they were of her. Only... she didn't deliberately try to drive away potential suitors the way they tended to do.

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, thinking on how to get around the problem. "Here's what we'll do. We'll look through these books and select a couple of different kinds of cake. Then you'll find out what flavors she likes and if she's allergic to anything, and if she's vegan or anything like that. You bring that information back to me, and I'll take it from there." Without thinking about it, her tone and demeanor had slipped from happy little sister to businesslike when she talked about the cake.

Maura did feel a stab of guilt though, and decided it was time to tell him her own news. "Um... Flynn?" she began, shifting a little in discomfort. "There's something I need to tell you. But you have to swear not to tell Dad or Cian until I get the chance to do it myself. Swear on something that matters." Until he did, Maura wouldn't breathe a word of her own impending wedding, and would just have to bite the bullet and tell them all at once at dinner. Which she really would rather avoid if possible.

[Flynn McCabe]

Maura leaned across the couch to hug him tight, and Flynn hugged her back, laughing. Actually, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was going to miss this. Coming home to his mom and dad and siblings every night, to a house where he knew he was always welcome and loved. Sure it'd be quieter, and he would have a little more privacy (only a little, because he imagined sharing a house and a room with your wife was only slightly better than sharing it with your older brother like when they were kids), but he was scared. Flynn had never really been away from home. He was trying not to waste his time worrying about it, though, and instead tried to think of it as an adventure. He was Odysseus leaving Ithaca, for fame and glory... or something. Besides, he'd have Ody, and Catriona (whoever she was), and his parents and siblings were going to be right down the street. He was sure they'd come visit all the time, or vice versa. "Thanks," he said. "It's gonna be really weird, you know? Getting married to a total stranger and moving out. Hope I can handle it." He laughed, and Ody wagged his stubby tail in agreement, resettling by Maura's side. "I'm glad you think the cake is a good idea, though. I kind of want to make a good first impression on her... I mean, she's going to be my wife and all." The thought of it still made him break out in a cold sweat a little, but he didn't mention that.

"I was going to call her after dinner, see if she wants to meet beforehand or anything and set a date. Probably this weekend. I'll see if I can weasel out of her what she likes and if she has any allergies without being too obvious." Flynn was realistic about that though. Him, subtle? Not so much. Maybe he'd just tell her he was going to pick up some groceries and ask if she wanted anything special. That was something husbands did for their wives, right? Pick up the groceries? He didn't mind when Maura went into business mode, she was still his little sister. He knew even if she talked like he was a customer she'd still make a cake like it was for her big brother. Maura usually made sure that the things she made for her family were a little extra special, which was the other bonus to not going out and buying a store-bought wedding cake for Catriona and his nuptials. It would be special. Plus Maura was making it for her future sister-in-law, so hopefully Catriona would not only appreciate him for it, but also Maura. He really wanted his wife to get along with everyone in his family, but especially the women. He was a momma's boy at heart, and overly protective of his little sister. She was protective of her big brothers too, just not in quite such a 'hands-on' way. Honestly Flynn was surprised Maura even still talked to him, after the pranks he'd pulled on her boyfriends in high school.

Then Maura said she had something to tell him and Flynn was all ears (har, har). He leaned back against the couch. "Shoot," he said, but there was more. He had to be sworn to secrecy first, and it had to be on something important. Oh, Lord. What was it with the women in his life all having secrets today? He swore if Catriona revealed some big secret over the phone after his mother, and now Maura, he was going to drop dead on the spot. For now, Flynn nodded. "Okay, ummm. I swear on... how about I swear on Ody?" They all loved Ody, and the dog was important to all of them, so it seemed like a good compromise. Ody perked up his ears and Flynn hauled the dog into his lap, putting his right hand on the dog and his left in the air as if he were swearing into court on a bible. "I, Flynn McCabe, do solemnly swear on Odysseus Percival Rex McCabe -" okay, so he'd made up a couple middle names on the spot "- that I will not tell dad or Cian anything until you talk to them first. Good enough?" Flynn placed Ody back between them on the couch, earning a dirty look and a grumble as the bulldog curled up on the cushion. "Spill."

[Maura McCabe]

"Yeah, it will be a bit weird" Maura agreed, feeling rather awkward discussing the whole thing given the secret she was keeping at the moment. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. It's not like meeting some random stranger on the street, after all. The people who work for the Vow do extensive background checks and psych evals to make sure the crazies and convicted felons and such don't get through. Or... so I hear."

She latched on to the next bit, hoping to avoid questions about how she knew anything about the Vow process. The only person - so far - who knew she had signed up was their mother. There wasn't much Maura kept from her. "Calling ahead of time would be a good idea. Maybe bring up food in general, and ask if there's anything she's allergic to and the like." The last thing Maura wanted was to create awkwardness by making a chocolate cake if Catriona was allergic to chocolate or something with eggs and milk of she was vegan. Maura wanted them all to start off on the right foot.

A small smile twitched at the corners of her lips as Flynn swore on Ody. It was just like her brother to do something cute like that. Waiting just a moment as if she were thinking, Maura nodded. She would have been satisfied with anything that was important to Flynn, though. She reached over and rubbed the dog's ears again as he settled back down.

"I... um... I got an email a few days ago" she began. Now it was her turn to blush. But she stubbornly refused to look away. Maura was made of sterner stuff than that. She wouldn't turn away just because what she was saying was somewhat difficult to get out. "Ok, let me back up a little" she said when she froze.

"I used some of the money from working last summer to sign myself up for the Vow" she confessed, all in a rush. Before she could lose her nerve - and before Flynn could interrupt - she continued on. "I got my email a few days ago, and met with my fiance. "That's where I've been going the past few days. Meeting him, and spending time getting to know him."

Maura's face took on the stubborn look it got when she had made up her mind and there was no changing it. "He's coming over on Wednesday, and we're having the wedding on Friday. I'd like for you - all of you - to be there for the wedding, and I'd really like for you, Cian, and Dad to not chase him off like you all kept doing to the guys I tried to date in school."

She wasn't going to out their mother as knowing about Bastian already. At least not voluntarily. If Flynn asked though she wouldn't lie to him either. Neither would she tell Flynn or any of them about Bastian having twin daughters or about his having been married before. That was something she would let him choose whether to tell or not. She was likewise not going to mention Bastian's age unless asked. Her brothers and father would find that out soon enough, and she knew they were likely to object on those grounds alone and not bother to get to know Bastian at all as a person before casting judgment.

"I didn't tell any of you three because I know how you are. I didn't want you three interfering with it and preventing me from ever getting matched, or following me and trying to sabotage it before I even got a chance to get to know the man they matched me to." Now that her own news was out, Maura held her breath and waited for the inevitable arguments against it. But she was ready with some counter arguments of her own. And ultimately the choice was hers. She had made it and she was damn well going to stick by it.

[Flynn McCabe]

Flynn snorted. "Well, that's a relief then. At least I won't have to sleep with one eye open." Hopefully all that was true and they didn't go around accepting applications from murderers and felons wanting to be matched. Well, he supposed if you were a criminal for something like shoplifting or jaywalking it wouldn't be a big deal, but the big-ticket offenders were hopefully not allowed into the pools of candidates. How horrible would it be to find out you got married to a serial killer? And he was sure it would be bad for the Vow's legal responsibilities, so that was probably another reason they carefully filtered everyone who applied. So Catriona was guaranteed to be at least a sane, law-abiding person at least. "Yeah, I kinda have to so we can figure out the wedding. And I feel like I should be the one to call, since I'm the guy. I guess I'll do it after dinner." His main concern, beyond the awkwardness of making that first contact of course, was how to get food allergies into the conversation without making it obvious what he was up to. He supposed he could just flat out ask her what kind of cake she liked, but that would be ruining the surprise. And Flynn loved surprises -- usually. Maura was being a little weird asking him to swear on something important that he wouldn't tell the other men in the house what she told him, so he suspected it wasn't anything good. Maybe she decided she didn't want to go to culinary school. Maybe she was moving out. Maybe... oh, she'd gotten an email? Flynn cocked his head to one side.

"That doesn't sound too bad," he said, but she was blushing so he knew there had to be more. He was quiet while she went on, backing up to explain that she'd used money from her summer job to sign up for the... wait, what?! Flynn's mouth dropped open, brows knitting instantly in big-brotherly chagrin, but Maura kept talking, not letting him get a word in. Which was wise, because he had several, the loudest of which were 'What the hell were you thinking?'. Okay, so that was a little hypocritical of him, since he'd been the first of the kids to sign up (at least so he'd thought), but still. This was Maura. She was eighteen years old, still practically a baby! She said she'd gotten an email a few days ago and had met her fiance and spent time with him. That kicked Flynn into overprotective mode instantly. So she'd been what, lying and sneaking out of the house to go meet this guy? And she was marrying him? She, Maura McCabe, was going to get married to a stranger. Okay, so was Flynn, but in his opinion it was a lot scarier that his little sister was doing it than that he was. She was a girl, after all, and a young one at that. Psych evaluations and criminal history checks be damned, what if this guy took advantage of her? She wasn't planning on sleeping with him, was she? (Okay, that was seriously none of his business, so Flynn shook that thought off pretty quickly. He really didn't want to know.)

Flynn wanted to protest that he hadn't driven off that many of Maura's boyfriends, but it was a lie. He totally had. They all had -- him, dad, and Cian. But they'd done it out of love, at least. "Maura --" he tried to protest, but she was off and running again, explaining why she'd gone about it the way she had. And she was right, they would have stopped her. Or tried, because nothing short of a freight train could stop Maura when she'd set her mind on something. The girl had a stubborn streak a mile wide. And if stopping her hadn't worked they would have resorted to sabotage, which they would have justified by saying they were protecting her. Okay, when you put it that way, it made Flynn feel a lot a little guilty. "Maura... Jesus," he said, still trying to process. What was it with the women in his life dropping bombshells on him today? It took Flynn a few seconds of processing before he came up with a coherent sentence. "You're getting married? Why? I mean, you're only eighteen." Not that it would have mattered if she was 18 or 38, because in his mind she'd always be his eight year old little sister. Even though Flynn had done his share of brotherly torturing and helped to chase off every boy she'd ever been interested in, he'd always been the big brother who showed off his little sister proudly. He was only five when she was born, but he distinctly remembered taking pictures of a newborn Maura to show and tell the very next day and showing them off to everyone.

And now she was getting married. The mere thought of it made Flynn swallow hard on a lump in his throat. "He's coming here, on Wednesday." He couldn't help the disbelieving laugh. Well, that would explain where some of the vast amount of food was going. "How well do you really know this guy, Maura? I mean, what's his name? Does he have a job? Is he, you know, stable and everything?" Most of his arguments against the process were moot right off the bat, because he was also getting married to a stranger this week, and he knew it. So Flynn tried not to use those. Even though he was irrational when it came to his little sister, he wasn't stupid. "Do you like him? You must, if you want him to come here and meet us. Do you think he's going to be a good husband?" Because if he wasn't, the McCabe men would kill him. "And what about school?" he asked suddenly, because that was important. He wouldn't sit back and watch Maura give up all her talent and all her dreams to be a housewife, and he knew his brother and father wouldn't either. "He's supportive of you going to school, right? Because you are still going... right?" The answer had better be yes to both or Flynn couldn't promise anything.

[Maura McCabe]

"Always a good thing" Maura replied with a light laugh. If the information she had been required to provide was any indication, her commentary on the sign up process for the Vow was accurate. It would make sense, though. Not only would it be bad for business if too many people were unhappy with their matches, but there could be some major legal ramifications too. Especially if they matched people who were underage, or matched someone with a schizo who ended up killing them or something.

She grinned at Flynn's remark. "That would be the gentlemanly thing to do." Bastian had done that with her. Which... now that she thought about it might help his cause a bit with her male family members. And after dinner was a good idea too. If he called her during dinner or right before she might get a little pissy about it. Maura didn't know the woman though, so she couldn't say for sure. She knew she would be a little irritable though if her meal was postponed or interrupted.

Not too bad? In and of itself, no. An email wasn't that bad. Flynn didn't yet know the contents of the email though. He would soon, and Maura was fully expecting a row to ensue. Especially given his expression the moment she dropped the bomb on him. That was part of why she had kept going, not letting him talk yet. Not until she'd had her say. She hadn't been lying... not outright... but she had been sneaking around quite a bit, and she hadn't told the exact truth when she had been in a position where she had to tell her brothers or father something about where she was going. But she didn't outright lie. It was more of a 'true from a certain point of view' sort of thing.

"Because I want to. In its simplest form. I want to be married. I want someone to spend my life with. Maybe have kids with later, if we both decide we want them. I know I'm only eighteen, but I know what I want" she answered. "But that's not all of it. I want to know what it's like to have a real relationship. I've never had anything even close to it." She tried not to let her tone and expression turn accusatory, and for the most part she succeeded. There was still a trace of accusation though, try as she might to not let things go that way. The last thing she needed or wanted was a major quarrel with her own brother. "I swear if you, Cian, and Dad have your way I'd be locked up in a convent or something. I'd never be able to date anyone long enough to develop any real connection with them."

Maura knew she was sounding rather like a spoiled brat, but she needed to vent. She could only hope that Flynn was actually listening this time, actually stopping to think about what she was saying and think about how she was feeling. "I love you guys, but you're way too overprotective. I'm to the point where I would believe it if someone told me you three want me to be alone my entire life. That you want me to never have sex, never have children, never get engaged let alone married." She paused only long enough to take a breath before continuing. She needed to get this all out while she had the chance. "I feel like I'm being smothered, like I can't be myself. Like I can't grow up. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm a grown woman and I need you, Dad, and Cian to realize this. I need you to take a step back and give me room to breathe, to just... be normal." She took a couple of deep breaths and forced herself to calm down before she let her emotions run away with her.

"Think about it from my point of view. How would you feel if I were the one chasing off girls you and Cian brought home? How would you feel if I made comments to them that embarrassed either of you, or pulled mean pranks on them to break you apart in the name of protecting you?" Maura was willing to lay down good money neither Flynn nor Cian would like it much, and that they would be just as frustrated as she was with the situation.

Now that she had hopefully given him something to think about, it was time to answer questions. "Well, I don't know everything there is to know yet. But I've spent enough time with him to be able to tell you he's a good man. We've spent a lot of time talking - yes, talking - and getting to know each other." She knew how her brothers' minds worked by now, and felt the need to stress the point as a result. "His name is Bastian Poole. Yes, he does have a job. Working with computers in fact" she answered, trying to make sure she didn't forget anything. "He certainly seems stable enough, and doesn't show any signs of being a whack job that shouldn't be allowed near people."

"Yes, I like him and think he'd be a good husband. Despite what you, Dad, and Cian seem to think I do know my own mind when it comes to things and people I like and don't like." That last bit came out a bit sharper than she'd intended, but she had a few years of pent-up frustrations to let loose. Maura rolled her eyes slightly at the question of school. "Now you're just being daft. How long have I talked about opening my own restaurant? How hard did I work to get into Butler this year? You ought to know me better than that by now. Do you really think I'd throw away my dreams and hard work for anyone, let alone a man I only met a few days ago?" Dry amusement crept into her tone at that part. "Come on. Give me some credit."

"And as far as school goes, not only is he supportive of me going to college, the moment I told him what my plans were in that regard he offered to help pay for it if it was needed." Maura arched an eyebrow at Flynn after she said that, almost daring him to find some sort of objection now.