Chapter 3

Facing the incredibly beautiful woman before her unnerved Moira greatly. Throw in the fact that she was pretending to be the wife of that same woman's son, and she was a mass of quivering nerves. But face her she must, because Moira knew that she deserved to know what was going on. Pushing her moronic brother aside she stepped up to Phillip's mom and stuck out her hand in greeting.

"You must be Phillip's mother. I'm sorry if things are a little confusing at the moment. If you would be so kind as to have a seat with me I'll try to explain exactly what's going on?"

Phillip's mother looked at her curiously for a moment before she took Moira's hand in a firm shake and said, "Yes my dear, I think I would very much like to know what's going on." So saying she released Moira's hand and sat down in one of the waiting room chairs before fixing Moira with a gaze that seemed to say, "Well dear, I'm waiting."

Still wracked with nerves of her own, Moira sat in a chair facing Mrs. Cambridge and pulled Kathleen onto her lap. The little girl steadfastly refusing to relinquish her hold on the cheeseburger in her hand. Apparently wanting to portray the big protective brother image Ian sat beside her and placed his arm around her shoulders. Tongue tied in the worst possible way she hemmed and hawed for a couple of minutes before looking up at Phillip's mother. The stern look on the woman's face was belied by the kindly smile that was very evident in her eyes. Taking courage from that Moira drew in a deep breath and began talking. "As you might have figured out from the police who called you I was attacked earlier this morning while waiting on the subway. You see, my brother and I have been on our own for a number of years since our parent's died in a drunk driving accident. We did what we had to do to survive. For me that meant dropping out of school to care for Kathleen here since I wouldn't have my mother to look after her while I was in class. For Ian that meant leaving college and coming home. Unfortunately he was unable to find a job that would support us and we were close to losing everything. That's when one of the local gangs approached Ian about recruiting him. His joining them may have been a dumb thing to do but it saved our butts at the time. Ian quickly worked his way up the gang to become their leader. The two men who attacked me today are part of a rival gang that wants some of Ian's territory. They were most likely going to kill me and let Kathleen go as long as Ian gave them what they wanted. But then a miracle happened. Your son showed up." Once she got to this part of her tale her eyes seemed to lose focus and a real smile crept onto her face.

Phillips's mother noticed her expression change but said nothing. She already had a good idea that this woman was drawn to her son for saving her life. She had no idea just how enamored Moira was until she continued with her story.

Without even realizing it she continued in a sort of smooth, silky voice most women use when talking about their dream lover. "I was so scared that I was going to die and that Kathleen would be all alone with those men, but then we heard this great roar of rage come from the other platform. I was stunned, I mean I have never seen a look of such pure rage on a person's face before in my life. But then I also noticed there were all those tracks between him and us. I was sure we were going to die. But then..." Moira's voice trailed off then and her smile grew but she still didn't continue.

Mrs. Cambridge looked at the young woman and was stunned. She knew just from looking at her that this woman had it bad for her son. Apparently Ian noticed as well and he was none too pleased. When Moira remained silent with that foolish smile on her face she was about to tell her to go on when a subtle head shake from Mrs. Cambridge stopped him. Turning back to the young woman Phillip's mother lightly touched Moira's hand drawing her back to the present. When she saw that she had regained Moria's attention she asked, "Then what happened?"

"He was like a super-hero or something,." Moira continued. "He ran across the other platform and jumped off for the center wall and landed like a cat before springing off again and landing on our platform. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. He was like ... like ... like..."

"Like Batman momma," chirped in Kathleen with a mouthful of cheeseburger.

Ian snorted in derision at hearing this but quickly swallowed anything he was about to say when Moira turned a baleful eye to him and said, "That's right darling just like Batman. With his coat flapping about him like Batman's cloak or something he was a truly magnificent sight,"

Hating to interrupt them but still desperate to know exactly what happened to her son Mrs. Cambridge gestured for Moira to continue.

Turning back to Phillip's mother she continued. "One of the men must have heard him land or something because he pulled a knife and tried to attack Phillip. But almost before I even realized it he had broken the man's arm backward and knocked him out. Then he rushed the other guy but not before that one pulled a gun and shot him in the shoulder. I was so scared that Phillip was going to die just like we were going to when all of a sudden he smashed into the guy and had him unconscious in the blink of an eye." Now Moira didn't leave out her saving Phillip's life by attacking the shooter when he tried for a second shot because she was modest or anything. No, she left it out simply because her terrified mind just didn't recall it happening. This has been documented on many an occasion and rarely does the actual memory ever show up. But the fact was she didn't remember and all she knew was that this incredibly handsome man saved her and her daughter's life.

As she continued to watch this girl tell her story Mrs. Cambridge was struck by just how close she had come to losing her son. The realization was mind blowing. She had lost her husband Anthony two years ago and when she received the news of his death her whole world seemed to break down. She hadn't known what to do or how to continue, she had felt as if her life had come to an end. And then Phillip stepped up and took control, and though he never knew it, he had saved her life just as much as he had saved Moira's. Because one Elizabeth Cambridge had decided to take her own life so she could be with her Anthony. If Phillip hadn't taken over and forced her to face her life and keep living she would be gone by now. As it was she still wasn't a whole woman anymore, but she now lived because Phillip wanted her to live.

And now she had almost lost him as well.

Before Moira could continue, a very scared and shaken Elizabeth interrupted her. "Phillip, he going to be all right, isn't he?"

The sudden question startled Moira and drew her back to the real world. One look at Mrs. Cambridge showed her just how scared the older woman was, and she knew that she had to ease her worries. "Yes, he's goin' to be fine," she stated. "The doctors said it wasn't very bad and that they only needed to do the surgery to repair any muscle damage that might have happened. The nurse even told me, that barring unforeseen complications, Phillip would most likely be able to go home tomorrow or maybe the day after."

This greatly reassured Elizabeth and she found that she could once again start to breathe and relax. But then another question surfaced and demanded attention. She asked, "That still doesn't explain why they think you're my son's wife. Now does it my dear?"

"No, it certainly doesn't," replied a slightly embarrassed Moira. With a small blush on her cheeks she continued. "Kathleen grabbed ahold of Phillip after he had stopped the attackers and she just wouldn't let go. Not even when they put him in the ambulance. Once here they thought she was his daughter and to avoid any complications Phillip let them continue to think that. So when I got here they thought I was his wife as it's very obvious that Kathleen is my daughter. Phillip told me that he felt it would just complicate things if I told them the truth and he convinced me into playin' along. I'm sorry."