Dusk was quickly approaching and Aiden was thirsty after walking the streets looking for the next poor schlub to con.  He walked down the crowded street of New York and saw a nightclub that looked classy.  Her walked in and sat at the bar to order two rounds of Jack on the rocks.  His drinks arrived and he tipped the first one up to take a drink.  He nearly choked on the whiskey as a low, sultry note drifted up from the stage and the crowd cheered and whistled.  Aiden swiveled in is chair to look at the stage and saw the curtain part.  A tall, gorgeous blonde walked out towards the microphone, singing a song full of seduction and passion.  The look on her face told of the longing in the words she was singing.  Her long corn silk blonde hair flowed down her back in loose finger waves that shine in the spotlight.  She sang song after song until the bandleader announced that the set was done.  Aiden looked at his watch and saw that the time was well after 1 A.M. but the only thing that mattered now was meeting that girl. 

Starshine stepped down off the stage and into the crowd where plenty of young men stood waiting to get her autograph.  She smiled and signed napkins, business cards, and various scraps of paper.  As she was finishing up she saw a tall man with chestnut brown hair and smoky green eyes make his way to the front.  He smiled and her heart fluttered, looking into the stunningly handsome face of Aiden.  He handed over a plain white napkin and she took it.  Their fingers met for a moment and the warmth of his hand startled her.  She signed her name at the bottom of the napkin and, on a whim, she wrote her phone number of the apartment where she was staying and the address.  She handed the napkin back and smiled her signature grin.  Her nose crinkled and her eyes sparkled when she smiled like that and he flashed her another smile that made her knees feel weak before he turned into the crowd and disappeared.  That night as she opened the door to her apartment, she hoped she would here from the stranger.  She absentmindedly patted her new kitten as she made herself a cup of tea before settling in for the night.

A few days later Aiden walked down the street in an upscale part of town.  This was a much nicer neighborhood that the rat hole he lived in.  He brushed invisible lint off of his new suit jacket and squinted at the napkin again.  He approached the building and looked on the brass plaque by the door, which listed each occupant and apartment number.  He adjusted the deep purple vest and tie he was wearing and walked inside to the lift.  He stopped on the third floor and walked slowly down the hall till he found number 3B.  He knocked on the door, hoping she was home.  After a few moments of silence he heard a muffled thump and then the door bolt sliding out of its place.  Star opened the door.  Her hair flowed down her shoulders over the cream and blue dress she wore.  It looked as though she had just come back from errands, as there was a grocery box on the counter and a very impatient cat whisking his tail and staring at the can of tuna that she had been opening.  Aiden tried not to smile as he saw the look of sheer delight on her face.  "Well what are you doing here?"  She said in a thick European accent.  She ushered him inside and directed him to the small couch.  She went into the kitchen and came back out with a pot of tea and two cups and saucers and poured him a cup.  As she was doing so she noticed the bouquet of wildflowers that he had gotten from the flower shop down the way and grinned again.  Aiden sheepishly handed her the bouquet and took a sip of the tea only to wrinkle his nose in distaste.  He immediately changed his expression but it was not lost on Starshine who went into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of fine Irish whiskey.  After he had taken a swig of the hard stuff he goggled at her as she downed a shot herself and took a seat on the armchair facing him.  They started talking and soon found out that they had both had relatives in New Orleans.  After another hour of talking Aiden worked up the courage and said "How about we take a day trip there?  I have been meaning to pick up a few things that my brother left behind and I'm sure the city holds meaning for you as well.  What do you say?"  Star considered the proposal and agreed and they made plans to fly out the next weekend. 

Saturday couldn't come fast enough for Starshine.  She waited outside of her apartment for Aiden to pick her up and hugged her sweater tightly around her.  The early morning air was chilly and she shivered.  Soon enough a taxi idled around the corner and stopped in front of her.  Aiden got out and loaded her bag into the trunk after opening the door for her to get in.  They drove to the airport and checked their baggage before boarding the plane.  They found their seats and sat down.  Starshine looked over and saw a look of sheer panic on Aiden's face.  This comforted her as it helped her ignore the dread beating away at her calm façade.  This was their first time flying and both of them were frightened.  They grabbed each other's hands as the plane began to taxi down the runway and relaxed after it had banked and begun it's ascent.  After the drinks were served Aiden and Star started talking.  Ste rambled on about her life in Europe before moving to New York.  She mentioned living in a hollowed out chicken coop for the last two years in a squalid country village in Ireland.  She hadn't meant to reveal so much but Aiden just seemed to bring down her inhibitions and she chattered on and on.  All of a sudden she stopped talking.  Aiden looked over and saw her eyes droop as she fell fast asleep against his shoulder. 

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake.  She looked up and gasped as she saw the wry but amused look on Aiden's face.  She had the grain of his jacket imprinted on her cheek and suddenly felt very self-conscious.  They left the plane and picked up their luggage before catching a taxi down to the Big Easy.  The taxi drove along the still war torn streets.  "This place is a mess," Aiden said, shaking his head for the memories this city held for him.  They arrived in front of a nice hotel and got out.  The bellhop took their luggage to their room and Aiden tipped him handsomely.  Starshine made an internal note to thank the front desk for making the last minute changes to get a room with two beds instead of one.  Out of exhaustion and jet lag they decided to wait until the next day to do their exploring and took the rest of the afternoon off to rest. 

Starshine woke up and saw Aiden reading a newspaper.  She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blushed when her stomach growled loudly.  Aiden didn't make a sound but she saw his paper moving as her tried to suppress the laughter.  He finally lowered it when he had composed himself and asked her if she wanted to go get something to eat.  She blushed again and nodded as she slipped off to the bathroom to change out of her traveling clothes.  She spent the next half hour curling her hair and putting on her makeup.  She slipped into a floor length, emerald green chiffon gown and elbow length gloves and finally emerged from the bathroom.  Aiden's eyes snapped open as she came out and he stood up, stifling a yawn.  He had been fighting the growing sleepiness as she had spent the better half of an hour in the bathroom.  He let out a slow whistle and she turned around.  He couldn't believe that such a beautiful woman had come from such humble beginnings. 

They left the hotel and walked out into the sizzling warmth of the mid-July air.  A slow cheerful tune drifted down from the park across the way as a jazz band played. They walked slowly down the streets of New Orleans and the streets looked transformed as if the night brought out the life in the otherwise quiet city.  Arriving at the restaurant the smell of the food drifted out from the kitchen.  There was a Creole band playing on the patio where they chose to sit.  The waiter handed them the menus and they looked over the wine selection, finally choosing a bottle of chardonnay to go with the lemon-crusted chicken wrapped in fillo dough and served with fresh asparagus tips.  They ate their dinner slowly over hours of conversation.  They talked about their families, likes, dislikes, and learning to adjust to new surroundings.  The owner finally walked by slowly and they took their cue to leave.  Aiden paid the bill as well as a handsome tip and they left.  As they walked the mile or so back to the hotel, he slowly reached out his hand and bumped it against hers.  When she returned the movement he grabbed it lightly and laced his fingers around hers.  They stopped to look at window displays, street performers, and eventually the twinkling stars overhead.  Star had never felt so peaceful. There was something about Aiden that no one else had been able to stir in her.  She rested her head on his shoulder as they strolled along and sighed.  As they reached the doors of the hotel, he leaned over and gave her a small kiss on her cheek before they took the French lift back up to their room. 

That night they both lay in their beds, minds racing with the events and feelings of the day.  After an hour or so Star looked over at his bed to see if he was still awake but heard the rhythmic breathing of his slumber.  She smiled and rolled over, closing her eyes and letting the sound help her fall into a dreamless sleep. 

Aiden rose first the next morning and placed a call to room service.  The waiter delivered a plate of fresh fruit, muffins, coffee, tea, and jam.  Star opened her eyes to the smell of the coffee and sat up only to see Aiden perched on the foot of her bed with a plate of food in his hands.  "Good morning beautiful," he said.  "Breakfast in bed and then first to get the shower?"  She grinned as she popped a tart grape into her mouth and grabbed a hot cup of coffee.  An hour later, after taking a shower and getting dressed, she packed a satchel for the day of things they might need while Aiden showered and shaved. They left the room at a half past ten and hailed a taxi.  They rode off towards the abandoned business district and stopped in front of the Elegido and Intoccabile's HQ's and paid the driver. 

Sunlight streamed through the skylights as they walked into the dusty old building.  Aiden immediately tripped over a typewriter that was half buried in the wooden floor and Starshine snickered. They spent hours rifling through junk, papers, and furniture.  Aiden went searching under a dusty couch for a bullet that had fallen and when he came back Starshine fell over laughing.  He had a huge smudge of dirt across his nose and she couldn't help herself.  They teased each other, mercilessly as they cleaned straightened and organized things.  There were often moments where Aiden would stop just to stare at Starshine.  As the rays of light grew long in the midday sun, the beams seemed to form a halo around her long silken hair.  Starshine herself had quite a few close calls.  Aiden had taken off his shirt and was cleaning in just a pair of rolled up slacks.  His long muscular body was a sight to behold and she had to keep reminding herself that she was here to do work, not stare.  As twilight dawned, they felt satisfied with their work and closed up the building.  They loaded one of the cars they had found in the garage full of the papers, pictures and junk they had salvaged and drove it back to the hotel. 

Too exhausted to go out they decided to order dinner in while Starshine went to the bathroom to clean herself up.  She quickly undressed and took a quick shower to wash the dirt and cobwebs off.  As she stepped out of the shower she heard the waiter bring their meal up.  She wrapped her hair up in a towel and slipped into her nightgown and a thick cotton robe.  She opened the door and walked out headlong into Aiden.  They crashed to the floor with an oof and the look of shock on her face was too much.  He started laughing at her and she couldn't help but to join in.  She couldn't remember how it happened but after laughing till their sides hurt, Aiden leaned forward and kissed her.  The way she felt at that moment was like she had never felt before.  She felt her body un-tense as she kissed him back.  When he finally broke free she drew a shaky breath and started giggling again when she saw the look on his face.  She guessed he hadn't been disappointed but he looked so dreamy that she couldn't help herself and fell back to the floor in hysterics.  They spent the rest of the evening playing cards and nibbling on the cheese and crackers the waiter had brought up.  They decided to end the game after Aiden had only one sock and his boxers left on.  He declared her the winner and they crawled into their beds.  Starshine hummed herself to sleep, thinking about the kiss they had shared.  Aiden lay awake for hours thinking about the day and how his feelings about Starshine didn't feel like his feelings for anyone before.  He finally dozed off and woke up late in the morning the next day.  Starshine had already packed and had taken everything down to the car to prepare for their long road trip back from N.O. to New York. 

Aiden checked out of the hotel and they drove down to a local dive to get some lunch before hitting the road.  They took turns driving all day and night and finally motored into the Big Apple in the wee hours of the morning.  Aiden drove Starshine to her apartment and escorted her upstairs.  He kissed her again before she went inside and told her thanks for the fun weekend.  He promised to call her the next day and drove home to fall exhausted, but happy, into his bed.

Starshine sat in her apartment staring at her phone but no matter how long she sat there it still didn't ring.  She sighed and picked up the receiver.  She dialed Aiden's number for what seemed like the thousandth time and still all she got was the phone ringing and ringing.  A tear slid down her cheek and she prized herself off the chair and picked up her purse.  She was about to leave when the phone rang.  She ran to pick up the receiver and fumbled with it.  "Hello?"  She said in a slightly manic voice.  Her smile quickly turned to an angry scowl as she heard Deimne's voice on the other end.  He had a job for her, a training job.  She sighed and agreed to meet him in an hour.  She hastily transformed into her incog identity as a man left the building, glad to have something to do for once than pine over Aiden.  She arrived at the HQ in a black sedan and stepped out lightly.  She walked up to Deimne and waited.  He gave a sharp whistle and her trainee stepped out of the building.  Star ducked her head after seeing the man exit.  The dark hair, the smoky green eyes, it was no doubt that it was Aiden.  And chances were he had been very busy for the Don.  She composed her face into a look of nonchalance and jerked her head towards Aiden.  "This him?"  She said in a husky voice.  Deimne nodded and handed her the plans.  It would be simple, just a little persuasion.  They needed to collect some money that a local politician owed him.  Inside the package were the pictures they needed.  As she turned to leave, Deimne asked her for her gun.  He said he needed it for something and to use his in return.  He tossed her the 9mm pistol and she stashed in her holster. 

Driving along to their destination she asked Aiden how he got into the business.  He said that after he ha gone to New Orleans with his girlfriend, he had found a piece of paper in the pile.  It was a not left to him from his brother Duke.  It had told of what Duke had done in he Mafia and encouraged him that if he wanted to seek protection, to contact Deimne and everything would be taken care of.  He went on to say that he had contacted the Don the next day and over the course of the next week had been asked to prove his mettle in order to join the family.  He had been held in the HQ and was asked not to contact anyone over the next few days in order to establish a base of trust.  The Don was finally satisfied after checking out Aiden's pedigree and had told him that he would be training over the next few days to learn the ropes.  They pulled up to a local bar and got out.  Starshine looked at Aiden and spoke.  "There's two ways we can do this, I gotta plan and hopefully it will work."  They walked inside and slid into the booth facing the man.  Starshine pulled out her pistol and laid it on the table.  The man jumped but she motioned for him to stay quiet.  "Here's how this is going to work.  My boss needs his money and I'm here to get it from you."  The man started to object that he didn't have the money, but Star knew better.  "How about this.  We make it a little drinking game.  If you win, you get to keep the money and your life for another day.  If I win, you hand over the money or have your name splattered all over tomorrows newspapers, and not in a nice way."  She motioned towards the envelope and Aiden pulled out the photographs.  The man nodded and Star motioned for the waitress to bring out a bottle of the hard stuff and told her to keep them coming.  Aiden poured the drinks and watched as his associate out drank the large politician.  Hours later the man gave up and handed over his overstuffed wallet.  Starshine extracted the money and threw the leather back at him.  She stood up and pushed herself out of the booth just as the man passed out in his cold plate of spaghetti.  She handed Aiden the money and told him to start the car while she slipped off to the bathroom.  When she came out, the car was idling next to the sidewalk and she climbed in.  They arrived at the HQ a few minutes later and Aiden told Deimne what had happened.  Even Deimne was impressed by how much she had drunk and sent her home.  "Good job wise guys" he said as Star hailed a taxi.  Deimne turned to Aiden and told him that he was part of the family as an associate now and would be working with Sam more often.  As Star was about to leave he told her that he needed to see her next afternoon to discuss some "things" but she was too drunk to do it now. 

The cab pulled up to the curb and she got out, taking the back way in to her apartment building.  She had just closed the door to her house when the phone rang.  She picked up the phone and tried to sound as composed as possible.  She heard Aiden on the other line babbling apologies for not calling her and talking about some sort of business that had kept him out of touch.  She told him to shut up and all would be forgiven if he took her out to dinner the next night.  He agreed and she hung up the phone, and fell into bed. 

She woke up the next morning with a miserable headache but got ready anyways.  She went down to the club to go over the details of her new set and to rehearse.  After she was done she went into her dressing room and pulled out the cash she had gotten as her payment for the week.  She was about to walk out the door when he remembered that Deimne wanted to see her.  She sighed and undressed, starting the process that would transform her from woman to man. An hour later she was standing in line for the bank when shots rang out.  She tried to duck but was struck with a bullet.  She crawled towards the door and was pinned underneath a brass vase.  The last thing she saw was one of the family lookouts running out the door before a large cop kicked her head and knocked her out.  When she awoke she was being dragged in to the precinct by the officer and thrown into a dank cell.  She was brutally beaten by the cop and his buddies.  They had ripped her clothes off and taken a knife to her hair.  It lay under her in piles on the floor as the corpulent officer lowered himself onto her as she sobbed for him to stop.  Suddenly the door burst open and the chief of police stormed in.  She heard the voices of her Don and his RHW and to her horror, Aiden's.  He knelt down to cover her badly bruised and bleeding form with his jacket before picking her up in his strong arms.  She tried to look at him through her swollen and tear filled eyes and saw on his face a mixture of pity, anger, even revulsion.  She knew her secret was out and sobbed piteously before closing her eyes again.  The next few days were a blur to her.  She vaguely remembered being in the hospital; of course they had to remove the bullet from her arm.  The only thing she knew was that every time she awoke, Aiden was there.

Aiden had been by her side since discovering her in the cell.  At first he was angry with her for lying, angry that he couldn't have come sooner, and incensed that a group of "New York's finest" were worse than some of the bloodiest guys he had seen and worked with.  He put his hand into his jacked pocket and felt the small velvet box in his hand.  He thought about how he had sat all evening in the club, waiting for her.  After she had failed to show up, he had gone home, intending to write her off.  He had been so angry with her that he had written a note and was about to walk out the door to pawn the ring when the phone had rung.  It had been Deimna calling him to help bail out an associate who had been taken in due to a botch up by a rival mob.  Aiden had come to the station as soon as possible.  Deimna and Deimne had already gotten there dressed in attire befitting of parents.  They were acting their parts well and talking fast with one of their contacts.  They had been told that their guys had dragged in a couple guys and pointed to the cells where they could hear from one, sounds of something gone wrong.  The chief had opened the door and had seen what had to be one of the worse scenes of police brutality they had ever seen. Aiden had rescued her and carried her out of the station to the hospital.  Since then he has done a lot of thinking and had realized that there was nothing that he could do about the past but, if she survived and was willing, Starshine would be in his future forever.

The sunlight streamed in through the window as Starshine opened her eyes.  She was laying in a bed, obviously not the hospital and definitely not her own.  She tried to move but felt a something heavy across her stomach.  She looked over and found that Aiden was on a chair asleep.  His arm was draped over her in a protective way.  She tried to sit up but the pain was still strong enough to cause her to fall back on her pillow.  Over the next few days Deimna and Aiden fussed over her, making sure that she didn't over exert herself.  She was able to have a long talk with Aiden about their family ties.  To her relief, he was glad that they had at least chosen the same family.

Soon Starshine was feeling better.  She was finally up and around and was ready to go back to work.  It had been nearly a month since the incident and she was keen on going out to dinner with Aiden finally.  Deimne helped her as she slid into an amethyst colored evening gown.  She finally put the finishing touched on her outfit and went outside to wait.  A sleek Ford Coupe nosed around the corner and stopped in front of the building.  Aiden got out and walked around, opening the suicide door so she could get in.  He was as excited as he was nervous but he tried to not let it show.  They drove off and he cruised through town to the finest restaurant in town.  It was hard enough to get a table at this place but he had greased a few palms and had rented out the entire place.  They pulled up and he handed his keys and a wad of cash to the valet and then opened Stars door.  He was pleased when he heard her gasp of delight and offered his arm to her.  An hour into dinner, before the dessert had been served, he excused himself and went into the restroom.  Splashing cold water on his face, Aiden looked in the mirror and patted the pocket where the ring was.  Satisfied with his appearance, he walked back out to the table and waited for Star to look his way.  She turned towards him and he dropped to his knee and took her hand.  Her eyes misted as he spoke in his rich quiet voice: "Starshine Annelise Jamieson, you are the most wonderful person I have ever met in my life. I don't think I could ever live without you in my life. So...would you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

Starshine found it hard to breathe for a moment as he asked her the question.  There was no doubt in her mind that Aiden was the one she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. "Y-yes" she gulped through the tears flooding her eyes.  She flung her arms around his neck and he kissed her before slipping the ring on her finger.  He sighed and hugged her tightly knowing that this was one of the best moments of his life.