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Really, it wasn't in his nature to pry, but things had progressively gotten stranger and stranger. The full on fear lurking in her eyes put him in a mind to find what she was hiding from. Her odd questions and the like, reminded him of how his young niece used to do the same. Before he'd left.

Yet, it was probably best to take the whole thing at an easier angle. He didn't want to frighten her anymore than she already was. "Not a fan of musicals then? Ah, well can't say they're for everyone's tastes. I just have found that I enjoy them."

Smiling in a "I'm so harmless, it'll be okay" manner, he eased back another step to give her some breathing room. It looked as if she desperately needed it. "So, what about your family? Were you an only child? In Ireland there's many families much larger than mine."

It just seemed to him that something was NOT adding up in this situation. Too many pauses... too many answers that sounded like questions... not enough truth. Not that he blamed her for lying, hell he'd done his own share of it. He just wondered if she needed to be lying at all.

"Oh so you do like them?" This seemed to brigten him up quite a bit. "Which one's are your favorites?"

It was curious, he only had one sibling more than she, if she was telling the truth, but she thought his was big? Well, that could be perception though... "Oh the Mullogan's who lived a few acres off from my family, they had 6 daughters in all. Used to be afraid old Murphy would up and turn female himself. Lucky for all involved he did not."

How sad, it hadn't even dawned on him that she shared the namesake with one of the most touching characters from Les Mis. "Well, let's hope you befall a greater fate than the character from the musical." He winked at her in joke. "As for me? Well, hmm.. I liked Sweeny Todd alright, and I thought Phantom of the Opera had some great music. Don't think I could put my finger on a favorite though."

He smiled thinking back on the memories from Ireland. "Oh they got by well enough, half his girls turned out to be mechanics and farmers and the other half... well they married well enough. It's all about family in Ireland, your relatives and your friends. So we all took care of each other." And god, he'd be damned if he didn't miss it.

Sighing, he looked out at some of the flowers, twirling the stem he'd forgotten he was holding.

Shane had to bite down on the urge to laugh at her forced wink. It was very difficult but he managed to keep his face schooled in it's normal look. "There's got to be some amount of bravery to you, you've joined LOTUS haven't you? I think there's un-tapped bravery in everyone, it just has to be triggered."

Alright, now he was stepping too deeply in the philisophical realm. Easing to sit down on the grass beside the bench he leaned back and looked up, not at anything in particular. Just up. "Sweeny Todd's about a barber who was wrongly accused, the whole shows about him getting revenge on those who wronged him. I guess it'd be called a horror piece as far as musicals go."

Casually ignoring the question about whether or not he'd go back home, he brought the flower he was holding to his nose and sniffed. Such sweet smells. "As a young lad I was always fond of lilies. But now, any flower will do. They're all unique and sweet. Tis hard to find a favorite. Do you have one?"

"Hmm, I guess you could say I'm a bit the same. Joining LOTUS for lack of place to be." Shrugging his shoulders he turned to look at her, so full of questions she was. "The world's a mess, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. The best way to protect my family is to help fight for their freedom. And by freedom, I mean of the world. Twas no good for me to stay at the pub, cooking chips all day while hell's broken loose across the board." It was at best a half truth. He had worked the pub's kitchen, and he had left for the protection. Any more than that... well that was in the past... or it had past... whatever.

"I'm sure we could find a copy of it easy enough. Maybe it'll be in library along with your atlas?"

Standing up he looked down at her on the bench. "Well let's see here." Meandering around the flowers, he picked his way along and randomly pulled out certain flowers, gathering them all together. At last he came back and began pointing out all the flowers he'd gathered. "There, tis all my favorite lilies, you've got an easter lily, a calla lily, a tiger lily, and a few more that I don't remember their exact names of." Reaching out he plucked the flower she'd pointed to and added it to the bouquet. "Not sure which that one is, but it's pretty all the same, just in un-conventional manner." He extended his arm and flowers out to her, "Here, tis for you."

Looked to be that he was stepping in the right direction of friendship. Already she'd come round to being a little more comfortable. He didn't feel that chilly fear hanging around her anymore. "Twasn't honorable really." But he'd let her think what she wanted. Better for her to have a positive wrong opinion than the negative truth. "I'd be glad to visit the library with you sometime. Whenever suits your pleasure."

It made him grin to see her indulge in the flowers. It was a simple enough gesture, but those were the ones that often meant the most. Or so his grandmother had told him one day. "Nah, just an average irishman."

"Any Irishman worth his grain of salt should be like that." He stated rather fiercely. "Sure, and some go 'round ruining the good name, but most are right enough." It was odd, how well it all came back after years of being gone. "I daresay you'll not find a place as pretty as Ireland."

Shane laughed with her, and it felt good to see her relax a little. "Sounds to me like you haven't done enough exploring on your own here. Why, the first night I got here, I was off scoping out everything I could. By the third or fourth day, I'd had it pretty well memorized. But aye, I'll show you the library if'n you want."

Merely shrugging his shoulders he lied in agreement. "Sure, and some day we'll see. And maybe you'll see me brawl with some man who's not worth his salt." The thought amused him as he was almost hoping it could happen. Which of course it couldn't.

"How long've you been here then?" Shane took a moment to think of all the places he'd visited since getting to the base. "There's the kitchen and dining area, but don't they've not the talent I have when it comes to cooking. Also, the library, the training grounds, the gardens here, there's a meical facility, as well as a recreational area. Hmm, the garage, or hanger more like, where they keep all the vehicles. I may be missing a few, but that's the gist of it."