I own nothing you recognize. All original characters and storylines are my own.
Uncaged
"Does the work meet your exacting standards?" I asked Crowley as he inspected the scimitar.
"Perfect work as always. I don't have anything new for the time being." He looked at me and shook his head.
"What?" I asked as I pulled my coat tight around me.
"Just a shame that body is going to be misshapen by the little bundle of joy." He said the last sarcastically before he shook his head again and I laughed.
"My tits are already getting bigger. Juice seems to appreciate it." I smirked before I continued. "Anyway, if you don't need me to do anything else I have to head out."
"Go, be whatever you are now. If I need you I'll find you." I nodded before I walked to my car and got in. I had to run a few errands for Gemma then get to the clubhouse. We had a party to set up.
I had barely made it down the road before my phone rang. I didn't even look at the caller ID before I hit the Bluetooth.
"Hello." I looked in the rearview before I continued.
"Ari, you headin' back?" I smiled at Gemma's voice. She obviously had another errand for me.
"Yep, just pulled out of the diesel yard in Pope. Should be in Charming in twenty." I had an uneasy feeling but just continued on, knowing that the reason for it would present itself soon.
"Good, I need you to do something for me." I rolled my eyes, of course she did. "Stop rolling your eyes and listen. I need you to go to the liquor store and pick up the special stock for the night."
"Ok, but isn't this a job better suited to the prospect?" I asked as I continued my drive.
"Yeah it is but I want you to do it. Then head over to the warehouse and see if the guys need anything." Gemma sounded insistent but it didn't feel right.
"Gem, they're meeting with the Irish today. Wouldn't it be bad form for an Old Lady to show up?" I was getting closer to town and was relieved.
"Not if you're the Old Lady. Just do this." She hung up and I sighed. I was obviously going to the warehouse.
As I drove through town I saw activity in the new store that was opening on main street. They had yet to contact SAMCRO and I figured Clay was going to rectify that soon. As I drove by I saw a man with a lot of tattoos come out the front and almost choked on my tongue when I looked them over. He had "I Kill Niggers" etched on his chest as well as "SS" and the Iron Eagle and on his neck there was another "White Power" symbol. He stopped and talked to a dignified looking man with grey hair and an expensive suit. I didn't even realize that I slowed down until they looked over, that snapped me out of it and I sped up. The last thing I wanted as to gain their attention. I practically sped to the liquor store and took care of the errand before I made my way to the warehouse. I pulled in in time to watch the guys shooting off rounds at targets.
I got out of the car and leaned back on the hood and admired my man as he shot the target. There was something sexy about a man who knew how to use a gun and Juice definitely did. Once they finished Clay, Tig and Juice walked up to the car.
"What are you doin' here Ari? Didn't you have a meeting with King Demon this morning?" Clay asked before he leaned down to give me a hug and I smiled. Ever since the aswang experience Clay was a believer.
"Yeah I finished that. Gem sent me here to see if you guys needed anything. Sorry if I interrupted your deal." Clay looked at Juice who shrugged before Tig put the gun he was shooting in my hand. I took out the clip and checked the slide. "Pretty good, I have a gun source that could get you better shit."
"We may need to meet this source if things don't go well. Want to check out the samples?" Clay asked and I felt my eyes light up. I hadn't been to a range in weeks and missed the feel of it.
"Hell yeah!" I got up and Juice smiled as we walked to the Irishman.
"What's this? I thought this was a private meeting." He looked suspicious and Clay threw an arm around my shoulders.
"She's one of ours. Show her what you have; she'll be trying them out too." I grinned as I looked at what he had spread out on the tailgate. There were the prerequisite AK's but I was interested in the Intratec AB-10s that the guys were shooting. I nodded and the Irishman looked reticent to hand it to me.
"That's a lot of gun for a little girl like you." Juice laughed but hid it with a cough and Clay simply shook his head.
"It's not my sawed off or my Barrett M90 but I think I'll do fine." I took it from his hands and with practiced expertise dismantled and remantled it while he watched before I placed the clip he'd handed separately into the chamber. Once I heard the click I tested the weight and nodded to him before I walked over the makeshift range and waited for Sack to get out of the way. Once he did I tried a variety of shots, concentrating more on head shots and some direct shots to the body mass. There was a kick and a hairline difference between intended target and actual target but my guess was that accuracy wasn't foremost on the customer's minds. Overall an acceptable gun. Later I'd have to call Ezra and see if I could get a hunter's discount on his Uzis. Maybe if I showed initiative Clay would let me a bigger part of the side businesses. Since I didn't work in the garage anymore I needed to find different jobs to occupy my time. Once I did another check of the components I walked to the Irishman and handed the gun back.
"It's pretty good, but I've handled better." I smiled and Clay gave him a look
"Good thing you're not running then, huh girly?" He gave me a condescending look and I just shrugged.
"As long as Clay trusts me I don't need, nor do I want, your approval." I turned and walked toward the range where the guys were setting up to try out more of the guns. I watched as they fired off more rounds and had to laugh when Sack went to change the targets while Chibs and Tig fired off more rounds around him. Clay came up to me when they were done and gave me a paternal smile.
"We're good here. Why don't you go back to the garage and order some lunch? We should be done here in about an hour." I nodded before I glanced over at the Irishmen.
"Want me to call my contact, set up a meeting?" I asked and Clay shook his head.
"Not just yet, go take care of the food and go to the office. Gemma's with the kid today so it's probably backlogged there." I nodded before Clay leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Be safe."
I smiled at him before I walked back to Stevie. Juice was with the rest of the guys in the warehouse so I didn't get a chance to say goodbye but that was ok. I wasn't the clingy type.
"Gloria damn it!" I shouted as the croweater dropped the box of utensils. Bobby was getting out of the slammer tonight and it was my job as the Old Lady in charge to set shit up.
"Sorry, sorry. Here all fixed." She set the box on the table and I just gave her a steady stare. "What?"
"Nothing... Bianca!" I shouted to another croweater who was busy scrubbing down a table.
"Yeah?" She was one of the good ones, someone who might actually be worth a crow someday.
"I'm promoting you, you take care of the storage room and Gloria can take care of the tables. Also get Kelsey to go and fabreze the dorms. Julie already did the clean up." Bianca nodded and jumped to the task. Gloria looked offended when Bianca handed off the rag but I smiled. I liked commanding my own little army of sweetbutts and croweaters. This must have been what Gemma felt like when she commanded the Old Ladies to do her bidding.
I was in the process of cleaning up in the chapel when I felt strong arms around my mid-section and lips to my neck. I eased back into him and felt those lips curve into a smile.
"Done with the guns for the day Papi?" I asked as one of the hands around my middle started a downward movement.
"Yeah, thought it was about time that we took a break." He placed a kiss to my neck, followed by another and I moaned. Everything he did felt so good.
"I can't, Gem left me with a list of errands a mile long. I still have so much to do." I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. Even if I couldn't get down and dirty with him, a little makeout session didn't seem so bad.
"Make one of the other Old Ladies do it." He whispered before he kissed me. I kissed him back but stopped him with a hand to the chest when things started to get too heated.
"Sorry babe. You know how it is." He growled but nodded.
"Yeah, I get it. After the party we'll take care of this." He grinned and kissed me again before he moved away.
"Baby, I've been thinking…" His brow creased before he motioned for me to continue. "What do you think of the name Gabriel for the baby? I've been thinking about it a while and it seems right."
"I was thinking he'd have my name, be junior." He draped his hands on my hips and pulled me close again.
"Yeah…that was never gonna happen." I patted his chest and his face fell. "I love you baby and I love your name but I never liked the whole "junior" thing. I was thinking the middle name could be Carlos. Gabriel Carlos Ortiz, how does that sound?"
"Why are you so focused on this name?" Damn it, now I'd have to explain some things.
"It's actually a twofold answer. One, Gabriel means "hero of god" or "man of god" in Hebrew and I know that our baby will be as locked into Heaven as I am. Two, I knew an angel named Gabriel he went out of his way to protect me and sacrificed himself for Sam and Dean. I want to honor him." I saw the understanding creep into his eyes and he nodded.
"It is a good name. We should honor your Dad too. Maybe Gabriel Carlos Robert Ortiz?" He asked and I grinned, it was perfect.
"When will Bobby get here?" I asked as I sat on Juice's lap by one of the fires.
"Any minute baby. If I didn't know better I'd think you two had something going on." He laughed and I shook my head.
I smiled as I looked around, the party was going great. The croweaters were doing their thing, there were brothers from every charter in a five state radius and we had enough food, booze and "party favors" for five armies. I wasn't going to lie, I was proud of myself for pulling this together and even though I didn't get any praise, I also didn't get any criticism from Gemma either so I must have done a good job.
"What are you thinking about?" Juice asked as he kissed my shoulder. I had decided to dress special for the night so I was in a bright red tank dress with leather leggings and my bitch boots. Juice was very appreciative of the change in wardrobe.
"Nothing, just how comfortable I am here, with everyone." He gave me his trademark smile and kissed me again before he pressed our foreheads together.
"You should be, this is your world now baby." I grinned and kissed him again.
We sat for a little while just talking and taking everything in when a car pulled into the lot. Juice nudged me off his lap and stood as Clay and Tig walked to greet our visitors. Something felt off so I touched my boot top to make sure my derringer and knife were still tucked away, if things went badly I needed to be armed.
"Stay here baby." I nodded and watched while Juice made his way over. Two guys got out of the car and I felt my stomach roll, it was the two men I'd seen earlier at the shop on Main Street. I knew my bad feeling was coming from somewhere. While they talked I walked over to Gemma and we shared a look, she didn't feel right about this either.
"You packing?" I whispered as Tig drew his piece and she nodded.
"In my bag." I nodded, her bag was in her car.
"If shit goes down, get behind me. I'm armed." She nodded again then we were silent as the conversation came to an end and the dignified looking man put a box of cigars at Clay's feet and they dispersed. The one with the tattoos came close to us and almost bumped into Gemma, the way he looked and sounded when he apologized to her sent a chill up my spine, but soon they were gone and Gemma went to Clay while I followed Juice into the clubhouse.
"Baby?" I asked and he turned around.
"I have shit to get for Clay." He looked worried and I went up to him and handed him my phone.
"Call Brad Pent, Dan Quan and Izzy New York. They can dig up shit about anyone or anything. Tell them Agent Singer gave you their numbers." He kissed me before he went deeper into the clubhouse, probably going to the office.
I turned around and saw that the mood had turned a bit sour so I used my Old Lady status to change shit up.
"Who wants body shots!" I yelled and the croweaters knew it was time to do their duty. I presided over the festivities for a few minutes before I went outside again, just in time to see Gemma get in her Caddy. With a quick jog I was at her side. She rolled down her window before I had the chance to knock.
"Need anything sweetheart?" She asked and I shook my head.
"Just wanted to see if you wanted me to come with you, maybe be a bodyguard." I asked and she laughed.
"Don't be so dramatic, I'll be fine. I'm just going to Jax's to relieve Neeta. Go back to your man, Bobby will be here soon. I need you to run things." With that she had me and I conceded.
"Alright, but could you text me at some point to make sure I know you're ok. Think about it this way, it's not for me it's to keep me calm for my baby boy." She sighed then nodded.
"Fine, I'll do it but you have to promise to keep things under control here." I saluted with a smile.
"Yes Ma'am." I waved as she pulled out and went back into the clubhouse to find Juice sitting at the bar.
"Hey Baby." He got up and wound an arm around me as we walked back outside. I snuggled into his side while we stood by the bikes and talked to Chibs and Sack.
Suddenly a car pulled up and we started cheering. Bobby was back! I stayed off to the side and clapped and cheered with everyone as Juice helped him back into his cut before he was enveloped by the crowd and dragged into the clubhouse. As the crowd passed by me Juice took my hand and I joined the procession, proud to be a part of this. Eventually he'd gotten hugs from all of his brothers and he turned to me.
"You are a sight for sore eyes. Shit you got the crow." He hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe for a second before Juice clapped his shoulder.
"Ease up now, you don't wanna squish the baby." He held me out at arm's length and looked me over before he clapped Juice on the back.
"Baby? Fuck, I missed everything!" He gave me another quick hug before he was ushered into the clubhouse and I nodded to the two croweaters I knew were his favorites and they came up and he had one on each arm. I smiled as I watched them head to the pool table and I turned to Juice and hooked my fingers in his belt loops.
"What's this?" He asked as I pulled him flush against me and he brought his mouth to mine.
"I believe we have unfinished business…Papi…" I whispered the last against his mouth and he took the hint as he led me through the clubhouse and into a room.
Later that evening I lay in his arms unable to sleep as the sounds of the party stilled and ragged snores could be heard. For some reason a feeling of dread had settled in my stomach and I got up to check my cell. There was a message from Gemma, she'd made it to Jax's safely but the dread was still there so I put the cell away and crawled back in bed with Juice. The feeling didn't go away but being in his arms made things seem better…for now.
Author's Note: Ari's back! She won't seem to leave my muse alone and I'm happy about that. This story will take place during Season two and I will be messing with the Supernatural storyline a bit. I want Dean to meet Jax and that wouldn't happen with the original storyline. I also have some plans for Sam and Ari that don't work with the original plans. Please bear with me as I work on it. The first few chapters are going to deal with Ari's place in the club hierarchy and I want to explore her relationship with Gemma. I know that Tara's Gemma's protégé but sometimes I think Tara's not a big enough bitch to take care of some of the dirty stuff so I like to have Ari taking over that shit for her, managing the croweaters is a prime example. I like to think of Gemma as President, Tara as VP and Ari as the SaA or enforcer. She does the shit the others don't want to do and revels in it. I hope you like this new story, I'm trying to figure out if I'll add more of a supernatural element or just keep the human baddies. Remember what Dean said, "Demons I get. People are Crazy."