A/N This story is the sequel to Fate Gives second Chances, a continuation of Hap and Audrey's story. Thank you demonicseer for the kick in the pants last month; I needed just that little reminder to get me to a point where I was ready to post. Thanks for reading!

Seeing that she has left both women speechless, Gemma explains further. I'm not one to embrace change, as you both know. And Clay and Jax will probably continue to butt heads over how things need to be run. But that is on them. I don't want to see the MC life fade away, and I don't want our men in prison. The first part we can do something about, the second part, I'm not so sure. If they go away, we need to be ready to fight just about everyone who ever came up against the club. We'll be left vulnerable, and need to be prepared for that. All I'm saying is I'm glad that I'm not in this alone. I know you both are still struggling to accept the less savory aspects of this life, but I see that you are both in it for the long haul, and I'm proud of you both for succeeding."

A dark sedan sits on the street, with a clear view of the MC clubhouse. "Look at them all in there, partying like they haven't a care; going soft SAMCO is. I'm disturbed by their less than stellar response to our business plan. We can't let them hesitate in formalizing this deal. I wouldn't put it past SAMCRO to try and contact the Russians directly and find a new source for guns. We may have slowed down the Chinese pipeline, but soon they will have another route to traffic their guns. Clay's already talked business to them when we had the misfortune to sell to Zobelle. We can't let this deal fall through our fingers; I've got big plans for SAMCRO."

Jimmy thought through his options. "If they continue to stall us, we can get their attention. We know their vulnerability now. They'd all do anything to keep the Littlest Prince safe. That Weston fellow proved that. I could control Jax and maybe even Clay through Gemma if we take the child. The same way I control Chibs with his dear Fiona at my side." Turning to Luke he orders, "Find Cameron. Don't kill him just yet, he may prove useful and show us that he wasn't in on his son's betrayal. He'll do as I say if he wants to live."

About to have his driver pull away, Jimmy catches a glimpse of a black SUV driving by slowly. Suddenly, automatic weapon fire rings out, as bullets are sprayed over the clubhouse. Not wanting to get caught up in the blame for this scenario, Jimmy yells out "Drive! Drive!" The car speeds away leaving SAMCRO to deal with the devastation on their own.

Book 2- Fateful Opportunities

Intro

She sat on the picnic table next to Tara and both women were gaping openly at Gemma's declaration. Audrey looked to Tara to speak, but found her friends tear streaked face instead. Just as she was about to say something she heard a shout. Turning her head she saw Half Sack running towards them waving his arm to get down. He reaches Gemma who is closest in a flying tackle, and she is propelled into Audrey, who grabs Tara and drags her down with them. Audrey continues to hear the sharp sound of rapid gunfire as she lay on the ground trying to make herself as small as possible. It takes her a second to realize the gunfire stopped, because her ears are still ringing. She looks around and sees Sack unmoving on the ground. She feels a tug at her hand where she still holds her friends arm, as Tara is already on the move to the fallen man. They quickly reach his side but it was already too late. The shots were clearly fatal, as Sack stares with unseeing eyes.

Audrey looks over at Gemma, who is still sitting on the ground, as she sees the clubhouse door fly open. She flinches at the movement and ducks her head in fear, before she sees Happy, then Jax, emerge from the doorway. She tamps down her fear and sits up again.

At the first sound of gunfire, adrenalin surged through his body. Reacting quickly, Hap stood up from the table pulling his gun from its holster and raced towards the entrance. He'd always been quick to react in any situation, a talent that had kept him alive for many years. Don't hesitate-ever. Don't think of anything but the goal which was getting out of the situation alive or in a dominant position. Despite his healing injuries, his quick reflexes were still working for him, only this time the adrenalin rushing through him was laced with a tendril of fear. He'd been aware of Audrey's movements as he always was, and knew she and Tara were outside. Not waiting for backup he threw open the front door with enough force that it smacked hard into the wall behind it. Aiming his gun in a scanning motion in the direction of the road, he peaked around the corner of the doorway. Not seeing an immediate threat he took a longer look outside. His heart pounded in his chest as he saw the women on the ground. Seeing movement from them, his eyes once again swept the area looking for any danger. His eyes landed first on Audrey assuring himself that she was unhurt before assessing the situation. One look at Half Sack told him the prospect didn't make it. Tara was kneeling over his body but it was clear he was already dead. He ran to where Audrey sat so he could more closely protect her as his eyes searched the perimeter again for any lurking danger. Sensing none, he knelt down and met Audrey's eyes for the first time reassuring himself of her well being.

Gemma sat where she landed in stunned silence. Sack had died saving her life, and she didn't know how to feel about that. Christ he was younger than her own son, and should have had a lot of life still to live. Seeing his mother's distress, Jax pulled her up from the ground and steered her towards the clubhouse. Clay took over as soon as he reached them, whispering reassuring words in her ear, and holding her close.

Tara knew Sack was dead; he took a bullet through the heart and there was nothing she could do. She felt Jax touch her shoulder and she met his gaze assuring him she was fine before he would move on to comfort his mother. She heard shouts from the street about someone else being down and started to run in that direction. She raced out of the chain link fencing and saw a handful of people standing over a body. Kneeling down she saw, for the second time tonight, there was nothing she could do. Although his face was not visible through the massive injuries, she certainly recognized the uniform. Oh David, you didn't deserve this, Tara thought. His face was unrecognizable, Tara considered the fact that he may have been shot in the head before being run over; the head injury too extensive to be just from the hit and run.

As soon as Jax knew Gemma was in the care of Clay, he turned around to check on Tara only to find her gone. He raced outside the gates to where a small crowd of people formed. He saw Tara once again kneeling beside a body. Shit, Hale. Jax knew who it was immediately. Hale had called him earlier today asking to meet with Jax to discuss something important; important enough that he didn't want to mention it over the phone. Jax had agreed to meet with Hale tomorrow; Hale had reluctantly agreed to wiat, but apparently he must have changed his mind. Jax wondered if the drive by was just retaliation against the club or if it was something more. Whatever it was, Hale's death outside the clubhouse would not bode well for them.

The old firebird pulls up to the designated truck stop on the interstate. The man gets out of the car and makes his way to the newer midsize sedan and gets in the passenger seat. "It's done"

"Collateral damage?"

"I fired into a group of people, I'm not sure how many got hit. Then I took care of the Deputy Chief. This will all fall out on the Son's as planned, don't worry."

"Good, now it's time for you to disappear."

"I think I'll stick around for now; no telling what opportunities may come my way."

"That's not our deal, Hector. I paid you; now you need to leave, as we discussed."

Hector quickly pulled a small recorder from his jacket pocket. "You mean the conversation that takes place on this tape, Mr. Hale? The one where you hire me to kill your own brother?"

Jacob Hale paused as he listened to the playback, not believing his own bad luck and stupidity. "What do you want?"

"You seem to have a lot of interests here in Charming. I need quick cash. I could help you with some of those intersts; we could come to an arrangement."

"If you release that tape you will be admitting your own guilt, and you'll go to prison for murder."

"I've been to prison, and I have people inside. How do you think you would do in prison? You willing to risk it? Hey, I'm not asking something for nothing, I'm offering my services to you. You should take it, trust me."

Jacob sighed and slowly nodded his head. He'd have to keep Hector on the payroll until he could figure out a way to eliminate him. Just another price of doing business.

Chapter 1

Audrey woke early, as usual for her, and untangled herself from Happy's arms. She threw on some clothes and went downstairs where Goliath was waiting by the door doing his peepee dance. Clipping the lead on him, they head off for their morning walk. For once they walked in silence except for the jingle of the dog's tags. She didn't want to voice her concerns out loud, not even to her faithful companion. Her worry for Happy and the club had been manifesting itself in her dreams. She understood this was a volatile time for them and it wouldn't always be like this; that's what Gemma told her anyway. Somehow she couldn't make her mind accept that, hence the dreams. Her only true fear was losing Happy. She knew he would give everything he had to preserve his way of life. While she admired and respected his loyalty, she feared he would pay the ultimate price. She reasoned with herself that he wouldn't be the man she loved if he acted any differently, but her anxiety was rising. When he came home to her every night she could relax and forget what the Club was facing, but she couldn't hide from the dreams.

As soon as the door clicked behind her, Hap rolled onto his back, lifted his arms up and linked his fingers behind his head. He'd been awake since her nightmare over an hour ago. He'd felt her stiffen before she shot up from her place wrapped in his arms with a gasp. She took a minute then lay back down. When she settled in, he pulled her closer and she drifted back to sleep. The dreams were increasing. They started the night after the drive by and continued to be a nightly occurrence. He'd comforted her the first few times but she seemed to want to downplay them. She told him she couldn't remember what the dream was and that she was fine. He'd been letting her have her way, but each night it bothered him a little more that she almost died on his watch-again. It had been weeks now and she seemed to be reliving the danger every night. He knew he'd need to bring it up. Usually it would be her doing the talking but denial makes her dig her heels in deep. He'd been considering his options for the past two nights; if she needed to rabbit, he'd let her go, but he wanted her here with him. After Sack's funeral, Jax had confided his own fears for Tara's safety and his solution was to push her away for her own good. Hap disagreed with that approach. He wasn't going to tell her it was ok to leave; no way would he even suggest the out. Maybe he should feel guilty about that decision but he couldn't.

His mind shifted to the other topic that rolled around his head during his many sleepless hours; considering options for the survival of the club. This constant danger to their friends and families needed to end. There was no money in the coffers, they were still facing jail time, and they'd had so many recent losses. Besides the death of Sack, there was the explosion that injured Chibs, Juice getting shanked, Gemma getting raped, Audrey almost sharing that same fate and he himself getting shot, all in less than a year. The more he thought about it, he knew he needed a voice. He'd talk to Clay about getting patched in. It was time.

He lay there thinking things through much longer than he realized. He heard the bells that were hanging on the front door softly jingle, letting him know Audrey was back. He knew he'd be smelling coffee soon enough and get himself up. He was surprised when instead, he heard the bedroom door open and Audrey shucked her clothes and climbed in beside him. He felt a rush when she ran her fingertips lightly over his chest before she hugged him fiercely to her.

"I know you're not sleeping; I could feel you thinking from down the street."

"Yeah."

"I know why too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" Audrey replied while climbing on top of him, laying her body over his. His arms snaked around her waist holding her in place. She looked up at his face, somewhat hidden in the dark, but she could see his eyes make contact with hers.

"I'm not leaving."

Happy nodded and closed his eyes. He felt some relief with her words, but underneath he knew there were still questions.

Audrey wasn't sure what to make of his less than enthusiastic response to her declaration. "I thought you'd be happier."

"I'd be happier if I knew why you're not sleeping." He said, leading into the problem. "It does me no good to hear that you're fine, when it's clear that you're not."

She tried to get up, but he held his grip firm, keeping their bodies touching. When he felt her body relax a little he tried again. "I know you would not want to leave me, but there is more than one way to loose someone. For the first time you are not being honest with me and I don't like it; it will hurt us in the end."

"Hap, you've always accepted and supported that there are things we don't share, you can't change the rules on me now." Audrey says defensively, as he once again thwarted her attempt to get up.

"There are things we don't share about business and maybe our pasts but when it involves both of us, you need to let me know what you're thinking."

He heard her sigh and felt her body melt into him. He knew he'd won that argument, and wanted to lead the conversation back around. "So the dreams; are they about Weston or the drive by? Are you afraid of being hurt? I wouldn't blame you if you were."

She squirmed for a bit until he released her and she slid her body to the side, still touching but no longer on top of him. "You were right about what you said a minute ago. There is more than one way to loose someone. I don't want to loose you. I'm not dreaming of my own death Hap, I'm dreaming about yours." She told him before successfully climbing out of bed heading down stairs.

Shit. He'd not been prepared for that answer. With all that had happened to her lately, that she was not thinking of her own safety threw him. Giving himself some extra time to think about what she just said, Happy took a shower before heading down stairs. He grabbed his mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. He loved her coffee. She ground the beans fresh every morning insisting it made a huge difference in taste. It had only taken one cup to convince him she was right. He had a hard time drinking the shit at the garage now. He took a seat at the kitchen table thinking that her coffee was just one of a thousand little ways she made his life better. His thoughts were interrupted by her soft voice.

"So I did most of the confessing this morning. Anything you'd care to share?" When he didn't respond she pursued. "I just assumed I knew what you were thinking about this morning." She left the statement hanging, Hap could decide if he wanted to fill in the blanks.

"You weren't wrong."

"But there's more."

Hap considered what to say. "Things haven't been leaning in favor of the club lately. Decisions need to be made about the future. As NOMAD I can speak but I don't get a vote. I want to be heard."

"You're gonna transfer." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"You said before that you didn't want to transfer right now because you didn't want to choose sides. Did things change now that Clay and Jax made up?" Audrey spoke, giving Hap a much needed opportunity to voice his reasoning out loud. He appreciated her gesture.

"On the surface, but other than that I'm not sure. But I've decided to vote for what's best for the Club however it shakes out. This can't be personal; we need to focus on business." Saying it out loud only made his resolve stronger.

She smiled at Happy proudly. "You're very insightful and intuitive Hap. I can already tell you've got some ideas for the future of the MC. You're voice will be an asset to the Club." Knowing he wasn't going into further detail, she placed her hand on his arm with a caressing motion to get his attention. "You know, listening to how your brain works is really, really sexy."

"My brain is turning you on?" He teased back, knowing this conversation was leading to a rare early morning fuck. With her early morning animal duties, these did not happen often. He was fully prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.

"Mmm, Hap, it just adds to your powerful presence. It's intoxicating." She stood from her chair and moved to stand in front of his. Lifting up her robe to mid thigh level she straddled his lap and had a seat. His cock was already twitching in his pants. "You're so quiet and intimidating, people don't always see your intellect but I know how well you problem solve in your head. You are good under pressure; that's hot. I like a take charge kind of man. Your brain just rounds out the whole sexy package." She ran her hands up his well defined arms and down his chest, leaving goose bumps in their wake as her fingers raked over his nipples. Her voice taking on a husky quality, she continued. "You are physically in peak shape, your body all hard, lean muscle. You exude that bad boy vibe that makes all girl's panties wet. You're charismatic; those dark eyes can bore right into my soul, and you have a bottom lip that I want to suck on every time I look at your face. I'm addicted." She stops to kiss the lip she is so very fond of. "In fact, I want a piece right now. Care to accommodate me?"

"Well now that you've inflated more than just my ego, I guess I can help you out." He replied with a leering smile, shifting in his chair and pressing his hard length against her pubic bone. Her words alone had made his dick grow hard. His hands reach for the tie on the robe she slipped on as she left their bedroom. It fell open, exposing her pale, faintly freckled skin. Her injuries had healed in the past weeks, leaving only a fading outline on her right breast. Hap loved her skin; smooth and soft, he could let his hands trail over her for days and not get enough. He didn't dissuade her hands from releasing the zipper on his jeans or from maneuvering the baggy pants down enough that his cock sprang free. As she sat on his lap rubbing her clit against him, he found her breasts right at mouth level. Taking a rosy nipple into his mouth, he rolled his tongue around it before biting gently on the sensitive flesh. He continued his ministration at her moan of pleasure; her body leaning forward pressing her tit further into his mouth. He accommodated her wordless request by sucking the other nipple into his mouth, while his hand made its way to her warm wet nub.

With obvious impatience, Audrey pulled up from his lap just long enough to grab his shaft and center it to her welcoming core before sinking back down. He felt her heat envelope him quickly and he lost himself in the sensation as she rocked slowly on him setting the rhythm. His eyes stayed locked with hers as his hands found her waist. He helped to guide her as she increased their speed, controlling their movements from her precarious position on his lap with just her toes touching the floor. He felt her thigh muscles flex as she rode him and felt heat course through his body longing for her even as he was inside her. Finally breaking eye contact, he once again found a nipple in front of his mouth and sucked it hard effectively slowing them down once again. As she rocked on top of him, he felt her hands glide up his shoulders and around the back of his neck. Forcing his mouth away from her soft flesh, she guides his mouth to meet her own. She deepens the kiss as she continues to rock against him, her skin quickly warming under his hands. She is forced to break the lip lock when she can no longer get enough air. He watches her face as she brings about her own orgasm, her clit rubbing against him as her hips move back and forth. Her eyes are on him but unfocused as she pants out another moan before he feels her shutters against him. "Hap" she screams, and she clenches his cock in her hot center squeezing him. She continues to rock against him causing her body to quiver again and again as he holds her hips tightly to him.

He continued watching her face as she came down slowly. It was not often that she fully lost herself in her own pleasure before him and he enjoyed the picture she made. It excited him that she gave into her own need; besides, it was sexy as hell. His dick got even harder if that were possible. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, he pushed up from the chair with his arms full of satisfied woman. Turning around he sets her none too gently on the counter top, pulling out of her enough so that he can slam into her again hard. She cries out at his action, widening her legs to give him more room. He fists a hand in her hair and pulls her head back and staring deep into her eyes as he slams into her again and again. Her beautiful blue eyes are almost black with desire as he makes that connection he only feels with this woman. She's mesmerized him to the point where he's sure he will never get enough of her. Soon all thought leaves his head as he comes deep inside of her with a long groan, hearing her own whimper of satiated pleasure echo his own feelings of completion. "I love you." He whispers into her neck as he holds her close to his body, not yet ready to let go.