Holly was just finishing up cleaning the clubhouse, the music flowing through her earbuds playing loudly in her ears. She had come into the clubhouse early because she was going out of town to visit her parents' lawyer. She'd lost her parents in a bad car accident a year ago, and they were just now getting around to her parents' wills. Her dad had been really good friends with the man who created the Sons of Anarchy, John Teller. And her mom had been friends with John's wife, Gemma. John and Gemma were like a second set of parents to her. Up until last year, her dad had been one of the three remaining First 9 members of the SoA. He had left the club when things started changing, but he and John remained friends. Meaning that Holly grew up knowing the guys and their families. She, Jax and Opie grew up together, the three of them becoming fast friends. She'd introduced Opie to his now wife, Donna, and she had been there for Jax's wedding to Wendy. One of the only people who Jax wanted there, the two of them having eloped to Vegas. Jax had only been her best friend, her "brother", until recently. Up until last year, before her parents died, she'd been dating someone abusive and Jax saved her. She'd been beaten unconscious and Jax had come over, by chance, to invite Holly to his mom's for a family dinner. The door had been left open and there was a thin trail of blood leading to Holly. Jax had rushed her to the hospital before taking care of her boyfriend. She'd never asked what he did, and she didn't want to know. He'd moved her to a new apartment in Lodi and helped get her settled in. He'd always been her knight in shining armor. Even in high school. But he'd made it clear that he didn't see her as anything more than his sister, for all intents and purposes. So she moved on. Dating guys that started out great and turned out to just be let downs. So now she was on a dating strike, choosing to be single for a while. So she helped out around the clubhouse when she wasn't at work at the diner or at the gym. Holly took out her earbuds as she finished cleaning, putting all the cleaning stuff away before going back to Jax's room in the back. She'd been staying in the clubhouse while the parking lot at her apartment was being redone. It'd only been a couple days, but she was ready to get back to her own bed. She took a shower and then came back out to get dressed, not hearing Jax come back, her music playing through her phone, dancing around the room in just her panties.

"Shit. If Tara did that more often, maybe I'd have her over more."

Holly jumped and turned around, putting her hand on her chest before turning off her music.

"Jesus, Jax. You scared me."

"Sorry, darlin'. You should probably get dressed. I might be a bit early, but the guys can't be too far behind."

"Get out so I can."

"I've already seen the goods, Hol. You might as well finish getting dressed in front of me."

She rolled her eyes as he smirked at her, putting the rest of her clothes on, finishing with her shoes. She stood up and looked over as Jax came out of the bathroom, holding up her panties.

"They're drying, Jax. Put them back."

"I don't mind you staying here, but why you gotta deck my room out in girly shit?"

"I didn't deck your room out in my stuff, Jackson."

"The candles? The panties everywhere? The air freshner?"

"Sorry that I don't want the room I'm staying in to smell like weed, pussy and alcohol. And my panties aren't everywhere. I had to wash them by hand and hang them up to dry."

"But in the bathroom?"

"Would you rather me hang them up in the clubhouse where you idiots would think that they were up for grabs?"

"No one would do that."

"Tig would. And so would Happy. And you know it."

He conceded, putting her panties back before coming out to her.

"You coming to mom's for dinner tonight?"

"I wish I could, but I can't. I have to work tonight. I took off those days so I could go down to bury my parents and take care of their wills, remember? I don't have anymore vacation days for a while."

"Oh yeah. How're you holding up?"

"I'm taking it day to day. It was a big help to have Happy with me. I don't know if I could've done that alone."

"I'm sorry I couldn't go."

"It's ok, Jax. I get it. You had stuff of your own. Speaking of which, how is Wendy? She staying clean since the last scare?"

"Of course not. I haven't actually heard from her much since our fight."

"I'm sorry, Jax."

"It's not your fault. I just wish she'd stay clean at least until the baby's born. She was so excited to have the kid and now she's killing it."

"We don't know that she's killing the baby. And I thought you didn't wanna be a dad?"

"I'm coming around to it. I just wish Wendy would stay clean for a while."

"She probably needs something to happen for her to wake up and see what she's doing to herself and now the baby."

"Maybe. Did I tell you what we were talking about for baby names?"

"No, you didn't."

"Abel for a boy and Johannah for a girl."

She smiled at him, gently hitting his shoulder.

"Those are awesome names, Jackson!"

Holly sat at her desk, going through the paperwork on her desk. She was an assistant of the lawyer that the club had on retainer. It worked out incredibly well. She could pass notes between the guys and Rosen, and because of it, she was paid extra by Rosen and she got a couple extra hundreds from Clay for being the messenger. So bills were never an issue for her. She was doing some filing when she heard her name being mentioned, looking around to see Chibs coming towards her.

"Hey, lass. Working hard?"

"As always. What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to check in on ya. I know you're just jumping back into things after coming back from losing your parents. I wanna make sure you're doing alright."

She smiled at Chibs. Since he came to the club, she and Chibs had formed a really special bond. He was like her uncle and an even bigger protector than Jax was at times. She knew about his wife and kid, and if all she was was a temporary replacement for Kerrienne, she didn't mind. Chibs was such a caring person that you couldn't help but love him.

"I'm doing alright. Just working. I can't wait to get home, though. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed finally."

"So the rennovating's finally done?"

"It should be, yeah. I got a call from the super saying that it was done."

"That's good then."

Holly pulled up to Wendy's house with Gemma, both of them going to check on Wendy. Holly had been with Gemma when Jax told her that he hadn't heard from Wendy at all. She climbed out of the car and went to the door, using her spare key to open the door. She had conned Wendy into giving her a spare key to her place. She had to pee really bad, letting Gemma go find Wendy while she went to the bathroom. She hadn't been in there for very long when she heard Gemma start cursing. She came out when she was done, following Gemma's voice, stopping in her tracks when she saw Wendy unconscious on the floor. There was a container of ice cream melting on the floor, mixing with the blood that came from Wendy's crotch, staining her leggings. She grabbed her cell and called for an ambulance, giving them the address quickly. She sat with Wendy, trying to wake her up, while Gemma ran around the house trying to hide all the drug paraphernalia. It didn't take very long for the ambulance to get there. Holly handed Gemma her keys, calling Jax on the way to St. Thomas.

"Holly? I'm kinda in the middle of something. Can I call you back?"

"No. Jax, it's Wendy. She OD'd and was unconscious when Gemma and I got there. We called an ambulance and they're taking her to St. Thomas. We're following them now."

"Shit! I'm on my way."

After they got to the hospital, Gemma and Holly had to wait for Jax to get there, both women sitting in the waiting room impatiently for news on Wendy and the baby and for Jax to show up. She had gone to get coffee and by the time she got back to Gemma, Jax and the guys had shown up. And so had Tara to update everyone. She stood next to Chibs, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders, listening to Tara tell them what was going on with Abel. It broke her heart to hear how much Abel was suffering right now and know there was only so much anyone could do. She looked over at Jax, taking his hand gently, looking into his sad and angry and confused eyes when he looked back at her. The two stood there for a couple minutes before Jax's attitude changed and his expression became completely furious. She started to go after him when he walked off, but Bobby stopped her before following Jax with Chibs, both of them promising that they'd take care of him. She got Wendy a bunch of flowers and put them in her room before going home with Gemma and the others. She got Gemma to drop her off at her apartment, having some paperwork to go over for Rosen. Clay told Tig to stay with Holly for a little while. She didn't mind the company. When she'd been asked. But whatever Clay said, went. And there was no use complaining about it.

Holly looked over when she heard someone knocking on the door, having been going to the kitchen to get something to drink. When she looked through the peephole and saw Jax, she bit her lip, glad she at least had Tig's shirt on as she opened the door. When Jax saw her, he gave her a slightly playful look.

"Am I interrupting something, darlin'?"

"No. You're about 30 minutes too late to interrupt something. You wanna come in for a beer?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I was actually hoping to crash here for the night. I don't feel like going home alone tonight."

"I don't mind, but what about Tara? Wouldn't she be better company tonight?"

"She's pulling a double shift tonight. And I need a break from anything dealing with Abel."

"Where'd you go when you left the hospital?"

"The Hairy Dog to teach the prick that sold to Wendy a lesson."

"What's the damage? Or should I not ask?"

"Let's just say he's only half potent now."

"Ew. I shouldn't have asked."

She handed him a beer before sitting down next to him, keeping her legs shut since she wasn't wearing panties at the moment.

"So who's back there? Is he sleeping?"

"I'm not telling you. And yes he is."

"Oh come on. I won't judge."

"That's not why I'm not telling you, Jax. Not every aspect of my life is an open book for you to read. I was just clearing out the pipes."

"Please tell me? Now I'm really curious."

"Suffer."

"Wow. It's someone I know, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. Now let it go."

He laughed softly, shaking his head as Holly took a drink of her wine. He went to say something when he heard someone coming out from her bedroom. He moved to get up, but stopped when Holly rushed to get up, catching a quick but full glimpse of her bare ass as she rushed off the couch and down the hall. Holly went into her room, pulling Tig back in with her.

"Again, doll? I'm up to it, but you were pretty spent earlier."

"Jax is out there and he doesn't know you're here or that you were who I slept with. And I'd rather him not know. So when you come out of here, don't tell him anything. Ok?"

"He's gonna figure it out when he sees me coming from the direction of your bedroom. And you were wearing my shirt. Just relax, doll. He can't be mad at you for having a little fun."

Holly looked over as Jax and the guys walked into the clubhouse. Jax was the only one not pumped up. Everyone else was clapping each other's backs and laughing and talking. She looked at Jax, handing him a beer, putting it back down when he shook his head.

"You ok, Jax?"
"No. Will you come to the room with me?"

"Yeah."

She stood up and followed him back to his room, not knowing what was gonna happen. But of all the scenarios she had in her head, the last thing she expected was for Jax to pin her up against the wall and kiss her roughly and passionately. She let out a soft squeal in surprise, eventually melting into the kiss. As soon as she did, Jax pulled away so he could pull off her shirt, tossing it behind him somewhere before undoing her jeans, pulling them down.

"Wait, Jax….not that I'm opposed to this, but what about Tara?"

She looked down when she felt him stop, watching as he put her head against her knees. She'd regret this, but Jax would be in a lot of trouble if Tara found out he'd cheated on her. They stayed there for a couple minutes before Holly pulled away, pulling up her jeans and going to grab her shirt, putting it back on. She kissed his cheek before leaving the room, going out to her car to go home.

"I'm a fucking idiot."