Alexandria woke up in her comfortable suite at the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas with a hell of a headache. She glanced at the clock and cursed it before pushing herself up and reaching for her cigarettes. She lit one and used her free hand to push various strands of hair out of her face. Today was a major day for her and she knew that she was supposed to more ecstatic than she actually was. Instead she wondered how the hell things had turned out this way. She made it to the big leagues, the high mecca that all other females in this industry hoped to one day be a part of but all Alex could think of was how much she did not fit into this mold, at least not anymore.

Her life in porn started when she was just 17. She had been caught stealing and part of her juvie sentence was working at the local library, reading to children. For the tough-as-nails chick, this was the last place she wanted to be. She was in a gas station one day when an older blonde with a nice ass red car started talking to her. Her name was Luann and she ran the porn studio Caracara in nearby Charming. She liked Alex's look and gave her a card. When Alex finished her juvie sentence, she hopped in her beat down car and made her way over to the studio. She had stayed for seven years.

Alex's look helped make her Luann's top girl rather quickly. She spent her days wiping cum off her face and her nights trying to learn the ins and outs of the business so she wouldn't have to suck dick for the rest of her life. She saw how some of the older girls looked; desperately trying to hold on to their youth and paycheck and Alex never wanted to be one of those girls.

About a year ago, some hot shot producer saw one of her low budget films and contacted Luanne about working with Alex. Luann had been ecstatic for Alex but Alex didn't want to leave her life. She was comfortable in Charming, had built friendships and relationships that meant the world to her. She never wanted to be a porn icon, but she loved Luann and she knew that this type of exposure was good for Caracara so she packed her bags and moved to Vegas.

Now it was the day of the AVN awards and Alex's was nominated for Starlet of the Year. It was a big deal in the world of porn. Some of the hottest stars had won this award and it could be major for Alex if she won. There was a big part of her that hoped to God she lost. The banging at her door pulled her from her thoughts and she rolled her eyes when her makeup artist Tommy was on the other side.

"It's too fucking early for this shit." Alex said before moving out of the way.

"We have a lot of work to do princess." Alex grimaced at that nickname. The only one that ever got away with calling her princess was hundreds of miles away with crazy blue eyes. Alex went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She was surprised that she hadn't heard from Luann in the past couple of days. She was talking about taking a trip to Vegas to be there for Alex tonight but she hadn't heard from her and Alex was starting to become a little worried.

She opened the bathroom door and looked at her blood red dress hanging on the closet door. Why the fuck did she have to dress like she was going to the Oscars when everyone that would be there had seen her naked anyway? She cut her eyes at Tommy who was tapping his feet waiting for her.

"Let's get this shit over with."

Gemma sat at the head of the table in her dining room, still clad in the same outfit from the night before. She lost count of the number of joints and cigarettes she had smoked since last night. Gemma ran her hand over her forehead as she willed herself to remain strong. Last night was supposed to be a dinner to gain some solidarity within SAMCRO since shit had been bad between the King and Prince since Donna's death. Unfortunately, things turned bad when Hale came in and announced that Luann had been murdered and her body was found off some goddamn ditch.

Gemma was beside herself. Luanne had been her best friend, well as close to a best friend as the Queen of Charming could have and now she was dead. Gemma jumped slightly when Clay came up behind her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Hey baby. You want some breakfast?" Clay shook his head and motioned for Gemma to stay where she was. He came back from the kitchen with two cups of coffee and sat down next to his wife.

"Jax and I are going to head up to see Otto today." Gemma closed her eyes. Poor Otto. He had given his everything to the club and the only thing he asked for was to protect Luann and the club wasn't able to do that. She also knew that her son was blaming himself for her death.

"I gotta take a shower once Juice gets here and then I'm going to get on the road." Gemma stated as she lit another cigarette.

"I don't want you going by yourself."

"This isn't something I can send in a text Clay. I need to tell baby girl what happened face to face." There was a quick knock on the door and Gemma watched as Jax, Tig and Happy walked in the door. Jax and Tig both gave Gemma a kiss on the cheek while Happy nodded his hello. Gemma started another pot of coffee and grabbed mugs before sitting back down.

"How are you holding up, Ma?" Gemma patted Jax's hand and gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine baby. What do you guys have for me?" Tig pulled a piece of paper out of his jean pocket and opened it.

"She's still in Vegas. Apparently she has some big awards show tonight or some shit. Juice got her room number and everything. She's staying at some hotel until tomorrow."

"Well looks like I better get ready." Gemma went to stand up and head for the bedroom. After her shower, she was fixing her makeup when Clay walked in. She allowed her husband to pull her in his arms and she breathed in his scent.

"I'm sending Hap and Tig down to Vegas with you." Gemma pulled back slightly. Tig, she could understand. The man loved Alexandria as if she was his own.

"Why Happy?"

"They are the only two I trust to keep you safe. Besides, Happy doesn't miss a thing and I know how you and baby girl have the tendency to dip out on ol Tigger." Gemma couldn't help but laugh. Clay and Tig swore that most of their gray hairs came from Alex and Gemma over the years.

The ride to Vegas had been quiet for the most part. Happy had driven while Tig spent most of the time sleep in the backseat. Gemma tried to hold a conversation with the bald headed man but he wasn't much for small talk. Gemma didn't know a whole lot about Happy other than the fact that he had patched over to the Mother Charter about a month ago. He had originally been the SAA in Tacoma and then went NOMAD when his mother got sick. Gemma figured things most have settled down because she was in attendance to his patch party and watched as he wore the SAMCRO cut proudly.

She would see him working in the garage or escorting some nameless face out of the clubhouse but for the most part, Happy was a mystery to her. She reached back and smacked Tig's legs as they pulled into the parking lot of Planet Hollywood.

"We're here." Tig rubbed his eyes as he adjusted to all the lights around him. He popped open the door and stretched his legs.

"Let's go and bring princess home."

Alex sat in her hotel room grateful for the moment of peace and quiet. Her whole day had been a revolving door of people barking orders and telling her how she should and should not look, what she should say, etc. It was getting on her last goddamn nerve. Tommy had finally finished her makeup and ran downstairs for something, leaving her all alone. Alex stood up and looked at herself in the full length mirror. The blonde wig that was on her head made her wince. She was not fit for being a blonde but it had been insisted years ago. Apparently, blonde and busty equaled big bucks. She had lost a considerable amount of weight due to her unhappiness and it was becoming more and more obvious. The red dress was practically sewed on to her and Alex was surprised that she could even breathe.

Everyone kept saying that she looked beautiful but all Alex saw was a figment of what she used to be. She figured she only looked beautiful to those that really didn't know her. Alex rolled her eyes as she heard an incessant pounding on the door. Alex prepared her fake smile for whoever was on the other side. Her eyes widened when she saw Gemma, Tig and a guy she vaguely remembered standing there.

"Jesus, you look like shit." Alex had to hold the doorframe as she laughed. Leave it to Tig to echo the sentiments that was running through her own head. She moved out of the way to let the three in. Before she could fully close the door, she was pulled into a hug by Tig. She blinked her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She had missed him so much. Tig had been her everything before she left Charming. He was her father, her brother, her teacher, her lifeline. She was one of the few and lucky people that got to know the real Tig, not just the crazy bastard that lived on the surface. She smiled with tears in her eyes as Tig placed a kiss on her forehead.

Next up for hugs and kisses was Gemma. Gemma, like Luann, had become a surrogate mother to her over the years. To be honest, Gemma was more of a mother than Luanne. Luann taught her the porn business but Gemma taught her how to be woman. She knew all of Alex's secrets and she showed the younger woman how to use her tragedy as a positive instead of a negative. Gemma had even tried to push Alex and Jax together and while they had shared a few nights together, Alex was not in the mood to fight with the memories of a woman who was in Chicago. Besides, Jax was one of her closest friends and she knew it was better that they kept things that way. Gemma was one of the few people that she still kept in touch with. She would be in a world of trouble if she didn't at least send a text message once a week alerting Gemma that she was alright. She missed her more than Gemma would ever understand.

Alex looked at the third person in the room and she furrowed her eyebrows. He looked familiar but she couldn't really place him. She noticed that he was rocking a SOA patch and he seemed too old to have been a recent prospect.

"Princess, this is Happy. Happy, this is Alexandria. Hap just patched in to the Mother Charter. He's from Tacoma." Alex nodded her head in recognition. He had been at the Tacoma clubhouse when she and the rest of the girls had driven up there a few years back when one of their members had been killed. The Tacoma charter didn't have a whole lot of old ladies so Gemma took it upon herself to make the girls drive up with food and supplies for the guys. She had seen him in passing but had never spoken to him. She offered Happy her hand and he looked at for a few minutes before giving her a rough shake.

"What are you guys doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you but I've to be down in the lobby soon."

"Sit down baby girl." Gemma's voice took on a somber tone that frightened Alex. Logically, she knew that there was no way they had come all the way down here to catch up. She took a seat and Gemma grabbed both of her hands.

"There is no easy way to say this, but Luann was murdered last night baby." Alex sat in stunned silence as Gemma recounted the story: the raid on the warehouse, SAMCRO going in business with Luann and the problems with Georgie. Alex was scared to move for fear that she would break down in hysterics.

"Wait. Georgie Caruso? That asshole tried to put me under contract about six months ago."

"I'm assuming he didn't leave a good first impression?" Tig asked as he looked at the various forms of makeup in disgust.

"I don't have a contract with anyone. I'm freelance. Luann told me that there was going to be snakes trying to make me sign a deal that wouldn't be worth my time or money. He offered me some bullshit contract that would have me working damn near twenty movies a year for nothing. I told him to fuck himself." Alex's eyes widened. "You don't think Georgie went after Luann because of me?"

"No baby. This has nothing to do with you. Do not blame yourself for this. Caruso had it out for Luann for some time now." Alex leaned forward to try and settle her stomach. She took a deep breath and stood up to grab her purse.

"Let's go."

"Princess, don't you have some awards shit?"

"Fuck the awards. I need to be with my family." Alex said in a tone that left no room for argument.