Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from "Sons of Anarchy." They are the property of Kurt Sutter and Fox Network. No money is changing hands in the writing, reading or distribution of this story.

Three Princes

A sequel to "Intended"

Chapter 2

This was actually a good thing. At least, that's what Joss kept telling herself as she crossed her fingers and parked the Explorer on the garage lot. Gemma had said to come to the garage on her way home and she'd said nothing about coming over to the house later to talk more wedding shit…at least, not yet she hadn't. Joss really wasn't in the mood tonight, it had been a rough day with Sam, and all she really wanted to do was go home, take some hydrogen peroxide to her blood spattered white shirt and riding tights and then relax this pulled abdominal muscle in a hot bath…and wait there, in the tub, for Tig to come home! There was no need for all this constant planning and discussion; the wedding may have been "soon," but it certainly wasn't tomorrow. Enough was enough.

Besides, Joss wasn't into this wedding shit, maybe she should have been, but Tig wasn't into it either. It would have bothered Joss a little that neither of them seemed to give a flying fuck about the wedding, but she knew that was only because they were into each other a lot more, so much so that every thought concerning their marriage was of each other, and not the actual wedding shit. They were getting married, they loved each other intensely, they were the next Clay and Gemma, and all of these thoughts whirled around them like some hurricane gathering strength…they wanted each other constantly, the need and desire and pure joy of being together ever amplified the closer and closer "soon" seemed to be coming…Joss was going to be Tig's, in this life and any other one as well…in her eyes, her patch would always be more valuable than any vows made at an altar, but once they were said, even all those fucking civilians would understand that she belonged to Tig! Tig…she really wanted him tonight! All these planning sessions with Gemma were interrupting and defusing the energy running between Joss and Tig right now…she wanted her man immensely, he wanted her madly, and nothing else currently mattered to them…particularly not centerpieces and veils and cake toppers and something blue!

Blue…ouch…her side and belly were likely to be blue, and black, by tomorrow…the tiger on the left side of her ribs and hip would be staring at a nice big bruise tomorrow morning. Her right side still hurt as she walked towards the office, really wishing she could have gone home and changed first. She'd been able to wash the blood off of her face with water from the hose and some paper towels at the barn, but here she was, at the garage, in khaki, blood spattered, riding breeches, with black riding boots that came to just below her knee, a dirty, bloody, SAMCRO tank top, and her ebony hair pulled properly back into a long French braid, but a little askew here and there from having been wearing her riding helmet. She looked so out of place and unlike her usual self that no one would likely even recognize her, and she felt out of place. She wasn't wearing her patch…she usually didn't wear it at the barn, was too afraid of getting it messed up, but had she known she'd be stopping by the garage on the way home, she'd have thrown it into the truck to put on when she'd gotten here.

Gemma was on the phone as the Joss entered the office, and she half looked up and gave Joss a smile and a wave as Joss took a seat in the chair up against the wall on the other side of Gemma's desk, but all of a sudden, Joss sensed unrest on Gemma's part, and looked over concernedly, who was she on the phone with, and what the hell had they just said to her? Or was this just some more sudden wedding shit that had occurred to Gemma?

"I'll call you back!" Gemma said quickly and hung up the phone, her eyes on Joss the whole time. "Oh my God!" One manicured hand covered her mouth as she took in all of Joss's bloody tank top and puffy nose and upper lip into focus. "Honey, what happened?"

"It's just horses, Gemma." Joss shrugged, trying her best not to make anything out of this, because it really was nothing. "I've got a crazy one, either you can hack it, or you can't."

"You need to get checked out," Gemma was coming around the desk now to stand in front of Joss, probably envisioning a black eyed bride…or…shit, the photo shoot! Did Joss really look that bad? "Looks like your insurance card I was telling you to come pick up showed up just in time!"

Joss shook her head. "No, I'm not going to Saint Thomas's," she insisted, and she wasn't. That was nowhere in her plans for this evening…Tig…she only wanted Tig, with his shirt off, her fingers plowing through all the dark curls on his broad chest as her lips skimmed his skin…damn, now she felt a little dizzy again, but she shook it off. "I'm fine, Gemma. If I wasn't fine, I wouldn't have been able to drive here. I even got back on the horse after he knocked me in the head and threw me off!"

Gemma sighed, obviously agreeing with Joss's assessment, but she still leaned over her, looking at the slight swelling and continued fussing. "If you and Tigger aren't a pair," she rolled her eyes, as she next turned towards the filing cabinet that housed the first aid kit, opening it and beginning to dig around for a chemical cold pack. "You're every bit as crazy as he is, just in a different way."

Joss ignored the comment…but it did make her smile…and smiling hurt a little bit, but it was okay…but was her face? She hadn't checked on it lately. "I should be fine by next week…right? I mean, you're not worried about having to reschedule the shoot, are you?" She asked Gemma who now held the cold pack she's been seeking and was popping the water packet within the white plastic bag of ammonium chloride pellets and shaking it until it was good and cold then instead of handing it to Joss, Gemma pressed it gently over Joss's nose, further placing Joss's hand there to hold it.

"Now you keep that on there!" Gemma said as if she were already scolding Joss for removing it, and returned to her desk and began to move a few papers until she found the envelope she'd called Joss to come pick up. "And honey, if you're not 'okay' by the shoot then rescheduling it's not a big deal. They need us, baby girl, we don't need them." Gemma reminded with a smug look, and finally came across the envelope from the insurance company, handing it over to Joss.

Joss nodded, so glad and relieved that Gemma wasn't angry at her for taking a shot to the face today, though as her manager, Gemma could have been. "So I'm officially on your guy's insurance now?" She smiled instead as she took the envelope from Gemma.

Gemma nodded and looked so fulfilled. "Our policy now includes me, Clay and you," she told her, everything having gone as planned, but then Gemma smiled as Joss began to open the envelope. "And, check out your name on the card!"

No way! That hadn't taken nearly as long as Joss was afraid it would have taken! She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the form letter that the stiff, plastic card was attached to, and sure enough, there was her new, legal name in print for the first time: Josselyn I. Morrow. "Yay!" it may have hurt to smile, but Joss couldn't stop, this was all working so perfectly, and Tig's plan had made her so thrilled that she was only seventeen years old after all. They'd wanted to get married as soon as possible, but in order to do that, it would require the consent and signature of at least one of Joss's legal guardians…which she didn't have at least one of…and that's when Tig had suggested Clay and Gemma…which couldn't have been more perfect, for all involved, for many reasons. Clay and Gemma were more than willing to file for "custody" of Joss, making her "their child" as far as the club was concerned, and once all the paperwork hit all the right marks, both Gemma and Clay had given their legal consent for their seventeen year old "daughter" to marry Alexander Trager.

It was taking forever to get the actual marriage license though…that had been the slowest part of all of this, something about the clerk of courts position being unexpectedly vacated, and all marriage licenses were backed up…fucking government bureaucracy! Joss and Tig had applied for the license after she'd petitioned to have her name legally changed, but Joss had expected to have the marriage license before her name change request went through, but no. Oh well…having her new name legally official was satisfying in and of itself. She'd changed the spelling of her first name to reflect what Tig had always called her, and she'd just been so eager to ditch the last name "MacQueen!" One of the best things about marrying Tig was going to be losing her father's name! But that wasn't the only reason for legally changing it. Clay and Gemma taking on the role of Joss's legal guardians had set a tone, and it had been one of her many heart to hearts with Clay that they frequently had, where it was decided that Joss's name would become "Morrow." She couldn't have been prouder that Clay would suggest his name to her so she could cast off "MacQueen" and all the unpleasantness that came with it as soon as was possible, but that hadn't been the only reason he'd suggested it. Joss was linked to Clay now in a very evident way, inviting the feel of royal blood ascending to the throne, and the entire club was getting that message loud and clear. Nothing was official, there was absolutely no talk of Clay's retirement, but the dye had definitely been cast. She was now Josselyn Inez Morrow, when she married Tig she'd become Josselyn Morrow-Trager, making Tig SAMCRO's "prince" by marriage, and one day, he'd be king.

Joss was still staring at her new, legal name on her new insurance card, as best she could while holding the cold pack on her face, when she heard Half-Sack plod into the office, reaching for keys to the flatbed. "Gemma, I can go after those repos now," he said to her without really looking at her, but then turned around when Gemma acknowledged his statement and fished out the paperwork he'd need. "Hey Joss!" He smiled affably as he took the forms from Gemma, but his expression soon changed as he saw all of Joss. "Whoa!" Sack exclaimed with wide, worried eyes, and then scrambled to the doorway into the garage, Joss not fast enough to stop him before he blurted out, "Tig! Joss is here, and there's blood all over her, man!"

"Great," Joss sighed, slumping in the chair and shook her head beneath the cold pack she kept pressed to her face. "I'm sure Tig will remain calm." She said sarcastically to Gemma, who laughed.

"He's doing what's expected of him," Gemma replied, but there was something…wedding-shitty in her tone, but Joss couldn't place why, they were talking about Tig. "At least he is in this instance." She finished flatly.

Joss really wanted to discuss that comment, or at least roll it over in her mind awhile and try to figure out what kind of gripe Gemma had…was Tig not living up to the expectations Gemma apparently had of him as far as this wedding shit went? How fucking dare she…no one went after Joss's man! No…stay calm, don't pull a Tig! There was no way of knowing what Gemma really meant, and there was too much commotion in the garage to ponder it now, the frantic sounds of biker boots pounding through the tire bay and heading towards the office drowned out Joss's musings…but as the sounds approached, it was evident that it wasn't just one set of running footsteps, but two. Joss looked up curiously, seeing Tig hurtling towards the office, but beside him, keeping pace, was Opie. Again she sighed…some things just never changed, though there had been some improvements between Tig and Ope, and Ope ceased to be following her around like a sad, lost puppy, and it was actually possible to have general, superficial conversations with him that didn't lead to Opie staring longingly at her, or eventually ending up standing closer to her needed to, or just leaving Joss with the feeling that when Ope came around, she should pull a veil across her face. Joss was hoping it all meant that Ope was getting over her, if not over her already…but well, at the mention of blood, he did seem to be awfully gripped by panic. Damn! Opie was dealing with what he felt, but he was still feeling it enough…but as Joss watched, Ope did seem to have the ability to realize he'd answered a call that wasn't for him!

Opie stopped short, so did Tig when he too noticed the uncalled for back-up he had, and for a split second each reaper man stood looking at one another like each was wondering what the other was doing there, and then Tig shot Opie a glare, "I got this!" Tig reminded in a harsh and exasperated tone, the coldness in his ice blue eyes enough to push Opie away.

"Yeah," Ope stepped back, nodding. "Sorry, bro. Tough to ignore words like that, you know?"

"Yeah," Tig replied, his voice still perturbed, but a little less angry. He started for the office again, alone. "I do, but she's mine! I need you, I'll let you know."

Wow…really, fucking wow! The last time Joss had seen Tig and Ope dealing with this had included tears and catatonia…this current exchange had been a far cry from that; Opie realizing he shouldn't have responded, and backing off immediately, with Tig staying centered and not lunging after Ope with fists swinging, not taking this overlap of concern into Joss's well being to the ground. There really was some progress being made, by both of them! Her man, in his own way, he really was amazing! Joss was smiling by the time Tig rushed into the office, but not for long.

"Joss!" He yelled fearfully and was crouched down in front of her in no time, ignoring Gemma and Sack, his eyes seeing all of the blood, the cold pack Joss had lowered now and the slight swelling of her nose and upper lip, but it was like he didn't know where to focus, and compensated by starting to crack his knuckles and get angry, "Jesus fucking Christ baby, who hit you?"

Gemma snickered a little at Tig's assumption, and Joss opened her mouth to try and explain, but Ope's voice came out. "Tell him, Joss!" Opie was yelling vehemently from just outside the doorway, making Gemma and Joss both roll their eyes, Tig grit his teeth and Half-Sack stand there like he wished he could have missed this part.

"God damn it, Ope!" Tig yelled over his shoulder. "Just fucking put tires on something! I don't care if it's a bucket!"

Opie groaned like some protesting teenager trying to tamp down his emotions, but then seemed to remember his place once more. "Sorry…again!" He yelled to Tig, and then finally began to walk away.

"I'm sorry too, baby," Tig's attention was immediately back on Joss, his worry returning as he examined her, one hand cupping her cheek, the other smoothing her hair. "I've been on him about that shit and Ope's been holding together really good the last few weeks, but I guess he just…relapsed or some shit." His eyes were on hers for a moment, so anxious and so hopeful that she wasn't badly hurt, Tig's dirty fingers gently cupping her jaw now and slowly turning her head from one side to the other so he could get the panoramic view of her injuries. He looked at everything, Joss could see him doing it, his expression twitching at every red blotch and bit of swelling he saw, and his other hand now gently on her shoulder, comforting her from any pain she was in. Tig never did take it well if she was hurt, or sick, and all the emotions flourishing between them with their marriage drawing near only made him that much more protective and crazy. But, Joss could see he was relaxing a little, at least over how badly hurt he'd feared she was. "It don't look too bad, but what happened? If I gotta take someone out, you tell me who, and you tell me now!"

Joss sighed, finally she got to talk, but she didn't want to…it wasn't like she could lie to Tig about what happened, and she wasn't sure what he was going to propose when he found out. "Sam."

His brow furrowed, "Who the fuck is Sam?" Tig was making a face and trying to understand; obviously wanting to hear her say a name that made sense, a name he'd recognize and know where to find…a name that indicated someone with two feet.

"Tig," Joss shook her head and sighed, she really didn't want to get into it. The whole thing was silly, she was keeping her horse and would ride him again tomorrow; she was fine and she wasn't going to the hospital! "My horse?" She told him, part of her wanting to make him feel silly, even if Tig didn't understand why he should; he had only responded to the words Half-Sack had yelled into the garage. Joss's eyes drifted to the prospect. "I had a little riding accident before I got here…but I'm okay…no reason to go yelling 'fire' in the proverbial crowded movie theater."

"Oh…" Sack slowly exhaled the word, looking sheepish now, but suddenly remembered his 'out.' "I got these repos to be gettin' to…" and he turned and ran out the door with the keys to the flatbed before Tig could start in on him.

"Kids," Gemma sighed as she watched Sack run off, and she smiled a bit, her eyes falling on Joss again, then Tig. "So, you beatin' up the horse, Tigger?" She laughed. "Going to horse whip him?"

Tig had been looking over his shoulder at Sack's hasty retreat and scowling in his direction, but now he looked at Gemma and just shook his head, forgetting her comment and focusing on Joss once more, but his irritation was up now, along with the his panic not having fully settled, but he touched her so gently, the contact between them seeming to heal everything. "What the fuck, Joss? You fall off on your face?"

"No!" She groaned in frustration and rolled her eyes at him, and if she could have, she would have just gotten up and walked away at this point…she hated to talk about not being able to handle her horse on the rare occasion that she couldn't, and all this talk about it was just making her side hurt more and more too…damn, she had to keep that a secret, or Tig would make her go to the hospital! But, if he didn't care, he wouldn't be so upset and attentive, despite how over her mishap Joss was by now. "Sam reared up, we knocked heads together, so to speak, and then I fell off." She quickly explained, and then saw Gemma nodding like now she finally understood as well, but Tig wasn't satisfied yet. "I'm fine," she asserted to him, but knew he wouldn't let up on it just like that; he was thinking 'hospital.' Fuck…she needed a distraction, and luckily, she had one! Joss smiled and grabbed the insurance card in her lap, shoving it into Tig's hand. "And look!" She said cheerfully, changing the subject and hoping he wouldn't notice, "We've got the first legal recognition of my new name!"

Tig shook his head again like he didn't care about that right now, but he looked at the card anyway, and a smile spread across his face. "Alright!" He celebrated and looked back at her, the hand on her shoulder moving behind her head as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, his hand remaining on the back of her head as his fingers began trying to pull her braid loose…he liked her hair down. "It's all happening, baby! It really is!"

"Yup," Gemma's voice suddenly hung over them, just as she did, standing behind her desk and looking down at the betrothed couple. "She's mine and Clay's 'little girl' now," she said with her own satisfied smile, but it soon unwound some as she turned her eyes exclusively on Tig, looking so very mother-in-law-ish. "So Mr. Trager," she said expectantly. "The day's coming when we'll be giving her away to you. But you aren't thinking I'll be letting that happen before you put a diamond on my girl's finger, are you?"