Opie pulled up Tara's scrub top as if he were about to take it off but he looked down the hall toward his children's rooms. He knew this was the wrong place. Ellie had the habit of walking up in the middle of the night. He slid Tara's body off of his and stood up.

Tara sat on the floor confused thinking that he had changed his mind about it.

Opie picked her up into his arms and carried her to Piney's rarely used bedroom. His father had been spending most of his time sleeping in his room at the club. Opie closed the bedroom door by kicking it closed. He locked the door behind him and gently set Tara down on the bed. "This is better." said Opie in a low voice. "I need you Tara." whispered Opie. "I need you to be here for me. I won't make it on my own Tara…" He leaned down kissing her and made quick work of the scrubs she was wearing. He was in an awkward position with him being so tall so he moved back and stripped out of his clothes. He took a moment to stand there and admire her body. He couldn't lie on more than one occasion he had wondered what her silky white skin looked like. Opie climbed onto the bed pulling Tara against his body. Opie looked into her eyes and whispered. "Do you want me to stop?"

Tara whispered. "No…"

There in the thunderous night two lifelong friends devoured one another somewhere between grief and love. Lightening from the storm occasionally illuminated the room casting a brief light on their writhing bodies. Muffled moans of ecstasy bounced off the walls of the tiny room but were masked by the thunder and lightning outside. The longer they made love the more intense it all became.

Afterward Opie and Tara laid next to one another in silence. Neither knew what to make of what they had just done. Tara moved to get up but Opie wrapped his arm around her pulling her to him. "Don't go." whispered Opie. "Don't leave me." said Opie.

Tara paused and then nodded although she knew he couldn't see her in the dark. "I won't leave you." said Tara. That statement spoke volumes that neither of them were willing to speak at the moment. She curled up against his large frame and closed her eyes. She laid there listening to the storm and after awhile realized that Opie's breathing had evened out and he started to lightly snore. Tara closed her eyes hoping for a little sleep herself.

A few hours ticked away and the morning arrived.

Opie was the first of the two of them to wake up. He looked over next to him seeing Tara's nude body next to his. Her leg had intertwined with his during the night and her head was rested on his chest right over his heart. He reached over and gently caressed her hair lightly sweeping it away from her face. Looking at Tara inspired so many emotions in Opie. He felt like he had just cheated on Donna, he felt guilty for taking advantage of his best friend, he felt guilty for having sex with his other best friend's ex girlfriend, he was worried that his poor judgment was going to cost his children the only sense of stability they had experience since Donna's death. And on the other hand he felt something he hadn't felt in awhile…peace. He felt comfortable with Tara next to him. Opie laid there for awhile before drifting back off to sleep. He was pretty excited.

Tara woke up and hour later at 9:00 hearing feet moving around the house. She glanced over at the clock seeing what time it was. "Opie!" whispered Tara in a hushed voice. "Wake up!" She got out of bed scrambling around the room to find her discarded clothing.

"What?" asked Opie startled out of his sleep. He sat straight up in the bed looking around.

"We over slept and your kids are awake." said Tara in a panic.

Opie got up and put on his boxers. He walked over to Tara who was frantically getting dressed. "Calm down." said Opie in a soothing voice. "I am going to get dressed and go out there and tell them to get ready for breakfast. I am going to take them to the diner. They love going there." "Once they go to their rooms to get dressed I will let you know that the coast is clear and you can sneak out." "They won't know you stayed the night." said Opie.

Tara nodded and said "Okay Opie." She calmed down now realizing that he had a plan. She took in a breath and looked into his eyes. She was nervous and it wasn't just because his children were awake. She was nervous about what happened between the two of them.

Opie finished getting dressed and said "I will be right back okay?" He walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

He walked into the kitchen seeing Kenny pouring cereal into bowls for himself and Ellie. "You want some cereal dad?" asked Kenny reaching for another bowl.

"No, I was thinking I'd take you and Ellie out for breakfast." "Go tell your sister to get dressed okay." said Opie. "You two can order whatever you want?"

"Wow, really?" asked Kenny excitedly. "What about the cereal?" asked Kenny looking at the bowls filled with Lucky Charms.

"I'll pour it back into the box." said Opie with a chuckle. "Now go." said Opie. Opie took handful of the cereal and ate it.

Kenny ran out of the kitchen. "Ellie! Dad is taking us out for breakfast." yelled Kenny. "Get dressed!"

Opie dumped the cereal back into the box and put it up. He walked back to the room and opened the door. "The coast is clear." said Opie.

"Thanks Opie." said Tara. She hurried into the living room and grabbed her purse and bag and made a dash for the door. She walked out to her car and hopped in quickly. She drove off just as fast.

Opie closed the door and went to wash his face. He looked at himself in the mirror. What had he done? He had just had sex with one of his best friends who just happened to be his other best friend's ex-girlfriend. Sure the two of them were broken up but Jax and Tara had always gotten back together in the past. Opie dried off his face and walked out of the bathroom.

He waited for his kids to finish getting ready before collecting them and taking them to the diner.

After eating breakfast with them he took them over to Gemma's house for awhile. He needed to go home and clear his mind. Opie walked into the house and had a seat on the couch. He kicked off his boots and turned on the television. He needed a distraction from all of the thoughts rattling around in his head.

Just then his father, Piney, walked into the room rolling his oxygen tank. Piney had emphysema from all of his years of smoking but that had not stopped him from smoking, drinking, chasing women, or riding his motorcycle. He chuckled holding up a pair of black lace panties. "I found these in my room….they don't belong to me." said Piney laughing. "Glad to see you enjoyed the company of a woman last night." Piney walked over to his recliner that was positioned closest to the television. He had a seat and turned off his oxygen. He lit up a cigarette. "So how was it boy? You've been celibate for a long time now."

Opie shook his head and grabbed the panties from Piney. He stuffed them into his pocket. "Pops I don't want to talk about it." "Alright?"

"What is the big deal? You've got yourself a nice little sweetbutt." "We've all had them before." "Is she from Caracara?" asked Piney. Caracara was a porn studio run by Luann Delaney. Luann was the old lady of one of the guys in SAMCRO so when her business was being threatened by a competitor the guys had become her partners in her business providing her with security, a new studio space, and some starting capital. All of the guys in SAMCRO made it a habit of spending time with the young women who worked with Luann. Opie had not taken advantage of the situation though.

"No, she's not from Caracara." said Opie. "Pop don't worry about who it was okay?"

"Well, I think I deserve some information you screwed her in my bed." said Piney chuckling. He looked at Opie. "You okay boy? You ain't looking too good."

"I just want to sit here and watch TV. I don't want to talk about what happened okay?" asked Opie.

"I am just saying that you can't let yourself get so worked up over pu…" said Piney

Opie cut him off. "Don't call her that!" "She's a great girl." "I've got to get out of here." "I'll be back later." said Opie. Opie put his boots back on and got up. He slammed the front door on his way out. He climbed on his motorcycle and drove off needing to put some space between him and his father at the moment. He needed to think and he couldn't do that with Piney talking to him. Opie rode around for awhile before finally pulling up at a little used, run down park. He got off of his motorcycle and walked over to a picnic table to sit down when he noticed someone sitting on the swings.

The swing set was as rundown as the park. There were supposed to be five swings but there were only two left. Tara was perched on one of the swings kicking her legs back and forth. She was holding onto the chains not really looking at anything in particular. Her purse was sitting on the ground next to her.

Opie walked over and said "Hey…"

Tara looked up and smiled. "Hey…" "How'd you know I was here?" asked Tara.

"I didn't know…" "I came here to think." said Opie. "I guess you did too huh?" asked Opie watching Tara swing back and forth.

Tara nodded and said "I guess great minds think alike."

"Or dysfunctional ones at least." said Opie. "Remember when we used to sneak out at night and come here to hang out?"

Tara nodded and said "It was like this was our little get away. You, me, and Jax…we could forget the world and come here." "Leave everything bad behind us."

"Only thing missing is a couple of bottles of Irish Whiskey and some music." said Opie jokingly.

Tara chuckled and reached down into her purse and pulled out a bottle of Irish Whiskey. "Nothing better in the world." "It burns like lighter fluid but man…it can help you forget anything." "My dad told me that…the Gaelic word for whiskey translated into the water of life….there might be some truth to it."

Opie shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the metal frame of the swing set. "Oh...you left these." said Opie handing her the pair of black lace panties she had left behind.

Tara nodded and tucked them into her purse. "Yeah I realized they were missing when I got home." "I was in such a rush." "Thanks for giving them to me." Tara opened the bottle of whiskey and took a sig. She winced a little and said "There are a lot of good memories here."

"Yeah there are…was this place always this run down?" asked Opie looking around at the overgrown grass and the broken playground toys.

Tara chuckled a little and said "Pretty much." "But I don't think it mattered. It was still a refuge for us in our teenage angst." "Do you hate me Opie?" asked Tara feeling tears welling up in her eyes. She refused to look in his direction. She just kept swinging back and forth staring off into space.

Tara's question took him by surprise. "What are you talking about Tara?" "Why would I hate you?" asked Opie confused.

Tara shook her head and said "Forget it." She picked up the bottle of whiskey and took another sig.

"Tara talk to me…please." said Opie. He moved in front of her and stopped her swing from moving. "Look at me…I could never hate you."

"I took advantage of you…of your grief. How can you even look at me Ope?" asked Tara looking at the ground tears slipping down her cheeks. "I was sober. I knew what I was doing. I should have stopped you." "I should have said no."

"Hey…." "Look at me." said Opie this time more forcefully. He tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "You did not take advantage of me Tara…if anything I took advantage of you. I took advantage of your kindness. I knew when I asked you if you wanted me to stop…that there was no way you'd say no to me…not after I had said that I needed you." "I knew what I was doing and I wanted you." "I wanted you to take away my pain." "And you did." "After feeling dead on the inside for so long…you made me feel alive even if it was just for a little while."

"You didn't take advantage of me Opie…I needed you too. I needed to feel whole." said Tara.

Opie had a seat on the swing next to her and the chains creaked as he did. He chuckled and said "Damn, I might need to lose some weight. It sounds like I am going to snap the chains on this thing." "Thank you for being there for me last night when I needed you." "You could have easily left but…you were there."

She chuckled a little wiping away her tears. "You are fine just the way you are. You are a big ole hunk of man." "You are my friend Opie. I will always be there for you." "I couldn't leave you like that." She reached over and took his hand squeezing it. She interlaced their fingers together looking had how his large fingers seemed to dwarf hers.

Opie looked down at their hands and just sat there with her like that with her in silence.

Tara leaned over and kissed Opie looking at him. "You mean a lot to me Opie. You always have." "You were my first real crush you know." said Tara looking off into the distance.

Opie looked at her and said "Are you serious? I always thought that Jax was the one."

"Oh sure I loved Jax as we got older." "But I had the biggest crush on you first." "You never seemed to notice me though…." said Tara.

"I noticed you plenty Tara but even back then I knew better than to try to take what belonged to Jax. He's been like a brother to me my whole life. I knew the trouble it would cause if I tried to date you back then." "Although I never realized that you were interested in me." "I didn't imagine that I was your type." "Still don't I guess." He looked at her oddly for a moment. "This isn't some plot for you to get back at Jax is it?" asked Opie looking as if a light bulb had gone off in his head. "The coming over everyday looking after the kids. The sex last night?" "Are you trying to get back at Jax for cheating on you?" "I mean you were pretty pissed after it happened at first." "I know you and Jax are supposed to be cool now but…" "Are you using me to get back at him?"

Tara sat there stunned for a moment before slapping Opie hard across the face. "You think that I have been busting my ass picking up your kids from school, helping them with their homework, doing your laundry, cooking, cleaning your house all to get back at Jax?" "I was sitting here beating myself up because I felt bad. I was scared I had made your grief worse by sleeping with you." "Is it too much of a shock for you to believe that I could have had a crush on you." "That I could have loved you as more than just my friend." "Screw you." said Tara getting up. She grabbed her purse and walked off.

"Tara wait!" said Opie scrambling to his feet quickly making the old swing set creak loudly.

"Go to straight to hell Winston!" screamed Tara as she stormed off to her car. She threw her bag into the window of the car.

Opie walked after her making up the distance between them easily with his long strides. He grabbed her arms and said "Just wait a damn minute!" "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that." "I'm an idiot okay." "I know you aren't that type of person." "My head is just all messed up right now." "I am sorry that I hurt your feelings." said Opie. "Can you forgive me?"

"You didn't hurt my feelings you pissed me off." said Tara punching him in the gut.

He groaned in pain and said "For such a small woman you hit like a man."

Tara went to punch him again but this time he grabbed her fist. "I am sorry for pissing you off." said Opie. "Where did you learn to hit like that anyway?"

"I had a drunken Irish father. Insert stereotype here." said Tara. "The one good thing he taught me was how to fight." said Tara.

"Do you accept my apology?" asked Opie. He leaned his head down and rested his forehead onto hers.

Tara said "Yeah…I'll accept your apology. But next time I will kick your ass Harry Opie Winston." She smirked a little knowing how he hated when anyone used his full name.

Opie groaned and said "I hate that name you know." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips forgetting for a moment that they were in a public place. He let her hand go and his arms circled around her waist.

As they were kissing Tig rode by the park and spotted Opie and then noticed Tara's car. Opie's body was in front of Tara so Tig couldn't see if it was Tara but he was damn sure it was her car. He chuckled to himself he couldn't wait to get to the club and tell the guys about this one.

After the kiss Tara smiled up at Opie and said "You are a better kisser when you aren't sloppy drunk." She laughed at him.

"I didn't hear you complaining last night." retorted Opie with a grin. "Why don't you come over and have dinner with me and the kids tonight." "And you won't even have to cook." "I'll throw some burgers on the grill for all of us."

Tara smiled and said "Sure Opie I'd like that." "I'd like it a lot." said Tara with a smile.