A/N: I do not own any SOA characters.
This one is long I hope you guys enjoy it!
On the first page of our story, the future seems so bright.
And this thing turned out so evil, I don't know why I'm still surprised.
Even angels have their wicked schemes and you take that to new extremes.
But you'll always be my hero, even though you lost your mind.
-Rihanna
Marley broke through the surface of consciousness to the sweet music of Juice's light snoring. She turned her head and looked at him. His face was turned toward hers, an errant ray of light from the bay window sitting directly across from Marley's bed slithered across his cheek. It illuminated his skin, making it appear to glimmer. The thought of glittering vampires crossed her mind and a small smiled curved her full lips. Juice was like that to her, he was an unreal character that appeared out of nowhere in her life. The unexpectedness of his presence in her life didn't diminish from it's importance. Somehow on the road map of their relationship they had made it here, to this place.
Marley had no idea where "this place" was but she did know that it was distant from where they had come from. He slept with her every night, his attention rarely wavered from her. He looked at other women but she could see the difference in his eyes when he looked at her. He loved her. His every gesture, movement and thought relayed that message. Marley didn't need him to tell her, she could see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch. She heard it in the stories of his past that he shared with her, in the guitar strings that he made sing for her. It reached out and curled around her in the threads of his laughter, in the brightness of his eyes whenever she walked into a room.
Marley couldn't imagine not waking up like this next to him, with the new morning light casting away the shadows of her room. She couldn't imagine not feeling the tensile strength of his arms wrap around her, feeling the force of his heart beat against her ear while his body warmed hers.
In two days it would all end. Marley would have to make use of her imagination, paint pictures of this beautiful man with her mind. Create an avatar of him and put him in her mental happy place. In two days Jax, Clay, Bobby and Tig would get out of jail.
And it would all be over. Her welcome would be played out, her role spent. Her arch as a character in this beautiful play would end. She would go back to Chicago and continue with her life, build the walls of her heart back up. Juice would become the gold standard to which she would hold all men, and no one would ever be able to measure up.
She rolled onto her side and felt a wave of nausea roll from her stomach to the back of her throat, creating a pool of saliva under her tongue. She was up and out of the door of her room before she could take her next breath. She flew down the hall to the guest bathroom and fell to the floor using the toilet as an anchor in a suddenly tilted world.
She threw up three times, mumbling a prayer to God to please take it away after the last time. She rested her head on the toilet seat and breathe in slow careful breaths as realization settled over her like a warm blanket.
She had been in Charming for two months, helping Tara manage her life, and patiently waiting as Jax's and the other's parole hearings were pushed further and further back. Her period had never been normal by any means, she could go four months, at the longest, without it and then it would make a sudden appearance. She had not had a period in five months, and for the past four days she had been waking up and throwing up.
She had not been careful with Juice. She had abandoned herself to him, assuming stupidly that her math was correct. That the loss of her left ovary at the age of 15 and her tilted uterus would provide her with the protection she needed for a few slip ups here and there with him.
Apparently she had been wrong. Juice loved her, this she knew, but the love was new and she knew that the fragile chord it hung from could be broken by something as heavy as this.
She sighed and drew her knees up to her chin, and let the tears roll down her cheeks. Despite herself, she smiled feeling a happiness as the assumed impossible became a reality in her mind.
She heard footsteps in the hallway and before she had time to wipe her tears away or even flush the toilet Tara walked in. She stopped in the doorway of the bathroom when she saw Marley on the floor with tears in her eyes. She walked over to the toilet and looked in it.
"Nausea again?" she said as she flushed the toilet and sat the lid down. She sat down on it and faced her friend. Their eyes met and Tara raised an eyebrow. She crossed her arms over her chest and Marley buried her face in her knees.
"Did you ever think we would be here?" Tara asked as she stared at the top her friend's head.
"Where?" came Marley's muffled reply.
"Me, three kids, big house, good career, small town soccer mom, locked up husband. You, biker boyfriend, pregnant."
Marley rested her chin on her knees and stared at Tara. She loved her friend, Tara had always been the one person that could see through her bullshit and still love her.
"Nah." she replied, "Thought I could keep my heart locked away while man after man failed to chisel through the block of ice that had grown between my legs. I was just scared, and stupid to never opened myself up. It all came to a head when Jake failed to break through too. Juice and I just ended up colliding into each other at the right time." Marley smiled at Tara, "He made me realize that it's not about the block of ice on my pussy but the one I'd let grow around my heart. He thawed me and made me feel real for the first time in 15 years."
"He loves you." Tara stated.
"I know."
"You love him."
"Yes."
Tara watched the struggle in her friend's eyes, she knew something else was at play here. "Life is about choices Marley. I chose to come back, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that I would be sitting right where I am sitting. You chose Juice, knowing that he comes with a club, knowing that he comes with the life. You chose him knowing that from the moment you looked at him you felt something."
Marley nodded her head. "I'm done here Tara. Jax will be home, things will go back to normal. You will want your home, and your family without interference."
"You are my family Marley. We built this us from the tatters of our previous lives. It's strong and unbreakable. I love you, you ARE my sister. If you choose Charming, Juice, the baby, you will always have a place here." Tara walked over to her friend and got down on the floor beside her, she wrapped her arm around her. "This is US Marley. I didn't just ask you to come here to help me for a short period of time. I asked you here, gently nudged Margret to hire you on as a visiting surgical resident at the hospital because I love you and want you near me. I'm selfish, Chicago is too far away, and so cold. Just stay."
Marley smiled. "I have to think. I have to take a test, blood test, get an ultrasound. I have to tell Juice."
"We can go to the hospital right now. Neeta is here, John just left for school."
"Okay."
Marley sat on an ugly beige couch in the doctor's lounge of St. Thomas hospital. She bit her nails and her foot swung back and forth nervously.
She could be wrong. She could have the flu and her period could just be extremely off. Tara walked in the door quickly with a smile on her face. She held a white printout in her hand, but Marley did not need to read it to know what the next thing out of Tara's mouth would be.
"Positive." she said triumphantly. Marley felt warmth spread from her heart to every nerve cell in her body. She took the paper from Tara and read it. Her hormone levels were high, indicating that she was in fact pregnant. The urine test had been positive for hGh, now all she needed was an ultrasound to verify gestational age. She couldn't help the smile that spread out across her mouth. She couldn't help the tears that were now coursing down her cheeks and dripping onto the collar of her shirt.
She never thought she would have this. Now here it was in front of her.
Her baby.
Their baby.
If it was at all possible her happiness grew. The hopes and dreams she had put to rest 15 years ago came full circle now. She folded the paper carefully and put it in her pocket.
Tara wrapped her in her arms. "I'm so happy for you." She said sincerely. "I can do your ultrasound for you, or you can wait for the tech. It's up to you."
"You."
They walk down the hall to an exam room with their arms wrapped around each other. Each with a goofy smile on her face. Tara was proud of her friend for not running away from this, and Marley was experiencing the pure joy known to man.
The joy of a mother.
They walked into an empty examination room and Marley sat on the hospital bed in the corner. Tara walked out and five minutes later came back with an ultrasound machine, a bottle of lubricant and several other wrapped objects.
At Marley's questioning look Tara said, " I'm going to an internal u/s, I want to get good pictures of the baby, and check out your uterus to make sure everything is on the up and up."
Marley got off the bed and walked behind the curtain in the corner, she rummaged through a cabinet and came up with a sheet. After quickly taking off her pants she wrapped it around herself and walked back to the bed. She was excited to see her baby, hear his or her heartbeat.
She felt like a kid. Like a giddy little girl about to get the sparkly plastic toy she had been eyeing for days. Tara smiled at her, sensing her excitement.
Marley laid back and watched Tara cover the probe with a condom and then lubricant. She put her feet in the stirrups and slide down without having to be told.
Tara flicked on the machine, set the parameters on it and inserted the probe into Marley.
Marley set back with her eyes glued to the screen.
She saw it suddenly, a small little blip on the screen. The baby was curled into a tiny ball, but as it felt the waves being projected at it, it moved.
Marley and Tara both gasped, both taken away by the moment.
Her baby looked like a peanut, and as she and Tara watched it on the screen, they both fell in love.
Tara zoomed in and they saw tiny rapid movement. Tara turned up the sound on the machine and the room filled with sound of the rapid whooshing of Marlene and Juice's child.
Tears began to course down Marley's cheeks again. Their baby, her miracle.
Tara printed out a few pictures and handed them to Marley. She then began taking measurements of the baby's placenta and Marley's uterus.
"You're 7 weeks 1 day Mar." Tara said happily.
Her friend smiled. "That's one potent man I've got."
Tara laughed out loud, enjoying this peaceful and happy moment with her friend.
Marley decided to tell Juice that day, but when she drove to Teller-Morrow with Tara he was gone. When she asked where, she was told it was club business.
She pulled out her blackberry and sent a text to him.
"Hey babe. Need to tlk asap."
Less than a minute later she heard her phone beep and she took it out to look at his return message. "Club business. bbs. keep it wrm."
She laughed and sent him back, "its alwys wrm 4 u. c u soon."
She was walking into the office to speak with Gemma when she felt her phone vibrate. She looked down and saw that it was a call from Juice.
"Hey tiger." she said seductively into the phone.
"Sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you I was leaving last night. We'll be back soon. 48 hours max."
"Like I said, no worries. I'll be busy helping Gemma so it's all good."
"Thanks babe. For everything. See ya"
"See ya." Marley hit the end button on her phone before she could say "love ya." She didn't want to be the first to say it. She knew they both felt it, but it had to come from him first.
She stuffed her phone in her pocket and walked into Gemma's office.
She sat down in the chair across from Gemma, looking at her as she worked on her computer. Gemma looked up from her task and gave Marley a patient look.
Marley looked down at her hands. "How much drama would it cause if I stuck around and Juice and I became a permanent thing?"
Gemma leaned back in her chair. So Clay had been right, she thought, it's about damned time.
She folded her glasses and sat them on her desk. She looked up and smiled at Marley. "Wouldn't cause any drama at all dear, unless of course you are secretly married, or burned down a building or some crazy shit like that."
Marley laughed Gemma. "You've got to be shitting me. That shit has not happened here."
Gemma simply raised an eyebrow and smiled at her.
"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I'm pregnant." she watched as Gemma's smile faltered. "I haven't told Juice, I will as soon as he gets back. I want to stick around and see how this plays out between us."
Gemma rubbed a hand over her face and looked down at her desk. How would this affect Clay's plans? she wondered.
"A child is always a blessing." she began, trying to select her words carefully, "Juice is a brother, and like a son to me now. So I do not see how a baby would cause drama within this club."
Marley smiled and Gemma blinked at her. She looked so young when she smiled like that. Gemma almost had a hard time believing the report that Juice had given her as she witnessed the glow that surrounded Marley.
"Thanks Gemma." Marley said as she got up and walked out of the office door. She walked across the parking lot to the clubhouse and watched as Tara worked between two of the club members to patch them up, she knew her friend was capable but Tara looked like she was drowning.
She walked over to the bar and put on a pair of gloves and began working on the big blond biker on Tara's right. He was bleeding profusely from a cut on his head and Marley noticed bruising on his knuckles. She shook her head and began rubbing alcohol on his hands to remove the blood.
He leaned closer to her. "Not as bad as you think it was."
"Mmmm looks like you got the tar kicked out of you, while kicking the tar out of somebody else." she said sarcastically.
He laughed at her, and Marley noticed that he had gentle blue eyes.
"Name's Kozik" he said
"Dr. Samson" she said with authority.
He raised eyebrows and pulled back a little. He looked over at Tara, "You guys travel in packs?"
"She's my sister." Tara said seriously as she tied off the stitches on her last patient.
Kozik looked between Tara and Marley and his eyebrow furrowed in confusion. "But she's...umm on the dark side." he said
"And lover." Marley said as she put a butterfly band aid over the cut on his head. She whipped off her gloves and walked over to Tara. She kissed her on the cheek, and then slapped her on the ass.
Kozik's mouth fell open.
Tara smirked at him. "Prison clause, you know?" She blew a kiss at Marley retreating back.
Marley was helping Tara hang a "Welcome Home" banner when the door of the clubhouse flew open. Opie and Juice walked in, both looking weathered and tired.
Marley jumped down from the chair she was on and ran over to Juice. Her heart lifted when he smiled at her, and she jumped the last few steps into his arms. His bag hit the floor as he caught her. He buried his face into the space between her shoulder and neck and inhaled her scent. Marley wrapped her legs around his waist kissed the side of his head. He walked through the barroom and turned the corner down the hall to the rooms. When they turned the corner he let his hand slide down her back and to her ass. She snuggled closer to him and he picked up the pace.
He walked quickly into his room and slammed the door shut with his booted foot. He walked over to the edge of his bed and Marley released her legs before she could take her next breath Juice was on top of her, kissing her, touching her.
Marley had trouble keeping her thoughts straight as Juice trailed a line of kisses down her body. He lifted her shirt and laid his lips just below her bellybutton and it hit her.
The baby, she had to tell him.
"Juice" she said trying to push him off of her. He ignored her continuing to trail a path of kisses downward.
"Ugh...umm baby stop." she whispered. This was hard, she felt him unzip her jeans and she knew this would be her last chance to tell him.
She slapped the side of his head. "Juan, we need to talk."
He looked up at her slightly annoyed, slightly confused, a just a bit concerned. She only used his real name when she was being serious.
He stood up and sat down on the bed next to her. She sat up and pulled her shirt down.
They sat in silence for ten minutes while Marley stared at her hands, and Juice stared at her profile.
She took a deep breath and scooted off of the bed. Maybe it would be easier to tell him if she were standing.
"What's wrong baby?" he asked as he reached for her. She sidestepped away from him and began to pace.
She should start from the beginning. She would have to be careful though, they was only so much of the truth he could hear.
"When I was 15 I was attacked and raped." she held up a hand when he began to speak, "there was 10 of them, they beat me and raped me. They hurt me bad, so bad that I had to have reconstructive surgery on my pelvis and uterus. I lost an ovary and damaged my remaining fallopian tube. My doctor told me that I had a less than 2% chance under ideal condition of conceiving. I accepted it. I was smart, I knew what they did to my body could not be reversed."
She looked at him and saw the love, anger and sympathy coming out of his eyes. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to push the memories of that time in her life away.
"Over the last 15 years, I haven't been with anyone. I told myself that if any man really loved me he would wait. Truth is, I was just afraid of being hurt. Not physically hurt but mentally, emotionally. Man after man fell. And then I came here to cheery, sunny California and I met you."
She turned to him and smiled, and he smiled back and held out his hand for her to take. She placed her hand on his and he pulled her forward and buried his face in her stomach. She stroked his dark head and tried to find the courage to move forward.
She had to tell him.
He pulled back from her and looked up into her eyes. "I love you Marley." he said. "Felt a pull from you the minute I set eyes on you. You're mine."
"Juice...Juan...I'm pregnant." she said looking away from him.
He grabbed her chin and turned her eyes back to his. "Are you sure?" he asked
She nodded and reached into her pocket and pulled out the ultrasound pictures Tara had taken two days earlier. Juice took them and looked at them with a confused expression. Marley smiled and pointed to the fuzzy white blob in the middle of the picture.
"That's the baby, and over there is it's heartbeat. I guess it's more dynamic when you are seeing it on screen." She sat on the bed beside him waiting for his reaction. He sat there staring at the pictures in his hand as if he were looking at a mosaic painting and trying to make the picture become whole.
Suddenly a grin broke out across his face and he turned to Marley. "I knew I was good, but damn this is ridiculous!" He stood up and pulled Marley with him. He picked her up and swung her in a circle.
"Oh yea baby, you got da juice." she said and then burst out laughing. He was happy about the baby, she felt as though a ton of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders.
He sat her down and kissed slowly, taking his time and savoring the moment. He hand drifted down to her belly, and she smiled.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?" he asked
"I don't care as long as it is healthy." she replied.
"Well, I want a girl."
"I'm surprised. Don't you macho guys usually want young strapping boys to follow in your footsteps?"
"Hell no! Not me. I want a little girl. She'll be beautiful like you", he said still staring down at Marley's belly, "and between the two of us, no one will hold a candle to her on brains. She'll be a fucking super genius."
"And daddy's little girl?" she asked.
"Oh yea definitely that." he said with a laugh. He squatted down so that he was face to belly with Marley. "That's right, little munchkin, you're going to be daddy's little girl. I'll teach you all sorts of things. You grow big and strong, and I'll see you soon."
Marley stared down at Juice's head as he talked to their baby and if it was possible she fell deeper in love with him.
He stood up in front of Marley and gave her a sheepish smile.
"You don't seem very surprised about this." she said.
"Well, I'm not THAT surprise Mar, I mean our first time together I busted in you four times", he said. He smiled at her, "Besides, how else was I supposed to keep you here?"
"You can't be for real?"
"No I mean...not that I knocked you up on purpose. Jesus, it's just that I remember 7th grade health class. I know how babymaking works."
"You did it so that I wouldn't leave?" she asked.
"NO, damnit Marlene. Of course not. I did it because you have a tight sweet pussy and I couldn't help myself. I didn't get you pregnant on purpose. I was kidding."
"Oh", Marley said as she looked down at her hands. Why did she always have to look for the bad? Why couldn't she just enjoy the moment. She looked up at Juice and smiled.
He ran a hand through his hair. It reached his shoulders now. He smiled down at her. It was time for a change.
"Can you cut hair?" he asked.
"Yea."
"I want you to cut my hair. Buzz it down to a half an inch then shave the sides down to the skin."
She frowned at him. Trying to picture what he wanted. "Okay baby, you guys keep clippers and scissors around here?"
"Yea, come on, there's a kit behind the bar." He said as he pulled her out of the room.
Marlene was putting the finishing touches on Juice's mohawk when she heard the clubhouse door swing open.
"Hey Juicey baby", a woman with long bleach blond hair said as she slid into Juice's lap. The woman was clad in a short, tight, black leather dress and five inch clear plastic shoes.
"Hey." Juice replied suddenly too aware the Marley was standing over him with a sharp razor blade.
The woman rubbed her hand over Juice's head, making a show of touching his tattoos. Marley dragged the razor of the girls fingertips, and watched with satisfaction as she jumped up and cradled her wounded hand with her other hand.
"Stupid bitch! You think they would've taught you to use a razor in homegirl beauty school."
Marley just smiled. This chick was a pussy, she had barely given her a flesh wound.
The woman opened her mouth to say something else but Marley held up her weapon and gave her an evil smile. She pulled Juice's head back and gave him and long lingering kiss. When she pulled away the woman was still standing there with her mouth hanging open. Marley smiled at her and flipped her blade closed. The woman finally took the hint and ran out of the clubhouse door.
Marley laughed and dusted Juice's shoulders off with a towel. She grabbed the broom and began sweeping up his hair.
Juice stood up and pulled his shirt on. He walked over to the barroom mirror and looked at himself. He knew the man looking back at him, this was the person he was meant to be. As Marley had taken off his hair he had felt the weight of his guilt lift as well. His hair had just been a way of him changing himself into something he thought was better. Now he realized that he was good with the person he was.
"Well I guess I won't be braiding it anytime soon, but it looks good." Marley said from behind him. "You look more like...you."
"Yea" he said as he turned to face her.
They walked outside together and Marley spotted Tara sitting with her boys on the picnic tables across the parking lot. The closer she got to Tara the more she could feel her friend's tension. She held Tommy in her lap and bounced him on her knee. She was biting the nails of her free hand down to the quick. John was playing pee-a-boo with Abel on the other side of the table. Tara was staring off into space, the expression on her face tight and tense.
"How much longer until they get here Tara?" Marley asked her gently.
"Umm Gemma just send me a text. 15 minutes." she said as she blew out a breath.
"I'm sure he'll be excited to see you." Juice threw in, he too had noticed Tara's tension.
"Yea", she said biting another nail and spitting it to a spot unknown across the parking lot.
Marley sat down next to Tara and wrapped an arm around her. Juice walked to the other side of the table and began talking to John. They had just started planning a strategy of success against Death Con when a black van and Gemma's new Mercedes pulled into the parking lot.
Tara stood up quickly, holding Tommy tightly to her chest. John jumped up and grabbed Abel, sprinting across the parking lot to the black van.
Marley watched as a tall blond man jumped out of the passenger side of the van and quickly walked over to embrace his sons. She could see tears coursing down John's cheeks as he tightened his arms around the man's waist. She watched as he kissed the top of John and Abel's head. From her vantage point she could see tears in his eyes as well.
Tara walked across the lot to where he sons stood with the man like a robot. Marley followed behind her for support. Tara and Marley stopped about two feet from the boys and who Marley assumed to be Jax and watched as Abel touched his face and said,"Da...Dada!"
Jax hugged Abel to his chest and walked over to where Tara and Marley stood. Jax sat Abel down on the ground and he toddled off to where Gemma was standing with an gray haired biker. Marley noticed that John was already standing with them, and that the man had his arm around Gemma's shoulders.
Must be Clay, she thought to herself.
Marley turned back to Jax and Tara. Jax had his hand cupped around Tara's cheek and was now holding Tommy in his arms. Tara reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed his forehead to hers.
"I missed you, I love you." Marley heard before she smiled at the couple and walked away looking for Juice. She wanted to give Tara some time alone with her family. She felt someone grab her hand from behind and turned with a smile on her face, thinking that it was Juice.
She came face to face with a tall dark haired man. His eyes were the biggest, clearest blue Marley had ever seen, his craggy face was covered with a short beard. He appeared old, and young at the same time. He smiled at Marley, and Marley felt a chill down her spine. She pulled her hand away and stepped back. The man matched her step for step, their dance eerily mirroring the one she had with Juice two months earlier.
"You must be Marlene." he said in a low voice. Marley recognized his accent as north jersey, and the chill in her spine increased.
"Yea." she said quickly.
"I'm Tig." he said carefully wondering why this chick was so acting so afraid of him. "I think we'll have fun together."
A pair of strong arms closed around Marley from behind. She had been so concentrated on keeping her distance from Tig that she had not heard footsteps approaching. She fought without thinking using her foot to crush his foot and her elbow to knock the wind out of him. He released her and she sidestepped, dancing away from Tig and her unknown killer. Marley looked down and saw Juice double over and stopped in her tracks.
Oh shit.
Tig held up a hand, showing her that he was not going to hurt her. He walked over to Juice and squatted beside him.
"You okay man?" he said quietly
"Yea." Juice said trying to get his breath back.
Marley walked over to Juice with her hands on her mouth and her eyes wide. "Oh my god, baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you."
He stood up and limped over to her. He kissed her forehead and put an arm around her shoulders. "At least I know you can handle yourself. Come on Clay wants to meet you."
They walked over to the big, tall gray haired man that Marley had seen with Gemma earlier.
Marley felt like she was she was being put under a microscope as Juice proudly pulled her forward for Clay's inspection.
After what seemed like an eternity he held out his hand and smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, I'm Clay."
She took his hand, notice that even though he put pressure behind the shake, there wasn't much grip to it. She glanced over at his other hand and, putting on her doctor cap, concluded that he must have rheumatoid arthritis.
She smiled at him. "Likewise Clay, I'm Marlene."
Clay nodded at her and then turned to Juice. "Tell everyone to be at the table in ten." With that he turned and walked away.
Clay walked around the Redwood table that he had taken the helm of almost twenty years earlier. He picked up his gavel and ran his finger over the tip of it. The undue stress and weight of being locked up slipped away from him, for the first time in two years he felt like himself. His men started pouring into the room, this would be their first meeting outside of Stockton. He kept his eyes on the table, not speaking to anyone until at last he heard Jax come into the room and take his seat to left of his elbow. He knew he would have to reveal his plan to get the Russians back on his side and increase the already booming business he was getting from the Irish.
He banged the gravel down and everyone grew quiet. All eyes turned to him.
"I just want to say, how proud I am of everyone that kept this club together, and increased our business while we were away. Thank you brothers." He looked every man in the eye."Treasury?"
Since Opie had taken over treasury while Bobby was away he spoke up. "We're sitting pretty with over a mill from the business from the Irish. We found some new secluded land to build a new factory on and construction had discretely begun." he said quickly and quietly
All of the men cheered, relieved and happy that the club was finally starting to rebound.
"Any other news?" Clay said
"We have issues with the new construction build going on down main street." Juice said as he whipped out his laptop. He pulled up the research he had done and brought the computer over for Clay to view it. Clay slipped on his glasses and quickly began scanning the document.
"Shit." he muttered under his breath.
"What?" Tig asked looking to Juice to explain since Clay was still reading.
"Our new mayor Hale, along with city counsel have okayed the build on two new federal buildings. Downtown Main Street. Right across from the new Starbucks. Looks like FBI will be setting up shop in Charming."
"You have got to be shitting me!" Jax exclaimed as he stood up and snatched up Juice's now discarded computer. Everyone was up and out of their seats, trying to peer over Jax's shoulder for verification.
Clay pinched the bridge of his nose and turned this issue around in his head. An idea occurred to him but he would have to have Juice do a bit of research before it could be set into play.
He banged the gavel down and all of the men turned to him. "Alright! This is a problem, and it will be dealt with, but we have more pressing issues on the table at the moment."
Everyone took their seats again, "Is there any more news?" Clay asked and he noticed that Juice stumbled a bit putting his computer away. He stared the younger man down, and Juice surprised him by not cracking but staring back with his jaw clinch.
"What's going on brother?" Jax asked Juice. Juice looked at Jax and bit his lip, not knowing if he should say anything yet.
"It's about Marlene." he began. He had Clay's full attention now. "Well, first I just want to tell everyone that she isn't leaving. She and I...well she's going to be sticking around for a while."
The room was quiet as everyone tried to figure out where Juice was going with this, and how this could possibly be considered club business.
He took a deep breath and looked at the reaper carved on the table. "She's pregnant." Everyone seemed to freeze in their spots. Chibs was the first to speak.
"Jesus fucking Christ Juicey boy! Haven't you ever heard of wrapping your shit up?"
"Damn, guess I won't be tapping that." Tig said with extreme disappointment. When he has seen Marlene lay Juice out he had been more attracted to her, wondering if she would be that feisty in bed.
Jax got up and walked over to Juice's spot. Juice fully expected him to call him a retard and slap him across the back of his head. "You happy about this bro?" he asked
Juice smiled. "Yea, I love them."
Jax clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. "Then I'm happy for ya brother." Juice stood and they hugged.
"Congratulations brother." Opie said and he hugged Juice as well.
They all returned to their seats and everyone turned to look at Clay waiting for his reaction to the news. He looked up from the table and smiled at Juice.
"I'm happy for you man. Congratulations."
Juice let out a pent up breath and sagged in his seat a little. Happy and grateful that he had gotten the nod on Marley.
"We need to figure out how to resolve our issues with the Russians", Clay said as he glanced at Jax, "peacefully."
"We have a way, and it has been sitting right under our noses for two months now." he looked over at Juice. "Marlene."
Juice sat up straighter in his seat, his first night with Marlene flashing through his mind. "Are your people Russian?" he had asked. "My mother's side." she had said and then changed the subject.
He gritted his teeth as he waited for Clay to lay it out for him.
"Our little Marlene is the granddaughter of a very, very powerful man in the Russian mafia. A man that Putlova would not want to piss off. Vaslay Alvang." All of the men raised their eyebrows, each one looking slightly impressed and slightly afraid of what Clay may say next.
"Mary mother of God", Chibbs said in awe, "Head of russian mafia? The king incarnate?
Jax shook his head at Chibbs. "How do you know this guy?"
"His ties ran strong with the RIRA in the 90's. Something made the relationship go a bit sour. The man is bloody ruthless! Rumor had it that he killed his own daughter and the baby within her because he did not want mixed blood in his family."Chibbs said. "Even if that is bullshat, his girl DID disappear, never to be heard from again."
"It's not true Chibbs." Clay said. "I did a little bit of intel of my own while we were in. His daughter hooked up with the leader of a southern chapter of the one-niners. Real west side story bullshit. Girl got knocked up, dad split. Girl has baby and dies three years later of cancer."
"What does that mean for Marlene?" Juice asked quietly.
"She grew up with her grandfather, he groomed her and taught her. If there was a princess destined for Queendom in their world it would have been her." Clay said "Apparently she ran away from her grandfather when she was 14, went looking for the dad. She found him in Tampa, FL ruling a real gangsta kingdom of his own. She threw in with them, but kept her ties to her grandparents. Turns out daddy had churned out two sons younger than Marlene. They didn't like her, could see that she was smart and shrewd and could knock them out of their place. They put a hit on her, she was raped, beaten assumed dead by them."
"What's her father's name?" Jax asked.
"Anthony Johnson." Juice and Clay said at the same time.
Jax raised his eyebrows at Juice. "You knew about this?"
"I got the intelligence for Clay, all the extra stuff. Got it to him while you guys were still away. I didn't know that it would be used for any purposes other than clearing Marlene to stick around." Juice said sadly. He had a feeling he knew where Clay was going with this.
"Marlene recovered, and then fell off of the face of the earth. She resurfaced under her present name at UCSD in 98'. Alvang has been looking for her. He has never given up. He loves his granddaughter very much apparently." Clay finished.
Juice's hands were clenched he wanted Clay to spit it out, get it over with.
Clay looked at Juice. " We need her to act as a liaison between us and the russians."
Juice shook his head. He had been right, but there was no way he would let Marlene take that kind of risk. "No, she's pregnant, could get hurt."
"You must've missed the peaceful part of my speech. We'll have men to protect her, she won't get hurt. All she will have to do is make a few phone calls. Resurface, let grandpa know that she is alive and under the protection of SAMCRO and set up a meeting." Clay said as he sat back and let the room absorb his plans.
Jax shook his head. "There has to be some other way. If she resurfaces, and her father finds out she is still alive, what happens? We can't have the blood of another old lady from this club on our hands."
Clay shot him an annoyed look. "Look, she'll be protected. We'll have her surrounded like the fucking Pope, and her protection will be maintained until we can be assured that her daddy's little boys won't be a problem."
Jax shook his head again but kept his mouth shut, in theory the plan would work. There would be no blood spilled.
But Jax knew theory didn't mean shit when the chips were down and fate was not playing in your favor.
"Alright me, Op, Hap, Tig on her security detail." Jax said hating himself for agreeing with Clay but not being able to see any other way to play it.
"And me." Juice said. Everyone turned to look at him. Clay started to open his mouth and Juice knew he would refuse him, but he wasn't having it. It was him or nothing.
"It's me as well, or no Marlene." he said coldly.
Clay tried to stare him down again, but Juice would not budge.
"Alright." Clay said. "Talk to her tomorrow and bring her to the table when we reconvene." He bagged the gavel down and dismissed everyone from the meeting.
The welcome back party was in full swing, there was a bonfire blazing outside. Death metal blasted from unseen speakers outside of the club. Inside the Rolling Stones mellowed everyone out. A game of pool was just being started. Tara, Jax, Opie, Lyla, sat at a table with Juice and Marley.
Marley was sitting in Juice's lap sipping sprite from a cup. If she tried really hard she could pretend that it was a mixed drink. She sighed and watched as Tig sauntered over to their table.
Tara flashed him a big smile. "Wanna play some poker Tig?" she asked. Tig gave her a horrified look and quickly walked away. Jax, Tara and Opie busted out laughing, and Marley frowned at them all.
"What was that about?" she asked the table at large. Tara told the story and Marlene almost fell of Juice's lap she was laughing so hard.
"That reminds me of senior year at UCSD." Marlene said. Everyone turned their eyes toward her.
"Oooooohhhh god, please don't tell that story." Tara said as she closed her eyes and prayed for her friend's silence.
"Oh now you HAVE to tell it Marley." Jax said with a twinkle in his eye. He glanced over at Tara and gave her a big grin. Tara laughed at him and looked away.
"Alright", Marley began, "So Tara and I had turned into real book worms by then. I mean hours at the library, hours at home, never really going out. So we kind of got the rep as being geeks. So the night after we took our MCAT's I hired a sitter, and dragged Tara's ass out of the house to the San Diego bar crawl. After knocking back a handful of shots Tara loosened up a bit and decided to do a little dance on the bar for everyone."
Jax frowned as everyone else laughed, he didn't like where this one was going.
"So I pulled her ass off the bar, knowing that her little strip tease would lead to know where good. I am pulling her out of the door when we get stopped by these two big scary looking motherfuckers. They were acting all innocent, saying they just wanted a game of poker with us. Tara went right for it! So to shut her up I went along with it. We got a table and the guys decided to make it a game of STRIP poker. Tara beat the pants off of them. Literally. We took their clothes and dumped donated them to some homeless people we saw on the way to the next bar."
Tara's face was completely red but she was laughing remembering that night.
Jax reached over and touched Marley's knee. "I'm glad she had you to look out for her." he said sincerely.
Marley smiled at him. She actually liked him a lot. She could tell that he was good to Tara and good to the kids. They worked well together. Their love radiated off of them, blinding everyone around them.
"I'm glad I had her."
Jax smiled at her and she smiled wider. Jax could respect this woman. She had pulled away from the life and had turned it around and made something of herself.
Marley watched a young looking blond girl appeared out of nowhere. She sat in Jax's lap and wrapped a possessive arm around his shoulder. Tara stood up and pushed her off of him. The girl hit the floor on her ass.
Marley jumped up, prepared to defend her friend.
"Thought I told you never to come back here Ima." Tara said in a low, cold voice as she stood over the fallen girl.
The girl jumped up and Marley skirted around the table blocking her in from the rear.
"You don't run shit around here bitch! This is Jax's club. You're just some ugly hag that won't give it up and leave. Didn't you get the hint before he went in? He doesn't want you!" Ima raged in Tara's face.
Jax stepped in between the two women. "You need to leave. Don't come back." he said calmly.
Ima ran a hand down his cut. "But Jax baby, dont you remember how good it was between us?" she said seductively
"No, not really. The only woman I ever remember is Tara. Now get out." he said.
Tara pushed Jax out of her way and stepped into Ima's face. "You set foot on this property again, so much as look in my man's direction again, whether I'm there or not I will hear about it. I will end you."
Ima laughed at her. "You're too much of a lady to touch me bitch." she said trying to get a rise out of Tara.
Tara smiled at her. It was a cold smile, a dead smile. Ima felt a tickle of fear of the lady.
Marley tapped Ima on the shoulder, remembering what Tara had told her about this little bitch. "But I'm not." Marley said and as Ima turned she hit her with an upper cut. The woman hit the table hard and then slid to the floor.
Marley kicked the girl hard in her side, and then raised her foot to kick her again but was pulled away from her by Juice. "Easy tiger." he said as he pinned her arms to her sides.
Opie helped Ima to her feet and ushered her to the door.
Juice laughed at Marley and then tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to his room.
Marley woke up with Juices arms wrapped around her. She smiled and ran a hand down his muscular arm. He stirred in his sleep and she turned in his arms to face him.
He opened his eyes and Marley smiled at him.
He kissed her. "Good morning"
He rubbed his hand over her stomach, "Good morning baby girl." he said quietly.
Marley laughed at him, trying to picture what their daughter would look like.
There was a loud bang on their door, and Jax yelled. "We're at the table."
Juice kissed her again, and then moved down her body and kissed her stomach.
Marley sighed as she watched him get up and pull his clothes on. When he left she got up and walked into the bathroom. She took a long hot shower, and walk out into the room and pulled out some of her reserve clothes from his drawer. She was sitting on the bed pulling on her boots when he walked back into the room.
"That was fast." she said as she stood and walked over to him. He made no move to touch her and she frowned."What's wrong baby?"
He looked away from her. "Clay wants you at the table."
"Why?" she asked
Juice looked back at her. They locked eyes and she knew.
"Goddamnit! I knew this shit was going to happen!" Marley yelled. Clay wanted to use past to further his business in the underground, she had suspected it when he had seemed to take an interest in her.
"Listen Marley...-"
"NO you listen! This shit always works the same with you people! You think you can just use people like tissues to get what you need, line your pockets! You call yourself a family this will never be a family, never be a home! You're just a bunch of bullies with huge chips on your shoulders. I'm not having any part of it!" she screamed at him and marched across his room to the door. She opened it an inch when it slammed shut again. Juice leaned against the door with his hand, effectively holding her hostage.
"You can do what you want. Walk out of here if you want, but you are NOT going to insult my family." he said anger snaking through his voice. "We fight for each other, and comfort and protect one another. What makes us so different from any other person in this country? When we go to war the soldiers that fight for us are called heros. But when this club goes to war to protect our family and this town, we are called thugs and looked at with distain!"
"It's not the same!"
"It IS THE FUCKING SAME! You can walk around with you self-righteous attitude all you want but you WILL understand that it is the same!"
"You're still new to this shit Juan. You dont know shit!"
"I know my club. I trust my club. And I know you Marley, you want to help us. You are loyal."
She turned back to him, "You dont know SHIT about me okay? Apparently someone whispered into Clay's ear about me! BUT YOU DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT ME!" she screamed in his face.
"Your name is Asha Inna Alvang. You were born on June 18, 1980 at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia to your mother Cassandra Alvang. You were raised by your russian grandparents but ran away to find your father just after you turned 14. You lived with him for a year in Tampa, FL until your brothers had you attacked and nearly killed." he said as he looked directly into her eyes.
"Do you think I would let someone waltz into this club without knowing some things about them?" he asked at her wide eyed look.
"I can't help you. You've got the wrong person." she said quietly.
"You're apart of this. There is an US now, and this is our family. The family we need to build up and make strong for our baby." he said
Her head snapped up. "So this is what it was all about from the jump?" at his confused look she pushed his chest and he stumbled back two feet.
"You were all over from the moment I stepped out of that truck. You guys already had the intel on me, what did you do? Draw straws to see which one of you would be given the task to "keep me here"? she crossed her arms over her chest and turned from him. His words from earlier rung through her mind, "How else was I supposed to keep you here?" he had said.
Juice ran a hand over his face and stared at her back. "It's not like that Marley. What I feel for you is real. No one was tasked with keeping you here. Think about it, Clay knew your history with Tara, he knew you wouldn't leave until after Jax got out."
She turned to face him, but she wouldn't look at him. Did she really believe that what he felt for her was faked? Shit he had never even had a 20 minute conversation with a woman before her!
She finally turned her eyes to his, she knew how to read people well, she would know if he was lying. "Look at me and tell me that."
He grabbed her shoulders and dragged her closer to him, "I love you Marley. What I feel for you is real. Whatever you believe of me, always know that what I feel for you is real."
Marley collapsed into his arms and started to cry.
They walked into the chapel holding hands. All the men were convened around the table speaking quietly amongst themselves. All eyes swung to her as she walked with Juice and took the seat next to him.
Clay looked at Juice, "You get her up to date?" he asked him.
"Yea" Juice said quietly.
Clay looked at Marley noting her swollen red rimmed eyes.
"You in?" he asked her. Marley ran a hand over her belly and looked up at Juice. She turned back to Clay and said, "I'll do what I have to do for my family."
It didn't take long for Marley to set up a meeting time with her grandfather. He sounded shocked and overjoyed to hear from her. He agreed to meet with her and Clay at a local pub.
It also didn't take long for news of her return from the dead to make it's way through the underground pipe line. It made Marley nervous, knowing that her brother's could possibly know that she was still alive.
She was currently sitting in a booth at an Irish pub in San Francisco waiting to see her once beloved grandfather for the first time in 15 years. Juice sat next to her holding her hand under the table. Clay sat across from her looking out of the window.
Marley saw him as soon as he walked through the door. He had not changed. His hair was still silver, his clothes were immaculate, he looked perfect. She jumped up and ran to him, and he held his arms open for her.
"Dedyshka" she breathed into his shirt front.
He pulled back from her, "Granddaughter, I have missed you so much. Your grandmother is smiling down on us at this moment."he said to her in Russian.
"And I have missed you grandfather." she replied in perfect russian. She walked him over to the table where Clay was now sitting alone. "Grandfather I would like you to meet a very important member of my family Clay Marrow."
The old russian man shook hands with Clay, and smiled at him brightly. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking care of my Asha Mr. Marrow." he said.
"It was our pleasure", he replied.
Clay sat back down and Marley sat across from him scooting over enough to allow room for her grandfather to sit down. Before he sat he motioned two men forward and they flanked either side of booth, protecting their leader.
Marley grabbed his hands, genuinely happy to see her grandfather. "You know we asked you here because there is a favor we need." she said quietly
Her grandfather nodded, "I am aware of the situation between Putlova and the Sons of Anarchy", the old man said addressing Clay.
Clay nodded, "It has to be made clear to Putlova that the Sons did what was best for all concerned. We had to handle the situation that way because we needed Jimmy out of the way, and that was best for everyone concerned."
"I understand your position Mr. Marrow, but 2 million is a lot of money, you made them looked like fools." he said quietly as he took Clay's measure with his eyes.
Marley squeezed her grandfather's hand gently. "Dedyshka, I am with child." she said quietly. Clay looked at her, surprised that she would use this to help them."It would be of best interest to my family that we be allowed to do full business with the RIRA, which means that Putlova will have to be turned our way, or eliminated."
"Granddaughter, are these men making you do this?" he asked her in russian. "Do you need help to get away?"
Marley never broke eye contact with him. "No, they have been good to me. I am under no threat. This is about the future I want to build with the man I love, and the family we want to make strong." she said with conviction, and in english. He stared at her a moment longer, looking for shadows and fear in her eyes. Finding none, he turned back to Clay.
"My granddaughter had been my life breath since the day she was born. If she has accepted you as her family, then I will accept you as well. I will help you, and do this thing that you ask." he said reaching across the table to shake Clay's hand.
Marley laid her head on his shoulder, inhaling his scent. Sandlewood and cigars. Oh how she had missed it.
He turned back to Marley and kissed her forehead, "I taught you well in the art of negotiation my love."
"You and grandmother", she said quietly. He lingered in the booth a little longer, ordering a drink for Clay and himself. Marley filled him in on some of what she had been doing for the last 15 years. He was proud of her for becoming a doctor and rising to the top of her field.
They got up and moved toward the door as a group Marley and Juice walked out first followed by Clay and then Vaslay preceded by his guards. Marley made her way over to her car, slipping the prepaid phone in her pocket that her grandfather had given her with the instruction to call him every week. Juice, Clay and Vaslay and his guards all stood by the door of the pub saying their goodbyes.
Marley didn't see the man approaching her and had little time to react as he pulled out a gun and pointed it to her head. She held up her hands, knowing that the slightest movement would set him off. Juice saw her and immediately ran over to her, but not before the man cocked the hammer back and fired one shot at her head.
Marley felt herself pulled backward as the shot rang out, she thought she heard several more shots but she couldn't be sure, maybe it was the cracking of her skull she was hearing. She heard yelling, felt her body shake but she couldn't pull herself up, couldn't move her arms or her legs. The pain in her head became a fire in her blood, and she felt herself sinking below the surface of consciousness. Above her she could see Juice's face, see his fear and rage. She tried to reach for him but felt herself sink lower, lower down further into the dark abyss.
Beside Juice she saw the sweet angelic face of her baby, floating above her, smiling down at her. She tried to reach for her but her arms felt like lead, weighed down like the rest of her body by the darkness of time. Marley wanted to cry, to scream, to touch Juice and kiss her baby but she couldn't.
Their voices became a blur above her head, spinning out in time, as she sunk lower into the sweet, dark waters of time.