Her arms were tight around Jax's waist, and that was before they had even pulled away from the curb. The second the bike was in motion she pulled him even closer. She'd spent time around bikes, not a whole lot of time on them. On occasion one of the guys would pick her up from work and take her to the bar, or give her a ride wherever she might have needed to go. She couldn't afford a 'cage' and she couldn't always borrow Richard's car. While feeling the wind against her face and the vibrations coming off of the Harley wasn't entirely familiar, it was welcome.

There was something about being on a bike, all there was was the howling of the wind in your ears and the purr of the engine. It was easy to lose yourself in the moment. For a few minutes Maddison's mind was almost completely blank. No thinking of her dead mother, no thinking about Gemma, the dinner, nothing. That serenity came to an end when the bike turned in at the gates for Teller-Morrow Automotive. One by one, each member parked and dismounted their respective rides. Maddison untangled herself from Jax, who moved beside the bike while she undid the helmet, passing it over to the smiling blonde. The lot was surprisingly full, considering it was getting dark and the garage was closed for the night according to the sign. More and more people came through the gates, yelling and laughing. Some went into what she guessed was the clubhouse while others were crowding around a boxing ring set up by the door - Maddison had noticed that when she'd stopped by the other day. "So what's going on?" She asked as she carefully pulled herself off of the bike.

"Fight night." Jax said with a matter-of-fact tone. "Kinda have to show up for them." For a second Maddison wasn't sure why exactly, his presence was required. Did he fight? Before she could ask her eyes fell onto the leather that covered most of his torso. She was noticing the patch for the first time. He was the Vice President. How had she not noticed that earlier? "You mind sticking around for a bit? I'll still take you back to the motel after." Maddison glanced over her shoulder at the clubhouse, and then back to Jax. Well, what else was she going to do tonight? Sit in her dingy motel room and watch some dumb cable sitcom until the wee hours of the morning? Of course there was the little nagging thought in the back of her mind that reminded her of the last time she had been in an MC clubhouse. She'd lost the only family she'd ever had, and she'd almost lost her life. Somehow still she was really considering his offer.

Maddison had made up her mind. "Do you guys have anything cold to drink?" Not that she needed another beer, but Jax seemed pleased with this answer. Jax casually slipped an arm around her shoulders, slowly steering her towards the clubhouse.

"Yeah, I think we can fix you up with something."

xxx

She wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but she was sitting on the top of a very crowded picnic bench with a lukewarm beer in her hand. Eyes glued to the two men attempting to tear each other's heads off of their necks in the ring. Sitting on one side of her was Juice, and on the other was Chibs. They had been at Gemma's dinner. Chibs had been the one who had wanted to make her crawl under a rock and stay there. Juice well…he was the one with the mohawk and the tribal tattoos.

Maddison flinched as the bald man laid into the other guy, whom she didn't recognize from the dinner. "So they just beat the crap out of each other?" Beside her, Juice nodded. "And you watch?"

The Scotsman beside her raised his beer towards the ring, as if saluting the two fighters. " 'An drink."

" 'An drink." Juice echoed the sentiments.

Jax had in fact fixed her up with that cold drink she'd asked about, and that had been three beers ago. Most of the people at the clubhouse were crowding around the ring outside, but a stragglers were still inside. Jax had introduced her to a couple of people, a prospect, some 'friends of the club' as he had put it. Then he went off to go do his thing. Maddison would have been content with sitting alone and watching the festivities but the world had other plans for her. Juice had found her almost as soon as she'd sat down, and Chibs had come shortly after. The embarrassment that had taken place earlier in the night was all but forgotten. It was like it hadn't even happened.

She nursed her beer, eyes locked on the fingers tangled in a bloody embrace a few feet away. After a few more punches, someone jumped into the ring and separated the men. The two fighters backed off, then pulled each other into a hug, cackling as they went. They made their way off of the stage and were replaced by two new men. One of which, Maddison recognized almost instantly. She'd seen him at the garage, and against at dinner. She didn't recognize the other guy, he hadn't been at dinner or the garage that she'd seen. But admittedly, she was a little more preoccupied with the curly-haired man. Maddison couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about it. Something about him.

"Atta boy, Tiggy!"

xxx

The fight was brutal, and she was eating it up. It didn't last too long. At least, she didn't think it did. Between the beer and the action it was safe to say that she wasn't keeping track of time. One beer had quickly turned into three or four more, Jax was nowhere to be found but truth be told, she hadn't gone looking. After the fight ended in front of her most of the party moved inside of the clubhouse. Some had left after the initial festivities, others disappeared down a long hallway with a partner in hand. But the party didn't let up.

"So, where are you from?" Juice asked, tossing her a look from over his shoulder. At the other end of the pool table the Scotsman cursed under his breath.

"Will ye' just make yer damn move already, boy? Leave the girl alone." There was a slightly more parental tone to his voice. Maddison had been watching the game progress from Juice's side, but the game hadn't actually gotten very far. There was a leggy blonde girl clinging to Chibs, rubbing against him, singing his praises. She didn't look much older than Mads herself, and she wasn't about to pass judgement. She'd seen it before at the old clubhouse parties she'd been to. Who cared, really? Chibs didn't seem to mind and the girl was enjoying herself. She was glad that Chibs had told Juice to tone it down. That would make the 'fifth' personal question he'd asked her in the last forty minutes. Maddison wasn't keen to getting into the details. She was sure that he was a nice guy, or just a good actor - but she didn't really want to go there. Not with him, not with anyone.

Juice muttered something to himself that she didn't hear, and then he set his cue down on the table, lining up his shot. Across the table, the girl was whispering something into Chibs' ear. Or biting it, she wasn't really sure. Whatever it was had the man grinning. Juice took the shot, and it didn't plan out the way he'd wanted. Maddison placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. It wasn't looking very good.

"Ye know, how about we call it quits? Dun wanna beat ye' too badly." Chibs said with a smirk, placing his pool cue down on the table. "Got some business ta attend to. Don't scare her off." He cast a pointed look at Juice, who rolled his eyes. This only lured a laugh from his buddy. With that Chibs too his leave, he disappeared down the corridor with the blonde girl who had been attached to his side.

Juice looked lost for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what he would do now that he was 'alone' with her. "So do you uh…want another drink?" Maddison actually considered it. She wasn't sure how much she'd had already, probably too much. She'd never really been a big drinker but on occasion she went a bit overboard. Something she'd always regret the next day. "Beer good?" Maddison nodded slowly. Juice turned from the table and disappeared into the small crowd. She thought about following him, but he could probably carry two bottles by himself. That wasn't really her reason though. All of the sudden she was alone in the room. There was no one at her side, trying to get her attention.

She took the time to look around. It felt so…familiar. At the same time, not at all. She didn't know any of these men, she didn't know this MC. She'd only really known one MC before and her time with them had literally ended with bloodshed and death. She wearily eyed the wall, as if expecting to see bullet holes or police tape. Of course, there was none. Suddenly she wasn't feeling as comfortable as she had a few minutes ago. It felt like that dream people had, the one where they were standing in front of a room of people naked. Maddison glanced down to confirm that she was indeed still clothed. She'd felt like this earlier at the dinner, when the guys had ribbed her about how she'd complimented Juice's tattoos. It wasn't a good feeling.

"Whatcha doing over here all by yourself? Finally escape your boyfriend?" Maddison's eyes widened at the sudden voice in her ear. She'd zoned out for a minute there, and had completely missed the fact that she had company at the table now.

Startled and slightly confused by the question "I uh…don't have a boyfriend. He isn't my…yeah." She turned to see Tig standing there. The lighting in the club wasn't so great, but he was close enough for her to make out his features clearly. There were a few small cuts on his face, the side of his lip was split. She could tell there were a few spots that would have one hell of a bruise in a couple hours - but that wasn't nearly the most interesting part. The interesting part was his eyes. They were just so…nice. Scary, too. Tig was a scary looking man. Yet for some reason she didn't take the couple steps back that she should have. Not only because she had limited space in which to move. It felt like a couple minutes had passed before either of them said anything. In reality, it had only been a second or two.

"Good to know." Tig said with a smirk. He moved away, picking up the cue which Chibs had abandoned. "You should tell him that." Was it really that obvious? Apparently. "So, you gonna stand there or are you going to play?" Oh, she had been too busy thinking about how Juice definitely wasn't her boyfriend. She'd expected someone to come up and pick up the other cue that was resting on the table, but Tig just looked at her expectantly. Maddison picked up the cue. Tig went first, then it was her turn. Over her shoulder she heard someone call her name, and a beer appeared on the ledge beside her. Juice had returned, but he didn't look as happy as he did when he'd left. Tig was completely ignorant to his presence. Maddison thanked him for the beer and then after a couple of seconds of deep contemplation, took her shot.

xxx

"Girl's good." A voice came from the small crowd that had gathered around them. There were bikers, girls, more girls. An ashtray was sitting on the edge of the table, crumbled bills piling up in it.

"Fucking noticed." Tig growled from the other side of the table. Maddison felt a little proud. It had been two rounds, she'd beaten him pretty badly. She wasn't about to just let him win. Maybe if she'd been sober, but she was so far from that now. She was usually pretty good at pool, but tonight she felt like she was amazing. If she sunk this one, she had the game. If she understood correctly some of the money in that ashtray would be her's too. As she readied herself an older woman appeared at her side, tray in hand.

"Shot for good luck." She said. About five hands shot out and once to grab the shot glasses. Maddison carefully took one with her free hand, careful not to spill too much of it's contents. She didn't bother asking what it was, she didn't real care. She downed it in one swift movement. It burned the back of her throat, but it was a good burn. Maddison turned her attention back towards Tig, who she now noticed was staring at her…pretty damn intently too.

"Come on, Maddison." Juice urged her, he looked like the whole thing had him on the edge of his seat. Across the table Tig told them to get on with it, he had things to do. Or was it girls? Girls to do? She wasn't sure.

Maddison took her final shot.

xxx

Her head was killing her. Pain wasn't what had woken her up though. It had been the distinct sound of someone choking, or vomiting. Or both. God everything hurt. The last time she'd been in so much pain…it wasn't something she wanted to think about. Maddison's body lurched forward, her hand flying to her mouth. She froze like that for a moment as the feeling of needing to projectile vomit passed for the time being. The lights were off but the clubhouse seemed kind of bright. Too bright.

Maddison slowly stood up. It was a two step process. First she needed to move forward as much as she could without being sick. Once she was confident that she could move without tossing her cookies. When she'd scooted forward on the seat she felt something warm slid off of her shoulders and down her back. Goosebumps erupted over her skin at the feeling. She temporarily abandoned her quest to find out what the hell that had been. To her right, there a blonde girl who looked…oddly familiar. Maddison squinted as the girl shifted slightly, her head falling backwards. That looked like the blonde girl she'd seen with Chibs. Which would make sense, because the blonde girl was on top of Chibs. If she hadn't been so damn hangover she might have taken the moment to appreciate the sight. The girl was awkwardly straddling the sleeping biker. Had they fallen asleep in the middle of it? Maddison looked. The blonde was wearing a top, which was just barely on…and they were both wearing pants. Well that was good. It would have been awkward otherwise.

To her other side, was Juice. Somehow it didn't surprise her. Chibs' arms had been accounted for and while one of Juice's was currently tucked under his head, the other hung limply at his side. Her best guess was that his arm had been draped over her shoulders. Maddison slowly stood up, wrapping her arms around herself to fend off the sudden chill that seemed to sweep through the room. Only now did she realize that she was missing her top. She still had a bra on, but her shirt was nowhere to be found. Maddison almost didn't want to look down. She was half expecting to see that her pants had somehow disappeared as well, but she figured at some point she'd have to look down anyways.

Amazingly, her jeans were still on. Granted they looked dirtier than they had been when she'd put them on the day before - but they were still on. That had to count for something.

She looked around the room, making sure to move slow enough to avoid getting dizzy. There were people on couches, chairs, on the floor, the pool table, on top of the bar. The sound of retching that had woken her up earlier returned again. Maddison cringed as her stomach churned. She'd far surpassed her 'few drink' limit. She hadn't had that much in awhile. Mostly because she couldn't afford it. Her first couple of parties with Richard and the club had been similar to this, only she was usually made it away fully clothed.

Maddison batted her tangled hair away from her eyes. Hesitantly, she followed the sound of the gagging. Behind the bar there was a woman. A woman who looked as if she had a more exciting night than Maddison herself had. She crossed her arms over her chest, hands slowly rubbing the bare skin. The woman was on all fours, there was a small trashcan beside her but she wasn't doing so well at getting the contents of her stomach into it. "Um, hey." The woman didn't look up from the floor. Maddison carefully shifted one of her feet, using it to nudge at the woman's leg. "Are you okay?"

She had been trying to be nice, or helpful. It was the same thing. This got the woman's attention, but not the response that Maddison had expected. The woman looked up at her, make-up smudged, skin caked in sweat. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. "Fuck off." She snarled at her. Maddison was slightly taken aback She wasn't feeling so great either, but if she had been in that position she might have come up with something better than 'fuck off'. The woman didn't want her help, and Maddison wasn't too keen to give it after that little remark.

Her attentions shifted, which was probably for the best. If she spoke to the woman again she probably would have gotten her face ripped off. Rather than focus on the needs of the other unconscious, or groaning people scattered throughout the clubhouse. She decided to take care of her own. First thing's first, she needed some tylenol or something. Her head felt like she'd spent the night smacking it against the wall, hard and repeatedly. She needed a bathroom, too. In case she ended up like the woman who had just told her to fuck off. Only she didn't want to be puking all over an MC's floor.

At the rate it was going, she probably would. The air smelt of stale booze, sweat, sex, and vomit.

She turned into what ended up being a kitchen, which looked immaculate compared to the rest of the clubhouse; what she had seen anyways. Maddison made her way towards the cabinets. At home she kept medicine in a cabinet above her sink, when she'd had a home anyways. She flinched at the memory, but soldiered on. She found a clean glass in one cupboard, and the search for some sort of medication to alleviate her throbbing skull yielded similar results. She found a partially emptied bottle of extra strength tylenol.

The glass was filled with water from the sink. At this point, she wasn't too worried about whether or not the water was safe to drink. She took a sip, considering draining the whole glass because the cool liquid felt like a god sent miracle in that moment. Maddison quickly retrieved two pills from the bottle, taking one at a time with a slow sip of water. She thought about looking in the fridge for food, but that seemed…invasive. The last clubhouse she had been in hadn't even used their fridge for food. Not that every MC was the same.

From beyond the kitchen she could hear someone wrenching again. She glanced down at the cup of water, still more than halfway full. She took the bottle of tylenol, and reached for a roll of paper towels that had been set beside the sink; then she left the kitchen.

The source of the noise had been the woman who had so elegantly told her to fuck off mere minutes ago. She approached her again, this time as if she were approaching a wild animal; a rabid one ready to bite her head off. When Maddison got close enough she knelt down beside her, being careful to avoid the puddles of vomit. "You're back," The woman didn't look up, but she was obviously aware of her presence.

Maddison didn't say anything. Instead she tore off a few sheets of paper towel, handing them to the woman. She held them out, nudging her shoulder. The woman didn't reach for them, not right away anyways. Maddison wasn't sure if she was being stubborn, or maybe she had somehow offended her by offering her help in the first place. "I've uh…spent a couple nights puking my guts out on the floor before," She spoke weakly, setting the loose sheets of paper towel besides the woman. "I've got some water, and some Tylenol…it's probably better than nothing." Maddison uncapped the bottle of pills before the woman could protest, dropping two into the palm of her hand.

Finally, the woman looked up. She took the paper towel and silently began to wipe around her mouth, then her neck, hands, chest. While the woman cleaned herself up, she took the sparse bit of paper towel that was left and set it over top of the puddle of vomit. She had intended to clean it up but as soon as as she set the paper towel down she snatched her hand away. A couple sheets wasn't going to cut it, and it smelt…well like vomit. It called for a mop, and maybe a bio-hazard outfit. Maddison grimaced.

"I've never seen you before," The woman said as she ran the paper towel over her mouth. "You come with one of the guys?"

Maddison rocked back, settling on her knees. "Yeah, Jax." The woman looked up at here with a look that screamed "Are you serious?" She quickly realized what that look was for. "Not with him like that." Maddison corrected, letting out a sigh.

Whether she believed her or not, Maddison didn't know. She didn't seem to care too much as she quickly moved onto something else. "You got a name?"

"Maddison."

"You got a last name, Maddison?" The woman asked.

Why she wanted to know her last name was beyond her. That didn't stop her from answering. It was an automatic reaction - of course she had a last name. "Madock."

The blonde looked at for for a second, then let out a low laugh. She wasn't sure what was so funny. "Maddison Madock," The woman snickered "couldn't sound more like a cheerleader if you tried." Suddenly the laughter made sense. Maddison cringed, but a tired smile tugged at her lips.

"I can't do a back flip to save my life." That wasn't the first time she'd heard it, and it probably wouldn't be the last. It was one of those names. Even though a few minutes earlier the woman had practically been snarling at her, now Maddison had her chuckling. It was a vast improvement.

"Too bad, you'd be pretty damn popular around here if you could." There was a pause for a moment as she straightened up, leaning against the dirty not-so-stainless steel cupboard behind her. "I'm Crystal, last name's Richter." She looked as if she'd been about to say something else, but Crystal doubled forward. Maddison quickly pushed the trashcan underneath her as the woman began to wretch again. She took the liberty of pulling Crystal's long blonde hair back; even though it was kind of a moot point now.

They stayed like that for about 5 more minutes. Crystal alternated between apologizing, telling her not to pull her hair back too tightly, and throwing up. Maddison for the most part sat there silently, eyes shut and trying to block out the noise.

Around them other people were starting to wake up. She could here footsteps crossing the floor, the occasional cough and curse. No one came over to see if they were alright, but they were all probably too busy from their own hangovers. From what she remembered, which really wasn't much, they'd had one hell of a night.

The one thing that did grab her attention as the sound of a door opening, and the tell-tale click of high-heels against the smoothed pavement. It sounded like the front door opening, since it wasn't coming from behind her. Beside her Crystal's stomach had settled down a bit. The bucket was no longer required, but she was back to wiping her face with the already soiled towel.

"Christ," Maddison's head snapped to the side as a voice echoed through the clubhouse. "This is why you boys can't have nice things." The remark followed by the clicking of high heels. Heels which now entered her line of sight.

"Am I interrupting somethin'?" Maddison flinched. The voice sounded almost amused, but when she looked up to see Gemma standing there, hands on her hips. She wasn't sure if the woman found it funny, or if she was judging the crap out of her. Realistically, it was probably both.

A/N: Thank you all for reading this update! It means a lot to me that you guys still stick with me even though I'm tragically slow with posting chapters for you :( I love reading the reviews and PM's - and knowing that there are people out there who are interested in my writing is probably one of the most inspirational things to me. Which is pretty cheesy but I assure you, 100% true. As always I would love to get feedback from you guys! If you ever have any comments, or questions, send them my way in either a PM or a review and I will definitely get back to you :)

Thank you again for taking the time to read this! An even bigger thank you for the people who have stuck with the story even after a freakishly long update drought.