The cabin was old, yet cozy. There was a musky smell of beer and cigarette smoke lingering in the air. Aideen made herself as comfortable as she could; Chibs had only left her side to go to the clubhouse and bring back a prepaid for her with all of the members' numbers saved on it. Chibs couldn't stress enough that the phone was for emergencies only, that she wasn't to bother anybody unless she absolutely needed their help. Unless she called Juice, of course, he was to be at her beckon call, and if he didn't drop everything and come immediately to her aid, he had Chibs to answer to. Chibs also requested that she keep the phone on her at all times, that way the club could keep her up to date with anything that happened with Seamus or his crew.
The next couple of days were fairly uneventful; she had met the prospects, they were her only company during the day. They were all in their mid twenties, and weren't much to look at. They had seemed nice enough, but Aideen couldn't help but think that they seemed fairly intimidated while they were there. She hadn't decided if it were because they were afraid that Seamus would show up and kill them, or he might show up and kill her, and the club would hold any one of them responsible. They weren't much conversation either, Aideen could only assume that they were too afraid to learn too much information and it would compromise them ever getting patched in.
The biggest prospect, the club called him Nuke, was currently keeping watch. Out of the three prospects, Nuke was the one that made Aideen feel the safest. He was solid, nothing was getting through him. He stood at least 6'2", a good foot over her; he had buzzed dark brown hair, and both of his arms, as well as his chest, were covered in tattoos. As much as she liked having Nuke around to keep her safe, she didn't much like him as far as the company goes. He was friendly, of course, but more antisocial than what felt comfortable. Aideen walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer, twisted the top open, and made her way to the front door. One of the worst things about everyone that was keeping watch was that, for the most part, they sat out front on the porch, rather than sitting inside with her and keeping her company. She sighed as she reminded herself that it wasn't their job to keep her company, it was their job to keep her safe.
She stepped outside to join Nuke on the porch; he was sitting on the lone rocker, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He looked lost in thought. Aideen cleared her throat to get his attention. He averted his gaze to her, raising an eyebrow and taking another drag from his half smoked cigarette. "Figured ya'd like another beer." She held the bottle out to the younger man.
Nuke took the beer from her, "Thanks." His attention shifted back to the woods.
"Figured ya might like some company as well…?" She trailed off as she asked, Nuke not phased by the question.
She dug her hand into her pocket, pulled out the prepaid and began scrolling thru the contacts. She stopped on Juice's name and began to have an internal struggle on what to do. Her Godfather had told her that Juice was there for whatever she needed, but she knew that he was punishing Juice for calling her a Sweetbutt. She rubbed her forehead with her free hand, she didn't mind the 'insult'; Juice hadn't known who she was, and she was sure all of the guys were uneasy about her being at the table. She knew she shouldn't have sat there. She didn't want to inconvenience Juice and make him stop what he was doing just to amuse her, but he did tell her "anything you need".
"I think I'm goin' ta have Juice take me out." She lifted her eyes from the screen to Nuke.
"Hmm…" He responded, exhaling the last of his cigarette and putting the butt out in the makeshift ashtray that sat on the floor of the porch.
Aideen grumbled at his barely audible response and made her way back inside. Once the door closed behind her she dropped down on the couch and pressed the call button on the prepaid. Placing the phone to her ear, she waited for Juice to pick up.
"Hello?" Juice answered after only two rings, he sounded out of breath.
"Aye, Juice, it's Aideen." She smiled, glad that he had answered.
"Yea, I figured just as much." He took a moment to catch his breath, "You need anything?"
"Was just wondering if ya could take me for a quick errand."
Juice let out a defeated breath, "Um, yea, of course. I'll be there in five."
"I'll see ya soon." Aideen hung up the phone before he could say another word, got off the couch, and stuck her head out the front door, "''ey! Nuke!" She shouted.
The man looked over at her, he had his sunglasses on, so she couldn't make direct eye contact with him, "What?" He asked.
Aideen felt terrible for the guys while they were at the cabin, and she tried her best to keep them company, but at the same time, tried not to overstep her boundaries. "Juice is coming ta pick me up; he's going ta take me for an errand. By the time we get back yer shift will be up, so ya should be able ta leave when we do. He'll be 'ere in a few minutes." She had hoped her news of giving him some time to go do whatever he wanted to do, instead of keeping watch over a grown woman would make him feel better.
A smile crept over Nuke's face, "Awesome. Thanks."
Aideen couldn't help but smile back, it was the first time she had seen that boy in a good mood. "Not a problem."
She was quickly back inside and made her way to the room; she had changed into fresh clothes and went into the bathroom and put some makeup on. Her timing was perfect, Juice had just walked through the front door as she made her way out of the bathroom.
Juice rubbed the back of his head, "Where is it that you want to go?" He asked her, Aideen could hear Nuke's bike start up outside.
"Just ta the food hall." She shrugged her shoulders.
Juice blinked, "Uh, I don't know if we have one of those around here."
"I'm sure ya do." Aideen laughed, "I don't think yer groceries buy themselves."
"Oh. The grocery store!" He gave himself a moment while Aideen giggled under her breath. "Alright, let's get going." Juice led Aideen outside and into the passenger seat of the van. After closing the passenger door behind her, Juice made his way around the van and into the driver's seat.
"No bike today?" Aideen asked.
Juice glanced over at her as he put his seatbelt on and started the van, "Was kind of in the middle of some stuff when you called, getting here was a priority, getting my bike wasn't."
Guilt suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta ruin yer plans." Aideen looked down at her feet.
Juice laughed, "It's fine, nothing too serious, just minor club errands, it can wait til later tonight."
She glanced over at him, "Are ya sure?" Guilt was still lingering in her voice.
"Yes, you're alright, if it was anything major I would have had to tell you "no", and Chibs would have had to deal with it." He smirked.
The two had stopped for a quick lunch before Juice brought her to the grocery store to get her some food for the week. Once they arrived back at the cabin, he helped her carry her bags inside and put everything away.
"Thanks for everythin' today." Aideen smiled at Juice, who was now sitting on the couch, as she made her way out of the small kitchen and onto the loveseat. "I just needed ta get out of 'ere, was going mad, ya know?"
Juice laughed, "I told you I'd be here for anything you needed. I mean that."
She shook her head, "No, I don't want ya ta have ta be at my mercy because…" She paused, "…Chibs…" she spoke again, remembering her Godfather's nickname from his Charter, "…got his panties in a bunch."
"It's nothing, I don't mind." He smiled, "You're nice enough, and it's not like you're going to take advantage of the situation." He thought about the last half of his sentence, "You aren't, are you?"
Aideen couldn't help but laugh, "No, of course not."
The two continued to joke and tell stories, laughing every once in a while. This was good for Aideen, she had felt so lonely the past few days, and she felt like she was finding a friend in Juice. Before she knew it, it was already after eight, whoever was supposed to keep watch that night should have been there already.
"'ey, Juice?" Aideen couldn't help but sound concerned.
"What's up?" He asked, noticing the uneasy sound in her voice.
"Who is supposed ta keep watch tonight, he isn't here. Is he alright?" She was mostly afraid that her Godfather had volunteered and that something may have happened to him on his way to her.
"Oh. Opie." Juice shrugged.
Aideen's heart skipped a beat and a lump formed in her throat when Juice said his name. "Is he alright?" She managed to get out.
"Yea, he's fine. I told him not to worry about coming by and that I'd trade shifts with him since I was already here." He smiled at her.
"Oh." Was all she could fathom to say. She hadn't seen Opie since the day she sat in on the meeting when they had decided to lock her away in the cabin, the two of them hardly broke eye contact, and they never got a chance to talk because Jax had made her Godfather rush her out so that they could discuss other club business.
"Wait, don't ya have club errands yer supposed ta finish tonight?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"It can wait, our main priority, aside from runs, is keeping you safe." Juice said firmly.
Aideen threw her hands up, "I don't know why ya guys are so worried about me. Nobody's seen Seamus or his crew here."
Juice frowned, "In all fairness, we don't exactly know what Seamus and his crew look like." Aideen crossed her arms, "We may have to use you to lure him and his crew out."
She shook her head, "I can't be putting myself in a situation like that, not now." She bit her lower lip, "Besides, Uncle Filip won't allow ya ta use me as bait."
Juice rested his elbows above his knees and ran his hands over the top of his head. He knew he had said too much. "You're right, it's just crazy talk. I don't know what I'm talking about." It took everything for him to not stumble over his words as he sat back up and leaned against the back of the couch.
Aideen was getting flustered, and sleep was already hard enough for her to come by lately, she didn't need to be adding anymore stress to her plate. "Right." She let out a long exasperated sigh, "I'm goin' ta bed, Juice." She stood up from the couch, "Get some sleep yerself. 'Night."
"Goodnight." Juice looked up at her as she got up to get ready for bed. Falling backward, he sprawled himself onto the couch. He knew she wouldn't forget what he had said, and he also knew that Jax, and quite possibly Chibs, would kill him for slipping up and telling her anything that was discussed in Church. He closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would find him. Fast.