A/N: Alright, so this chapter explains the cross, and the start of Nick and Chib's 'serious' relationship. Still nothing 'M' rated yet, but it's a start lol. And then it jumps back to the present, with Jax, Tig and Piney, like, immediately after the talk between Jax and Clay.
They had been on something like a date. 'Something like' because it wasn't what most people would consider a date. A day long drive up to Seventeen Mile Drive in Monterrey Bay, hanging out, and watching the seals.
It was there that he'd finally opened up to her. Told her about his wife, and toddler back in Ireland. How someone high up on the food chain had taken a liking to his wife, and branded him a traitor. Cut up his face, and banished him.
Told her a bit about his childhood; alcoholic father, timid mother. His father getting in trouble in Scotland, and packing the family up to move to Ireland. About the stupid things he'd done with his three brothers.
Then he'd told her about the IRA. The murders he'd committed. How, looking back on it, he regretted nearly every one. He didn't mind killing; he'd made that quite clear. But looking at it now, he could see how pointless it had all been. How the innocent people he'd killed wouldn't change anything.
He'd been stoic throughout the whole thing, before finally telling her about his daughter. How he'd first held her at the hospital. How she'd been born four weeks premature. The anxious wait for the doctors to pronounce Kerrianne fit to leave the hospital. He'd broken down then, tears streaming down his face, as he described watching her first steps. Her first words. How she liked to pretend she was a dog, and chase their pit bull around the house.
Nick had pulled him close to her, wrapping her arms around him as he cried onto her chest.
She wasn't sure how long they had sat like that. Didn't seem like long enough to her, before he pulled back, pulling his sun glasses over his eyes.
"Hey," She said softly, setting her hands on his face, before sliding the glasses back up. "Don't try to hide it. You miss 'em, Filip. There's nothin' wrong with that."
He swiped at his face angrily. "I'm sorry, luv. Shouldn't have dumped all that on ya. Like ya don't have enough of your own shit," He muttered.
"I don't mind, Filip. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me," She said simply, pulling his head down onto her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him. "You shouldn't have to deal with things alone."
Filip had glanced up at her, his dark eyes deep enough for her to get lost in, and she could feel her heart speed up, as he pulled back just enough to set his head against hers.
"Nick… I…" He'd stopped, and taken a deep breathe, before giving her a light kiss on the lips. It wasn't the frenzied, hurried motions she'd seen others do. It was soft, and gentle, and lingered just long enough that it felt like her heart had stopped, before he pulled away, eyeing her warily.
"I'm sorry, Nick. That was… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," He said quietly, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Don't ruin it, Filip," She said gently, pulling his face back towards hers, and kissing him again. That time, he'd wrapped his arms around her, and deepened the kiss, before both of them drew back breathlessly.
"That was…" Nick stopped, and giggled a little in spite of herself. "Was kinda nice as far as 'first kisses' go."
Filip's eyes went large. "Are ya serious, lass? That was ya first ever kiss?"
She nodded, a little embarrassed. "Yeah. It was," She admitted, blushing.
Before they'd went home, he'd taken his silver cross of his neck, and placed it over her head. He told her it had been his mother's; the only thing he had of hers now that she was gone.
She'd looked up in shock, and opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her with a hand over her mouth, telling her not to say anything. That he wanted her to have it.
The whole ride home, Nick felt like she could sing with joy from the top of her lungs.
Jax groaned in frustration. Of course, Nick and Filip didn't have their phones on them. Why would they have their phones on them? They were only portable devices carried for this exact freaking purpose!
He threw himself down on the bed, feeling a headache coming on. He never should have agreed to help the pair hide their relationship from Clay. Hell, wasn't even like there was much to hide, he thought with a snort.
Most of the club members knew about it. Opie and the new prospect were the only ones who didn't. But they'd all had an unspoken agreement: Clay couldn't find out.
Which partially worried Jax; that they'd all agreed, with no pushing or prodding to keep it a secret. The more he thought about it, and Clay's over the top reaction, he wondered what they all knew that he didn't.
Tig sat down next to Piney at the bar, smiling gratefully as the older man passed him a beer.
"Thanks, man," He said, cracking it open and taking a large swallow.
"No problem, Tig." They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, before Piney spoke again. "So… Nick's eighteenth birthday is comin' up."
Tig sighed. "Yeah. Clay said anything about it?"
Piney shook his head, taking another swig of his beer before speaking. "No. I dunno what he plans on doin', but with this whole thing with the Scotsman… I don't see it ending well."
"Yeah, well, JT did know how to create drama," Tig said with an eye roll.
Piney smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, he did. But… This is what the girl needs. Unless Filip is willin' to make Nicole his Old Lady, Clay's gonna keep her trapped here for the rest of her life. Don't deny it, boy, you know it as well as I do," The older man said dismissivly. "This will give her some leverage.
Tig bristled at being called 'boy' –hell he was pushing forty –but he couldn't deny what the old bastard had said. "Yeah, well… This might bring her more problems than solutions," He said solemnly, leaning back against the bar. "I don't think JT thought it through. What if her and Clay's bullshit… Hell, man, do you really wanna risk losin' the club?"
Piney guffawed loudly. "Shit, Tig, you know she'd never do that. She may hate Clay –and with good reason –but she'd never let that shit land on the club. This is her dad's legacy too. I think you guys forget that Jax isn't the only Teller tryin' to live up to JT's memory."
