AN:Just wanted to say thank you again for the comments and follows. I really do appreciate it. I know everyone says that, but I do. It makes writing so much fun when people are enjoying it! Thanks again so much and... enjoy! :)

Chapter 7

(Ep.2 Booster)

Alex was sitting on her knees in the garage, blissfully within her own world. Ear buds were buried in her ears blaring whatever was coming up next on her playlist. She hadn't heard a single soul speak, a bike, a car, nothing in nearly an hour and she was fine with that for some reason.

When she awoke that morning, there was nothing but news. Stories about the dead Russian men found in Charming Heights dominated the screen time. Even if Alex didn't know anything about them or why they were there, it didn't take a genius to figure it out. She knew the guys. She knew their love for Charming and discontent for anything modern like multi-million dollar housing developments and, to add further frosting to the cake, she recognized them as men at the wedding who mysteriously left with the club members, but never returned. Again, it didn't take a genius, just someone who wasn't a moron.

As she loosened another bolt connecting the gas tank to the body, she felt something vibrate in her feet. A smile began to stretch along her lips as the vibrating became more pronounced. Alex tilted her head to the side just enough to see bikes coming up the way. Her heart fluttered excitedly like it did when she was young every time she'd hear the motorcycles. When she was a kid, it meant her dad was home from a run, that Piney and John most likely got her some kind of stupid, drugstore or gas station toy which she loved more than anything. Now, it was no less exciting, only for different reasons.

Only half the club or so had arrived so she knew it wasn't for Church, at least not yet. To her delight, Opie was among them and didn't hesitate to make it to her side. Her smile widened as she stood, Alex popping out her head phones as he moved worriedly towards her. He was always so worried about her, like she would break if he was ever too far away. Then again, perhaps it had already happened.

That was part of the reason -when all was said and done- that Opie never wanted to leave Alex too far behind now that she was back. He was worried about her. He blamed himself -not much but more than he should have given her situation had absolutely nothing to do with him- and wanted to ensure it would never happen again. He wanted to make sure Emmett would never, ever place another hand on her as long as she lived and that she recovered from the damage already done.

"Morning." She chimed with a wide smile. "How's it feel being a married man again?"

"Same as yesterday, and the day before." He offered with a sideways smile. "How you feeling?"

"Opie," she groaned, unable to keep the grin from her lips as she shook her head. "I. Am. Fine. You don't need to keep worrying about me. I'm all fine and dandy, or whatever the saying is."

He raised a brow to her, staring at the young woman wearing old clothes, a shop shirt and grease all over her hands. Alex may be many things, but 'fine and dandy' wasn't one of them. It was about as much a part of her life as it was theirs.

"Oh, what are you, Lyla and the kids doing later?"

He was surprised by her sudden question, even more so by the obvious change in subject. The expression touching his face showed her that much. It had gone blank. Alex fought the urge to laugh at it and instead managed to stifle the giggle.

"Why?" he managed to ask when she snorted at his expense.

"I finally got the pool all set up and everything. I was wondering if Kenny, Elle and Piper might want to come by and swim." She replied. "You, Lyla, Jax, Tara, Piney and I can all grill out while the kids play in the pool."

His eyes went a bit wide as she listed off all of the people she was inviting to her house. It wasn't a small list, but it was everyone she considered the closest family. All said and done, she was inviting ten people over to her house, half of which were children.

"You sure about that?" he chuckled to himself.

"Well yeah." She scoffed. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't." Opie hesitated to answer, eying the young woman like she'd lost her mind. "Aw, come on. Please?"

He laughed when she began to whine, grabbing his arm and tugging on it like she was a six-year-old asking for a toy.

"Pleeeease?" she repeated, this time drawing out the word and pouting at the end.

Opie sighed, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. He looked away from her as he thought about it for a moment. To be honest, he couldn't take the ridiculous expression she was giving him. It wasn't helping him say no. Then again, when he looked down at her, he realized how badly she seemed to want everyone to come over. She was like Gemma in that regard, very family oriented since she didn't seem to have much of one left anymore, and wanted nothing more than to spend time with her brothers. After all, Alex wasn't going to invite them over and neglect their wives or children. If she wanted to hang out with only them, she could do it at the Club House. Besides, this way she could help build a bridge between her and Tara, see how the doctor treated Jax, and show her brother she was trying to be cordial. It was a win-win in every way.

Alex noticed his continual hesitation and went so far as to bat her eyelashes like a fifteen-year-old swooning. She knew she had to look ridiculous, trying to appear as innocent and sweet as possible when she was certain she had grease on her face. The worst part was trying not to laugh while she did it.

"Fine." He sighed though a smile remained.

"Yay!" Alex laughed, hugging him tightly around the waist.

Opie grunted from the force, but chuckled regardless. His arms were out to the side for a moment before he rested them on her back.

"I can ask." He clarified. "But I can't make any promises. Okay?"

Alex craned her neck to look up at the man and gave him a wide-toothed smile.

"That's fine." She told him.

Opie narrowed his eyes momentarily. There was a glint of something in the vibrant green of her orbs that made him wonder if she was only saying that for his benefit. It wouldn't surprise him if she was internally telling him he had no choice.

He sighed heavily again, rolling his head from side to side before meeting her eyes again with a sideways grin.

"Fine. We'll be there."

"That's my boy." She told him cheekily.

Opie grumbled and pushed her away despite the grin. Alex laughed.

"How's later? About six?" she asked.

"Should be fine. We've got some business still to do, but it should be okay."

"Well, call Lyla and make sure she doesn't have to work. Tell Jax when you see him, too."

"Yeah." He said, turning and making his way back to the Club House.

Alex watched him walk off, giggling to herself proudly. Biting the tip of her tongue gently, Alex went back to work on her bike.

A few hours had passed by the time Alex returned to Teller-Morrow. She was busy buying the food for later and evidently missed a lot. When she pulled up, the bikes were back and the grounds were all but abandoned. It was strange to see, even more so when she noticed a few of the guys bringing broken furniture out of the bar and tossing it into the dumpster.

"The hell happened?" She asked Juice, one of the four that were throwing away busted chairs and table parts.

"Sheriff." He sighed. "Fucking fire department."

Alex's brows came together in confusion as she followed the man inside. Her jaw dropped at the sight. Chunks of drywall were missing or on the floor in heaps. There was even more furniture busted up and set to the side, waiting to be thrown out. The door to the Chapel along with the window was destroyed and the wall of members was left to almost nothing. That's what pissed her off the most.

"Hey,"

Alex snapped to when Jax came towards her, pulling Tara along with him. He bore a wide smile despite the decimation of his second home. Tara on the other hand, looked apprehensive, something Alex had gotten used to through the passed week-and-a-half.

"You missed it." He told her.

"I see that." Alex replied an her eyes danced around the room again.

"No." Jax said, still smiling. Alex felt her eyes narrow at the cheeky grin on his face.

"What'd you do Teller?" she asked almost playfully.

Without answering, Jax offered her Tara's left hand. Alex's eyes immediately opened wide at the sight of a beautiful ring resting on the doctor's ring finger. Her mouth fell open and joy was the only thing she felt.

"Aw." She gasped, reaching forward and hugging the man tightly. "I'm so happy for you, Jackie."

Tara breathed easier when the young woman didn't seem enraged by the engagement. It made things easier in the end. Jax held to Alex tighter than he knew he should, but she didn't complain about the pain. She was just too happy to care.

Jax had a lot of girlfriends, flings, gashes he slept with and whatnot, but never anyone serious. Even with Tara, Alex always wondered just how much he cared about the doctor. So, seeing something like this made it all the more real. He loved Tara and that was enough for Alex.

When she finally pulled back from the man, she kissed him sweetly on the cheek, him doing the same to her before they parted. Jax held her with a hand leisurely placed on the small of her back as they shifted to look at Tara. He was still smiling wide while Alex looked at the doctor. Her smile had faded slightly, which was to be expected, but Tara wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Without warning, Alex reached forward and grabbed Tara, pulling her into a hug. It wasn't as tight as hers with Jax, maybe not as loving either, but the happiness was still there. Tara was shocked by the motion and couldn't keep the surprise from her face when she looked to Jax standing just behind Alex. He only smiled approvingly, letting her know that this was a good thing.

"Congratulations." Alex said as she gave Tara a final squeeze and pulled back. She adjusted her hold to Tara's forearms, not letting go of her completely and for the first time in a decade, Alex smiled genuinely to her. "Really."

Slowly, a smile formed on Tara's lips too, relief swelling within her. She nodded as though solidifying the praise.

"Thanks." She finally said.

"So," Alex chimed, wiping the tears that stuck to her lashes free. She hadn't cried, but she was so happy for her brother her eyes still welled. "Opie tell you about my place?"

"Oh, yeah." Jax said, looking to Tara. "Alex is wondering if we could stop by with the boys for a little while."

"Oh uh," Tara hesitated. She wasn't sure if she wanted to say no directly in front of the young woman.

"Look," Alex said kindly, sensing Tara's apprehension. "We can use it as a small celebration, you know, for your engagement. You guys, your boys, Ope, Layla and their kids. The kids can play in the pool and we can finally hang out. Like friends." She added the last bit as more of a joke and was glad Tara saw it as such.

Tara looked from Jax to the young woman, thinking quickly about whether or not it was a good idea. On one hand this summer had been very hot and didn't seem to be letting up so swimming might be fun. On the other, she wasn't certain she wanted to be around that many people when Alex was one of them.

She did however, seem to notice that Alex was in fact trying to be the bigger person, make their torn relationship work in the end and she could respect that. It was obvious, even more so now, that neither of them was going anywhere. Each of the young women standing beside Jax owned a chunk of his heart and would forever along with only one other woman. Gemma was his mother and neither of the young women would ever compete. Tara was the love of his life. Alex was his sister and lifelong friend. Neither was leaving so they could either get along like they once did, or keep the contention going.

"Yeah," Tara finally said with a sigh and smile. "Yeah, why not? It might be fun."

"You sure?" Jax asked, noting her hesitation.

Tara smiled to him and nodded reassuringly.

"Yeah. I'd like to show Abel how to swim anyway. It'd be fun."

"Okay." Jax seemed relieved when he looked back to Alex. He had been wanting to spend some time with Alex since he'd gotten out and was happy now Tara could be included. "When?"

"Around six okay for you?"

"Yeah. We'll be there."

"Great." She smiled, noticing his injuries for the first time.

Her smile faded and a brow began to rise. Jax seemed to instinctively know what she was thinking.

"It's fine." He told her, waving off the bruises without giving her an explanation.

"Yeah." She scoffed, rolling her eyes before setting off to talk with Opie and Lyla while they were near.