I own nothing you recognize. All original characters and storylines are my own.

Worlds Apart

Milla walked into the cocktail bar in Sacramento and felt completely out of place. In her knee length gray dress with the flouncy skirt, ballet flats and black cardigan she didn't quite fit the look of the place, not to mention her beat up Jeep with the bullet holes in the hood or the tats she displayed so prominently. Yeah, she was out of place but that was nothing new, she'd been out of place for the last four years and the women she was meeting had thrived where she floundered. She stood at the entrance for a few moments, contemplating rushing back to her car when she saw someone wave her over. She looked at the table and saw three people she was sure she'd never see again, but there they were in all their Prada-accessorised glory. Giving herself a quick mental peptalk she walked over and her former roommate and friend Ronnie pulled her into a hug.

"Oh god we missed you." She hugged her tightly and Milla just patted her back awkwardly, not really knowing how to approach this.

"I...uh...missed you guys too." After that ice was broken Coral and Pepper stood up and each hugged her, not alleviating Milla's awkwardness in the slightest.

As soon as the hugs were done Milla sat on the free seat and looked over the women she had been sure she'd be friends with forever. Her roommate, who she was undoubtedly closest to while at college, was a trust fund baby and what Milla liked to call a barroom bisexual. She only liked women if there was an audience of men willing to pay for drinks but she made every gay crusade her own. Coral and Pepper were partners who had bonded over having neglectful, wealthy but liberal parents. Parents who were thrilled to have Lesbian daughters, because it was so edgy, but still couldn't be bothered to actually care about their daughters' lives. It was a situation Milla had no experience with at all, herself having two parents who were far too concerned with their daughter's life. Even so, Milla had formed bonds with these women that she'd let lapse over the last year and she needed to either fix that or say goodbye, there was no middle ground.

"Sit, we ordered you an appletini and a fruit platter to share." Pepper spoke before she picked up her own drink and sipped. Despite the earlier awkwardness Milla started to relax and smiled at Pepper, maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

"What's with the tattoo on your wrist?" Coral suddenly asked and Milla glanced at the crow with the lightning bolt in its talons that was such a part of her now that it might as well have been encoded in her genetic makeup. She smiled as she lovingly traced it but had no idea how to explain its significance to a feminist Lesbian from Santa Barbara. Despite her misgivings she decided to tell her the truth, Coral was an anthropology student after all and Pepper a sociology major.

"It's my crow. This symbolizes the relationship I have with Juice, my Old Man. It means I'm his Old Lady." She traced it again and suddenly realized that three sets of eyes were staring at her and all were full of questions.

"Old Man, Old Lady? What are you some beatnik, or a biker chick?" Coral said as she and Pepper laughed but Milla and Ronnie just looked at them. They'd never been interested in Milla's history so they didn't know about her family but Ronnie was all too familiar with the iron grip her father and his gang had on her friend. Milla straightened her shoulders and gave them a smile.

"Biker chick, my man is a fully patched member of the Sons of Anachy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Charter." The pride in her voice sobered the laughing girls while Ronnie's brow furrowed. She didn't understand how Milla could be so proud to be part of the world when her Dad had been so willing to ruin her life for a minor fight.

"You have to be kidding, you're with a guy now?" Pepper asked as she took a sip of her lemon drop.

"Yes, I'm with a guy. He's everything to me." Milla continued to smile, but was willing to drop the act if they even implied that he was less than amazing.

"What does he do, other than that motorcycle stuff?" Coral asked and Milla would have been offended by the "motorcycle stuff" comment if she didn't already know that Coral wasn't the least bit mechanically inclined. All vehicles were mysterious and frightening to her.

"He's a mechanic and I work at the Charming Gazette we're secure." Milla said as she sipped her water, she had a long drive ahead of her and didn't want to be tipsy when she headed out.

That brought an end to the discussion and they moved on to talking about Pepper and Coral's work in San Francisco with the Lesbian Rights Coalition. Listening to them brought back fond memories for Milla. She used to be part of the Pride organization at Ravencroft and she and Carmen would protest and march together. For a year she had been quite the activist but now that part of her life was over. She was still supportive and would donate money to the Trevor Project when she could but she knew the life she was living and it didn't have any room for "fags" or "dykes" in it.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Pepper suddenly shouted and Milla let out an involuntary laugh at her exuberance, "Carmen got accepted at the University of Minnesota, she'll be moving on to Mayo Clinic once her generals are done. She wanted me to tell you 'hi', though now I have to tell her that you're taken. It's going to break her heart."

Milla felt her chest tighten as she thought about Carmen but she shook off the feeling and sipped more of her water. That part of her life was over and she was happier than she'd ever been before. Juice really was her everything.

"Tell her 'hi' from me, but you're right. I'm very, very taken and happy." She smiled again before she excused herself and went to the bathroom, breaking the girl code and going alone. After she relieved herself she stepped out and saw Ronnie standing against the door, effectively stopping anyone else from entering.

"This isn't you." Ronnie started without preamble and Milla went to the sink to wash her hands and completely ignored her, well she would have but Ronnie refused to be ignored. "You have tattoos everywhere, a mark of ownership, oh yeah you've told me about the crow. The only thing about you that makes sense is working for a newspaper. This "biker slut" isn't the Milla I know."

Her voice took on a pleading edge and Milla took a deep breath before she turned to her former roommate and, as of now, former friend.

"You're right, I'm not the Milla you knew. That Milla was a scared kid, terrified of being rejected by the group of people who took her in. You guys were the only ones willing to befriend some poor girl from the boonies. I never thought I'd have that so I kept what and who I was inside. I was never ashamed of my family but I knew what they represented to people liek you." Ronnie started to speak but Milla put up a hand. "You can try to deny it if you want but you dealt your hand when you called me a "biker slut". I'm no slut, I'm an Old Lady and there's no higher position for a woman in The Life. It means that my man loves me, trusts me and respects me enough to put me above any other woman and you know what? This crow means I belong to him and that makes me so proud, so happy because I love that man more than I've ever loved anyone else and he belongs to me just as much as I belong to him. If you have a problem with this then I guess there's nothing left to say."

She moved to leave and Ronnie got in her face.

"Who are you? The Milla I knew wouldn't "belong" to anyone. You're better than this, better than that shit hole you come from. Milla, please just listen. They're brainwashing you, making you live by their insane rules. Your Dad dragged you home and ruined your life for nothing. Shit, I'm saying this wrong." She ran her hand through her short hair, fully aware of the sadness in Milla's eyes but misinterpreting it. "You aren't really happy, I can see it and we can fix it. We can help you get away."

"You're right, I'm not happy but that has nothing to do with Juice or my life. I'm not happy because I've just realised that this chapter in my life has come to a close." Milla leaned up and kissed the other woman's cheek. "You don't understand me anymore Ronnie and you refuse to acknowledge that the life I'm living now just might be the best life for me. I'm truly happy for the first time in a long time. I have a man that loves me, a family that would die for me and I'm where I'm supposed to be."

She moved around Ronnie and went to the door but before she went through she turned around and looked at her former friend.

"Have a wonderful life Ronnie. It's my hope that you're as happy as I am someday." She walked out and went to the table. After she said her goodbyes to Pepper and Coral she got her Jeep from the valet and took off toward home.

Milla pulled into the T-M lot to find the after church party in full swing. The barrels were lit the crow eaters were skanky and the beer was flowing...she was home. Once she got out of the car she took off her cardigan, combed her fingers through her hair and made her way through the crowd until she got to the familiar lightning bolts. She placed her hands on her man's shoulders and he turned his head slightly and gave her a grin before he stood up and pulled her into a kiss.

"I thought you wouldn't be home until extra late?" He asked before she kissed him again and wound her arms around his neck.

"Things didn't work out the way I thought they would. I'm not the Milla they knew anymore." She sighed but rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

"How do you feel about that?" He asked as Milla brought down her arms and shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I guess I outgrew them." Juice smiled and took his woman's hand. He'd been apprehensive about her going out that night. He'd been afraid that she'd realise that she'd made a mistake and leave him but the look on her face had proven him wrong.

"What now?" He brought her hand to his lips before he walked with her to a darker, quieter part of the lot and sat with her at the picnic table.

"That part of my life is over, has been for longer than I thought. As I sat with them I realized that they'd never understand the life I live now, they don't have the ability and there's no shame in that. The best thing for all parties will be to cut them out of my life and close that door completely. As long as I have Lu, Donna, and my girls at Cara Cara I'll be set in the girlfriends department and as long as I have you I'll be happy." She grinned at her man who grinned back and allowed him to pull her into his lap.

"As long as you're happy I'm happy." She kept the grin on her face as she moved her mouth to his and kissed him with all she was worth. Part of her was sad that things had turned out the way they did but a larger part took it for the inevitability that it was. Those girls were civilians, they'd never understand the life or her place in it. Her place was here in this noisy, smoky lot in the lap of the man who owned her, heart, body and soul and there really was nowhere on this earth that she'd rather be.


...


Author's Note: I know this chapter was Milla heavy but I got this idea about Milla's past and had to explore it. If you haven't read earlier stories Milla went to this exclusive, private liberal arts college, think of it as one of those places that kids like the Kennedys go to if they can't get into Ivy League. (The school is completely fictional. I just thought I'd clarify that.) In that school she got to indulge in a lifestyle that would never be accepted in The Life. I came to realize that in my stories I've never really addressed her life in the college and this came to me. I could imagine the social misfits at the school befriending one another to survive and this came out. I consider this closing that chapter of Milla's life and hope it wasn't boring or frustrating. Thank you in advance for reading and reviewing.