Hi guys, Did you miss me?

Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had a great time!

Just finished this chapter. I could have gone on and on and on with it, but I thought I better stop somewhere, next chapter will be FULL of drama! Read it and Review it my lovelies! :)

Chapter Ten

It's different, sitting at the table and seeing Chibs face at the Gavel instead of Jax's, something to get used to, definitely. It's a welcome change, and it's almost as if the whole entire room had a makeover. There was still a stain that couldn't be dealt with, or at least, no one was paying any attention to it, but for Juice and that fucking OCD mind of his, he could see it. The damn thing was practically screaming in his face, scratching his skin, and peeling his flesh wide open.

Jax teller, sitting at the opposite end of the table, wore an angry, stone like face. He was constantly scowling, glancing between Chibs and Juice. For Juice, it was unsettling, and every time he would bring it up with Chibs on the down low, Chibs would send him off with a pat on his back, and tell him, "Aye." With a nod of his head, "There is nothing I can do about it, unless he steps out of line, Juicy."

So Juice was a sitting duck, because SAMCRO be dammed if he didn't know retaliation was spewing in Jax Tellers head every time he looked his way. He wouldn't be dumb enough to believe that everything was just peachy now that they had a new president. Because shit didn't work that way, not even in a perfect world, and perfect was far from what they were living in.

Juice accepted his face, whatever it may be, and took it with a grain of salt, knowing that Jax Teller would most likely come to him, beat him senseless or worse. Juice took it upon himself to keep Jax within eye sight at all times. And when he was at home, when it was just him and Nikki, he made sure to keep his gun by his side at all time, even sleeping with the damn thing next to him. Every little noise or peep, Juice would bolt out of bed check the house, inside and out, ready to pull the trigger, and bring an end to Jackson Teller, because that's what needs to happen.

It wasn't until one day while Nikki was in the kitchen trying her hand at making pancakes and eggs, while Juice was in the shower. They were living together, in Juices house, despite the extremely sterile environment, she was enjoying herself. She had even warned him that she was going to add a few feminine touches, because that's what the places needed. One afternoon after coming home from a run, he found Nikki in old tattered clothes, his beautiful white walls tapped off, and paper lining the floors, a paint brush roller in one hand and several cans of brightly colored paint behind her. Juice was just finishing with his shower, stepping out and wrapping a towel around his hips when he heard Nikki scream from the kitchen. Juice just about had a heart attack, grabbed his gun that was resting on the toilet lid, and ran into the kitchen gun pointed for whatever or whoever was intruding. There was no one there, just a hot pancake that landed on the floor too close to Nikki's toes for comfort. The sudden move on Juices part startled Nikki, made her scream again, and practically fall to the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nikki asked, pitch high, as she eyed the gun in Juices hand. Juice dropped the gun, and was instantly at Nikki's side. "Baby, I'm so sorry, I thought Ja… someone broke in."

"What? No, why would you think that? I dropped a pancake, and it burned my toe." Nikki was the first to crack a smile, laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation had sounded coming out of her mouth. Juice looked her over once, twice, not really getting the humor in all of it, until he looked down at Nikki's toe which was bright red, and the pancake that lay next to it. Juice cracked a smile, and even threw his head back in laughter, both of them on the floor, gun and pancake included.

After the laughter died down, Nikki served up the eggs, pancakes, toast, and orange juice. The two sat quietly, giving each other loving glances, and eating their food. Half way through her meal, Nikki dropped her fork, and clutched her stomach. Juice took notice, "Hey baby, you okay?" Juice asked, concern crossing his face. Nikki nodded, "Yeah, I just…" She paused, taking a slow deep breath before letting it back out, "I just felt a little…" Before she could finish sentence, Nikki jumped out of her seat, and ran to the bathroom. She fell to her knees in front of the toilet, where she empty the contents of her stomach.

Juice followed right behind her, holding her hair back, and patting her back. When she was done, she leaned back against Juices knees. Juice cupped her face, his thumb running across her cheeks, upside down, since he was standing and she was sitting. She was pale, and felt clammy under his hand. "You don't look so good, babe."

"I don't feel so good. Maybe it was the food."

"Maybe, but I don't feel sick."

"Maybe I just caught something from somewhere."

"Let's get you in bed."

Juice reached down, one arm supporting Nikki's back, the other scooped up her legs. He carried her bridal style down the hallway and to their bedroom, before placing her in bed, and covering her up. With a kiss to her forehead, Nikki instantly fell asleep.

Juice was left to take care of the breakfast, looking down at the half eaten plate of food between them; Juice shrugged his shoulders, piled everything into one plate, and finished the food.

The pre-paid rang, and with a mouth full of food Juice answered with a, "Lo?"

"Juicey?" Came Chibs voice.

"Mhm." Juice answered back, mouth still full.

"Were waiting on you Juicy Boy, everything ok?" Chibs asked. Juice swallowed his food before answering. "Sorry dude. Nikki is really sick, I don't think I'll be able to make it in today."

"We need you Juicy. We've got some shit going down at Diosa."

"Shit. What happened?"

"Can't say over the phone, I'll stop by and fill you in. We need your expertise Juicy."

After that they hung up, Juice decided to put some clothes on and wait for Chibs, and whoever else was planning on showing up at his house.

Juice was in the bed room, checking on Nikki, who was curled up on her side, hair splayed out over her face and pillow, she was less pale then she was earlier, but still not looking good. His fingers grazed gently across her cheek, slowly pulling her hair back, and tucking it behind her ear. She didn't move an inch. Juice smiled to himself, and mentally hoped Nikki would be alright soon.

Chibs, Bobby, Tig and Happy gathered in Juices living room. Everyone taking a seat either on the black leather couch Juice sat across from them in the matching chair. It felt good, official, that the guys came to him for his "expertise" is what Chibs said. That was something that Juice had no problem with, Chibs didn't ask him to kill anyone, at least not yet. They all sat around facing each other, before Chibs finally started speaking.

"Someone has been sneaking into Diosa and leaving threatening messages to some of the girls. We were also informed that there is no security set up; they have nothing to protect them. Are you interested Juicy?"

Juice didn't even have to think about it, he could have a security set up placed and running in just a few hours. "Hell yeah I'm interested. I'm your guy for that kind of shit." And there it was: Juices smile, the one that could stop the world from spinning. Chibs hadn't seen that wide boyish smile in so long, he felt good seeing it again.

It had been a good hour since Nikki had fallen asleep, and now with distant laughter ringing in her ear, her eyes fluttered open. She took a deep breath anticipating instant nausea, but surprisingly, it was gone. She sat up slowly, and when she still felt fine, she stood up, and made her way into the living room where the talking and laughing was coming from.

Nikki had always been a timid person. It took her awhile to warm up to people; however with Juice the connection was instant. Now with a group of strange men in her living room, she found herself peeking around the corner and staying hidden, but listening to the conversation. She caught something about someone named Nero and Gemma, and how they were on again off again, and how Jax and Tara seemed to be falling apart. She decided to just walk straight into the kitchen for some water, and let the guys be.

Juice caught her instead, "Hey baby, how are you feeling?" He asked getting up from the chair he was sitting in to wrap his arm around Nikki's waist, and plant a tender kiss on her temple.

"Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you…"

"Don't be sorry. Come sit down, I'll introduce you to the guys."

"No no, I just wanted to get some water."

"Well, come sit down after. You should meet them anyway."

Nikki took her time getting some water, she wasn't thrilled to be meeting a bunch of bikers, and it wasn't because they were his friends. It was simply because she knew the violence that was included in the club, she also knew that even though Juice had taken peoples lives, he had regretted it terribly, he showed remorse. She remembered hearing stories about Happy who enjoyed the kill, and Tig who was just a box of confusion all on his own, who in their right mind would have sex with a corpse? Tig would. As for Chibs, she recalled how fondly Juice would talk about him, even saying how the Scot was the only father figure that has stayed in his life this long. It was one of the reasons Juice wanted to come back to the club, he needs that father.

Nikki made her way into the living room, she kept her head down, and sat on Juices lap. Through introduction, she forced a smile on her face, Chibs was the one with the scars, Happy was the one that looked angry, Tig was the one with the curly hair, and bobby was the hairy fat one.

"She's real cute, Juicy." Tig chipped in.

"Don't even think about Tiggie. She's mine." Juice said with a laugh, and ran his fingers up and down Nikki's arm. She had tensed up at the sudden change in topic, now they group was focused on her. It left her with an unsettling feeling, and it wasn't pleasant sitting in the pit of her stomach. She was uncomfortable around these strange men, and wanted to run and hide in her room until they left. She also found herself questioning how the hell did Juice get into all this? How could he call these men his family? None of it made any sense.

"So babe, remember how I told you I was the Tech guy for the club, well they have a job for me to do. I need to get it done today, and I can have it done in a couple hours. Do you want to tag a long, meet some of the girls?"

Chibs sat diagonally across, on the couch. The question had smacked him in the face. Was this kid really dense? "You think that's a good idea Juicy?" Chibs asked. Juice looked up, looked him straight in the eye, "No secrets man, she needs to know what I'm in for, and what that entails." Chibs nodded, he gave the kid credit. Let the girl see for herself and let her make the choice of whether she should stay or go. Could she support Juice, or take offense and leave?

"Is it dangerous?" Nikki asked.

"In what sense of the word?" Tig asked, his voice light with humor as he rubbed the corner of his eye. Juice just laughed, "No, it's not dangerous. I just want you to know what we do now."

She looked into his eyes, trusting them to tell her the truth. She nodded her head, believing they would. "Okay, Let me go shower, and we'll go."