10/

"Kitty Kat!" Tig exclaimed bursting into the police precinct sometime later. Stahl had fast become bored with questioning me when she saw I wasn't going to cooperate or answer any of her questions with a useful answer. "Are you okay?" He asked pulling me up into his arms.

"I'm fine Tiggy." I said letting him wrap his arms around me. I knew I pressed my face to his chest too hard and knew I held onto him too long before I drew away to find both Unser and Stahl's eyes upon us.

"We'll continue to look for Tara but you should probably get her to the hospital. That graze looks particularly nasty." Stahl said with what I'd come to think of as an air of arrogance.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon Kat. Let's get outta here." He said starting to lead me out.

"You ah … didn't drive did you?" Unser asked Tig hesitantly.

"Nah man. You said I can't." Tig griped as he took my good arm and led me outside.

I saw the tow truck with Kozik sitting behind the wheel and raised my eyebrows. "How'd it go sharing a ride with him again?" I asked.

"He's actually been really good in helping to get you girls back." He admitted.

I raised my eyebrows again. I knew it was a big thing for him to admit that.

"That Stahl bitch really presses hard." I commented as I slid into the car to sit in the middle between the two of them.

"You didn't give her anything did you?" Kozik asked.

"Course not."

"Kat would never rat douche bag." Tig said from beside me as Kozik started the engine.

"I wasn't suggesting she would." Kozik defended himself.

"Just drive to the hospital Blondie." Tig said.

"Clubhouse." I commented back, hoping to break the tension between them.

"But she said you should go to the hospital." Tig protested.

"Who's the doctor here Tig? It's fine. Nothing I can't take care of myself."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah. I am."

I made my way to the apartment once we arrived back at the lot and pulled some antiseptic from the bathroom cabinet. I cringed a little as I cleaned the graze on my arm. It probably was something I should have gone to the hospital for but I knew I could take care of it just as well.

I tried not to take too long as I knew they wanted to know what I knew about Salazar and where he may have taken Tara.

"So what happened?" Piney asked me as soon as I reentered the clubroom.

"He cut me loose after Tara bargained for him to. She said she'd keep his girlfriend alive after she slit her throat but there's no way she can. She will die and I'm afraid of what that means for Tara."

"Jesus! Why'd she do that?" Tig asked.

"It was extreme but it got us … well me … out of there."

"Where's he taking her?" Kozik asked.

"I don't know." I answered with a sigh. I looked around and met all their gazes before I continued.

"Look I don't know what this is all about but he's desperate and very irrational. I really think you need to call the rest of the club home."

Tig nodded. "They're heading back tonight anyways but we need to at least give them a heads up on this." He said picking up the burner that sat on the table in front of him. He stood and moved away to call Jax.

"Did they find Abel?" I asked neither Piney or Kozik as I watched Tig across the room. He seemed edgy, nervous like he thought he should have been able to handle the club in their absence.

"Yeah. We got word earlier today that their headed back with him."

"And he's okay?"

"Yeah not a scratch on him. He's been well cared for over there." Kozik said.

"Kitty Kat." Tig said returning to the table, "You got a minute?"

"Yeah." I said rising from my seat and following him outside. I knew he didn't want Kozik's eyes on us, or Piney's for that matter.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine Tig." I said trying to brush it aside. I knew he'd seen the fear in my eyes; knew that I'd held on a little longer than necessary when he'd hugged me. Being close to him again and the conversation I'd had with Tara had me questioning whether I could or should give him another chance.

"I was worried about you Kitty Kat." he admitted.

"I was okay Tig. It all worked out and it will with Tara too when the rest of the guys are back."

"You know I'd do anything for you baby girl." He said growing serious and sincere on me.

"Yeah. I do." I said with a sigh.

He took my hand in his. "Kitty Kat," he began, "there's something you should know." he said seriously looking directly into my eyes for a moment before looking away again.

"And that is?" I pressed him.

"I still love you Kitty Kat." he said meeting my gaze again. I knew that wasn't what he'd intended to say and there was something far bigger that he had been trying to tell me instead.

"I know you do Tig." I answered him, "but I'm not ready for anything to start between us again."

"Kat, please baby. We can make it work."

"I'm not so sure Tig. You hurt me in so many ways."

"Look baby there's something coming up in the future that might make you see how serious I am about us."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"It doesn't matter. You'll see okay?"

I sighed. "Where's my car? I wanna go home." I suddenly wasn't in the mood for his mind games.

"It's in the garage. I'll get your keys." he said standing and heading across the lot to the garage.

I watched him go and knew he was holding something back. I always could. All the times he'd lied to me over the years, and all the times he'd only told me half the truth.

"Hey baby. You got no idea how much I missed you." Tig said pulling me to him as I got out of my car.

"Tiggy, It's only been a week!" I said with a giggle as he littered my neck with kisses.

"The longest week of my life baby." he murmured against my ear.

I giggled again. "How are you gonna last with me being gone for the better part of six years Tiggy?" I asked.

"Maybe I'll have to visit more often than I said." He said wrapping his arms around my waist. "Right now though your gonna get back in that car and follow me somewhere."

"Where's that?" I asked seeing a playful glint in his steely blue eyes.

"You'll see. It's a bit of a surprise." He said opening my car door for me. I'd only just gotten out of it after driving for nearly five hours.

"Wait Tiggy. I gotta go speak to Mom before you whisk me away." I protested.

He sighed and fixed me with a look that I knew meant he wasn't willing to wait long for me. I kissed his cheek and made my way to the garage where I knew Mom would be finishing up for the day.

"There's my college girl!" Mom greeted me as soon as he saw me in the office doorway.

I smiled as she rose and made her way around the desk to embrace me. I knew she and Dad were proud of me and had been from the moment I'd been accepted into an accelerated medical degree at UCLA.

"How was your first week baby?" She asked drawing away from me with the biggest smile on her face.

"It was good Mom." I said unable to resist returning her smile.

"Only good?" She joked.

I smiled. "Okay it was great! Everything I expected it would be." I beamed. "How were things around here?" I asked hesitantly with a glance out toward Tig where he stood impatiently by my car.

"He's been moping all week if that's what you mean." She said placing her arm around my shoulders as she led me to the doorway.

I sighed. "I'm sorry Mom. He knows how much I want this and he agreed to let me go."

"Don't ever apologize for your dreams sweetheart. You and Tig will figure out how to make this work."

I sighed again. "I hope so."

"Baby it's only the first week. It's gonna take some getting used to for both of you. Right now I don't think you should keep him waiting any longer." She said glancing toward Tig where he waited growing increasingly impatient.

"Do you know what he has planned?" I asked.

"You'll see." She said a knowing glint in her eyes.

I smiled placing a kiss on mom's cheek. "I'll stop by the house later and fill you in on everything okay?"

"Okay baby." She said as I backed away. She blew me a kiss as I turned away. I caught it and blew one back with a smile. It was something we'd done since I was kid.

"Finally." Tig growled wrenching the door of my car open. "Get in and keep up." he said before he closed my door and stalked over to his bike.

I sighed at his insistence of not letting me ride with him. It wasn't the first time I'd watched him swing his leg over his bike and wished that I were climbing on behind him, wrapping my arms tight around his waist, taking in the smell of his cologne as it wafted back to me on the breeze.

I turned the key in the ignition and put my car into gear and readied to pull out behind him as I pushed the fantasy from my mind. It was all I could do to keep up as he tore through the streets of Charming in front of me. I was sure I was going to get pulled over for speeding before he finally slowed and pulled his bike off the road and into a driveway.

I looked through my windshield at the house in front of me and cast a confused look out at him. It wasn't a house I recognized as belonging to anyone from the club so I wondered why he'd brought me here as I slid from my car and made my way over to him where he stood beside his bike.

"What's going on Tig? Whose place is this?" I asked.

He placed his arm around my waist and drew me close before pulling something from his pocket and holding it in front of me.

"A key?" I asked still feeling a little confused.

"This place is yours Kitty Kat. Ours." He said placing the key in my hand.

I gazed at him, incredulous. "You bought a house?"

He just nodded and watched my reaction. "But what about the house we had?"

"You know the rent was nearly up and I figured why not buy a place that's ours? A place you can come home to."

I smiled. "That's so sweet Tig."

"C'mon." He said grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the door. "You get to open it."

I grinned up at him as I slid the key into the lock and pushed the front door open. I looked around to see all of our things set out neatly around the lounge room and a small but ample kitchen beyond.

"Wow. You did all this in just a week?"

"I've had the house in the works for a while and some of the guys helped me move all our stuff in."

"You're amazing Tig." I said as I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck and raised myself up to kiss his lips.

I thought back upon how special that moment and that house had been to me, to us as I watched him return from the garage with my keys in hand. It had been a base for us as I came and went to college, at least for a while until things had started to unravel.

"I buffed the chrome of your bumper where that bitch scratched it when she rear ended ya." he said as he passed me my keys.

"Thanks Tiggy." I said with a sigh. I knew he was trying hard to show me he'd changed, that he was no longer the same person as he'd been all those years ago but I still wasn't sure if I believed it to be true.