"Ari!" She turned around when someone called her and nearly lost her balance. She looked up at David when he rushed forward and caught her. "Hey! Are you okay?" he asked.

"No." She answered truthfully and he helped her to a nearby seat.

"You here to see Chibs - I thought he got discharged."

"Yeah, he did. I'm here cause…" She pulled back her sleeve to show him the hospital bracelet on her wrist. "I found out I have cancer. Today was my first chemotherapy treatment."

"… Jesus." Ari was starting to think everyone in town just said that when they didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. Kind of sucks but they caught it early."

"You seem… upbeat?" He said like he wasn't sure. "Where's Chibs?"

"I sent him to the Chapel to wait for me. He was bringing the whole cancer ward down with his brooding." Ari said.

"As long as he's with you in all this."

"Oh yeah. He's actually taken on a lot of unnecessary guilt over the whole thing. He even tried to quit smoking for a few days just to be proactive but it's breast cancer - smoking had nothing to do with it." She shrugged.

"I think that's actually a natural reaction. A husband feels like his wife's health is his responsibility. Hit with something like this he probably thinks he failed." David said as he scratched behind his ear nervously. "Guilt is just how he expresses his shame over not being about to keep this from happening to you."

"Unser say that to you about his split from Della?"

"How—"

"He was in the chair next to mine up there." She said referring to the chemotherapy lounge. David chuckled.

"He's got a few good ones - I thought I'd keep a few for when people need them." He took her hand to examined the bracelet closer. "Y'know he was the one that told me to ask you out."

"Was he the one that told you to stand me up too?"

"No." David flushed. She tried not to chuckle at his affronted expression. He was always so serious it was easy to get him. "I'm sorry about that. It's been over two years and I never got a chance to apologize for that night. But just when I was about to head out I got a call that… there was suspicious activity perpetrated by the MC so I went out to keep them in line. Seeing how things ended up I should've just left them to their own devices and gone to the bar to meet you."

"You definitely would've had more fun with me. I could've saved you from Jax and Clay's shit eating grins when they know they're doing something wrong." Ari said. "But seeing how I turned out you probably dodged a bullet here."

"I don't see it that way - you have to know cancer wouldn't deter me." He countered. Ari smiled at him.

"Will a husband deter you?" Chibs asked when he heard the last part of their conversation. "Cause her's is about to kick your teeth in for being such a little arse-kisser."

"Chibs!" Ari scolded him. "Geez he was just trying to be supportive. I'm allowed to have friends."

"Not ones that wanna plow you. Let's go." Chibs ordered gruffly. At that David stood up and got in his face. "Why're you angry boy scout? Did I say something that wasn't true? Cause right now you're disrespecting me and my vows to my wife."

"Chibs you're throwing rocks while living in a glass house." Ari said. He glanced at her.

"Just what does that mean?"

"It means shut your damn mouth and help me to the car. I'm tired and my nerves are already on fire." Chibs hated looking away from Hale first. But Ari was more important than their pissing contest. He just sort of bumped Hale out of the way to get to her.

"Did you get your prescription? The pain meds will help—"

"I'm not gonna turn into some pill popping drug-o. I just wanna go home and lay down with the pups." She fussed at him. Hale could see the guilt return to Chibs' features. He had done something to Ari and he thought that caring for her now that she was sick was his penance. "Good bye, David." she turned briefly to wave to him.

"Bye." When he responded Chibs glared at him.

Ari could barely make it to Half-sack's funeral but she felt as though she should be there. Kip had protected her when she needed him. And he was a good boy. He certainly didn't deserve to be stabbed to death in a kitchen. And he deserved to have everyone who knew him show up at his home-going. She couldn't let go of Chibs' arm for more than a minutes so when it came time for him to pay his respects alone Clay volunteered to hold her up. "Don't take her far." Chibs said before he reluctantly let her hand go. He gave them a once over - like he was handing over a piece of fine china to a bull - before he walked away.

"I'm not as fragile as he thinks. Let's get some air." Ari suggested and Clay agreed. Once they were outside he cleared his throat.

"You and the old man getting on okay?" He asked.

"Yeah he's just over protective. He thinks his worry will keep the cancer from killing me." She said and snorted. "Honestly crossing the street can be more hazardous." They both jumped when they heard the first few gunshots. Clay pulled Ari under him as he dove for the ground - the bullets from the Uzi whizzing right over his head. The screams came in waves as they rode by and sprayed the front yard of the funeral home. There were more gun shots and a horrible sounding thunk - Ari thought they crashed but when she looked up and saw the van speeding down the street.

"Ari!" She heard Chibs voice boom over everything else. It was chaos and his voice carrying from all the way inside. He embraced her just as Clay was helping her up. "Are you alright? Jesus!" He was nearly out of his mind as he searched her for wounds quickly. "Shit…" She turned around when he gasped. Everyone was moaning over their wounds - one woman cradled the body of a little boy who was far too limp to be still alive.

"Oh my God." Ari said when she spotted David in the street. His body mangled and motionless. Denial hitting her hard - he couldn't have been dead they were just talking yesterday. Everyones attention was suddenly on Jax as he went ape shit on some guy in the street.

Chibs was almost glad to be away from home once Ari's health started deteriorating. Which started happening after her third treatment. She was depressed now - he hated that her emotional shift happened after Hale's death. His funeral was only attended by his father, brother, Unser, a few officers and he and Ari. Chibs hadn't wanted the man dead but he was somewhat glad he wasn't pushing up on Ari while he was away. He never had to worry about that ever again and that made him feel like a real piece of shit. And if the crappy flop house they were staying in had anything in spades it was alcohol to drown ones shitty-self in.

Chibs felt like he wasn't sleeping. Who could? Considering what they were in Belfast for. He found Jax's behavior particularly perplexing - he yo-yoed through highs and lows like a maniac. Chibs was on edge - Jimmy had to know by now that they were there. When Fiona showed up with Kerrianne he knew he shouldn't indulge in spending time with them while Ari was back home in complete misery but if she died it wouldn't matter anyway. So he held his baby girl and made promises to Fiona he knew he would never be able to keep and tried to ignore his dark thoughts about Ari. Later that night as he was trying to drink enough to pass out he felt terrible - made even worse when Ari called him.

"Hi honey." She croaked out.

"You sound awful." He felt like he wanted to start weeping as soon as he heard her voice. He knew she was going to tell him about her latest test results and side effects of that horrible chemotherapy. Maybe she wouldn't if she heard him crying already.

"I have a sore on the back of my throat so it hurts like hell to talk but they gave me fluids through an I.V. and I took my pain meds so I thought I'd call before I pass out again." She said.

"Jesus…"

"Have you guys found Abel yet?" She asked hopefully.

"We're closing in on him. Bastard Priest and the council are using him like poker chip to get us to do shit for them. SAMBEL is a god damn mess." He sighed. Their club bullshit seemed so meaningless compared to what she was going through. He glared at his cigarette - God willing he'd never end up with some kind of cancer because of how much he smoked. His liver would probably give out first the way he drank. He wouldn't be able to put her through that. He stubbed out the cigarette like it called him a name and put the cap on the bottle of Jameson. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"You can take me wig shopping. Right now I look like a toddler that tried to cut their own hair. I'm thinking of having Jenny shave me." She chuckled but ended up coughing. The pathetic moan she let out afterwards reminded him of how much pain she was in. The medication only did so much to ease it and she refused to take it for most of the day.

"Ari I love you so much." He blurted out before he sniffled loudly.

"Oh, Chibs don't cry baby." She pleaded. "Have you been drinking?"

"Yeah—"

"Well stop. Alcohol is a depressant." She said. "Drink some water and go to sleep. It's 4 in the morning there, right?"

"If I close my eyes now all I'll see is you losing your hair and covered in sores while I'm a million miles away dicking around in this fucking town." He said as he managed to pull himself together.

"I'm not covered in sores…" She griped.

"What's the latest on your tit tumor?"

"It isn't bigger but chemicals aren't making it smaller. They're gonna check again in another week and if it's the same then they'll schedule the surgery to remove it before it has the chance to get bigger."

"I wanna be there for that. I don't care whats happening with the club - you let me know and I'll be there before you go under."

"Sure thing baby." He heard her yawn and imagined her laying in the bed with the dogs around her. Curtains drawn so she could rest during the day. "I think I need to sleep. This phone suddenly weighs a hundred pounds."

"Okay… call when you wake up."

"I will…"

"Ari?" He listened when he heard rustling on her end.

"Hey Mr. Telford." He relaxed when he heard Jenny's voice. She was a good nurse - didn't nose into their private life and from what he saw she took really good care of Ari. But then again he knew what Ari was paying her so she had better take good care of her.

"Hey Jen. Did she fall asleep?"

"Yeah she's out."

"I know she'd never tell me how bad she really feels - how is she really doing?" He asked.

"I got her to take her pain meds but… two more of her toe nails fell off this morning. They had to give her an I.V. treatment because she hasn't kept anything down for two days. She's still in good spirits though. Well moderately good."

"That… that's great. I'll call when I'm coming back in town." He snapped the phone shut. He sat there for a moment before he put his head down on the table.

Chibs hushed the dogs as he came in the house. He nearly drew his gun on Jen when she rushed out the kitchen to see who had come through the door. "Mr. Telford." She smiled. "They're happy to see you." She winced when Maxine bit at the ankle of his boots. She was trying not to laugh at his misfortune. The dogs absolutely loved her - Maxine let her rub her belly and Lulu did cute things to get her attention. But Chibs, he gets bitten and barked at.

"Nah they do this every time." He shrugged. He toed off his boots and the dogs went about sniffing them and his bag once he put it down. He knew they were going to destroy his shoes and probably the dirty clothes in his bag but it would distract them enough for him to get in the room without them following.

"She's sleeping." Jen informed him quietly.

"Perfect. That's just what I wanna do." He opened the door quietly and tip toed inside. Ari was on her side facing away from him. When he took off his shirt he went past the bed and into the bathroom. Eleven hours on a cargo plane with ten other men that smelled terrible was not the first scent he wanted her to get. He maneuvered around the white plastic chair in the shower as he got cleaned up. He noticed all the orange pill bottles on her side of the counter as he brushed his teeth. He searched through them before he found one labeled Oxycodone and took one. He walked back in the room, put on a pair of sweat pants and slipped into bed behind her. When he put his arm around her she jumped awake.

"Chibs?"

"Yeah - it's just me." He assured her. She turned on her back and gazed at him. "Hey baby…" She had a silk scarf wrapped around her head but he knew her hair was gone. Even though she was probably getting enough sleep she looked so tired - dark circles were forming under her light eyes. He could see the bandage covering her port-a-cath on her chest. He took her hand and kissed it - taking note of the bandages on two fingers where her nails had fallen off and the big purple bruise on the back of her palm from where they stuck her to give her I.V. fluids. She felt so thin under his arm. Just a few months of treatments and she was a shell - a whisp of the woman she used to be a year ago.

"I'm glad you're back." She blinked slowly and he could tell she was having a hard time staying awake.

"Me too." He sighed.

"How… did you guys find…"

"Yeah, everyones home - safe and sound." He assured her.

"Good…" She sighed. Chibs watched as she finally gave in and let her eyes fall shut. Even her brows and lashes were gone. Chibs just laid back and closed his eyes. Wondering for a moment if it really was good to be home.

Half the club was back in jail. They'd be gone for 14 months because of the attack on the church during the whole Zobelle fiasco. Chibs had been unconscious during the time so he was flying under the radar. Despite everyone being gone he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It happened as soon as he left Jimmy's body laying on the side of the highway. Opie had taken care of Stahl in the same ambush and finally got closure for Donna's death. Seems like the very next day he asked Lyla to marry him. Now it was just him, Kozik, Opie, Piney and bunch of hangers-on that kept hinting that they wanted to prospect. Chibs was only half present most of the time. With the gun deals in limbo until Clay got out he actually got back to his day job, when he wasn't with Ari.

She was getting worse every hour it seemed but she kept up a brave face. Apparently while he was gone she had become friends with Lyla and the porn star kept her in the best wigs. One day she was a red head and Chibs spit out his beer when he saw her. Thankfully her medical bills were being taken care of by her insurance. And Elliott paid her mortgage without even being asked to. Which was great because without gun-money Chibs' check from TM barely kept gas in his bike. One day he actually sat down and looked at an itemized bill from the hospital and it was costing a small fortune to keep Ari full of chemicals. Chibs chuckled to himself - the club was in the wrong business. There were millions to be had if they could get in on big-pharma. But even he knew that was too much heat for their rag tag bunch.

Life went on with the guys inside. Every week or so Chibs would have a drink with Piney and Opie, check in on Gemma, chat with Terra as she waddled around - she'd pop before Jax got out but she was in good hands. Things were pretty good until Chibs nearly took Ari's doctor out when she informed them the chemo wasn't working on the tumor anymore. "So all this fucking poison you've been pumping into her is doing exactly jack and shit? Then what the fuck was it all for!?" He fumed. Ari grabbed his hand.

"Have you been going to your anger management support group."

"I can't take another damn support group. Fucking circle jerk - all they do is sit there and cry. I'm done crying."

"Clearly." Ari said in an exasperated tone. "Maybe you should switch to 'Grief Counseling'." He seemed to calm down when he realized what an ass he was making of himself. As angry as he was she was the one actually going through the treatments. Lately it seemed like she knew it wasn't working. She seemed to be resolved to dying. She had already finalized her will, made funeral arrangements and made a comprehensive list of her possessions and who got them when she was gone. Ari told Chibs it was all 'just in case' but he knew she was ready to go.

Ari was tired of the pain - if she couldn't have her life back she wanted it to end. All the support websites said she'd reach this low point and that it was his job to keep her going. But what could he do? If she wanted to stop treatment and die with some shred of dignity he'd… he'd be heartbroken but he'd have to support her decision. It was selfish to hang on to her just because he wasn't ready to say goodbye. It was her life that was ending at just 32 years - if he was this miserable he couldn't imagine the level of despair she had reached.

"So what now?" He asked. Her doctor was taken aback by the sudden shift in his mood.

"We're going to remove it as soon as possible." She said, "In fact Mrs. Telford I'd like to admit you tonight and schedule the procedure for the late morning."

"Tomorrow?" Chibs asked in disbelief.

"It's better that we do it now rather than give it a week to grow." The doctor clarified. "Unfortunately…" She reached over and turned on the light so they could see her latest x-ray. Chibs sucked his teeth - he hated seeing images of that damn mass. "We're going to have to remove the entire breast."

"…" Chibs looked down when Ari's hand tightened around his.

"It hasn't spread to the right one. Thank God." She sighed. Chibs never realized just how pragmatic she was until she was faced with this situation. He was way more emotional about it than she was. He couldn't help it. His voice had been what saved him from a beating from his father. His range of emotions had been what got him noticed by women. He wasn't afraid to wear everything on his sleeve. But sometimes he wondered what was going through Ari's head when she stayed so calm. "Is replacement surgery possible?"

"Yes, given the growths's placement away from your nipple we'll be able to save it and most of your skin." The doctor said as she pointed it out on the x-ray.

"You're getting a tit job?" Chibs asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that Mr. Telford." The doctor chuckled. "Luckily our reconstructive surgeon is one of the best. You'll barely be able to tell the difference."

"Just as long as you save her life."

"The rest of the guys wish they could see you off but… y'know." Kozik said as he patted Ari on the shoulder.

"Aww thanks… who are you?" Ari asked. For the life of her she couldn't place his face but his patch said he was a member of the club.

"That's Kozik." Opie said. She turned her head and smiled at him. "The rest of the guys are pulling for you, Arianna." He leaned over and pecked her forehead. She chuckled when he beard tickled her.

"Thanks Santa." She said in a sing song tone. Kozik tried not to laugh at Opie's perplexed expression. "Can you give Filip the boots he's been asking for?"

"The prospect?" Kozik asked confused. They both looked back at Elliott when he cleared his throat. Without another word they politely moved aside so his family could talk to her.

"Hey BamBam." Ari sighed as her eyes drooped a little. Elliott and Karen smiled.

"Can't believe you still remember that." Karen said as she gently adjusted the cap covering Ari's head.

"Of course I do Pebbles." Ari smiled before she held out her arms to Tristen. She readily leaned in and hugged Ari. "Make sure to walk the girls before nightfall or they'll eat all your left mittens."

"I will." Tristen promised. Kozik and Opie looked at each other at the odd warning she gave the girl but she seemed to understand.

"Oh, am I moving?"

"Not yet." Chibs said as he stepped up.

"Filip!" She cheered happily. "Tell Juan I'm kicking his ass in hand ball as soon as the bell rings."

"Drugs kicked in hard didn't they?" He asked. "Better say my good byes then." He pulled her hospital gown open a little, leaned over and planted a kiss on her left breast. "We had a good run 'Lefty' but you're making my baby sick so you gotta go." She giggled when he kissed her on the cheek. "I love you." She said something in a different language - one he could only assume was Korean - and patted his cheek reassuringly. He squeezed her hand and practically chased her down the hall as they began to wheel her away. One of the nurses had to stop him from walking in the final prep area. When the door closed he couldn't see her anymore.

"We understand if you don't wanna go on the run today." Opie said quietly. Chibs let out a long sigh before he glanced at the clock on the wall. The procedure was particularly long but he didn't want to chance it. He had to stay, he was her power of attorney and next of kin - if something went wrong decisions would be in his hands.

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta be here. Legal shit." Chibs said quickly. "Take Rat - he's hanging out at the clubhouse today."

"You got it." Opie said before he and Kozik walked off. He stood there for a minute longer before he looked at his phone. He then took out Ari's and checked the time, twice, before he sat down in the small waiting room with the Oswalds. Two seconds ticked by - painfully silent and awkward until Tristan looked at him.

"So you're Ari's husband?"