Abel and Dina woke up the next morning lying closely next to each other on Abel's bed, happier than they've been in a long time. They spent a night together that felt almost magical, and neither one of them brought up any of the problems that they'd been having. They forgot all about their troubles as they fell deeper in love with each other.
"Good morning, sexy," Abel said to Dina with a smile.
"Good morning to you too," she replied, kissing his forehead.
Abel stood up out of bed, wearing nothing but his boxers. Happiness filled his heart as he reached into the pocket of the pants he was wearing last night. He grabbed something out of them and looked to Dina.
"Come here, babe," he said gently as a glowing smile appeared on his face.
Dina smiled big as she looked slightly confused but very happy, standing up to make her way to Abel. She was wearing a pair of black, lacy panties and an over-sized SAMCRO t-shirt that belonged to Abel. She hugged Abel and gave him another kiss. "What is it?" she asked joyfully.
Abel knelt down in front of her, taking the box from behind his back to the front of his body as he watched Dina's reaction carefully. He opened the box and watched as Dina's face quickly lit up with surprise and she gave him a huge smile as her eyes sparkled.
"Dina," he started. "I know we haven't been dating for real long, and I know things haven't been going so smoothly lately," he said shyly. "But I love you a lot, and I know the feelings mutual," he said with a smile. "And I can't imagine ever being without you. I love you so much, and I always will. And I would be very, very honored, if you would give me the privilege of being married to you."
Dina let out a laugh of excitement as her eyes watered with tears of joy. "Of course I will," she said, her voice overflowing with pure happiness. Her heart fluttered as Abel placed the ring onto her finger and stood up to hug her.
"I love you so much," Abel whispered quietly into her ear as they hugged.
Music played throughout the clubhouse as the smell of booze and cigars filled the air. Everyone who usually attended the parties were there at the clubhouse, including some new crow-eaters who didn't look a day over twenty. No one had found out about Abel and Dina's engagement yet, and they wanted to keep it that way for now. They wanted them to know eventually, but they wanted to wait for the perfect time.
"Hey sweetheart," Gemma said to Mabrey, surprised. "Glad to see you," she added, kissing Mabrey's forehead as she sat down on a barstool next to her.
Mabrey gave her a small smile. "Hey."
"How've you been feeling?" Gemma questioned with some concern in her voice.
"Alright," Mabrey answered quietly. "Just kind of.. emotional."
Gemma nodded. "You have a right to be," she said with a soft, yet serious tone. "You let out any emotions you need to." she said with a stiff face.
The sound of glasses clanging interrupted them. They both turned around to look near the center of the bar, to see Donna and Opie both standing there clanging forks against their glasses.
"Attention everyone," Opie yelled.
The noise slowly came to a stop as Donna waited before saying anything.
"In the midst of all the bad news and all the tragedy that's happened around here, Ope and I have some good news," she stated, smiling at Opie. She paused a minute before talking again. "I'm pregnant," she announced with a smile.
Everyone paused in shock for a second, but then all at once, everyone clapped and cheered for the couple as they processed the good news.
"Atta boy," Happy exclaimed rowdily as he stood up and gave Opie a pat on the back.
"Congratulations," Mabrey said as she smiled and gave Donna a hug. Mabrey was very wary around everyone lately, but not around Donna. She just seemed safe to her. This was the first time she gave a genuine smile since everything happened, and it comforted the club members who saw it. Her smile had a kind of pain, a brokenness to it, but it was the happiest she's looked in a while.
"Thank you, sweetie," Donna replied, hugging her tightly.
Gemma tapped Mabrey's shoulder and motioned toward the barstools they previously occupied with a questioning look on her face. Mabrey nodded gently, walking with Gemma toward the bar. They sat down together again as everyone else congratulated and made small talk with Donna and Opie.
"I just wanted to let you know you can always talk to me," Gemma stated warmly. "Day or night, I'm here for you."
Mabrey looked at Gemma gratefully. All she wanted lately was for people to show her compassion. She wanted nothing more than for someone to have support and understanding for her. "Thanks grandma, I'll remember that."
Gemma smiled with empathy. She knew how it felt to go through this, and she wouldn't wish it on anyone. She knew she needed to do anything she possibly could to help her granddaughter.
"Does everyone know?" Mabrey asked her.
Gemma nodded slowly. "I don't think they all know the details of what happened, but they all know something happened."
Mabrey looked at Gemma and nodded. She didn't know if she liked the idea of them knowing or not. It was something very personal and private to her, especially considering that she was a very private person in general. On the other hand, something in her just wanted everyone to know, without her actually having to say anything. She just wanted and needed so much support and so much love right now that she wanted it to come from everyone possible. Even the simple, gentle looks of empathy that a few of the club members had given her as she entered the clubhouse meant so much to her.
"I want you to know that the club is also willing to do anything that you want or need. They all support you and care about you," Gemma added kindly.
Tears started to form in Mabrey's eyes. After the vicious attack she went through, it seemed almost impossible that humans could be anything but brutal.
"Are you alright sweetheart?" Gemma asked, noticing her tears.
Mabrey nodded. "I just needed to hear that right now," she answered.
Gemma smiled warmly and hugged her, rubbing her back as she cried.
Thomas and his roommate sat in the living room of their apartment as they watched "Family Guy" together on their television. Thomas was staring at the television screen, but he wasn't actually watching; he couldn't focus. His mind was cloudy as he thought about his family back in Charming.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Thomas asked suddenly, taking Garrett by surprise.
"Yeah. Sure," he answered. "What's up?"
Thomas stared at the wall behind Garrett, collecting his thoughts in his mind before he talked.
"You know how I told you about my family a little bit when I first moved in?" He questioned, still not looking directly at Garrett.
Garrett nodded curiously.
"I haven't heard from them since I came here. I mean, I called my mom, but we only talked for a minute. She sounded so worried and stuff. Not about me, but about something else," he stated.
Garrett looked at Thomas, confused. "Do you know what it might be?"
Thomas shook his head. "I can tell it's something big though. Just the way she sounded, I could tell."
Garrett stayed silent as he stared at Thomas, reading his facial expressions.
"I think I'm gonna have to go back," Thomas said plainly. "Maybe not permanently, but just to see what's going on."
Garrett still stared blankly at him. It was obvious that Thomas had a lot on his mind. "Yeah. That's fine," he assured him. "Take as long as you need, I'll keep your room open to you unless you say otherwise."
"Jax, I've got some good news for you," officer Hale announced as he walked up to Jax's cell.
Jax raised his eyebrows as he heard Hale. Good news? Hale never had good for him, or for anyone associated with his club, for that matter. He stood up and walked to the front of the jail cell, ready to hear what he had to say.
"During our investigation we went through texts and calls from Zobelle's cellphone. It turns out he had business with someone the night he was murdered. We interviewed him and the story he gave us turned out to be a lie. You're free to go," Hale told him, opening up the jail cell.
Jax got a surprised look on his face as he slowly stepped out of the cell. His life was changed in this moment. He thought he was going to have to spend the rest of his life in jail, or at least a very long time. But he was free. No longer did he have to worry about not being able to be there for Mabrey, or not being able to help out with club business. He's free. He walked over to the phone so he could call and announce his freedom to the club. He dialed Chib's number, which happened to be the first memorized number that came to mind.
"Hello?" The heavily accented man said as he answered his phone.
"Chibs, hey," Jax answered with a rush and an excitement in his voice.
"Jackie Boy? What are doin' callin' me?" he asked with a surprised tone.
"I'm out of jail," Jax answered with happiness pouring out his voice. He almost sounded unsure too, like he was in disbelief that this was actually happening.
Chibs was silent for a moment as he took in the news, very surprised as well. He turned around and at the entrance of the clubhouse, he announced loudly to everyone that "Jackie Boy's coming home!"
Jax heard muffled cheering and hollering through the phone and he smiled with joy in his eyes. He felt so relieved in this moment, like all of his troubles had been lifted from him all at once. But there were still some troubles. Mabrey and Tara. He didn't stop thinking about either one of them for even a second as he was in the jail cell. He felt so bad for both of them, and he felt responsible for everything. Maybe Tara was right, maybe they should've gotten away from the club life a long time ago. He felt so bad for everything that's happened that he didn't know how to express his sorrow for them. He was devastated when he found out about Mabrey's attack and that Tara had a heart attack, but he he teared up even when he just thought about it, let alone talked about it. He felt so guilty. How could he let one of his children be so violated and hurt? And how could he just sit back and be silent back when his wife was in the hospital from a heart attack? It was easier for him to feel angry rather than hurt. The anger was so passionate, so real. But he needed to turn that anger into compassion and have some support for his family. They had never felt so far apart as they did now, and it needed to change.
Abel loaded up his luggage into the trunk of his car and closed it with a loud slam. He didn't know how long he was going to be gone, or if he was ever going to be coming back. He knew that whatever happened was drastic. His family was never this distant and his mother never seemed as in disarray as she did when he talked to her on the phone. He got in the car and he started driving.
