Carrie leaned over the counter in her bathroom, carefully applying the finishing touches to her mascara before giving herself a once over in the mirror. She ran a hand through her hair, the red curls hanging lightly around her face and well past her shoulders, until she was finally satisfied with her appearance and walked into her bedroom to find her heels. As she was sliding them on, she heard the front door open and close and checked the clock on the wall.

"Donna!?" she called, "I'm in my room!" Instead of the clack of heels she expected to hear walking down the hall, she heard familiar gentle thuds until Chris stuck his head inside her door.

"Not Donna," Carrie said, smiling at her brother.

"Chris," he responded, pointing at himself. Carrie grabbed her purse from the nightstand and followed Chris down the hall into the living room. She grabbed a pair of earrings off the kitchen counter and slid them in while she looked over at her brother.

"So what's up?" she asked. He shrugged, glancing over at her.

"You look nice," he said. Carrie glanced down at the red halter dress she was wearing, smoothing down the front and picking a piece of imaginary lint off of it, "Where are you off to?"

"Party at the clubhouse," Carrie told him, "And before you even ask, no you cannot come."

"Come on, Care," Chris pleaded, leaning over the kitchen counter and staring at her, "Please." Carrie shook her head, images from past parties at the clubhouse swarming her mind.

"No way," she said, "Mom would kill me. These are not high school parties, Chris."

"Oh please," he grumbled, but was cut off from further negotiating as Donna walked through the door, smiling at them both.

"Ready to go?" she asked, "I've only got the sitter until like midnight. Maybe one." Carrie nodded, taking one last look at Chris.

"Don't look at me like that," Carrie told him.

"You and Donna were going to these parties when you were younger than me," Chris reminded her, "And since when do you give a shit what mom thinks?" Carrie sighed, glancing over at Donna, who shrugged.

"Oh, let him come," she said, "What's the worst that can happen?" Carrie had a whole lot of 'worst that can happens' running through her head as she took another look at her brother who was nodding in agreement.

"Fine," Carrie said as Chris thrust a victorious fist in the air, "But there are rules." Chris frowned but nodded.

"First, no touching the skanks," she said. Chris raised an eyebrow, "You don't know where they've been, and unfortunately I do, and it's not pretty."

"Fine, no skank touching," he agreed.

"Second, no shots," she said, "I don't want to be responsible for my brother puking his guts up all over the clubhouse. I'm already on Gemma's shit list."

"Fine," Chris agreed again.

"Third, you gotta leave when Donna does. Jax is bringing me back on his bike and you're not driving there if you're gonna be drinking," Carrie continued.

"Fine," Chris said exasperatedly. Carrie sighed, taking one last regretful look at him before shrugging.

"Okay, let's go," she said. They all filed out to Donna's car, pulling into the lot of the clubhouse several minutes later to find it already overcrowded with croweaters and hang-arounds.

"So… no touching any of the skanks?" Chris asked, looking around the lot like a kid in a candy store with a five dollar bill.

"No," Carrie and Donna both chorused and Chris rolled his eyes as he followed the girls into the clubhouse.

"Guess the guys are still in church," Donna said, glancing at the closed chapel doors. Carrie nodded, walking around the bar to pull beers for all of them while they waited. She looked over at Chris, who was staring at the mug shot wall with something like reverence. Carrie shook her head, already regretting her decision to bring him along as she watched him tear his eyes away from the wall and look around the room.

"She looks familiar," Chris said, pointing at where Gemma stood across the room with Luann.

"Yeah, that's Gemma, Jax's mom. I don't think you've met her before," Carrie said, "Consider yourself lucky," she added. Chris shook his head.

"No, I know who Gemma is," Chris said, "The other one, she looks familiar." Carrie turned back to look at Luann, shaking her head.

"No, I know you haven't met her before," Carrie said. Chris shook his head.

"No, I definitely know her from somewhere," Chris insisted. Carrie shrugged absent mindedly until it suddenly dawned on her where Chris might recognize Luann from. She looked over at her brother, a disgusted look on her face.

"Gross," Carrie muttered, shaking her head before turning back to the bar. Chris looked at his sister, confused.

"She used to do porn," Donna explained, filling in the blanks for Chris, whose face filled with dawning comprehension and not the slightest hint of shame.

"Oh yeah," he said, grinning and nodding. Carrie groaned.

"Gross," she repeated. Chris just shrugged, grinning as he stared across the room at Luann. Carrie was about to tell him to stop staring, but dismissed it as the chapel doors opened and the Sons filed out. There was a chorus of cheers from the croweaters as one of them turned the music up and a prospect quickly scrambled to take his post behind the bar.

Carrie's eyes shot immediately to Jax's, who was walking towards them with Opie, and she subconsciously bit her bottom lip as she watched him walk over to her, a flirty grin spreading across his face. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her in greeting. She suddenly felt light headed and couldn't remember what had been bothering her before, until Jax glanced over at Chris.

"Buggy!" he said, shaking his hand, "So Carrie finally let you come out, huh?" Chris nodded, grinning at his idol who glanced back at Carrie, laughing at her disapproving look. Carrie couldn't help but laugh with him as she rolled her eyes.

"So did you guys get some new patches?" Carrie asked, changing the subject as she noticed a few unfamiliar Sons exiting the Chapel. Jax glanced over at them and shook his head.

"Nah, they're from SAMVAN," he said, "Our Vancouver charter," he continued when Carrie still looked confused, "They're visiting for a couple of weeks." She nodded as Jax turned to the prospect behind the bar.

"Hey Diz, pull me a beer," he ordered as the prospect practically fell over himself to complete the request. Jax took the beer from him and leaned back against the counter, reaching for Carrie's hand and pulling her into him. She didn't miss the fact that Chris scurried off as soon as she was distracted, but at the moment she forgot she cared.

"I'm glad you came tonight," he said. Carrie nodded, smiling up at him.

"Me too," she responded, kissing him lightly on the lips. Jax ran his hands through her hair, brushing it back from her face.

"You boys throw quite a party," Carrie heard someone say. She turned around to see the SAMVAN guys walking towards the bar. Jax grinned back at them, nodding.

"We try," he said, "Carrie, this is Judge, Boomer, and Ace." Carrie smiled back at them, slightly taken aback by Ace's cold eyes, but the others seemed nice enough.

"It's nice to meet you, Carrie," Judge said, holding his hand out, "We've all been curious about Jax's new Old Lady." Carrie smiled at them, trying to focus more on Judge and Boomer. She couldn't deny that Ace was an attractive guy, but something about him gave her the creeps.

"We're gonna need to borrow your Old Man for a minute," Judge continued. He glanced over at Opie as well, nodding his head to a table. Jax kissed Carrie lightly, giving her an apologetic look before he and Opie followed Judge, Boomer, and Ace.

"Shots?" Donna suggested as Carrie watched Jax walk away. Carrie looked back at Donna, grinning and nodding.

"Dizzy!" Donna called to the prospect. He glanced up, walking over to them, "Get us a couple shots of tequila. Whatever you got." Dizzy nodded, quickly pouring the liquor and handing the shot glasses over to them. Carrie and Donna clinked their glasses before taking the shot, grimacing as they felt the liquid burn its way down to their bellies.

"One more!" Carrie called, slamming the glass back on the counter as Dizzy filled them up again. They took the second shot and Donna shook her head as she set the glass back on the counter.

"God I don't know how Piney lives off that stuff," she said, shaking her head as she chugged what was left of her beer in an effort to chase the taste of the tequila away. Carrie nodded in agreement and glanced up to see Gemma walking purposefully in her direction.

"Incoming," Carrie muttered and Donna glanced up, giving Carrie a small smile and shaking her head.

"Carrie, I'm so glad you made it!" Gemma said, pulling Carrie into a hug. Carrie reluctantly patted Gemma on the back before pulling away, looking warily at her.

"Yeah, good to see you, too, Gemma," Carrie said hesitantly, but Gemma just smiled at her. She glanced over at Donna and smiled.

"Donna," she said in greeting as Donna raised her hand in a small wave, "How are the kids?"

"They're fine, Gemma," Donna replied.

"Glad to hear it," Gemma said before turning her attention back to Carrie, "Well we're having a family dinner next Sunday night. I wanted to tell you before you made… other plans. You and Opie should be there, too, Donna. Bring the kids." Donna nodded, glancing over at Carrie and shrugging.

"We'll be there, Gemma," Carrie told her and Gemma beamed at her, patting her on the cheek.

"Good," she said, "Well have a good time tonight." Carrie and Donna watched her walk away before turning back to their drinks at the bar.

"I'm pretty sure that woman is the devil," Donna said and Carrie laughed, shaking her head as she glanced around the room, her heart stopping as she watched a familiar blond throw herself on Juice's lap. Carrie gripped the bar, her eyes narrowing. Donna frowned before following Carrie's gaze across the room, her eyes widening in recognition.

"Carrie," she said warningly.

"What the fuck is Lily doing here?" Carrie hissed. Donna shook her head, putting her hand on her friend's arm.

"I'll go say something to Opie," Donna suggested, "He'll tell her to leave." Carrie shook her head, standing up from her bar stool.

"No," she said firmly, "I will tell her to leave." Donna grimaced as she followed Carrie across the room, standing a few feet backand watching as Lily flirted with Juice, straddling him on the couch with her arms wrapped around his neck. Carrie grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her off of Juice's lap and down to the ground. Lily shrieked, struggling to get to her feet and turned around, the anger on her face immediately replaced by shock.

"Oh Carrie…. hey!" Lily said in greeting, a false smile plastered on her face as she rubbed the back of her head where Carrie had pulled her hair.

"You need to leave," Carrie said and Lily's smile faltered.

"I was invited," Lily said, glancing down at Juice who was watching the exchange with surprised interest.

"Invitations over," Carrie told her threateningly. Lily bit her lip, sighing.

"Come on, Carrie, we used to be friends. I'm sorry about all that stuff before, but that was like 5 years ago. Can we just move on?" she asked. Carrie took a step forward, staring harshly at the blond.

"I'm not sure how much time it'll take for me to lose the image of you fucking my boyfriend," Carrie sneered. Juice's eyes widened as he looked between the two, the words 'oh shit' clearly bouncing around his head, "Why don't you call in another 5 years? I'll let you know if I've moved on." Lily tossed her hair back, squaring her shoulders, obviously sensing that playing nice wasn't working.

"Well you're here now, so I'm guessing it all worked out in the end," Lily said.

"Just because Jax and I found a way to get past it, doesn't mean you're welcome here," Carrie told her angrily, "If you don't leave in the next three seconds, I will drag you out by your goddamn hair."

"Who do you think you are?" Lily asked haughtily, "You don't make the rules around here." Carrie took one step closer, her jaw set and her nostrils flaring angrily.

"3…." She began counting down, "2…."

Jax sat at a table with Opie, Judge and Ace, completely oblivious to the confrontation until Opie tapped him on the shoulder, pointing across the room. Jax turned around to see Carrie standing inches from Lily, looking more pissed than he'd ever seen her.

"Shit," Jax muttered under his breath, standing quickly and rushing over to Carrie. He slipped an arm around her shoulder, gripping her tightly as she tried to shrug him off, and steered her away. He glanced back at Lily.

"Get the fuck out," he growled at her. She stared at him, looking confused and angry, "NOW!" He bellowed, throwing his arm out and pointing to the door. His eyes followed her as she scurried quickly out of the clubhouse.

"She's got a lot of nerve," Carrie muttered, finally releasing herself from Jax's grip as she stalked off to the bar, Donna following right behind her. Jax ran a hand through his hair before turning to look at Juice.

"You invite her?" he asked angrily. Juice nodded, his hands raised in surrender.

"Yeah, man, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he responded. Jax nodded, annoyed, before turning and following Carrie back to the bar.

"You okay?" he asked, slipping an arm around her shoulder. She shrugged him off irritably as she downed the drink in her hand, slamming the glass back on the counter.

"No, Jax, I'm not okay," she answered angrily.

"Hey I didn't bring her here," Jax responded calmly, leaning into Carrie and speaking quietly, "So don't get that attitude with me." Carrie sighed, finally turning to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just… seeing her again…"

"I know," Jax said, "But she's gone now. So just have a good time, alright?" Carrie nodded and Jax kissed her lightly, "I love you." Carrie smiled at him.

"I love you, too," she said. Jax nodded, glancing over at the table where Opie, Judge, and Ace were waiting for him.

"I gotta go finish this," he said, jerking his head towards them, "You be alright?" Carrie nodded and Jax kissed her again before walking back to the table. Carrie glanced around the clubhouse before looking back at Donna.

"You see my brother anywhere?" she asked. Donna looked around and laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, he's by the pole," she responded. Carrie shook her head, looking over to see Chris sitting wide eyed as he watched a couple of half-naked croweaters swing around the stripper pole.

"At least someone's having a good time," she muttered.

"Hey, that bitch almost ruined your relationship," Donna said, "Don't let her ruin your night, too." Carrie nodded, shaking it off.

"Yeah, you're right," she said grinning. Her grin faltered as she saw Kyle walk up them, stumbling slightly in his drunken state.

"Oh Jesus," she muttered under her breath. She'd never been a big fan of Kyle's. As much as she loved all the other guys in the club, Kyle had always had it out for Jax and she knew it. He leaned over the bar in between where Carrie sat and Donna stood, his eyes raking over Carrie.

"Hey sweetie," he slurred, "Why don't you get that fine ass off that stool and get me a beer." Stacey rolled her eyes, trying to turn away from him, but he grabbed her arm. She stood from her stool, wriggling out of his grasp.

"Fuck off, Kyle," she said, her temper, so close to the surface already, flaring again. His eyes narrowed angrily at her.

"Yeah?" he said, "You're the same as all the other whores running around here. Jax becomes VP and suddenly you can't wait to get back with him." Before she knew what had had happened, she'd slapped him hard across the face, leaving him standing in front of her, seething.

"Bitch, he yelled, raising his hand to hit her. Before he could bring his hand down on her, Chris had jumped on him, tackling him to the ground.

"Chris!" Carrie yelled, "Chris, no!" Kyle had flipped Chris on his back, holding him down with his knee as he punched him in the gut. Chris buckled in pain as Carrie grabbed Kyle around the neck, struggling to get him off of her brother. She felt herself shoved to the side as she saw Jax step in and pull Kyle off of Chris, shoving him into the bar. Carrie rushed over to Chris, bending over him as she checked him over.

"Are you okay?" she asked, cradling his face in her hand. Chris nodded, wincing as he slowly sat up.

"Yeah," he groaned, "I had him right where I wanted him." Carrie laughed, relieved that he was okay, and stood to help him up. She turned to Donna.

"Will you take him home, please?" she asked apologetically. Donna nodded, walking over and letting Chris throw an arm around her as she helped him walk outside. Carrie walked over to where Jax was fuming above Kyle as Kyle tried to shove him away. Dizzy handed her a beer and Carrie smiled gratefully, taking a long sip of it.

"You need to get your old lady in line," Kyle said harshly, "I couldn't just let her slap me."

"Yeah, and knowing you I'm sure she had a good reason," Jax growled.

"Yeah, she's a bitch," Kyle spat. Before Carrie could say anything, Jax raised his fist back, slamming it into the side of Kyle's face before gripping his head and crashing it against the bar. With his hand fisting Kyle's hair, Jax leaned down into his face.

"You don't talk to her. Ever again," Jax said, his voice low and harsh, "You fuck with my girl again, I'll make sure that patch of yours is stripped – you hear me?" Kyle finally nodded as best as he could with his face smashed against the bar and Jax released him, giving him one final shove before turning back to Carrie. He threw his arm around her shoulder and kissed her lightly.

"Let's get outta here," he said and Carrie nodded as he led her outside and to his bike.

"Well that was an eventful night," he said as he handed her a helmet. She took it and buckled it under her chin, nodding.

"I'm sorry about all that, Jax," she said, "I didn't mean to cause problems." Jax shook his head, tipping her chin up to look at him before kissing her.

"You didn't," he said. A slow grin spread across his face as he looked down at her, "Just out of curiosity, though, why did you hit Kyle?" Carrie chuckled lightly, shaking her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said, "But he did deserve it." Jax nodded, swinging his leg over his bike as she followed suit.

"Yeah, he's becoming a real pain in the ass," Jax agreed, revving his bike up and pulling out of the lot.

SOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOA

Carrie sat at the reception desk at the day care the following Monday, her cheek resting on her hand as she watched the clock. Kenny had gotten sick that morning and Donna had had to take him to the doctor, leaving Carrie to watch the front desk by herself. She'd gotten so used to having Donna around lately that it was extremely boring sitting up there by herself. She sighed as she turned back to her solitaire game until she heard the door jingle as it opened and glanced up to see Jax walk in.

"Well to what do I owe this surprise?" Carrie asked, grinning as she stood to kiss Jax from across the counter.

"Just stopping by," he said. He paused, smiling, before continuing, "I want to take you out tonight." Carrie raised her eyebrows.

"What? Like on a date?" she asked, surprised. He nodded.

"Yeah, like dinner and a movie. Like normal people," he said. Carrie laughed.

"Oh you are so far from normal, Jax," she said and he shrugged.

"So what do you say?" he asked. Carrie bit her lip, looking across at him.

"I can't tonight," she said and Jax frowned, "You told me you were going to be busy all night at the clubhouse, so I made plans with some friends to go out for drinks."

"So ditch your friends," Jax said, "I'm sure they can live without you for one night." Carrie sighed, shaking her head.

"I can't ditch them just because your plans changed, Jax," she said, "I need friends outside of you and SAMCRO."

"Why?" he asked stubbornly. Carrie pursed her lips, looking across at him incredulously. Jax rolled his eyes to the ceiling as he braced his hands on the counter in front of him.

"We can do it another night," Carrie told him. Jax shook his head.

"Nah, forget it," he said, "Have fun with your friends."

"Jax-" Carrie started, but he was already halfway out the door. Carrie stood there, watching him through the glass paneled door as he strode out into the parking lot.

"What the hell just happened?" she muttered to herself, frustrated. She sat back down in her chair, trying to shake the argument off her chest, but it wouldn't leave. She finally sighed and stood, walking outside to the playground where Neeta was watching her class run around from a bench on the side. Carrie took a seat next to her and Neeta looked over at her curiously.

"Heard the angry roar of that bike," Neeta said, "I'm guessing by your expression that it wasn't a nice little visit." Carrie shook her head.

"He wanted to go to dinner tonight but I'd already made plans with some friends, and when I told him he got all butthurt and stormed off," Carrie explained, annoyance dripping from her voice. Neeta pursed her lips pensively, turning back to the playground to yell at a boy who was trying to climb up the slide before turning back to Carrie.

"You know Jax and Opie have been best friends since they were born," Neeta said and Carrie nodded, wondering if Neeta was trying to change the subject on purpose, "And when Jax was about 5, Opie started going to day care. Course, Gemma don't believe in day care so I was still watching Jax during the days until he started kindergarten. Well, Opie made a new friend at his school and Jax got really jealous, thinking he was gonna lose his best friend to this new little boy. He was upset for days. Well finally, Gemma and I decided to invite Opie and this new boy over to play and after that Jax decided they could all be friends. Problem solved." Carrie furrowed her brow, trying to follow the application of this story.

"So, am I Opie or am I the new friend?" Carrie finally asked. Neeta sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Just invite the boy to come with you tonight," Neeta said exasperatedly. Carrie's eyes widened as she looked over at Neeta.

"I never even thought to invite him to come with me," she said and Neeta nodded, folding her arms across her chest.

"And that, child, is why they pay me the big bucks," she said, turning her attention back to the playground.

"Neeta, you make, like, minimum wage," Carrie reminded her.

"Mmmmhmm," Neeta responded, "And you might want to remember that next time we're due for a performance review, boss." Carrie laughed.

"You're definitely getting a raise," she said as she rose from the bench and started walking back towards the day care.

"I'm gonna remember you said that!" Neeta called after her, "A black woman never forgets!" Carrie laughed as she ran through the doors of the day care and grabbed her phone out of her purse, quickly dialing Jax's number.

"Hey," he said as he picked up.

"Hey," Carrie responded, unable to tell from the tone of his voice if he was still angry.

"Look, Carrie, I'm sorry about earlier," Jax began.

"No, it's okay," Carrie said, "I was just calling because I wanted to see if you wanted to come out with me and my friends tonight. It'd be a good chance for you to meet them." There was a pause on the other side of the line and Carrie worried briefly that Jax had hung up until he spoke again.

"Yeah?" he asked, "You want me to come with you?" Carrie grinned into the phone, shaking her head as she realized that that 5 year old still existed inside her big, tough, biker boyfriend.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want you to come," Carrie told him.

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight," he said.

"Good," Carrie responded, "And hey, I love you."

"Love you, too, Carrie," he responded before Carrie hung up the phone and tossed it into her purse, wondering if she'd ever be able to navigate the tricky waters of her relationship without Neeta.

A/N - thanks for reading! Please review, let us know what you think! We love reviews sooooo much! :)