Thank you so much for your reading and reviewing! Big thanks to Love Ink and KupKakes09 for their help, information and guidance with this chapter! It's also a really good idea to read 'Pretty Girl' Chapter 23-One Shot Three for a little background and context. Enjoy!
"Sorry I'm late," Ally murmured as she took a seat in the hard plastic chair in the hospital dining area. "I was feeding Gabe." Gabriel was going to be released from the hospital later in the day and Ally was taking Juice's desire for her to keep their baby in her sight close to heart.
Gemma slid her a cup of coffee dressed to her liking. "Thanks," she murmured, and nodded in greeted to Rosen, the Club's lawyer. "What do we know?"
"Bail's set at three million," Rosen explained.
Tara gasped at the amount. "H . . . how are we going to get them out? What . . . what about a bondsmen?"
Rosen shrugged, obviously not keen on the idea. "With bail at three million, you'd need three hundred thousand to get them all out."
"I'll post the house," Gemma said.
"And my Dad's," Tara added.
"And mine," Ally chipped in.
"No," Gemma shook her head. "You have everything tied up in the shop and you just had a baby. Too risky. Don't argue with me," she said when she saw Ally about to rebut. "You know it's true."
Ally didn't respond. She sighed heavily and roughly ran a hand through her hair.
"That might get Clay out, maybe Jax. Juice if you're lucky," Rosen stated carefully. "But that's it."
Gemma shook her head. "No. Clay'd never leave them behind. We'll have to figure something out. They're not safe."
Rosen nodded. "Let me know what you decide. And," he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out two cards, "Clay asked me to give you this. I don't know anything about it. Never saw it. Then I was asked to give you this." He handed Ally a business card with the name Ally Lowen stamped on it professionally with Family Law underneath it. "She's an associate of mine and I would advise you to set a meeting with her."
Ally nodded and tucked the card into her back pocket. Rosen excused himself.
"Fuck," she groaned. "Three million. They're making an example of them. That's why that shit's so high."
"What do we do?"
"I don't know," Gemma replied to Tara's question. "I'm going to go take care of some things. I'll meet you at your house." She patted Ally on the knee and left the other two women.
"Come on." Tara stood and Ally followed her lead. It wasn't long afterwards Tara was pushing Jessica in a wheelchair down the halls of the hospital towards the entrance while Ally followed closely behind with Gabriel in the grey wrap carrier Cho had given her as a baby gift.
The carrier allowed Gabriel to be right against her chest. She adjusted his little beanie and smiled at his serene expression as he napped. She held on to his tiny foot and grinned every time he pulled it out. Juice was the same way. He couldn't stand someone touching his feet.
"Need an escort?"
Ally looked up through the automatic sliding doors of the hospital to see Kozik standing by his bike that was parked in front of her SUV. "Holy shit," she muttered. "Koz," she greeted, carefully hugging the blond man in the Washington Sons of Anarchy cut. He was the Sergeant at Arms for the Tacoma charter. It was the same patch Tig wore for Redwood. "What are you doing here?"
Kozik shrugged and his eyes curiously darted between the baby against her chest and Ally's face. "Eh, pack's getting a little thick up in Tacoma and Bobby called me to see if I could hang around while they get their shit together. Got in last night. Piney filled me in on your little situation," he leveled a look at her. "And I volunteered to get your ass home safe and sound."
"Thanks," Ally replied with a grin. She turned slightly so Gabriel's face was more visible. "See my baby boy?"
"Got a mug like his old man. Poor kid," Kozik quipped with a chuckle. He looked up to find Ally glaring at him in a way that would have made Tig look like an amateur. "Kidding," he added quickly. "Easy, little Tig. He's cute. Congrats, Al."
"You mean that or just saying that?"
"I mean it," Kozik insisted.
"Excuse me, I'm ready to go. So, hurry up!"
Ally gritted her teeth as Jessica screeched out the window. Kozik's eyes studied the brunette sitting in the passenger seat of the car. "That her?" He chuckled at Ally's nod. "Juice, you're girlfriend. Woof."
Ally snorted before schooling her face. "She is not his girlfriend. But she is as ugly as Reaper's ass when he has diarrhea." She went to the car and carefully put Gabriel in his new carseat with Tara supervising while Kozik looked on.
"Okay," Ally said as she carefully shut the door. "Let's go. Tara, you coming to the house or are you going home?"
"I'm going to follow you and help you get settled," the doctor told her. "I'll meet you there."
Ally nodded and looked at Kozik. "I've all ready decided I'm gonna drive like a grandma. So, don't leave me in the dust, okay?"
"Jesus," Kozik moaned with an eye roll. "Whatever. You used to be fun."
"Suck it," Ally muttered back before climbing into her car. She cranked the car and immediately muted the radio. She looked into the mirror to make sure Gabriel was still sleeping soundly. Kozik's motorcycle roared to life and she slowly and carefully followed him through the streets of Charming.
"It's so quiet. Turn the radio on," Jessica mumbled, propping her chin on her fist.
"No," Ally replied quietly. "Gabe's sleeping and I don't want to mutilate his brain by making him listen to Maroon 5 or whatever shit it is you listen to."
Jessica sighed heavily and shook her head. "You are such a bitch."
Ally didn't respond.
Kozik and Tara helped unload the car and got Jessica into the house while Ally carried Gabriel inside. He had awoken during the car ride home and was watching everything with wide, brown eyes.
"Welcome home," Ally murmured to him, taking a seat on the couch. Reaper came up and sniffed at him. "This is your new brother, Gabriel. Need you to look out for him. Can you do that?" Ally giggled as Reaper tried to lick her arm as she scratched behind his ears. "Good boy. You two are gonna be good friends. Best friends."
"So, what's the deal?" Kozik plopped onto the couch next to her, giving Reaper some affection.
"What do you mean?"
Kozik pointed to Gabriel with an expectant look on his face. "The fuck? Last time I saw you," he trailed off. They both remembered the last time they had seen one another. Ally had been in Tacoma and had just gotten an abortion. Kozik had sat in the waiting room with her.
"Things have changed," Ally replied. "I've changed. I'm not that same kid anymore, Koz. I've grown up. Got my shit together. Had a few more knocks, but I'm still standing."
"So," he started carefully, "your Old Man goes and knocks some gash up and you're just cool with it? That doesn't sound like you, kid."
"No," Ally insisted, pacing Gabriel on a pillow in her lap. His eyes were on her face and she smiled at him. "I am not cool with it. Makes me sick to think about, but I got him." She gently patted Gabriel's tummy. "I can't . . . I can't really have kids after that abortion. It messed some stuff up so," she shrugged as she trailed off.
They both heard footsteps coming down the hall. It was Tara. "I got Jessica in the bed," she told them. "She'll be sore for awhile and should take it easy. Call me if you need me. I'm gonna go get Abel."
"Okay. Thanks, Tara." She waved as Tara left.
"I'm sorry, Al," Kozik told her quietly. "If we knew that would happen we wouldn't of taken you there. Wouldn't of done that shit to you."
"I did it. Nobody else," Ally insisted. "If I didn't get it there, I would of gotten it somewhere else, you know. But, it'd of been a lot harder without you and Hap there, Kozik. You physically walked me in and held my hand. I owe you a lot."
They fell quiet for a moment. Ally shook her head. "I don't want to talk about that anymore. How long you down for?" Gabriel started to whine so she shifted him to her shoulder. He turned his face into her neck and she giggled lightly at the sensation.
Kozik shrugged. "Well, the thing is, Tacoma's getting a little thick. I was thinkin' about jumping charters."
"Wow," Ally commented. "So you want to jump to Redwood? You know that's gonna land on Dad."
"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. "I know. But, that shit was years ago. I'm clean and have been for years. He can't hold onto that forever, you know."
Ally grunted indifferently. Kozik was underestimating Tig's skill of grudge-holding. "Where are you staying?"
"Crashing at the clubhouse."
"Nah," Ally shook her head. "Stay here. It'll be a little noisy with the baby and all, but I'd rather you stay. I'd feel better, in fact, if you did with everything going on."
"Yeah, Piney filled me in on that, too. That sucks, Ally-cat. Shit'll get handled."
"I know. But seriously, will you stay?"
"I can stick around for awhile," Kozik said as his nose wrinkled in disgust. "The fuck is that smell."
Gabriel began to fuss in earnest at that point.
"It's Gabe," Ally whined. "It's like a bomb. Jesus Christ. Time for a change. Wanna help?"
"Fuck no," Kozik exclaimed, moving further down the couch. "That's nasty. Go fix that shit."
Ally chucked and took Gabriel into the nursery to clean him up. When she came back out she saw Kozik in the kitchen on the phone and had helped himself to a sandwich. He hung up when she came in with Gabriel wrapped onto her chest.
"You gonna carry him around forever?"
"As long as I can," Ally murmured in response, pulling a water from the fridge. "Who was that?"
Kozik took a massive bite of his sandwich and shifted against the counter. "Piney," he told her around a full mouth.
"Something happen?"
Kozik continued to chew. "Got anything good to eat in this house? You know, something that's not organic and still covered in dirt?"
"Juice is a health nut. We eat clean," Ally replied flatly. "Don't change the subject. What's going on?"
Kozik kept chewing and took his time swallowing. "Juice got stabbed in Chino," he finally told her. "He's in the infirmary."
"Jesus Christ," Ally sighed, sitting hard in a chair. "How bad? Why?"
"I don't know how bad it is," he told her, sitting backwards in the chair in front of her. "But he's supposed to live. He was part of plan to secure some protection and some Aryans got to him."
"Holy shit. I knew they weren't safe." Ally ran a hand through her hair. "We gotta get them out of there before someone else gets hurt. Or worse."
"I know. That's what we're trying to do," Kozik assured her, taking a sip of her water. "Juice'll be fine. I mean, getting shafted is like a right of passage in prison. Shows he's not a pussy. Now your kid can grow up with the knowledge that his old man took it like a champ."
Ally blinked as she processed his words. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She sighed heavily and stood to prepare a bottle for Gabriel. "This scares me," she confessed quietly. "It's like they're targeting my family. They got me. Now they got him. What if," she stopped. She didn't want to say it. Instead, she kissed the top of Gabriel's head.
"Stop," Kozik warned, leaning back in the chair. "Stop taking it personally. They're attacking the club. You and Juice were both in the wrong places at the wrong time. Nothing's gonna happen to the kid. I bet my life on that, Al."
"I just . . . I just feel like we haven't even hit the bottom yet. Like, there's something else about to happen," she confessed as she sat back down to feed Gabriel. "They're not gonna leave us alone. The only way they will is if they're dead."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Kozik responded with a wink. "Seriously, though, mama. Don't worry. As long as Juicy is locked up, I will be here and I got your back."
"If you kill my dog, though," Ally said as quiet as death, "I will fucking kill your blond ass."
Kozik chuckled and pulled on her long hair affectionately. "Noted, kid."