Here's another longer chapter. Thank you, thank you for reading my ongoing story about Abby and Juice. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I greatly appreciate the support :)

July

Abby circled the glass watching as the dark colors swirled like a small tornado. Bringing the liquid to her lips, she sipped it slightly then scrunched her face up. Looking up at the older woman in front of her, she shook her head. "This would be great for the colder months, but I'm looking for something lighter." She surveyed the list in front of her. "Dolce Blanc, I'd like to try that." She stretched her legs out in front of her and let her head fall back. It was such a gorgeous day to be outside.

Her phone startled her. She glanced down at it on her lap and smiled. It was the man who consumed her head and she was glad he was calling. They had been back from San Diego for close to three weeks and because the club had him 'busy', they had only seen each other twice for barely an hour each time. She talked to him several times a day on the phone and those conversations were enough to keep her hooked.

"Hey there," she greeted, reaching for the glass that had been placed in front of her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She took a swig, smiling and indicating this was what she was looking for. "I am wine tasting in Lodi."

"Fancy," he responded with a laugh. "I just got back to Charming, but have some free time. I can come that way if you would like."

"That would be great," she answered, trying to keep her excitement under wraps. She didn't want to seem too eager.

"Cool. Where do you want to meet?"

Abby thought for a second. She spent a good bit of time in Lodi, mainly because of the wineries, but it had a lot of other stuff to make her feel like she was still among the hustle and bustle in Southern California. "Lodi Beer Company, on South School Street."

"I'll be there in about thirty."

She said goodbye and stared at her phone. A smile spread across her face as she could feel the butterflies in her stomach turning. She had started to wonder if they could pull off what they had started in San Diego, but this gave her a glimmer that they most certainly could. Paying for her bottle of wine, she practically skipped to her car in anticipation of seeing Juice Ortiz.

Abby thanked the waitress as she left the beer on the table and disappeared. She stared at the text message from Opie. He had called her a couple of times and was now texting, urging her to return his call. She knew it couldn't be too incredibly important because if it was he wouldn't have stopped calling. As she glanced up, she felt her heart skip as Juice approached the table. She shoved the phone back into her bag and straightened up, letting a big grin appear to meet his.

He slid into the seat and touched her hand. "Hey." He pointed to the beer in front of her. "Beer and wine today."

Abby chuckled. "It's been a good day."

Juice raised his eyebrow. "What are you drinking?"

She handed the beer over to him. "It's their own Summer Wheat."

He took a long sip and smiled. "That's pretty good. I'm going to order that."

He motioned for the waitress and ordered a drink. Abby couldn't help but notice the once over that the young girl gave him. At first Abby wasn't sure if it was one of disgust, but the flicker in her eye and small smile as she brushed past him said to Abby that she found him attractive. Abby felt a twinge of jealousy as she followed the waitress with her eyes until she was out of sight.

"So, this worked out great. I live in Lodi and needed to swing by my place." He smiled brightly at her and pointed at her bags. "What fancy wine did you get?"

Abby found herself forgetting about the waitress and completely focused on the big, brown eyes fixed on her. She began a full description of the wine that she had picked up on her earlier excursion as he listened to her intently.

The food came and the two never missed a beat. This was how every interaction seemed to be with them. It seemed so easy and natural which made Abby forget that his was a part of SAMCRO.

"So, are you coming to the fourth of July picnic at Gemma's?" Abby asked.

Juice nodded. "Wouldn't miss it."

She chuckled. "I feel funny calling it a fourth of July picnic since it's after the fourth, but for as long as I can remember the picnic has always been the night of the fireworks since their house is a prime viewing spot."

Abby trailed off, watching as he quickly looked down at his hands, fumbling with the zipper on his hoodie. One of the things she learned while being in law school was how to read people. It was something that any good lawyer worked towards because it helped when dealing with clients and in trials. She could see that Juice was nervous about something.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

"Nah, it's just that…" he trailed off, slowly bringing his eyes to hers. "When I get back to Charming we're leaving to go on a run and then stopping at Indian Hills for a visit."

She didn't know what to say. Growing up, the guys going on runs was the norm so Abby would stay at Gemma's. Over the years, she paid attention to conversations she would hear and the behavior of Gemma when the guys would go away. She heard about ambushes, people getting injured and sometimes killed. Once she became aware that these weren't just joy rides, Abby would become anxious that she would lose the rest of her biological family.

In her teenage years, she stumbled upon a conversation between Gemma and her best friend, Luann. This one involved another negative of being an 'old lady'; the cheating. Gemma was telling Luann about one of the guys hooking up and getting one of the 'tarts' pregnant while on a run. The guy's wife found out and went ballistic. She remembered Gemma saying she would cut Clay's balls off if that ever happened. That conversation was just another reason to get the hell out of Charming and far away from falling into that trap. Now, she was faced with those memories resurfacing as she stared back at Juice.

"We'll only be gone three days," he added nervously.

Abby just nodded her head, not knowing how to form a proper sentence. She knew this would happen, but she had hoped she wouldn't be faced with this so soon. She wasn't ready to deal with her fears of dating a club member.

She felt his hand grasp hers as she brought her eyes up to meet his. They were so gentle and tender, that her anxiety felt comforted. "I understand. I know this is part of the deal."

"You have nothing to worry about. We're making a quick delivery then right to Indian Hills to discuss some business. We'll be back before you know it."

She found herself just nodding her head some more, words not escaping her mouth. It was easy for him to say there was nothing to worry about because he was on the other end of this. Taking a deep breath, she smiled and squeezed his hand. "It's part of being a member, I get it. Just please, be careful."

"Always," he responded with a warm grin, tracing his finger across her forearm.

Saying 'be careful' was the only thing she could come up with. The risk of being attacked by some rival gang ran neck in neck with the cheating factor, but bringing that up so soon in their developing relationship seemed too possessive. They hadn't made a commitment to each other; not to say that would stop any cheating, so she decided to just stay cool. That was easier said than done.

Bobby's motorcycle was in the driveway as Abby pulled up to the house. Actually, there were a few motorcycles in the driveway which meant they were getting ready to pull out soon for their run.

She made her way to the kitchen where the loud voices were congregated. She was greeted by Tig, Chibs and a stern looking Opie.

"Is there something wrong with your phone?" he grumbled.

"Shit," she mumbled. She had been so preoccupied trying to calm her fears about the impending three-day trip for the club that she had forgotten about her best friend's frequent calls and text.

Abby held up the two brown bags in her hands. "I was wine tasting."

"Drunk," he said with a slight chuckle.

She elbowed him in the ribs. "What's up?"

"We're going on a run for a few days," he said with a sigh. "Can you check in on Donna while I'm gone? She wasn't overly happy about me leaving."

Abby stopped herself from saying she understood and simply nodded. "Sure thing. I'll go over there and hang for a night. I think I promised Ellie I'd play fashion designer with her Barbie's the next time I came over."

Opie snorted. "Yeah, she hasn't forgotten that promise."

She felt Bobby slide an arm around her shoulders. "If you need anything, give Gemma a call. I'll check in with you as soon as I can."

Abby nodded and embraced him tightly. She could feel her nervous energy bubbling up inside of her. This was something that would happen every time she would say goodbye to her uncle when they would leave like this, but this time the feelings were exponentially greater. It wasn't just her uncle she was worried about.

She watched out the kitchen window as the guys zipped out of the driveway and disappeared in a cloud of exhaust smoke. She exhaled, hoping that it would calm the negative mindset she was experiencing, but it proved little help. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bags from her Lodi excursion. Grabbing a bottle of wine and a glass out of the cabinet, she disappeared into the backyard to provide some temporary relief.

Abby opened the front door and noticed things were silent inside the Winston household. She also couldn't help but notice there was no looming tension in the air. Normally when she stopped over, there was either loud arguing going on or just this presence that there were some very unhappy people inside.

She made her way to the kitchen to look for Donna. She had been told just to come over whenever worked, they would be expecting her. Abby had been surprised at how pleasant Donna had been on the phone.

Her head was still pounding from the bottle of wine she had finished off before passing out the previous night. She had just wanted to go to bed and not think about all the things that could happen on the run. Staring down at the two bottles she had brought with her, she knew this was going to be how she spent the next couple days to numb the thoughts in her head.

Abby found Donna and the kids in the backyard kicking around a soccer ball. As soon as she stepped out onto the lawn, she was ambushed by the two young kids screaming "Aunt Abby".

She smiled and held up a box. "I brought pizza."

"Yay," Ellie and Kenny yelled.

Abby turned to Donna and held up the bag. "I brought wine."

"Yay," Donna answered with a laugh.

Abby turned to follow the kids back inside with Donna trailing along behind them. Abby was trying hard to concentrate on what the kids were saying to her, but they were talking at the same time so she couldn't keep up. Despite the craziness, she loved the duo like they were truly her family and couldn't imagine not being a part of their lives.

As they dug into the pizza, the kids focused more on eating than talking. Ellie did tell her about the story she was acting out with her Barbie's which made Abby laugh. She came up with some very elaborate tales for a seven-year old. Kenny started talking about his soccer team and how he needed to get ready for football coming up. He made Abby promise to see one of his games before she left Charming.

Abby helped Donna clean up as the kids ran off to watch a movie, leaving the two adults alone. Abby couldn't help but notice that Donna hadn't said much during dinner. She was trying to figure out if it was because the kids were dominating the conversation or if Donna's head was on the 'trip'.

She slid back into the seat she had occupied between the two kids as Donna handed her a healthy portion of wine. "Thanks," she responded as Donna plopped down across from her.

"I really appreciate you coming over. The kids have talked about it all day. They're really happy to have you back in Charming for a while."

Abby smiled, taking a long sip of wine. "I'm glad to have the time with them. Being around them makes me almost think I might want a few of my own someday."

Having kids was something Abby would think about when she was younger, but as she got older and focused on the path she was to be on, it became a fleeting thought. Now, she found herself wondering if it was something she could do and if she would be good at it.

The night was flying by at the Winston household. Abby had helped the kids make a fort in the room after their movie was over. Then Donna turned on another movie for the kids to watch, made some popcorn and poured more wine for the adults. Before too long, it was eleven o'clock, the kids were sound asleep and the adults were slightly buzzed.

Abby and Donna had retreated back into the kitchen, laughing at Jax and Opie stories from their childhood. Abby had a plethora of them and was amusing Donna. It was nice to see her smiling and laughing instead of looking miserable.

The laughter died down and Donna looked at Abby seriously. "So, you and Opie…" she trailed off with a small giggle.

"What?" Abby asked.

"You know everyone in high school thought the two of you were a couple."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if there had been a gossip section in the school newspaper, we would have been in it every week. Are they or aren't they dating?" She threw back the rest of the wine in her glass and promptly poured another. She watched as Donna brought her eyes up to meet hers.

"Did you two ever date?" Donna stopped. "I mean, Opie told me no, but sometimes I wonder if he just said that so I would be cool with the two of you." She put her hand up. "I don't care if you did, I'm just wondering."

Abby couldn't help but laugh loudly. "We never dated. Opie was too busy playing the over protective brother and I was too busy trying to map out my life plan," Abby stopped and reached out to touch Donna's hand. "Opie loves you more than anything."

Donna laughed and waved her hand. "I'm sorry for even bringing it up. I just get overly paranoid when Opie goes away with the club."

"Don't be sorry," Abby paused trying to decide what to say next. In her wine haze, she could feel herself wanting to blurt out that she understood exactly the kind of paranoia Donna was feeling because of Juice, but she knew that would be a bad idea. "I get slightly paranoid worrying about Bobby." Taking another drink, she figured that was the best way to go about this conversation.

"Yeah, I know we worry about the danger aspect of things, but I worry about the trampy ladies itching to jump in bed with my guy."

"Opie wouldn't do that to you. Out of all of them, he's the one I would be least worried about."

Donna starting shaking her head wildly in agreement then started to giggle again. "If your uncle wouldn't flip out, would you ever date one of the guys?"

Abby could feel her mind begin to race wildly. She was desperately trying to search through the cloudiness in her head to decipher if she had said something that gave away that she was doing that very thing.

Once she decided that hadn't happened, she gulped down another bit of her wine and laughed. "Could you imagine? Me, dating a Son?"

"What about Jax?" Donna snickered.

"Oh my gosh, that would last all of thirty seconds before one of us tried to kill the other."

"I know, I know and it would probably be you that killed him."

Abby couldn't help but snort at the thought as Donna's snicker broke into more loud giggles. As the giggles died down she turned to Abby and got serious. "There's always Tig."

Now, Abby found herself howling with laughter. "Sure, if I wanted to contract every STD out there."

The howling got even louder as Donna joined Abby, desperately trying to catch her breath to say something else. Donna grabbed the wine bottle and filled up the two glasses.

"There's that new guy, Juice," Donna continued. "He's pretty cute and he seems like a really nice guy. He seems like an odd fit for the club in my opinion."

Abby could feel her heart lurch at the sound of his name. She tried to soothe her feelings with another swig of wine and a pep talk in her foggy brain. "That nickname sounds like one given to a greasy Italian. I couldn't even imagine calling out his name in the throes of passion." She could feel her heart beating rapidly because all she did was imagine what it would be like to do that very thing.

"I know," Donna responded, leaning forward. "The Scot, Chibs. I've always felt he has a soft spot for you."

Abby smiled, bringing the wine up to her lips. "Nah, Chibs is just a friend." Abby always liked Chibs. He was tough as nails and extremely loyal to the club, but underneath that, he had a soft side to him that Abby saw quite a bit. He was always watching her back when she was around which was comforting.

The wine bottles were empty and Abby's head was spinning. There was no way she was driving home. She knew she could stay there, but Abby wanted to crawl into her own bed and pass out. She looked at her phone. There were no missed calls or messages which made her stomach ball into knots. She hadn't heard a word from Juice since he had left the day before. She didn't expect to hear from him because he was surrounded by the guys and it would be hard to hide from them to get in touch with her. Still, she had hoped he would find a way to break away for a bit.

Pushing her chair back, she gripped the table to stand. "I'm going to walk home. I'll get my car in the morning."

Donna wobbled a bit as she stood. Abby was pretty sure she had never seen Donna drunk. She wondered if Donna had ever been drunk.

When they got to the door, Abby was shocked when Donna embraced her. She didn't say anything to Abby, but just smiled warmly. As Abby made her way through the lawn to the road, she resisted the urge to dial his number. She couldn't calm the nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Her mind was running wild at all the scenarios as to what could be happening at that very moment in Indian Hills. It was somewhat comforting to hear Donna talking about the same things Abby was feeling, but disheartening at the same time since she couldn't share her fears too.