Author's Notes: The last chapter received mixed reviews. We just wanted our readers to know that there was a purpose to that chapter. We wanted our Addison character understood and we laid the groundwork for several events coming up later in the story. Thank you all for reading and we are moving on with the story.

Thank you to all those who have taken the time to tell us your thoughts, in detail, about the story and and we hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

A shout out to:fanficfan4ever, pixiesam, angelbuni, HappysHitwomen, Angel N Darkness, a reader, Just A Reader, Goddess of the Black Rose, go4itgirl, Twuglove, Meg Pairrer, CtLady, Dutch'76, Duvet, Skipperlee, Funny Mick, Eva, ozlady80, Justrae9903, The Candy Spooky Theater, FlyGirl2684, and cambridgegirl16 . We are so thankful that you all have been reviewing the chapters, and we can't wait to hear what you think about the new chapter.

Born to Die

Chapter FOURTEEN

Written by: Dannimitchell85 and Kaylalong

Sitting in the corner of the Tacoma chapel, Happy watched as Clay and Bear were both standing and stared down at the leather cut lying on top of the reaper carved wooden table. No one broke the silence. It was clear to him that both men were fighting with their inner emotions at seeing the cut, lying empty on the table, instead of on the man who had worn it for over thirty years.

Adjusting his sore leg, Happy was grateful that Clay had waited until the morning to hold church. They were all too exhausted and emotionally drained when they returned last night. They definitely needed to 'unwind' first. And as much as he didn't want to leave his warm bed, he knew that he couldn't miss this meeting. His brothers would have told him to stay in bed and 'rest' but he wasn't about to take a back seat now. One of those fuckers stabbed him. He had actually talked to one of the brothers, heard his voice. This was more important than resting in bed.

As Happy looked at Quinn's cut still lying on table, he couldn't help but remember back to three days ago, when they had buried his body.

Leaning against a tree, Happy watched as Stone, Hammer, and the others finished digging Quinn's grave. They had wrapped his body in his childhood blanket and he watched as Addison tucked a picture of her mother into the blanket and kissed his forehead through the blanket.

He watched as she walked over to Half-Sack, who wrapped his arms around her while she tucked her head into his shoulder. Juice had come over to her other side and placed his hand on her shoulder. He was behind the trio so he couldn't see her face but he could tell from her tense posture that she was trying her best to not cry.

Here they were, in Alaska being hunted by some crazy fucker, who had tortured and killed her father, and wanted her as some 'prize'. She had to be both devastated and terrified, but he could tell she was doing her best to hold it together. She certainly was Quinn's daughter. Like her father, she knew when she needed to appear strong, to hold in the pain and fear that she was probably feeling. Quinn had always said it was smart to be afraid. It was stupid to show it.

As they lowered Quinn's body into the grave and started to fill it, Happy thought about his sick mother, the only woman in his life that he ever truly cared about. He hadn't been the most ideal son, but she never turned him away and always told him that she loved him. She was the only one who understood him and never judged him for what he did for the club. She was always there for him no matter what.

She had been sick for almost a year now. About six months ago he joined the Nomad charter so he could be closer and take care of her. He watched as her health steadily declined. She had been such a vibrant and strong woman. But in the last six months, she literally seemed to wither away before his eyes. Standing here, at the burial of a man who was more of a father to Happy than his actual father ever was, he couldn't help but think that sometime in the near future he would have to bury his mother.

That thought scared him more than he would like to admit. Just the idea that he would never hear her voice again, never see her smile again, sent shivers up his spine. But these were not appropriate thoughts right now. He would have plenty of time to dwell on this later.

Happy pulled his eyes away from Addison to look over at Hammer. They had just finished filling up the grave. He made a silent promise to Quinn that he would do everything in his power to avenge his death. He would somehow make this right, for Quinn, for his daughter. He hoped Stone and Hammer found out something from their 'talk' with the guy who grabbed Addison. This crazy fucker will be taught a lesson, and he would make sure that he was the one to teach it. You do not mess with the Sons.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts he focused his attention back on the here and now. He couldn't afford to miss anything. Looking around the room, he saw that Clay had taken a seat at one end of the table; Quinn's cut was now in front of him on the table. Jax sat to his left, with Juice on his other side. Tig took his place to Clay's right. Bear, Kozik and Lorca, the Tacoma VP, sat at the other end. The other Tacoma Sons filled the rest of the table. Stone, Hammer, Opie, and Chibs, were spread out against the walls of room. Cooler had taken another chair that at the opposite corner from Happy.

No one spoke. The only noise in an otherwise silent room was the clicking sounds coming from Juice's laptop.

"Found him," Juice said, looking up.

Happy had to give the younger member credit, he may be a goofball most of the time, but he knew how to dig up information on anyone. After they left Alaska, Stone had filled in the other Sons on what he and Hammer found out from their 'talk'. Now they knew they were dealing with two fucked up brothers and the asshole that stabbed him was recruited.

"What does it say?" Clay asked, exhaling a large drag of his cigar.

"Erik Patterson, thirty eight years old, lives in Foley Alabama, two kids, divorced. Got hunting licenses every year for everything you can think of, in several states. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of domestic violence, and one count of child endangerment." Juice continued to read from his screen, "His ex-wife was the one to press the charges, but there wasn't any hard proof so the charges were dropped. She filed for divorce and then left. She got full custody of the kids too."

"So he had a violent history," Jax stated.

"Yeah," Juice confirmed then leaned back into his chair.

"The psycho bastards are pulling in other sick puppies to play their little game." Stone said as he shifted against the wall, closest to the door.

"This is bad," Jax said as he wiped his hand over his face. "It's one thing to have two sick, fucked up brothers hunting us down for sport, but now they are bringing in other sick fuckers into the mix. This isn't going to end well."

"What do we know?" Bear asked, speaking up for the first time. Happy knew that he was trying to get all the facts out on the table. They all needed to know what they were up against. This involved the entire club.

"They went after Quinn first. They knew to wait for him to return to Alaska. Addison heard the fucker say he had been tracking Quinn and the club for three years. Who knows what he's found out during that time." Tig said.

"They somehow got it in their brains that Addison is the 'prize'. Patterson said the brothers wanted to keep her 'pure'". Stone added with anger in his voice.

"They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us." Opie said.

"Why Quinn? Why Addison? Why us? Why any of this?" Jax asked as he leaned over the table.

"For the thrill," Happy spoke up from his corner. He knew better than anyone that there was a certain thrill to the hunt, knowing that you held the power in your hands to let someone live or to take it away as you see fit. The difference between him and these two brothers was that he tracked his prey and killed for the club. These two bastards where hunting for the fun of it, for sport.

"Hunt the hunter." Kozik said, nodding his head.

"Shit they are after us because we've killed people?" Tig said.

"No, not because we've killed people. The Sons control most of the towns where we have charters. We are a threat." Hammer spoke for the first time. Then he looked at Kozik, "It's not hunt the hunter. It's catch the biggest game."

"Yeah, and they know we won't go running to the cops." Cooler chimed in. "Don't want to spoil their fun." He said as he grimaced from the pain in his ribs.

"I dunno," Stone said from his wall. "I hate to say this brothers, but with what that sick puppy Patterson said about Addison, I think this is all about her and we're just in the way. They want to see how many of us they can take out to get to her. This is all a game to them."

"Yeah well they fucked up by putting my niece in the middle of all this shit." Clay said in a forceful tone, as he pointed to the other Sons in the room. "They already got one of my brothers. I'm not going to just stand around and wait for them to come and take down more."

"Last time they got us by surprise, something that ain't goin' to happen again." Tig said. Happy could see that Tig was trying to reassure Clay.

"Aye, we know what they're after now. They want a game? They'll get a bloody game." Chibs added as he narrowed his eyes and frowned.

Stone nodded, "We walked into their trap. We were playing on their terms. We need to turn the tables on them. Go on the offensive." Then he added, "all the while keeping Addison safe."

Happy watched as Clay looked back over to Juice. "Anything on the two brothers?"

Exhaling a deep breath, Juice shook his head. "Not yet. I've been looking up every 'Jager' I can, but it's going to take time. There are almost four thousand 'Jagers' in the US. I've narrowed down the search to exclude all women and anyone under the age of eighteen."

Stone interjected, "Good, from what Addison saw and what Patterson told us, these guys sound like grown men. Probably in their late thirties to forties."

"They're experts. Assholes know what they are doing." Happy added. He had talked to one of them. He could tell from the short conversation that these men weren't some young punks out looking to have a good time. They took this seriously.

"Thanks, maybe I can exclude any males under twenty-five also." Juice said, as he sat back up to his laptop and starting typing. "But, I still have to look into each and every one and see if there is a match to what we know. I should have something more by the end of the week."

"So what's the plan?" Bear asked, looking to Clay.

"We go home and have a memorial for Quinn. He didn't get a proper burial, but he sure as hell is getting a memorial." Clay said as he took another drag on his cigar. "Then we hunt these fuckers down and watch them die a slow and horrible death."

"Oh yes we will." Happy said with a sneer on his face and a promise in his voice. When they found these two, he was going to enjoy every bit of pain he would inflict on them.

Happy watched as Clay pulled out his knife from its sheath and after a moment of hesitation, got up, leaned over and sliced the 'President' patch off of Quinn's vest. He knew that the time would come to pick another Nomad president. And he had hoped that Clay would ask Stone to take the position.

The Nomad charter was set up differently than the other charters. Happy had been in the Tacoma charter before joining the Nomads, and he knew that allthe charters had a President, Vice President, Sgt-at-Arms, and Secretary. However because of what the Nomads did for the club, it was hard to keep a chain of command. He had learned that the role of Nomad President entailed more then what a normal charter President did. Quinn had to play all the roles. He had final say in everything, and he made sure to send the Nomads to where they were needed.

If Quinn hadn't been killed, he would have been able to choose his next in line. However since he was, it was left up to Clay to pick a Son to take over. Happy knew that Clay would only choose someone who held the respect of the other members.

In his eyes there weren't many men who could handle the responsibility of leading this pack of lone wolves. But Stone was a man who held everyone's respect. He was former military, had been a Nomad for ten years, and used his brain more than his gun or fists. Along with Clay and Quinn, Happy respected and trusted Stone. He knew Stone would take this role seriously and put the club first.

Happy watched, along with everyone else in the room, as Clay straighten back up and put his knife back in its sheath. With the patch in hand, he walked over to Stone, took his hand, and placed the patch in his palm. "I wish this was under different circumstances, but I know you are the right choice. And this is what Quinn would have wanted." Clay said.

Stone closed his hand over the President patch and nodded at Clay. "I won't let you down." He then looked at the patch in his hand. "I won't let him down." He then looked back up. "I won't let the club down. Thank you."

Clay turned around and looked to the other Nomads in the room. Happy nodded at Clay and saw the other Nomads do the same. Then he saw Clay turn back around and put a hand on Stone's shoulder and said, "I know you won't."

Bear then banged the gavel and got up. One by one, each member walked over to Stone and patted him on the shoulder, or shook his hand. It was hard to celebrate his new role in the club with the loss of Quinn still so fresh on everyone's minds.

Waiting for the others to clear out of the room, Happy pulled himself up off the chair and walked slowly over to Stone. He reached out with his right hand and shook his new President's hand while giving him a firm nod, "You deserve it brother." He said in a rough voice.

Stone responded with his own firm handshake and nod.

Walking out of the church room carefully, Happy took a seat at the bar, and told the Tacoma prospect to get him a shot.

SOA

Knowing that it was too late to try and get any sleep, the clock beside Addison told her it was time to get up. Pushing herself off the bed, she headed to the bathroom for a quick morning shower. Once she was clean and fresh, she put on a pair of low waist faded boot cut jeans that hugged her curves. Since they were out of the Alaskan snow, she could put away her snow jacket. Instead she put on a white cami and a blue hoodie with the club Reaper on the back. Her dad had given her the hoodie. Once she was dressed, she pulled on her black riding boots, and tied her hair up.

As she packed everything back into her bag, her hand brushed over a small black velvet jewelry bag. Picking it up, she took a deep breath. She pulled the strings open and poured out its contents onto the bed.

She picked up her dad's rings. The familiar weight were was both reassuring and haunting to her. She would never see them on her dad's fingers again. She put the rings back down and stroked the velvet box with her parents' wedding rings. She would need to find a safe place to keep them once they returned to Charming.

Then, off to the side away from the other jewelry was a sliver heart shaped locket. Addison picked it up and touched the locket with her the pad of her index finger. The locket had been a gift that her dad had given to her mother, Lily. It was something she could keep close to her heart while he was away on runs. It had contained two pictures of him

When he gave it to Addison, he replaced the pictures with two of her mother Lily. He also kept a picture of Lily in his wallet. Addison opened up the locket and looked at the two pictures that had been held in the safety of the sliver keepsake for years. On the right was a head shot of her young mother. It was easy to see that they both had the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair. The other photo, on the left side was a bit harder to see due to how far away the picture was taken. It was a full length picture of Lily holding a baby in her arms, swathed in pink blankets. The wide and care free smile on her face was all Addison needed to know that her mother had loved her.

All she knew about her mother had been what her dad had told her. He told her that she had been the one to keep him sane after he came back from some of his jobs. He never really told her how she died. Just that she had when Addison was very young. Addison never pressed the issue. She figured it had to be something very bad. There were nights when she had seen her dad up late, crying over his own picture of the woman who had been taken away at such a young age.

Thinking about her dad now, how vulnerable he seemed during those times, she tried to understand why he kept her away from the clubhouses. A part of her wanted to be mad at him, angry that he had kept things from her. But the other part could understand that he needed to have his own escape. It must have been so hard for him, doing the things for the club, raising a daughter all by himself, and then dealing with the loss of his wife.

Snapping the locket closed, she ran her fingers along the chain to the broken clasp. It had broken a few weeks ago. She had worn the locket every day, only taking it off to shower. Without it hanging around her neck, she felt like she was missing something. They had planned to get it fixed as soon as they got back on the road. But then fate had other plans and her world was turned upside down.

She was thankful that those sick freaks hadn't raided the house. She didn't know what she would do if she had lost the locket. It was the only thing that she had of her mother's, the only reminder of her. As soon as they got back to Charming, she would ask Gemma if there was a jeweler in town who could fix it for her. Once it was fixed, she would take out the picture on right side and replace it with one of her father. Then in the safety of the locket, she would have the family that was taken away from her.

She slipped the locket and rings back into the velvet bag and put everything back into her duffel bag. She took a deep breath and knew that she couldn't hide in the bedroom anymore. She hoped now that it was morning and they were leaving soon, that she would not see any repeat 'performances' of last night.

Opening the door, she poked her head out to peek down the hall. She knew she looked silly, but she couldn't help herself. Not seeing anything, and only hearing a few voices coming from the main clubroom, she told herself that it was safe to come out. Again, she was being silly and berated herself. They were adults. She was an adult. She needed to start acting like one.

Walking into the main room of the clubhouse, she saw that all the men seemed to be up, wearing their cuts, and everything looked 'family friendly'. She saw Half-…, Kip behind the bar, wiping down the counter, while the others were spread out in the room. Clay and Stone where talking quietly in the corner. Jax and Opie where starting up another game of pool. It looked like Hammer was at a table, trying to get Kozik to arm wrestle with him. Tig, Chibs, and a few other Sons whom she didn't recognize, were standing around the table shaking their heads, telling him that it was a bad idea. It looked like Hammer wasn't going to give up though. Juice was at another table, hunched over his laptop, typing away furiousl

Walking over to the bar, she sat on a stool and saw Kip come over to her. "Morning," she greeted him with a smile.

He smiled back and said, "Morning, want some juice? " And before she could even respond, he put a glass of orange juice in front of her.

"Thanks," she said. He nodded at her and walked back into the kitchen.

While sipping her juice, Addison looked around and saw that Happy was down at the other end of the bar. He looked lost in his own thoughts as he stared into the empty shot glass. Surely he hadn't been drinking this early, had he? She wanted to ask how his leg was doing, but she didn't want to bother him. She could tell from the set of jaw and the tenseness of his shoulders that he did not want company. She could only imagine what he was plotting in his head. She pulled her eyes away and looked around the room some more.

Her scan of the room stopped as she saw Cooler sitting in a booth alone. She couldn't help but take note of the deep thoughtful expression on his face as well. She couldn't see what he was looking at, but there was something in his hand and it had all his attention. He was so engrossed with it that he didn't even notice the shouts and hollers coming from the group of Sons over by the table. Apparently Hammer just lost to Kozik. She looked over to see Hammer lay his head flat on the table while Kozik just smirked at him.

Addison looked back over to Cooler. She took a deep breath and blocked out the image of him from last night. Then she hopped off the stool, picked up her drink, and walked over to his booth.

"Hi, would you like some company?" She asked him in a soft voice as stood in front of the booth.

She saw him look up and close his hand around the item in his palm. With a toothy smile, he replied, "Absolutely, slide on in." He waved his hand over to the bench across the table.

Sliding into the booth to sit across from him, she couldn't help but look at his closed hand.

She must have been obvious because he stretched his arm over to her and said, "Hold out your hand."

The serious tone to his voice was not something she was used to hearing. Pulling her right hand away from her glass, she held out her open hand, palm up, and right under his larger closed hand.

He opened his hand and plopped something small and metallic into her waiting hand. She pulled her hand closer to get a better view and saw what looked like a smashed bullet.

"Is this," Her eyes widened as she looked up at Cooler. "Is this the bullet from Alaska?"

"Yeah," He said as she handed it back to him. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and opened a small zipper that was meant to hold loose change. Tipping it over, he dumped the contents into his hand. He held out his hand to her and there sitting on his palm were four more bullets of various sizes and in various conditions.

"This was the first." He said as he lifted up a copper colored one. "I was doing a job when I ran into some trouble. Took this one in the leg, Stone had to dig it out with his bowie knife. Still have the damn scar."

He placed it down on the table and lifted a grey colored one. "This one was meant for Hammer, the fucking dumbass. Took it in the shoulder. It stayed there for about two days. We had to get out of the area fast. Managed to stop the bleeding. Finally your dad found us and dug it out of me."

"Why didn't Hammer remove it?" Addison found herself asking.

"That Neanderthal? Hell no! I'm not letting him anywhere near me with a fucking knife." He said as he sat that one down on the table as well and picked up another.

"This one hurt the most." He said as he just looked at it moving it between his thumb and index finger. He didn't say anything and Addison could see that he didn't want to get into the story behind it. And she wasn't about to push him for one. She watched him put it down with the others on the table.

"And this little guy was a pain in my ass." He said holding up what looked like a .22. "And I mean really it was a pain in my ass. Fucking prospect at the Vegas charter was cleaning guns while he was still hung over from the night before. Damn idiot shot me in my ass."

"Oh," Addison said as chuckled softly. She looked at him and covered her mouth while still chuckling.

"It's not funny," Cooler retorted. "I couldn't sit down, couldn't ride my bike, and was cooped up at the fucking clubhouse for two weeks! I couldn't even get laid." He added with a small pout.

He sat that one down and then lifted up the last remaining bullet in his hand. "This is my lucky one. This one would have ended me if not for the vest." He told her as held it at her eye level.

She looked down at the table and said, "Sorry, you got that one trying to protect me." She continued to look at the table. Her hands were underneath pressing again the seat of the bench.

She noticed him lean over the table as much as his busted ribs would allow him and she looked up. "Hey, and I'd do it again. We Sons protect our family." He gave her a smile as and leaned back into the booth.

"That's what Happy said," Addison said as she took a sip of juice.

Cooler smirked, "That brother knows his shit. He's been through some serious crap."

She smiled and looked down at his collection. She couldn't help but admire him a little bit. He seemed more carefree than the other Sons that she had met, but he seemed just as focused and serious when it came to protecting the club. Now she understood just a bit more about what was going on last night. She had been so shocked at the scene in front of her, she didn't think about what they had gone through just to keep her safe. Elli had been right, what these guys did, most people couldn't handle. What happened last night was how they cope. She didn't understand it completely, but she was trying.

She looked back up at him and said in a soft voice. "Let's just hope that you don't add anymore to your 'collection' anytime soon."

With another smile, he put his mementos away and sat back in the booth. They talked for a while longer until she saw Gemma walk over to the booth.

"Hey sweetheart, you packed and ready to go? We're leaving within the hour." Gemma asked.

Addison answered, "Just about. Let me just finish up and get my stuff." Gemma nodded and walked over to where Clay was still sitting.

She turned back around and took the last sip of juice, then looked at Cooler and said, "Excuse me." He nodded and she got up and walked over to the kitchen.

Addison was ready to go back to Charming, but wasn't looking forward to the long drive back in Gemma's SUV. She had never been cooped up in a car with so many other people for such a long period of time. She was itching to be on the open road with the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair.

As she walked over to the kitchen with her empty glass, Kip came up to her with a shy smile and said, "Oh, hey, let me get that. Don't worry about it." He took the glass out of her hand and started to walk away.

"Wait, I can…" She wanted to stop him to tell him she could clean up after herself, but she didn't get the chance because at that moment Clay and Stone walked up to her. They had painful looks in their eyes and she couldn't help the lump that lodged in her throat when she saw Clay holding out her dad's leather cut.

"You should keep this." Clay said with a soft voice. "It belongs with you."

She took the leather cut and couldn't help but run her hands over the soft leather over to the spot where the 'President' patch once was. She had known that someone had to be named the new President. Someone would have to take over for her dad.

Pulling her eyes away from the worn cut, she looked to see Stone had kneeled in front of her on one knee. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he had a caring look in his eyes.

"I promise you, nothing is going to happen to you, and we aren't going to let those bastards get away with this." He said to her. She held back the tears as she nodded and caught sight of the 'President' patch that was freshly sewn on the front of his cut.

Stone squeezed her shoulders, gave her a nod of his own, and then got up and walked away. Addison watched him walk away and then went over to the bar and took a seat on the stool again. She sat there with her dad's cut in her lap, stroking it, lost in her thoughts until she heard someone sit on the stool next to her. Looking over, she saw Elli giving her a sympathetic look.

"You okay, dear?" Elli asked.

Addison nodded, "I'm okay. We both knew this would happen someday. I just didn't…" She couldn't finish as she looked back down to her dad's cut.

"You didn't think it'd be this painful?" Elli asked gently, to which Addison nodded, but didn't look up. "Bear told me this morning that the guys buried his body up in Alaska. I'm so sorry dear, I had no idea. What you must be going through?" Elli paused. Then she said, "He deserved a proper burial."

"It's okay. Clay's going to have a memorial in about a week, after we get back to Charming." Addison said as she looked up at Elli. "He said Bear and other Tacoma members will ride down. Are you coming down too? You knew my dad right?" Addison asked.

Elli smiled, "I did. Not as well as Bear, those two go way back." Elli the cupped Addison's cheek, "I'll be there. And like I said, if ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Addison nodded and got up to go finish packing. It was a long ride back to Charming.

SOA

Once they had eaten and were all packed up and ready to go, everyone walked out into the parking lot. Addison had overhead Clay talk to Cooler and Happy about staying behind to heal up. They agreed and would ride down with Bear and some of the other Tacoma members for the memorial.

Addison had given her bag to Kip. She stood there dressed in her jeans and hoodie with Gemma's Beretta tucked away in the back of her jeans, where it had been for the past three days. As she watched Kip load everything into Gemma's SUV, that feeling of claustrophobia came back. She really wanted the feeling of being on the open road again. It may be winter and still pretty cold riding down I-5 to California, but it wasn't raining the and wind against her face would feel really nice.

She had decided she would just ask one of the Sons if she could ride back with him. The problem was deciding on which one. She had only known them for a week and the ones she felt comfortable around weren't available. Kip and Juice were driving Gemma's SUV. Happy and Cooler were staying behind in Tacoma. And Clay had enough to deal with that she didn't want to bother him.

Then she saw Hammer standing next to his Harley, getting ready to put on his helmet. After yesterday's 'crash course', she wasn't sure how she felt about him, but she was trying to understand all this and he was just being honest. Plus, he had been very nice to her, so she figured he was her best bet.

As she walked up to him, he turned around to look at her and raised an eyebrow in question. "Anythin' I can do for ya?"

She took a breath and looked him in the eyes, which was a little hard to do considering how much taller he was. "I was wondering if I could ride with you?" She asked. She continued to look up at him and could tell he was thinking it over. She hoped he didn't think too long, her neck was starting to hurt.

Then he looked down her with a smile, showing his white teeth. "Can't ride without a helmet," was all he said.

Addison gave him a huge smile and said, "Hang on." Then she walked over to the SUV and dug into her bag. One of the items she made sure to bring back from Alaska was her helmet. She had worn her dad's helmet when she fled to Charming.

She found it and brought it back, lifting it up for him to see that the problem was solved. "How about now? She asked.

Hammer didn't respond. He just swung a leg over his Harley and gave her a smirk, "What'cha waiting for? Get on."

With another smile, she got on behind him, put her helmet on and locked the buckle in place. That's when she saw Clay walking over to them. He didn't look too pleased.

"What the hell? Addison, what are you doing? Get off that and get into Gemma's Caddy." Clay said in an angry voice.

"Uncle Clay, please. I've been cooped up in a car for a week now. I want to ride back Charming on a bike." Addison said to her uncle with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Absolutely not. With everything going on, you want to get yourself killed?" Addison watched as Clay started to reach for her.

Then from behind Clay she heard someone say, "Clay, hang on." She looked over Clay's shoulder and saw Stone.

"Clay, it's okay, let her ride back with him." Stone said in a calm voice as he approached them. "She'll be fine." Then Stone looked to Hammer with his jaw set and a fierce look in his eyes. Hammer responded with a firm nod.

Clay sighed. He imagined Addison probably needed this. He understood what the feeling of the open road could do. "Fine. But anything happens to her…" Clay pointed to Hammer with his finger.

"No way boss. The girl's safe with me." Hammer replied as he lifted open his cut and showed his gun holster with the two Glocks.

Clay looked to Addison, "And you?" She nodded and patted her lower back. Clay then asked with a small smile, "I suppose I don't need to tell you to how to hang on, huh?"

"Nope," Addison replied as she put her hands on Hammer's waist and hooked her fingers through his belt loops. Since he was so much bigger than her, she couldn't quite wrap her arms around him.

Clay shook his head and walked back to his own bike. "All right everyone, let's move out."

SOA

Leaning against the picnic table, to take the weight off his injured leg, Happy watched as his brothers all saddled up and revved their engines. He wasn't too pleased with having to stay behind. He wanted nothing more than to hop on his own Harley and ride out, but he knew he had to play it smart. He watched as Addison got on behind Hammer, and noticed she really did know how to ride bitch. Most women either tried to sit too close, which restricted the rider's movements. Or they sat too far back, making it hard to handle the bike. From what he could see, Addison sat in the perfect place.

He was riding down with the others in about a week for Quinn's memorial. After that, they would get onto the business of finding these fuckers and making sure they suffer. As he watched the Harleys leave the lot one by one, he thought about how it wasn't just the club that lost a charter President. They each lost a good friend, a man they all respected.

Sighing and moving away from the table, Happy turned to go back in. He walked gently back to the clubhouse. At the door, he saw one of the blondes that helped him 'relax' yesterday. She turned around and smiled at him. He gave her a nod and she came over. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a small smile. If he was going to be stuck here with a bum leg, at least he can enjoy himself.

Author's Notes: This chapter turned out a lot longer than we thought it would. Just a few bits of information...

1) Nothing is really known about how Nomad charters are run, so we took creative liberty and made it work for the story.

2) In this episode Patch Over, Lorca is mentioned as a member of Tacoma. No position was assigned to him so we have decided to use him as our Tacoma VP.

3) Kenny Johnson, who plays Kozik, was a world class arm wrestler so we thought that it would be fun to throw that fact into the story. We both love the blond SSA, so we had to give him some attentions without taking away from what was really going on in the chapter.

We hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, thank you for reading.