I'm posting a new chapter a little earlier in the day than I normal do, but I have my work holiday party tonight so I won't be around for most of the evening. Hope everyone enjoys the newest chapter :)

December

Clay slammed the gavel down on the desk, looked at the guys and yelled "Let's party." The guys all whooped and hollered, quickly filing out of church to start the festivities of the day. Juice trailed behind, planning out how this would work for him.

It was noon on Christmas Eve and the partying was under way. Clay had told the guys they were closing TM down at noon and all club business was to be put aside until the day after Christmas. Even though there was some type of partying going on every night, the guys still had to be on their toes in case some club 'business' came up; however, Christmas Eve and Christmas were the exception.

Juice decided he would hang with the guys for a few hours. He figured by four most of them would be drunk enough that he could skip out without raising any eyebrows. He had other plans for his Christmas Eve.

Abby and he were making their secret work without a hitch which was a huge relief. Juice was enjoying all of their conversations and time that they snuck in together. He was doing everything he could to not jeopardize that being stripped away. The two had decided that they would spend the whole evening together; order in, watch Christmas movies and just hang out. He hadn't done something that normal in what seemed like an eternity.

With a smile on his face, he gladly joined the guys at the bar to throw back a shot of whiskey. He set the glass down on the wood and lit a cigarette. He watched as all but a couple of the guys disbursed to either the pool table or to find a willing lady to dance with. Glancing over, he nodded at Opie who was pouring another shot of whiskey for the two of them. Clinking the glasses together, he threw it back then turned his eyes back to the crowd.

He couldn't seem to wipe the goofy grin off his face. He felt like he had the best of everything right now. He had his brothers and an amazing girl to make him feel like he was something other than a criminal biker. The only thing that could make it better was to let everyone know and have it accepted by those important to him.

Chuckling as he watched Tig walking around holding mistletoe over his head, he looked at Opie staring into the distance. "Are your kids excited about Christmas?"

Opie laughed. "Excited doesn't quite cut it."

Juice hadn't been around Opie's kids that much, but he felt like he knew them well. Abby talked about them all the time as if they were her own. He loved listening to her gush about the Winston siblings. Lately, he found himself wondering if he could ever be a dad and how that would work.

Pulling himself out of his daydream, he went back to surveying the room. His eyes went around the room watching all the activity that was happening. As he made his way back to the bar in front of him, he noticed someone staring his way. It was the mysterious friend of Wendy's that kept randomly popping up in the clubhouse. Her long black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail which showed off those blue eyes that always had a glimmer of deviousness in them. She had bright red lipstick on which showed off the fullness of her lips. Tonight, she was wearing a slinky green top that hugged her chest. For being a computer whiz, Juice had yet to figure out who this chick was. He definitely wasn't interested, but seeing that she was stuck on him he kept wanting to find out what her story was.

He turned back to the beer in front of him and took a swig. He could see in the corner of his eyes that she was making her way over to the bar. Groaning, he kept his focus on the beer he was drinking hoping that she would get the hint and pass on by.

The clink of her heels made him tense up. He was having such a good day, he really didn't want to have this broad pressing up against him. Shocked, he heard the heels keep on going right past him. He nonchalantly looked over at her, shaking her ass and flipping her hair trying to get noticed. Chuckling to himself, he felt a sense of relief come over him.

"Hey Opie," the dark-haired woman spoke seductively.

"Jessie," Opie responded gruffly, not glancing in her direction.

Juice's ears perked up as his nonchalant glance turned quickly in the direction she disappeared in. He had only heard of one female named Jessie from Charming. "Jessie Phillips?" he questioned.

"What?" Opie questioned quickly.

Oh shit, Juice thought to himself as he realized he had said that name louder than he thought. Glancing up at Opie looking over at him quizzically, Juice excused himself to shut down his computer.

Safely in his seat, he mumbled, "Shit." Jessie Phillips was the girl who Abby had told him about sitting on the beach in San Diego. The one that hated Abby because she thought that was why Opie wanted nothing to do with her. Now she was hanging out in the clubhouse and Juice may or may not have let on to Opie that he might have heard of her.

He opened one of his desk drawers and stared at the small box neatly wrapped inside. Pushing his thoughts off of what had just transpired, he focused on the silver bow glimmering. A smile spread across his face as he thought about giving Abby the present he picked out for her. He had agonized over a gift and after some browsing on the computer one afternoon, he found what he thought to be the perfect present. It was a silver bracelet with lilies going around it. Each lily alternated colors; one for her dad, mom and Abby's birth month. The piece of jewelry matched her tattoo that was covered most of the time. Now, she had something that she could look at all the time to remind her of the two people who meant the most to her.

Smiling to himself, he shut the door and leaned back in his chair. He wasn't going to let his paranoid worries take away from the evening he so looked forward to. Christmas was going to be the best one so far for him in Charming.

The party was in full swing as Opie sat beside his dad observing his brothers carry on. "Hey Pop, pass that bottle this way," Opie said in Piney's direction. He was in a good mood. Ever since Abby's birthday, Donna and him had been getting along a lot better. Normally, holidays were a source of stress for him, but this year he was looking forward to good quality time with his wife and kids. His quality time with his dad would be doing a few shots out of the bottle of tequila that was just thrust into his hands.

Pouring some into a glass then turning to his dad, he held his glass up. "Bottoms up." The stuff burned going down as he cleared his throat and promptly grabbed for his pack of cigarettes. He couldn't help but laugh as he heard Piney chuckle his gravelly laugh.

Opie felt his phone go off. Grabbing it he answered. "Hello."

"Hey babe," Donna responded. "Have you talked to Abby today?"

"No why?"

"Well, it's almost quarter of six and she had said she'd be here to help me get things ready for Christmas Eve dinner between five and five thirty."

Groaning, Opie pushed his hat off his head and placed it on the bar. Let it up to Abby to cause some stress on Christmas Eve. "Did you try calling her?"

"Yes, several times, but she's not answering the house or cell phone," Donna paused. "Can you check on her before you come home? The kids are so excited to give her the present they picked out for her."

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to leave so I'll swing by Bobby's."

"Thanks Ope, love you," Donna responded sweetly before hanging up.

Opie grabbed his hat and adjusted it over his forehead. "I swear I love Abby, but she can be a royal pain in the ass sometimes."

"You leave that girl alone. She already has Bobby up her ass about this bar exam bullshit, don't you go causing her more stress," his dad growled.

Rolling his eyes, he kissed the side of his dad's forehead. "Whatever you say Pop. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas son," Piney grumbled as he took a swig out of the tequila bottle.

As Opie hurried to his motorcycle he kept telling himself that Abby better have a damn good reason for being late and causing unneeded drama on a day that he was actually feeling festive.

Opie parked his bike, sliding off and looking at the Munson residence. It was pitch dark except for what looked like a flicker of light coming from Abby's bedroom. Shaking his head, he stalked across the front lawn and began beating on the front door. It wasn't like her to stand up the kids so this seemed odd to him.

He paused for a few seconds and banged again until he saw the hall light flip on. The door opened as he looked at Abby standing on the other side wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. "You're alive," he scoffed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sounding confused.

"Donna called me to say that you hadn't shown up yet for Christmas Eve," he stopped and watched as she muttered shit while looking down at her bare feet. "Donna was worried and asked me to stop over to check on you." He continued to watch her as she shifted in place, trying to keep from jumping on her case. His dad was in the back of his head telling Opie to take it easy on her. He really hated when his dad got into his head.

"I was studying and must have fallen asleep. I'll go throw on some clothes and be right over."

He raised his eyebrow and watched as she put her hand up, responding with an "I promise". "You better because if you don't get over there soon, the kids are going to be pissed off."

She nodded and began to shut the door, saying she'd be over. As he turned to head back out to his bike, he thought he caught what looked to be one of the club's cutte's. He saw dark leather and a reaper as she shut the door behind him. Pausing as he began to bring his hand back up to the door, he stopped. He knew there was something fishy going on. Opie wasn't stupid and he knew Abby better than she knew herself sometimes. He walked to his bike and slid on. He had a bit of time before she showed up at his house to figure out how he would get her to confess to whatever she was hiding.

Abby peered out through the curtains to the street. Opie had finally pulled away from out front. Her heart was beating a mile a minute at what had just taken place at the front door. She couldn't believe she forgot about going over to their house for Christmas Eve.

Spinning around, she watched as Juice sat on the edge of the bed pulling on his boots. "I'm really sorry I screwed things up." She felt bad not only for worrying Donna and the kids, but for messing up the evening she had planned with Juice. She knew that Christmas Eve was one of those times her uncle wouldn't be home so it was the perfect opportunity for the two of them to hang out together. She just happened to double book herself.

She smiled as she watched Juice stretch his hand out to her. She took it and giggled as he pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her arm around his neck and smiled as he pushed her hair back from her face.

Juice kissed her nose. "It's alright. You need to go spend time with the kids."

"I won't be over there all night. How about I come to your place after I'm finished and we can go back to watching movies curled up in bed?" She paused, watching him smile brightly. "Bobby will just meet me at Gemma's in the morning so I don't have to worry about him freaking out if I'm not here."

She melted into his arms as he wrapped them tighter and pulled her close to him. "That sounds great."

Abby took one last whiff of his aftershave and leaned back, placing her hands on each side of his face. "I really need to go." She squealed as he picked her up off of the bed and carried her down the stairs.

Grabbing her keys off of the kitchen counter, she turned to Juice who had slipped his cutte on and was watching her with a smile. She put her hand out for him, smiling as he took a hold of it. They turned and headed out the side door to say their goodbyes.

It was really dark outside. Rain was in the forecast and the dark clouds covering the moonlight validated that report. Abby turned to Juice. "I'll be right over when I'm done."

"I'll be waiting patiently," he responded with a laugh.

Abby felt her heart skip a beat as his breath got closer to her face. Shutting her eyes, she leaned forward to meet his lips.

"Abby!"

Jumping back, she whipped around to see Opie leaning against the front of her car. "Shit" she heard Juice mutter beside her.

"I thought you left?" Abby questioned, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I did. I just parked my bike around the corner and walked back. I knew something was going on with you and now it all makes sense."

"Ope, brother, let me explain," Juice spoke up, voice wavering.

Opie brought his eyes up to meet Juice's. "You should go." His voice was low, but the intensity behind it made Abby feel like Juice was being scolded. She watched him walk down the driveway and disappear around the corner. As she brought her eyes over to Opie's, he was drilling a hole into her.

"Let me explain," she started, but watched as he turned and began walking in the direction that he had just come from. "Shit," she grumbled, sliding into the front seat of her Explorer.

Abby opened the door to the Winston household and stepped inside. Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly toward the kitchen. After Opie left, she called Donna to say that the two of them weren't on the best terms. Of course, Donna had a bunch of questions, but Abby told her to ask Opie about it when he got back there. She informed Donna that she needed to take a drive to get her head together, but would be over within the hour.

Turning the corner, she stepped into the kitchen. Donna was getting plates down from the cabinet and Opie was slouched over at the table. "Hey," Abby greeted meekly.

"Hey Abby," Donna responded with a friendly grin. "Have a seat. The kids are watching a movie, but it will be over soon."

Sliding into the seat across from Opie, she mumbled, "Hey Ope."

Opie didn't move or look up at her. He reached for his cigarettes and lit one up. Abby continued to stare at him feeling worse about the situation with every passing minute.

"Are you going to talk to me?" she asked pleading. She couldn't remember the last time that they had ever been in a situation like this. Sure they picked at each other and didn't always see eye to eye, but there was never a time where there was this uncomfortable tension.

"Donna, could you go round up the kids so I can talk to Abby?" Opie said coldly.

Abby watched as Donna disappeared quickly into the hallway, calling for the kids. The silence between them lingered making Abby feel antsy.

"How long has this been going on?" Opie asked sounding monotone.

Swallowing, Abby began twisting her hands. "Since June, right before I went to San Diego."

Opie chuckled, leaning back to look her in the eyes. "Now I know why the hell Juice wanted to go down there for the weekend." Taking a drag off his cigarette, he let the half-smile fade. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that this was going on?"

"I wanted to," she replied, which wasn't a lie. "I just thought it would put you in an awkward situation and I didn't want to do that to you."

"Oh, so this is a whole hell of a lot better? Damn it Abby, I'm your best friend. I've always had your back and always will."

"Now, I really feel like shit," she muttered, continued to wring her hands.

"You should," he grumbled.

The doorbell rang which startled her. She heard Donna's footsteps heading down the hall toward the front door. Abby could hear Donna's voice, but couldn't make out who she was talking to. The footsteps got closer as Abby looked up from the table.

Behind Abby was Juice who looked terrified as he stopped right inside the doorway. Thankfully, Donna spoke up. "Everything is on the table and the kids are patiently waiting."

Opie nodded, looking between Juice and Abby. "Donna called Juice to come over after I got home and told her what happened. She thought the two of you shouldn't have to spend the evening apart."

"And you don't feel that way?" Abby questioned, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Abby watched as Opie stood up and stopped beside Juice, looking him up and down. She wasn't sure what Opie was going to do or say. Her stomach was churning inside of her as she tried to settle herself.

"I don't know what the hell the two of you are doing, but I will always support Abby," he stopped and turned to look Juice in the eye. "If you do anything to hurt her, you and I will have a problem."

With that statement, Opie told them to hurry to the table before the kids ambushed the kitchen. After he disappeared, Abby walked over to Juice and wrapped her arms around him. She could hear his heart pounding inside his chest. Looking up at him, she offered him a smile. "He's cool so don't worry. If he wasn't, you wouldn't be standing in his kitchen."

"I hope you're right, but Opie isn't the only reaction I'm worried about."

She took his hand and began to walk with him out of the kitchen toward the dining room. "Everything will be fine."

Abby wasn't sure who that statement was for. Opie had never been her biggest concern when it came to their secret getting out. Even though she was trying to reassure Juice that it will all be okay, she knew deep down that would be a miracle.