NOW THAT I LOVE YOU

Since Clay and Jax had taken the tow truck to visit Gemma at the hospital, I decided to ride with everyone else in the van to the airport. I figured that that way the Prospects could drive the truck back to TM while I rode with Dad in the van. I would never say it to him, but I hated watching Dad ride or drive on his own lately. I was worried that something might go wrong because of one or more of his medical conditions and he would get into a wreck. I hated the idea of him getting hurt or, heaven forbid, hurting someone else accidentally. However, I knew I could never say anything to him. The one time I tried, it hadn't ended well, and I didn't want to end up in a fight where we avoided each other and refused to speak again.

When he saw me get into the passenger seat of the van, Opie instantly perked up in his seat. I chuckled to shook and myself my head vigorously as I said, "Don't get your hopes up like that, Little Bro. I'm just riding with dad because we have some supplies to pick up after we drop your asses off at the airport."

"Sure, you do," Opie replied, sarcasm dripping off each word he spoke.

I was going to try to mount a new argument with him, but I quickly decided against it. For one, the guys had enough shit on their mind, they didn't need to listen to the two of us bickering before they flew overseas. For two, I didn't want Happy to see how truly immature Opie and I could be when we locked horns together. What can I say? I was a big girl and I could admit that fact to myself, but that didn't mean that changing my behavior would be just as easy or that I wanted my newest romantic prospect to see that side of me this early in the process.

When we arrived at the airstrip, I hung back and watched as the guys unloaded their luggage and gear and divided up some of their supplies to carry to the plane. We were still waiting for Jax and Clay to arrive, so they seemed to do what they could to stall. The plane had already been loaded with Oswald's supplies, so everyone was getting antsy waiting for their President and Vice-President to join us…err… them.

I had said my goodbyes to everyone as we unpacked, so I lingered close to Dad and the van while we waited for Jax and Clay. Opie quickly found himself drifting in my direction, so I quietly asked him, "Lyla has my number, right? She knows that I'm more than happy to help with the kids…? Parker too?"

"Yes, she does," he answered with a warm, proud smile. "And I told her to try TM first if she needs to get a hold of you or Dad during the day."

"Okay. Good… Good because…"

Opie wrapped his arms around me and crushed my face into this chest to silence the rest of my nervous rambling. "I apologized to her… We're good, so she won't hesitate to call If she needs help from either of you, I promise."

"Alright… Good to hear…" I repositioned myself so that I was now tucked against his side. That way I could see everyone while we continued to wait for Clay and Jax's arrival. Where the hell are they?!

"Where the hell are they?" I heard Oswald's words echoing my own thoughts. "The plane has to…"

He trailed off when he saw a vintage black car turn into the hanger. We all watched in silence as Tara's car was parked itself by the van. What the hell was she doing here? Tara wasn't going to Ireland. Hell, after what she walked in on this morning, I hadn't expected to ever see her anywhere close to the club again. Well, except at the hospital or randomly on the street. I figured she'd steer clear of anywhere remotely connected to the club and yet here she was… or rather, there was her car.

Opie released his hold on me the second the car appeared in the hanger. I'm not sure what he was expecting to happen right then. He and everyone else looked as tense and apprehensive as I felt until we all saw Jax sept out of the driver's seat after the car came to a stop.

What the hell?

"Cutting it close," Oswald pointed out to the newcomer unnecessarily.

Jax gave him a peeved look as he answered, "Sorry. We had to give someone a ride. NOT my idea."

Just then Clay got out of the car followed by Gemma. Holy shit. Last I heard she was being discharged from the hospital and was going to transferred to County jail. Fuck, that ATF bitch was going to be pissed when she found out that Gemma had skipped town again.

The guys all rushed to Clay's side to grab Gemma's bag from him. Jax tossed the car's keys towards Dad, but I caught them and said, "I'll make sure she gets her car back as soon as possible."

Jax smiled replying, "Thanks Andie. Alright... Are we ready to go?"

Everyone nodded then Clay announced, "Let's go find your son."

As we watched the club, plus Gemma, walk with Oswald out to the plane, I moved up to Dad's right. He pulled me into his side and sort of used me as a crutch. It was times like this when I could really see and feel his age showing. The oxygen tank he had to use really made him look more fragile than he wanted everyone to think he was. Not that I would ever be dumb enough to point that truth out to him.

While we watched the club walk away from us, I hugged Dad around the waist and asked, "I missed it. Where are Tig and the tow truck right now?"

"Keeping the cops off Gemma's trail."

"Shit," I breathed out as an involuntary shudder ran up my spine.

"You can say that again." He hugged me closer into his side and let out his own heavy sigh. "Don't take this the wrong way, Short Stack, but I wish you were going with them."

"Dad..." I started to protest.

When I tried to release myself form his embrace, Dad tightened his hold around my neck. It became so tight that he actually started to cut off my oxygen supply. I'm sure it was accidental, but I stopped struggling against him just to make sure his arm didn't get any tighter around my throat.

"I know why you're staying and I really appreciate it. But now that Tig is staying here too, I would feel better knowing that you were watching your brother's back."

I smiled and turned so that I could hug him properly. "Oh that? Don't worry, Daddy, I've got that covered."

"You do?"

"Yep. I recruited Happy to make sure Opie makes it home in one piece." Dad gave me wide eyes causing me to laugh. "Exactly. Can you get one of the Prospects to pick me up at St. Thomas in a couple of hours?"

Dad still looked slightly stunned so I turned back from walking towards Tara's car as I called out, "Dad...? Are...?"

He shook his head then replied, "Sorry. Yeah, one of them will pick you up."

"Dad...?"

"I'm fine," he cut in. "Just... Nevermind, it's fine. You drive safe."

"You too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took more time than I thought it would to find Tara and get her car back to her. When she arrived at the nurse's station and saw that it was me waiting for her, she froze mid-step for a couple of seconds. Thankfully, she finished her approach before everything could get too awkward.

"Andie, I... I wasn't expecting to see you," she admitted as I handed her the keys.

I smiled softly and stifled a laugh to answer, "Normally one of the Prospects would have come, but I was hoping you'd have a couple of minutes to spare to chat with me. I swear I won't take up too much of your time."

"Yeah... sure. Is...? Are...? Are you okay?"

"Me? Oh, yeah. But... Umm... It's kind of a sensitive subject that isn't really for public consumption."

That got her attention. She looked over both of her shoulders and noticed how many people were milling about the wait room, both hospital staff and civilians. Tara then gestured down the hall, so I followed her to a supply closet that she had to use an ID card to open.

After the door was shut tight, she asked, "What did you want to talk about, Andie?"

"A couple of things. Number one, I heard what Jax did and... Fuck... That was a douchey move on his part. I... I guess I just wanted you to know that most of us are on your side, so if we... I can do anything to help, don't hesitate to let us know."

"Not sure there's much anyone can do right now."

"True, but if you need help moving or anything like that, the Prospects are still here, so they can help with that."

"Oh... right. I'll... I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

"No problem. And I know Lyla already tried to smack the stupid out of Ima, but if you want to do it yourself, I'm sure that could be arranged."

Tara actually laughed at that offer. It was one of those surprised, 'did I hear that right?' kind of laughs. She wasn't trying to mock me or my offer. In fact, when she finished her brief laughing fit, she actually looked genuinely more at ease with me.

"That's a very tempting offer, but I don't think getting into a catfight with a Porn Star will make me feel better."

"Fair enough. But, don't forget that it's a standing offer with no expiration date."

"I won't. Is...? Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

I shook my head and lost all of the humor out of my tone. "No, actually there's something else. Since they all showed up in your car, I take it that you know where Gemma is...? Well where she's heading to right now, right?"

"I do," she answered with a familiar suspicious tone in her voice.

"Look, I don't know nor do I want to know any details about how she ended up in your car with Jax and Clay... You know I would never rat so I don't need to know about that. I... I'm just worried about Gemma."

"Worried about her? Why?"

"I... I watched her collapse and... God there's nothing scarier than watching Gemma be taken out. Add to it that it was her own heart that did it..." I paused as an involuntary shudder ran through my body. "That was one of the scariest things I have ever had to witness... Second only to... to..."

"I understand, Andie. She'll be fine. The new meds are working really well for her and she has enough of them to cover a short stay. So long as she takes them on a proper schedule, her heart shouldn't be an issue."

"You mean that?"

"Absolutely. I can't say that her emotions won't take a toll on her physical health... But medically her heart is functioning better than we thought it would when she was rushed here by ambulance."

I let out a relieved breath at that explanation. "Thank God. Seriously, I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that. And thank you for everything that you've done. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. But most of it, I was just doing my job."

"True. But thank you for being so damn good at your job."

She chuckled again. "You're welcome. So, can I maybe ask you a question?"

"Of course, you can."

"Have you heard any updates about Tig?"

"Nope," I replied with a shake of my head to emphasis the negative. "I was thinking about stopping by the police station to ask Unser about him, but I'm guessing that most of us are on his shit list after Gemma's escape."

"Yeah, I have a feeling you might be right. I have to go down there to give an official statement, so I'd be more than happy to check on him if you want."

"That would be amazing. Here..." I pulled a business card for TH out of my pocket and passed it to her. "My number's on the back if I can help with anything."

"Perfect. I'll let you know what I find out."

"Great. And feel free to use it for anything else. I mean it."

"I promise I will. Did...? Do you need a ride?"

I followed her as she opened the door and made her way back to the nurse's station. "No, I should..." I stopped myself there when I saw Phil walking down the hall towards us. "Perfect timing, there's my ride."

Tara smiled then said, "Okay, good. I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Great. And Tara? If you want to talk about other stuff or grab a drink or... I have a punching bag set up at my old place, don't hesitate to call."

"All very tempting offers. I'll be sure to let you know."

She turned and left me to wait for fill to finish his approach. He looked kind of unsure when he finally made it to my side, so I patted his arm and then used it to turn him around so that we could walk down the hall towards where he had just come from. "You have impeccable timing, Phil."

"I do? Really? Because I thought that maybe I had interrupted you and Tara."

"Nope, we were done." I laughed self-consciously then added, "But normally, if you see me alone with Tara, it's a really good idea to interrupt us."

"What? Why...? I mean... Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Phil," I called out as I pulled him to a stop. "Hey, I'm not a member of the club or anyone's Old Lady, so you're allowed to ask me questions."

"No, I'm... we're... Us Prospects aren't allowed."

"Excuse..." I stopped myself there and swallowed some of the anger I felt creeping into my tone. Phil was just following orders; he wasn't the person that my anger should be directed at right now. "Who told you that?"

He just shook his head and turned to keep walking towards the exit. I rushed to cut him off and stopped him with a hand on each of his biceps. "Phil, I swear I won't say anything to get you into trouble. Please, just tell me the truth. It was my dad that said it, wasn't it?"

He just shook his head 'No' in reply. I straightened up in my place in surprise and asked (all be it sounding slightly confused), "Opie?"

That elicited a soft chuckle form him as he answered, "No."

I let go of his arms while I took in that information. Who else could it have been if it wasn't Dad or Opie? Finally, I just crossed my arms over my chest and more timidly asked, "Jax?" He shook his head again. "Clay?"

That earned me another laugh as he replied, "Nope."

"But those..." I stopped as another name came to me from out of the blue. I then stepped closer to him so that I could lower my voice to ask, "Was...? Did Happy say something?"

His eyes went wide as he answered, "No. But then again he's just as scary when he's silent and gives us 'the look'."

Now it was my turn to chuckle. "You're so not wrong. Alright... Seriously, I give. I can't for the life of me figure out who would go all Papa Bear on you guys if it wasn't Dad or Ope. Please, Phil... It's killing me. Please tell me who it was?"

He stared at me with an assessing eye and after a couple of seconds he seemed to completely deflate. "Alright... alright... it was Tig."

"Tig? Seriously?"

He nodded then explained, "He laid down some ground rules for us while they are gone. He also said to keep Kozik away from you as much as possible."

"He did? Wow. I guess I forgot about his protective streak. Okay, so his heart was in the right place, but he's being a little harsh on you guys. If I don't want to answer a question, I'll just tell you that it's none of your fucking business. If you press me, then I'll be pissed. But, if you just drop it, then we'll be fine. Deal?"

"Deal."

We resumed walking towards the exit then. Once we were outside, Phil finally asked, "So why is it a bad idea to leave you and Tara alone?"

"Up until recently she and I got along about as well as throwing water on a grease fire."

"What happened recently to change that?"

"Everyone got a front row seat to watch me have a meltdown of epic proportions after we all watched my boyfriend be murdered."

"Oh man, I... I'm..."

I wrapped myself around his right arm and hugged it tightly. "Nothing for you to apologize for. But long and short? Time seems to have changed her mind about me and things are more civil between us now."

He moved his arm so that it was wrapped around my shoulders and gave me a quick hug. "That's good to hear. We can always come up with a signal or something if you need help with a quick exit from a conversation with Tara."

"Phil," I replied with a huge smile evident in my tone. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."