AN: Thanks for sticking with me old readers and Hello to the new! Here's an update for you! I have a busy week/weekend coming up so hopefully I'll get another one out during the week before the busy stuff ensues! Let me know if you're enjoying the fic, and as always I appreciate all of the reviews, follows and favourites! Enjoy x

CHAPTER 25

They'd only just finished their food when Juice's phone rang from within his pocket. Cate fell silent and watched as Juice retrieved his phone and put the device to his ear. She'd noticed how often his phone went off whenever she was around him; he was definitely a popular one. However, she'd noticed it was always work or the boys and he didn't often say much about what it was about, he was quite evasive. After a 'yeah' and some 'OKs' Juice hung up the phone and she watched as he pushed it back into the pocket of his kutte. Cate was sat back in her seat, one leg crossed over the other as she watched him. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile.

"You gotta go?" She asked, reaching for her glass of water and taking a slow mouthful before setting it back down on the table. She wiped the residue left behind on her fingers from the cold glass across the material of her sports leggings.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. They need me back at the shop for a pick up." Juice admitted sadly. Cate looked over at him and gave a nod of her head, smiling slightly. Sure, their times together were often interrupted but she didn't particularly mind, she still got to spend some time with him, which she enjoyed thoroughly. She didn't quite know what was blossoming between them, but she decided to not think about it and take it a step at a time. She was enjoying the process of getting to know him.

"Can I come with you? It'd be cool to see Gem.." She asked suddenly, flicking her gaze back up to land on his face to get a gauge of his reaction. He seemed surprised and hesitated before replying.

"Don't you want me to drop you at the hospital to get your car?" He questioned. Cate pursed her lips, still watching him. Perhaps he didn't want her at the garage if he was going to be busy working. Or maybe it was something else all together?

"Sure, why not." She replied after a moment of thought, probably sounding a little blunter than she'd have liked to have been. She couldn't fault Juice on much, but she didn't know what to make of all his disappearing. She noticed a look of what seemed like confusion spread across his features but she chose to ignore it and instead, she rose to her feet and stepped out from behind the table. "Let's go.." She commented, retrieving her phone and keys from the table before turning on her heel and leaving the café. Once she was outside, she descended the stairs and made her way towards Juice's bike. But she was stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"Cate.." Juice began, stopping her from walking any further and giving a gentle tug back towards him. She felt him pull and she went with it before turning around to face him, noticing the frown on his face. "It's not that I don't want you to come with me, I'm just going to be busy working and collectin' cars, I don't want you to be bored." He informed her lowly, his hand still curled gently around her wrist as he looked down at her. Cate stared up at him and she just forced a small smile onto her mouth.

"I know.. I didn't think about that, it's cool." Cate answered and watched as Juice gave her a small smile. She felt that tension make itself known again and she cleared her throat, lowering her head so she was no longer looking up at him. She pulled her arm gently from his hold and turned back towards his bike, helping herself to a helmet which she secured on her head. It was quiet now and she noticed Juice hesitate for a moment before he climbed onto the bike and she followed soon after. Seconds later they were gone from the little café and back on the road, her arms wound across his waist and she held herself against his back.

She stared at his back as he rode, her gaze wandering over the stitching and patches on the back of his leather vest. Every so often she wondered if there had been any truth behind what Ross had said about the motorcycle club.. Were they menaces? Some sort of trouble-making gang? Wayne had assured her that they weren't, and that he'd of told her if there was something she should know. So no, they weren't menaces, they couldn't be. She trusted Wayne, the best friend of her late uncle.

Not long after they took off, Juice pulled up to the outside of the hospital and slowed down until he had stopped completely. Cate lifted her leg over the bike and straightened up once both her feet were back on the steady ground. The engine had cut off and was silent now; Juice remained seated on his bike. She unclipped the helmet and handed it over to him, watching as he stowed it away.

"Thanks for the lunch.." She broke the silence, fiddling with the set of keys in her hand. Juice looked up at her and she returned the small smile which was evident on his own face.

"No problem, doc.." He responded kindly. Cate couldn't help but feel a little bit awkward since he'd declined her suggestion of taking her with him. She kinda felt like he didn't want her there, but she had no reason to suspect that other than her own insecurities. "You okay?" He asked her lowly and Cate nodded.

"Yeah, it's just been a weird morning with Wayne and what not.." She lied with a small shrug of her shoulders and Juice gave her a sad smile.

"I know. You'll let me know if Ross calls you again, yeah?" He asked.

"I don't think it'll be a problem anymore, but sure." She agreed whilst briefly glancing around at her surroundings before looking back towards Juice. It was silent again. She didn't want to succumb to the tension so instead she cleared her throat. "I'll see you around.." Cate said before turning and walking away from Juice and his bike and towards her own vehicle. As she walked she heard his engine turn back on and the sound of it ripping away from the hospital. She knew she'd probably come across a little off, but she couldn't help it. Her anxiety and depression meant she reacted emotionally to little things every so often. So she couldn't help but feel disappointed that he'd failed her test of whether she could go with him. And she also couldn't quiet down the voice in the back of her head, the one that wondered where he was always going and what was so important that he had to cut their time together short.

Cate got into her car and just decided to sit there for a while. She sighed and sat back in her seat, rolling her had back against the headrest. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Change made her anxious, it made her worry and she didn't like it. Also by agreeing to go out with Lisa last night, she'd ended up making herself look like a fool and caused some more unnecessary drama. It seemed like a lot of her decisions ended up being mistakes and it was exactly the reason why she'd kept to herself since being in Charming. Cate opened her eyes and looked out of her window, raising a hand to chew on her thumbnail as she found herself slipping into her thoughts and let some time pass. She wondered what the deal with Gemma was too. She'd not seen her since her accident and it bugged her to no end as well. Perhaps that was something she could resolve? She had time to spare so why not. Cate decided she would go and find Gemma and talk to her. She popped her keys into the ignition and switched on the engine. She opened her windows; she'd been sat there for so long she hadn't noticed how warm it was until now.

Cate drove across town, with nothing but the quiet sound of the radio filling the silence. Before she went home to see if Gemma was there, she thought she'd try the garage, since she worked there. However, during her trip over there she remembered that it was where Juice was going to be and she didn't want it to seem as though she were following him or being needy. It didn't matter though, it shouldn't matter. She was going to find her friend and he'd have to accept that as the truth, since that's what it was. Cate turned into the lot and drove up slightly before pulling up on the side of the lot, parking and switching off her engine. There sat Gemma's car in her designated spot and Cate found herself feeling a little anxious. She drew in a deep breath and climbed out of her car, not bothering to lock it as she assumed it would likely be safe. Cate looked around as she walked up towards the office. She didn't feel uncomfortable in her sporty attire at all, even surrounded by big burly men. They'd all seemed kind enough, at least the ones she'd met so far had been.

During her short walk to the office, she noticed that she couldn't see Juice's bike, or most of the others. She also noted that the tow-truck was parked over by the garage. She slowed then and found herself cracking her knuckles absentmindedly. Juice had told her he needed to go to do a pick up, but the tow truck was sat right there and his bike was nowhere to be seen. Had he been there at all? Had he lied to her? Cate frowned as she looked over at the truck; the evidence of the lie.

"Well this is a surprise." A familiar voice broke her out of her thoughts and she turned her head to see Gemma stood in the doorway of the office, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "To what do I owe this pleasure, doc?" She continued and Cate stopped once she was close enough, crossing her own arms beneath her bust.

"I haven't seen you around in a while.. Thought I'd check in." Cate admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders. She noticed Gemma pursed her lips and shifted her weight onto her left leg. She looked good, she always did. She oozed power and control.

"Well, that's awfully sweet of you.." Gemma replied in what sounded like a teasing tone of voice. Cate raised an eyebrow in response.

"I wanted to talk to you, see if everything's ok. I haven't seen you since.. the accident.." Cate explained lowly and Gemma's smirk seemed to drop at that point, and she frowned instead. The older woman seemed to look past Cate before stepping back into the office, gesturing for Cate to follow. Cate didn't hesitate and she followed Gemma into the office and stepped past her. She heard the door shut behind her as a result of Gemma closing it.

"You think something like that would put me off being friendly with you?" Gemma asked and Cate shrugged her shoulders again as she turned to face the woman.

"Maybe. I don't know. I've not seen you since then.." Cate answered, observing as the other woman walked around to the desk where she sat down and crossed one of her legs over the other.

"I guess you haven't.." Gemma spoke but it was almost like it was more of a thought out loud rather than something directed towards Cate. "I've just been busy, sweetheart. All of us have been." Gemma explained sincerely and Cate brought the corner of her lower lip between her teeth. "I've actually been meaning to call you and was going to this afternoon.. There's this charity thing going on tomorrow. We do it every year. I wanted to see if you'd like to come.." Gemma suggested with a small grin present on her lips. Cate paused for a moment, leaning back to rest her back against the wall of the office.

"Sure, why not.." Cate agreed after some thought. "So you've not been avoiding me then?" she questioned, wanting to double check. Gemma laughed at this and shook her head.

"Christ, no. I've got better things to do than spend my time avoiding somebody.. Especially my neighbour." Gemma teased and Cate gave a roll of her eyes before she cast a brief glance over her shoulder to look out of the window at the lot where she still couldn't help but look at the empty area were the bikes would usually be parked. "You missin' someone, sweetheart?" She heard Gemma say and Cate swallowed hard. She was actually quite annoyed.

"I've been spending some time with Juice.." Cate admitted, still staring out of the window. "We've been getting on pretty well.. We text all the time and he's really sweet." She continued, tapping her fingers against her other arm as they remained crossed over her chest. "I was with him about half an hour ago and he told me he had to leave because he had to be at work.." Cate ended with a bitter laugh and she shook her head before turning around to face Gemma again, who had a thoughtful expression upon her face.

"Maybe he's just had to stop off for somethin' on the way here.." Gemma suggested with a slight shrug of her own shoulders in almost a dismissive gesture.

"Yeah, maybe.." Cate answered but wasn't convinced.

"You think otherwise?" Gemma challenged and Cate glanced over at her, she imagined nothing she said now would make Gemma believe she didn't think that.

"I don't know. I mean, he's always leaving as soon as he gets a phone call.. Doesn't matter what time of day it is.. or what we're doing.. It's always work related and he never says what it is." Cate explained and as she said it out loud she almost felt stupid. Was he playing games with her? She wouldn't stand for it if he was. "I don't know what it is or what is starting to happen between us.. But I'm not a girl who plays games." Cate added firmly and it almost sounded foreign coming from her mouth. She noticed Gemma grin at this.

"You should tell him that." Gemma suggested.

"Maybe I will.." Cate started with a slight laugh. "I was fine before.. I just had the occasional question in my mind about what he was up to.. But then I got here and saw that damn tow truck sat outside and the absence of Juice's bike and now it feels like that little questioning voice was right. I don't know.. I'm just kinda pissed off." Cate sighed.

"The boys do a lot of stuff together, sweetheart. But you need to talk to him, say this to him and hear what he might have to say." Gemma gave her advice and Cate nodded before lifting a hand to sweep a piece of her hair behind her ear, which had fallen from her ponytail.

"Yeah.. I guess." Cate sighed. It sometimes seemed like Gemma knew more than she was letting on, but she couldn't tell. Gemma was a hard book to read. "I should get going.. Will you call or text me the details for that charity thing?" Cate asked.

"I don't do texting, sweetheart. Be here at 10am.. Bring your apron." Cate couldn't tell if Gemma was joking or not, but the expression on her face said that she wasn't.

"Ok.. I'll see you then." Cate dismissed herself and left the office. As she walked away, she took one last look at the tow truck and could've sworn she heard herself growl in annoyance before she climbed into her car and left the garage.