Thanks for the reviews! I'm hoping I didn't lose any readers! Wanted to get this posted before I head off to work. I do not own anything in this chapter, besides Nora, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 26

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Much to Nora's disappointment, Juice kept his distance from her since finding out she was pregnant. He avoided her gaze at the garage, kept out of any room she was in, and he barely came over anymore. He kept Half Sack on her tail and he said he'd showed up for her doctor's appointment, but that was it. She half expected for him not to show up, but he swore he would be there and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hit or hug him. If she count on Juice for one thing, it was his word

Even with his promise to be there, he went back to ignoring her. Nora didn't know what to do, she was basically on her own. With Lana still in the hospital, it wasn't like she was around to talk to right now. Without Juice to talk to either, there wasn't a lot of options left. She knew Gemma would be there in a second, but she also knew Gemma would push for her to talk to Juice and that he needed to be a part of this. Nora was terrified that she was going to have to go through this alone. Yeah, Juice said he'd be there, but there was a difference between being there because he wanted to, and being there because he thought he had to.

Looking down at her flat stomach, tears filled her eyes. Her baby wasn't going to have the family she would want for them. She and Juice weren't stable enough to even stay together for more than a few weeks at a time. They definitely weren't stable enough to have a child together. Juice would say he's in for good, but saying it and backing it up? Those were two entirely different things. Maybe Juice wasn't so different than Happy after all.

Her eyes flickered up to the window that led to the garage. Juice was inside working hard on a bike. He would look over occasionally, but she tried not to think too much about it. Neither had made the first move to talk to the other. Juice was terrified about everything. He was getting a family all at once, and he wasn't ready for that. Not that it mattered if he was ready or not, this baby was coming either way. Nora wasn't any more ready than he was though, and he didn't seem to understand that. This whole thing was a mess, and it was only getting worse.

A hour went by before Juice heard yelling from the office. Looking over, his body tensed seeing some guy yelling at Nora over the price of his bill. It wasn't the first time a customer wasn't happy with their bill, but seeing this guy just made his blood boil. He knew he should stay out of it, but before he knew what was going on, he was heading over to the office. Opening the door, his eyes locked with a surprised Nora. "Everything alright in here?" He asked out, his eyes flickering between them.

Nora got up, putting space between her and the man as she rounded the desk and crossed the small office to get to Juice. Feeling her fingers touch his arm sent shivers up his body, a feeling he hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. "He thinks we overpriced him for fixing the busted fender." She explained, her eyes flickering up to meet his briefly before moving behind him.

Glancing back at her, he knew the right thing to do would tell her he'd handle it. Tell her to go get something to drink and take a break. Looking across the room, he saw the dirty look the guy was giving her. This guy was really getting on his nerves now. Clearing his throat, he finally got the guy's attention. "Go take a break, Nore. I've got this one." He said back, motioning for her to get out of there. Hesitating for a moment, she nodded and kissed his cheek before heading out.

He looked after her surprised at the gester. Sparing him one last look, she left the office and headed over to the clubhouse to get something to eat. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He could figure out what it meant latter.

Sitting down with her freshly made sandwich, Nora was trying to figure out why she did that to Juice. He obviously wanted nothing to do with her. She probably just made things ten times worse and more awkward for him. She was so caught up in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice Jax sitting beside her. "You want some milk with that?" He asked, causing her to jump in surprise.

Shaking her head quickly, she glanced over at him as she tore off another piece of her sandwich. Jax studied her for a minute, taking in just how sad she looked. He could see that her and Juice being on the rocks again was taking a toll on her. "Want to talk about it?" He asked, searching her face to see how she'd answer. He could see the conflict on her face, showing him that she wanted to talk, but was stopping herself. No matter how close she and Jax were, talking about boys was not something they did.

Running a hand through her hair, she didn't know what to do. She knew Juice was freaked about the baby. He did care about her, that was proof enough just a moment ago. It was just if he was ready for a baby to come into the mix. Being with her was one thing, but getting a whole family at once? That would freak any guy out. It was just the matter if Juice would leave them or want them.

Looking back over at his friend, he knew how she was feeling. Well, he knew how Juice was feeling right now. He felt the same when Wendy had told him she was pregnant with Abel. It was scary knowing there was going to be someone who looked to you to keep them safe. It wasn't the same with a girl. This was your kid, it was up to you to keep them out of harms way and make sure they grow up to be amazing people.

Especially where they were being born into this life, it wasn't going to be easy. Women and children were being targeted, having a kid was going to be even scarier. So, yeah, he understood why Juice was freaked out about the news, but he didn't like seeing Nora so upset because of it. "Listen, Nora, I've been where Juice is. It's not easy, and I get this isn't fair to you either, but give him a break. That idiot loves you, he'll step up." Jax said, giving her a reassuring smile. "If he doesn't, I'll kick his ass for you." He joked, nudging her shoulder to try and get a laugh out of her.

Nora couldn't help the tiny crack of a smile from appearing on her lips. She knew Juice was scared, but so was she. She needed him, and he wasn't here though. She was alone going through all of this. Nora wanted Juice, she wanted him here and going through all this with her. "Listen, baby, even if he doesn't get his tattooed head out of his ass, you're not alone in this. You're having his baby, you're family. We take care of out family, you know that." Gemma said, coming up behind them.

Feeling the older woman's hand touch her shoulder, she looked up to see Gemma standing behind her. The older woman would see that Nora needed to talk, and the kind of talk was not one her son was good at. "How about I take you shopping? The boys can handle the fort for a few hours." She suggested, giving her son a look to scram.

He seemed to get the hint and kissed them both on the cheek before taking his leave from the clubhouse, leaving the girls to their talking. He crossed the lot and saw that Juice was finishing up in the office. He glanced back to see Gemma leading Nora toward her car. Walking into the office, Juice looked up to meet his gaze. He looked almost let down when he saw that it was him. He briefly wondered if the tattooed headed Son wished he had been the little blonde bartender.

"Expecting someone else?"

Juice almost looked nervous at what he was implying. Clearing his throat, he shook his head as he lowered his eyes. Avoiding his VP's gaze, he went to getting the papers in order so Nora didn't have a big mess when she got back. "Uh, nah. No, um, Nora was having some problems with one of the customers. Told her I'd handle it." He said over, trying to keep himself busy so he didn't have to look up.

Jax could see right through him though. He had been in Juice's place before, and now it was his turn to make the right choice. He could either give up on Nora entirely, or accept the baby and step up to be a good father. "Ma took Nora out shopping, probably for some baby shit. For little kids, they need a lot." He mentioned, glancing at Juice to watch his reaction.

Juice felt guilty. Nora was pregnant with his kid, he should be out there shopping with her. It should be him taking care of her, he knew all of that. He was just scared. He didn't know the first thing about being a father, not like he had much to go on since his own abandoned him before he was even born. Now here he was, doing the same thing. "It's alright to be scared, man. Believe me, I was too when Wendy told me she was pregnant with Abel. But you've got a choice now. You can either be a dick and pretend none of this is happening, give Nora up for good. No half way shit like you've been doing. She's not a fucking toy." Jax started to say, pausing as he waited for Juice to look up.

He wanted to make sure his friend was really hearing him. If Juice was going to make any kind of decision, he needed to hear this. "Look, Juice, you're a good guy. If anyone's gonna be with Nora, I'm glad it's you. I know you can be a good father too. Don't screw this up just because you're scared." He went on, smiling weakly as he remembered how he felt the first time he got to hold his son. "First time I held that kid, best day of my life. Seeing that little face look up at you. They trust you so much, and it's your job to make sure you earn that. You've got a chance to have something great here, Juice. Don't throw it away." He warned, hoping that he was getting through to him.

Juice locked eyes with him for a long moment, taking in everything he was saying. He knew Jax was right, he knew what he needed to do, but it didn't make it any less scary. There was going to be another life looking to him to protect them. They were going to looking at him with so much trust and love, and he wasn't sure he deserved that. Looking at all the hell he had already put Nora through, he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't want him to be apart of the baby's life.

Jax sighed, turning to leave Juice with the choice. Once he was gone, Juice pulled a picture out of his inner pocket of his cut. It was of Nora. She had been joking around, dancing to some song that had come on over the radio. He had snapped the picture when she wasn't looking. Her smile shined, her eyes sparkling. Her blonde curls bounced around. She looked absolutely beautiful, and he took the picture everywhere with him. Tracing his thumb over her face, he smiled weakly.

Pocketing the picture, he hurried out of the office and over to the clubhouse. He didn't pay any attention to the guys inside as he passed by them to get to his room. Grabbing his duffel bag, he started stuffing clothes inside along with some of his other stuff. If he was going to do this the right away, he had to make a choice. As he packed away his things, he glanced around the room. Since getting with Nora, he hadn't been spending a lot of nights here. It was only when nights ran late or they were fighting.

Those were the worst for him. Sleeping alone, without Nora, he hated those nights. He smiled weakly, thinking of the nights where she snuggled into him. The feeling of her looking for warmth and protection from her. He could still remember some nights when he'd come in late and try to get in bed without waking her and she'd smile and snuggle into him, happy that he chose to go there instead of staying here at the clubhouse.

He already had some of his things over there, that was where he needed to be. He needed to be with his girl, his kid. The last thing he wanted his kid to feel was how he felt when his dad abandoned him. Juice didn't want to be the kind of dad that wasn't there for their kid. Jax was right about that. Zippering his bag, he took one last look around the room before heading out, hopefully for the last time.

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Juice knew that Gemma had taken Nora shopping, so he gave himself a few hours to get everything straight in his head. What he would say to her, how he would say it. If he didn't get it right beforehand, it was going to come out a fumbling mess when he said it to her. He noticed her getting dropped off by Gemma and still, he gave himself a minute to make sure he got everything right in his head.

Taking a deep breath, he got off his bike, grabbed his bag from the compartment satchel and headed across the street to her front door. Using his key, he let himself in. It startled her, but he didn't give her a chance to scold him before he dropped his duffel bag right on the ground announcing "I'm moving in."

She didn't know what to say to that, so he took her silence as a que to keep going before he backed out. "I'm in this, Nora. For real this time. You, me, and this baby. I'm moving in, we'll pay the bills together, take turns getting food and whatever. Whatever needs to be done, we'll handle it together. There's no discussing this, this is what's happening." He said, putting his foot down on the matter.

Giving her a moment, let the fears he was pushing back come in. What if she didn't want him to be apart of their baby's life? Her life? What if he missed his chance with her? Seeing her open her mouth to speak, he jumped at the chance to get out the rest of what he wanted to say to her. "Don't say no, cause this is the way it's gonna be. I don't care what you think, okay, I do, but not about this." He started to say.

"Juice,"

"No, you're not gonna convince me otherwise." He said, shaking his head, not letting her change his mind about this.

"Juice, just li-" She tried it again.

"This-this is my kid too, Nora, and I-I want to be here, be part of it's life." He cut her off again.

He was gonna get this out even if it killed him. When she realized that he wasn't going to give her a chance to talk, she just rolled her eyes and lifted his bag, taking it into her room. He followed behind her, still explaining that he wasn't going anywhere. It didn't seem to click in his head what she was doing until she tossed the bag on the bed. His voice trailed off, staring between her and the bed confused. Seeing his confusion, she huffed, brushing her hair out of her face before giving him a weak smile. "Unpack your shit. I was gonna make dinner." She said, brushing past him to go start cooking.

Watching her walk out of the room, he stared dumbfounded. Had it really just been that easy to convince her? Did all of that just happened? He was moving in with her, they were going to be a family. Sitting on the bed, his world was blown. This was happening. This was really happening right now. Not only was he getting this serious with a girl, but he was getting a girl and a kid. In just a few months, she would be giving birth to his son or daughter. There would be a little her or him here.

"Juice, you gonna come help?"

Looking up, he realized something. This was exactly where he needed to be. Taking a deep breath, a grin appeared on his face as he got up. "Yeah, I'm coming, baby." He said out as he left the room to go help her. He was home. He was finally really home.