Early the next morning, Tig stood at the end of their bed and looked at Charlotte slept with their white sheets draped across half of her body. He began to slowly pull the sheet off of her, being careful not to wake her as he did so that when she felt the chocolate sauce he was squeezing onto her body she woke up with a scream and instinctively backed away from him.
"Ahh! Alex!" Charlotte screamed when he jumped onto the bed and pulled her back toward him by the ankle and continued to drip the sweet sauce onto her naked body. "ALEX!" she squealed through fits of hysterical laughter, trying to push him away but failing due to the slippery chocolate coating on her hands.
His face was twisted into a sick smile as he watched her writhe under the stream of chocolate that he promptly stopped and threw the bottle to the side before pulling her chocolate-covered neck into his mouth. "We didn't have a cake last night." he said between loud smacks of his mouth against her skin as he lapped up the chocolate. "So I was craving something sweet."
"Oh my-bah!" she fell into more fits of laughter when he opened his mouth and flattened his tongue to her stomach then moved all the way up, over her nipple then back to her neck. "Ohhh." she moaned, "You're a sick, wicked man."
He growled happily and turned her around roughly, slamming her face against the headboard - causing her to squeak in pain as the wood made contact with her face - before sliding into her from behind. Charlotte pushed her ass against his thrusting hips so that she could put some space between the wood of the headboard and her cheek so as to not get a concussion. With her arms planted firmly against the headboard she was able to regain a little more control and use her bent arms to grind against his pelvis while Tig slid his hard, throbbing cock in and out of her. While he moved inside her he wiped his hand up the side of her legs until they were covered with the chocolate off her skin then shoved his fingers into her mouth for her to suck the chocolate off of. As his thrusts became more violent he unintentionally began shoving his chocolate-covered further into her mouth until she gagged on them. The convulsion that spread through her body from this bodily response caused the muscles in her pussy to tighten so hard around his member that he saw stars for a second and ripped his fingers from her mouth so she would relax.
"Oh fuck" he gasped when he felt the limited blood flow he had return to the erect muscle he had pulled out of her while she coughed to get the saliva out of her lungs.
"Come back" she said raspily, when the coughing had subsided, laying down under him.
"Yes ma'am" he said, climbing back on top of her sticky body and putting himself back inside her. He licked her neck and chest while he moved fluidly inside her, the muscles in his back flexing as he held his torso above her. The muscles in his arms started to quake as he felt the overwhelming pleasure start to build up at the base of his cock and he started to sweat. On the precipice of orgasm he moved more slowly but purposefully inside of her until he felt her soft, dull pressure around him and happily released his load - knowing that she, too, had been satisfied.
They laid together in silence for a while until Charlotte tried to run her fingers through her hair and got them caught on a clump of dried chocolate causing her to let out a laugh. He smiled happily at the musical sound of her laughter and closed his eyes, trying to replay it over and over in his mind; hoping to burn it into his memory.
"How about you draw a bath for us while I strip the bed and…" he ran his hands over the sheet "throw out these sheets." he chuckled and started to roll her off the bed.
"A bath?" she said, surprised.
"Yeah" he said softly, not making eye contact with her while he balled the chocolatey sheets into his hands. "I'm going to be confined to showers for a while so I'll be glad for the variety."
She looked at the top of his head for a while until he turned and walked out of the room before going into their bathroom and running the water for a bath, adding some soothing bath salts and aromatherapy bubbles that she used for herself whenever she took a bath. While she waited for Tig to come back upstairs she used a wet washcloth to sponge the stickiness off of her body. When Tig came in she turned around and did the same for him, looking deeply into his bright blue eyes while she did until he was clean-ish enough to get into the steaming tub. When they sunk into the water together Tig pulled her toward him and traced the crow on her back with his finger before easing her into his chest and kissing her temple. He looked at their fingers under the surface of the water and watched as she wove her thin, delicate fingers through his scarred, calloused ones.
"Hey," he croaked, clearing his throat, "I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay, shoot." she said, turning as much as she could to look at him. "I'm not going anywhere."
He swallowed, "Well, I just wanted to talk to you a little about what could be coming up." he hesitated, "Well, it-it may be a little confusing and scary...what's about to come."
"Alex" she said, rolling her eyes. "My daddy went to jail for almost two years when I was thirteen and I've seen plenty other men get taken away. I don't need to hear my momma's 'it's just like a vacation' speech at the age of twenty-seven."
He chuckled nervously and rubbed his hands up and down her flat stomach. "No, I know" he said and sighed. "It's just...for whatever comes, know that things aren't what they seem. Okay?"
"O-okay" she said, confused but rested her head back into his neck and closed her eyes.
"You're a good Ol' Lady, you know that?" he said, smiling at her tacit understanding of the secrecy.
"Well I oughta be." she said, chuckling softly and pulling his arms more tightly around her. They laid together in the tub simply exploring each others' bodies with their fingers as they breathed in the comforting steam coming off the surface until Tig felt Charlotte start to shiver a little in his arms as the bath water had lost all its warmth along with the bubbles.
"Alright" he groaned, moving in the water and flipping the drain open to let it drain. "C'mon" he helped her stand up in the tub and then got out leaving her to wash her hair while he went to get dressed.
"Where did Tiana stay last night?" he asked when she came to join him in the kitchen, fully clothed with her hair wrapped in a towel.
"Not sure" she said through a yawn, "Probably at the clubhouse."
"Well, that was considerate of her." he handed Charlotte a mug of coffee.
"Speaking of." she shook her watch down on her wrist to look at it. "What time did Gemma say to be there for breakfast?"
He shook his head as he swallowed his sip of coffee, "Not sure."
"Let's just go now, then." she put her mug down and crossed to the fridge to pull out the large bowl of fruit salad she had made when they got home last night.
Tig downed the rest of his coffee as quickly as he could without burning his tongue while she shook her hair free from the terrycloth wrap, pulled on her brown leather jacket and threw her purse over her shoulder then shrugged his kutte on and picked up the fruit salad and led the two of them out the door.
When Charlotte's Nova pulled into the lot behind Tig's Dyna two croweater's flocked to her to unburden her of the fruit salad and bring it inside for her so she could walk to Tig's side and through the doors together. They were greeted with jubilant cries of welcome and Juice and Bobby threw some uncooked rice at them when they reached the bar.
"How was the honeymoon?" Clay asked, clapping Tig on the back.
"Delicious" Tig replied with a wink at Charlotte who had walked over to Gemma to kiss her in greeting.
While Tig talked and laughed with his brothers Charlotte made a plate for each of them, grabbing cinnamon rolls, muffins and some spoonfuls of fruit for them to eat. After handing him his plate with a kiss to the cheek she sat down next to Tiana who was holding her head in her hands.
"Good lord" Charlotte said with a snort, "How big was the truck that hit you?"
"Massive." Tiana groaned "After you left the guys and SAMCRO and I stayed up and Gacy challenged me to drink."
"Oh Tia, you didn't...he's a lot bigger than he was ten years ago."
"Yeah" Tiana said, her throat dry, "I forgot to take that into account." She sat up and looked around. "In my drunkenness, however, I think I may have gotten to know one of these ladies a little better."
"No!" Charlotte gasped and giggled as Tiana's head hit the table again. "So, did the boys leave?"
"Yeah." Tiana said, "Sam and Gacy went with so it's just us, Romes, Pharm, Ricky and my brother. We're probably just going to spend the day working at the club. We know you have a lot going on today."
"Thanks" Charlotte said, smiling sadly.
When Jax and Tara came in with Abel both Tiana and Charlotte stood up to greet them, each taking turns hugging Tara hello while Abel was passed around until he ended up in Bobby's arms who held him out for Clay to bestow a small hat bearing the SAMCRO insignia.
"Aww" Charlotte said, standing next to Bobby and looking down at the baby in his arms. "Next he'll have a mini-little Harley to ride around." she laughed and ran her finger over Abel's closed fist before turning around to kiss Tig who had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. They continued to exchange soft kisses in the corner of the bar until Opie called for their attention and Lyla announced that they were getting married by showing her ring to the group around them.
"Oh!" Charlotte squealed, flocking quickly toward her with Tara and Gemma to look at the ring Opie had given her. The four women were all smiles when they embraced Lyla and congratulated her.
"Here babe" Tig said, handing Charlotte a shot glass to toast Opie and Lyla with. When she had downed the burning liquid he pulled her to him to kiss her again before the men went into the chapel, leaving the women to clean up.
"Hey Charlie." Tig called, running over to her in the lot as she went to throw some bags in the dumpster outside. He slowed in front of her when she turned back around to face him. "I need you to go home, get our guns together."
"You got it." she said, rubbing her hands clean after depositing the bags in the trash.
Later in the morning Charlotte had returned with the trunk of the Nova full of whatever firepower they had at the house sans her Beretta and whatever sidearm Tig had on that day.
"Koz!" she called to where he was in the garage. "Gimme a hand with these."
He trotted over to her open trunk and shouldered the two rifles and one shotgun she had while she picked up the two cases that held the semi-autos. When he reached down to pick up another, large case that held a couple of pistols he said, "You take care of your shit."
Charlotte laughed as they walked toward the clubhouse. "Papa didn't raise no fool." she said. When they were inside she turned to Kozik and said, "Listen, Koz, this thing with-"
"There she is!" Tig said, coming out of the back room with Opie and interrupting her. He and Opie gathered up the guns and she opened the pistol case and pulled out the Browning Hi-Power and held it in front of Tig's face. "Aw, c'mon Charlie, I know, alright?"
She ignored him and continued with her line of questioning anyway. "If this gun is not in its case, where is it?"
He hung his head and answered begrudgingly, "In my holster."
"And who gets to shoot this gun?"
"No one but me."
"Thank you, darlin'" she said, smiling cheekily at him.
He rolled his eyes and put the gun back in the case then playfully bit her on the cheek before going to the back with them. When Charlotte walked out onto the lot she turned from the clubhouse just in time to see Gemma getting into Unser's car.
"Gemma?" she called after her and jogged toward the car before she heard Gemma demand that Unser go and they were pulling out of the lot. "Gemma?!" she called again, standing stupidly in the middle of the lot as she watched the car turn and drive away from the garage. "Shit!" she turned on her heel and ran into the office to call Tara.
"Hey, Charlotte, can I show you something?" Chucky asked her when she slammed into the small room
"Now's not really a good time, Chucky-honey." she said impatiently, putting the office phone to her ear.
After making the call, Charlotte waited for Tara to come back to the compound from the station where she had gone to speak to Gemma by cataloging guns with Opie and Tig in the back.
"That was Bobby." Tig said, hanging up his mobile. "Bad news from Stockton."
"Can't get a meeting with Lenny?" Opie inferred
"Nah, Otto's good for it. It may have even happened already." Tig rubbed his hands against his cheeks in disbelief. "But Otto's getting moved to Death Row for the thing in the library."
"Oh god." Charlotte said, shaking her head and clicking the safety of the rifle she was holding in the on position.
"Man, it's hard to keep your cool in there." Opie said, shaking his head. "I admired Otto for keeping his as long as he did but, after Luann…" he simply shook his head.
Tig looked at Charlotte as she checked the guns. "Yeah...I can imagine."
"Hey guys" Juice stuck his head into the back room "Lowen's here with word from Lenny's lawyers."
"Looks like they did have that meeting." Charlotte said, smiling as Tig and Opie rushed for the Chapel. She remained in the room loading the magazines of some of the rifles until Tig surprised her by returning just to kiss her on the mouth before going to the meeting for real.
When he left for the second time Charlotte came out for the back and walked past the chapel to see Lowen talking to the men within but kept walking until she was out on the lot just in time to see Tara pull up.
"How is she?" Charlotte asked as Tara approached her.
"I don't know." Tara said, shaking her head. "Out of her mind."
"I would think you would have to be to turn yourself in."
"No" Tara said, softly. "It's something else." She looked Charlotte square in the eyes, "The charges were dropped Charlotte, she's being released." she snuffed out the excitement that crossed Charlotte's face by continuing to speak. "But she's still terrified and I have no idea why."
Before Charlotte could say anything Lowen came out of the clubhouse and stood with them. "Hey Tara." the lawyer greeted the doctor warmly
"Ally, this is Charlotte" Tara said as introduction. "Tig's wife."
Lowen laughed when she shook Charlotte's hand but sobered when she realized it wasn't a joke. "Oh, I'm sorry" she said "I didn't-"
"No, no" Charlotte said, smiling "It's hard for me to wrap my head around too. So how are things looking for our boys?" she flipped her hair out of her face to look at the lawyer.
Lowen sighed, "It's up in the air right now...they can do some hard time for these weapons charges."
"What's the population like in Stockton?"
"Pretty diverse thanks to the dispersion between the ethnic gangs and the white crackheads. SAMCRO being pretty neutral in the race war, though, puts their scent in those neonazi's heads. You know how it is…"
"If you're not against them, you're against us." Charlotte nodded, knowing all too well how pecker-woods dealt with people who weren't actively in favor of their cause. She stood up straight when she saw Opie come out of the clubhouse and tell Lowen that the equation was true, whatever that meant.
Charlotte walked back inside to let Jax and Tara talk and have a drink of water, but almost spilled it down her front when Jax burst through the door holding a cardboard box with Chucky in tow and rushed into the chapel.
"What is going on?" she asked Tara who followed the men in with her mouth wide open
"Chucky has a box full of counterfeit money" Tara said, her eyes wide in amazement. "He has a few boxes I think."
"You're kidding me." Charlotte said, staring at the closed chapel door.
"Charlie!" Tig screamed, coming out of church with Chucky in his arms. "Charlie, baby. I'm sorry but I'm with Chucky now...he can support me the way a girl like me demands to be."
Charlotte laughed and looked at the reams of paper Juice had in his hands and moved closer to him. "My word." she said, running her fingers across the uncut bills. "This is unreal"
"Oh, baby." Tig said, wrapping his arms around Charlotte from behind and looking lustily at the money. "What can I buy you, huh? Some lava lamps and black light posters?"
"Ooh, baby" she cooed, turning to face him, "You know just what a thirteen year old boy from 1982 wants."
He laughed and kissed her neck, "I've been told."
Waiting with the men for the bills to be printed, Charlotte worked with Eric and Phil to stock the van with the spare guns they were bringing along to the meeting. When she walked back into the clubhouse Clay and Jax waved her over.
"Yeah?" she said when she reached them.
"Listen, Char" Clay said, looking over at Tig to make sure he was preoccupied. "When we pick up Jimmy O we're going to swap him out of the van and into the Cutlass with Tara."
"We can't spare the prospects." Jax said sadly, "We need the bodies…"
"I'll go with her." Charlotte said instantly. "You want me to wait with her, right - before the swap happens to make sure nothing happens?"
"Yeah" Jax said, nodding and smiling - satisfied by her understanding and eagerness.
"She can stay behind, you know." Charlotte offered, readin the concern on Jax's face "I'll pick up Jimmy O in the Cutlass."
"Noooo you won't" Tig said, making her jump when he spoke.
"She wants to do it, Tig." Clay said, rubbing his head where he could feel a headache starting.
"The only problem is, so does Tara." Jax said, smiling with an amused admiration for the two women. He turned to Charlotte, "She wants to do something...this she can do."
Charlotte sighed, "Jax, I know I don't have to tell you but, she's already doing extra for that alien she has growing inside her." she pat her own stomach suggestively, "No alien, no problem. Let me do it instead."
Jax laughed, "You be the one to talk her out if it then. But when you don't - because you can't - I'd still really like it if you stayed with her for protection."
"Of course. I'm gunna go get my sidearm then."
Tig jogged after her into the lot and pulled her to a stop. "There's a reason I didn't volunteer you for this." he said, putting his hands on his hips.
"And, clearly, it's the most selfish reason on this twirling rock in the sky." she said, mirroring his stance.
"Charlotte" he said, looking at the ground, "we just got married yesterday and I-"
"And Jax and Tara aren't even married AND she's pregnant, Alex." she shook her head at him "I do not want to get into a fight with you about this...especially not today." she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair then turned her face up to the sky. "Just surrender now, okay?" she said, looking back at him and stroking his cheek with her thumb.
"You trying to kill me, Sunshine?" he asked, smiling down at her.
"Yes sir, and I will every day for the rest of your life." she winked and ran over to the Nova to get her Beretta from home.
"Charlotte!" Tara called to her and waved when she saw the orange Nova pull onto the lot. "Do you know what they need me for?" she asked when Charlotte had gotten out and walked over to her.
"Yeah hun." Charlotte nodded, "They need you to take Jimmy O from the van in case the Russians catch up to them after counting the money."
"Okay" Tara said resolutely
"Tara...let me do it." Charlotte said firmly "Stay here with Abel and Gemma."
"No," Tara shook her head "no, no. I need to do this. Not just for the club but for myself. I need to know and for them to know I can be a part of this."
"But Tara-" Charlotte began indignantly.
"Charlotte" Tara said, crossing her arms 'This might sound backwards, but you're lucky. You were raised in a club life and you found your happy ending in one too. My happy ending exists out of the automatic trust that you get for living the life you have. Now my son is going to be in this life...and I want to be in it too."
Charlotte was quiet for a while, trying to find the heart to argue with her more but finally gave in and rubbed her arm. "Alright, Tara." she smiled and sighed, "Alright." Tara smiled graciously at her and the two women waited in silence for their instructions from the club. When Opie came out with a map of where they were going to wait and told them what direction the van was going to come from they both bent attentively over the map to make sure they understood before Tara took the map and folded it up to put in the glove box.
"You all set, Charlie?" Tig asked, pulling her side-saddle onto his motorcycle and holding her close to him.
"Yeah" she said, nodding. "I can do this, no problem." she tilted her head to Tara who was talking to Jax, "She's gunna do pretty damn good too." She closed her eyes and rested her head against his, wrapping her arms around him and breathing steadily until Bobby tapped her gently on the shoulder.
"Sorry newlyweds." he said softly "Get ready to shove off."
"Okay" Charlotte said, hopping off the bike and hugging Bobby before turning to Tig and kissing him on the lips, resting her hand against his chest. "Be safe and go get our guy." she winked at him and ran over to the Cutlass to slide into the passenger seat next to Tara. Before they pulled out Charlotte double checked her gun to make sure it was loaded then tucked it back into the holster under her arm.
Once they reached the spot where they were going to meet the van when it came down the hill they both got out of the car and waited in a highly alert silence until they saw the black vehicle peeling down the hill toward them. Charlotte focused on getting Jimmy O into the trunk, refusing to make eye contact with Tig in case it threw either of their concentrations. She got into the backseat of the Cutlass next to Miles while Phil slid into the front next to Tara. While Tara kept her eyes on the road Charlotte and the prospects' eyes were searching the road around them; ready for an ambush that may occur.
Pulling into the lot at Teller-Morrow forty minutes later, Phil hopped out of the Cutlass as it slowed so that he could close the tall gate behind them, closing the compound off from the rest of the world and anyone who may have followed them. When Tara had parked the car in one of the open garage bays Eric and Charlotte got out and closed the metal door behind them then walked back out onto the lot through the office so that they could wait with Gemma and Lyla - who had emerged from the clubhouse when they heard the engine of the Cutlass on the lot - for Phil to open the gate again for the members of SAMCRO who weren't far behind.
The four women stood close together and stared at the closed gate, waiting and hoping that - when it opened - every single member of their family road through unharmed. Through the hold Charlotte had on Gemma's hand she could feel her eyes searching and counting each bike that filed onto the lot when the gate finally did open. When they were sure that everyone had arrived home safe they all embraced before flocking to the men as they were parking their bikes.
Charlotte waited patiently in front of Tig for the engine of his Dyna to go quiet then quickly ran into his arms before he could take his helmet off. "You did it!" she said quietly but full of excitement
"Yeah we did." he said, smiling and kissing her firmly before putting her back on her feet.
"I'm glad you're all alright." she looked around at the relieved men milling around in front of the garage. "I can't imagine the look on the Russian's faces when they saw those fake bills."
The laughter that replaced the nervous energy coming off the men after their risky meeting ceased immediately when they saw ATF pull in behind Jax and Stahl get out of the car. When the first question out of Stahl's mouth was where the club had hidden Jimmy O Charlotte's eyes widened and she squeezed Tig's hand nervously only to have him squeeze it, reassuringly, back before quickly letting go to raise the garage door and expose the Cutlass inside. Charlotte backed away from the garage with her hand to her head in disbelief as the agents descended on Jimmy and ripped him out of the grasps of Tig and Juice while they read him his rights.
Clay, asking the question on everyone's mind, turned to Stahl and said, "How'd you know he was here?" in a flat, dead tone.
Charlotte waited with bated breath for her answer but when she saw the way Stahl was looking at Jax she figured out what must've happened. "No" she whispered softly when Stahl told them all about the deal Jax had made and put her hand on Tig's shoulder before he advanced on Jax in his anger.
"You made a deal for Jimmy?! What?!" he screamed, causing Charlotte to shudder at the sheer magnitude of the hatred that each of his words was dripping with. It wasn't until she heard the heartbroken disbelief and anger in Bobby's voice when he screamed at Jax and pushed him that she felt the hot tears brim around her eyes.
Charlotte abruptly stopped trying to grasp the unfathomable situation SAMCRO had found themselves in when she saw Tig being pulled toward away muttering, "You're dead, you are." over and over in Jax's direction; his eyes wild and hungry for blood. She quickly pulled her eyes from the heartbreaking image of Gemma's scared, tear-stained face with her quivering lower lip and the conversation between Jax and Stahl to run to Tig's side.
When one of the ATF agents first attempted to keep her away from Tig she pushed him roughly out of her way, screaming - her voice thick with unshed tears - "That's my husband!" The agent quickly regained his footing and grabbed her roughly by the arm, causing Tig to pull against the agent who was leading him away in anger at seeing her be manhandled. Instead of lashing out this time, Charlotte looked at the agent with her pleading eyes and said, "That's my husband...let me say goodbye." After a moment's consideration the agent let go of her arm. Tig's arms were planted on the hood of the black sedan so she pushed between him and Bobby and ducked under his braced arm to put herself in between him and the car then threw her arms around Tig's neck while he was patted down from behind.
Being this close to one another Tig was able to whisper urgently in her ear, "Remember what I told you this morning?" he asked, the strain in his voice letting her know it was important that she did.
She thought quickly until...'Whatever comes, know that things aren't what they seem'...she recalled then pulled away to look into his eyes. "Is this it?" she asked, letting him know she knew what he was referencing.
"Yeah" he said, he eyes boring holes into hers.
"Okay" she said softly, nodding back then pulled his face down to hers to kiss him.
"Alright that's enough" the agent said, pulling Tig off the car to load the men into the back of the armored transport vehicle.
She kissed him quickly one more time then the thought of Otto on death row popped into her head and she followed the agents around the the back of the van to shout in after he had been handcuffed, "Alex Trager, you keep your cool in there. You understand me?"
"Yes ma'am" he yelled back, locking his blue eyes on her green ones until the doors of the van closed between them and their last view of each other was obstructed by the cross-hatched window set in the thick metal door.