"Althea, you realize that our time is very, very valuable, don't you?"
Lieutenant Althea Jarry inwardly loathed how everyone else in the precinct was appropriately referred to with the rank they'd rightfully earned - except for her. Because she had a vagina, she was Althea - and the newly sworn-in mayor, Deacon Bollinger, who had recently taken Hale's place as the supposed legal figurehead of Charming, made sure to remind her of this at every possible opportunity.
"You realize that if you succeed at this, it could make your career?" Bollinger said, leaning across his desk and leering at the woman. Bollinger, upon coming into office, learned very quickly from hearsay that Althea Jarry was screwing one of the good ol' boys of SAMCRO. While Hale, his predecessor, had started to become complacent with SAMCRO because he was running out of other avenues, Bollinger wasn't nearly as willing to cooperate, especially due to one minor detail - he had, just before the election, been caught sleeping with a gaggle of Triad-owned prostitutes in a new establishment opened in Lodi, owned by August Marks. Marks, as it turned out, was happy to have a bargaining chip to keep the new mayor of the town of Charming under his thumb - this was, in fact, one of his least messy methods of exerting control, and he seemed pleased to have a method of having a finger on the pulse of Charming with only very minimal clean-up.
So, Mayor Bollinger, in turn, had to use whatever tools he had at his disposal to keep August Marks appeased - among which was the ever ambitious and none-too-bad-looking Althea Jarry.
"I understand, sir, but -"
"I'm not asking you to murder anyone," Bollinger said with a derisive laugh, dismissing whatever protest Jarry was about to provide. "All I'm asking is that you use the little spell you have over that stinking Scotsman to stir up a little... dissent. See if we can't get SAMCRO out of the way of… progress."
"SAMCRO has always worked with us in whatever capacity -"
"In whatever capacity they see fit," Bollinger interrupted. "And I intend to stop that. Wouldn't it be nice to storm into that little clubhouse of theirs and tell them that there's a new Sheriff in town?" he smirked. "Prove that you're a good investment, Althea, and we can bring back the Charming PD with you at the helm."
Bollinger could tell that this, more than anything else, set off the interest in Althea Jarry's mind. She wanted so badly to be one of the boys, to be regarded with respect - so badly that she would tear through anyone she needed to in order to get it.
"Think on it, Althea," Bollinger said calmly, waving his hand to signal that she was dismissed from his office. "If you succeed, the one who benefits the most is you."
With a curt nod, Jarry rose from her chair and left. This was possibly the only chance she had left - if she couldn't deliver for Bollinger, she'd lose every ounce of pull she'd managed to earn in Charming. What choice did she have? If Bollinger wanted SAMCRO on a platter, then it was her job to deliver them with all the fixings.
And Filip Telford was her best shot.
"Aunt Deedee," Abel whined, dragging out his small rolling suitcase from the guest bedroom in the Ortiz house. "I like staying at your house. I've always got someone to play with - do we have to go back?"
"Your house is all fixed up now, sweetie," Denise said, crouching down and giving the boy a one-armed hug. "It doesn't mean you can't come over here anymore, it just means instead of being stuck in that room, you get your whole house again!"
"I don't want my whole house," Abel pouted, his face pinching in annoyance. "Do I have to?"
"It'll be fine, bud," Denise laughed, leaning over and planting a kiss on the little boy's temple. Juice was sitting on the couch, strapping Abel into his carrier so they could load into the car and bring the boys back to their own home, which had finally gotten through the lengthy repair process after the fire and had been cleared to live in again. Juice, however, had been strangely quiet since chapel that morning, and Denise hadn't felt compelled to ask why. Granted, she was already annoyed that chapel had gotten in the way of Juice coming to her doctor's appointment, which had only contributed to her frustration.
At this point, Denise was a full two and a half months pregnant, and after a good while of observation, the doctors had finally expressed confidence that the baby was healthy and whole.
She had been frequenting the doctor's office in the recent weeks, so she supposed she couldn't necessarily fault him for missing just one when he'd been so diligently present for the others. The past few weeks had also been comprised of a lot of murky waters as far as Juice and Denise being okay - some days they were, and some days they weren't. For the most part, however, Denise was content worrying about the baby and asking no questions about club business.
A knock came on the door, and Denise rose to answer it, only to have Juice quickly and wordlessly get to his feet, hurrying to the door. He threw open the door and was immediately met by a sour-faced Jax Teller.
"I thought we were droppin' your boys off at your place -"
"Yeah," Jax answered shortly. "I came to talk to your wife."
"Dee can't come out right now."
"Juice, what's going on?" Denise asked, straightening up and walking towards the front door, looking back and forth between Jax and her husband, an expression of confusion crossing her face. "Is there something I should -"
"Can we talk? Go for a drive or something?" Jax asked.
"I told you -"
"Yeah - yeah, okay," Denise interrupted, talking over Juice in annoyance that he was trying to speak for her. "Juice, maybe you could take the boys home? And I'll meet you back here?"
"That'd be good," Jax said in a tight voice, crossing his arms over himself. "Bobby's over there doing some clean-up, the contractors left a little bit of a mess, but you can just drop 'em off."
Juice's jaw tightened visibly, but he rolled his shoulders and shrugged. "Alright." He leaned over and brushed his lips across Denise's temple before looking over at Jax, his gaze steely and filled with warning. "Don't stress her out. Her condition and all -"
"Considering what the little Peanut's already been through, I don't think anything Jax has to say is gonna be that groundbreaking," Denise said with a nervous laugh, elevating herself onto her toes slightly and kissing Juice on the cheek. "I'll be fine, babe. I'll see you in a while, just get the boys home safe."
Denise and Jax headed out to her car and drove out to the parking lot of the park nearby, not saying a word until Denise brought the car to a halt and unbuckled her seatbelt, turning to face Jax.
"You gonna tell me what's going on?" she asked, arching an eyebrow gracefully. "Because my husband's been acting weird since this morning, and he acts like you're gonna throw me in a stock pot and serve me up with some fava beans and a nice chianti if I'm alone with you."
"Fucking Chibs wants to start his own charter," Jax spat out suddenly, his face contorting in frustration. "Says in the by-laws it's allowed - a clean break. Both charters have a window to recruit new members -"
"What?" Denise asked with a frown. "But - how -"
"You need to talk Juice out of going with Chibs," Jax said, slapping his palm on the dashboard and leaning forward. "That bitch Jarry has Chibs' dick on a string and she's playing him like a puppet. Ratboy and Bobby are solid SAMCRO, Happy's on the fence and refused to decide, says if we make him, he might jump ship back to Tacoma. Chibs got Quinn and Tig jumping ship, and everyone knows Juice is loyal to him -"
"This isn't my business, I'm just an ol' lady, remember?" Denise asked, feeling incredibly squeamish at the suggestion that she somehow get involved in club business as though it was her decision to make. "I'm not in the club, Jax, and I'm not gonna -"
"Is it because Chibs wants to make your husband VP of the new charter? Chibs knows how bad Juice has been itchin' to prove himself, and he's milkin' it." Jax spat. "They're recruiting out of the South and East Bay - calling themselves SAMBAY -"
"What?" Denise interrupted, her voice suddenly shrill and choked - she felt her heartrate suddenly quicken, and her breaths became more shallow at the sudden revelation. But the South and East Bay was Marks and Triad territory. Why would they make it their center of operations? "VP? Jax, Juice never told me -"
"I can't lose my guys, Dee," Jax said, a desperate, furious gleam in his eye as he leaned over towards her and continued talking. "Not with things being what they are -"
"Why is Chibs doing it?"
"Saying that I'm not fit to lead, that SAMCRO is a sinking ship -"
"That's ridiculous. This has to be - a misunderstanding," Denise said, holding up her hand and shaking her head in attempt to make heads or tails of what Jax was trying to tell her. "He's… well, he's your guy, even more than he is Juice's. Chibs would never -"
"He's balls-deep in police pussy, I don't know what the fuck he's playing at," Jax insisted. "But you can get through to Juice - Deedee, please."
"Jax, I can't -"
"Is that a life you're prepared to live, Deedee? Being the VP's old lady?" Jax insisted. "Is that a life you're prepared to bring a kid into? Because…"
Jax's voice trailed off, and he clenched his jaw slightly, prompting Denise to frown in response, nearly reaching out and touching his shoulder before he forced himself to continue.
"Because you already know - being an ol' lady is one thing," he said, his voice growing grave as he forced himself to look Denise in the eye. There was such frankness in his voice that she found it almost unsettling. "But this is going to drag you down. It'll drag you and your baby down just like it did Tara because Juice is fuckin' up just like I did. He isn't puttin' your family first - and I can't blame him. I can't. But I know where this road goes because I've taken it, Dee."
A chill coursed its way up Denise's spine at the fact that Jax Teller, of all people was warning her not to become too deeply entrenched in the MC life. Jax Teller. The weight and burden of fear, which she had for so long willed herself not to feel, finally began to settle on her shoulders, like a crow landing and digging in its talons.
"I made you a promise that if you helped me fix this, you're free," Jax pressed on. "You can take Juice and the baby and get the hell out of Charming. I swear to you, that's still on the table if you get Juice to stay solid SAMCRO. But if Juice goes SAMBAY - if he gets that VP patch - you can bet your ass he's never gonna just get up and walk away."
Denise fell silent, placing a hand on her chest over her heart and looking away from Jax. She knew that he was right - she knew that Juice's loyalties worked that way, no matter how much he loved her. She couldn't deal with this - she couldn't deal with someone springing this on her. She shook her head and looked back at the SAMCRO president.
"This - this has to be some kind of a misunderstanding," she insisted with a weak, forced laugh. "Juice would've said something to me right away -"
"No, he wouldn't," Jax pressed on. "Because he knows you won't stand for that shit. If you told him not to -"
"I don't know, Jax," Denise said weakly. "I'll - I'll talk to him, okay?"
"If they break off, word's gonna get out that SAMCRO's going to shit. We're not gonna get new members, even if we prospect every kid in Charming whose balls have dropped."
"I can't promise you anything, Jax," Denise said. "I just said I'd talk to him - but I'm not going to just lay down and let this SAMBAY bullshit happen. Not for Jarry."
"You got beef with the cop?"
"No beef," Denise said, shaking her head slowly. "Just a very bad feeling."
"Hey, babe - are you -"
"VP?"
Juice had been hoping to meet his wife at the door when she got home from her talk with Jax and appease whatever anger she'd come home with - both for the baby's sake and his own. Her approach, however, was direct and without hesitation. Juice hung his head in shame, realizing that there was no hiding the offer that Chibs had put on the table. He didn't want to face her - he thought perhaps he could avoid it. But she wasted no time, and Juice realized quickly that he knew her too well to expect her to.
"I haven't accepted yet, baby -"
"Yet?" Denise said shrilly. "Chibs wants to make you VP of SAMBAY and I have to hear it from Jax? And - and you were actually considering saying yes? At what point was I gonna have any say in this? At what point were you going to let me have a say in what happens to me, and to our baby?"
Denise's voice had grown higher and higher in pitch, and she inhaled sharply, beginning to pace a few steps back and forth in disbelief.
"Babe, Jax is just using us," Juice insisted, raising his hands and attempting to calm his wife down before anything bad happened. "At least Chibs'll look out for us. This is our out -"
"This is not an out!" Denise cried, throwing her arms out in frustration. "Why don't you just fess up and say that you want that VP patch that bad -"
"Chibs is gonna be on our side, he's not gonna use you, he's not going to touch the money!" Juice retorted, finding his voice elevating in volume to match Denise's. "Isn't this what you wanted? If I stay in SAMCRO, Jax is gonna keep using you -"
"Because you trust the creepy psycho ass cop that Chibs is fucking any more?" Denise asked, running her hands through her hair. "You really think she has nothing to do with this? You don't see the way Sheriff Wonder Bread looks at me like a vulture -"
"Chibs would never let pussy get to his head like that -"
"Oh, right," Denise snorted derisively. "Chibs would never this, Chibs would never that - did you think that Chibs would ever tell you to put a gun to your head and blow your own brains out? Because he fucking did, Juice! Every word Jax said against you, every death sentence, every punishment Jax has ever put on your head, he's gone along with. I know you worship the ground he walks on but if we can't trust Jax, I don't think we should be trusting Saint-fucking-Filip Telford either -"
"Shut up!" Juice snapped suddenly, covering his ears and clenching his eyes shut. "Denise, just shut up! You wanna stay with Jax? Are you fuckin' kidding me? You and me gotta be on the same fuckin' page on this! You're my ol' lady and - and -"
"And what, Juice?" Denise asked, her eyes suddenly narrowed in fierce, intense anger, so caustic that when Juice actually opened his eyes to look at her, he would've sworn her gaze was burning right through him. "I should be a good ol' lady and put up or shut up? Is that it? You didn't feel like we needed to be on the same page when you ran the fuck away after Jax had me murder someone," Denise began, and Juice immediately felt himself shrink in shame, even if he didn't want to admit it. "You didn't give a fuck then, did you?"
"Baby - baby, I'm sorry -"
"I didn't sign on for this, Juice," she said, her voice growing choked. Juice felt a sudden stab of guilt when he saw that she was just barely restraining tears from falling. He realized now how valiantly she had been trying to forgive him these past weeks - for leaving her, for doubting her. "I didn't sign on to be a nice, obedient old lady. I didn't ask for this and I'm not bringing a baby into this world just to be a VP's kid. No. I don't want anything to do with SAMBAY, and I don't want my baby to either. So that leaves you."
Juice backed away a few steps, leaning back against the counter and gripping it, realizing that his legs were shaking underneath him. Denise, in turn, moved over to the sofa and sat down, turning away from Juice and burying her head in her hands.
"I need you to decide, right now," Denise said, her voice muffled into her hands. "I am giving you five fucking seconds to choose. That SAMBAY VP patch - Chibs or me."
Hidden in her voice, unspoken, was a piteous plea. Choose me. For once, dammit, please choose me.
"Baby -"
"Five."
"Baby, this isn't fair, you know that Chibs and I -"
"Four."
"Denise, I can't just fucking choose -"
Denise let out a small sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob before getting back onto her feet and turning to face Juice - her husband - and revealing that she had finally done it. She had finally allowed herself to just cry - because for the first time, ever since she had first met Juice by that Stockton bus stop, she felt truly alone.
"You just did."
A/N's
Please don't hurt me! There's still one more chapter and entire sequel. The final installment and first chapter of 'Lay Me Down' will hopefully be posted tomorrow. Have faith and stay tuned. Cheers!