Author's Note: So this one is a little shorter than some of my other chapters. Still hits 4,000+ words, but I usually shoot for around 5-6,000+. Anyway, I felt the end of this chapter was a good moment to end on, so I did. Thanks for all the love you show this story.

I made Ellie and Kenny little bit older in my head than they seemed to be in the show. The school year is over in early June, it's March now. Ellie is in eight grade and Kenny is in fifth. :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 38 –

Somehow the girls had managed to get Juice and Jax to watch Abel, Thomas, Gracie, Kenny, and Piper while the three women plus Ellie had a girl's day.

Lyla, Ellie, Tara, and Kayleigh had piled into Kayleigh's SUV and driven to Stockton for the day. Lyla knew a great place to get your nails done, so that was where they had started. After getting both manicures and pedicures they shopped at a few small stores close to the salon. They didn't purchase much so they decided to walk down to the little sandwich shop for lunch.

Tara chose their table and the waitress took their drink order, leaving behind menus. Once the waitress returned with the drinks the four were ready to order. It wasn't very long before their food was brought out.

"So, Ellie," Tara started up a conversation as she set her fork down. "Are you excited to start high school next year?"

The young blonde nodded. "Yeah. Nervous, kind of, but Lyla says it's not as scary as it seems."

"It's not," Kayleigh chimed in. "High school is so much fun. Have you thought of any sports or after school clubs you want to do?"

"I like art, painting and photography and stuff. There's an art club at the high school."

"Oh that would be lots of fun! I used to love art classes in high school. I took one every semester. Any sports?" Kayleigh asked before taking a bite of her chicken salad sandwich.

"I'm not very athletic," Ellie said softly.

Tara smiled. "I wasn't either. Don't worry about it. Art club sounds like lots of fun and maybe you'll find something else you like to do, too. And if not, that's okay too."

"Yep," Lyla agreed. "High school is about having fun. Don't stress over it, doll."

Ellie nodded. "Do you think…" she looked at Kayleigh. "Do you think I could work at the bakery? I know Tristen started when she was a freshman."

Kayleigh and Lyla exchanged a quick look. Lyla nodded once and smiled. Ellie didn't see it, still looking expectantly at Kayleigh. "I think we could work something out. You would start like I started Tristen, only two or three days a week after school, and I have to see that you're keeping up with school work."

"I can do that!" Ellie said excitedly. "Could I start this summer? I know you'll have the new baby to take care of and extra hands at the shop would be needed, right? I can do anything you need."

The three women chuckled at Ellie's eagerness. Kayleigh gave her a warm smile. "I'm sure we can work that out, too. I still need to talk with Bobby about me taking a month off, whether we'll close Lynn's temporarily again like I did with Gracie or if he will have time to keep it operating."

"How long will you close if that's what you do?" Lyla asked.

"About a month probably. Not too long, don't want my loyal customers finding another bakery to frequent. It will be easier with Juice here this time, but that first month of having a newborn is always a doozy."

"Tell me about it," Tara agreed. Lyla nodded her agreement too.

The girls finished their lunch and then decided to go to Lyla's house, where they had met up earlier, to watch movies and eat junk food. They made popcorn and all piled onto the couch to watch a sappy romance movie together.

Before they could put in the second movie, Jax called to say Thomas was starting to run a fever. Juice had left with Kenny, Piper, and Gracie to take them to his house. Tara said her goodbyes and left to take care of her sick child, who they'd all heard crying in the background.

"I need to go pick up the boys," Lyla said, looking at Kayleigh and Ellie.

"Go," Kayleigh replied with a smile. "Ellie and I will clean up. I'll wait till you're back to head out."

"Thanks. See ya in about thirty."

It didn't take long to get from Opie's old house to where Juice and Jax's houses were. Ellie and Kayleigh started cleaning up after listening to the sound of Lyla's car pulling out of the driveway. Kayleigh was washing the two bowls they had used in the kitchen sink when Ellie appeared to her left.

"Hey, Kayleigh?" she asked in an inquisitive tone that held a touch of shyness and nervousness.

"Yeah?"

"Did you know my mom?" she asked.

Kayleigh didn't have to ask who she was referring to. Donna was her mom, no matter how much Lyla had stepped up or tried to be mother to Ellie, the young girl would always remember Donna and think of her as her mother.

"Yes. I didn't know her very well. We met once or twice when she came to the bakery and then at Abel's homecoming party." Kayleigh was reluctant to bring that night up, seeing as how it was also the night Donna had died. "She was a nice woman, good, kind, she loved her kids. You and Kenny meant the world to her I know that."

"I know. Do you… do you think she'd be proud of me?"

"I know she is." Kayleigh answered back seriously.

"How can you be so sure?" Ellie asked, leaning against the counter.

Kayleigh cut off the water and placed the bowl she had just rinsed in the drying rack and turned to mimic Ellie's position. "I lost my mom when I was born. I never met her, I've only ever seen pictures and heard stories from other people. But, my grandma, her mother, used to tell me how proud my mom would have been of me. I didn't believe her, not really, but now that I have my own daughter I understand. Moms, we're always going to be proud of our kids. They're ours. Ellie, you could follow in Lyla's footsteps, and I think Donna would still be proud of you, as long as you're happy. You are a beautiful, smart, and sweet young girl. It's not what type of job you have or how many friends you have that make your parents proud of you, it's who you are as a person, your happiness and fulfilling your dreams."

"Yeah?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

Ellie gave a small smile. "I remember the day we came into your bakery the first time. You gave Ken and I each a free muffin and talked to mom for a while before we had to leave. She really liked you, I remember her saying how she thought you two would be friends."

"I think we would have been."

Ellie was quiet for a moment, looking down at her feet before turning her head to look at Kayleigh. "Do you think they're together? Mom and Dad? In Heaven?"

"Most definitely. Opie loved your mother and she loved him."

"They used to fight a lot," Ellie admitted quietly.

"Grown-ups do that, Ellie. Fighting with each other sometimes shows how much you care about the other. If you didn't care, it wouldn't be worth the effort to argue about it. I'm not saying fighting is healthy or good for a relationship, but two people even if they are in love, aren't always going to see eye to eye and agree."

Kayleigh let out a breath of air and took Ellie's hand. She pulled the younger girl to the couch and they sat down. Kayleigh wasn't sure if she should tell Ellie this or not, but she had decided shortly after Opie's death to one day share this story with her. So, with a deep breath, she began to tell Ellie about her chat with Opie almost a year and a half ago.

Kayleigh perched on the picnic table beside Opie as he lit up a smoke. When the breeze blew it in her direction, he moved so it didn't hit her in the face.

"How are you Ope?" she asked.

"Good. You? Little girl looks like she's getting big in there."

"I thought guys weren't supposed to comment on how big a woman was when she was pregnant?" Kayleigh snapped teasingly.

Opie just shrugged. "Didn't comment about you. Besides, you look good. Turn the right way and no one would even know you were pregnant. Donna was like that with Ellie."

"Yeah, well, I feel every bit of seven months pregnant right now."

Opie chuckled. "Donna hated those last three months. Said she'd take throwing up all the time over swollen feet and Braxton Hicks contractions."

"I agree with her one hundred percent."

Opie smoked the rest of his cigarette and they enjoyed the calm silence together.

"You ever miss him?" Opie asked suddenly.

"Juice?" she questioned, not sure who Opie meant.

"No, your husband."

"Ryan?" Kayleigh breathed out heavily and then continued. "Yeah. All the time, really. I mean, don't get me wrong, I care about Juice, a lot, but I knew Ryan for years. Years. We were friends before we were a couple. Sometimes I wish I could just sit down and talk to him. Especially like now, with Juice locked up and one on the way, Ryan would know just what to say to calm my nerves and shit. We could talk about anything or nothing for hours. Juice and I can too, but it's not the same as knowing someone for so long."

"Yeah. Me and Donna were like that too."

Kayleigh gave Opie a small smile. "You miss her?"

"All the time."

They were quiet for a moment and Kayleigh reached out in a bold move to touch his arm. "She'd want you to be happy. You know that, right? I had a hard time after Ryan died. I didn't think I'd ever be happy again, but then I met Juice. He makes me happy. He makes me realize that Ryan would want me to be happy, to move on. We were young, hell Opie, you and I are still young. Donna would want you to be happy with Lyla, or with someone else. She'd just want her husband to be happy."

Opie was silent and then after a moment he placed his big hand over hers on his arm. "Yeah," he agreed.

They said no more to each other, but sat in silence until the roar of bikes could be heard getting closer to the compound.

"I need to head back to the bakery," Kayleigh said, sliding off the picnic table carefully.

Opie held onto her arm as she did so, and stood up with her. "Be careful, preggo. Take it easy, too. Juice will freak if you hurt yourself doing too much."

"I ain't doin' too much. I bake, I sell baked things, then I clean shop and go home or come here. Have a good one, Opie. See you tomorrow."

"Tonight," he corrected. "It's my turn to check in on you."

Kayleigh rolled her eyes. "I don't need a check in."

"Yeah you do. Miles told on you yesterday. How you were trying to move furniture around and shit. Don't do that, okay. Let us help."

They stared hard at each other as the bikes started to pull in the lot one by one. The guys would have church as soon as everyone was dismounted.

"Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Ope."

"Yeah. Hey," he said, stopping her as she started to walk off. "Thanks."

Kayleigh gave him a warm smile. "Anytime."

Ellie heard Lyla's car pull up and gave Kayleigh a quick hug. "Thanks, Kayleigh. I think I needed to hear that. Dad really loved my mom didn't he?"

"Yeah he did. But he loved Lyla, too, maybe not the same as he loved your mom but he loved her, too. Be good, sweetheart, I'll see you around, okay?"

Lyla and the two boys came in the door as Ellie said her goodbye. Kayleigh greeted Kenny and Piper, who headed off to their room to play video games, and then said goodbye to Lyla. "We need to do this again sometime soon, like before this munchkin arrives in July."

"Most definitely! Maybe next week or the next, depending on RedWoody's busy schedule," Lyla replied. "See you around, Kayleigh!"

Abel's third birthday party had gone off without a hitch, but Kayleigh was exhausted from the long and eventful day. The party had been a blast, filled with laughter, little kid giggles, cute games, food and presents. Once Gracie was down for the night Kayleigh and Juice stayed awake for a while in the bedroom.

Being almost six months pregnant was making it difficult for her to get comfortable at night to sleep. Juice had bought a giant body pillow for her, and Kayleigh wedged it under her belly and then sighed, squeezing the top part with her arms.

Juice slid behind her and kissed the curve of her shoulder. "My little girl being hard on you tonight?"

Kayleigh hummed and craned her neck to be able to press a quick kiss to his mouth. "Only a little bit. She's moving around, after being chill all day today she's up and ready to dance now that mama's ready to sleep. Gracie was the same way."

"I remember you telling me that." Juice pressed an open mouth kiss to her shoulder again and trailed a hand across her baby bump, rubbing in slow circles. "Chibs and I are going to paint the baby's room tomorrow. You girls still going to work on plans for the playground fundraiser?"

"Yes, at Tara's house to stay away from the paint fumes. Bobby and Lyla's surprise party is eleven days away. We set a date for the playground fundraiser to be on the 27th. The weekend after the birthday party. We already have several businesses wanting to rent tables and help out. It's pretty cool to see the town coming back together with SAMCRO," she said quietly.

"You and Tara aren't as… intimidating as Gemma."

"I think the words you're looking for are.. easier to talk to and less likely to offend and chew you out."

Juice chuckled and Kayleigh did too. "Yeah, that too. Close your eyes," he said, peppering her shoulder with gentle kisses and continuing to rub her baby bump. "I'll rub you and our kid to sleep."

"Thanks, Juicey."

Kayleigh knew something bad had happened when the bikes roared to life outside of Scoops and took off down the road, flying past Lynn's store front windows. Juice hadn't sent her a text, no time to stop and tell her what was going on, but she'd spotted his bike in the group of Harley's as they drove down the road. The text from Juice came later in the evening when she was picking Gracie up after work.

Shit went down in Stockton. I'll explain tonight. Gonna be a late one, don't wait up. – Juice

Be safe. You know I can't sleep without you, but I'll try. Love you. – Kayleigh

He responded a few minutes later with an I love you too and a smiley face. After that she didn't hear from him again. Kayleigh fed Gracie and herself before giving Gracie a bath and putting her to bed.

It was still too early for Kayleigh to attempt to fall asleep, so she brought out the boxes of scrapbooking materials and got comfy on the couch. She'd mapped out the rest of the first book. The second one would start after Gracie's first birthday party.

They'd taken lots of pictures over the past month or two. Kayleigh went through them first, selecting her favorites and printing them to the photo printer. After the stack of new photos was printed, she sorted them by pages and started adding them to the book. She put special touches on each page with little notes, sayings, stickers and special borders or decorations.

Kayleigh was cleaning up when the rumble of Juice's Harley pulled into the garage. Juice kissed her forehead in passing, mumbling the word "shower" quickly. While Juice headed to the master bathroom, Kayleigh put away the rest of the scrapbook stuff. She turned off the lights, made sure all the doors were locked before checking on Gracie. Juno was asleep at the foot of the crib and Gracie was sleeping peacefully. She entered the bedroom and shed her jeans and flowy top in exchange for a nightgown.

Juice was leaning against the bathroom counter wearing a pair of black boxer briefs. The dark hair of his mohawk was still damp when she placed a hand on his back and a soft kiss to his shoulder.

"What happened today? Is everyone whole?"

"All our guys are good, the Night Slayers too. Barosky's dead. Business with Collette is over. Trevor fucked up."

Kayleigh raised a brow, but before making a smart remark back, she pulled Juice by his wrists to sit on the bed with her. "Wanna explain that in a little more detail please?"

Juice nodded. "Sorry, it's been a fucked-up day, baby."

"Start from when y'all pulled out of Scoops like bats outta hell," Kayleigh said with a hint of sarcasm.

It made Juice chuckle, and he raised their still joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Danny called on Trevor's orders asking for backup at the docks. You know he made that deal with Barosky, right?" When she nodded, Juice continued. "Barosky screwed him over. We went to confront him together, six of us and five of the NS. Barosky and his two boys got offended. Guns were drawn, they're dead and none of us are hurt… thank god."

"Agreed. What happened with Collette?" Kayleigh asked as she climbed up the bed and got comfortable against the headboard.

Juice joined her and they pressed close together, their sides touching from their shoulders to their toes. It was how they had always laid together and talked, ever since the B&B. That place had some serious memories for them. They'd sat in that bed in the little room and talked for hours, whenever he was free from the club Juice had sought her out. The night time chats had always been the best. It was here, in the quiet and dark of the night pressed closed to her, that he could tell her anything.

"Jax was pissed. Livid. Cussed her out because she snapped at him. She was angry we'd killed her lover, Tig made the comment and it set her off. Jax broke ties with her then. Told her to never ask SAMCRO for shit or contact us if she has problems. She's on her own, and she still owes us for the prior months earning share, Jax demanded it by the end of the week."

"Nasty whore. Serves her right."

Juice laughed and Kayleigh blushed. "Sorry, I… that might have been a little harsh, but she cheated with Jax, and Tara's my best friend. I have a right to dislike her. You said something about Trevor," she reminded him.

"Yeah, Jax wasn't very happy with him. None of us are really, Kayleigh. That's a loss SAMCRO just took with the escorts and Collette. Barosky wasn't a big deal really, but the fallout with Collette loses us cash. Jax told him strike one."

"But Jax doesn't have anything to do with Trevor being President of the Night Slayers. That's NS business, right?"

"Jax can't take his Presidency, but he can cut ties. We don't want trouble, Kayleigh. We know going fully legit won't be easy. Redwood was enemies, but we got out clean by some miracle and are trying to stay that way."

"Except we've killed a retired cop, a ex-cop turned con, and the sheriff," she said offhandedly.

"We've done nothing," he said motioning between himself and her. "You will always be clean, that shit's on SAMCRO. Table is at the understanding that Unser asked for it, Barosky had to be done, and so did Roosevelt. Anyway, Jax won't stop Trevor from being President of the Night Slayers in Sacramento, he'll cut ties with them and sever the sister charter bond."

"Oh…"

"It's okay, things are going to be fine. Trevor and Danny were already making plans to talk with the NS in Salem and find a meeting point that would work for both Charters for the gun running. Diosa Norte is still going good and so is Fuego. The online porn site I set up for Lyla at Redwoody is starting to take off. Things will be fine."

"Just another SAMCRO style bump in the road?" Kayleigh teased, making Juice smile his big grin.

"Yeah. Days like today will be rare in the future SAMCRO is headed for."

"Good." Kayleigh turned onto her side and slid her hand over his upper abs and pulled on his side.

Juice twisted to his side to face her, complying with her demand. She kept her hand resting on his side and he placed one of his on the side of her bump. He still couldn't feel any movements from his daughter, but Kayleigh described them for him.

"She's moving now. She likes when you pressed against her. I'm pretty sure she's kicking your hand, you just can't feel it yet."

"Well as much as I love her, I'd rather be touching her mother." Juice captured Kayleigh mouth in a heated kiss and slid his hand down her side to her thigh and then slid between her legs. He rubbed her through the cotton of her panties and Kayleigh let out a soft moan. She was super sensitive and always horny. Juice loved it and sometimes wished he'd been around for Gracie's pregnancy. Despite the bump making some positions a little tricky, the sex was mind blowing. As long as the doctor continued to say it was okay, Juice was going to take full advantage of how easily turned on Kayleigh was and enjoy every minute of it before his second daughter arrived.

Kayleigh had the same idea as she pushed his shoulder to make him lay on his back and raised up, sliding her panties off before moving to straddle his hips. Juice's hands found her hips as she grinded against his cock.

"Shit, Kayleigh, baby. I thought you were kidding a bit about the being horny all the time."

"Don't complain, Juan Carlos," she teased, rocking her hips and creating a delicious friction. "You love this shit." She pulled the red silk nightgown over her head and tossed it to the foot of the bed.

Juice lifted his hips enough to slip off his underwear, and when Kayleigh rolled her hips there was no barrier between them, just slick hot, flesh. He watched her as she rocked and rolled her hips against his erection, grinding her center up and down his length as he palmed her breasts.

"Keep going, Kayleigh. That feels so damn good, baby."

She moaned, her head tilting back and her eyes closing. Kayleigh pressed her hands harder against his chest, changing her angle slightly and kept sliding over his hard cock, never actually sliding him into her. The head of his cock brushed against her clit on each roll of her hips and she cried out in pleasure as she worked up her orgasm.

Juice could tell she was driving her own self crazy, and she was close, but he couldn't help himself as he grabbed her hips tight in his hands. He wanted to be the one to make her cum. He slowed her motions and on the next stroke he shifted and thrust, sliding home.

They both moaned, and Juice set their rhythm, holding her hips down, grinding her against him with each downward stroke. Kayleigh moved with him, and they were caught in each other's eyes as the waves of her orgasm hit. He could feel the warm, wet walls of her pussy grip him as he continued his quick pace.

As the waves of her orgasm faded, Kayleigh watched Juice reach his. He groaned and the grip on her hips tightened as he slowed their movements before stopping.

Kayleigh slid to lay beside him, and laid her head on his chest. They laid in silence, each catching their breath and Kayleigh slowly starting to fall asleep. "I think the rocking motioned lulled Squirt to sleep."

"If a good round of sex is what it takes to make Squirt let her momma get some sleep, then Daddy's cool with that each night."

Kayleigh laughed softly and slid her arm to drape over his chest, snuggling closer to him despite her baby bump.

"No body pillow tonight."

She shook her head slowly. "Tag, you're it," she teased sleepily.

"Gee, thanks," Juice teased back.

When she didn't respond, he looked down at her to see she'd fallen asleep. He placed a kiss to the top of her head and then closed his eyes, letting one hand rest of the curve of her bump and drifting off to sleep himself.

"What are you doing?" Kayleigh asked as she looked over Juice's shoulder at the computer screen in their bedroom.

Juice stopped what he was doing and turned in the chair to face her. She was holding Gracie on her hip, her long hair swept to one side in a low ponytail and out of Gracie's reach. "Hey, baby. How was work?"

"Good, but you didn't answer my question."

"I'm looking for ideas to reveal Squirt is a girl. The guys are impatient about wanting to know. It's driving Tig crazy."

"I know, Venus too. She stopped by the bakery yesterday and was asking me." Kayleigh looked at the screen filled with images of couples revealing the gender of their baby. "The t-shirt with the hand prints is pretty cute. Kind of cheesy though."

Juice shrugged. "I'll go buy you a t-shirt and some pink paint tomorrow."

"When will I wear it?"

"Wanna reveal at the party? Everyone's been waiting to know."

Gracie reached out for Juice and he took her easily, peppering her face with kisses and making her laugh and giggle.

"Sure. I can wear a jacket or hoodie over the shirt. Just make sure you get a pretty shirt."

"Okay, baby."

***AUTHOR'S END NOTE!

I had plans to finish chapter 39 this weekend, but on Thursday a close friend of mine lost her father in a tragic work accident. I have plans to continue updating LUYFM every Sunday. This next week may come one or two days after Sunday though. I would rather give you my best than a rushed chapter to get it out on schedule.

Thanks for all the love LUYFM gets. It's much appreciated.