Happy Easter to those who celebrate! :)

This chapter's for Cujoo who wanted an Easter themed one! I hope you like it! :D

Big thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read, review, favorite, and follow! Y'all make me so happy!

Special thanks to TeamBlaus4Ever for giving me some ideas on this one! If you haven't read her Juice/OC story, you should check it out!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Angela, Evie, Jo, Dino, and the twins! :)


It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Chapter 50: Easter Love

By Love Ink

Angela set out the bowl of hard boiled eggs and red Solo cups, carefully mixing the dye tabs in with the warm water and vinegar. Evie was at her side, watching intently, her dark eyes curious as she watched the water change colors. "We make eggs pretty?" she asked, her brows furrowed together in concentration.

"Uh-huh," she said, grabbing a few white crayons from the box. "We're gonna dip the eggs into the colors so the Easter egg bunny has some to hide tomorrow."

"Bunny!" Evie exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. " 'evos!"

"Yeah, baby girl. Huevos. We're going to dunk them and make them real pretty to show Daddy when he gets home, okay?" she stated, grabbing an egg and a white crayon to draw something on the white eggshell. "First you gently draw something secret on the egg, then you choose a color. How about pink?"

"Pink!" Evie agreed with an excited squeal.

She carefully put the egg into the pink dye, not bothering using the metal dipper or caring that the dye got on her fingers. "Now we wait for the egg to soak up all the color while we do another one, okay?"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically. "I do!" She grabbed an egg, doodled gently on it and then dunked the egg—and most of her hand—into the blue cup. "Boo!"

"Good job, Evie-doll," Angela praised, laughing when she eagerly grabbed another egg and dunked it into the green, letting her hands linger in the warm water for a moment to make sure the egg was in all the way. "Check out this pink one. Look how pretty!"

Evie wasn't looking, though. Her dark eyes were affixed to her little hands that were now stained blue and green. "Icky hands, Mama! Wash hands! Wash hands!"

"Hold on, baby girl. Let's finish the eggs and then wash your hands, okay?"

"No! Wash hands! No boo hands!" Evie insisted stubbornly.

Angela cringed, already cursing herself for forgetting to use the little metal hook that helped lower the egg into the dye so it wouldn't get on her skin. "I know, Eves, but they're only gonna get dirty again. Let's wait 'til the end…"

But Evie wasn't having it. She was in the midst of her terrible twos and was stubborn as hell. "No, Mami! Yucky! No! I wanna wash hands!" she said, jumping down from her chair and running to the kitchen sink. She scrambled onto her little stool, reaching for the faucet. "Mama! Water!"

"Baby girl, its not going to come off. Its dyed," she told her, moving behind her to turn on the water and put soap in her hands. Evie rubbed them together, over and over again, a soft noise of distress escaping her hold when she realized the color wasn't coming off. "See, Eves? It'll come off eventually but not right now. Let's finish dying the eggs, c'mon."

"No! No! I don't wike it!" she exclaimed, stamping her foot.

Angela's first instinct was to laugh at her little two year old's tantrum, but she knew that would only make the little girl angrier. "Evie, calm down. Relax for a minute, we'll figure something out okay? Just breathe."

"No, no! Off! I no wike it!"

"Okay, okay, we'll fix it. Mama will figure it out just…hold on!"

Juice opened the front door to his house to hear Evie crying hysterically from the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow, walking quickly towards the kitchen to find Angela at the sink with Evie using a sponge to scrub her little hands. He looked over at the kitchen table to find little red solo cups filled with eggs and dye on the table. "What the hell is going on?" he asked, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"The dye won't come off her hands," Angela answered, exasperated. Her hair was a mess, her own hands dyed the same colors as Evie's with no sign of fading.

"Icky, Daddy! Boo hands! Boo hands!" Evie screamed, holding up her bright blue hands.

Angela ran a hand through her hair. "I can't get it off. I used every trick I could think of but it won't come off," she spat out, clearly frustrated. Juice covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide his laugh, but she caught him, glaring at him. "Don't you dare laugh, Juan Carlos. We've been at this for twenty minutes!"

He swallowed his laughter, knowing how frustrated Angela must be. "All right, all right, hold on a sec," he said, holding his hands up. He ran to the garage where he and Ken had a work station set up for their bikes complete with a special hand soap to get the grease off their hands.

He ran back in to find Evie still staring at her hands. Fat tears were falling down her face, but she wasn't wailing anymore, just hiccupping as her mother sat her on the counter. "It gonna be like this forever, Mama?"

"Oh no, sweetheart," she cooed in response, wiping away her tears with her own green stained fingers and kissing her forehead. "Just for a little while. Plus, I think Daddy's got some special soap to come save the day. Huh, Daddy?"

Juice felt his heart warm at the loving note in Angela's voice and the way Evie looked up at him with her big hopeful eyes. "You fix it, Daddy?" she asked, holding her hands out to him.

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, picking her up from the counter and walking with her to the sink. "Yeah, baby. This is special Lava soap," he told her, turning on the faucet and making sure it was at a nice warm temperature before getting her hands wet and starting to use the soap. Slowly but surely, the dye started to come off. Evie let out a sigh of relief that made him smile. "See, Monk? Comes right off. Not so bad, huh? Just a little dye."

"No bad. Just dye," Evie repeated with a sniffle. She showed him her hands with a bright smile. They weren't a hundred percent clean, but they at least met her standards. "All better, Daddy. Tank you."

He felt like he'd won the World Series as she hugged his neck and kissed his cheek. "You're welcome. Love you, Monk," he said, kissing her cheek. He gently set her on her feet, pushing her towards the living room. "Go play. I'll help Mama wash up too."

Evie toddled off, humming to herself as she went. Angela couldn't help but laugh as the little girl walked by, shaking her head at the now happy two year old. "Well, she's definitely your daughter," she commented, crossing her arms over her chest. She walked by him to the sink, turning the water on and grabbing the bar of black soap. "You gonna help me wash my hands too, Daddy?" she asked, a flirtatious look in her eyes as she looked at him over her shoulder.

Juice grinned at her and nodded, moving in behind her and sliding his hands down her arms until his fingers tangled with hers under the warm water. He nuzzled his nose into her neck, kissing it softly as he helped her soap up her hands. "Missed you today," he murmured against her skin. She'd taken the day off to help Jo prep her house for her in-laws who were coming for Easter. Dino's family was huge, and Jo was flipping out about having them there. Juice hated when she wasn't at their office. He loved having her there so he could see her whenever he wanted just for a smile or even a quick kiss. Those moments were the highlights of his day. "Office was awfully lonely without you."

She laughed, leaning back into him. "Your sister was freaking out. Apparently, D's got like five siblings."

"Four brothers," he corrected on a chuckle. "They got the full Rat Pack. Dean, Frank, Sammy, Peter, and Joey."

Angela laughed again, shaking her head. "No shit."

"Mm-hmm. Wait 'til you meet his parents. They're like this little old Italian couple who love everyone and treat everyone like their kids. I used to love when Jo would bring me over for dinner. It was rare 'cause I was kind of a punk, but when she was feeling bad about leavin' me behind, it was great. So much food and love and laughter. Helped me feel a little less lonely."

She looked up at him, a sad look in her eyes. "I know the feeling. 's why I used to love going over to the Alvarez house."

Sometimes he forgot that Angela's overbearing, crazy family wasn't always as close or as present as they were in their present life. He forgot that as a teen, she was alone almost as much as he was since Hap was in jail and her Ma and Aunt were always working. "Our kids are never gonna know what that feels like," he said, smiling when she turned around in his arms to face him.

She brushed her hand across his cheek, a warm, loving smile on her face. "No. Not as long as we're around."

"I think we're doin' pretty good at this parenting thing," he said, looking over her shoulder to the living room where Evie was toddling around with her baby doll, happily singing to herself.

"You weren't here when she was in full meltdown mode," she muttered, leaning her head against his chest. "I thought I was going to scrub her skin raw, but she kept crying every time I stopped. Felt like a real failure there."

He chuckled, running a hand over her hair. "Takes like a pumice stone or some really caustic soap or chemicals to do that."

She tilted her head back, narrowing her eyes at him. "Do you know that from experience?"

He gave her a cheeky grin and shrugged. "Maybe."

"Goof," she said, kissing his nose.

"Daaaaddy!" Evie called running into the kitchen. She saw her parents hugging and immediately tried to get in between them, pushing their legs apart until she was in the middle.

Angela smirked, pulling Juice in closer and trapping her between them. "Think someone wants to get in on this hug."

Evie giggled from between them, stepping on Juice's feet and reaching her arms up. He moved away and picked her up, kissing her cheek. She reached out to Angela, waiting until she was close to wrap her other arm around her neck. Angela kissed her cheek to, laughing softly she moved her arm around his waist. Juice grinned, happy to hold both of his girls at the same time.

"Ugh. Gross. A love fest," Kenny's voice came as he entered the kitchen, home from football practice.

Angela grinned, holding out her hand to him. "C'mere, stinky. Get in on this."

Kenny pretended to go begrudgingly, but a smile was turning up the corner of his lips as he went over and joined in the group hug. Juice ruffled his hair lovingly, not at all bothered by how sweaty he was. "Now the Ortiz clan is complete!"


Angela was a little nervous as she watched the kids look around the huge yard for Easter eggs. Evie was the youngest by far and struggling with the little basket as Dino's brothers' kids swooped in and stole all the eggs right before her eyes. The urge to go help her was strong, but there was a strict rule that no grown-ups were allowed on the grass. "This doesn't make any sense. She's fuckin' two! The youngest of them is five! She needs help!" she griped to Jo as she leaned against the porch railing beside her.

"She's fine. Losing builds character," Jo explained on a shrug. "There's a reason we don't let the men help. We've tried many times, but they're all so fuckin' competitive, the kids end up getting pushed outta the way while the brothers fight and wrestle for the eggs. Always ended up with someone gettin' hurt or angry and ruinin' dinner. Now, we don't let 'em compete."

"That's bullshit," she muttered, shaking her head. "Look at her! Surprised she's not crying yet."

Jo raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging up her lift. "You're a little competitive, aren't you?" she asked, amused.

Angela shrugged, focused on Evie and the way she was doing her best to keep up with the older kids. "Yeah, a little. And while Evie's got a lot of Juice's traits, she's got my love for winning," she explained, looking over to where Juice and Kenny were sitting with the rest of the men chatting away without a care in the world. Kenny was even drinking a beer as it was normal for him to have alcohol despite him being underage. "A trait your brother and nephew over there don't seem to have."

"Ken's a star athlete, Ang. Think he's got some of that drive. Think he's just doesn't see an egg hunt as competition," Jo stated, grimacing as one of the older boys knocked Evie over, making her fall on her behind. Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as what little eggs she had spilled everywhere.

Angela looked over at Juice, who was out of his chair now, both of them ready to intervene. Dino held Juice back while Jo set a hand on Angela's shoulder. "Wait," she instructed, nodding over to Donnie who rushed over to his little cousin, helping her to his feet while Mikey quickly collected her eggs, pushing over any of his other cousins who dared to try and steal them.

"C'mon, Evie. We'll help you find more," Donnie said, handing Mikey his basket and grabbing Evie's hand. "Mikey, give Mom our eggs so they're safe."

Mikey ran up the stairs of the porch with both baskets. Angela grabbed him up in a tight hug, kissing his cheek. "You and your brother are the best nine year olds I know. Don't ever change, okay?"

He grinned at her sheepishly. "Okay, Auntie Angie," he said, running back out to help Evie.

Angela marveled at the way the twins took turns holding Evie's hand and helping her find eggs, even stealing some from their other cousins' baskets when they weren't looking. "Your sons are amazing little humans," she told Jo with a warm smile.

"I know. Stick with me and your little lady will be too," she replied with a wink. She nodded to the basket in her hands. "I'm gonna go stash these 'fore anyone sees."

She laughed to herself, smiling as Evie ran around with her cousins. "So how much of that candy do you think she's gonna share?" Juice asked, sliding his arms around her from behind.

Angela leaned back into him, closing her eyes and just enjoying being in his arms. "None of it," she answered on a sigh. "Which is why we're going to steal some while she sleeps."

He chuckled, the vibrations of it moving through her body and making her smile. God, she loved this man. He kissed her cheek, squeezing her a bit as Evie came running over. "I call dibs on the jelly beans," he told her, stepping away and squatting down to scoop his little girl up into his arms. He swung her around while she squealed happily. Setting her down on her feet, he glanced at the basket she was holding.

"Look, Daddy! 'evos!" Evie exclaimed showing them to him.

"Let's see them, Monk!" He grabbed an egg and shook it, pretending to be surprised at the noise rattling around. "What's in them?"

"Open!" Evie exclaimed, reaching for the pink egg in her Dad's hand. "Peeeas!"

Juice opened it for her, dumping the jelly beans into his hands and holding them out for her. "Wow, Monk. Look at all these colors! Which one are you gonna try first?"

"Pink! Yum!" she answered, grabbing one and putting in her mouth. She grabbed one of the black jelly beans and offered it to her Dad. "Dis one's yucky, Daddy."

Juice ate it from her hands without thinking twice before wrinkling his nose. "She's not wrong."

Angela laughed lightly, stroking her hand through Juice's hair as she held out the other hand to her daughter. "One for Mama?"

Evie handed her a yellow one before grabbing the rest from her Dad's hand. "Nee-nee!" she shouted, toddling over to where Kenny was sitting, Rigor following after. Kenny lifted her off the ground and set her in his lap, eating one of the jelly beans she offered him.

"How come you got a good flavor jelly bean, and I got licorice?" Juice asked as he straightened up.

" 'cause I'm the Mama," she replied with a grin, leaning her head against his shoulder and moving her arms around his waist. He moved his arm around her back, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "You havin' fun with the boys?"

Juice made a face, glancing over to where Dino looked bored as hell. "Sure, I guess."

Angela studied his face, wondering if his mind was going back to the Easters he had in Charming. They hadn't spent a single Easter there together. She usually went home where her Aunt forced her, Hap, and sometimes Koz to go to Church and then made a feast for later. Juice spent his Easters at Gemma's house with the rest of his brothers. This was the first time either of them had spent the holiday away from their families. She was okay with it; she'd called her Aunt and Mom and talked a bit with them, but she was worried about him. "You okay?"

He gave her a bashful smile, shrugging a shoulder. "Think so. Just weird. I keep thinking about…Charming 'n' Gemma 'n' the club. Holidays were when we felt most like family. Now…half of 'em are gone. 's weird."

"Don't think about it so much," she advised, rubbing a hand over his back. "Focus on now. Look how lucky we are, everything we have."

Juice kissed her forehead. "You're right," he murmured against her hair.

The way he said it gave her pause; he was not okay. Old memories were clouding his mind with thoughts that were going to drown him. If he didn't stop soon, he was going to be diving head first into a panic attack. "Juice…"

"I'm okay," he assured her, squeezing her arm. Jo shouted for them to come inside for dinner, and he dropped his arm from around her. "C'mon, let's go. Dinner time."

Angela's brows drew together in concern as she watched him walk away. A bad feeling pooled in her stomach. She followed after the rest of them slowly, sparing a quick glance at the sky and waiting until she was alone to murmur, "Send us some good vibes, Kozi. He's gonna need 'em."


Thankfully, dinner went through without a hitch. Everyone enjoyed the amazing food Jo had prepared and the dessert cakes, cookies, and cupcakes Angela had made. The conversation had been loud and filled lots of wine and laughter. Afterwards, Dino shepherded the men and the kids away to the living room, a bottle of bourbon tucked under his arm while the women were sent to the kitchen to clean up, something Angela wasn't too pleased about. "This is so sexist," she grumbled, bringing the last plate from the dinner table to the kitchen.

"Oh honey, this is just what we do," Teresa, one of Dino's sister-in-laws, explained. "Boys will be boys and all that."

Angela's eyebrows raised sky high. She glanced around the room in shock, surprised when it seemed everyone but Jo agreed with the statement. "Seriously? That's a bunch of sh…"

"Angie!" Jo interjected, hitting her hip against hers and shooting her a glare. "How 'bout you stop runnin' your mouth and start dryin' shit, all right?"

Angela sighed as she caught the dish rag Jo threw at her. She knew Jo felt the same way, but she was on her best behavior in front of Dino's family especially with his mother standing there amongst them. Jo told her this was her nightmare. All five of her sister-in-laws and her mother-in-law in one place. Angela was beginning to agree with her, they were all little obnoxious and loud as hell. She tuned them out as she mechanically went through the motions of drying the dishes, her eyes on the backyard as her mind went back to Charming. It was the first Easter Chloe would be spending with her family, and she wondered how her best friend and cousin were faring with her Ma and Aunt's attention solely on them. It was strange to Angela how Happy had finally decided to bring Chloe into their little family now that she was gone. A part of her thought it was his way to fill the void she'd left behind. It didn't bother her to think of it that way. She was glad Chloe could be there for him in ways she couldn't be. She just wished he'd call her every once in a while. The silence between them felt all kinds of wrong.

"Hey Mama?" Kenny's voice broke through her thoughts.

She turned to look at him with a smile. "Sup, Ken?"

He gently pulled her away from the kitchen towards the living room. "Dad um…he just went home. Practically ran out. He…he didn't look great. Think it might be a panic attack. You might wanna…"

Angela cursed under her breath, raking a hand through her hair; this is what she'd been worried about when he'd started reminiscing about Charming. Juice was fine most days, but if he dwelled too much on his memories from his club days, it usually led to a full blown panic attack. "Yeah. Thanks, kiddo," she said, starting to leave before thinking of something. "Do you…do you still have that weed you got last time you were in Charming? I know I'm a bad parent for not taking it away and even worse for asking for it, but…"

"Shut up. You're not a bad parent," he said on a scowl. "Got it in. In my top drawer, locked in my gun safe. Haven't touched it. 's not my style. Got it for Juice, actually. Thought it might help with this shit."

"God, I love you. You're the best, Kendo. Thank you," she said, standing on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. "Cover for me. I'm gonna go take care of him."

She escaped through the front door, quickly crossing the lawn and letting herself into their house. Quickly, she grabbed a joint from Kenny's stash before heading outside to find Juice standing on their deck, his whole body rigid, knuckles white where they were grasping the wooden rail. "Hey you," she greeted, moving to stand next to him.

"Hey," he managed to get out, his breathing coming just a little too fast. There was a panicked almost fearful look in his eyes, his hand shook as he lifted it from the railing to grab hers.

She'd been right, he was having a panic attack. It wasn't the first time this happened to him, though, and she knew more or less how to help him. "Breathe, baby. Let's sit for a sec. Head between your knees," she coaxed, pulling him towards the picnic table. She sat beside him, moving her hand in soothing circles on his upper back as he struggled to calm down. "Breathe, baby. Nice and slow. In, out, c'mon," she murmured to him, stroking her fingers through the hair on the side of his head. With every stroke, she could see the dark lines of his tattoos, a reminder of their past, of everything that was plaguing him.

She leaned forward and kissed the side of his head, worry making her own heartbeat speed up. "You want me to distract you or do you want to tell me what happened so I can talk you through it or do you just want me to leave you alone?" she asked, knowing giving him that control helped him more than if she just started asking questions.

"No. Stay," he answered his hand, moving to her knee to anchor himself. He let out a long breath, shaking his head as he tried to match his breathing to hers. "Frankie asked what took us so long to move out here 'n' I…I couldn't answer. I couldn't explain all the stupid, shitty things I did back in Charming or why I stayed for so long and put my life…our lives in danger. And I just…why didn't we do this sooner? Second Roosevelt tried to blackmail me with all that shit, I shoulda told you, shoulda told the club. Coulda gotten outta there with good standin' so we could go visit Hap and your Ma, we coulda…I coulda been there for you with Eves and seen her being born. We coulda…coulda been normal. We coulda had all this and I…I fucked up."

Her heart broke at how rough and raw his voice sounded. How his light brown eyes were filled with pain and glassy with tears. She wished she could take away all the pain, carry it on her shoulders instead. But she couldn't. All she could do was try to help him through it. "What have I always said about 'what ifs'?"

"It isn't a 'what if', Angel, it's a regret. I regret stayin' like I did. Puttin' everyone in jeopardy, and for what? What did it do?"

"It led to this," she told him simply. "Because if all that shit hadn't gone down, you'da never called Jo, never come out here. We'da been stuck in Charming."

"We were happy in Charming," he pointed out, his eyes scanning her face. "You were happy in Charming."

Angela furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm happy here," she stated for what felt like the millionth time.

He shook his head slowly. "I know you hate workin' in the office. Know it drives you batshit crazy that you're not workin' at a funeral home. Doin' the shit you love. I know you're happy here, but you could be happier."

"That's not true," she insisted, smiling a little bit. "Juice, I got you back from the dead. Nothing could make me happier than that."

Juice dropped his head into his hands, raking his fingers through his hair. "It's not just that, Angel," he started, getting to his feet and starting to pace. "It's…everything. It's too perfect. It's like I'm…I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. For you to realize you hate it here and I'm not worth it and take the kids and leave. Because I never…nothing good has ever lasted for me."

She stared at him in shock for a brief moment before she stood. "Juice," she said, taking his face in her hands. "I am your wife. For better or for worse, 'til death do us part, I am here. I love you. Okay? And yes, its perfect right now, but we deserve a little perfect after all the shit we went through to get here."

"It's too good, Angel," he repeated, his eyes brimming with tears as he rubbed at his chest. "It's gonna end soon. I know it."

Angela stroked her thumbs over his cheeks, standing on her toes to put her forehead to his, her eyes locked on his. "Breathe, Juice. Breathe," she coached, waiting until his breathing evened out before she connected their lips in a brief kiss. "You're okay. We're okay. Don't worry about the end, just enjoy what we've got today. Okay?"

"Yeah," he breathed, still trying to relax.

"I got a surprise for you," she stated, taking the blunt and holding it out to him. "Some Easter grass."

Juice stared at the joint in her hand, his eyes flicking from it to her face. "Where'd that come from?"

"Don't worry about it," she told him with a small smile, happy to see him start to calm down a little bit. She pulled her lighter from her pocket, smiling at the angel wings on it, yet another reminder of Happy. Smoothing her thumb over the wings, she swallowed the lump in her throat; she missed him a lot. With a deep breath, she pushed all thoughts of him out of her head; she needed to focus on Juice now. She grabbed his hand, tugging him towards one of the pool chaises. "Sit."

He stretched out on it, holding his hand out to her and pulling her to sit between his legs. She handed him the lighter and the joint, concerned about the way his hands was shaking as he took them. "Smells good," he commented, around the blunt in his mouth.

She heard the lighter click behind her and smirked remembering the very first time they smoked together. It was the day she'd had to prepare Donna for her funeral, and they'd gone on a long ride out of Charming to their little mountain for the first time to escape. It was also the same night he'd told her she was his best friend, the night she realized he was hers too. "You're not going to light my hair on fire, are you?" she asked, repeating the same words she'd said that night and wondering if he'd remember.

"Not on purpose," he replied, just as he had that night. She heard him take a long toke, holding the smoke in his lungs before letting it out with a little cough. "You're still my best friend, you know."

"Hope so, considering I'm your wife 'n' all," she replied, taking the blunt he offered her and taking a long drag. Unused to the smoke, she coughed like an amateur, smacking Juice's leg when he laughed at her. She was happy to hear him laugh though; it meant he'd calmed down and they were through the worst of it.

He moved his free arm around her waist as he took the joint from her. They passed it back and forth for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts before he spoke up. "My wife," he mused, his hand slipping under her shirt and brushing over her stomach. "I think I loved you from the moment I saw you."

Angela snorted, shaking her head. "Bull shit. You're just high."

"Honestly, Angel. I think if I had really thought about it, if I hadn't had the club shit to think about or the guys giving me shit…I woulda known right away."

"All right, mushhead," she conceded knowing he would talk in circles until he had her convinced. "If it wasn't for the club, we wouldn't have met to begin with."

Juice contemplated that as he took a long drag of the joint. "We woulda met. I woulda found you somehow," he assured her. "We were made for each other."

"Goof." She laughed lightly, closing her eyes and just enjoying being close to him. They'd both been so busy with work and their kids, they hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time together just the two of them.

He kissed her temple, letting his lips linger against her skin as he breathed in the scent of her hair. "Thanks for this," he murmured, against her skin. "I needed it. Sorry for freakin' out before."

"Nothing to be sorry for, baby," she said, reaching out her hand to stroke over his cheek. "Love you."

"I love you too, so much," he replied, catching her lips in a quick kiss. "My Angel."


Jo let out a breath of relief once she said goodbye to the last of her in-laws. Their Easter celebration had gone relatively well for it being such a full house. Juan and his little family fit well into the mix, and since it was their first time with the rest of the family, Dino's crazy family were on their best behavior. She raised an eyebrow as Kenny walked in from the living room. "Anything I can help with?" he asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

She smiled at him, grateful for his offer. When her brother had mentioned he and Angela had adopted a teenage boy, she'd been a little apprehensive, thinking he might've bit off more than he could chew by bringing around a moody teenager. But she'd been wrong. So wrong. Kenny was definitely different than any other kid his age. Always willing to help, happy to take care of his sister and little cousins. He had a good heart, and she was thankful to have him as role model for her sons. "No, sweetheart. Thanks for askin'," she said, ruffling his hair lovingly. "Where'd your Ma disappear to? Notice she ran out on our dishwashin'. She and your Dad go to…have some fun?"

"Nah. Holidays are rough on Dad. He got a little too in his head, so he left. Ma went to help talk him down," he explained, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Jo didn't like the sound of that. She knew her brother was still struggling with the ghosts of his past, but usually, she didn't hear about it. Angela was good about keeping it all quiet, so Juan didn't get embarrassed. A part of her wondered if she should check in on them, but she thought better of it; Angela knew how to handle this situation. She had no doubt that Juan was fine. "Where's Eves?"

"She, Uncle Dino, and the twins are passed out on the couch. Food comas," he said, showing her a picture he'd taken on his phone. "Some people just can't handle their Easter."

"Guess not," she said around a laugh. "Send me that one, will ya? And you're welcome to steal the guest room for the night, Ken. Promise I won't tell the boys so they'll let you sleep in."

"Might do that, actually," he said around an awkward laugh. "I'm not sure what they're doin', but I hope they're not..."

The backdoor opened, cutting off what he was going to say as Angela and Juice stumbled in. Juice had his arm around her waist, pushing her towards the kitchen while she giggled softly. "Sup, Jojo?" Juice asked, leaning over the counter next to Angela, his thumb hooked in the waist of her pants.

Jo raised an eyebrow at their red eyes and the familiar earthy smell emanating from them. She shook her head, but bit her tongue against a comment. If Angela thought she needed marijuana to calm him down, he must've been really freaking out. "Nothin'. How you doin', bro?" she asked, genuinely worried about her brother. Knowing they had to be hungry, he grabbed the leftover devilled egg platter and set it out for them before getting Evie's basket of candy and setting it on the table as well for them to pick at.

He grabbed one of devilled eggs and stuck the whole thing in his mouth. "Fine. These are fuckin' delicious," he answered around the food. "Do you got any of that carrot cake left?"

"Sure," she answered, getting the cake from the fridge and setting it in front of him with a clean fork. She glanced at Angela who was munching on some jelly beans picking out the black ones and handing them to Kenny. He ate them with no problem, seemingly even enjoying the taste. "Ang?"

Angela's dark eyes met her after a moment before they flitted to Juice who was going to town on the carrot cake. Her hand reached out to stroke over his neck lovingly. "We're all good. How'd the cake turn out?"

"Delicious, baby. Frosting came out perfect," Juice answered, frosting all over his face. He offered her a forkful which she took in her mouth with a satisfied moan. His eyes grew dark, landing one her lips as he set the fork on the counter, leaning over to kiss her.

Jo rolled her eyes at them, though she was secretly happy to see her brother so in love and happy. Growing up, their life hadn't been so great. Their Mom worked a lot while they were little, but she'd always been there to cook and take care of them. It was once she decided her children could fend for themselves that she starting disappearing, leaving them for days at a time while she went on her benders. Juice had been just four years old the first time she'd left him totally alone while Jo went to school; he'd burned his hand on the stove trying to make himself some lunch and had cried for hours. She'd been sure to run home from school every day after that to make sure he was taken care of. It'd been just the two of them for a long time, their mother coming in and out when she was sober.

Juice was a lover, though. He sought out love and attention from anyone who would give it to him. It was why he'd fallen in first with the mob in New York and later with that stupid biker gang to begin with. They'd given him a home, a sense of family. She hated that she'd let her brother stray so far away from the straight and narrow. He'd been spiraling out of control while she'd been starting her own family, letting him go further and further away. The only good thing that came from the damn club was him finding his soulmate. She had no doubt Angela was Juice's soulmate, too. They just worked well together. Just like her and Dino. Sure, they're childhood was less then great, but they'd lucked out on who they ended up with, on the families they'd build for themselves.

Dino came walking in, rubbing at his eyes, Evie asleep against his shoulder. "She's out. Didn't even wake up when I picked her up."

"Here, I'll take her. Put her in bed 'n' stuff," Kenny stated, easily taking Evie from Dino. He kissed her forehead as she snuggled her face into his neck, her little hand grabbing onto his shirt. "See you guys at the house."

Angela stood, reaching out a hand to stroke over Evie's head. "Happy Easter, kiddo. Love you," she told him, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.

Juice followed suit, ruffling his hair gently. "Be over in a minute. Just gotta decimate this carrot cake first."

Jo smirked, rolling her eyes before moving to kiss her brother's cheek. "We're goin' to bed. Make sure you close the door on your way out."

"Yeah, and save me a piece of that cake," Dino said, moving his arm around Jo's shoulders.

"Thanks for dinner, Jo," Angela piped up with a small smile. "All the good food and chaos made bein' away from home a lot easier."

Jo glanced over at Juice to find him and Dino battling forks for another bite of the cake; they hadn't heard what she'd said. She was sure Angela planned on that. Stepping in closer to her sister-in-law, she hugged her tightly. "You are home, Angie. We're you're family now 'n' we love ya."

Angela smiled warmly, nodding her head in agreement. "Kinda nice to have such a big family now."

"Yeah. Just wait 'til its your turn to host," she teased on a laugh. She hugged her again. "Happy Easter, girly. So glad you're here."

She looked towards Juice and sighed contently. "Me too."


Just some Easter fluff for y'all! Hope you liked it!

Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas of little one shots to see! I've got a running list put off to the side too, but I'm always looking for more!

~Love Ink