Previously…
Happy stood and placed a hand on Stevie's shoulder to get her to calm down. "I'm here to assist with the ATF presence in Charming, same as she is."
"Right," Kathy scoffed, not convinced. She knew the ATF had set up shop in Charming, looking to bring the Sons down along with their gun running contacts.
Suddenly an explosion shook the ground, and all three adults looked to the west where TM and the clubhouse sat. Stevie's mother's house was only two blocks away from it.
Kathy gasped, "Is that-"
"The clubhouse?" Stevie finished for her. "Yeah, it is."
Chapter 16: Different Songs
"We've got Sheriff's on the way?!" Bobby exclaimed at Jax's confession. Stevie and Jax had spent the entire day working with Hale trying to prevent exactly what was unfolding before their very eyes.
Jax nodded to confirm. "We do this," He glanced around at the assembled reaper crew. "We all go to jail."
Stevie bit her lip and chanced a look at Clay. He didn't even miss a beat. "AK's and shotguns." He ordered, completely ignoring the fact that they had 5-O breathing down their necks.
Stevie swallowed her protest and followed the order, forgoing the AK Hap offered her for her twin Colt 1911s. "Guess we're heading to the Big House, eh?" Stevie murmured, brandishing her weapons of choice, earning a snort and a grim smirk from Happy.
"Stevie, Hap and Ope with me." Clay ordered. "The rest of you around the side."
Stevie pushed down her fear and uncertainty with practiced ease and followed Clay around the back. He started a count with the other group and flipped his phone closed, continuing the count.
The MC burst into the ballroom and all the air left Stevie's lungs. For fuck's sake, She thought, surveying the room. Instead of a white supremacy rally, it was a fucking prayer meeting, complete with the complement of a large Baptist potluck. Stevie raised one gun and aimed at Weston who was standing at the podium. Hap locked eyes with her and shook his head once. In the moment that she hesitated, gun fire broke out from the podium, probably from a concealed weapon.
Clay continued to charge forward towards Zobelle, but Jax stepped in and stopped his advance. Stevie took full advantage of Jax's distraction to charge forward after Opie who had a bead on Zobelle making his exit out the side of the building.
"Got him!" Opie called, rushing out after the white supremecist and his entourage.
"Right behind you Ope!" Stevie shouted, racing to keep up with his long legged stride, siltering her way through the panicked crowd. Stevie and Opie had rode their bikes to the center as they had been across town at Cara Cara working security. Stevie holstered her weapons so she could mount her bike and bring it to life. After pausing a fraction of a second to buckle her helmet she shot out of the lot after Opie.
Zobelle slid into his signature sleek silver Mercedes and was currently heading north towards the sleepy village of Merada. Stevie steered her Dyna around a parked car when her and Ope approached a two way stop sign, Ope swerved to miss an oncoming car and plowed right into the parked one, sending him flying over the handlebars.
"Jesus Christ!" Stevie swore, looping back to the presumably injured biker, only to find him upright and picking his downed bike back up. "How many fingers?" She held up two fingers in a rock fist.
"Two." Opie scoffed with a slight grin, straddling his bike giving it a rev.
"You alright?" Stevie asked over the rumble of their Harleys.
Opie just nodded. "Let's get back and make sure everyone else is whole."
Stevie nodded in agreement and with her heart in her throat, let him lead the way.
Blue and red lights gave the banquet center lot an eerie glow; the sheriffs had arrived. Still hopeful the crew had escaped, Stevie eased her bike into a thicket beside Opie trying to make sense of the chaos of cruzers and men in uniform.
"Shit!" Opie exclaimed nodding to a prison transport vehicle. The reaper crew had been stopped during their escape. Stevie's eyes scanned the men for Hap and found him being shoved into the back of the vehicle, his hands were cuffed behind his back.
"Aw baby, no." Stevie gasped, hand covering her mouth in anguish. Jax was loaded up next and to her horror she realized that her and Opie were the only members present at the ambush to escape without a pair of cuffs. Movement to their right caused Opie to grab Stevie's shoulder and drag her backwards to their hidden bikes. After easing out of the thicket, the pair mounted their bikes and roared off into the night, racing back to Charming as fast as the local speed traps would allow.
"They're jamming us!" Gemma exclaimed, almost coming up off the couch with her enthusiasm. Tara scoffed and nodded and all Stevie did was drink another shot of liquor.
Having Hap away on the road was one thing. Knowing he was in lock up was a totally different animal. Now with what happened to Otto, there was no telling how much danger the reaper crew was actually in. The despair of their situation started to mess with her usual calm and collected head. Suddenly Elliot Oswald's face flashed before Stevie's eyes. Maybe it was time to reintroduce herself. Elliott wasn't just a friend of SAMCRO and Clay. He was a dear friend of her father's.
Stevie pushed up and away from the bar and the world spun a little. Maybe she needed to lie down for a minute before seeing Oswald.
"You good?" Tara asked quietly, capping the half drunk bottle of Jaeger.
"Mmmm." Stevie hummed, "Yeah, not so much." She grit her teeth and shuffled back towards the dorms to sleep off her stupor. If Hap could only see her now, he'd just shake his head and help her to bed. As infuriating as it was, his care for her was extremely endearing. She was one lucky bitch.
A couple hours later, Stevie emerged from her dorm room to find Tara and Gemma gone. Gemma had penned a note and left it on the bar, she was going to see Oswald. At least that option was being explored. Stevie made her way out of the clubhouse into the bright California sun just in time to see Old Lady Winston dropping off her grandchildren to their father, Opie.
"Nice of you to show up to work," Opie teased, handing her a clipboard. At least the garage was relatively slow. The hang arounds were busy, but all she had to do was a brake job. "You okay?" He asked, more sober this time.
"Getting there." She glanced down at the clipboard. Nice and straight forward, just pads no rotors. "See you in thirty." She gave him a mock two fingered salute.
A half hour later, Stevie handed Opie the finished clipboard. As he checked over the job, his cell rang, it was Clay from inside County. He must've found a way to get at least some help from a group doing longer time.
"Sure," Opie motioned for Stevie to follow him into the office and he shut the door. He put the phone on speaker.
"Don't have much time." Clay explained. "Need a favor to get us some protection inside."
"What's the sitch?" Stevie asked, crossing her arms.
"Tranny dealer, Venus, needs to make their way into the prestigious County population."
"I'll call Trammel and set it up." Stevie nodded, pulling out her burner phone. She took a quick breath,"How's-"
"I'm fine, babe." Happy rasped into the phone.
Stevie's cheeks burned at the sound of his gruff voice. "Hey, big guy."
"Ride safe, yeah?" Hap locked eyes with Clay who nodded.
"You got it." Stevie murmured, biting her lip.
The call was disconnected.
"You call Trammel, I'll get the rest of the work covered by the guys." Opie instructed, before yanking open the office door.
Stevie dialed Trammel's number and prayed he would pick up.
The meet with Trammel went as expected. He wasn't happy about setting up a dealer, but it was for Clay and it came with a little more green than usual. When Trammel suggested that they didn't skimp on the dope, it looked like a light bulb went off in Opie's head.
Stevie waited until they were back at their bikes to ask him about it. "You know who we can call for the blow?"
Opie nodded, pulling out a crumpled up piece of paper. A name and phone number were scrawled across the lines of the paper.
Stevie didn't say anything about the name, but she knew the girl wasn't just a no name sweetbutt. She was a fucking Saffron Sister. Opie set up a pick up of half an ounce from Lyla at Cara Cara.
The pair pulled up to Cara Cara and made their way inside. Stevie hung back while Opie talked to Lyla. Pulling out her smokes, she tried to keep herself occupied while Ope was with his girl. She missed Happy something fierce. He was her partner in crime and usually with her on missions like this for the club. Not that Opie was a bad partner, she just apparently preferred someone dark and brooding. Also helped that Happy literally made her happy.
Opie finished up with Lyla and Stevie gave the woman a nod before sliding on her shades and following the overgrown biker out to the parking lot.
"You like her." Stevie murmured, buckling her helmet.
"What?" Opie scoffed, definitely still flustered by the encounter with Lyla. "She's a porn star."
"And you wear a patch, what's your point, Ope?" Stevie grinned.
Opie just shook his head and wheeled out of the lot.
The set up went off without a hitch until Trammel stopped the dealer to take them to county. Guess they didn't like being set up because Trammel took a bullet to the gut and was currently bleeding out on the pavement.
"Officer down, officer down!" Opie shouted into Trammel's patrol car radio while Stevie held pressure to his wound. They shared a desperate look and tried to keep Trammel stable enough until EMS arrived.
Gemma's visit to Oswald proved more fruitful than anyone could have wished. Elliott found compassion, through the innocence of his beloved daughter, to provide bail for the entire MC. It wasn't a huge sum to a man like him, but it meant everything to the Sons. Their current state didn't warrant a long stay inside, not without more collaboration and planning. They needed to line up protection and being in lock up right now did not allow them to secure those alliances.
Happy piloted the van that they'd driven to the Christian Center in Merada back to the clubhouse. All he could think about was getting Stevie alone so they could talk. Granted he wasn't usually much of a talker, but he really needed to her to know that she was right. Jax and Clay were getting worse and it was tearing the club a part. Then he'd have his wicked way with her to make up for the time they'd spent apart.
His mind raced with three simple words. I love you. He wanted to say them, especially now with a long stint inside looming on the not so distant horizon. More importantly, Stevie deserved to hear them. She'd given him purpose again. The MC life had become mundane and routine and she came along and given him acceptance, joy and access to a heart that received him unconditionally, even when others gave it reasons not to.
Happy pulled up and put the van in park, scanning the parking lot for Stevie's curvy form. All three SAMCRO women stood by the bikes, between the clubhouse and the garage. Jax left the van and strode past the women, heading for the garage. The rest of the club filed into the clubhouse behind Clay. Tara started after Jax, but Gemma stopped her, wrapping her in a hug.
Stevie locked eyes with Jax as he passed and felt her blood run cold. Things were worse than before they went inside. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for Happy to want to be left alone like everyone else.
"Hey, big guy." Stevie murmured as Happy rounded the front of the van. He reached out for her. He buried her face in his chest, hardly giving her a chance to return the embrace. After a moment his grip relaxed a little and Stevie was able to lift her head to look up at him.
"I love you." Happy rasped, eyes deep pools of black.
Stevie's breath stopped for a moment. She took a quick note that he didn't even look around to make sure they were alone, he just said it. He had definitely heard her that day on her Mom's deck. "I love you too." She whispered back, tears pricking her eyes.
Happy smirked, pulling her in for a deep, hard kiss. "Should stay here tonight.' He murmured, inclining his head to the clubhouse.
Stevie nodded in understanding. Things were too tense, they needed to be all together in case something else happened. "Ma still has Maverick. With you guys getting picked up, she offered to help."
"Mmmm." Happy hummed in acknowledgement. Stevie could tell he wanted to say more but was going to wait until they were really alone to do so.
"You hungry?" Stevie asked, "I made sandwiches and baked some cookies."
Happy's brow's rose. "Really?" His eyes lit up with amusement. Stevie wasn't a cook, let alone a baker.
"Jesus," Stevie scoffed, "Yes, I had to do something to pass the time after the botched deal with Trammel and the dealer."
"Ah," Happy grunted, steering them towards the doorway of the clubhouse.
"Let's see if we can get SAMCRO patched up again, eh?" Stevie offered, ducking under Hap's arm into the clubhouse. Hap smirked. Despite their impossible circumstances, Stevie was ever the optimist.
"I get to have my way with you first," Happy growled in her ear as the door fell shut behind them.
"I definitely like the sound of that," Stevie grinned, leading the way to her dorm room.
The vote for Jax to go Nomad was unanimous, only because it was what Jax said that he wanted. That was the only reason Stevie gave her "Yea." Leaving the clubhouse, Gemma caught Jax before he could go home with Tara. Stevie went over to her bike while son and mother talked.
"You too, Stevie." Gemma insisted as Stevie buckled her helmet. "My house, I need to talk to you." Happy was gone on an errand for Lee up the coast, so Stevie didn't have him as an excuse to duck out on this family meeting. It made sense, Clay had told her more than once that he considered her to be like a daughter to him. Gemma apparently mirrored the sentiment.
"Okay, Gem." Stevie murmured, bringing her bike to life, "I'll go let Mav out then I'll be by." Gemma nodded and stepped back so Stevie could ride out of the lot.
Jax gave her a confused look, but meeting Tara's eyes confirmed her suspicions, Gemma was going to tell Jax and Clay about the rape. It was about damn time.
Stevie arrived at Gemma's and stashed her bike next to Jax's, beside Tara's Cutlass. She let herself in the back door and wiped her boots on the rug. Gemma handed her a cup of coffee and motioned for her to have a seat at the table next to her, across from Tara, who sat next to Jax with Clay at the head.
As Gemma recounted the rape, Stevie's mind raced. She didn't know how Clay and Jax would react to her knowing about it. She silently prayed they would show mercy.
"I asked Tara and Stevie to keep my secret for the good of this club." Gemma offered with a slight tremble in her voice, "Any anger or disappointment should be directed at me, not them."
Both men nodded in acknowledgement. "What is it, Ma?" Jax asked, resting his hands on the table top.
"They raped me. All three of them." Gemma confessed, "More than once."
Clay's eyes met Stevie's for a moment and all she could see was pain and disbelief. Jax pounded the table with his fist, his anger boiling over. He got to his feet and came over to Gemma, taking her hands in his, kissing her knuckles.
Stevie suddenly felt like she was intruding on an intimate family moment but was reassured when Jax placed a hand on her shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. It seemed all was forgiven from the Prince. He went over to Clay next and gripped his shoulder for a moment before Tara rose from the table to join him.
Stevie stood from her place at the table and bent to kiss Gemma's cheek. "Proud of you," She murmured, willing herself not to cry. She straightened up and Clay reached out to her, grabbing her wrist.
"Did the right thing, kid." Clay choked out, nodding to Gemma. Gemma smiled through her tears. He locked eyes with Stevie before releasing his grip on her wrist to reach out to his bride. Stevie nodded back and took her leave of the kitchen, giving the couple some privacy.
"Hey," Jax called to her from his bike as Tara backed out of the driveway. Stevie shut the back door and walked over to him,"I'm not going anywhere." He confessed. "I can't." He sighed, "Not now."
"Good to hear, VP." Stevie smiled, play punching him in the shoulder. "I think I would've been next to join you."
"Yeah?" Jax smirked. "Makes sense." He teased. "How are things with the killa?" Jax asked, suddenly serious.
Stevie took a breath and thought about what to tell him. "Told me he loved me." Stevie divulged, barely meeting the VP's eyes.
"Whoa. That's big." Jax blinked, "You say it back?"
"Yep." Stevie confirmed, straddling her bike.
"Jesus Christ." Jax laughed, "You could at least be happy about it."
"Just cautious." Stevie shrugged, reaching up to grip her handlebars. "You exchange those three little words with Tara?"
Jax grinned. "Not yet." He sighed, "At least not this time around." He chuckled.
Stevie smirked. "Well, don't wait forever." She sighed, "Guess I'll go home and call Hap, fill him in." She took a quick breath. "How do you want to handle this?" She asked, bringing them back to the subject at hand.
Jax bit his lip, trying to contain his rage. "We kill them all."
Stevie settled on her leather couch, beer and blunt in hand. She scrolled through her contacts and found Hap's number. She set her beer down on the side table and lit up her smoke. Then after a quick hit, she pressed call. The line rang for a moment and then he picked up.
"Hey babe," Hap's gravely voice washed over her.
"Hey there, big guy." Stevie sighed, releasing some smoke.
"You good?" Hap asked, he could tell something was up. Stevie usually called every night, but she'd told him that Jax was going Nomad and the vote was tonight.
"Yeah, actually." Stevie scoffed. "Jax isn't going Nomad."
"Hmmm." Happy grunted, nodding to Lee as he swept through the clubhouse, heading for the picnic table he'd taken Stevie for a tumble on. "Vote not unanimous?"
"It was," Stevie assured him, "But he's not going anywhere."
"Huh," Happy murmured. "Why's that?" He asked.
Stevie took a deep breath. "Gemma was raped."
"What!?" Hap roared, "I'm coming back, right now."
"Happy!" Stevie cried, "Slow down killa. You can come back tomorrow, just like you planned." She took another hit of smoke, "We're going on lock down in the morning."
"I'm leaving now." Happy got up from the picnic table.
"Will you at least give me a minute?" Stevie's voice rose a little more than she wanted it too. Hap was silent. "Sorry."
"You got your minute, woman. Now shoot." Hap growled.
Stevie took a shaky breath, "Gemma was gang raped the night before we did surveillance on our Neo Nazi neighbors."
"The night of Bobby's party?" Happy asked, "Jesus Christ."
"Yeah." Stevie confirmed. "I called Tara when we go home from our run, when you took Mav out." Hap was silent again. "I wanted to tell you, but I promised Gemma-" Her voice broke.
"We're good, babe." Happy rasped, heading for the clubhouse, minute was over. "Going to tell Lee I'm heading out and grab my shit."
"Please be careful Hap." Stevie urged. "Drink a Monster or something."
"Yeah, I'll figure something out." Happy smirked. "See you when you wake up."
"Okay." Stevie murmured with a smile, definitely liking the sound of that. "Ride safe, yeah?"
Happy's lips twitched. "Love you too."
Dearest readers,
Different Songs - Set it Off - this song is inspiring because it reminds me of how people can get out of sync with one another, even with the best of intentions. Give it a listen.
Mayans Season 2 was awesome! It inspired me to keep going with this fic so I could further develop Stevie and Happy's relationship.
We're in the thick of it, fighting for Charming and trying to keep the club from exploding from within at the same time. Looks like things are on the upswing, we'll see how Stevie deals with the looming prison sentence and the events of the season finale. RIP Kip.
xoxo
Lumora The White