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General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.

CHAPTER 24: FEAR FACTOR

"I'm fucking starving." Sydney groaned as she hopped out of the van once they were parked on the compound, bounding towards the clubhouse kitchen for something to soothe her rumbling stomach, Half-Sack following close behind.

"Hmmm…" She scanned the well stocked fridge, trying to figure out what she could make that would satisfy both the carnivores and the vegetarian prospect. "Kip what's your favorite meal in the whole wide world?" She asked as she swung the door of the fridge back and forth.

"Burritos." He answered easily.

"How the fuck d'you make burritos with no meat?" She scowled, still unable to understand how someone could choose to not indulge in the deliciousness of beef.

"Rice and beans." She pursed her lips with a shrug, accepting his answer before she pulled the cupboard door open to find the fixings for his custom meal, as well as the ones she needed for everyone elses. "Syd no you don't have to. It's not your job, I'm just a prospect and all." He tried to stop her from going out of her way to cook a separate meal just for him.

She froze, turning around and taking a step closer to him, then another, and another - backing him against the cupboards, her Louboutins putting them at a much more comparable height.

"You sayin that if you had a full patch, it would be my job?" She questioned him menacingly.

"What?" He trembled. "No! Of course not, you're not just some club whore-" He stopped his babbling when he saw the playful curl of her lips. "You're such an asshole" He groaned, nudging her as they laughed.

"One day Kippy… One day you will learn." She smiled as she left the room to see who all had stuck around the clubhouse for a late dinner.

"You hungry, Alexander?" She asked Tig, drawing out his real name as she ran her hand over his shoulder while he sat at the bar.

Tig winced at the sound of his name: a name so foreign to him, no matter how good it sounded coming from her. "You know." He squinted, spinning around on his stool to face her. "People get their asses kicked for callin me that." He raised a brow in warning.

"I'm countin on it." She nodded with a dirty smirk.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, putting his beer down and finding the back of her knee as he brought her into his lap to face him. "Think that'll teach ya?"

"It's a good place to start." She grinned.

"God, count me out." Bobby winced.

"Yeah... I'm not hungry anymore." Juice agreed from the pool table where he had his laptop set up.

Sydney jumped, looking up as her cheeks flushed, realizing that Tig had completely distracted her from the fact that there were other people in the room - which was why she'd come out in the first place.

"What's on the menu?" The Sergeant recaptured her attention, wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he answered her earlier question.

"Oh now you're hungry for what I got to offer?" She scoffed.

"I'm always hungry for you babydoll." He growled with authority, skimming his hands over her waist and letting his eyes consume her. "Just gotta keep you on your toes since I got all this competition." His mouth was hot on her neck as he rasped the words against her skin.

"How about I make you dinner, and then you can have me for dessert." She whispered seductively with baited breath, her tongue tracing his ear and her hands roaming his chest as she spoke.

"Now there's an offer I can't refuse." His hands tightened around her, rubbing over the smoothness of her exposed skin as he kissed her passionately before lifting her out of his lap and back onto the ground, playfully smacking her ass and winking.

She bit her lip bashfully, a flush on her face as she turned back to the kitchen, ignoring the smirk that Tig had on his face when he realized how hot and bothered he'd gotten her. She got to work cooking for everyone in the clubhouse, knowing that their appetites would return as soon as they smelled food.

Once everything was ready, Sydney made up a plate for the Vice President who had retired to his dorm for the evening, strutting down the hallway and lifting her arm to knock on his door when she heard. "You bet, bad boy." She snickered as her fist hovered above the wood, wondering if this was how ridiculous her and Tig sounded to everyone else.

Jax's entire body jolted with shock when he was surprised by a pounding on his door, the little blonde girl beneath him squeaking in surprise. "It's okay darlin." He smirked, patting her knee as he lifted himself from between her legs. "I'll keep you safe." He winked at the meek young woman whose name he'd already forgotten. Sally? Suzy? Something with an 'S', he pondered as he made his way to the door.

"Hey, bad boy." Sydney said in her most exaggerated sultry voice as she leant her hip against the door frame with a propped up arm in a playfully seductive pose. "Dinner's ready." She cocked a brow as she presented him with the plate of food, scoffing as the little girl with bangs scrambled to cover herself.

"We're ah… Kinda in the middle of somethin…" He pursed his lips, looking through his eyelashes at Sydney with his head down bashfully.

"Looks more like you're kinda at the end of somethin." She retorted as Jax's whore pushed past her and ran down the hallway, tripping over her own feet.

"Come on Syd-" He began arguing playfully.

"I'm gonna stop you right there." She silenced him with her manicured index finger. "Because I know that hands down would've been the worst blowjob you've gotten since the ninth grade. So really, you should be thanking me." She cocked her head as she finished speaking.

Jax just bit his lip with a smirk, knowing there would be no reasoning with the maniac of a woman standing before him with a home cooked peace offering.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She replied cheerfully, handing him the food and turning on her heel.

"I meant for the food."

"Sure you did." She snorted over her shoulder, deciding that she would attempt to bond further with the man in the rare moment where she wasn't thinking about ripping his head off. "How's Abel doing?" She changed her course, turning around and walking into the room cautiously to gauge his reaction.

"Oh, he's good!" His mood picked up instantly at the mention of his son, setting the plate on the bed with a warm smile.

"That's great." Sydney smiled, taking a seat beside him. "What about the junkie?"

Jax rolled his eyes at her use of the term but didn't say anything, he knew her history with junkies and he wasn't about to initiate an argument with her while they were getting along.

"You and my mom been talkin?" He joked, even though he knew that Gemma likely had confided in Sydney what her feelings were towards the mother of her grandson.

"Next thing you know I'm gonna be poppin IV lines with crank." Jax blinked and shook his head, stunned by the demonic words that had just come from such an angelic face. "What? Don't think I know about that?"

"No just… Didn't expect you to say it." He choked out.

"How d'you feel about that?"

Jax tightened his jaw thinking about what his mom had done, even if the act itself didn't mess with his moral compass nearly as much as it probably should have - he hated that she continued to medal with his relationships, his business, the shit that he should handle, not her.

"You and my mom really have been talkin." He smirked, deciding to let go of the resentment he had for his mother, knowing that what she did was to make things better. "She's goin off to rehab, won't have to worry about custody shit."

"You think it's gonna work?" Sydney had seen her fair share of rehab failures, wondering what Wendy being clean could mean for her VP.

"I hope so… It definitely aint the first time for her."

"You guys split because of it?" Sydney's brow creased as she tried to figure out if Jax had really wanted her as his old lady, or if she was just a rebound from Tara.

"Me and Wendy… That was a mistake." He shook his head.

"A Gemma fueled mistake?" She probed with a playful smirk.

"You know it." He chuckled. "She was driving the wedding train, wanted grandkids."

"Do you resent her? You know, for pushing you into that with the wrong person? Potentially pushing you away from the right person…" Her question was pointed and she let her eyes show it.

"Nah… My choices are on me, even the wrong ones." He chuckled, knowing just how many of those Sydney thought he had under his belt.

"A heavy weight to carry I'm sure…" She joked back, shaking her head with a playful smile before she pushed herself off the bed, deciding she'd gotten enough out of this conversation.

"Almost as heavy as the weight of a 200k debt." He fired back with a wink.

Sydney looked over her shoulder with a grin of amusement, nodding in approval to his clever comeback. "Looks like SAMCRO is gonna have to do a little fundraising, I'm sure you boys can get creative." She winked.

"Hey, can I ask you somethin?" Jax asked as she approached the door after pondering whether or not it was a good idea. She turned around expectantly, welcoming the question with open arms. "San Bern. How'd they feel about outlaw?" He nodded to her.

"Most of the, enjoy it but I don't think they would mind going legit, why?" She knew this question had something to do with Jax's recent change in thinking.

"Ah just wondering." He brushed it off casually. "Went through some of my dad's old shit, just seems like his original vision for the club was somethin simpler. He called it a Harley commune, real hippie shit."

"What's your vision for the club?" She cut right to the chase, remembering the conversation that she'd had with him previously about feeling like Clay wasn't carrying on his father's legacy. All the pieces of the puzzle were starting to form a much clearer picture in her mind.

"I don't know yet." He shook his head.

"I think it'd be more trouble than it's worth... Convincing some of these guys to go straight…" She swayed as she held onto the door frame, the depth behind her stare telling him that there was much to her cryptic words.

"Aight, well thanks for the food." He didn't take her response personally, from what he knew of the Cali Queen - a legitimate club was definitely not a table she wanted to sit at.

"Don't thank me yet." She laughed to herself before she heard him coughing violently as she descended the hallway.

Sydney walked out to the bar with a giant plate of burritos and just as she expected, everyone rushed over to claim their prize. She rounded the bar, leaning overtop of it with a smirk as she watched in anticipation.

Bobby was the first to start the chain reaction, coughing as his face went red and sweat began to pool on his forehead, Tig and Juice following close behind while Half-Sack began gagging from the pool table.

"Are you fucking kidding me Juice?" She exclaimed with a hand thrusted into the air in disappointment with the hispanic man.

"I grew up in Queens!" He choked out, making her shake her head dismally.

"What the hell did you put in here?" Tig winced as he poured beer down his throat to help soothe the burning.

"What?" She asked innocently before taking a bite. "I grew up with Latinas." She shrugged, a smirk tugging at her lips as the men watched her chomp on the monstrously spicy food in shock. Tig raised an eyebrow at her challenge, taking another bite and trying to withhold his outburst, his face going red and tears pooling in his eyes.

Juice winced before taking another bite and funneling air through his mouth as he did so. "This is like Fear Factor."

Sydney perked up. "We should play!"

"For fucks sake, Juice." Bobby groaned to the younger man for giving her the idea.

"I'm in." Tig slammed his beer down on the bartop after successfully getting through his second bite. Sydney grinned evilly, scarfing down her food before gathering the materials for her game.

Once everything was ready, Sydney returned to the clubhouse where the men sat with their empty plates, all looking like they had just taken a killer beating thanks to her use of spices.

"Pussies" She scoffed as she waltzed past the struggling men and down the hallway to retrieve the VP - there was no way she was going to miss out on a chance to humiliate him in a game of fear factor.

"Jax! Get out here!" She yelled, not bothering with the pleasantries of knocking or asking for his participation.

Jax came barrelling down the hall a few seconds later, clearly tweaked out by Sydney's yelling for him. "What's wrong?" He asked as he looked around the room while he pulled a shirt over his head.

"We're playing fear factor."

"You called me out for that?" He scowled.

"Sure did." Sydney smiled.

"That meal wasn't enough?" He smirked discerningly at her.

"It was only but a taste, Jacky Boy." She shook her head with a smirk. "Everyone ready?" She asked cheerfully. Tig grinned and nodded while the rest gave a half hearted nod, fearing whatever she was about to put them through but knowing that they would be subject to hassling if they noped out.

"Great, okay." She began explaining with no regard for the fact that nobody shared in her enthusiasm. "Fear Factor meets Jackass. First round: shred the bike rail on a skateboard, if you don't make it at least halfway - you take a shot of this." She grinned wickedly, presenting a jar of habanero peppers which only contained the juice - thanks to her overuse of the fiery food in tonight's meal. She laughed once everyone began yelling in protest to her terms, shrugging with a sweet smile and making her way outside, skateboard in hand.

"Okay!" She cooed once everyone was outside at the rail which was usually lined with gleaming Harleys. "Who's first?"

"Prospect!" Tig clapped Half-Sack on the shoulder and shoving him towards Sydney who was holding out the skateboard for him.

"Oh no come on…" The poor kid groaned.

"Come on Sack, you can do it." She encouraged.

"Fuck!" He yelled before diving in head first, taking a running start and jumping up onto the skateboard, wobbling and flailing his arms about but somehow keeping his balance all the way to the end. "Holy shit!" Applause roared from him as he waltzed back down the line with a grin on his face.

"I fucking told you that you could do it!" Sydney hollered as she ran up and high fived him. "Juice let's go!"

Juice jumped up and down a few times, limbering his body up with a newfound confidence after watching the uncoordinated prospect stick the landing. He began running, picking up good speed but fumbling when the top of his foot clipped the rim of the skateboard, flipping his entire body forward, his head rebounding off of the metal railing with a loud clang before he hit the pavement.

Sydney stood wide eyed with her hands over her mouth in shock while Tig and Bobby doubled over in hysterics, Half-Sack and Jax jogging over shakily in laughter to check on their Puerto Rican brother.

"I'm good guys, really." Juice's eyes were rolling back and the stars could practically be seen circling his head.

"I don't think so, we gotta get you to the ER." Bobby insisted a little too strongly, hoping it would exclude him from the game, helping Juice up as he propped him up with his shoulder and began walking him to the van.

"You just wanna get out of it, huh old man?" Tig teased.

"You each owe me a shot!" Sydney called after them. "Jax you're up!"

"I'm gonna just go with that shot, Princess." He shook his head with a grimace.

Sydney turned her attention to Tig. "Oh, yeah me too." He shrugged with a shit eating grin.

She rolled her eyes, slipping off her heels and getting ready to make a run for it with a smile on her face. She took off, successfully jumping up onto the skateboard that Half-Sack was holding steady and stabilizing herself as it teetered on the metal rail, squealing as she tried to keep her balance. Somewhere along the way of willing herself not to fall backwards, she leant too far forwards. Feeling gravity working against her, she leapt off of the skateboard, hopping along the rail quickly enough that she was able to make it to the end.

"More than halfway!" She yelled across the lot to Tig and Jax who were shaking their heads.

"You only picked this one knowing you had good balance." Jax teased, nudging her playfully as she approached with the skateboard under her arm.

"I ain't gonna let years of gymnastics go to waste."

"You did gymnastics?" He scoffed in response.

"Til I was old enough to realize it's for pussies." She smirked back.

"That explains… So much." Tig said dreamily, recounting her crazy flexibility and gymnast's complex.

"Old habits die hard." She winked.

"Jesus, get me that fucking pepper juice." Jax winced, shaking his head, opting for a burning throat rather than burning eyes and ears.

Sydney poured the two shot glasses as full as she could, sliding them across the bar to their dread-filled owners. "Bottoms up." She smiled with wild eyes.

Jax looked to Tig with a wince, who responded with a look of terror before picking up the shot and slamming it back, keeping his head tilted toward the ceiling as he tried to force the offensive substance down his throat.

The reaction of the Sergeant did not help Jax's case in the slightest as he hesitated, lifting the shot off of the bartop and setting it back down multiple times. "Jesus Christ, you hesitate with this just like you hesitate pulling the fucking trigger." Sydney grimaced. "You sure you deserve that VP flash?" She asked with a raised brow, doing her best to rile him up.

Tig barked out a laugh at Sydney's insult, immediately beginning coughing and gasping for air as he ran behind the bar, guzzling water straight from the tap and gathering ice cubes to stuff into his cheeks.

Her words did the trick. Jax's lips formed a straight line as he grit his teeth in frustration, pouring the shot into his mouth and swallowing in one fluid motion. "Fuck you." He choked out as his face turned as red as Sydney was sure his temper was, running down the hallway to his room for water.

She bursted out laughing as she watched the men struggling, basking in the glory of her victory. "So... No round 2 then?"

The aftermath of Sydney's game had her lying on Tig's lap on one of the couches in the clubhouse as he iced his burning mouth. "I fucking hate you." He shook his head.

"You fucking love me." She snorted, not turning her attention from the game of tetris she was playing on her phone.

"That love's gonna kill me." He patted her propped up leg with a chuckle. "You stayin?"

"Nah, I'm gonna head home." She said as she sat up, leaving Tig with a disappointed look on his face. "Maybe you'll sleep better alone." She added softly, the sincerity not quite reaching her eyes as they flicked down to the black leather of the couch and avoided his gaze.

Tig didn't expect her comment to sting as badly as it did. He had done his best to hide the nightmare in the back of his mind not to spook her or himself, but she ripped it right back out.

"Okay." He nodded regrettably, knowing that fighting it would only cause his mind to blow things out of proportion when he had to think about it alone in bed later on. He stood with her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he walked her to her car. "I love you, I'll see you tomorrow." His words were flat as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, opening the car door and ushering her inside. He knew that now was the right time to show how he was truly feeling - show her that there was nothing for her to worry about, let her know that for the one nightmare she'd helped bring on, there were countless that she had chased away, but he couldn't. The coping mechanisms of turning cold and ignoring the emotion was too deeply embedded in his psyche at this age.

"I love you too." Sydney replied softly as she got into the car, wishing she would've just bitten her damn tongue. She hadn't meant for her comment to be petty, but she hadn't realized just how bitter she felt until the words had already left her lips. She took a deep breath as she watched him walk away, telling herself that it wasn't worth getting worked up over and that things would be fine tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Tig could not say the same about his level of relief as he sat hunched over the bar with a half empty bottle of Jim Beam. He'd already been worried to sleep and re-live another nightmare tonight as it was, but now without Sydney there to comfort him, he had to seek another source of comfort - taking a swig before passing out over the bar.

Gemma rolled into the parking lot at TM at the crack of dawn, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor in the bar as she sauntered into the dimly lit room at the early hour, rolling her eyes and shaking her head and she saw Tig, snoring and sprawled out across the bar next to the empty bottle. She scowled - this wasn't unlike Tig, but it was unlike Tig since Sydney had come into his life.

Sydney groaned as the vibrating of her phone woke her from a sleep that had been less than peaceful to begin with. "What?" She answered groggily when she saw it was Gemma calling at the offending hour of 6:16 a.m.

"Can you come in early? Emergency backlog."

"Yup." She confirmed flatly, making Gemma chuckle when she heard the line go dead.

Less than an hour later, Gemma heard the rumbling exhaust of Sydney's challenger as she pulled into the parking lot.

"Well shit." The older woman scoffed as she lowered her glasses and leant back in her chair, taking in the sight of the gorgeous blonde girl. "It doesn't even look like I dragged your ass out of bed." She smirked, referencing Sydney's perfectly put together appearance: a black cropped hoodie with distressed denim shorts in a light wash, combat boots, straight hair and a fresh face.

"That's the goal." She replied sassily as she removed her dark aviators, looking around the office for the source of the emergency. "What's the backlog?" The confusion and mild annoyance was evident in her tone.

"There is no backlog, what happened to Tig?" Her tone told Sydney that she wasn't playing games.

"Of course there isn't." She scoffed, walking over to the couch and tossing her purse onto it before taking a seat. "Gemma, if you're gonna worry every time one of us flies off the handle, you're gonna have to quit your job, cause it is a full time gig."

"Worrying about all you guys is already my full time gig." She argued.

"Speaking of worrying…" Sydney drew the attention away from her and Tig. "I talked to Jax last night, found some shit out about why he's been acting the way he has…"

"Really? What'd you find out?" Gemma perked up.

"He asked how SAMDINO would feel about going straight, when I asked why and he said he read some shit his dad wrote. Sound familiar?"

"He say what he found?"

"No, but it sounds to me like it was some dying confession from a broken heart."

"I wouldn't put it past John… Now tell me why Tig is passed out drunk in the clubhouse."

Sydney scowled at first but quickly realized the rationale to his thinking: heavily drinking to block out the dreams. "He had a nightmare in Santa Cruz about some girl, Jules?"

Gemma stiffened when she heard the forbidden name, to say that she was shocked would be an understatement. Tig hadn't spoken of Juliet in well over a decade, maybe more.

"Juliet." Gemma corrected with a slow nod. "He really does love you." She spoke with a small smile, knowing that if Juliet was being brought out of his subconscious, it was because he was having the same feelings for Sydney - that he did for her all those years ago.

"I guess he didn't want to risk dreaming about her again." Sydney smiled sadly.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before the older woman was the one to break it. "You gonna ask?"

"No." Sydney answered quickly with a shake of her head. "I want him to tell me, when he's ready."

"You are good for him baby." Gemma nodded, her smokey voice full of sincerity as she leant forward. "You will be the perfect old lady."

"I hope so." She smiled.

"Alexander!" Sydney yelled as she stormed into the clubhouse, seeing Tig lying barely awake on the bar with his eyes cracked open.

"You look like a goddamn angel." His eyes loomed over her as a lazy grin spread across his face, not moving from where his head laid upon the polished wood, her beauty captivating him so strongly that he hadn't even realized her use of his first name.

"And you look like Satan ass fucked you all night." She nudged him out of the barstool. "Go shower, you have work."

"Come on baby." He groaned, grimacing as he stood - feeling the soreness spread through his body as a result of his unconventional sleeping position.

"Don't you 'come on baby' me, go." She pushed him towards the hallway.

He turned around with a grin, stumbling backwards to his dorm. "I might need you to help me clean up." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Get going." She grit her teeth theatrically, the two smiling as she followed him to his dorm.

Sydney tidied around the dorm as he showered, paying extra attention to the bed which she made to look extra comfortable - hoping it would entice him to sleep properly tonight.

"Awe babe, you don't gotta do that." Tig remarked when he emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, kissing her on the cheek as he walked over to his dresser to grab clean boxers.

"That's what old ladies do, isn't it?" She looked up from her crouched position by the laundry basket with a smile.

"It's also what croweaters do." He smirked.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm your own personal croweater." She purred in a sultry voice as she walked over, draping her arms over his shoulders.

"Hell yeah you are, Dollface." His hands rested on her ass while a smug smile sat comfortably on his face.

"I know something else that croweaters do…" She whispered against his neck, pressing a chaste kiss to the sensitive spot and looking up at him through her eyelashes before she slowly descended down his body, dragging her lips across his skin, not breaking the eye contact. The closer she got to his dick, the more his eyes began to flutter closed, as soon as she could no longer see the beautiful crystal blue, she stopped, getting to her feet quickly.

"Work." She ordered, pressing a peck to his lips before turning dramatically and strutting towards the door.

With the early hour and Tig being hungover, Sydney definitely hadn't expected such a reaction out of him, a gasp of surprise leaving her throat as she was spun around and slammed against the oak door, her face instantly flushing and a smile of excitement spreading across her face.

"You know, I seem to remember you owe me somethin from last night." He purred with a smirk as he loomed over her like a predator stalking it's prey.

"Was more like it's something you owe me." She challenged.

Tig chuckled cockily, his animalistic kinks showing through as he moved his hands from her hips, up her body, one wrapping around her throat and the other gathering her hands above her head. "That how it's working now baby?"

"It is when you act like a jackass." She spit the words at him. Of course she wasn't actually mad, but she knew that part of being a good old lady meant keeping her man in line - and if she could use it to her advantage in the bedroom, she would.

"Oh we're gonna have fun, Kitten." He chuckled, dipping down to press his lips to hers in a hard kiss before pulling away to let her go, smirking knowingly at the blush on her cheeks.

Even though Tig had completely played into it and knew he deserved it - it didn't stop him from sulking as he slowly pulled on his clothes and lugged his sorry ass to the garage to begin his shift. Gemma smiled and nodded in approval to Sydney when she saw Tig scuffing his boots over the pavement as the two worked though the day's paperwork, the sound of Harleys filling their ears as the lot filled up.

"Hey, Ma." Jax greeted cheerful as he swung in the door frame to the office a few hours later.

"Mornin baby."

"Church." He nodded to Sydney.

"How's your throat doin?" Sydney nudged Jax with a playful smile as they walked towards the clubhouse.

Jax looked behind him to see Tig looking less than pleased as he watched the two young blondes walk side by side. "Better than yours is gonna be doin." He smirked, making Sydney smile once again at his cleverness, wishing that she was able to see the playful side of the VP more often.

Sydney took her seat at the table, biting her lip to suppress her reaction when she saw Juice sitting across from her, head forehead wrapped in bandages.

"What the hell did you do." Clay sighed, swinging his head in Sydney's direction - knowing by her expression that it was her doing, but she could tell there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Just havin a little fun, it's not my fault that they can't take the heat." She replied innocently with a small smirk at her pun. Clay responded with a chuckle before turning his attention to the VP.

"Got a call from Jury, Mayans are pressing them to pay a vig to keep running pussy and book out of Nevada." Jax spoke of one of his dad's oldest friends and newest brothers under the reaper - feeling bad that his club was struggling with Mayan beef that didn't belong to them, especially after Clay had manipulated him into being patched over by the Sons. The deep scowl on Clay's face told Jax that the meeting he'd called was already going bad. "Look man they need back up, let the Mayans know we're around."

"Part of asking for the vig is about shittin on us." Bobby argued with his VP. "They knew Jury would call, they're gonna be watchin."

"We got a 200k deficit hangin over our heads." Tig argued loudly.

"We're not wasting man power." Clay answered with finality, refusing to even entertain the request that came from the bleeding heart of his VP.

"That's what I'm sayin, just me and Bobby go. Low profile."

"No, no. That's a risky ride brother. Northern Nevada's Mayan territory. Nah, they're still lookin to settle the score from our little raid." Sydney was surprised to hear Juice speaking up - even if it was purely out of concern, she figured the concussion was the result of his sudden courage.

"You think we could convince him to buy some guns?" Sydney proposed. "Make the trip worth our while. We scratch their backs, they scratch ours. You guys go up, fly under the radar, we get them some guns the same way and then they've got protection the next time the Mayans wanna blow smoke.

"Yeah, maybe." Jax nodded eagerly in response to her clever idea, the two blondes looking to Clay.

"You think you could get Jury on board?" He asked tentatively. Normally, the President would've been excited to see reaper royalty getting along - especially if it meant money in his pocket, but regardless of the result, he knew that this play was just another display of Jax's weakness.

"My dad saved his ass in Tay Nihn, he owes the Tellers a chit." He responded smugly. Clay's hardened expression didn't let up as he stared down his stepson. "Look man we're not gonna go cowboy. I promise."

"Promise." Bobby crossed his heart sarcastically.

"Low profile. I don't want no wetbacks knowing that we crossed into NV." He scolded. "They pull this off, I want you and Juice driving the barrels." He ordered his Sergeant.

"Done." Tig nodded. Jax stood with a smirk, clapping Clay on the shoulder who still looked brutally unsure.

Jax and Bobby were gearing up to leave as Tara pulled into the lot in her cutlass, Sydney raised an eyebrow, alerting Gemma who quickly stood from her desk and scurried over to the window. "Stupid bitch." She mumbled. "I'm gonna head out early, you handle this?" A discerning smirk spread across Sydney's face as the matriarch began gathering her things, avoiding the knowing gaze of the younger girl.

Sydney watched the encounter from the drawn blinds, chuckling to herself as Tara attempted to turn down the ride home from Gemma when she learned that Jax wasn't available - knowing that you didn't get by with refusing an offer from the queen. The blonde woman's brows raised in anticipation when she noticed Gemma's disapproval when Jax presented her with the trip he was about to take, raising them higher when she saw the placement of Jax's hand on Tara's waist as he bid her goodbye, turning back to her work with a knowing smirk.

Before Gemma was set to head off of the compound with Tara, she searched frantically for her husband. "You sent him into Nevada?" The judgment was strong in her tone as Clay walked her back to her car.

"It was his idea." Clay defended, trying to reason with mama bear. "It's club business."

"He has a two week old kid. He is distracted. You have to protect him."

"Protect him? From what?" Clay scowled. Gemma had been hassling with this Jax bullshit for weeks and even if he had started thinking the same thing - that Jax was distracted - his idea of how to solve the problem was quite the opposite of that of his wife.

"Himself."

"He's fine, relax." The President draped his arm over his worried old lady.

"Now, this one…" She turned her gaze to the brunette who was chatting with Lowell, who happened to be an old friend of hers.

"What's she doin here?" Clay scowled again.

"Anything she can to get close to Jax." Gemma spit out bitterly.

Clay smirked, turning to face her. "Maybe she just needs a tune up."

Gemma turned, responding in a playfully unimpressed manner. "Didn't trust her then, don't trust her now." She pressed a kiss to his lips.

Not long later, Jax and Bobby were sitting in silence on the side of the road in front of JT's memorial wall on the side of the remote highway. Bobby smoked a cigar while Jax lit a cigarette, the two taking a moment to honour their loved one.

"You think you and Jury are gonna get into it?"

"Yeah." Jax shook his head dreadfully. "He didn't see the patchover comin, the old man's struggling to hang the reaper on his back… None of this shit feels good to me Bobby, Clay's makin a mistake. The tribe wasn't SOA material."

Bobby stared at his VP with worry, watching every twitch in his body. "You alright brother?"

Jax looked up, meeting Bobby's skeptical eyes. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just checkin in, you been through a lot of shit in the last couple of weeks. Baby, junkie... Maybe all that noise in your head's got you turned around a bit."

Jax knew that his brothers were starting to pick up on his change of thinking, but Bobby was the first one to properly confront him about it. "Noise in my head?" He smiled, taking the approach of casually brushing off Bobby's stipulations, acting like he was talking crazy. "You got somethin to say man, just say it."

The older man raised an eyebrow. "You've been second guessin Clay ever since your boy was born. Club's pickin up on it, you gotta get right with that." Jax nodded, unsure of what to say as he stamped out his cigarette butt and restrapped his helmet.

Jax's engine roared as he and Bobby approached the diner just past the Nevada border that Jury had told him about - where the Mayans clubhouse was. "Gotta take a piss!" He hollered to his companion who nodded, the pair pulling into the dirt lot just off the highway. "I'll be right back." Jax nodded to Bobby before he rounded the back of the establishment to see exactly what he was in search of: a row of ape-hangered Harleys.

Clay pulled his ringing phone from the pocket of his kutte as he leant against the bar in the clubhouse with Tig and Half-Sack.

"Looks like Jury's gonna have some backup after all." Jax's voice came over the line, rumbling exhaust almost drowning him out.

"What the hell are you talkin about?"

"I'm on my way back, and I'm not alone."

"Shit." Clay slammed his phone shut.

"What?" Tig jumped up, going into Sergeant mode immediately.

"Mayans. Pack of em trailing Jax. I knew this was a bad idea!" He yelled, whipping his phone against the back wall behind the bar when he realized that he'd been right all along with not having man power to spare because now he didn't even have enough man power for an escort, with Happy and Chibs out of town, Juice out of commission, and Half-Sack without a bike.

Jax kicked over the first bike in the row, creating a domino effect as the others toppled over after it before he ran over to his bike which he parked right in front of the diner door, revving his engine until the Mayans ran out - seeing who was the culprit of the assault on their bikes as they ran to pick them up and initiate the game of cat and mouse.

Bobby scowled when he saw Jax racing out from behind the building where he went to piss. "Mayans, go!" He heard from his VP, scrambling to get his bike into gear as the pair took off with the Mayans not far behind.

"Sydney!" Clay yelled from the lot as the small group made to take off with whatever weapons they had on them, mounting their bikes.

Sydney jumped when she heard Clay calling her, anxiety filling her nerves when she heard his angry tone and use of her first name. She grabbed her purse, running out to her President.

"What's going on?"

"Mayans after Jax and Bobby."

"Fuck… Okay, Kip you take Juice's bike, I'll meet you on the highway."

"Vest." Tig ordered as he tossed her the smallest bulletproof vest that he could find, shocked when she stripped down right then and there in the middle of the crowded compound, slipping the vest over her bra and pulling her cropped hoodie back over top. When she looked back up, she was met with three blank stares and open mouths.

"It's nothin you aint seen before." She rolled her eyes. "Now go!" She yelled before taking off towards her challenger, slamming the door shut and peeling out of the lot.

Sydney had almost made it home in record time thanks to her handy network of alleyways and shortcuts when she was faced with the worst case scenario as sirens blared behind her until she pulled over to the side of the road.

"Fuck…"

Ok but I actually love the Syd/Jax moment :/ Also editing this made me realize how much I made it sound like Sydney poisoned them LMAO (I wouldn't put it past her)