Jax pulled ahead of his sister and he signaled for them to open the gates, speeding through. She followed close behind, pulling into a parking space between Tara's Cutlass and her mother's Escalade. Jax was quick to rush over and he grabbed Olivia and the diaper bag.
Anna grabbed everything else before she followed behind Jax into the clubhouse. It had been a long time since she'd been here but nothing had changed.
"I'm going to take your stuff to the apartment." Jax told her, pulling her from her thoughts.
She traded her bag with him and grabbed Olivia. The pair walked around and Anna showed Olivia her grandpa, along with pictures of her uncle and the rest of the guys.
"Tig Tig!" Olivia cheered when she saw his mugshot.
Anna couldn't help but to chuckle.
"Did someone say my name?" Tig came around the corner.
Olivia squealed in delight. Of all of the Sons, Tig was Olivia's favorite.
The man took Olivia out of Anna's arms and wandered off.
"Don't worry about us." He chuckled.
Anna took a seat on the couch, watching as everyone mingled amongst one another. Deep down, she felt like the biggest outcast in the room. She sat in silence until Tig stopped by, leaning down to hand Olivia over.
He waved to the little girl before walking away, whistling to get everyone's attention.
Clay stood up in front of the room, giving a speech.
"You're all here, because you're connected to us in some way." Clay started.
The door opened again and Anna looked over to see her husband walk through the door. Clay nodded his head toward the man before David took a seat next to his wife. He pressed his lips to the side of her head.
"I'm glad you made it in early." He whispered.
Anna nodded her head in agreement. The club members walked into church while everyone else mingled with one another. Anna leaned back into the couch with Olivia on her lap.
David rose to his feet.
"I have to go back to work but I wanted to come check on both of you." David whispered.
"Be careful out there. Text me when you're on your way back." Anna smiled softly, rising to her feet and adjusting to put Olivia on her hip.
Anna walked down the hall, away from the crowd of bikers and crow eaters to find an empty room. Her bags sat on the bed and she unpacked her clothes, along with Olivia's for the night. Tara walked by the room with Abel in her arms.
"If you need some help, I'm here. Just next door." Tara offered.
Anna looked over at her and a sigh escaped her lips. "I appreciate it."
The woman just wanted to rest for the night, without some type of impending doom looming over her family's head.
Over the next few hours, the noise from the crowd dwindled. Most of the club members were gone on a run and a few women littered the halls and the common space. Her eyes stayed glued to the digital clock on the nightstand, watching as each hour passed. She felt safe with Olivia but she worried about her husband. What would happen if he got caught in the crossfire?
At some point, Anna had drifted off. Olivia was asleep in the bed beside her. She tossed and turned, sighing softly as she gazed at the clock again. She sent her husband a quick text before she turned over again, trying get a decent amount of shut eye.
The bed shifted beside her and instinctively she rolled over and her arm fell across her husband's waist.
"I thought you'd never come." She whispered.
He grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.
"I'm here now." He smiled, resting her hand on his chest.
She nodded before she fell back to sleep. At least she finally had David with her. That's all that mattered in the moment. But the moment didn't last long at all.
The sun was barely over the horizon but David was already on the move. He pulled on his uniform and she sat up, wiping her eyes.
"You just got here." She whispered, trying keep Olivia asleep.
"I've gotta get back to the station." David leaned in to kiss her.
A part of her wanted to turn away. She wanted to yell at him, throw a fit, but she just shut down instead.
In an instant, he disappeared again. Anna lied back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Olivia was still asleep in the bassinet beside her. The woman rose to her feet, unpacking some clothes before she moved to the shower.
She left the door cracked to listen for any slight squeal from her daughter. Steam filled the tiny bathroom and she stepped into the scalding shower. Anna took a moment to herself. Tears filled her eyes and she let out a quiet sob. She wasn't sure how any of this was going to go.
The water rushed over her body and she moved slowly to finish her shower. Then a quiet coo sounded off from the bedroom.
"Good mornin' Ollie." A female's voice entered the bedroom.
Anna finished with her shower and wrapped a towel around her body, peeking through the door to find Tara with Abel and Olivia.
"Thank you." Her voice was quiet.
Tara nodded her head slowly, watching the two kids play with their toys.
"We've got to head back to the house." Tara announced.
Abel crawled across the floor to his mother and Tara picked him up before she rose to her feet.
"You can come with us if you want." The woman offered.
Anna was quick to refuse. She knew how David would react if she left.
"I can watch Abel if you need me to. Make it easier." She offered with a soft smile.
Tara thought about it for a moment. Gemma had told her to take Abel home, and the older woman made it really hard to disobey her.
"No no, it's fine, you've got your hands full here." Tara smiled as she moved towards the door.
Anna scooped Olivia up into her arms and sat down on the bed. There was something hanging in the air around the clubhouse but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Anna looked around the room at the pictures that surrounded the two of them. The woman picked up a picture of her and Jax when she was still in high school.
"Who's that?" Anna asked the little girl.
Olivia shrugged her shoulders.
"That's me and your uncle Jax." She explained.
Olivia reached for the picture, her little finger danced along the glass while she stared at it for a long while.
Anna kept looking through the pictures then she found a picture of her mom and dad from their wedding day. A part of her wondered how John would have reacted to find out he had a grandson and a granddaughter. She wondered how her dad would be with them. Anna remembered how her dad was with her, the pair was absolutely inseparable.
"He would have been your grandpa." Anna sighed sadly.
She missed her dad, more than anything. She wished that John would've been there to walk her down the aisle and the day Olivia was born but he wasn't. John was gone far too soon for either Anna or Jax.
A phone rang, pulling Anna from her thoughts. It was David.
"Are you both safe?" He asked.
"Um, yeah, we're at the clubhouse." Anna answered.
David let out a long sigh of relief.
"I just needed to check in, hear your voice."
David hung up quickly.
Anna wanted to know what was going on in the outside world. She wanted to know that her family was safe and that David was safe, but that everyone in the club was safe too.