Chapter Thirty-Three

"How about this one?" Gemma asked, as she held up a particularly expensive bottle of champagne for Allie to see.

Allie bit down on her bottom lip, but finally just decided to go with it, and just shrugged. There was only one chance to get this right anyway and, come hell or high water, she was going to get this right. Her best friend was getting married in three days, and despite the fact that she was still very, very much in shock from that particular development, there also wasn't much she could do about it. Trying to talk Dan out of marrying the love of his life wasn't going to yield the desired results - for any of them. Besides, she'd learned a long time ago that she just needed to shut up when he had his mind made up about something.

"Uh, I think it's fine. He'll probably appreciate that we sprung for some top shelf choices, rather than the alternative."

Gemma just shrugged and put a few bottles in their cart. They still had a few more things to get on their shopping list for tonight's bachelor party festivities, and then they still had to go to the clubhouse and start setting up for the party. All this wedding stuff was just a nightmare and a whirlwind all at the same time. Why anyone would actually want to do it, when you could just skip all this time and work and money, and just focus on being happy with your partner...that was just beyond her.

And, as if Gemma could read her thoughts, she lifted a wary eyebrow at her as she set another bottle of champagne in their cart.

"You look like you're really enjoying all this wedding planning," Gemma told her wryly.

"Oh, you know, besides the fact that my best friend is rushing into something he might seriously regret later, I'm having the time of my life."

"Well," Gemma just lifted a shoulder. "Not much you can do about it anyway. Might as well try to act happy for them though, right?"

That gave Allie some pause, and her lips pulled apart in a grimace. "Do I not seem happy for them?"

Gemma's eyebrows lifted in amusement, but she just shook her head. "Honey, you look a little bit like you're prepping for a funeral right now."

"I'm trying to be happy. I'm trying to look excited, at least around them. I guess I'm not doing a very good job."

"I think you did pretty well in front of Dan today when he was firing off all his assignments. You do have a pretty good poker face and always have, so I think if you just keep leaning into that, and try not to think about anything else, you'll be fine."

Allie ran a hand over her face, still grimacing. "Ugh. That's not a very strong vote of confidence, Gemma."

"Hey," she just laughed. "You're the one who has to figure out how to get through officiating, not me."

"I'm working on it. I really am."

She'd walk through fire for Dan if he asked her to, so becoming an ordained minister online for him yesterday was a piece of cake. And she really was taking the actual job he'd assigned her seriously - she'd spent the better part of last night scouring website after website after website of wedding ceremony templates for ideas on how to even begin to start writing the ceremony script, much to Jax's chagrin. He'd had other ideas for how to spend their time in bed together, but he'd also, somewhat patiently, waited long enough for her to feel like she'd made some headway with the whole thing before promptly shutting her laptop and jumping on top of her.

"Dan also might've mentioned that he and Adrian have an appointment with you tomorrow to sign some paperwork?"

Allie huffed out a laugh, and the best she could do was shrug. "What do you want me to say? If anyone really thought I'd let Dan get married without signing a prenup first, then they don't know me very well. At least he just shut up and agreed to it without much of a fight."

"I suppose that's true," Gemma allowed, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "But that does take the romance out of it a little bit, doesn't it?"

She narrowed her eyes just a touch, not particularly appreciating the direction Gemma had taken this conversation. "Maybe. But just so you know, if you and my dad ever decide to tie the knot, it won't be without signing some paperwork either."

"Uh huh," Gemma grinned. Now some of the humor had bounced back in her eyes, and Allie really wasn't liking what she was seeing. "And what about if you and Jax ever decide to tie the knot? Are you gonna make my son sit down and sign some paperwork too?"

Allie just rolled her eyes. "It's not all that different than, say, making sure you have all your estate plans and your powers of attorney in order. It's just a necessary evil to get all your ducks in a row in case you should ever need it. No one likes having to do it, but you do it in the hope that you'll never need it. And if you do need it, then you're glad you've got everything all figured out ahead of time. Just saves everyone time, money, and a lot of headaches."

"That's true," Gemma nodded with a smile, and then she jabbed a pointy nail at Allie. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Jax and I aren't the ones talking about getting married, and I guess, neither are you and my dad, so I'm sorry for dragging you into it."

"Sure," Gemma's grin just widened. "But you still haven't answered my question."

"What do you want me to say, Gemma?" Allie sighed. "If Jax and I ever got married, then yes, I would want a prenup because it's just stupid not to do it. But Jax and I aren't getting married, so we really don't need to have this conversation right now."

"But you want to get married at some point."

"That's not what I said."

"Uh huh," Gemma nodded again, this time lifting an eyebrow at her. "Your dad might've mentioned your feelings on marriage to me at some point, so I'm aware that you may not see that step as a necessary one with my son. But you should probably know, if he hasn't told you yet, that he feels that's a pretty necessary step, at least with you."

"Well, I guess that's for us to figure out then, isn't it?"

Gemma immediately held up her hands in defense. "You're right. I didn't mean to overstep - you just walked right into it, you know?"

"Yeah," Allie sighed heavily. "I know."

Suddenly, Gemma was at her side and nudging her in the shoulder. "So that's really something you don't want? With Jax?"

For years, Allie had always believed that marriage was just a societal construct, a patriarchal one at that, which just created unnecessary baggage and expectations on women. Why should she have to, for example, take her husband's last name - and therefore completely forego her own identity while absorbing his - when her husband could just go on through life without having to completely change his identity? Why should they have to stand up in front of some preacher and have some ceremony that really didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things? Those promises could easily be broken. That contract was one that could easily be dissolved, especially if you had the right paperwork in place ahead of time to make it even easier.

But something had been needling in her ever since that conversation they'd had in the movie theater, and ever since she'd come to the hard realization that just knowing some other woman had Jax's last name, that some other woman was still legally tied to him mattered to her...that had just about knocked her sideways. And then it had happened again when she had the evidence right in front of her face. She'd had to confront that very real reality, whether she liked it or not, that Wendy was still very much Jax's wife, even if in name only. That had meant something - more than she'd ever anticipated or mentally prepared herself for.

And it wasn't just the fact that she was technically sleeping with some other woman's husband. There was more to it than that, and in this moment, Gemma seemed to see all of that written on her face, whether she liked it or not.

"That is something you want, isn't it?" Gemma smiled softly.

Allie just huffed out a laugh, and shook her head. This woman was just non-stop, and by now, she'd learned that there was just no use in trying to hide or trying to act like she didn't know what Gemma was talking about.

"Seeing Wendy Case-Teller written on all those forms when I bailed her out…" Allie trailed off, swallowing hard at what she was about to actually say out loud. "That hit me harder than I'd anticipated."

"I can imagine," Gemma nodded, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Did you talk to Jax about that? Tell him how that made you feel?"

"No."

When Gemma's lips parted to respond, Allie jumped in to explain: "I didn't want to make him feel worse about everything that happened with Wendy at the precinct. I just didn't see the point in making a bad situation worse, and then it just...hasn't really come up again. I think he's just trying not to upset me any more than I already was by bringing it up and now it's kinda become this thing that we just don't feel like we can talk about without making the other person upset."

Gemma's eyes drifted down to the floor in thought as they ambled closer to the checkout lanes at the grocery store. "I can see why both of you might not want to be the first one to bring it up again, but that being said, that doesn't mean it should be somethin' you two can't talk about. You really should, Allie. He should know where your head's at with all this - and it's not like he's gonna go runnin' out tomorrow and buy you a ring, ya know? 'Cuz you two couldn't get hitched right now even if you wanted to."

"Even if that was something I wanted right now, I don't think it would be right for him to ask me while he's still technically married to someone else, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Gemma chuckled lightly. "I suppose that really would take the romance out of it, wouldn't it?"

"It would," Allie smiled, grateful they were finally, at least sort of, on the same page about this and now they could move on. "I guess you're right. I really should tell him how I'm feeling about all that - at least all that stuff with Wendy. I don't want to keep things from him either."

"I know, honey. And that right there is just another reason why I know you two are gonna be just fine. You just gotta keep the lines of communication open, keep talkin' to each other, keep bein' honest with each other, and there's nothin' you two can't handle together."

Allie smiled back at her, but at the same time, she also knew it went both ways. There was something else they weren't talking about too. Something she knew Jax had literally talked to the whole club and her dad about - something that was even more difficult and harder to wrap her head around than all this drama with Wendy. She wanted to know if, once again, she was the last to know, if Jax was purposefully keeping her in the dark.

But it wasn't until they'd checked out and were back in Gemma's SUV that Allie finally found the space and the courage to ask.

"Hey, Gemma?"

"Yeah, honey?"

Allie took a deep breath, and then just let it fly. "I know that Jax told you about...what happened to me."

Gemma's eyes flew to hers, frowning with some concern, and then she immediately shifted her gaze back to the road. "Yeah. He did."

"And did he happen to mention what the club plans to do now? Now that they know everything?"

"What do you mean?" Gemma frowned again.

"Did he tell you anything about what they're gonna do to…" she had to trail off there, unable to finish that sentence.

The reality of that was right there too - the club was most definitely going to do something to Tyler now, but didn't she deserve to know what they'd planned? Didn't she deserve to have some kind of say too? After all, the worst of it had happened to her. She wouldn't discount the way Tyler had played the club, and understood they couldn't let that stand, but didn't she deserve to at least know what they planned to do now and have some input in that plan?

"I haven't heard any details, if that's what you mean," Gemma offered slowly. "When he talked to us about everything, he told your dad he was gonna make it right for you. He didn't say how though. Honey...why do you wanna know if he's said anything to me about it?"

At this point, there was no use in being anything but honest. "He hasn't said anything to me about it."

"Ah," Gemma murmured. "I see. Have you asked?"

"No. I don't know that I should have to, though."

Gemma nodded quietly, twisting her hands around the steering wheel now with some anxiety that surprised Allie.

"I guess I was just thinking about what you said," Allie went on. "About Jax and me being honest with each other and keeping the lines of communication open and I think that's something we need to talk about too. I just wanted to see if I was the only one he hadn't said anything to."

"I get it, honey," Gemma smiled softly, her eyes glinting with reassurance. "I really do. You know, I always thought there were two kinds of old ladies - the kind that knew everything because they needed to know, otherwise they'd go crazy and the kind that didn't know anything because they couldn't know, otherwise they'd go crazy. And then you came along, and now I have no idea what an old lady is supposed to do or say anymore."

"Is there a compliment in there somewhere?" Allie laughed. "I feel like that's a bad thing."

"No," Gemma smiled again. "It's not a bad thing. You're just rewriting the rulebook on me, and I wish I knew how to give you better advice. But, that being said, I think you should trust your instincts on this one, honey. If you feel like you need to know, whatever his answer is, then you need to know. You just have to be absolutely sure you can accept whatever that answer is and be prepared to move on. I know you and Jax also have the benefit of client-lawyer confidentiality and all that shit, but you're his old lady now too. If the club already voted on what to do, and they're all in agreement over it, there's nothing you can do about it. And you have to make sure you can accept that before you get the answer to your question."

Allie appraised Gemma uneasily, pressing a smile to her face with a tight nod. There was some good advice in there somewhere. And she knew Gemma's intentions really were well-meaning and coming from a good place. But the only part of what she'd just said that carried any real weight for Allie was that first part.

Not to mention the fact that Allie hadn't actually asked Gemma for advice on this one. She'd just been fishing for information, but maybe that had been her mistake anyway.

She did need to trust her instincts, and she did need to know.

If the club had already made a decision, and she was sure they had, then she deserved to know about it. She deserved some input. She deserved a fucking say. This was her life too. It had happened to her. And there was one outcome she could accept, and one outcome she couldn't accept. And if Jax really wanted to make this right, and if he really loved her and cared about her, he would take her input and respect her wishes.

She didn't have to accept the club's decision just because she was an old lady. She didn't have to do anything she didn't want to do anyway.

The problem was that she'd been too afraid to ask because she was too afraid she already knew the answer. That answer was just going to lead to another fight and another dilemma and Allie just wasn't ready to put either of them through that again if she could help it.

But she had a feeling their time to stall was about to run out, and sooner or later, that conversation would become an inevitability.


Allie and Dan walked down the long hallway to the clubhouse's main floor hand in hand. Loud music was already blaring through the speakers - a selection from Prince, on Dan's pre-approved playlist of course - so much in fact, that Allie could feel the little hairs on her arms lift up from the vibration.

"Are you ready for this or what?" Allie murmured in his ear. "You look absolutely fabulous, by the way."

Dan just lifted a shoulder, patting his hair nonchalantly with his free hand before moving it down to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles in his three-piece grey suit. "Of course I do."

They'd completely taken over Jax's dorm for a few hours before the party was due to start so Dan could prepare, and also so Dan could snoop a little, but Allie had mostly kept him on track so they could make it out to the main floor on time.

"Everything is all set to your specifications," Allie told him with a nervous smile. "The karaoke machine is ready. Your champagne has been poured. Your guests are waiting. Now all you have to do is show up and have the night of your life."

Now all she had to do was survive this night with her nerves and her self-respect intact. This would mark the first clubhouse party she'd been to since she started working for the club, not to mention her first official clubhouse party as the club president's old lady, and there was no room for error at this point. Sure, there were plenty of people from the studio here too, and that would create a nice little buffer, but that was only going to take her so far.

She needed to be calm and cool and poised, yet still present in the moment and ready to have fun. She couldn't look or act stiff, but everyone at that party also knew she wasn't going to have so much as a sip of all that champagne. She also needed to juggle her dual role as best friend of the bride-to-be and make sure this night really did make all of Dan's dreams come true.

It was going to be a tightrope walk, that was for sure. At least she was lucky enough to know that Jax, Gemma, and Lyla all had her back tonight too.

And if everything went as planned, Dan would forever and always be the center of attention tonight - just as he should be - and little to no attention would be paid to her. The fact that this was really Dan's night also gave her the out of whether to sleep at the clubhouse too. Since it was Dan's night, he'd opted to sleep in his own bed, and definitely not in one of the beds at the clubhouse, which wasn't a bad choice in Allie's opinion, and since she definitely wasn't going to be drinking tonight, she had the honor of driving him home. She'd be driving Jax by default too, and she could only imagine the fun she was bound to have later tonight in trying to wrangle both of them to her car and to their respective beds, but that was her job and also her responsibility for the night too.

Such was life.

It was also lucky that, seeing as this was Dan's night and also not a Friday, several of the club members had opted to spend their evening elsewhere, namely Piney and Happy. Those were the two that still made her nervous - because she knew exactly how Piney felt about her and she just preferred to keep her distance and because Happy...well, he just stared and stared and stared with no expression, ever. So, she was okay with both of them choosing to go elsewhere.

But now it was time, and as Dan adjusted the pink bedazzled bride-to-be crown on his head, they stepped out onto the clubhouse's main floor where the guests were waiting for them. As soon as they came into view, the crowd waiting for them erupted into a cacophony of happy cheers. Dan, of course, lapped up the attention, gingerly putting a hand over his heart in faux-embarrassment as Allie led him out deeper onto the floor and as some actors from the studio, Lyla included, descended on him to shower him with hugs and a few kisses.

Right now, there were just too many people around them for her to really make heads or tails of who was actually around her, or where anyone, specifically, was around here in the clubhouse. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw some black leather heading toward them, but that pretty quickly turned out to be Gemma, who practically leapt on top of Dan, wrapping her legs all the way around his waist to help usher him into his party.

Eventually, though, Allie wrangled Dan over to the bar so he could get his first drink, and she grinned gratefully at the prospect behind the bar when he set a can of Diet Coke down in front of her without her even needing to ask for it.

"Thank you. I appreciate that," Allie told him with a smile, and then she gestured to Dan, and the small group of his actor buddies who'd crowded alongside him. "And can you get them all a round of tequila shots, please?"

He just sent her a tight, respectful nod. "Sure thing, ma'am."

As he turned on his heel to get to work on those shots, Dan immediately turned to her, reaching out to grab her hand to pull her in closer, and cackled in her ear, "He called you ma'am. Oh my God, I can't handle it. I can't handle it."

"Oh, shut up," Allie batted a hand at him while the prospect started setting out the shot glasses. But just as she remembered she'd forgotten to tell the prospect she didn't need a shot, the prospect set a glass in front of Dan, and then bypassed her completely before setting a shot down next to the actor who'd sidled up on the other side of her.

"Ooo," Dan cooed in her ear in a sing-song voice. "Look at that. Someone gave all these guys some instructions about you now, didn't he? Looks like someone likes you…"

"Alright, alright," Allie laughed. "This is not about me in any way, shape, or form tonight. Let's move on from that, and just focus on that shot in front of you, okay? That's gonna be the first of many, so you'd better get your game face on because I don't think tequila and champagne are gonna mix very well for you."

Dan just lifted a sassy shoulder, grinning smugly at something over her head, and then he took her note and turned his attention to the shot in front of him. Allie grinned happily as she watched the whole line of people to her left clink their glasses together and take their shots...and then she felt some soft flannel brush against the side of her bare arm. She didn't need to turn to know who was now standing to her right, but she shifted just enough to see a pair of folded ringed hands connected to a pair of flannel-covered forearms leaning up against the counter.

Just that alone was enough to send a full-body shiver right through her.

And because she just couldn't help herself, she bit down on her bottom lip, a little surprised by how shy she suddenly felt when she knew she had nothing to feel shy about, and then she finally let herself turn all the way to meet him in the eye. She found Jax already watching her, his navy blue eyes sparkling as some amusement worked its way across his achingly handsome face.

Jax kept his eyes on her as he leaned forward, sliding her Diet Coke toward him just enough so he could crack it open, and then slid it back in front of her.

"Thanks," she murmured, leaning into him so her shoulder kissed the soft flannel on his left arm.

"You know me," he smirked. "I'm just a full-service host, darlin'."

She huffed out a laugh, even as he draped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her in closer to him. His lips brushed the side of her head, and then the second her head turned just enough to give him an opening, he swooped in, dipping his head down to capture her lips in a kiss that was as brief as it was filled with the anticipation he had to have been feeling the entire time they'd been apart today. She'd felt it too - having only seen him briefly when she got back to the clubhouse with Gemma after their trip to the grocery store, and now that he was standing next to her, that missing piece slid right back into place.

"Missed you," he whispered in her ear, pressing a kiss into her forehead now.

"I missed you too," Allie smiled. "Your prospect behind the bar has been very respectful and polite, by the way."

Jax's eyebrows lifted knowingly. "Good to hear."

Her eyes flicked to the e-cigarette he was bringing up to his lips, and she couldn't stop the way her lips curled up in amusement. Jax caught that immediately, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling, and took another long drag from his e-cig, his lips curving playfully as he made the end of it glow bright.

She took that moment to let her gaze drift over her shoulder to take everything in. The last time she'd been in the clubhouse when it was this packed was for Opie and Lyla's wedding about three years ago, and since then, the only times she'd really been inside, the atmosphere was pretty tame, pretty low-key. Of course, most of the time, she was showing up for a business meeting during normal work hours when most of these people were still probably passed out from the night before.

This change in scenery really hadn't altered the easy party dynamic the club and the studio had managed to find over these last few months. Both groups co-mingled effortlessly, drinking, chatting, playing pool, and enjoying the party together. The only addition, and real outliers of the party, though, was the small group of scantily-clad, big-haired women crowding near one of the pool tables as if they, too, understood that they didn't quite mix with the rest of the partygoers. They certainly weren't actors from the studio, and judging by the way the majority of them were staring directly at her, and the way Jax's arm was lazily draped around her shoulders and the way his lips kept possessively finding the side of her head, it was pretty clear to Allie just what that particular group of women were.

Jax's eyes followed her gaze, and he lifted his eyebrows at her again before dipping his lips back down to her. "The best way to handle that over there is just to ignore them, baby. That's what I do."

"Okay," Allie laughed, leaning in to kiss him again just because she knew they were being watched right now. "I was thinking of going for frosty but polite indifference. Do you think that will work instead?"

His lips quirked up into an impressed smirk. "That works too. And that's all you gotta do - no matter what Gemma tells you, a'ight? Don't let 'em get to you, 'cuz I don't. Just remember you got nothin' to worry about and if any of them say somethin' stupid to you, just let me know and I'll take care of it."

"Oh, I think I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much."

"Trust me, I know," Jax laughed, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "But if any of them say somethin' stupid to you, I wanna know about it after you handle it."

"Deal," she nodded with a grin.

Jax's lips parted to respond, but by then, someone - probably Tig - had handed Dan the karaoke microphone, and he was currently in the process of using Allie's shoulder to hoist himself up onto the bar in a sitting position.

"Don't worry, friend," Dan whispered to Jax. "I'd never disrespect your clubhouse by standing on your bar."

"Go on, bro," Jax tipped his chin to him with a shit-eating grin. "This is your night. Get up there if you want."

Dan's face split into a devilish smile and he was never one who needed to be told twice. He hopped up onto the bar, to the crowd's delight, microphone expertly posed in his hand, and he tipped his head back like Elvis, readying himself for his first performance of the night. Allie cupped her hands over her mouth, cheering and egging him on at the same time, as Jax just tucked her in even deeper underneath his shoulder, clearly reveling in the atmosphere and the fact that she was here, sharing it with him.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the eighth wonder of the world," Dan rapped along with Jay-Z as the crowd roared, and Allie lifted her arms over head to cheer him on. "The flow of the century...you coulda been anywhere in the world tonight," the natural performer in him ate this up as he pointed his finger at the crowd, "but you're here with me. I appreciate that. H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A. Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA. That's the anthem, get'cha damn hands UP!"

He worked the crowd, throwing in a moonwalk or two right on top of the bar as he ran through the rest of the song, and the one time he reached down to try to pull Allie up onto the bar with him, and she started to shake her head immediately - there was no way she was doing that for so many reasons it wasn't even funny - a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist to haul her away from the bar and out of Dan's reach. Dan only pouted for a second, but then he got back to getting his groove on, dancing like Bruno Mars as he rapped the rest of the song at the top of his lungs.

And as it turned out, Allie really hadn't had anything to worry about. The only time Jax ever really left her side was when Dan pulled her away to dance with him on the makeshift dance floor in the center of the room, or when Dan or one of his club brothers pulled him away to take a shot at the bar. But he was always there, with a hand at her back, or his voice whispering in her ear, or his lips on the side of her head. She knew exactly what he was doing - making it clear to everyone inside this clubhouse that they were together and that he had no interest in anyone else inside or outside the clubhouse either - and if anything, that just made her have more fun, and feel more confident inside these walls and surrounded by these people.

There was something about being here like this with him that felt natural, that felt like this was just where she was supposed to be. Her place was with him, and his place was with her.

That couldn't have been clearer to her tonight.

Eventually, she found herself roped into a game of pool while Dan happily danced the night away with some of the other actors and a few of the croweaters who'd long since settled into the night, while keeping a careful distance away from Allie. She'd been teamed off with Juice and Opie, with Jax playing with Bobby and Tig, and even then, she wondered if some of this was by design too. Slowly but surely, she was being brought more into the fold, carefully tucked in with protective layers and mindful consideration of her comfort level. Just when she thought she couldn't love Jax more…

And when Gemma and Jimmy, who'd mostly kept his distance from her up until now, somehow ended up in the booth right across from their pool table with their mouths attached to each other and their limbs wrapped around each other shamelessly like they were teenagers instead of grown adults well over 50, Jax glanced over his shoulder to see what she was gaping at, and then playfully stepped to his left to block that horror show from her view.

When she just laughed and shook her head at him, Jax tipped his chin to her and puckered up his lips to throw an air kiss her way.

And then, when Chibs sidled up to Tig by their pool table to murmur something in his ear, prompting Tig to immediately set his poolstick down and head toward that long, dark hallway with Chibs and two actors from the studio - one of which also happened to be male - Allie felt Jax's eyes on her when she nudged Juice with her elbow.

"Look at that," Allie gestured with her head toward the hallway and the four retreating forms, who were clearly on a mission tonight. "Did I tell you, or did I tell you?"

Juice's eyes just about popped out of his head when all that really sank in for him, and he ran a hand over his face with a laugh. "Aw shit. I think you were right, Allie. You were really fuckin' right."

"I'm always right," Allie just shrugged. "And I was definitely right about that."

By now, their little side conversation had also gotten Bobby and Opie's attention, and Opie frowned at her playfully, hooking a thumb toward the hallway.

"Right about what, Al?" Opie asked, a grin playing on his lips as he leaned into his poolstick.

She glanced at Juice, and he just shrugged, rubbing a grin away from his face.

"Allie here thinks Tig and Chibs really wanted to cross swords that time they lost their shit and turned the clubhouse into a war zone and…" Juice tipped his head from side to side as his eyes followed the four retreating forms. "I think she might've been right about that."

Opie's eyebrows flew into his forehead, but Bobby was already doubled-over in laughter with both hands hitched to his knees. He couldn't even stand up straight long enough to get another look at the hallway as he wiped a tear from his eye. Jax, for his part, was joining right in along with their laughter but there was a proud glint in his eyes too that was hard to miss.

She was fitting in just fine here. There was no awkwardness at all, and maybe part of that was due to Piney's absence, but Allie wasn't going to complain about that. No one seemed to be working through how to approach her or even talk to her, with this new dual role of her professional and personal connection to their club president, and if anything, they were friendly and just all in all, pretty easy to be around. Even Chibs and Tig, before they took off on their little adventure together, who she was aware still harbored some misgivings about their arrangement, had still been cordial and generally polite to her.

And if any of them were treating her with kid gloves only because of the very personal history they now knew about her, none of them showed it.

Over the next few hours, the atmosphere did deteriorate pretty quickly as the crowd started to dwindle. Some people found a corner, or a booth like where Gemma and Jimmy had still camped out, had just disappeared completely, or were just making out against the bar, but the mood shifted from a bachelor party to a hook-up party - and she had a feeling all parties at the clubhouse typically ended like this anyway. Opie and Lyla had long ago called it a night and went home, Tig and Chibs still hadn't materialized from that dark hallway, Gemma and Jimmy's lips were still cemented together in that booth, and eventually, that just left the man of the hour, and Jax and Allie, standing at the bar.

"One more!" Dan drunkenly purred, and he sliced his arm in front of Allie to make his point.

"Aw, bro, I dunno," Jax slurred, swaying a little from side to side as he clutched the edge of the bar to help himself stay upright. "I think I gotta quit for the night. I don't wanna puke in the house, ya know?"

"Or in my car," Allie added helpfully.

Jax wagged a finger at her, nodding heavily. "That's right. I don't wanna do that either. I'll never hear the end of it if I do, bro."

"Come on," Dan hitched a hand on his hip bitchily. "This is my bachelor party, and it's almost over, and I just wanna do one more shot, and this one," he jerked his thumb at Allie, "isn't gonna do one with me, so all I'm left with is you, friend. Besides, you're a motorcycle man. Don't tell me you can't handle one more tequila shot 'cuz I won't believe it."

"Alright, alright, alright," Jax gave in almost instantly, and pounded his fist into the bartop. "Prospect! Two more tequila shots and a Diet Coke for my lady."

"10-4, prez," the prospect behind the bar nodded to him and got to work. He caught Allie's attention immediately as she stealthily shook her head at him, signaling that she really didn't want that soda, and he just grinned at her.

"You know what I love?" Dan slurred heavily, slinging an arm around Jax's shoulder. He didn't give Jax a chance to respond. "That little kid right there has been calling your ol' lady ma'am, like literally all night. Isn't that just fucking amazing?"

Jax barked out a laugh and clapped a hand on Dan's shoulder. "That's fuckin' right he's callin' her ma'am and shit. He knows better than to do anything but show her nothin' but respect."

"Oh boy," Allie muttered under her breath.

"It's cute," Dan laughed, resting his chin on his palm as the prospect set two shotglasses in front of them. "I said you're cute."

Allie just shook her head at the whole thing while Jax waved the now red-faced prospect away and handed Dan his shot.

"I like how you do that," Dan told him, mimicking Jax's movements. "Just waving your minions away like a king. Teach me."

"Nah, bro," Jax laughed. "You got it down. You're better at it than me though," then he tipped his chin to the shot in Dan's hand as he lifted his own up in the air. "To my ol' lady's best friend, you're a helluva a guy, and I'm glad I know ya, bro."

"Awww," Dan exclaimed, tapping his free hand to his heart. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. You are just the cutest little biker man I've ever met in my life!"

Jax just shook his head with a wide grin as they clicked their glasses together, and then tipped back their glasses before slamming them back down on the bar. He winced, squinting back at Allie with one eye open as he groped for her, swinging and missing on the first try, but making contact with her hip on the second one.

"I don't know about you, bro," Jax mumbled as his fist dug down into the bar so he could steady himself. "But I think it might be time to head home."

"Uh huh," Dan grimaced, still feeling the effects of that last shot, but he still managed a nod. "I think you might be right."

Since there really wasn't anyone left on the main floor that was coherent enough to need to say goodbye to, they headed for the exit. It took all of about three seconds for Dan to hop onto Jax's back, and then Jax took off across the parking lot, with Dan riding piggy-back until he literally ran right into Allie's car.

"Oh shit!" Jax called out, glancing over his shoulder at her in a little bit of a panic. "I didn't scratch it, I swear, darlin'!"

"He didn't!" Dan chimed in from on top of Jax's back.

"Wow," Allie muttered to herself, but she was still grinning. If she'd been getting along with everyone inside the clubhouse tonight, then Jax and Dan had been getting along like peas and carrots. Even if she had to deal with their drunk asses, the pure entertainment value was worth it.

She hit the unlock button on her key fob, and Jax took it upon himself to gingerly set Dan down on the pavement, opened her back door, and helped Dan climb into the backseat, careful to push his feet all the way in before shutting the door behind him.

"That was nice of you, Jax," Allie laughed as she pulled open the driver's side door.

"I gotta take care of my bro," Jax slurred again with a shrug before dropping down into the passenger seat.

"Hey, Alexandra," Dan called out from the backseat. "I love you, you know."

"I know," Allie laughed, and shook her head as she pulled out of the parking lot and started down the street to head home. "I love you too, Daniel. I'm glad you had a good night."

"The best night," he sighed. "I'm sad it's over."

"Me too, bro," Jax agreed. He pushed his head back against his headrest and squeezed his eyes shut. "Shit, it was a damn good night, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," she smiled, turning her head to find Jax already shifting his head to meet her in the eye. Through the glazed-over blue eyes, there was still a tenderness and a softness in them that had her reaching out to him. But he beat her to it, lifting her right hand from the steering wheel so he could brush his lips against her knuckles.

"Awww," Dan cooed from the backseat. "You looove her, don't you?"

Jax's eyes never left hers. "Yes, I do."

"That's all I ever wanted for you, my sweet little Alexandra," Dan sighed happily. "Hey! Let's play a game! You wanna know why I love you, Alexandra? 'Cuz you let me try on your Louboutins that one time and you didn't scratch my eyes out when I scuffed the toe."

Allie huffed out a laugh, but she played along. It was technically still his night after all, even if it was well past midnight. "Trust me, Daniel. On the inside, I was screaming. Screaming. I still don't really know how you managed to squeeze in them though. Hey, you wanna know why I love you? 'Cuz you make me breakfast every morning and if you didn't, I'd go hungry every day."

"This is true," Dan allowed. "Although I don't know what you two crazy kids are gonna do when I move out after the wedding. I think you just might starve in that house without me or eat takeout for every meal. Probably takeout for every meal."

"Hey, I can cook," Jax jumped in. "I'll cook if Allie cleans."

"That's right," she laughed heartily. "You made me scrambled eggs that one time."

But underneath this light conversation was the added heaviness lingering in the truth of Dan's words. He would be moving out soon, and it was so bittersweet. Too bittersweet. She wanted her and Jax to have the whole house to themselves, but she also didn't want to lose that connection to Dan either. Because as soon as he was married off and living with his new husband, all that would change too.

"Hmm," Dan sighed again from the backseat. "Well, I liked being roommates with you two while it lasted. It was fun, wasn't it?"

Allie glanced at him from over her shoulder, finding him laying down on the backseat, staring back at her with glassy, but tender eyes. "Yeah, Daniel. It was fun while it lasted. But you were never roommates with Jax, you loser."

"Uh, that's not true. Just because he doesn't pay you rent - like moi - doesn't mean he doesn't live with us. Which, now that I think of it, friend, you've been living with us, what - three months now? Four months? I've lost track. Anyway, you've never paid rent to our sweet little Alexandra - I want that deal. But I guess I'd have to sleep with you then, wouldn't I, and Lord knows I'm not doing that."

She just shook her head at him with a wry smile, daring a glance at Jax only to find him already watching her again with the side of his face pressed up against the passenger seat. He lifted his eyebrows at her as his lips curled into a sexy smirk, but then she just shook her head at him too, making him huff out a laugh.

By the time she pulled into the garage, Dan was knee-deep in a Lady Gaga song, with Jax crouched down in the passenger seat with his eyes squeezed shut in an effort to make it stop. But still, as soon as she shut her car off, Jax was out of the car and grabbing the back of Dan's legs to help pull him out of the backseat. His full-service hosting gig didn't stop there, as Dan proceeded to hop on his back again, and then Jax carried him piggy-back style all the way through the house and then up the stairs as Dan sang "Love Game" at the top of his lungs, giving particular emphasis to the line about taking a ride on a disco stick.

He dumped Dan onto his bed, with Allie right on his heels, and Dan didn't hesitate to snuggle up to his pillow, still dressed in his full three-piece grey suit and bedazzled bride-to-be crown.

"Night, bro," Jax waved to him with a loopy grin. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes! It was the best night. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me have my party at your clubhouse, Mr. President. I thoroughly enjoyed myself."

Jax just laughed as he dragged the small waste basket in the corner of the room right next to Dan's bed and patted him on the shoulder. "That's good to hear. That's what I wanted for ya. Here's your trash can in case you need it later. We'll see ya in the morning, bro. I'm gonna go pass out in my bed now."

He shot Dan one more goofy wave before disappearing down the hallway. Allie watched his retreating form head straight for their bedroom, but was drawn away when Dan started tugging on her hand. He pulled her face right down to him, and she winced a little at the alcohol wafting from his breath.

"Ugh, Daniel," she laughed playfully. "You gotta brush your teeth."

"Okay," he grinned, and then he started singing softly to her, "Thank you for being a friend. Travelled down the road and back again. Your heart is true. You're a pal and a confidante."

Allie chuckled as she patted him lightly on the head. "I love you too, Daniel."

"Night night, my sweet darling girl," he whispered back to her when she leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. "P.S., I like your boyfriend. Well, not like him, like him. You know what I mean. I liked him before tonight, but I really like him now."

"Good," she smiled down at him. "I like him too. I like Adrian too, but you already knew that."

"Uh huh. Now, go away from here. I can't keep my damn eyes open. Hey, are you guys gonna...you know, have sex? If you are, please shut my door tight. I can hear you guys sometimes, you know."

Allie just laughed again, shaking her head as she headed for the door. "Night, Daniel."

"Night, Alexandra!"

She shut the door behind her with a soft click, and then tiptoed to her bedroom, knowing Jax was probably already snoring in their bed. Sure enough, she found him face down on his pillow, still fully clothed, and snoring softly. She smiled a little at the sight - that really would never get old - and she moved closer to him so she could slip his white sneakers off his feet.

That made him stir against his pillow, and he turned his head just enough to smirk at her.

"Hey," he murmured. "You wanna know why I love you, baby?"

Allie laughed lightly, tilting her head to the side as he reached out with a ringed hand to pull her closer to him. "Why?"

"'Cuz you take my shoes off for me when I'm drunk," he grinned goofily up at her. "And 'cuz you've let me live here for, like, four months rent-free."

"Is that it?"

"No," Jax chuckled heartily, drawing her even closer to the side of the bed so he could bring her knuckles up to his lips. "I think it'd take me a full 24 hours to list out all the reasons why I love you, and even then I'd probably still need more time. But, hey, I've been thinkin' now that my house is pretty much squared away."

"Oh boy."

Gemma had personally dropped off the new divorce settlement that Allie had drawn up for Jax and Wendy, which completely turned the house over to Jax so he could do what he wanted with it, and also eliminated any possibility of spousal support - Allie had added that in there just to make absolutely sure Wendy knew she was completely cut off from here on out. Gemma had also happily reported back that Wendy appeared to be moving her things out of the house, and that she also hadn't trashed the house in the process. Once the prospects were done cleaning it up, they'd be able to put it on the market and hopefully unload it sooner rather than later.

But all that being said, she also had a pretty good idea where Jax's head was at with all this, and she was ready for it.

"And," Jax went on with a grin. "I was thinkin' that once I've got the money back from sellin' it that I'd take that money and put it into our house to, you know, cover my part of the mortgage or, at least part of it."

"Jax, you don't -"

"Don't tell me I don't have to," he wagged a finger at her playfully. "Because I do. I live here too and we all know it. And when Dan moves out, it's just gonna be you and me, baby, and I'm no free-loader."

For anyone else, her general legal advice would be to never, ever put that kind of money into your partner's house if you weren't married, or if you didn't have some kind of property agreement drawn up ahead of time. But even she knew these circumstances were different, that even if they weren't married, and even if they never actually got married, they were in this together for the rest of their lives. Allie also wasn't exactly keen to bring up the topic of marriage with him either, especially when he was drunk.

"Hmm," she mused, tilting her head to the side a little again as he smiled up at her. "So does this mean you're gonna be moving all your stuff in now?"

"Aw, baby," he laughed. "We both know your shit's way nicer than my shit. I'm better off gettin' rid of all the shit in that house and pocketin' the cash and just enjoying your way nicer shit."

Allie just huffed out a laugh and shook her head at him, smiling again when he just kept brushing his lips against her knuckles. "Well, I'm sure you've got something you want to bring to the house. And you can, you know. You're right...Dan's right...I think you basically started living here that first night you stayed over after the wrap party. We just kinda skirted around the issue, didn't we?"

"Didn't wanna push you, baby," he murmured sleepily. "But I don't care where we live, just as long as I'm sleepin' with you every night. You want a new house, we can get a new house. You want a bigger house, we can get a bigger house. Whatever makes you happy, just as long as I'm with you."

"I think I like this house just fine," she grinned back. "I think I like it even better now that you're here in it."

"I like it too," he told her with a tender smile. "I really do. You've got stellar taste, baby, and I'm really movin' up in the world with you next to me. Sometimes I don't know how in the hell I ended up with you - maybe I got lucky, maybe it was just meant to be, I don't fuckin' know - but I'm grateful every fucking day, and I'll never take it for granted. I promise you that."

"That's good to know. You're awfully sweet when you're drunk, you know that?"

Jax scrunched up his nose a little and scrubbed his free hand over his face. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get so wasted tonight - I didn't wanna do that in front of you."

"Hey," she laughed. "It's okay. Like I said, you're pretty sweet when you're drunk. I mean, you're normally pretty sweet anyway, but you're, like, extra sweet right now."

"Just love you, I guess," he sighed, dropping his hand away from his face so he could wink at her. "I'm tired, but I don't wanna fall asleep until you're next to me."

"Alright, Jax," she smiled again, leaning down to press her lips into his forehead. "Gimme two minutes and I'll be right back."

He rolled over on his side with his head propped up in his elbow, watching her move around the other side of the room so she could shimmy out of her dress, throw one of his T-shirts on, wash her face, and brush her teeth, and then she crawled back into bed with him, throwing a blanket over the top of them as he wrapped his arms around her to draw her in even closer.

"Love you baby," he whispered, his lips in her hair. "You were a fuckin' smoke show tonight, just in case I forgot to tell you. I really liked whatever makeup you had on your eyes too - I think you should wear that stuff more often, at least for me."

"You like a smokey eye, huh?"

"Whatever it was, it was fuckin' hot. Hey, did you have fun tonight? In the clubhouse? It was okay, right?"

She laughed at the sudden barrage of questions, but she knew what Jax was really after. This night was just as important to him as it had been to her, for pretty much the same reasons too. He wanted her to feel comfortable there, not just with him, but with everything and everyone else that was there too. He wanted, and he needed her, to be his old lady in every way, both inside and outside of the clubhouse, and she wanted that too.

They were partners in this. They'd chosen each other, and they'd somehow managed to figure out how to fit into each other's lives, even if on paper it didn't seem like they would mesh. The attorney and the outlaw MC president, figuring it out one day at a time, one hurdle at a time, because there just was no alternative. There was no one else for her, and she knew there was no one else for him.

She hadn't even blinked at those other girls who'd shot daggers at her all night because she knew they were just a non-issue. Maybe at some point, one of them would do or say something she didn't appreciate, but Allie could handle it when that day came.

"Yeah, Jax," she whispered to him. "I had fun. I really did. And I'd definitely do it again the next time you want me to be there. I can't say I really want to spend the night in your dorm anytime soon, but that's a different conversation for a different day."

Jax's lips curled up into a victorious smirk, and then he leaned in to brush his mouth against hers. "Alright, baby. I'll take the wins where I can get them. You just let me know when you're ready to try crashin' there and we'll do it."

"Okay," she smiled, lifting her chin up so she could kiss him again. "And thank you, by the way. I had fun tonight because of you. I hope you know that."

He didn't respond, choosing instead to draw her in underneath his chin so their bodies were completely flush against each other, and let his lips linger in her hair.

Gemma had been wrong about some things today, and Allie was already getting better at sifting through what advice was worth taking, and what advice needed to be set aside and forgotten about. But one thing she had been right about was communication. They were pretty good at that already, and got a little better at it every day. Allie knew, deep in her bones, that if they could just keep the lines of communication open like they already were, and kept talking to each other, and being honest with each other, there really was nothing they couldn't handle together.


A/N - There are only three chapters left! This has been a really crazy journey, not just for the characters - but for me in writing it too ;) I actually wrote the last two chapters last weekend and have been sort of in a little bit of a fog because I finished it, and because it's over (at least for me since I'm done writing it). This chapter took care of some business and I hope it feels like things are starting to wrap up, and that Jax and Allie are already, with three chapters still to go, in a happy and solid place. The next chapter is Dan's wedding!

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with this, and to everyone who's found it along the way! I'd love to hear your thoughts on Dan's bachelor party!