A/N : Thank you to Becke259, rebeccao11, nameslessxx, Jenny980k, LJH, loveorpain and Cloudedstargazer for reviewing the last chapter. I really appreciated it, it was such a difficult chapter to write, and I apologize that this update has taken so long to come out. The reason is because I have been planning the next part of this story, where I want the characters to go and how Allie is now going to fit into this new chapter of the sons being out of Stockton. I have my ideas all laid out now, so you can expect more frequent uploads! Thank you for being patient with me!
This chapter is dedicated to Cloudedstargazer – Thank you for the wonderful review! In terms of character development, Allie is going to take a while to adjust to everything that has happened, but have no fear, she's not giving up yet!
As always, please enjoy xx
Chapter 29
(Happy's POV)
She was finally home.
Seeing her cowering on that floor, broken and filthy, was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. When I picked her up, I could feel how damaged she was, even before she started screaming. It was a relief when she passed out. I hated causing her pain.
I carefully laid her in the back of the van, warning Phil of the slow and painful end he would encounter if he didn't drive with the utmost care. I could see he was just as worried as Juice about her, which gave me enough trust in him to close the doors and get on my bike. We needed to get her back to the clubhouse as fast as possible. Chibs was in the back with her and Kozik was staying behind to hold Darby until I returned. As badly as I wanted to tear him apart, slowly and painfully, my girl asked me to take her home.
And that was exactly what I was going to do.
(Allie's POV)
I woke up in a quiet, softly lit room.
I was confused; disorientated for a moment. Then it all came flooding back. The warehouse, Darby… and the sons finding me. Looking around the room at the dark wood and the Harley posters, combined with the rustic smell of tobacco that lingered in the air, I could only surmise I was in one of the dorm rooms at the clubhouse. Somehow, I was safe again.
The thought was enough to bring tears to my eyes and for a lump to form in my throat. I never thought I was getting out of that place. I thought the physical and emotional torture… the pain was going to be the last thing I knew.
Speaking of pain… I looked down at myself to survey the damage. My arms were pretty much completely covered in bandages, and the rest of me was concealed by a light bed sheet and blanket. Something felt off and I couldn't work out what it was for a moment, until I realised… I wasn't in pain. The constant throbbing and dull ache that had radiated my body for days was mysteriously absent. I could only guess that the IV stuck in the crease of my elbow had something to do with it. I was about to pull down the covers to see the rest of me when the door creaked open slightly.
I couldn't help it. For a moment I panicked, grabbing at the covers, thinking it was Darby back to finish the job. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the familiar green eyes of Tara.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," She said, opening the door wider, "Can I come in?"
I nodded, watching her enter the room.
"How are you feeling? I can give you more pain meds to make you feel comfortable" I shook my head. I didn't need to feel any more out of control than I already was.
"No meds. What's the damage?" I asked her directly. She looked at me calmly for a minute before sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"You've got two broken legs, fractured ribs, and lesions all over your body. You had a dislocated shoulder but I reset it whilst you were asleep. When you leave the bed, you'll have to wear a brace to keep it steady for a couple of days." She hesitated before continuing. "I don't know the extent of...internal damage. I need to examine you for that and I didn't want to do it without your consent. And I need to ask you what happened."
Her tone was kind, which didn't make it any easier. I took a deep breath and looked down at the sheets as I spoke.
"There were 4 of them. They all took turns. Is that enough?" I really didn't want to relive it. Ever again.
"I'm so sorry Allie," she said sincerely. "I'll be gentle, I promise. Do you mind?"
"Just get it over with," I mumbled, wanting all of it to be over.
I clenched my fists the whole time. She kept her word and was as gentle as she could be, but it still hurt like a bitch. I had to remind myself over and over again that I was safe. I was in the clubhouse with Tara, who was my friend, and I wasn't back in that barn.
It only took a couple of minutes but it felt like hours and I was sobbing by the time she finished.
"There's a few internal tears but nothing that requires surgery. I'm going to give you some medication. Antibiotics and emergency contraceptive to stop any... unwanted results. Are you sure I can't give you any pain relief? You're going to be in pain for a while," Her eyes were kind and concerned.
"No I'm ok. Thank you T," I said quietly. "What happens now? What did I miss? Where is everybody? Bobby? Is he ok?" I needed some distraction. Every second I had something to focus on was a second my mind wasn't filled with them.
"Bobby is stable. He's recovering. Almost everyone is in the other room. They're all really worried about you. As for what you missed and what happens next... I can't answer that. I can get you someone who can though? Happy maybe?" I knew she meant well but I shook my head. Happy was so strong... it made me feel like I had to be strong too. And I wasn't ready for that yet.
"Is Chibs here?" I asked quietly. The quiet Scot was the closest thing to a father figure I had here. Right now, he was what I needed.
"He's refusing to leave until he knows you're ok," she smiled at me. "I'll fetch him for you."
"Okay... and Tara? Thank you," I told her sincerely. Right now, there wasn't many people in this world that I trusted. But tara was one of them.
"We are all really glad you're home, Allie," she replied, her eyes filling with tears as she reached for my hand. She squeezed it gently and I smiled at her, proud of myself that I didn't feel the need to flinch away. It was a baby step but it was progress.
(Happy POV)
I was standing at the bar, waiting for news, when Tara finally came back into the room. She had been in and out for what seemed like hours, though the faded clock on the wall suggested that, in reality, it was closer to 90 minutes. I was restless at this point. Allie had been in so much pain. I needed to know the extent of the damage done to my girl before I flayed Darby's skin from his bones. He was the only one left. The other bastards that had dared to touch her… we had taken them all out in the process of finding her. Now I would make sure that he suffered. The only reason I wasn't tearing him apart already was because Allie needed me here. Even if I couldn't be in the same room right now, I would never leave her to be vulnerable again. Everything that had happened to her was on me. I would never allow it to happen again.
I watched as Jax approached Tara, talking quietly. She nodded at something he said, before relaxing into his embrace. I knew she'd had a long night, saving Bobby's life and taking care of Allie, but I didn't give a shit about that right now. I needed to know that Allie was ok.
She pulled away from Jax as I approached.
"What's the damage, doc?" Chibs asked quietly, before I had a chance to speak. The rest of the clubhouse went quiet, and I knew they were all waiting to hear her verdict. Tara looked slowly between me, Jax and Chibs before answering.
"You were right, both of her legs are broken in several places," she said, addressing an earlier conversation she had with Chibs when we carried her into the clubhouse. "She also has multiple rib fractures again and I counted 68 separate cuts and bruises across her body. Her shoulder was dislocated. I've reset it and I gave her some pain meds but they're starting to wear off I think…." She trailed off as she took in the feeling of the room. The air seemed to crackle with fury at the full extent of what she had endured. My blood boiled and my stomach churned as I thought about all the time we wasted. If we had trusted her and looked for her from the second we left Stockton, then this never would've happened. I wanted to blame my brothers. Clay. Even Katie. But then, without Katie doing what she did, we never would've been out to save her either. My head was spinning but my mind was clear. Someone would pay for this.
"There's more," Tara continued, quieter than before. I had a sick feeling in my stomach because I knew exactly what was coming next. I needed to hear it though. We all needed to know how much pain we had caused her by wasting time.
"Go on," I growled, nodding at her. Her green eyes looked at me worriedly, but I held her gaze. I needed her to say it.
"They… Allie was sexually abused multiple times by multiple different people," she said softly, speaking directly to me. "It's going to take her some time to process and to heal. You're going to need to be patient. All of you are." There was a stunned silence throughout the room, even though it wasn't a surprise to any of the guys that were there when we found her.
"What can we do to help?" Juice piped up from the corner. You could see the concern written all over his face. Couldn't hate him for his love for her. Fucking idiot.
Tara smiled at him.
"Just be patient. Let her tell you what she's ready for, when she's ready," she explained. "She's going to be in that bed for a few days but eventually we'll need to move her. She's going to need a wheelchair… I'm not going to be able to get one from St. Thomas without them asking questions…" She seemed to be talking more to herself at this point.
"We'll get one," Juice said confidently.
"Yeah, whatever she needs," Phil agreed before looking awkward when every patched member turned to look at him. "I mean… whatever the club needs," He hurried to cover himself but I just shook my head.
"Clearly our young miss has left a lasting impression on our prospects," Clay quipped, not in an angry way. Jax smiled in Phil's direction but I was still focused on Tara.
"Is she awake?" I asked.
Tara nodded, but then blocked my path as I headed towards the dorms.
"I'm sorry Happy… she's asked for Chibs," she said quietly. Almost immediately the rest of the club became busy pretending to mind their own business. I bored my gaze into the doc, for a moment seriously considering pushing her skull into the doorframe to knock her ass out of the way. But I didn't need war with Jax. "Just give her time. She's still confused and in a lot of pain."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without ripping someone's throat out. Tara stepped away, heading to the bathroom.
"I'll check on her brother," Chibs said, his hand gripping my shoulder. "Go deal with Darby. She'll be safe here." I grunted, not trusting a word he said. He couldn't keep her safe before. What made today any different?
"I promise you brother, no one is going to touch her," Jax agreed. "Go and take care of business, before the sheriffs come around asking questions about the Russian gift baskets we left Charming heights last night." I nodded, knowing it made sense. The way I was feeling right now… someone had to get hurt.
As Chibs headed towards the dorm, I grabbed him by the arm.
"When I'm back… you and me… we settle this," I ground out. I hadn't forgotten all the lies and backhandedness that had occurred whilst we were inside. Allie had gotten hurt under Chibs' watch one before and he needed to pay for that.
"Aye," he nodded, his dark eyes meeting mine. "I'll see you in the ring."
I let him go and headed to the door. It was time for Darby to die.
(Allie POV)
Tara had left the room in search of Chibs and I tried hard to fight to stay in the present. My mind tried to wander, sounds and feelings of being back in that warehouse invading my space. I closed my eyes, trying to remind myself of where I was and that I was safe, but it just made it worse. When I couldn't physically see the clubhouse, I was back in that room. Tied up, at the mercy of the nords, whenever they wanted me.
I shrieked when I heard the door open, clutching helplessly at the bed cover with my one good hand, searching for something to defend myself. Though my eyes were open, all I could see and smell was the warehouse.
"Eh lass, it's me," a soothing voice came from next to me, and two hands gently covered mine. I struggled for a second, trying to break free, but the hands held firm and I realised they weren't the grip I had felt over the past few days.
"You're ok Allie, you're safe," the voice said, and I felt a faint recognition. The voice kept talking to me, reassuring me, and slowly I calmed down. My heart stopped hammering, my breathing slowed and the room started to come back into focus. I wasn't in the warehouse. I was in the clubhouse. And Chibs was sitting next to me, holding my hand.
"Chibs?" I whispered, my eyes filling with tears as he squeezed my good hand gently.
"Aye lass, you're home. They'll never hurt you again," he said, his dark eyes full of emotion.
"Is everyone ok? Darby said that they'd killed one of you. I never wanted any of you to get hurt for me! Please tell me everyone's ok," I cried, getting desperate at the thought of being the cause of any of them being harmed.
"Hush sweetheart, everything's alright," he consoled me. "You need to rest in order to heal. I'll tell you anything you wanna know lass, just relax." One look at his face told me he was telling the truth, so I relaxed against the pillows, biting my lip against the pain. It had come back with a vengeance now the meds had worn off.
"No one is dead. It takes a lot more than a bunch of fucking racist crank dealers to pick one of us off," he laughed, trying to make a joke of it. "Bobby's fine, lass. He took a bullet when we torched the lab, but the Doc patched him up."
"You burnt Darby's lab?" I questioned, a hint of recognition in my head. Darby may have mentioned something about it.
Chibs nodded.
"Aye. The second we figured out it wasn't the Russians behind all the attacks, we knew it had to have been Darby. It took us a wee minute to work out we were targeting wrong... I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner." He face was full of regret and it hurt my heart to see. It wasn't his fault. I knew in my heart that they had done everything they could and, at the end of it all, they had brought me home.
I reached out slowly, resting my hand against his cheek.
"I don't blame you, Chibs. Please don't blame yourself," I whispered. He looked at me, his dark eyes searching mine but finding nothing but the truth. Eventually he nodded.
"How did you know?" I asked, dropping my hand. It took too much energy to hold it up there.
"You can thank your friend for that," he said and I smiled. Of course.
"We were all a bit stumped when you were nowhere to be found after the hearing. Clay figured you had run off somewhere at first. I didn't believe it, but the evidence looked convincing."
"Run off? Why? What evidence?" I asked, crunching my eyebrows in confusion. "I just can't believe they let you out on parole. What happened?"
"Oh you can thank your friend for that too," he said, only this time his tone was sarcastic. "She took it upon herself to take your notes and forge your documents. And your signature."
"What?" I said, disbelievingly. Surely she wasn't that stupid? Chibs nodded.
"Jesus Christ Katie," I whispered, closing my eyes for a minute.
"She knew you wanted them out and she knew you couldn't break your promise. She saw it as a logical option," he explained, smiling slightly whilst he shook his head.
"And I guess when I didn't show up at the court, you all thought I'd bailed," I said, putting the pieces together. "Even Happy?"
"Katie didn't make it easy for us lass, to be fair," he said, defending his brother. "She told the court about his mother," I gasped at that, pain flaring in my ribs.
"But I never even wrote that down! I'd never betray happy like that!" I felt sick at the thought. Happy had shared some of the most vulnerable parts of his life and I would never spread that. How could she have possibly known?
"He knows, lass," Chibs hurried to reassure me. "Katie confessed that big mouth Kozik filled her in on a few of Happy's personal details." His tone and expression revealed his growing disapproval of my friend's actions.
" I bet he's not too happy about that," I groaned, not wanting to imagine how pissed he was.
"Not at first but I think he's got bigger things on his mind right now. When we realised you were missing and what your friend had done, we went after the Russians," he explained. "We were so sure they had you. That turned out to be a bust. Sheriffs have been watching our every move and Hap was getting desperate. Then Katie reminded us that you'd been threatened a few times. First by the warden, then by Darby."
"What did you all do?" I whispered, knowing these men were capable of terrible things when they deemed them necessary. "Where's Darby now?" Though I hated Darby, and would always hate him, I couldn't bear the thought of losing one of the club in some revenge situation.
Chibs sat back, his eyes cold.
"We did what we had to do to protect our own. The warden... let's just say he won't be bothering anyone anymore. As for Darby... Kozik is with him. Waiting for happy. He wouldn't leave the clubhouse until he knew you were safe." I shook my head, looking down at the bed sheets.
"He can't kill him, Chibs," I sobbed, a lump forming in my throat again. " I don't want to lose him again. He can't go back inside." I might not be ready to physically face him just yet, but I couldn't bear the thought of him doing time on my account.
Chibs snorted.
"Happy ain't going nowhere. You think he's that stupid?" He leaned forward, gently taking my hand until I looked into his eyes. "He has to do this, lass. It's what we do. Darby touched what belongs to him. Happy can't let him live."
I nodded, too tired to argue about it. I knew I couldn't sway anyone to change their mind and, though I would never be ok with murder, I wouldn't be sad to see Darby go. I just hoped this would never come back to bite happy on the ass.
"Is Katie ok? No one has... hurt her, have they?" I asked, changing the subject. I knew clay and the rest of the guys must he pissed with her, and clay was a dangerous man to cross at the best of times.
"She's fine, lass," Chibs said quietly. "We were a bit preoccupied trying to find you. Thankfully juicy boy had some brains about him. Found where Darby was."
That made me smile.
"Juice found me?" Suddenly I felt a lot calmer. To know that not only Happy, but juice and Chibs really did care about me... it made me feel almost normal again.
"Yeah, using his intelligence officer skills," he said, chuckling. "You seem surprised?"
I shook my head.
"I'm not surprised at his abilities," I explained, "I'm just surprised you all came for me." Tears filled my eyes.
"Lass, look at me," Chibs said firmly. It took me a moment to look at him. "You are a part of this club. Our family. We will always come for you. Don't ever doubt it."
I nodded, unable to speak. I was tired and in a fair amount of pain now. I was regretting telling tara I didn't want the meds.
"You can tell Happy... that I'm ok," I whispered. "That I'll be ok."
" Don't you want to see him?" Chibs asked, looking surprised. "He'll be back soon."
"I do... just not yet," I explained slowly, the pain setting in further. "Honestly...I think we will both feel a lot better once he has done... whatever he needs to do."
Chibs looked at me for a moment.
"I think you'll feel a lot better once you've taken some meds and had some sleep," He commented and I shook my head.
"I can't," I admitted, slipping up in the pain before I had a chance to stop myself. He frowned.
"What do you mean, lass?" He asked and I bit my lip.
"Every time I close my eyes, I go back there," I whispered. "Every time I am alone, I go back there. I see them Chibs. I see it all. I relive it all. Please… please don't make me do that."
"Look at me, lass, and listen to me," he coaxed, surprising me with his gentle tone, and I looked at him. He reached for my hand gently, holding it, his eyes soft. "I know you're scared and I know it hurts. But you have to sleep to heal. The meds, they will make the dreams stop. At least for a while. I know we let you down lass. But I promise you… we will never allow someone to hurt you again. I will die before I let that happen."
"But what about when the meds wear off? As I wake up, every time, it all comes crashing back," I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. "You don't understand… you don't know."
"I worked for the IRA for ten years, sweetheart," he reminded me. "I've seen and experienced things no man or woman should ever experience. I know the fear and the pain that you're feeling. But you can't shut it out and you can't shut down. Or you will never recover. Trust me lass. You have to weather the storm. But you won't be doing it alone. The whole club is with you. I'm with you."
With every touch of his hand, look in his eye and words from his mouth, I knew he meant every word he said. He would rather die than let anyone touch me again. I also knew he was right; I couldn't allow what had happened to me to affect the rest of my life. I had to face the fear head on. I wouldn't allow Darby to win.
"Okay," I nodded, looking at the IV in my arm. "Please, help me sleep."
He didn't need asking twice. Within seconds he had a needle in his hand, pumping pain relief into my arm through the IV. It worked quickly and I could feel my eyes drooping.
I started to panic, fearing that I would see Darby again if I closed my eyes, but the last thing I felt was Chibs' comforting hand on mine and his familiar voice telling me everything was going to be ok.
A/N: Season 5 storyline will kick in from next chapter, I just needed to lay some foundations of trust for Allie to work with and catch her up with every thing she has missed :D
Please review! x