Chapter 10

Feels Right

I was gently nudged awake. "Georgia, we're home."

I found my head resting on Happy's shoulder. I sat up, looking around.

"It's the garage," I said, recognising the building in front of us. It was different than I remembered, updated slightly, but I would recognise it anywhere.

"Tara and Jax are meeting us here," Happy explained. "Heading from the hospital now."

"Why were they at the hospital?" I asked, as Happy parked. He climbed down and held his hand out to help me.

"Their boys were in a car accident," Happy said. "They're ok, but they're keeping Abel in for a few days."

"You said we looked after them?" I asked. Nero had gone to the garage with Tig and one of the prospects to get new tyres for his truck. "What are they like? Thomas and Abel."

Happy smiled, and held my hand as we walked back to the clubhouse. "They love you, think you're the best. Like everyone does."

Chibs walked over and met us halfway across the parking lot. "Christ Georgie, you need to stop scaring us. Ouch," he said, looking at my head. "Looks like a nasty bump."

"Chibs, right?" I asked.

He stepped back and nodded. "Yeah, Bobby said you were a bit fuzzy on some stuff. Will have to wait for the doc for that one."

"They should be here any minute," Bobby said, joining us. "Speak of the devil..."

A dark blue SUV pulled up, followed by a motorbike. Two people walked over, and I recognized the man straight away.

"Jackson," I breathed as he pulled me into a hug.

He kissed my head and pulled back to look me in the eye. "I'm sorry, G. This is my fault."

"Well, given I have no idea what's been happening, I can't really comment on that," I said. "But I can't imagine that it's all because of you."

"Georgia, my name is Tara," the lady behind Jax said. "Do you remember me at all?"

I studied her face. "Maybe? You look a bit familiar..." I sighed. "Sorry, this is so frustrating."

She reached out and put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Memory loss is always possible, particularly after a serious head injury. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I've spent the last few hours trying to figure that out," I admitted. "I don't remember a particular day or event, but I don't have any memory of coming to Charming..."

"And what's the first thing you can remember since then?" Tara asked.

"I don't remember ending up on the road. I just remember the truckie waking me up and everything since then is fine." I groaned and rubbed me temples. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Come sit," she said, sitting on one of the picnic tables. I sat next to her, and Happy stood protectively over me. "I think you have a grade four or five concussion which has resulted in what we call Retrograde Amnesia. All that means is you're lost the ability to access memories or information from before the injury. I'd be surprised if you weren't back to your normal self in the next day or two. I'd give it a week before we start worrying about any permanent damage."

"So I'll remember everything all by myself?" I asked, brightening up. "I'm not going to be like this forever?"

She laughed, and held my hand. "You may never remember the exact details of the day or so beforehand, but the rest of it will all come back."

"So I don't have to make you fall in love with me again?" Happy asked. I glanced up to him, and he looked relieved. "What can we do, Doc?"

"I know you're going to hate hearing this, Georgia, but believe me when I say that you need to rest and take it easy," Tara explained. "Your brain needs to heal itself, and it needs rest to be able to do it."

"I'll make sure she does."

Tara checked her watch. "Damn, I'm late." she looked back at me. "Will you be ok?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine, now that I know I'm not going crazy."

"Remember what I said about taking it easy," she reminded me as she kissed Jax goodbye.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Happy promised, sitting down next to me on the chair. He reached down to the floor and picked up a black duffel bag. "There some clothes and stuff from home, just in case you wanted to change. Showers are in the room out the back."

"Champion," I said, grabbing the bag and standing. I wobbled a bit and Happy grabbed my arm.

"You good?" he asked, still holding my arm. I nodded, but didn't pull away. "Maybe I should come with you, make sure you're ok... I'll just wait outside, I promise."

I smiled as he backtracked. "Sure, you can come. As long as you behave."

He lead me through the clubhouse to the small rooms. I pulled out some clothes from the bag and lay them on the bed. Happy grabbed a towel from the cupboard and handed it to me.

"Shower's just through there," he said, pointing at the closed door. "I'll wait here if you need anything."

I turned the shower on, and closed the door behind me. I undressed and checked the temperature of the shower before stepping in. The water ran red with blood as I rinsed my hair, the water stinging the wound on my scalp. Once the water ran clear, I focused on the dust and dirt covering the rest of me. The result of being abandoned on the side of the highway.

After I deemed myself clean enough, I shut the water off and wrapped the towel around myself. I opened the door to find Happy sitting quietly on the bed.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much," I admitted. I grabbed the clothes off the bed and turned to look at Happy. He was still watching me.

"Do you mind?" I asked, still covering myself with my towel.

He smiled, and held his hands up innocently before turning to face the opposite way.

I dropped the towel, quickly pulling on the clothes Happy had packed. He was still smiling as he faced away.

"What's so funny?" I asked, buttoning up my jeans.

"I have seen you naked before, you know. More than once."

"If I don't remember it, it doesn't count," I explained.

He thought for a moment. "Could just seduce you again, then it wouldn't matter..."

"I've already slapped you once today," I warned, sitting on the end of the bed. "Sorry about that, by the way."

He laughed, turning back to look at me. "I've copped worse from you," he assured me. "First time I met you, you kicked me in the balls."

"I did?!"

Happy nodded. "I did call you a Crow-Eater. You didn't appreciate that. I've learnt my lesson now, I promise. You make a hell of a first impression though..."

"Apparently," I said. "So who is the guy who took me?"

"His name is Frankie Diamonds," he explained. "He was one of the Nomads who attacked you."

I reached up and touched my eye where it was bruised and swollen. I'd noticed the bruising after I was picked up, and had no idea where I'd gotten it.

"He was working for someone, doing home invasions targeting the club," Happy continued. "You had been talking to Unser about the attacks, and they must have thought you were getting too nosy."

"So after the other two were killed, why did he hang around?" I asked, most of what Happy said made no sense, but I got the idea. "Surely the smartest move would be to get the hell out of town..."

Happy nodded. "That was his plan, he just needed money to get out. That's why he was at Diosa, to get cartel money from Jax."

"So do you have any leads on where he's going?"

"Made some calls, reached out to a few friends," he explained. "Hopefully something turns up. But enough questions, you should rest."

I shook my head. "I couldn't sleep right now, even if I wanted to." I stood up and held out my hand. "I need some fresh air. Come on, you can tell me some more stories outside."

He grabbed my hand and walked out with me. We sat down on the picnic table, me on the seat and him on the table behind me. I closed my eyes and leaned back against his legs.

"Tell me a nice story," I asked. "Surely there's been something good since I got here. It can't be all beatings and kidnappings."

He thought for a moment. "We have a lot of sex."

"Happy!" I said, smacking his leg lightly, checking no-one was around. "That's not what I meant!"

"But we do," he defended. "And trust me when I say it's good."

I blushed, not knowing how to respond. "So what you're saying is our entire relationship is violence and then just sex?"

"Not just sex," he said. "We talk too."

"Wow, we talk..." I said, shaking my head. "You're doing a pretty crappy job inspiring me with this love story."

He leant down, and when he spoke, his voice was low and quiet. "You know everything about me, Georgia Moran. We've told each other things no one else in this world knows. When we talk, it's amazing. When we have sex, it's amazing. Because you're amazing, and everything I do with you is amazing. So yeah, when were not caught up in club shit, our lives tend to be pretty simple. But it seems to have worked so far. We both need a little bit of simple."

I couldn't argue with that. My life from the time I was born had always been crazy. Happy seemed to know enough about me to know that.

"Tell you what?" he said, sliding down next to me on the seat. "When we get this mess sorted out, I'll take you out somewhere."

"You mean like a date?" I asked.

"Like a date," he agreed. "Don't hold your breath though. Never been on one before..."

"Really?"

He shook his head. "I told you when we met, I don't do relationships. You're the first woman I've really cared about. If I have to take you out and romance you a little, I'll do it. You're worth it."

Before I could answer, Happy's phone rang. He excused himself and stepped away to speak.

I sighed and got up. I haded back inside the clubhouse. The doors to the Chapel were opened, and a few members were inside. I knocked and stood in the doorway.

"Hey darling," Jax said, looking up. "Feeling better?"

"Cleaner at least," I said with a smile. "Any idea yet where Frankie is heading?"

Jax invited me to sit on the chairs off to the side. I sat quietly and waited.

"There was another set of tyre tracks on 99 where we found you," Chibs said. "Looks like Frankie's got someone helping him."

"Seems to be heading north," Bobby explained. "Maybe breaking for Canada?"

"No, Tahoe," Happy said, joining us. "Just talked to Quinn. He found Frankie."

"Well, let's go," Jax said.

"Quinn says Frankie's in South Tahoe," Happy explained as he sat. "Hooked up with Leo Pirelli's crew.

"He's bought himself some mob protection," Jax scoffed.

"Is that solid intel?" Clay asked. "'Cause I'm a little cautious when it comes to Nomad integrity."

"Quinn knows every pimp and hooker in a three hundred mile radius," Happy assured him. "Frankie still likes them young and slanted."

"Yeah, pussy tells all," Tig agreed.

"All right, give him a call when we break. Tell him we're on our way," Jax told Happy. "Make sure it's real."

"Leo runs book and poker clubs," Bobby added. "It's a quiet crew, man. Maybe Cacuzza could reach out, explain our situation. Do this the easy way."

"Yeah," Clay agreed. "I can call Jimmy."

"What happens when we find Frankie?" I asked.

"We cut his head off," Chibs said angrily.

"First we press him on the attacks, find out who's calling the shots," Jax cautioned.

"Let's vote this shit," Tig said.

I went to leave, but Jax signaled for me to stay.

"Okay, we all know what Frankie did to compromise the club," he explained. "Vote's got to be unanimous. All in favor of stripping his patch?"

"Yea," Happy said first.

"Yeah."

"Aye."

"Yea."

"Yea," Jax said, his vote cast. It was unanimous. "As far as Mr. Mayhem goes, let's hear pros and cons."

"He tried to kill you," Tig pointed out. "That would be a pro."

"We only got the word of a non-member," Jax reminded them.

"Gogo and Greg tried to kill Unser," Clay added. "Nomads were on a spree."

"Yeah, and he shot Lyla, tried to whack Georgie," Chibs said. "Frankie's made his bed, Jackie."

"Anyone else?" Jax asked. No-one spoke. "Okay. All in favor of Frankie Diamonds meeting Mr. Mayhem."

The votes were all cast. It was unanimous again. "Ok, let's go find him."

Jax hit the gavel, and everyone stood to leave. Happy met me at the doorway, and walked me out.

"If I was to tell you to stay..."

"You'd be wasting your time," I finished. "It's what, three hours to Lake Tahoe, give or take?"

"Yeah," he agreed.

"I'll rest in the van," I assured him. I rubbed his arm. "I'll probably feel more relaxed with you around at the moment, anyway."

I held his hand as we walked outside. I sighed when I saw all the bikes line up outside.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just miss riding," I explained. "I wish I had my bike here."

"You bought one in Cali when you flew in," he said. "Spent most of the first days here fixing her up."

"Really?" I couldn't believe it. It felt like it had been forever since I had been on a bike. I thought of the wind in my hair, the freedom on being on the back of one... I smiled at the memory as we stopped at Happy's bike, parked at the end. I absentmindedly ran my hand over the handlebars, down and across the leather seat. It felt familiar, safe. Unlike so many thing at the moment.

I felt Happy rest his hand on the small of my back. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I said. "Just nice to have something that I know." I looked at him and smiled. "I've been around bikes so long now, if I forgot the feel of a bike, then I would have forgotten myself. So I guess there's still hope left, Lowman."

He stared at me, his eyes widening slightly as a wave of emotions crossed his face. Seconds later, it gave nothing away.

"I'll be back in a second," Happy said. "Wait here."

I leaned against the bike while I waited, and watched everyone getting their things together. They'd done this so many times, it was second nature. Six bikes in total were going, along with the van. I watched as the boys laughed and joked as they prepared. There was an energy in the air that came with a long ride, and it was infectious.

I noticed Happy return, stopping to talk to Juice at the van before he walked back towards me. As he got closer, I noticed he had something black tucked under his arm - it was a helmet.

"Your helmet's already here," I reminded him, pointing out the one hanging off the handlebars.

He shook his head. "This isn't mine." He gently tossed it to me and I caught it. "Van's full. Looks like you're riding. If you're up to it?"

I looked at the helmet in my hand, turning it over. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," he assured me. "Figured the best way to get you to remember, is by doing what makes you feel like you. So what do you say?"

I smiled and looked up at him. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's ride."