6/

I woke the next morning in Happy's bed, the sheets beside me cold and empty. I sat up and looked around for my clothes and wasn't surprised to see them folded neatly on the chair across the room. I'd expect nothing else from Happy.

I checked my phone before heading to the shower and saw a message from Jax there. Mom's fine. Catch you in the morning.

I let out a sigh of relief as I headed toward the bathroom, grabbing my clothes along the way. I flicked on the shower and stepped in letting the hot water scald me as it washed the smell of Happy from my skin. Sex with him was always something else. He wasn't afraid to be rough with me and I loved the strength that he used against me, inflicting a fear in me as he made it known that he was in control. I think that was what had led me to his bed in the first place. After Tig, I had worked so hard to control every other aspect of my life so that when I was with Happy it was the one place that I could let go and let someone else have control over me.

I flicked off the shower and dried myself off with a towel that was still damp, presumably from a shower Happy had earlier. I dressed and headed out into the hallway only to run headlong into Jax. He didn't raise an eyebrow at seeing me come out of Happy's dorm room.

"Hey Kat." He greeted me. "Mom wants to see us both this morning."

"Does she know about Abel?" I asked as I walked alongside him to the clubroom.

"Yeah. She's not happy." He said placing his arm around my shoulders.

I sighed. "You should have told her Jax."

"I'm getting enough I told you so's from Tara, Kat. Don't you start." He said dropping his arm and heading toward the bar.

"Any ideas on where he is yet?" I asked as I followed behind him. Tig sat behind the bar and wordlessly pushed a cup of coffee toward me. I knew by the look in his eye that he guessed where I'd spent the night.

"Juice dug up a photo that captured him at the Canadian border."

"He's in Canada?" I asked as Jax too accepted coffee from Tig.

"Yeah. Seems so." Jax answered before taking a large sip of coffee.

"So what's the plan to go get him back?" I asked.

"We're working on it Kat." Jax said dismissively making it clear that I shouldn't poke any further. He placed his cup down on the bar and stood to move out. "You ready to get going to the hospital?" he asked me.

"Yeah." I answered before emptying my own cup. "I guess it's better to get mom's wrath over and done with early in the day." I said as I placed it down on the bar beside his. I caught Tig smirk at my words as I rose to follow Jax out. Together he and I had faced more of it than most.

"Katherine. You got a moment sweetheart?" Mom asked as I came in the door from school one afternoon. I knew with the use of Katherine it was not a question but an order. I sighed and hung my bag on the hook by the door before turning to join her in the kitchen.

My heart sank when I saw an empty condom wrapper on the table in front of her. I bit my lip as I met her eyes unsure of what I'd find there.

"You wanna explain why I found this in your room?" She asked. I couldn't read her tone but I swear there was fire in her eyes.

"Mom I … I wish I could have told you but I … well I didn't know how to." I stumbled.

"Is it who I think it is?" She pressed me for answers.

I hung my head and remained silent.

I heard her sigh heavily before she spoke again. "The house has smelt like him for weeks Kat. How long have you been sleeping with him?"

"About a month." I said quietly barely recognizing my own voice. "Maybe a little longer."

I knew she wasn't pleased with what she was hearing. "At least you had the sense to use protection."

"Does Daddy know?" I asked quietly, knowing that my father would be even more furious.

"You'd both already know about it if he did." She answered me stoically.

"I'm sorry Mom." I said taking a deep breath as I dragged my eyes from the table to meet her gaze.

Her lips were pursed and her eyes were still hard until she met my gaze. "You love him don't you."

I nodded. "Yeah. I think I do."

"He doesn't hurt you at all? He treats you right?" She asked.

I shook my head. "He doesn't hurt me Mom."

"I'll talk to him; make sure he knows what's at stake if he hurts you."

"Mom ..." I began only to have her cut me off.

"I'll talk to your father and your brother too. They find out about this the wrong way who knows what they'll do."

"So I can keep seeing him?" I dared to ask, hearing her tone soften as she lit a cigarette.

"I know Tig better than they realize. He'll treat you right." She answered. I knew it was as close to approval as I was going to get.

I knew Mom had laid down the law to Tig not long after that. Things between us had been strained for a few weeks as the club wrapped their head around our relationship. I also knew that it was her I had to thank for Dad and Jax accepting us being together also.

I got off the back of Jax's bike and handed him the spare helmet. "You ready to do this?" I asked him.

"Have to be I guess." He said with a heavy sigh, I knew thinking more about where Abel was rather than facing Mom over it. "When we go in to see her the cops are gonna frisk you." He continued, giving me a heads up.

"Yeah. I figured." I answered following him through the doors of St Thomas as a visitor rather than an employee.

I watched as the cop that stood guard outside Mom's door frisked Jax and then stepped forward and raised my arms allowing him to do the same to me. I knew he felt Jax's eyes on him the entire time making sure he didn't get too personal. Once he was done he allowed Jax to open the door.

"Hey Mom." Jax said, perhaps a little over enthusiastically as he stuck his head around the door.

"Get in here." She answered without further greeting. "Both of you." She continued seeing me behind my brother.

"Mom ..." Jax began.

"You lied to me." She said to Jax, then cast her gaze toward me.

"They told me not to tell you Mom." I offered knowing my words would mean nothing to her as I met the glare in her eye.

"You got your own voice and your own head on your shoulders Katherine." She snapped back.

"We were trying to protect you Mom." Jax said from beside me.

"Bullshit. You were trying to protect yourselves."

"We're gonna get him back Mom. Juice dug up some intel that places him in Toronto." Jax said pulling a folded piece of paper from his kutte.

I watched as Mom unfolded and looked at the grainy black and white photo printed on it. "He's not in Canada." she said.

"What do you mean?" Dad piped up from beside Mom's bed, for the first time since Jax and I entered. I was sure he had already received the third degree from her.

"The phone call I got last night that triggered all this." She said glancing around at all of us before her gaze settled on Dad. "It was from Maureen Ashby." she said pointedly like Dad should know who that was.

I saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes and confusion on Jax's face as he saw the same. "Who's Maureen Ashby?" He asked.

"McGee's old lady. A friend of the club." Dad answered.

"Abel's in Belfast." Mom said.

I saw a look exchanged between my brother and my father, both of them I knew were milling over how they were going to get Abel back. "How the hell are we gonna get to Belfast?" Jax asked.

"We'll figure it out." Dad said taking hold of Mom's hand. "We gotta take this to the club baby. You sit tight okay."

"Not going anywhere." She said rattling the handcuff that held her to the bed. Dad leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "We'll take care of everything baby." He said before leaving the room with Jax behind him.

I moved to leave too. "Kat, you got a minute baby?" Mom asked calling me back.

"Sure Mom." I answered turning back toward her. I knew from experience and the tone of her voice that her anger had passed and that this was about something else. "What's up?"

"You spoken to Tig since we got back from Grandpa's?" She asked.

I sighed. "Should I have?" I asked evasively.

"You two have things to sort through baby. He still loves you and I know you still love him."

"Mom whatever Tig and I had is history."

"I don't believe that sweetheart. When you think no one is looking you get that same lovestruck look you had as a teenager."

I sighed. I knew nothing ever got past Mom. "I do still love him Mom but I can't get past what happened between us."

"I know he hurt you baby and no one suffers more than him over it but you hurt him right back. Sleeping with Kozik? You knew that was going to hurt him."

I sighed and thought back upon that time when everything I thought I had had crumbled down around me. I knew I'd made some stupid decisions. "What I did was dumb Mom. I know that now. Hell I knew it then but I was acting out of spite. Both Tig and I said and did some horrible stuff. There's too much to get past."

"Well you're gonna have to get past it sweetheart. Koz will be in town helping out with all this."

I looked up and met my mother's gaze. "It was one night Mom. Kozik knows that."

"He might but does Tig?" She asked me.

"Yes."

"He's crazy jealous of anyone else you let near you Kat, and that all stems from that night."

I sighed, not knowing what to say. I knew she was right. She always was.

"You both need to get shit sorted Kat or it's gonna blow up into more than this club needs right now." She said taking my hand with her cuffed one.

I looked down at the handcuff that held her to the bed. "You're not really gonna be away for as long as you said right?"

"I don't know baby. You just worry about your own shit." She answered me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Okay." I leaned over her and kissed her forehead knowing she was right. I had to at least talk to Tig about our past and the animosity that remained.

I returned to the hospital hallway where Samcro had taken up residence and glanced around it seeing that Tig had now joined them. He stood off to the side talking with Jax and Dad. I made eyes at him when he glanced my way and he returned my look questioningly. I stepped forward, "You got a minute?" I asked him.

He looked to Clay. "We're done here Tig. Go talk to her." Her father said with a sigh.

I sighed as Tig stepped forward and the rest of the guys cleared out of the hallway. Dad gave me a long look before he too left. I knew it was at Mom's insistence that he had given his approval of my relationship with Tig all those years ago and I knew it was because of her that he kept out of it now. Hell I knew I had my mother to thank for keeping me out of Dad's warpath as he learned of all my relationship matters.

"What's up Doll?" He asked.

"I know Kozik is going to be in town to help sort this all out. I just wanted to know if that's gonna be a problem." I asked cutting straight to it.

His eyes clouded over with rage. I should have been scared but I knew it was not directed at me. "I'm sorry about what happened that night. I just wanted to hurt you." I heard my voice saying as I gazed into those rage filled eyes.

He snapped his eyes toward me, his rage washing away. "I never blamed you Kitty Kat. You know that. He should have known better."

"Tig it was both of us okay? You've gotta let it go and stop blaming him for something that happened years ago."

"Nah. I can't do that Kitty Kat. He had no right to have you."

"Tig I let him. It's on me too."

He placed his hand on the small of my back and pulled me towards him. "I forgave you for that night a long time ago baby. I get why you did it but what I'll never understand is why he let it happen. You were still my old lady and he should have known better than to betray me."

I sighed and looked up to meet his gaze. "Please Tig just think about what I've said. The club doesn't need any extra animosity going on."

"Kat I love you but I can never forgive that piece of shit for that night." He kissed my forehead before releasing his grip on me, turning and heading down the hallway in the direction the others had gone.

I sighed as I turned to follow him outside. I found Jax waiting on the steps for me smoking a cigarette.

"What was that all about?" He asked me watching Tig climb onto his bike.

"It doesn't matter." I said taking his cigarette from his hand and taking a long drag of it.

"Thought you didn't smoke little sister." he commented as I handed it back to him.

"I usually don't." I said watching Tig peel out of the hospital parking lot.

Jax followed my gaze and watched Tig's bike disappear around the corner. "We're voting on Hap and Kozik joining Samcro this afternoon. Is he gonna have a problem with that?"

I sighed, knowing that everyone in the club knew about that night. "I don't know Jax. He still has a huge bee in his bonnet over what happened."

"We need Kozik in Kat. If you can talk Tig around I'd appreciate it."

"I've tried Jax. Hopefully he'll finally get past it." I said as he slid his arm around my shoulders and led me across to his bike. He nodded acknowledgment at my words.

"You want me to take you back to your place? I doubt you're gonna wanna be around the clubhouse this afternoon."

"Yeah. That'd be good." I said giving him a small smile. "Sorry if it's my fault you expect shit to get messy."

Jax sighed. "No one's blaming you for it Kat. He needs to move past it."

"I'm not sure he ever will Jax." I sighed as I followed my brother over to his bike. I knew from experience that when Tig had his mind made up about something it was extremely hard to change it.

A/N: So perhaps a little bit of an unexpected bombshell regarding Kat and Tig's past in this chapter. As this story continues we'll slowly get to the bottom of where it all went wrong but this chapter reveals a catalyst for where it may have started. Please review and let me know your thoughts.