"I'm gonna puke."

Standing outside the house, Macy looked at the front door knowing Opie was behind it, somewhere inside, and it made her sick. She spent two extra days in Laguna, one without Shane, and had arrived home on Wednesday evening.

With keys in hand, Macy walked toward the front door and unlocked it just as Opie swung the door open for her.

"Oh," she drew her head back with surprise. "Hi."

"Hey," he said with a small, sad smile on his lips.

They stood there for a second, quietly obsessing over the painful reunion before Macy pointed behind him. "Can I come in?"

"Shit," he stammered. "Yeah. Sorry."

Macy kept as much space between her and Opie as she could, dragging her suitcase in behind her. When he reached to help her she shook her head.

"I got it."

"How was Laguna?" He asked awkwardly.

"Gorgeous," she smiled. "Wish I could afford to live up there," she laughed.

Opie pulled a face and shrugged. "Figure with the extra cash a dirty cop could pull in you might be able to."

"That didn't take long," she rolled her eyes.

"What? He's a dirty cop, right?"

"Who told you?"

"Doesn't matter," he shook his head. "It's better I knew about him before I saw you."

"Why?"

"Coming home after three years to find out you're banging another guy isn't the surprise I want."

"You wanna go there?" Macy dropped her bags and glared at him, hands on her hips. "Really?"

"I know I fucked up," he admitted. "I thought we would work it out, Mace."

Macy shook her head, her anger switching to sorrow. "Maybe if you treated me like an equal and talked to me about everything or even gave me an active part in deciding our future but you didn't. You shut me out. You pushed me away." Seeing he was about to speak, Macy put her hand up. "I'm not done," she snapped. "You didn't do it for me, either, so don't try that shit. You did it for yourself, Opie. If you cared at all about my feelings you wouldn't have hurt me so deeply," she rambled.

"You're getting too upset," he said. "We can't talk if you're gonna freak out.

"Don't do that," she snapped. "I have every right to feel this way after what you did." He was right though, much to her chagrin, so she stopped and calmed down knowing it would make him listen. Forcing herself to breathe and sound in control and self-assured, Macy dropped her hands at her side and calmly started again. "You were scared, I get that, but you pushed me away and you don't get to pull me back now that you're home." Macy looked at him with tear-filled, sorrowful eyes and as she began to speak her chin trembled."You have no idea how much you hurt me."

"I'm sorry," he grumbled.

"I know you are," she nodded. "But you had a long time to make up for it and I'm going to guess you didn't have the prison send that letter until you found out I was dating someone."

"I was talking to your dad," he told her. "He said you were really upset but that you got a good job and met some asshole," Opie shook his head.

"Exactly," she sighed. "I loved you, Ope. I loved you so much but what you did, I can't forget that or forgive you for it."

Opie didn't say anything. He looked at her, his frown hidden by his beard, his forehead creased as he slowly began to nod.

"Alright," he said sadly.

"You want me to move out?" She asked, half expecting him too.

"No," he said without hesitation, "Of course not."

"Thank you," she swallowed hard. "Uh, so, ho-how are you?"

"Happy I'm home," he cracked a weak smile. "Little jumpy."

"I was jumpy right after," she laughed a little. "I hated being here alone."

He nodded. "Sorry 'bout that. Heard a lot changed."

"Yeah, all for the better," she smiled.

"Good," he forced a smile. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," Macy relaxed a bit. "I need a nap, I'm on nights the next three days so you probably won't see me."

He reached out and surprisingly Macy took his hand and the two moved together for a hug. Opie held her mournfully, fearing this was more of a goodbye embrace than hello.

"There's a party next weekend," he said as she stepped away from him, "A parole party."

Macy tilted her head to the side. "Uh, wasn't that the night you came home?"

"Yeah," he laughed, "But this is a big one, some other shit to celebrate too," Opie said vaguely. "Bring him."

"Him? Him who?"

Opie groaned. "Your boyfriend."

"Shane?" She asked, forcing Opie to acknowledge him as more than some passing jerk.

"Yes. Shane."

"I don't think so, but I appreciate the offer," she said politely.

"Mace, shit can't be weird forever and it's a party, it'll be fun," he tried to persuade her. "Please?"

"Fine," she said, giving in too easily in hopes of finding normalcy again. "Saturday?"

"Yeah," he said, realizing Gemma was going to kill him for the late notice, "It's on Saturday."

"I'll see you then," she said nervously, making her way to the stairs. "Have a good week, Ope."

"Yeah," he called after her, "You too."

—

Saturday Night*

"Why are you acting like this is your first club party?" Macy asked an unusually anxious Shane as they drove from her place to the clubhouse.

Shane glanced at her quickly and attempted to laugh it off. "I'm fine."

"You are so not," she giggled. "It's Opie, isn't it?"

Shane's eyebrows furrowed. "I get along with a lot of the guys, I even like some of them, Mace. I don't want him coming home and suddenly have them all turn on me. I don't need to be on SAMCRO's bad side."

"I know," she whinnied. "Opie is pouty on a good day and yeah, we make it much worse, but the guys know you didn't come in and ruin anything. You're not at fault and besides, not everyone knows we were ever together. I think you're safe."

"You're not still into him, are you, Macy?" Shane asked, showing a rare moment of vulnerability, as they approached the lot.

Macy groaned, "No. I'm not and even if I was, he'd have a lot of work to do. Shane, you don't know how devastated I was when he cut me off. I can't just get over it especially when there's always a chance he'll go back and probably do that shit again."

Shane cracked a small smile. "Good. It's not that I don't trust you, baby," he said, "I just don't want you to leave."

"I have no plans to," she said excitedly. "I'm very happy with you, Shane. It's almost too good to be true," Macy chuckled. "You're not some rat, are you?"

"Fuck no," Shane laughed loudly. "Only one thing worse than a dirty cop and that's a goddamn rat."

Laughing, Macy unclicked her seatbelt and grabbed her purse. "I'll remember that."

Shane grumbled some smartass comment under his breath before hooking his arm around her waist and yanking her close to him. "You look amazing," he growled into her ear. "Did I tell you that yet?"

"You did," she said, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment, "But I don't mind hearing it again."

"You look amazing," he repeated.

At first, it was a bit of a whirlwind while they greeted everyone but before long, Macy and Shane were casually sipping beers by the pool table. There were a few noticeable absences, Opie, Jax, Clay, and Tig, were nowhere to be found. They were some of Shane's biggest fans and harshest critics so Macy figured it evened out and she'd enjoy the lack of dirty looks while she could.

"Hey baby," Gemma said, appearing out of the kitchen randomly. "How are you?"

"Hey Ma," Macy greeted her mother with a hug. "Where's Dad?"

"I don't know," Gemma lied as she hugged Shane as well. "He'll be here. Must be running late."

Macy rolled her eyes. "Lame excuse."

Gemma smiled. "Why don't you go get my daughter a fresh beer, Shane?"

Fighting a grimace, Shane nodded and left the women to talk in private. There was still so much they kept close, even Macy, and it wasn't that he was overly nosy but he wanted Macy to feel he could be trusted.

"What's up?" Macy asked urgently. "Everything okay?"

"Honey," Gemma frowned, "Kyle ratted on Opie."

Macy quickly shook her head, "But he did time too. That doesn't make sense."

"Your father and brother dug into it, with a little help from our friends," her eyes darted over to Shane, "To see what exactly happened. Kyle made a deal, he told the cops he'd give someone up if they promised to lower the charges."

"Opie never would have been caught," Macy whimpered.

"I'm sorry, baby," Gemma sighed, pulling Macy in for a hug. "I know you're happy with Shane and this changes that. Kyle's the reason you two split up."

"It doesn't," Macy stepped back. "Kyle's the reason Ope went to jail, yeah, and that's fucked up and wrong and he'll get what he deserves but Opie is the reason we broke up. He still did what he did to me and I'm glad he did it. I found out early he could hurt me like that so selfishly. I don't want to be with someone who could do that. So, at least I didn't waste too much time."

It sounded very sad, to put it simply, and Gemma hated to see her irritatingly positive daughter suddenly seem so negative.

"You can still be happy about the times you did share with him," Gemma reminded her. "That's a whole lot of life you're going to ruin if you look at Opie as a waste."

"I'm good, Mom," Macy smiled. "I regret the crush and thinking he was the be all end all for years." She shrugged a little. "He's a better friend than boyfriend, I understand that now."

"Am I allowed to join?" Shane asked with a smirk and two fresh beers.

"Shane, why do I think that smile gets you in more trouble than it gets you out of?" Gemma asked, taking the beer he'd gotten for himself.

"It's equal, Gem," Shane chuckled. "Everything okay?" He asked Macy, draping his arm over her shoulders.

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "Everything is great."

"Have fun," Gemma said with a wink before sauntering away.

"What was that?" Shane asked eagerly.

"Club stuff," Macy replied vaguely.

"Mace," he groaned.

She turned to face him, his arm dropping off her shoulders, and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Turns out we had something worse than a dirty cop in our midst," she said.

Shane's eyebrows furrowed as he thought for a long moment before remembering their previous conversation. "A rat?"

"A rat."

"Shit," he hissed. "Any way to stop it? How bad?"

"Three years bad," she huffed. "A member gave the cops Opie's name in exchange for lesser charges."

Shane sighed heavily. "Christ, I'm sorry, babe. That shit fucked in your life too."

With a tight smile, she nodded. "Yep."

"That's why Opie and the others aren't here," he said, pieces of the story clicking in his mind. "They're dealing with the infestation."

Actually laughing at the comment, Macy shook her head. "Now, if that were true, why would I ever tell you, Deputy?"

"Cause you trust me," he said suggestively, "And you love me."

"Do I?" She kept her expression neutral.

"I'd be happier than a pig in shit if you did," he said, exaggerating his accent slightly. "'Cause I don't know if you can tell, sugar, but I've been useless since we met."

Macy drew her head back. "Is that some kind of southern phrase?"

Shane laughed. "No but I'm so goddamn crazy about you, Mace, I can't think of anything else."

"You're useless," she giggled. "I'm not useless, Deputy Pig in Shit," she said, watching his smile turn instantly. "Woman can multitask," Macy explained. "I'm totally crazy about you too but I can still, you know, function," she teased.

Grabbing her urgently, Shane pulled Macy in for a kiss, his hand moving up her back tangling his fingers in her hair.

"Hey," Clay's voice suddenly boomed behind them, "Not here."

Macy jumped back and cringed, seeing Clay glaring at them. "Sorry."

He just nodded, his face still stone.

"Everything go alright?" She asked.

"Of course," he said confidently. "Jax and Ope are finishing up."

"Glad that's over," she said quickly. "Come on, Shane," she grabbed his hand, "You can push me on the swings."

"Meet ya out there with beers," he kissed her cheek. "Gotta hit the head."

Macy rolled her eyes but hurried outside to wait for Shane. Her heart was racing, her cheeks starting to ache from smiling, as she skipped toward the swing set.

"Maybe this is it," she said to herself. Macy grinned, kicking her legs and slowly beginning to swing when Jax and Opie pulled in. She didn't care, hardly even noticing, too giddy over the step she and Shane had taken.

"Mace?" Jax asked, walking up toward the clubhouse.

"Hey, you guys good?" She asked with concern.

"All good," he nodded. "Mom tell you?"

Macy just nodded. "I'm sure he got what he deserved."

"You know it," Jax smirked. Noticing Shane approaching, Jax's good mood disappeared. "Really?"

"Stop," she grumbled. "I'm happy. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Jax grumbled under his breath as Shane walked by, ignoring the polite greeting Shane offered.

"Shit," Shane huffed. "The beers."

"It's fine," she said, pulling him closer. "Push."

"Guess those short ass little legs can't get you far," he teased.

Macy forced a laugh but she was focused on Opie, watching him head into the clubhouse without even a glance. She was worried he'd try to interrupt or make awkward conversation but luckily he disappeared into the clubhouse behind Jax.

"That's gonna be weird," Shane said to her. "When he finally wants to meet me, I mean."

"Probably," Macy chuckled. "He's not exactly a people person."

"Ya don't say," he laughed heartily. Suddenly the first few drops of rain from an upcoming downpour hit the couple. "Let's get back inside."

Jumping off the swing, Macy followed Shane in again, only getting caught in the steady rain for a few feet.

"Maybe the temperature will drop a bit," Macy suggested.

"Probably not," he laughed. "Beer?"

"Yeah," she kissed his cheek. "Meet me by the mugshots."

"Alright," he said, heading to the bar. He didn't notice Macy grab Opie on her way. He did notice them the second he turned to meet her.

"Shane," Macy said with an enthusiastic smile. "This is Opie, Opie, this is Shane Walsh."

"Hey," Opie said coolly. "Jax was telling me about you." They all knew what that meant.

"Jax? I'm sure you heard nothing but the best from him," Shane said sarcastically.

"Stop," Macy scoffed. "I'm just glad you two met, step one is not complete." Turning to Shane she gestured toward the apartment. "Gotta pee, if he starts just walk away. Please."

"Heard that," Opie grumbled. "Might wanna try the shop, I think Bobby's gonna be a while."

"Ew really?" She groaned. "Alright. Thanks."

Macy scampered off leaving Opie and Shane alone. It didn't take long for Opie to turn his back on Shane and walk away, not bothering to pretend to care anymore.

The party raged on and on, the more alcohol Macy had the more relaxed she began eventually dancing with Shane. She didn't care if anyone was watching and they actually weren't, she just wanted to enjoy the evening with Shane.

And Macy did, she had a very good time with Shane until a bathroom break and a kitchen pit stop landed her alone with Opie.

The door shut, starting Macy out of the refrigerator with a little yelp. She turned to see Opie leaning against the stove.

"Bet you're feeling good."

"Clay tell you?"

"Gemma," she laughed a little. "Ope, I'm so sorry he did that. He stole years from you," Macy whimpered.

"He stole it from you too," Opie told her. "It's all good, I just took 40 years from him."

"He didn't take time from me," she said, although had she been sober she might not have.

"Cause you've been out," he said ruefully. "Macy, can't you give me some kind of pass?"

"No," she said calmly. "I love Shane, I'm sorry, even if I wasn't so fucking furious, it wouldn't matter."

"I love you," he said quickly. "I should have told you before I went in but you were right. I was scared and now I'm scared to do this shit alone. My head is so dark, babe. You're the only light I got."

"You don't have me," she said forcefully. "I'm sorry you're struggling, Opie. I can help you find someone to talk to."

He scoffed loudly, overly dramatic in his inebriated state. "Yeah. A fucking shrink. Okay."

"Are we done here?"

"No," he snapped, "We're not."

Opie grabbed Macy, right at the crook of her arm, and pulled her toward him. Without a thought, Opie pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply.

"Ope," she grumbled, trying to get away but he held on and pulled her ever closer. "Ope, stop."

It was when she tried to yank herself free a second time that the kitchen door swung open with such force that the glass cracked.

"Get the fuck off her," Shane roared as he kicked out Opie's knee, forcing him to release Macy as he fell to the ground. "Did he hurt you?" Shane asked, turning to Macy as Opie clambered to his feet.

"No," she groaned. "Jesus Christ." Seeing Opie suddenly towering over Shane, grabbing him by the back of the neck, she inhaled sharply and backed away. "Stop," she screamed.

"This is my goddamn clubhouse," Opie hollered as he threw Shane to the ground and proceeded to pummel him.

"Ope," Macy screamed.

The others finally noticed the battle raging between the two and Jax rushed in, the first in to break it up. By that time Shane had managed to get out from under Opie, no small feat considering their size difference, and land a few solid punches before Jax violently pulled him away, shoving him against the refrigerator.

"You attacked my brother in our clubhouse?" Jax asked, seething as he glared at Shane.

"Why don't you ask him what he did to your sister?" Shane snarled.

"Let him down," Clay bellowed at Jax. "Now."

"We're leaving," Macy growled.

"What happened?" Jax and Clay asked her simultaneously.

Macy turned away from their stares. "Ope got handsy, he got carried away. I'm fine. Shane was only doing what any of you would have done if you saw it."

"Mace," Opie groaned, blood trickling down his lip and into his beard. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Clay pointed his finger at Opie and shook his head. "You and me gotta talk."

"Come on," Macy grabbed Shane's hand. "This was a goddamn mistake."