Two days after Abel's birthday party, Shane arrived at the clubhouse just before his night shift as Clay requested. He was in his uniform, which always set the Sons on defense no matter who was wearing the badge.

"If you want me to haul him in it's gonna have to be a good amount," Shane explained. "As much as you can."

"Guess you can't help us with that," Clay muttered.

Shane shook his head. "I'm not gonna touch that. You get what you need and let me know, we'll go from there."

"I appreciate the help," Clay said with genuine gratitude. "How's our girl?"

"Mace? She's good, excited about the baby, upset about Opie though."

Clay nodded. "He's been sulking at the cabin since we all found out. He'll come around, tell her not to worry."

He already did, more than once, but Macy still seemed distracted by Opie's pain. "Yeah, yeah I'll do that."

"We'll be in touch," Clay said firmly. "Keep your head down, Walsh."

"Yes sir," he nodded, shaking Clay's hand.

Back at his house, Macy was at the dining room table with her planner, a legal pad and her laptop. She got the name of a quality OBGYN from Tara and had just scheduled her first two appointments. Now she needed to plan, it helped ease her anxiety and made her feel much more in control but she didn't know where to start.

"Shit," she huffed. Picking up her phone, she texted Tara with an invitation. "Dinner at my place? Bring Abel. I don't know how to be pregnant. How do I prepare? Help me!"

It wasn't long before Tara replied. "I've never physically had a baby but I think I can give you some advice. Is 6 good?"

"Great!"

By 7, Abel was asleep on the couch and the three of them ate an entire large pizza.

"I have to ask," Tara said, leaning closer to Macy. "Was this planned?"

Macy shook her head. "Nope. I'm totally thrilled but this was a shocker."

"Can I share my shocker?" She asked with a smirk

"Oh my god, are you knocked up?"

"I am," Tara beamed.

"Yes!" Macy practically leaped across the sofa to hug Tara, thrilled to have a niece or another nephew. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," she giggled. "Jax doesn't know yet."

"He's going to be thrilled, Tara, you know that."

"I know," she sighed dreamily. "I'm just processing it too."

"We can process together," Macy joked. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

Tara inhaled slowly. "I don't know. You?"

"Not sure," she shrugged. "Shane would be so sweet with a little girl but he'd also be cute with a boy, I think I'm scared if we have a son I'll turn into my mom."

Cringing, Tara shook her head. "You won't."

"I don't know, look at Grandma Rose, apparently insane mothers run in our family."

Faking a smile, Tara just nodded and kept the secret she knew to herself. "Break that line then," she said simply.

"Hopefully," she shrugged. "Uh, have you seen Ope around?"

"Macy," Tara said knowingly.

"I feel bad," she whimpered. "I'm pissed but I know he's fucked up, I know prison messes with people and I know he's upset."

"You're kind," Tara smiled a little. "I haven't seen him, Jax sad he's at the cabin with Piney."

"Yikes, I'm sure he's gonna give him one of those tough love Piney pep talks," Macy chuckled a little.

"Oh he's getting one," Tara laughed. "You think you'd be where you are now if you two didn't break up?"

"Well," Macy huffed, "I wouldn't be here in this house planning on having a baby with Shane if that's what you mean."

Tara shook her head. "No, I mean, do you think you would have gone to school, got a job and straightened up?"

"No." It was a quick and confident answer. "I'd be drinking, bartending, and hanging around the clubhouse. I'd be, well, fuck, I'd be Gemma."

"You have some issues with your mom," Tara remarked.

"She's got some issues with me," Macy said sadly. "I love her, she's my mom but there's always been some weird unlying tension and bitterness. I always assumed it had something to do with her mom, maybe shit with Thomas? Who knows?"

"Not me," Tara said awkwardly. "I know I'm doing the exact opposite but I think you stepping away from the club s a good thing, it's good for you."

"Don't give me one of those tears make you grow weak ass quotes," Macy laughed.

"I won't go that far," Tara chuckled. There was a hard knock at the door and Tara's head shot up. "Expecting someone?"

"Uh. No."

"Want me to get it?"

"No," Macy sighed. "Last week Shane sent me flowers when I was home from work sick, I scared the shit out of the guy. It's probably him being too fucking cute again, we've been living the MC life too long, Tara."

When Macy swung open the door she saw Opie, clearly drunk and filthy, on the front step. He still had a bottle of whiskey in his hand as he looked at her, glassy-eyed and pouting.

"Jesus Christ," she sighed. "Ope, what are you doing?"

"This his place?" He said, gesturing behind her.

Macy nodded, "Yes, it is."

"Don't do this, Mace," he begged her. "Please. I love you, this asshole is a cop, he doesn't know you like I do, you can't trust him."

"Do you hear yourself?" She asked, standing with her hands on her hips and a dark scowl on her face. "You sound obsessed."

"I am obsessed," he slurred. "I'm obsessed with you and with that asshole."

"You need to stop drinking," she snapped, reaching for the bottle. "You need to talk to someone Opie, this isn't healthy."

"I know," he groaned, stumbling forward and smacking his head against the address plate. "Fuck."

"I'll call Jax," she sighed. "He can come get you."

"No," he said sharply.

"Mace, you guys okay?" Tara called out from the other room. She was already on the phone Jax, watching the entire thing closely from the window.

"We're fine," she said. "You need to go home."

"You won't even talk to me," he grumbled.

"You wouldn't talk to me," she suddenly shouted. "You didn't even have the balls to tell me yourself, Opie. You did this. You broke up with me in the most fucked up way possible I can't forgive you for that, I won't, and I don't even want to. You hurt me. You did this. You don't get to come back here begging. Don't dare pretend like this is my doing."

"Everything alright here?" Macy's neighbor asked, walking slowly out of his house with a shotgun.

"Jesus," she grumbled under her breath. "I'm good, thank you. Please, just go back inside."

"I already called the sheriff," he informed her.

"That's really not necessary," she said firmly.

"Can't take it back," he said nonchalantly, "Better safe than sorry."

"You should go now before they get here," she told Opie. "Shane will be the one coming out, I know it, if he heard dispatch he's already on his way."

"Good," Opie sneered. "Let him. You know that's what he wants."

"It's not because he knows it would only hurt me in the end," she snapped. "He does whatever he can to spare my feelings, unlike my ex."

The sirens interrupted their terse exchange and soon two squad cars pulled up over the curb. Opie dropped the bottle and put his hands up in surrender.

Having already been warned to keep away from the suspect, Shane charged toward Macy urgently. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just annoyed," she grumbled, leaning into his embrace. "He's gotta stop doing this shit. First the kitchen at the clubhouse and now he's showing up here."

"He's gonna stop," Shane growled. "We're pressing charges," he told his superior. "And wants a restraining order."

"Shane," she hissed. "Stop."

"No," he said forcefully. "Last time he grabbed you, if we didn't get the call who knows what he woulda done, Mace. You're letting the club cloud this shit."

"We'll deal with it in our own way," she said quietly.

"He's just pissed that baby ain't his," Opie shouted as they forced him against the cruiser to search and cuff him.

"What?" Shane snarled. "What did you fucking say?" Grabbing Opie, Shane threw him to the ground and began kicking him in the ribs repeatedly. "Don't talk about her like that, she's not your whore, leave her the fuck alone."

"I didn't call her a whore," Opie coughed, blood staining his lips and beard, as another deputy grabbed Shane. "You just did though."

"Walsh," Trammel's second in command barked. "Lets go," he said, grabbing him. "Think you need to cool off."

"What?" Shane huffed, hearing his boss grab his cuffs.

"No charges," he assured Shane as he cuffed him. "Night in lock up should clear that goddamn head."

"Sir," Shane groaned. "I was out of line. I'm sorry."

"Miss," he said to Macy, ignoring Shane's pleas. "You can pick him up at the roundhouse in the morning."

—

It was a long night for Macy and Shane but Opie snored loudly, passed out peacefully through it all, in the cell across from Shane. He gasped a little, sitting up quickly only to groan and throw himself back down on the cot.

"Sounds like sleep apnea," Shane said. "Maybe you should lose some weight, give your body a break."

"Fuck off," Opie grumbled.

"You sober?" Shane didn't let up.

"Painfully sober, yeah," Opie said as he sat up again. "They really made you stay," he laughed.

"Not all the higher ups like me," he said casually. "You look like shit," Shane added with a smirk.

"I feel like shit," Opie huffed.

Shane stood up, still in his uniform, and leaned against the bars. "Listen, man, you have to leave Macy alone. You gotta stop doing this to her."

Opie looked up at Shane from the cot, his hair hanging in his face and grimaced darkly. "Don't like me coming around her?"

"What?" Shane's expression was one of confusion. "She doesn't like it. You're some kind of fucking idiot, man. You have no idea what you did to her."

"I was locked up," he scoffed, "Couldn't do much."

"Jesus Christ," Shane shook his head. "We had a lot of fun when we first met. Shit, we had sex in a bar bathroom on the first date, drank and did reckless shit, but when it got real and we realized it was more than drunk fucks she closed down."

"This just some excuse to brag?" Opie sneered. "I had her first."

"But I have her now," Shane spat back. "You messed with her head. Every time we talked, had a real talk, she was scared I was gonna walk away. If I didn't answer her text fast enough she was sure I was out the door."

"She go looking for you? Act all crazy?" Opie asked, wondering if she was so clingy why Shane was so committed.

"No," he scoffed. "She'd fucking cry, have some kind of panic attack like I was gonna do it too. As soon as we admitted we had feelings for each other, she was terrified it was gonna happen again. You fucking scarred her, Opie. She was young, crazy about you, and you fucking ruined her."

Opie swallowed hard, the severity of the damage he'd done finally hitting him, and cleared his throat. "She still do that shit?"

"Sometimes," Shane shrugged. "The night we found out about the baby she said she had a dream I left. Took some promotion but didn't tell her where and I just took off."

There was no snappy retort or annoyed grunt from the other cell. Opie felt awful hearing how much damage he had done in an attempt to shield them both from heartache.

"You get it?" Shane snapped. "Let her be happy, finally. You dictated the last five years of her life before and after you got locked up, time to back the fuck off."

Macy heard the bulk of their conversation while waiting at the desk to pick up Shane. It was a harsh reminder of how difficult it was to trust him, to allow herself to fall for him. She'd almost forgotten since their relationship had been so pleasant.

"Walsh," the desk guard shouted. "Macy's here."

"Can I?" She asked, pointing down the row of cells.

The guard nodded and led the way for her.

"I'm sorry," Shane grumbled quickly.

Macy nodded. "It's fine." She looked at Opie and dried a few tears from the corner of her eyes. "You okay?" She asked, noticing the blood still on his clothes and face.

"I'll be alright."

"You need to stop drinking and maybe you won't get your ass kicked," she suggested. "All that blood scared me."

The guard unlocked Shane's cell and let him go, handing him back his belt, gun and badge.

"Hey," Shane whispered into her ear. "His blood ain't worth a single one of your tears. He earned that beat down."

Macy didn't respond to Shane, she continued to look at the battered man in the next cell. "It's done, Ope. Please, don't do this again. Leave me alone, leave us alone."

"Alright," he agreed somberly. "I'm sorry, Mace."

Macy's lips turned into a crooked smile as she nodded and whimpered, "I know you are."