When the door closed behind Jax and his kid, Tig rolled his eyes as Juice looked at Dennis Lyon's with a slight air of nervousness. "Is she really going to interrogate you?"
Dennis turned to Juice with an indignant snort as Eric Lyons smiled into his glass of whiskey. "Weren't you listening?" Dennis looked over to him, Chibs, Ope, and Juice. "She already knows she can't get shit outta me here. She's got no leverage. She can't threaten to change locks, she can't threaten my computers…" Jesus Christ, Dennis was nearly doing a happy dance in his chair, while lighting a joint. "So…" Dennis took a hit and passed it on to Juice. "The Amazon Princess will be gunning for you guys." Laughing happily at the slight looks of consternation on Chibs and Ope's faces.
Juice, idiot that his is, looked confused as he passed the joint to Ope. "She doesn't have any leverage over any of us, so why would she try?"
He wanted to smack Juice in the head, so he did. Then looked over to Dennis, who was looking at Juice like the boy was a level of retarded that he had never seen before. "Would you like to explain to our resident moron, exactly the kind of leverage she has?" He was pretty sure he knew what his kid's leverage was, but it never hurt to have confirmation.
Dennis grinned at him and looked over to Juice. "Her leverage on you guys…" Looking at Juice, Chibs, and Ope. "Stands about six-two, blonde hair, has a VP patch on his kutte…" Sly smirk tugging at his bearded mouth. Dennis shot a wink at one of the Croweaters that giggled a little as she sat a beer down in front of the young man. He was pretty, funny, and kind; the girls were eating him up with a spoon and Dennis had been enjoying it thoroughly.
Chibs and Ope barely blinked. In fact, Ope laughed. But Juice swallowed a little nervously. He was chuckling into his beer when Dennis turned to him. "And as for you? Fuck, you might as well just go back there and tell her right now." Dennis grinned as Bobby started laughing loudly as the man slid off his barstool and headed toward the kitchen with a bottle of brandy.
He shrugged. He figured Jules would go after Juice before she went after him. Of course, if she did, he'd break, and do it with a fuckin' smile on his face. But, before he could open his mouth to respond, the door to the dorms opened back up and Jax and his kid came through it, looking much drier than when they had arrived.
He grinned into his shoulder when he saw Juice eyeing the two of them warily. Fuck, even if he ended up being the one to break, it was going to be a hell of a lot of fun watching Jax and his kid mess with Juice. Yeah, it will be totally worth it.
/
Bobby was still chuckling as he walked into the clubhouse kitchen. Turning off the burner that the hot chocolate had been keeping warm on, he quickly put together a mug of it with some brandy and some of the whipped cream that Jules had brought from the store, along with the hot chocolate. He'd laughed earlier in the day when she'd been putting things away, but she'd just waved him off, scoffing at his laughter.
Hustling back out to the clubhouse proper, he was just in time to see Jax pull two chairs and set them side by side in front of the table that Dennis and the others were sitting. He stopped at the bar long enough to have Sack give him a bottle of beer.
Making his way over to Jax and Jules, he sat both drinks down at the table just next to Jules. Jules smiled up at him. "Thank you." Then grinned over at Jax. "Remember. Phenomenal, dude. Or there will be consequences."
Jax shook his head at her with a confident grin of his own, as Eric Lyon's was nearly choking on his beer. "Don't worry." Jax looked over to where Eric was still choking on his laughter. "I got skills."
Jules and Eric burst out laughing, and after a moment, so did Jax. He had no idea what the fuck the three of them were laughing so hard about, but it was good to see his VP let loose a little in a way that wasn't just getting wasted and fucking some chick.
He loved Jax like his own damn son. Hell, he'd been around since before Jax's balls had even dropped. And since Tara left when the two of them were still teenagers, he'd seen Jax go through women with all the emotional attachment of a fruitcake; Wendy included. Tara coming back, and Abel being born had shown Jax how shallow that life was, but neither had shaken Jax out of that rut. And while he certainly was never opposed to getting a piece of ass; there was more to life than that, and he could see Jax having that with Jules, along with Sophie and Abel.
Once the three of them got their laughter under control, ignoring the questioning looks around them, Jules took a small sip of her hot chocolate, and then smiled brightly at the group of bikers in front of her.
He settled in at a table just off to Jules's right. He wanted the best view of all parties involved. Eric Lyons joined him, leaning over. "Who breaks first? Tig or your intel guy?"
He shrugged and answered in the same quiet voice. "Depends." He nodded towards Jules. "How good is she?"
Eric just grinned and sat back in his chair.
/
Chibs didn't like the smile on Jules's face. At all. Nor was he a fan of the mischief in his VP's eyes. Dennis Lyons wasn't talkin' out of his arse when he said that his sissy would have a different sort of leverage here.
He wasn't worried that they'd go after him, or even Ope. He could see the way they were eyein' Tiggy and Juicy-boy, they already knew who the weak links were.
Tiggy though, for the moment, was playing their game. He'd smile right back at his daughter and Jax like he could take whatever the two of them decided to dish out.
She had passed a glance over to him and Ope a couple of times, both of hem giving her their best jail stares in return. After a minute, he was proven right when after Jax murmured in her ear, the two of them ignored him and Ope in favor of the other two.
Jules took another drink of the brandied hot chocolate that Bobby had made her, then lit a cigarette. After taking a drag, she put the smoke aside in an ashtray. "So." Looking at Juice and Tiggy. "What has the idiot child roped you into?" Waving a hand toward Dennis, who just flipped her the bird with a smile. She hadn't taken her eyes from Tiggy and Juice.
Tiggy shrugged. "Who says we were roped into anything? We could be roping him into something."
Nicely played, Tiggy. Chbs took a drink of his whiskey, trying to hide the smile. Otherwise the two inquisitors would notice, and he'd be in their sights.
Jules rolled her eyes at Dennis's outraged squawk, putting a hand up. "Shut it, Manny." Then narrowed her eyes at Tigger. "Please, I have enough trouble getting Dennis to do anything he doesn't want to. And I fucking house and feed him." Jules shook her head with fond annoyance. "So, the likelihood of you guys roping him into anything is a fucking joke." She smiled at Tiggy and Juice. "So, do we want to try again?"
Tiggy shrugged again. "You know Doll, I just can't fucking remember what the hell was on those papers, made no goddamned sense to me." Tiggy grinned at Juice, delighted mischief in his eyes. "Looked like maybe it was some computer shit." Tiggy looked over to him and Ope. "Didn't it look like computer shit to you two?"
He and Ope were quick to agree, because let's face it; watching Juicy-boy on the hot-seat with Jax and Jules was going to be entertaining as fuck. He gestured for Sack to bring him a bottle.
Might as well get comfortable for the show.
/
Jax grinned as Juice took a nervous swallow as the intel officer looked at him and Jules.
He had given Tig a small salute with his bottle at the masterful way the SAA had passed the interrogation bomb to Juice. But Jules looked like she wasn't done with Tig entirely, but willing to let it go for the moment.
"You'll like it." Juice looked as surprised as the others that he had opened his mouth.
Taking a long pull from his beer, he decided it was time for him to jump in and play for a minute. "Who will like it, Juice? Me or her? You're looking at both of us." He heard Bobby and Eric chuckle off to Jules's right.
Juice squirmed a little, not receiving any help from his fellow Redwood Originals, looked over to Dennis, who, he had to admit, he was liking more the more time spent with him; Dennis just ran a finger across his throat to indicate what happens to snitches.
He tapped a finger on the table, making Juice jump slightly. "Well, Juice. Not gettin' any younger here."
"Um, both of you?" Juice was biting the inside of his lip, either trying to figure out what to say next, or to not talk at all.
"Why both of us?" Jules leaned forward, resting a hand on his thigh. He was really starting to enjoy this. "What makes you think that it would be something that both of us would like? You don't know me well enough to know what I like and what I don't, or what likes that I have in common with Jax to say in any sort of definitive way that we would both like it." Patting his thigh where her hand had been resting, she sat back, looking at Juice patiently.
The two of them let Juice squirm for a couple of minutes, when Jules leaned over and whispered in his ear. "This was more fun when it was Tig. Juice scares too easy."
He acknowledged the truth in that statement with a shrug, then whispered back. "Juice maybe gets the short end of the stick, still. He's only been a full-patch for about a year and a half."
"Which makes this less fun. Plus, I already know what Dennis is doing, this has all been just to fuck with the others." Her chuckle tickling his ear.
He nearly had to bite his own damn lip at that. He was pretty sure Jules and Soph were staying in Charming for the next few dozen years, he still wasn't one-hundred percent sure, so he threw that wish out into the universe, just in case. Tara might have made him happy on some levels, but he had the feeling that a life with Tara wouldn't be as much fun.
Jules sat back, looked over to Dennis and then back at Juice. "Just answer one question, Juice, and then we'll be done." Jules gave both computer nerds a smirk. "Sound fair?"
Juice studied her for a moment before nodding like a man being given reprieve from an execution. "Yeah, totally fair." Ignoring Dennis's glare.
"Is my brother trying to be 'King of the Presents', again?" Putting air quotes around king of the presents. Which he had to admit, sounded like a phrase Dennis would use, and use often enough for the others to air quote it.
Not looking at Dennis, Juice just nodded.
Dennis scoffed. "I can't believe you just gave all of us up like that! Dude!" There was humor in the Chicago biker's tone, so no one was feeling a need to step in. Moron, or not, Juice was their moron, and it was like the old adage, you can say or do whatever to family, but God fucking forbid someone from the outside does it. And for as much shit as Chibs and Ope give Juice, they're also the first two to stick up for him.
Dennis pulled a twenty out of his jeans pocket, crumpled it up and threw it at Eric. "There you go, you fuckin' behemoth." Then looked at Jules. "You couldn't have stuck with Trager? He'd have broken in five fuckin' seconds if you'd kept at him." Then narrowed his eyes at both of his siblings. "Are you getting a cut? What did he promise you?"
He laughed as Jules flipped her brother off. "Okay, Meryl, you can drop the drama." Then looked over the others that had been under the interrogation lights, and then back to Dennis. "So, you get her trike figured out?" That's what Dennis was up to; Soph had shown a lot of interest in Piney's trike when he'd been outside with her before lunch, telling him all about a club member in Chicago that just got one.
He laughed as Chibs threw an empty cigarette pack at Jules. "Ye already knew?!" Chibs's laugh boomed through the clubhouse. "Ye did all this just to fuck with us?"
Jules shrugged with a grin as she easily dodged the cigarette pack that had been flung at her. "Sure, why not?" She took a sip of her drink, then looked over to Juice. "Once again, sorry, dude." Jules gave Juice a warm smile. "You're just too easy."
Juice shrugged her off with an easy smile. "I'm used to it." Juice glanced around the room. "At least when you mess with me, I don't wake up outside the police station in a diaper with a sign stapled to my chest."
While Eric and Dennis started laughing along with the rest of the guys, Jules didn't. He could see she was slightly amused by what had happened to Juice, but it was very slight. Then he realized; even though she had messed with Juice a few times, each time she had been quick to smooth over any hurt feelings.
Jules looked around the room. "That's not funny." The laughter died down. "What if someone had messed with him before he had woken up?" She shook her head. "I'm all down for pranks and messing with someone, but that's a little too far."
Juice was quick to defend his brothers, and he seemed to understand where Jules was coming from. "Hey, this isn't Chicago. No one here in Charming would fuck with me, no matter what condition I was in." Jules shoulders started to lose the tension that had started to creep into them.
Jules sighed. "Yeah, okay." Then looked over to the others. "So, did you take any pictures?"
The guys started to laugh and the tension that had started to build in the room evaporated.
/
Ope was surprised at Jules's reaction to what had been done to Juice. She seemed to have no problems fucking with him, so her being upset on Juice's behalf was a little weird. But as soon as Juice stepped in, he understood.
Where she's from, doing something like that was asking for trouble. He wondered if she was going to feel trapped by Charming like Tara had all those years ago. For Jax's sake, he hoped not. He liked the way Jax was when he was around Jules, and Sophie. There was a lightness to his oldest friend that had been gone for years. He didn't want to see his friend shattered again.
He started to laugh with the others when Jules got what Juice was saying and then asking for a picture.
After that, things broke apart and the music got a little louder. As a few of the guys started heading for the pool table, he moved over to sit with Jax and Jules. The two of them with their heads over Jax's cell, laughing at the pictures of Juice in all his man-baby glory.
Jules looked up at him with a wide grin. "Man, can you guys do this to Den? I know chicks in Chicago that would pay a pretty penny for a pic like this." He heard Eric Lyons laugh at that all the way over at the pool table.
Being in the club was the closest thing he's ever had to siblings. And throw in a girl as the baby of four? Just having Ellie and Kenny, he couldn't imagine two more. His respect for Jake Lyons just increased dramatically.
Dennis pulled on Jules's hair as he sat down next to her. "Fuck that, we've got far bigger problems." There was no mockery in Dennis's tone. The dude was serious as fuck.
Jules just rolled her eyes. "What is it?" Said in a tone that implied she felt Dennis was having another drama queen moment.
Dennis pulled her hair, again, as to emphasize how important the problem was. "They put me and Eric in the same room. It was the only one left."
Jules suddenly became as serious as Dennis. He looked at Jax, who just shrugged, looking as confused as he was.
"Fuck." Then glanced over to Jax, before looking back over to Dennis. "Eric know yet?" Keeping her voice low.
Dennis shook his head. "Nah, he was with Pop and the others when Gemma had one of the girls show me where to store our gear." Dennis's voice just as quiet.
Jax's patience had come to an end. "Any reason you two are acting like a bomb is about to be dropped?" Low enough to keep the other two from jumping his ass.
"Yeah, because the last time they shared a room, a couple of years ago, Eric nearly got his head shot off trying to break into the motel room me and Butch were sharing trying to escape Den and his insomnia. Eric has sworn if made to share a room with Dennis again, he'll tie Den to a chair and gag him." Jules sounded faintly amused by it all.
"Don't forget the stick me in a closet part." Dennis griped. "Just because…"
Jules stopped him with a raised hand. "Shut it, Den. No one wants to hear you whine." She glanced over to Eric and then back to Den, then looked at Jax. "I guess I'm bunking with you, and we'll flip a coin…"
Dennis interrupted his sister. "Eric can sleep in your room." Dennis looked over to his older brother with fond exasperation. "His giant ass couldn't fit in those twin beds with a fucking crowbar."
He laughed. He knew what room Dennis was talking about and no, Eric Lyons would not fit in those beds, at all. He knew that from experience. The other three looked at him. "He isn't wrong. I hang off by about five inches." He nodded towards the elder Lyons, who was currently kicking Happy's ass at the pool table. "And he's a little taller than me."
Dennis nodded and smiled saccharine sweet at his sister. "And you get to tell him."
She raised a middle finger as she called over her shoulder. "Hey Eric!" Her oldest brother looked up from the pool table.
"What?" As he finished Happy off, he strolled over, looking down at Jules.
"You're going to sleep in the room me and Soph are currently laying claim to." As Eric went to protest, Jules rushed on. "Otherwise you're sharing a room with Manny."
Eric shook his head darkly. "Never." Glaring at the younger Lyons who was grinning his ass off. "He doesn't sleep and makes sure I can't either." The glare melted when he turned to his sister. "So, once again you've saved his ass." Smacking Dennis on the back of the head. "You should thank her for that."
Dennis scoffed. "Me? You should be thanking her for not having to sleep on a twin fucking bed that you're about six inches too long for." Then smiled at Jules. "But, thanks. Now, I have two beds!" Dennis laughed as he got up and wandered over to where Juice had all of his computer shit set up and was dinkin' around.
He and Jax looked at each other for a second. He raised an eyebrow, asking his friend if he thought he was ready for the ride that this family seemed to be. But Jax's eyes just sparkled with laughter.
"Is he always…" He looked over to Eric, hoping the man had an answer that made sense. While he liked Dennis, he couldn't make sense of him at all.
"A howler monkey, an instigator, all-around pain in the ass, genius?" Eric shrugged. "Pretty much. You get used to it." Draining his glass of whiskey before accepting the joint that Tig handed him as he walked past.
Lighting it, Eric looked over at his sister. "Thanks for sparing me that torture." Passing the joint to her. "And not to sound like an ungrateful brother, but could you come get whatever you need out of there? I'm pretty close to ready to hit the sack."
Jules patted her brother's arm. "No worries. I'm about ready to drop myself." She stood up. "Let me say good-night to Den and the others, and you can grab your stuff while I'm getting mine." She looked down at Jax. "If that's okay with you?" She grinned a little.
"Sounds fine to me, babe." Jax finished off his beer.
Jules nodded and walked off towards Dennis and Juice. After talking with them for a few moments, she moved over to the table where Chibs and Bobby had some sort of card game going on.
He looked over when he heard Jax chuckle. Jax nodded towards Jules. "Sophie did the same damn thing last night."
"Where do you think she learned it from?" Eric grinned at them both as he still managed to keep an eye on his sister. When she made her way over to Tig, Eric was rivetted.
Jules and Tig talked for a couple of minutes. Tig looking happier than he personally had ever seen the man look outside of creating mayhem. Eric Lyons made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, watching his adopted sister with her biological father.
"You have an issue with that?" Jax's voice was conversational, but he knew his brother, there was more than a little steel in it. Jax and Tig may clash, but in the end, they were brothers.
Eric shook his head. "Not in the way you think." Eric looked at the table for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts. When he looked back up, his blue eyes were a bit troubled. "I've never seen someone so fucking grateful for the smallest interaction." He nodded his head towards Tig. "He soaks up whatever they give him like it's oxygen." Eric shrugged. "Just makes me wonder if the right decision was made back then." His voice became nearly a whisper and he and Jax both had to lean in. "I mean, Ma was pretty out of it when she made Rip and Pop make that promise to her. She was really close to the end." Then Eric shook his head. "Doesn't matter now." Then looked at Jax. "You planning on camping on that joint all night?"
Jax chuckled and shook his head as he passed Eric the joint.
He looked over to where Jules and Tig were hugging it out. Tig certainly looked less manic than usual. Maybe Jules and Sophie would mellow the crazy in Tig out some. That would be interesting, a fairly sane Tig Trager. Because, if he were being totally honest, Tig would never be completely sane, the man had some screws loose, no doubt about it. But it might be interesting to see what happened with some of Tig's rough edges softened by his daughter and granddaughter.
As Jules made her way back to the table, Jax stood up. "'Night, brother." Clasping him on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow." Then looked over to Jules. "Just let me get a joint off Juice and then we can head back."
Jules shook her head. "Already covered." Opening a hand to show two fat joints sitting in it. She handed one to Eric. "Bedtime snack."
He slid his chair back and stood up. "I should head towards home." He smiled looking down at his watch. "Donna should still be awake."
Jax grinned at him as he gave him a bro-hug. "Good luck with that, brother."
He laughed as he clapped Jax on the back. "I could say the same for you.'
Jax just shrugged with an easy smile as he let go. "Whatever, man. See you tomorrow."
Jules leaned down and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek. "Night, Eric. It should only take me about ten minutes to get what I need tonight. We're not going running in the morning. One of the girls told me there's a yoga studio in town that does a mid-morning Mommy and Me class, and they take drop-ins. I think me and Miss Thing need some alone time.
"Probably not your worst idea ever." Eric responded easily. "Get some sleep. You need it." The words sounding like an order. "You look about ready to fall over." A brother's worry taking over.
Jax started to steer Jules away from the table. "I'll make sure she gets some sleep." He nodded to both him and Eric. "See you tomorrow." Leading Jules towards the dorms.
He looked down at Eric and grinned. "Any bets on when the two of them make one hell of a pretty baby?"
Eric flipped him off. "Not funny, dude." A bit of dry humor in his voice.
He laughed again. "Yeah, it really kind of is."
After yelling out a goodnight to the others, he made his way home.
Donna was awake, but barely. He got down to his boxers and climbed into bed and spooned up against her back.
She turned and gave him a lazy kiss. "I didn't expect you home this early." She raised her head and squinted at the alarm clock. "It's not even midnight."
He placed a soft kiss on the back of her neck. "Spent some time with the guys before Jax and Jules got back. Left when they went to bed." He chuckled. "Jax is walkin' around like someone dosed him with a love potion." He pulled Donna closer to him. "Then again, I know how that feels."
Donna laughed as she patted his arm. "Then you should have come home about forty-five minutes ago." She turned in his arms and kissed him lightly. "How about in the morning after we get the kids off to school?"
"I'll call Pop first thing in the morning and ask if he can come take them to school for us." Kissing her back. "So neither one of us has to get dressed."
"I like the way you think." Donna kissed him again before turning back around so that he was spooning her again. She laced their fingers together. "Goodnight. I love you."
"I love you, too." He kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight."
As he felt Donna fall asleep, he started to nod off himself. Today had been a good day. Hopefully, it would be the first in many. After the last five years, he could use a string of good days.
His last thought before sleep overtook him was the hope that Jax was feeling as good as he was right now. His best friend could use his own string of good days, too.