Their escapade in the woods had definitely improved Lily's mood. For that little, she had forgotten about everything that was hanging over her head. It all came rushing back to her the moment they drove through the TM gates though.

Happy parked and turned towards her. "Are you going to tell Jax about Clay tonight?" he asked.

She bit her lip. "No. He should have at least one night before I start another war." She realized she wasn't the only one carrying this secret. He was also keeping it from his brothers. "I'm sorry, Hap. I should have waited to tell you anything about Clay."

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. "No, I'm glad you told me. I've just never kept anything like this from the club before."

"You kept me from the club," she whispered.

"For the longest time I thought it was because you screwed over Jax or something like that."

She laughed. "I'm sure he thinks I have. One way or another."

He turned serious. "Clay will get what's coming to him. I'll make sure of that."

"We'll see," she sighed. She was worried that most of the club would think that everything Clay did was so long ago that it didn't matter anymore. "I need a fucking drink." She got out of the van and headed inside with Happy following closely behind.

The whole place was packed. Everyone was having fun. Celebrating the destruction of the Devil's Horsemen. They were safe.

The prospect saw them coming and had two beers waiting for them. "Bobby's looking for you when you get a chance," he said as Lily and Happy took their beers.

"Me?" Lily asked in surprise.

The prospect nodded. "Said something about having something for you."

She looked to Happy who just shrugged. "Where is he?" she asked.

"Kitchen," he said simply.

She slipped into the kitchen. Bobby was in there talking to Gemma. She dropped her arm around his shoulders, interrupting his conversation. "Bobby Elvis, I heard you were looking for me."

He chuckled. "Where the hell have you been, kid?"

"Oh, you know, digging graves," she smiled. She caught the look of disgust Gemma was giving her but she ignored it. "What do you need from me?"

"Don't need anything from you." He pulled away from Lily. He grabbed a tupperware container off the counter. "Now that this mess is finished, I finally had time to make some banana bread."

The heavenly smell hit her when he opened the container. "Sweet Jesus," she moaned. She took a piece out to eat. It was even better than she remembered. "You know, I've had dreams about this."

"Just saying thanks for everything you've done for us."

The banana bread was a little harder to swallow after that. She forced a smile. "Best payment I've ever gotten. Thanks, Bobby."

"Of course, kid." He patted her on her shoulder as he left the kitchen in search of booze and a sweet butt.

Lily held onto the tupperwear container as she turned to leave. She wasn't going to let that banana bread out of her sight.

"Ophelia," Gemma called to her.

She stopped and turned around. She didn't like being cornered by Gemma. She could hold her own against the matriarch, but she wasn't in the mood. She sighed. "What is it, Gemma?"

"Thank you for making sure my family made it home."

Lily could see how much it pained Gemma to thank her. "Just doing my job," she said before walking away.

As she walked outside, she saw a crowd surrounding the ring. One of the guys from Tacoma was fighting a Nomad. Happy stood near the ring, next to one of the burn barrels. He had one hand in his front pocket and a beer in the other. While he brought the bottle to his lips, his eyes met hers. She winked at him playfully. A corner of his mouth lifted up into a smirk.

"You two are just fucking adorable." Kozik said from picnic table in the shadows.

She grinned as she went to sit down next to him. "If I remember correctly, you were the one pushing for it."

He laughed. "Yeah. I guess I didn't know what I was asking for," he said. "You seem happy, though."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You were right. I needed to get laid." She smiled. "Now that we've been together, I don't know why it took so long. He knows who I am better than anyone because we're the same."

He was happy for her. Her life had been a mess. She deserved a little bit of happiness. "Your dad would kick his ass," he laughed.

Lily laughed too. "I'm pretty sure he would kick mine too." She deepened her voice and imitated her dad. "'What do you think you're doing, Ophelia? You were suppose to be running the club, not a fucking mercenary.'"

"He would be proud of you, Lily," Kozik said seriously. "You may not have followed the path he wanted, but you've survived a lot of shit."

She looked down and saw him rubbing his arm. "He would be proud of you too, Koz," she said, softly. "How long has it been?"

He didn't have to ask to know that she was talking about how long he had been clean. It was her dad that had helped him get clean in the first place, and it had been his death that caused him to relapse the first time. "6 years, 4 months, 23 days."

She remembered that night. She had just gotten into Tacoma after finishing a long job. He had called her right after he shot up. She rushed over to his place to find him passed out on the floor. She had been terrified that he wasn't going to make it.

"Charming has a way of bringing all that shit back," he said.

"Get out of here then," she said urgently. "Leave in the morning. Go back home. You're better to everyone if you stay clean."

"I can't leave now. I know you're gonna tell the club soon. I want to be here to support you," he argued. "Look, I'm not leaving until this is finished."

She pursed her lips. She wanted to send him back to Tacoma that moment. She had seen him at his worst, but she trusted him. "Alright," she nodded. "But I will kick your ass so fast."

He smiled. "I know."

She pulled him into a tight hug. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Koz."

"You too, kid," he said squeezing her.

When they pulled apart, she could feel Happy glaring at her.

" Uh oh, someone's jealous," Kozik chuckled.

"So jealous," she said rolling her eyes. "Especially with that blonde bimbo hanging on him." A mischievous smile spread across her face. She made sure Happy was watching before she dropped her arms around Koz's shoulders and kissed him on the check.

Kozik groaned as he knew what she was doing. "Oh come on, Lily. You're gonna get me killed."

"I won't let him kill you," she smirked. She let go of him just as two Sheriff vehicles pulled into the lot.

"Uh oh," Koz said. "What have we done now?"

Roosevelt got out of his vehicle and scanned the parking lot. Jax walked out of the clubhouse to see what the sheriff wanted. Happy had quickly crossed the lot to his president. He was conflicted. He wanted to protect Lily, but Jax was his priority.

" What can we do for you, Sheriff?" Jax asked.

Roosevelt placed his hands on his belt. "I would like to talk to Ophelia Loveless."

"Oh, for Christ's sake." Lily muttered under her breath. She already had enough problems. She didn't need the local Sheriff looking into her. She stepped out of the shadows. "What do you want?"

"Let's go to the station. We can talk in private."

Lily laughed."Yeah, cause talking to the cops in private has worked out really well in the past." She walked up to him. "You think that since I'm a new face around here, that I'm gonna be the person that will flip on them, right?" Roosevelt shifted uncomfortably. "You think from what little you've found out about me, that I'm this loner girl from Arizona. No friends. No family. Just a new hang around that seems to know a little too much about the club."

"Well, that's not exactly..." he started to say.

"Oh, right," she said, faking enthusiasm. "Since you've already talked to my very expensive lawyer, you must know that I have some money. So tell me what you want from me?"

"I want you to know what kind of people you're hanging around," he whispered harshly. This woman was starting to drive him mad.

A grin spread across her face. "I know better than most. I grew up with all of these assholes. My father was Isaiah Blackwell. Founding member of the Sons Tacoma charter," she said proudly. "If you're trying to get someone to rat, you're talking to the wrong girl. I grew up in this life. I can keep my mouth shut better than anyone."

"Now, Miss Loveless..."

"I think that's all, Sheriff," she said, interrupting him. "You know who I am, and now you also know that you're wasting your time as well as mine."

Roosevelt licked his lips. His eyes glanced around the lot. Everyone was watching them. He squared his shoulders. "Good evening, Miss Loveless."

She gave him a forced smile and then turned her back to him as he got into his vehicle. She rolled her eyes at Kozik. "I fucking hate cops."

"At least you can make them leave without getting arrested," Koz shrugged. Sometimes he thought that she was a lot smarter than she gave herself credit for.

"Leela," Jax called to her as he walked over. Chibs and Happy followed closely behind. "You good?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "I'm good." She glanced to Happy who was chewing on his toothpick. "Although I'm feeling like I could use a fight."

Jax laughed. "Who do you wanna fight?" he asked.

"How about you, Prez?" she grinned.

His signature smirk vanished. "What are you talking about? I can't fight you."

"Why?" She asked, crossing her arms. "Cause I'm a girl? Or because you're scared I'll kick your ass?"

"Oh come on, "Jax chuckled nervously. "We can put the prospect in with you."

"So you are afraid that I'll beat you," she said. "Come on, Jax. Me. you. In the ring. I'll go easy on you, I promise." She could tell he wanted to say no so bad.

He let out a loud sigh. "Fine." He started walking towards the ring. "I'm going to regret this."

Lily slipped next to Happy and put her around his waist. "Can you tape my hands up, killa?"

He looked down at her. "Why not have Kozik do it? You two seemed pretty close."

"Because Kozik just doesn't do it the way you do it, Hap," she said teasing. "Are you jealous?"

He wanted to push her away. She knew how to push all of his buttons, and she was doing just that. He grabbed her forearms and forced her to look at him. "You're mine. Nobody touches you."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She pushed away from him. "Better watch what you're saying. Almost sounds like you want commitment." She walked away from him before he could say anything else. She didn't really want to know if he wanted to be in a committed relationship. She liked how things were. They were just figuring out how they worked together. She wasn't even sure her life style was able to sustain a real relationship.

Lily grabbed the tape off the table near the ring to start taping up her own hands. She had just found the end on the roll when it was snatched out of her hands.

Happy didn't look at her as he taped up her hands. She watched him as he did it. His hands were smooth against hers." I'm sorry for making you jealous," she said finally.

He looked up from her hands. Other girls never mattered like Lily did to him. He had never gotten jealous like that either. "We'll talk about it later," he mumbled. "Keep your hands up. He tucks his chin right before he swings."

She smirked. "Glad to see some things haven't changed."

Hap suddenly pulled her into him. He crashed his lips into hers. "Kick his ass," he said before pushing me towards the ring.

Jax was already in the ring. He had his shirt off. She could see the scars he had gotten while in prison. She could also see that he had somehow gotten more muscles since the last time she had seen him with his shirt off.

"You sure you want to do this?" Jax asked. "You have nothing to prove."

"I'm not trying to prove anything. I just want a good fight."

She brought her fists up in front of her. She was gonna have to make the first move. In fact, she was going to have to hit him a few times before he would fight back.

He blocked her first swing easily. However, that's exactly what she wanted. She brought back her other fist and connected it squarely with Jax's chin. He stumbled back a step, surprised by the force behind her punch.

"Are you going to fight back?" she taunted. "Or just let me beat you?"

Jax spit the blood out of his mouth. He stepped back towards her. He realized she wasn't lying. She could hold her own.

They danced around each other. Lily, of course, made the first move. In all fairness, they were evenly matched. Although, Lily had a little more experience than Jax with different fighting styles. She was a Death Dealer after all. She had been trained by the best.

They each got in a few good hits. Lily was pretty sure she had broken his nose judging by the blood on Jax's face. Lily was looking a little worse for wear. Her lip was split open again; she could taste the blood in her mouth.

She had just .taken another hard hit and was about to return the favor when they were forced apart. Chibs was standing between them.

"Alright, I think you two have had enough," Chibs said.

They stood on opposites sides of the ring catching their breath. Lily met Jax's eye and grinned. She pushed past Chibs to hug Jax.

"I'm glad I came back," she whispered in his ear.

"Me too," he said, hugging her tightly. "Love you, Leela."

"Love you too, Jax." She pulled away from him. She searched the crowd for Happy. He was leaning on the ropes of the ring. He was chewing on his toothpick while his dark eyes stared her down.

She jumped down out of the ring. She straightened out her shirt. He was careful not to hurt her as he brought his hand up to cup her check. He lightly brushed his thumbs under her split lip.

"You should get that stitched, Love," he advised .

She felt the cut with her tongue. He was right. It was deep and she probably did need a stitch or two. She nodded. "You gonna stitch me up?"

The corner of his mouth lifted up. "Nah, I don't want to butcher those lips of yours." His thumb barely brushed over her lip again.

"I'll stitch it up for you, lass, "Chibs said from behind her.

Lily nodded to Chibs. She squeezed Happy's hand and then followed Chibs into the clubhouse. The music was loud inside. They went into the chapel. Chibs shut the doors behind them while Lily sat in Happy's seat at the table.

"So what were you trying to prove out there? he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I have nothing to prove to any of you."

"Your face says otherwise" he said as he settled down in front of her.

She watched him as he took all of his supplies out. He had changed so much since she first met him. More grey hairs and wrinkles were the obvious changes, but there was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Two guys get in the ring and beat the shit out of each other, and it's just all fun and games. A girl gets in the ring and they're trying to prove something."

"A lass like yourself shouldn't be getting in the ring in the first place," he said, without looking at her.

"And what kind of lass am I?" she asked.

He looked up at her over his glasses. "A lass that shouldn't have to fight."

"A little late for that," she said. They stared each other down for another moment. "Are you gonna fix this or do I need to do it myself?"

He mumbled something in Gaelic under his breath, and the started cleaning up her lip.

Chibs' stitch job was clean. The stitches were definitely awkward in her lip, but after a quick glance in a mirror, she could tell that the scarring would be minimal. "Thanks, Chibs"

"Anytime, Ophelia," he said.

Happy was waiting for her at the bar when she came out. She made her way over to him. His arm snaked around her waist.

"All good?" he asked.

She nodded." You want to get out of here?"

He thought about it for a second and then nodded."Let me check in with Jax."

"I'll meet you at your bike."

A/N: So it's been a while. Hopefully, some of you are still with me.

One of my goals this year is to finish this story. So maybe some of you can hold me to it.

As usual, please leave a review.