A Raven Among Crows

by m.s.alexis

"I don't mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it." She's looking to get in with the infamous MC. Will her hidden skills earn her a reaper, or will a surprise romance compromise it all? You've heard their story, now you get to hear hers. An SOA retelling (Tig/OFC) currently being revamped to be readable with no prior knowledge of the show. Returning soon!

13. All is Fair in Love and War

They say that all is fair in love and war... And both are about to descend on Charming as the suburban slice of heaven that the Sons have vowed to protect continues to be overrun by enemies, challenging the long-standing arrangements between the small town's major players.

General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.

Be sure to follow aravenamongcrows on Tumblr (ask & submissions are open), and m. s. alexis on Instagram (tracking #aravenamongcrows), for exclusive photos, updates, and more!

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CHAPTER 13: ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR

;

Tara stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the doorway of Wendy's hospital room while she signed the papers for her lawyer, peeking at the fragile women through her thin lashes until the suited man finally left the room.

"Feeling better?"

"A little dopey, so to speak..." Wendy chucked homourlessly.

"When you're feeling stronger, I'll take you to see your son." She nodded.

"Yeah, okay..." Wendy avoided eye contact. "Has Jax been around?"

Tara felt her spine stiffen under the pointed question. "I don't know." She answered just a little too quickly. "They said that you had a friend smuggle in that syringe of meth..."

"Yeah." Wendy blinked. "I just signed the affidavit... Hospital's a little nervous about the liability issues."

"I'm sure they are..." Tara nodded slowly, until Wendy began chuckling. "What?" Her face contorted.

Wendy scoffed as she looked over the clean brunette woman in her doctor's scrubs, and then herself where she sat in a hospital gown, caked in a layer of sweat. "The two women who loved Jackson Teller..." She mused. "Could we be at more opposite ends of the spectrum?"

"W-we're not that different." Tara tried.

"Save it, sweetheart." Wendy scoffed. "I don't need a pep talk. I know what I am."

"So do I." Tara nodded. "And you're not suicidal." She shook her head incredulously. "You didn't have anyone smuggle in that dose... And I have a pretty good idea who might have delivered it..."

"Don't go down that road." Wendy shook her head.

"She the one who injected you?"

"No!" She rolled her eyes. "I stared at that five-mil tube for over an hour, and then I pumped it into my favorite vein." She said with a regretful twitch. "End of story."

"Why?" Tara couldn't understand. She had been around addiction her entire life, and she had never understood.

"God." Wendy scoffed with a shake of her head. "If you don't know why, then you and me are nothing alike."

;

Sydney scowled as she looked at the clock on her phone as the muffled sound of a Harley could be heard through the music that was blasting from the speakers in her bedroom while she was in the middle of getting ready. She hadn't been expecting Tig for another forty-five minutes, but as she lowered the fluffy brush from her eyelid, she supposed that she didn't mind him being early if he was there for the reason that she thought he was - rushing down to greet him at the door.

"Oh?" Her forehead creased as she opened the door to see Chibs instead. "Hi." She blinked a few times as the lustful excitement behind her eyes quickly faded.

"Aye, Lass." The accented man nodded politely. "Tigger sent me... Clay's got him in the meetin' with Laroy before we all meet up at the fair."

"Oh, okay." She nodded as she stepped aside to let him in. "You're early... I'll be ready soon, so go ahead and make yourself at home." She led him into the living room where she directed him towards the TV remote before to returning upstairs to her makeup - bobbing her head along to the music that was now at a much more respectable volume. But not respectable enough that she would've been able to hear the footsteps enter the room behind her...

"Jesus Christ!" She gasped when she turned around to see Chibs sitting on her bed.

"So, this thing with Tigger..." He started.

She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Who wants to know?"

"Just me, love." His surprisingly sweet response took her off guard. "He's in deep for you, Lass." He narrowed his eyes.

"You think so?" She tried to fight the heat that threatened her cheeks.

"I know so... " He told her sincerely. "You love him?"

"In the five days that we've been dating?" She snorted as the words slapped her in the face.

"You can trust me, Lass." He nodded. "I know it's scary, but Tigger - he's my brother." She nodded slowly, still not willing to confirm what she hadn't properly considered. "Never loved no one before, have you?" He smiled knowingly.

"That obvious, huh?" She chortled.

"I think he loves you too." He admitted, hoping to offer the confused young woman some reassuring comfort from an outside source. The Scotsman was not like Gemma or Clay; he wasn't looking for a personal gain in her divulgence, he simply just wanted her to know that she had somebody in her corner about Tig - because he knew that she didn't have much of that.

"It's too early for that." She shook her head regardless of the feelings that his questions had her coming to terms with.

"You know, in this life? Nothin' is too early." He nodded thoughtfully. "Days can feel like weeks, months like years..." Sydney knew that he was right, but she wasn't going to say it out loud, nodding once again instead. "I'll be waitin' downstairs." He took her silence as his cue to leave, walking over and placing a kiss on her cheek before starting towards the door.

"Filip!" She called after a moment's hesitation, biting her lip nervously as he peered his head back into the room. "Thank you." She nodded softly, returning the sweet smile that he gave her before continuing down the stairs.

Half an hour later, Sydney was finally ready to go with her makeup done, and her tightly waved hair secured in a half-up, half-down ponytail. She wore a tight white cropped top that read 'I licked it, so it's mine' in black script, with distressed denim shorts overtop of a pair of fishnet stockings. She stepped into her combat boots, spritzed her signature perfume, and headed down the stairs where she found Chibs on the edge of the couch, very invested in an episode of Storage Wars. She stood with an eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips, trying to suppress the laughter until finally she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Jesus Christ!" He whipped his head around.

"My turn." She managed to utter out once she finished laughing, finding the exaggerated expressions of the Scot to be wildly entertaining. "Get real into that shit, don't ya?" He smiled sarcastically before grabbing his keys off of the island and leading her out the door.

;

Gemma made her way through the waiting room and to the elevator in St. Thomas, having taken advantage of the extra time she'd had away from the office to spend with her grandson. She smiled as she tucked the books back into her purse, her expression quickly fading when she saw that face - the face that she hated to see now, just as much as she did a decade ago.

"Wendy's out of detox." Tara called after the older woman who had sped up her stride once she'd seen her.

Gemma exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes as she turned around to see what the fuck the incessant little bitch wanted to fight about today.

"Just thought you'd wanna know." Tara shrugged. "You know, in case you wanted to bring her flowers, or something..."

Or something. "You think I'm that stupid?" Gemma scoffed, watching her cautious brown eyes shift before she turned back to the elevator. She knew better than to try the same failed tactic twice - something that the young Doctor would do good to learn.

;

Sydney found herself captivated by the excitement of the fairgrounds the second that she set her black boot-clad feet on them. She took a deep breath of the sweet, carnival-food scented summer air as they made their way to the entrance where the peaceful melody of distant music began to get louder, and more blinking lights came into view. She had to admit, she was impressed; the vast selection of rides was much bigger than she had expected from a county fair passing through a small town - and so were they.

"Goddamn men." Gemma stammered as they approached from where she stood with Happy, Juice, Half-Sack, and Jax - scanning the crowded lot for the rest of their tardy entourage on what was supposed to be their day off.

"Look hot, little girl." Happy smirked to Sydney, handing her his half-smoked cigarette.

"I always look hot." She scoffed playfully as she brought the white cylinder to her glossy pink lips.

"Tig seems to think so." She rolled her eyes. "What's goin' on there?"

"What do you think is going on, Hap?" She fought the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Don't know." He shrugged as he looked to the ground. "You ain't tellin' me shit anymore."

"Awe, Happy Meal." She mock-pouted. "Do you miss our late night gossip sessions full of ice cream and hair-braiding?"

"We never did that." His stoic expression turned to one of displeased confusion over her ridiculous accusation - one that made her chest bubble with laughter.

"Sydney." She turned around at the sound of her name, thankful to see Jax - and only a confrontation with the Tacoma Killer about her romantic feelings could make her thankful to see Jax.

Happy tossed her a protective glance before she nodded softly, pressing her hand against his chest reassuringly as she passed back the cigarette.

"Hey." She greeted the Vice President awkwardly once they were alone.

"We good?" Jax squinted in the hot afternoon sun. "I'm sorry again, about yesterday..." She took a deep breath, the sincerity in his voice begrudgingly reminding her that today was supposed to be about distractions from the bullshit - having a good time and not worrying about the weight that was crushing them. "Forgiven?" He held out a strawberry lollipop.

Sydney giggled at the childish gesture with a roll of her eyes - but she had always been a sucker for sweets. "Forgiven." She nodded with a smile as he pulled her into a friendly hug. "For now." She whispered playfully into his ear, eliciting a bashful smile from the blonde man.

"Fitting." He laughed as he pulled away, pointing to her shirt as she popped the bright red candy into her mouth, but he didn't wait for a reaction as his twinkling eyes landed on Tig who was approaching behind her - quickly turning his attention elsewhere.

Sydney's brow creased when he abruptly stepped back from her, but the feeling of hands snaking around her waist pushed the brief thought into the back of her mind as the cold metal of rings brushed against her exposed stomach.

"Sorry, baby." Clay walked around the small circle to greet his wife with an apologetic kiss on her cheek as she rolled her eyes behind her purple-tinted sunglasses.

Sydney leaned back into the embrace as Tig pressed his lips against her temple. "God damn, babygirl... I can't believe you're all mine." He growled into her ear as he tightened his grip on her waist. She tilted her head up to meet his eyes, slowly sliding the lollipop out of her mouth and guiding it into his.

"Jesus." Bobby winced, physically recoiling in disgust at the first sight that he was met with as he joined the circle that had been waiting on him.

Tig pulled the candy out of his mouth quickly. "You jealous, old man?" He prodded as he shoved it back into her mouth - his fingers following as she closed her eyes and sucked, moaning for dramatic effect.

"Everyone meet at the beer tent at 7:00 P.M.." Gemma ordered with a sigh that Sydney could see was beginning to let up as Clay squeezed her waist. "I do not want any trouble today." She narrowed her warning gaze in the direction of the scandalous couple.

"What's your favorite ride?" Tig whispered into Sydney's ear as she bit her lip under The Queen's pointed orders.

She smirked as she turned around in his arms, letting her eyes slide over his form as she licked her lips. "I could show you better than I could tell you..." She grinned as she cocked her brows.

"No promises." Jax laughed, winking to his mother before he took off to secure a spot in line for the quickly populating Adrenaline with Bobby and Chibs in tow.

Sydney laughed as the grown men shot towards the kid's ride with such excitement - not at all having expected such behaviour from the rough and tough bikers that she'd thought she'd gotten to know over the past month.

"Come on, baby... You're mine this afternoon." Gemma cooed, resting her chin on Clay's shoulder after he had successfully buttered her back up.

"Oh..." He hummed, lifting her over his shoulder with a grin.

Sydney smiled at the affectionate display of the couple that she admired so greatly; the pair that together was so strong, yet so soft - the pair that had helped her realize that maybe this life did have room for love, if it was with the right person...

"You know what the cutest part about that shit was?" Tig raised a brow as he nodded towards the entangled pair as they made their way over to the photo booth.

"What?" She scowled.

"How she didn't try to shank him with her shoe."

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well, lucky for you-" She turned around and lifted a boot. "I've retired my weapons for the day."

Tig snickered, pulling her towards the line where Jax and the others stood eagerly awaiting the breach of the gate where kids instantly began bolting to get the best seats on the ride - and the full grown bikers were among them.

"Hey, I want the outside!" Sydney pouted as Tig hopped the metal beam that was holding the ride car that he'd picked for them, to secure the funnest seat for himself.

"Hell no!" She kept her lip jutted out while she stood with her arms crossed. "Think we could switch halfway through?" He proposed with a mischievous grin - changing her expression as she lit up with devious excitement and jumped in next to him.

Tig buckled the seatbelt to satisfy the carnie as he made the rounds to ensure that everybody was strapped in, unbuckling it the second that he passed their car. He placed his hand on her knee as the ride fired up - the beams raising them higher and higher into the air until they were all the way above the trees.

"Ready?" His hand left her leg and moved to the restraint.

Sydney bounced in place, readying herself to make the jump at the right time. "Go!" He pushed the protective bar out of the way right as the car reached its highest point in the air, sliding across the seat as she stood to climb over him.

But the ride abruptly switched directions halfway through its runtime - something that they hadn't anticipated, the force knocking Sydney off of her balance and sending her falling backwards where Tig managed to catch her just in time.

"Oh my God!" She exhaled as he pulled her back down to the worn leather seat by her wrist, their eyes wide with fear as they began laughing in nervous relief.

"Ah shit..." Tig cursed as the scraggly man eyed them down while he slammed his fist into the control panel, not willing to take on a lawsuit because of some stupid bikers thought that they were above the rules.

"Get outta here!" He yelled to the dark-haired man and his ditsy arm candy, ignoring the chorus of displeased whines from both the children and the bikers.

"Oh come on!" Jax protested with a charming smile.

"You wanna go too, blondie? I ain't got no problem with that!" The gruff man argued back, shutting up the blue-eyed pretty boy.

"The hell did they do?" Jax turned to Bobby who was in the car behind him and Chibs.

"My guess is a handjob." He shrugged.

Sydney snickered as she climbed off of the ride with Tig in tow, laughing as they ran towards the gates. "Well, we got one down. Wanna see how many we can get kicked off of?" She proposed with a wicked glint in her eye.

Tig's expression quickly turned to a wild grin - thrilled over her proposition, but even more thrilled that she didn't seem to be upset with him for the rocky start to their day. "Let's do it, baby." He nodded as he reached for her delicate hand.

As he led her through the fairgrounds in search of more rides to defile, Tig's eyes were drawn to the colourful array of prizes hanging from the game tents. He'd picked up girls at the annual fair plenty of times before with the bullshit cliche of winning them some stupid stuffed toy, getting them to give it up easily by the end of the night. But Sydney wasn't anything like any of those girls; she made him second guess everything that he used to do without question - sending his usual confidence with women plummeting faster than the 100 Foot Free-Fall.

"Uh, do you want me to win you somethin'?" He looked to her for direction. He was happy to do it if it would make her happy - he'd done it before for a lot less.

"No." She snorted with a shake of her head.

Tig grinned, his appreciative gaze lingering on her when she proved yet again that she was perfect for him. "What?" She asked bashfully, her cheeks pinkening once she couldn't pretend that she didn't notice him staring at her any longer.

"Uh-" He snapped out of it, the smile still on his lips. "I don't think there are any rides that we can go on over here." He pointed in the direction that they were headed, an abundance of kiddy rides being the only thing between them and a dead end - realizing that he had been too in his head thinking about her to actually have paid attention to where they'd been going.

"You aren't a very good tour guide, Sergeant." She chastised playfully.

"Was able to take you around the block just fine." He retorted with a proud smile on his face as he avoided her approving grin at this clever response.

As they made their way back through the games alley, they spotted Jax, Chibs, and Bobby who had met up with Juice and Half-Sack at the dunk tank - and as Sydney watched Jax throw the first ball and completely miss the target, she couldn't help but stick around...

"Oh, the big bad biker can't hit a target." The man dressed as a clown perched on the platform began harassing him in a mock-pout, prompting another throw which was harder this time, and still missed. "What's the matter, tough guy? Cant put the ball in the tight hole? Bet goldilocks over there said the same thing." He nodded to Sydney.

"That's a bozo no no." Tig snarled the second that the robust man brought his woman into it - stalking towards him with Jax close behind.

"Oh come on, guys! I didn't mean anything by it!" He began to protest, backing away as they got closer.

Sydney ripped the red ball out of Bobby's hands, whipping it directly at the target where it hit with a clang - sending the mouthy clown crashing into the water just before they could get to him. She flashed the cockiest grin possible as Jax rolled his eyes while he, Chibs, and Tig held the guy under the water before they carried on down the line of games.

After a close round of ski-ball - which Tig won - they moved onto basketball, a tie between Sydney and Jax; all taking turns giving away their prizes to the kids who'd watched them compete in awe.

Sydney rolled her eyes as the men quickly became smug as they approached the next game; darts. She sighed as she took her exiled seat at the counter, watching in amusement as they got competitive, playing round after round, racking up the points until finally the last round was between Tig, Half-Sack, and Chibs. If Tig got a bullseye, he would win, but if not, it was still anyone's game. The final three began lining up their shots when Sydney saw her opportunity as Tig drew his hand back, ripping the dart out from between his fingers where she threw a perfect bullseye - smiling devilishly as the buzzer sounded.

"But... Darts at the clubhouse?" Juice questioned in disbelief.

"And that fuckin' clown." Jax shook his head once he caught on.

She smirked knowingly, turning her attention to Tig as she grabbed his hand and led him away. "Don't be fighting over my prize now, boys." She called over her shoulder.

"You tellin' me that you missed that shot on purpose?" Tig asked with a lazy grin as he draped his arm around her.

Sydney held onto his hand as it dangled off of her shoulder, swaying her body playfully as she side-eyed him while he slowly shook his head. "What am I gonna do with you?" He growled, looking her up and down with a smirk.

She winked, her cocky half-smile turning into a full blown grin as she broke away, walking ahead of him where she twirled around in small circles, stopping when her eyes landed on her next target. "I hope you're in the mood to get wet, Tiggy." She cocked an eyebrow, her gaze set on the Not-So-Lazy River log ride.

"Only if you're the one gettin' me wet." He smirked, leading her towards the ride.

"Should we stand or switch?" Sydney plotted their defiance as they stood in line while children and families boarded the plastic log-shaped carts that sloshed around in the knee-deep water.

"Water surfing." Tig nodded with a grin.

When it was finally their turn to board, Tig side-stepped her - taking the better seat at the front of the ride, once again. "What the hell!" He smirked as she whined behind him.

"If you think that I'm letting you walk around this busy ass place in a soaking wet t-shirt, you're wrong." He shook his head, slipping his sunglasses on to shield his eyes from the spray.

Sydney pursed her lips as she looked down at her white shirt - he had a point, but it didn't mean that she was happy about it.

The ride chugged along the track, water lightly splashing around them as they neared the ascent to the top before starting the slow, uphill climb. Sydney was glad that it wasn't too tall - she loved the adrenaline rush that came with the fast-moving, spinning, upside-down thrillers, but big drops that were out of her control were something that she'd never been able to force herself to enjoy, no matter how hard she tried.

"Ready, babe?" She heard Tig call, snapping her out of the dread that she'd conjured up while looking up at the giant red free-fall.

"Yup! Last one standing wins!" They pushed themselves up as the log slid over the curve, sending them over the edge and down the chute.

Sydney bent her knees in an attempt to keep a better balance - something that Tig couldn't do if he was trying to shield her from the tidal wave. He managed to keep his balance all the way until the end when the force of the water sent him tumbling back, the harshness of the blast taking him by surprise as he ripped his sunglasses off and tried to regain his bearings.

Sydney would've held her stance longer, but the second that Tig landed on his ass she lost her composure, falling back in hysterics. His plan had worked though, she was going to come out unscathed apart from some water droplets that had coated her legs and arms as a result of him taking on the full impact.

"Jesus christ!" He muttered as her howling brought him back to earth after the force of what was supposed to be a ride for kids had sent him into space.

"Guess that's why you're supposed to sit down." She laughed.

"Yeah... Guess so..." He blinked, his gaze falling to the exit where the carnies were already standing with their arms crossed - the line not moving as a result of their stunt.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is!" Sydney chuckled when yet another overweight, scruffy man began yelling at them.

"Oh come on, man. We're fine." Tig grinned, helping Sydney up and out of the ride.

"Who the hell do you think you are!"

"Thanks for the ride!" Sydney smiled sweetly, pulling Tig's arm as they hastily took their leave.

"Think we better lay low for a bit..." Tig scanned the grounds, landing on the beer tent where he knew Gemma and Clay would be.

Sydney's eyes followed his to the lively adult area of the fairgrounds where the music she'd heard earlier had been coming from. "Good idea." She nodded.

Happy stood hunched over the surprisingly sturdy pop-up bar that had been set up along the side of the white beer tent where Clay and Gemma were on the dance floor along with Jax, Chibs, and Bobby who were all trying their damndest to do the country swing, alternating their starry-eyed dance partners who didn't care for their poor skill - just the fact that they were dancing with the Sons. He shook his head as he chuckled at the clumsy scene, turning back to the cute little bartender who had caught his eye with her dark clothing, and short blonde hair.

"You want another?" She nodded to his now empty Jagermeister that she'd already filled three times, becoming more and more intrigued by his stony silence with each tip of the glass.

Happy nodded with a smirk as he watched the petite girl stiffen under his harsh, black gaze - but it wasn't the kind of nervousness that he was used to bestowing upon women. She didn't avoid his eyes, but she also wouldn't meet them straight on with the kind of confidence that a croweater would. He squinted slightly as he watched her green eyes lazily trail his sharp jaw while she slowly filled his glass, bringing it to his lips with a scowl as she pulled away with a hint of a smirk on her lips.

He was the one to finally break the shaky contact, looking over his shoulder as he tried to regain the composure that he wasn't quite sure he'd ever found himself losing before - his eyes landing on Sydney and Tig as they passed through the thick, cloth doors.

"You wanna get out of here?" He turned back to the blonde, surprising himself a bit by his boldness. It wasn't that the Tacoma Killer was a particularly bashful man, per se, but he usually at least allowed himself to ponder the idea of the woman that he was pursuing, before he pounced.

"Um." Maya looked around the crowded tent. She knew that she would surely catch shit from Clayton for dipping out of one of the busiest events of the year, but she also knew that she was Black Smith's best bartender - they would never fire her. "Could you bring me back here after?" They would survive a couple of hours without her...

After. Happy smirked, glad that his reckless haste hadn't hindered his ability to ensure that he was picking a girl who knew the deal. He nodded, draining his glass as she gathered her belongings from behind the bar before leading her out to his bike.

Sydney playfully raised a brow at Happy as he and a little blonde passed her and Tig on their way out, chuckling as he ignored her gaze before she turned it towards the heartwarming scene before her; warm summer air, good music, and the people that she loved.

"Come on, doll." Tig led her to the dance floor.

Sydney hadn't at all known what to expect from Tig as a dance partner - the only dancing she'd done with him was relatively slow or goofy - but she was blown away as he twirled her around the dance floor expertly, not missing a single step. The couple laughed through the entire song as they danced alongside Clay and Gemma, switching partners halfway through - keeping a huge smile on Sydney's face the entire time.

"Well, I'll be... The Sergeant-at-Arms does dance." She teased in a southern accent as the two couples made their way to a picnic tables to cool off after a few songs.

"You ain't the only one full of surprises." He wiggled his eyebrows, removing his arm from around her as she situated herself across from Gemma and Clay. "Republican... Twelve o'clock." He warned Clay as he peered over his broad shoulder, taking the opportunity to disappear into the crowd before he could sit down.

"Hey, Clay." Sydney straightened up as Clay turned around to greet an older, clean-cut man who had approached the table with who she assumed was his wife on his arm - because she was too old to be a mistress.

"How you doin', Elliot?" Clay stuck his hand out to his old colleague.

"Okay, Clay." The man nodded, shaking his hand.

"Karen." Clay nodded to the stuck up woman.

"Hey." She forced a smile, refusing to look him - or any of them - in the eye.

Sydney tilted her head and wiggled her fingers in a dainty wave to the attractive gentleman for no reason other than to make his wife more upset than she already was - and hadn't bothered to hide.

"We gotta go find Tristen." She smiled a great, big, cheesy, fake smile. "Bye." She pulled her husband away from the flirty gaze of the gorgeous young blonde. "Come on." She mumbled as he lingered, nodding his farewell.

"Damn... You'd think that with all that money they could pay somebody to remove those sticks from up their asses." Gemma mused while Sydney snickered.

"Mhm..." Clay hummed as his eyes fell to her lips. "Maybe he's just a little paranoid that his country club cronies are gonna see him talkin' to the outlaw." He teased as he tickled her sides.

"Come on... I need to talk to the outlaw." She pulled him up from the picnic table.

"Oh..." Clay chuckled, waving goodbye to Sydney as he allowed her to pull him away once again.

Tig quickly reappeared, not leaving her alone at the table for too long. "Eat." He handed her a giant pink cloud of cotton candy, sitting down beside her as he pulled her to lay back against his chest as he snacked on a small bag of peanuts.

Sydney fought the urge to close her eyes as she revelled in the heavenly sensation of the warmth of his presence, and the sweetness on her tongue. Tig smiled as he watched her try to contain herself, popping a salty handful into his mouth before his expression fell as someone caught his eye...

Sydney scowled when she felt him stiffen behind her, turning to see his nostrils flaring as he glared across the tent at a man with a buzzcut, standing with his hand on the lower back of a skinny young blonde. "What? Used to fuck her or somethin'?" She teased with a raised brow.

"That's Kyle." He explained, not taking his eyes off of the exiled member.

"Like... Hobart, Kyle?" She scowled.

"Yeah." He didn't bother asking how she knew who Kyle was. "He better hope Clay doesn't see him..."

"He was kicked out clean, right?" He had to have been if his mugshot was still allowed to hang on the wall where she'd last seen it, turned upside down among the others'.

"Don't mean he won't still get his ass beat for showing his face in Charming." He shook his head as his lip began to twitch.

"We gonna throw that beating?" She surmised hopefully...

"Only thing taking a beating tonight, is that pussy." He snapped out of it, nodding with a dirty smile. "Come on." He sprang to his feet as she sat with her lip between her teeth, grabbing her hands and hoisting up.

Sydney swung her hand back and forth as it sat locked with Tig's while they made their way through the thickening crowds on the grounds, smiling as a group of young kids ran right for them. She took the opportunity to break away from him, giggling over her shoulder as she watched him get caught up in the four-foot-tall traffic.

As she spun around to laugh at him, Tig felt his entire world freeze. It was like he was watching her in slow motion as her shiny hair bounced and her eyes glimmered in the sun. He ripped off his sunglasses as he took in the full sight of her; waiting for him with her hand out, fingers wiggling with a giant grin. He felt his rapidly beating heart begin to sink - he had fully fallen for her.

He recovered with a delayed chuckle as he placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "I think that's our next target, baby." He nodded to the free-fall as he retook her hand.

Sydney's entire body tensed when the moment that she'd been dreading all day finally came to face her. "Um, I don't think we could get kicked off that one, it would just be a waste of time." She attempted to keep her voice as level as possible, but Tig wasn't buying it as he stared down at her with a smug smirk and a raised brow.

"Are you... Are you scared of a ride?" He mused, theatrically throwing his hand over his heart. He was going to milk her weakness as much as he could - because it wasn't something that he'd gotten to do very often.

"No! I just-" He took the opportunity while she searched for an excuse to lift her over his shoulder.

For fuck's sake, she cursed herself for giving him the idea earlier as he ran to get in line where he quickly set her down, spinning her around and standing behind her with a hand on her hip to keep her from running away.

"You'll be fine." He chuckled against her temple as he felt her start to shake.

She backed into him, pressing her ass against his crotch as hard as she could as her nervous body vibrated - needing some kind of retribution from the torture that she was about to receive. He pulled away from her quickly, inhaling sharply as his grip on her tightened. Victory.

Sydney's stomach only sank further and further the closer that they got to the front of the line until it was finally time to regretfully board the ride. She sighed as she eased into the warm leather seat, pulling the restraint over her head quickly while Tig watched in amusement beside her. She tried unsuccessfully to hide her reddening face in the padding that came over her chest, but that only made him laugh harder - prompting a kick in the shin to shut him up, which was also unsuccessful.

"Come on, baby… Don't be mean. I'll even hold your hand." He taunted as he reached for her trembling fingers. She rolled her eyes, eventually grabbing his hand after staring at it for a few seconds, bringing it up to the optional handle bars on the chest restraint where she squeezed until her knuckles went white.

"Kitten..." He deadpanned. "The ride hasn't even started yet."

"Shut it!" She snapped, kicking him again as they lifted off of the ground while he tried to play footsie as their feet dangled in the air. She managed to catch her breath unexpectedly as they ascended higher, the gorgeous view of the town from the altitude temporarily stealing her focus as her eyes twinkled before all of the lights that had started to come to life as sunset neared.

When the ride finally reached the top, Sydney squeezed her eyes shut - taking Tig's hand into a death grip where they sat in anticipation for what felt like ever. She opened one eye slowly, then the other - stilling as she waited for the drop before she rolled both of them. "Why the fuck would they do tha-" But just as she started to complain about the impending suspense, it dropped. Her eyes slammed shut as a blood curdling scream that made Tig wish that he hadn't offered her his hand so that he could cover his ears, cut through the air as it wooshed over their faces. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God." She repeated over and over as her hand remained squeezing his.

"Babe..."

"What!" She snapped, opening her eyes where she realized that the ride had stopped, and they were safely back on the ground. She laughed nervously, releasing his hand and rolling her eyes - taking off towards the exit where she intended on getting as far away from the ride as possible.

"I think you broke two of my fingers." Tig laughed as he caught up to her, shaking his hand out.

"Well, let's hope they're not my favorite two." She mused with an expectant raise of her eyebrows.

"Oh, I can get creative, baby..." He growled as he grabbed her waist playfully and pulled her in for a kiss which she deepened with a smile as he dipped her backwards. She wrapped her arm around his neck, tangling her fingers into his hair while her other hand gripped the black t-shirt under his kutte. He smiled, straightening up and pushing off of her hip. "C'mon." He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowds once again as the last light of day started to fade.

A cautious smile formed on Sydney's face as they approached the County Fair-is Wheel, surprise taking over when he actually came to a stop. "Serious?" She looked up at him, waiting for a punchline or a laugh before he dragged her off to another torture chamber.

"You wanted to see how many we could get kicked off of." He shrugged, leaning down close to her ear. "And I know how much you wanna see the sunset from up there." He whispered tenderly.

Sydney felt the warmth rush through her body for what felt like the hundredth time that day when such unexpectedly romantic words came from his mouth.

Tig caught the look in her eye before she could turn away, smiling as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and let it hang over her chest while she clung onto it in full swoon.

The pair climbed into the two-person hanging basket after a relatively short wait in line where Tig pulled her to lay back across his chest, his fingers trailing back and forth along her arm as they slowly made their ascent to the clouds - stopping every minute or so for new people to get on.

Sydney saw something different swimming in the depths of his crystal blue eyes as the sun bounced off of them while he nodded slowly in time with the ride - it was similar to the lusty looks of intrigue that he'd given her before, but there was something softer about it...

"Thanks for today, Angel." He stated sincerely as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"I'm sure you've been to the fair with other girls before, Tiggy." She rolled her eyes playfully as she sat up.

"First time I've done it for more than just pussy." He shrugged.

"Is that supposed to be romantic?" She raised a brow as her lips curled up.

"Ain't it?" He grinned as they both laughed, their carriage finally nearing the top of the ride. He shifted his body beneath her, turning her sparkling eyes over the side where she had a perfect view of an even more perfect sunset as pink clouds littered the sky above the red horizon that spilled an orange glow over the entire town.

"Wow..." She drawled.

"Beautiful, huh?" He nodded as she turned around with a smile wide on her face, the golden light of the sun reflecting off of her skin and making her green eyes pop.

She cowered under his lingering gaze as she caught that same look in his eye that managed to make her feel so uncomfortably comfortable - a combination of overwhelming safety, and unimaginable fear. She laid back down on his chest as she grabbed one of his hands in an attempt to ground herself and calm the flipping that the knowledge of the lookwas causing her stomach to do. She squeezed her eyes shut as she took a deep breath, tracing her finger along the cross shaped ring on his finger as she clutched her necklace - giving her the much-needed comfort for what she was about to do...

"I'm in love with you." She blurted out - her eyes flying open. Fuck, fuck fuck. She winced as embarrassment coursed through her entire body, squeezing her eyes shut so that she didn't have to witness the result of her overzealous admission. She'd intended on allowing her tightly sealed emotions to spill over, yes - but in a way that was more like a gentle trickle, than that of the raging flood that she worried was drowning him as his entire body tensed under her feeling his heartbeat speeding up beneath her temple while she laid frozen as all of the regretful thoughts rushed into her now painfully clear mind.

Tig cupped her face with both of his hands, gently turning her head to face him - ripping her from the internal cursing that she was giving herself. She opened her eyes under his touch, but she kept them glued to the silver metal beneath them as her heart hammered in her chest hard enough that her ears began to ring.

Tig watched as she flinched again when he brushed his thumb under her eye gently, unintentionally lifting her eyes to meet his where she quickly looked away once again. He shook his head, this was his first time seeing her vulnerable... Properly vulnerable. Not like the brief display of emotion that she had allowed him when they had spoken of her father, or on the night of Bobby's wedding. Sydney was the kind of girl who demanded the attention of everybody in the room without ever having to ask for it - a stark contrast to how she was shrinking with embarrassment before him; which only made him realize just how strong she was to see that she did have these feelings, she just masked them well. Just like he did.

"Say that again, babygirl." He whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

"I-" Sydney felt her throat lock up.

He opened his eyes and pulled away from her once he realized that she was still stunned, staring at her as she trembled in his arms. "Syd..." He said firm enough that she flinched at the sound of her name, opening her eyes to find him staring into them with a sincerity that she couldn't ignore - no matter how badly she may have wanted to. "From the second that you walked across that parking lot, I knew there was somethin' more…" He shook his head with a smile that instantly calmed her nerves. "I knew when you left the bathroom that night and it wasn't enough." She giggled. "You make me feel somethin'... I can't remember the last time I felt that." He nodded slowly. "I'm not a good person, but you know that. I don't have any secrets when I'm with you. I can't. I-I ha-" He cleared his throat as the tidal wave of feelings that he had denied himself for the last twenty years, choked him up as well. "I have to open myself up. All the shit that I hide? All the shit I hate about myself? You see it all, baby... And through all that, you still love me? Wow... I mean, man... I've never had that with anyone." It wasn't a lie, Tig had never been loved by a woman who knew what a monster he truly was. "When I try to get close, you know, to feel..." He trailed off as he tried to find the right word, his voice more delicate than she had ever heard before.

"Normal?" She finished for him.

"Yes!" He nodded eagerly. "Yes. I-I, I just can't hook it up... But I want to. I want to." His voice cracked. "I wanna know what it's like to have someone to go out with, come home to, fuck… Just someone to talk to. When I saw you walking today, all smiles just for me?" He looked away, pulling himself together to finish. "I knew. I knew it, baby. I knew that I'd fallen in love with you." He looked down into her eyes where he could see the relief filling them as she processed his words. He brought her face close, his lips meeting hers as he kissed her deeper than he ever had before - holding her tight.

Sydney melted in his arms, bringing one hand to the back of his neck and the other to cup his jaw, trying to bring him as close as possible where she poured every last drop of her feelings into the embrace.

A few minutes into the passionate, newfound union - they were startled by the rattling of the carriage door, and an angry carnie ushering them off of the ride.

"Damn..." Sydney grinned. "We didn't even have to try that time."

;

Gemma and Clay sat at a table in the beer tent while they waited for everyone to make it to the rendezvous. "What the hell is it with everyone today?" She exclaimed in frustration as she checked her watch for the third time before Jax appeared just in the nick of time to appease his mother's outburst - kissing her on the cheek. "Where are Tig and Sydney?" She looked around the incomplete circle.

"Just saw 'em being escorted out by security." Chibs announced as he and Bobby approached alongside Jax.

"The hell for?" Clay scowled.

"Somethin' about a blowjob in the photo booth..." Jax grinned knowingly, his divulgence earning a round of mixed reactions - some laughing, and some groaning.

"You sure you didn't find her at Luann's?" Bobby asked Clay with a raised brow.

"I'm not sure of anything anymore." Clay sighed.

"The Irish are comin'." Juice panted as he reached the group after jogging the entire length of the fairgrounds.

Clay nodded to his crew, signalling that it was their time to leave the fun and get back to business. "Sorry, baby..." He apologized to Gemma. "I'll be sure to finish you off later." He added with a wink.

"Yeah... I've heard that before." She rolled her eyes. "Give me some quarters, I'm heading to that booth." She grinned, her spirits remaining high - grateful to have had somewhat of a stress-free day.

"As long as I don't have to come rescue you from the security guards." He chucked, pressing his lips to hers before he took off with his entourage not far behind.

Gemma sighed as she watched her men stalk off to take care of business - a feeling that she wished she could enjoy without the nagging pit of worry in her stomach. She shook the thought away for the sake of her day, making her way over to the Hodgson's Family Lemonade stand where she indulged in a large - bringing the red straw to her lips as she took one last breathe of the sugar-filled air before making her way to her car.

"Tristen!" She scowled as a frantic screaming cut off her moment of peace, searching the crowd for the source of the distress where she found Karen Oswald with her hand pressed to her reddening forehead. "Where is she? Where is she?" She repeated over and over as her glossy eyes darted over each and every person around her.

"What's goin' on?" Gemma approached the flustered woman.

"We can't find Tristen." Karen sobbed, suddenly no longer concerned over the reputation of the dark-haired woman...

"Oh, Jesus..." Gemma sighed as she shook her head - she couldn't turn her back on a fellow mother, no matter who she was. "Well she must be around here somewhere..." She stood on her tiptoes, surveying the dwindling crowds as night descended upon the county fair.

"No, we've looked everywhere..."

"She's not on any of the rides." Elliot appeared with two security guards in tow.

"Oh my God." Karen's voice cracked as her panic took over completely.

"We'll find her." Gemma grabbed her hand, narrowing her eyes as she nodded assuringly before taking off to do her ownsearch.

;

"Laroy's giving us an extra few days to come through with his order…" Clay began as everybody sat around the table after his short meeting with Cameron Hayes. "We get the rest of our AK's back from the Mayans on Sunday, hand 'em off, meet with him again on Monday for the handguns which are comin' down to Lodi, from Tacoma with the Grim Bastards." He gave Happy an appreciative nod. "All we gotta do is get them from Lodi, to Laroy. With all the heat lately, we're gonna try out somethin' new..."

"Grim Bastards?" Chibs scowled, unsure that he'd heard his President correctly as he mentioned the distant MC that had actively avoided SAMCRO over the years.

"T.O. - G.B. Pres. is Laroy's cousin. He's convinced him to join our cause." He forced a smile.

"What're you thinkin here, boss?" Bobby asked as everybody nodded haphazardly.

"Charity front - a ride for the Children's Hospital in Lodi."

"SAMCRO community servants." Jax flashed a smug grin.

"How do we carry?" Tig asked.

Clay placed a bedroll on the table, unrolling it to reveal ten slots designed to hold the Glocks. "Edmund Hayes - Camy's son." He explained. "Boy's a genius."

"Must take after his mum." Chibs laughed as they spoke of his kin.

"Just a biker with a bedroll." Clay grinned. "Six riders, five dozen - me, Jax, Bobby, Tig, Chibs, Hap."

"It's a good haul." Happy stated with a nod of approval.

"Cops won't mess with us when we're serving humanity." Jax grinned.

"Alright... Now, Princess, why don't you tell us what we've missed." Clay shifted his gaze to where she sat with a smug look on her face - a look that the table was becoming all too familiar with.

Sydney smirked. "It's a smart plan, but slapping a charity banner over the reaper don't make it an angel. You may think that the cops won't fuck with you during a good deed, but this ain't local. Right now anybody looking to pin any of the crimes in the last few weeks on us will be looking for probable cause. Every deputy from here to Lodi will be on the lookout to pull SAMCRO on anything: speeding, expired plates, unpaid tickets, you name it. You need a distraction."

"And I'm assuming that's you?" Clay raised a brow.

"Hasn't it always been?" She mused. "If we're passing this off as a charity ride, we need to do it right. Cops are gonna wonder why only half of SAMCRO is contributing to the cause, maybe even more than they'll wonder why we're just now suddenly showing consistent community support. If I started turning tricks, people would be a little suspicious if I only sucked half the cocks dry, don't you think? I mean... Some may call it favoritism but others may call it lack of commitment." She shrugged.

Tig bursted out laughing at her choice of comparison. She smiled, biting the inside of her cheek to try and maintain her sincerity. "They also might wonder why we're carrying bedrolls for an hour-long ride." She cocked an eyebrow. "This lessens the possibility of a search - they know that they can't search all of us, and the ones that they might try to aren't guaranteed to be carrying."

"So what's the plan?" Clay folded his hands in front of him as he considered each and every word that left those pretty lips.

"Juice takes the van and drives ahead a couple of miles once we make the pick up - alerts us of cops, radar traps, anything. You can do that, can't you, Juicey Fruit?" A couple of snickers arose at the nickname, but he was too excited to care.

"Yeah! I can hack the police scanners and use the radar detectors!" He nodded eagerly.

"When we get wind of a trap, I'll get far enough ahead, going fast enough for a good ticket that their small-town quotas can't pass up. Cops outside of Charming will have no idea that I'm associated with the club - won't suspect that it's a ruse. By the time that I'm good and pulled over, you guys pass. We repeat that until we reach Laroy. The tickets will be close enough together that their system won't register anything in time to impound me. If we start this out slow and safe, the cops get used to the charity rides and don't suspect anything going forward - won't bother us on the long runs." She finished her pitch off strong, seeing that Clay was deep in thought as he weighed the pros and cons. "What's the matter, Pres? Don't think I can run with the big dogs?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no, Princess." He snorted. "I know that you can... But I don't think my guys are taking too kindly to you stepping all over their manlihood with those stilettos of yours." He smiled as he looked around the table of completely silent men who hadn't bothered to put a fraction of the amount of thought into the simple run that could easily get them thrown back in jail.

"Well-" She smirked, hoisting her feet up onto the table. "It looks like I chose a good day to trade 'em in." She cocked an eyebrow. "The future of this club is more important than the egos of your crew, don't ya think?"

"You're sounding more loyal than my damn prospects."

"Maybe you'll just have to patch me in." She mused.

"This goes well, you come talk to me." He smirked.

Sydney felt a rush of triumph through her veins - she had to imagine that it was the same rush that junkies lived for, because she would've done anything to experience it again. She kept her external reaction under wraps - not knowing if Clay was being facetious or not. There had never been a female member in the history of the SOA, and the thought of potentially being the first ignited a fire of ambition behind her eyes.

"All in favour?" Clay asked, everyone yelling words of affirmation and hitting the table.

Sydney beamed as her first vote passed with the familiar sound of the gavel. She stood up from the table first, exiting the chapel with a confident stride before she was met by Elliot Oswald - the uptight republican from the fair - standing behind the doors, with his head down, and his hair a mess.

"Hang back." Clay ordered his club before he walked over to see what had brought in their prestigious visitor.

"Who's the sad lookin' dude?" Half-Sack whispered to Tig where they stood, huddled in the doorway.

"Elliot Oswald." Tig said as he fell back into his chair, pulling Sydney down onto his lap.

"As in Oswald Lumber?" The prospect squinted.

"Oswald Lumber, Oswald Beef, Oswald Construction..." Tig nodded mundanely with a roll of his eyes against Sydney's neck as his hand found her thigh, making her giggle.

"Ain't that a pretty picture." Bobby joked to Jax, watching them whisper what were surely unfathomably dirty things into each other's ears.

"Those two psychos piss me off but I gotta admit… They fuckin' belong together man." He nodded before Clay returned to the chapel with his head hung. "What?" He asked worriedly.

"Oswald... Someone raped his little girl at the fair." He shook his head sorrowfully as shock washed over the table. "Unser's got Hale out lookin', but the kid don't remember much." He put his face in his hands as he sat back down.

"He hit her?" Sydney questioned as her blood ran cold beneath Tig's hands.

"Nah, just threw her down in the dirt." He nodded towards the chapel doors. "He wants us to find the guy - bring him to him."

"We got cops, enemies, and a rebuild hangin' over our heads... Do we really wanna be out there playin' some pro-bono Lone Ranger?" Bobby winced.

"Yeah..." Jax sighed regretfully as more unnecessary risk continued to present itself. "We got a lot of shit on the go right now, man..."

"What if that was your daughter." Sydney snapped at Bobby who reluctantly accepted her point, her outburst serving to stop Tig from making any of the same protests that he'd had locked and loaded.

"I get it. I just don't know how I feel about puttin' my ass on the line for an outsider." He put his hands up in defense.

"She's thirteen... Thirteen!" Chibs' fatherly instincts kicked in as he thought about his own teenage daughter.

"Clay, Oswald doesn't give a shit about SAMCRO." Jax tried to reason.

"When people have shit happening in this town, they don't go to the cops, they go to the club - that should mean something to you." Sydney shot angrily at Jax. "You wanna send the message that people can come into your town, rape little girls and get away with it?"

Tig tightened his grip on Sydney's thigh before loosening it, rubbing gently to try and calm her down while Clay chuckled - enjoying that someone other than him felt the need to remind Jax of his position in the club.

"That's right. Us , Jacky boy." Chibs nodded.

"Look at little pussy-whipped boy over there, not sayin' a Goddamn thing. You know he'd be shootin' this shit down if she wasn't here!" Jax pointed at Tig in mock-frustration, trying to lighten the mood.

Sydney gave a small smirk, placing her hand over Tig's in appreciation for his display of respect - knowing full well that he didn't give a shit about Oswald or his kid.

"Do I need to call a vote?" Clay sighed.

"Nah, brother. We do this." Bobby assured his President.

Jax reluctantly nodded along with everyone else. He still didn't like the idea of foreign blood on their hands - but at least it was for a cause that he could get behind.

"Guess we're huntin' the tot banger." Tig joked. He knew that the Oswalds wouldn't have given him a second thought if he was the one in trouble, but it seemed to mean something to Sydney and Clay - and he wasn't one to pass up on violence.

"Found 'em." Jax nodded to the curly-haired man across the table - everybody's laughs filling the previously tense room.

"Me and Gemma will find out who did this." Sydney announced once the laughter died down, getting up to leave the testosterone-filled room before their ignorance could suffocate her.

Jax scowled, but Clay just shook his head - not up for another argument. "Woman's job, VP. Woman's job." Sydney patted the table before heading out the door.

;

"What's so urgent, dad?" Deputy Chief David Hale stalked into the dimly lit diner where he found his father seated at a table with another man, sipping coffee without an ounce of the urgency that had been in his phone call, in sight.

Jacob Hale Sr. blinked as his son approached so hastily, placing his mug back down onto the speckled tabletop. "You know Leo Kessler of Kessler Builders." He nodded across the table to his grey-suited counterpart.

"Hi." The long-time family acquaintance nodded to the boy that he hadn't seen in years - the boy that now stood before him as a full grown man.

"Hi Leo." The darker haired man nodded disinterestedly. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"We know." Leo nodded. "We heard about Oswald's daughter... Terrible thing." He feigned pity.

"What is this about?" David sighed impatiently.

"We're pretty sure that Elliot's talked to Clay Morrow." His father explained disapprovingly. "It's safe to assume that he's probably looking for some, uh, vigilante justice..."

"SAMCRO is looking for the rapist?" David had to keep the sigh out of his voice and the roll out of his eyes - that boyish look quickly returning to his aging face.

"Yes." Jacob nodded. "And if they deliver? Well... We may have a problem."

"Oswald's very close to selling us and our investors two land parcels off of County 17 - it's over one-hundred and thirty acres." Leo nodded.

"Elliot loves that kid more than anything." Jacob cut off his partner who seemed to forget which of his sons he was speaking to; David had no interest in land or money, he only had interest in one thing - taking down SAMCRO. "God knows what he'll do to the guy if Clay hands him over..."

"Well... It puts Elliot in bed with SAMCRO." David supposed as he tried to make himself villainize the man who was only doing what any father would do.

"And we know how Clay feels about expansion." Leo nodded pointedly.

"You need to make sure that you find this guy first." Jacob instructed his youngest son. "Due process of the law." He nodded firmly. "We all want the same thing, son - for Charming to grow, and prosper."

"Right." David forced a smile. "I think you two are leaning a little heavier on the 'prosper' angle." He scoffed. "I gotta get back to work."

;

Everybody cleared out of the chapel to begin their hunt for intel - Juice scouring the Nords' rap sheets, Bobby and Tig rattling off old beefs, and Sydney waiting for Gemma to arrive, which gave her the perfect opportunity to approach Clay.

"A word?" She nodded towards the empty garage where he followed her. "You think he's gonna be able to do it?" She began the second that he crossed the threshold.

"Oswald?" She nodded her confirmation. "Don't know." He shrugged. "Anyone else? Nah. But his little girl? That shit can make any man go crazy."

"You're going to blackmail him, aren't you?"

Clay hesitated, unsure if he could trust the teamwork-savvy woman with his plan... "You got a problem with that?" He tested.

"Make sure that he can't." Sydney ordered.

"What?" Clay shook his head in confusion.

"Do it." She clarified. "Give him a knife, not a gun. Make sure it's something that you know he won't be able to stomach."

"What are you getting at here, Princess?" He wasn't following. The entire purpose was to use the kill against Oswald as leverage - something that he wouldn't be able to do if the white-collared businessman didn't carry out the deed.

"You were going to have him kill the asshole and use it as leverage for money for the rebuild." She relayed his thought process. "Do it for something more. He owns land right? Buildings?" Clay nodded slowly. "Bring a bag for the printed knife. When he can't - we use it as leverage for a new warehouse. No one would ever suspect that a property owned by the notorious Elliot Oswald is housing illegal firearms, and he won't have a choice. That way we have our rebuild and our asses covered."

The face of the President lit up in response to the extremely clever young woman who somehow managed to greatly improve his plan every single time. "You're just what I needed around here, you know that?" He grinned. "Too many of my guys goin' soft these days…" He shook his head. "So, this run to Lodi..."

"Been dyin' to get back on the road." She answered his question before he could ask it. "Not really a side saddle kinda gal." She winked.

"Speaking of goin' soft... I ain't gonna have to worry about my Sergeant, am I?"

"Not on my watch."

"That's what I thought." He chuckled.

"Don't you worry, Pres. I'll keep him hard." She gave a suggestive smirk, turning her attention towards the flashing lights that had suddenly appeared on the compound...

"Ah, shit..." Clay cursed as David Hale stepped out of his Charming Police marked Bronco, making his way towards the President with multiple officers in his wake.

"I got it." Sydney nodded her assurance before slinking away from the half of the local police department that clearly wasn't on the payroll.

"You girls sellin' cookies?" Clay called out to the crew that had undoubtedly come to question his.

"We're investigating a sexual assault." Hale crossed his arms, a little too smug for the President's liking.

"You serious?" Jax seemingly appeared out of nowhere, approaching his former classmate along with his stepfather.

"How you doin, Jax?" Hale greeted the VP. "Heard about Wendy and the baby... I'm sorry."

"Uh-huh." Jax gave a non-committal nod, remaining short with the man on the other side of the law. "What does SAMCRO have to do with this?

"I need to talk to all of your guys that were at the carnival tonight." Hale put his hands on his hips. "If they're not here, get them here - now."

"No problem." Clay smirked as he quickly found another advantage in having a woman on their team.

"You think a Son had somethin' to do with that rape?" Jax raised a brow.

"Half of 'em have violent crimes on their rap sheets, just following logic." Hale shrugged.

"Wasn't it just last week that four Oakland cops were busted for human trafficking?" Jax scoffed, scanning the row of middle-aged men behind Hale. "Logic tells me that we should ask where your dick was tonight."

"And don't say 'in your mama'." Clay added with a grin.

Hale looked between the two men who treated the situation as a joke - who treated him like a joke, swallowing his frustration. It was only a frustration that he had to bear the taste of for a few more weeks...

"Officers Lemmings and Rodriguez will be taking your statements." He told them with a phoney smile. "We can do it here, at the station house, wherever you wanna do it... And don't say 'in your mama'." He deadpanned before returning to his vehicle. He had a rapist to catch.

;

Not long later, Sydney and Gemma pulled up at on the hunt for Tristen Oswald while Hale made sure to keep everybody at the clubhouse in one place. "Okay, you distract mom. I'll talk to Tristen." Sydney relayed the game plan to her partner in crime.

Gemma raised a brow, unsure how exactly Sydney planned on pulling this off so seamlessly - but she didn't question her. Not yet, at least.

Sydney weaved her way through the maze of stairs and back hallways until she finally made it to the paediatric wing where she quickly found the one person who she knew could help them - and it was help that she knew she wouldn't receive unless she was alone...

"Tara!" She called frantically to the brunette. "I need to know where Tristen Oswald is."

"The girl from the fair?" Tara scowled.

"Yeah." Sydney nodded.

"Is there a reason you're asking?" She asked sheepishly. She wasn't supposed to give out that kind of information, especially when a minor was involved - and she sure as hell wasn't going to give out that kind of information to somebody so closely linked to the woman who had tried to murder a patient just days earlier.

Sydney gave her a look that told her all she needed to know, taking her back to her old lady days when Gemma would give her the exact same look - a look that told her not to ask questions.

"I'm sorry, but I can't-" She was cut off by her ringing phone, grateful for the distraction as she fished the device out of her white coat, hopeful that Sydney would take this as her cue to leave.

But Sydney didn't budge as she watched the nervous woman fumble with the flip phone before she finally brought it to her ear successfully. "Hello?" She cooed before her face fell, slamming the phone shut and shoving it back into her pocket.

"What was that?" Sydney scowled.

"Oh, uh." Tara laughed nervously as she tried to play off the shock of fear that was gnawing at every single nerve in her body. "Nothing." She forced a smile as she shook her head. "Just thought I blocked all of the telemarketers from Chicago." She cleared her throat. "I can show you where Tristen is." She perked up. "You'll have to be careful, though. Her mom's been standing guard at her door since she arrived - won't even let the cops in to talk to her alone. But Karen needs to sign some insurance forms, so I can try to get an admin to keep her busy for a while."

Sydney knew that she was lying as she tried her best to bury the incident in a wealth of relevant information, but if not pressing the issue meant that she was going to be appeased with the risky task that she'd come with - she could live with that. "They think that they're protecting her by building a wall around her..." She scoffed, shaking her head as her nostrils flared.

Tara knew that she hadn't succeeded in fooling her, but her forehead creased slightly as she watched the blonde woman affix her eyes to nothing in particular as something seemed to play behind them - something that told her that this visit was personal.

;

Hale stood in a quiet hallway in as he searched Elliot Oswald's face for any sign that he had already done the deed, but all he saw was an agony that he wished he could argue with.

"I know that this is hard on you and Karen, I-" He cleared his throat, remembering what it was that he was supposed to be doing here. "I can't imagine what you're going through... But anger clouds judgment." He spit the words out in a sneer - the only way that he could make himself. "And it makes us do things that we end up regretting - things that we can nevertake back..."

"The only thing that I can never take back?" Elliot scoffed. "Is what happened to that little girl."

Hale's eyes fell closed in a sigh as he watched the scorned father storm off to do exactly what he needed him not to do, dragging himself back to the administration desk where he hoped to try his luck with Karen again, his senses perking up when his eyes landed on something much less hopeless; Tara Knowles.

The blue-eyed man had always had a bit of a crush on the quiet girl that he'd known for a majority of his life, and he'd never quite gotten over it, even after she had settled for the likes of none other than Jax Teller. But now that she was single...

"Hey." He slid up next to her with a smile as she walked Karen through the stack of forms that she needed to read and sign.

Tara jumped when she felt the body heat next to her, relief flooding her when she recognized the face of the lawman. "Oh, hey." She smiled, nodding to another nurse who took over. "How are you?" She looked over the comfortingly familiarman.

Hale sighed, nodding to Mrs. Oswald. "They think they're protecting her by building a wall around her."

Tara perked up, suddenly feeling less guilty about sneaking Sydney into the young girl's room. "Tristen needs to talk to somebody." She agreed. And she would, thanks to her.

"Mhmm." Hale nodded. "And I need something, anything, to make sure that we're not doing this again, with another girl." He nodded pointedly. He had no idea where his old classmate stood with her old boyfriend, but he hoped that she still hated him as much as she had the day that she'd left him and ran for Chicago, because maybe it meant that he still stood a chance - in more ways than one.

Tara felt a chill run through her veins. Had he come to her not five minutes earlier, she would've have no problem helping out the right side of the law. But as usual, she'd been sucked into the cesspool that was SAMCRO.

"I, um." She blinked, looking to the ground. "I don't know much, but I can try to get you in after she's done signing this batch of forms." She nodded to distraught mother who was struggling to focus on the fine print through her blurry eyes.

Hale nodded, placing his hand over hers as he lowered his gaze. "Thank you." He nodded sincerely.

Tara hesitated under the unexpected contact for a moment, teetering on the edge as she tried to decide if she should just bite the bullet and risk making the same mistake that she'd made before, but the second that he pulled his hand away, she had her answer.

"I need a favor, too." She pulled him back, her eyes falling shut in an internal curse as she immediately began rethinking her decision. "It's more of a question, really." She let go of him. "It-" She began laughing nervously. "It's gonna sound very dramatic."

"Okay." Hale nodded attentively.

"If I had-" She felt the words lodge themselves in the back of her throat. What was she thinking? All of this over a phone call? "You know what, nevermind." She shook her head. "Let me go get those extra forms."

;

Wendy awoke to the crinkling sound of cellophane; a sound that many people who had spent an extensive amount of time lying in a hospital bed may be used to by now - but to her, the sound was foreign. She cracked her dry eyes open, rolling them as they landed on Gemma who stood at her bedside, placing a yellow and purple bouquet of flowers on the table.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She sighed, the small bit of fear she'd had for the older woman having left the building days ago. The only person that she feared now, was herself.

"Something' to brighten up your room." Gemma smiled. "I understand that you and the old girlfriend have become buddies." She raised a brow.

Wendy rolled her eyes, pressing the call button for a nurse on the side of her bed as Gemma rounded it. "It's a little late for the panic button." She scoffed.

"I didn't say anything, to anyone." Wendy stared at the white-panelled sealing.

"Smart." Gemma pursed her lips. "I mean, it's not like anyone would believe you, anyhow. You know, the whole junkie thing..." She nodded with mock-sympathy. "All I did was give you an option, sweetheart... You're the one who took the cowards way out, and you couldn't even do that right."

"We can't all be rocks like you, Mother Gemma." Wendy scoffed. "I don't know how you do it..." She shook her head incredulously. "Keep all the lies straight... All the dirty little secrets buried... Your conscience must be locked up real tight."

Gemma chewed her lip as she made her way closer, sitting herself on the side of the bed where she leaned into the woman who, without the substance issues, she may have been scared of. "Nothing gets in the way of me taking care of my family... Especially my conscience."

;

Sydney approached Tristen's room while Tara's admin kept Karen busy until Gemma would step in, giving the older woman a nod as she shoved down the anxiety in her chest and slipped through the door as quickly as she could with Tara's keycard in hand.

"Hi, sweetie..." She closed the door softly behind her as her gaze fell upon the sorrowful sight.

Tristen hesitated before picking up her phone. "My mom said I have to call if anyone talks to me." Her voice shook audibly.

Sydney sat down on the bed quickly, gently taking her trembling hand and lowering the phone. "That's okay, sweetheart. You don't have to do that. I'm a good friend of your mom's." She nodded assuringly.

"You are?" Tristen questioned gently, the hope evident in her voice.

Sydney's stomach dropped further with every word that left the poor girl's busted lips. She hated that something so horrible had to have happened to someone so innocent... "Yeah." She nearly choked on the lie. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you yet, though." She forced a smile. "My name is Sydney."

"I saw you at the fair. You were dancing with that weird curly-haired guy." A small smile just barely tugged at her lips.

"Yeah, I was." Sydney laughed, happy that she was able to momentarily distract the poor girl from the heinous trauma she'd undergone - even if it was at Tig's expense.

"Is he your boyfriend?" She asked with a slight scowl, clearly confused about the gorgeous young woman and the creepy older man.

Sydney laughed freely, glad that their close proximity in age made Tristen feel more comfortable around her. "He is." She smiled big, still feeling the butterflies when she referred to Tig that way. "It's okay... All the guys bug me about it too." She joked, nudging her leg playfully.

"They aren't so bad, are they?" Tristen asked inquisitively about the rough bikers that her parents had always taught her to be afraid of - but tonight, they were the only ones that she wasn't afraid of.

"Not nearly as bad as you would think." Sydney smiled. "They look scary, but really they're just one big family. And that big family is working as hard as they can right now to find the guy who did this to you."

"Really?" Tristen asked hopefully to which Sydney nodded. "He looked at you special... Like he loves you." She did her best to focus on one of the happier things from the evening - trying her best to follow her mother's advice and forget about what had happened.

Sydney's heart throbbed as the meaningful words came from the girl who's life had just been changed forever. "You're a strong girl, Tristen." She nodded in admiration. "He told me tonight... That he loves me." She smiled.

"I hope someone feels like that about me one day."

"A beautiful, kind girl like you? You're going to have a line of men who feel that way about you in your lifetime, sweetheart." Tristen began to smile, but her lips started trembling and before she knew it, the tears began spilling uncontrollably.

"Not anymore." She sobbed.

"Don't say that." Sydney shook her head as the horribly familiar scene began to play out before her eyes. "Look at me." She ordered firmly as she ground her teeth together, reminding herself that today, reliving the awful memories was going to be for something good.

Tristen looked up, meeting Sydney's soft, forest green eyes. "Did you ask him to do what he did?" She asked, watching as the young girl became visibly uncomfortable with the upfront question, eventually shaking her head wearily. "Did you tell him to stop?" She continued, getting a slow nod. "You're a smart girl, Tristen. Smarter than a lot of girls your age, I'm sure your parents tell you that, right?" She nodded. "As a smart girl, you know that there is nothing that you did to bring this on, and there wasn't anything you could've done to stop it, right?" She elicited another cautious nod from the young girl. "There are sick people in this world, baby. Nothing about this is your fault." She clutched her hand in an attempt to reinforce her sincerity. "The same thing happened to me when I was younger." She finally admitted after a few moments of silence, knowing that the only way to get through to the damaged girl was to help show her that these things could be overcome.

"What?" Tristen squeaked, unable to believe that the gorgeous, confident, intimidating woman who ran with the notorious bikers could've ever been hurt the same way that she had been tonight.

"Close." Sydney nodded, staring off distantly as she attempted to ward off the weight of the memory.

"How did you-, I mean... You don't look like-" The young girl stumbled over her words, trying to find the right thing to say.

"I didn't want to tell anyone… Didn't want anyone to look at me differently, but I had to. And I was lucky that I had the right people to show me that it wasn't my fault."

"Can I trust you?" Tristen asked meekly after a few seconds of thinking over Sydney's advice.

Sydney hesitated, remembering that her purpose here was to find out who was to blame for this, and finding who was to blame could very well involve breaking Tristen's trust. She did something that she very rarely did - going with her heart over her head as she nodded her confirmation.

"I remember everything. My mom says it will ruin my reputation if I tell. I know it's not my fault. But… She's making me feel like it is."

Sydney felt her stomach wrench in disgust at the preppy mother of the broken young girl who clearly cared about nothing more than what the suburban housewives would have to say about her the next time that they met for brunch.

"I promise that isn't the truth." Sydney shook her head. "If you can tell me what happened, I can make sure that it never happens again."

Tristen squeezed Sydney's hand while she told her the heartbreaking story of what had gone down that night, who did it, and where it happened. It was hard for her to listen to, but she felt better knowing that this time, rather than being the victim, she was going to be the vindicator.

"I'm going to fix this." She nodded. "And once I do, I'm going to come back and visit you, okay?"

"Please." Tristen nodded.

Sydney got up off the bed, heading towards the door. "Tristen." She looked over her shoulder as her hand sat on the door handle, seeing so much of her younger self in the poor, battered girl. "You're gonna be just like me one day, baby." She nodded with a smile.

;

"I did not give you permission to question my daughter!" Sydney lingered at the end of the hallway with Gemma after getting herself out of Tristen's room just in time as Karen Oswald chewed out Unser's Deputy for trying to do the exact same thing that she had done.

"I wasn't questioning her, ma'am. I was just seeing how she was feeling."

"They don't want her to tell - just want to make it go away." Sydney shook her head.

"Somethin' like this ain't just gonna go away in a small town..." Gemma looked over her shoulder as the poor guy tried to plead his case to the angry mother.

"I know." Sydney nodded regretfully. "Think you can get her to crack?"

"Sweetheart, have you met me?" Gemma smirked, making her way over to Karen.

"Bullshit! I am not going to let you people traumatize her again. You leave her the hell alone." She sneered before stomping down the hallway, and out of the hospital completely.

Gemma followed close behind, stepping out into the night where the lighter-haired woman stood in the parking lot with her arms wrapped around herself. "Had a little conversation with Tristen." She announced her presence.

"What?" Karen whirled around. "Why would you be talking to my daughter?"

"She seemed relieved to get it off of her chest." Gemma raised a brow.

"What the hell did you say to her?" Karen sneered as her chest began to heave, but not with angry - with fear.

Gemma looked over the woman that in another life, she was sure she would be close friends with. "She remembers everything, doesn't she?" Karen stayed silent. "You don't want the trial... The press... You just wanna sweep it under the rug."

"Don't you judge me..."

"I'm not judging you." She shrugged. "You don't know me, and I got no idea what it's like to be you. But I do know something about burying the truth... And thats a burden that you never want to put on a kid." She nodded sincerely. "Tristen has to know that this really happened. Make her hide it? Lie about it? It'll come back and shit on every relationship that she ever has. That rich, happy lifestyle that you've worked so hard to give her, you can just kiss it goodbye."

"If they arrest this guy..." Karen's voice cracked. "Then everyone puts a face to the crime... And then it becomes real." She choked on a sob. "My little girl becomes 'that girl who was raped at the fair', for the rest of her life, not Tristen."

"Sweetheart... In her head? She'll always be the girl who was raped at the fair." She shook her head. "The only thing worse than everyone knowing? Is no one knowing."

;

"Carnie raped her. Big guy dressed as a clown." Gemma reported as she stopped back towards Sydney.

"Thank God..." Sydney breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she wouldn't have to carry the betrayal of the young girl's trust on her shoulders.. "And thank God that you managed to talk some sense into that cunt..." She sneered. "Does he know yet?" She nodded to Hale on their way out.

"Not yet..." Gemma raised a brow, breaking off from Sydney where she pulled the car around to the front, slowing for the little blonde to jump in after whatever she had done to buy them more time to get to the guy before the cops could.

Sydney slid into the passenger seat, quickly pulling her door shut and dialling Clay. "Get Oswald, meet at the fairgrounds in twenty. We don't have much time." She barked into her burner before snapping it shut - giving him no time to argue.

"Jesus, you're sounding like more of a President than him." Gemma commented with a raised brow.

Sydney just smiled smugly. "Why didn't you ever try to join like I am? You would be amazing."

"Not doubting you there, sweetheart." Gemma chuckled. "John never would've let it happen... And by the time that I was with Clay, I had a son to take care of... Family took over for me. Clay is too protective to give me a seat at the table."

"But you know everything, right? He privys you, you give advice..." Sydney mused.

"Yes, I do." She smirked knowingly.

"So you keep your man happy and let him think that he's in control while you pull the strings behind the scenes." She surmised with a smug nod.

"I knew that I was gonna like you..." The Matriarch smirked. "I have a feeling Tigger's gonna have an even harder time with you than Clay does with me."

"Can't let their lives be easy all the time." Sydney snorted, her heart fluttering as the less depressing events of the evening came back to her. "He told me that he loves me."

"What?" Gemma screeched excitedly as she slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road.

Sydney howled in laughter at the over the top reaction from Gemma, biting her lip through her giddy smile. "But you don't think it's too soon?" She asked nervously once the excitement had died down. She rarely cared about the opinions of others, but she was going into this relationship completely blind. If she was ever going to seek someone's advice - it was the advice of The Queen.

"Baby, it's never too soon in this life." She looked over at her with a smile.

"That's what Chibs said too." Sydney chortled.

"If Chibs is telling you that it isn't too soon? Then it definitely isn't too soon." Gemma scoffed. "Now what the hell happened in that photo booth?"

;

Hale made his way out of the hospital with the new information in hand, and a pep in his step as he strolled to his Bronco. There was no way that SAMCRO could ever find out before he could make the arrest, even if Elliot didn't take his advice.

But just as the invigorating thought had begun to seep into his brain, he felt it being sucked right back out as his eyes landed on four flat tires.

"God dammit..." He sighed. The bad guys had won again.

;

Sydney stalked over to where the guys were waiting at the entrance to the fairgrounds, pure adrenaline filling her veins with the thought of what was about to go down. "Oswald?" She questioned when she didn't see the clean shaven man among the group of outlaws.

"On his way." Clay nodded.

"Carnie. Clown from the dunk tank." She cocked a brow.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Jax groaned, shaking his head.

"We grab him, have Oswald meet us in the woods." Clay ordered.

"Got it." Juice confirmed as he flipped open his burner.

"Good job, Princess." Clay nodded.

"You owe most of the thanks to your old lady." Sydney winked.

"Will do." He raised an eyebrow, giving her a smug nod.

SAMCRO stomped through the grounds of the fair which had long shut down by now, making their way over to the campers where all of the carnies were drinking around a fire.

"Hear you're harbouring a fugitive." Clay called out.

The wandering eyes of the sleazy, disgusting men all fell on Sydney where she stiffened uncomfortably - thankful when Tig immediately pulled her behind him.

"What are you gonna do about it?" One of the bigger guys challenged as he got to his feet.

"Citizens arrest." Clay sneered as he hit him square in the jaw, knocking him out cold before an all out brawl broke out.

One of the bolder men tried to sneak around the side where Sydney was standing as multiple members took down carnies around her, which landed him right next to his buddy - thanks to Tig - while Bobby and Chibs wrestled the culprit to the ground, dragging him to the woods as most of the men backed off once they realized that the bikers meant business.

Elliot finally arrived where they'd dragged the rapist deep into the woods. "Here's the scumbag that raped your little girl." Clay pointed as the man pleaded his protests from where he'd been forced onto his knees in the dirt - just like he'd done to her. "Cattle guys call this an elsie maker... It's used to cut the balls off of bulls." He explained as he presented the homicidal father with a small knife.

Sydney's eyes widened, twinkling against the moonlight while Tig gripped her hip in anticipation. She was impressed by Clay's creativity - she knew that he was ruthless, but he had always appeared much more intimidating than twisted.

"Strip him." Clay ordered Jax and Bobby who began yanking the man's clothes off - one much more eager than the other.

"Jesus." Elliot muttered as scratches from his daughter appeared all over the man's chest, tears clouding his eyes while sweat beaded on his forehead. Perfect.

"He deserves every second of the pain." Clay coaxed as Jax tried to ignore the tensing of his muscles as he begrudgingly made himself watch what was about to take place.

Elliot grabbed the knife and walked up haphazardly, dropping to his knees where he pressed the tip of the blade against the blubbering man's skin, ever so slightly drawing blood as he continued to plead and cry - screaming in pain before it became too much for the straight-laced man to bear, shaking in frustration before he ripped himself away.

"Oh, Jesus." Bobby groaned, but Jax felt relief. He hadn't wanted to get into bed with the Oswalds, or bloody his hands in the first place - now he wouldn't have to.

Sydney's evil smile took over as her breathing got heavier, watching her plan unfold perfectly before her eyes. Clay cocked an eyebrow at her, his gaze trailing down to the knife which had dropped to the ground from Oswald's hand.

"What do you wanna do here, Elliot?" He prompted.

"I'm sorry." The terrified man shook his head and walked away, wanting to be far away from that scene before they did what he knew they were going to do - what he thought he'd wanted them to do.

Clay quickly picked up the knife with a plastic bag, nodding to Sydney as Jax ripped his grip away from the man, Chibs taking his place before the scumbag could break away.

The Sergeant-at-Arms stepped forward to finish the job, rolling his shoulders back as he began to pull out the knife that was strapped to his thigh before he was stopped by a delicate hand on his bicep.

Tig looked into Sydney's glimmering eyes with confusion - looking to Clay who gave him a nod, which he returned before stepping back.

"Hold him still." Clay ordered.

Jax's confusion began spiralling as the guys exchanged scowls when Sydney got to her knees before the man, gently caressing his face. "Hi, sweetheart." She wiped away his tears until he stopped his screaming against her gentle touch. "Don't worry, baby... I'm gonna make sure these big, bad bikers don't hurt you, okay?" He whimpered, nodding frantically.

"Thank you." He cried as she pulled him into an embrace.

"Shh, it's okay." She cooed as he sobbed into her shoulder. "I heard you like little girls... Is that true?" She whispered to him in a low, cold voice while his head sat tucked into the crook of her neck.

"What the hell?" Bobby groaned as Sydney took her sweet time, wasting theirs with her theatrics.

With one swift move, Sydney revealed a pink chrome Swiss Army knife that had been concealed along her inner arm, ripping the curved blade along the top of the scumbag's nutsack and pushing him off of her to avoid the blood spatter on her clothes.

"Clay!" Jax screamed among the agonized man's wailing as Sydney got to work detaching his organs - nobody moving to stop her. "Don't make her do this!" He shook his head as his stomach turned, ripping his eyes away.

"Holy shit, holy shit." Half-Sack repeated over and over again as he tried to ignore the aching in his own organs.

Sydney looked up with an evil smile once she finished her knife work, revelling in the soundtrack of the lowlife's screaming before he slumped over in the dirt, bleeding out - wiping her knife on his shirt before tucking it back into her boot.

"This makes so much more sense now..." Bobby thought out loud as he looked between Sydney and Tig.

Happy walked over and placed a hand on Sydney's shoulder, giving her an approving nod. He knew how lethal she was - Clay, Tig, and a few others had caught on, but the rest of the men still had no idea to what extent she operated, watching the scene in shock.

"Tacoma Killer and the Cali Queen." Clay announced, staring at the two.

Sydney swore that she could feel the goosebumps wash over the group as everyone realized who she was. "San Bern's finest." She cooed playfully before skipping over to Tig, looking up at him expectantly with those wide, innocent eyes. "Take me home?" She asked sweetly.

He gulped, shaking his head slightly as he snapped out of his state of bewilderment. "Sure, doll." He choked out, his erection threatening to rip open the button on his jeans.

"Let him bleed out. Bury him in the woods - mark the grave." Clay ordered Half-Sack. "Pick those up and gift wrap 'em." He nodded to the set of testicles that laid on the forest floor.

"What the hell are we doin'?" Jax got in Clay's face, earning him a menacing stare of challenge that made him rethink his statement. "I can't be your number two if I don't know where you're taking this club." He rephrased, but the disapproval was still heavy in his tone.

"Takin out some real estate insurance." Clay grinned. "We just bought ourselves a new warehouse, boys." He held up the bagged knife.

Cheers arose as they came to the realization of what had just happened - the way that their President had managed to kill two big birds with one very small stone.

"So you knew this was comin... Whether Oswald had the nerve or not - this whole hunt was about blackmail." He spit out.

"Well, actually... The leverage was just a fortunate byproduct of my community spirit." Clay grinned before walking off.

As they approached the bike, Tig gripped Sydney's elbow hard, spinning her around to face him. "So the rumours are true... Cali Queen, huh?" He brushed the back of his hand against the top of her left breast where her crown tattoo sat underneath her shirt. She didn't answer, looking up into his eyes as she tried to read his expression while his fingers trailed up her chest around to the back of her neck where he pulled her closer. "You're still my Princess." He whispered huskily.

"Always, Sergeant." She choked out in a whisper as a shudder rolled through her body.

As Sydney was getting herself comfortable behind Tig on his bike, Clay appeared from the darkness - handing her an envelope. She accepted it with a crease in her forehead, opening it to reveal a thick wad of cash, eyeballing about $10K.

"What's this?" She scowled.

"You just saved me a shit ton of money on a rebuild... Buy yourself somethin' nice." He winked. "Tigger, you take care of this one tonight, you hear me?" He ordered with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh don't you worry, boss... I will." It would be an easy order to follow, he had been dying to get her home since their little photo booth escapade had been cut short. He looked her up and down, ghosting his palm over his crotch.

;

Jax made his way through the hospital where he found his mother in the same place that he had found her every waking moment since his son had been given his own room, watching with a smile as she read what had to be the hundredth book to her sleeping grandson.

"You really think he can hear you?" He asked softly as he entered the room, gazing upon the infant that he swore was looking bigger already.

"Yeah." Gemma nodded thoughtfully. "I do." She smiled. "You guys take care of the clown?"

"Yeah." Jax scoffed, blinking out of her gaze.

Gemma nodded slowly as her nagging worry crept back in as she watched his display of fear - of disdain for the life that he knew all too well, that she had taught him all too well. "The junkie's awake." She changed the subject.

"Don't call her that." Jax's face contorted in a wince.

"Alright." Gemma rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Sorry."

Jax chuckled, kissing her cheek goodnight as he made his way out of the hospital. He'd hoped for the lightness that physically seeing his son brought him, but after what he'd witnessed tonight, he was going to need something more...

Tara looked up from the clipboard that she was finally retiring for the night, her nerves frying when her tired eyes landed on Jax. "H-hi." She stuttered, cursing herself for the lack of caffeine that ironically made her more jumpy.

"Hey." He smiled. "I just saw Abel... He looks good."

"Yeah." Tara smiled. "He's doing better."

Jax couldn't think of anything else to say as he looked over the soft curves of the beautifully calming face that he knew all too well, realizing after a few seconds that he had been staring for far too long. "Um." He blinked. "Are you on your way out?"

"Yeah." Tara nodded.

"I'll walk you to your car." He smiled.

"Okay." Tara ignored the butterflies that swarmed deep in her stomach. He's just being a gentleman. She told herself as she gathered her belongings. There had been a rape this evening, after all. "Did um... Did you hear about the Oswald girl?" She asked as she slung her brown saddlebag over her shoulder, trying her best to make small talk.

"Yeah." Jax nodded regretfully. "Horrible."

"It is... I can't imagine." Tara shook her head as they made their way to the staff lot.

"Shit..." Jax grinned when his eyes landed on the black vehicle. "Your dad's Cutlass..."

"Yeah." Tara chuckled, remembering how much he had always loved that car. "Needs some work, but... Still drives pretty good."

"Dad stopped maintaining it?" Jax scowled as he patted the roof of the old car.

"Towards the end, he..." She trailed off, blinking a few times. "I found it in the garage under two tons of old newspapers."

Jax grimaced once he realized that he'd put his foot in his mouth, doing the first thing that he could think of to remove it. "Why don't you bring it by the garage? I'll see what I can do."

"Really? That'd be great." She nodded thankfully.

"Sure." Jax grinned, pulling her in for a hug out of pure instinct.

Tara managed to catch the gasp that threatened to escape her throat when he pulled her into his arms, remembering what had happened the last time... She held on, half of her hoping that it would happen again - but she stopped herself. She couldn't go down that road, not again.

"Goodnigh-" She began as she pulled herself away, looking down at her scrubs that were now stained with blood - blood that she knew hadn't been there before. She looked up at him in horror, her first instinct being to check him over for injuries, but the familiar wince that graced his face told her everything that she needed to know - because it was a wince that she had seen far too many times before.

"Clean yourself up, Jax." She blinked in disgust, in terror - in all of the things that had driven her away from him all of those years ago.

;

---

I hope you all know how hard it was for my unromantic, hoe ass to write this mf chapter😭

Songs for this chapter

Johnny Cash - Jason Aldean

Natural - Imagine Dragons