Thank you to everybody who sent in requests/suggestions for the flashback via my Tumblr post ❤️ I also made a playlist for the story on Apple Music (you can find the link for it on Tumblr as well). I'll be updating the playlist with every new chapter, and am also going to be making more playlists surrounding the story, so if you have any requests, let a girl know!

aravenamongcrows on Tumblr! (ask and submissions are open!)

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

CHAPTER 49: BLOOD BROTHERS

Tig paced back and forth around the Intensive Care Unit at . He'd kept his promise to Sydney - he was there, ready for her to wake up despite the fact that he hadn't slept and it was nearing 5:00 a.m.

"Sir?" His head snapped up and his bloodshot eyes landed on the admin who was summoning him to the desk. He walked over briskly, hoping that he would be told that he could finally go in and see her.

The dark haired woman frowned when the biker approached so hopefully. "There's someone in the waiting room looking for you."

"Oh." His face fell. "Okay, thanks darlin." He tried his best to give a thankful smile as he turned away dismally. The fact that Sydney had been admitted as a gunshot victim with no statements given to police yet had made her visitation situation tricky; until she was awake and had spoken to the authorities, no visitors - besides Tig who had brought her in - were permitted in the unit.

"She should be up any minute." The woman called after him hesitantly, looking around the empty floor. "When you come back, I'll let you in early to see her." She wasn't usually one to risk her job to ease the tortured minds of loved ones, but something about the tall biker being so heartbroken and distraught over the little blonde girl had shown her a potentially different side to the rough and tough motorcycle club that she'd heard so much about. They were human just as much as everybody else in that building, they deserved compassion through hardship too.

"Thank you." Tig nodded, his smile coming a little easier this time. He left through the heavy metal doors, heading out to the waiting area.

"She awake yet?" Clay stepped out from a connecting corner, startling the exhausted Sergeant.

"Should be any minute." Tig caught his breath. "Nurse said she'd let me in when I get back."

"I talk to her first." Tig's brow creased, but he knew by the look of determination on Clay's face that it was best for him to keep his mouth shut - especially since he knew he would be taking a lengthy amount of time away from the club while they were in the thick of it. "Think you can distract the admin?"

"Yeah. Turn right, it's the first door on the left." Tig nodded half-heartedly, turning back around and pressing the button to the ICU, waiting to be buzzed in. Once he heard the lock on the door click, he pushed it open, letting it shut slowly behind him where Clay stopped it with the toe of his boot.

"Hey, doll." Tig smiled as he approached the admin desk again. "You uh… You think you could help me with somethin else?" A lazy smile pulled at his lips..

"Um-" The shy girl stammered, instantly regretting speaking to him in the first place. What had she been thinking? Putting herself in this position while nobody else was around. She willed herself to keep her eyes open, waiting for him to tell her to hide his drugs or let him bring in guns and that if she didn't comply he was going to rape her and have her entire family watch before he killed them all.

"Look I know you're not a doctor…" His raspy voice continued, as did the awful scenarios that ran through her mind as he reached for his belt buckle. Her hands began trembling when she watched her worst nightmare beginning to play out before her eyes. "But do you think you could take a look at this?"

She blacked out, shaking her head as she came to the realization that she wasn't being strangled or forced to the ground, she was staring at a bite wound on his ass.

"Oh my god! How did that happen?"

Clay chuckled at Tig's ruse as he slipped through the door, tiptoeing into Sydney's room and shutting the door quietly behind him. He felt his heart sink when he turned around, seeing her hooked up to all kinds of machines and IVs. He walked over to the side of the bed, brushing some stray hairs out of her face and letting his head fall. He stood still with his eyes closed and his knuckles resting against her cheek, flinching when he felt her stirring against his hand.

"Hey." He whispered, relief temporarily taking over his sorrow as he quickly sat himself in the chair at her bedside. "Hey, princess." He smiled when he saw a sliver of forest green as her eyes cracked open, moving his hand down to hers where he ran his finger over Tig's ring that she'd placed on her thumb - the only digit that it wouldn't fall off of.

"Hi." She smiled sleepily after a few seconds of recollection, answering her President in a rasp barely above a whisper - her voice hoarse from the tubes that had been there just minutes earlier.

He grabbed the cup of ice water from the tray behind him, bringing it up to her lips where she took a small sip. "Good?" He needed to be sure that she wouldn't be needing the immediate attention of a nurse. She blinked her heavy lids instead of nodding. "Good." He smiled softly as he placed the water back on the tray table. "How you feeling?"

Sydney stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decipher how she did feel, realizing that she couldn't feel anything. "I can see why my mom got addicted to this shit." She slurred with a chortle, turning her head to look at the IV bag hanging above her as she revelled in the effects of the heavy drugs that were dancing through her veins.

Clay gave a watery laugh, feeling tears coming to his eyes. "Got the whole crew waiting to see ya… You gave us quite the scare." He looked over her again, needing more reassurance that she was okay - still stuck in the awful, guilt-fuelled mindset of what he would do if she wasn't.

"Why'd you do that?" His voice cracked as he willed himself to ask the question. He'd been sitting all night, heavy with the weight of the fact that she'd taken a bullet for him - knowing that Tig could've lost another old lady, that a brother's daughter would've died, and it would've been his fault.

She let her head roll towards him, a lazily smile gracing her perfectly angelic face - the face of a woman who didn't deserve to be laying in a hospital bed for a sleazy old biker. "That's what brothers do." She squeezed his hand lightly as she succumbed to the drowsiness.

The door flew open right as Clay began trying to process how simple of a decision it'd been for her; jumping in front of a bullet for him - scrambling to his feet and reaching for his gun.

"Sorry man." Tig held out his hand to calm him, feeling bad for the abrupt entry - especially after tonight. "She's running to get me antibiotics, you gotta get outta here..." He trailed off as his blue eyes fell to Sydney, a watery smile coming to his face.

"She awake yet?" Gemma ran up as soon as Clay emerged from the unit doors.

Clay glanced at Happy who was asleep in a chair across the room, his head resting against the wall behind him. "Yeah." He spoke quietly. "But she aint allowed any visitors until tomorrow, let's get outta here. Got a long day ahead of us…"

Sydney felt herself beginning to wake up again, her consciousness not being nearly as clouded by the bliss of anesthesia this time. She vaguely recalled that Clay had been there, trying to gain enough strength to look around the dimly lit room for him, but her foggy brain and medicated body made that more of a challenge than she'd expected. All she could see was that she was laying in a hospital bed, alone. She felt her chest flooding with panic as she lay paralyzed - the same feeling she'd experienced during the shootout - blinking rapidly and gasping for air.

Tig was woken abruptly from the hospital chair he'd fallen asleep in next to Sydney's bed by nurses racing into the room and machines beeping loudly.

"Baby." He whispered in horror, jumping to his feet and looking down to see Sydney, wide eyed and shaking violently. "What's going on?" He demanded as two women began trying to stabilize her.

"She's just panicked. Morphine 'stops the pain but dulls the brain'." The older woman with stringy brown hair assured him with a smile. "She's just confused, the sedation is wearing off and she's trying to figure out what's going on. It's perfectly normal, we just need to make sure that she doesn't disrupt the wound."

"Hey, hey hey hey." Tig placed his hands onto Sydney's cheeks lightly once he was sure that he could touch her without getting in the way. "It's okay baby, it's okay." He nodded, his thumbs rubbing circles over her cheekbones.

Sydney stopped shaking, feeling some kind of coherence returning when her eyes locked onto his, being able to make out the feeling of his hands on her face. She made the decision to try to reach up, the first good breath of air laced with his scent filling her lungs as she felt her fingers make the contact she'd been seeking. She squeezed his hands as the relief enveloped her, whimpering as the panic began to exit her body in the form of tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tiggy." She wailed, pulling him into her arms where she began to hyperventilate immediately. Her chest heaved as she clutched onto him, crying harder as his comfort overwhelmed her and she sobbed into his shoulder - hysterical from the narcotics that had hijacked her logical brain.

"I'm right here." He hugged her, stroking her hair as he kissed the top of her head. He repeated Gemma's words over and over in his head, needing something to ward off the guilt as she cried in his arms.

Happy awoke to see that he was alone in the waiting room. He could tell that it was well into the morning now as nurses and doctors raced around him to get where they needed to be. He blinked, taking in a deep breath and inhaling the scent of bleach - remembering where he was and why. He shot up out of the seat, his long and purposeful strides carrying him to the doors where he pressed the button, only waiting a few seconds before pressing it again, and again, and again - all to no avail. He huffed, resorting to pounding on the heavy metal door until it finally cracked open.

"Who are you here for, sir?" A blonde woman in purple scrubs asked him from the doorway, a tall security guard standing close behind her.

"Sydney Harding."

"Are you her immediate family?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, sir." Her brown eyes remained glued to the clipboard she was holding, not daring to look at him while she delivered the news. "The only person we have permitted at this time is an 'Alexander Trager'. Other visitors will have to wait until she's been cleared."

Happy didn't hear anything after 'Alexander Trager', staring past the woman as she ran through the hospital policy. He had a clear line of sight straight into the window of Sydney's room where he could see her laying on Tig's chest while they both slept. He turned around, stomping blindly through the maze of hallways until he eventually reached the exit.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yates scowled as he turned to see Sydney walking into the clubhouse. "You're supposed to be getting your hair done and shit."

"I told you I wasn't going." Her tone oozed 'duh' as she looked to the dark haired man with a raised brow, lifting the hatch to enter the area behind the bar.

"Eh what's the matter Syd? No one wanted to take the princess to prom?" Tank teased with a grin from where he was sitting beside Yates.

"That guy didn't ask you?" Yates didn't bother trying to recall the name of Sydney's latest lap dog.

"He did." She shrugged, pulling out an order sheet.

"I thought you bought a dress?" Cobra took a puff off of his cigarette, pushing his sunglasses further up his bald head where they'd begun to fall.

"Yeah, I wanted to see it!" Tank waved his beer around in excitement.

"Sweetheart…" James sighed, setting his beer down on the bartop. "If you don't go, you'll look back and regret it."

"Dad." Sydney scoffed. "Look around here, look at what I do every day. You think that senior prom is what I would regret?" She wouldn't have been able to wipe the look of disgust off of her face even if she wanted to.

"You're really not going to go?" He gave her a look of beseechment - he knew that she had a point, but despite everything, it was still important for him to know that he hadn't robbed his daughter of a normal life.

Sydney looked around the room of hopeful men looking at her with anticipation. "No." She replied dramatically, rolling her eyes as she turned away from their expressions of disappointment. She never thought that a group of bikers would be trying to convince her that a night of slow dancing with teenagers would be good for her.

Yates waited until Sydney disappeared on the other side of the bar, to approach her - not wanting to embarrass her in front of the guys. "What if I take you?" He whispered from behind her as she took inventory. He figured that she didn't want to go because she didn't have a date - something that he truly couldn't believe, but it was the only thing that made sense.

Sydney scowled at his close proximity and low voice before turning around to face him. She didn't understand why they all thought it was so deep, but she held back her eye roll. If they wanted to make a big deal out of something stupid , she was going to make them feel stupid.

"You wanna take me to prom, Yatesy?" She tilted her head, looking up at him innocently as she trailed her fingers up his chest.

"I will." He nodded, holding his composure - and his breath.

"Mmm, yeah?" She closed her eyes with a seductive hum. "You gonna deflower me at the end of the night. Give me the full experience?"

"Uh-" He stammered. He had always thought she was hot, and he'd always been jealous that she flirted with Happy and that he never appreciated it - but now that he found himself in the trying predicament with the daughter of his superior, he understood why the Nomad always chose to deflect.

Sydney snorted, looking him up and down before leaning up on her tiptoes. "I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told him." She spoke at his lips, moving her mouth to his ear. "No." She pulled away with a grin, rounding the bar back to where everybody was sitting.

"Come on." Sydney scowled as she was pulling up from where she was counting beer cases on the floor, looking up to see Happy yanking her elbow.

She looked over the wrinkled white button up that he was wearing under his kutte as he dragged her out from behind the bar. "We goin to a funeral?" She laughed. She'd never seen him in a shirt that fit him, let alone a shirt that fit him, with buttons.

"No." He continued pulling her along.

"Well then where the hell we goin?"

'It's prom. You need to get ready." Yates, Cobra and Tank all watched in anticipation, wondering what kind of reaction Sydney would come out with after they'd already grilled her about it. They shared glances, all clearly on the same page in thinking that it would be something explosive.

"You're going to take me to prom?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes." His serious black stare bore a hole straight through her.

"Now that's more like it." She cocked her brows and bit her lip, leading him out of the clubhouse so that she could get ready.

There was once a day when Happy was the only one that Sydney would've allowed on that visitor's list. It was something that until this moment, he hadn't realized he'd taken advantage of his entire life.

"Where is he?" Gemma sat at a table in the clubhouse with a cup of coffee, fidgeting with her lighter. Jax hadn't returned with Tara, and despite how she felt about the little gash - she would've given anything to see that they were safe.

"Relax." Clay sat at the bar with a beer.

"Don't tell me to relax." She shook her head. The atmosphere was tense and uncertain due the lack of sleep, worry, and anticipation.

"I called his cellphone a dozen times; Tara's house, no answer." Opie took a swig of beer, setting the bottle down next to the multiple empty ones at the table he was occupying.

"I can't just sit here." She sighed, pushing herself up from the table. The anxiety of sitting around was eating her alive. Gemma wasn't a 'waiter', she was a 'get to the bottom of things at once-er'.

"Hey." Clay grabbed her arm lightly as she passed by his stool. "Until we see where this lands, you stay put. Understand?"

"What if they got to him?"

"Jax can take care of himself." Piney calmly tried to reassure her.

"I'll take a ride to the hospital, see if he's there." Opie offered, kissing her on the cheek in hopes of mitigating the drama. He had enough marital drama at home.

"I'll go with you." Piney nodded.

"You take care of my boys." She ordered the older man.

"Always." He nodded with a sincere smile.

Sydney felt herself finally waking up properly after being in and out of consciousness all morning - feeling much more like herself as she squinted, trying to adjust her eyes to the fluorescent bulbs that lit her hospital room.

"Morning." Tig smiled when he saw that she was finally waking, getting up from the chair and moving to sit beside her on the bed. "You sleep a little better?" He asked tenderly as he brushed her hair out of her face. He'd been worried that sleeping in the bed with her would've caused discomfort that she would be feeling now, but trying to tell her that when she'd been delirious and needing his closeness to stay calm was no use.

"Better with you." She nodded lazily, brushing her thumb over his knuckles when she felt the empty space where her favorite ring usually was, looking down in surprise before she remembered that he'd given it to her before surgery.

"You remember saying yes?" He nodded to the cross ring that was around her thumb.

"What?" Her head snapped up and her eyes doubled in size.

"I'm just kidding." He laughed.

She let out the breath that had caught in her throat, laughing nervously before she shook her head with a discerning smile. "No fair, you wouldn't terrorize an injured woman…" She pouted.

"Had to get you back for doin it to me." He smiled, leaning down and hugging her after he was sure that she wouldn't go into sensory overload. "How do you feel?" He asked with his lips against her cheek.

"Mmm, good." She hummed, bringing her arms above her head as she stretched with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, happily coming to the realization that she didn't feel any pain. The sedation was fully out of her system now, and she was left with the euphoria of morphine. "Jesus." She blinked when she finally opened her eyes and noticed the vases of flowers lining the windowsill, trying to comprehend if she really was conscious after all. "It's like a florist's wet dream in here."

"Sure is." Tig chuckled. "You sure you don't got any boyfriend's I don't know about?" He raised an eyebrow at the multiple bouquets around the room.

"Guess you'll have to keep an eye on me." She grinned, tilting her head up to where he kissed her lips sweetly before the door opened.

"Um, sorry…" The same admin from before looked away bashfully before she was able to work up the courage to look back up. "There are some of your guys in the waiting room for you." She squeaked to Tig before scurrying away.

"You sure that you aren't the one that I need to keep an eye on?" Sydney looked at him with a raised brow and a playful smile.

"Don't worry babe. It was only second base." He winked, kissing her cheek as he got to his feet and waltzed out to the waiting room. He was feeling much better that not only was she no longer crying out of discomfort, but that she was in her usual high spirits - it made things much easier for him to deal with.

"Hey." Opie greeted Tig with a nod.

"Hey." Tig hugged the father and son duo.

"How is she?" Piney asked.

"She's gonna be fine… Already giving me a hard time." Tig chuckled. "What's up?"

"Can't find Jax. Gemma's freaking out, Clay's stressed. You seen him around here?"

"Nah... " Tig looked around. "You check with Tara?"

"Nah she isn't here either."

"Shit… okay. I'll get the nurse to let me know if she gets here. Good luck." Tig nodded awkwardly, unsure of what he was supposed to do here. He knew that as the Sergeant, this kind of job landed in his wheelhouse: tracking people down, calming the matriarch, aiding his President. But he also knew that as an old man, his job was to be here with his old lady.

"What was that?" Sydney asked as Tig returned, plopping down in the chair next to her and beginning to fidget almost instantly.

"Ope and Piney - can't find Jax."

"They think he was hit too?"

"Don't know. What are we watching?" He quickly changed the subject to the TV that the nurse had turned on during his short absence.

"Real Housewives." She chuckled.

He nodded, his crawling skin making it impossible to focus on the skimpy blonde women that paraded across the television screen - something he never thought that he would have issues paying attention to. "You thinking about eating yet?" He asked another question when he realized that his usual methods of distraction weren't working.

"Tiggy…" Sydney sighed, turning off the TV and looking over at him. "Go." She nodded out the door.

"No way." He shook his head, reaching for the remote and turning the TV back on.

"They need you right now." She looked at him sincerely. "I'll be in and out of sleep all day, you won't be missing anything."

"Yeah? And what if the same thing happens? You wake up scared and I'm not here."

"That was from the sedation." She rolled her eyes, grateful for the drugs already because any other day, having to be reminded of such a big moment of weakness would've been a much bigger piss-off. "They're keeping me on morphine all day. Go - while I'm high on this shit and won't get upset."

"Nope. Not taking that risk." He shook his head.

"I'll be fine." Her tone was stern yet soft. "Hale's coming to take my statement later, which you can't be here for anyways."

"Come on Syd, don't make me choose…" He shook his head painfully.

"I'm not making you choose. I'm giving you your only option. Now get out of here before I buzz in security and tell them that you're the one who shot me." Her lips began to curl up.

Tig rolled his eyes with a smile, leaning down where he held her face in his hands. "I fucking love you… You know that?"

She smiled as she arched her back off of the stiff hospital bed and brought her hands to rest over his. "You have five seconds..." She warned at his lips teasingly with a grin.

"I'll take the risk." He husked as he softly pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. She yanked him closer, opening her mouth wider to let his tongue in.

"Time's running out." She told him breathlessly but made no effort to stop her movements - the high of the drugs and the taste of his tongue had her on a wave that she wanted to ride for as long as possible.

"I ain't goin anywhere if you keep kissin me all nasty like this…" He grinned, speaking his words into her waiting mouth as he hovered over her.

"You need to have more self control." She licked at his lips as she tilted her head, leaning in and capturing his bottom lip between her teeth.

"This is me having self control…" His hand rested on her neck, his thumb under her chin to hold her in place as he continued to devour her mouth.

"Oh yeah?" She pushed further with a cocky grin. "What do you wanna do to me, Sergeant?" Her voice got lower as she rasped the seductive words.

"Princess…" He growled. "Don't get me started." His lips were on hers again before he pulled away, leaving her waiting with each time that he spoke. "Because I won't be able to stop."

"I guess I'll need to be the one to stop then." She looked up at him as she smoothed her hands up his chest.

"You couldn't stop even if you tried." He moved his lips to her neck where he lightly sucked on a spot below her ear.

She sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. "Hmm… Maybe you would challenge an injured woman." She smirked.

"Two for one…" His grip tightened on the back of her neck.

"That just means that you owe me." She moaned out, the heat between her legs getting strong enough that she could feel it even over the body-numbing pain medication.

Tig smirked deviously as he watched her writhing under the sheets, trying to get some friction. "I'll be back for you later." He whispered into her ear, nipping lightly at her neck before he stood and stalked out the door.

Sydney bit her lip as her face flushed, watching him walk away, strong and with purpose. She felt the blush move down her body, shaking it off as she turned her glossy eyes towards the TV and laid back.

"What's going on?" Tig asked as he entered the clubhouse, scanning the room to see everybody except Jax.

Clay sighed and shook his head, looking at Gemma who was practically going crazy in the barstool next to him. He didn't have the energy to deal with her overprotectiveness, and Tig was the only one that he trusted to keep her safe.

Gemma pursed her lips as she felt her frustration boiling over when she saw them sharing glances. "I know he's with her!" She knew that if she just told Clay what she knew at Tara and A.T.F., he would side with her, but she was going to do everything she could to achieve her goal without having to upset Sydney.

Clay gave Tig the nod. The worry of something happening to Gemma in Tig's care was far less than the worry of dealing with her for the rest of the day.

"Come on Gem." Tig nodded out the door. "We'll find him." He placed his hand on her shoulder as he led her outside, knowing that the sooner he could calm her down, the sooner he could calm Clay down.

Gemma exhaled, feeling her climbing heart-rate beginning to slow, thankful for resolution before she did something that she would regret.

Jax stepped out of Tara's front door with his head hung. Even though it was well past noon, he was exhausted after the whirlwind of events that unfolded the night before. Physically exhausted, emotionally exhausted, and mentally exhausted. He was full of uncertainty. Uncertainty about the club, uncertainty about Tara, and uncertainty about the man that he thought he was. The only thing that he could now be certain of was that Kohn was gone for good.

He looked up when he heard the sound of a Harley, cursing under his breath when he saw Tig pulling up alongside Gemma's car in the driveway. "Jesus christ! You scared the shit out of me." She jumped out of the car and ran over, throwing her arms around the neck of her baby boy. "Where you been?"

"I'm sorry. I got caught up."

She ran her hands through his hair, scowling when she felt that it was wet. "You've been here? This whole time?" She pulled back to see the awful expression of guilt on his face. Once again, Tara was pulling Jax from what was most important. She'd known from the beginning and no one would listen to her.

"We've been worrying man. Trying to call you." Tig approached as the guilty VP stayed silent.

"I know." He didn't have the strength to come up with an excuse for what he'd really done last night.

"That's it? You know?" Gemma scolded. "Someone tries to kill Clay, and you decide it's a good time to get laid?"

"It's not like that, mom."

"If you wanna resurrect old trauma with this bitch, you do it on your own goddamn time!" Jax nodded, stepping away and walking towards his bike as Gemma stalked up to the front porch.

"She's not there. Don't go looking for her either." He called as he put his helmet on, holding back his wince when he realized what a poor excuse it was because her car was sitting in the driveway. "Mom!" He yelled when she realized the same thing, the frustration easily seeping through the haze that he'd entered at the crossroads. "Leave her alone." He ordered firmly.

Gemma chewed her lip in contemplation as she stood on the stoop, wondering if she should break the door down and teach that little bitch the same lesson that she'd tried to teach her years ago, or cut her losses and get her son away from there while she could. With everything going on, she chose the latter - for now.

Tig placed his boot on Jax's footrest as the VP mounted his bike, which went ignored. "Don't ever forget your first priority." He sneered, getting more frustrated with the disrespectful little prince. He'd been able to curb his feelings about what had happened to Sydney, but he hadn't been able to do the same for Jax's attitude - especially in a time like this.

"I didn't." Jax wasn't lying - he'd taken out one of their biggest threats - but his defensiveness made it impossible for Tig to know that. Gemma walked up slowly, looking between the two of them as Tig didn't let up.

"Get your foot off my bike." Jax ordered, but instead Tig gripped his handlebars, challenging the younger man before Gemma gave him a nod that told him it was time to go, staring at the light haired man a little longer before finally pushing off and letting him go, sharing in the matriarchs glance of concern as he rode off.

Jax sauntered into the clubhouse, feeling the air get heavier around him the second that he entered the building. The atmosphere was dreary and uncertain, and they couldn't have that - he knew that now.

"Jackie Boy… Where've you been?" Chibs sighed, holding out his arms.

"I'm here now." Jax shook his head, accepting the Scotsman's embrace. "Let's sit down."

Clay gave Jax a look that let him know that his absence wouldn't be forgotten, but wouldn't be discussed right now - summoning everybody into the chapel where he sat down and hung his head, waiting for the table to fill up.

"I know shit's heavy right now…" He began. "But until we know what's going on, we lay low. Nobody rides alone, nobody rides unarmed."

"No retaliation?" Jax scowled.

"We kill them. Now." Happy rasped, slamming his fist on the table.

"You were ready to start a war yesterday. What changed?" After years of pushing against Clay's brute force, Jax was finally ready to bend, and now that he was, they were falling back.

"And you were ready to curl up and let the Mayans kill us off. What changed?" Tig retorted in defense of his President. Jax ground his teeth. Everything had changed since last night.

"Other charter's are gonna start headin down. After Indian Hills, we've seen that the Mayans aren't afraid to expand the blowback. I wanna bounce it off of them before we decide on retaliation."

"Okay." Jax nodded along with his brothers. Even though he was feeling ready to truly step into his role as Vice President, he knew that this move was smart, and he appreciated that.

"I'm inviting Indian Hills down. They deserve some clarity after that shit last week." It was the perfect solution for Clay. He needed bodies, and he needed to build trust with the freshly patched over charter - this would cover both bases.

"That makes sense." Jax nodded, grateful that he would be able to patch up any damage that had been done, with his uncle.

"So when's this going down?" Juice questioned.

"Sometime in the next few days."

"Not sooner?" Jax didn't want to be locked down and anxiously awaiting another attack the way he had for months - he wanted to get this over with while he was fired up.

"We don't do anything until Sydney gets back." Clay lowered his voice considerably as sorrow laced his tone.

"Brother…" Chibs sighed. "I don't know if it's a good idea that she comes back…" He regretfully addressed the issue that nobody else wanted to.

"Look…" Clay sighed. "I know what you're all thinking…" He'd thought the same thing too, but they didn't know the details like he did. "But that aint the case here. We wait until she's back at the table."

"Why?" Jax's face scrunched up again. "She aint a member."

Clay took a deep breath and rested his elbows on the table, leaning his forehead against his folded hands. He didn't want to have to say it out loud, but he knew that it was the only way to make his crew understand.

"Because that bullet was for me."