Opie has green eyes and I accidentally gave him brown eyes in the last chapter. Opie hoes plz forgive me :/

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 57: THE HEALING

"Mornin, sleeping beauty." Tig chuckled with his lips against Sydney's cheek once she began stirring against his chest, hugging her tightly as he listened to her soft giggling.

"That makes you Prince Charming." She mused with a lazy smile before he stood from the bed, looking him over playfully as he pulled on his jeans.

"I'd expect a lot more than Prince Charming after last night." He scoffed with a smile, eyeing her knowingly.

Tig's night had been anything but peaceful. He had been terrified to sleep, worrying that if he did he would wake up to Sydney cold and dead next to him. So he'd opted to stay awake for most of the night, listening to her rambling when she was awake and monitoring her breathing and making sure she stayed off of her back while she slept.

Sydney shrunk under his gaze, feeling her cheeks reddening with embarrassment as she hid her face in the blankets.

"Oh yeah." Tig groaned, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling the blanket away from her. "Your hair was in my face, you were drooling on me, snoring in my ear." He listed with a shit-eating grin.

"I was not!" She squealed, lunging forward and smacking him on the arm lightly. She was glad that her discomfort only extended as far as embarrassment and nothing more - grateful that they were back to their regular banter about what had previously been a very rocky subject.

"You were too!" He argued, pulling her into his lap where he peppered her jaw with kisses, smiling as she squirmed in his grip while his lips tickled her sensitive skin. "Hungover?" He asked once he stopped his assault on her face.

"Not really." She replied gratefully.

"Good." He nodded, knowing her rejuvenated body was likely thanks to the gallons of water that he'd forced down her throat at any possible moment throughout the night. "How's the pain?" He nodded to her leg.

"Okay." She replied meekly, feeling the aching spreading through her body the second that he reminded her of it.

"Alright." He accepted her answer even though he knew it wasn't the truth, kissing her temple before setting her back down to the mattress so that he could get up. "I'll be back. Stay here, sleep, watch TV - it's still early. I got some shit I need to take care of for Clay before we head out."

"We?" Sydney raised her brow suggestively. "Are you gonna be my chauffeur for the day, Sergeant?" She purred seductively as a devilish smirk played on her lips.

"You know it, baby… You get to ride me all day long." He mimicked her devious expression, grabbing her hand and leaning down to kiss her goodbye.

Sydney kissed him through her smile, whimpering at the loss of contact as he tried to pull away, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her nose in his chest as she squeezed him tight.

"I'll be back soon." He chortled, rubbing her back. "And you were snoring." He smirked into her hair before he made to pull away.

"Shut up." She grumbled. "You snore all the time." She finally let go of him, rolling her eyes as she watched him slip out the door with a smile on his face.

Opie paced back and forth through the garage as he watched the sun slowly rise over the clubhouse out the bay doors, time passing him by as he continued his path - weaving in and out of the car lifts. He had been at it for hours, and he knew that he would continue to be at it for hours considering the early hour and the rager that had wrapped up not long before he'd arrived for the job that he was eager to get over with.

"We aint set to head out for a while." He looked up to see Jax eyeing him disapprovingly from the doorway of the office.

"Donna took the kids to her mom's. I can never sleep when the house is empty." Opie looked down at his knuckles.

Jax sucked in a deep breath, pursing his lips as he contemplated the best way to get his best friend off of this hit. He pushed himself off of the doorframe he'd been leaning on, approaching the taller man wearily. "This gig doesn't make sense for you, Ope." He shook his head as he looked up at him sincerely.

"Why do you keep trying to push me off of this? You're the one who keeps saying I can't live half in, half out." He shook his head in confusion, knowing that there had to be a tighter angle that Jax was working here.

"Cause you need it too much." Jax went with the first one of his rehearsed excuses that came to mind. "Becomes about money… Shit gets sloppy."

"This is not about money." Opie looked away awkwardly, feeling the anger of embarrassment building in his chest as he searched for his own excuse. "I'm doing this the same reason you are - to prove I'm SAMCRO."

Jax felt himself stiffen with Opie's choice of words. "I got nothing to prove." He tried to reply as casually as possible - knowing that if he showed any kind of defensiveness over the matter, his lifelong friend would pick up on the fact that he had been right.

"That's not what I hear."

The VP knew that he wouldn't be getting his way on this one - not without help at least. He shook his head with his teeth clenched, storming away in search of the one person he knew would be able to sniff out a reason to put Opie on the bench.

"Hey man." Jax heard from behind him as his hand hovered over the doorknob to Tig's dorm, looking over his shoulder to see the Sergeant himself.

"Oh, hey." He nodded. "Sydney up? Was gonna relay the game plan." Technically, it wasn't a lie.

Sydney lifted her head from the pillow, turning her attention away from the TV when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, scowled when she heard them footsteps stop just outside the door and then heard multiple muffled voices - recognizing them to be Tig and Jax.

"Nah, she's still sleepin - best to leave her that way." Tig chuckled. "I'll let her know what the plan is." He nodded sympathetically, clapping the younger man on the shoulder as he led him down the hallway to listen to his instructions.

By the time that Tig got back, Sydney hadn't moved from where she'd sat up - anxiously awaiting his return to find out what the rendezvous outside the door was about.

Tig opened the door slowly, peeking his head inside to be sure that he wasn't waking her. "Hey." He smiled bashfully when he saw her sitting in the middle of the bed, entering the room to reveal the iced latte and paper bag from her favorite bakery.

"See." She grinned bashfully. "You are too good to me."

"Only cause I know how good you are." He replied earnestly as he made his way over to the bed, passing her the large caffeinated beverage where she began gulping it down through the straw.

"Damn." He chuckled. "All that water didn't do it for ya?"

Sydney swallowed the caramel flavoured coffee and inhaled a deep breath that the chugging had taken out of her. "All that water is exactly what did it for me." She scoffed.

"Maybe a chocolate croissant will help." He smiled, dangling the paper bag containing the pastry as he stood from the bed.

"I think it might." She smirked. "Thank you." She smiled gratefully.

"No problem, babe." He turned and began making his way to the bathroom.

"Was that Jax I heard outside?" She asked casually, taking another sip.

"Oh, yeah. He was just gonna let you know how today is gonna go down, but I got it covered." He winked.

Sydney nodded, looking down at the brown liquid that was draining from the clear plastic cup in her hands. She knew that Jax's excuse had been just that - an excuse; he had been present for her briefing the night before, and she was dying to know what he had been trying to slip in to tell her while Tig was away.

"What kinda bullshit is Gretchen pulling now?" Tig groaned as he caught a glimpse of the TV where she was watching The Real Housewives of Orange County; the trashy reality show that he had shamefully become hooked on because of her - but he would never admit it.

"Nothing!" Sydney exclaimed with a wide grin. Even him bashing her favorite housewife couldn't trump her excitement over the fact that he was finally warming up to her TV choices - as she had been telling him he would do for weeks. "I thought the ruthless Sergeant at Arms was too manly to watch my girly TV shows?" She mimicked him with an eyeroll.

"I am." He scoffed unconvincingly.

"Vicki is clearly the enemy here, you just haven't been paying attention enough." She turned her nose up.

"Yes, I have!"

"Ah." Sydney held her finger up as she caught him, backing him into a verbal corner as she shook her head with a smug smile and knowing eyes.

"All that tequila is gettin to ya if you think Vicki is the enemy." He shook his head with a playful smile crossing the threshold where his boots hit the tile floor of the bathroom, crouching down and starting the bath with a squeak of the taps.

Sydney smiled when she heard him running her a bath, staying in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest as she rocked back and forth giddily. His actions this morning were almost enough to overtake the nervousness that was building as she realized that she would be seeing her wound for the first time without the bandages - and so would he. She felt the anxiety beginning to consume her, she hadn't yet worked up the courage to assess the damage on her own - and now she had to do it in front of an audience that didn't even know the true extent of her injury.

Tig returned to collect Sydney from bed once the bathtub was full, making sure that the water was nice and hot the way that she liked it. He scooped her up into his arms, carrying her into the bathroom and setting her down on the sink where he pulled off the black oversized t-shirt of his that he'd dressed her in the night before.

"Hold on." He instructed as her lifted arms fell around his neck.

Sydney nodded, wrapping her legs around his hips and locked her arms behind his head so that he could pull off the baggy grey sweats she was wearing.

Tig groaned when she pressed her pelvis against his, letting his hands roam over her ass. He smiled when he heard her chuckling, refocusing himself as he gripped the waistband and pulled down the loose bottoms before setting her back down to remove them all of the way, finally moving his eyes to the bandages wrapped around her leg.

"Um." She squeaked with her eyes down once he approached the area.

"We're gonna do this together." He squeezed her shoulders, feeling her quivering under his touch. "But I won't look if you don't want me to."

Sydney inhaled sharply as she weighed her options; she knew that he was going to see it sooner or later, and she also knew that his comforting presence would soften the blow - but she didn't know if she was ready to see the pain behind his eyes when he laid them upon his broken old lady.

"What if… I look first, and then…" She trailed off.

"You can tell me if it's okay?" She looked up into his caring blue eyes, nodding softly. "Okay." He nodded, squeezing her hand before turning his back to the mirror above the sink so that he would still be able to see her face, but not her body.

Sydney took a deep breath as she hopped off of the sink and carefully began unravelling the tensor bandage that was protecting the layer of gauze taped over the entry point, wincing at the sight of the black and yellow bruising covering her entire upper thigh. She took a deep breath - pulling at the corner of the strong medical tape, squeezing her eyes shut as it tugged at the skin surrounding the wound uncomfortably. She flinched when she felt Tig's hand slide into hers where she was clutching the sink, looking up as she felt his warmth spreading through her; fighting her unease with a force much stronger than she expected.

"Like a bandaid." He squeezed her hand with an encouraging smile.

"You do it." She spun around quickly, pushing herself back onto the counter so that he could get it over with before she changed her mind.

"You sure?" Tig asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure now but I might not be in a few seconds." She warned him.

He nodded, taking his place between her legs where he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him so that he had enough leverage, and she had a comforting form of contact to focus on while he did so. He slid his fingers under the corner of the bandage, peeling it back bit by bit until he was satisfied that he could remove it in one swift pull - hugging her tightly while he ripped it off, keeping his eyes averted.

"Jesus!" Sydney flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and digging her nails into his back as she waited for the surge of pain to subside. Her body relaxed as the initial shock wore off quickly, but she was unable to release the breath she was holding while she waited to see what Tig's reaction would be.

"Keep doin that." He growled into her ear playfully - revelling in the sweet, nostalgic sting of her nails in his skin.

"Shut up." She laughed, grateful for the light mood he was trying to create. "Is it bad?" She asked meekly, refusing to do as little as peer down as she stayed in the same position with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"You're sure you want me to look?" Tig was hopeful for the opportunity to show her that he was worthy of her trust, that her vulnerability and flaws weren't vulnerability and flaws in his eyes - even if it meant absorbing the sore sight of his old lady; marked and wounded because of him.

"Only if you know that you won't look at me differently…" Sydney mumbled sadly with her nose buried into his shoulder as she inhaled his scent, feeling herself starting to tremble as she prayed to every god she could think of - begging them not to burden her with a repeat of the first time that she'd allowed the men of the M.C. to witness her injuries.

"Never." He whispered truthfully. He could never see her differently, the only person he worried that he would see differently was himself.

"You can look." She whispered shakily after a moment's hesitation - knowing that she needed to do this for the both of them.

Tig nodded, pulling back as he slowly allowed his eyes to travel down her body to the dark bruises surrounding the reddened skin where the stitches were holding the wound together. "Baby…" He whispered.

Sydney felt her guard beginning to fall as her entire body stiffened up, sucking in a deep breath of air as dread filled her lungs and tears filled her eyes - tears of frustration; of humiliation as an angry sob left her throat. How could she have been so stupid to think that this would've been a good idea? She didn't even need to see his eyes to know that he would never look at her as he once did. He would see her as Happy did, as Tank did, as they all did: broken.

"This is badass."

"What?" Her head snapped up to see a proud smile on Tig's face. Besides having to fight off the initial grimace, he was holding up just fine - waiting for the darkness to creep in but it never did. Instead of having to force himself to look, he was admiring her in awe - absorbing her strength as his own in a way that he'd never thought possible.

"C'mere." He pulled her off of the counter to stand in front of him.

"No, no. I don't wanna-"

"Look." He cut her off, turning her face so that she could see in the mirror.

"Wow…" Sydney was surprised. It didn't look nearly as bad as she'd expected it to look. Once the stitches were removed and the bruising faded, it would be nothing but a small scar. She looked up, seeing Tig's blue eyes sparking with adoration in the reflection behind her - the same way that they always had. "You think so?" She asked optimistically as confidence began to refill the crevasses that her insecurities had been inhabiting, turning her body so that she could examine her entire leg.

"Hell yeah." He nodded, guiding her by her shoulders as he too examined the damage, turning her around so that he could stare at her ass with a grin.

Sydney chuckled, resting her forehead against his chest as she smiled gratefully. "Thank you…" She looked up at him with pure eyes.

"No." Tig shook his head. "Thank you." He hugged her, swaying her gently. He was proud of himself, and he knew that he owed it all to her.

Tara lay in the small bed in one of the clubhouse dorms that Jax had claimed for the night - bouncing her knee up and down as she tapped her wrist anxiously. She had never been a 'stay in bed' kind of person, especially when that bed wasn't her own. After a poor sleep in the familiarly unfamiliar place, and a restless morning now that Jax wasn't laying next to her - she was desperate to get out of there and back into an environment where she had control over her emotions.

Sydney held onto Tig as he lowered her into the bath water gently, feeling her tense muscles and weary mind soothing instantly as the scalding hot water graced her skin. But as soon as the liquid came into contact with the tender stitches, she felt an excruciating pain crashing through her. Her entire body recoiled, her eyes widening and her heart stopping as she tried to fight it off.

Tig responded immediately when he realized what was happening, supporting her weight with an arm under her shoulder as he shoved his hand into her mouth - letting her bite down as she fought off the pain and got used to the water, muffling her high pitched squealing.

"It's okay, you're okay." He repeated as she clutched at his wrist and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the pressure of her jaw getting weaker and weaker as the pain subsided.

Sydney grimaced as she pulled back, hissing before she was finally able to let out the breath she'd been holding, blinking a few times. "I guess there is such a thing as too hot." She chortled shakily.

"Sorry." Tig winced, reaching over and twisting the cold tap.

"It's my karma." She gave a watery smile as she laid back, letting her body properly relax in the bath - as it always did.

"Here." He handed her the remainder of her coffee and her croissant, hoping that food would be enough of a distraction for her as the water cooled down.

"I still want tacos." She smiled longingly as she accepted her breakfast, sinking her teeth into the flakey pastry.

"Yeah, yeah." Tig groaned with an eyeroll. "How could I forget, you talked about it all night."

"Just planting the seeds, babe." She winked with a giggle, her eye catching the reddening water by her wound where it was washing away the dried blood as she went to take another bite. She winced, feeling her stomach flip as she jerked her eyes away - suddenly she didn't feel so hungry anymore.

"Never thought you would be one to have a weak stomach." Tig commented as she set the baked good back down on the paper bag.

"I only like marks from a fair fight… Or a fight that I won." She shrugged with a playful smile.

"Well, later today…" He waited to finish until she looked into his eyes. "You win." He nodded.

Tara made her way down the hallway quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself as she entered the bar that was littered with passed out party-goers. She looked around the room at the grungy scene that was no place for a doctor, averting her eyes as she ducked into the kitchen for some coffee.

"Good morning." She flinched when he heard the unexpectedly cheerful voice behind her, knocking over the container holding various wooden spoons and whisks as she reached for a mug.

Gemma sat by the sink with a cigarette in her hand, scanning over a nervous Tara as she stood dressed in Jax's t-shirt. Now that the truth was out in the open, she no longer had to hold back on her scheming to push Tara back out. She'd done it before, and she was determined to do it again.

Tara cursed the PTSD that Kohn had tainted her with as she tried to calm her racing heart, but the object of her fright wasn't much less frightening than Kohn would've been. She cleared her throat and straightened her back, regaining her composure as Gemma watched her every move like a hawk. She had been in this position enough times to know that what the matriarch was looking for was a sign of weakness, and she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Good morning." She spoke as level as possible, turning back to what she was doing and pouring herself some coffee.

Gemma side-eyed the younger woman as she attempted to appear strong. She pursed her lips with an approving nod, she'd gotten smarter since the last time. She decided to switch tactics, dropping her cigarette butt into the sink and sliding off of the chair. "Can I ask you a question?" She approached her as Tara kept her head down.

Tara inhaled sharply. She knew that if she invited in any conversation in her fragile and now semi-panicked state, she would lose all control of her emotional restraint. "I'm tired, I'm not really up for a fight." She replied shakily, looking between her coffee and Gemma's eyes.

"Oh, not a fight." Gemma feigned offence. "Just tryin to figure out what's goin on…. You and Jax are obviously reconnected."

"Honestly." Tara could physically feel her patience wearing thinner and thinner by the second. "I don't know what we are."

"That's what concerns me." Gemma raised a condescending eyebrow.

Tara fought the urge to roll her eyes, even if she knew that Gemma was right. It was the same thing that Sydney had told her - that she couldn't live this life half in, half out. But she was doing her best to walk the fine line between the two; ride out the grace period like Sydney had suggested before she made her decision.

"You're clearly not one of them." Gemma scoffed as she looked out the door.

"I'm glad that's clear." Tara scoffed back.

"So what happens next?"

"I don't know." Tara shrugged optimistically.

"You become his old lady again?" Gemma suggested, knowing it would trigger the memories of the pressure that she had bowed under all those years ago. "What does that look like? Operating on kids during the day, patching up bullet wounds at night…"

"Okay." Tara snapped. "I get it." She sneered, reaching for her coffee and turning towards the door.

"I know you hate me." Tara stopped. "But this isn't me being some overbearing bitch. This is someone tellin you the truth." She rounded the shorter girl with her hands on her hips. "You and Jax is a bad idea. And someone better start thinking clearly before both of you get hurt."

Tara felt her eyes welling up and her lips quivering as the woman who drove her away in the past, stood in her face - driving that same train all over again. She nodded until she broke down, giving up on the little self control that she could salvage to stay strong. "Well it wouldn't be my first bad idea." She gave a humorless, watery laugh. "It seems to follow me wherever I go." She began hyperventilating.

"You know." Gemma moved in closer, playing off of Tara's mommy issues and uncertainty - acting as if she was just trying to help - the same way she had done in the past. "You are smarter and more strong-willed than anyone I've ever met. You need to shine some of that on this thing with Jax. He's not smart enough right now to do what's right. You have to be the one to break this off." She dropped her voice to a comforting whisper, the voice of reason. "Save both of you from somethin bad."

Jax stood at the end of the hallway opposite to Tig's room, waiting until he was satisfied that he had enough time to sneak in and speak to Sydney without getting caught. He watched the dark haired man exit his room, leaving the door open as he descended the hallway and rounded the corner, walking through the bar and to the front door. This was the beginning of Jax's window - he waited until the heavy metal door shut behind before he began his mission, stalking down the hallway towards his target but just as he approached the point where the corridor divided, he was almost run down by Tara storming past him with her head down. He jumped back, his heart stopping when his cover had so quickly been compromised - but luckily she hadn't seen him in her huff. As soon as he was able to catch his breath, he realized that this only caused more problems because not only was his path to Sydney blocked - he now had to deal with whatever it was that had upset her so badly.

Sydney sat on the edge of Tig's bed, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she sat up as tall as she could to try and catch a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror above his dresser, but her eyes landed on something else instead. A smile came to her face as she stood, her grin getting wider as she got closer and closer to see that tucked into the frame around the mirror with all of his photos, were two photos of them from the photobooth at the fair; photos that she didn't even know had been taken - let alone that Tig had thought to keep.

She stood and stared at the photos in awe until something finally came along to distract her from her giddiness, looking out the open door to see Tara stomping down the hall with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Woah, woah woah!" She yelled, stopping the brunette who turned around with a huff. "What's wrong?" She asked with concern.

"You shouldn't be-" Tara hiccuped as the tears of humiliation returned. "Putting weight on your leg so much." She nodded to where Sydney was standing in a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a tiny black tank top that barely covered her midriff.

"I'll sit down if you come tell me what's got you so upset." Sydney crossed her arms in a challenge.

Tara hesitated, not because she didn't want to talk to Sydney, but because she didn't know how she felt about entering Tig's room alone.

"He's getting the van." Sydney chuckled. "But if clean sheets are a deal breaker for you, then you may want to stand."

Tara smiled awkwardly before chuckling at her joke as she tentatively entered the room, walking over and sitting on the end of the bed where Sydney followed.

"What happened?" Sydney grabbed her hands, leaning down to meet her sad eyes.

"The same thing that always happens." She scoffed. "Gemma."

"What'd she do?" Sydney knew that this would happen sooner or later, but she couldn't help be surprised that Gemma had actually kept her word by keeping her mouth shut about Tara until it was public knowledge - her priority really had been the safety of the club.

"Oh you know." Tara laughed humorlessly as she looked up to the ceiling, gluing her hands to her sides. "That me and Jax are a bad idea and that somebody is going to get hurt if I don't break it off."

"Is she right?" Sydney knew that the delivery of Gemma's concern had actively missed the mark - a recurring theme with the brash woman - but she herself had also half wondered if Tara's recent effort was just because she was too scared to be alone after Kohn.

"What?" Tara recoiled, her defensive instincts taking over before her brain could catch up. "No, she isn't. But even if she was, it's none of her business!" She sneered.

Tara's reaction was all Sydney needed to know that her worry wasn't necessary - if it was, the uptight doctor would've squirmed and lied as she had done under previous accusations. She sat with a raised eyebrow and knowing smirk as she stared Tara down, watching the offence fading from her face as she realized what the blonde girl's play had been the entire time.

"Okay." Tara rolled her eyes with a smile, remembering the impactful advice that Sydney had given her in the hospital and how this wasn't all that different. "I get what you're saying. She's just trying to protect the club…"

"Look… If you hurt, then Jax hurts. If Jax hurts, the club hurts. If the club hurts…" She trailed off. "You see where I'm going with this?" Tara nodded understandingly. "Jax wears his heart on his sleeve, Gemma knows that. She knows the kind of woman that he needs, and she knows that woman when she sees it. She wouldn't deny her son of a good old lady, so if you think that a good old lady is what you can be, what you want to be… Then show her."

"Well that didn't take you long." Gemma heard the smug voice behind her from where she stood in the kitchen, knowing exactly who it belonged to.

"I could say the same to you." She smirked, finally looking over to see Sydney standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a sly look on her face, nodding to the leg that she wasn't supposed to be standing on.

Sydney chuckled, winking to the devious woman as she turned her attention to Tig who was barrelling down the hallway in search of her. "What the hell?" He held out his arms as he feigned confusion. "I thought the whole reason I was bringing the van around back was so that you didn't have to do this?" He gestured to her stance.

"Change of plans." She smiled sweetly. "I'm ready to go now though." She held her arms out so that he could pick her up.

Tig looked between the two women who were doing their best to look innocent even though he knew that they were anything but - grumbling as he shook his head and lifted her into his arms.

"You wanna say goodbye to anyone?" He nodded to the open room where the hoards of men were still passed out - knowing that they would be long gone by the time she returned.

"Nah." She answered coldly with her eyes fixed on the SAMDINO rockers.

Tig watched as her eyes hardened, lingering for a few seconds longer in case she changed her mind - hoping that she would change her mind - but as soon as she looked at him when he didn't budge, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He nodded formally, respecting her wishes and carrying her down the hall to the van where he placed her into the passenger seat and kissed her on the cheek before making his way around to the drivers side where he took off towards her house.

Jax grumbled from across the parking lot as he watched his one last chance at salvation, driving away. There was nothing he could do to save Opie now.

"I'm gonna go load up while you get ready. Call Laroy to confirm the meet." Tig spoke with his grip firm on the wheel.

Sydney nodded, pulling a burner out of the glovebox. "Part crates?" She wanted to be sure that they were still taking precautions, even if they weren't crossing state lines.

"Yeah." Tig nodded.

Sydney felt a blush coming to her cheeks as butterflies dipped down below her belly button as his arms flexed around the steering wheel. She loved when Tig was on Sergeant mode - he was rough, authoritative, and all business. She let her eyes linger as he kept his glued to the road, finally getting herself back on track as she flipped the phone open and began dialing Laroy's number.

"We go take care of Esai, then meet up with Jax, Ope and Bobby for the drop with Laroy after they're done with Hefner in Oakland." He relayed the rest of the plan before pulling into her driveway as she held the phone to her ear and nodded, leaning over so that he could kiss her goodbye.

Tig pecked her lips, nodding as she opened the door. "You need help?"

"Hi Teaj." Sydney began her phone call, winking back at him as she shut the door and shimmied up to her front door with a proud smile on her face. Between finding the photos on the mirror, the way Tig had taken care of her all morning, and what she knew the afternoon would bring - today was shaping up to be exactly the day that she needed.

Opie and Jax sat in the blue pickup truck that they'd jacked for the hit while Bobby confirmed the location, neither of them having spoken a single word since their standoff this morning in the garage.

"Look, I'm ready for this, brother." Opie broke the awkward silence. The whole reason he was doing this in the first place was to remove the hostility in his life between him and his wife, he didn't need to replace it with hostility between him and his best friend. "Let's just get it done." He looked over his shoulder at Jax who sat in the backseat with the same troubled expression he'd had on this face this morning.

"Alright." Jax agreed after a moment's hesitation. He still didn't like this, and he still didn't intend on allowing Opie to become exposed to the same life-changing turmoil that he'd been exposed to only a few short days ago, but he realized that he wasn't going to be able to talk himself out of this one, he was going to have to do what a real VP would do and act.

"His grey Mercedes' in the garage." Bobby nodded to Opie through the open passenger window as he approached the truck.

"Which apartment?" Opie asked as he studied the printed photo of the Port Commissioner that had been stuffed in his pocket.

"Unit nine. Top floor, third from the right."

"Cameras cover the garage, we should do this on the upper level." Jax suggested.

"If this guy has half a brain he's gonna be cautious and armed." Bobby nodded.

Jax nodded slowly. "If anyone walks into this, has an eyeline, we abort. No risks."

Bobby nodded his agreement. "Ope, you take the front steps, I'll take the back." Opie took off towards his post. "You stay in case he gets by."

"Nah." Jax shook his head when everything started unfolding faster than he could plan for it. "Ope! I'm gonna take the front-"

"It's the way Clay wanted it." Bobby reminded his younger brother with a calm tone. He didn't want any more power struggles between the prince and the king, and he knew that Opie carrying out this hit was a mean to that end.

Jax looked past the shorter man at Opie who stood across the parking lot, shaking his head in confusion - not knowing what the hold up was for. He was searching his brain for any way to get them out of this, but he couldn't. He couldn't talk or act himself out of this one - and the one person that could've was miles and miles away.

"I know…" Bobby nodded when he saw Jax's worry - a worry that he shared, but he knew that they would have much more to worry about if this didn't play out exactly as planned.

"Alright…" Jax relented, placing his trust in the level headed man that he had always been able to rely on. "Watch him…" He whispered out of the side of his mouth as they began walking towards Opie.

"Alright, I got your back in case he gets by you. The second this goes down, I'm in the car, motor running."

"Okay." Opie nodded, taking off up the steps to the front door of the dingy apartment unit with Bobby in tow, leaving a weary Jax in their wake.

"You're not covering it?" Tig nodded in half worry, half confusion as he looked over the fully exposed wound that Sydney had been terrified to show him just hours before.

"You don't like it?" Sydney pouted as she looked down at the short, frilly, mint green dress she was wearing.

"No." Tig's eyes widened as he shook his head rapidly. "Of course I do…" He husked as he raked over her figure in the tight garment. "I just don't want you to get hurt…" He knew that the day's activities could easily cause an infection or even worse - disruption to the wound itself.

Sydney chuckled at his worry that he'd offended her. She slid into the passenger seat with a smile on her face, having accomplished her mission. "I'll cover it after." She held up the purse that she'd stuffed with medical supplies. "But I need it for something first…"

Marcus Alvarez sat at a picnic table with Esai in the quiet park just outside of Lodi. He watched as his son sat across from him, trembling with fear over how badly he had disappointed his father - completely unaware that this was the last time he would do so.

"Hey, relax huh?" The older man nodded. "Shit happens man."

"Yeah, I know." Esai tried to brush off the awful feeling that he had about the consequences of the two horribly executed hits. "I'm sorry, Pop…"

"Because of your mistake, I had a sit down with SAMCRO. Made a deal with them - gonna start selling us guns."

"That's good." Esai nodded, shocked by the news. He never thought he would see the day that his dad would make peace with white, let alone see the day that he would've been part of that transition.

"That happened because of you, okay? It's okay man…" Alvarez looked past him to the little blonde at the churro stand he'd had set up. "Let's go get a churro…" He stood, throwing his arm around his son's shoulder as he led him to his demise.

Esai smirked as they walked towards the mexican snack stand, eyeing the gorgeous girl in the tight green dress, his smirk growing to a grin when she bent over to grab something as they approached.

"What can I get you boys?" Sydney greeted the two men with a smile as she held the knife behind her back.

The younger Alvarez felt himself starting to panic, but he couldn't figure out why. Something about the girl's voice ticked a memory in the back of his brain that was telling him to run. Then he saw it, the dark bruising covering her thigh, surrounding the stitched up bullet hole...

"Pop." He gasped, turning around with wide eyes where his father pulled him into a hug - effectively holding him in place.

"I love you, mi hijo." The Mayan President winced as he felt the knife plunge into the back of his son's neck, holding him up as he gasped for air until he felt his last breath leave his heaving chest, lowering him to the ground with watery eyes.

Sydney felt the rush of satisfaction overtake her entire body - a feeling that only complete and total revenge could provide. She closed her eyes, revelling in the wave of peace with the sun on her face and the distant sound of the banjos in the background. She inhaled deeply, letting herself ride out the high while Alvarez composed himself before she finally opened her eyes, watching as he kissed his son on the head before getting to his feet.

The dark haired man pulled the folded envelope out of his back pocket as he took a deep breath, handing it to Sydney and sharing a respectful nod with the young girl before he turned to leave - he had a funeral to plan.

Another body for our Cali Queen 😏