My sincerest apologies if you spell it "gray" where you're from :/ I really thought about calling it "Gray/Grey Area" LOL

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

CHAPTER 63: GREY AREA

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Sydney awoke much more enjoyably than she had the day before - the light of the rising sun flooding her bedroom at the early hour and coaxing her eyes open slowly. She smiled when the first thing that she saw was Tig's chest where her face had been buried all night long. She could still feel some pain in her leg, but the way that he had propped it up over his hip during the night to protect it from possible disruption during her sleep had done wonders to mitigate it.

"Mornin." He mumbled against her forehead without opening his eyes as the feeling of her arms tightening around his waist brought him out of his peaceful slumber.

"Morning." She whispered as she nuzzled her nose deeper into his neck, inhaling his comforting scent.

"Feel better today?" He asked as his hand wove into her hair gently, stroking the mass of messy blonde curls.

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile, not pulling away. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course." He finally opened his eyes, pulling back as he took her face into his hands. "I love you." He smiled as he looked into those beautiful eyes that were a dark emerald green after being out of the light for so long, tilting her head up as he lowered his lips to hers in a lazy kiss.

"I love you too." She smiled once their lips parted, stroking her thumb over his hand that was resting on her cheek. "I'm gonna take a shower." She nodded as she began easing herself up.

"You want help?"

Sydney looked over her shoulder expecting to see one of Tig's mischievous looks - his brows raised suggestively or his teeth bared in a shit-eating grin - but instead all she saw was sincerity. She hesitated on instinct but immediately shook it off before she nodded, pushing herself to accept his help where she could.

"Okay." He smiled in surprise, springing to his feet and scooping her up into his arms - grinning as she giggled all the way to the bathroom.

"Jesus. You ain't wasting any time, huh?" She scoffed when he rushed over to get the water running the second that he set her down on the countertop.

"Nope." He shook his head, walking back over and grabbing their toothbrushes out of the gold cup next to the sink, loading them up with toothpaste and handing her the pink one. "Gotta take what I can get before you change your mind." He explained with his mouth full.

Sydney giggled, feeling her face getting hot with giddiness when he somehow found a way to make being crippled enjoyable. She watched him for a few more seconds as the smile lingered on her face before finally turning away to brush her own teeth.

"You wanna do it, or should I?" He asked once they finished rinsing, looking down at her leg as he turned off the tap.

"You can." She nodded, letting him do as much as possible while she was in the mood so that it couldn't be used against her later - not by him or her conscience.

Tig nodded, his brain switching to Sergeant mode as he got to work; pulling her off of the counter and stripping her down quickly - smiling when her cheeks flushed. He lifted her back onto the smooth surface, pushing her to lean back against the mirror as he pulled her hips forward so that she was teetering on the edge, wrapping her leg around his waist as he began unravelling the tensor bandage. Once it was time to remove the medical tape, he tipped her chin back - pushing her head back against the mirror lightly for leverage as he slid his fingers into her mouth. "Bite." He ordered before swiftly ripping the tape off and pulling his fingers away - not once looking up from her leg.

"Motherf-" She winced, but her attention was easily diverted from the sting by how sexy it was to watch as he expertly maneuvered her around without a single word. She let the lust take over, slowly dragging her foot up his leg.

Tig's focus didn't so much as shake when he felt what she was doing, grabbing her thigh and pinning it down against the counter to stop her movements - his thumb resting dangerously close to where she was exposed in front of him.

Sydney became even more turned on when he ignored her, biting her lip as her chest rose up and down excitedly as her eyes stayed glued to him until he finally looked up at her.

Tig let his eyes trail up to hers again, roaming over her naked body on the way up until he was penetrated by her fiery gaze. He straightened up, taking his hand that had been supporting her injured leg and dragging it up her thigh, around her waist, up her back, all the way until he was gripping the back of her neck - pulling her up where he pressed his body against hers. "Come on." He nodded before pulling away abruptly, knowing that the water would be ice cold by the time that they made it into the shower if he let her have it her way.

Sydney shivered when her bare chest made contact with his - the shudder spreading through her entire body and escaping as a whimper from her lips when his command landed on them. She chortled, shaking her head as she hopped down off of the counter where her feet hit the cold tiles - a surprisingly calming sensation in contrast to the fire in her veins and the throbbing in her leg. She followed Tig into the shower, being sure to give him a very slow once over as she brushed past him, stepping under the water where she instantly shriveled - gritting her teeth as she tried to fight off the searing pain.

"Too hot?" Tig reached for the tap.

"No, it's fine." She choked out, willing herself to get used to it.

"Here baby, sit down." He guided her down to the ground - if she insisted on taking the pain, the least she could do was make it easier to take.

"I'm not fucking sitting down in the showe-" She began to roll her eyes but was cut off when she felt his fingers jab into her sides, shrieking as she fell back into his arms where he sat them both down.

"No fair." She pouted as she crossed her arms in front of her, not daring to look back at the smug smile that she knew he was sporting.

Tig chuckled, glad that she was at least accepting defeat by staying seated. "Which one?" He nodded to the shelf above them which was lined with various bottles - both his and hers.

"The purple one." She grumbled.

He reached up, attempting to maneuver the purple bottle out from behind the other ones without having to stand up - knocking half of them off of the shelf in the process. "Sorry." He winced, listening to Sydney sigh dramatically as they rained down onto the floor around her.

"This is why I need a bathtub." She whined.

"Wouldn't be a problem if you didn't insist on making me use this fancy shit." He chuckled as he nudged the fallen bottles with his foot before beginning to lather her hair in the bright purple substance.

"Old Spice 3-in-1 doesn't cut it here." She chuckled.

"Oh I see... Good enough to get ya but not enough to keep ya, huh?" He leaned over her with a brow raised.

"Relationships are about bettering each other, right?" She mused as she tilted her head back, looking into his eyes as she feigned innocence.

Tig chewed the inside of his lip as a bashful smile came to his face when she looked at him like that - playfully with her eyes sparkling. But when he finally had the strength to pull his away, the love behind them was replaced with worry. "Uh… Your hair, it's- It's turning grey." He held his hands up, terrified that he had done something wrong.

"What!" Sydney pulled away, whipping her head around as she gathered her darkening hair in her hands. "What the fuck did you do?" She exclaimed, looking back up at him with wide eyes.

"I don't know!" He began shaking his head frantically. "I used the one that you told me to!" He began searching the floor around him for the culprit.

Sydney couldn't hold out any longer - bursting out laughing as he thrashed around as the water rained down onto his head and he tried to see through the wet curls that were hanging in his eyes

Tig's head snapped up when he heard her laughing - a sound that he was both thankful and terrified to hear. "God you're an asshole." He breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his head as his racing heart began to slow. "Get back here." He growled playfully, motioning for her to turn back around so that he could rinse the evil substance from her hair.

Sydney grinned, spinning back around and tilting her head back as he guided her under the stream of water. "Don't get it in my eyes." She warned with a nervous giggle.

"Don't worry doll, ain't the first time I've heard that." He smirked.

She pulled away as she laughed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold still for him to properly do the job. "Okay." She took a deep breath to calm herself as she laid back again.

"Woah." Tig commented as the grey instantly disappeared when the water hit it - rubbing her hair between his fingers curiously.

Sydney chuckled as the world of beauty products stunned her biker boyfriend once again. She closed her eyes, deciding to try and let herself enjoy the experience as his fingers massaged her scalp and the hot water trickled over her body peacefully. If it wasn't for the injury - she would've found this favorable.

Tig smiled as he felt her beginning to properly relax as he conditioned her hair - her weight becoming more and more prominent against him until he was finally fully supporting her. He let her lay like that for a while, glad that she had been able to find some comfort under the uncomfortable circumstances - even if it meant a steady stream of water in his eyes.

"Enjoying this?" He whispered into her ear with a knowing smile once he was finished rinsing her hair.

"Just finding some comfort in the pain." She mused, letting him guide her to her feet where he grabbed her coconut body wash, squirting some into his palm before he began lathering her body.

Sydney grinned when she felt his strong hands slipping and sliding up and down her body, bending over as he turned her around - pressing her ass against his dick that she could tell was instantly getting hard.

"Not now baby, I'm workin." He chortled, turning her back around to face him as he continued trying to was her body in the least sexual way possible.

Sydney felt the same arousal that she had earlier when he had been flipping, lifting, and spinning her into whatever position he wanted her in. "You take your job seriously, huh?" She nodded to his almost full erection, biting her lip as she kept her eyes fixated on it as she slowly began sinking to her knees - feeling herself being lifted right back up.

"Yeah, I do." He stated harshly as he removed his hands from her once she was back upright - but she knew that he was enjoying the game just as much as she was by the way that his cock pulsed as he deflected her advances.

"And what job is that?" She bit her lip as she took a step closer, smoothing her hands up his chest.

Tig let his eyes slide down her glistening body where his erection was now pressed against her stomach. '"Taking care of my girl." He whispered as his hands gripped her sides.

"It's not so bad when you say it like that." She admitted with a whisper of her own.

"Yeah?" He stayed hovering over her lips with a proud smile.

"Yeah." She nodded as she bit her lip, winding her arms around his neck.

;

Jax sat on the edge of the bed in the dorm that he used to occupy - the dorm that Happy had claimed as his in the recent weeks, but since the Nomad was out of town, it gave the VP a quiet place to think. He turned his father's manuscript in his hands as he pondered what all of these changes meant for him, small bits of parchment breaking off where they had been burned.

He placed the book into the small box with the rest of his belongings that had been in the clubhouse, laying back on the bed as he puffed on a cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the air above him. He hoped that with his progress with Tara and the quickly approaching homecoming of his son, some physical distance between himself and the club would be just what he needed to get his head screwed on straight.

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Half-Sack pulled up in front of Cherry's new job at the nail salon with her arms wrapped tightly around him as she sat behind him on his bike - a feeling that he still wasn't used to yet.

"Are you gonna pick me up?" She asked as she slid off the helmet, letting her eyes slide over the image of her man on his brand new ride.

"Yeah, if I can." He nodded.

"Okay." She smiled, leaning in for a kiss. "Bye." She winked.

"You be careful!" He called after her.

Cherry scowled as she watched him ride off. What did he mean 'be careful'? Be careful of what? But her question was answered as soon as she stepped into the salon and saw two federal agents talking to her boss at the front desk… She bolted out of there before she could be seen, running down the street and ducking into a barber shop as she tried to figure out where to go, and what to do.

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"You hungry?" Tig asked as he made his way to the kitchen with Sydney trailing behind him.

"Yeah… But I don't have anything to eat here." She looked down at her white sneakers as she fiddled with one of the many silver chains that had been stacked around her neck. " I haven't been able to go grocery shopping since…" She trailed off awkwardly, frustration beginning to fill her once again.

"You just don't wanna eat my cooking." Tig grinned, diverting the attention away from her delusional shortcomings. "We could go to the diner?"

"Okay." Sydney smiled gratefully.

"Okay." Tig repeated with a smile and a nod, kissing her cheek as he headed upstairs to grab his kutte. But once he reached the top of the stairs he pulled out his phone, looking over his shoulder before slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door quietly.

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Gemma looked up from her morning coffee when she heard her phone ringing, her brows knitting when she saw the unfamiliar number pop up on the display. She slid off her reading glasses, glancing at Clay who was looking at her curiously as she flipped her phone open.

"Hello?"

"Hey." She heard Tig's voice, exhaling in relief. "Sorry for the private number - only got the prepay on me."

"What's going on, sweetheart?"

"You think you could do me a favor? It's for Syd…"

"Yeah, of course." She nodded.

"Could pick up some groceries for her while you're at the store today? She hasn't been since the accident. I'll pay you back. I would do it but she's still kinda..."

"Reluctant to accept help?" She raised a brow knowingly.

"Yeah, that." Tig chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm on it."

"Okay, thanks Gem. I'll leave the back door unlocked."

Gemma smiled as she hung up, looking at Clay who was sitting across the table from her with a soft smile on his face as well.

"Damn…" He shook his head. "I haven't seen him like that since-"

"I know." Gemma cut him off. "I know…"

Clay immediately felt the guilt pouring in as the ghost of Tig's past resurfaced - reminding him just how close history had come to repeating itself.

"Here." He pulled out his wallet, tossing a few bills down onto the table in front of her to cover Sydney's groceries.

"You still not right with that?" Gemma looked to her husband sympathetically.

"More than I care to admit…" He sighed as he pushed himself up from the table.

;

Sydney trailed behind Tig as he led her up the walkway to the diner, feeling her chest fill with dread as she realized that this was technically her first debut around town since the shooting - and she knew how word spread in a small town.

"Hey, you okay?" Tig turned around, pulling his sunglasses off when he felt her lagging behind him.

"Yeah… It's just…" She looked away, trying to figure out how to explain how she felt. It wasn't that she was afraid of the attention - that had never bothered her. It was that the attention she received from the town's residents was going to go from cautious and curious, to pitiful and judgmental.

"I can grab it to go if you're not ready." He tilted her chin up to look at him.

"No..." Sydney felt her voice trail off as those gorgeous blue eyes instantly grounded her, slipping her under a trance as the sun bounced off of them - a trance where she felt untouchable. "No, it's okay." She smiled dreamily.

"Okay." Tig smiled as he felt her instantly relax in his hands, sliding them over her cheeks as he rested his forehead against hers.

Sydney let herself soak up the moment as her nerves calmed almost completely, only pulling away when they heard a loud honking from somebody on the street - looking up to see Gemma driving past. She laughed, shaking her head at the black car before turning her attention back to Tig - standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek.

"Come on." She took the lead, smirking over her shoulder as he stood with a brow raised before following her into the small restaurant that was crawling with Sunday diners.

"Shit…" Tig grumbled when he realized that there would be a wait for a table - and a long wait at that - his expression falling further as he noticed disapproving eyes immediately drawn to them.

"It's okay." Sydney nodded, taking his hand reassuringly.

Tig nodded back, draping his arm over her shoulder as he pulled her back to rest against him, his sour expression fading as her dainty fingers twirled around his rings while they waited to be seated.

Sydney was thankful for the surge of confidence that Tig had given her as she stood in blissful ignorance to all of the uptight people staring at them - a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth when she heard the sound of a throat being cleared pointedly.

Tig wasn't exactly sharing in the same ignorance that Sydney was, his forced calmness going right down the drain when he looked over at the source of the noise: a dark haired man in a suit who was looking at them with disgust as the sleazy old biker stood with his hands all over the young girl with no regard for the fact that there were children around

"You got a fucking problem, asshole?" He growled.

The confrontation was halted when a loud screeching stole their attention - everyone turning to see Doreen passing her tray of coffees off onto a co-worker as she ran over to greet the couple.

"Oh sugar! I am so glad you're okay!" She hauled Sydney into her arms, pulling away and pinching her cheek as she looked over her favorite customer. "Did you get my flowers?"

"Yeah." Sydney smiled. "Thank you." She brought Doreen in for another hug.

"Come, come!" The red haired women ushered them over to a table that had just freed up - not caring that there had been people waiting before them. "This one's on the house." She winked.

"No, Dor you don't have to do that…" Sydney began shaking her head.

"Speak for yourself. You aint the one payin." Tig scoffed with a playful wink.

"Oh you!" Doreen smacked his arm with the menus she had been holding, shaking her head shamefully. "This one is trouble." She widened her eyes to Sydney in mock-warning as she headed off to get them some coffee.

"So I've been told…" Sydney smirked as she twirled one chain around her neck in particular - the one that had his ring on it.

;

Cherry ran up and down Main Street, ducking behind parked cars as she searched frantically for one vehicle in particular: Gemma's. The brunette felt herself getting more panicked the more that she searched unsuccessfully for the black Caddy. She knew that it would only be a matter of time until they found her, and she didn't want Half-Sack to find out the truth that way - The Matriarch was the only person that could possibly help her.

;

Sydney had forgotten all about the opinions of onlookers as she and Tig enjoyed their mountainous breakfasts courtesy of the Charming Diner.

"I can't fucking believe you ate all of that." Tig spoke in awe as he watched her take the last bite of her eggs benedict after he had struggled to clear his plate just minutes earlier.

"I didn't really eat yesterday." She explained with a bashful chuckle as she lifted her coffee mug to her lips.

"I guess so." He nodded. "I'm glad you're feelin better today."

Sydney nodded in response, avoiding his eyes as she drained her cup - looking up when she heard police sirens, seeing two black cars speeding down Main Street.

"That can't be good…" She commented as she began sliding out her seat, knowing exactly what this meant: A.T.F..

"Nope..." Tig answered as he shot up to his feet, pulling out his wallet and tossing a few bills down onto the table for the tip.

"Thanks Doreen!" Sydney called behind her as they rushed out the door.

;

Gemma had been enjoying her regular Sunday grocery shop at the Charming Grocer on Main Street. She had always enjoyed the mundane tasks that came with being a mother and a wife - it gave her purpose, as well as time to think. She pushed her cart up and down the aisles, having to work a little harder than usual with all of the extra food she had gathered for both Sydney and Cameron on top of her normal shop for her household, Jax, and the clubhouse.

"Gemma!" She heard behind her, ignoring the small voice at first until she heard it persisting. "Hey Gemma. I gotta talk to you." She finally turned around to see Cherry, turning her attention right back to the pasta sauces that she had been contemplating. It wasn't that she didn't like the Nevada sweetbutt necessarily, but she didn't like her personal time being interrupted - especially not by somebody who wasn't in her inner circle.

"I'm worried about the feds…" She tried again.

The Matriarch quickly gave the young girl her undivided attention. "How do you know about that?" She attempted to keep her cool - not giving anything away until she found out just how much Cherry knew.

"They just came to the nail salon looking for me. I called Half-Sack and he told me that they're pressing all of the women." She spoke breathlessly as she looked over her shoulder.

"It's just a scare tactic." Gemma rolled her eyes, pulling a jar off of the shelf and continuing on down the aisle once the exact reason that she didn't like outsiders became apparent in the new girl - because they couldn't handle the life. "You tell them that you open beers and suck dick. That's it. There's nothing for you to be scared of - they got nothing."

"I uh… I haven't been completely honest with Half-Sack."

"I don't like where this is going." Gemma scoffed. She knew that she shouldn't have been so accepting of Sydney's judgment when it came to letting the girl stick around.

"Yeah… I'm sort of married."

"Sorta?" Gemma's eyes almost popped out of her skull.

"Well he was a sadistic asshole!" Cherry explained. "He wouldn't divorce me so I left. I took everything… Took the car, the money, the dog…"

"You're wanted for grand theft." She surmised easily, this was bad.

"And arson…" Cherry hung her head. "I burned down our condo."

"Nice touch." Gemma sighed as she began walking away again, this time with the weight of another burden.

"Hey was such a dick, Gemma!" She tried to plead with the only person who could help her out of this.

"Jesus Christ, Cherry-"

"It's actually Rita..." She chewed her lip. "Cherry was our dog's name and she died and I always liked it better than mine."

"Well that's sweet." Gemma smiled sarcastically.

"What am I gonna do?" She whined. "I love Half-Sack, I love the club. It's going so good Gemma what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"You gotta get outta here, Rita." She gave the young girl the same advice that she had given her the day that she first set foot on the compound.

"But I don't wanna leave him…"

"Then I aint the person you should be comin to for help." She shook her head impatiently. "They're gonna threaten you with jail time." The last thing that they needed was the threat of a rat.

"Yeah but I'm not a rat." Cherry practically read her mind.

"You ever been inside?" Gemma scoffed as she stopped, turning and walking up to the shorter woman who shrunk under her gaze.

"Oh shit!" Cherry ducked when she saw the feds enter the grocery store, rounding the aisle until she was almost close enough to the door that she could make a run for it, but her path was blocked by a dark haired Agent… She grabbed the first thing in arms reach - a bottle of rum - jumping out from where she had been crouched and swinging the bottle into the woman's face full force before bolting for the door where she was immediately grabbed by another Agent.

"Jesus Christ." Gemma sighed at the horribly executed escape plan.

"Very impressive, Vicky." Stahl nodded sarcastically as she stepped over her partner who was wailing on the ground, covered in the blood that was gushing out of her nose. "Hard to find good help these days, huh?" She commented as Gemma approached the end of the aisle.

"Tell me about it." Gemma scoffed as she continued walking. "That little tart doesn't know anything." She nodded to Cherry who was looking back at her desperately as she was being handcuffed - hoping to God that she was right.

"What about the porn star, we've got her in custody too." Stahl asked as she followed her.

"That one might know a little more." She shrugged casually, feeling much less worried about Luann who was a seasoned vet when it came to the feds rather than Cherry who was clearly all new to this.

"Looks like you got enough food here to uh… I don't know, house a fugitive?" Stahl raised a brow as she examined the contents of Gemma's grocery cart.

Gemma chuckled, turning around to face the blue-eyed woman who had guessed exactly what she was doing. Clay had been right, she was smart - much smarter than Gemma had anticipated. "Picking off the ones who have the most to lose… Smart." She nodded with pursed lips. "It's how I would do it."

"Yeah… I've seen you in action." Stahl smirked. "What was that one doing?" She nodded out the door. "Asking for the queen's advice? What lies to tell?" She reached her hand out, brushing Gemma's hair over her ear - working an entirely new tactic with the stonewall of a woman before her. "I'll bet that there are enough secrets in the pretty little head of yours to bury an empire." She whispered.

"Several." Gemma smirked. "You know…" She took a step closer to the law-woman, their chests almost touching. "You might wanna unscrew that penis sometime… It's fun being a girl." She winked. "And if you want me? You know where I live."

Stahl smirked as she watched Gemma walk away. She had been right, it had been much smarter to go after the weak ones.

;

"Got Luann on drug charges, now they got Cherry on theft and arson…" Clay explained to a full table - Unser and Half-Sack included.

"No." Half-Sack shook his head. "That don't make sense."

"Hey!" Tig hollered across the table to the prospect who was already abusing his privilege of sitting in on a meeting. "Mouth. Shut."

"Stahl's trying to use RICO." Unser explained before a fight could break out. "If she can prove her case, she could take you all down."

Sydney felt her blood run cold - a distraction from the mounting pain that she was feeling as she gripped the arm of her chair. This bitch was much smarter than she had thought. With RICO, anything that they did - past, present, or future could be used against them to potentially lock them up for life...

"And if we go down?" Chibs narrowed his eyes threateningly at the cop whose one job was to make sure that they didn't go down.

"Why do you think I'm sittin at the goddamn table, Scotty?" The Chief scoffed.

"We got anything to worry about with the doc? She's seen a lot of shit over the last couple of weeks." Clay began inventorying everybody that the feds had already talked to, trying to gauge just how worried he should be over this.

"Nah-" Jax began.

"Little Miss Tara's the one who got A.T.F. here in the first place." Tig cut him off, staring him down bitterly.

"We got nothing to worry about with Tara. I trust her." Jax's words were sharp as he looked Tig directly in the eye, his gaze shifting to Sydney who nodded softly. She knew that Tara could be trusted, but not because she was loyal - because anything that she said would end up incriminating herself too.

Tig looked between Jax and Sydney as they shared some kind of silent agreement, chewing his lip angrily as he stared Jax down before turning his attention back to Clay.

"Alright, now we gotta worry about Luann… We can't get through to Otto - he's on a federal watch, no calls in or out."

"Stahl's pressin him for history, using Luann as leverage…" Jax suspected smartly.

"Otto would never rat." Piney defended his longtime friend to Jax who nodded with wide eyes, clearly unconvinced.

"You know, if it was me, and they had Gemma..." Clay began, hoping to table yet another argument. He needed everybody on the same page right now. "I'd just give em something useless. Some old shit that couldn't hurt the club."

"Anything hurts the club with RICO… That's why she's going for the women - hopes they will give her the past that she needs while she works on the present." Sydney explained as she shook her head slowly, holding one of her necklaces to her lips as she stared deep into the eyes of the reaper carved into the table.

"She's right." Unser nodded.

"The way that Otto pines for Luann… He would do anything to protect her." Jax began wringing his hands as his stress mounted.

"Little Cherry Pie knows all about Indian Hills." Tig craned his neck to look at a very worried looking Half-Sack.

Sydney knew that it was a serious matter, and as the Sergeant, Tig was just doing his job by taking it seriously - but she couldn't help from noticing the way that he was being extra harsh with both Jax and Half-Sack… The two men who he knew she had shared secrets with in the past few weeks.

"No." Half-Sack shook his head. "Cherry would never say nothin."

"Oh yeah?" Chibs scoffed at the naivety of his prospect. "You willing to bet your top rocker on that?"

"We all have our past and present indiscretions, boys…" Bobby reminded them as he looked around the table.

"That goddamn A.T.F. bitch, that goddamn bitch!" Clay yelled, spitting onto the ground. She had checkmated him, they had no way out.

Jax sat with his chin resting on his hands as they tightly clenched together as he tried to find a way around this, there had to be a way that they could use their connection to Unser to their advantage…

"Hey." He perked up when an idea came to him. "They keeping the girls in your holding cells overnight?" He asked the Chief.

"Yeah." Unser shrugged.

"You still got your keys?" A devious smirk came to his face.

"What are you thinkin here?" Clay scowled.

"Get a message to Luann…" Sydney's face lit up as she realized what Jax was getting at.

"She talks to Otto, she can warn him about Stahl using RICO." The VP confirmed.

"What about Cherry?" Jax heard from behind him, whipping his head around at the prospect.

"What the hell did I say?" Tig yelled again, getting angrier and angrier that the younger man showed once again that he had no respect for his authority.

"We'll see where she's at." Jax nodded, trying to calm the anxious kid before he got himself into even more trouble with the Sergeant than he was already in. "You think you could get me inside?" He turned his attention back to Unser.

"I doubt the feds are working around the clock - but I got four guys on dispatch from 11:00 - 7:00..." He didn't possibly see how they could slip past four trained officers in a quiet building.

"Well maybe we come up with somethin… Keep em busy." Tig added, desperate to be a part of the plan so that it wasn't just Sydney and Jax coming up with the solutions again.

"If you can clear them out, I'll get you in." Unser nodded.

"What about like, security cameras?"

"It's a police station… I got cops, I don't need cameras." The older man deadpanned.

"Sounds like you might." Sydney scoffed.

Jax looked around the table, his eyes landing on Opie when the perfect idea came to him. "Me and Ope." He offered.

Opie looked at his best friend in surprise when he heard his name called - having expected the blonde man to try and keep him off of anything and everything, just he had before.

Clay looked between the two younger men, then to Unser, nodding as he raised his hand. "Everybody in favor?" He listened to the chorus of affirmations that came from around the table, watching the Chief cautiously raising his arm - copying the men around him. "Put your goddamn hand down." He sighed, slamming the gavel down as Sydney and a couple of the others chuckled at the outsider.

;

Jax sat on the roof, smoking a cigarette as he nodded into the calming breeze. He had done something good today, and he had done it without the lingering ghost of his father's disappointment altering his thoughts. Maybe he could do this…

"Hey, man." He heard behind him, turning to see Opie who nodded to him as he sat down, pulling out a cigarette of his own. "What was that about?" He asked as he lit up.

"I told you man… That shit about me not wanting you on Hefner - it wasn't personal. Was just trying to protect the club." He laced his lie with as much truth as possible.

"I want this, brother." Opie reassured him - hoping that it wasn't just a pity offer.

"I know." Jax nodded. He knew alright… And he knew that Opie would keep wanting this unless the VP did exactly what he was doing - giving jobs that couldn't possibly land his friend in the tough spot that he was in.

;

Tig sat around a table in the bar with Opie, Jax, Piney, and Bobby as they tried to figure out what they could do to get all of the cops cleared out of that station house - something that couldn't be pinned on them.

"What about street racing?" Tig suggested, having taken the lead on this one in a search for redemption after being continually overshadowed by Sydney and Jax's plans made in cahoots.

"And risk losing our licenses?" Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, man. Don't ride, don't vote." Jax reminded the Sergeant.

Tig ground his teeth as Jax shot him down smugly, his lip turning up a snarl. Jax may have been the VP, but he was the Sergeant - and that still meant something.

"Bar fight." Sydney stated from outside of their circle where she sat at the bar, not bothering to look up from her sudoku puzzle.

Tig looked up from their huddle, pursing his lips as he sucked in a deep breath -contemplating her smart suggestion that they hadn't even considered. He looked to his partners in crime for the evening, all four men nodding their agreement. He nodded his confirmation curtly, brushing off the pang of resentment when once again she swooped in and stole what should've been his win - deciding that taking her suggestion to help fulfill her service needs would be better than worrying about trying to stop her from fulfilling them physically, especially while she needed to heal.

"Maybe uh… Maybe I should come with you. Talk to Cherry." Half-Sack tried once again after seeing Sydney's interjection be successful, but he soon realized that he wasn't going to have the same luck as everybody turned their heads to look at him slowly, sighing their disbelief for his stupidity.

"No, dumbass. You shouldn't." Jax scoffed.

Tig closed his eyes as straightened up, taking a deep breath and rolling his neck from side to side as he prepared to get an early start on the evening brawl after Half-Sack had successfully cut the thread that his patience had been hanging from.

"I need your help." He heard from behind him, being pulled from his circle and marched down the hallway by Sydney who turned to face him, crossing her arms when she stopped in front of his door.

'What?" He whined impatiently - knowing exactly where this was going.

"Quit being mean to Half-Sack." She scolded him quietly.

"Quit being mean?" He mocked. "What are you, twelve?"

"Are you?" She countered, narrowing her gaze until he shrunk down a bit. "Cut him some slack. He's just trying to protect his old lady." She rolled her eyes.

"I don't give a shit what he's doing." He shook his head.

"I do." She took a step towards him, completely changing her demeanor as she trailed her hands down his sides gently. "I think it's romantic. And I know you would do the same for me…" She rasped as close to his lips as she could get in the flat shoes that she was wearing while he stayed standing tall above her.

Tig scoffed, ignoring her as she preyed on his weaknesses - using her tactics against him to protect another man. He was trying as hard as he could to stay angry - something that he never struggled with before he'd met her - but he could feel his temper fading as she touched him so gently, as her voice pleaded with him so seductively…

"You would do the same for me, wouldn't you Sergeant?" She asked innocently, gently coaxing his eyes down to hers.

"Yes." He sighed when he finally allowed himself to make eye contact.

"That's what I thought." She purred, pulling him down to her lips.

Tig let her kiss him, letting himself indulge in her valiant effort as she swept her tongue through his mouth before he finally pulled away and nodded his agreement to her request before walking away. He no longer found himself bitter with her plan of a violent diversion, now he was grateful - he needed to blow off some steam.

;

Long and boring filler chapters are better than no chapters, right?