A/N: I started another, much more easy going fic called Black Hole Sun. It's a Jax/Lyla story, but you can catch me there too. This one is approaching its end too, so I hope you've been enjoying it :) Still a few chapters to go though. Enjoy!

Band is Alice in Chains.


Chapter 11: It Ain't Like That

Jax Teller didn't leave early that morning. He waited for Alex to wake up; the redhead took a long time to fall asleep but when she did, he just held her in his arms. In the morning though, he did call Hale while she slept and gave him the addresses, he said he'd check on Zobelle's house in Morada first and Jax said he'd meet him at Darby's work, before they went to Weston's, to see if they could find anything else.

When Alex did wake up, Jax talked to Liz and Jack at reception and moved her to another room, on the other side of the motel. He thought about moving her to his house for the time being, but it wasn't safe there either; not only because of the League, but also because of his mother being there all the time with Abel. Before leaving, he placed a call to the garage and had one of the men tow her car. He assured her they would replace the window and clean everything for her in a day or two.

He gave her Marissa's contact and gave the nurse a heads up that he was sending someone for her to help that afternoon. After a little protest, Alex agreed to go see the nurse later. He also made her promise that she would stay put, aside from going to the hospital, until he could confirm that Zobelle and Weston were on custody. To his surprise, that took little convincing; the redhead was still in a haze of shock and grief and agreed to just stay in and continue to work on her piece. In reality though, as soon as he left, she shuttered the windows and cried herself back to sleep, unable to do anything else.

[xxx]

Jax had made his way to Darby's work straight out of Teller-Morrow after making sure no one from the club would work on Alex's car. There were some questions but overall, everyone seemed too busy with the League to care much. When he arrived and met Hale at Darby's Refinishing, the deputy was already on his way out. Jax lit a cigarette and approached doing a quick scan around.

"His truck is not here." Jax noted meeting Hale.

"Yeah, his workers saw him last night," Hale replied. "But Darby told them to be here at 7."

"He's crawled into a hole," Jax shook his head. He expected this.

"I'll put out an ATL," Hale said, following Jax's eyes. "If Darby is in Charming, we'll find him."

"Zobelle was not in Morada either, we can go try and find Weston." he added as Jax seemed suddenly lost in thought. "Do you want to tell me how you got those addresses?"

"Actually, yeah, I do." Jax said and took a long drag. Hale asked more out curiosity but almost certain the VP wouldn't share this with him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I am seeing this girl, her name is Alex, she's a journalist from San Francisco," Jax paused as Hale's eyes widened in surprise. "Yeah, I know, she's here doing an undercover piece on the League. She gave it to me. They shot her dog last night at the rest stop just before Lodi."

"Jesus, is she ok?"

"She's fine," Jax nodded and took another drag. "Shaken, but fine."

"Did she file a report?" Hale asked and when Jax just blinked at him, he nodded and sighed. "Yeah, don't know why I asked."

"I need you to keep an eye on her if shit goes south." Jax searched for his eyes and Hale stared at him for a few seconds.

"Does your club know about her?"

"She's an outsider, what do you think?" Jax asked sarcastically.

"Is it serious?!" Hale narrowed his look at that. For all that he knew, with the way Jax had been working with him, and now also this outsider in his life, this all wouldn't be something his club would be happy about.

"Can we go back to the subject and out of my love life?" Jax frowned back. "You need to promise me you will keep an eye on her. I don't know if they went after her because of me or because of her piece, and at this point it doesn't really matter. If you can't check on her, send Candy. Do not get Unser involved."

"How do I find Alex?" Hale asked after a nod, of course Jax Teller wasn't about to confide in him. Hale's thoughts went to happened to Gemma Teller, and he swallowed dryly.

"She's staying at the Sunshine," Jax replied. "Redhead, a lot of tattoos, British, can't miss it."

"Ok," Hale nodded and both their attention were drawn to the road, as Opie approached on his bike. "Who shot her dog?"

"Weston, well, his men." Jax observed as Opie approached his bike and parked. Fucking Clay must have put him up on his tail. "He was there though."

"If we get him, can I bring her to the station? Will she file a report?" Hale asked and Jax looked at him at that as Opie left his bike.

"If you can guarantee her safety, maybe." Jax replied and Hale nodded.

"I'll deal with this, I'll meet you at Weston's, just give me a minute." Jax added and glanced briefly at Opie as he approached.

Hale nodded and walked out. He couldn't comprehend how Jax Teller was involved with an outsider, a journalist at that, and what could happen if his club found out.

[xxx]

Alex left the examination room at St Thomas with Marissa. The nurse wrapped some gauze around some of the bigger cuts in her arm, after cleaning it entirely. The pain and discomfort were much more prevalent now that her shock had worn off, but the redhead persisted and powered through it. She put on her leather jacket as she left the room and they walked down a corridor.

"It will get very itchy, but you will be ok," Marissa said gently and handed her a small paper bag with a tube in it. "Use this cream, should help."

"Thank you," Alex smiled and grabbed the bag. "I appreciate your help."

"Any time." Marissa stopped at the ward's reception and smiled, Alex nodded in a goodbye and made her way to the elevator without paying attention to anything else, still in a mild haze of shock.

The redhead missed as Gemma Teller stopped short of entering another hall as she saw the redhead with Marissa. She observed the interaction and ran to the nurse when the redhead made her way to the elevator without noticing her.

"What was she doing here?" Gemma asked under her breath, quickly.

"Jax sent her." Marissa shrugged, observing Gemma's uneasiness. "I have no details, she just had some shards in her right arm, very superficial stuff."

"Great, thanks." Gemma's eyes never left the redhead, she rushed to the elevator as the door was about to close with the redhead inside and stopped it with her hand getting in and closing the door behind her.

"Alexandra-Alex." Gemma was all cool again, greeting the redhead in a mocking tone as she stuttered the first time they met. She stood next to her.

Alex felt her heart as she processed who just entered the elevator. She kept her cool expressionless face and looked down as Gemma stopped beside her, then glanced briefly at her as she said her name, but said nothing. Do not engage, she kept repeating in her head. She didn't know who scary scar lady was, but she was part of Jax's club. Something told her this interaction was not about to go well.

"Enjoying your ride in Charming?" Gemma continued when Alex remained silent. "Riding on my son's dick?" she smiled victoriously as Alex looked at her at that. "I'm Gemma, Jax's mom."

It took Alex a second to put the pieces together. She stared at Gemma in silence for a second, calculating her next move. Almost instantly she smiled though, which seemed to take Gemma by surprise, she then looked straight ahead again.

"Don't know what you want me to say to that." Alex said still with a smile, then glanced at Gemma again, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Nice work? I can see where he gets the sexy broody thing from?"

Gemma was not expecting that. Not from the redhead that seemed to disappear the first time they met when they talked. She observed Alex for a second, intrigued.

"Ah, funny." Gemma clapped back. "I can see why he likes you... Hot, witty, smart, natural redhead," she measured the redhead at that. "We don't have a lot of those here, especially the smart part. But he will tire of you, as he's done all the others."

The door to elevator opened and Alex and Gemma stepped out together. Alex continued to smile and glanced around briefly before stopping short and turning to Gemma, who also stopped to face her.

"Will he though?" Alex asked defiantly. She seemed absolutely unbothered by Gemma, which she wouldn't lie surprised even herself. Maybe it was the trauma of Sid's death, it didn't matter though, she was even enjoying it.

"How many other smart and witty natural redheads are there in Charming?" she added and Gemma scoffed for a moment.

"I don't know what kind of British vagina lock you have on him," Gemma said, and approached so she'd be only a few inches from the redhead. Alex stared at her unbothered. "But you gotta back off. He's got a lot on his mind and he doesn't need that kind of distraction."

"I'll keep that in mind." Alex continued to stare at her, then smiled again, lowering her voice slightly. "Maybe I'll discuss with him next time I'm riding his dick, see what he thinks." Gemma tilted her head, and she paused then winked at her. "He likes to tell me what he thinks."

Alex could see, even for a split second, a wave of fear wash over Gemma's eyes. She smiled at the woman once again and stepped back, when Gemma didn't say anything else she started to make her way out.

"Good chat," Alex said already walking out, then waved. "Catch you later, Gemma."

[xxx]

Alex was lying in bed, curtains drawn. It had been a difficult day. The room was silent and gloomy without Sid and she caught herself looking for the dog at times, forgetting he was gone. She felt like she had no other tears left to cry, and just felt incredibly tired. She still felt numb; the encounter with Gemma Teller earlier was the outlier of the day. Maybe it was because she was probably in one of the worst days of her life, but she had no time for that woman's games, whatever she was trying to play.

Jimmy had sent her a couple of text messages and even called to check on her piece, but she could not bear to talk to him and even begin to explain what was going on. So, she just stayed in bed, in silence, staring at the wall. Not even turning the TV on.

It wasn't too late, she thought, and she looked at the clock by the bedside table. Just after 9 PM. If Jax would come today, it would be much later. It was harder now for her to tell if he was coming because Sid would often react before she even heard the motorcycle, and Jax also moved her to a room on the top floor, and the sound while would still be clearly heard, it would be faint.

She was caught by surprise when she heard the knock on the door, and glanced at the clock again just to make sure she knew what time it was. It was really just after 9 PM. That was incredibly unusual. She felt a cold in her stomach and sat still on the bed. There was another knock and she got up quietly, making her way to the door. She looked through the magic eye and saw Deputy Hale. She frowned to herself, confused, and opened the door with the door chain still on, looking at him through the crack.

"Alex?" Hale asked, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. She just stared at him and nodded briefly.

"Deputy Hale." she greeted back, but didn't move.

"May I?" he gestured towards the room through the inches she left cracked with the chain.

"No." she replied dryly. He couldn't blame her, and sighed briefly.

"That's fair." he nodded and tried a faint smile. "Jax told me to check on you. He told me about you, what you're doing and that you were the one to give him the addresses. Thank you."

"Oh." the redhead shifted at that, interested. "Wait."

She closed the door and removed the chain, opening it wider, but still standing by it, lying against the frame with her arms crossed. Hale could see better what caught Jax's eyes here, but remained as professional and non-threatening as before.

"He's been arrested." he said without ceremony. He observed as the redhead looked shocked for a split second, before sighing in frustration as shaking her head.

"Bloody hell." she muttered. Hale couldn't help a light chuckle. Alex's thoughts were racing though.

"Indeed." he added.

"Did he fall into Zobelle's trap?" she looked straight at him at that. Hale was caught by surprise; he wasn't sure how much Teller confided in her about his club. "What happened?"

"We found out about a supposed rally Zobelle was hosting in Morada with the AB crew," he replied matter of factly, and observed as she looked suspicious at that. "Turns out it was a trap, obviously." she sighed again and he continued.

"I had contacted the sheriffs department to go pick Zobelle and Weston up, but the MC found out as well. Jax tried to stop the club for getting in guns a-blazing, but it was no good, it was just a bunch of families having dinner. No one was harm, but there were shots and security footage."

"Fuck." she replied as she let out a breath, she evaded his eyes for a second and he ran his own eyes through her right arm, he noticed the gauze around it just now, covering part of her tattoos.

"Anything I can do?" she asked, and he looked into her eyes again. He took a step closer and spoke lower, she didn't move.

"You can come and file a report on Weston and his crew for what they did to your dog." he said carefully and watched as she looked at him in silence for a few seconds.

"How is that going to help Teller?" she asked equally lowly.

"It won't, directly." he replied sincerely. "But it will help me get to Weston, at least."

Alex looked down for a moment and he waited patiently. She thought about it for a moment, if she filed a report that meant charges, and a potential prosecution; which meant both the end of her piece and also potential unwanted light into Jax and his club.

"I don't think so." she looked at him as she said it. Somehow Hale knew already this was going to be her answer.

"Did he tell you not do it?" he asked blankly, slightly annoyed. She scoffed lightly, offended.

"No, he doesn't tell me to do anything, Deputy." she replied sharply. "I just don't want to. If I do that, a lot of shit will unravel. It will also compromise my piece."

"Forgive my bluntness," he replied as sharply without missing a beat. "But sleeping with Jax Teller has already taken care of that." she stared blankly at him. The bloody audacity.

"And if you have this published now, it will also not help him." he added quickly as he observed the redhead narrow her eyes. "It will only bring more attention to him and his club. I'm sure you know that."

And she did know that. She didn't reply and sighed again, looking down. He observed for a moment, absolutely puzzled as to why this woman would be involved with Jax Teller to this extent. Sure, ever since he knew Teller, he pretty much slept with anyone he had ever had interest on. It was clear for him though, from this afternoon only, that Teller's interest in her was beyond the fact he wanted to sleep with her at this point. He could get that, Alex was striking and seemed quite smart. He could not, however, figure out why the fuck she would want to be involved with him.

"Want my advice?" he broke the silence when Alex seemed still lost in thought. She looked up at him and frowned.

"Not really." she replied dryly.

"File the report, go back to San Francisco, and stay away from Jax Teller and his club." he said it anyway. When she shook her head with a scoff and shifted, ready to close the door, he spoke next quickly.

"I have some information on Zobelle for your piece," he lifted his hand gently before she moved much more, she stood attentive at that, still holding the door. "I know why he's really here, who he is meeting and most importantly: why he's untouchable." he thought of his conversation with Stahl that afternoon.

"If you file the report, I will give it to you on record." he added, Alex tilted her head, the frown disappearing from her face, giving room to curiosity. "But you have to get this info and leave Charming, it will not be safe for you. And not only because of the League."

"Because of Teller as well?" she asked quietly. Hale shook his head, he didn't believe Teller would harm her, however he wondered why her mind would go there. Had he done anything to make her believe he would?

"No, his club." he added as matter of factly as before.

"Can I think about it?" she continued with her head tilted, pondering.

"Sure can," he smiled briefly, basking in this small victory. He pulled a card from his back pocket. "But not for long. Here's my card."

"Is there a way I can contact Teller?" Alex asked after holding the car with her free hand, the other still on the door. "I just want to make sure he's ok. I heard AB went after one of his mates a couple of days ago."

"Not really." he shook his head and started to walk away, but stopped short, turning back to her. "From my experience, his mother and the others are likely working on getting them out. He will be out soon; he will be ok."

Alex nodded quietly and he nodded back, this time going down the hall and towards the stairs. She watched for a moment before closing the door again, locking it and lying against it. She looked at his card, then at her bags still packed in a corner because of the change of rooms. She stood there quietly, pondering her choices.