Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and storyline... :)

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 10: Surprises

By Love Ink

Juice was nose deep in the clubhouse computer, cringing at the amount of viruses and malware on it. No wonder it ran so slowly! They were damn lucky they didn't do anything more than look at porn and order motorcycle parts on it, or else they would've been screwed. He'd been going through the thing for hours trying to delete shit and install new and improved software and virus protection. His eyes were burning, and his head was pounding, but he was proud to do the work, especially when the SAMCRO guys would stop by and watch him in awe; none of them knew how to work the computer. They would praise him, slap him on the back, and then go back to doing whatever it was they'd been doing before. The only thing distracting him was the idea that Angela was in the same state as him, and he had to skip out on spending time with her.

"How you doin', sweetheart?" Gemma asked, setting a hand on his shoulder. To his surprise, she set a glass of lemonade down on the desk beside him.

"Oh um, good. Thanks," he said, nodding to the glass and taking a sip. " 's a lot of shit on this thing. Lot of porn viruses."

She chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest. "No shit," she said on a chuckle. "Surprised you're even here. Heard your girl was in town. Thought you'd be spending time with her."

Juice felt heat creep up his neck at the thought of Angela; it was like Gemma could read his mind. "I wish," he said on a frown. "Koz wanted me to help with this, so I came to help."

"Quite the sacrifice for something that can be done any ole day."

He shrugged a shoulder, grimacing a bit. "I just want to help out. She'll be back again, I'm sure. Don't want to skip out on the guys if they need me."

"That's kind of you. Prospect worthy," she mused, squeezing his shoulder. "She gonna come visit us over here?"

Juice would have loved to bring Angela around. Show her his new job, introduce her to Gemma and the rest of the guys. He had a feeling Happy was trying to keep her separate, though, and he wasn't about to piss off Hap. "Not unless Hap wants to bring her over."

"He's a private guy. Keeps his family pretty close. Didn't even know he had a cousin 'til you showed up," she said, looking a little disappointed. "Heard she brought her stuffy boyfriend with her."

"He's not that bad," he defended on instinct. "Makes her happy."

"Sure he does." Gemma didn't look that impressed. "What'd she think of your new look?"

The dark, lustful look in her eyes as she'd looked him over the first time flashed through his head. Her reaction had surprised him; he'd thought she'd freak out or laugh at him, but she hadn't. Instead, she'd looked turned on, which had, in turn, made him turned on. And thinking about it was starting to make his pants tighten a bit. He had to think of something else, or he was going to be the laughing stock of the club. "She um...she liked it. A lot."

"Don't blame her. I like it. Makes you look like less of a baby."

"Thanks, I guess."

"You got plans for Christmas?'

"I um...I'm spending it with h-her, I mean, Hap's family. I guess. They do a big Christmas Eve thing, apparently. Not sure what they do Christmas day. Think she might be heading back to New York that day."

"Come to my place for dinner, then," she suggested, patting his shoulder lovingly.

He stared at her for a minute in shock; he'd heard Gemma didn't invite just anyone to Christmas dinner. In fact, he knew Koz and Hap would be ditching Elena and Graci to go eat with the Sons on Christmas, but he'd never dreamed he'd get an invitation too. He'd been planning to spend that day with Angela since the shop was closed and the Sons were all busy. Now, Gemma was handing him a golden opportunity to be accepted into their fold in a family gathering. "Really?" he asked, trying to keep the grin off of his face.

"Relax. It's just dinner," she said with a smirk. " 's not like I'm askin' to adopt you."

He smiled, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. "Y-yeah. Right. Yeah, I'll be there for sure."

"Good. Can you cook?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Not well."

"Fine. Bring whatever beer you'd like. 's what the rest of the guys usually do," she said as she started to walk away. "And a bottle of wine. Red. For the hostess."

Juice smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. Thanks, Gemma."

"Don't mention it. Be at my place at six. Don't be late."

"I'll be there for sure," he promised. He was on cloud nine for a moment until the door clicked closed behind Gemma, and he realized he was going to have to cancel the one day he'd planned to spend with Angela. She was going to kill him.

Angela couldn't stop smiling as she walked back into the beautiful hotel, hand in hand with Raj. They'd spent a fun day exploring San Francisco and all it had to offer. She'd forgotten how fun Raj could be when he wasn't busy studying or working. They were going back to wash up before heading to her Mom and Aunt's house to pick them up and take them to dinner. As much as Raj had wanted to take them somewhere fancy, her crazy family decided their favorite little Mexican restaurant, Chunky's, was better. She was sitting on the bed, zipping up her boots when Raj came out of the bathroom dressed in a button up dress shirt and slacks. "Oh, honey, no," she said around a laugh. "This is a jeans and a t-shirt kind of place. You're going to be laughed out of there."

"What? I think I look nice," he said, messing with his collar.

"You do. Very nice," she assured him, though her mind wandered back to how handsome she'd thought Juice had looked in his dirty garage work-shirt and grease-stained work pants. "But this is not that kind of place, and if you even think about putting a tie on, I will strangle you with it."

"I don't really have much else to wear. I don't do t-shirts unless I'm going to the gym or to sleep. You know that," he said on a frown as he looked at his suitcase.

She sighed; she knew that all too well. Raj was as fashionable as they came. He didn't have casual t-shirts or sweatshirts for her to steal and lounge in. It was another reminder of how her California life and life in New York didn't mesh well. In New York, no one would've batted an eye at Raj dressing nicely; here in Oakland, her friends and family were likely to give him hell for it. "Right," she said, going over to him and undoing the top two buttons of his shirt. "There. That's better. Very handsome."

Raj smiled and kissed her softly. "Thank you," he said, grabbing her hands with his own. "And you look beautiful. Casual and beautiful. Don't think I've seen these hoops come out in a long time. I'm liking Oakland Angie. She's tough."

Angela laughed, rolling her eyes at him. She wasn't wearing anything too fancy. A Golden State Warriors t-shirt and jeans with some sneakers. "What would your friends think?"

"I have told you multiple times I don't care what they think," he repeated, brushing a stray hair from her face. "I love you because you're different than them. They all have very large sticks up their flat asses."

"You're so nice to your friends," she said, kissing him again. "C'mon, change into some jeans and let's go. We're going to be late."

Much to her disappointment, when they arrived at her Mom's place, Elena told them Happy and Kozik would meet them at the restaurant; Juice on the other hand, would not. He was still busy working, and from what Happy told her, would be stuck at the clubhouse through dinner. She tried her best to swallow her discontent, putting on a happy face for her family and for Raj's sake, but inside, she was missing her best friend.

After they ordered their food, she looked around the restaurant, taking in the cheesy décor, before her eyes fell on one of the guys sitting at the bar, the Mayan God on the back of his cut smiling tauntingly at her. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned on the barstool, his light blue eyes catching hers making her heart sputter in her chest. There was no denying her ex boyfriend, Esai Alvarez, was gorgeous. Anyone with eyes could see that. And for just a split second, she was back in high school, butterflies stampeding through her stomach at the sight of him. If Kozik saw him, he didn't say anything, and luckily, Happy went to the bathroom or else they would have a big problem. Cocky fucker that he was, Esai raised his shot of tequila at her with a wink before slamming it back. She heard Kozik's chair scrape back from beside her and tensed; he'd noticed him now. "Don't," she said to Kozik quietly, her hand on his arm. "Not worth it."

"What?" Raj asked, looking over his shoulder. "Who's that?"

"That would be my ex trying to get a rise out of Koz for some stupid reason," she said, glaring back at Esai.

Much to her surprise, Raj didn't look freaked out. Instead, he straightened his posture, his dark eyes looking Esai over before he shrugged a shoulder, unimpressed. She watched as Esai stood, an annoyed expression on his face; he'd been trying to intimidate him, and it hadn't worked. Even Kozik looked impressed by the move. She bit her lip; Raj was going to get very lucky when they got back to the hotel, that was for damn sure.

Happy walked in just as Esai was walking out, his dark eyes following the Mayan's path. "The fuck's he doing here?"

"Think he was trying to scare Raj away," Kozik said on a chuckle. "Raj didn't seem to give a shit though."

Raj shrugged a shoulder as if staring down an outlaw biker and pissing him off was no big deal. "Why should I be intimidated by him? He must be a complete idiot if he was stupid enough to let Angela go."

Elena leaned over and pressed a big kiss to Raj's cheek. "I knew I liked you, mijo."

Angela laughed, reaching out a foot to rub against Raj's calf. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a sexy wink and a smile. It was moments like these she wondered why she ever doubted Raj. Why she would even think of leaving him. He was so good to her, good for her. Still, Juice's smile flashed through her mind. Memories of how much fun she had with him reminded her of why she'd been doubting Raj to begin with. Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts away; she had to get her feelings and thoughts in check before she ended up destroying what she had with Raj for no good reason. He was a good guy with a good future ahead of him. She'd be content to spend the rest of her life with him, bored, but content. Still...she couldn't shake the idea of being with Juice. The excitement and laughter that came with every moment she spent with him. She wasn't sure which option she liked better: safety and security or fun and adventure.

"Juicer's killin' it on the computer," Kozik said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "I dunno what he's doin' but every one is very impressed."

"Chibs' is talkin' about sponsorin' him," Hap put in, his dark eyes on her face, waiting for her reaction as a waitress set food in front of them.

She suddenly lost her appetite. While she knew sending him to SAMCRO would most likely lead to him prospecting, she was holding out hope Juice would make the smarter decision and stay far away from them. That he'd learn from his mistakes with the mob and choose to be safer. "Fuck that. He's too good for that shit."

"Watch it, kid," Happy warned, his hand clenching around the knife he was holding.

"Hap, you know he's not the same as you guys. He's not..." she fought to find the right words without insulting Juice's character, frustrated when she couldn't.

"He was involved in much shadier shit before we even came into the picture. Guy's not innocent. He's a lot more like us than he is like...a normal guy," Kozik put in. She didn't miss the way his eyes fell on Raj at the last part, reminding her of what she already knew.

"He wants this, kid. Ain't nothing you can do about it," Happy said, shrugging a shoulder as if it were no big deal.

Angela clenched her teeth letting out a long breath as she tried to keep her cool. He was right, of course. Juice wanted to be a part of the Sons. He wanted the family. It was the same thing that had attracted him to the mob. She had hoped introducing him to her family would be enough to satisfy that need. That she would be enough for him, but it was clear, he wanted something more.

"I think it's a great idea," Raj piped in. "He needs good friends. Much better than the mob and all their drug dealings and gangster ways."

Hap and Kozik exchanged glances, amused smiles on their faces at Raj's naïveté. "Sure," Kozik agreed awkwardly.

"Stop with all this talk. Juancito is a big boy. He can make his own decisions whether you like it or not," she said glaring pointedly at Angela.

She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at her Aunt. She was a grown woman; she shouldn't be sticking her tongue out at anyone. She knew Raj would be surprised to see her acting so childish, and he'd probably give her shit for it later. "Whatever," she murmured, picking at her food.

She could feel Raj's eyes on her and looked up to find a curious look on his face. He'd mentioned the night before he'd wanted to learn more about her "complexities", and it seemed he'd found another one: her relationship with Juice. If she wasn't careful, she was going to show her hand and the decision between Raj and Juice might just be made for her. She stretched her foot out to rub against his thigh again, and he responded in kind with his foot, winking at her again. She'd seen him wink more that day than she'd ever seen before. She wondered where he'd picked that up or if it was something he'd seen on one of the cheesy law-centric shows he watched. Nerd, she thought with a smirk.

"She's pissed," Kozik said to Happy as they got off their bikes in front of the SAMCRO clubhouse.

Happy nodded, rubbing a hand over his face; he'd never seen his cousin get so upset about something that didn't even effect her. He knew Juice was a good friend of hers, that she cared a lot about him, but he'd never expected her to get pissed over some guy who wasn't her boyfriend. "Don't know what she expected. She's sent him here," he said on a scowl. "Ain't gonna change nothin'."

"You really want to get on her bad side over the idiot?"

He considered that question for a moment, staring at the idiot's bike parked on the other side of the lot, closest to TM. As much as they called him an "idiot", Juice had proved more than once that he was far from it when it came to technology. In fact, he was borderline genius. From what Angela said, the guy could hack into anything he set his mind to. The club needed that shit. It would put them a step ahead of their competition. "He's good for the club. We need more a that tech shit," he answered on a shrug. "She'll get over it."

Kozik didn't look so sure. "Think that cut's gonna fuck up their friendship."

"So? Ain't like she don't got a man already."

"You like that guy?"

He shrugged a shoulder. Truth be told, he kind of did. He was pretty good at judging people, and from what he knew of him, Raj was a good guy. One who was bound to be headed for good things and a shit-ton of cash. He could give Angela the luxurious life she deserved. She'd never have to want for anything. Raj was safe too. It meant he wouldn't have to worry about her being in danger because of his lifestyle. Hap liked the idea of that. "Good enough. Loves her."

"He bores her. Dude wore a collared shirt to Chunkys! Who does that?" Kozik corrected on a frown as they headed into the clubhouse. "She should have someone funner. To make her laugh."

"Funner isn't a word, sweetheart," Gemma said, catching the tail end of their conversation as they entered the bar area.

He rolled his eyes in response, leaning over to kiss Gemma's cheek. "Whatever. You get what Im sayin'."

"This about your cousin?" she asked, her hazel eyes curious as they looked him over. Happy nodded slowly in response. She smirked a bit. "'m I ever gonna meet her?"

Happy shrugged again. "She ain't here long," he said as an excuse. In reality, he just didn't want to bring Angela anywhere near the clubhouse if he could help it. He liked keeping his two families separate. "Where's the idiot?"

Gemma smirked, nodding to the back corner where the old computer was set up. Juice was passed out, his face on the keyboard, snoring softly. Empty energy drink cans littered the desk around him. "He crashed a couple minutes ago. Been working hard all day. Nobody's got the heart to wake 'em." She kissed each man's cheek before nodding towards the door. "I'm headin' home. Clay's in the office workin' on some numbers with Elvis, and I'm tired of waitin' on him."

Happy waited until she left before walking over to Juice and kicking the leg of his chair. Hard. Juice woke up with a jump, blinking a bit as he took in his surroundings. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Shit," he murmured, wiping the drool off his face. "Sorry. 'm almost done."

"Go home, Juicer. This shit can wait for tomorrow," Kozik said on a smirk.

"Tomorrow's that big dinner. 'm s'posed to help Lena 'n' Angel all day," he murmured sleepily, rubbing at his eyes like a kid.

Happy knew his Ma could use the extra set of hands, and he also knew Angela would want to spend time with the idiot, but he also knew the more time those two spent together, the more likely it was Angela was going to be hurt when he got his cut. If she was already mad at the idiot, her anger would protect her from being hurt. At least, that's what he was hoping. Anger was easier for his little cousin to deal with. There were outlets for that. Her being hurt was a little harder. "So?"

"R-right. I'll um...I'll finish and then go over, I guess," he said, rubbing a hand over his head.

A concerned look crossed over Kozik's face. "You gonna be okay to ride back? You wreck your bike 'n' Ang'll kill us. There's a sleeping bag and a mattress in the locker room."

Juice yawned as he nodded. "I'll be good. Much rather sleep in Ang's bed then on that gross mattress," he answered. It took him a second to realize what he'd said. "Shit, I mean, not in her bed with her, but in her...in her old bed. The twin sized one. Alone. Not with her 'cause she's...not there."

Happy fought against a smirk while Kozik chuckled. "Relax, Juicer. We know where the kid's sleepin'. Ain't you we're worried about," the blonde said on a laugh. "Go home. Safely."

"Ye-yeah. I'll go...do that," he said around another yawn as he trudge out. "See you guys later."

Once the door closed behind him, Kozik walked behind the bar and grabbed a beer for himself. "We gonna talk about the Mayan asshole in the restaurant?"

"Shoulda killed him when I had the chance," Hap muttered on a frown. Unbeknownst to her, he'd seen the look on Angela's face when she'd first seen Esai; and it wasn't good. He'd thought she'd be repulsed, that she'd flip him off or something, but she hadn't. She'd looked him over with an interested look in her eyes even though her new man was sitting right there. What the hell had she been thinking looking at him like that? "He best stay away."

"He will if he knows what's good for him," Koz said before taking a swig of his beer. "Too bad he's a dumbass 'n' we got a truce with the Mayans. 's not much we can do."

Happy smirked a bit. "He comes near her, and I'll straighten him out. Don't give a shit about the truce. He ain't hurtin' her again. Not if he wants to breathe."

Kozik nodded in agreement, stretching out a fist to bump against Hap's. "I'm with you there, brother. Our truces never last anyway. We can make it look like an accident or somethin'."

Happy tapped his fist against his best friend's with an appreciative grin. "I like the sound a that."

This turned out waaaaay longer than I thought it would, but once I started writing, I couldn't stop. ;)

Lots of feelings going on in this one, and I have to admit I got a little carried away with Koz and Hap. The killer buddies are just too fun to write!

Let me know what you think!

~Love Ink