Thanks for everyone that's still reading! This was a fun one to write! ;) Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own OCs/storyline...

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 66: Coffee Date

By Love Ink

Angela sat at the table in the St. Thomas cafeteria with a coffee cup in front of her. Jax had asked if she wanted to meet him down at there for coffee. She took a long sip, enjoying the warm feeling the liquid spread through her body. She glanced around the place, looking for the blonde biker, but he wasn't there yet. He finally appeared, ten minutes late, meandering over to her with his usual swagger. He got his own cup of coffee and two muffins, putting a healthy amount of sugar inside his coffee before he headed her way. "Hey Ang," he greeted, sitting next to her with a sigh. She thought it was odd that he chose to sit next to her when he could've sat across from her, but Happy would do the same thing just so that he was facing the entry way. Happy did it because he didn't like to be snuck up on, so she'd taken to doing the same thing. Maybe Jax did too.

Jax placed the muffin in front of her and slid it closer. "Thanks," she said, starting to pick at it. She checked her watch; Skeeter had given her an hour and a half break between embalmings, and she was itching to go see Juice. "What's going on?"

"Gonna get coffee with Tara," he said, stirring his coffee.

She grinned at him, happy to hear he was taking things slow. "That's great! When?"

"Now," he said, glancing up at the cafeteria doors.

"Now?" Angela repeated, eyes wide.

"Yeah," he confirmed on a nod. "Thought you being here might make things less awkward."

"Less awkward?" she hissed at him.

He nodded again, lifting his hand to wave at someone. Angela looked up to see Tara headed their way. "Yeah. You're good at that shit. Help with conversation," he explained.

She nodded at Tara before glaring at Jax. "Oh, you're a real special kind of stupid," she whispered on a glare. "She wants to talk to you. Not me!"

Jax shrugged a shoulder, unfazed by her insult. "Yeah, and I'm still tryin' to figure out what to say to her," he admitted quietly.

"How about the truth?"

He shook his head quickly, grinning as Tara approached. "Doctor Knowles," he greeted with his usual charming smile. Angela wanted to smack him.

"Jackson," Tara replied on a smirk. She glanced at Angela, trying to hide a look of surprise. "Hey Angela. Wasn't expecting you."

"Oh, I just came down here for a coffee before going up to see Juice. Ran into this guy," she lied on a sigh. "I should go, though."

"Don't leave on my account," Tara said, sitting down across from Jax. Clearly, Tara wasn't as comfortable with being alone with Jax as Angela thought she would be. "How're things going?"

Angela caught Jax's cocky smirk and kicked him under the table. "Good. Just waiting for Juice to get outta here. I'm tired of this place. No offense."

Tara laughed. "None taken. Think he's heading for a discharge date within the week, in all honesty. He's done remarkably well."

She grinned, feeling her heart skip a beat. "Can't wait," she stated on a happy sigh. An awkward silence filled the air for a long minute as they all sipped their coffees and ate their breakfasts. Angela tapped the table for a second trying to think of something, anything to fill the awkward void. Her brain was stuck on Juice, though. When Tara said he was going to get to come home soon, her brain went straight to the gutter, imagining all of the things they were going to do once he was home at last. "So...do you ever catch patients getting it on in the hospital?"

Jax kicked her under the table, and she discreetly flipped him off; it wasn't like he had brought up some great conversation topic. Tara laughed lightly. "Not here, but its been done," she answered coyly. "Why? Something you're planning to do? Little Eiffel tower action?"

Angela almost spit out her coffee at the inside joke. The look on Jax's face was priceless, and she couldn't help but laugh. She'd liked Tara before, but now she was confident they could end up actually being good friends. She nodded towards Jax. "I don't think he's up for it."

Tara snickered at confusion on Jax's face. He looked between the two, shaking his head at them. "Wow. You guys friends now? Got inside jokes?"

"Somethin' like that," Angela replied on a shrug as she took a sip of her coffee.

"You think you're the only one that can make new friends, Teller?" Tara teased flirtatiously.

Jax shrugged a shoulder. "I mean, she was my friend first."

"Think I like her better," Angela retorted nonchalantly. "She's smarter."

"Ouch," he shot back, his trademark smirk forming on his face. "I rescind my friendship bracelet offer."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "You got him to promise you arts and crafts? He must really like you."

"Don't read too much into it, I haven't gotten anything yet," Angela stated, feeling a lot less awkward than she had originally. Jax replied with another sarcastic comment, and he and Tara fell into a cute little banter. Angela didn't hear a word of it. She was focused on Gemma who was walking towards them at an alarming rate. She elbowed Jax. "Shit. Incoming."

Jax was so into whatever the hell Tara was saying that he ignored her completely, which was a big mistake. "There you are!" Gemma exclaimed, coming up behind Tara. "Funny how I always seem to find the two of you together."

Angela clenched her fists; she was so tired of Gemma insisting she and Jax had a thing. It was getting stupid and repetitive. What did she have to do to prove to the lady she wasn't into Jax? That while Gemma thought he was God's gift to the world, she definitely didn't. "Hi Gemma," she replied on a tired sigh.

Tara's shoulders visibly tensed at the name. Her hazel eyes going wide for a fraction of a second before she straightened her shoulders a bit, a visible wall going up. "Gemma," Tara greeted, angling herself in the seat so she was facing Gemma.

"Well, look who decided to come back home," Gemma snarked, crossing her arms over her chest. "What happened? Big bad city get too tough for you?"

Jax sighed, running a hand over his face. "Mom..."

"No," Tara replied, her shoulders tense. "Got offered a job, so I took it."

"She's in pediatrics," Jax explained, another stupid move on his part. Angela could see Gemma's next move from a mile away.

"Interesting," Gemma stated, shifted her weight a bit and looking down her nose at her son. "You know, your girlfriend's first appointment is today, Jackson. 's why I'm here. Thinkin' we might be able to see the baby."

Angela cringed; she wished a portal to another world would open up and swallow her whole to get her out of this terrible situation. "Oh. Wow. I'm gonna go now," she started, slowly getting to her feet.

"No, stay, undertaker," Gemma ordered, and Angela sat right back down like a kid scolded in school. "You can fill the doctor in on what's going on. C'mon, Jax, you should be there for Wendy."

"Wendy's fine," Jax said dismissively. Angela saw the disappointed looks on both Gemma and Tara's faces, and she knew her expression was similar. She knew Jax was feeling resentful towards Wendy, especially now that Tara was in town. Just in the few moments she'd spent with the two of them, she could see there was still love there. He glanced between the three of them before sighing heavily. "Yeah, I should go. See you guys later."

Gemma didn't even say goodbye as she walked away, Jax following behind at a slower pace. And he thought he didn't have mommy issues, Angela thought to herself. She sighed when she turned back to Tara, noticing how the doctor was still all tensed up. "I see some things haven't changed," Tara stated, poking viciously at a piece of fruit.

"Guess not," Angela replied, not really knowing what else to say.

"Jax and Wendy are still together then?"

"Back together. I guess they got like...married and then they divorced and then got back together, which was kinda my fault since they reconnected after one of my...meetings, and he thought it would be a good idea to start something serious 'cause it might help him look more settled so he could get that patch. Then he got the patch, and she got pregnant," she explained quickly. "And here we are."

Tara nodded slowly, processing it all. "I'd heard they'd gotten married," she admitted softly. Her cheeks were slightly red as though she was a little embarrassed by it. "My dad and I weren't close, but he was the one who told me when he called for my birthday. He um...he'd always hated Jax, so he was thrilled to tell me he'd gotten married. Was about a year after I left."

Angela sighed, that couldn't have been fun to hear. When she'd first left California for New York, she used to ask Rosa about Esai. He'd never dated anyone, but Rosa made sure to go into details about all the women he was sleeping with. It hurt every time, which, Angela realized was why Rosa was doing it. She wanted to deter Angela from missing him, and it'd worked. She'd started a relationship with Raj without even thinking of Esai. "Bet that hurt."

"Yes and no. I really...really wasn't expecting to come back here. You've seen Jax. Of course, he'd move on. And hearing it kind of helped me move on. He wasn't' an option anymore, so I was free to forget all about him and this cesspool."

"Yet you came back to this cesspool," she pointed out. "Might be diggin' a little too deep but, when you came back, did a little part of you even think about him?"

She glanced down at her coffee. "Thought he'd be married with a bunch of kids by now."

"He's not. They're divorced but dating. Just the one kiddo on the way," Angela stated, throwing her a bone.

Tara narrowed her eyes at her for a moment. "You didn't' tell me that before. Said it was a good question for Jax."

She shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, but I think Gemma kinda fucked that one up. Also didn't think I'd be invited to your coffee date but since you both seemed determined to include me on whatever this," she gestured between Tara and where Jax had been sitting, "is, I'm telling you this: he's divorced, he and Wendy are somewhat dating, and she's having his kid, which he found out about not too long ago. The kid thing threw him for a loop, and you being here, also got him spinning so...yeah, lot going on in the big head of his."

"No kidding," she murmured on a sad sigh. Her beeper went off, and she grabbed it with a little frown. "I gotta go. This was nice. We should do it again soon...without Jackson."

Angela laughed, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, really over the whole threesome thing. You two get your own coffee." She checked her watch and grinned. "Got just enough time for a quickie with Juice."

Tara smirked at her, shaking her head a bit. "Have fun with that. Make sure his heart rate monitor's off and don't get caught, or they won't let you back in."

"I was kidding, but good to know!" she called after Tara, laughing as Tara gave her a little wave over her shoulder.

Angela grabbed what was left of her muffin and headed towards the elevator to go to Juice's floor. The nurses greeted her as they usually did, nodding to her with friendly smiles. It was the night nurses that weren't as friendly. Mostly because they all had huge crushes on Juice. Juice never seemed to notice, though, despite the large amounts of Jell-O and the many unnecessary "check-ins" they did. She opened the door to his room, smiling when she saw him deeply focused on the laptop in front of him, brows dawn together in the cutest way. She loved him. So much. "Don't think so hard. Can see steam comin' out of your ears," she teased, catching his attention.

The corner of his mouth lifted in the smallest smile. "Hey baby," he said, his fingers pausing over the keyboard for a moment. "Where's your shadow?"

"Shadow?" she parroted as if she had no idea that someone was definitely supposed to be following her. She'd slipped out on Half-Sack without him noticing that morning. She was more than capable of taking the fifteen minute drive from the funeral home to the hospital without issues. "I ditched him at work. I'm fine."

Juice frowned a little, shaking his head at her. "You can't do that, Angel. You know you're a target."

She sat down in the chair beside his bed, a little annoyed. "I'm fine."

He scowled a bit. "Stop pouting. Just want you to be safe."

Angela fought against a smirk; she was definitely pouting, though she'd never admit it. "I am not pouting."

"Yeah, you are!" he shot back around a laugh. "Classic Ruiz 'I hate being wrong' pout."

She threw a balled up napkin at him, struggling to keep from laughing herself. "Stop! I don't pout!"

"Me Angela me too strong and badass like my cousin to pout!" he teased, imitating the Hulk as best he could.

"Asshole!" she exclaimed, finally letting out a laugh. She stood from the chair and went to sit at the edge of the bed by his hip, still grinning at him.

"Got you to smile," he replied, the biggest smile spread across his face. He reached for her, squeezing her hand. "You're too far."

She leaned in closer to him, lingering there with her lips just inches from his for a moment before she pulled away. He made a soft, frustrated sound. She giggled at the look on his face. "Now who's pouting?"

"C'mere," he growled, moving his hand to the back of her neck and pulling her towards him. Their lips connected, softly and sweetly at first, his hand tangling into her hair. Slowly, she moved a leg over his lap, effectively straddling him as she deepened the kiss, moving her tongue into his mouth. He tasted sweet, like Jell-O, which she was sure a nurse had given him. The man was obsessed. His hand moved down to her hips, thumbs slipping underneath the fabric of her shirt and trailing over her skin, eliciting sparks. She framed his face with her hands, loving the feel of his scruffy cheeks underneath her palms.

Warmth spread through her body, turning her insides to mush as the rest of the world seem to fade away around them. There was no hospital, no imminent danger, it was just her and Juice. She'd never felt so happy, so at peace in her life. A bit of fear wriggled in her brain as soon as she realized how happy she was. Nothing good every lasted for her. Something always ruined it. She pushed away that fear for now, wanting to savor the moment while it lasted.

To say Jax was thrilled about seeing his kid's heartbeat wasn't a total lie. It amazed him to see something he'd created just starting to grow had been awesome even if the baby had been created with Wendy. Gemma had placed her perfectly manicured finger on the little flicker and given him a pointed glare. "That's your son, Jackson. You're going to be responsible for that little boy," she'd said despite the fact that the kid was barely a heartbeat and had no discernible gender.

That responsibility sat heavily on his shoulders. He was going to be a father. With Wendy of all people. Meanwhile, Tara was within arm's reach, and he wanted her so badly. Everything he'd thought he wanted with Wendy, he knew he wanted with Tara. He doubted she was even an option anymore. Not after that awful conversation with Gemma. He'd seen the hurt written all over her face when she'd heard about Wendy. Saw her grimace when he'd tried to brush his mother off. He wanted to prove to her he'd changed, that he'd matured, but he'd blown that by trying to brush off the appointment like an idiot.

Hopefully, Angela had helped put in a good word for him after he left. He made his way to Juice's room, knowing that's where she'd be. He stopped at the window, glancing in to see Angela on top of Juice, her hands on his face, his hands under her top, making out like teenagers. Jealously rose up inside him. Not of Juice-he'd long since decided he wasn't at all attracted to Angela-but of their relationship. Not only were they making out, but every so often, they'd pull away and just grin at each other like lovesick idiots before one of them would lean in, and they'd start kissing again as if they weren't in a hospital where literally anyone could walk in.

He wanted that. Wanted that all-encompassing love. That feeling of being the only two people in existence. He wanted the stolen glances and the laughter. Wanted to have someone he could confide in, someone who'd go to bat for him, and it sure as hell wasn't Wendy.

He did his best to make noise as he entered the room, but they didn't seem to hear, so he cleared his throat. They pulled away slowly, each of them with love drunk looks on their faces. She kissed his nose sweetly before she turned to acknowledge whoever had come into the room. "Oh hey Jax," she greeted, not moving from Juice's lap.

Juice's hands settled on her thighs as if to keep her there. "What's up, man?"

"You're not gonna move?" Jax asked, raising an eyebrow at them as he sunk down in one of the chairs by the bed.

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "How long is this conversation gonna take?"

Jax wasn't really sure how to answer that, but he knew he didn't want to have the conversation with Angela mounting Juice. He shrugged a shoulder, trying to be discreet by moving a hand over his VP patch as if he was rubbing at his chest, a subtle sign to Juice. He was the VP, he should be shown respect. Juice caught it and squeezed her thigh. "We can get back to this later, Angel," he said grinning up at her.

She sighed, leaning in to kiss him once more before moving off of him. She sat down by his feet, crossing her legs on top of the bed. "That was quite the shit show this morning."

Jax nodded in agreement. "I totally forgot about Wendy's appointment."

"I mean, at least she knows now, right?" Angela asked before turning to Juice. "Jax had a coffee date with Tara which he conveniently roped me into and then Gemma came and dropped the bomb on poor Tara about Jackson here having a baby with Wendy. To top it all off, this dumbass thought it was a smart move to make it seem like he didn't want to go to the damn appointment. Did I get it all?"

He moved a hand down his face as he nodded. "Yep. That's about it."

"Damn," Juice murmured, shaking his head a little.

"And then he leaves me to clean up the mess with Tara," Angela said, an annoyed look on her face. "Needless to say, I won't be accepting a coffee invitation from you again anytime soon."

Jax smirked. "Fair enough," he said on a frown. "Was she upset?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "She wasn't thrilled but can you blame her?"

"You think I got a shot?"

"Have you ended things with Wendy?"

"Not officially," he replied on a shrug.

"Maybe start there," she suggested on a shrug. "Because you're actin' like a real asshole thinking about another girl while still with your pregnant baby mama."

He grimaced; she was right, of course. It wasn't right to chase after Tara while he was still with Wendy. He and Wendy had been heading towards an end after he found out she'd been using again. Gemma was trying to get him to make things work, and he promised he'd try now that she was pregnant but having Tara there changed everything. He didn't want things to work out with Wendy. Didn't want that future. "Yeah, guess so."

Angela's face softened a bit. "You don't have to rush into anything, Jax. She's not going anywhere. Don't force it, or you're gonna send her running. Just...baby steps."

Juice nodded in agreement. "Slow and steady."

"That how you won the race?" Jax asked him, smirking.

"Wasn't really a race," he muttered, looking down at his hands. "She's my best friend, and I was okay with that. Then Raj died, and I had this hope that we'd get to where we are now, but I wasn't gonna force it. She had shit to work out, I had all this prospect shit going on, and we needed time to get our shit together or it wouldn't have worked out the way it has."

Angela's dark eyes were sparkling when they looked at Juice. Her hand went to his, fingers sliding through his. Jax wanted that. Wanted to have a girl look at him the way Angela looked at Juice. "Think you're right, goof," she told him softly, a warm smile on her face. They held each other's gaze for a minute before she turned back to him. "Give it time, Jax. Take care of your family and yourself and things will fall into place. Think she's more interested in you then she lets on."

Jax fought against a grin at the glimmer of hope Angela's words had given him. "Sounds good to me."

"Off topic, but she needs a shadow," Juice stated, earning him a glare from his girlfriend.

Jax raised an eyebrow at her. Half Sack had been tasked with following her, and he knew the kid was doing his best to earn a prospect cut. Why the hell would he let her out of his sight? "Where's Sack?"

"Dunno," she replied on a shrug feigning innocence. "Look, he doesn't like the dead bodies, so I might've slipped out the back door while I was embalming. I'm fine. I'm tired of having a babysitter, and I'm pretty sure Sack is tired of babysitting."

He ran a hand over his face in response, shaking his head at her. He knew she'd hate the comparison, but her slipping out on Half Sack was definitely a Gemma move. "Don't matter what he feels, he's got a job. If he can't handle it, maybe we shouldn't give him a cut."

Angela grimaced, a guilty look crossing over her face. "I don't want that. Just want some breathing room."

"Ain't like he's sittin' on top of ya. Just let him do his job," Jax stated, leaning forward in the chair.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Her phone went off, and she sighed, checking her watch. "I'll go back to him then."

A disappointed look crossed over Juice's face. "So soon?"

"Yeah, I got a funeral to handle. Jackson here sucked up all my time with his stupid coffee date," she explained on a frown.

"Sorry," Jax shrugged, not really all that sorry.

"Sure ya are," Angela muttered under her breath as she stood from the bed. She leaned over to give Juice a long, sweet kiss. "I'll be back at dinner time. Promise."

Juice grinned at her and nodded. "See you later, baby."

Jax nodded his goodbye. "Don't ditch Sack again, or he's out."

Angela flipped him off as she walked by him, stopping at the door to blow Juice a kiss before she disappeared. Juice sighed softly once she was gone. "Thanks for that. She won't sneak out on him if she thinks it'll hurt him," he said, looking relieved. "Girl won't take care of herself, but she'll do anythin' to help her friends."

"Yeah, got that vibe from her," Jax replied on a smirk. "How you doin'?"

"Gettin' out tomorrow," he stated with a wide grin.

"No shit? Does she know?"

Juice shook his head. "Nah, not yet. Was gonna see if you could help me surprise her at the funeral home. They told me I can't drive or ride right out the gate, so I'd need a ride over."

Jax smirked, now that sounded interesting. "Sure," he agreed, wondering how Angela would react. If the position he'd caught them in, and her questions to Tara during their coffee date were any indication, she was going to jump his bones. "She's gonna be so stoked."

"Me too," he said on a happy sigh. "Feel like we haven't gotten to really be together. Somethin' keeps gettin' in the way."

"Careful what you wish for. Ain't easy balancin' an Old Lady and the club."

Juice nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know," he said softly. " 's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to lose her, but I want that top rocker. I know I can balance both."

Jax respected his honesty especially since his dedication to the club had been called into question before. He stood from the bed and nodded, "I'm sure you can. Just remember, club comes first."

"I know, man, I know." He ran a hand over his mohawk, sighing softly. "Just hope she can handle that."

He hesitated for a moment; he understood where Juice was coming from. When he was with Tara towards the end of his senior year of high school, she'd often express her dislike for the club, and it sounded like Angela wasn't much different. Tara split before she really got the chance to experience it, so there wasn't much advice he could give Juice. What he did know, what he could see was how much Angela cared about the prospect. With the depths of those feelings, there was no way she'd skip out on him for club shit. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said on a smirk. "Think you've got her hooked, brother."

The dynamics of the characters in this story are just so fun! Hopefully y'all don't mind me exploring them a little more and playing with them! ;)

Let me know what you think!

~Love Ink