A/N: don't own don't sue

Lyrics at the beginning are from Supernatural by Daughtry

Set after Season One, before Abel is kidnapped and Gemma is raped and Jax turns into a jerk and the whole club hates each other. Generally back when the show had fun and all the coolest characters were still alive. Because I can, it's called artistic license.

Learn My Lesson

Chapter Five

Lost from the start, I might as well be on the moon
Much colder than I thought even in the month of June
No communication makes ya feel so alone
All we need is patience in which I've never really known
But now it's too late, it's taking over me
It feels so supernatural and I'm pulled the other way
It's more than I can take and I'm losing hold of everything
And no matter how I try you know I can't deny
'Cause you feel so supernatural
Every step I've taken has led me here to where you are
But all that I believe in is keeping me from seeing too far
Throwing out the questions, waiting for the right reply
Looking for the answers, tell me will it be tonight?
But now it's too late, it's taking over me
It feels so supernatural and I'm pulled the other way
It's more than I can take and I'm losing hold of everything
When it's more than physical it's kind of hard to see beyond the glow
And no matter how I try you know I can't deny
'Cause you feel so supernatural
Through the atmosphere I'm seeing
Glimpses of the past I'm leaving
Holding on for life as we collide
But now it's too late, it's taking over me
It feels so supernatural and I'm pulled the other way
It's more than I can take and I'm losing hold of everything
When it's more than physical it's kind of hard to see beyond the glow
And no matter how I try you know I can't deny
'Cause you feel so supernatural

It had been three very long days but Chibs had been a very good boy. He'd made sure that they were never alone together if possible and so far they'd managed to keep their hands to themselves. In public anyway. It was a game they were playing. He didn't know which of them had started it but neither of them could seem to help themselves. It was just little things. She'd be leaning against the bar with Juice and he'd squeeze past between her and the pool table, close enough for him to brush against her. She'd be at the bar helping Half-Sack inventory the liquor, she'd brush his fingers with hers as she handed him the clipboard to pass on to Gemma. She'd been sat at the bar with Piney, watching Juice and Happy playing pool and he'd had to lean past her over the bar to accept his beer from Half-Sack, mere millimetres away from her. He was in a constant state of hyper-awareness, no matter where she was in the building he knew exactly how far away she was like his body was completely attuned to hers. The little witch was driving him up the wall. And he'd recently discovered that croweaters held little to no appeal for him anymore. What had she done to him?

He was sitting with Bobby, pretending to watch Happy kick Half-Sack's ass at pool whilst really watching Naomi and Juice over Half-Sack's shoulder. They were sitting on top of the bar, her long legs crossed under her, teaching Juice how to win at BlackJack by counting the cards. Gemma had bought mass amounts of candy for Halloween and the two of them were slowly working their way through a huge fluorescent orange bowl of it. Right now she was working at a large multi-coloured lollipop. Chibs was trying his very hardest not to stare too blatantly but it was so difficult not to notice as she drew the enormous candy from her mouth, licked her lips and leant over towards Juice to point something out with his cards. Her t-shirt rode up the small of her back as she leant over and Half-Sack missed his shot, momentarily distracted by the glimpse of bare flesh.

Naomi rocked backwards again, laughing at Juice as he scratched his head and squinted at the cards in confusion. She explained something to him and he nodded, gathering the cards together and shuffling them. Chibs shifted in his seat, laughing when Opie did at something Tig had said without hearing a word of the conversation. She put the lollipop to her lips as she watched the deck rippling between Juice's ringed hands. Chibs licked his lips, watching as she ran the lollipop over her lips absently. She was doing it on purpose, had to be. She popped the candy into her mouth again, holding it between her lips as she took the deck from Juice to demonstrate something to him. She handed him back the deck, taking the lollipop from her mouth and grabbing her beer instead. Chibs watched as she swallowed, her long slender throat rolling enticingly as her muscles worked the liquid down her throat. A trickle escaped and trailed down her chin as she laughed at Juice's puzzled expression. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, the tip of her tongue emerging to recover the alcohol.

"You okay?" Opie asked, his brow creased with concern as he felt Chibs leaning forwards in his seat besides him.

"I'm good." He grunted, gulping down the rest of his lukewarm beer to prevent any further questions.

He saw Naomi climb down from the bar about an hour later and disappear towards the bathroom. He tried, he really did try, but he couldn't help himself. After a couple of interminably long minutes, he climbed to his feet. None of them paid him any notice as he weaved his way towards the dorm rooms. She was still in the bathroom, re-tying her bandage by the sink. She blinked in surprise when she saw his reflection in the mirror.

"Hey." She dropped her gaze back to her hand as she tied off the bandage. "I thought you weren't supposed to be alone with me. You know, appearances and all that."

"No."

She hesitated when she realised he was right behind her, so close she felt his words whisper along the back of her neck. She wasn't sure she could turn around and see him so close to her.

"I don't trust myself not to do something I shouldn't if we're alone."

She felt his hand slide along her waist, palm flat against her belly, and yank her abruptly backwards against him. Her startled gasp became a haltering breath. He curled the fingers of his free hand into her hair, fisting it together and yanking it to one side. His beard was rough against the tender skin of her neck, contrasting with surprisingly soft lips. He hooked a finger into the collar of her t-shirt, pulling it back and exposing the curve of her shoulder. She inhaled sharply when his teeth sank into her flesh. She knew he'd been watching her when she was sitting with Juice, and she knew she probably shouldn't have made such a show of the lollipop but she hadn't been able to resist.

He grunted, turning her around roughly. She let herself be pliant in his arms, the look flashing in his eyes quite blatantly telling her he was on the edge. They both froze at the sound of voices outside the door. Chibs made himself let her go, his breath ragged in his chest and his jeans achingly tight. She moved as far away from him as she could in the small room, putting her hands against the wall behind her as if she didn't trust them to behave. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her hair was falling over one shoulder and her t-shirt was pulled back from the shoulder he'd bitten.

Her gaze flickered down and a smirk coiled over her mouth. "You might want to sort that out."

Chibs didn't need to look down to know what she was talking about. She pulled the shoulder of her t-shirt over the bite mark and combed her fingers through her hair. The door swung open and a rather worse-for-the-wear Juice stumbled inside.

"Hey!"

He looked confused for a moment and Naomi felt her heart stuttering nervously against her ribs. Eventually his confused expression cleared and he grinned.

"Clay needs someone to go pick up Gemma while her car's in the shop." Juice frowned as his alcohol-addled brain tried to focus. "Apparently we're all too drunk to be trusted."

He guffawed as if the idea was ludicrous and Naomi giggled.

"I'll go." She offered. "I haven't been drinking or smoking for most of the afternoon."

Before Chibs could argue she'd breezed out of the room. Juice staggered over to the urinal and Chibs turned away, willing his body to cool down. He splashed some cold water on his hands and face.

"You okay, dude?" Juice squinted at him in the dim bathroom as he washed his hands at the sink besides him.

Chibs could feel the heat in his cheeks and he glared at Juice when the younger man squinted at him curiously.

"I don't blame ya, being alone in here with Naomi would get me all worked up too." Juice grinned and Chibs scowled at him.

"Jesus boy, you talk too much." He grumped, stalking out of the bathroom.


It was pretty hard to get lost in Charming, it was one of those cute little towns where everybody knew everybody else. Consequently, Naomi drew various curious glances as she commandeered the keys to the truck from Half-Sack and pulled out of the lot.

"Just, take it easy." Half-Sack said nervously as she stamped on the gas to speed through a changing light.

"It's a couple of blocks, Kip. Lighten up." Naomi said cheerfully, completely thrilled to be out in the real world for a change.

"Where are we going? The store is that way." Half-Sack's voice rose in alarm as she turned left and barrelled down a street, scattering a group of kids playing in the street.

"We're going to stop for ice cream. Chill out, I already texted Gemma and she's still shopping. We have time."

Half-Sack continued to chitter half-formed arguments as she swung into a parking space outside the ice cream parlour. She clambered down out of the cab of the truck, fanning herself at the sudden heat like a slap against her skin. She unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it back into the truck, her thin vest already sticking to her shoulder blades. Circling around the truck towards the door she paused at the sight of Half-Sack staring intently into the rearview mirror.

"Yes, you're still cute, now let's get some ice cream." She teased, tugging on his arm through the door he'd thrown open.

To her surprise he didn't even blush the way he usually did when she teased him, his brow remained furrowed and his mouth stretched in a grim frown. She felt unease prickle along her spine and she glanced over his shoulder through the back window. She couldn't see anything but the street they'd just driven down, a couple of cars parked up and an elderly couple walking arm in arm in the opposite direction.

"What's wrong?"

Half-Sack continued to stare into the mirror and fear started to pound behind Naomi's eyes. Her grip on his elbow must have tightened because he finally looked at her, a small tight smile creasing his face. He nudged her out of the way so he could climb down out of the truck.

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

He flashed her an unconvincing grin and gave her a little push towards the door of the ice cream parlour. She let him hustle her in through the door, still shooting dark looks over his shoulder.

"Are we being followed?" Naomi demanded in an undertone as they joined the ridiculously long queue.

The heatwave was suffocating and most of the town seemed to have surged into the various ice cream parlours and diners lining the street in search of relief from the late Saturday afternoon heat.

"No!" Half-Sack scoffed, glancing nervously at the big glass window behind them.

Naomi followed his gaze, straining onto her tiptoes to peer over a squat fat man's sweating head. The queue moved forwards and the fat man jostled her impatiently. She glared, dropping back down and moving forwards a few steps.

"Seriously." She hissed at Half-Sack. "You need to tell me-"

People were shooting them sideways glances and starting to mumble. Naomi folded her arms and glowered. Half-Sack shifted nervously from one foot to the other, not wanting to draw too much attention to them. He snaked an arm around her waist, tipping her against him. She looked at him in surprise.

"That black car." Naomi looked over his shoulder at the big black SUV idling across the street. "Pretty sure I saw it outside the garage this morning."

Naomi shivered as fear swooped through her stomach. Not being aware of what exactly the Sons were into, Naomi's only thought was that whoever was in that SUV was there to keep her from testifying. She turned away from the window. Apparently the Charming locals filling the diner had come to the conclusion that they were merely having a domestic and had immediately lost all interest in their discussion. Although when she glanced back again, the fat man behind them gave her a sly leering look and she loaded as much disgust into her glare as she could. Apparently in this town having a biker's arm around you automatically made you a whore.

"Do you think they're following us?" She asked quietly, feeling the sweat pouring down her back turn to ice despite the sticky heat of the day.

Half-Sack didn't reply. He glanced out of the window again. By the time they got to the counter Naomi had gone right off the tempting idea of ice cream. She just wanted to get back to the clubhouse and hide in Chibs's bed. The unenthusiastic teenager behind the counter scowled impatiently at her as she stared at the row of tubs glistening with melting ice cream through the glass.

"You want something, lady?" He asked grouchily, gesturing with the clean scooper.

Half-Sack snapped his gaze back from the window to the pimply teenager, narrowing his gaze warningly. Distracted as he was, he had every intention of keeping up the respect the Sons earned around here. The teenager flinched back a little at the sight of the patch on his leather vest. Prospect or not, he knew better than to disrespect anything associated with the Sons.

"Uh. Mint chocolate chip and chocolate please." Naomi requested distractedly.

When she'd been handed her cone they forced their way out of the crowd surging around the counter. Half-Sack took her hand and dragged her towards a recently vacated booth near the back of the diner.

"Stay here." He ordered, disappearing before she could argue.

Naomi licked unhappily at her rapidly melting ice cream, finding it difficult to swallow when her heart was thundering painfully against her lungs. She had finished her cone and Half-Sack still wasn't back. A family were standing awkwardly besides her and she relinquished the booth politely, moving a little deeper into the diner out of sight of the main window. She'd been feeling so safe with Chibs and Juice and the guys, she'd almost forgotten there was a price on her head. She heard the bathroom door open behind her and she obediently moved to one side out of their way. A moment of confusion flashed through her as she felt a hand on her waist, wondering if it was Half-Sack. When she felt the cold end of a gun nudging her ribs through the thin vest, she knew it wasn't. The family who'd taken her table were shooting nervous glances at her. She stared at the two children in horror, her brain unable to process what was happening. When the hand guided her backwards, she followed. She could feel his breath stirring her hair. They passed through an empty back office, the gun never leaving her ribs. She blinked when she realised the knife Juice had given her was in her hand, she didn't remember taking it out of the pocket of her shorts. She could see it out of the corner of her eye, the blade flashing in her wildly trembling hand. She fought to keep her grip on the wooden handle, her palm slippery with sweat.

He used one foot to kick open the back door and something told her that the bright sunlight searing into their eyes was the perfect distraction she needed. She jerked the knife backwards with as much force as she could muster, feeling it hit home. The startled grunt turned to a hiss of pain as the gun inched away from her back and the hand at her waist disappeared. She didn't look back, she just ran. She didn't know if he were shooting at her, she couldn't hear anything over the pounding of her blood in her ears, her breathing ragged in her chest and her booted feet thundering against the pavement. She hurtled around the side of the building and slammed into the side of the truck, her fingers wet with blood scrabbling at the handle.

"Naomi!"

She choked on her scream as a hand touched her shoulder. Half-Sack's eyes were huge in his face as he took in the bloodied knife still clutched tightly in her hand, spots of blood all over her arm. She felt a familiar touch on her arm and she managed to relax enough to see Chibs's scowl hovering behind Half-Sack.

"What happened?" He growled at the Prospect, his eyes flashing behind the dark glasses.

She felt someone take the knife from her hand, Jax's gruff voice ringing in her ears without a word of it sinking in. The adrenaline was fading and she felt nothing but nausea roiling in her stomach. She could have been killed. He'd been taking her out back to shoot her. She staggered to one side and vomited into the road, aware that they were watching her but too shaken to care. Someone handed her a scrunched up napkin and she wiped her mouth.

"You okay, lass?"

She nodded, lifting a hand to push her hair back from her face. She glimpsed the blood speckling her hand and her stomach heaved again. Jax and Bobby had apparently gone looking for her attacker and they returned mid-conversation. From what she could tell the guy had vanished. She shuddered at the thought of her attacker being free out there. Chibs touched the small of her back lightly and she straightened up.

Chibs studied her carefully. Her face was completely drained of all colour apart from two vivid bright spots of red burning on her cheekbones. Her eyes were glittering as if she had a fever and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. He was reminded vividly of the night she'd had her nightmare. She had the same panic-stricken terror flickering in her eyes as she did then. She was shaking wildly as he guided her into the truck.

"She's in shock." Chibs said in an undertone to Jax.

"Take her back to the clubhouse." Jax decided, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "We'll hunt out this guy. Need to know why he went for her."

"Could be whatever shit she brought with her." Bobby pointed out.

"Could be because she's been seen with a Son." Jax countered calmly, his blue eyed gaze drifting over to Chibs. "Drop her off, fill in Juice and get some mugshots going. See if she can ID him and make our job easier."

Chibs crossed back towards the truck, leaning in the still open door towards her. She jumped as if she were electrocuted when he touched her knee. She relaxed a fraction when she realised it was him.

"Come on, lass."

"Are we going home?" She asked quietly.

He grunted without replying, tugging her hand slightly until she slid out of the truck. Her knees seemed to buckle and she staggered a step. Her grip tightened on his hand as she steadied herself, following him towards his bike. Through the numb haze she'd fallen into she remembered the last time she'd ridden on his bike with him. The memory made her smile and some of the painful knot in her chest eased. She was still trembling slightly and her bare arms were covered in icy sweat so he handed her his cut. She blinked at it in surprise, letting him wrap it around her shoulders.

She recovered a little on the ride back, the shock wearing off to be replaced by anger. How dare he attack her in broad daylight, risking the lives of innocent people to keep his scumbag bosses out of prison. By the time he pulled up at the garage her blood was boiling. She leapt off the bike and raced past a startled Juice and Piney and into Chibs's dorm room.


Chibs knocked lightly on the closed door. He couldn't hear a sound from the other side of the wooden barrier. He half expected to hear her sobbing but an eerie silence greeted him. He pushed open the door. She was curled up on the bed, her back to the wall and her gaze fixed vacantly on the blank TV screen. She was huddled into his cut, her knees drawn up to her chin. He closed the door behind him, sitting down on the side of the bed.

"It's okay." He said gently.

"It's not." She snapped vehemently, turning towards him. "I almost died. I could have killed someone. That is not normal behaviour."

She swiped angrily at the tears trickling down her cheeks, averting her gaze as if embarrassed at the presence of her tears.

"Look, I'm sure whatever you guys get up to… this is everyday stuff for you… but I'm just a tutor. This is all a bit too much for me." She scrubbed her cheeks again, pouting her lips thoughtfully. "Can I have a hug?"

He gaped at her in amazement, completely thrown. She looked at him hopefully and he obediently opened his arms, still too puzzled to really think about it. She crawled towards him almost, but not quite, sliding into his lap. She coiled around him, his hands sliding under the cut to encircle her waist. She nestled her cheek against his throat and he felt the wet spots of her tears against his bare skin. Little tremors were running through her body and she wrapped her arms around him so tightly his ribs were hurting a little. He let her work it out of her system, pushing her hair back from her face and squeezing her tightly every time a particularly powerful shudder shook her. Eventually she moved back, putting a few inches of space between them.

"Sorry." She muttered embarrassedly, wiping her damp cheeks on her vest.

Chibs tried not to stare too openly at the smooth flat navel bared when she lifted the vest.

"I have blood on my hands."

He frowned, working out how best to reassure her that the scumbag who attacked her had gotten exactly what he deserved. He followed her gaze and found her staring at the dark stains marring her hand and arm, a splash still wet on her shorts.

"Oh, you meant literally."

She gave him a small half smile and he pushed her hair back behind her ear so he could see her properly.

"You have snot all over your face."

Her face split into a grin and she punched him in the chest with an outraged squeal. He chuckled, until she leaned forwards and pressed her lips against the scar on his cheek.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'll help Juice find the guy."

She gave a small involuntary shudder and climbed up from the bed, peeling off his cut. He took it in silence.

"Hey." She touched his shoulder lightly. "Thanks."

Her lips brushed against his, exerting just enough pressure to make his pulse race. Her fingertips trailed along his collarbone as she pulled away and he caught her hand in his, squeezing her fingers briefly. He stared at the closed bathroom door in contemplative silence for a long time.