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

Lyrics at the beginning are from 'Feels Like Tonight' 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 Seven

You, you got me
Thinking it'll be alright
You, you told me
Come and take a look inside
You, believed me, every single lie
But I, I failed you this time
And it feels like tonight
I can't believe I'm broken inside
Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do
But try to make it up to you
And it feels like tonight, tonight
I was waiting for the day you'd come around
I was chasing, but nothing was all I found
From the moment you came into my life
You showed me what's right
And it feels like tonight
I can't believe I'm broken inside
Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do
But try to make it up to you
And it feels like tonight
I never felt like this before
Just when I leave, I'm back for more
Nothing else here seems to matter
In these ever changing days
You're the one thing that remains
I could stay like this forever
And it feels like tonight
I can't believe I'm broken inside
Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do
But try to make it up to you
And it feels like tonight, tonight

"Chibs?"

Chibs grunted to show he was listening.

"I can't sleep."

She'd been tossing and turning for the past hour, so this was not news to him. He felt the bed dip as she rolled over again, her warm breath fanning across his cheek and her eyes sparkling in the dark room.

"You don't have to be scared."

"I'm not." He could practically hear her pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Not for myself anyway." She sighed. "I'm scared for my brother. He doesn't exactly have a good grasp of common sense."

"He's a kid." Chibs suggested.

"He's an idiot." Naomi corrected exasperatedly.

Chibs froze when he felt one of her small delicate hands creeping across his bare chest beneath the sheets. She'd crept even closer; he could feel the length of one bare thigh pressed against his leg through his thin sweat pants, her body heat burning against his arm.

"What're you doing?" He demanded gruffly, his body so tense it was painful.

"I'm living with a death sentence. I'm taking risks." She murmured, her breath warm against his ear and her lips just brushing the swell of his earlobe.

Her fingers danced along the planes of his chest, caressing the tiny road of dark hair descending from his bellybutton. Chibs grabbed her hand before it could disappear any further south and he lost his resolve. She sighed and rolled onto her back. He breathed a little easier at the distance between them, not seeming to realise that her hand was still caught in his and lying on his chest.

"You're too decent." She scolded half-heartedly. "I feel very respected."

Chibs chuckled, scrubbing his free hand over his face tiredly.

"Lady, if I had the chance I'd be all over you." He reassured her.

In one swift movement she whipped up the sheet, threw one leg over both of his and reared up above him.

"Here's your chance." She put a hand on either side of the pillow under his head, leaning over him until her hair slipped over her shoulder in a wave. "What're you going to do about it?"

For a moment he stared at her, his brain working hard to keep him on track but unfortunately it was losing the battle for blood flow. He flipped her over, pinning her arms down against the mattress. There were only millimetres between them, his beard brushing against her chin, her body squashed deliciously against his.

"Chibs! Hey Chibs!"

Her knees squeezed his sides as she jumped in surprise and he grunted. Juice was hammering away at the door and he hurriedly staggered out from under the sheets before he flung the door open. Juice looked sleepy but wired and his shirt was buttoned up wrong as Chibs squinted at him irritably.

"Clay wants us at the table."

Chibs frowned, shoving his hair off his forehead impatiently.

"What's happened?"

Juice shrugged, already on his way back down the hallway. Chibs shut the door as Naomi flicked on the lamp by the bed. She was sitting up, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and her knees drawn up to her chin under the thin sheets. She looked at him with huge eyes.

"What's going on?"

He shook his head, crossing the room to pull on his discarded hoody.

"Can't be anything good at this time of the night."

He sat down on the edge of the bed, scrubbing his hands over his face.

"Don't worry, it won't have anythin' to do with you and your trouble."

She nodded without replying. He tugged on his boots and tucked his gun into his jeans.

"Just… be careful."

He glanced at her over his shoulder, part of him wanting to laugh at the idea and the other half trying to remember the last time someone had said that to him and really meant it. He pushed a lock of her hair back behind her ear, brushing his knuckles against her cheek. She peered at him with big liquid trusting eyes and he felt something clench in his gut. He leaned over and her lips parted beneath his without question. She pulled away and pressed her forehead against his neck, one hand playing agitatedly with the toggles on his hoody.

"Please don't die." She said earnestly and his face flickered into a half smile.

"Go to sleep, lass."


It was hours later when the guys got back to the clubhouse. Noami heard the bikes and the distant rumble of their voices for a while before the place fell into a drowsy silence again. She'd been awake for most of the night, falling into vague slumber and then snapping awake in a panic expecting someone to be at the end of the bed with a gun. She waited for a while but when it was obvious Chibs wasn't returning immediately, and she was reassured of his safety by the familiar burr of his accent through the thin walls, exhaustion took over.

She was deep asleep when Chibs finally made it back to the room. He'd showered in his own room, scrubbing away the blood and filth from another night's work and digging out a clean pair of sweats. He eyed his own bed for a long moment, it looked cold and lonely in the dark bare room. The sheet was still folded over where Naomi had thrown it back. Her stuff was everywhere, her discarded clothes draped on the chair, a damp towel from her shower hanging on the open wardrobe door and the few lotions she'd managed to convince Half-Sack to get her spread across the desk by the window. Chibs ran a hand through his wet hair thoughtfully. On the one hand the two of them emerging from separate rooms would save a lot of aggravation, on the other hand if anyone saw her leaving Jax's room they'd want to know why they'd switched in the middle of the night when half a dozen of the guys had seen them each go into their separate rooms a few hours before. Shit he was too tired for mind games. He pulled his door closed, crossing over to Jax's room.

She was coiled on her side in the middle of the bed, her hair a dark splash against the pillow and her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she dreamt. He climbed under the sheets, the warmth from her bodyheat seeping through the thin material. She made a small noise in her sleep, snuggling a little closer. Chilled from his shower he let her press against his arm like a soft sweet-smelling heater.

When she woke up a few hours later, the clubhouse was still silent and Chibs was sleeping peacefully besides her. She lay quietly for a while, soaking up the peace and the feeling of being safe and warm, something she didn't take for granted anymore. She'd expected Chibs to snore but he slept in absolute silence, only making a noise when he changed positions. His steady even breathing was relaxing, overlaying the thumping of his heartbeat in the quiet room. She slipped out of the bed as quietly as she could to let him sleep. The sheet had slipped down and, as she reached to pull it back up, she frowned. From the fresh bruises she could make out it had been a rough night. She managed to ease the door open a crack without making too much noise, scanning the hallway. She darted out of the room and back into her own, pulling on an oversized hoody over her pyjamas before she braved the clubhouse.

The Prospect was sweeping up the main area in a half-hearted fashion, looking ready to fall asleep where he was standing. She crossed over towards him, avoiding the small piles of what looked like a mixture of gravel and concrete in her bare feet. She put her arm around his waist and rested her head on his arm.

"Go to bed Half-Sack. You can't have had more than an hour or two of sleep."

He tried to protest but even that took too much energy and she took the broom from him with hardly any struggle on his part.

"If you won't go to bed, at least lie down." She pointed to the couch and put on her sternest expression, the one she reserved for Dex at his stupidest. When he still looked hesitant, she drew away, put her hands on her hips and glared. "Don't make me lay you out like a bitch, because I will."

He snorted and she poked him in the shoulder with the broom.

"Go. Now."

He agreed to sit down for a minute, barely making it onto the couch before he passed out and she grinned. It was already stiflingly hot despite it being the early hours of the morning and she pushed open the door to let in whatever breeze there was while she swept and straightened up. It was comforting; the rhythmic peaceful motions as she swept the clubhouse, restocked the shelves and piled the glasses into the dishwasher. Juice had given her an old iPod he'd restored and filled with music and she was so busy rocking away to it, she didn't even notice Juice staggering in, yawning widely with big bags of breakfast under his arm. He grinned at the sight of her standing on a stool dusting down the expensive bottles on the top shelf. She was happily warbling along to Don't Fear the Reaper when she caught sight of him, uttered a stifled shriek and fell off the stool. Juice just managed to catch her in a tangle of ungainly limbs, taking an elbow to the ribs for his trouble.

"It's too early for that shit." Tig muttered, shuffling in through the propped open door and squinting at Juice and Naomi, still all tangled up together.

There seemed to have been some sort of internal alarm clock at work because the clubhouse was filling up all of a sudden. Bobby, Piney and Jax fell on the food Juice had supplied after muttering tired good mornings. Chibs sat down at the bar besides them, his brows drawing down in a frown at the sight of Naomi still in Juice's arms. Naomi flushed pink and Juice hurriedly put her down with a guilty look. Tig had wandered over to the sofa where Half-Sack was still sleeping, the sound of his zipper making Naomi glare.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jax asked, sounding half amused and half concerned.

"Waking up the Prospect."

"Leave him alone." Naomi laughed, grabbing Tig's arm before he could completely unbuckle and probably traumatise Half-Sack for life, and dragging him back towards the bar. "So what do you guys do around here on a Saturday?"

She eyed the various fresh cuts and bruises they were all displaying doubtfully. Juice groaned as he slid onto a stool besides Chibs, rubbing his ribs where Naomi's elbow had caught a fresh bruise.

"Sorry." Naomi said guiltily. "Maybe if you didn't sneak up on innocent girls, though." Tig snorted into his food and caught Juice in a headlock. "Thanks for the catch." She patted Juice on the head since he was busy choking under Tig's arm.

She jumped down off her stool and left them to their breakfast and the confidential talk that would no-doubt follow. She slipped out of the door, squinting at the already bright sun. She peered around the lot. For once it was deserted, just rows of bikes glinting and half worked on cars covered by tarps. She munched on a muffin idly, drawing patterns in the dust with her shoe.

"You need to stop sneaking off, lass."

She shrugged at Chibs as he rounded the corner, leaning against the wall besides her and puffing steadily on a cigarette.

"I need to get the hell out of here."

He pushed his glasses up into his hair and slid a sideways glance at her.

"Gonna make a run for it?"

She laughed, tilting her head back against the wall and squinting at the blue sky.

"I can't stay in here for another full day, I'm going stir crazy." She cocked her head towards him, he was studying her thoughtfully. "I'm serious. Another day reading Harley manuals, watching crappy Spanish TV and avoiding groping hands…" She gave an exasperated sigh and tugged at her hair. "I swear to god, I will steal a bike if I have to." Her lips curled into a grin and Chibs lifted up his eyebrows. "Then I won't have to wait for them to execute me, huh?"

Chibs chuckled, flicking the butt of his cigarette into the empty lot and she sighed.

"I mean it. I just need out for a few hours. I've been shuttled from interview room to safehouse and back for weeks. I just want to catch my breath. Come on, a few hours." She wheedled, frowning when he still looked doubtful. "Unless you want to tie me up, you really don't have much choice."

He looked her up and down and she grinned at him from under her lashes. He chuffed irritably, pushing away from the wall and turning one shoulder towards her.

"Alright. Alright already. No need to pull out the handcuffs."

She scoffed, leaning towards him until he could feel her bodyheat like a wave rippling against his bare skin.

"Handcuffs? Please. I've been able to get out of handcuffs since I was thirteen." She tilted her chin and smiled at him from under her lashes. "I'll show you sometime."

Chibs watched her sashaying away, his brain turning over what could have happened last night. He cursed under his breath and lit another cigarette with a non-too-steady hand.


"Road trip, huh?"

Chibs glared at Half-Sack, wanting nothing more than to smack that smug smirk off his face. Half-Sack's grin only got wider. Juice looked up from his laptop and grinned.

"Taking her to the zoo?" Jax winked, lighting up at the bar besides Piney.

"Why not? I love the zoo." Naomi dead-panned, emerging from the dorms behind Juice, leaning one elbow on his shoulder and meeting Jax's amused gaze.

Half-Sack opened his mouth to reply, then blinked rapidly and closed his mouth again. They stared at her, Juice had flushed bright red and hurriedly averted his eyes and even Jax ran an approving eye over her. She rolled her eyes.

"You've never seen a girl in a bikini before? I thought you guys were dripping in pussy around here."

Half-Sack nearly fell over, staring at her in amazement. Juice was looking at the keyboard with a confused expression on his face, as if he'd just heard a nun cussing… or had an anvil dropped on his head.

"Such prudes." She mocked, pulling on one of Chibs's t-shirts she'd slung over her shoulder and knotting it at her navel. "Better?" She kissed one of Juice's tribal tattoos, swatted Half-Sack on the butt and pranced across the clubhouse towards Chibs. Tig whistled on his way past them, stopping to lower his shades and give her a thorough onceover. Naomi could feel his gaze crawling from her booted feet, over her bare legs in the denim cutoffs and bare navel under the knotted shirt, her bright blue bikini shining through the thin white material.

"Seriously? Enough with the gawping here. You guys have pole dancers as Sunday afternoon entertainment." She could feel heat creeping up her collarbone. "What's so fascinating?"

Tig shook his head, wiping a hand over his mouth and muttering as he walked away.


"You didn't really have to bring me to the zoo." Naomi laughed as Chibs paid their entry fees and ushered her inside the turnstiles.

"Good a place as any."

A group of kids stopped dead in the middle of the path and gaped at them with their mouths open. Two middle aged mothers scurried forwards and herded them away, shooting looks over their shoulders and whispering. Naomi stuck her tongue out at their retreating backs.

"They think I'm a dirty old man." Chibs muttered in her ear, lowering his glasses slightly and waving with a smile.

"Well that's a shame; you could have at least earned that title before being judged by it."

She leaned in and pressed her nose against his neck, her lips just grazing his skin.

"Behave." He warned, although he didn't go quite so far as removing the hand she'd slipped inside his shirt.

"Fine." She gave a martyred sigh.

She drew him along the path, her fingers crooking around his lightly. They stayed linked as they wandered, milling around with the crowds outside each of the enclosures. It was only a small zoo and it was rammed full of people on a hot Saturday morning, after an hour they'd completed a full circuit and the sun was burning her fair skin. They'd taken refuge on a picnic bench near the eating area, a huge white and blue striped umbrella shading them from the punishing glare.

"Want some?" She asked, aiming her ice cream towards him.

He lifted his eyebrows at her and she grinned, scooping some ice cream onto her finger and sticking it into her mouth. She couldn't see his eyes because of the dark lenses but she could sense his gaze fix onto her lips, could feel their pressure like a caress.

"Thanks." She hurriedly looked away, staring across at the penguin enclosure on the other side of the path. "For doing this." She clarified, leaning forwards and propping her elbows on her knees. "I figure hanging out at the zoo isn't exactly your idea of a fun day off."

She was wearing his Samcro hat against the sun and her long hair wound back in a complicated plait down her back was vivid against the black. He could see the curve of her cheek, feathery lashes casting shadows on her cheekbone.

"It's different." He murmured and she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Now gimme some of that."

She laughed and offered him the cone, he stuck his finger into the ice cream and transferred it into his mouth. His lips twisted, he narrowed his eyes at her and she laughed.

"Mother of Christ… what the hell is that?"

She sucked another glob of ice cream off her finger, smacking her lips appreciatively.

"Guava and pineapple."

His brow furrowed and she laughed again, nudging him with her shoulder playfully.

"I can buy you some vanilla. Or chocolate, if that's what you prefer."

She turned away and her shoulders tensed up. Chibs studied her back, the ink he still hadn't deciphered yet barely visible through the thin shirt. There was something underneath her words, he had the feeling she wasn't just talking about ice cream anymore.

"Juice told me about your wife… and your daughter." She said quietly, working her way slowly through the remaining ice cream.

"Juice talks too much." Chibs grumbled, looking away from her and at the sea lion enclosure to their right instead.

"That he does." She agreed, screwing up the empty napkin from her cone into a ball. "His heart's in the right place."

Chibs didn't answer, lighting up a cigarette and ignoring the glower from a nearby old biddy as he inhaled and blew out a plume of smoke into the air above them. He handed it to her and she took it without looking at him.

"Do you ever see them?"

He shook his head a fraction, taking the cigarette back.

"It's complicated." He said gruffly; his accent always came on thicker when he was agitated.

"Is that why you won't…" She broke off when he glanced at her, her cheeks bright pink. "Nevermind." She muttered embarrassedly.

He turned towards her on the table-top, shoving his glasses up into his hair so he could look at her. She was gnawing on her bottom lip, fiddling convulsively with the balled up napkin in her lap. She didn't know why she'd brought it up; he had no trouble nailing bimbo croweaters and sweetbutts left and right, she was just grasping at straws and humiliating herself to think anything else.

"It's complicated." He repeated.

She shrugged, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear out of the way.

"I get it."

She avoided his eye, the tips of her ears were red and he knew it wasn't from the sun. He tugged on the end of her plait until she turned towards him, a reluctant grin spreading over her face.

"Fiona is my past. The future..." He broke off, his lips pursing slightly as his thoughts scrambled to make sense. It was so impossible to put into words what he felt about his wife and their mixed up past. It was never going to be more than the past, even if everything worked out they'd never come to Charming and he could never go back to Ireland.

"I get it." She said again and he tugged on her plait until she grinned. "It's complicated."

He wound her plait around his fist, drawing her closer on the small surface of the bench. He could smell the sunshine emanating off of her like she'd soaked it up, could taste the tangy residue of the ice cream on her tongue. She coiled her hand into his hair to pull him closer, breathing in the scent of leather, gun oil and his unique spicy scent. She caught his lower lip in her teeth and pulled on it lightly until he growled. They were so deeply engrossed it took them a while to realise there was someone standing directly besides them, fake coughing for all he was worth. They didn't notice until he put his hand on Naomi's shoulder. She jumped, jerking away from Chibs so fast she nearly fell off the table.

The guy was wearing the beige shirt and shorts uniform of the zoo staff. Chibs eyed him challengingly, annoyed at the interruption.

"Look, you're making kind of a scene and-"

"You wanna take your hands off the lady?" Chibs ordered, injecting just enough danger into his voice to draw attention to the cut.

The guy let go of Naomi's shoulder as if it had burned him, scooting back a few steps for good measure. People were gawping at them, a group of teenage girls by the penguin pool were giggling behind their hands and the old biddy from earlier was looking down her nose at them.

"We were kissing." Naomi hissed snootily. "It's not like we're doing crack or anything."

The guy went white and the group of middle aged women haranguing a selection of small children nearby broke into outraged cackling and offended flutterings.

"Come on, darlin'." Chibs climbed off the table, taking Naomi's hands and helping her jump down.

"We should probably get back anyway, it's that party thing tonight." Naomi stretched up on her tiptoes, working out the crimp in her back from sitting on that table.

Chibs brushed his palm along her bare navel, exposed as she stretched. He tried to draw her closer but she dodged out of his way, reminding him that this party was one of Gemma's projects and they'd both be strung up if they weren't there on time.

"These women are gonna kill me." He muttered as she dragged him through the crowds surging towards the next sea lion show behind them.