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

Lyrics at the beginning are from What I Want 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 Nine

It always seemed that I was sorry for the things that I did
But never did a thing about it 'til I let you in
It's kinda funny about the time that I was falling apart
You came and put me back together, now
'Cause what I want and what I need
Has now become the same thing you've been offering
As days go by
I've finally become what you want me to be
I still remember all the stupid things that I've said and done
But still, you stuck around with me when all your friends said, "Run!"
Givin' me a name, I found myself inside all the flames
Becoming everything for you again
What I want and what I need
Has now become the same thing you've been offering
As days go by
I've finally become what you want me to be
Don't tell me you saw it all along
God help me, I never knew it alone
Guess I was wrong
What I want and what I need
Has now become the same thing you've been offering
As days go by
I've finally become what you want me to be
And what I need
Has now become the same thing you've been offering
You've taken me
And shaped me to become what you want me to be

"Am I dead?" Naomi groaned, too scared to move in case she was still alive and she set her body on fire again.

"Yeah."

She looked over at Juice, slumped in the chair by the door and blinking sleepily at her. She smiled; inordinately glad to see his goofy face. She held out her hand towards him and he climbed out of the chair, stretched his sore limbs and clomped over to her. Every thump of his boots on the floorboards rattled through her aching head but she took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I have never been so happy to see your stupid face." She said croakily and he laughed. "So what's the sitch?" She shifted slightly, becoming aware that she was on Chibs's bed rather than the table. "Am I gonna make it?"

The smile drooped from Juice's face and she felt a flash of fear in her chest, in a heartbeat her mind flying to the possibility that she was still dying.

"Chibs sewed you up." He nodded, squeezing her fingers again until his rings dug into her palm. "Did a good job, I guess. You slept for most of the past couple of days." He gave a strained half laugh. "We thought you might be in a coma. Then Tig offered to change your bandages and you woke up enough to slap him, then went back to sleep."

They both laughed a little too hard, working out some hysterical reaction. Naomi let her head drop back against the pillow, Juice's warm fingers reassuring in hers. Juice squinted at her, his head cocked on one side and she glared.

"You look like shit."

Naomi swore at him, whacking him with a pillow when he chuckled. A cough from the doorway saved him and she stuck out her tongue as he removed the pillow from her reach.

"How you feeling?" Opie asked, following Chibs into the room.

"Like an eighteen wheeler made me its bitch." She groaned, trying to wriggle into a sitting position.

Juice used his grip on her hand to help her sit up, wincing as she whimpered tightly at the pain. Chibs eyed their interlocked hands, his inscrutable gaze searching her face. Juice hurriedly dropped her fingers.

"Well if I'm looking at you jackasses, there's no way I'm in heaven." She sighed, leaning back against the pillows.

Opie handed her a glass of water and she gulped it down, luxuriating in the blissful feeling of it on its way down. The big guy smiled at her, pushing his hair behind his ear when she thanked him gratefully. She heard Happy's voice in the distant garage and something stirred at the back of her brain.

"What happened? To that woman?" She asked warily, handing Juice the empty glass.

Opie and Jax looked at Chibs, Chibs studied her contemplatively then inclined his head almost imperceptibly at Opie.

"They sent her after you. Figured a chick would have a better chance to get in here." Opie confirmed her fears, his gruff voice surprisingly soothing.

Naomi let her head fall back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling in silence.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Juice blurted.

"I brought this here. She could have killed anyone thinking they were me." She said miserably.

"Don't be stupid." Opie said gruffly and she looked at him in surprise. "You're here so we can protect you."

Juice looked down at the floor guiltily.

"You guys didn't… er…" Naomi couldn't quite bring herself to say 'torture', her stomach was queasy just thinking about it.

Opie and Chibs exchanged a look again.

"She's a junkie." Opie supplied. "It only took a day of cold turkey."

Naomi shivered, then winced as her entire body throbbed painfully. Chibs ordered everyone out, closing the door behind them with a kick of his boot.

"Any fever?" Chibs asked, using the back of his hand to test her forehead. "I need to check your bandages."

For the first time she actually looked at what she was wearing. Her ruined dress had been burned and someone had dressed her in another of Chibs's old shirts. She plucked at the t-shirt, wrinkling up the faded reaper's face between her fingers.

"You must be running out of these by now."

He grinned, running his finger under the hem of the shirt along her bare thigh.

"Look better on you, anyway."

He pushed the hem of the t-shirt up, revealing a pair of boxers with humping frogs all over them. She lifted her eyebrows at him. Her middle was swathed in bandages, a red patch staining them in an angry smile. He let her soak up the sight of them for a minute, his palm resting flat across her belly button providing heat and comfort. When she was ready she nodded, sitting up so he could unwind the bandages.

"Guess I'll have a scar now, too." She sighed as he revealed the raw angry stab wound on her navel, the stitches dark against her pale skin.

They both stared at her navel, the pale golden skin flushing into tender pink around the dark stitches. Naomi ran a finger around the wound gently, not close enough to touch the sore stitches, exploring. Chibs's hand was resting forgotten on her bare thigh while he waited for her to adjust. It was one thing to know you'd been stabbed, to actually see the evidence of it on your own body was something else. He scratched one of his scars without realising it, her vivid eyes following the movement.

"She missed anything vital. You lost a lot of blood, though."

He soaked a cloth in the lukewarm water he'd brought with him, running it carefully over her abdomen to remove the fresh blood. She held her breath as he cleaned the wound thoroughly.

"I know it hurts, lass." He murmured.

"After last night, I can take this." She muttered, her hand clenched tightly on the shoulder of his cut. "I hope." Her nails were digging into his skin through his cut she was squeezing that tightly. "Christ, I feel like I'm in labour."

He chuckled and she glared. He tossed away the cloth and unravelled a new bandage, wrapping up her waist again. She was quiet as he did it, leaning her forehead against his bare shoulder tiredly. He left her there, even after he was finished, one hand warm on the small of her back the other on her waist. She pulled away and pushed her hair from her face. She could feel it was still braided, all matted and stiff with blood.

"Bet I look fantastic, huh?" She gave him a wry grin, wincing when her face pulled strangely.

She held up one hand and explored gingerly, touching swollen skin. Chibs took her hand away from her cheek, his fingertips brushing her skin lightly.

"You hit the ground pretty hard."

He looked at her steadily. There was hardly an inch between them, her hand still on his shoulder, her fingertips sliding under the edge of his cut. She was sure she smelt pretty ripe right about now but he was looking at her with nothing but tenderness and a shade of exasperation.

"I know, I know…" She grinned ruefully. "I need to stop walking off on my own."

"I think this counts as an 'I told you so'."

She punched Chibs in the shoulder.

"Alright alright. Can I take a shower with this?" She indicated the bandages.

Chibs shook his head a fraction and she pouted. He sighed, leaning back on the heels of his hands.

"Please?" She wheedled, ignoring the pain blazing in her abdomen and leaning towards him. She put one hand on either side of his hips on the mattress, her lips inches away from his. "I. Really. Really. Really…" She punctuated each word by pressing a kiss along his jawline. "Need. A. Shower." She nuzzled the delicate spot under his earlobe with her nose. "Ow." She came to an abrupt halt when her stomach throbbed angrily at her rapid movement.

"I'll get one of the girls to help." Chibs offered, taking her elbows and helping her straighten up a little.

"Fine." She grumbled. "Just a suggestion, but you might wanna start being a little pickier about the bimbos you guys let in here. Just a thought." Naomi muttered as he helped her out of the bed.

He lifted his eyebrows at her and she grinned, wrapping her arm around his neck as he hauled her to her feet. She wobbled dizzily and he hooked her closer. She leaned against him as he helped her walk across the room to the bathroom. He sat her down on the edge of the toilet while he started the shower and adjusted the temperature. She watched him, something undefinable flickering in her ribcage. She'd nearly died. Again. This time she hadn't had time to react for herself, apart from screaming she hadn't stood a chance. If they hadn't helped her she'd be in the morgue right now.

"Hey." She murmured and he looked up at her, his face creased up in confusion. "Come here."

Thinking she was in too much pain to get back up, he crossed over to her. She took his face in her hands and he blinked in surprise, his big dark eyes studying her closely. She could almost see herself reflected in them. She pushed her hands into his hair, the long strands feeling slick with sweat and grease from what had clearly been another long difficult night of Samcro business. He let her fingers explore; tracing along the scars on his cheeks, tickling his feathery eyelashes, caressing the curve of his lower lip. Hooking her fingers into the neck of his cut, she pulled him closer until their lips met. Her face was sore from face-planting the ground but she made it work, her hands roaming his neck, shoulders and back, tangling in his hair. His hands slid along her thighs under the t-shirt and she leaned in closer, the pain from her wound long forgotten.

"Ahem."

Chibs didn't even break contact, waving one hand over his shoulder at the sweetbutt hovering in the doorway. The sweetbutt didn't retreat, she'd clearly been ordered by Clay or Gemma to make them behave.

"Just can't catch a break." Naomi muttered mutinously, pulling away from Chibs's crouched form.

The sweetbutt looked at her sympathetically as Chibs stomped off, shoving past her without a word.


"So… this might be less awkward if I knew your name." Naomi said as cheerfully as she could when she'd been stripped naked by a complete stranger who was currently aiming the shower at various areas of her body trying to minimise the damage to the fresh bandages.

"Lolita." The girl said and Naomi couldn't quite hold back the snort of amusement.

"Seriously?"

The girl glared, her cheeks turning pink. Naomi had the feeling the girl was pretty used to that reaction and the laughter that usually followed.

"Sorry." She apologised. "I'm Naomi." She obediently turned around so Lolita could scrub her back with a huge sponge that looked suspiciously like it came from the garage. "So how long have you been, er…" Naomi bit her lip, wondering how to phrase it without getting slapped. "Here?" She finished lamely.

"A few months." Lolita shrugged, using a wet hand to push her blonde hair off her damp forehead. "They treat us well. I was at a club in Phoenix for a while. They used to knock us about if we didn't… do what they wanted."

She scrubbed Naomi's shoulder a little harder than was necessary but Naomi kept her mouth shut.

"They're good guys." She agreed fondly, swivelling back around towards her.

Lolita didn't reply, just indicated for her to bend over towards her so she could wash her hair. It was a two handed job so Naomi took the showerhead from her and held it up above her head as Lolita rubbed in the shampoo. Conversation was a bit difficult with soap and water pouring down her face but Lolita kept up a steady stream of croweater gossip. She never mentioned Chibs though, and Naomi noted this fact with some amusement. Clearly, despite Clay's orders filtering down the ranks as far as their women, people had picked up on something. The thought should have made her angry, she could at least have been sleeping with him if that's what they were all thinking anyway, but instead it caused a strange fluttery feeling in her belly. The kind you got when you drove over a hill suddenly without expecting it.

"Thanks." She grinned as Lolita helped her out of the shower and into a towel. "I know you probably didn't want to do this."

"I've done worse things." She shrugged. "Do you need me to stay?"

Naomi shook her head, thanking her again. Lolita shrugged it off awkwardly, disappearing out the door as fast as she possibly could. Naomi dried herself off, wincing as every movement yanked at her stitches. Someone had left clean underwear and a fresh shirt on the bed. She worked her underwear up with minimal pain but she only managed to get halfway into the shirt before the pain doubled her up and she whimpered.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She swivelled towards the sound of Chibs's voice. She hadn't even heard the door open from the depths of the shirt. He sounded exasperated and a little amused and she groaned.

"Get me out of this thing." She snapped, grunting as trying to straighten up only made her feel even worse.

She felt his rough hands untangling the shirt from her arms, pulling it down over her shoulders until it fell into place over her body. He fluffed her hair out of the collar and it fell heavily in damp tangles down her back. She grinned at him ruefully, her hand on her wound in the vain hope it would stop hurting.

"Thanks."

"Here."

Chibs handed her two white pills and a bottle of water as she manoeuvred herself carefully onto the bed.

"Painkillers or drugs?" She asked once she'd swallowed the pills and left the empty glass on the bedside table.

"Does it matter?"

"If it makes the pain go away, no." She grimaced, cradling her side again.

She pointed at the cluttered tabletop across the room and Chibs uncoiled his body and retrieved the brush she was pointing at, sitting back down on the bed besides her. She gritted her teeth as she worked the brush through her long hair, holding her breath as she hacked at the knots.

"Are you guys going to ship me off now?" She asked suddenly and Chibs, who'd been sitting silently smoking and watching her, cocked his head inquisitively. "I mean what if that girl had stabbed Gemma or something? You guys are in danger if I stay, right?"

Chibs took a long drag of his smoke, exhaling a big white cloud thoughtfully. He'd been watching the brush strokes, watching the tangled mess become a smooth slick river of molten red. He'd almost been mesmerised. He used to watch Fiona brushing Kerrianne's hair after her bath. It had always soothed him.

"If they know you're here, and it looks like they do." He conceded when she snorted derisively. "Hiding you somewhere else won't take the heat off us if they know we're still protecting you."

Naomi had finished untangling her hair but she kept brushing anyway, her hand moving as if completely independent of her body.

"I don't want any of you getting hurt. Especially not because of me." She said fiercely, yanking the brush through her hair so hard her scalp tingled painfully. "Just thinking that little bitch could have stabbed you, or Half-Sack or Juice…" She swallowed painfully. "Jax, Tig, Opie, Piney… hell even the indestructible Happy or Gemma. The thought makes me nauseous."

She turned away from him, glaring at the wall as if she could put a hole in it with the force of her gaze. She jabbed the brush through her hair angrily, her mouth a flat ugly line as she tried not to cry. Chibs could see the exact moment something occurred to her; her hand faltering, the brush coming to a halt halfway through a brushstroke, and her back went very rigid.

"How did they know I was here?" She didn't turn to look at him, it was almost as if she'd forgotten he was even there. "If they know the cops brought me here, what about Dex? Do they know where he is? Did I lead them to my brother?"

She was getting hysterical and Chibs took the brush from her before she could injure herself with it in her distracted state. Her hands were trembling frantically and he took them into his lap.

"No one knows where he is."

"I want to speak to him." She demanded immediately. "Please. I need to talk to him. I need to make sure-"

"You can't." Chibs said regretfully, squeezing her hands when her face crumpled in on itself sadly. "Not now. Give it a few days and then I promise-"

"You're sure he's safe?" She pulled her hands out of his and put them on his shoulders, staring at him intently. "Promise me." She insisted, her voice dropping in her intensity. She leaned forwards. "Please."

Chibs touched her chin, brushing his fingers along her jawline and into her hair, his thumb caressing her earlobe absently.

"I promise."

She sighed, hanging her head glumly and nodding miserably. He touched his lips briefly to her forehead and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Hungry?" He murmured. "Let's get some grub."

She was greeted by a chorus of hearty cheers as they emerged into the main clubhouse. Various cheeks were kissed and waists were squeezed but Naomi politely refused Tig's offer of a hug by playing the injury card. Juice slid off a stool at the bar and helped her up onto it, handling her as if she were glass. Chibs ordered Juice to get her some food but Naomi hurriedly said she wasn't hungry. She'd seen Juice's attempts at cooking before and it had never ended well. Chibs chuckled, rocking Juice's head with one hand.

"'Sack, food." He ordered and Half-Sack scrambled around the pool table towards them in his haste to obey.

"What do you want? Anything."

She smiled at Half-Sack's earnest face.

"Surprise me."

Half-Sack darted off, hesitated and then returned looking all kinds of sheepish.

"I'm real glad you're okay." He murmured, toeing the ground shyly as Tig, Bobby and Happy jeered at him cheerfully.

"Kip." She gestured to him and he moved towards her, giving the pool table a wide berth as Tig made loud smacking kissy noises at him. "I'm glad too."

She gave him a brief chaste kiss on the mouth that had Happy hooting obscenely across the room, folding him into a hug that he was too scared of hurting her to return. He scampered off happily and she laughed, leaning one arm against the bar and rubbing her wound gingerly. It was throbbing again. She looked across at Clay and Jax who were talking quietly across the room, their hands gesturing angrily.

"That's not my fault, is it?" She asked Juice in an undertone whilst Chibs was distracted talking to Piney, jerking her head towards them.

"No." His eyes darted across the room, then back at Naomi. "Well. Not entirely." Juice admitted sheepishly. "Clay thinks there's leak somewhere. That's how they knew to put that skank crack whore here." Juice turned purple when Naomi lifted her eyebrows at his words.

"He thinks someone told them where to find me?" She murmured in an undertone, leaning a little closer when the pool balls clacked loudly and Bobby cheered.

"She won't talk."

Naomi looked down at her hands in her lap, feeling a torrent of emotions swirling in her stomach.

"I want to talk to her."

Juice's elbow slipped off the bar. She'd said it loudly enough to halt Chibs and Piney's conversation. Happy, Tig and Bobby were looking over. The sudden silence distracted Jax and Clay. Jax shook his head at the suggestion when Naomi repeated it but Clay eyed her pensively.

"Let her."

Every single head in the room swivelled towards him in amazement, including Naomi's. Voices broke out, climbing over each other anxiously, until Clay hollered for silence.

"She wants to do it? Let her. Can't hurt."

Chibs and Jax looked at each other darkly but Naomi struggled down off her stool and stood in front of Clay, her chin tilted defiantly.

"I'll do it. I want to help. You need to know who's talking." She straightened up even though it hurt, her eyes straying past Clay to Happy whose face was expressionless as always. "She's not going to tell you, obviously."

Clay turned to Tig.

"Take her. Let's get these ladies talking."

"And me." Chibs stood up, stubbing out his cigarette.

"No." Clay cocked his head towards Chibs.

Before he could argue, Clay walked away and Tig had taken her elbow to lead her away.

"Do I not need to get dressed or something?" She asked hesitantly as Tig led her towards the back door.

Tig eyed her lingeringly from head to bare toes and she forced a smile, feeling as if she were naked besides him despite Chibs's shirt. Tig tended to have that effect on women. The concrete ground of the lot was hot beneath her bare feet as she hurried after Tig. He moved around the clubhouse to a small concrete building at the end of the lot. It looked like a shed. Tig unlocked the padlock on the door, pulling it open a few inches and ushering her inside. It was dark inside, a little cooler from the thick stone walls hidden in the shadow of the garage. The girl was curled up in the foetal position at the back of the room. She whimpered when the door closed and Tig flicked on the light.

"You're not gonna leave, right?" Naomi asked him, suddenly realising that she did not want to be alone with the woman who'd already tried to kill her once. Tig didn't reply but he leant back against the wall, one booted foot propped up against the concrete behind him. Naomi felt a little better knowing he was there. She took a few steps forwards.

"Hi."

The girl moaned, burying her face against the concrete. At first Naomi thought they really had tortured her, but then her eyes adjusted to the dim light. The girl was drenched in sweat, stinking of her own urine and vomit. She groaned again. It was pretty obvious, even to someone with no experience of this kind of thing, that she was suffering from forced cold turkey. Emphasis on the suffering. Naomi swallowed, lifting one hand to cover her nose against the smell. There were bottles of water lined up against the wall and Naomi reached for one. She squatted down near the girl, unscrewing the cap and offering it to her.

"Here."

With surprising quickness the girl's arm flew out and her hand grabbed her wrist in an iron grip. Naomi shrieked in surprise, lurching backwards onto her butt hard. Tig darted across the room in a flash.

"Let go of her, skank." He snarled, aiming his boot at the girl's exposed side.

The girl clung on but Naomi managed to twist herself out of her grip. She shuffled backwards on her butt, putting a little space between them.

"Help." The girl whined, scuttling back from Tig when he kicked his boot at her dangerously.

"She wants the junk." He spat derisively, glaring at the huddled form.

"Okay." Naomi said calmly, scooting back a further few inches when the girl lifted her head and squinted at her through her straggly hair. "We'll get you some." The girl's mouth twisted disbelievingly. "I need to know how you knew where I was." The words tumbled out in a rush. "How did you know where to find me?"

The girl laughed, a harsh guttural mirthless sound that hurt Naomi's ears. She looked over at Tig, who looked back at her warily.

"They'll kill me." The girl slurred, her voice as twisted up as her expression. "And not quickly."

She laughed again, rolling over onto her back and staring at the ceiling. She giggled as if this happening to her was the funniest thing she'd ever experienced.

"Do you want the pain to go away?" Naomi asked, her voice calm and surprisingly strong. "Do you want it to stop?"

"Yes." The girl looked across at her hopefully, saliva drooling out of her mouth. "I want it to stop. Make it stop."

"You want something?" Naomi continued, making herself look the girl in the eye.

"I do. Bad. Please." The girl pleaded, she was panting heavily as if she was starting to hyperventilate. "Please. Please. Please."

She kept repeating it, over and over and over again.

"Shut up." Naomi ordered, her voice coming out ugly and raw. She swallowed. "Give me what I want, and I'll give you what you want."

"I can't." The girl whined childishly, glaring at Naomi. "I can't. I can't. I can't."

"Stop talking like that." Naomi snapped, climbing to her feet. "You want to act like a child, we'll treat you like one. You want to be an adult? You know what you have to do to get what you want. Let me know when you're ready to act like a grown woman."

She turned away. Tig was gawping at her in amazement, too stunned to react. She'd almost made it to the door when the girl gave a defeated screech, flopping onto her front as if she really was going to kick and scream and throw a temper tantrum.

"Alright. Bitch." She muttered, looking very much like a sulky thwarted child. She moaned piteously, coiling in on herself as her entire body shook wildly. When it was over she gulped for breath, glowering at Tig and Naomi.

Naomi felt sick but she held firm, her arms folded over her chest and her face pulled into a mask of impatience.

"Some guy in the lawyer's office." The girl ground out, looking as if she were having her teeth pulled out.

"Name." Naomi's voice was pure steel.

"I don't know his fucking name." The girl hissed, spittle flying out of her mouth in every direction.

"Don't lie to me. I'm betting you were high as a kite, slumped on some sofa listening to every little thing that was being said. Luckily for you, all I want is one piece of information." Naomi shrugged her shoulders. "Or maybe you need a little more time to think it over."

She turned away again, this time getting as far as opening the door before the girl called her back.

"Murdoch." She spat it at her like it was poison in her mouth. "Okay? Murdoch. That's all I got."

"Thank you."

Naomi stumbled out of the door and after a moment Tig followed, cutting off the girl's plaintive wailing. He stared at her in silence all the way back across the lot.

"What?" She snapped, coming to a halt and putting her hands on her hips defensively.

"Didn't know you had it in you." Tig lifted his eyebrows, eyeing her from top to bottom again. "Kinda hot."

"Please tell me that did not do something for you." Naomi said in disbelief, swallowing uneasily when Tig's mouth curled into a smirk.

"Little bit."

Naomi threw up her hands in disgust, stalking away from him. They were sitting in tense silence in the clubhouse, drinking and smoking and staring into space. They turned to look at them, Clay lifting his eyebrows at Tig. Tig nodded and relayed the information.

"Makes sense." Bobby muttered. "They'd have to inform your lawyer where you were going to be."

They huddled together, no one noticing Naomi slipping away on wobbly legs. Happy demanded to know how they'd gotten her to talk when he'd been unable to so Tig told them. Chibs felt something cold creep into his stomach. He searched the clubhouse but she wasn't there.

He found her in the bathroom of his room, on the floor with her head in the toilet. When she was done she slouched away from toilet, leaning back against the wall. Her face was streaked with tears, blotchy and swollen. She looked worse now than she had when she'd been stabbed. Chibs sat down against the wall opposite her, watching as fresh tears rolled over her cheekbones. She groaned, lurching over the bowl again. He reached over to push her hair away from her sweating face but she waved him off.

"Don't." She murmured into the depths of the bowl. "I really hate myself right now, please don't be nice to me."

He remained silent, leaning back against the wall patiently. They were still sitting there when Juice bobbed in looking beyond chirpy.

"Are you okay?" He looked from one to the other, his cheerful expression drooping slightly.

"Think I've got a bit of concussion." Naomi lied, wiping her mouth.

"Oh. Your food is here." Juice looked at her pale face unhappily. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Naomi got unsteadily to her feet, leaning one hand against the wall for support.

"I'm starving." She announced as cheerfully as she could manage.


"Night guys." Opie and Jax shouted on their way out, the last two to leave for the night.

Chibs yawned widely, scrubbing his hands over his tired face and downing the last of his beer. Tig had passed out on the sofa hours ago, snoring loudly in the corner. Chibs turned out the lights as he made his way through the clubhouse. Naomi's door was open a crack even though the light wasn't on and he frowned. He tapped on the wood lightly, her murmuring voice carrying through the gap. She was a lump in the depths of the bed.

"I was waiting for you." She breathed almost silently; if the clubhouse hadn't been deserted he never would have heard it.

He pushed open the door and squeezed through, closing it behind him. The room was pitch black apart from the moonlight shining through the window in a square pale patch highlighting the bed. He sat down on the end of the bed, his mind working through something in the darkness. She emerged from the covers, kneeling behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I nearly died." He could feel her lips moving against his shoulderblade through his thin t-shirt, her warm palms splayed on his chest. "I don't want to be alone. Stay."

It sounded like half a question, half a demand. Either way he didn't care. She peeled off his shirt, leaving feathery light kisses all over his shoulders and the back of his neck as he pulled off his boots and socks. He stood up to unbuckle his jeans and she crawled back under the sheets, pulling them back ready for him. It was only when he was under the sheets that he realised she'd pulled off his t-shirt while his back was turned. Her naked skin was warm against his arm, the soft scratching of the bandages oddly sensual against the light hairs on his forearm. He pulled her in close, mindful of her wound as she snuggled deeper into his chest.