"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"
Ellie yawned as she finished the final line of the book she was reading to the younger kids and glanced around to realize that they had all fallen asleep before her. She scowled slightly at the three older women watching over them, grousing that they could have told her that everyone else was already sleeping while she was reading.
"You were just enjoying yourself so much, honey - you had a little Santa Claus voice going on and everything," Lyla laughed quietly.
Soon enough, Ellie had fallen asleep as well, leaving only Denise, Wendy, and Lyla awake.
"Christmas is always weird," Lyla pointed out tiredly. "I always feel like Santa is standing on street corners calling me or something."
"What?"
"Well, all I hear is an old guy yelling, ho! Ho! I guess old habits die hard," she added with a smirk. Denise frowned slightly.
"In the spirit of Christmas, I'm gonna let that one slide."
But in the middle of their placid teasing, the door opened with a creak to reveal Jax with a hardened expression. He locked eyes with Denise and cleared his throat quietly. "You need to come outside," he said sternly, attempting to keep his voice down. "We got a problem."
Denise glanced around, hesitating before heading out to follow Jax. They walked through the house to the back door, the door that faced the edge of town where you could see out of Charming, out to the city lights a good way down the freeway. On a good night, which this evening happened to be, you could see clear out between the hills if your eyes were sharp. This evening, however, there was one spectacle in particular that called their attention - a neon sign visible in the distance that hadn't been there before, with the Lin family name in Pinyin. Seeing the bright red neon sign set against the dark night sky made Denise recoil visibly, her arms wrapping around herself consciously as it forced into her memory the sight of the bright red, livid burns on her skin when they had been fresh over a year ago.
"It just lit up, just now," Juice said, hurrying over and bracing his wife around the shoulders. "Right at midnight -"
"It's another club, they opened another one," Denise said, shaking her head incredulously while she was unable to tear her gaze from the sign. It was far away, tiny from this distance, but the fact that it could be seen at all was jarring. Who, after all, would want to have the symbol of their tormentor written across the sky in lights? Denise could not describe the sensation that it brought, a combination of being unable to breathe, being numb, being furious.
They were coming closer and closer to her home, closer and closer to her family. It felt like eons ago, she had promised Juice that she would stay back, that she would keep away, but by the look that settled into her dark eyes, Juice could see how close that promise was to breaking, like a fraying rope attempting to hold back an angered beast.
"Chibs, Hap," Jax barked, nodding towards the side of the house around which they had parked their bikes. "We'll go stake the place out, see what kind of business they're runnin'. Deedee, you stay here - keep Christmas alive," he said with a lopsided smirk, attempting to inject some levity in the situation. Inexplicably, Juice seethed at the way Jax took control. Even if he knew he didn't care about Denise like that, there was still a sense of questioning. What right did Jax have? Denise grudgingly smiled back, nodding.
"If there's anythin' fishy, anything that needs translatin', I'll take Chinita out with me tomorrow," Nero piped in. "If this place is anythin' like the others, Alvarez is gonna want the info too -"
"Nope," Juice said, puffing himself up slightly and crossing his arms across his chest. "No fuckin' way you're loadin' my wife up on Christmas Day to check out a whorehouse with you -"
"Unless you know anyone else who can understand Chinese, I don't think we got a better bet, kid," Tig spoke up. "Besides, I've seen your wife with a gun, she might be a better shot than you are."
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Tig."
"I aim to please."
Despite the playfulness of the banter, however, Denise's face remained sullen and pale - it became woefulyl clear that as much as she tried to be better, tried to be normal, she hadn't quite bounced back yet.
"I'll worry about this for now," Jax said resolutely. "I'm takin' Happy and Chibs - the rest of you, make sure the presents get where they belong under the tree. No fuckin' way we're lettin' Yellow screw this up for the kids - no offense, Deedee."
"None taken."
And, per the president's orders, Christmas went on without a hitch. Denise was sitting next to Juice who had Sofia perched happily on his lap in pair of reindeer pajamas when Jax walked back in the door, looking tired but none the worse for the wear. Abel immediately leapt to his feet and picked up the pair of rollerblades Santa had brought for him to show his dad.
"Aunt Deedee said that she was gonna let me skate in the backyard after breakfast," Abel said proudly. "As long as I promised to wear my helmet the whole time. And Tommy got a tricycle and a helmet too. Are you gonna watch us, Daddy?"
"I sure am, buddy," he said, crouching down and planting a kiss on the side of the boy's head. Tommy, on the other hand, was perched on the seat of his trike in the middle of the living room, ringing the bell on the handlebar incessantly and laughing so hard that his face was going bright red. Jax's gaze, however, fell on Denise, then on Nero on the other side of the room. Denise's hand closed tightly around her husband's when she realized that this meant they needed her help. Juice's jaw clenched when Denise looked at him. He knew that she had to go - as much as he hated the idea of his wife and club business overlapping again, she had to go.
"Well, man," Denise said aloud - more for Abel's sake than anything else. She got to her feet and straightened out the knees of her pants. "Nero, didn't you say you left some of the presents over at your place? D'you need me to help you pick 'em up?"
"Yeah," Nero lied, getting to his feet as well. "That'd be great, Chinita. Let's go."
Denise, however, felt a sinking feeling of guilt, running off on Christmas Day to play Nancy Drew for SAMCRO - it was the first Christmas that she had her whole family together. But it wasn't her fault, she convinced herself as she sat in the passenger seat of Nero's car, making their way down to the new location. She hadn't asked for Marks and her brother to make a pass at their territory, to threaten her family's safety. A line had to be drawn. Action had to be taken.
"Your husband don't seem thrilled with Jax's call on this one," Nero pointed out carefully. "You sure this is good with you two? I know this is important to you, chinita, but once it starts gettin' in the way of family, you gotta be smart enough to call it. You gotta know when to quit."
"I know when to quit," Denise insisted, inhaling and looking straight ahead now. "And it's not now."
"Alright, chinita. Whatever you say," Nero shrugged. Denise, by now, knew that the tone in his voice meant he disagreed but didn't feel compelled to stage his closign arguments about the subjects just yet. She exhaled through her nostrils, pulling her leather jacket tightly around her shoulders and leaning back into her seat.
They pulled up near the building they'd seen the previous night after following Jax's directions - it was closed for business, it appeared, as all of the lights on the outside were out, including the large Chinese symbol emblazoned in neon, front and center. Nero pulled his car around towards a back alley a few buildings away, and Denise hopped out the door.
"Chain link fence," she nodded towards the back lot of the building. "I think I can get around quick enough alone."
Denise turned on her heel to hurry off, only to have Nero bark out after her - "Mami." She paused with a slight roll of her eyes, turning back and pulling her Beretta out of the waistband of her jeans to assure him she was armed and able to protect herself, to which he nodded in assent. "You're too ballsy, Chinita. Gonna get yourself burned one day," he warned. Denise simply smirked, shrugging her shoulders before hurrying off towards the fence.
Nero watched carefully as she shimmied her way underneath and made her way to the back door of the building. Once she had made her way inside, however, Nero reached under his own seat to pull out his own gun, getting out of the car as well. A gentleman, after all, didn't send a lady into a warzone alone.
Denise was sure that the front end of the new Lin Kwan lounge location looked nothing like the back end she had just snuck her way into - all creaking, leaking, moaning pipes, and cement brick walls. She found herself in a storage area, dimly lit with a single lightbulb. Pausing and holding her breath to make sure no one was around, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket to serve as an additional light for the room's far corners. Her brow furrowed as she realized what this room was being used for.
Jax and Juice had been right about the gun running.
She flinched when suddenly, she heard the sound of sniffing - whimpering, perhaps crying. With a pause to ascertain the direction of it origin, she took a few silent steps towards the sound and realize that it was coming from behind a door - a solid wooden door with a dusty, grimy glass panel to which Denise held up her phone to see a woman inside the room. It was tiny, perhaps closet-sized, and otherwise empty. The crying woman looked up, and Denise immediately recognized Wenya, the girl from the other club, except now, her face was bloodied and bruised, as were her neck and shoulders.
Denise hurried over and undid the multiple bolts on the outside of the door, quickly realizing that this room was specifically meant for holding girls when they misbehaved. The metal bolts creaked as they moved with rust grating over rust, but Denise eventually managed to pry all five open, yanking the heavy door open.
Wenya, who looked even thinner than before, immediately leapt forward, launching towards Denise, who braced for an attack only to find that Wenya wrapped her arms around her, sobbing. "Please help me," she said, desperately clinging onto Denise. "Xiao-Mei, it's you! Please help me -"
"We're gonna get you away from here - shh," Denise said, holding the girl up and trying to pull her towards the back door. "You just gotta be quiet, okay? Come on -"
Denise turned, now with Wenya in tow, and started back towards the door - the latter woman followed willingly, so much so that Denise wondered what she'd been put through to warrant being so willing to run away. They reached the door, and Denise reached over to open it. She flinched when she saw an armed figure standing outside, drawing her own gun and steeling herself to draw first blood until she realized that it was just Nero.
"You followed me?" she hissed in annoyance. "I told you -"
"Who's she?" Nero nodded to the woman behind Denise.
"This is Wenya - one of my brother's girls -"
"Your brother?" Wenya asked in a scandalized voice. "You're - you're Meimei? Charlie is your brother?"
Denise bristled at the fact that they knew who she was, that Charles had been telling the women who worked for him things about Mei-mei at all, but rather than expanding, she nodded curtly and put an arm around Wenya, pushing her forwards towards the fence. They hurried quietly out back to Nero's car, and Nero pulled off his sweater to put around Wenya's shoulders.
"What are you doing out here?" Wenya asked suspiciously once they were settled back into the car and on their way back to Charming. "Charlie says Mei-mei wants nothing to do with him -"
"I don't," Denise assured. "But I need to know everything I can about what he's doing, putting up these places so close to my home. I need to know what the plan is -"
"I can tell you," Wenya said, her eyes widening hopefully. "I'll tell you everything I heard as long as you never send me back there. I'll - I'll be your maid. Your babysitter. Hooker. I'll do anything..."
Denise glanced over at Nero, who simultaneously glanced over at Denise - they'd had the same idea. Nero Padilla was looking for new girls, and he was good to his girls. They shared a small smile with one another before Denise tossed a calm grin back at Wenya over her shoulder.
"He's got you," she told Wenya, nodding in Nero's direction. "None of this roughing up bullshit."
"What happened to you, girl?" Nero asked, glancing back at Wenya in the rearview mirror. Her gaze grew shifty as though she was afraid of even retelling it, but she inhaled heavily and began speaking in a slightly quavering voice.
"Mr. Marks was looking for a girl to take back with him. Needed a little... stress relief," Wenya explained. "Charlie said I shoulda been honored he picked me, but when I came onboard, I had rules. I don't service, you know... Black guys," she said, raising her eyebrows. "And I'm not a racist. I just heard too many bad things. Can't afford to be damaged goods, you know?"
Denise struggled to keep from vomiting, clearly disgusted by the discussion, but Nero, clearly the consummate professional in this line of work, nodded in understanding.
"You work for me, you can say no to whatever clients you want," he explained. "I'ma keep you safe, alright? Nice place to stay, new clothes. I take care of my girls." A relieved smile crossed Wenya's face, and she eased back into the seat of the car. Within minutes, she had fallen asleep and stayed that way all the way until their return to Charming.
"This is bad," Denise said quietly, shaking her head and glancing back at the their new charge. Now, in the bright daylight, her bruises were even more evident. "We can't let them keep doing this," she said.
"You're right, mami," Nero resigned. "We're in this now. We're stuck."
They finally pulled up back in front of the house, and the instant Denise opened her door, she could hear Abel laughing out back, and Thomas still tinkling the bell on his tricycle. She pulled out her phone to call her husband to come out for a brief on Wenya before bringing her in. Within minutes, all of the men had come out around the side to meet them, with Wendy and Lyla presumably watching the kids. Nero and Denise stepped out of the car, but Wenya lingered in the back seat, straing warily out the window at the unfamiliar men.
"Wenya is - was one of my brother's girls from the lounge," Denise explained. "They were keeping her locked up in the back room in a closet."
"Come out here," Jax said, nodding at the car and gesturing for Wenya to step out. She hesitantly opened the door and stood, pulling Nero's sweater tightly around herself. "D'you need anything?"
The question seemed to catch Wenya off-guard, the show of concern so strange and unfamiliar that it seemed to confuse her. She opened her mouth a few times and stammered before words finally came to her.
"I - I could use some food. A shower," she admitted, her arms clutching over her stomach. "If - if his girls are allowed," she said, nodding towards Nero. "If not-"
"Nero's girls are family," Jax said with a lopsided grin. "Anyone good with him is good with us."
Almost anyone, anyway.
Wenya gave a small smile as Denise put an arm around her, bringing her inside for some new clothes and hot food. When Wenya emerged from the shower - spending nearly an hour inside the bathroom - with some clothes borrowed from Denise and the blood and sweat washed out of her hair, it became evident to most of the other guys why she was one of the lounge's prized girls.
Dinner time came around - Christmas dinner leftovers, hot cocoa for the kids, and a little something stronger for the adults - and in the hullaballoo of the prolonged celebration, the rest of them eventually noticed that Happy's gaze lingered on Wenya a little longer with each drink he had. Denise worked hard to conceal a snicker when he volunteered to give her a ride back to Diosa at the end of the night, rather than letting her ride back with Nero. Eventually, after nearly two straight days of celebrating Christmas, Juice finally had his wife and daughter to himself at home, and the three settled in their usual spot on the couch.
Denise slumped tiredly next to her husband, her eyelids drifting halfway shut. It was clear she was exhausted, and had admittedly, probably over-exerted herself, but it had been well worth it in her mind. She'd hosted her first Christmas, and saved a girl from her brother. Juice leaned over and gave her a slight squeeze.
"How many times I gotta tell you, you ain't ready to go back to playin' Superwoman full time yet?" he asked, only half-jokingly. Denise gave him a lopsided grin, nestling into his side as she often did andreaching over to gently stroke Sofia's hair - the little girl was already sleeping on Juice's chest, her thumb jabbed resolutely into her mouth. Denise wasn't one for the cheesiness or the hysterics, but in this moment, having her family together like this and knowing she had actually been able to help someone, she felt like she could play Superwoman anytime.
A/N's
And again, Merry Christmas! (Or, as of this posting, Merry Christmas Eve Eve!) Sorry for the long delaye between chapters, the holidays have been a really crazy time for me. I tried to include a little bit of everything this chapter, so I hope that you guys enjoyed it! I'll keep this note brief. Until next time, cheers!