Wenya had been dividing her time between working at Diosa for Nero, and slowly learning the ropes at Red Woody with Lyla - it had been a hard-fought battle, but slowly, Happy's suggestion that there was in fact a distinction between being a porn star and being a hooker was beginning to rub off on her. Nero was understanding of the fact that sometimes, his girls moved onto other things. After all , it wasn't a life you could live forever. So, Wenya was sure that he wouldn't give her a hard time now that she had made up her mind.

She was gonna stop working at Diosa altogether. Lyla was willing to take her on at Red Woody. Asian kink was in, and Lyla was sure that Wenya could pull off the lead role in Two Gays and a Geisha better than anyone else on the payroll. That, and whatever she had with Happy, this made it easier.

Wenya hooked her thumbs through the loops of her jeans as she walked to Nero's back door, where she had a spare key. Nero had given her one because time and again, she had a few insistent clients who tried to follow her around even after the deal was done, and Nero saw to the personal protection of his girls. Wenya opened the back door and made his way inside, but let out a yelp when she saw, instead of Nero, a woman seated in the kitchen, smoking a cigarette. The older woman's eyebrows rose in some kind of strange recognition, though she'd never met Wenya before, and she felt incredibly uneasy.

"Wen," Nero said with a surprising amount of warmth when he got back into the kitchen and caught sight of the younger Chinese woman. "What's goin' on?"

"Who's she?" Wenya asked hesitantly, earning a scoff and a roll of the eyes from Gemma.

"You're gettin' a little comfy askin' questions," Gemma said, raising an eyebrow. "Who are -"

"Mama, be cool," Nero said, walking over and placing a hand on Gemma's shoulder, his voice that same placating tone he used that worked so well without anyone ever really understanding how. "This is Wenya. She's Hap's old lady -"

"Oh, I know what she is," Gemma sneered, her upper lip curling visibly. She stood up and walked over to Wenya, cocking her head to one side. "Be careful, sweetheart. If you start feeling chatty, I know some shit that'll blow you right out of the water. I'll let you talk to your boss."

"No," Wenya said, her voice high and flighty. "No, I'll go. I - I wanted to talk to Nero but it can wait. Bye..."

She scurried out, a bit like a scared deer, and Nero gave a slight groan of disappointment for how things had turned out. "What was that?" Nero asked, shaking his head in disdain. "Mami -"

"Just insurance," Gemma said. The casual tone in her voice made Nero grimace. "Making sure she doesn't tell anyone that I'm here."

Nero made a hopeless gesture before shaking his head again and turning away from Gemma to pour himself a drink. Sensing his sudden shift in demeanor, Gemma stood up and walked over to him, standing behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you love me?" she asked suddenly. Nero turned and faced the woman behind him with an almost affronted expression, offended that she even had to ask after everything that had happened. "If you love me..." Gemma began, suddenly feeling her throat tighten at the thought of what she was about to suggest. "Then let's leave Charming. Just like you always wanted. I got nothin' left here. Didn't you say that you wanted to go somewhere far from Charming? Off to Norco with your son?"

The sudden darkening of Nero's eyes, the softening of his expression gave Gemma hope that he was at least tempted by the idea, that he was considering it. But he rubbed his hand over his face and gave a small groan.

"Please," Gemma insisted. "I'm never gonna have a life here again, baby. There's nothin' left -"

"Chinita's trustin' me with... with whatever this is, mama," Nero said woefully. "She brought you here to me for a reason. I love you, Gem. I'll protect you - but I'm not gonna stick another knife in that girl's back. She's trustin' me."

Gemma recoiled, knowing the implication - of all the knives stuck in Denise's back, Gemma's had been the deepest. She had hurt her the most. Her jaw clenched, and she nodded in understanding, resigned to the fact that her fate was in the hands of a woman who had every reason to hate her, but had, for whatever reason, already spared her. Nero, sensing the turmoil in Gemma's thoughts, walked over and pressed his lips to hers. "I'll talk to her. Soon," he said. "I'll figure out what she wants outta this."

"I owe you a margarita."

Wendy put a plastic cup containing more bright red cherry slushie in front of Denise - she'd picked up the slushie from the convenience store on the way over with the boys, since she figured it would be nice to bring them over to spend time with Sofia, who had now learned a few words and clumsily walked on her own, trying to keep up with her playmates. Denise looked into the cup with a lopsided grin.

"Thanks," she chuckled, picking up the cup and taking a sip through the straw. "All this pure sugar and cherry flavoring really takes the edge off. I'm sure it'll be the best buzz of my life."

Denise and Wendy sat on the porch, watching the kids play in the yard. Abel was tugging Sofia around in a little red wagon, while Thomas had finally gotten a hang of his big wheel tricycle. Both of the women smiled at their kids, lounging back on their chairs and relishing the rare moment of quiet.

"Shame the boys had to work," Denise pointed out, drawing her legs up under her. "It's - it's nice, actually being able to be around each other like this again. I missed it," she said honestly. It had been an uphill slope getting back to a place where she genuinely considered Wendy a friend, but somehow, they'd made it there in record time.

"It is," Wendy said with a hesitant grin and a nod. "Actually, Jax and I thought... maybe you and Juice and Fifi wanted to come out with us this weekend. Nowhere too crazy. Just to Reno -"

"Reno?" Denise asked. "What are you guys going to Reno for?"

Wendy took in a deep breath, and she hesitated for a moment before pulling out the chain necklace tucked into her shirt, which was now adorned with a new ornament: one of Jax's rings. Wendy fiddled with it between her thumb and forefinger for a few seconds before looking up at Denise nervously. "Jax and I are getting married. Again," she said with a nervous laugh. "For better reasons this time. And we wanted you guys to be there -"

"Of course," Denise said, her eyes wide with surprise. "Of course we'll go -"

"And I want you to be my maid of honor -"

"Shut up."

Denise's eyes went wide at Wendy's request, and Wendy couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the younger woman's face. "Deedee," she said, finally calming herself and shaking her head. "I know you and me... we're still in a weird place. But you're the closest thing I've got to a friend and I really, really want it to be you. So can you do that for me?"

Now, it was Denise's turn to stare in mild confusion, in disbelief. Wendy Case wanted her to be maid of honor at her wedding. A month ago, Wendy Case could have died and Denise would be sorely tempted to dance on her grave - but now, there was something about the request that didn't seem wrong at all.

"Alright," Denise said with a weak laugh. "Let's get you back to being Mrs. Wendy Teller."

And in a surprising show of affection from the older woman, Wendy leaned over and hugged Denise tightly. Her forgiveness, more than anything, was the most valuable thing that had come out of the recent weeks. "God," she laughed, and Denise felt her chest lock tightly when she realized that it was very possible Wendy was crying. "I love you, Deedee."

"Love you too," Denise chuckled, pulling back and looking Wendy in the eye. "Family, right? We're both where we're supposed to be now."

"I'm glad you're the first person who knows," Wendy piped in suddenly, her smile growing stiff and nervous. "I mean, you know. You don't think of me as that junkie whore... or Jax's ex-wife. You didn't know Tara."

Denise gave a knowing smile. She knew of Tara, of course, and she knew that Tara was a good person. A brave person. A difficult person to fill the shoes of. She reached out and patted a hand on Wendy's shoulder with a reassuring nod. "What am I gonna do? Judge you for making mistakes once in a while? Pot or kettle?" she said with a vague smile - Wendy, who was watching Denise closely, noticed a flicker of something. Guilt? What did she have to be guilty about?

"Deedee," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Is there something you wanna -"

"Chinita," came a voice at the door, audible from around the other side of the house. "Open up, 's me."

Recognizing Nero's voice, Denise's brow knitted and her gaze went flighty for a moment, though she quickly recovered and excused herself, getting up since Wendy was there to watch the kids. As Denise scurried off through the house, however, the cellphone she left on the table where she'd been sitting gave a slight buzz, and Wendy glanced over to see the caller ID. Melissa.

Melissa. That was the sweet blonde girl from the event, the one who'd brought the cameras. Wendy didn't know her well by any means, but she knew that Denise's friends from her life before Charming didn't call often. It had to be important. Rather than chasing after Denise, or letting the phone go to voicemail - because leaving voicemails was likely one of the most awkward experiences to begin with - Wendy reached over and answered.

"Hey, Melissa - Denise's friend, Wendy. She's a little busy, what's up?"

"Oh..."

Wendy blinked in surprise when the voice on the other end was a male voice, and not the sweet tinkling, bell-like tone that belonged to Melissa. "This is Harvey, Melissa's fiance," the man continued, clearing his throat. "We just wanted to invite Denise and her husband to - to a dinner at our house. You know, to catch up."

"I'll let her know," Wendy nodded, her eyes still flitting over and watching the kids as she spoke on the phone. "When?"

"Over the weekend -"

"Ah, man," Wendy said with a slightly forced laugh, admittedly not fond of the man she was speaking to. There was something about him, something false, something disconcerting. "Bad timing. You know, we're all gonna be out in Reno. But I'll tell Deedee to give you a call, see when you guys can get together -"

And the man - Harvey hung up without so much as a thanks or a goodbye, leaving Wendy's brow furrowed. This was the kind of person Denise used to be friends with back in Stockton? No wonder she'd left and never looked back.

"What are you doing here?" Denise asked Nero as she opened the door for him, gesturing for him to come inside. "You're supposed to be watching over things at your place. You better make sure -"

"Chinita, we needa talk about all this," he said, shaking his head. "What are you gonna do? Just leave her there? Keep her a prisoner in my house until -"

"I don't know," Denise hissed, shaking her head and glancing nervously over her shoulder to make sure that Wendy wasn't near by. "I didn't - dammit, I didn't think any of this through," she admitted with a doleful expression. "I just, I didn't think Charles would do it, and now I don't know," she rambled, feel shorter and shorter of breath by the moment as it dawned on her how big of a mistake she had made. "I just need time, Nero. Please."

"Wenya's already seen her."

"What?"

"It was an accident - that shit happens when you keep secrets, you know that," Nero said, shaking his head calmly. He knew that Denise had been hurt, that she'd been through a lot, but it didn't give her leeway to do things like this. That was thing about this life - no matter how much you were hurting, there was never any slack to be cut. "But I don't think Wenya's gonna say anythin' to anyone. I'm not sure how but Gem's got the girl spooked."

"Imagine that."

"Chinita," Nero pressed on, raising his eyebrows and putting his hands on the young woman's shoulders. "I'll help you. You know I will. I'll help you clean this shit up but you can't keep it a secret forever. She's supposed to be in a psych ward somewhere and -"

"I'll - I'll figure it out. Just give me time," Denise repeated, scratching the back of her neck in frustration. "Just - can you just buy me a little peace this weekend? And then I'll try to figure this out -"

"This weekend?"

At the question, a small, grudging smile flickered onto Denise's face, and for a brief moment she could breathe easily again. "We're goin' out to Reno. Jax and Wendy are..." Denise's voice trailed off, and Nero's mind was able to fill in the blanks. He, too, managed to chuckle to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "Don't tell Gemma," Denise added in. "Not until after we're back, alright? I don't know if she could handle this news."

"Is that why you brought her back?" Nero asked, coking his head to one side and staring at the young woman with a probing glance. "Because you still care about what she's feelin'? How much she can handle?" Denise froze and inhaled deeply through her nostrils, shrugging hopelessly.

"I told you," she said unsurely. "I don't know why I did it. All I know is, I have to make it right. Somehow."

A/N's

Well then. Mazel tov, Jax and Wendy! We're in for some good fun with the wedding in Reno, but there's gonna be a few rough events coming up that might be tough to read, so soak up the happiness while it's there. Let's just say, one event from season 7 that was rough to watch is gonna eventually make it into the story in some capacity. Plus, Denise's secret comes out. In summary, the shit is about to hit the fan again - and the fan isn't even clean again yet from last time.

I'm still doing a lot of rewriting and editing, so I don't have an estimate yet of how many chapters this story will end up being. If I don't change my mind about the ending, it'll probably be around 50 chapters. But again, I'm full of surprises, so it's all up in the air. I've also been reading over the chapters I've written of that other story I was talking about, and I think it'll probably get posted either after this story is completed, or overlapping with the last few chapters. It's tentatively titled Flown South, and there'll be another OC for you guys to (hopefully) get to know and love. It's going to be hard getting out of universe of this story and into that one, but it'll be fun too! Plus, I'm rewatching the series slowly, so it'll be nice to have the rewind.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even though it was short. The next one will be longer and significantly meatier content-wise. I'm hoping to have it up soon, but in case it isn't up in time, happy Valentine's Day! Until next time, cheers!