A/N - Fluff alert, be forewarned.
Chibs didn't dare to move. He hardly dared to breathe. Sure, he was in a hotel room a couple of hours from home. Sure, it smelled a bit like mothballs and certainly wasn't his own bed. But here in this bed with Fiona asleep in one of his arms and Kerrianne slumbering in the other, he was wary of the possibility that a single breath would make this entire dream dissolve into nothingness.
But he took a breath, and he took another, and still there they were - exhausted from a long plane ride from Belfast, but here nonetheless. It had taken a great deal of time, Fiona had explained before falling asleep, to clear up all of the loose ends left behind after Jimmy's death, but when the opportunity and the need arose, when Seamus Ryan had brought up the need for a liaison to Charming, Fiona quickly volunteered. Why should Seamus send any of his men when, with the Irish Kings still forcing their will, SAMBEL needed all of the manpower it could manage on the ground at home?
Whatever the reasons were, they were here indefinitely. While Charming was hardly the place one wanted to bring their family if it could be helped, Chibs couldn't help but believe that a family in Charming was better than no family at all.
"Filip."
Chibs cleared his throat gently and slowly turned his head to see that Fiona's eyes had drifted open, and she looked up at him sleepily.
"I could hear you thinking," she said, raising her eyebrows gently. "All the way from the Land of Nod. What's troublin' you?"
"Nothing. Honest to God," Chibs said with a quiet rumble of a laugh. "Tha's what terrified me is peace like this never comes without a price."
"And it's a price you and I will be payin' together. Conjugal property," she grinned at him. And Chibs wanted very much to smile back, but found that he couldn't. He was in too many debts. Strangely enough, a brief glimmer of a thought of Althea Jarry flashed in his mind, enough to change his expression, however briefly. Fiona tilted her head so that her curls rubbed familiarly against the skin of his shoulder. "Unless Kerrianne and I are no longer -"
"'S not that," Chibs interrupted in a whisper, clenching his eyes shut briefly. "It's just..."
His voice trailed off and he glanced at his daughter, still asleep on his other side, making sure she hadn't stirred. Kerrianne was far from a child now. She was practically a grown woman. Chibs had missed practically her entire life - all he had ever wanted was this.
"I know about the lady Sheriff. Word in the club travels quickly," Fiona said, her voice hinting that she admitted this out of mercy rather than spite, because she knew how badly it tore him up inside, trying to bring himself to tell the truth. "I know she helped you escape, she's the reason you're alive."
"I didn't love her."
"I'd not have been angry if you did," Fiona whispered, raising her hand and shushing him by laying her index finger over his lips. "Ye needed someone to love because you couldn't love me and Kerrianne the way you wished you could. She was that person for a time. And I would thank her as well, if given the chance. If not for her, there'd be no you for Kerrianne and I to come to. I owe her as well," Fiona said.
"She could be in danger. In very real danger," Chibs said, shaking his head. "Because what she did for me. Disobeyed August Marks, ran away with his secrets."
"And if she came to us, I would tell you that we need to help her," Fiona said with a small nod. "But Heaven help her if she tries to come between this family."
This family. Their family, just the three of them. Chibs felt his chest tighten with emotion at the thought of it - he had never even dared to dream of this. It was difficult, disturbing even, to think that all of this was happening because of Jax, because of how off-kilter the boy had been. Because of all of the tragedy, all of the mistake, Chibs now had a family.
And now, his thoughts drifted to Juice, wherever he was. Heaven knew he cared about the boy. He said a silent, brief prayer in his heart that somewhere, Juice and his family had found a way to be whole as well.
"C'mon, honey, we're gonna get you all new clothes!"
Denise found great comfort in being able to go to a mall where she knew absolutely no one, to buy her daughter new things with the knowledge that no one would be muttering about her behind her back, except a few old ladies who paused to titter about how adorable Sofia was. Denise had taken out some of her money and divided up between herself and Juice, directing him to go and buy them a new car that no one would recognize while Denise bought everyone all new clothes and shoes and other things they would need once they moved into a new home.
Maybe this was what life was supposed to be like - going about a boring day of errands and work with the knowledge that at the end of the day, you were coming home to your family, and to only your family.
"Would Mrs. Ortiz please report to the food court? Your party is waiting for you. I repeat, Mrs. Ortiz to the food court."
Interrupted in her thoughts, Denise clammed up slightly at the sound of it - was there another Mrs. Ortiz in the mall? What party? She took a deep breath and went back to watching Sofia eat the cut up fruits in the tray in front of her as she sat in the high chair. They couldn't be talking about her. But after five minutes, a voice again came over the loud speaker, this time a familiar one. Denise's expression went from discomfort to confusion when she recognized Juice's voice.
"This is Mr. Ortiz speaking," he said with a chuckle, and immediately, Denise wondered how he managed to get mall security to let him get on the loudspeaker. There were two possible ways: a wad of cash or a million-watt smile. One or the other always worked. "Would Mrs. Ortiz and little Ortiz report to the food court, a-sap?"
Her worries assuaged and replaced with curiosity, Denise tucked Sofia's things away while the little girl clapped and squealed, "Dada! Hi Dada!" as she recognized her father's voice. Denise scooted her way across the mall towards the food court when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Expecting Juice, she whirled around, only to find a complete stranger holding a flower - her favorite flower, a Peruvian lily - towards her. Once Denise hesitantly took it from his hand, the man walked away without a word, and Denise stood, momentarily stunned before starting to walk again.
Again, she was stopped by a stranger on her way - this time, a middle-aged woman who simply grinned at her in knowing approval. The woman handed her another flower and walked away as well.
A third stranger and a third flower later, Denise was beginning to feel what one felt when they started to catch onto a secret. She finally turned the corner towards the food court and, over a crowd of people, caught sight of Juice standing and waiting for them. He raised his hand and waved with a goofy grin before turning to look at the mall security guard at the desk and nodding.
Over the speakers, Denise heard the familiar opening chords to a song that she and Juice had first listened to years ago during the drive to their first day trip as a couple to the beach.
"...So unpack your bags this instant, no more running from town to town. Now that we've arrived so safely -"
"Do you ever get tired of this song?" Juice interrupted. He understood that Denise liked it - so had he, the first two times they'd listened to it in the car. But by now, the third time, he was sure he had memorized the whole thing and he'd only first heard it less than an hour ago. Denise, who had the privilege of choosing the music since she was driving, simply grinned.
"It's my favorite," she shrugged. "It... it just fits, you know?"
Juice nodded, somewhat grudgingly. There was something fitting about it, and he was sure he'd eventually appreciate it after he was no longer listening to it multiple times in rapid succession. Two lovers on the run, looking for a place where they could lay their heads and rest from all the chaos going on around them? He understood the appeal. Denise probably didn't even understand how appropriate it was.
Denise gulped slightly, and Sofia erupted into a fit of giggles, writhing against the seatbelt of her carseat and reaching out for her Daddy, who waded through the crowd towards them as the song played. People were beginning to turn in their direction and smile knowingly; Denise's face went red as Juice finally arrived in front of her.
"Soooo..." he said with a grin, chuckling and scratching the back of his neck.
"You're such a jerk," Denise laughed through a tight throat. "I heard someone calling us over the loudspeaker and got freaker -"
"I figured when you didn't head over the first time," Juice grinned bashfully. "So I guess you're wondering what this is all about."
"Uh, yeah."
"Everything about the way we started out was about - about them," Juice said quietly, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. "And since we're starting over, I want to do things right. I want to start off right."
He reached into his back pocket and fidgeted around slightly as he pulled out a small object and got down on one knee. Denise gulped and her eyes went wide when Juice pulled out a small velvet box, popping it open to reveal a ring.
Denise and Juice had wedding bands that the club had gotten for them, but Juice had never really proposed - his proposal had taken place when they were half-asleep in bed. It felt like a lifetime ago that they'd been torn about getting married at all - because it would've been for Jax's benefit, because it was what Jax had wanted.
"So let's do it right this time," Juice said, shrugging eagerly. The one hand he used to hold onto Denise's was shaking slightly - as if there was some risk of her still saying 'no'. "Will you start over with me?"
Denise's mouth quirked into a grin - had Juice really gone to all this trouble to stage a proposal for a woman he was already married to? She chuckled and inhaled deeply, looking up at the ceiling before looking back at Juice.
"Of course, you idiot," she chuckled as he stood up, sliding the ring onto her finger.
"It's not a real diamond."
"I don't really care," she laughed, leaning over and kissing her husband as though they'd just really gotten engaged. She pulled away, and the feeling of blood rushing through her ears faded away to allow her to hear people clapping. Whistling. Cheering. To them, they were just some young couple with a kid - a young couple that did these crazy, goofy things because they were so in love. And that was precisely what they'd never had a chance to be before now.
"This is so embarrassing," she laughed, shaking her head and covering her face. "I can't believe you."
"Well," Juice shrugged with a smirk, "you're pretty unbelievable too."
A/N's
Pretty much an all-fluff chapter, because I've had a lot of work-related stress and trauma and needed the break. I might vent more about it on my blog for anyone interested in my boring old life. Anyway, I made some changes to how the chapter was initially laid out because I received a strange review about how my song was titled after the Sam Smith song that's really popular right now, and that I should change it because another author has a story with the same name.
Just wanted to clear up that this story is named for a different song, "Lay Me Down" by the Dirty Heads, which consequently is what I have always imagined as one of Juice/Denise's theme songs. So, just to clear that up, I decided to incorporate it into the chapter. Stories are allowed to have the same title. It's not a crisis. We'll all get out of this just fine, just breathe!
Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to organize the scenes for events to come, because right now, the story is going to be taking place on two fronts for a while. Things are going to get worse for Jax and everyone back in Charming, and we still have a few loose cannons that you should keep your eyes peeled for. As always, thanks for all of your support! I'm hoping to update "Flown South" soon as well, just need my life to settle down a little bit. Until next time, cheers!