"Nonono," Denise said, scurrying to put down the plate of food and stop Fifi before she started rummaging through the box of papers that Juice had yet to finish sorting from the night before as they started getting their affairs in order for this new life they'd jumped into. "Don't touch those, honey!"

It was humbling, Denise admitted, to see just how hard it was to be a mom without help. There was a sting of pain when she realized she had been a little spoiled - first, she had always had Gemma, then she had always had Lyla and Wendy. Even Wenya stood in to help with the kids from time to time, despite the fact that she always looked like she wanted to handle them with rubber gloves. Mothering, as she put it, wasn't really her thing.

But now, Denise had no one. She had Juice when he got home from work, and that was it. She had to cook and clean and chase the baby around the house alone, and now, she didn't know how anyone managed. This, she realized, was the pull of SAMCRO - because at its best, it was a family. It was strong. But SAMCRO was seldom at its best anymore, and what everyone was left with was something they were better off without. This was what she would just have to get through in order for them to get away from that life.

This was how people really lived.

Still, even though by the time Sofia had gone down for a nap Denise was a horrific tousled mess of applesauce and chocolate milk and baby drool, she had to admit that it was strangely worth it. She didn't know how long her patience stretched, but it was worth it to now have her family the way families were meant to be. They were making it, even if only by the skin of their teeth. Juice was getting his ink removed and bringing in money from a legit job, and they put the thought of Denise's family money out of their mind for the time being because they simply wanted to live, to break off from everything and just be.

The peace of Sofia's nap was broken, however, by the sound of a thud - someone had banged their fist on the door. Denise tensed, knowing that there was no one who had any business knocking. It could be anyone - a salesman, a girl scout, anyone. But coming from the world they came from, it was never safe to assume anyone was benign until they proved it.

There was another succession of bangs of a fist against the door. A silhouette of someone outside moved, and Denise quickly scooped up her sleeping child from the couch, moving her into the nursery and closing the door - she locked it and tucked the key under a vase on the hallway table. She had never done this with Fifi before but, what if the worst happened? If Denise opened the door to the barrel of a gun, at least she'd face it alone and give her daughter a fighting chance. It was half-past four. Juice would be home in about 20 minutes. If she could put up a fight that long, they'd manage, whoever this visitor happened to be. He'd protect them. He'd make sure his family was safe. She had to trust that.

Denise made her way back to the living room, then grabbed her trusted Beretta from where she stashed it in the kitchen, far out of baby reach, but by the time she returned to the front door, it was quiet. No one was there. There was no more knocking, no more silhouette.

"What the..." Denise muttered, her brow furrowing - but in the silence for a split second, she heard it, the sound of the wind outside. The back door was open - it hadn't been a few moments ago before she'd taken Sofia away.

She turned to try and investigate further, but before she could do anything, she felt arms wrap around her from behind and rag pressed over her nose and mouth. She threw her elbows in an attempt to get free but to no avail as she felt limply into her assailant's arms.

"Where's Mommy?"

The question pierced Lyla's heart. Wendy had run off somewhere days ago after her recent fights with Jax, and Lyla felt the weight of guilt for it. She'd compared Wendy's situation to hers, made Wendy feel like she was playing a losing game trying to live up to Tara the way Lyla had tried to live up to Donna. But wasn't it the truth? Didn't she owe that insight to someone she was starting to see as a friend?

"Your mommy had to go take care of some stuff," Lyla said as she tried to prepare the boys some sandwiches. She liked having them round, anyway. With Piper still away, Kenny and Ellie were too old by now to keep her company when she wasn't working. Though she of all people would never have expected it, Lyla was starting to think her slowly emptying nest was a little bit lonely.

"How about Aunt Deedee?" Abel asked, drawing absently on a pad of paper with a crayon. "Daddy said she was missing. He said it on the news, did you see it?"

"I did, buddy," Lyla nodded. "I'm sure Aunt Deedee's okay out there."

"Yeah, she's really tough," Abel agreed, though he didn't look up from the paper he was drawing on. "I'm not scared for her because I know she's real strong. And she always comes back when we need 'er right?"

"Right!" Thomas answered for Lyla, who was relieved to have the distraction of attention from her answers to Abel's questions. Lyla hadn't spoken to Denise, but she knew deep down what had happened. She'd run. Denise had gotten away just like she always said she would, and Lyla was happy for her friend, wherever she ended up. It took a certain kind of person to survive life in Charming, but it also took a special kind of person to make it out.

Lyla had just happened to turn and look out the window in time to see a car pull into the driveway - and her heart nearly stopped when the figure who stepped out, though seemingly disguised with a pair of shades and a headscarf, was clearly familiar. Leaving the boys to play, Lyla walked to the door as calmly as she could manage, stepping outside and meeting Gemma, blocking the doorway with her thin frame.

"Get away," Lyla said, her voice uncharacteristically fierce as she stood in the threshold, her eyes slightly narrowed. "You're not welcome here, Gemma, not anymore. Turn around and go -"

"I know my boys are in there," Gemma said, crossing her arms and staring Lyla down. "I'm done hiding -"

"That's too bad," the blonde woman said coolly. "Does Jax know -"

"Jax knows I'm in town," Gemma sneered. "Get out of my way."

"This is my house," Lyla said with narrowed eyes. "You want me to move? Make me."

Gemma's hands curled into fists and her sides, and she was tempted to do as Lyla was challenging her to do, but then she caught sight of Abel over the more petite woman's shoulder - he stared at her in terror, and he stood protectively in front of Thomas. He was scared of her. He didn't want to see her anymore. Gemma suddenly clutched her hand to her chest as she realized it. Abel looked at her with such anger, such fear - as though she was no one to him anymore. She had lost him.

"I just wanna see the boys," Gemma said woefully, her shoulders shaking. "I got nothin' left, honey, please - I brought their mom back..."

At this, Lyla gasped and managed to look at the car Gemma had driven up in and peered through the tinted glass into the back seat. Sure enough, there was Wendy, her hair tied into a messy bun, her face dull and tired. Lyla cursed under her breath and stared at Gemma questioningly.

"Found her at an old motel - she didn't use," Gemma said slowly. "Almost, but she didn't."

"Mommy?"

Upon hearing the conversation, Abel hurried forward, crumpling into himself to avoid touching any part of Gemma when she strode past her and out toward the car until he stood right outside the door, placing his hand on the window.

"Mommy?" he repeated. "Are you there?"

Wendy slowly opened the door and immediately fell into tears, stepping out and kneeling on the ground, hugging her son tightly. "Baby, I'm sorry," she sobbed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry I left. I'll be better, baby. I'll be better."

"Don't leave again, Mommy," Abel muttered into his mother's hair. "Don't do that..."

"I'm sorry," Wendy cried again while Lyla and Gemma looked on. Thomas had toddled over and Lyla scooped him up, holding him protectively out of Gemma's reach.

"Where've you been hiding?" Lyla asked sourly. "Under a rock somewhere?"

"Nero's," Gemma said, staring down at Thomas longingly. "He's away. Went to help the boys seal a deal with the Mayans."

But even as she said it, another car pulled onto the street with squealing tires - Nero's car, flanked by a handful of Mayans and Sons. Lyla's jaw clenched as Nero, out of breath, stepped out of the car and was clutching his arm with a torn piece of his shirt sleeve pressed to a bleeding wound on his arm. He briefly looked at Gemma with a look of disappointment and annoyance, but other things were clearly on his mind.

"Niners rolled up on our deal," he said, panting as the rest of the men dismounted their bikes. Abel, startled, clung tightly to his mother as everyone came rushing over. "They've got Jax."

And at this, Gemma finally was overwhelmed. They had her son. The Niners got their hands on Jax. Her face paled, and she again clutched her chest, collapsing in a faint where she stood outside Lyla's front door. Lyla put Thomas down, so she and Nero knelt down next to her, immediately deciding she needed to go to the hospital.

"You can handle your boys, yeah?" Lyla asked gently as she passed Wendy, who nodded, still holding Abel tightly.

Marcus Alvarez, however, approached Nero after Gemma was safely laid down in the back seat of Nero's car, his expression stern.

"Mayans can't sit on this - they attacked us, mano. Niners wanted to draw blood first," Alvarez said, his voice an eerie calm. He glanced back and forth between Nero and the other members of SAMCRO. "White doesn't deal out the blowback, then brown will."

"Just give 'em time," Nero said, shaking his head. "Time to get their man out alive and then we plan. I gotta get 'er to a doctor," he said, nodding to the backseat where Gemma lay, still passed out. "Give those SAMCRO boys some time - this is their war. First shots shouldn't come from you."

"They didn't,' Alvarez said, raising his eyebrows, though the edge in his voice had waned, suggesting that he was conceding for now.

Tig, meanwhile, pulled his helmet from his head and his phone from his pocket. This was what he had been waiting for - the moment when things fell to pieces, completely out of Jax's control. This was too big for SAMCRO to face. Chibs and Happy looked back at him and inhaled sharply, knowing that he was calling Jury and the others to inform them of what had just happened.

It went without saying - the Niners were in Marks' pocket, and Marks had nothing to lose. Something was gonna give. It had to. Whatever this was with Marks, it had been bubbling for years, and it was finally boiling over. He was Goliath, and now, David had to prepare to fight.

A/N's

So Denise and Jax are both kidnapped, and everything is going to bits. Again, this is why I can't have nice things. I'm hoping the next chapter will come relatively soon. I have a little bit of a boost thanks to my new readers (and of course, the loyal regulars), you guys have really been a blessing as far as getting my muse back for this story.

I'm wading into crazy territory, story-wise, so I'm working hard on building the next chapters well. Fingers crossed. As always, thanks for all of your feedback and support. Until next update, cheers!