Denise stroked her hand over baby Sofia's hair as she slept, staring over the little girl and making a mental note of how perfect she was. Perfect. She had Juice's nose and her eyes. She had a dimple on her left cheek and a mole on her right ear - it had always been a family superstition in the Kwan family that moles appeared where one's senses were strong, so it meant that the little girl should be a good listener.

Denise could only hope that she was. She had spent the last hour or so here with the little girl. Half the time had been silence, had been gratitude that she could simply hold her. The rest, however, Denise had managed to put that gratitude into words, into quiet mutterings of how much Sofia was loved, and how she would always be protected. Denise hummed quiet songs to the little girl, and repeatedly whispered that all of this would pass. She was sitting on a cot inside of an empty dorm room at the clubhouse alone with her little daughter, while Juice was still outside talking business with the others. While this was far from where she wanted to be, Denise could only think to be grateful that things were not much worse - but for how long?

It was becoming clearer and clearer as time passed that something needed to happen quickly, because within hours, the Niners could be headed back with even larger numbers, with even more allies. Denise would've been interested in hearing the plans for what came next, but the short separation from her child had been too overwhelming - she just wanted to be alone with her baby.

"Remember, baby girl," Denise said, gently stroking the side of her daughter's cheek, "Mommy and Daddy love you. Even if -"

But her sentence was cut off by the squeal of the door on its hinges, and Chibs peered his head inside.

"I think we've got a plan in place, sweetheart," he said carefully, nodding for her to join them outside, in the main area of the clubhouse. Denise knew the place well enough - in other times, it was a place of celebration. In others, a somber hiding place and a meeting room, a waiting chamber. "You might want to hear this."

Denise gently shifted so she could carry Sofia in her arms out of the room, joining everyone where they had gathered around the pool table, with some others seated at the bar. Denise glanced hesitantly around the room and noticed the full house - they were here on lockdown.

"Well?" she asked, her voice hitching in her throat before Juice walked over, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She felt strange, like some sort of refugee in a camp before a great siege, and she did her best not to shake, even if only for her daughter's safety. Was this not what a mother did? She had to show strength, even when she had none.

"We're gonna handle it," Jax finally spoke up, his jaw grinding slightly. "The girls and all the kids are goin' with Nero somewhere safe and we're gonna handle this."

Denise's jaw now clenched as well, and she glanced over at Lyla, at Wendy and Fiona, who were all sitting with their brood of young ones around them. First shooting a look towards Juice as though asking for permission, he nodded for her to head over. Denise moved hesitantly towards them until Lyla hurried over and hugged her from the side, careful not to disturb Sofia.

"You scared the shit outta us, Deedee," Lyla said, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry..."

But now, suddenly while she was surrounded by the other women, something felt like a light turning on in her mind. She was going to go with them? She was supposed to leave and... and hope that they would be safe? Denise inhaled sharply before stepping away from Lyla, looking the woman who had been her first real friend in Charming in the eye.

"Lyla, I trust you," she said, her voice strangely weak and watery, her eyes slowly starting to glimmer with unshed tears. "More than anyone. You... you'd make sure that Sofia knew that Juice was a good guy, right? And that... and that I love her more than anything else in the -"

"Deedee."

"Just listen to me," Denise said - though she raised her voice a little more than she had intended. While Sofia was a heavy sleeper, it didn't mean that no one else heard, particularly Juice and Jax, who were still situated nearby. "If - If I'm not there to tell my little girl all of these things -"

"No," Juice said, tearing over and clearly wondering why he'd let Denise wander over alone in the first place. "Whatever you're thinking -"

"I'm not thinking right now, Juice. I've done my share of thinking. I know what needs to happen," Denise said, clenching her eyes shut and forcing her voice to remain calm. "I... I can't rest until I know for sure that August Marks is done. For good."

And Juice knew what his wife meant for knowing for sure. He knew she meant that she needed to see the breath leave the man's body, had to see the bullet go straight into his heart. Denise's gaze softened when she saw the realization on her husband's face while Lyla listened sadly, now silently in tears herself.

"I need to know he's gone, Juice," Denise said shakily. "I can't... I can't raise our daughter without you if it means that I don't know for sure that if I look over my shoulder, he won't be there. I need to... to keep our daughter safe," she said fiercely. "Or die trying, just like all of you are planning to."

Now, Juice was the one to shut his eyes - of course Denise knew that this was the plan. Of course she had figured it out. Of all people, he knew that his wife understood the way they planned their attacks, the way they worked. While the rest of the room, the rest of the club, seemed to be bustling and planning the logistics of the defense they would need to wage, silence fell over this small group. Admittedly, Juice realized, he was afraid to die too - and as cowardly as it was, a small part of him was grateful for the prospect of his wife being at his side to the very end. He didn't want to be alone when it happened, if it had to happen at all.

"You know this means they gotta leave soon, that... that you gotta say goodbye," Juice said, reaching out and touching Denise's face. "Babe, you know that, right? Once Nero gets back... they're gonna load up into one of the cars and get out before the Niners can send another wave."

Denise's eyes drifted to look at the sleeping child in her arms again. Could she really bear to part with her child, with her constant, her North Star? While the idea made sense in her mind, it made her heart ache terribly, and she restrained a sob before leaning over to kiss Sofia's forehead.

"I know," she nodded tearfully. "I know it has to be soon."

There was a collective flinch and a gasp in the room when there was a pounding on the door, the fear assuaged in a few seconds when Nero's voice rang through from the other side and the boys opened the doors for him.

Jax, however, stared slightly at Nero, gnawing on the inside of his lip as he locked eyes with the man.

"Where's Gemma?"

The question seemed to phsyically deflate the older man, as his shoulders drooped, and he looked upwards at the ceiling before he was able to formulate a response for Jax. "She went AWOL from Saint Thomas's," he said, rubbing his jaw and shaking his head. "Got an APB out on her, no idea where she's hiding."

"Your place?"

"You think I haven't looked for her?" Nero snapped, and Denise nearly felt physical pain upon hearing the tone of Nero's voice in response to Jax's question. In spite of everything the woman had done, Nero had nothing but love in his heart for her, wanted nothing more than to see her at peace, whatever that meant. Maybe it meant her finally doing her time and paying for her sins, or maybe it meant running away with him and the others. Not this. Never this. Sensing his wife's shift in emotion, Juice reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Jax raked his hands through his hair, meandering a few steps across the room and gently beating his fist a few times on the side of the pool table. A part of him, too, clearly hurt at the sound of such news. Abel and Thomas, too, were sitting dazed next to Wendy - there was no time to protect even the children from the truth of what was happening.

"You gotta go, man," Jax said, shaking his head and refusing to look at Nero - almost guiltily. Denise had almost forgotten that Jax was capable of such an emotion. "We need you to protect the girls... minus one."

And immediately, as though he knew there was only one girl to expect such a thing from, Nero's gaze darted to land on Denise. She shook her head slowly to confirm that, no, she wasn't going to be coming with them. Nero let out another weary groan, looking upwards at the ceiling again.

"Dios mio. Shit," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "Are you serious, chinita? Are you really -"

"Look, we can't negotiate right now," Jax interrupted. "I don't want her here, but if we hold up you guys' leaving, you might not make it out."

You might not make it out. The words seemed to finally cement the reality of the commitment they were all making. Denise, for one, felt a strange numbness wash over her as Jax barked out a few last orders before everyone started filing out to the back lot to the van they were taking out of town. Lyla stopped next to Denise and took a deep breath, looking at her sadly. "You're really going to do this? To stay here?"

Denise nodded tearfully. She took a deep shuddering breath and turned to look at Juice, who was staring down at Sofia. After their gazes met, he leaned over to give his daughter a lingering kiss on the forehead, taking in her scent, the sparse tickle of the few locks of black hair on the top of her head. By the time Denise had managed to shakily transfer the child into Lyla's arms, all three of the adults were in frank but silent tears.

"D-don't start her on makeup too early," Denise said shakily, forcing a smile through her tears. "Make her go to school and... and don't let her marry a biker. They're nothin' but trouble," she tried to laugh, wiping at her eyes. "And - and make sure she knows that I love her, that me and Juice love her. Promise me, okay?"

"I promise," Lyla said, her voice a near squeak from her tears - she clearly wanted to hug Denise again, even just for reassurance, but couldn't with the sleeping child in her arms. "I'm gonna miss you, Chinadoll. You and your doofus of a husband."

"Just remember, he's a big fan of your work," Denise smiled sadly, causing a choked, tearful laugh to come from Lyla's throat. "Take care of her, okay?"

But the weight of the moment was more than Denise could handle - as strong of a front as she tried to put on, she couldn't bear it and she tore off back into the clubhouse, back into the dorm room where she had been holding her daughter moments earlier, and finally allowed the tears to fall in full force, shaking her body as she curled up on the small, firm cot.

She couldn't watch them leave. She didn't know if she could bear it.

A/N's

I know, long time no update. I won't make excuses for myself! Life is busy, and I will try my hardest to do better on updating.

Also, to the guest who left a total of 12 reviews on most of my stories calling me a female dog, thank you for your feedback. I appreciate all of my reviews and you are always welcome. I also have no idea who your sister is, but if this is in response to a review, please note that I do include constructive criticism when I review others in order to help them become better writers, because that is the way I improved as a writer as well, and also that I also try to point out a writer's strengths in my reviews. If this is about something other than a review, than please clarify this with me.

In all honesty, thank you to all of my readers and reviewers for this story and for "Flown South" - all of your support, even when I have been slow to update, has been amazing and overwhelming. I might have some new projects on the horizon in the near future, but I will keep them under wraps for the time being. Anyway, you guys are all amazing! Until next time, cheers!