A/N: Whew. Two chapters, one night! Once again, super goddamn cheesy, but I just can't help it.

The happy feeling that Collynn had been riding high on dissipated as soon as her phone rang. She and Kip had returned to the clubhouse, but all of the important folks were still holed up in the Chapel, so she had been nursing a bottle of beer on one of the clubhouse couches and enjoying the silence. Kip had wandered back into the garage, muttering something about a "stupid fucking suspension" that had been eating up all of his time at work.

When her phone rang, she pulled it from her pocket, assuming it was her supervisor, or her mom, but her stomach dropped to the floor when she saw Trent's mother, Celia's name flashing across the screen. The delicious food that she had just inhaled made its way back up her esophagus and she bolted for the kitchen.

Luckily, she made it there before she vomited all over herself and managed to only hit the trash can. Her stomach rolled and roiled, seeming to clench and twist at the same time. Tears poured down her face as she tried to ignore the vile taste of half-digested food passing her lips.

She was silently sobbing. All of the nonchalance and tamping down of her emotions had finally caught up with her. Trent had a family. A family that would be looking for him. Why hadn't that even crossed her mind? She knew these people. She was getting ready to be their daughter-in-law. She was a part of their family.

Collynn took in ragged breaths and tried to quiet herself down while rinsing her mouth out in the sink. It wasn't perfect, but better than nothing. Her chest shook with sobs as she slid down to her ass, her back against the cabinets in the kitchen. She knew she couldn't stay this way. This place was crawling with people, but she just couldn't bring herself to move. She felt cemented to the floor, as if the world really was trying to swallow her whole. Her breathing quickened and she couldn't seem to get it under control.

The door to the Chapel opened, and, somehow, she found the will to bolt upstairs, if only to save her from any other humiliation. It was bad enough that the kitchen was tainted with the sickly-sweet smell of her vomit, but she couldn't stand to look at anyone.

One of the first ones out of the Chapel, Chibs heard quick footsteps running up the stairs to the apartments and caught a flash of bright red Chuck Taylors at the top. Why was Collynn sprinting through the clubhouse?

Chibs looked over his shoulder and saw Bobby deeply engrossed in conversation with Clay and didn't want to disturb them. Things were already fragmented-seeming enough around here as it is. He acknowledged to himself that he had no business following her, and to let her alone, but he just couldn't help it.

He quietly followed her up the steps and listened for anything dangerous. Surely no one could be chasing her, could they? He stopped at the bedroom that the shaken woman was currently residing in and gave a gentle knock on the door. There was no response except for quiet, muffled sobs.

Chibs tried knocking again, "Collynn, love, can I come in?" No answer, only crying. He reached out and turned the knob, registering how he shouldn't be going in, but he couldn't help himself. Hearing her cry like that, so bereft and lost, wrenched his heart. It was an odd feeling for him. Even though he was a very amiable person, he wasn't usually this concerned with others' business.

Quietly, he entered the room and saw her curled with her knees to her chest beside the bed, her face buried in her forearms. Her body heaved with nearly silent sobs and she didn't even notice he was there. Her breathing was nearing hyperventilation and he wouldn't let her pass out.

He slid to the floor next to her, hoping not to startle her. Her breaths paused long enough to let him know that she was aware of his presence, but she didn't push him out. He reached an arm around her shoulders to try and still the wracking sobs. If she kept going this way, she'd break a goddamn rib.

"Hey, hey, love. Shh. I've got ye." He cooed to her softly. She stiffened for a moment before she turned and melted into him. Chibs moved so he was able to take her fully in his arms. Collynn nuzzled her face into his chest and started to breathe a little easier. In response, Chibs allowed himself to bury his face in her hair and begin to rock them back and forth a little.

Collynn let herself sink into his arms and inhale his manness. She felt so safe wrapped up in him. He was warm and sturdy and just what she needed. Her shoulders were still rigid and she struggled to slow it down.

"Tha's it, love. In an' out. Shh. I'm here, lass. Breathe with me." Chibs began to take deep breaths, encouraging her to mimic them and she obeyed jaggedly.

"Good girl. Tha's it. Keep breathing." He continued to coo and rub her back until she was breathing normally again. Her cries turned into hiccups and she sniffled.

"I am so sorry." Collynn croaked, eyes still closed tightly. She made no move to remove herself from his arms, and he made no move to remove them. On one hand, she was so embarrassed. So unbelievably humiliated that Chibs had seen her this way. On the other, no one had ever been able to talk her down from a panic attack the way he had. Hell, no one had ever even attempted it. Trent would just awkwardly wring his hands when she would have one, never knowing what to do.

The thought of Trent made her stomach lurch again and she scrambled to the bathroom, half on her feet, half crawling. Her face burned with embarrassment and exertion as more of her stomach contents emptied themselves into the toilet. She flinched when warm hands continued to rub her back. He could not be in here right now.

Chibs kept rumbling comforting words to her as he stroked her back. She'd taken her hair down earlier, so he pulled it back, away from her face. He could tell how embarrassed she was, but he couldn't bear to let her stay here by herself. Couldn't allow her to suffer alone.

"All good, love?" He asked her quietly, as she rested her face in her hands. She nodded, unable to look up at him. Chibs gently pulled her away from the toilet and flushed. He filled a small paper cup with water and dug around in the medicine cabinet above the sink for mouthwash. Typically, he'd stay in this apartment when he needed to, so he knew that there should be some there.

After rinsing her mouth, Collynn shuffled back to the bedroom, still unable to look Chibs in the face. Why did he stay?

She sat heavily on the bed, pulling a pillow to her chest and burying her face into it.

"Thank you, Chibs." She mumbled into the pillow. "You didn't have to stay."

"Yes, I did." He perched on the edge of the bed next to her. "Wha' set it off? Something had to have happened."

"My dead fiancé's mother called me." Collynn state glumly.

Chibs raised his eyebrows. This was a new one. Normally, the people he killed didn't exactly have families out forming a search party, especially families that he was close to. He had no idea how to respond to that.

"Do ya wan' ta tell me abou' it? Abou' everything? Talkin' can help sometimes." He offered. This was so out of his wheelhouse. He was not a comforter. He was not the one who people came to with emotional issues.

"I feel like I'm in the fucking Twilight Zone." Collynn whimpered. "My life is completely out of control and I have no idea what to do about it." She finally picked her head up to meet Chibs' gaze. It was warm and inviting. His handsome face bore only concern. She wanted to reach out and smooth the furrow between his brows.

He motioned for her to continue. As if to step into the Twilight Zone a little further, she found herself spilling her guts to him. It had to be like purging, right? She hadn't told anyone

"I met Trent when I was in college for my undergrad. He was a friend of my roommate's and we happened to be taking a business law class at the same time. He was so sweet, and gangly, and nerdy. I'd never really had any kind of relationship or anything before that. We were normal. Nothing crazy or spectacular, but we were solid. We worked. At least, I thought we did." Collynn frowned and looked down at her hands. She felt so vulnerable and small. Small was something that she was not used to feeling.

"A few months ago, something in him changed. I'd been working hard to establish myself at the firm I'm working at and hadn't had quite as much time for him as he probably liked. He kept accusing me of sleeping with the partners at the firm, assuming that I was stepping out on him, which is laughable. He was so erratic. It was like he was on drugs or something. I only wished I'd been paying more attention. Maybe I'd have noticed before he went off the deep end. Got him some help or something." Collynn's lip trembled and more tears fell. It felt wrong, mourning the man she killed. Chibs rubbed a comforting hand up and down her back and she smiled at him appreciatively.

"The other night, I'd worked nearly twelve hours on a shitshow of a case only to come home and have my head smashed into one of my kitchen cabinets while looking for something to fucking eat. I didn't even know he was in my house. We hadn't moved in together yet." Chibs' hand had stilled on her back. He was pissed. He now knew how she got the gash on her forehead.

"We fought. He was on top of me, choking me. It was fucking awful. I don't even know how I did it, but I managed to get ahold of a cast iron skillet, and I just kept hitting. Oh my god. There was so much blood." Collynn dissolved into tears again, much like her initial frantic call to Bobby the night it happened. Chibs pulled her into his arms again, hushing her and whispering soothing words.

"I can't believe that he's gone. I can't believe that I killed him. I have no idea what I'm going to tell his mother. I have to call her back, right?"

"Wha' do ya feel like ya need ta do, love?" He nearly didn't even recognize the tenderness in his own voice. She was hurting and he wanted to make it better.

"I feel like I need to jump of a cliff or something. I don't think I can face her. Or the police. They're going to question me for sure."

"Aye. But you'll get through it. You're strong, lass. An' a professional liar. Ya did wha' ya had ta do." He soothed.

"I am so sorry to dump all of this on you." Collynn pulled back, trying to wipe her eyes quickly and prayed that she didn't have snot all over her face. "You must think I'm fucking insane."

"Not at all, love." He tucked a lock of her curly hair behind her ear, his breath catching when he saw the black sutures that he'd placed in her earlobe a few nights prior. "I'm sorry this happened to ya."

"Thanks, Phillip." She gave him a watery smile and he returned it, dimples popping out on his marred cheeks.

"You're welcome, love. I'm gonna go downstairs an' get somethin' for ya ta drink. How's your stomach?"

"It's okay. I can't believe you just had to watch me barf like a drunk college girl." She sighed and scrubbed her face with her hands, careful of her nose.

"I've seen worse." He grinned and stepped out the door.

She sighed and sagged back against the bed. She hadn't told anyone exactly what had happened that night and hearing it in her own words helped her to steel herself against the upcoming battles that she knew were coming down the pike. He hurt me. I didn't deserve it. I had to defend myself. Quietly, she reaffirmed this to herself out loud and it found purchase. She felt better. It wasn't a lot better, but better was better.

Collynn was still slightly in shock. She had no idea what just happened. The only thing that she could really process was how she felt like she was home in Chibs' arms. It was disconcerting to say the least.

Chibs returned with a cold bottle of water, and she greedily drank down half of it. "Would ya like to come downstairs for a while? Have a drink?"

She's not sure what compelled her to, but she agreed. She really thought she'd only want to crawl in a hole and die, but now she can't stand the thought of being alone. Chibs noticed her wiping her eyes and trying to look like she didn't just have a crying fit.

"Hey, love, ya look fine. It's only Bobby down there, anyway. He won' be sayin' anythin'." Her heart warmed as he picked up on exactly what she was feeling.

They made their way downstairs, and she made a beeline for the barstool next to her father. He looked tired. She rested her head on his shoulder wordlessly, and he pressed a kiss to her hair.

"How are you, pumpkin?"

"Tired, afraid, nauseous, ya know. The works." She straightened back up onto her stool and took another slug from the water bottle.

"I have something that might take the edge off." He reached behind the bar for a small cardboard bakery box. If she knew her father, it'd be something laced but delicious. He opened it, and chocolate chip cookies stared back at her. His cookies were to die for.

Collynn grinned and took one from the box. "I don't know why you didn't just go to culinary school. You could be famous for these little fuckers by now." She broke one in half, nibbling slowly as to not re-upset her stomach. Chibs also took one of the proffered pot cookies and they munched on cookies in companionable silence.

"Hey, dad. Are you free to take me home tomorrow? I really need to get back to Maggie. And I have things to take care of for work." She looked at him pleadingly.

"If I can't, I'll make sure someone else can." Bobby agreed. "Although, I really wish you'd stay here." Collynn knew that's what her father really wanted. He wanted her to come home. Right now, it didn't seem so bad. She only wanted to avoid suspicion.

"Celia called earlier." Collynn tossed out conversationally. Bobby's ears perked up immediately.

"Did you answer? Did she leave a message?" His questions tumbled out urgently.

"No, I didn't answer. I freaked the fuck out." Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment again. "I just need to get home to raise as little suspicion as possible in this whole mess."

"We'll take care of you, pumpkin. We've got this handled. You've got this, okay?" Bobby's voice took on an almost pleading tone.

"Thanks, dad. I really appreciate it. You too, Chibs. You've all been so great to me. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Think nothing of it." Bobby reassured her. He tried to meet Chibs' eye over her head, but he was avoiding his eye.

Collynn nodded and yawned. "I'm going to head back up to bed before this kicks in. Hopefully, I'll get some good sleep tonight." She leaned over and gave Bobby a kiss on the cheek. As she left the room, she gave one of Chibs' shoulder a grateful squeeze and headed up the stairs.

Once again, Chibs had to tear himself away from watching her go. She was still wearing the tight jeans and they were almost an invitation for staring. Bobby noticed his gaze and he wasn't sure he liked it one bit.