I do not own any characters from Sons of Anarchy. I own Sara and any other original characters.

November 2007

Sara hadn't seen or heard from Happy in a few days. Not that she really expected to. He didn't seem the type to call the next day and she wouldn't have known what to say if he had. She had heard through the grapevine that he had been sent on a protection run anyway, so it wasn't as if they had to the have the awkward run-in the next day at the grocery store. It gave them both some space and time to let it all sink in.

There was little comfort in that solitude though as she could immediately tell her night with Happy had been discussed amongst the guys from the broad tell-tale grin Juice was sporting when she saw him. While Juice had assured her that Happy had kept his mouth shut and it had been Tig who had broken the news, she wasn't overly pleased that her business was now garage gossip. She supposed she couldn't be too upset knowing the nature of the guys and the fact she had made it blatantly apparent what they had been doing when she made her comments that morning, but it left her feeling wary. She tended to keep her flings quiet and she wasn't sure what kind of reaction she would get from the Redwood charter. It also had occurred to her later that the news could make its way back to her own family. She wasn't embarrassed by it but she also didn't need Jason getting pissy about the fact she slept with a brother while she was supposed to be here on business. Lord knows the hellfire that would rain down.

"So how was it?" Juice had asked. She smiled to herself and her friend couldn't contain his own laughter. "That good, eh? Who knew."

"So do you feel guilty about… you know… Ryan." He had finally asked and she shrugged.

"Should I?" She had tried to sound flippant for Juice's benefit but she couldn't help but chew her lip as she thought about her ex-fiancé sitting in prison because of her father while she was out here, giggling like a school girl over one of his brothers. A different charter, sure, but brothers nonetheless. Juice had only shrugged, not knowing the right answer to her rhetorical question.

"He told you to try to move on, right?" He had supplied half-heartedly and Sara nodded in agreement. Juice was right; Ryan had told her to move on but something about it didn't settle well in her stomach.

She busied herself looking over the information Juice was gathering and making phone calls to the girls to make sure business was running smoothly.

Jason had gone back home after meeting with Clay and being reassured that the club was seriously looking into the retaliation. She had talked to him once or twice since he left and each time he firmly reminded her she would need to "stop dicking around in Charming" and "come back home to take care of business".

But she was enjoying her little break in Charming. She couldn't help but flash back to her night with Hap and her cheeks flushed at the thought. None of the other guys had said anything to her directly about it but she could feel them watching her with smug interest.

Sex with Happy had been… crazy. Had been blown away with his skills and–let's be honest—his stamina. She had not been prepared for three rounds of sex; she couldn't even remember the last time she had gone three rounds and, while she had always been pretty responsive in the bedroom, somehow he seemed to know exactly what she needed. The way he had manhandled her… and talked to her… the memory sent a delightful shiver racing down her spine.

Today, Gemma had asked her to come to TM to help her with some paperwork. She was wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans and an orange fitted Harley shirt with a pair of wedges strapped to her feet as she walked from her parking spot towards the garage office.

Happy looked up from his bike at the sound of her car door closing and his eyes followed her movements. Her long hair was pulled up and back in a messy bun and her sunglasses covered her eyes. He saw her glance towards the garage and a small smile appeared when she saw him but she didn't stop and quickly disappeared into the office.

He had been out of town since their night spent together and he wasn't really sure what to expect. He didn't want her thinking they were together, but he definitely wanted to fuck her again. His mind suddenly flicked back to his favorite memory: her bright blue eyes looking up at him, his cock buried in her mouth. His muscles had—embarrassingly—ached the next day from overexertion.

He hadn't had that much fun in bed in years.

Was she just a fuck to him? Was he to her? Was it wise to keep this going? Was it going to happen again? What about her Old Man? When was she going back to SB? The one good thing about the run had been that he didn't have Tig and Chibs trying to pick information out of him so he could work through his own confusion in peace.

He hadn't made much progress on that front.

Sara had spent most of the morning helping Gemma file paperwork that she was behind on. Apparently the guys weren't very good at sorting papers. Surprise, surprise.

The office was hot and muggy, and she was grateful she had decided to wear her hair up today. She couldn't help her thoughts from drifting to the man in the adjacent room.

She knew Happy had seen her when she came in but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do or say. Or not do or say. All she knew was that he looked good.

They had both had a lot of fun the night they had spent together but she knew he wasn't the kind of man to get attached. And while she definitely was not looking for anything serious, she knew she could get herself into hot water getting involved with him.

She decided to take a smoke break to get some fresh air and went out to sit on top of a picnic table, her feet resting on the bench. Half-Sack was pulling in with the tow truck around the same time she was reminding herself to repaint her toenails and he made his way over to her after parking.

"Bum a smoke?" He asked taking a seat next to her. The kid was sweet albeit a bit of a spaz. She handed him her pack and lighter, and he pulled one out.

"How you been?" He asked making conversation, interrupting her thoughts. She shrugged in response.

"Good. How's work? Any word on Prospecting?" She asked turning to look at him. She felt herself comparing his scrappy, lean body to Happy's broad thick muscular one. She preferred the latter. He shrugged and let his foot tap wildly.

"Its… good. Busy. I mean… you know how the guys are. No word yet, but maybe soon." He said nervously glancing over his shoulder towards the garage. Sara laughed quietly and nodded, flicking the ash off the end of her cigarette.

"Well you're almost there."

"Yeah, then maybe I'd finally have a chance with you." He joked, nudging her with his shoulder causing her to laugh loudly.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She teased ignoring the boots approaching behind them.

"Oye, Half-Sack! Did we say you could take a break?" Chibs shouted. Sara could hear the sick glee in his Chibs' voice at bossing around the poor kid. Half-Sack shot her a knowing look and she nodded as he excused himself.

"You and the Prospect look cozy." Another voice rasped from behind her.

"Jealous?" She quipped not bothering to turn to face at him as she took another drag. She heard him walk around her, boots stomping in frustration. She smirked to herself at his small tantrum. He grabbed her cigarette out of her hand and took a drag and she scoffed at him in annoyance.

"You're welcome." She grumbled when he handed it back.

"Don't be a bitch." He responded, looking down at her from his standing position as he blew out the smoke. She glared at him through her sunglasses.

"If I recall, you liked calling me a bitch." She responded smugly. Happy shot her a glare.

"You and the Prospect hook up?" He asked casually looking around the lot with faux disinterest.

"Why does everyone think I fuck Prospects? They're like children." She retorted with an eye roll.

"You guys are probably the same age." He pointed out and she grimaced.

"Gross." The corners of his mouth curled up briefly in response before being replaced by his usual stoic face. She leaned back and gazed up at with an amused smile.

"Kip isn't even a Prospect yet. And anyway, some old guy I fucked left me too sore to fuck anyone else." She saw his chest puff slightly as he shot her an arrogant look. She rolled her eyes but her body involunarily responded to his masculine pride. She wasn't lying for his sake; up until about yesterday she had still been aching and tender.

Her attention was averted when she heard her name being called by Clay. "Come 'ere!" She followed Clay into the clubhouse with a furrowed brow and could feel Happy trailing behind her.

"Come sit with me." Clay requested taking a seat at the bar. She nervously hopped onto the stool and looked at him.

"You talk to your brother today?" Clay asked after a moment and she shook her head trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What happened?"

"The guys decided we weren't acting fast enough and tried to retaliate on their own. There was a damn-near showdown in the streets." She felt her stomach drop out as her thoughts buzzed, envisioning worst-case scenarios.

"What? Is he—"

"Nah, he's fine. Everyone's whole. But this is pushing it too far. We can't have a chapter going rogue and making a scene in the streets, especially since they already have the attention of the five-oh. It's bad for the whole MC, you understand... Sara, we're shutting them down." He finished. She stared at him blankly.

"What? What does that even mean?" She whispered in disbelief. This wasn't possible. This didn't happen. This never happened.

"The guys voted on it. We're closing the San Bernardino chapter," he repeated gently. "The members can decide if they want to pick new chapters or go Nomad but there won't be any more SAMDINO. I'm sorry, kid."

"But what about the girls?" She asked in confusion, her hands starting to shake.

"I think your boys got their message across. SAMCRO ain't gonna get involved with this." Clay answered noncommittally.

"I mean, what about the whole business?" her voice broke a little as she asked. She had built the brothel into a respectable business venture. She had vetted all of the current girls herself, making sure they knew what they were getting themselves into. She was both personally and professionally invested in its successes and failures.

"We will need to decide if we are going to keep it open or not. Bobby's gonna need your help to look over the books." She nodded but was struggling to understand this sudden shift in her life. She knew the books were in order; she had been meticulous in their keeping. Oh god. If they closed the business they wouldn't have an income.

What was Jason going to do?

"Have you told Jason?" She not even bothering to keep the distress out of her voice. Clay shook his head.

"Some of the guys and I will ride down soon and tell them. I'd prefer if you didn't say anything till then; they should hear it from us." She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat.

Unable to hear any more right now, she briskly excused herself and pushed past a few of the guys.

Happy was unsettled by his desire to follow her. He pushed it down. His duty was to the club, not some girl he fucked once. The club was his life. He forced himself not to spare a glance at the closed office door when he returned to the garage.

After about an hour of silence, the guys all looked up as the office door was thrown open and she stomped out, sunglasses in place.

She looked like a little blonde hurricane as she threw her car door open and slammed it before peeling out of the lot faster than was probably safe.

"Think she's okay?" Half-Sack asked no one in particular.

"The fuck you think?" Happy shot back before anyone else could answer. They all looked at him startled by his harsh response.

"Someone should check on her." Half-Sack said pointedly and Happy could feel the kid's eyes on his back but he didn't respond and focused on the work in front of him. "Seriously dude?" Half-Sack asked incredulously.

Happy threw his wrench on the ground and whirled around to get in the kid's face. He saw Sack recoil seeing the challenging look in Hap's eyes.

"Got something to say to me, kid?" He challenged and the younger man shook his head meekly. "She's a grown woman; she can take care of herself. Don't need nobody checking up on her." He added gruffly after a moment and returned to his work, but he was distracted for the rest of the afternoon.

Author Note: Sorry for the delay guys! I promise I haven't given up. I just needed to take a little break from this story. I've been working on it diligently for over a year. I have about 40 chapters written and since it wasn't always written in chronological order and I have moved things around, I have to go back and edit and reedit each chapter multiple times to make sure it lines up correctly. There's only so many times you can read the same chapter before you want your eyes to bleed. Anywho, here is this chapter. Things are starting to shift. :) Thoughts? Feelings?