Jess walked up the stairs to her apartment, her legs sore from a hard day's work and she was greatly looking forward to a shower and unwinding at the clubhouse after church. She'd gotten a lot more comfortable spending time there since the family dinner, and was really beginning to feel like she was a part of something. It wasn't a feeling she was familiar with, she'd been on her own her entire life, but it was a feeling she really liked.

She finally made it to her front door and stepped inside, her jaw dropping and her hands flying to her eyes as the scene before her unfolded.

"Oh my God!" she shrieked, peeking through her fingers to see Lux pressed against the wall, her slender legs wrapped around a shirtless Tig's waist. Tig dropped Lux when he heard Jess scream and turned around as Lux grasped Tig for support, breathing heavy as she grinned at Jess.

"Oh hey, Jess!" she said cheerfully. Jess finally removed her hands from her face, realizing the scene wasn't quite as bad as she had first suspected. They were both at least somewhat clothed.

"Hey," Jess mumbled awkwardly, her eyes darting around the room, "Um… I'll just go to my room." Lux shook her head.

"Nah, it's cool. I gotta go to church anyway," Tig said.

"Oh… okay," Jess responded, watching as Tig grabbed his shirt from the floor and threw it on, followed by his cut that was lying haphazardly on the back of the couch. He turned back to Lux, curling an arm around her neck as he kissed her, whispering good bye. Lux smiled up at him, watching as he walked down the hall and into Jess's room.

"Seriously!" Jess called hopelessly after him, "You've gotta figure out another way in here!" Lux giggled, her face still flushed as she walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. Jess followed her, sitting on a barstool at the counter.

"So I take it things are going good with you guys?" Jess asked. Lux grinned, nodding as she took a sip of water.

"Same old same old," she responded.

"Have you figured out how you're going to keep things going?" Jess asked, "Clay's bound to figure it out sooner or later." Lux shrugged.

"Yeah, well he's not figuring it out tonight, so we'll worry about that later," she said, but she looked worried.

Even though Lux's situation was completely messed up – hooking up with your dad's best friend was stuff made of Lifetime movies and after school specials – Jess couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy for Lux. Here she was with a guy that obviously loved her, that was willing to risk everything that was important to him for her, and who she loved in return. They may not be your average couple, but that was the stuff of biker fairy tales, and if Jess was honest, it's what she wanted most.

"Come on, let's get ready for tonight," Lux said and Jess smiled, nodding.

SOASOASOASOASOA

It took Lux and Jess almost two hours to get ready, and by the time they finally stepped out the door, they could see that the clubhouse was packed. Jess eyed Lux, whose smile widened as they walked down the stairs. There was nothing Lux loved more than a good party, mostly because, Jess suspected, it was much easier for her to sneak off with Tig throughout the night when there were a lot of people around.

As they crossed the street, Jess could hear raised voices from just behind the fence of the lot and stopped in her tracks when she recognized them. Lux stopped as well, glancing over at Jess, but Jess wouldn't move.

"We're not putting him in day care, Tara, end of story!" Jax was yelling.

"You're not thinking about what he needs," they heard Tara say, "He needs to socialize. He needs to be around kids his own age."

"He needs to be around his family!" Jax responded, "The decision isn't up to you. You are not his mother." Tara paused for a second and Lux looked practically giddy, bouncing on the heels of her feet. Jess crossed her arms in front of her chest, feeling entirely awkward listening in on this conversation, but not wanting to walk past the gate and be seen by them.

"You're barely a father!" Tara yelled at him, his words having clearly angered her, "You're never around. You don't think maybe I want to go and get a drink with some friends every now and then, but I can't because you're always gone and someone's gotta watch Abel."

"That's what Neeta's for!" Jax bellowed at her. Jess glanced at Lux, finally making the decision to walk past them. She really didn't want to listen to Jax and Tara argue. Lux shook her head silently at Jess, trying to get to stay and listen, but finally gave in and followed Jess into the lot.

"Neeta's great, Jax, but she doesn't work 80 hours a week. She's got a family, too. Abel needs to be around kids his age. He needs to learn things so he's prepared for kindergarten. It's just not healthy for him not to have friends his age!" Tara said insistently. Jax glanced over to see Jess and Lux walk by and turned to Tara, scowling.

"We'll talk about this later," he growled at her. Tara glanced over at Jess and Lux before turning back to Jax.

"Yes, we will," she said, "We're not done." Jax rolled his eyes as Tara stalked past Lux and Jess, walking to her car that was parked on the street. Jax took a last glance at the girls before turning in the opposite direction as Tara and walking toward the clubhouse.

"Well that didn't sound good," Lux said, unable to keep the glee out of her voice.

"You could at least pretend not be so happy that your brother's miserable," Jess told her. Lux shrugged.

"It's his own damn fault," she said, "He's gotta come to his senses sooner or later, and sooner is always better."

Jess shook her head, trying not to think about Jax and Tara's argument. Couples fought all the time. It was not, as Lux wanted to believe, a sign that they were going to break up. It was just a normal couple fight. Jess found herself glancing around the room as soon as they walked inside trying to find Jax, before shaking it off. He'd moved on. She was over him. She just needed to prove it to herself.

She and Lux walked to the bar, grabbing a beer before joining Tig, Chibs, and Juice at a table. Jess shook her head, watching Lux lean subtly towards Tig and Jess wondered, for about the millionth time, how nobody saw it. She was beginning to think that it was something everyone knew and nobody talked about, except Clay who must have had an impossibly blind eye towards his daughter.

Several hours later, Lux had managed to sneak off somewhere with Tig and the party had died down considerably. A few of the guys had retired to their dorms with their chosen pussy of the night and the girls that were left were vying for the attention of any man in a cut. Clay, Jax, Bobby, and Opie had settled down at a table, playing poker while a few hang-arounds utilized the pool table.

Jess walked back to the bar, grabbing a beer before turning around and leaning against the bar, surveying the party. A guy Jess had seen around before but who was not a Son, evident by his lack of a cut, walked up to the bar, standing next to her as he, too, grabbed a beer. He turned back to look at Jess, grinning at her and she smiled back.

"Hi," she said tentatively.

"Hey," he responded, "I'm Ryan."

"Jess," she responded.

"So I was wondering if you could do me a favor," he said. She raised her eyebrows, eyeing him warily, "See my buddies David and Charlie over there want to play teams." He pointed to a couple of other hang-arounds that were holding cue sticks and standing next to the pool table, "But Charlie doesn't have a partner."

"You want me to play?" Jess asked doubtfully.

"You any good?" Ryan asked. Jess shrugged.

"Maybe slightly below average," she admitted.

"Perfect," Ryan responded, grinning, "Charlie always wins every game."

"Oh, so I'm gonna be, like, his handicap?" Jess asked, smirking. Ryan shrugged, smiling back at her.

"Hey, you said it, not me," he said, "Whatta ya say? You in?" Jess shrugged.

"Why not?" she said, following Ryan over to the table. He introduced her to David and Charlie before racking the balls.

"So tell me you've at least played before," Charlie said, smiling down at Jess as he handed her a cue stick and a block of chalk.

"I've played before," she reassured him, "Just… not well." Charlie laughed congenially, shrugging.

"Well maybe I can teach you a thing or two," he said, leaning slightly closer to her.

"Maybe so," Jess said, smiling flirtatiously at him before he walked over to the table to take his turn.

'See,' Jess told herself, 'You are so completely over Jax.' She watched him bend over the table, sinking two balls in a single shot before moving to take his next shot. He was even pretty cute. Younger and a little more clean-cut than most of the guys in the club. He had a hint of a 5 o'clock shadow, but that's where his beard ended. His brown hair was slightly shorter than Jax's and he tucked it behind his ear before grasping the cue stick, taking his next shot. The ball barely missed the pocket.

"Fuck!" he said, shaking his head as Ryan grinned, walking to take his turn. Ryan turned to Jess.

"I knew you'd be good luck!" he said, "For us, I mean." Jess laughed as Charlie walked back over to her.

"Ignore him," he said, leaning close to her, "He's an asshole." Jess laughed, nodding as Charlie slung an arm around her. She didn't even notice Jax watching them from the other side of the room, scowling at the display.

They played the rest of the game, Jess and Charlie barely winning with a lot more thanks to Charlie than to Jess for that. She had been able to sink two balls, but they were both purely by accident. Afterwards, Charlie led Jess over to the couches, sitting next to her.

"You know, I'm glad Ryan talked you into being my partner," he said, grinning at her, "You were definitely the hottest girl in here all night." Jess laughed, shaking her head at the lame line.

"Um, thanks," she said, smiling over at him. He lifted his hand, brushing a few strands of hair from her face as he moved closer to her, his face inches from hers. She debated briefly on allowing him to kiss her, but finally remembered that Jax was in the room playing poker at a table not far from where they were, and she didn't want to antagonize him in his own clubhouse. She had a feeling that wouldn't go over very well, so she moved away from Charlie, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her pack of cigarettes to try to make an easy transition. But her pack was empty.

"Shit," she muttered. Charlie looked over at her.

"What's up?' he asked.

"Out of cigarettes," she said, tossing the empty pack on the table, "I'm gonna run over to my apartment and get another pack." Charlie shook his head.

"I got a cig for you," he said, offering her one from his own pack. Jess shook her head.

"Thanks, but I swear I'll be bumming off you for the rest of the night. I just live across the street," she said, rising from the couch and moving to walk towards the door.

"I'll walk you over," Charlie said quickly, moving to fall in line beside Jess. She smiled in surprise. SAMCRO was not generally the place you went to looking for gentlemen.

"Okay," she agreed. Charlie grinned, slinging an arm around Jess's shoulder as they walked out of the clubhouse.

SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA

Jax watched Jess walk out with one of the hang-arounds from where he sat at the poker table, his teeth gritted. He'd had one eye on them the whole time and watching her flirt with the guy bothered Jax more than he'd like to admit. He folded his hand, unable to concentrate on the game as his mind wandered to why they were leaving together. There was only one reason for it, and Jax did not like it. He knew he could have easily walked up to the hang-around and told him to never even look at Jess again, and he was suddenly wondering why he hadn't done just that.

But he knew why. Because he'd made his decision and she wasn't his. One thing was for sure, though. That guy had officially lost any chance of ever prospecting for the club.

"Looks like your girl's gettin' some," Opie said jokingly as he too folded his hand of cards. Jax glared at him, shaking his head.

"She's not my girl," he said as Tig took a seat at the table next to Clay. Jax rolled his eyes as Lux walked up after several seconds, thinking how ludicrous it was that no one else had noticed them constantly sneaking off together.

"Who's not your girl?" Tig asked as Opie and Bobby grinned at him.

"You gotta be talking about Jess," Lux said, grinning broadly at her brother, knowing she was busting his balls. Jax glared at her, getting angrier by the second. He was getting real tired of Lux constantly interfering. His knuckles were already white from the fists that had formed when Jess had walked out with another guy.

"She went home with some hang around, which clearly isn't bothering Jax at all," Opie told her. Lux's eyes widened and she grinned.

"Way to go, Jess!" she said as Jax scowled at her, "Oh yeah, clearly it's not bothering you." Jax continued to glare at her, but his glares had long ago stopped affecting her. She just continued to smile back at him.

"She was just some pussy," Jax said, trying to convince himself as much as them.

"You're kidding yourself," Clay commented as he threw his cards down, winning the round. Jax glared at him as Clay scooped up the pile of bills in front of him, grinning.

"Yeah, well, if you were as observant as you seem to think," Jax started, standing up angrily, "Maybe you'd have noticed at some point during the past year that your right hand man's been fucking your daughter."

The table went immediately silent, all eyes looking between Clay and Tig except for Lux. Her jaw dropped as she stared at Jax, tears forming in her eyes, but Jax was too angry to feel guilty. Clay's grin was wiped immediately from his face as he turned to look at Tig, rage behind his eyes. Tig looked back at Clay, obviously getting prepared for the beating he was about to get, knowing that if Clay didn't kill him, he'd have his patch stripped at the very least. It seemed as if he had been waiting for this moment to come for a very long time.

"My GODDAMN daughter!?" Clay bellowed at him, shoving his chair back so it clanged loudly in the quiet room, scattering back several yards as he rose from his seat, towering over Tig. To Tig's credit, he didn't flinch at all.

"Dad!" Lux choked. Clay turned to look at Lux, his finger held up.

"Don't, Lux," he said, his voice low, as if it was taking all of his strength to not scream at her, "You've been getting away with whatever you want for too long. You went too far this time."

"Dad, no!" Lux pleaded, "This isn't about you! I … I love him." Her voice choked up as Clay banged his fist angrily on the table. Clay turned back to Tig who stood, his feet shoulder width apart and his arms hanging loosely by his side. Clay pulled his fist back before punching forward, connecting with Tig's jaw. Tig's head flew back but he did nothing to defend himself. His arms were still hanging by his side as Clay punched him again and again.

"Stop!" Lux yelled, her voice shaking as tears poured down her cheeks, but Clay paid no attention to her. She grabbed Clay's elbow as it bent back to hit Tig again but Clay just shoved her away. Clay grabbed Tig by the collar as Tig looked sorrowfully back at Clay, but Lux squeezed herself between them before Clay could give the next blow.

"Get out of the way, Lux," Tig said softly, but she shook her head adamantly, staring at Clay.

"Stop, dad," she begged, "Please." Clay looked at Lux, fury flashing in his eyes before he turned to look disgustedly back at Tig, his lip raised in a sneer. He finally let Tig's collar go, shoving him back slightly as he did so, and turned to stalk outside of the clubhouse.

Lux turned to Tig, stroking her hand over the bruises that had already begun to form on his face as they heard the sound of Clay's bike roaring to life before it peeled out of the lot. Lux finally dropped her hand from Tig's face, rounding on Jax, her face contorted in pain and anger.

"That was a real dick move, Jax," she said quietly, her voice full of disbelief, before she rushed past him and out of the clubhouse. Jax glared at Tig, hoping he'd say something, give him some reason to finish Clay's fight. He felt the urge to punch something. But Tig didn't. He just shook his head slowly and dejectedly and followed Lux out of the clubhouse.

SOASOASOASOASOA

Jess woke early the next morning and made her way to the kitchen, pouring a bowl of cereal before walking into the living room, turning on some Saturday morning cartoons. She leaned back on the recliner, pushing the foot rest up and slowly shoveling cereal in her mouth as her mind drifted from the cartoons to the night before. She shook her head, trying not to let her mind go there. Charlie had seemed like such a nice guy. She should've known better. She should've known that 'nice guys' were not to be found at the SAMCRO clubhouse.

She sighed, setting her finished cereal bowl on the coffee table as she tried to focus on the TV. After a couple of hours of mindlessly watching cartoons, Lux walked into the living room, Tig trailing behind her. Tig flung himself on the couch and Lux curled into him, Tig's arm wrapped tightly around her.

"My window's open if you need to use it," Jess said with a grin before ripping her eyes from the cartoons and turning to look at them. She frowned when she realized how miserable they both looked, her eyes widening at the sight of Tig's banged up face.

"What happened to you?" Jess asked quietly.

"Word got out about us," Lux explained and Jess raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Jess asked, "Clay knows?" Lux nodded and Jess stared at her in disbelief for several moments.

"What are you going to do?" she finally asked and Lux shrugged, glancing up at Tig as she grasped the breast of his t-shirt tightly in her fist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know. Dad took off last night. I haven't heard from him. Tig and I were up all night talking about what to do," Lux said.

"Did you come up with anything?" Jess asked.

"I'm thinking about going nomad," Tig said. Jess frowned.

"What's nomad?" she asked.

"It's a charter of the Sons that doesn't really have a home. They're always traveling all over to different charters when they're needed," Tig explained. Jess glanced at Lux, her brow furrowed.

"And you'd be okay with that?" Jess asked.

"No!" Lux said, "But we don't have much of a choice. Either way, he can't stay in Charming. Not unless we break it off and… well… that's not an option. He'll either get his patch stripped and have to leave town… or turn nomad. And that's if Clay doesn't actually kill him." Jess had never seen Lux look so defeated. Tig ran his hand up and down Lux's arm in an attempt to comfort her.

"But… how did he even find out?" Jess asked.

"Jax," Lux replied simply, "Stupid fucker just came right out with it." Jess narrowed her eyes. The last time she'd talked to Jax, it hadn't seemed like that was something he would do. Though, Jess reminded herself, Jax did a lot of things that seemed like something he wouldn't do. He was becoming an enigma to her.

"Why would he do that?" she asked.

"You," Lux said, shrugging, "He saw you bring some hang around home and flipped. Got so pissed when some of the guys started ragging on him about it, wanted the attention on someone else, I guess."

"He… what?" Jess asked in shock, "But I didn't… I mean, nothing even happened with that guy. I wasn't 'bringing him home'. I needed cigarettes and he walked me over here to get them."

"Why didn't you come back then?" Lux asked.

"Because…" Jess started, "Because he clearly thought I was bringing him over here for another reason. So after a hard kick in the nuts, he decided it was better if he left and I didn't really feel like going back to the clubhouse after that." This finally got a smile out of Lux.

"That's my girl!" she said, "At least I know you can take of yourself." Jess laughed.

"Been doing it my whole life," she reminded her. Lux grinned, nodding as her cell phone rang. She lifted her head from Tig's shoulder, glancing at the caller ID and groaned.

"It's my mom," she said miserably, "I really do not want to talk to her."

"Answer it," Jess advised, "She's just gonna keep calling." Lux sighed, finally nodding as she answered the phone. Jess and Tig watched her listen for several seconds before she hung up the phone abruptly, staring at Tig.

"My dad flipped his bike last night," she said, her face full of shock, "He's in the hospital."

Author's Note: Thank you thank you thank you to all our wonderful reviewers! You guys make our day!

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