You Will Be Forever Young

"I can't believe you're doing this, Drea."

I stared up at Opie as he paced by me, across the kitchen floor. "Opie, I... I thought you'd be happy about this."

"Happy? Why the hell would you think that?"

I stared at him for a couple of seconds to gauge how serious he was being. He actually looked genuinely annoyed... No... Scratch that... He looked pissed off. What the fuck? Why would this piss him off?

"Well, for one," I started as calmly as I could. "I thought you'd be relieved to have babysitting duties off your plate. You have enough going on with your kids and Lyla, you don't need me being a burden on your shoulders too."

"You aren't a burden, Drea."

I waved a hand to dismiss his protests and held up two fingers as I continued, "For two, I thought you of all people... my loving TWIN brother, would be happy that I finally have my memory back... that I'm FINALLY feeling more like myself. Jesus, Opie. Not everything is about you and your war against the world."

"Drea... I didn't mean it like that."

"Right... Accusing me of choosing the club over you... You didn't mean that AT ALL."

"Fuck... I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"Yes... Yes, you did." I held my hand up to stop him from interrupting my thought. "You're angry, I get that. But Happy didn't do anything to hurt me... you... us in any way, shape or form. Hate Clay all you want... BELIEVE me, I DO... But don't let it bleed onto Happy. He would cut out his own heart before he ever did anything to hurt me... or you... or the fucking club."

"I know, Drea, I do. It's just... right now..."

"It's hard not to let your feelings spread to everyone. I get that. That's why I made sure we could talk face to face before I moved out. I love you, Opie. More than any human on Earth, but I need to feel whole again and being with Happy does that. I'm sorry if that hurts you, but I have to be a little selfish right now so that I can keep healing."

"It isn't selfish," he protested as he wrapped his arms around my torso to hug me.

I hugged him back replying, "Yes, it is. But Dr. Gee says that I have to do that sometimes. What I need to do to heal may not always fall in line with other people's wants and needs, but I can't let that stop me. I can be honest and apologize if it hurts them but I still have to do what's best for me."

"I know. And I really am sorry I sounded like I was accusing you of something."

"It's okay, Ope. Be mad at the club. Hell hate the world, but please... please don't hate me for wanting to fix things between me and Happy."

"I swear, I'm beyond relieved you're feeling more like yourself, Sis. I really am."

He gave me one last squeeze then looked me in the eye to add, "I love you too, Drea. Don't ever forget that. Here... Let me go grab your keys."

I caught his arm to pull him back and give him another hug. "Keep them. I'm not ready to drive yet. I'm... I'm still working on getting over that phobia. Use my Yukon until you find a truck you like. I really don't need it right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Happy volun-told Phil he was my chauffeur today."

"What about tomorrow?"

"That's tomorrow's problem. Don't worry about it, Baby Bro. I'll... We'll figure something out."

"Okay," he replied, still not sounding completely convinced. "If you say so, Sis."

"I say so." I kissed his cheek then repeated, "I love you, Ope."

"Love you too, Drea."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happy and I came to a quick understanding and decision that when he couldn't be with me that I would stay at the clubhouse or someone from the club would stay with me at our house. I still feel bad that I laughed at the look on his face when I suggested Phil be my watchdog. He was the Brother Happy was going to suggest because the big guy had proven himself to be tough and nearly bullet proof. Plus, his sheer size was intimidating enough to help me feel more at ease.

Phil was also the only new member of SAMCRO with whom I felt truly comfortable. He had sort of become friends while he was a Prospect. I couldn't say that for any of the Nomads who had patched over to SAMCRO after dad passed away.

So, Phil the Watchdog, (we all preferred that term over 'babysitter') was the reason I was now sitting in the clubhouse, waiting for the guys to get back. From what I overheard, they had some kind of meeting with Damon Pope in Oakland. No one really knew when they might be back, so we just hung out in the clubhouse hoping that it would be sooner than later.

"Did you want me to pour you a drink?" Phil asked from behind the bar. "I could pour you a tumbler of scotch..."

"You mean that shit they call..." I started as I turned my eyes up from my phone. I completely lost my train of thought when I saw the bottle in his hand.

He chuckled and poured a healthy serving form the bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue while explaining, "Happy and I convinced Jax to stock some of the good stuff for the times we have top shelf visitors."

"Me? You convinced him to stock it for me?"

"Didn't take much. He likes the idea of you staying close to all of us, so he was more than happy to oblige."

I took a long drink form my glass and took a moment to savor the flavor. "Phil? I knew you were my favorite for a reason."

"Second favorite," he teased. When I opened my eyes to protest, he passed me to beer bottles continuing, "Or maybe third... but either way, number one is just pulling up to the lot."

I turned to face the monitor he was watching and smiled. I finished my drink in one last, quick swallow and then hopped up onto my stool and leaned over the bar to kiss his cheek. "You're my favorite newbie. I think this was a hard one, so we might need a few more beers... and pass me that cigar box, please." He raised an eyebrow as he passed the wooden box to me. "Call it woman's intuition."

He barked out a laugh at that and then turned to pull out a few more beers. While he did that, I tried to climb off the stool gracefully, but the execution of that was easier thought than done. I nearly fell off the stool, but thankfully Chucky was there to catch me. He claimed the box and put it on the bar top before he wrapped his hands around my waist to help guide me safely off the stool.

Once I was on my feet, he passed me the box saying, "You head out to greet your man. Phil and I will bring out the beers."

"Really? Thanks, Chucky!"

I kissed his cheek and blew a kiss to Phil. I then turned and sprinted towards the door. Happy had already parked his bike and was slowly making his way to one of the tables outside. I dropped the box on the table and hurried over to his side, but my feet unconsciously slowed down. I don't know what it was exactly, but bubbly, exuberance didn't feel like the right vibe right now.

"Hey, Grump-"

My greeting got muffled into Happy's chest as he pulled me into a hug. I just went with it and wrapped my arms around his waist to help to ground me. He kept my face pressed into his chest until he came close to suffocating me. But just as I thought that I was going to have to tap out, he pulled me back just enough that he could kiss my head then tuck me under his chin more comfortably.

"This was a hard one, eh?" I asked quietly.

I felt his chin move over my head as if he was nodding as his only reply. I then leaned back and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Come sit down so we can talk about it... Please?"

He smiled at how I made it a question because that had become a bit of an inside joke between us. Nothing proved to Happy that I was feeling like myself like pick up our inside jokes (like that one) with relative ease.

He then led me by the hand over to the table. When I tried to move around the table to a chair, Happy crushed my fingers in his hold and forced me to follow him. He sat down on a chair and I had no choice but to sit down with him. That was unless I wanted him to break my hand or something undesirable like that. No, not intentionally, but he was so strong and was clinging to me so tightly that it might happen accidentally.

After I was settled in his lap, he placed a hand on either side of my had and gave me a deep kiss. Don't get me wrong, I love Happy's mouth. I couldn't wait to experience everything I remembered him being able to do, but we were at the clubhouse. I always felt weird about too much PDA here because I always felt like my dad was going to bust us. Or one of my surrogate dad's like Clay or Bobby or Chibs or Tig or my big brother or... well you get the point.

Mercifully, Happy pulled back before I felt the need to push him away. I waited a couple of breaths but when he didn't say anything, I rested my forehead against his temple and whispered, "Hap...? Please talk to me."

He stroked the back of my head the same way he would when he ran his fingers through my hair. It was so comforting that the way he touched and caressed me hadn't changed with my new coif. He kept saying he was still absolutely attracted to me, but I didn't truly believe it until now. Yeah, my brain was shitty to me even before I suffered this blow to the head.

"Did you know Tig's girls growing up?" He finally asked quietly.

I bobbed my head from side to side answering, "When we were really young, we sort of hung out. But by high school I was more comfortable being one of the guys, so I hung out more with Jax and Opie and their crew than any of the girls our age. Why?"

He shook his head sadly then said, "I... I'm just glad that you and Piney found a way to make amends because... Today was... was..."

"Brutal?" I tried to finish for him. He heaved out a relieved sigh and nodded. "Fawn and I... we've always had that in common. We could always count on being a thorn in our dad's side without trying. Dawn..." I chuckled softly. "She was always such a daddy's... I mean... Shit..."

"Shh... I didn't mean..."

"I know." I kissed him softly then whispered, "I'm sorry this was so hard."

"It's easier now that I'm with you."

"ANDIE!" Juice suddenly called out as he popped the top off another beer. "Have you told Happy about the first time you shaved your head?"

I turned on Happy's lap to glare at Juice, but he all he did was smirk at me as he continued to drink from his bottle. I then stood up to shift and sit on Happy's other thigh while I picked up a stray bottle cap. After I was settled on his lap again, I flicked the cap at Juice and grinned when I saw it bounce off his neck hard enough to leave a mark.

"Ow... Fuck," he cursed out. He pulled his hand back and saw blood on his fingertips. He then turned towards me with an indignant, "ANDIE!"

"What? You totally deserved that!"

"Jesus… You drew blood!"

I picked up another bottle cap, but before I could lift my hand to aim, Happy engulfed my entire fist in his and lowered it to the tabletop. I wouldn't look at him, so Happy said, "You've piqued my interest."

I glared at Juice as he quickly blurted out, "It was supposed to be for charity."

"It WAS for charity," I growled out as I tried to raise my hand again. Juice immediately held up a hand as he picked up his bottle and made a show of drinking from it. When I felt assured that he would keep his mouth shut, I explained, "The summer before senior year the cheerleading squad came up with a great fundraiser. It was a hair drive for a cancer charity. Everyone got pledges to cut their hair. What no one told me was that whoever got the most pledges was supposed to shave their head bald."

"And you got the most pledges?" Happy asked when I fell silent.

I nodded answering, "Between SAMCRO, their Prospects, Hanger-Ons, Croweaters and surrounding charters, no one came close to my total."

"Alright. And…? Uh…?"

I smirked and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at his hesitation. "Cindy waited to break the news at the big finale party. Since everyone, including Jax and Opie, knew that was the end goal, I had to just roll with it. The President of the organization that manufactured the wigs was there to do the honors… so… I just let him shave my head… without complaint."

"But don't worry. She got her revenge. She…"

Juice once again fell silent when I turned to glare daggers at hi. "Thanks, Juan Carlos. I've got this." I then turned back to Happy and gave him a reassuring kiss. "So… After I had my head shaved, there was I party for the returning seniors. I took Tommy Douglas out to the forty-yard line and fucked him."

"You did?" Happy asked in a tone that I couldn't quite decipher.

I smiled as I stroked his cheek and explained, "He was going to be the starting Quarterback and Cindy was supposed to be the head cheerleader, so…"

"Wow. And I thought I was creative with MY punishments."

I blushed but before I could reply, Juice laughed loudly then said, "How do you think she got her 'Ice Queen' rep?"

Happy and I slowly turned to glare at him at the same time, but I let him take the lead as he asked, "And how would you know about all of that? That was years before you were a Prospect."

Juice squirmed as we continued to glare at him before he answered, "Kozik… He… uhh… He wanted to warn me about trying…"

Juice trailed off again when he noticed someone marching down TM's driveway with purpose. Happy's arms instinctively wrapped themselves tighter around my waist. I know he was ready to protect me, no matter what, so I tried my best not to brush him off hastily, even though I knew he was overreacting. I leaned down to claim his lips to distract him as I eased myself off his lap. After I was on my feet, I kissed his forehead then whispered, "I promise, I'll be right back."

I rushed towards Dad's motorcycle to catch up to my brother as I called out, "Hey Opie! What…? What are you doing?"

He just kept walking past me, so I grabbed for his left arm, crying out, "OPIE!"

"What?!" He questioned without turning to look at me. "Do you want to ride it?"

"No… But…" He then plastered a "For Sale: Inquire Within" sign to the bug screen of Dad's bike and then turned to just walk away. That wouldn't have been so horrible except that he kept moving past me without sparing another glance in my direction. He just marched back down the driveway, almost as if I wasn't even standing there.

But I couldn't leave it at that. I turned and shouted out at his retreating form, "OPIE! OPE!" But he kept waling away from me. As I stared at his back, I felt the first tears fall before I yelled, "OPE… HARRY!"

However, not even that could stop him. He just kept his back turned to me as he continued to walk away from me. What the hell? I knew that he was annoyed with me for retreating to the club, but now he was flat out ignoring me? What the hell was I missing?

Thankfully there was someone to catch me when I started to fall. Happy was wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up before my knees could completely buckle under my crippling pain. He didn't say anything as he carried me back to his seat by the table where we had been seated previously.

Chucky met us there and patted me on the back saying, "I'm so sorry."

We all turned our eyes towards Opie as he finished his path to his bike as I replied in a surprisingly calm tone, "Not your fault, Chucky. But thanks anyways."

We then sat there in silence, drinking beer for… God, I don't even know how long. Seriously, Chucky made sure that we never noticed when our bottles were empty because he was replacing them with a fresh cold one so quickly.

But Happy was the first one to refuse the first cold beer bottle… for the both of us. After he successfully waved Chucky off, he hugged me into his chest saying, "It's been a long day, I think we should call it a night."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," Juice replied in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Happy helped me to stand up and then walked me towards his bike without another word. Before we could get too far, I stopped and turned to where Juice and Chucky were cleaning up out empty bottles to declare, "Make sure whoever buys it pays a fair price, okay?"

Chucky just nodded while Juice quietly replied, "Of course."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sound of someone pounding on the door woke me up from my dreamless sleep. I let out a loud gasp as I sat up on the bed. I was disoriented from being woken up so abruptly and immediately started to panic and cried out, "He's here to kill me! Oh… My… God… He's going to finish me off!"

For some reason I didn't try to get off the bed. Maybe I was so petrified that I was frozen in my spot. Either way, I most definitely jumped in my spot when I felt someone wrap their arm around me. Happy must have been able to tell that I wasn't myself because he didn't' try to hug or kiss me, he just kept his arm loosely wrapped around my shoulders.

"Princess, you're okay," he finally said when I continued to hyperventilate. "It isn't Clay Princess. You ARE safe."

That finally got me to turn and look at him. "It…? It isn't? Then…?" I paused and jumped in my spot when I heard another very loud knock on the door. "Then…? Who is it?"

He hugged me close and kissed the side of my head before answering, "I don't know. But you stay here and I'll go find out."

"Happy!" I cried out as he moved off the bed. He paused and gave me a confused look. I took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm myself down before I added, "Be safe."

He smiled and looked like he almost wanted to laugh at me. Instead of doing that, he leaned down to give me a reassuring kiss. "Always, Princess."

I sat back on the bed and watched as he pulled on his boxers and jeans. I felt my cheeks start to heat up because I had completely forgotten I was just as naked as he was until I saw him pull on his t-shirt. He kept his shirt untucked so that he could more easily conceal his handgun in the small of his back.

He paused at the door to give me another reassuring smile and I finally felt myself relax. Hell, I didn't event react to the loud knocking that continued after he disappeared out our bedroom door. Seeing him take it all in stride made it easier for me to believe that everything was going to be okay. Nothing ever seemed to rattle him and I know I hoped that that trait would rub off on me at some point with the amount of time I spent with him. Don't get me wrong, I know that things DO affect him, ESPECIALLY if it had anything to do with me or his mom, but you had to be a very special person for him to allow you to see just how much those events could hurt him.

Soon enough my curiosity got the best of me and I found myself getting out of bed to get dressed. I really just pulled on a pair of Happy's sweatpants and one of his hoodies, but no one needed to know that was all that was covering my body. I didn't think about my hat until I was well into the hallway, but I didn't turn back to retrieve it. Depending on who it was at the door, I might want to use my injury to my advantage. You see, the large scar across the back of my shaved head seemed to make a lot of people really uncomfortable. They would usually start to feel so self-conscious about staring at it that they would abruptly leave the room. Tonight, I was hoping that would translate into the unwanted visitor leaving more quickly so that Happy and I could get back to bed.

As I got closer to the front door, I heard an unfamiliar voice ask, "What about Ms. Winston?"

Happy opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it asking, "What about me?"

The Deputy Sheriff wasted a brilliant smile on me before he answered, "Ms. Winston… Would you happen to know where we might be able to find Jackson Teller, Filip Telford and or Alexander Trager tonight?"

I know I just scowled at him because I was still waking up and those names didn't register. Happy immediately recognized the reason for my confusion because he quickly clarified, "He means Jax, Chibs and Tig."

"Oh…" I looked up at the clock on the wall then said, "Since it's the middle of the night, my best guess would be in bed at their home or the clubhouse."

Deputy Kane smiled then replied, "The clubhouse is our next stop. I actually meant if they are not at their home or TM, is there anywhere else they might go?"

"Gemma's?" I answered with a shrug.

He smiled softly replying, "We have deputies there on an unrelated matter and they aren't there. But there's nowhere else you can think of where they might seek refuge?"

"Not off the top of my head." I let out a humorless laugh then added, "Then again I have a brain injury that caused me to have amnesia for a couple of weeks, so I'm probably not your best resource right now."

"Andie," Happy sighed out as he hugged me into his chest. "I'm sorry, Deputy, but like I told you before, I haven't seen any of those three men since our meeting this afternoon. I've been helping Andie settle back here at home since she got out of the hospital."

"Of course. If you do happen to see any of them please be sure to give us a call. Thank you for your time." Kane passed Happy a business card and then turned his attention over to me. "I'm sorry we disturbed your rest. I hope you can get back to sleep so that you can continue to heal."

As he turned to walk away, I whispered, "Thank you."

Happy released me to walk over and close the door. When he turned back towards me, I quickly called out, "I know you told me to wait in the bedroom, but I…"

"Shh… It's fine, Princess. I was going to come and get you when you came out. Really, it's fine."

"Oh. Okay. So…? What was that all about? Why are the Sheriffs looking for those three in particular?"

Happy walked me over to his couch and sat down with me. He remained silent while he helped me get comfortable in his arms again. When he pulled out his phone, I thought he was going to ignore my question, but as he scrolled through his contacts he finally answered, "Sheriff's have issued warrants for their arrest."

"What? Seriously? Why?"

Happy stared at me for a second before he realized that I really didn't know anything about this timeline. I was unconscious in a hospital while Tig botched his hit and run and hilled an innocent woman. That led to the MC having to help save him. I know Happy didn't want to tell me all the details, but they killed a member of a rival gang during their retreat and Tig killed a cop after being forced to watch his daughter die a horrifying death. Fuck, that was a lot to take in. Thankfully, whomever he was calling had answered their phone, so I got a bit of a reprieve to digest it all.

While he spoke on the phone, I got up and moved towards the kitchen. I opened the cupboard above the microwave, but I suddenly didn't feel like having a glass of scotch. I know, crazy, but I didn't. Instead, I grabbed us each a bottle of beer and met Happy back at the couch.

He was finishing up his call as he claimed the beer from me. I settled beside him and sipped from my bottle. After he hung up his phone, Happy picked up his beer to drink from it. I tried not to glare at him because I know that would just amuse him. Not the outcome I was looking for right now.

After a few minutes of drinking beer in silence, I finally broke down and asked, "So? Are you safe?"

He smiled and answered "Yes, they are. Gemma…"

By this time, I had finished my beer, so I place my empty bottle on the coffee table. When I didn't immediately say anything, Happy finished his beer and calmly placed it next to mine.

I then smiled and said, "I really don't care. I'm sorry, but I'm too tired to care about that right now. They're safe, great. That's all I need to know. Well… That and if you're ready to go back to bed because I totally am."

"Yes," he replied simply. "After that I'm ready to get back to bed."

As we walked arm in arm to the bedroom, I asked, "Will you tell me about that call tomorrow?"

"Of course," he answered, stripping me out of his clothes. "When we're having breakfast, I'll tell you all about it."