A/N: This is what happens when I can't work, I write! Just another quick note about my story versus the show, the timeline is GENERALLY the same as far as seasons go. That being said, other things may happen sooner or later than they did on the show. I'm only changing it to make sense for my story, not to show disrespect for the show. I am a super-fan, just like most of you. Anyways, I just wanted to get that out real quick. Also, pay special attention to what Jax says at the end. The next chapter will elaborate on it. It's very slight but hopefully it doesn't go unnoticed. Now, onto reading :)
Chapter 13
"Alexis Grant?" I looked around at the sound of my name. A woman with long, dirty-blonde hair and aviator sunglasses was walking over to me quickly. I looked at her dress slacks and white button-up shirt. "Agent June Stahl, ATF."
"Dr. Alexis Teller-Grant, not interested." I said, blowing off her out stretched hand. She chuckled and followed me over to my car. "Still not interested."
"You're Jax Teller's little sister, right?" She asked, a cocky grin on her face. I rolled my eyes and tossed my bag into the passenger seat.
"Please tell me that my tax dollars get me something better than that. It's common knowledge, lady." I refused to call her 'agent' or any other professional term. Her coworker was stalking my best friend and her agency was harassing my family. "You can stand here going over my family tree all you want. I have things to do."
"Like what? Find another trust-fund to marry into." I closed my eyes and told myself that shooting an agent in the parking lot of the hospital that had just offered me a job was a bad life decision. That didn't make it any easier though. I opened my eyes and refused to react. I knew that's what she wanted. I knew she wanted to get under my skin. We stared at one another for a minute before I got into the car and shifted into reverse.
"Stay out of my way." I said, revving the engine to entice her to move. She took a step back and raised her hands innocently. I scoffed. There was nothing innocent about her. I peeled out of the hospital and headed over to Jax's house to work on the nursery. Doing something else was the only thing that would keep my mind off of ways to make that bitch pay for what she'd said. Yes, Hank had a trust fund but I didn't know that when we met. I didn't even know about it until after we were engaged and his mother asked about prenuptial agreements. Hank had refused to even hear her out. In his will, he had left half of the trust fund to me and half of it to his little sister. I used my half to pay off my student-loans and paid out the mortgage for the next year. It wasn't as if I was some gold digger who used what he'd left me to fund plastic surgery and flashy cars. I didn't care about the money. I never did.
"Hey." I jumped up, a startled scream escaping me before I could cover my mouth with my hand. Jax raised his brow and waited a moment for me to calm down. "It's just me."
"Obviously I see that now." I recovered and put the last folded onesie into the top drawer. "I didn't think y'all would be home until later."
"Y'all? You've been in Georgia too long." He teased before leaning against the door. "A few of us left this morning. Tig and Juice are going to be there for a couple more days. Who was outside of Tara's house last night? Were they there for you or her?"
"You should really talk to Tara, Jax." I didn't like the idea of sharing her secret, even if it was with my brother who was second in command of a motorcycle club that sent a prospect to watch over us last night. I thought about the picture that Josh had sent Tara. "Oh and there may be some other stuff you two need to talk about."
"Fine, I'll talk to her about other stuff. You're going to tell me about last night though. Everything you know." He said. I had wanted to tell him about Dad's manuscript but it was obviously going to have to wait. I sighed and told him everything I knew about Josh Kohn. Jax became more and more angry as I went into how he'd hurt Tara back in Chicago and then followed her back to Charming. "That's the fed you saw at Saint Thomas?"
"Yeah. I didn't know that before you left though." I said quickly, keeping his anger directed away from me. He shook his head and spun around.
"Jax, what are you doing?" I said, jogging down the hall to catch up with him. He turned back and caught my upper arm.
"You're going to the clubhouse and you aren't leaving there without a patched member. I'm going to fix this." He pulled me out of the house and slammed the door closed behind him. I jerked my arm away.
"Jackson, your son is about to come home from the hospital, finally. Don't you dare do anything to keep from being here for that." I warned him, yanking the Mustang's door open. He just nodded as he backed his bike into the street. We started both of our engines at nearly the same time. I was surprised his neighbor's car alarms didn't go off. Then again, they probably weren't set. Charming didn't have much in the way of burglaries or break in's, especially not when your neighbor was a SAMCRO officer.
"Hey, it's about time you get back." I said, giving Chibs a quick hug when he met me at my car. He chuckled and I rolled my eyes. "Sorry to drag you away from all the prostitutes."
"Aye, can't have too much of a good thing. Jackie Boy said not ta let you leave without on of us going with ya. What'd you do?" He asked with a smirk. I shook my head.
"It wasn't me. So, every body is back but Tig and Juice?" I asked, trying to sound casual. I noticed Happy's bike wasn't in the line with the others and I couldn't help feeling a little let down.
"Yeah. Happy went ta see his Ma and tha other two are tying things up in Nevada." He didn't seem to pick up on anything suspicious about my question. I nodded and strummed my thumb on the top of the car's roof for a minute. Chibs plucked his joint out from between his lips and looked over at me. "What are ya thinking about, sweetheart?"
"I may need to go to Saint Thomas. Could you follow me over there?" I asked, digging my phone out of my bag. I read over a message I had missed from Happy, telling me that he was going to Bakersfield just like Chibs had said. Chibs nodded and took another hit from his joint. "Thanks, I'll let you know in a few minutes."
"Dr. Robbins?" I asked, hoping I wasn't catching her at a bad time. "This is Alexis Grant. I was wondering if your administrator had any appointments for this afternoon."
"Dr. Grant, I'm delighted you called. Let me check. Give me just a minute." I waited with butterflies in my stomach. I knew it was last minute but I didn't want to give myself too much time to think it over. "Dr. Grant, she just had a cancellation. Do you think you could be here in an hour and a half?"
"Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much for helping me, Dr. Robbins." I felt giddy until I realized I was wearing a t-shirt and faded blue jeans. I looked over at Chibs and fluttered my eyelashes. "I need to go to Tara's and change. Then I need to go to St Thomas."
"Aye, I don't have anything better to do. Let's go." He said, tossing the last bit of his joint onto the ground and putting it out with the toe of his boot. I smiled brightly and got into the car. My mind was made up. As long as I could make enough to survive and get the experience I needed, I was going to stay in Charming.
The meeting went better than I could have expected. The package they were offering me was more than I even thought they were capable of. I would be able to pick up where I left off at Emory, so I wouldn't have to restart my residency year. It was a definite bonus of choosing a smaller hospital. I promised to have my credentials, references and certifications sent over by the end of the week. Margaret felt confident and told me to plan on starting next month.
"Alexis!" I stopped and let Tara catch up with me in the hallway. "You told Jax about Josh?"
"Tara, I had to. I'm sorry." I said, biting my bottom lip. She sighed and pulled me into an empty waiting room.
"Lexie, he went to the barber shop and threw him out of a window." My eyebrows shot up. I knew Jax was angry but I never thought he would attack Kohn in the middle of town. "The only reason Jax isn't in jail is because Freddy and everyone else in the shop said it was self defense."
"Is he okay?" I asked, concerned what could have the police believing his self defense claim. He always carried his combat knife and at least one gun so the self defense plea was a hard pill for the cops to swallow.
"Who, Jax?" I narrowed my eyes at Tara, wondering why she would think I cared about Kohn. "He's okay. Josh stabbed his thigh with scissors. He's on his way here to get it stitched up and dressed."
"That son of a bitch. Where is he?" I was pissed that Kohn had stabbed my brother. He may have been my big brother but I was just as protective over him as he was of me. Tara shook her head.
"Hale is trying to find him to haul him in for violating the restraining order. I was taking care of this Lexie. The legal way." Tara said, glancing towards the door to make sure no one was passing by to overhear us. I rolled my eyes.
"Obviously the legal way doesn't work that well if they haven't found him. It took Jax less than two hours to find him and teach him a lesson." I said proudly. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "I need to get back to the clubhouse. I'm sorry I had to tell Jax."
"It's fine. I shouldn't have made you keep it from him after we knew Josh was back. I'll see you tonight." She gave me a quick hug before checking her pager and hurrying down the hall. I would need to get used to having a pager again. We only used those when the internet crippled our tablets at Emory.
"Everything okay, lass?" Chibs asked, looking up from his phone. I nodded with a wide smile. I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. My smile must have been contagious because he was smiling when I saw him getting on his bike from my rearview mirror. I spent the rest of the day at the clubhouse until Jax rolled in with Tara on the back of his bike. They shared a few heated words in the parking lot and then she and I headed back to her house with the prospect riding behind us.
"I'm really sorry." I said, feeling guilty for causing problems between she and Jax. Tara shook her head.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I should have told him. I didn't say anything about the pictures. I guess I should have but I didn't feel like it was my place to. We aren't together." She said, sounding defeated. I frowned and took her hand.
"Give it some time." Her words hit me pretty hard. It wasn't my place to get mad at Happy either. We weren't together. We weren't together because of me. "On the bright side, I'm staying in Charming. You're the first one to know, so don't say anything."
"What! You couldn't have told me that earlier? All this doom and gloom today and you've been holding that up your sleeve?" Tara went on about how I should have told her as soon as Dr. Robbins mentioned anything to me that morning. I was glad to have her smiling and talking again. The whole energy of the night changed after I told her. It was almost back to normal. It was almost like the old days.
The next day, I went to the garage to tell Mom the good news. She was loading her car with industrial cleaner and storming around when I got there. I decided to postpone telling her until she was in a better mood. When I asked if she needed help and what happened, all she did was yell at me to watch the garage while she went to Jax's. Luckily, Hale had caught up with Kohn and he was on some plane back to Chicago so, the prospect didn't have to follow a very pissed off Gemma over to Jax's house. She hated having a tail almost as much as I did.
I used to work in the garage office over the summer during high school so it wasn't too big of a deal for me to keep it running while she was gone. I put my stuff in the office and then walked into the garage to see what the guys were up to. I was surprised to see Happy's bike sitting in the second garage bay.
"Morning." He said gruffly. I turned to see him walking into the garage with a cup of coffee in his hand. "May have to take that ride tomorrow. I blew a gasket outside of town."
"It happens." I said with a shrug. He nodded and started getting tools and parts together. I sat on the tailgate of the pick-up truck in the first bay, dangling my legs off the end as he worked on his Dyna. He stripped down to his jeans and sleeveless undershirt, entrusting me with his prized kutte that was draped across my lap. I watched him work for a while, mesmerized by his swift and deliberate movements. It was almost like watching a seasoned surgeon or a pianist playing their favorite piece. No movement was wasted and it all seemed to come to him so naturally.
"Lexie. Stop staring." He said, despite never facing me to catch me in the act. I ignored him and kept watching until he eventually stopped what he was doing and turned around. I smirked, amused that he had caught me.
"I'm staying." I had planned out this elaborate dialogue about my reasons and how I didn't expect anything from him, but it all fell to the wayside. I just wanted him to know and it came out short and simple. "I'm starting at Saint Thomas next month. All I have to do is go back to Atlanta and tie up some loose ends. Then I'll be back for good."
He walked over to me, wiping what oil and grease he could get off of his hands onto a rag. I stopped swinging my feet when he stood in front of me, his hands on my thighs. I sat up straight so that we were on the same eye level. The energy between us was electrifying. I knew it had been building ever since I came back when Abel was born.
"So, what now?" He asked, moving his thumbs in circles over my skin, mere inches away from the bottom of my shorts. I bit my bottom lip, unable to stop my body from responding to him. "You move back and I go NOMAD or transfer to SAMCRO?"
"I'm not asking you to do that. I just wanted you to know." I was losing the ability to string words together as he pushed my knees apart and positioned himself between them. He moved his hands to my hips and studied my face carefully.
"I already went NOMAD this morning. Need to be able to be close to my Ma." He said, squeezing my hips a little. I felt my heart speed up.
"I didn't knew." I managed to whisper. He nodded, eyes locked onto mine. It was getting hard to breath. I had to keep my mind on it-in and out, in and out.
"No one does. I'm letting them know after church later." His voice was low and velvety smooth. I dropped my eyes a little, overwhelmed by his proximity and the way he was making me feel. He moved one hand up to my cheek and then ran it back into my hair. "I'm not able to be your friend, Lexie. I never have been."
"I know." I brought my eyes up to his and moved quickly, refusing to let myself second think it. Heat radiated throughout my body as soon as our lips touched. Happy waited a moment before pulling me towards him. My body was barely making any contact with the truck anymore. His right hand was tangled into my hair that I had let fall down my back in simple waves that morning. I put a hand on his chest and pushed him back with the slightest amount of pressure. "I have to take this slow, Happy."
"We've been taking it slow, Alexis." I nodded, kissing him quickly on the lips. He tried to deepen the kiss but I pulled back.
"I know. I just don't want to rush back into bed with you, Happy. I want this time to mean something, to be something." I said, wishing I could find a better way to explain it. His shoulders dropped and his hands moved back down to my thighs.
"It's always meant something, Lexie. I hear you, okay? If slow is what you need then we'll go slow." He said, running his rough hands over my soft skin. I nodded slowly. "Oh and I didn't party in Vegas like you think I did. Unless you want to be jealous over a blow job then stop being mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you." I was relieved to hear he hadn't had sex with any of the gashes down there, but even the idea of a blow job made my skin prickle with anger. He laughed and kissed my lips.
"Stop scowling then. They ain't here, girl." He said, giving my thighs one more squeeze before going back to his bike. I smoothed the kutte on my lap back out and started swinging my legs again. I never honestly considered having a relationship with a Son. I'd seen plenty; Tara and Jax, Donna and Opie, Bobby and his ex, Otto and Luann, Mom and Clay, I just never really thought about myself being with a member. I had seen how complicated it could be. I had to remind myself that Happy and I weren't even there yet. On top of that, every relationship was different.
"Hap! We're ready to go." Clay called out as he walked out of the clubhouse. Happy nodded and started putting his tools away. I wasn't sure what they were headed into but it seemed important by the way everyone was hurrying to the bikes.
"I've got this. Go ahead and go." I told him, taking a wrench out of his hands. He looked down at me for a second and I could tell he was trying to decide whether to kiss me or not. I shook my head and nodded towards the bikes that were starting up. "You need to get rolling."
He left without another word. I wondered if he was able to fix everything on the bike before he left until I realized I was being paranoid. He'd been riding for years. He knew that bike better than anyone else and I knew he wouldn't jeopardize it for anything. I reminded myself that he wasn't Hank. Just because something happened to Hank didn't mean something was going to happen to Happy. I finished cleaning up the tools and took a deep breath, feeling relieved. After that, I started working on organizing the office.
"Lexie! Are you still at the clubhouse?" I could tell Jax was calling me from the road and every hair on my arm stood straight up. Something was wrong.
"Yeah, I am. What's wrong?" I started pacing back and forth as he told me about the Irish man that had been shot. I groaned. "Jax, I don't have any medical supplies here. I need to go to Tara's and get stuff."
"Okay, just go and make it quick. We'll be at the clubhouse in an hour." The wind almost drowned him out. I knew they had to be flying down the highway. I called Tara and asked if she could meet me back at the clubhouse with some antibiotics and a few other medications. She didn't ask any questions and promised to be there.
I didn't even bother turning the Mustang off when I got to Tara's. I remembered putting her extra medical bag in the towel closet in the hall, so it wasn't going to take me long. I should have noticed that the deadbolt wasn't locked, but my mind was completely focused on the task at hand. I had to get the bag and get back to the clubhouse.
"You aren't Tara." I skidded to a halt and looked back to see Josh Kohn standing behind me in the hallway. He must have come out of Tara's room. I swallowed hard, wishing I had brought my bag inside with me. Instead, my phone and gun were both outside in the Mustang. I took a couple steps back, keeping my eyes on him.
"No, I'm not Tara. She's safe at the clubhouse with my brother and the rest of the guys." I said, hoping that would put him off whatever plan he'd had for Tara. He laughed and shook his head.
"Your brother and his buddies aren't at the clubhouse, Alexis. I watched them leave earlier. You know, I didn't think you were like them, not really. I thought you were smarter than that. A doctor at Emory? Why would you be all over one of those wrench wielding monkeys? Isn't that bald one a little old for you?" It made my skin crawl to know that he'd been watching me or at least the club.
"You don't want to do this. You're in enough trouble in Chicago. If you leave now, maybe you can save your career. Just a slap on the wrist." I tried playing to his logical side. Obviously I overestimated his capacity to be logical.
"I'm not leaving without my Tara. If I have to go through your brother then I will." He spat. I clenched my teeth together and felt my fists balling up tightly. "Why don't we go sit down and wait for Tara?"
"Fuck you." I spat, striking out at him as he tried to grab my arm. My fist connected with his jaw but he was able to grab me and take away a lot of the force behind it. I was throwing my elbows and kicking back at him but he was obviously trained in detaining hostile people. Everything went fuzzy after his hand covered my mouth. I was in and out of it as he tied me to a kitchen chair. I got glimpses of it happening but I couldn't feel anything. "He'll kill you."
"What was that? Who's going to kill me? Your brother or your boyfriend?" He asked, grabbing my face and squeezing my cheeks tightly. "I don't see either of them here. It's just you and me, doc."
"Pussy. You aren't even man enough to do anything. You drug me cause you can't hurt me. No wonder Tara left you. You aren't man enough to protect a woman." By the sound of it, the strike to my face should have hurt, a lot. The effects of the drug still had my body feeling fuzzy though. I shook my head and laughed. I knew if I pissed him off, he would stay with me and not go looking for Tara. Eventually, he'd make a mistake. I would insult him and he would hit me. It went on like that for a while until I heard what sounded like a motorcycle. It was a little hard to tell through the ringing in my ears.
"Lexie?" It was Jax. Josh put the cloth over my mouth again, keeping me from yelling out for him. I felt the world spinning and then everything went black again. When I finally managed to open my eyes a little, Jax's face was hovering over me. I groaned and tried to tell him to watch out. He shook his head and shushed me. "We took care of him, Lexie. You're okay."
"Okay." I managed to say before my eyes fell shut again. I felt myself being picked up and carried somewhere but couldn't manage to look and see where. Jax told me I was okay. I just had to believe him.
