Fire & Ice

Chapter 18- HELL WEEK (our version of Better Half)

By BG and Reaper

PART 2: NUCLEAR TUESDAY

Juice sat in his grandma's kitchen. "Gram, you remember when Gramps used to get all philosophical and he would get that far-off looks in his eyes say 'Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan'?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ruby smile and nod. "Well, I wish he'd have pointed out that he was talkin' about MY life."

"And what is so wrong with your life?"

He looked at her. "You're kidding, right?" Juice started ticking off on his fingers all the ways his life had gone awry. "And to top it all off in T-Minus…" he glanced at his watch in exasperation ... "however -the-fuck-long it takes to fly here from Ala-freakin'-bama, pretty much what amounts to Vix's DAD will be here. Under the besta circumstances I'd be intimidated to meet this dude but given the complete clusterfuck that the last 12 hours has turned into, I'd rather, I dunno put my balls in a vice grip? Have a root canal without Novocain?"

"You need to relax Jean. You are not to blame for nor could you have prevented Victoria's current incarceration."

Seeing Juice about to protest, Henry Darling added, "Your Grandmother's right, you being here would have made things worse and I've no doubt that ATF agent would have arrested you as well. What help to Vix would you be sitting in the cell next to her?"

Juice looked at him questioningly. "Arrested me, for what?"

"I don't know…Obstruction of Justice? Harboring a Fugitive? Or just being a general pain in the ass. Take your pick."

Sadie glanced over at them. "Don't forget the Possession of Marijuana. Well, if we hadn't helped you out of that potential pickle."

Juice looked over at his grandma's friend and shook his head and despite himself yawned. "I need sleep… but I...I can't even go into that apartment… I'll be at the clubhouse if anyone needs me."

Ruby nodded. "Get some rest dear, perhaps things will be better in the morning light."

Juice smiled for the benefit of his grandma but didn't hold much hope for that and thought to himself daylight just exposes what the night conceals.

Juice arrived back at the Clubhouse and most of the guys were still hanging out.

Clay smiled when he saw him walk in, "And our chauffer just arrived."

Juice shot him a questioning look. "Huh?"

Clay replied." BillyBob Parker is on US Airways flight 309 from Birmingham arrivin' at Oakland International in about 5 hours."

Juice groaned. "Come on Clay. Please don't cage me up with Vix's Uncle BB. Seriously my nerves... I mean if he doesn't kill me on sight, I'd probably wreck the car before I'd get us outta the airport parking garage."

Clay studied Juice. The kid probably did have a point and for once a valid one. "Ok, I'll send The Prospect, I need you to get a hold of Happy anyway. With the ATF microscope pointed at us, we're gonna need him to come down and help get the Lucky Charms into Canada."

Juice heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm on it". He slumped onto a stool and rested his head on the bar.

Bobby eyed him. "Dude, what the fuck? We all know your girl's in jail and everybody is doing all they can to get her out. So you need to relax… have a toke or somethin', man."

Without lifting his head from the bar, Juice replied, "Love to…" He chuckled. "But can't."

Chibs wandered over. "And why not?"

Juice raised his head off the bar and said without an ounce of comedy in his voice, "Because ... my Gramma and her friends drank all my pot."

The laughing started with Piney, who was sitting on the one couch, and it spread. Everyone in the clubhouse was laughing their asses off.

Chibs wiped tears from his eyes, "THAT was what they were drinkin'? That is so fuckin' fantastic!"

Juice looked around and an upset look appeared on his face. Bobby put his arm around Juice's shoulder, "Come on, man ...that is AWESOME. How many people can say my grandma drank all my pot… I mean like EVER, in their lives?"

Jaci let Half Sack drive her Mustang to Oakland to snag BB from the airport, while she took Vix's Charger for the day. BB had been very adamant that his coming to Charming not be disruptive. His exact words were along the lines of 'don't make a big damn hoopla over me.'

Half Sack paced around the airport terminal waiting for BB to clear the gate. After a few minutes of waiting, he easily spotted the Bama President. He looked exactly as Jaci had described him: tall and lean, salt and pepper short hair, dark brown eyes, tattooed arms, wearing mostly black. He also was sporting the slightly pissed off look that Jaci mentioned would be the result of hours of smoking withdrawals. The Prospect was wearing his cut so that BB could find him. The two men spotted each other, shook hands and introduced themselves. After hearing the five second recap of how Kip got the nickname of 'Half Sack', BB responded with, "Well, that's damn tragic, boy" and an amused yet partially disgusted look on his face.

Half Sack took ten minutes to find the car in the lot so BB had plenty of time to start catching up on smoking. Finally they reached the car and BB frowned at seeing Jaci's Mustang, wondering why his doofus escort was driving it, but kept quiet. Half Sack explained the plan for the day; they would drop by the shop to meet with Clay and then BB could go to on to Jaci's place until she got off from work.

BB opened the passenger side door after throwing his bag in the trunk. "Well, let's get the show on the road then."

Half Sack spent the next twenty minutes driving around in circles trying to leave the airport. After BB pointed out that they had passed the same parked van three times, Half Sack wised up and finally took the correct turn to get them out of there. His driving on the open road wasn't much better. Not only had he went the wrong direction on the freeway, he was also being overly cautiously driving Jaci's car and BB kept pushing his foot down on his imaginary gas pedal on the passenger side floorboard to hurry the trip along but to no avail. Finally he couldn't take anymore.

"Son, you're gonna wanna pull this car over to the side of the damn road. I haven't set foot in California in about three years but I'm pretty damn sure I know the way to Charming better than you.

Half Sack glanced over at BB and saw instantly that the man was not kidding. He nodded and pulled to the shoulder. The guys switched seats. As BB plopped down into the driver's seat he fired up a fresh cigarette, revved the engine loud and cranked up the radio.

He looked over and smirked at the Prospect. "This is no time for Driving Miss Daisy; I'd like to get to Vix sometime BEFORE she is paroled for good behavior."

Half Sack, without thinking, blurted out, "I'm not sure good behavior would be in the cards for Vix."

BB actually laughed and nodded at that comment. He tore down the interstate to Charming with Half Sack holding the passenger side door arm rest in a death grip. BB apparently hailed from the 'drive it like you stole it' school of thought.

They arrived at Teller Morrow in record time. The SAMCRO guys all greeted BB very warmly, hugs and handshakes all around. BB spotted Juice standing in the background, recognizing him from the description that Vix and Jaci had given him way back during their Easter visit. Jax smiled and stayed close to chaperone the official introduction just as Jaci had asked him to via a last minute phone call. Both Juice and BB played nice and mentioned they wished they were meeting under different circumstances. After BB downed a beer and did some quick chatting with the guys, all the members and Unser moved to the chapel to discuss the ATF problem at hand.

The meeting had been a long one and had covered a lot of ground. The current situations of Otto and Luann, Cherry, Tara and Vix had been discussed and plans had been made for Jax and Op, with some help from Unser, to talk with the jailed girls that night

Clay rolled his shoulders. "Ok, it's pretty obvious Stahl's going after our women. I think we've covered every possibility, but as Bobby so graciously put it we all have our indirections, past and present. So are there any other pieces of ass that are going to jump up and bite me in mine?"

Everyone remained quiet. Chibs, Bobby, Opie and Piney all shook their heads. Juice glanced to his right at Half Sack, who was already looking at him. The pair thought Tig had a little something to share with the group. Both suspected something was going on with him and Jaci; the question was who was going to bring up the subject? Juice nudged his head to the right silently saying, you do it, but the Prospect shook his head once sharply to the left answering, are you crazy? YOU do it. Juice sighed and turned his eyes on Tig.

Tig had been pushing his cigarette butt around in the ashtray before him, ignoring Clay's request for indiscretion confessions. He had kept his relationship with Jaci a secret from everyone for months, ATF included. They had been very careful; there was no reason to blow the whistle now. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, stay the course and all that shit. But when he looked up, he found Juice looking back at him. Shit, that little bastard suspects us…well fuck you pal, I'm not saying shit.

A stare down of epic portions quickly began and the pair fought without words.

Tig frowned… what?

Juice lifted his eyebrows and smiled… dude, come on, you know what.

Tig grimaced and looked back down… no.

Juice coughed into his hand and widened his eyes at Tig… seriously, TELL them about her.

Tig scratched his forehead with his middle finger… fuck off, shut up.

Juice raised his eyebrows again and cocked his head… tell them or I will.

The interaction between the techno quiz and the SAA was obvious. The other guys were now shooting questioning looks at each other trying to figure out what was going on with the pair. Unser looked around the table with unease. Finally Jax broke the silence.

"Alright…what's with the damn sign language you two?" Jax asked. He watched Tig slump his shoulders in a pout and scowl at Juice. Busted. "Goddamnit, Tig. I swear your dick gets this club in more trouble…"

"Who I fuck or don't fuck is none of your fucking business, Jax." Tig frowned.

Jax snorted. "Well, you have a way of making it our business. Do I need to remind you of anything?" He was alluding to the two dead Mexican chicks that had burned in the gun factory fire.

"This isn't like that." Tig replied with clenched teeth.

Clay rolled his eyes. "Suuuure. Who is it this time?"

Tig kept his eyes down and shook his head slightly. "I don't think it's that important."

"Trust me, guys… it's important." Juice interjected.

"Shut the fuck up. You don't know what you're talking about." Tig snapped back.

"Well?" Clay asked.

Tig ran his hand through his hair and blew out a breath. He fidgeted with the ashtray some more; anything to try to delay his confession. "Goddamn Juice." He muttered.

"Listen, we probably want to hear about this even LESS than you want to tell it, but I need to know if we have problems ahead…so spill it." Clay plastered a fake sweet smile on his face. "Pretty please."

Tig stared at the table for a moment trying to think how to word things. He was at a loss so he finally just said, "Alright…it's Jaci, man."

Most people froze in stunned amazement…trying first to make sure they heard him correctly and then moving on to try and picture the prim and proper Jaci with the complete psycho man-whore, Tig Trager.

It was BB's turn to frown. "Jaci…Parker? My Jaci??"

Tig glanced semi-apologetically at the 'Bama President. This was not the way he had planned on anyone finding out about them. "Yeah."

Jax slapped his hand down on the table and pointed at Tig. "What did I fucking tell you?? I said to leave her alone."

Tig quickly forgot his manners and fired back at Jax. Demanding little shit.. "Nooo… you said for me to keep my dick out of her…which I did…for a little while." Tig smirked. "Besides, why are you giving me shit? No one said jack shit to Juice about nailing Vix!"

Juice and BB both let out a "Hey!"

"Juice doesn't have your track record!" Jax yelled. "You run through women like a fat kid runs through candy."

Tig stood up and yelled back. "Doesn't fucking matter. Jaci's a grown woman; she can make her own decisions. She doesn't need any help from you! Your track record sucks too." Jax stood up on his side of the table. Both were ready to throw punches. Chibs stood to hold Tig still. Bobby hung on to Jax with one hand while still seated.

Clay banged the gavel. "Alright, alright! Goddamnit! Everyone sit down and shut up!"

Both Jax and Tig slumped hard back into their seats, glaring at each other. The table regained its calm after a tense moment. "Let's get the whole story here." Clay looked at Tig. "I hate to even fucking ask this…but you and Jaci…what are we talking about here? Is this a one time thing or what?"

Tig lit a cigarette and stared at Jax as he answered. He hated being made to discuss her like this. "Been seeing her since February."

Clay's eyes widen in disbelief.

Chibs leaned over the table to look at Tig. "On and off or steady like?"

"Steady." He answered through clenched teeth, still staring at Jax.

"Well, shit. You did a good job of hiding it. I thought you hated her." Piney said.

"Oh, this explains A LOT." Bobby said with a laugh. Juice and Half Sack nodded in agreement. Unser was still looking at Tig…he couldn't figure out the attraction, the guy had a rap sheet for some serious shit. Jaci seemed so nice, why would she hook up with him?

"Would you stop looking at me like I just asked you the square-fucking-root of something?" Tig snarled at the Chief. Unser dropped his eyes.

BB stared hard at Tig and rattled off everything he knew about the guy in his head. Sergeant-At-Arms for the National Chapter of the SoA, sporting a USMC tat, seems to be generally pissed off at the world and is a known bad-ass motherfucker who'd like nothing better to do than to rip off your arm and shove it up your ass just for looking at him funny. Strike up the damn choir and let the white doves fly, he's just the perfect goddamn match for Jaci, NOT!

He glanced over at Juice next… and we have this one…goddamn head tats and a Mohawk…EXACTLY the type Vix would go for although that doesn't make that TYPE any better for her. BB shook his head and said aloud, "God Almighty, these girls will send me to an early damn grave."

"I would have never put those two together...unbelievable." Op said quietly to Chibs.

"HA! Tig makes them good girls go bad, brother." Chibs laughed loudly. "And let me tell you, those good girls are nice, but when they go bad…it's fucking terrific!"

"Hey." BB said with a harsh look at Chibs. For all intents and purposes, Vix and Jaci were his daughters now. He didn't even want to think of Jaci going bad let alone hear some guy talk about how fucking terrific it would be when it happened; Chibs stifled his grin.

Clay hadn't said much because he was stunned… for two reasons: one that Tig had even started things up with Jaci in the first place and two that he hadn't said a word about it. Tig usually bragged far and wide about his conquests. These reasons led him to his next question. "So…this is serious?"

Tig stared at the table, slightly embarrassed, and shrugged. "Serious as I get."

With that confession, the jokes and smiles that were flying around the table stopped.

Bobby frowned after a moment of thought. "Uh, this could be a problem…a really big one."

"No shit." Jax mumbled.

"No, not because he pissed you off." Bobby waved his hand in explanation. "Feds have our chicks in custody because of various offenses. Gemma and Donna are clean so the most they could do was talk to them, try to rattle them. Jaci looks squeaky clean on paper…out of state, no record, college grad, legit business woman. They might not even talk to her. But Stahl could have the mother of all RICO packages if she went after Jaci. Girl's messing with Tig, her sister's dating Juice, she's working for our bean-counting firm with ownership ties to our defense attorney, got ties to two chapters of The Sons. I'm sure she is privy to some heavy shit from Alabama…" Bobby looked down the table at BB who nodded back. "Jaci's a wildcard time bomb."

"That's truer than you think." Unser grimaced and shifted in his chair. "I hate to add whipped cream to the top of the shit sundae you guys have going here, but Stahl got her claws on the Justin Darby file this morning. Vix and Jaci both are probably going to be under a lot more scrutiny; just a matter of time."

"Darby? That shit's over ten years old. How did she…" Jax started to ask questions but Unser cut him off with a who do think look. Jax rolled his eyes. "Hale."

Unser nodded. "Captain goddamn America, that's right; trying to score points with the Feds. He slapped the file in front of her like a damn Golden Ticket."

Clay rubbed his hands over his face. "Goddamnit. Ok, since RICO is all about associations…any potentially damaging ones are on ice until further notice." He pointed at Tig. "I don't want to see any damn public displays of affection, you two are not to be alone together. And no personal cells…use a prepaid."

Tig nodded in agreement. "No problem. Done." He wanted to get out of the room so he could get out from under the damn relationship microscope. All the guys were thinking it was something quick and cheap when it wasn't like that at all. He hated people thinking of her that way. He wanted to get out of the room so could use his prepaid to call her and let her know their little secret was a bust.

Clay held the gavel over the table and said, "Anyone related to or sleeping with a Parker stays after class… everyone else- dismissed!" He banged the gavel once and officially adjourned the meeting.

A groan came from the cell next to hers and Cherry stood up from the cot and walked over to the front corner, "Vix how are you doin over there?'"

Vix tried to lift her head off the cot, which she immediately regretted as pain ratcheted through her skull. She coughed and that hurt even worse. Panic began to form in her gut, it had been over 24 hours since she came down with the sickness and she wasn't feeling any better - she was getting worse. "I think I am dying."

Cherry's voice caught in her throat. Vix did sound worse, her voice was weaker and more raspy and Cherry could almost hear what sounded like a wheezing. "Come on, baby girl. No thinking like that."

From the far cell Luann called out, asking Cherry what Vix had said. When Cherry replied, Luann let out with an obscenity-filled rant; its central theme being that fucking ATF bitch and how someone needed to do something or Vix's statement may not be that far from the truth.

Cherry walked over to the other front corner, the one closest to Luann's cell. "How can they keep ignoring that she is getting worse, anyone with a brain can tell..."

Luann cut her off, "DING DING DING DING DING... you got it right there darlin', none of these feds have a brain."

"Well then what about the local cops? They'd be the ones left cleanin' up the mess and dealin' with SAMCRO if she dies in here."

"Local PD ain't gonna make a move without fed say so."

From Vix's cell both Luann and Cherry heard her cry out in obvious pain followed by a sickening thud.

"Fuck!" Cherry said as she rushed to the other corner. "Vix! Vix! Come on baby girl answer me!"

When no reply was heard Cherry began banging on the bars of her cell and yelling at the top of her lungs and Luann followed suit.

The ruckus was heard by one of the local deputies, "What is going on in here?"

Cherry yelled back. "It's Vix.. help her!!!!"

The deputy peered into the cell on the far left and saw Vix crumpled in a heap in the middle of the cell. "What the hell?"

Luann pointed her finger at the deputy and she yelled. "SHE IS SICK- NOT DRUNK and HIGH like ATF ALMIGHTY seems to think. She needs a doctor NOW... and if you don't get her one, I will make sure EVERYONE in this town knows it, starting with Clay and the SONS."

"Jesus Christ." The deputy fumbled with the ring of keys as he called for assistance from whomever was out in the station. The holding area quickly filled with three other local deputies and a federal field agent.

"How long has she been like this?" The deputy asked.

Cherry answered. "She's been sick since yesterday; weak, loss of appetite, fever, throwin' up, chills. She is NOT drunk or high, she is really sick. She just collapsed maybe five minutes ago. Right before that she said she thought she was dying."

"She is feverish and unconscious. Scott, call for an ambulance."

The fed field agent shook his head in objection. "She is in federal custody; you have no authorization to transport her anywhere."

The deputy looked past the Fed to the other deputy. "Get that ambulance!" He focused back on the Fed and asked, "What's happened to you? Have you been kissing that female agent's ass so long, you're starting to like it? This girl needs medical treatment and I don't know about federal policy but here in Charming, we are here to PROTECT and Serve...unless you want to bear the brunt of the Wrath of SAMCRO, for lettin' her die, you will step aside."

Scott, the deputy, came rushing back in, "Ambulance is en route, five minute E.T.A."

The Fed looked from one local deputy to another, "I've got to get in contact with Agent Stahl." He walked out of the holding area and grabbed the nearest phone.

The chapel room cleared except for Clay, Jax, Tig, Juice and BB. They all congregated near Clay's end of the table but remained standing.

Tig threw his lighter at Juice and glared at him, "Fucking NARC." He really couldn't blame the kid though, had the table's been turned he would have outted Juice too. Bros before Ho's and all that; had to keep the club safe above all else.

"Sorry, man." Juice replied and tossed the lighter back to him.

"Alright, while Tig's little revelation needs to stay away from the eyes of the public and law enforcement, I understand it impacts your family and potentially your crew so you can handle this however you need." Clay explained to BB.

BB shook his head and lit a cigarette. "This is Jaci's dirty little secret to tell not mine. I'm not saying shit to anyone." He glared at Tig as he blew out smoke. "Matter of fact, I'm already trying to forget that I know about it."

Jax shook his head and spoke directly to BB. "Look, man, I'm sorry about all of this. I told him to leave her alone but as always he does what ever the fuck he wants. I didn't have a clue."

"No man should be judged for whatever direction his dick goes! That's like blaming a compass for pointing north, for Christsakes!" Tig said trying to defend himself. "Shit happens…Jaci and me…justsort of happened."

"We all know your compass is fucking broke though. It's always pointed to trouble." Clay interjected. "You had to know messing with her was a bad idea."

"Whatever." Tig rolled his eyes, he was getting mad. He stared at Jax. "Why the fuck are you apologizing for this? Like it's the end of the damn world that she's with me." Tig shook his head angrily.

BB listened to Jax and Tig argue back and forth. He found it ironic that Jax, who was divorcing Wendy, would be jumping a guy, very much like himself, for hooking up with her sister. But then again, anyone who had been around the three girls knew Jaci was very different; the quiet, calm, smart one with hellion bookend sisters. Jax obviously saw that Jaci and this Tig guy were complete fucking opposites. BB frowned, thinking it was a little late for Jaci to be going through some sort of bad boy phase. Tig seemed to be a dickhead and Jaci never had been one to put up with bullshit, so there had to be more to that guy that what was at the surface.

Juice had kept quiet during the conversation and was watching BB stare at Tig. Finally he spoke up and asked BB, "Well, what do you think about this?"

BB cocked his head and while still looking at Tig said, "Honestly, I'm surprised that a girl with an IQ over seventy can give him a hard on."

"Yeah, surprised me too." Tig replied with a smirk. He had caught BB's stare and knew the IQ comment was an insult to him and wanted to make a smartass reply but BB did outrank him and was Jaci's uncle so he had to respect all of that and watch his mouth. Jax could kiss his ass though. He started to head toward the door and pointed at BB. "You wanna talk about my intentions with her, come find me. I'm done discussing this shit with anybody else."

BB nodded coolly at him.

"Amen." Clay exclaimed. "Everyone get the fuck out of here."

Tig headed straight for the bar while the other guys rummaged around in the cigar box for their phones. He was in no mood to talk to Jaci anymore. He would just go on a full blown Jax-hate filled rant if he called her right now; better to wait until later.

Jax was the first to start checking his cell phone. He had missed a few calls from Tara. He listened to the first message and his eyes went wide. He announced loudly, "Shit, boys…our situation just went nuclear." When he had everyone's attention he continued, "Vix's been rushed to St. Thomas… headin' into surgery."

Juice dropped the pool stick he had just picked up. He shot a look to Clay who nodded at him and said, "Go. Jax, go with 'im." The pair, along with BB rushed out the door. Tig took a step away from the bar and toward the door; he wanted to go and be there for Jaci but Clay stopped him with a harsh look. "Not right now, loverboy. They've got enough drama. We'll go by in a bit."

BB's cell began ringing the second his foot hit the pavement. "we know. On our way there now." … he flipped the phone shut. …"someone named Tara called Jaci, she'll meet us at the hospital."

Juice and Jax nodded, fired up their bikes and peeled out of the driveway. BB slipped behind the wheel of Jaci's mustang and kept pace with the Harleys.

Tara knew that the chief resident's manner towards them was dismissive and she could really only guess as to why. But whether it was that he took fault with their appearance, he kept eyeing Juice, or that he was on the hate side of Charming's love/hate sand line when it came to SAMCRO and their associates or even if it was because Vix had arrived as a prisoner under the custody of The ATF, something had made him prejudice. Tara felt the need to try to re-explain what the doctor just rambled off in medical jargon to the bewildered group, leaving them confused and more than pissed off.

Jaci looked at Tara. "Ok, so they really started the appendectomy surgery knowing there was a 50/50 chance of it NOT being her appendix that ruptured?"

Juice shook his head and frowned. "Wh-why… why would they do that?"

Tara took a deep breath and tried to explain. "Look, a ruptured appendix and a ruptured fallopian tube from a tubal pregnancy present themselves very similarly. The appendix rupturing is the WORSE of the two and being that time was NOT on our side they chose to err on the side of caution and go for the more threatening of the two possibilities." … "IF they get in there and it wasn't her appendix – well, that is a GOOD thing and they would remove it anyway, since you don't need it, and then they would be left with the only possible other explanation and they would go in again and fix that. BUT if they waited for conformation or if they chose the other order and were WRONG and it was her appendix um, well, the act of surgery itself would cause more widespread damage from the ruptured appendix and it would also give more time for the infection to spread and more for more damage to be done."

"So there is a chance that Vix is pregnant?" Juice, looking visibly paler, questioned.

Tara glanced at him and nodded, "WAS… there might have been BUT that is the LEAST likely of the two possible causes… AND IF it was a tubal pregnancy, it would have ended this way anyway, maybe not as dramatic but it would have required surgical correction and would not have … um, went to term."

BB raised his hand to interrupt the doctor. "If it was THAT and her tubes exploded ... can she still have kids someday?"

Tara looked from Jaci to BB, whom she didn't know but could see a definite resemblance, then to Jax and finally to Juice. "IF it was a ruptured fallopian tube, it would only have been on
one side and so YES, she would still have one functioning side. Kids should not be a problem"

Overhead the PA system paged, "Dr. Knowels". Tara, slightly happy for the reprieve, sighed. "I am sorry I don't have more information, even in 2008, some medicine is a crap-shoot. Feel free to stay in here – it's a bit more private then the main waiting room. I need to answer that page, but I will check back in with you in a little while and let you know what is happening."

Jax nodded, "Thanks, Tara."

She nodded and excused herself from the small family waiting room. The door was no sooner closed, when Juice found himself the focus of everyone's attention and they all seemed to be in a dead heat for verbalizing the same thing.

Jax won and asked, "Isn't Vix on the pill or some shit? At the very least, aren't you wrappin' your tool, man?"

Juice nodded and stammered. "She's totally on the pill ...wh... when she remembers to take it… and we use other methods, too , sometimes." He ran his hands over his head and groaned. "Shit."

Jaci groaned. "WHEN SHE REMEMBERS?!?!? You are both aware that it is ONLY effective IF you take it REGULARLY!" She muttered. "Damnit, why does she have to be allergic to that implantable IUD?"

BB added his thoughts. "How could she forget? That girl has been on the pill so damn long... she used to take it and her Flintstone Vitamin at the same damn time."

Jaci glared at Juice. "The both of you are MORONS!! But I swear to god, if all this drama is because she was pregnant … I got gallon of bleach, a tarp and a hacksaw in the trunk of my car. One hour tops, you…" She motioned towards Juice. "you're off the face of the earth."

Jax held up his hand. "Jaci calm down, ok. Whatever the reason, the drama has started and we'll deal with it. Threatening dumb-ass here," he nods towards Juice, "is not gonna make Vix get better any faster."

"Jax is right." BB nodded and then added, "I need some damn nicotine before I ram an IV pole up somebody's ass."

"I'll go with you." Jax offered. He glanced at Juice, "Make yourself useful. Call Clay, give him the lowdown."

Juice nodded. He glanced nervously at Jaci, who was pacing the small room and seemed to be working things through in her head, then he pulled out his cell phone and dialed TM.

An hour and a half later, Chibs, Clay and Half Sack walked into St. Thomas and headed straight to the surgical floor, searching for the waiting room Juice had told them about. Half Sack spotted Jaci walking down the hall, looking more than a bit pissed off. He nudged Chibs, "There's Jaci. She doesn't look happy."

Chibs rolled his eyes. "Her sister's havin' emergency surgery... do you think she should be all smiles and sunshine, Prospect?" Chibs walked ahead and greeted Jaci. "Hey, Parker."

Jaci looked up at the sound of her name. And at the sight of the familiar, friendly face of the Scot, she had to will herself not to cry. "Chibs!!" She breathed and threw her arms around his neck. She would have loved to see Tig coming down the hall but any port in a storm so to speak.

Chibs was momentarily startled by the move but quickly recovered. "So how's Vix?"

Jaci pushed away with a firm glare on her face and unleashed. "Her surgery is dragging out way longer that it was supposed to but no one has come to tell us anything- Tara is in some pediatric emergency and every time I ask someone for an update – no one seems to know anything. I swear I am beginning to think that E.R. stands for EVERYONE'S RETARDED!!!"

She led them to the waiting room. Jax had just received a call from Bobby. He greeted his crew but then quickly excused himself to head out for the jailhouse meet. Everyone left took up their positions to wait out the surgery. BB paced around while talking to Clay, Jaci curled up in a chair, swinging one foot nervously and biting her lip. Half Sack hung next to Juice.

Chibs walked over to Jaci and punched her gently on the arm as he sat down in the chair next to her. He lowered his voice. "Quit biting your lip. Tig won't have anything left to kiss on."

Jaci groaned and glanced up shyly. "Yeah, I heard that wasn't a secret anymore."

"Nope, that cat is out of the proverbial fucking bag." Chibs smiled. "Might be tomorrow before he makes it here; him and Bobby have some stuff to take care of. I volunteered to be your stand in boyfriend for a few hours though. So if you get to feeling randy…" Chibs waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

A smile spread across Jaci's face and she was thankful for his company. "You're something else, you know that?"

"Totally."

Jaci sighed and turned in her chair to face him. "Well, if I can't bite my lip, I need a distraction or I will just start biting my nails." She thought for a moment and then said, "Let's play SLAPS." When the Scotsman just frowned with confusion, she held out both of her hands, palms facing upward. She told him to put his hands on top of hers and he complied with a smile.

"Oooh, holding hands…fringe benefits already."

She flipped one hand over and slapped his left hand.

"What? Shit, I was jokin'!" Chibs blurted in response to the slap. "Well, kinda."

She laughed. "No, that's how you play the game. Pay attention. You're supposed to try and move your hands out of the way." They proceeded to play a round after round of the game but finally quit when Chibs started hitting too hard out of frustration for losing so much. It was a nice distraction while it lasted though.

The surgery was only supposed to take an hour; but she had been in there for three and a half. The tension in the room was so thick you could practically gag on it. Chibs, Clay and Half-Sack have arrived less than an hour ago and already their antsy-ness had added to the tension soup. After awhile, every time Jaci heard footsteps in the hall, her ears perked up and she found herself holding her breath. Juice felt the same way and wanted a cigarette so bad but he was too anxious for word of Vix's condition to even leave the room for a second.

"I think the no smoking rule is cruel and unusual punishment or something," Juice stood up and peered out the window into the dark night sky. "Don't they know this is precisely when people are fucking desperate for a smoke?"

Jaci shrugged and nodded in agreement; she had lost count of the number of times her uncle had stepped out to light one up. It was likely the only thing that was keeping him sane at the moment – she could see the deep worry in his eyes. "Actually it could be good business for them, to allow smoking." Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Think about it, they could put a turnstile in the smoking lounge and do future-profit projections. It's completely a win-win."

BB smiled to himself, his little college girl, always thinking of business.

She paused for a moment, shook her head and then stood up. "Ok, I am going to go find out what is going on, even if I have to take someone hostage at gun point."

She didn't make it two steps when the original doctor, who had been coined Dr. Dickhead by Jaci and Juice, entered the room. Tara entered right behind him. Everyone froze and waited for one of them to speak.

Tara noticed the other doctor still taking in the scene and broke the silence, "Vix is out of surgery. She will be in recovery for another hour or so."

"So she will be ok?" Juice asked.

"There were some complications, that is why the surgery took longer than first anticipated."

"Complications?" Jaci asked, willing her blood pressure not to rise.

Tara glanced at the other doctor, the one who should be explaining the procedure; when he seemed content to let her do that talking, she sighed and continued. "Yes. It was her appendix and it did rupture. The time span between when it ruptured and when medical attention was administered, we are not sure, but the infected contents of her appendix had already started spreading through her abdominal cavity." She paused and looked around, everyone seemed to be understanding and hanging on her every word. "The issue now is a serious infection called peritonitis and shock. Vix is going to be put in the Intensive Care Unit and she'll receive continuous IV antibiotics and we will monitor her. We have to hope that the medication stops the infection before it has a chance to settle into any of her major organs."

When no one seemed to know what to say, Clay asked, "How long until we will know anything, Doc?"

"It's hard to say. And I am not going to sugarcoat anything; two decades ago, even in the '80's a ruptured appendix was usually fatal. New surgical procedures and more powerful antibiotics have lowered the death rate, but it all really hinges on how fast and how far the infection spreads and our ability to treat it. More operations may be necessary and the healing process may be a long one. Timely medical treatment did not happen here, but IF she hadn't gotten here when she did, I don't think she'd have made it this far. I'm very sorry… I wish I had better news."

Dr. Dickhead walked out of the room without waiting to see if the family had any questions. Tara seemed a bit stunned. She excused herself and entered the hallway, having to practically run to catch up with the doctor. When she does she laid into him, "What is your problem? You can't just deal people a blow like that and then rush off to the cozy confines of the Doctor's Lounge."

He stopped walking and looked at her incredulously, "If you are through Dr. Knowels, I have other patients to attend to."

"I just have one more thing to say, we are in the business of saving lives, NOT judging them."

Juice sank back into a chair with his head in his hands and muttered, "Fuck!"

BB pushed off the wall he had been leaning against, starting for the door and replied, "Yeah...I fuckin' second that… FUCK!"

Jaci just took a deep breath and shook her head. Chibs reached over and squeezed her shoulder. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes; but be damned if she is ready to cry in front of these guys. She stood up and used the excuse of needing to use the ladies room, beat a hasty retreat. Jaci make it to rest room before she broke down. She was a level headed statistical gal...she was really hoping for survival percentages, not 'its hard to say' and 'we'll wait and see.' .

Chibs, HS and Clay anxiously watched Juice. The kid looked on the verge of losing it. He stood up and paced around a bit. "This is completely fucked up, man. Vix could be dead right now... like right this minute."

"But she's not.... she's alive and you need to focus on that." Chibs said.

The three breathed a collective sigh of relief when he slumped back down in a chair, head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees. Chibs glanced at Clay. They both startle a bit when Juice suddenly jumped to his feet and pulled out his cell phone.

Half Sack stood up and said, "Who are you callin'?"

Juice stammered, "I... I um, I need to talk to my Gram. I mean God is not exactly on my Friend's list…and Vix could use some serious help and well I could pray my balls off and not be of any help, b-but Gram… she has like a direct line to heaven or something. Her prayers, God would hear."

Clay and Chibs exchanged worried glances as Half Sack spoke up, "Juice, man it's like quarter of midnight. You really shouldn't ... I mean it's best not to wake up senior citizens with a bad news call in the middle of the night."

Juice looked up, "Huh?"

Chibs stood up, "Give me the phone, brother."

Juice glanced at Clay, who nodded, "Put your phone away, son. No sense in worrying anyone else tonight."

Juice closed his phone and slipped it in his pocket. He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his head. "I.. I need to do something."

Half-Sack looked at Juice. "Why don't we go try that whole prayer thing. Who knows, maybe God will make an exception and decide to listen this time. You do give up every Thursday night to the Church."

Juice looked at him, "I run the Church's gambling…not exactly a heavenly deed." He sighed and headed for the door of the waiting room, stopped and turned. "You'll come get us when you hear anything?"

Chibs nodded. "Aye."

Juice walked out of the room with Half-Sack closely following behind.

An hour passed and Chibs was returning from hittin' the head, when he saw Vix being wheeled up the hall. He walked into the waiting room and announced, "Our girl is outta recovery. I just saw 'em wheelin' her up the hall."

Juice and Jaci reached the door at the same time, closely followed by BB. Clay, Half-Sack and Chibs hung back a bit to give them a moment, but when it appeared as if the orderly and the federal agent were going to continue walking right past the family, they stepped into the hall and nonchalantly blocked the way. Effectively stopped by the wall of SAMCRO, the stretcher stopped.

At the up-close sight of her, Juice stopped dead in his tracks and his jaw dropped open. He had tried to mentally prepare himself but had vastly under-estimated how bad she would look. Her skin was whiter than the sheets of the gurney, except around her eyes which appeared sunken and rimmed in purple splotches. Despite his best attempt to suppress it, a whimper escaped his lips.

Jaci reached out to grab her sister's hand. She heard a metal clinking sound and Vix's hand would not move. Jaci stared down and did a double-take. She looked over at her uncle, who was standing on the other side of the gurney.

A scowl formed on BB's face. His attention snapped to the federal agent. "What the fuck are those for?"

Clay took a step forward asking, "What is what for?"

"They've got her fuckin' cuffed to the bed frame."

The orderly eyed the group with unease, sensing things were about to get heated. "I... I need to get the patient hooked up to telemetry." When neither Chibs nor Half-Sack budged, he repeated, "I need to get through."

Clay shot a look at Chibs, who side-stepped. Half-Sack followed suit and the orderly pushed the stretcher down the hall towards the ICU. The agent tried to follow behind but Chibs and Half-Sack stepped back in to block the way.

Clay stared at the Fed. "We all know who ordered the bracelets. Call up your boss and tell her to get her ass down here. There needs to be a discussion about this shit."

"You need to take the cuffs off so they can treat her and stuff." Juice added.

"There will be no discussions and the cuffs are to remain on. Agent Stahl's orders, so that the prisoner doesn't escape."

"Escape? She is unconscious, just had major surgery and is in critical condition in the ICU. What do you think she's gonna do, waltz her way outta here?" Jaci retorted.

"Miss, you're going to need to calm down." The agent instructed.

"Calm down? Calm down is no longer in my damn vocabulary. You Feds want her to have a damn lawyer, FINE!! She'll be lawyer'd up by sunrise. Because THIS… this is … FUCKED UP!" Jaci slammed her way back into the waiting room before she lost all control and laid the agent out.

She was joined a few minutes later by the rest of them.

BB frowned at her, "Who are you callin', this hour?"

"I'm not callin' anyone. I sent a text to Rosen askin' him to call me as soon as he gets it. But speakin' of callin' people, you and me both know it is time to call Roxy. You want me to do it?"

BB exhaled in a huff, "No. I got it. I need another smoke anyway." He turned on his heel and left the room.

Clay looked at Jaci, "Rosen, huh?" He lifted an eyebrow. "Can you swing that?"

Jaci glanced up at him. "His retainer, I know it's steep… I'll figure somethin' out."

Clay's cell phone rang and he flipped it open, "Yeah."

"Where you at?" Jax asked.

"Still at St. Thomas, they just brought Vix up to ICU. Why? Did everything go smoothly?"

"That depends on your definition of smoothly."

Clay groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "We'll be at the clubhouse in 30." He flipped the phone shut. "We're gonna roll. Keep us in the loop; let us know if you need anything. Someone will be by in the morning."

Jaci stood up and gave Clay a hug. "Thanks."

Clay didn't let it show if he was startled by the move. "You're family...no thanks needed. She's gonna get through all this."

Jaci nodded. Chibs was next in the hug parade. "Clay's right, Vix will be ok."

Half-Sack asked. "Um, you two want me to hang around or…?"

Jaci shook her head, "Nah, but thanks for being here."

He nodded and hugged her tight. "Vix is a fighter, it'll all be good."

The three of them said goodbye to Juice and then headed out, leaving him and Jaci alone in the waiting room. They both sat down and an uncomfortable silence descended.

"Sorry about that bleach and tarp thing earlier." Jaci offered.

Juice nodded. "It's ok."

The silence came back and was really nerve-wracking. Suddenly Juice blurted out, "Are people going to just say that constantly now? Everything's going to be ok. In movies, everybody's always saying that. Hell, maybe WE should start saying it."

Jaci thought about it. "Well, in movies… I would be the hysterical female; you would be the stoic male, so it's probably YOUR line."

Juice grunted, "Oh."

"We'll just wait for morning; Ruby will blow sunshine up our asses. I might actually believe HER."

"Gram is IS good at that." Juice nodded with a slight chuckle. More silence and then, "So what now?"

Jaci yawned, leaned her head against his arm and said, "For now we wait...and you're my pillow."

Outside, BB Parker flicked his fourth consecutively chain-smoked cigarette to the pavement. With a sigh he pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

2,200 miles away in Alabama, a phone rang.

Stay tuned for the rest of HELL WEEK…