Ok, so first off, most of this chapter was written on a tablet as I was hiding from my family in the bathroom for a bit of peace. I proofread several times, but there might still be some spelling mistakes or typing errors. And the other half was written on the PC, but while I was typing it, they were tearing down the house next door, and each time that huge 10 ton excavator would spin around near my window, I had a mini heart attack. So the second half is no better proofread LOL!

Thank you, SamanthaMarie0930 for the review! I'm glad you like it. And I don't know why no one reviews. Maybe they are shy?

As always, I don't own Kurt Sutter's stuff, and he doesn't own mine. Happy reading, and leave a review! Do it! Do it! I suffered a lot for this chapter!

"We're ridiculous."

A long silence.

"You're ridiculous. I'm prudent."

Another long silence.

"Oh, go fuck yourself, will you?"

A bet on a football game, and Everett had lost. Proof that she should keep her bets in the realms of soccer and basketball, she knew nothing, not even the first thing about American football. Jack and Joker had nagged, taunted and teased until she took their stupid bet, and Jack had put the ultimate prize up for grabs. Cross-dressing. He's been so sure of himself. So she had bet for the Cincinnati Bengals to win, and they had let her down.

Emma had been the designer of her outfit. A tight fitting, mid-thighs dark purple dress with knee high leather boots, hair and makeup done, earrings, Everett had to suffer through getting her ears pierced. And she hadn't been allowed her normal leather jacket that may have hidden the dress. Nope, she was made to try and move in ways she wasn't used to move or else people would see up or down her dress, walk in ways she had never walked, and not touch her face or else she would probably smudge the four inches of products that was on there.

Sure, it was all meant in good-natured fun, but she had to go on the whole day like that. She was already cranky from the lack of sleep she was getting, and the shit she was getting as a prospect for the Sons. She really could have done without loosing that bet and having to wear that ridiculous outfit all day.

It hadn't even been the worst of it. Not by a long shot. Riding a motorcycle in such a getup had been painful. Running protection like that, no one really took her seriously. She would never take a bet anymore, sons of bitches.

Then, a venture on the outskirts of another club's territory, disputed strip of land that mostly acted as a tampon between the two gangs. There was an electronics store that was supposed to pay up and hadn't. So Everett and Joker had went, to find the shop empty, and as they were deciding the course of action, they had seen their retreat cut off by a handful of rival MC members that had arrived and parked their bikes at the diner across the street.

It was Everett that had reacted first, as best as she could in her dress, crouched down against an empty display of cellphones, gun in hand, Joker had done the same across the aisle from her. They had held their breath for a while in the hopes of not being discovered.

-This is like a Mexican stand off, but without the Mexicans.

-We're ridiculous.

Joker smiled, looked down at himself, then at her purple dress and high heel boots, she had to have a leg stretched out ahead of her to keep her balance and keep the good stuff covered.

-You're ridiculous. I'm prudent.

She slowly turned her head his way, eyes winced and looking like she could reach across and smack him in the gut, it made him laugh quietly as she deadpanned.

-Oh, go fuck yourself, will you?

Joker had tears rolling down his cheeks from his efforts at keeping his laughter under control. In the entire duration of their friendship, they both doubted about the existence of a more ridiculous situation than the one they were currently in. After forever, the rival MC departed from their lunch, Everett groaned a whole lot as she pulled herself back upright, and on their way to the front door, bitched under her breath at these stupid bets and having to ride a motorcycle like this.

-Leggings were invented for a mother fucking reason, you know? Not just for their fucking transparency and camel-toe proprieties.

Joker was clearly having the time of his life, almost rolling on the floor in laughter as she scanned both sides of the street for any signs of trouble. Two on two, two on three, four, maybe even five, they could have taken. Two against ten, not so much. Finally, he calmed down as she pulled the door, put his arms around her shoulders, stifling his giggles.

-Ok, you've been sport enough.

-Yeah, right.

-Yeah, yeah. Let's go back to your place, so you can change. Let's hurry, before your father sees you.

He was still laughing, the whole ride, all the way to her place, where he waited downstairs while she went up and changed into her regular skinnies, t-shirt with no bra, black socks, riding boots and her kutte above her leather jacket, it was far too cold, for summer. She took advantage of the moment to clean the cat litter and have a leak, drink half an energy drink and as she locked the door to their apartment, she considered going back in anf finding means of wasting time, just to keep the fucker waiting.

In the lobby, her father was mopping the linoleum, she noticed he had been growing his hair, lately, it was almost an inch long, and his elbows looked good. Not banged up, not swollen, not red.

-You're heading back out?

-I am, why?

-Pick your mom some cigarettes? She asked me, but I ain't walking.

-Yeah, of course. Anything else?

-Beer?

-That's just down the street...

He shot her that look, trying to hide his smirk, held up the mop and spoke up.

-You mom said I'm not allowed to pick anything heavier than this mop.

-Or her cigarettes.

-Or her cigarettes.

-Poor thing. I'll get your beer. Miserable sucker.

His eyes lit up, briefly, he did that, sometimes, she had no clue why. She'd just say stuff, and he'd have that look on his face, it almost looked like nostalgia, but not quite. So she took his money and headed outside, Joker was waiting, sitting on his bike, he had a wolf whistle as she came out.

-Now that's the Lowman we all know and love.

-I got to bring my mom some smokes at the Pirate Headquarters.

-Of course. I like your mom, she's fun.

-Everett Lowman?

Everett looked beyond Joker, behind his motorcycle was standing an Asian looking man, nationality, Everett could not have told, they all look the same to her. He was short, impeccably dressed with a suit and tie, she knew what that meant. If she said yes, she would be served some paperwork. A summons, maybe?

-Not fucking happening, pal. Walk away.

There was something unnerving about him, he had the coolest nod ever, as if he understood she had read right through him, he motioned to turn around, only to unholster a gun and point it towards Everett.

Everything went into slow motion. Even the yelp of warning to her friend that had his back on the Asian man. "Gun!", it had already been fired once, and a bullet lodged into Everett's left shoulder, right in the tender part. Joker bounced from his bike, unholstering his gun, and lunged towards the Asian who fired six more rounds, Everett started towards, it had happened so fast, her own gun in hand, she shot the bastard in the head, carefully avoiding Joker's head to shoot the fucker straight between the eyes.

When the sound came back for Everett, she was sitting against the building. her shoulder was numb. She looked around herself. To her left was the door to the apartment building her parents owned. Her father was talking to the cops, he had a CD in his hand, most likely the video surveillance of the building, it was decked with cameras to the nines. He did not fuck around with their security.

There was a paramedic coming her way with a case of medical supplies in his hand. She ignored him, and crawled towards Joker, he was on the ground beside his motorcycle, bleeding profusely from his abdomen, and being tended to, there were cops everywhere. She ignored her own pain to grab his hand, he was searching a familiar face in the crowd above him. They had cut his shirt and pulled it apart, and he had four sluggers in his torso. Two in the lower abdomen, one in the shoulder and one too close to his heart to mean any good.

-Phil? Phil? Hey, Phil.

-Hey. Ev-Ev-Evie.

He was shaking. He was cold, like this. She wished to have the presence of mind to yell at someone to cover him up. She assessed him, them, herself, before deciding to lie to him.

-You're gonna be ok, man. You're gonna be fine.

-Arh, bullshit, love. I was a medic in the army, remember?

-Huh, yeah?

He pulls her closer, to have his mouth by her ear, and whispers a few sentences with the energy he has left, before letting her pull away.

-Promise, Lowman.

-I promise I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna, ok? You don't even worry.

He smiles weakly, still holding her hand before seeing her shoulder.

-Shit, I should have taken that one, for you, too.

-Fuck off. I'm a Lowman, I barely even felt it.

-Go away, Evie. Let me be cold in peace.

She did not want him to die alone, but she would respect his wishes. She tried smiling, before leaning down and pressing her lips against his softly, "Bon voyage" she whispered before pulling away from him, weakly pulling herself off from the sidewalk and upwards, she locked eyes with her father, who was now alone, he was done talking to the cops. Was she going to be arrested? The question must have read in her eyes, because her father shook his head. She had to talk to a cop, give her version of the event, sign a statement and whatnot, but she wouldn't get arrested. She would also have to get checked out by an EMT, make sure the bullet she took was just a flesh wound.

Everett was getting checked out, sitting on a stretcher at the back of an ambulance when they finally loaded Joker up in another, the Lowmans had a telling look for one another, they both knew the man. He was tough, really tough, but not invincible or immortal. He wouldn't survive this one. There was no way.

-You're going to Dudelange?

She bit her lip, answered her father with a nod. No one but them and Joker knew about Dudelange. Everett had been three times, so far, and she knew no one would reach out to Kikka, because no one knew she was there, living under the Lefort name. No one knew she existed in Joker's life.

Oh, Lord, and his three children...

She had went upstairs, like he had asked, and from his bedroom, she had retrieved his safe. It was just a box with a four digit combination, cracking it would have taken two hours, tops, but instead she put it in a backpack, along with all of his more personal belongings, jewelry and anything else Kikka could have wanted, before heading back down, her shoulder was very tender, but downstairs, nothing remained of last night's shooting. It was on Joker's motorcycle that she sat, putting her sunglasses, she started it, before heading north all alone. She hadn't asked for this time off, Law surely would be pissed, but right now, there were more important things. And Everett knew her father would have her back. Lawrence Moreau wouldn't know about Philippe Lefort's double life in Dudelange.

It was evening time, when she reached Belgium, she had taken her kutte off while waiting in line to cross the border, and put it in the saddle bag, right on top of Phil's belongings, crossed without a hitch, and was in Dudelange in less than half an hour. The house was unchanged from the last time. As she parked the motorcycle in front of the house, where Phil always parked, the door opened, the kids inside had recognized it's rumbling.

Everett had hoped and wished all along that she would reach Belgium late enough that the three kids would be in bed.

She removed her helmet, as the kids kind of froze in the middle of the lawn. Kikka reached the door, shouting something in German for someone inside, holding her baby, she stopped in her tracks as well when she saw Everett instead of Phil on the motorcycle.

-Es tut mir leid, Kikka. I'm sorry.

Everett had expected hysteria. Frantic panicking. Kikka to be absolutely bat shit mad at her. Instead, the taller, older woman had packed up anything that could carry, while telling Everett of the contingencies in place with Happy, back when they had first started coming to Dudelange. Should Joker die before he hung his boots, they were to be taken to Portugal. There was a house, protection and anonymity waiting for them there, under the form of some of Lefort's family. Kikka and her three children would be taken care of. She had even been told to learn to speak Portuguese because it was the retirement plan. Of course, her father had told her none of that, last night when she planned this trip to Dudelange.

-I'll take you there, Kikka. You know Phil trusted me to. But I'll need you to trust me, and my family, to get you there. Cause right now, all you have is the house, car and motorcycle of a dead man.

Kikka paused from her frantic packing of her baby's belongings, Everett inappropriately marveled for a moment of how beautiful she was, with her curly blond hair and her big, expressive green eyes, no wonder Phil was totally under her thumb. They studied each other for a moment, before Kikka had a slow nod, when she spoke up, she was finally choked up, as Everett thought she should have been the moment she had understood Phil was dead. But Everett got it. She really understood. Kikka had been running all of her life. Hiding and being quiet. And for the past twenty years, just waiting for more bad news like this one. She'd long braced herself for it. She would mourn once she got her three children to safety.

-I trust you, Everett Lowman. You are good friend. You help us. You, and you're family.

Everett managed a smile, even if she had no clue where to begin in that task. She would get the Leforts to safety, no matter the cost.