A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming.
Five days later, Sara stood in the kitchen of a remote cabin watching a large pot of homemade chicken soup simmering on the stove. She heard a sharp groan of pain from one of the bedrooms and took off down the hall to Juice's room. As Sara walked into the room she spotted Juice trying to sit up on the side of the bed. "Juan..." admonished Sara walking over to him. "Where are you trying to go?" asked Sara quietly. She was concerned for the man that had been shot twice – once in the shoulder and once in the back. "You aren't supposed to be moving around without help," she added.
"I want some water," said Juice, nodding his head to the pitcher of water sitting on the dresser across the room. He had been in the bed for the last three days and was ready to get up and move around. Juice felt lucky to be alive. Those two slugs had ripped through him like tiny knives. The good part was that they were through and through shots, and they missed all of his vital organs. Jax's old lady, Tara, had very little trouble patching him up. That night was all a blur to him. He remembered walking Sara out of his house and seeing a car out of the corner of his eye. The next thing he knew he felt searing pain as he dove to shield Sara's body from the bullets.
"You could have just called for me. I would have gotten the water for you." said Sara, a nervous tinge in her voice. She walked over to the dresser picking up the pitcher of water and a cup. Sara poured Juice a cup of water and then set the pitcher of water on the bedside table. "Better?" she asked, offering Juice the cup of water.
Sara had spent the last five days playing nurse to Juice. She was incredibly grateful that he had saved her life. She had been oblivious the night of the drive-by. She never saw the car coming. Over the last couple of days, she frequently replayed the events of the night in her mind. Each time she realized just how lucky she was to be alive. So Sara jumped at Gemma's offer to take care of Juice at the cabin - as a way of thanking him. The club was keeping Juice out of sight of the San Joaquin County Sheriffs as the police investigated both shootings.
"I am tired of being in this bed," grumbled Juice. "I am going to go for a walk around... if that is okay with you," he added, angrily. He wasn't really angry with Sara. He was more angry that he had put her in danger, and, yet, she was still sticking around. His life wasn't safe for her.
Sara backed up when she heard the tone of his voice. She threw her hands up in surrender. "Do whatever you want, Juan Carlos," said Sara in a cool voice that was at odds with the scowl on her face. She got up and walked out of the room, leaving him sitting there.
Juice went to stand up on his own and groaned in pain again. He suddenly wished that he had not sent Sara away. He gritted his teeth and stood up on his own with a louder groan of pain. Juice shuffled out of the bedroom wearing a pair of black boxers and a black wife beater.
Sara sat on the couch in the living room with her legs crossed. She picked up her sketch pad and started working on a drawing so that she didn't have to watch Juice struggle. She had started work on this particular sketch after Juice had been shot. It was intricate, so she was taking her time.
Juice made it over to the couch and plopped down next to her. He was breathing hard like he had just ran a marathon, but he had only been walking a few feet. He glanced at Sara and saw that she was intentionally ignoring his presence. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry."
"You should be," replied Sara looking at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the sketch pad in front of her. "If you don't want me here... I can leave. I have other things that I could be doing other than playing nursemaid to a cranky bastard."
Of course, that wasn't true. In fact, there was nowhere else Sara wanted to be. But for the last few days it felt as if Juice was purposely trying to push her away. He just didn't have the balls to tell her to go away.
Juice groaned slightly. He hated when women got angry, they could make you suffer without even saying anything to you. "I'm sorry. Would you look at me please? I am sorry. I'm a jerk. I'm an asshole. I get pissy when I am stuck in bed not able to do anything. Forgive me?" Juice reached over and brushed her curly blond locks away from her face so that he could see her sparkling azure colored eyes.
Sara didn't say anything. She had to bite the inside of her cheek so that she didn't laugh at his apology.
"Hey... I almost died... could you cut me a little slack?" asked Juice with a smirk.
"That isn't funny!" hissed Sara. She stood up and walked out of the room.
Juice groaned from his position on the couch. He struggled to get to his feet, but was unsuccessful. Sitting on the low couch had been a judgment error.
"Sara! Come back, please! I can't get up!" Juice exclaimed. He waited to see her round the corner, but she didn't appear. He shook his head. "Women..." muttered Juice. He kicked over the coffee table and yelped. "Ow! OH!"
Sara came running into the room expecting to see him laying on the floor.
Instead Juice was sitting on the couch with a grin on his face. "Come here... please," he said in a voice that let her know it was more of a command than a request.
Sara walked over to him and glanced at the overturned table. "I am not picking that up," said Sara defiantly. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood in front of him. "So, what do you want?"
"Fair enough... I think the table looks better that way. Can't see all of the water stains and cigarette burns." Juice reached out and lightly grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap. "I want you to not be angry at me. I am sorry for being such a bastard in the bedroom," Juice offered seriously. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "I am irritated about laying on my ass all day. And... I feel bad that I got you hurt," he said, finally coming clean. He had been struggling with that guilt since it happened. "How is your arm?" he asked, looking under the bandage on her arm.
Sara wanted to stay mad at him, but she couldn't at the moment when he was being so sweet. "You didn't hurt me, Juice. You saved my life. My arm is fine. I only got grazed by the bullet. It would have been much worse if you hadn't been there to shield me. Twice in one day... you are like a regular bodyguard."
"That is the problem. You shouldn't need a bodyguard, and you didn't need one until I stumbled into your life. You are a sweet girl and I can't even figure out why you are still here. You should be running scared right now. I wouldn't blame you one bit. But you've been here the last three days... taking care of me." He paused. "Why?"
"I don't know why, honestly. I mean... I do know why, but I don't know how to put it into words. I shouldn't feel this strongly about you, but I do. For the first time in a long time I feel connected to something real. All of my attachments have been ephemeral for a long time. Even my friendship with Lola had to survive across an ocean. I move around because I am searching for something... searching for a connection to give me meaning. And then, I met you. And I felt this instant connection that I couldn't explain. And when every fiber in my body is screaming at me to run in the other direction... this connection I feel to you just won't let me leave. I know it sounds crazy. I've known you a total of five days. But..." Sara trailed off realizing that she was rambling on and on. She smiled at him embarrassed.
Juice chuckled softly listening to her ramble on and at some point he didn't hear her words anymore. All he paid attention to were those crystal blue eyes staring at him with hope - hope that he cared for her in the way that she cared for him. The altruistic part of Juice wanted to crush her hope and send her away from the danger of his life. But the selfish part of Juice wanted to reciprocate her feelings and ask her to stay. He reasoned that his life wasn't always dangerous. In fact, up until Donna's death, none of the old ladies' lives had ever been touched by the club's violence. In fact, the club was living in better more profitable times. Juice leaned his forehead in against hers.
"Things are dangerous right now... but it will pass. It always does," Juice said trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince her. He rested his hands on her cheeks, "The right thing to do... would be to tell you to run far away from me. I wish I didn't care about you as much as I do. There are so many pieces of you and the more I learn about you... the more I fall for you."
Sara chuckled softly looking into his eyes. "I've thought the same about you since we met that day on the side of the road. The more I get to know Juan Carlos Ortiz, the more I want to be with you. You make me laugh sometimes without even trying. You are this badass biker, but you are one of the most considerate men I have ever encountered. And sometimes it is just the little things like buying wine coolers because you realized that I didn't like beer. And I look at the man you are and know that you are perfect for me. The only thing that gives me pause is the club. And yet - looking at your devotion - I know that the club is as much a part of you as all of the other things I've learned about you. The night you got shot, I saw firsthand why you are so dedicated to your club... to you brothers. When you were laying on the grass bleeding, it was like I was frozen in place. I didn't know what to do or who to call. I grabbed your cell phone out of your pocket and I called the last number that called you. I remember hearing Opie's deep voice over the line and I just started babbling about you being shot and not knowing what to do. I don't know... at some point I just dropped the phone and tried to keep you from bleeding out. And before I knew it, I heard the roar of motorcycles approaching us. I looked up and saw Jax, Opie, and Happy. They had this expression that I can't even explain in words. I just... when Happy told me that you were going to be okay... that I was safe... I believed him."
"Ope told me that you wouldn't leave my side when Tara was working on me... that you just kept holding my hand. And you were the first face I saw when I woke up here at the cabin." Juice ran his fingers through her hair and leaned in softly kissing her lips. "I could kiss you all day for the rest of my life." It sounded corny, but he meant it.
Sara blushed slightly. "I wanted to know that you were okay. I needed to see that with my own eyes. I am just getting to know you. I wasn't ready to lose you yet. Especially not like that."
Juice smiled at her and relaxed some with a groan. He grabbed her sketchpad that was laying next to him. "What were you drawing when you were ignoring me? By the way... I have to say that you are pretty adorable when you are angry."
Sara laughed and said "I am not supposed to be adorable. I am supposed to be fierce. And it was just something that I was drawing."
Juice opened the sketchpad and smiled. "You drew this? This is amazing!" Juice looked at the sketch. "You know, this would be a really good tattoo. A friend of mine, Freddie, would be able to do this for me. I've been wanting to get..."
There was a knock on the front door.
Sara slid out of Juice's lap and went to the door quietly. She peered out of the peephole to see who it was. She smiled seeing Lola. Sara opened the door and let Lola into the cabin. "Lola, what are you doing here?" asked Sara, surprised, but happy to see her friend.
"I came up to check on you and Juice. And Gemma asked if I could bring some more groceries up here. Although, by the smell of it you are working on your famous chicken noodle soup," Lola said with a smile, holding a couple of grocery bags in her hands.
"Oh, let me help you with those bags," said Sara grabbing a couple of bags from Lola's hand.
Lola carried the bags into the kitchen and set them on the counter. She walked back out of the kitchen and said, "I need to grab a box from the car. I called your mom and had her overnight a box of clothes for you."
Lola jogged out to the car and grabbed a large cardboard box of clothes. She lugged the box into the house and dropped it on the living room floor.
"Hi, Juice. How are you feeling?" asked Lola as she stood next to the couch.
"I am feeling pretty good. Sara has been taking very good care of me. Have you seen Tig lately?" said Juice.
"I knew she would. When I had strep throat she was a Godsend. Tig, is on his way in. He's on the phone right now," said Lola with a smile.
Sara chuckled. "I can't believe you got my mom to ship some of my summer clothes. Thanks, Lo."
"Well, I figured you would be staying out here in California for awhile. I thought you might be tired of wearing the same set of outfits you packed for the trip," said Lola, grinning.
Tig limped into the cabin and smiled briefly at the two girls. "Sweethearts, can you give us a minute?" asked Tig, needing to speak with Juice in private. Tig leaned in and kissed Lola on the lips before giving her a playfully slap on the ass.
Lola laughed softly. "Sure, Tig."
Sara nodded and said, "Of course. Lola, I could use your help in the kitchen putting away the groceries if you don't mind."
"Sure," said Lola. She walked into the kitchen with Sara. "So... how are things with you and Juice?"
Sara chuckled as she started unpacking the groceries. "They are really good. We had some tension but I think we worked it out for now. He said that he wants me to stick around, and I want to stick around, too. I can't believe that I am this crazy about this man. So I am surprised to see you still hanging out with Tig. I thought it was a hit it and quit it sort of thing."
"That is great, Sara. I seriously have not seen you this happy in a very long time. I am happy for you," said Lola putting away the perishable items. "I am just hanging around because he hurt his leg and he needs some help around the house." Lola opened a bottle of beer and leaned against the counter.
Sara quirked an eyebrow at Lola. "You are staying with him?" she asked.
"Just four or five nights," said Lola laughing.
"It has only been five days since he was shot. So you mean to say you've stayed with him every night since he got shot?" asked Sara, clicking her tongue in disapproval. She did not want to see Lola get hurt. But at the same time, she didn't feel like she had room to chastise Lola. "You remember what your uncle told you... and you just got out of a really serious relationship. I think you are moving too fast."
Lola chuckled. "I am just having fun. And when it stops being fun, then I'll stop."
Meanwhile in the living room Tig was sitting on the couch talking to Juice. "The Nords tried to make a move on our gun warehouse last night. Looks like Darby is jealous of just how large our piece of pie has gotten bigger since we started working directly with the Irish. The Mayans are squeezing Darby out of the meth trade. He is looking to shake things up."
"Did they managed to get anything?" asked Juice. He was concerned that their warehouse had been compromised.
Tig shook his head. "They didn't have enough time to get into the warehouse. Ellen rode by in her patrol car and they took off."
"So what are we going to do about these pricks?" asked Juice. He had been feeling out of the loop all the way up at the cabin.
"There isn't much we can do until Darby pops his head out again. He is doing a great job of staying off the grid right now. No one has seen him. And I do mean no one. We have put out the word to all of the police officers and sheriffs' deputies that we have on the arm. If they see Darby they are to let us know." said Tig.
Juice nodded and said, "If there is anything Clay needs me to do I can work on it with my laptop from here. Just let me know."
"You've done everything we needed you to do. We have addresses on all of Darby's known associates. They just aren't there. But eventually they will figure that the heat has died down and they will come out of hiding. That is when we will strike." said Tig.
Juice nodded in agreement. "How is your leg? You are limping pretty bad."
"It isn't bad. I had it worse when that dog bit me in the ass." said Tig. He chuckled to let Juice know he was only kidding around with him. "It's fine though. Lola has been staying at my place to take care of me. Can't say that I mind that one bit. Nothing cheers me up more than home cooked meals and a hot piece of ass."
Juice chuckled. "Speaking of that…hot piece of ass. There was something I was meaning to tell you. The night that I got shot Sara told me that Lola's uncle is T.O. Just thought you'd like to know."
Tig paused a minute. "Motherfucker…"