UPDATE TIME! Just a little tinsy warning here….the next chapter is the end of this story….(ducking behind a chair to avoid flying objects)

A heartfelt HUGE-BIG-GARGANTUAN hug to all of you who have responded to the story with your lovely words or by putting it on your alerts and fav lists. I promise…PINKY SWEAR!...I am slaving away on the sequel as we speak…er, type…whatever…

Chapter 14

They made it quickly to the bar seeing as Chris was doubtful that Alisha had taken her foot off the gas even once during the drive and Mandy met her at the door. Her eyes skittered around nervously and she wrung her hands, knowing exactly how serious the situation was. She bit her lip and said, "Uh, Billy's not here. He took off."

Chris knew she was lying from the way she was acting and she started craning her neck around to look behind Mandy to the other side of the bar towards the back as she said, "Bullshit Mandy. His car is parked right outside the door. Where is he?"

"I don't know." Mandy's blue eyes skittered away from her again.

Chris started to get a really bad feeling in her chest and stomach and she didn't even want her mind to go into the territory it was headed in, but when Joe, who looked a combination of furious and afraid stepped up with the whole gang behind him, trying their damndest to get her out of the Four Roses, the bad feeling grew to monster proportions.

She roughly shoved past them all and then Jamie tried to grab her from behind and she elbowed him in the side, making him double over in pain from the sound blow that had landed on his kidney. Chris stalked through the bar and swept it with her gaze without finding a sign of the bald man that she was going to strangle before heading to the backroom where Billy liked to conduct business at the Four Roses while he was there. Once again, Joe jumped in her way, stammering that Billy had left and why didn't he take her to look for him and Chris simply shoved him to the side and threw open the door.

Billy was there alright, but he wasn't alone. He stood with his ass leaning on the table with his baggy jeans around the tops of his thighs with a brunette that Chris didn't recognize on her knees in front of him with his cock down her throat. Chris felt as if she had been gutted, like someone had literally reached through her chest and ripped out everything inside of her and threw it on the floor before stomping all over it.

He didn't see her at first. His eyes were closed and she recognized the signs of his impending orgasm accompanied by her desire to sob her pain until everyone could feel it, and her pride stepped forward, bringing with it the white hot rage and the eerie calm to do what needed to be done before the time was right for her to break. By the time he came with a low groan and opened his eyes to see her there, she had stiffened her spine and masked her agony behind the rage.

He smirked at her, his eyes alight with nothing but cruelty and menace and he grabbed the brunette's head, lazily thrusting himself into her mouth a couple of times before pushing her away roughly and pulling his pants back up and asking with his words tainted with sarcasm and ice, "Was there something you wanted?"

Chris's heart broke just a little bit more before she spat, "Nothing from you asshole!" Feeling the edges of her calm starting to desert her and not willing to cry in front of the bitch still on her knees, Chris whirled around and shoved her way past the gang who watched with a mixture of sympathy, anger and fear, she headed straight out of the bar intending to get the fuck out of this bar and away from everyone.

She stopped right outside the door though and thought frantically of somewhere to go. She had no car as she had left it at work. She couldn't ask Alisha to take her anywhere as the whole gang was still inside. She couldn't go back to the apartment she shared with Billy; he would just follow her there. Lisha said he sent everything to Chrystal's, so she had to go there.

Before she could take more than a step, her arm was grabbed in a vice-like grip and her body was whirled around so fast, her hair fanned out and covered her eyes, making her reach up to brush it back so she could see only to come face-to-face with an enraged Billy. He grabbed her other arm and shook her so hard, her head snapped back and forth on her neck as he screamed in her face with the veins and tendons on his neck and head popping out prominently and his face a deep red, "HOW DOES IT FUCKING FEEL HUH? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BETRAYED BITCH?"

"FUCK YOU DARLEY!" she screamed back, tears of heartbreak, anger and pain making her eyes well up, "YOU COULDN'T EVEN WAIT COULD YOU? OH NO," she laughed without humor, "THE GREAT BILLY DARLEY IS ALWAYS RIGHT!"

"HOW FUCKING LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SPREADING YOUR LEGS FOR HIM?" Billy demanded, still screaming, "HIM AND HOW MANY OTHERS?"

"FUCK YOU!" She screamed back as the gang all leapt forward to pry them apart, Jamie and Joe backing her up away from Billy who was being held back from her by Bodie and the rest, "I DON'T OWE YOU A FUCKING THING! GO BACK TO YOUR WHORE DARLEY! I DON'T FUCKING NEED YOU ANYMORE!" she furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes before they could spill and tried to calm herself from the hysteria that was trying to take over. She would not risk her baby. She went on more calmly and with deadly intention, "I am not Julie and I refuse to pay for her sins anymore. Go back to your whore Billy—it's over! WE ARE FUCKING THROUGH!"

He swung at anyone in his path as he lunged at her with a snarl when the night was split by the tell-tale sound of gunshots. Before she could react, Chris felt a fist slam into her back and her world exploded in pain as another fist slammed into her shoulder and she fell into darkness.

Her dreams were full of strange people and strange questions that she was just too tired to answer. She felt so tired, so weary from everything that she welcomed the oblivion of the darkness there, knowing that she was safe and protected from the ugliness of her soul deep agony. Then Donna was there, her friend, her beloved friend Opie's wife who was shot and killed in Charming a few years before. There was a child there too, one she could sense but not see. She felt the love coming from Donna like the gentle waves of the lake not far from Charming that she and Jax used to go to with their friends. Donna was smiling and was telling her that she could not stay in the darkness, that she could not stay with Donna. Donna would always love her and always be watching and she knew that Chris was hurting now and that everything would be better, that now she needed to fight. Donna said that she needed to be the biker bitch that she was raised to be, nothing less than the woman she was meant to be—a SAMCRO woman. Donna said she had to go back and fight for her life and for the life of her child and all the souls that would follow.

It was with Donna's words ringing in her ears that she fought through the layers of pain and darkness and opened her eyes. Her eyes slowly focused on a white tiled ceiling as the sound of beeping machines blipped close to her ear. She slowly turned her head to the left to see a heart monitor and other gadgets next to a window with the white blinds partially shut. Judging from the light outside, it was early. The horizon was barely turning pink.

She was thirsty but still so tired. She looked to the right when she felt a heavy weight pressing down on her hand and saw Billy asleep in the chair next to what she already figured to be a hospital bed. The memory of what had happened flooded her brain and thought came quicker than the speed of light. She wanted to yell, scream, throw things and tear into him, rip his heart out like he did hers, wound him as surely as he had her, but she needed to proceed carefully. She couldn't stay here. She couldn't be around him and not be with him, but she couldn't be with him after what had happened either. She couldn't stay in Boston knowing that he was with someone else, sharing his life, his bed—and worst of all, his heart.

Alisha said he had sent her things to Chrystal, so she needed Chrystal.

She didn't want to see Billy so she stayed quiet so as to not wake him up. He looked horrible though, purple bags stood out prominently under his eyes and he looked like he hadn't shaved in awhile. He still wore the same dark grey button-down shirt he had on at the bar and she wondered how long she had been unconscious. She was beyond feeling sorry for him and his rough appearance though, all she wanted was to get as far away from him as possible. What the fuck was he doing here anyway? He had made his bed and she wasn't in it and there was nothing more from them now.

She wanted to groan at the ache all over her body and started moving in miniscule amounts to test to see what damage had been done. She prayed that the baby was okay the whole time, but she could still feel the reassurance from her dream of Donna that the baby was fine. She must have moved her hand in his grip, or else he hadn't really been sleeping that well, but Billy's blue eyes popped open and met hers. They stared at each other for a moment before Billy sat forward eagerly and whispered, "You feeling okay baby?"

Was he crazy? Like insane crazy and not in a good way? She had heard the talk from others who thought he was, but until now, had never believed it. "I'm fine." She said shortly as she tried to take her hand back where he had gripped it between both of his, but he wouldn't let go.

His grip on her hand only tightened as he said with the sheen of tears in his eyes, "I'm sorry baby—ya have no idea how fucking sorry I am. I'm gonna do whatever it takes ta make this right with us."

He must be insane. He actually thought he could fix this? Repair what he had torn? Make her trust him again?

Never.

She said slowly, her throat so dry it made her voice rough, "I told you we are through Billy. Just go away."

His face crumpled into sadness as he nodded and looked at the floor for a moment before looking back at her, his eyes alight with emotions she just didn't want to decipher at the moment. "I can't do that baby; I can't walk away from you—from us. I'm gonna make things right, no matter what. I can't let you go. I won't lose ya over a mistake that didn't mean a goddamn thing ta me."

She could tell he meant it and it made her adjust her plans slightly, but first she needed to talk to Chrystal. She nodded, not in agreement as he probably thought, but to cement her will to follow through with what she had in mind. "I want to see Chrystal."

He looked at her with hope in his eyes as he said, "Okay baby. She's not here, but I'll send someone ta get her. It's pretty early baby." He looked at his watch before rubbing his eyes and saying, "Its only 4 am, I'll send Bodie over ta her place in a couple of hours okay?"

Chris shrugged as she reached for the pitcher of water next to the hospital bed. Billy jumped up and poured her a glass and held it to her lips as she drank greedily. When she had had her fill, she pushed the glass away and curled up on her side, thankfully, the one she hadn't been shot in, that faced away from Billy and went back to sleep.

She woke up a couple of hours later when the sound of angry voices penetrated her dreams and opened her eyes to see Billy standing with that stubborn stance indicating that the person he was talking too, a doctor going by the white coat, had better back the fuck up. She heard enough of their conversation to hear the doctor emphatically telling Billy that because he wasn't family, he had to leave the room while she was examined. Chris tried to sit up a bit and it caught the attention of both men as a middle-aged nurse bustled over and said with a friendly smile, "Miss Morrow, it's good to see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Good I guess, other than the gunshots that is." Chris said dryly, making the doctor smile as he nodded and made a notation on his chart. He cast a stern glance at Billy who returned it with a dirty look and Chris took the hint. She didn't want Billy to hear this anyway, "Where's Chrystal?" she asked Billy, who turned to her with a slightly wounded look in his blue-green eyes.

He nodded his head irritably and said, "I'll go see if she's here yet." He bent down to give her a kiss and she stiffened as the scent of cheap perfume came off of him in a wave and assaulted her nose. She kept her lips closed and unresponsive to his kiss and he backed away, his thumb sweeping over her cheek and she involuntarily flinched.

He sighed and left the room, the doctor immediately launching into a detailed description of her treatment. She had received a blood transfusion and they had removed two bullets from her, one in her back and one from her shoulder. She had been unconscious for two days but expected to make a full recovery. She waved all of this aside and asked, "Is the baby alright?"

The doctor and nurse exchanged a look and the doctor told her, "So you knew?"

"I took a home pregnancy test earlier that day." She could feel the sharp edge of panic approaching and asked again, "Is the baby—did I lose—" she couldn't even get the words out as she choked up and put a hand over her mouth.

"Oh honey," the nurse went into automatic motherly mode, "Don't you worry, the baby's fine."

"You're baby is going to be okay Miss Morrow." The doctor assured her, smiling slightly at her obvious relief.

"Did you tell him" Chris asked the next question she needed an answer for. Just because he hadn't said anything, didn't mean he wasn't planning too.

The doctor patted her good shoulder softly as he said, "No, I didn't. The doctor-patient confidentiality keeps me from telling anyone except family your condition or anything else."

"Good." Chris said stiffening her spine, "My brother should be here at any time. He is my emergency contact—you did call him right?"

The doctor consulted his notes for a moment and nodded, "Yes he has been contacted and informed of the situation. You're lucky that your regular doctor is an attending here at this hospital or we would have had to wait for you to wake up before contacting anyone."

After the doctor and nurse left, Chris lay back down and soon drifted off to sleep. She woke up a couple of hours later to see Billy blocking the doorway to what seemed like all of the gang and their women. Joe grinned at her and she couldn't help but to smile back. Billy looked over his shoulder and grumped, "I fuckin' told ya, she needs to rest."

Everyone ignored him as they all started talking to her at once. On one hand, she was happy to see them. She knew they had all been worried and on the upside, she didn't want to be alone with Billy. One the other hand, she started feeling guilty as they all kissed her and hugged her as best they could with her shoulder wrapped and when the girls chased the men out of the room with the intention of helping her get cleaned up, she felt the sting of tears behind her eyes before taking deep breaths. The girls helped her wash herself as much as she could without getting the bandages wet, understanding that she would want to be clean after being shot and unconscious for two days. Wendy brushed her hair while they talked of what had happened.

Even though the men usually kept their women in the dark when it came to gang shit, the girls were able to tell her that it was the Hall Boys that had pulled that drive-by. What the retaliation would be was anyone's guess. They had explained that Billy hadn't left the hospital at all while she was there and Mandy absently noted as she gave Chris a manicure, "Girl, we seriously thought Billy was going to lose his fucking mind!"

When Chris's face went still and masklike, they all exchanged uncomfortable looks before Wendy asked, "Did he talk to you? Have the two of you straightened this shit out?"

"There's nothing to straighten out Wendy." Chris said in a cold flat tone, "What he did was unforgiveable."

She exchanged looks with Alisha and Mandy again before Alisha said, "Honey, I know what Billy did was a dickhead move, but are you sure that it can't be worked out?" when Chris turned furious eyes on her, her gaze faltered for a moment before she went on firmly, "Chris, all I'm asking is that you think long and hard about whether or not that bitch sucking his dick is worth losing what the two of you had."

"Really?" Chris spat venomously, "What if it had been Bodie getting head from someone else? Or Dog?" she snorted derisively as they exchanged more looks, "Would you think that it was so easily fixable if it had been your man with some bitch on her knees in front of him?"

The girls didn't know what to say to that and the rest of the visit, they studiously avoided the topic. Once they left, a young candy striper brought her a tray of food and Billy came back. She stiffened and went on eating as if he wasn't there, even when he stood next to her hospital bed and waited for her to acknowledge his presence. When she didn't, he sighed and she could see his shoulders slump slightly as he sat down in the chair he had apparently been occupying for the last two days.

Eventually though, he refused to be ignored any longer and said, "Chrystal wasn't at her place, but Wendy called her. She'll be here tomorrow morning though."

Chris merely nodded to indicate that she had heard him, keeping all of her attention on her dinner. He tried to start a couple of conversations with her either having one word monosyllabic answers or ignoring the attempt altogether. She did watch him out of the corner of her eye though, she had excellent peripheral vision.

He scrubbed a hand over his face in what she knew to be an irritated gesture before swiping the same hand over his scalp and scratching the back of his neck. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and stared at her with his hands dangling in the space between his legs. Before he said, "I can't make this right baby if ya don't fuckin' talk ta me."

She pushed away her dinner tray and said, "I'm tired." And lay back down on her side to face away from him. She heard him sigh heavily before settling back in the chair and thankfully a nurse came in right as he had made a sound like he was going to say something and gave her a sedative. She had never been so thankful for drugs in her life, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

She woke up from a short nap the next day just in time for visiting hours to begin and she slowly opened her eyes to see Billy's jacket on the chair, but Billy himself nowhere in sight. The morning had been agony as Billy seemed to try every opportunity alone with her to either kiss her, play with her hair or talk to her. She had ended up pissing him off enough with her cold attitude that he had said in a tight voice that he was going outside for a smoke. By the time he had come back, they had taken her for some x-rays to make sure that they had gotten all the fragments of the bullets out.

Billy came back into the room as she was adjusting the bed to sit up a bit more and said with an unreadable expression, "Chrystal's here baby."

Chris nodded and said flatly, "I need to talk to her alone."

Billy's lips tightened and his nostrils flared a bit, stating clearly that he didn't care for either leaving her alone with Chrystal or for the dismissive tone she had employing since she woke up, but he only gave her a curt nod before walking out of the room. Chris took a very deep breath to ready for what she felt would be an ugly scene, but it had to be done. The ties that bound her to Chrystal were about to be permanently severed.

The door opened and Chrystal peeked her head around the corner. Chris beckoned her forward with a hand movement and said, "Shut the door."

She looked at Chrystal closely and could see that Chrystal's addiction was getting worse. She was a lot thinner than she should be and her skin had taken on a sallow, unhealthy tint. Her once bright brown eyes were dull and her hair hung in a limp barely brushed curtain down her back and it had clearly been a while since she had washed it. Her clothes, a sweater that looked two sizes too tight and a pair of jeans that seemed painted on, looked dirty as well, but Chris felt no pity for the other woman.

Chrystal's face fell from its look of slight apprehension as she closed the door behind herself and approached the bed to one of smug satisfaction as she said, "I won't tell you I told you so."

Chris smiled coldly until Chrystal was close enough for her to reach up and fist her hand in her sweater and pull her closer, "Then don't. Right now, I am going to do the talking and you are going to shut your fucking mouth for once and listen bitch, got it?" She let Chrystal go with a violent shoving motion that landed the shocked woman in the chair that might as well of had Billy's ass print on it.

"What the hell?" Chrystal sputtered, "Who do you think you fucking are?"

Chris leaned forward, putting her face right into Chrystal's as she said silkily, "I'm the daughter of the President of the Son's of Anarchy Redwood Original. I'm the daughter of Clay Morrow. I'm also the woman you tried to have kidnapped from the Four Roses." Chrystal went dead white and Chris smirked even more coldly, "What wrong Chrystal? Didn't think I would find out about your little plan? Too bad for you that you are not nearly as smart as you think you are. I know all about how it was your idea to hold me for ransom to get money out of Billy and my dad and the club." Chrystal was practically hyperventilating as she thought frantically, but Chris still had no pity for her as she went on in a hard tone, "You are going to do EXACTLY what I tell you too—got it?"

Chrystal shook her head, shaking in fear at what could happen to her if anyone found out about her plan. She had known that putting Chris in any kind of danger was a huge—HUGE no-no, but she had been blinded by her jealousy and greed. Why should Chris have something good when all Chrystal got was shit? It just wasn't fair in Chrystal's view. Now though, she could only do what she was told and pray to whatever God would have her that Chris didn't tell the club about it.

"Billy sent my things to your place right?" Chris began and Chrystal nodded, her eyes as round as saucers, "He is going to send someone to pick it all back up. You will give them most of it, but keep a few things back, a few changes of clothes, a jacket, my black leather boots and a pair of tennis shoes. You will keep them until Bobby or one of the other Mercer's come to get it. You will not tell Billy what we talked about. If he asks you, make up some bullshit about Charming, but tell him nothing of Bobby or what was said here. After you give my things to Bobby, you will get the hell out of Boston and stay out!" Chris finished with a hiss.

Chrystal tried to think of some way to gain an upper hand here. There was no way she could just up and leave Boston—she couldn't afford it! Hell, since Chris had moved in with that gangbanger, Chrystal could barely pay the rent, never mind furniture or being able to save any money. She hadn't meant for things to go this far, she hadn't meant to lose Chris altogether, she had just wanted to get her away from Billy and back living with her, taking care of Crystal like she was supposed to and everything would go back to normal.

"You can't tell me to leave town!" Chrystal tried to even the tremble in her voice, "My whole life is here!"

Chris quirked an eyebrow at her and asked unemotionally, "Would you rather stick around for Billy to find you? Hmm?" Chris shook her head in mock pity as she said, "He never did like you did he?" Her face hardened threateningly as she hissed, "Hear me well whore—you even give Billy or anyone else so much as a hint of what I am planning, I will make fucking sure what you tried to do is made known to the club! Now that wouldn't go down very well now would it? Especially with Tigger and Happy I would imagine." When Chrystal paled once more and Chris was satisfied that she was sufficiently cowed, Chris said, "Now get the hell out of my fucking sight and don't ever let me see your face again or Tig and Happy will be the first people I talk too!"

Chris snorted as Chrystal left the room almost running. Chris knew that Chrystal wouldn't dare say anything now, not with the threat of the two most deadly killers in the MC going after her ass. Tig and Happy were great guys—as long as it wasn't you that posed a threat to the club. Billy would be merciful in his revenge, unlike Tig and Happy. They wouldn't ever find enough of Chrystal to bury in a matchbox if those two were made aware of what Chrystal tried to do to Chris and her death would not be quick and painless either.

Before she could pretend to be asleep again, as was her habit now whenever Billy was in her room, the devil himself walked in the door and asked, "So what did you talk to the bitch about?"

"Home." Chris said shortly as she grabbed the remote for the TV that was on a shelf, bolted into the ceiling. Billy sat down with a sigh and Chris once again ignored his attempts at conversation. It lasted a lot longer than she thought it would before he snapped, "Goddamn it woman! What do ya want me to do ta make this up ta ya?"

Chris didn't answer right away, choosing her words carefully. She didn't want to tip him off. Bobby should be here by tomorrow and then it would only be a matter of time before she wouldn't have to deal with him and his belief that there was anything left of their relationship. After a long, tension-filled pause, she asked, "Can you rewind time?"

She watched him out of the corner of her eye again as his face fell and his head dipped low with his chin in his chest before he looked back at her with a searching look. She kept her gaze resolutely on the television and he sighed again, rubbing the fingers of his hand over his temple. "No." he finally said quietly.

"I didn't think so." Chris said flatly. She put down the remote and said, "I'm tired." Once again rolling onto her good side so she wouldn't have to face him and closing her eyes. She listened to him sniff and scratch his chin as he moved in the leather chair before he whispered, "I'm gonna make this right baby. I have to. I can't lose you."

Little did he realize that he had already lost.