A/N Thank you SOOOOOOO much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I was so nervous posting it, and I was so happy to hear y'all liked it!

The Sons were holding church a few days later and Jax was having a hard time concentrating on anything that was being said or decided upon. The only thing that had consumed his mind since he'd seen Elle lying in that hospital bed, bruised and battered and screaming at him, was how he was going to get back at that sick fuck for what he did. But the part of him that knew he was the President of this club knew he couldn't do any sort of retaliation without bringing it to the club – not when retaliation would have such an impact on all of them.

"Next order of business," he said as the last discussion died down, "is what to do about Lenevsky."

"What about him?" Happy asked.

"He beat the shit out of Elle," he said exasperatedly, "She just got out of the fucking hospital."

"I don't know what's in your head, brother, but we cannot lose this connection with the Russians over pussy," Happy responded.

"So, what, we do nothing and let him fuck up another girl?" Jax asked, incredulous.

"We're just thinking about what's best for the club. And what's best for the club is not to go after this guy. We've practically doubled our income since we've been running for him, and he did us a good deed by letting those 20 Gs go," Tig spoke up. Jax's eye narrowed.

"A good deed? He could have killed her," he said.

"Yeah, but he didn't," Happy spoke up, "He roughed her around a little bit."

"Far as I've heard, he didn't even break any bones. We don't even know what went on, man. Maybe she tried to renig on her part of the deal," Tig pointed out, "Maybe she went ape shit on him, or things just got a little freaky and now she's all embarrassed about what she let him do. We don't know." Jax took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to reach over and strangle Tig. He was practically shaking with suppressed anger.

"We know you're pissed, Jax," Chibs added, "But Tig's right, we can't just go retaliate without the whole story. We've got too much to lose." Jax looked around the table, hoping for one person to disagree. He looked at Opie, who had long since suspected there was more to Jax and Elle than Jax had ever let on, but who had never voiced his suspicions.

"I'm with you, brother," he said, "I'm in for retaliation." Jax nodded, glad for the support, but knowing just like the last time, this was going to get shot down.

"Anyone else agree, or do we not even need to take a vote?" Jax asked, already feeling the defeat. When nobody else spoke up, he banged the gavel angrily, throwing it on the table and storming out of the room.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

About a week had gone by since Elle had gotten out of the hospital and her physical bruising had begun to fade, but the emotional scars were much harder to get rid of. She spent all her time either sitting with Bex in the Pawn Shop or holed up in the apartment. She was fine until she got a moment to herself and images from the night flooded her brain. She was avoiding mirrors at all costs, not wanting to look at herself, and anytime a customer came into the shop, she high tailed it into the back room until the store emptied again. She couldn't stand the sympathetic looks and curious points she would get when people would see her injuries.

In a show of solidarity, Bex had stopped going to parties at the clubhouse. She had no desire to see the guys that had caused Elle so much pain, but apart from that she had no idea how to help her friend. The days that Elle wasn't with her at the shop, she would come home from work and find her either sitting in the dark in the living room like a zombie, or passed out next to an empty bottle of vodka. She was really worried that she'd never be able to get past what happened to her, and a part of her couldn't help but blame herself in her part of introducing Elle to the Sons and bringing her into all of this in the first place.

Bex and Elle were talking in the store when Elle heard the door chime and jumped up from her perch at the counter, not even stopping to look at who had walked in. Whoever it was, she knew she didn't want to see them. Bex watched her go, a concerned look stretching across her face before turning to greet the customer. Her smile died before it reached her mouth as she realized who had walked in.

"We need to get our stuff back," Tig said, Juice, Opie, and Happy trailing behind him. Bex didn't move, still standing there with her arms crossed, as she looked between them all.

"You've got some nerve," she said, scowling at them.

"Just thought you'd want your money back," Tig responded, sliding an envelope full of cash across the counter to her. Bex ignored it, still staring them all down.

"Are you ever going to apologize for what happened to her? Do you even care?" she asked.

"What did she think was going to happen when she went to that hotel room?" Happy asked. Bex raised her eyebrows.

"Well I expect she didn't think she was going to get beat into unconsciousness, and then left to die," Bex spat angrily.

"She's not dead," Happy pointed out, "And maybe if she'd just done what she'd agreed to do, he wouldn't have had to get a little rough." Bex narrowed her eyes at Happy.

"A little rough? You don't even know what you're talking about," she growled.

"Enlighten us," Opie said, wanting to know the full story of what happened.

"She tried!" Bex yelled, "She went there with every intent of keeping her word to Jax of whoring herself out to save you guys a couple bucks, even though she didn't want to, as a favor to you. She tried to go along with it, but he didn't want her to. He wanted to rough her up, beat the shit out of her, and rape her. She told me he said it was better that way – that he didn't forgive you your debts so she could enjoy it," she spat out. Opie and Juice, at least, had the decency to look horrified. Even Tig looked slightly taken aback at hearing about anyone being freakier than him. Happy just narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Then, when he was finished with her, he told his driver to kill her. Lucky for her, the guy had a fucking heart or conscious or whatever it is that all of you seem to be missing, and didn't go through with it, took her to the hospital instead. Otherwise she'd probably be buried in the woods somewhere," she added angrily.

"Shit," Juice said through clenched teeth.

"We didn't know," Tig said.

Bex shook her head, stalking off to the back to get their stuff and returned, slamming it on the counter as she grabbed the envelope of money Tig had passed her and counted it quickly.

"You're missing about 5 grand," she said.

"What?" Tig asked, "That's 25 thousand there." Bex shrugged.

"Yeah, well, now that my girl's got a shit ton of hospital bills to pay, I think she needs a raise, don't you?" she asked, "So standard interest rate applies, which is 20 percent." Happy looked like he was going to say something before Opie cut in.

"Just give it to her," he said, and Tig dug another $5000 out, grumbling.

"I hope the money was worth it," Bex said as they filed out of the store. Elle came back in a few minutes later and didn't mention a word about the Sons, so Bex followed her lead. Elle started helping Bex go through their inventory and was so wrapped up in her work that she didn't even notice the bells on the door jingle as it opened once again.

"Ho-ly shit," she heard and Bex and Elle both stood up, looking to the front of the store where Wendy stood, arms crossed and looking haughty, with Leslie and Amy behind her.

"Jesus Christ, I didn't think when Nik said he liked it rough he meant that rough," she said, a smirk across her face. Elle's eyes narrowed at her.

"What are you doing here?" Bex asked. Wendy raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.

"Oh, I'm just checking on one of my girls," she said, turning back to Elle. She shook her head, clicking her tongue.

"Tsk tsk tsk, he really did a number on you, didn't he?" she said, getting a good look at her face while Elle stood there, seething.

"What did you mean, when Nik said he liked it rough?" she asked through gritted teeth. Wendy shrugged, staring at her manicure.

"Just that when he asked me about you he said that's how he liked it," she said.

"He asked you about me?" Elle asked incredulously, feeling her anger, always so close to the surface these days, overwhelm her. She walked around the counter to stand in front of Wendy and Bex followed her. Wendy grinned maliciously at her and nodded.

"Sure. I told him you'd do whatever Jax wanted," she said, "Then made sure Nik wanted you bad enough to get Jax to want it, too." Elle's eyes widened and her only thought as she grabbed Wendy by the hair and pulled her back was that she wanted to beat the pretentious smirk right off this bitch's face.

Wendy screamed as Elle straddled her, getting one good punch into her face after the other. Wendy tried to bring her hands up to block her face but every bit of rage built up in Elle since that night was finally coming out and Wendy was no match. Leslie stood there with her mouth hanging open, watching the scene while Amy moved forward to try to intervene.

"Uh uh," Bex said warningly, taking a step towards her, "You let her go." Wendy continued to yell for help while they stood around, watching as Elle's tiny fists pummeled into Wendy's face.

"You. Stupid. Evil. BITCH!" Elle screamed as she got a hit onto Wendy's nose and blood started gushing down her face and into her mouth.

"Okay, Elle, I think that's good," Bex finally said, grabbing Elle around her waist while she was still kicking and flailing her arms about and lifting her off Wendy. Amy and Leslie helped Wendy stand and Elle got a good look at her. She knew there'd be two new black eyes once the bruising set in and she was mildly happy to see blood still pouring down her face. Wendy's hands were trying to stop it, but it was spilling out onto her shirt.

"You crazy bitch!" she screamed. Elle smiled and nodded.

"Sounds about right," she said.

"Now get the fuck out of my shop," Bex ordered. Wendy took one last glare at Elle before running out the door.

SOASOASOASOASOA

Jax paced the clubhouse smoking a cigarette, full of a rage he didn't know what to do with. Opie had just called to relay the conversation he'd had with Bex at the Pawn Shop and it was taking ever amount of control he had within him not to go tearing after that fucker and rip him apart, limb from limb.

Gemma walked into the clubhouse and watched Jax pacing the floor from the doorway, an angry scowl on his face.

"Are you just gonna pace until there's a hole in the floor or are you going to do something about it?" she finally asked him. He glanced up at her and she walked towards him, petting his cheek with her hand.

"There's nothing I can do, ma," he said angrily, "They voted against retaliation. I can't fucking touch him." Gemma looked thoughtfully at him.

"Well we'll just have to change their minds, won't we," she said. Jax looked at her curiously.

"How?" he asked. Gemma shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, baby," she said, "Now come on, let me take you to lunch," she said.

"I don't really feel like going to lunch," Jax retorted. Gemma frowned.

"Your mother wants to have lunch with you, you go," she said, "I need to talk to you about some stuff. You can pick the restaurant." Jax sighed, rolling his eyes. There really was no saying no to his mother.

Jax had picked the diner on Main for lunch specifically because the pawn shop was on the way. He just wanted to see her, catch a glimpse, make sure she was okay. Gemma followed him to the diner in her car while he was on his bike and he slowed down slightly as he passed the pawn shop. He frowned as he noticed Sargent Roosevelt's car in front of the pawn shop and quickly pulled over as he saw Elle being escorted out of the shop in handcuffs. Roosevelt tucked her in to the backseat and hurried around to the driver's side before Jax could even pull over.

He hopped quickly off his bike, Gemma right behind him, to see Bex pacing the store, her face completely void of emotion.

"What just happened?" Jax asked. Bex turned to Jax, seeming to look right through him.

"You need to get your lapdog under control," she finally said, her voice even and eerily calm. Jax frowned.

"My lapdog? Who are you talking about?" he asked, though he had an idea.

"Wendy," Bex said, her voice low and steady, very unlike the angry Bex that had stormed into the clubhouse screaming at Jax, "That fucking cunt walked in here and told Elle that she was the one who told that Russian fucker that Elle would do whatever you said; told her to be as rough with her as he wanted."

"What!" Jax yelled.

"Yeah, so Elle beat the shit out of her," Bex said, her thin lipped mouth turning up slightly at the corners as she thought of Elle swinging her fists back. Gemma smirked. She knew she liked that girl.

"So, what, Wendy pressed charges?" Jax asked, incredulous, looking behind him through the windows at the sheriff car pulling away from the curb and putting two and two together.

"Yeah. You need to talk to the bitch, make sure she drops them," Bex said, staring at Jax, "It's the least you can do." Jax nodded, turning and running out of the shop, Gemma close on his heels.

"Go bail her out," Jax said as he snapped his helmet on under his head, "I'm gonna go take care of Wendy."

"Don't you wanna be the one to bail her out?" Gemma asked, an eyebrow raised knowingly. Jax shook his head.

"I just want her out of jail. She might not leave if I'm the one bailing her out. You know how it is," he told his mother pointedly. Gemma nodded. Yes, she did know how that was.

Jax revved his bike and peeled out of the parking lot, burning rubber as he turned to head in the opposite direction. He'd been to Wendy's a couple of times before Tara had come back. He just hoped she was still at the same place.

He knocked on the door and continued banging until Wendy finally answered. She had her sweater pulled up covering most of her face, but he could see her eyes were already turning black.

"What, Jax?" she asked.

"You know what," he said, waltzing into her apartment and grimacing as he looked around at the mess before turning back to look at her, "You need to drop the charges."

"What, and just let her get away with beating the shit out of me?" Wendy asked, "No way. She may have you under her little spell, but not me. She got what was coming to her with the Russian, and she got what was coming to her with Roosevelt." If Elle hadn't already done such a good job kicking Wendy's ass, Jax might have slammed her head into a wall. As it was, he stepped towards her, getting extremely close to her, almost whispering in her ear.

"No, you had what was coming to you, you stupid bitch. Elle didn't ask for what she got. You walked right in and practically begged her to beat the crap out of you. And if you don't drop the fucking charges, I will send someone over here until you do, and you'll wish all you had was a broken nose," he said menacingly. Wendy looked at Jax, wide eyed. He'd been pissed at her before, treated her like dirt on occasion, but he'd never threatened her like that.

"Jax," she said meekly. He shook his head, pulling out his phone and dialing the station before handing it to her.

"Here you go," he said, "Tell them you want to drop the charges." Wendy sighed and took the phone from his outstretched hand.

SOASOASOASOASOA

Gemma pulled up to the station several minutes after Elle had been taken in. She waltzed into the building and strode to the front counter, demanding to speak to Roosevelt. He came out several minutes later.

"Gemma Morrow," he said, "To what do I owe the pleasure this time?"

"I want to bail out Elle," she responded. Roosevelt raised his eyebrows.

"She hasn't even been processed yet," he said. Gemma leaned against the counter, an eyebrow raised cockily.

"Yeah, well, I've got a good feeling that any minute now the charges against her are going to be dropped, so stop wasting all of our time and let the poor girl out. Don't you think she's been through enough?" Gemma said.

"I'm sorry, Gemma, but someone filed a complaint. I can't just let her out because she's had a bad couple of weeks," he responded. He meant it when he said he was sorry, though, he really didn't want to keep the poor kid locked up.

The phone rang just then and Gemma smirked as the officer at the front desk answered it, looking back and forth between Gemma and Roosevelt as he talked to the person on the other end.

"She's right, Sheriff," he said, replacing the phone in the cradle, "Wendy Case just called and wants to drop the complaint. She'll be coming in soon to sign the forms."

"How about that?" Gemma said. Roosevelt looked at her and shrugged, motioning for her to follow him back to the holding cells. Elle was sitting in one of the cells alone on a bench by the wall, her head in her hands. She glanced up when she heard them walk up and stood, walking to the door. Roosevelt unlocked it.

"You're free to go, Elle," he said. She nodded and looked to Gemma, who tried not to wince as she got a good look at her injuries for the first time.

"Come on, baby, let's get you home," Gemma said, placing an arm around her shoulder and walking her outside.

They got in the car and spent the first couple of minutes in silence before Elle finally spoke.

"Thanks for giving me a ride," she said.

"Sure," Gemma responded, "You know, Elle, Jax is really upset over what happened to you. I've never seen him so angry." Elle scoffed slightly, staring out her window.

"Honestly, Gemma. I don't really care how Jax is feeling right now," she said stoically. Gemma looked over at her, sizing her up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Elle's shoulders sagged slightly as she shook her head slowly.

"How am I supposed to feel?" she whispered, almost talking to herself, "People keep asking me that and I just don't know. How am I supposed to feel when the guy I care about sells me to some psycho fuck that almost kills me?"

"So you still care about him?" Gemma asked. Elle stiffened as if she just realized it was Gemma she was talking to.

"What? No. I mean, I didn't say that," she mumbled.

"Yeah, you did," Gemma responded, "You said care, not cared." Elle sighed, leaning her head against the head rest.

"I don't know, Gemma. Even if I did, he made it perfectly clear what he thinks about me," she said.

"Well nobody ever said my son wasn't an idiot sometimes," Gemma responded, "But whatever you're thinking about how he sees you – you're wrong." Elle didn't know what to say to that. A week ago, she would have been on top of the world to hear those words. Now, however, they just seemed to make things worse.

"He didn't know what was going to happen, Elle," Gemma reminded her.

"It doesn't matter what he did or didn't know. I almost died because of him, because my feelings for him covered up every warning my head was screaming when I walked up to that hotel room. I should've trusted my instincts, I should've run. But I just …. I just didn't want to let Jax down, I guess," she finished, sighing. Gemma pursed her lips in thought as she pulled up to Elle's apartment.

"Here you go, baby," she said, "You gonna be okay by yourself?" Elle nodded.

"Yeah, Bex should be home soon," she mumbled, "Thanks again for the ride, Gemma." Gemma nodded and waved as Elle climbed out of the car and walked up to her apartment.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

Gemma pulled into the Teller-Morrow lot and saw Jax's bike already there. She walked in and saw him sitting at the bar, as usual.

"So I take it things went well with Wendy," she said, taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah," he said, still staring at the bottle of vodka in his hand, "Did Roosevelt release Elle?" he asked.

"Yeah, I gave her a ride home," she said. He nodded, turning the bottle in his hand upside down in his mouth.

"Have you talked to her at all?" Gemma asked. Jax just shook his head, not in the mood to elaborate or talk about his feelings. All he really wanted to do was punch someone in the face.

"Well I have," Gemma said casually, "We had a nice little chat in the car."

"What, all about how I'm the biggest asshole on earth?" he asked gruffly.

"She said she cares about you," Gemma said and Jax ripped his eyes away from his bottle to look at his mother.

"What?" he asked, "She said that?" Gemma shrugged.

"Now don't get this wrong," Gemma said warningly, "I don't know if her feelings for you are enough to get over what was done to her, and your part in it. But I don't think she hates you as much as she wishes she did." Jax shook his head.

"She should hate me," he sighed, setting the bottle down and finally turning to look at his mother, "How do I fix this?" Gemma looked at him, frowning slightly.

"You messed up big time, Jax," she said, "There might not be a way to fix this."

"So, what? I shouldn't even try?" he asked. Gemma shook her head.

"I didn't say that," she said, "Just don't expect her to rush into your arms because you flash her some cute smile of yours. You're gonna have to figure out something good if you want to be with her, because 'I'm sorry' just ain't gonna cut it."

"I've got to get Lenevsky," Jax growled. Gemma nodded.

"Yeah, you do," she said, looking him dead in the eye.

"But the club voted it down," he reminded her. Gemma nodded.

"Yeah, well, you leave that to me," she said, "I have a feeling they'll come around." She gave Jax a kiss before turning and walking out of the clubhouse.

A/N As always, please review!