A/N Thank you once again for all of your reviews and opinions about this story, and I'm so glad so many of you are still reading and still liking it!
I did want to address some of the reviews I got on the last few chapters, just so y'all know where I'm coming from when I set out to write this story.
I do understand that parts of this story require a bit of suspension of reality from real MC life. I am not the genius that is Kurt Sutter, nor do I want to try to pretend to be, nor do I have any extra knowledge of the workings of MCs aside from watching SOA. I took what I know of the show and created my own world with it, while still trying to stay as true to the original characters as I could with what I wanted to do with the story. Do I think Jax would really fall for a croweater in the show, even if Tara did leave? No. Is it more fun to work it that way into the story? For me, yes.
So I hope that doesn't take away from your enjoyment with the story, but if it does, I'm really sorry!
"Are they ever going to leave you alone?" Bex asked Elle as they sat at their usual seats at the counter of the pawn shop, staring at Bobby who was currently guarding the doors of the shop. Elle shook her head.
"Nope, I've tried," she said, sighing. Elle had pretty much been confined to her apartment and the pawn shop for the last few days and she was getting restless, and tired of not having a second to herself. Jax had had a patch on her every second of the day, including sitting around the shop when she was at work.
She had half a mind to tell Jax to take his protection detail and shove it up his ass, not that he would have listened to her. But if she was honest with herself, finding Hunter's dead body in front of the shop had shaken her pretty bad. At least with the Sons around she felt safe, albeit annoyed.
"Hey, Bobby!" Bex called. He looked up and walked into the shop.
"Yeah?" he said.
"As long as you're here, you can at least help out," she said, "We've got some boxes that need to be put up." Bobby frowned.
"I'm just supposed to watch the door," he said. Elle stood, grasping her side.
"You know, I'd do it but I've got these bruised ribs that just don't seem to want to heal," she said, wincing. Bobby rolled his eyes but grinned in spite of himself, moving forward into the shop.
"Yeah, sure you do," he said, walking behind the counter to grab some of the boxes. Elle grinned and sat back down next to Bex, while they watched Bobby do their heavy lifting. She heard the bell on the door jingle and glanced up to see Jax walking through the door.
Elle's heart still skipped a beat every time she saw him, but now instead of giving her butterflies it just pissed her off. She was so angry that he could still have that kind of effect on her when she didn't see any way she could ever forgive him, and even more angry that she couldn't seem to shake her feelings for him. She would have given anything to not want to rush into his arms the second he stepped in the room, have him embrace her, kiss her, make love to her; because it was never going to happen.
"I got the information on Hunter's funeral," he announced as he strode up to the counter.
"When is it?" she asked.
"It's day after tomorrow, but it's not in San Francisco," he said, "It's going to be held in Monterey. Apparently that's where all his family lives." Elle nodded. Monterey was about a 4 hour drive from Charming, but she could still do it in a day.
"You know, you really don't have to come," she said, half hoping he would agree, the other half hoping he would insist on coming. He looked at her pointedly, shaking his head.
"I'm not letting you go out there by yourself with Lenevsky still out there," he said.
"I won't be alone, Bex will be with me," Elle said, "Right, Bex?"
"Actually, I can't go," Bex said, sighing, "I'm shorthanded at the shop this weekend, and with you gone… I've got to stay." Elle sighed and turned back to Jax as a thought occurred to her.
"What about Bex?" she asked.
"What about me?" Bex asked.
"Nik killed Hunter for saving my life, he could be going after the people I care about next, and Bex would be at the top of that list," Elle said, suddenly starting to panic.
"We'll put a patch on her, don't worry," Jax told her, slightly calming her down.
"Oh no you won't," Bex said, "I don't need a babysitter, okay? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Bex, please," Elle begged, turning to her, "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you." Bex sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Fine," she grumbled, glancing back at Bobby and then back at Jax, "But I want Tig."
"I'll see what I can do," Jax said grinning and Bex reluctantly returned the smile. He looked through the door at Bobby.
"Hey, Bobby, don't forget – we're at the table at 6 tonight. I'll send the prospect by to relieve you," Jax said. Bobby grunted in response and Jax patted the counter.
"Alright, well I guess I'll see you in a couple days," he said to Elle.
"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" she said.
"No you do not," Jax said, before heading back out of the shop.
SOASOASOASOASOA
"I'm taking Elle down to Monterey this weekend to go to the funeral," Jax announced at chapel that night.
"No fuckin way are you going to Monterey by yourself," Tig stated, "We don't know how much heat this guy's got out there." Ever since Jax had told the club about Nik dumping his driver's body at Elle's doorstep, they'd decided the world would be better off without him, after all. The problem was, Nik had disappeared off the face of the earth, and they were all on edge wondering when he might try to resurface.
Jax sighed. He had really wanted to try to use this time in Monterey to talk to Elle, and that was going to be difficult with a bunch of guys around.
"Alright, fine, Opie, you're comin' with," Jax said.
"My buddy Frank from the 512 says they got a charter down in Monterey. Might be good to reach out, try to expand the business. I could go and talk to them with you," Happy suggested. Jax frowned. He hadn't really planned on this being a business trip, but he had to admit, it was a good idea. They needed to find more gangs willing to buy the smaller arms that were easier for SAMCRO to get a hold of, especially since they'd just lost the Russian connection to the larger guns and needed something to keep the afloat in the meantime.
"Alright, Opie and Happy then," Jax said.
"What? I'm going, too," Tig insisted.
"Nah, I told Bex you'd stay here and watch out for her. She asked for you specifically," Jax told him. Tig grinned.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, "Which one's Bex again?" As the sons all groaned he held his hands up, "Just kidding. Alright, yeah, I'll keep an eye on Perky."
SOASOASOASOASOA
The day of the funeral, Jax, Opie, and Happy rode up to Elle's apartment on their bikes to pick her up. Elle walked down the stairs wearing a plain black dress and heels to meet Jax and stopped, eyeing Opie and Happy.
"I wasn't aware this was going to be a field trip," she said to Jax.
"We're gonna have to take care of something while we're down there," he explained. Elle shrugged and nodded, digging her car keys out of her purse and moving towards her car.
"Uh-uh," Jax said, "You're riding with me. I don't want you out there alone." Elle rolled her eyes.
"Jesus, Jax, you'll be right behind me, I'm sure," she said. He shook his head.
"I'm wearing a dress, I can't ride on a motorcycle for 4 hours in a dress," she pointed out.
"Then go change," he said. When Elle just stood there, staring at him incredulously, he shrugged, "We'll wait." She sighed exasperatedly and walked back upstairs to her apartment to pull jeans and a tank top on, grabbing a bag to fold her dress into; she'd change when they got there.
She walked back out and saw Jax leaning against his bike, handing her a helmet. She rolled her eyes and took the helmet from him. He grinned at her and she glared back before walking over to Opie's bike, climbing on behind him and buckling the helmet under her chin.
Opie looked apologetically at Jax and shrugged slightly as Elle wrapped her arms around his waist. Jax glared at them; this was not the way that was supposed to go down. He stood there for a second while Elle avoided looking at him.
"Let's go," he finally said as got on his bike, revving it up before leading the way out of the parking lot.
SOASOASOASOASOA
They arrived at the funeral just in time and Elle ran to the bathroom to change before walking into the chapel and finding seats with the boys in the back. Quite a crowd had shown up; it was clear Hunter had been well liked. Elle watched as one by one, members of the crowd stood to say a few words. Elle's eyes landed on the woman in the front row, tears falling silently and endlessly down her face, a little boy and girl on either side of her. She knew that must be his wife and kids and she felt her heart break as she watched them.
If it wasn't for Elle, their dad, that woman's husband, would still be alive. She felt sick to her stomach and was worried for a moment she'd throw up. But the nausea blew past, followed by utter sadness. Once her tears began to fall, she couldn't stop them from coming and she sat in the pew, silently sobbing.
After the funeral, Elle insisted on going to the burial. This was usually for close friends and family, but she desperately wanted to be there. She wanted to pay her respects until she was completely out.
"Alright, Happy and I will go meet with the 512s," Jax said reluctantly as they walked out of the church, "Opie, take Elle to the burial. We'll meet you there when we're done." Opie nodded and Jax watched Elle walk off with him, once again climbing onto his bike. It ripped his damn heart out to see her so sad, and that he wasn't the one she wanted to be around. He sighed and followed Happy out to the meeting.
Elle and Opie watched the burial from afar. They weren't close to the family and didn't feel right standing with the group, but Elle wanted to watch. Her eyes never left Hunter's wife unless it was to glance at his two kids. Lauren and Colin. That's what he'd said their names were. She watched as a line formed by the casket and one by one, everyone placed a flower on top. Hunter's wife had to lift Colin up, and she watched as the tiny boy dropped a flower onto the casket. Once everyone had taken their places again, they began lowering the casket. His wife burst into tears as she watched her husband sink lower into the ground and several minutes later the crowd began to disperse.
She didn't know what made her do it, but as if her legs had a mind of their own they had set off in the direction of his wife. She stood above her, still sitting in her chair, her kids still on either side of her. She glanced up when she saw Elle walk her way.
"Hi… um… you don't know me, but my names El- er, Lauren," she said, glancing at the young girl whom she knew shared her real name, "I didn't know your husband very well, but he saved my life a few weeks ago, and I… I never got the chance to thank him. I just- I just wanted to tell you that." His wife nodded, smiling meekly through her tears.
"Thank you, Lauren," she said in almost a whisper. Elle smiled sadly at her, then at the kids, and walked back in the direction she'd come from. She passed Opie and walked further into the graveyard, not stopping until she came to a tree, dropping her bag on the ground in front of it and sliding down slowly against it until she was sitting on the ground, leaning against the trunk. Opie followed her soon after and took a seat next to her.
Jax drove up to the graveyard a couple hours later with Happy, expecting Opie and Elle to be waiting for them in the parking lot, but there was no sign of them. The meeting with the 512's had taken a lot longer than he had expected, but it had been a successful meeting and he was glad of at least one piece of good news to take back to the club.
"Stay here, see if they come back this way," Jax told Happy, who nodded, leaning against his bike with his arms crossed as Jax made his way through the graveyard. He finally spotted Opie and Elle sitting on the grass, leaning against a tree, talking. He stood a ways away, watching them. She looked upset, and he couldn't hear what she was saying from here, but it looked like she was talking Opie's ear off. Opie reached over, putting a hand around her shoulder and pulling her into him and she cried into his shoulder.
Jax watched the exchange, almost trembling with jealousy. It wasn't that he thought anything would happen with Elle and Opie – he knew Opie too well for that. It was the fact that she was talking to him, spilling her guts to him, when she would barely look at Jax. He wanted to be the one to comfort her, the one she felt safe with.
Elle sniffled as she pulled back from Opie, staring out at the graveyard.
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked and he nodded, looking over at her. She sighed, not really knowing where to start, "This whole thing with Nik, I just don't even understand how it happened. Jax said the club needed me to go over there. Did you all just sit around and decide I'd be the one?" Opie sighed and shook his head, leaning back against the tree.
"No, he wanted you," he replied, "Went to Jax and asked if he could have you." He turned to look her in the eye, "None of us knew what was going to happen. The vote would never have gone down that way if we knew what he was like." Elle nodded; this was nothing she hadn't heard before.
"Jax didn't want to, you know," Opie added, "This is not on Jax. He was just being a good president, and a good president does what the club needs him to do. He was shot down, 2-7." Elle looked down at her hands. So Jax had been against it from the start.
"2 to 7? Who else voted against it?" she asked. Opie shrugged.
"I stood behind Jax. Even if he wouldn't admit the real reason he didn't want you to go, I don't think even to himself, I've known him long enough to know how he felt about you," he said.
"And then when Nik…. Afterwards? What did they think then?" she asked. Opie sighed.
"Jax wanted blood, Elle. He was fucking livid. He wanted to kill him – bad. But the rest of the club was worried about retaliation. Once the rest of us saw what happened to you, we decided to stop doing business with him," he said.
"And now?" she asked. Opie reached over, cupping her chin in his hand.
"And now? Oh, we're gonna gut the fucker," he said. Elle gave him a tiny smile, her own blood lust surprising her slightly, and leaned into him.
"Thanks, Ope," she said, "For everything."
Jax couldn't watch them anymore and slowly made his way over to Opie and Elle as they glanced up at his approach.
"We need to get going if we're going to make it back tonight," Jax said, not being able to keep the curtness out of his tone. Opie nodded and stood, holding his hand out to help Elle up.
"I need to change," Elle mumbled, picking her bag up.
"You can go into the funeral home," Opie said, pointing the way.
"Meet us in the parking lot out front," Jax told her and she nodded, barely glancing at him as she turned to walk towards the funeral home while Opie and Jax made their way to the parking lot to meet Happy. Elle joined them several minutes later, back in her jeans and tank top, grabbing her helmet and sliding onto the back of Happy's bike, much to Jax's annoyance. He knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him, and he deserved it.
"Let's grab a bite, then we can hit the road," Jax suggested as the others nodded in agreement. It had been a long day and they were all starving.
After they had eaten, Elle rubbed her stomach in disgust. Not only had it been an emotionally draining day, but now she'd eaten enough food to feed a small village and all she wanted to do was take a nap. She felt groggy and sleepy and worried she wouldn't be able to last the four hour drive back to Charming.
They walked back outside and Elle slipped onto the back of Happy's bike again as they all set off. Elle started to feel herself nod off and at one point almost slipped off the back of Happy's bike. He glanced back at her as she caught herself, annoyed, but continued riding. About an hour and a half into the ride, Happy drove next to Jax and motioned to pull over. Opie followed them.
"What's up?" Jax asked.
"She's falling asleep," Happy said gruffly, motioning to Elle, "Unless you want her body splattered all over the highway, we need to stop." Jax nodded, eyeing Elle.
"Okay, we'll pull off at the next motel we see, get a room for the night and head back in the morning," Jax said.
"No, I'm okay," Elle mumbled sleepily, "I can hang for the rest of the way." Jax shook his head firmly.
"I think we're all a little tired. We'll get a room, it's not a big deal," he said, and Elle nodded, too tired to argue.