The next morning, Elle stirred next to Jax and curled into him, not wanting to leave his side. He woke up groggily and pulled her closer, kissing her forehead.

"Morning," he said. She grinned, feeling her heart race as he smiled down at her.

"Morning," she said. Jax's phone went off beside him and he groaned, reaching for it and checking the display.

"Shit," he mumbled, flipping it open.

"What's wrong?" Elle asked, the smile wiped from her face. Had something gone wrong with Bex? Did the police not buy her story? Had she been in jail all night while Elle had been with Jax?

"I'm sure it's nothing, it's just Happy," he muttered as he put the phone up to his hear. Elle listened to his side of the conversation, which didn't give her much, until he hung up and tossed the phone back on the table, turning back to Elle.

"What happened?" she asked, not wanting to get distracted as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him again.

"Everything's fine," he assured her, "Happy just wanted to let me know he's over at your apartment with the prospects. They're gonna get everything cleaned up over there." Elle nodded.

"What about Bex?" she asked.

"She's fine, Roosevelt got her statement last night, did a prelim investigation, said everything seemed to match her statement so they don't need to do a full investigation, and they took Nik's body and left. Happy said she stayed at the clubhouse last night," Jax responded. Elle nodded.

"We need to go over there, check on her," Elle said and Jax sighed and nodded, reluctantly releasing her from his side so she could jump in the shower.

They arrived in the TM lot an hour later and Elle rushed into the clubhouse, Jax following behind her, and found Bex sitting at the bar with Cherry. Elle rushed over to her, throwing her arms around her and nearly knocking Bex off her stool.

"Hey!" Bex said, laughing and hugging her back, "Everything's fine. I just didn't want to stay in that apartment last night, it's a disaster. I'm definitely not getting my security deposit back." Elle laughed with relief.

"Well, Happy and the prospects are at the apartment, now. I guess they'll do what they can," she responded as Jax sidled up to them. Bex looked up at him as he approached and grinned at them as Jax wrapped his arm instinctively around Elle's waist.

"Thanks for everything, Jax," Bex told him earnestly, "You fucking saved the day." He gave her a small smile but before he could respond, Tig walked into the clubhouse from the back and Jax glared at him, marching up and punching him in the face. Tig stumbled back, glaring at Jax as he shook his head.

"Yeah I was wondering when that was gonna happen," he said.

"What the fuck happened?" Jax asked.

"What can I say…he caught me with my pants down," Tig said, shrugging.

"Your dick is gonna be the end of you, you know that right?" Jax asked.

"That's the way I want to go," Tig said in all seriousness.

"Well anyone I care about, or anyone they care about, gets hurt again because you got caught with your pants down, I will stick my foot so far up your ass," Jax said.

"Promise?" Tig asked, grinning. Jax shook his head.

"Get outta here you sick freak," he said before walking back to Elle, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon, I'm taking you to lunch," he said and Elle waved goodbye to Cherry and Bex as they walked out.

"So are they a thing now?" Cherry asked, leaning back against the bar. Bex shrugged, grinning.

"I guess so," she said.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

A couple of weeks later, chapel let out and the boys filed out into the clubhouse where their usual Friday night party was going down, full swing. Jax followed Opie, Chibs, and Half-Sack up to the bar, where Cherry was bartending. Half-Sack leaned over the bar to give her a kiss and she smiled at him before turning to the others.

"What can I get you guys?" she asked, arms propped on the bar. Chibs, Opie, and Half-Sack all ordered a beer and she turned to Jax.

"Nah, nothing for me, Cherry," he said, "I'm gonna take off here pretty soon." She nodded and pulled the beers as Opie looked over at him.

"Seriously? C'mon, stay for a drink. You haven't been around the last couple weeks," he said.

"I know, I'm sorry, Ope, but I gotta get back to my girl," Jax responded.

"You should bring her around," Cherry spoke up, "I miss seeing her." Jax smiled at her.

"Well, thanks, but I don't think she's ready to come out here, yet," he replied.

"I'm just sayin," Opie said, "I'm hearin shit about your disappearing act. People might start to wonder where your loyalty's at." Jax glared at him.

"My loyalty's with the club, Ope," he said, "I think I've proven that. But she needs me right now." Opie shrugged.

"Alright, do what you gotta do, brother," he said, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said, waving at the others as he made his way outside.

He pulled up to his house a couple minutes later and walked inside to the smell of something burning and the fire alarm going off. He grinned as he wrinkled his nose and walked into the kitchen to see Elle frantically waving a towel over the fire alarm. He leaned against the door frame, watching her with an amused expression on his face.

"Need any help?" he finally called over the sound of the alarm. She jumped, startled, as she turned to look at him, a sheepish expression on her face.

"It won't stop!" she said and he swaggered up to the alarm, popping it off and taking the batteries out, the alarm going blissfully silent.

"What were you doing?" he asked, looking at the opened oven. She ran a finger through her hair.

"Making a lasagna," she mumbled. He threw his head back, laughing as she stood glaring, her hands on her hips.

"It's not funny!" she said, "I was going to make dinner, and I got a call from Bex and I lost track of the time." He smirked at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into him.

"We'll order a pizza, okay?" he said. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, okay," she said, "I wanted to surprise you." He stood in front of her, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Babe, I am surprised," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I wanted to surprise you with dinner, not with almost burning your house down!" she said. He grinned, kissing her again before digging his phone out of his pocket to call for a pizza. After he placed the call they walked into the living room and she snuggled into him on the couch.

"So seven nights in a row you've been home early," she commented. He nodded.

"Yeah, the guys are starting to bust my balls for not being at the clubhouse more," he sighed. She frowned.

"If you want to spend more time up there, you should," she told him. He shook his head.

"I want to spend more time with you," he told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "Wherever that is." She sighed.

"I don't want to be the one keeping you away," she said, "I can start coming to the clubhouse more." He pulled away from her slightly so that he could look at her.

"I'm not asking you to do that," he said gently. She nodded.

"I know you're not," she said, "I'm telling you I want to."

"Are you sure?" he asked. She shrugged.

"You love the man, you learn to love the club, right?" she said, "But I only want to go if Bex is gonna be there so I have someone to talk to if you have to run off." He nodded.

"I can live with that," he said smiling.

"Do they even know about us?" Elle asked tentatively. The two of them had pretty much kept to themselves the last few weeks and hadn't really made many public appearances. Not that they were trying to hide anything, but Elle hadn't really been up to going out and she preferred staying in with Jax anyway. Jax shrugged.

"I mean, most of them all know. I haven't stood up and made an announcement about it if that's what you're asking," he said. Elle nodded, chewing nervously on her lip.

"What?" he asked, knowing she was holding back from saying something. She sighed.

"I just… I didn't know if maybe you didn't want people to know because of… you know… how I…. what I used to do at the parties," she stammered, looking down at her hands, not able to get the words 'I was pretty much the club bicycle' out of her mouth. He frowned, pulling her closer to him.

"I don't care about that shit, okay?" he said, cupping his hand under her chin, "I got past that a long time ago." Elle nodded, breathing deeply.

"Okay," she finally said, "I'll come out to the next party then." Jax grinned and kissed her.

"Good."

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

The next week, Wendy was back at the clubhouse for yet another Friday night showdown. She sat at the bar with Leslie and Rhonda while Amy tended the bar, surveying the crowd. Things had been going very well for her the past couple of weeks. Elle had been run off by the Russian so she hadn't had to see her for a couple of months and Wendy's place had seemed to be restored. Things were finally getting back to normal.

Except for Jax. He had been almost completely MIA lately. She'd seen him around the clubhouse tonight for the first time in several weeks and was debating how to make her move. She glanced over at the table where Jax was sitting with Juice, Opie, and Chibs and watched as he brushed away a couple croweaters who were then pulled onto the laps of Chibs and Juice. Wendy watched as Jax finished the rest of his beer and she grinned, about to turn around to tell Amy to pull one for her so she could bring it to Jax when she did a double take at the door and wanted to scream.

"Oh look! Elle's back!" Leslie said happily, and Wendy turned to glare at her.

"What is she doing here?" she asked through gritted teeth as she saw Opie tap Jax on the shoulder and point to Elle, who had just walked in with Bex. Jax grinned and hopped up from the table. Wendy watched as he said hi to Bex and then pulled Elle into his arms, kissing her, before walking back to the table and pulling her onto his lap. Elle laughed as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and he nuzzled her neck. Bex looked around to pull a chair up before Opie patted his knee and she sat down.

"What the hell just happened?" Wendy screeched, not noticing Gemma sidle up to the bar until she told Amy to get her a drink. Gemma glanced over at Wendy's seething expression and smirked as she took the beer Amy handed her.

"Looks like there's a new Queen," Gemma said before calmly walking away, leaving a brewing hurricane behind her.

At the table, Jax wrapped his arm protectively around Elle's waist, kissing her neck softly. She looked down at him, smiling.

"Thanks for coming tonight," he said and she grinned, nodding.

"Anytime. It'll be fun," she said. Tig walked over just then and grinned.

"Fuckin Snow White!" he said, pulling a chair up to the table, "You're back!" Elle rolled her eyes but smiled at Tig.

"My name's Elle, you know," she reminded him. He shook his head.

"Nah, hear me out, I've got this great idea, okay. Snow White and the Seven Whores," he said, his eyes lighting up as Jax's narrowed.

"Seven Whores?" Elle repeated, uneasy about where he was going with this as she subtly grasped Jax's hand. Tig nodded.

"Yeah, you know, we got Perky, Busty, Shorty, Crazy," he started rattling off names, pointing at different girls around the room, "And…. Dopey!" he finished, pointing at the bar where Leslie stood.

"It would be a really good idea for you to leave," Jax said.

"Just think about it, we could make a shit ton of money off that," Tig said.

"Tig! She's my old lady. Get the fuck outta here!" Jax yelled and Tig looked between the two as Elle grinned, suddenly washing away her uneasiness about Tig's comment. Jax had never called her that before.

"Oh, right, shit, yeah…" he mumbled, standing up and walking away. Elle looked at Jax and laughed.

"Oh come on, that was kinda funny," she said, and Jax shook his head, frowning, "We've gotta give people time to realize." Jax shook his head, holding her close to him.

"They're gonna realize that you fucking belong to me," he growled, kissing her and she smiled.

"Yes, I do," she murmured in his ear.

Wendy watched the exchange from her perch at the bar, her eyes growing narrower as time went on.

"I fucking hate that bitch," Wendy muttered, reckless plans running through her head. She knew Jax didn't give two shits about any one woman. Never had except for Tara, and if Wendy had it her way he never would again until he opened his eyes and saw what a great old lady she'd make him. She just had to get rid of Elle. Scare her away from the clubhouse once and for all.

She watched as Half-Sack ran through the door, yelling for Jax about something and Jax turned to Elle, telling her he'd be right back. She climbed off his lap and he followed Half-Sack outside, followed by Opie, Juice, and Chibs, leaving Bex and Elle alone at the table with the other croweaters. Wendy grinned and looked through her bag, finding the small vial she was looking for.

"I think we should bring the girls a peace offering," she said to Amy, "Make me five Washington Apples." Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise, but got busy on the shots. When she'd laid them out across the bar, Wendy took the vial, dripping several drops into one of the shots.

"What's that?" Leslie asked while Amy and Rhonda pretended not to notice what she'd done.

"I'm not gonna be around for this," Rhonda muttered as she took off outside.

"It's just a little juice," Wendy said, "Makes it taste better." Leslie nodded, grinning.

"I want some, too!" she said. Wendy shook her head, replacing the vial in her bag.

"No, this is special for Elle," she said, "I just … want to make some peace." Amy shook her head while Leslie just grinned.

"Oh, okay. I think that's really nice of you, Wendy," she said. Wendy smiled.

"Well, I am a nice person, you know," she replied as they took all the shots over to the table.

"Hi Elle," Wendy greeted as she walked up, "Hey, Bex." Bex and Elle glared at her.

"What do you want, Wendy?" Bex asked. Wendy shrugged.

"Look, I know I've been a bitch, okay? And I'm really sorry about everything that happened. I was just so jealous of you, Elle, and I dunno… I lost my head a bit," she said with such sincerity it took both girls by surprise, "I wanted to bring over a peace offering. I know we'll never be friends, but I hope this means we can at least be civil to one another." Bex and Elle exchanged glances before looking back at Wendy, who was holding a shot out to Elle.

"Here, we'll cheers to you being all better," she said as Elle hesitatingly took the shot.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Washington Apple," she told her, "They're delicious." Wendy continued passing them around the table and held hers up.

"To you, Elle," she said, smiling. Elle hesitated as Bex tossed back the shot in her hand and looked over at Bex.

"Oh just take it, maybe then she'll go away," Bex muttered under her breath. Elle took the shot and handed the glass back to Wendy.

"Okay, well, see you around Elle," she said as she walked back to her spot at the bar to enjoy the show.

Thirty minutes later, Wendy had watched as Elle slowly started to feel the effects of the drug, and now she looked like she'd just ingested an entire bottle of tequila. She was currently on the stripper pole, dancing around it wildly as she slowly started to grind against it, beginning to unbutton her top. Wendy watched, amused, as Bex ran up to her, trying to pull her friend from the pole and keep her clothes on as the boys standing around catcalled and yelled at Bex to let the show happen.

Elle giggled, falling on her friend as Bex struggled to keep her upright and the guys all groaned in disappointment, then cheered as Leslie replaced Elle on the stripper pole. Elle leaned in, trying to kiss Bex.

"Ohhhkay," Bex said, trying to haul her friend over to the booth in the corner. Elle stumbled as Bex lost her grip on Elle and Elle made her way to one of the couches littered with a few hangarounds. She fell onto one of their laps, giggling as she ran her fingers through his hair, whispering in his ear.

Wendy watched as Jax walked in and her eyes widened in excitement as she saw him spot Elle hanging all over the hangaround. Jax marched up to Elle, ripping her up before punching the hangaround in the face, screaming at him. Bex tried to calm Jax down.

"She hasn't even had that much to drink, Jax," Bex said worriedly, "I don't know what's wrong with her." Jax glared at her as he sat Elle on the booth.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he yelled at Elle. She just giggled some more before falling backwards on the booth. Her laughter stopped as her body jerked and she grabbed her stomach.

"I don't feel good," she mumbled as her eyes closed. Jax turned to Bex, anger replaced by concern.

"You said she didn't have much to drink?" he said. Bex shook her head.

"No, just a couple beers and a shot," she said. Jax frowned, running his hands through his hair, leaning over Elle as he tried to shake her awake. Bex looked wildly around and saw Leslie still on the stripper pole.

"Leslie!" she called. Leslie stopped dancing and looked over at Bex who was waving her over.

"Hi Bex!" she said, and then frowned when she saw Elle, "What's wrong with her?" Bex shook her head.

"I don't know," she said, "Do you know what was in that shot Wendy gave her?" Leslie shrugged.

"Just the normal stuff," she said, "Oh and Wendy put some juice in it." Jax's eyes widened as he looked at Leslie.

"Wendy put fucking JUICE in her shot?" he yelled, feeling his blood pressure rise in his anger. Leslie nodded, surprised by his reaction.

"Yeah, she said it would make it taste better," Leslie said, frowning, "It was a Washington Apple. They're kind of sour. I thought the apple juice might make it taste less sour, but Wendy wouldn't let me have any."

"It's not that kind of FUCKING JUICE!" Jax screamed at her, wondering how anybody could get this far in life and be that stupid, "It's G-Juice." He looked wildly around and saw Wendy trying to slip unnoticed out of the front door.

"WENDY!" he yelled, so loud that everyone in the room jumped and looked up. Wendy froze, turning to face Jax, trying to smile.

"Oh, hey, Jax," she said, glancing over at Elle, "I guess some people just can't handle their alcohol, hmm?" Jax swaggered slowly up to her, his fists clenched, and he lowered his face inches from hers.

"Not when some stupid whore puts GHB in her goddamn drink," he growled menacingly. Wendy raised her eyebrows, trying to look surprised.

"GHB? Who would do that?" she asked innocently, looking around, trying to figure a way out. She shrieked in surprise as Jax ripped the bag off her shoulder and dug through it, pulling the vial out. He held it, glowering menacingly at Wendy as he threw it as hard as he could against the wall by the coat hangers, the vial shattering. Happy and Tig hopped up and ran to help their president as Jax spat in her face.

"You ever show your face around my club or my old lady again, I will kill you," he snarled at her, so quietly only Wendy could hear, and, turning to Happy and Tig added, "Get her out of here." Happy grabbed Wendy and Jax watched until the door closed behind them before walking back over to where Bex stood with her head tilted over Elle.

"How is she?" he murmured to Bex who shook her head, looking down at Elle who was still lying motionless on the couch.

"I don't know, Jax. Her breathing is really slow and she won't wake up. We need to get her to a hospital," she whispered, "It's really dangerous to mix GHB with alcohol." Jax nodded, walking over to Elle and leaning over her, sitting on the booth.

"Elle, baby," he whispered, gently shaking her. She stirred slightly, moaning, but wouldn't open her eyes. He looked down at her, concern etched in his features, as he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Jax.

"Jax?" she said and he nodded, smiling at her. She groaned, rolled over, and vomited over the side of the booth. Jax grabbed her hair, holding it back from her face until she was done.

"Feel better?" he asked, and she shook her head, "Okay, we're gonna get you to a hospital." Elle nodded, the room spinning around her, as Jax picked her up and carried her in his arms.

"Prospect!" he yelled, seeing Miles across the room, who immediately ran up to him, "Go clean that up," he said, motioning with his head to the corner. Miles winced slightly but nodded, running off as Jax walked outside, Bex following behind.

"I don't have my truck here," Jax said, just realizing it as he walked outside and only saw his bike.

"We can take my car," Bex said, "I drove Elle over here." Jax nodded, following Bex to her car and loading Elle in the backseat. Jax had barely closed the door behind him before Bex was tearing out of the lot towards St. Thomas.

A/N We're nearing the end of this story! The last chapter should be up by the end of the weekend. I really hope y'all have enjoyed it and thank you so much for reading! I've been having so much fun writing it! Please review!