"Hey, Opie, is this important? I'm kind of in the middle of something," I hissed into the phone. My irate professor stared at me, her face contorted into one of irritation.

"Yeah, it is. God, I wish Juice could call and tell you about this. Umm…you know Luann, right?" He stuttered.

"Duh, I know Luann. Hurry up and spit it out, Opie," I growled while I stared apologetically at my professor. She tapped her foot incessantly and I cursed myself for not turning my damn phone off.

"She's dead, Moon. Beaten to death over Caracara business. We found out yesterday. I just now thought about calling you. This is all I can tell you over this line. If you want to come home, let me know now and we'll get you a plane ticket."

"I….yes...please…" My voice wavered and the professor's face fell from irritation to skepticism. I rose from my desk as Opie informed me, "We'll email it to you in about an hour. Love you, Moon. See you soon."

He hung up and she asked me, "Ms. Mace, is everything okay?"

"Luann's dead," I said blankly, as if she would know what that meant. I hadn't known Luann that well. She was the older woman that all the guys talked about being a super porn star. She was the woman at family dinners who would tease me about coming to work behind her cameras because she needed some "tanner flesh than my little white girls." She was Otto's old lady, who I'd never met but I'd seen pictures and heard stories about. She was the one Juice told me to watch out for because she might laugh but she really wouldn't say no to me being in one of her films. She was all of that but, more than anything, she was the second old lady who had died within a year.

"Do you need to leave?" she asked me. "Are you going home?"

"I need to go pack. I will have a plane ticket within the hour. Please e-mail me my work and I will send you completed copies of everything. I'm sorry to interrupt your class. I need to go."

I gathered my things and left quickly, leaving a class staring after me in awe. I was the girl on campus who could get a plane ticket within an hour. I was the girl who always had just enough money to get by and a rock on her finger. I was the girl who rode in on the back of a Harley with a tattooed boyfriend. I was the center for gossip and it was driving me insane.

Seven hours later, I was on a plane back home. I knew that when I got out of the cab at the garage, Juice wouldn't be waiting for me. I knew that the week long, unplanned vacation and then the week of spring break I would be back for wouldn't be about fun or seeing people. It would be about being with my family. That knowledge followed me when, at nine o'clock that night, I got out of the cab and stumbled into the clubhouse with two suitcases on my own, only to see the prospect asleep on the couch. There was no welcoming party. No greetings. Just me and an empty room.

Juice

I slammed the remote against the metal handrail of the hospital bed, hoping that it would make the fucking thing work. Some nurse changed the station in my room every time I went to sleep and I would wake up with it on some bullshit soap opera channel. It was just some lazy bitch finding something to do instead of working. I was interrupted from my electronic abuse by a soft voice at the door, "You know that's not going to work, right?"

I looked up to see the one person I'd dreamed about for weeks. Laura was standing in the doorway with her long black hair braided down her back and a curve hugging black dress. She could have been wearing a potato sack and I would have found her beautiful. She was leaning against the doorframe. She greeted, "Hey there, my little felon."

I patted the bed next to me and ordered, "Come here, my beautiful girl. Come make my dream of getting some in a hospital bed a fantastic reality."

"Juice, we are not having sex on a hospital bed," she laughed.

"But, baby, I'm getting out within the next couple days. Don't you want to make me happy?"

"I'll make you happy once you're back in the dorm room, in our bed."

I grinned and motioned her over. She sat down next to me and curled into my side. I informed her, "I don't want you staying in the dorm rooms when you're in town. I know we don't have all the furniture for the house, but I think we should buy some for now and start staying in the house."

Her face lit up and she exclaimed, "The house? Our house?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'll only stay in it when you're home but it will still be cool to get us a bed and a kitchen table and some plates and stuff. I'll give you my card and you can start going shopping. Just send me pictures of the stuff you want to buy and I'll tell you yes or no," I ordered.

She shrieked with laughter and threw her arms around my neck. She hugged me as tight as possible and I winced but didn't let her show it. I was a biker. I'd killed men. I didn't wince when my fiancé hugged me a little too tight. She murmured, "Thank you so much. You make me the happiest girl in the whole wide world. As soon as you get out of this hospital bed I am going to make you see stars."

Even with an IV in my arm and a heart rate monitor keeping track of my heart, I could feel my dick tingle as soon as she whispered it. I replied, "Baby, you could do that right now."

My heart rate sped up dangerously as she began kissing my neck and slowly working her way down my body. A nurse picked that moment to walk into the room and question, "Mr. Ortiz, are you alright? Your heart rate is….oh…."

Laura sat up with a shriek and fell down off the bed with a squeak. I sat up quickly to reach for her and pulled at the machine that kept the IV in my arm. I grunted in pain and the nurse turned red. Laura stammered, "I am so so sorry. I didn't mean to make his heart race. We'll keep him nice and calm now."

"Right, as long as you do that." The nurse said embarrassedly.

She left and I started laughing. Laura glared up at me from the floor. It only made me laugh harder. I commanded, "Get back up here with me and let me hold you."

She climbed back into bed with me and curled up with her head on my chest. I ran my fingers through her hair and asked, "Did you go to the funeral?"

"Yeah."

"How are you feeling?"

"I just can't believe that two old ladies died in one year. It's scary, Juice. SAMCRO has always protected the ones they love," she said quietly.

I reached down and tilted her face up to look at me. I promised, "Baby, no matter what happens, I will always protect you. I love you."

"I love you too."

I rubbed her back and slowly, she fell asleep in my arms. A nurse came in at eight thirty that night and made her leave my side but she kissed me and promised to return the next day after doing some shopping.

Laura

"This is a really big bed. Are you sure you and Juice need a bed this big?" Lyla asked. Opie had asked me to take her shopping with me so that we could get to know each other better and to take her mind off the fact that her boss had just died.

"Trust me, we do. He sprawls out when he sleeps alone so he's always half off his dorm bed. And when we're together, we're all over the bed while we're awake. Plus when we have kids, it'll give room for them to sleep in the same bed as us," I explained to her.

"That's a good idea. When I had Piper it was just me and him and we didn't really need a big bed."

I nodded. The bed I was staring at had a large, oak frame and a sweeping canopy with red, transparent curtains. The bedroom was going to be done in red and black and we already had the red and black bedset. I snapped a picture and sent it to Juice. I received a text a few moments later with the reply, "Perfect."

"So what else do you need?" Lyla asked as I flagged over a sale's associate.

"Dishes, a kitchen table, towels, and a couch."

"Oh. Juice trusts you a lot with his money."

"Yeah, we've been together almost three years now. Without the trust, we would have fallen apart a long time ago. It's the trust that makes it easy to be across country."

"That's cool."

I gave orders to the sale's associate and then turned to walk towards the kitchen tables. Lyla and I were silent for a long moment before I asked, "So, can I ask you about your job without you getting offended?"

"Maybe. It depends on how you ask the question," she replied cautiously.

"Don't worry. I don't care that you're a porn star. I know Tara and Gemma hate it but I honestly don't think it's any of their business. That's your career and your choice. It doesn't make you a bad person. I was going to ask if Opie has a problem with it."

"He acts like he doesn't but he really does. It's like he's actively trying not to bring it up to me, but at the same time he hates it. We're not serious right now though. I mean, we just kissed the other day."

"Trust me, you're serious. If Opie has let you in, you're serious."

"You seem to know him pretty well." I instantly picked up on the hint of suspicion in her voice and it made me want to laugh. A porn star felt threatened by me! I made a mental note to tell Juice about it. She had men across the country drooling over her. I had one biker who wanted me.

"Yeah. We got close after Donna's death. She was my best friend."

"Oh." She seemed disappointed by the news.

"But I'm happy for Ope. He deserves a girl who wants to be with him. Just because she was my best friend doesn't mean I'm going to hate you for being with him. I'm actually really happy for him, and you. And Kenny and Ellie. They need a woman in their life right now."

"I'm glad you think so. Piper really needs a father figure. He never knew his and, Ope is kind of messed up sometimes, but he's a really great dad."

"I think so too," I agreed. "What do you think of this table? I want the kitchen to be light and sunny. Like reds and greens."

I pointed to a six seater table with light wood and tall chairs with red seats.

"Juice is okay with that? He doesn't want some sleek bachelor pad feel?"

"Nope. He likes what I like."

"How did you get him like that?" she joked. "And where can I learn?"

"Lots of determination and slow bending to my will over the years. With a few violent fights sprinkled in."

She laughed and we finished shopping. At the end of the day, I texted Opie and gave his new girlfriend my seal of approval. Then, I went to the hospital to see Juice and back to our house to set up a few things. The more I sat in the house, staring at the place where our bed rested, the more I doubted my decision of going across country and the more I knew what I needed to do.