Walk Away from the Son

by BG.0715

As the events of Season 2 unfold - and the going gets tough for the folks of Charming, when loyalties are tested and relationships pushed to their brink, will the Parker Sisters be able to hang on or will they be forced to walk away. Tig/OC, Juice/OC

10. Chapter 9, Wreck Me

Walk Away from the Son
Parker Sister Saga continues – Season 2 of SoA
Chapter 9- You Wreck Me (Our version of Eureka)
By BG and Reaper

Sorry it took so long to finish this chapter, we really thought it would go quicker. Funny how the things that seem the easiest to write, turn out to be the hardest. But there is LOTS of Tig in this chapter, so you guys should be happy. Good things come to those who wait...well sorta.
And as always, there are some musical selections to check out over in our fic folder at Tignation!

You wreck me baby, you break me in two
But you move me honey, yes you do
~Wreck Me, Tom Petty

XXX

The guys took turns tossing insults at Bobby as he rolled his old bike onto the lot into line for the charity run.

"Hey, an old fat boy on an old fat boy!"

Jax laughed and pointed. "I thought you retired that beast."

"Hasn't even reached it's prime." Bobby attempted to defend his ride.

"Barely looks like it could reach the end of the lot." Opie quipped.

"Best bike for a long ride, I'd put it up against any of your pretty Dynas." Bobby revved the bike and it spit, sputtered and backfired. He switched it off just in time to hear his cell phone buzzing. He checked the caller ID and announced "Tacoma." He climbed off the bike and answered the call.

Kipp bemoaned, "Goddamn man, I gotta ride behind that?"

Chibs frowned. "You should be used to being sprayed in the face, Prospect"

XXX

"Hey Bobby E." Kozik spoke into the phone. "I know you n' the boys are gettin' set to head out on the Eureka run but got a quick question for ya first."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Whose the bitch got your man Juice all bent outta shape? Dude in love with some sweetbutt or somethin'?"

"Noooo! Vix's far from that." Bobby quickly explained in the simplest terms possible exactly who Vix Parker was and how she and Jaci had re-migrated to Charming a while back. "Vix and Juice shot out the gate doin' about a buck-twenty... been wrapped up since then… til about a month ago, that is."

"Seriously?" Kozik groaned. So what am I supposed to do with him? They gonna get over their shit or what? He's seriously bummed the fuck out."

"THAT is the million dollar question." Bobby replied with a chuckle. "Juicey's got some serious shit to work thru and Vix needs time to heal. Because I am known to be Pro-Parker and for his part in all of it, Chibs and I talked Clay into sendin' him your way. Knew you needed help with intel, but also as a favor to the kid. Shit's too raw right now for both of them. So, use him as you see fit... but make sure What Happens in Tacoma Stays in Tacoma for everyone's sake."

Koz snorted as he glanced over his shoulder to where Juice was slumped in a chair in the corner of the Tacoma Clubhouse lookin' glum as hell. The kid was well on his way to polishing off the bottle of Cuervo in his hand. "So far only thing happenin' in Tacoma is a spike in tequila consumption and iTunes downloads of angsty songs."

Juice watched the Tacoma SAA carry on a phone conversation. He watched as Kozik glanced his way a few times during and figured he was the likely subject matter. Juice shrugged to himself and brought the bottle of tequila to his lips and drained it empty. He closed his eyes and got lost in the song playing through his ear buds: Cavo's Crash.

Every mile gets you further away from the past
Feels like you're shattered and covered in broken glass
And I'll be here the next time that you crash
Yeah, I'll be here the next time that you crash

I'm right here in front of you
Just ask and I'll hold your breath in my hands
And I'll save you when you crash, when you crash

Every mile gets you further away from the past
Feels like you're shattered and covered in broken glass
Losing control, can't you see that you're running too fast?
And I'll be here the next time
I'll pick you up the next time you crash

XXX

After Kozik hung up with Bobby, he walked over to Juice – who killed the iPod and pulled the earbuds out. "So you got a picture of this chick, got ya so damn heartbroken?"

Juice looked at him like well duh! He messed with his cell phone for a minute and then held it up to Koz.

"Oooh man.. that one looks like trouble."

"Yeah... in capital bold letters, underlined and highlighted with a few exclamation points tossed on at the end for emphasis." Juice replied with an actual laugh.

"Well she's damn cute... but if she's that much of a pain in the ass..."

Juice shrugged. "Ever met one that was well worth the effort?"

Koz thought for a minute and then shook his head. "Nope. But I guess it depends on what you consider worth the effort. I myself have EXTREMELY high standards and value my time and energy... so the girl'd have to be a Unicorn."

Juice laughed again. "Vix'd be like Rainbow Bright... literally. I mean when I met her she had pink hair."

"Jesus Christ." Koz laughed.

XXX

Back in Charming, Bobby turned back to the guys and tried to jump back into the conversation he had been half listening to. He looked at the Prospect, "You're getting a what? A musical?"

Kipp rolled his eyes, "A neutical!" He took his harassment from the guys in good stride, but so far no one but him thought it was a good idea. He had even asked Jaci her opinion a couple of days earlier and she flat told him that unless he was having the surgery for HIMSELF, it was a stupid risk and that any girl that was worth a damn wouldn't give a care about his present 'condition' below the belt.

Tig shoved at the kid as he finished up a cow miking gesture. "Besides, if you get another nut, what the hell are we gonna call you?"

The kid raised his eyebrows, "Um...Kipp?"

The guys were quiet for a half a second and then burst out laughing, "Naaaaaa!"

XXX

Twisted Scissors was alive with activity on that Saturday morning. Ruby and Milly both had appointments with Vix, Rachel was giving another patron a perm, and two other women had just arrived and headed upstairs to work on their tans. Jaci was looking over the salon's financial state via the salon's laptop while she parked her ass in one of the massaging pedicure chairs. Suddenly, the rumble of Harleys could be heard in the distance. The line of bikes that soon stretched down Charming's main street garnered attention from everyone within seeing distance and the women inside the beauty salon were no exception. They wandered out to the front sidewalk to watch the parade of bikers.

Reflexively, the Parkers both checked out the known riding locations of their respective exes in the line.

Tig, as normal, rode slightly behind Clay. When the SAMCRO SAA rolled past he willed himself NOT to look at the group gathered outside Twisted. Juice's space, in his apparent absence from the event, was filled by another.

After the bikes were gone and the car alarms had been quieted from the overwhelming vibrations, Rachel questions "Did that van read that they are taking part in the Blood Drive for a children's hospital?"

Vix bobbed her head up and down, "Mmm hmm, Sons of Anarchy doing their civic duty."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm all for serving the greater good, but exactly whose blood is being donated to the hospital?"

Jaci laughed, "Good damn question. Seriously the No Tattoos in the last year rule ALONE, disqualifies at least 80 % of them." She kept the additional qualifiers of no diseases or illicit drug use to herself.

"It also raises money and awareness, that many bikes anywhere together at one time, always gets noticed." Vix mentioned.

,Jaci looked to Vix. "I don't think I saw Juice. Isn't he involved in this one?"

"I'm not exactly in the know when it comes to his day to day." Vix shrugged and rolled her eyes.

Ruby held up a finger. "Jean-Carlos left for a bike trip two days ago. He failed to mention a destination but he did remark he'd be gone for a week or more."

Vix smirked at her sister "He's on a bike trip." She replied using Ruby's terminology. "I guess that answers that now don't it?" She gave the ladies a small smile and headed inside.

The rest followed suit. Once inside, Ruby ventured to continue the conversation, "That actually made the perfect segway into what I needed to speak to you about. With Jean gone, we are in need of a caller for Bingo on Thursday and..." Vix bit her lip, Ruby noticed and cocked her head. "What is it dear?"

Vix shook her head. "I.. I'm thinking that I should probably decline. You know... it's not because I don't want to help out but it's probably, you know... best. Things aren't lookin' like they're gonna be improvin' between Juice and me and so ya know... he wins you." She eyed Ruby and Milly then clarified. "ALL of you."

"Didn't know we were door prizes." Milly stated with a laugh.

Vix sighed. "This isn't coming out right. I mean, I don't think he's gonna want me hanging out with… ..."

Ruby touched her arm. "The joy of being Jean-Carlos' grandmother is not the end all… be all…of my existence, young lady. I and I alone, decide with whom I hang out and well... quite frankly I've grown to adore your company. All of us have, even Henry Darling."

Vix eyed Ruby, confused and conflicted. Milly smiled and offered, "Think of it as winning JOINT CUSTODY, honey."

"I'll tell Father Carlin to expect you on Thursday evening." Ruby said with a smile. "Now where is this little pup I've heard about? I've picked him up a few things."

Vix tossed a look at Jaci who shrugged and mouthed "ROLL WITH IT."

XXX

Later that evening, Jaci was putting the final touches on homemade bread and warm spinach artichoke dip when her cell phone came to life…A little less conversation, a little more action, all this aggravation...

She frowned and wondered why Bobby would be calling her while on a run. Shit, hope nothing happened. She put down her spatula and answered the phone cautiously, "Hello?"

Bobby tried to sound chipper on the other line. "Hey there, whatchya doin'?"

"Cooking for the little movie night we're having. What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Why does there have to be anything wrong for me to call you?"

"Cause you're in the middle of a run, Bobby. Not exactly prime time for social calls. Who's in jail?"

Bobby gave up the façade of a friendly call. "Nobody's in jail…but one's on his way to the hospital. Tig took a bit of a tumble."

Jaci stopped breathing and leaned against the counter. She finally sucked in air. "Is he…is he ok?"

"For the most part, but he's having a REAL shitty day. My bike went a little haywire and slammed into his and he went flipping off down a hill, ripped up his leg pretty good. Took him to the hospital near where it happened but they wouldn't see him cause of some insurance bullshit. Then we lost him for a bit."

"Lost him?"

Bobby looked around and lowered his voice, unsure if he should really spill the beans on the details of the day. But this was Jaci he was talking to, she'd understand the situation, keep her mouth shut. "Well…turns out some bitch ER admin called his name in with a bounty hunting service. He had skipped on something old out in Oregon. Anyway these guys rolled up and snatched him…we got him back though."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, I know. But now Piney's got him and they're headed back to St. Thomas. Actually been on the road for a few hours now."

Jaci frowned in confusion, not sure why Bobby was calling HER. She wasn't with Tig anymore, he wasn't her problem. She picked up the spatula and fiddle with it as she talked. "Ooook. So do you want me to tell Gemma or something?"

Bobby cleared his throat. "Um…I sorta want you to go to the hospital."

"Me?" Jaci lost her grip on the kitchen gadget and it clambered into the metal sink, making a ruckus. "Bobby, sorry to say it but I sorta HATE Tig. I don't think…"

"Well so do I sometimes...but I love the crazy bastard too and so do you."

"No I don't Bobby. Not anymore."

"Yes you do. If you guys didn't give a shit about each other on some damn level you wouldn't fight so much." Bobby was pacing around in the parking of the gas station while making his case to her. After arguing back and forth for a few minutes, he threw up a hand and finally said, "Ok, fine. You hate him, whatever. Could you just go make sure he gets stitched up? There's already been one insurance screw up today and I don't trust Piney to prevent another one and Clay will have my ass if something else goes wrong. Come on...need a favor here."

Jaci rubbed at her forehead. "Are you pulling the club favor card? Seriously? That is so not cool!"

"Noooo...I'm pulling the Bobby and Jaci buddy card but if you don't say yes, I'll throw down the club one. Now come on and help me out!" Bobby hissed. Chibs stood a few feet away laughing at him, he knew the call to Jaci would NOT go well.

"Grrrrr!" Jaci grunted and wanted to throw the phone across the room. "Ok ok. I'll go check on the jerk."

A smile spread across Bobby's face and he gave a thumbs up sign to Chibs who clapped silently at him. "You're the best, J. And could you make sure he gets home ok? Piney probably needs to get back to the grandkids and stuff."

"What? Bobby, no! I am NOT..."

Bobby acted like he was being pulled away from the phone. "What's that? Hey, I gotta go, J. Thanks!" He hung his cell with a huge grin on his face. He smirked at Chibs, "Told ya she'd go."

"You had to guilt her into it…doesn't count. Not payin' you the twenty bucks." Chibs replied with his arms crossed.

XXX

Tara opened the front door cautiously to find Vix standing on the front porch. "Hey, aren't you a little early for the Movie Mandate?"

"Yeah.. and don't kid yourself that this shit ain't on purpose. Gemma here yet?" Vix asked as she lit up a cigarette on the front stoop.

"Um, she is on her way… why?"

Vix eyed the doctor. "I think there's something wrong with her. I mean REALLY WRONG. That car accident fucked her up."

Tara immediately went on the defensive, "What are you talking about?"

"One of my clients at Twisted today… claimed Gemma pulled a gun on her while she was trying to find a parking space. Never mind the fact that the chick didn't know about our private spaces. Believe me she does now."

"Vix!" Tara interrupted the ramble. "Gemma pulled a gun on someone?"

"Allegedly… but chica had a great description right down the those new highlights I added to Gemma's hair… and the description of the Escalade she's been driving." Vix blew out a stream of smoke. "Do you think she has post traumatic stress or somethin'?"

"Anything's possible." Tara played dumb. "I'll talk to her… try anyway."

Vix nodded, "Good."

They both turned at the sound of a vehicle pulling to the driveway as Gemma arrived. She climbed out of the SUV slowly and hollered over to Vix, "You're early, good… I broke a nail." She held up her finger and gave the girls a visual.

Vix smirked. "Is that your gun hand?"

While Gemma eyed Vix strangely, Tara smiled and whispered. "Very nice, Vix… subtle."

A Green Day song erupted from Vix's phone and broke up the moment.

Better homes and safety-sealed communities
Did you remember to pay the utility?
Caution, police line, you better not cross
Is the cop or am i the one that's really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date, pushing everything
Or shut up and be a victim of authority

Gemma eyed the youngest Parker sister, "You gonna get that?"

Vix nodded. "I like to soak up the irony every time she calls me." Vix sang along to the next line Warning, live without warning . She smile and chirped into the phone, "Hola, chica que pasa?" She walked to the far end of the driveway to lend some privacy to the conversation.

Jaci groaned into her end of the line. "I'm gonna be missing Movie Night."

"Bullshit you are! Do I need to remind you that this was your and your new BFF's brainy idea to begin with… mend fences.. build bridges.. find common ground. Blah blah blah blah friggin' blah!"

"The boys had some trouble on the run." Jaci blurted purposefully to silence her sister.

"Holy shit! Is everyone ok, well obviously not… who got arrested?" Vix glanced over her shoulder and at seeing Gemma watching her, she managed to flash the older woman a small smile and turned back around and faced the street.."What happened?"

Jaci quickly explained what she knew and what was being requested of her.

"That's total horse shit, J… Bobby had no right."

"He had every right, Vix."

"No he didn't, Tig is an asshole."

"Be that as it may… a SON is a SON, God forbid it had been someone else."

"They woulda called someone else. He only pulled this shit because it's Tigger and no one else wants to deal with him."

"Regardless, it's done. I told him I would and unfortunately a Parker's word is bond."

"Yeah. I know… it ain't fair."

"Life ain;t meant to be, right? Kisses to Abel from me and beg forgiveness from the Queen. Oh and Rach says she has a few more trips to make moving her stuff in so she will be in and out. I asked her to grab the appetizers, such as they are- I was in the middle of it when Bobby called, and bring 'em with her when she comes over… so don't worry."

"Like I'm worried about food, I'm more worried 'bout you. Don't you take no shit from him. You tranq him up and prop his ass in a corner somewhere, dude don't deserve your tending."

"Yeah.. yeah. I gotta get over to St Thomas, I'll hit ya back later."

"You better."

Vix hung up completely frustrated for her sister. She turned around only to find both Tara and Gemma watching her from the front steps. She sighed and announced, "There's gonna be one less for dinner. Goddamn Tig had a wreck and Piney is bringing him back to St Thomas... some insurance red tape bullshit. Bobby saddled Jaci with babysitting duty."

"Is he ok?" Gemma asked full of concern.

"Yeah, well I guess. Gashed open his leg, needs stitches or something. But all respect to those who deserve it.. askin' J to do this is TOTAL BULLSHIT! Everybody knows Tigger is a complete fuckhead to her on a GOOD DAY… so you can just imagine how lovely he will be TODAY."

Tara grimaced thinking to herself Shit! Jaci doesn't need any added stress… those blood pressure pills have just begun to work.

Gemma waved Vix down, "You're right… call your sister, tell her to stay put.. I'll head to St Thomas, deal with Tig."

Oh hell, Gemma is really in no emotional shape to deal with this. Tara thought. Christ, if Vix's gun news rang any truth … someone would end up getting shot. "No no no, Gemma. You both just stay here, watch Abel and set stuff up for later. Tell Jaci to get her rear in gear and head on over, I'll go make sure everything is ok with Tig, I know most of the folks in the ER maybe I can get him pushed through fairly quickly."

Both women looked at Tara with amusement, Vix actually laughed out loud. "Tigger will rip you a new one, Doc. No offense but it'd be like an Olympic sport to him." Vix sighed "I'll go.. at least be moral support for my sister."

"Um, but your friend Rachel is coming over. She isn't going to want to hang out with just Gemma and I." Tara reminded.

Gemma held up her hands "You know what… Jaci agreed to go, maybe she and Bobby know something we don't. Let's just let her handle it."

"Oh Come on, Gemma! You know my sister don't know HOW to say NO! Helpin' people it's like her life's blood… a person in need is her kryptonite. Her saying she WOULD doesn't mean she WANTS TO."

XXX

Jaci navigated through the main waiting room of the St. Thomas emergency room. There were several parents consoling sick kids, a teenager holding an icepack to his head while his mom griped at him and a few adults that seemed to have flu like symptoms. No sign of Tig or Piney. She walked up to the nurse's station that served as a sign in desk.

Thankfully she recognized the nurse and didn't feel like a complete idiot asking if Tig had checked in yet. The nurse raised an eyebrow and smiled at her inquiry but Jaci played it off that she drew the short straw for checking on the jackass. The nurse handed her a clipboard, a pen and some paperwork, stating that Tig had essentially thrown his wallet at her and told her to do it herself. Jaci apologized for Tig's rude behavior and completed the paperwork quickly. The nurse waved her through some double doors and said that he was in one of the curtain partitioned cubicles in the back.

She stood at the front of the room for a moment until she heard Piney's voice. She hadn't wanted to just randomly poke her head into the rooms until she stumbled onto the correct one. She headed down the left side of the room and took a deep breath before leaning her head into the third cubicle. She winced as she took in the scene. Tig was lying on the gurney, one arm behind his head. His bloody bandaged left leg was propped up by a pillow under his knee. Piney was seated in a chair and had his oxygen tank resting on the bed with Tig. They were talking about a bike and how it needed to be ripped apart and melted. Finally she said, "Hey guys."

Tig's head jerked from Piney to the doorway and spotted her first. He frowned. "Who called you?"

Piney turned to follow his gaze and responded with a friendly, if surprised, "Well, hey there, Jaci."

"Well, hello to you too." She smiled and ignored Tig's annoyed tone. "Who do you think called me?"

"Fuckin'Bobby." Tig growled and looked at the floor. Thanks a lot, asshole. Fucking wreck my bike, cause me to get picked up by fucking bounty hunters and then you send my goddamn ex to see me while I'm a goddamn invalid. I'm going to fucking beat your ass the next time I see you.

"Um, Bobby was worried about you guys...thought there might need to be some estrogen involved." Jaci tried not to look too upset as she got a good look at Tig's battered face. Damn, are all the bruises and cut from the wreck or the bounty hunters?

Piney laughed. "That's for sure! I'm not giving him a sponge bath."

"Neither am I!" Jaci snorted.

Tig looked at her and grumbled, "Then what good are ya?"

She just rolled her eyes at his crankiness. "Well, I'm fantastic at filling out admittance paper work." She pulled his wallet out of the front pocket of her slim black Columbia fleece jacket and tossed it into his lap. "So were you trying to earn your Evil Knievel patch or what?"

"Bobby didn't tell you the story?" Piney asked.

She shrugged and lowered her voice. "Well, I'm sure I got the short version. Told me his bike messed up and caused Tig's tumble and then some drama about bounty hunters?"

Tig glared at her with a smirk. "He tell ya the charge I skipped out on?"

Jaci shook her head.

"Assault and indecent exposure in a livestock trailer." Tig sneered and said proudly.

Jaci eyes widened slightly when she heard the charge. Livestock trailer? What the fuck? She saw that his expression was oozing cockiness and realized that he was trying to bait her and gross her out. So she just replied, "Well, who's the goat fucker now? I hope it was worth all the hassle."

Piney threw his head back with laughter. Tig glared at her.

The moment was cut short by a nurse walking past; she made the mistake of making eye contact with Tig. "Hey goddammit, come here!" The nurse was very young. "When are you people going to fucking stitch me up? We've been here a damn hour!" Tig yelled.

"Tig." Jaci chided him with a look that said cool it but the warning was useless.

The nurse looked shaken; Tig certainly was an imposing force. She tried to explain the reason for his wait. "Well…sir…there are several children that need to be seen first. They're quite sick and since you are stable…"

Tig cut her off. "Fuck snotty nosed kids and fuck stable!" He pointed to his bloody mess of a leg. "My goddamn leg is going to get infected and ROT OFF while I keep waiting in hospitals for someone to fucking DO something!"

"I'm sorry sir; there is nothing I can do. You'll just have to wait your turn." The young nurse said as she walked away quickly.

Jaci shot Tig a disappointed look and muttered asshole as she turned on her heel to go after the nurse.

"Where the fuck are you going?" Tig yelled after Jaci as he slammed his head back against the bed.

"To apologize for you, dickhead. And hopefully score you some drugs." She called back over her shoulder.

XXX

"Excuse me!" Jaci called as she caught up to the young nurse down the hall. The nurse turned around and automatically looked defensive and a bit scared when she saw Jaci standing behind her. Jaci put her hands out apologetically and smiled. "I am SO sorry about him jumping you like that. He can be a total dick sometimes."

The nurse returned her smile. "Tell me about it."

Jaci continued her apology. "Even on a good day, he's an asshole and this has been a VERY bad day for him. He got hurt HOURS ago but got kicked out of a hospital due to an insurance snafu and had to be driven all the way back home to here. He's in a lot of pain and I am sure his macho pride is pretty banged up too."

The nurse was listening so Jaci kept spinning her story. "I understand he's going to have to wait a bit and if you want peace and quiet from him, I suggest you do us ALL a favor and give him a shot of the good shit. Take the edge off his pain and he'll calm down." Jaci grimaced and smiled at the nurse. "Look, I got suckered into taking care of him for the rest of the night, so I am begging you here…help me out?"

The nurse thought for a second and then replied. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you!" Jaci gushed.

XXX

Piney stood up and walked to the edge of the curtain so he could watch the conversation between Jaci and the nurse. "Looks like she's smoothing things over; the nurse is smiling."

Tig snorted and rolled his eyes. The buzz from the all the liquor he drank on the drive back with Piney had faded and left him with a huge headache. His leg was throbbing like a bastard. Cranky didn't even begin to cover his mood. "Fuckin' Bobby… I don't need a damn babysitter. And I definitely don't need HER around. "

"Why the hell did you break up with that woman?" Piney asked as he walked back over to the bed.

Tig lied. "Cause she's a bitch! Obviously! Here I am all… fucking injured and she calls ME a dickhead?"

"Beautiful woman… drops whatever she was doing on a Saturday night to come to the ER to make sure her ex whatever, who IS a giant dickhead, is alright? She takes care of your insurance problems and is trying to score drugs to take your pain away? If that's a bitch…I'll take two of them."

Tig shook his head and thought for a moment. He stared at the doorway of the cubicle for a few moments and said seriously and quietly, "She fucks with my head, Piney."

Piney noticed Tig's thoughtful tone and stared at the man he knew had killed his daughter in law. "Son, your head needs to be fucked with. Maybe she could tighten a few of those loose screws you have." He replied with a grave expression on his face. Tig stared at him but then dropped his eyes away and shrugged.

XXX

"Ok, good news." Jaci announced as she walked back into the curtained cubicle. "I sucked up to the nurse and she's bringing you a pain shot."

"'Bout fucking time." Tig grumbled.

Jaci winked at him. "You're welcome, asshole." She put on a happier face as she looked at Piney. "If you need to go on, mess with the grandkids or something, I can take Mr. Crankypants home."

"You don't mind?" Piney raised his eyebrows. "Think you can handle him without choking him to death." Jaci nodded. He looked at Tig. "You ok with this?"

Tig stared straight ahead, watching for the nurse to return with some relief. "Whatever."

"Well ok, then. You two play nice. I'll see ya tomorrow, gimp." Piney announced as he stood up, clapped Tig on the shoulder and made his way out to the hall. "Good luck. Don't take too much shit from him." He whispered to Jaci as he left.

Jaci sat down on the chair vacated by Piney. She unzipped her jacket, revealing a tight green long sleeve shirt, the bottom of her white tank top poking out the bottom. She got comfortable and crossed her arms.

"Are you TRYING to piss me off? Fuckin'goddamn green shirt."

Jaci looked down, she was in such a hurry to get to the hospital after Bobby called that she didn't think to change. She shrugged and replied sarcastically, "Yeah, Tig, I am. I picked this out JUST to mess with you."

They spent the next few minutes in silence. He laid on the gurney and snuck glances at her every now and then. He hated to admit it but she looked fucking hot in green, it made her eyes stand out like crazy.

She caught him staring and glared at him, "What?'

"Nothing." Tig spat back hatefully. He adverted his eyes and appeared to be starting the silent treatment. She sighed and rolled her eyes. She had a feeling tonight was going to be full of eye rolling moments. The nurse made good on the pain shot agreement and finally showed up. Tig took the shot in the hip and was surprisingly silent during the ordeal. He closed his eyes and relaxed while the pain meds started to run through his body.

Jaci let her eyes wander over him while he rested. She couldn't get over how different he looked…like a completely different person than the one she had fallen in love with all those months ago. His hair was too long and unruly and the pornstache wasn't doing him any favors either. His face was weathered and after today's tumbles, bruised and cut. Couple all of those physical changes with the shitty attitude Tig showed her most of the time these days and she began to question her sanity on ever liking him at all.

The on call doctor showed up a short time later. He took one look at Jaci and asked her to wait outside. He began to unwrap Tig's knee as she stood up to leave.

Tig opened his eyes and pointed to Jaci, "Hold up." He turned his attention to the doctor. "Why you making her leave?"

"I don't want to be responsible if she passes out at the sight of blood or needles." The doctor replied in a huff. "I don't have time to treat a concussion if she hits the floor."

"Won't happening, she's not a candy ass, she stays." Tig laid back down and shut his eyes again.

Jaci half smiled at the doctor and shrugged as she sat back down; odd time for Tig to stick up for her. The doctor cleaned the wound and Jaci watched with interest as he stitched up the cut. Thankfully the long gash was actually above his knee so Tig whould be back riding his bike in no time, well that is if his bike was still intact. Jaci wasn't about to even ask that question right now.

The doctor finished up the stitching, rewrapped Tig's leg and returned later with an antibiotic and painkillers. He tried to set Tig up with crutches but Tig would have no part of it. He eased down from the gurney, wincing with pain when he put weight on his left leg. He tried to hobble toward the door.

"We'll take the crutches." Jaci whispered to the doctor. He handed them over and then moved on to the next patient. Jaci walked behind as Tig slowly limped toward the double doors, having to hold his weight with his hand against the wall. She tried not to laugh at how he looked with his one pant leg cut off above his knee, like a biker gangsta trying to make a fashion statement. Finally she said, "Would you stop trying to be Superman and just use these crutches?"

"Fuck that. I'm fine."

"Yeah, I can see that." Jaci stepped in front of him and shoved the crutches at him. "Look, you want to ride your bike anytime soon? You can't do that until you can put weight on your leg. But it's not going to heal if you keep fucking around with it. Wanna pop your stitches and wait a few more hours to fixed back up?"

Tig glared at her and a stare down ensued between them. He finally snatched the crutches from her hands. "Fuck you and your goddamn voice of reason."

"Lead the way, gimp." Jaci smiled and waved her arm out in front of them. He tossed her a dirty look and set to trying to get situated with the crutches. He had taken his cut off earlier in the night and started to put it back on as he balanced on one leg. Jaci watched as Tig changed his mind and decided to hang his cut from the middle rung of his right crutch. He made it about wobbly four steps before his cut started to slide. She reached out instinctively and grabbed it.

Tig whirled around when he felt the cut slipping and then froze. They stood staring at each other, Tig trying to stay upright on the crutches and Jaci standing with his cut folded securely over her arm.

"The fuck're you doin?" He asked quietly.

"Didn't want it to hit the ground."

He stared at her for another moment and then snatched his cut from her arms. The stunt with the stripper had made him a little oversensitive about his cut and he spoke before he bothered to think. "Brothers and old ladies…THEY hold cuts. No one else, you fuckin' know that."

The dig about old ladies had hit her like a punch to the face. She wasn't trying to be his old lady but she was rushing around to make sure he was ok and got no respect for it and that fucking hurt. She recovered quickly, "So I'm a nobody? That's good to know." She started to walk away. "I'll be in the car. Have fun making there on your own." She added, "Fucking asshole" under her breath.

He watched her stalk down the hall, leaving him all alone. "Well motherfuck." He muttered as he shook his head and leaned against the hall. He re situated his cut and set to hobbling down the hall on his crutches. Finally he made it to the exit doors, silently relieved that they were auto sliding doors. He hobbled through them and looked around the parking lot. He was just starting to wonder if she had left his ass when five minutes later Jaci's Mustang pulled to a stop in front of him. He smirked. I cut her down and she can't even make me walk across the parking lot. Mmph.

Jaci ignored Tig as he walked over to her car. He stood outside the door for a moment and then turned slightly on his crutches so he could slap the passenger window with his hand. She rolled down the window and looked over innocently at him, "Oh do you NEED something?"

"Open the fuckin' door, smartass." Tig snapped. When Jaci didn't make a move he leaned inside the window. "I'll fuckin' leave these crutches on the goddamn pavement, I don't give a fuck. Won't fuckin' fit inside this cage anyway."

"We'll see about that." Jaci mused and got out of the car, walking around to the passenger side. Tig hobbled aside and shoved the crutches at her. She glanced at him before starting to load the car, "How many times are you going to say FUCK tonight?"

"As many as I fuckin' want." He quipped. "You get your leg ripped open and your ass beat by bounty hunters and see how fuckin' chipper you are." He glanced over and saw that she was bent over inside the passenger seat, angling the crutches from the front seat partially into the back. He stared at her ass and cocked an eyebrow. She backed out of the seat a moment later and he quickly turned his gaze back to the parking lot.

"All set. Get in." Jaci ordered. Tig limped past her and started to maneuver oh so NOT gracefully into the low riding car. He was holding his cut in his right hand and for a split second almost shoved it in Jaci's direction so he could grip the door easier. She saw the move and recoiled with a frown. They shared an uneasy look and Tig finally plopped into the seat. Jaci slammed the door shut without a word or double checking that he was all set and ready.

XXX

After a brief argument, it was decided Tig would spend the night at Jaci's place. She didn't want him there but she had food in her house, her bed was better than his, and bounty hunters didn't have her address; it was really a no-brainer. They made a quick stop off at his place so Jaci could run in and grab a change of clothes and stuff for him. It unnerved him to have her going through his stuff but being the damn gimp he currently was it was the quicker option. And if he was honest, trying to walk on his bum leg was a bit tricker than he had expected, he probably would have fallen on his face straight out of the car anyway.

Jaci unlocked the door to Tig's house and stepped inside, flipping on the kitchen light. The house was a complete mess and smelled musty. Beer cans, pizza boxes and dirty dishes took up all available space in the kitchen. The rest of the house wasn't much better. Jaci actually tripped on pile of dirty laundry as she started down the hall way. Yep…the night I spent here was a total fuckin' fluke.

She stopped in the bathroom first to grab the overnight essentials like deodorant and a toothbrush and frowned at the busted mirror that hung over the sink. Mmph, someone doesn't like their ugly mug, aww so sad. Jaci carried the items on up the hall to the bedroom and threw them down on the unmade bed. She glanced around and found being in the room a bit harder than she had expected. She sat down on the bed and stared down at the floor as her mind began to take a trip down memory lane. The night she had spent with Tig all those months ago had started off rocky but had ended really well, hell she had even hinted at being in love with him. She shook the thought off. Who gives a shit…look at us now.

She stared at the floor for a moment longer and then frowned. She kicked at a stain on the floor with her shoe and then leaned over to get a closer look. Is that blood? Jesus Christ, what the fuck has he been up to? She bolted from the bed and rummaged through the floor of his closet and found the duffel bag that he had said was there. Just get this shit over with already. She threw the toiletries inside and grabbed a t-shirt and boxers as well along with a few more items. She zipped up the bag and headed back outside.

Jaci slid into the driver seat and tossed the duffel bag into the back seat. She fired up the car and dropped it into reverse. "Do I even want to know why there is a blood stain on your floor?"

Tig frowned for a second before he realized what she was talking about…the stain was from the night he had killed Donna, crashed his head into the bathroom mirror and let the cut bleed out while getting drunk. He had never gotten around to cleaning it, now the carpet was probably a lost cause. He answered lamely, "Cut myself shaving."

"Sorta looks like someone got their head put through a mirror." Jaci stated with an eyebrow cocked. Tig just looked straight ahead and ignored her. She gave up on the chit chat and hit play on her iPod. The next Drive By Truckers song sprang to life. Goddamn Lonely Love was the title and she wanted to change it immediately. It was a sad song and somehow the mood of it hit too close to home with her and Tig. She ventured a glance at Tig and he was staring at the radio with a contemplative look on his face so she let it be. If it hurt him, all the better.

I got green and I got blues
and everyday there's a little less difference between the two.
So I belly-up and disappear.
Well I ain't really drowning 'cause I see the beach from here.

...So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got
to kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love

XXX

The ride home was silent and uneventful. Tig managed to stumble to the living room when they made it to her house. He threw his crutches on the floor and sprawled out on the sectional sofa.

"Geez, Tig…watch the tile." She warned as she heard the crutches hit the floor. "And get your boots off my couch."

"What?" Tig asked as he got comfortable: left leg on the couch, right leg grazing the floor, arms splayed above his head. He looked totally wiped out.

Rachel chose that moment to come walking out of her room with a crushed up box in her hand. "Hey is recycling day Monday or …?" She froze when she saw Tig on the couch.

Tig lifted his head to get a better look at the new girl and laughed. "So ya moved the dyke in? Yeah Gemma spilled the beans about the carpet muncher." He watched Jaci frown at his blunt choice of words. "Shouldn't you be flyin' rainbow colors out on the flag pole?" He pointed in the direction of the front yard where the American Flag proudly waves.

Jaci immediately hushed him and set to apologizing to Rachel. "It's probably the pain meds."

"Oh…um…are you ok?" Rachel asked Tig as he propped himself up on his elbows and leered at her.

"'Wrecked my bike...coulda died." Tig put on a fake pout. "Got 27 stitches in my leg." Rachel winced which made Tig smiled and he moved to start unbuckling his pants. "Wanna see em?' How bout a sympathy fuck?"

"Tig, keep your pants on!" Jaci interjected. "Jesus." She walked over to Rachel, "I'm sorry…he's….well he's just Tig. He takes a bit to get used to. You might just want to barricade yourself in your room for tonight."

"Um, I'm actually heading to the movie night thing at Tara's." Rachel answered as she gave Tig a disgusted look. She started to walk toward the front door and Jaci tagged along after grabbing the appetizer she had made earlier. "And Vix is wondering since you are NOW stayin' home could you watch SPAWN... so she don't gotta run back and forth to check on the little dude?"

Jaci nodded."Sure, no problem."

"Cool, I had him out a while ago.. he's sleepin' in his crate in Vix's room right now but when he wakes up he's gonna want out again."

"I've had a few dogs before, I know how it goes."

Rachel smiled. "Yeah sorry. Vix did damn near everything but leave a babysitter's check list before she left. Something tells me Spawn Parker is gonna be a tad spoiled."

"Ya think?" Jaci retorted with a laugh and closed the front door behind Rachel and blew out a breath before heading back to the living room.

"She leave?" Tig asked as he stared at the ceiling. "That's too bad, I think I could fuck the lesbo out of her." Jaci glared at him and muttered something about not dignifying his comment with an answer. Tig looked up at her with one eye closed. "Hey, I'm starvin'. You said you had food, let's fuckin' see it."

"Pot roast ok?"

He laughed while staring at the ceiling again. "Pot roast? When did you turn 65? Fuckin pot roast…like being at my grandma's house."

"Keep talking shit and you can starve."

"Don't be so fuckin' sensitive…was playing with you." Tig shot back. Jaci didn't reply and strolled to the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later and sat a hot plate of food on the ottoman by the sofa. Tig opened an eye and then rolled into a sitting position, grabbed the plate and started woofing down the meal. Jaci was halfway surprised that he didn't demand to be spoon fed. She sat down on the other side of the sectional and mused over how men could be such whiny little bitches when sick or injured.

With a mouthful of food, Tig asked, "So is this what you do on Saturday nights now? Watch TV and cook pot roast? Real fucking exciting."

She frowned at him and played with the TV remote. Mmmm, talking with your mouth full…so sexy. Jackass. "No, I actually had plans with the girls tonight. But for some retarded reason, I thought it was important to check on you."

"Bet your second guessing that decision now." He shoveled one last bite into his mouth.

"You have no idea." Jaci stared straight ahead at the TV.

He slapped the empty plate back down on the ottoman and leaned back against the sofa with a contented sigh.

"Good?"

He shrugged. "It was alright." Dinner had actually been fucking great but there was no way he was telling her that.

A small bark came suddenly from Vix's bedroom. "Shit, I forgot." Jaci muttered and headed out of the room.

Tig frowned and glanced down the hall. "Was that a dog? You got a fuckin' dog?"

XXX

Vix glanced over at Rachel when she arrived at Tara's. "How was my sister when you left?"

"She smiled sweetly but if you listened really hard you could probably hear her silently humming It's a hard knock life."

Gemma looked amused by that comment. Rachel eyed her. "Oh and um, apparently you were right... I'm pretty sure Tig thinks a good dose of cock will CURE me of my sexual orientation."

That declaration got an honest to goodness laugh out of the SAMCRO Queen. Tara just sat there looking dumbfounded.

Vix shook her head. "Motherfuckin' Tig... asshole." She glanced at her friend. "I'm sorry you had to be subjected to ... wait... is he like staying ALL NIGHT at our place?"

Rachel nodded. "I think i saw an overnight bag... sorry."

"Well guess what? THIS little soiree just turned into a motherfuckin' slumber party... cause I ain't goin' home and dealin' him, man." Vix announced.

Tara stared at Vix. "I ... I.. I really didn't plan on overnight guests."

Vix rolled her eyes. "Planned or not... part of THIS lifestyle is an open invite. Su casa es um, El Club's casa."

"Spanish lessons with Juice really paid off, hmmm?" Gemma snickered.

"Not so much... I can swear pretty good and talk dirty but regular stuff still eludes me. He wasn't the greatest teacher... um, easily distracted. Didn't make a very good study partner either."

Gemma just shook her head and laughed silently, thinking it was at least an improvement that Vix didn't cuss and walk out of the room at the mention of SAMCRO's resident retard.

"Ooh, Tara speaking of... since my sister is otherwise busy. Can you Beta-Phish this for me?" Vix dug into a tote bag next to her chair and came up with a report folder. She slid it across the coffee table.

"Excuse me?"

"Beta it? Ya know like proof read it? Make sure it sounds good and looks nice. J says I excessively use dot dot dot and tend to jump from one tense to another. So just make little scribbles with these highlighters on stuff I need to fix up, hmm?" She tossed a pack of multicolored pens towards the doctor. "THANKS, Chica." Vix turned her focus back on the TV where Dirty Dancing was playing. "God, I can't believe he is dead... FUCKIN' cancer, man..."

XXX

Jaci walked back in the room with Spawn following happily behind her. The pair walked past the sofa and everything was fine until Spawn finally noticed Tig lying there. Spawn jumped with surprise and launched into a barking fit. Tig trumped the pup's barking with a few huge mocking barks of his own then started yelling for the pup to shut the fuck up which made Jaci yell at Tig and neither argument was making Spawn feel any better about the irritable stranger in his house. Jaci finally picked the pup up and he calmed down but growled slightly and gave Tig the evil eye.

"Does he look familiar?" Jaci asked with a smirk. "Unser gave him to Vix. I think you've met his Daddy."

"Motherfucker." Tig breathed. He glared at the dog in his ex's arms. "Keep that little fucker away from me or I'll snap his damn neck." Tig ran his hands over his face and held them there for a moment, wincing when his fingers hit the scrapes that peppered his cheek. "Shower time." He announced and eased himself up and started toward the bathroom.

Jaci jumped up from the sofa. "Whoa! You can't just shower with your leg like that. We have to wrap it up. Sit!" She walked toward him then realized she had the pup in her arms. She backtracked and put Spawn on the couch. "Sit." She ordered the dog and gave him a stern look, then looked at Tig. "You too."

He muttered goddammit but complied as she headed for the kitchen. He frowned as he heard her rummaging around. She marched back into the living room with a roll of Saran wrap and some duct tape a moment later.

"No way. No duct tape. I've already been taped up once today." He protested.

Jaci cocked her and pouted. "Aww, I thought you loved this stuff." She tore off a long sheet of saran wrap and set to wrapping his leg. When the bandage was thoroughly covered, she started to tape the top and bottom with duct tape. She accidentally pressed slightly on his wound and he jerked with pain.

He yelled and grabbed her hand. "Ahhh! Stupid fuckin' b…"

"Do NOT finish that sentence, Tig." Jaci cut him off with a hard look as she yanked her hand from his. "I'm fucking serious. There is a limit to the amount of bullshit I am going to take from you."

"Oh really. What's the limit then?" He gritted his teeth.

"Keep pushing…you're almost there." Jaci answered. He looked up at the ceiling and allowed her to finish with his leg. "There, essentially waterproof. Don't slip and break your neck in the shower."

"You sound so sincere." Tig pushed himself up to a standing position and began to hobble down the hall towards the master bedroom bath.

XXX

Jaci sat down on the couch and leaned her head back. Spawn stood on her lap, staring up at her as if to say, Dude...why did all my peeps leave? And who's THAT asshole? Jaci sighed, "Club favor, pup. You don't how know how powerful those two little words are. Little lucky bastard, they won't ever be asking YOU for favors. But don't worry, it's just for the night...then your precious MAMA will come home again."

She heard the shower turn on in the bathroom….HER bathroom, not the main bathroom in the hallway. Asshole had just marched…well, hobbled into her room and went straight for her shower.

Her hope of getting a few minutes of peace was shattered quickly when she heard Tig yell.

"HEY! Come here!"

She glanced in the direction of the hall but stayed seated. What does he want now? Maybe I'll pretend that I didn't hear him. A minute passed and then he banged on the wall and yelled again, "JACI! Get the fuck in here!"

She jogged to the bathroom and opened the door, "What's wrong?"

Tig poked his head out from behind the shower curtain. He thrust out a bottle of body wash and grimaced, "What's this shit? No fucking way I'm going to smell like goddamn…" He glanced down at the bottle. "Fuckin' po-me-gra-nay-tee? Fuck this shit, not happenin'. Get me something else."

"Pomegranate, Tig. It's pronounced POM- UH- GRANT." Jaci corrected and rolled her eyes. "You holler like you're fucking dying over BODY WASH? You are unbelievable. I don't even have words!"

"But yet your mouth is still moving." Tig said with a smirk.

She shook her head and started to dig around angrily in the bathroom cabinet. Why why WHY did I bring him home with me? Stupid fucking idiot. She found a bar of Irish Spring that she had bought when BB and Motor had stayed with her. She stood up and chucked the soap at him. He caught it and disappeared behind the shower curtain. She stood in the middle of the bathroom and listened to Tig hum while he showered. Happy little fucker. She started to stare at the toilet and contemplated flushing it and flooding the shower with freezing cold water.

"Don't even think about flushing that." Tig warned from behind the curtain.

She jerked her head toward the shower. She feigned offense. "Please. That would be completely childish." She headed toward the door. "Besides, I can't be sure it wouldn't spew scalding hot water instead…don't want to burn you and then have to listen to you bitch about that all night. Oh and you're fucked on the shampoo…all I have is coconut. Pretend you're on vacation." She slammed the bathroom door shut.

Tig muttered whatever and continued with his shower. He grunted as he started to lose his balance for the third time. He slammed his hand out against the shower wall. Goddamnit! Taking a shower was supposed to be a relaxing experience but that luxury was out of the fucking equation when you were trying not to bust your ass on a bad leg the whole time. He finally just steadied himself and leaned forward, letting the water spray hit and run down over his head. He spit water and tried to calm down.

XXX

Again, Jaci sat back down on the couch with her head flung back thinking about the cluster fuck of a night she had gotten herself into. Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to drag his ass back here? I'm so fucking retarded. Spawn whined at her feet and took the pup outside to do his business. When they came back inside, the house was completely quiet. Jaci looked down the hall in the direction of her bedroom but didn't hear the shower running. She scooped up Spawn and put him in his crate for the night. "Night pup…trust me, you don't want to be around to see the rest of this night. Might get ugly."

She walked into her bedroom and found Tig, wearing only a pair of boxers, sprawled out on her bed. "Are you fucking kidding me? What're you doing?"

"Trying to fucking relax but someone won't shut the fuck up." Tig snapped without opening his eyes. He honestly hadn't meant to lay claim to her bed but when he finally got out of the shower he was completely exhausted and her bed was simply the closet place to crash. As soon as his body had hit the bed it was over for him, just like always, her bed was like quicksand to him.

"You didn't unwrap your leg, asshole. You're dripping water on my bed."

"Don't have fingernails to undo the goddamn DUCT TAPE you used."

Jaci let out a sharp sign and walked over to the bed. She pushed the leg of his boxers up slightly and went to work on unraveling the waterproofing. She tried to ignore the fact that he smelled amazing and was lying half naked in front of her.

Tig stared down at the top of Jaci's head while she worked. He fought back a nostalgic smile. Goddamn she used to give a great head. He lifted his arms and laced his fingers together on top of his head. "You know…I've had a really shitty day, so while you're down there…"

Jaci had a long length of duct tape in her hand and pulled it viciously from Tig's leg, taking away his breathe and more than a few leg hairs with it. She looked up sweetly at him and asked, "I'm sorry…what were you saying?"

"MMMMMM! FUCK!" Tig gritted his teeth and gripped his head with his hands. "Nothing…fuck!"

"That's what I thought." Jaci stood up straight and wadded the saran wrap and tape in her hands. "Ok, you're stitched, fed, showered, and drugged. My work is done." She turned and went straight to her closet, pulling out some lounge pants and a tank top then headed to her bathroom and shut the door. She changed clothes and downed her blood pressure pill along with her birth control. Thank God the blood pressure pills had been doing their job for the last two weeks or so. She would have stroked out for sure without them dealing with a wounded Tig.

She walked back into the bedroom and glanced at him. He had pulled the comforter over himself and seemed to be trying to sleep. "Sweet dreams, asshole." She called out as she strolled out of the room. Tig raised a hand without opening his eyes and flipped her off.

XXX

Jaci settled into Vix's bed and tried her hardest to go to sleep. She tossed and turned for an hour and had just started to doze off when an all too familiar ring tone blared from her cell phone. She grabbed her phone and hissed, "You're seriously calling me from inside the house? What the hell do you want?"

"These pills have me jacked up instead of down. Come bore me to sleep." Tig replied.

"Oh fuck off. Leave me alone!" Jaci whined. "If I come back there, I'm going to smother you with a pillow."

"Would you lay on top of me to do it?" Tig teased and then lied. "Cause I'm horny as hell right now…I could seriously fuck for like three hours."

Jaci frowned. "Maybe I should've dropped you off at Cara Cara."

Tig snorted a laugh and hung up on her. Jaci blew out a frustrated sigh, flung back the covers and headed to her room. He smirked at her as she pushed the bedroom door open. She walked to the side of the bed and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"These fuckin pills, man. It's like I start dropping off then I'm jacked up again."

"Sucks for you."

"Would you quit being a bitch for five minutes and just sit down?" Tig snapped and rubbed his hands over his face. He had spent the last hour trying to relax, trying to fall asleep and slam the door shut on his horribly shitty day but couldn't manage it. The pills didn't have him that fucked up…Jaci did. Being in her house, in her bed, had his brain on overdrive and he gave up on trying to shut it up. He was exhausted and hurting and decided to just give into the one thing he knew could for sure relax him…talking to her. Desperate times, desperate measures, blah blah.

Jaci started to protest but as she took a good look at Tig, she knew something had shifted with him. Calling her up to come bore him to sleep or to make a plea for a booty call…it was all bullshit. He wanted to talk, she suddenly was absolutely certain of that. She walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed up. She sat Indian style and cocked her head. He looked way more tired than he was admitting to. "I think you're lying about that being about to fuck for three hours."

He shrugged and said, "Come here and find out." She was sitting close enough so that he sat up slightly and grabbed her hand. He yanked her toward him but she caught herself with her hand on his chest.

"Easy biggin', don't wanna hurt yourself."

Tig snorted, "Can't hurt me...come here." He still had a hold of her hand and pulled her closer.

"Tig…come on." Jaci warned.

"You come on…come here."

She shook her head, "You're HIGH...you don't know what you're doing."

He grinned, "I don't know what I'm doing SOBER so what's it matter?"

"Oh it MATTERS...a lot." Jaci retorted. At that moment, he was so much like his old self, playfully and flirty, the man she had fallen in love with. She struggled with herself for a moment, trying to snuff out the sudden urge to give into him. They were dangerously close to each other, she had her hand rested on his chest and was leaned forward against his body. This is a VERY bad position to be in! ABORT, ABORT! He hasn't wanted you in MONTHS, don't give into this bullshit now.

She cocked an eyebrow, "You wrecked your bike...I'm supposed to reward stupidity?" She made a fist with her hand and grabbed a handful of his chest hair.

"Ow." Tig half smiled and winced at the pain. "I didn't wreck my bike...BOBBY did." He clarified. "So who's stupid now?"

"Wow, I'm stupid AND a nobody. Nice work smooth talker."

"I'm full of shit, you know that." Tig replied with a smile. "Quit fuckin' around and come here." Part of him knew the flirting and the bad intentions he was feeling toward Jaci right now were a bad idea but he couldn't make himself care. Right now the only thing he wanted was his mouth against hers and his hands all over her. Hell he hadn't even been turned on until she crawled into bed with him. That simple little move had sparked all sorts of memories.

Deviousness clicked in her mind and she leaned in slowly like she was going to kiss him. Tig watched her with a look of total lust on his face. She licked her lips and said quietly, "Tig?"

"Mmmm?"

She smiled sweetly as she nudged him with her cheek against his. She whispered in his ear, "There is NO fuckin' way this is going to happen. Go to sleep." She pulled away from him and sat back down on the bed with a huge smirk on her face.

Tig glared at her as the huge metaphorical bucket of ice water was thrown on him. He didn't like it all, "That's fuckin' cold."

"Awww, you don't like it when I'm mean?"

"You can go now." Tig replied bluntly.

"Naaa, I'm just getting comfy."

They were quiet for a long time, both avoiding eye contact and thinking over the night's events. His pills started to kick in hard and he felt a huge internal downshift. Sleep might be coming a bit more easily now. He had been holding his cell phone in his hand but leaned to his left to toss it on the bedside table.

When he moved, Jaci saw several random dark bruises on his back and winced. Shit, he really got hurt. Ok, here goes nothing, it's been a long damn night, just try to play nice. Timeout right? "You took a pretty good tumble huh?" She pointed towards him. "Your back…"

He rearranged a couple pillows behind his back and settled in against them. "Yeah…guess so."

A moment or two of silence passed between them. It had been so long since they had really talked instead of fought that neither one of them were exactly sure how to act. He thumbed at his nose and then nodded at her. "How many stitches did you have…in your knee? Like fifteen or something? Couldn't remember."

"Um, seventeen, so you got me beat." Jaci replied and thought back to the massive knee surgery she had had back in college. One minute she was good as gold, playing in a softball regional tournament and the next minute her playing days were over. She had healed up fine and had no real lingering effects but her recovery had taken too long and she had lost her spot on the college team. She finished out the last two years of college as a 'civilian.'

"Hurt pretty bad yeah?"

Jaci nodded. "Worst physical pain so far. Felt like someone had ripped my leg off at the knee. How are you feeling?"

Tig shrugged. "I'll live."

"Maybe you should find a less dangerous profession."

"But I'm a mechanic." Tig replied sarcastically.

"Mechanic my ass." Jaci said with a slight laugh but then winced at the sexual suggestiveness of the statement. She frowned. "You're lucky you know. Getting thrown off your bike…could of snapped your neck."

"Too bad huh?"

Jaci grimaced. Something about the dim light of the bedroom and the semi polite look on Tig's face made her confident enough to reply honestly. "I don't want you dead, Tig. You drive me crazy and piss me off and throw shit my way for no reason…but I don't want you hurt…well, not seriously anyway." She ventured a look at him and then dropped her eyes. She felt a twinge of internal guilt, after all she had been praying for God to drop the smackdown on Tig for months and now he is was all gimped up.

He smiled sadly at her honesty and threw out a bit of his own. "If you'd been hurt…I probably wouldn't have helped you…like you're doing. I'd be a dick about it."

"What else is new?" Jaci teased but then shrugged. "You never know. Hopefully we won't have to find out."

"Yeah." Tig suddenly found the wall very interesting and Jaci knew he was going to say something important, he had always dodged eye contact with the good stuff. That's what the fire pit had been for; he would stare at the flames so he didn't have to look at her. He cleared his throat. "When I wrecked today…the second I hit the dirt…my first thought was about my girls. How fucked up is that? I haven't thought about them in awhile."

Jaci was floored that Tig would mention his girls to her. They had been a subject rarely mentioned when they were together. She swallowed hard and tried to come up with the right response. She looked over at him, he was messing with a bruise on his hand. "It's not fucked up. I think everyone thinks of family and stuff in a moment like that."

"I haven't talked to them in forever. Was supposed to have a visit a few months ago but I canceled." Tig shook his head. "Doesn't matter…they don't give a shit."

"Tig?" Jaci waited until she had his attention. "Daughters always give a shit about their fathers. Doesn't matter the distance or the time or even the situation…a girl always wants her daddy. I've told you that a million times, trust me on this."

He rolled his neck and looked up at the ceiling and she knew that topic was closed for discussion so she waited for him to start a new one. She leaned forward and put her elbows on top of her knees and played with her toe ring. Tig said completely evenly, "I can see your tits."

Jaci looked down at her chest and then to Tig. Yep, the twins were on display nicely in her tank top. She straightened up and half smiled. "Sorry."

"I wasn't complain'."

She noticed he was dropping his walls and was relaxing. "I like you better high...you're sorta like you used to be. Why can't you just stay that way permanently?" Tig didn't respond and Jaci decided to press the issue on the hope he might open up. "Why do you have to be so goddamn mean? I mean seriously, what'd I ever do to you?"

Tig wasn't that surprised by her pressing question. They had fell back into their old ways of talking very easily. He felt that connection flare up plain as day and just like back then, no topic was really off limits. He just shook his head. What did you ever do to me? Mmph, how 'bout fuckin' EVERYTHING?

"I'm that much of an asshole?"

Jaci rolled her eyes. "Not always but when you go there... you stop at nothing to reach your destination."

"So you're sayin' I'm an over achiever? I like that."

"How did you take that as praise?" Jaci asked with a laugh. "You know what…" She let out a long yawn. "I am too tired to care. "Go to sleep, Tig." She patted his arm and made a move to get out of bed. Things were getting way too familiar.

"Hey, where you goin?" He grabbed her hand, "You can't leave me in here...I'm scared of the dark and you didn't pack my blankie." He said sarcastically.

She laughed slightly, "You are SO full of it. It's not even dark in here genius, the lamp's on. And if you sleep with a BLANKIE, you've got bigger problems than I ever imagined."

He reached over and clicked the lamp off, still holding on to her hand. She had to admit to herself that she didn't really WANT to leave. She sighed and told her brain to shut up and resided herself to staying. She stole a pillow from him and laid down at the opposite end of the bed. "There...happy?"

"I'm never happy." Tig mumbled.

XXX

Half an hour had rolled by as Jaci laid on her back at the opposite end of the bed from Tig. He had his right hand resting on her shin. The only noise in the room was the sound of their slow even breathing. She had been sure he was asleep when he suddenly mumbled very quietly, "I've been stupid on a bike before."

"What are you talking about?" She frowned, having a hard time hearing him.

"Wrecked before." He said and then started to explain with slightly slurred speech. "Long time ago...lost it on the interstate. Had a girl on the back...she was a good girl." He was quiet for a moment and then said, "She didn't make it."

Jaci was stunned by the revelation. She wanted to prop herself up on her elbows but she was afraid to move, afraid the movement would spook him and kill the moment. She laid still but turned her head and stared in his direction even though she couldn't see him in the darkness. Her mind raced with questions. He had a GIRL on his BIKE? She died and it was his fault? Holy shit. "The girl...were you like...dating her? You were with her?"

"Yeah." He said simply. He didn't explain that other than that dead girl...he'd never been in love, had thought it was all bullshit until he had met Jaci. The part of him that still loved Jaci more than he could stand was screaming in his head, GIVE HER SOMETHING! Jaci had had his back completely tonight and all he had given her was shit. Anyone else would have pushed him out of their car onto the street if they had shown up at the ER at all. He swallowed hard and said, "Not riding with me? That was never about YOU. Ok? Wasn't anything against you."

His words made up tear up instantly. She couldn't find her voice for a moment but finally choked out, "Ok."

She had never asked to ride with Tig cause she knew he'd either say NO or laugh at her or both. Vix rode with Juice all the time, loved it but Jaci knew that wasn't Tig's thing. She had always thought it was some little macho rule he wasn't breaking for her. To hear that he didn't want her to ride with him so she wouldn't get HURT...that was a huge admission. Suddenly she couldn't help herself from missing him intensely and didn't want the connection to break..

Jaci sat up and reached out, grabbing a hold of his hand softly. "Tig?" She whispered but didn't get a response. She shook his hand but all he managed was a grunt. "Tig, don't go to sleep. Wake up." Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "Come on, wake up...stay with me for a minute." He made an annoyed mumble and she knew he was lost to sleep and she feared that when he woke up in the morning, he'd be right back to being the insufferable prick he'd been for months. She sighed. "Shit." She wiped her eyes with one hand while still keeping a hold of his with her other. She sat there thinking about them for a long time before leaning back and falling asleep.

XXX

Rachel shook her head as she stood in the flowerbed under Vix's bedroom window, watching her friend jimmy open the window lock. "Isn't this house protected by an alarm or something?"

Vix looked over and smiled, a little drunkenly at her friend. "This house is protected by the Good Lord and enough guns to arm a small country. And we do have an alarm but we never bother to turn it on no more, cause the neighbor's damn cat, Screwie Louie keeps trippin' the motion sensors." Vix grinned. "Ha! Got that one. Now if only I can manage..."

"Ain't it a bit retarded NOT to just go through the front door?"

"What if they're sitting in the living room? We're sneaking in now cause if fuckin' Tig is still here, I pray he is stone cold passed out in the damn living room and I don't want to awake the beast."

"Why you so afraid of him?" Rachel asked with a laugh.

Vix scoffed, "I'm AFRAID...I just don't LIKE HIM anymore."

Rachel frowned, "So you used to like him?"

"Well...I guess so. I mean, J was happy with him for awhile...then he dumped her and went all asshole again, so now I hate him."

'Oh, ok. Yeah, I still can't get my head around your sister being with him...that's so weird."

"Preaching to the choir, chica."

"I am twenty eight damn years old. What the hell am I doin? I didn't SNEAK IN when I was a teenager. My Monster never gave two shits that I existed at all well, except tax time."

Vix laughed quietly. "Me as a teenager, I was practically Houdini, to the point Aunt Roxy made Uncle BB and the boys hack down a big ol' chestnut tree out of their side yard, my known escape route."

Finally the other lock clicked open. "YES! Got it. Ok, hold this." Vix pushed the screen up and then her window. She grabbed hold of the window frame and pulled herself up and halfway in the window...and then could get no further. "FUCK! Rach...I'm stuck. My belt buckle or something is..."

They heard a bark and Vix looked over and saw an very startled and excited Spawn in his crate. "Shhhh shhh little dude, it's Mama! Hang on... I'm comin' Spawn baby!"

Rachel hoisted herself part way in the window, and was half-laying on top of her friend as she tried to reach around her to dislodge whatever had Vix hung up.

"You're smooshing me." Vix giggled. "And now I have to pee."

"Well you need to shimmy forward or something or maybe pull back a bit. I can reach it but I have nothing to play with. Give me something, sweetie."

"Oh my god that sounded sooo wrong!" Vix laughed.

"Shhhh!" Rachel chided. "You really want your sister to come in here guns blazing or HIM to find us like this. It be like Hanukkah, the visual that keeps on giving lewd jokes."

"Ok, how is that?" Vix said pulling slightly backwards. In his crate, the pup began to whine. "Sh it's ok baby. Mama'll be there in a second."

"Mmm nah, you gotta move the other direction."

Vix cursed under her breath and pulled herself in the other direction just enough for Rachel to free her belt buckle from the window frame. "There we go." Rachel announced as she pulled back out of the window and let Vix slide through and disappear inside.

A few seconds later, Vix returned, sticking hers and Spawn's head out the window. "Meet me out back, I'll unlock the gate. He's gotta do his biz, he got all excited that I'm home. Not that I blame him, poor baby having to put up with Tigger all damn night. I don't put it past him to have tortured the poor baby... Sins or the Father, type shit."

Rachel just shook her head and made her way in the dark to the back yard. Vix opened the gate from the inside and they stood watching Spawn run around finding a spot.

"He looks no worse for the wear of having dealt with ..."

Vix held up a hand. "Tig's specialty is psychological warfare crap. Poor baby is probably scared for life." She bent down and picked up the pup from where he wandered over by her feet. "It's ok Mama is back, yes she is."

"I'm hitting the hay." Rachel announced. "We gotta open the salon in six hours and I've got three back to back cut n colors."

They walked back around to the front of the house and Vix climbed back inside her room. She tip toed into the living room and used her cell phone as a flashlight. The room was oddly empty. She opened the front door for Rachel and took Spawn from her. Rach headed to her room while Vix stood frowning in the living room. She walked to the garage, opened the door, and confirmed Jaci's Mustang was parked there. Suddenly, her sister's and Tig's whereabouts clicked in her head.

She stalked quietly down the hall and peered inside her sister's bedroom doorway. She couldn't see much so she punched a button and her cell phone sprang to silent life again. She walked over to the bed and discovered Tig sleeping normally, head toward the headboard of the bed. Jaci laid with her head in the opposite direction, near the foot of the bed on top of the covers.

"Motherfucker." Vix breathed. Spawn growled slightly. "My thoughts exactly, baby." She frowned. Surely they didn't fuck, right? Who would DO IT and then sleep all separate like that...unless they're trying to throw me off. But Jaci HATES him, right?

XXX

The next morning, Jaci woke up and rolled out of bed. Tig was snoring loudly so she left him in his peaceful drug and exhaustion induced sleep. She took a shower and was dressed in only her panties and bra as she put on her makeup. She was leaning toward the mirror, applying eyeliner when the bathroom door that had been just cracked, pushed all the way open. Tig stood in the doorway completely naked and looking very grumpy. Without a word he limped into the bathroom and flipped up the toilet seat.

Jaci got a look at him in the mirror's reflection, panicked slightly and turned toward him but then thought better of it and turned back toward the mirror and tried to avert her eyes. Tig saw her scrambling for a way to act and smirked. "Calm down, will ya? You act like you never seen it before." He widened his stance and continued to take a piss. "Wanna hold it?"

"You never did THAT when we were together, WHY would you think its ok NOW?" She took one more quick glance in his direction, "And how did you end up naked?"

Tig flushed and shrugged,"'Dunno." He stood in the bathroom with a perma scowl on his face. He was half asleep and his stitched up leg was hurting and stiff. He looked over the array of stuff in front of Jaci on the sink: concealer, foundation, powder, eye shadow, liner, mascara. "That's a lot of shit to be puttin' on."

"No it's not, it's perfectly normal." Jaci said defensively and rolled her eyes. "Geez, I'd forgotten how fun you are in the morning."

Tig muttered, "Fuuuuuck you." under his breath.

"Hey, do you remember want we talked about last night?"

He stopped at the door, frowned at her and lied, "I remember taking a shower."

"You don't remember anything else?" She cocked her head and held her eyeliner in her hand.

He shook his head and then smirked, "Oh shit...did we fuck? Is that why I'm naked?"

"NO! We had entire CONVERSATIONS. You don't remember them?"

"Nope." He lied again and hobbled back to the bed. It was way easier to lie about it all rather than have to deal with the awkwardness of it in the daylight. "Hey, I'm not getting up till like fuckin' noon so don't even start bitchin' at me."

Jaci knew he was lying about his lack of memory. Her anger flared and she started slamming drawers and cabinets while she finished getting ready for the day. Tig laid on his back in her bed and yelled, "'Quit fuckin' bangin' around, will ya? I'm trying to SLEEP!'

She stormed out of the room and slammed the door without saying anything. He sighed. Well that fixes that...walls are back up, she's good and pissed at me...just like it should be.

XXX

At 12:30 in the afternoon, Tig finally woke back up. While he was still lying in bed, he called Bobby and arranged for his pickup. Bitch taxi. He literally rolled out of bed and stumbled to get his boxers on. He searched around the room, found his duffel bag of stuff and dumped the contents onto the bed. He rifled through it twice to verify what he was seeing. "You've got to be shittin' me."

Bobby arrived at Parker Place twenty minutes later and rang the doorbell. Tig pulled opened the door with a very pissed off look on his face. His hair was wild and he was sporting a black t-shirt, black mesh shorts, and flip flops. He stood leaning on one crutch, his bandaged leg showing slightly from underneath his shorts. Bobby fought back a smile. "Well if that ain't one for an episode of What Not to Wear, I don't know what is."

The look on Tig's face could have killed. "Shut the fuck up...this is all your fault. Get me the fuck out of here, asshole."

Bobby laughed and held his hands up. "Hey, you're the one wearing it."

"I didn't pick this shit out…SHE did."

"Ahhh." Bobby looked the outfit over again. "Oh, I get it…she was trying to keep your bum leg free. Very practical."

Tig started limping out the door, now carrying his boots, duffel bag and SAMCRO cut against his chest. "She can take PRACTICAL and shove it up her goddamn ass." He made it a few steps down the walkway and turned around. "Wait, why am I carry this shit?" He shoved his bag and his boots at Bobby and then hobbled to the van holding all his cut.

Bobby grinned as he held Tig's stuff in one hand and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He walked quietly behind his injured friend and snapped a picture of him. Best ransom photo EVER.

XXX

Jaci had just finished making her selections at the bakery and was waiting for her order to be filled when her cell phone sprang to life. After two notes of the ring tone, Jaci rolled her eyes and hit IGNORE. She paid for the box of sweets and headed out the door. Vix and Rach had begged her to make an afternoon cookie run. She had just settled into her car when her phone rang again.

"WHAT?" Jaci snapped into the phone.

"You think this shit is funny?" Tig hissed. He glared out the window has Bobby drove him in the van.

"Could you be more specific?"

"Shorts and fuckin' flip flops! Are you fuckin' kidding me?" He yelled at her and then noticed Bobby was driving in the opposite direction of his house. He glared at his chauffeur and started to berate him, "Hey, where the fuck are you goin', dipshit? My house is THAT way."

"Going to the clubhouse." Bobby answered without hesitation.

Tig wigged out. "No fuckin' way! I'm NOT stepping foot in that place like this. Clay made you my bitch...so turn the fuckin' cage around!"

Jaci sat back in the car seat and listened to the fight. "Wow...I'm so sorry I didn't stick around and hang out with you this morning, you're in a really good mood."

"Fuck you." Tig hissed back at her and started back in on Bobby. "Bobby, I'm fuckin'

serious, man."

"Soooo are you done whining to me about your little outfit or is there more?" Jaci asked with a smile on her face and in her voice. "Silly me thought you might be calling to say thanks for taking care of you last night."

Tig was suddenly not sure WHY he called. He didn't have to call and complain. He frowned at the phone. "Yeah well...that ain't happenin'."

"So is there a point to this call...or did you FORGET?"

"What?'

She decided to just put it all out there. "I know you're lying about not remembering talking to me last night...and I think that's pretty shitty."

Tig just scoffed, "Whatever."

"Whatever? Ok...fine." Jaci grumbled and just hung up on him. LOST CAUSE.

XXX

Bobby pulled onto the Teller Morrow lot and swung out of the van. He looked back inside and watched as Tig sat motionless on the passenger side. "Oh come on...get out!"

"Shut up." Tig snapped but he finally opened his door and lowered himself onto the pavement. He hobbled around for a moment and got situated on his crutches and they headed for the clubhouse.

Only Chibs, Opie and Clay were still around. Everyone else had headed on home after getting back from the "charity" run. Tig limped into the clubhouse and just waited for the fallout.

Opie spotted him first, but could only see him from the waist up due to his vantage point from the bar. "Hey, man...how you doin'?"

Before Tig could answer, Clay came walking out from the bathroom and laid eyes on the full glory of Tig's attire. He grinned widely, "Holy shit. What the fuck happened to you?"

"That's right...fuckin' let me have it." Tig said, expecting the bullshit ribbing.

Opie frowned and stepped around the bar as Chibs looked up from scribbling a note for the Prospect. The Scotsman took a good look at Tig and lost it, he busted out laughing and held up his thumb and pinky, "Surf's up, eh brother?"

"Did you get dressed in the dark?" Op asked with a smile.

Tig just stood there and rolled his eyes, taking the jabs. He muttered, Fuckin' bitch' under his breath.

"She was trying to help...you can't squeeze your banged up leg into jeans right now." Bobby explained and tried to defend Jaci.

"I wasn't talking about her, I was talking about YOU." Tig snapped at Bobby.

Clay started laughing, "Oh Jaci did this to you?"

"I'm guessing you weren't NICE?" Op asked.

Tig threw his crutches to the floor and limped over to the couch to sit and pout.

~To be continued...and just bear with us, we are a chapter or two away from something BIG that will make you guys sad, mad and happy all at the same time. Trust us.