Walk Away from the Son
Parker Sister Saga continues - Season 2 of SOA
Chapter 28- Band Aids
By BG
XXX
The clubhouse was eerily quiet. Jax sat at the Chapel table with his head in his hands, blaming himself for every wrong move that had brought them all to the day of reckoning before them. His biggest regret was not putting Abel in Jaci's care when he had the chance weeks ago. His baby boy would be safe and sound and far away from all the shit of the Club in Bama or Wyoming, but hindsight was always 20/20 and it was too late for that now.
There were a few hushed phone conversations seeking information but otherwise everyone was quiet and waiting. After the struggle on the docks, half the crew had fallen back to the clubhouse, the other half had stood silent guard in the yard of Jax's house but they had been shooed away from the crime scene. They were forced to wait off site for Tara and Jaci to be released from questioning. Piney and Bobby had taken the van to bring them back to the clubhouse, knowing neither girl was in any condition to drive.
Tig sat on the couch and stared at the floor. From the moment Clay had announced that the Irish had taken Abel, he had been fearing the worst, knowing that there was no way Jaci would have ever let Abel out of her grasp…the phrase pry him from her cold dead hands had floated through his head more than once on the frantic ride to meet up with Jax. After chasing Camey, Chibs had filled him in with the rough details: Camey's need for revenge, the trunk, and Half Sack's stabbing and had assured him Jaci was battered but ok. Tig had nodded along but he wanted to lay eyes on Jaci, wanted to bust through the crime scene, knock the goddamn cops out of the way and find her, lay his hands on her. He needed to see for himself that she was ok. Well she was obviously far from ok; maybe he just wanted proof of life. As long as her heart was still beating, that was all he cared about; it was like the night of the salon fire all over again, only times a million.
In reality, given their broken, non-existent relationship, seeing that she was alive might be might as close as he got to her. He had lost his right to talk to her or to be involved in any aspect of her life. She could probably care less if he was concerned for her. And that was ok, it hurt him like hell but he accepted his place. He had to own the shitty decisions he had made over the last year and knew he deserved to be punished a million times for it all. But she didn't deserve to burn for the club's faults, Abel for sure didn't did deserve to be stolen away. He'd give anything to set it all back to right. He blew out a deep breath and leaned back against the couch to continue the wait for her.
Juice continued his four step pacing route by the pool table in front of Tig. Glancing at the phone in his hand for the hundredth time, he let out a frustrated sigh. The last and only communication he had received from Vix had been hours ago in the form of a simple text, Off the grid, we r ok, no worries. "No worries my ass." He muttered. He had no clue what her and Koz were up to. He had told Koz to get her back in Charming as soon as he knew Abel had been taken but hadn't given him any details. On one hand, he hated her being in the wind but at least she was sheltered from the hell that was going down in Charming. He dreaded the moment when he had to tell her Abel was gone. Gone for NOW, just for NOW.
"Put the phone in your pocket, kid." Tig grumbled. "If she's off the grid, she won't be callin'on your regular damn phone now. Give her some time, they'll pick up a prepaid or something and she'll call."
Oddly Tig wasn't worried…sure he thought Koz was a fuck stick and pretty much hated the guy these days but he was solid in a crisis and more than good in a fight. And Vix…well she had proven herself able to handle the wildest shit, the two of them together should have been more than able to hold their own against whatever came their way.
"Damnit, Tig she's p…" Juice almost blurted the secret news but stopped at the last second. He was just frustrated by everyone keeping up the 'it will be ok' bullshit. They didn't know what really was at stake, why he had amped up reason to worry and they wouldn't know…unless he told them…which he was NOT going to do. Juice sighed and blew out a breath. "You're right…it'll be fine."
"Well, I didn't say that.´Tig corrected and saw his brother's face fall. "Shit, man…I…ignore me. I'm talkin' out my ass here." He waved his hand around, trying to find the right words. "I'm just…"
"I know...me too." Juice replied, seeing the worry and confusion on Tig's face.
XXX
At Jax's house, police cars littered the yard and street along with a medical examiner's van. Piney and Bobby had parked across the street and stood outside with their backs to their black van waiting impatiently for the girls.
"This is red tape bullshit." Bobby muttered. "They should have been let go an hour ago. They've already hauled out Sack's poor body, surely to God by now, Hale could have asked enough questions of them. Give 'em a damn break, they can come into the station tomorrow or some shit."
"Mmmph." Piney muttered in agreement. "It's not like the girls are telling them much anyway. They're not gonna spill anything until we've heard it first. We need to get 'em back the clubhouse and get the damn details of what the hell happened so we can get to finding Abel."
Another few minutes past then there was promising activity. Hale finally appeared at the front door. A second later, Tara appeared next to him and the deputy put his arm around her, leading her onto the front porch. Jaci came outside next, her arms wrapped protectively around her own chest.
"Finally!" Bobby breathed. "Let's go."
The pair of old bikers crossed the street with a determined gait. Piney was the first to address Hale. "Well that took long enough."
Hale raised his hand as he strode forward to meet the biker welcoming commitment a few yards away from the girls. "I don't want to hear anything from the two of you."
"Are they released?" Bobby asked. "That's all we give a shit about."
"Yes, Mr. Munson. They are free to go." Hale replied. "But we are not done; I'll need them both down at the station eventually. Stahl and the Feds will want to question them. I'll try to hold them off, but I'll only get a day or two max."
Bobby was surprised by Hale's offer to shelter the girls, giving them time to recover from the horrible night. He nodded his head in genuine thanks.
"Tara's ok, physically. Mentally, she's devastated." Hale reported quietly. "Jaci's busted up but adamantly refused medical treatment; wouldn't let anyone near her."
"It's her right to do that." Piney snapped in her defense.
"I know that, Mr. Winston. But she needs to see a doctor, have someone talk her into it later." Hale replied. He waved his arm back toward the girls, "Get them home safe."
Piney rolled his eyes at the deputy as the girls walked their direction. Tara accepted a hug from both bikers and headed toward the van with Piney as her escort. Bobby took one look at Jaci and froze. Op had said she was banged up but those words didn't really do her condition justice. She was utterly wrecked…and oddly barefoot.
"Darlin'…where are your shoes?" Bobby asked softly and quickly regained his composure.
"Broke 'em." Jaci replied hoarsely. He frowned and then held out his hand, looking to maybe take her elbow. She grunted in a way that warned him off from physical contact. Instead he just pointed across the street and walked slowly alongside of her as she limped in the direction of the van.
XXX
The door to the clubhouse opened and everyone instantly stopped all activity and stared. The core SAMCRO members made their way to the center of the room and watched as Piney, Tara, Jaci then Bobby trailed inside.
Bobby caught Clay's stare and raised his eyebrows as if to ask Where do you want them? Clay nodded toward the Chapel then clasped a hand on one of the brothers from the Tacoma crew, "Lock this place down….no interruptions." The guy nodded and hopped to action. Clay then addressed the room, "SAMCRO…Chapel…now."
As other brothers headed inside, Tig and Juice stood together outside of the Chapel doors as the macabre parade passed by them. Tig took in Jaci from head to toe, an act that made his heart ache. She looked utterly wrecked. Her hair was flattened to her head, her face was dirty, her once white t-shirt was covered in dirt, streaks of grease and blood. Her arms were scratched, her hands bloody and her bare feet appeared to be in equally bad shape as she limped past him. She didn't even glance in his direction, just kept her gaze determined and forward like an accident victim wandering away.
He glanced over to Juice, whose eyes mirrored the same concern. They fell into step after Bobby, with Clay the last to enter and close the double doors. Jaci's stomach dropped as she walked inside to the main table. Outsiders were only very rarely let inside these doors and women were an even rarer event. Hell, she couldn't even think of a time that it had happened in 'Bama. But surely tonight was an exception. A brother had been killed, a baby stolen and a President's Old Lady was a murderer, fugitive or God only knew…if that wasn't an extreme circumstance, what the fuck was?
Tara immediately went to Jax's side. He jerked to attention when she put her hand on his shoulder and he managed to give her a hug as she sat down in the chair next to him, muttering a rush of love and concern. Clay took his place at the head of the table. The other guys took their normal seats. Bobby pulled back a chair next to Tara for Jaci only to watch battered Parker sister stand rooted in place. If just being in the room felt like a violation to her, being offered a seat at the goddamn table was incomprehensible. It just was NOT done.
She stared wildly into to Bobby's eyes. He understood her concern immediately and gave her a reassuring nod, whispering to her, "It's ok, J. You can sit. Come on." She paused just a moment more and then gingerly sat down. Bobby sat on her left.
With everyone settled in, Clay looked around the room then took in a deep breath. "Ok, we've all been through Hell tonight. I know that and I respect that but we need to get to the details, so with the utmost sensitivity I ask, what the hell happened?" He stared at the girls. "And I mean, tell us everything…leave nothing out. Don't worry about being in trouble or covering somebody's ass. We can't figure all this shit out without every shred of the truth."
Tara swallowed hard and then started to rehash the day's events which lead to her telling the crew about Gemma spotting Polly at the market. "She saw her and then grabbed the car keys from Sack and we took off following her. She was just obsessed all of a sudden."
Something in Tara's tone of voice struck Jaci's wrong. It made Gemma sound crazy and out of control and there was a barely subtle bit of blame in her statement. Jaci feel the need to explain it and cut Tara off. "She wasn't acting crazy."
Chibs' head jerked at the sound of Jaci's voice. With Tara taking the lead, he hadn't expected to Jaci to say anything, hell she looked like she couldn't say anything. She had been perched so motionless in her chair, with her eyes staring at the table, she appeared zoned out. Nevertheless, her voice was rough, then he realized she had probably strained her vocal cords from screaming inside the trunk.
"Gemma and I …we talked about Polly last night. "Jaci recounted. "I told her that Polly was probably going to get away clean in all of this…that I didn't think it was right. I told her if she needed…closure, that me and Vix would help her. Gem said she was probably going to let Karma take care of it."
Tara snorted. "I guess she changed her mind with you egging her on from the backseat."
"Didn't egg her on, she made her decision and I begged her to let me go with her. She shouldn't have went alone."
"She shouldn't have went at all!" Tara hissed. "She killed his son, that's why he came for us and took Abel!"
Tig watched as Jaci's clenched her jaw. She was coming out of her victim fog and she was getting pissed. He couldn't say that he blamed her. There was a very stark contrast when you compared Tara and Jaci. One looked like she had cried herself to sleep after a bad day, not a scratch on her, the other one looked like she had been in a bar brawl.
"Ok, ok." Clay said, holding up his hand. "Whether a good idea or bad, Gemma went after Polly, Camey's son ends up dead in the mix. We'll get to that later. What came next?"
"I told Half Sack to stay and wait for her, that she might need get out fast. We drove back to Jax's house to finish packing up…" Her voice caught and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to steady herself. "To finish packing up Abel's stuff for another few days here. Jaci was outside putting things in the trunk when he got there."
All eyes turned to Jaci and she didn't like the spotlight one bit but told her story. "I was bent over in the trunk, heard something behind me. Turned around, I only had a split second to see the guy…he looked...out of sorts, like he'd been crying. Then he smacked me upside the head with something, a branch I think."
That explains her face. Tig thought to himself as he finally got a good look at the right side of her face, all bruised with some places of dried blood. As she continued her story, he noticed that her left hand, the really messed up one that she had lying on top of the table, trembled as she spoke. He hoped it was from nerves but it was more likely from pain.
"We fought for a few seconds, he finally got me in the trunk, slammed my hand in it a few times and that was it."
Clay frowned, "He have a gun? Threaten you with it or anything? See any other weapon?"
Jaci shook her head. "Everything was hand to hand. Then he slammed the lid and that was it." She was quiet for a moment and then softly said, "I couldn't get out." The finality of her statement sent a chill to everyone sitting at the table. They knew the horror and guilt she must have felt knowing that her nephew and friends were in trouble but being powerless to help them. .She looked to her right at Tara, signaling her to take back over on the story telling duties because from that point forward, Jaci was just as in the dark as the other guys at the table. She had been questioned separately from Tara by Hale.
Tara spent the next five minutes detailing Camey's movement inside the house, every word that had been spoken, every nuance of his mental state. When she reached the part of Half Sack's rush to attack Camey and his subsequent stabbing, Jaci closed her eyes.
Tig watched Jaci fight to hold her composure as Tara detailed the Prospect's death. Her jaw clenched and her left eye twitched a few times, she was obviously fighting back tears but wasn't about to let them show, not in this room. He thought of the goofy Prospect and shook his head. He was a good kid, had been a great Prospect but now he would be getting his patch in a coffin at his funeral instead of at a party. He looked to his right and saw that Chibs had his face in his hands and was taking in deep breaths. He reached over and put a hand on the Scot's shoulder.
"He went down a hero." Chibs mumbled as he sat back in his chair, regaining control of himself.
The story telling paused for a moment and Opie stepped up to finish the recounting. No one else was emotionally able at that point. The girls had been through enough, Chibs was upset and Jax hadn't made a sound through the whole thing, just sat like a zombie in his seat, staring straight ahead.
"Jax had gotten the interrupted phone call from Tara…that's when we hauled ass back to Charming. Got to his house, they rushed inside. I heard Jaci screaming and banging in the trunk, told her we'd be back. Got inside, found Sack then found Tara tied up in Abel's room and Abel gone." He looked at Clay, "Jax called you, Chibs and me got Jaci out then we headed off to meet you guys."
It was Clay's turn to fill in the blanks for the girls. "We knew Camey had been hanging around the docks. We headed there…just behind him. We chased him down but just too late."
"But you saw him…with Abel?" Jaci asked. "Abel was alive, he was ok?" Clay nodded.
Juice wanted to assure her more. "He had him wrapped up, J. Cradled in his arms, he was ok."
"And you know him, this Cameron guy?" Jaci asked. "He's Irish, you do business with him?"
"Yes." Tara blurted angrily for the club, remembering the time that she was called to save Cameron's life.
Clay didn't like the butt in from Tara but ignored it and looked at Jaci."Yes, we know him, yes we've business with him."
"So you know where he'll go? Who he'll reach out to? You can find him?"
"That's the plan, honey." Bobby chimed in.
Everyone sat silent for a moment, taking in all of the info. Then Jaci asked the question Juice was dreading to hear, "Where's my sister? She should be back by now?" She hadn't been able to call during her questioning so she just assumed Vix would be waiting for her back at the clubhouse. Now that she saw that wasn't the case and no one had even mentioned Vix, she knew she must be missing something. "Is something…did something happen?"
"NO!" Juice blurted. "Nothing happened, she's fine. She's just…not here…yet."
Jaci looked to her left and down the table at Juice, frowning. Before she could call his explanation bullshit, Piney stunned them all with his theory. "She's with Gemma."
Clay frowned, "She is?"
Piney nodded, "Let's think about this shit…you got scanner noise saying how both those kids were killed, we know there's an APB out on Gemma. If Camey said she killed his boy, he had to have heard the same shit. If Gemma's on the lam, she can't get help from any of us here. She's gotta go to someone outside of Charming. Who wasn't HERE when all this shit went down?'
" VIX...she was at school." Juice replied.
Tig nodded along, "Forty five minutes away."
Op frowned, "If Gemma's running, which direction is she headed?"
"North." Clay chimed in without missing a beat.
"Bingo. That's gotta be the answer." Bobby explained. "Gemma knows we're all off limits, she calls Vix who she knows would help without hesitation."
"So that's what Vix meant in her text off the grid, call ya soon?" Juice pleaded.
Piney nodded. "Layin' low. They get settled somewhere, we'll hear from them."
"Makes sense." Jaci replied quietly, now internally terrified that she had to worry about Vix along with her little nephew.
Happy tapped a cigarette on the table. "It IS the only explanation that makes sense…unless you wanna go down a darker road and think something happened to them."
Juice groaned and put his head in his hands, "For the love of God, stay in the light, PLEASE."
XXX
The crew poured slowly out of the Chapel. The sense of urgency from earlier was gone. It was a time to regroup, refocus, try to come to terms with the horrible events of the day and get a game plan together. Jaci took a few hobbled steps away from the door and stood still as Juice put his hand on her shoulder.
"J…you need to see a doctor. I think that hand's broken…" Juice rambled his concerns but she let his voice fade away. Her gaze fell on the bar where Piney and Tig stood, downing a shot of something. He talked about doctors and bandages and sleep but all she wanted was away…alone. He said something else and she wanted to push him away. She couldn't with her busted hands so she lifted her elbow and nudged him in disgust. She didn't want to be coddled or pitied; she just wanted someone to DO something. She'd be FINE, Abel would not. Finally she broke her gaze with Tig and looked at Juice. "You find our boy, Juice. Worry about THAT right now. Leave me alone. You find him…there's a trace of him out there. You know how to get that stuff. You find him, Juice. And while you're at it, figure out where my sister is heading!" She pushed at him with her elbow again, Go!"
"You need to go help her." Piney stated plainly to the man standing next to him.
Tig frowned. "Can't…I'm supposed to stay away from…"
"Oh since when do you do what you're supposed to?" Piney cut him off. "She's looking right at you, Tig. And you were watching her the whole time at the table. For whatever crazy reason, I think she wants YOU right now."
"She hates me, Piney."
"Well so do I but not tonight." Piney fired back. "She's hurt and pissed, maybe she just wants someone to take it out on…you go be the punching bag or maybe you're just the most familiar …you really want Juice there trying to get her undressed and cleaned up? Bobby? You want ME to do it? She's damn sure not going to let Tara help her. You go help her…you goddamn owe her that."
Tig knocked back another shot and looked over his shoulder slightly; sure enough Jaci was staring back at him as Juice was trying to deal with her. He glanced back down at the bar. Ok asshole, what are you gonna do? She's hurt, she needs some help…just go walk over there and try. If she screams and says fuck off, then you walk away. You gotta at least try…you do OWE her that.
He pushed away from the bar and headed her way. Juice was still trying to talk to Jaci, despite being nudged away by her. Tig clapped Juice on the back and confidently announced, "I got it."
Juice gave him an uncertain look but relented when Tig raised his eyebrows. He knew better than to question. He told Jaci to let him know if she needed anything and scurried away, heading straight to retrieve his laptop, Jaci was completely right in her estimations. He was much more useful trolling data then he was playing nurse. He already had a million ideas rolling in his head and was going to start going down the list.
Tig took a breath and hoped Piney was right. Jaci glared at him with a look that could peel paint and he tried to figure out how to handle the situation. Jaci was a do-er, a fixer and was probably pissed to no end about being hurt. She was used to helping people, not being the helpless one. It took her out of the game she so desperately wanted back into. He knew without a doubt she didn't want to be sitting around bleeding and crying, she wanted to find her nephew. "Let's get you fixed."
His words hung in the air and Jaci didn't reply for a long moment but finally nodded ever so slightly. At this moment, she really couldn't handle another sympathetic look. She had experienced Tig's bedside manner once, long ago and he wasn't very good at it. He wouldn't pat her on the head and sweet talk her and she was glad for it.
"No doctor." She said replied as a sort of counter offer and watched him shrug indifferently. He pointed to the back of the clubhouse and she started to limp that way. He would have preferred to just pick her up but knew even in her injured state, she'd dropped kick him in the balls.
They made it to the bunk room she'd been calling home for the last day or so and he guided her inside, locking the door behind them. She stood in the middle of the room and stared blankly at him. She looks like a shell shocked zombie. "Bathroom…light's better in there."
She managed to hobble the distance by herself with him trailing close behind. "Alright, let's get a look at you." He said quietly and began doing a top to bottom assessment of her injuries. The bright light showed the harsh reality of her condition. The right side of her face was bruised and cut from where Cameron had smashed the tree branch into her. His hand reached out to touch her but he stopped himself at the last second. Given their rough past lately, he sort of felt the need to ask her permission. Goddamnit, this is so awkward. I'm not asking fucking permission! Instead he held his hand up and raised his eyebrows, showing her what he was about to do. She didn't protest.
His fingers ghosted over her cheek and pressed lightly, checking for a broken bone. Her mouth twitched slightly but she gave no other response so he assumed there was no break. He really meant to be all business, to keep their interaction about the task at hand, not about their history together but as he ran his hands down her shoulders, staring at her once white tee shirt, that intent began to evaporate. Someone had made her bleed and that realization had him feeling the first stirrings of anger deep in his chest.
He lifted up her right hand first, knowing it was the lesser damaged of the two. Her fingertips were raw and bloodied, most of the fingernails broken or ripped off. He pressed her hands in a few spots and watched her reaction or lack thereof. She simply stared at him with emotionless eyes. He tried to give her a comforting look but was sure it fell flat. He moved slowly and picked up her left hand very gently. A sharp intake of breath by her let him know that this was the trouble spot.
It was plain to see where her hand had been slammed in the trunk. A harsh greasy, bloody cut lay across her hand, just below her knuckles. "Damn." He whispered. Her fingers were ripped to shreds much like her other hand. She had made the damage worse by trying to claw and punch her way out of the trunk. Her hand moved with a more pronounced shake after his prodding and he knew the pain was amping up. "That's broken, …you're going to have to get it looked at…maybe tomorrow?" He said softly and she nodded slowly in understanding. "Where else are you hurt, J?"
She frowned at his use of her nickname. He'd never been one to call her that but she just replied to his question. "Foot…back." Jaci managed to answer. She was suddenly afraid to talk too much. Just a few words without a sea of eyes on her and she was already feeling a rising of something in her chest. She was quickly becoming calm around him and she worried if she got too comfortable the tears might start, the bigger worry there was that they might never stop. She had held it in all through Hale's questioning and while around the table but the hurt was getting hard to contain.
He didn't think he'd ever been so gentle with someone in his whole life. She'd been put through Hell tonight and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her one bit more but he needed to see the rest of her injuries. "It'd be easier if you just strip."
Knowing she couldn't do it herself, he eased her t-shirt slowly up her torso and pulled it gently over her head being careful to not scrap her face or hands in the process of getting her loose. He stepped behind her and let out an almost mournful breath. "Jaci…" He clenched his teeth in anger as he looked at the long deep scratches that crisscrossed her back. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and shook his head. Suddenly he knew exactly how she had felt in the back of that car. She had been a crazed animal, trying every which way to claw her way out, tossing, turning, straining and nothing had worked.
His attempt to just be clinical went out the window. She wasn't just some stranger he needed to patch up. He had made love to this body before, had touched every inch of it and he wanted to kill the man that had caused her damage. She must have been scared out of her mind during the ordeal and that's when the guilt hit him. He should have been there for her. He started to put his hand on the tops of her arms, to give her some reassuring gesture but checked his motion. Just get this over it. She'll tolerating you…that won't last long.
He stepped back in front of her and set to unbuttoning her pants, realizing he had never performed this act on a woman without being about to fuck her. He slid her jeans down over her hips and helped steady her as she stepped out of them. He bent down and checked out her ankle. It was bruising quickly and swollen but he couldn't tell if there was a break or just a bad sprain. "Flip flops aren't made for shit kicking." He retorted quietly, remember the flimsy shoes she had been wearing at the station that morning.
"I tried…tried to kick out the back seat." Jaci explained hoarsely. Her voice startled him and he gazed up at her, nodding sympathetically. "I thought maybe I could break it, squeeze out. I couldn't though."
Her voice choked up on the last sentence and he stood up. She stared intently at the floor, her jaw clenching. With every word her resolve was breaking, he could see the damn about to flood. He didn't know what to say so just nodded at her, trying to let her know it was ok to breakdown with him. He'd never rat her out, never let anyone know she wasn't Super Woman. He finally whispered, "Tell me."
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I tried so hard to get out. I knew he was in there…with them, with Abel. And I screamed and I punched and I kicked and pulled…and nothing…nothing fucking worked." She seethed with anger and he watched as the tears starting to flow down her face. She looked up at him with red rimmed green eyes. "Nothing fucking worked. Tig…I tried so goddamn hard…"
He was starting to tear up himself as he watched her fall apart in front of him. The sight of her so damaged was ripping his heart apart. He knew she'd been holding herself in check for hours and just couldn't do it anymore. "I know…we all know." He was scared to venture touching her again but couldn't help himself. He reached for her hips first and was surprised when she pulled the front of his shirt with her slightly better right hand. "I got you…you're ok." She buried her face against his chest and started to sob. He wrapped his arms around her gently, trying to miss the worst of the back scratches and held her tight. "Let it go, J…let it go."
She cried and sobbed against him for a full five minutes. He listened for a while but then zoned out into thinking of painfully slow ways to kill Cameron. He whispered, "I'm sorry" more than once. And he was sorry…for a million different things. When she seemed to calm down, he kissed her the side of her head but didn't make a move to let her go. If she wanted to stand here with him all night, he was willing to let her.
She finally pulled away from him and tried to wipe her eyes with her bare forearms. He stepped in and finished the job for her with his thumbs. She stared down at her nearly naked form and then glanced up at him. "Well, this is awkward."
He snorted a small laugh and shook his head, answering truthfully, "No it's not. Are you.."
"OK? No…I'm not, at all. But I think I'm back to stable and that's good enough for now, you think?"
"Yeah." He pointed to the shower. "I think it would be easier just to get you in there otherwise we'll be here all night cleaning up cuts."
She nodded in agreement and he set to starting the water. She dodged eye contact when it came time to fully strip. She couldn't get her bra off with her mangled hands, apparently the night's humiliation knew no bounds. He helped her out of everything and into the shower without a word. He stayed with the curtain open for a moment to make sure she was settled. It was then he realized she was pretty much helpless. She stood in the spray with her arms crossed over her chest. She might be able to do a piss poor job of soaping up but she couldn't wash her hair, couldn't wash the blood from her back.
"Fuck." She muttered as the same realizations dawned on her as well. She couldn't remember a time she had ever been so completely helpless and it pissed her off royally.
He bit his lip. "This is your call. I can go get Tara…"
"NO…I can't be around her right now." Jaci replied. "Not with me looking like this and her without a scratch on her. I'll say shit I can't take back."
"Yeah, well everybody's already thinking it." Tig snorted. "So what do you want to do here?" She remained silent a second too long. He set to pulling off his shirt then unbuckling his pants. "Ok, fuck it…I'm coming in. That ok?"
"I don't think I have a lot of choices tonight." She mumbled.
The shower was the most tender, intimate and totally non-sexual event in the history of showers. He got her cleaned up rather quickly but ended up putting his back to the spray and just holding her for a long while. He'd never planned on talking to her again, let alone holding her, let alone NAKED. He knew they were on borrowed time. She leaned against him silently but pulled away when standing on her ankle got to be too much.
They toweled off and dressed and got her sat down on the bed. He ran a hand through his wet hair. "I'm going to go get Chibs to wrap up that hand. I wanna make you go to the ER but I know you won't go tonight so we're going with Plan B: Scottish medic and illicit drugs. Deal?"
"Deal." He was unlocking the door when she said his name quietly, "Tig? Is he dead? Is Abel dead and you guys just aren't telling me or something? I know Juice said he saw him but I just…I got a feeling that maybe there was something else that happened?"
Tig stepped away from the door, utterly shocked by her line of questioning. He stood with his hand on the doorknob. "No…hey, look at me. There's NOTHING to tell. Abel's on that boat with Cameron and we're going to find him and bring him home safe. End of story. That's it, nothing else. Ok?"
She nodded, slightly embarrassed by her paranoia but at this point in the game, paranoia was usually correct.
He watched her for another moment, not really wanting to open the door, more than a little afraid that when he returned, her improving mood and temporary acceptance of him might disappear. He knew he'd have to take his chances. "Sit tight…I'll be right back."
XXX
Tig found Chibs exactly where he suspected, sitting at the bar with a bottle of whiskey open in front of him. He walked up and leaned on the bar next to the Scot. "Before you drain that, can you take a look at Jaci? Wrap her hands, band aid anything else that needs it and dope her to sleep. We don't knock her out, she'll be in here trying to help, needs to rest."
Chibs nodded and took one more pull from the bottle before standing up. "You wanna talk to her again before she's out.?" Tig nodded in the affirmative and Chibs knew what stash of pills to hit. He headed down the hall on his doctoring task and was thankful for it. He needed something to take his mind off of seeing Half Sack bled out on Jax's kitchen floor.
"How is she?" Clay asked from his perch further down the bar.
"Stable. She'll be good in the morning, she's tough." Tig replied as he walked behind the bar to snag himself a beer. "How's Jax?"
Clay threw a thumb over his shoulder and replied sadly, "Semi-catatonic…but he managed to move to the couch."
Tig shook his head…his crew was a wreck. It was a lot of devastation to process in one night. Bobby joined them and motioned for a beer. Tig obliged and sat one done in front of him. They drank quietly for a moment until the phone on the wall rang, breaking the consuming silence in the room. Everyone froze; it was the TM towline that hardly rang this late at night. It had to be one of their ladies on the lam. Tig snatched the phone in an instant with a frown on his face, "Yeah?"
"Only Tig would answer the phone like that." Vix mused. She was standing in a payphone booth in a truck stop parking lot.
He realized it was Vix. "Land lines, really?"
"I got about 30 seconds here, grab a pen."
Tig frowned and started scrambling to find something to write with around the bar. "Hang on, hang on…" He spied a black sharpie and grabbed it, ripping the cap off with his teeth. He spit the cap on the floor, posed to write, only to find no paper. "Goddamnit." He ignored the questioning looks and verbal inquiries from Bobby and Clay, instead spinning around and looking high and low for any type of paper. His eyes landed on a nudie calendar hanging by the phone. He ripped it from the wall and slammed it down on the bar. "Ok, shoot!"
Koz stood leaning against the phone booth watching his wrist watch, timing Vix as she spat a riddle that was hopefully understandable but not easily cracked if intercepted. "Listen up... the Tinman,, Dorothy and me are all fine. What went down in Kansas was NOT Dorothy's fault but the Wicked Witch won't paint it that way. We're gonna go see Glynda until The Wiz can get this shit straightened out. Tinman says bring some damn backup to the Inn in the Woods and ya better know the way cause there ain't no breadcrumb trail.. Tap Times Up, Tigger. Love to everybody."
"Who IS it?!" Clay hissed, wondering if it were Gemma or Vix or both, only to have Tig wave him off. His SAA was in deep concentration and scribbling things as fast as he could, occasionally repeating words back.
Tig heard the line click dead on the other end and he hung up the phone. He took a deep breath and looked to the guys, "Chapel...now."
Clay, Bobby, Op, Juice, and Tig all filed in the room. Juice had been on his cell working some leads and was pissed to have missed Vix's call.
"Decipher that shit." Tig demanded as he threw the girly calendar on the table.
Bobby started reading it with Juice looking over his shoulder. He kept getting the calendar closer and closer to his face and frowning. "Jesus Christ, learn to write, Tig."
"I was in a HURRY asshole." Tig spat.
Bobby read the riddle aloud and gave everyone a minute to soak in the information. "Ok, the Tinman is Koz. If Dorthy is pleading innocence…
"That's Gemma." Clay said. "What went down in Kansas…that's Gault, right?"
"Wicked witch is easy, that's Stahl." Tig hissed.
They read the riddle a few more times with points becoming more clear. "Oh, oh…Glenda is the Good Witch of the NORTH!" Bobby exclaimed. "They're heading North just like we thought. Piney had this shit figured out."
"Inn in the Woods…maybe that's that old motel in Woodland? That's Joliet territory." Clay mused. "Koz knows about that place…maybe decided that was a safe zone?" The other guys nodded in agreement.
"So who's the goddamn Wiz?" Tig asked, confused. "Is that Juice…like a computer whiz?"
They all fell quiet for a moment until Opie spoke up, "Maybe it's all of us…she's waiting on help from all of us, from SAMCRO."
"Ok then…we go help her." Clay pointed to Juice. "You get some guys from Joliet headed to Woodland. I'll head up first thing in the morning."
"Ooooh, you can't go, boss." Bobby chided.
"No way, cops will be watching you like a hawk. Someone else has to go." Op reminded.
Clay gave an exasperated sigh and closed his eyes, frustrated to no end that he couldn't help Gemma personally. "Fine." He pointed at Tig. "You…get your shit together; you're leaving in a couple hours. And you and the Tinman…like two ships passing in night, no goddamn crashing, no opening fire, pass with no contact!"
Tig nodded his understanding. He hated to leave Jaci in the state she was in but appreciated the fact that Clay didn't fully trust anyone with guarding Gemma. The guys filed out of the Chapel and dispersed to the tasks at hand.
Bobby walked behind Juice and mused, "So that leaves Vix…she didn't mention it but she's either the Cowardly Lion or the Scarecrow lacking a brain."
"Vix has more balls than half the dudes I know." Juice mused proudly. "She's the Scarecrow…with a brain."
XXX
"She's mended and high. You got about twenty minutes till she's out completely." Chibs was just leaving the dorm room as Tig came back up the hallway.
"Thanks, brother." He replied and clasped Chibs on the shoulder. "Hey…Vix called, check in with Bobby for the details."
Chibs nodded and headed back to find his whiskey. He needed to drink even more after seeing the mess Jaci had made of herself trying to fight her way out of that trunk. They had talked about Abel but mostly about losing the Prospect and both had gotten choked up about it but that was ok, they were good at keeping secrets when it came to each other.
Tig pushed open the door and peaked inside to find Jaci lying on the bed, fully clothed. She was lying in the middle of the bed on her left side. Her bruised face prevented lying on the other side. Her broken hand was wrapped and cradled protectively against her chest. He could see cuts on the bottoms of her bare feet, now shiny with anti-biotic ointment, the biggest scratches covered in band-aids
"Hey." He whispered. She lifted her head slightly and gave him a finger wave, which was all she could manage with most of her right hand being wrapped up as well. He closed the door behind him and walked over the bed. He raised his eyebrows, asking permission to sit down next to her. She nodded.
"How you feelin'?"
"Kinda high…Chibs said I'll be out like a light in a bit."
"Good."
She frowned, "Not good. I don't want to miss anything. What if…"
Tig smiled and cut her off. "Vix called…she's with Gemma. They're safe, kinda far away though." His smile faded. "I'm heading up there in a couple of hours. Vix and Koz should be able to come home, be here in a day or two."
"Are you gonna tell them about Abel…and Kipp?"
"Naw…well about Sack, yeah…that will hit the papers. We're trying like hell to keep Abel off the headlines. Gemma can't know about him…she'll try to come back here."
Jaci nodded. "Yeah, I guess. It feels wrong to lie to her but you're right. Vix is going to freak when she gets back."
"You want me to tell her?" Tig offered. "I know you'd rather her hear it from you or Juice but maybe she could use the travel time to get a grip on it? I mean…by the time she gets here…be good if she was in the same place as everybody else…you know, in her head with it."
"Yeah." Jaci replied as she considered her logic. "I can't ask you to…"
"No problem, J. Vix and me…we fuss but we have a little understanding. It'll be ok. I'll check with Juice first…she's his Old Lady after all; he says ok, I'll handle it."
Jaci smirked and laid back down, her head starting to feel more fuzzy. "What's with the J stuff? You don't ever call me that."
He shrugged. "Maybe I do now." He hadn't really thought about using her nickname, it had just come out naturally. It seemed more intimate and the night they were sharing was definitely intimate, maybe more so than any night they'd spent without their clothes on.
He rested his hand on her hip, noticing she didn't flinch at the contact. Hopefully she wouldn't flinch at his honesty either. "I hate leaving you like this." He frowned at the huge bruise on her face that was getting darker by the minute. "I wanna be here."
"Yeah." She replied softly.
"Not sure how long I'll be, gotta get Gemma cleared of charges before she can step foot in Charming again."
Jaci blew out a long breath, confused by the interaction between them. To switch from hate to comfort so quickly was a head spinning event. She frowned, "So I guess we're on another timeout?"
He smiled slightly. "I'll take that." He watched her eyelids half close and then open wide. She was starting a losing battle with some much needed sleep. "Go to sleep." He again noticed her clothes. "You want these jeans off?"
"No…damnit. I won't be able to get them back on in the morning. I'm not asking anybody else to dress me." She snapped. A long moment of silence passed between them. She needed it in order to make peace with herself for what she was about to ask of him. "Can you…I know you have to pack but…oh goddamnit, never mind." She muttered and stopped.
"Ask." He prodded. She shook her head and flexed her jaw. "ASK. What'd you need?"
"Fine…can you stay…until I fall asleep?" She spat, ashamed for asking a favor from a man she had written off entirely. "The dark…pretty sure it's going to freak me out."
He felt a bloom of relief in his chest. He didn't deserve this moment by any means but he was by God going to take it. He gave her a nod and stood up to hit the light switch. "Pretty sure you're gonna be too high to care about the dark but I got ya."
When the light blinked out, she stared through the darkness for a moment, getting her bearings. She didn't want it to but her mind immediately took her back to the pitch black of the trunk. "Fuck." She muttered. She heard Tig's boots thump to the floor and a few seconds later, she felt him crawling on the bed. She hadn't specifically asked for him to get in the bed with her but she was half glad he had taken the initiative. His weight next to her was like an anchor.
"Sleep, J…relax." Tig muttered. They laid side by side for a long while and he finally felt her body relax a bit. He stared up at the ceiling, knowing he should try to get a few hours sleep for himself but not wanting to miss the experience of being next to her again. He knew he probably wouldn't get another chance. When he got back, the wall they had broken down would probably be half built up again and they would keep their distance just like it always happened.
Jaci tried to stave off the deep sleep that was trying to pull her eyelids down for the count but was losing the fight. She didn't know what Chibs had given her but she was thankful for it. Her breaks and bruises were not screaming at her for the moment and that was a Godsend. Tig was probably right, she needed her sleep because tomorrow…well tomorrow she'd have to wake up and face to face this nightmare in the daylight and that was going to hurt. But for tonight, she could sink down into oblivion. She muttered a silent prayer…for her nephew, for her sister and Gemma, for Kipp and for Jax too. She prayed for God to help them in ways she couldn't at the moment.
Tig heard her muttering next to him and leaned his head closer to try and catch the words but couldn't make it out. She shifted slightly and he thought he was busted, that she would shove him away, not needing him after all. Instead she floored him by reaching behind her with her 'good' hand and feeling around until she found his hand…and then pulled his arm around her.
He rolled with her to the left and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. He kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes. Never one to pray, he silently vowed to himself, I'll earn this.
XXX
The morning came and for the second time in her life, Jaci awoke with a phone and a note in her hand from Tig. She squinted sleepily and read his familiar scribble, For timeout#107, my PP number is programmed in, call if you need something…or just to call. Go see Chibs, he's gonna need your help with Sack's funeral. He's taking it bad. Take care…be back when I can. Go the damn doctor.
She couldn't help but smile slightly at the straightforwardness of Tig's note; bluntness but with underlying concern but Heaven forbid he ever be blunt about said concern. After lying in bed for a few more minutes, she stood up and gingerly walked across the room and found another pair of her flip flops to wear. Good thing she was an overpacker by nature. She stared at the bedroom door with dread. As soon as she opened it, the oblivion bubble would be burst and harsh painful reality would rush over her. But it was time to face it all…people needed her and she was good in a crisis. She managed to slip the new phone in her back jeans pocket, honestly unsure if she would use it or not.
After checking in with Juice and getting an update on any events she might have missed in her drug fueled sleep, she set out to find Chibs. Turned out he had passed out in the middle of the boxing ring. As she stood and watched him sleep face down on the mat, her mind drifted to thoughts of Half Sack. She missed her aloof friend already but tried to push away the sadness to deal with the tasks at hand.
"Chibs…" She said softly. When that approach didn't work after a few times of trying, she got louder. "CHIBS! Wake up!"
He stayed perfectly still but opened one eye to see who was yelling at him. Seeing Jaci he lifted his head, "J?"
"Time to wake up man. We have things to do." She replied and held her broken hand up. "Go take a shower and then take me to the doctor."
Chibs frowned up sat up grumpily. His head swam and he gave a dirty look to the now empty bottle of whiskey in the ring with him. Slowly his brain started firing and coming to life. He pulled his pack of cigarettes from out of his cut pocket and lit one up. "Any word on Abel?"
Jaci shook her head sadly. He considered her rough appearance and thought back to what Tig had asked of him before the SAA had rolled North. Keep an eye on Jaci for me, she's hurtin', bro. Keep her busy, let her help with the funeral, settling Sack's stuff. She's good at shit like that but it'll keep her mind off Abel a little. Chibs had readily agreed, not only because he sorta loved her in his own way but also because he could really use the help.
"How ya feelin', J?"
She shrugged. "Broken…but I'll make it. You?"
"The same." He replied and managed a smirk. He blew out a plume of smoke. "I think we're supposed to be buddies for a while."
Jaci gave him a slight frown but then realized what Tig had done. "He told me to take care of you…I guess he told you the opposite?"
"Aye." Chibs replied as he slid under the bottom rung of the ring and stood on the pavement alongside Jaci.
"Honestly, that sounds good to me. You can be my drug dealer too." She said with a smile, thinking she would be wanting those pills again that night.
He snorted and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the side of her head as he led her back to the clubhouse.
THE END
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, it's not THE END of everything, just of this story. I've got to take some time off and figure out how to handle Season 3. I hated that season for the most part but had written some good moments that deserve to see the light of day. I'll work on that and start a new story that will cover S3and seeing the guys off to their 18 months of jail. Then it will hopefully be another story that will cover the futures of the Parker girls. I'll tell you that they do get their happily ever afters…but have to take the scenic route through Hell to get there.
Thank you all SO much for your continued loyalty and reviews. Stay with me! Be sure to favorite me as an author so you won't miss any future Parker action. I'm also working on a new fic that's Tig centered but totally non Parker related but have no clue of a title yet. I will say this: it involves Tig and a chick he meets in anger management class. Stay tuned!
~BG