A/N 10/8/2018: Whew. Giant chapter. But it is only one episode. I may have stayed up a bit too late my time to finish this, but I wanted to get my goal of three chapters for this weekend up. I love you guys that much! lol Like I said...DRAMA! There is only one more chapter in this season...I'm making it a giant chapter too, so I reach a nice round 21 chapters. I hope y'all are enjoying this journey with me. Love y'all! ~Angel
Jax woke with a start and stared at the ceiling for a moment, feeling Angela sleeping cuddled into his side, her arm around on his shoulder. She must have felt him awaken, because she pressed closer to him, running her thumb along her jaw.
"I love you," she breathed. He looked down and smiled at her, her eyes still closed and her breathing peaceful. He kissed her forehead lovingly before looking back up at the ceiling, contemplating the feeling that woke him.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Clay woke more gently, but noticed his wife wasn't at his side, but standing in front of the cage that held her parrot.
"Sometimes I think you love that bird more than me," he said with a chuckle. Gemma smirked and looked back at him.
"Sometimes I do," she teased, turning her focus back to her bird.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Opie, too, woke gently, and looked over to see both Ellie and Kenny sleeping in bed with him and Donna. The parent's arms connecting above the heads of the children. Opie took a moment to soak in the sight of his family. The three people he loved most in the entire world. He figured they didn't have to wake the kids up for school. He and Donna could let them have a day to relax after the shit they went through with that bitch Stahl and her merry gang of idiots.
Opie rolled over to face the others, kissing Ellies head as he took Donna's other hand as it lay across Kenny.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Tig woke up with a dark haired beauty laying on his arm. And he remembered the wild night they had before. Oh how he loved the kinky ones.
"Hey. Hey," he said waking her. He kissed her possessively before pulling back. "Get out of here. Go on, get out of here," he said to the Crow-eater. She got up, wearing nothing but a g-string and left him to his plans for the day. And what dark ones they were.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Chibs woke up in his favorite spot in the world. Laying with Bella half on top of him. He gently rolled her over and planted butterfly kisses all along her cheek, neck, shoulders, all the way down between the valley over her breasts, to her tummy, where he placed a lingering kiss above her womb.
"Good mornin', mo chridhe," he whispered to the life within. Bella's hands came down and carded through Chibs's graying hair. "And to you, mo ghràdh," he added, rising to kiss her on her perfect lips.
"Good morning, Filip."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"It's your lucky day, little boy," Dr. Namid said to Abel, who was up early and ready to go home. "You get to join your family." Closing Abel's chart, he smiles down at the child that had to fight for his life. Secretly, he was glad Abel's birth mother was no longer in the picture. Gemma, Angela, and Izzy were all doing marvelously when they visit. He had no worries about sending this child home to loving people.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Tig joined Clay out by the line of bikes. "Meeting's all set. Oakland. 2:30," he tells his president.
"Good." Clay gets onto his bike, but doesn't take off quite yet.
"Opie's wired. There's no way in hell we're gonna be able to separate him from everybody. Everything we're doing. We got to protect our guys," he said, putting on his helmet. "It's got to happen today."
"Okay," Tig agrees as Clay starts his bike, and leaves.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Tracker on Opie's truck is working. We're not getting anything from the bug or the cell," Stahl's partner said.
"Check his truck when you can. He might have been smart enough to sweep it," she said.
"What if Clay or one of the others found it?" he asked.
"The pretrial for Hefner's murder starts tomorrow. The U.S. Attorney will have to release the name of the witness, so SAMCRO will know that Opie isn't the snitch," she said with little feeling. "We can start making our case tying him to Hefner's killing. Just have to keep him safe for another 24, and then we can arrest his shaggy ass."
"I know she's here. I wanna see her," she hears the familiar voice to Clay Morrow storming into the department.
"Clay Morrow wants to see you," another agent said, poking his head into the office. But Clay muscles his way past him.
"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey," her partner tried to stop him, but Stahl put in her two cents.
"It's okay. Hey. Hey. It's okay. It's okay," she said, getting the other's attention.
"You kick down my doors. You hurt my wife. You lock up one of my brothers for a crime he didn't commit," he said lowly.
"We'll let a jury of his peers decide that," she said smartly.
"What you did to Opie and his family proves one thing- You're desperate, 'cause you got nothing on us. It kills you, doesn't it? To see me and my guys living good lives. Families, friends, nice homes. You hate the fact, that we get the same rights and freedoms you do," Clay taunts.
"Gee, you make me so proud to be an American," Stahl said with heavy sarcasm.
"You're a fascist pig," he said, getting up in her face. "And what Otto did to you is just the tip of the iceberg." Then he walked out, Stahl staring hard at his back.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Our retainer with Rosen is good for one more week. If this thing with Bobby goes to trial, we're gonna have to pony up some serious up-front cash," Clay tells the table.
"We have every dime in the warehouse rebuild," Juice tells Clay.
"I know. I talked to Alvarez. They Mayans want guns. They want them right away."
"We ain't go nothing to sell. Irish don't start shipping till next month," Jax reminds him.
"We pull our security surplus. We sell 'em those."
"Wait a minute," Chibs interrupted. "I thought we didn't sell that surplus."
"We don't," Jax said.
"We sell 'em those guns. It's a goodwill gesture. The Mayans turn around, place a big order. They give us half the cash in advance," Clay pointed out.
"It leaves us nothing to protect the club," Jax said.
"I'm out of ideas here, Jax. If we don't jump on this deal, we lose it. I'm just trying to help Bobby here."
"I get that," Jax told Clay. "But A.T.F. are still camped out at Unser's office. You really want to take that risk?"
"We can do this smart. We set up two locations in Oakland, right? We pick up the money from one. We drop off the guns at the other. This way even if the feds are watching us, they never see guns for money."
"Why would the feds still be trailing us?" Opie asked, confused.
"Maybe they're pissed off 'cause you didn't turn. You and Tig pick up the money, Me and Jax drop off the guns."
"I'll go with Ope and Tig," Piney said.
"Nah, nah, nah. The fewer the better," Clay said. "Why don't you just go up to the warehouse, let me know how that's going?"
"Just some bullshit errand. I got stuff to do," Piney spat, leaving the meeting.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
After the meeting, Jax and Angela went to the hospital to get Abel. Turned out, there was a mountain of paperwork before they would let the little guy out of their sight.
"This is a lot of signatures. I'm not actually signing away rights to my first born, am I?" he joked to Angela. Ange smiled and shook her head.
"Nah," she said, looking through the packet on the clipboard. "Looks to be just a bunch of boring liability stuff. Tell you what. Why don't I leave you here, give you time to bond with your boy, and I'll go check on your mother. Make sure she doesn't over do it with the party decorations and stuff. You know how new grandmother's can get."
Jax placed one of his large hands on either side of her face and kissed her passionately, not seeing Wendy just on the other side of the window entering the ward. She lost it, seeing Jax with another woman and stormed out.
"You are a lifesaver," he tells her.
"I try."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"There you are. Where have you been? We have so much to do. Grab the other end of this," Gemma ordered Angela.
Angela looked around the house to see Gemma had been busy that morning. "You are a superwoman," Angela joked as she grabbed the banner and hung it with Gemma.
"Well I don't like to broadcast," Gemma said with a smirk.
Angela chuckled. "One of these days, you need to tell me your secret."
"Secret to what?" Gemma asked.
"How you became so strong. You are not only the biker queen. You are a mother and sister to club members. You are dependable and unyielding, but not without knowing how to bend," Angela said.
"You hang around the club long enough, sweetheart, it'll come to you," Gemma said, framing Angela's face with her hands. "Now enough chit chat. We need beer, food, finish decorating, and most importantly, the man of honor. Lots to do, so let's do it."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Stahl was leading the witness to Hefner's murder into the safe house, but the little girl just kept asking questions.
"If you need anything, I just want you to ask Agent Yost, who'll be staying with you, okay?" Stahl asked.
"Okay. When does the trial begin?" she asked Stahl, who did everything in her power not answer honestly.
"We don't know exactly. But soon," she promised.
"Is it gonna take a long time?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," Stahl said. "Uh, don't worry, okay? We have sheriffs on the street. I have my people staying with you. It'll all be over before you know it. All right?"
"Okay," the young woman said.
"Come on," smiled the Agent known as Yost, who led her into the house.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Jax and Opie were loading a duffel with the gun surplus that was supposed to be used for the club's protection. Jax was pissed, because in a way, Clay was right. This was the only way to ensure Bobby continued to have representation.
"You think this is a bad idea," Opie observed.
"Yeah. I do," Jax said with more than a little attitude.
"Clay mad a deal with the Mayans, to make sure the war didn't reach Charming."
"It's bigger than that now," said Jax, handing Opie another AK.
"What?"
"Let's just get this done," Jax sighed.
"Hey, man, if you think I'm walking into something-" Opie trailed.
Jax sighed again and sat in the chair he was using to stand on. "Look at the last few months, man. The warehouse gets blown-up. A.T.F. on our tail trying to shove a RICO sized fist up our asses. Bobby's in jail. How much longer do you think this club's got?"
Opie didn't have an answer. "We're better than this, man," Jax continued. "My old man. He saw the nightmare coming. He was smart, Ope. Way smarter than me. He had ideas about where to take the club. You know? Legitimate ways to earn. He knew. Sam Crow's got to change to survive."
"Clay'll never walk away from running guns," Opie told him.
"I know. He's made that very clear," Jax said snidely.
"Well, a few more years, he won't be able to turn the throttle, and you'll be number one."
"And Bobby and Tig? Pushing them in a new direction?" Jax asked rhetorically. "Jesus Christ. Two immovable objects."
"Irresistible force," said Opie looking up at Jax. "It could happen."
"Hey, Ope," Juice called into the room. "Donna's here."
"Thanks," he tells him.
"Probably best not to greet her with two bags of guns," Jax joked. Opie chuckled.
"Yeah," he said before going out into the bar.
"Hey," Opie said.
"Hey. I'm sorry to bother you," Donna said.
"No. It's all right. What's up, babe?" he asked. "Your mom wants to take the kids to Fun Town and then to dinner. I didn't wanna say yes until I talked to you."
"Mom's volunteering to spend time with the kids," he said slowly, looking above her head, stunned. As if the thought were alien.
"Yeah. I guess she had a good time with them. You know, you really should talk to her, Ope. I think she's just finding excuses to stay around until she sees you." Donna said.
"Yeah, maybe," he said, thinking still. "Yeah. She can take the kids."
Donna stepped closer, putting her arms around his neck. "That means we'll have the house to ourselves for a while," she said with a smile.
He leaned down and captured her lips in a hungry kiss. It had been a long time indeed since they had peace to themselves and they weren't pissed at each other. He didn't realize just how much he needed his wife until that moment. Until his brain popped up with a reminder.
"Shit," he said, pulling back. "Jax is having a party for Abel. It's a homecoming thing."
"Oh!" she said with a small smile as her forehead met his chest.
"You don't have to go. But I gotta swing by and drop off a gift." Donna pulled back.
"I wanna go. Abel coming home is a big deal," she said with a smile. "Our family should be there."
"Yeah, we should. I'd like that," he smiled.
"I'll tell Mary to bring the kids home before dinner," she said with a little bounce in her.
"Okay." Donna reached up and framed his face, bringing it down to her level so she could give him one last quick kiss, before she left. Opie was a little stunned yet again.
Donna had accepted the club more and more in their lives, but this was the first time she volunteered to spend time with them again since his release from Chino. It made him happy. And he was excited.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Gemma was at the store when she saw a young woman holding a sign that read 'Bail out' my kids. We need food. Gemma at first walked right on past her, but turned around because her curiosity got the better of her. She looked at the young woman, who averted her eyes in shame, and Gemma felt pity.
"You really doing this for your kids?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am. Got two boys," she said with a slight accent. "Uncle Sam cut off my aid. Again."
"You look pretty able-bodied to me," Gemma said, taking off her glasses. "There's gotta be something better you could be doing than holding up clever signs and begging."
"It's hard for me to hold down a job ma'am. On account of the mental illness. Tend to fly into rages. No apparent reason."
"Since when is that a mental illness?" Gemma asked, reaching into her purse for some spare cash. "Don't shoot this into your arm," she said sternly, holding out the money.
"That's kind and generous. Thank you, ma'am." Gemma turned to talk into the store when the girl said something else.
"Abel will help my little boys." Gemma turned in shock.
"What?"
"Able to help my little boys," the girl said towards her. "Bless you."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Glad you're still in one piece," Laroy said to Clay the SAMCRO president lit his cigar.
"Yeah. It's been a real exciting month," Clay said sarcastically, turning his focus back to his cigar.
"Should I be worried about eyes on us?" Laroy asked.
"Ah," Clay said in satisfaction once his cigar lit. "Nobody knows I'm here, including my own crew."
"Shit looks serious, man. What's giving you worry?"
"It's Alvarez. Tried to prevent a war from coming to Charming. I told him I'd sell him some guns."
"You're selling to the Mayans?" Laroy asked, giving Clay an icy look.
"That's why you and me are talking. There's a meet arranged for this afternoon. Alvarez thinks he'll be getting his first gun shipment. He ain't." Clay handed Laroy a sheet of paper. "Time and locations of the deal. Guns at one, money at the other. I want you and your crew to step on both ends. I put a bullet in Alvarez, you drop as many wetbacks as you can."
"And why in the good Lord's name would I be doing your dirty work?" Laroy asked, standing.
"Keep the guns. I keep the money, and, uh, this FUBAR helps move our relationship back to monogamous. I know you've been buying guns from the Russians. Three times the mark up, half the selection. If you wanna wast your hard-earned heroin money on that shit, you be my guest. I'll feed the competition with the better bullet."
Laroy took a moment to think on the deal. "What are the weapons?" he asked.
"AKs, MAC-10s, combat shotguns. About 25K worth of hardware."
"All right," Laroy agreed, shaking Clay's hand.
"We'll, uh, we'll make the deal. And then you wait until me and my crew are safe and clear. Join the party," Clay said as he walked away with a toothy smile.
He walked to Tig. "He look, man. I understand the need to make an executive decision for the good of the club. I get it. The Opie thing makes sense to me. But this- We have made a club-wide peace with the Mayans. We can't-"
"The peace stays intact. The Mayans are gonna think that the Niners got their intel off the streets, stepped on the deal, and all we got to do is spin the angry black man story. Play the ni*ers against the wetbacks."
"I like it," Tig said. "So how do we handle our other problem?"
"Just before the Niner's jump in, put a bullet in the back of Opie's head. This way, even if A.T.F. crashes the party, there's no illegal guns. Opie looks like the victim of gangland violence."
"And we blame the angry black man."
"It's the American way," Clay said.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Donna took the truck to get groceries. We checked. The bug's been ripped out. And Opie's cell is dead. Clay found it. He thinks Opie's working for us. That's what this morning was. He's feeling guilty about what he might have to do."
"How do we handle this?"
"Put an extra team on him. We have to keep Opie in one piece," Stahl ordered. Neither she nor her partner knowing that Hale was listening in at the door.
"I'm on it." Hale moved on before he was caught. Now he has to make sure this information gets to Clay, before an innocent gets hurt. And with what Stahl is gambling with, that's the most logical outcome.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Let me borrow your cell," Opie asked Tig. "I gotta check in with Donna."
"Here," Tig said, handing him the phone from inside his kutte.
"Thanks," Opie said, dialing Donna's number. "Found mine in a pitcher of beer. You know anything about that?"
"Maybe it was thirsty."
"Do you ever see your kids?" Opie asked.
"Once or twice a year," Tig answered honestly.
"Not hard for you?"
"Used to be."
"It's two girls, right?"
"Dawn and Fawn." Opie looked at Tig with a questioning gaze. "Yeah, I know."
"Ah, That's her voice mail. Thanks again," Opie tells Tig, handing him his phone back.
They pulled up to a warehouse, and entered. Tig hesitated by the door as Opie looked around. The place was filled with dolls and doll parts. Opie looked back at Tig.
"What?"
"I hate dolls, man. They creep me out."
"That's some story that needs to be told," he said, his attention being grabbed by a call from the back.
"Let's go."
"Let's do this," said a few Mayans they ran into. They were all waiting for Alvarez's call when shots rang out in the warehouse.
"Niner's!" they heard a few of the Mayans say. A shoot out commenced. Where Opie shot a Niner that was aiming right for Tig.
"Shit. Thanks, man," he said as Opie turned to wait until the coast was clear. It was the perfect time to take the shot. Opie's back was turned, leaving it wide open in his trust for his patch brother Tig to cover it, not shoot him in it. That was when things didn't line up for Tig. If Opie had truly given the club up to Stahl, he wouldn't have saved Tig. He wouldn't have done it without mercy either. Shooting the man not once but several times, without blinking, to make sure Tig was safe.
Tig lowered his weapon, just before Opie turned again. "Clear," he said and both he and Tig raced out of the warehouse, without the money, straight to Opie's truck, where they made their escape.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"Was this a mistake or was Laroy sending a message?" Opie asked once he, Tig, Clay, and Jax were all back at the garage.
"I don't know."
"This could be the worst case scenario," Jax said. "Niner's want us dead. Mayans won't trust us. We'll lose our customer base. Gain two huge beefs."
"Broke with no guns," Opie pointed out.
Jax's cell rang. "Shit. That's Gemma," he said. "I'm on my way."
"Can you pick up Angela?" Gemma asked Jax.
"Of course. Be there in a few," Jax said.
"All right, baby."
"I got to go pick up my kid," Jax tells Clay.
"Well, we need something good right now. Go get him," Clay ordered.
"All right. See you at the house," Jax said, walking to his bike.
"Yep."
Opie took that time to quietly make his escape as well. Tig stepped up to Clay.
"What the hell was that, man?" Tig asked.
"It was like the angry black man was even angrier than we thought, huh?" Clay said, leaning back against the picnic table. "Laroy definitely double crossed us. And Ope?"
Tig shook his head. "Nah, I couldn't. Couldn't get a clear shot," he said, not wanting to tell Clay about his new found doubt.
"Well, if-if the Niners are that pissed, maybe- maybe they bring their rage to Charming. I mean, they saw Opie's truck at the money drop." Tig sat next to Clay.
"What, a drive-by?"
"Got to be tonight, after the party. Make it ghetto. Make it gangster," Clay ordered.
"All right."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Unser was checking the back cells when he saw Hale in one of the farthest back. One that nearly never had any visitors.
"I've been looking all over for you. What the hell you doing in here?" he demanded.
"The only place I can think without A.T.F. buzzing around," Hale said softly.
"I can relate," Unser said.
"I got some information," Hale said. "And if I give it to you, then I'm betraying my badge. And if I don't, someone could get hurt."
Unser walked into the cell and sat next to Hale. "That badge," he said, pointing to the metal plate on Hale's chest. "It ain't even real silver. What do you need to tell me, son?"
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Angela and Jax walked into the hospital floor that housed Abel. But not for long. His mother was already walking out of the room with him.
"Hey, little man. We're bustin' you out of this place," Jax said with a beaming smile, taking Abel from Gemma. "Thanks, Doc," he said to Dr. Namid.
"It's my pleasure. Truly. This boy had one hell of a fight, but came through," the doctor replied.
"All right. Let's get this family home," Gemma said softly, and with a smile towards Angela, with whom she shared a conspiratorial wink.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Jax entered the house first, and was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of the party his mom had put together. Opie was there with his family. Bella was sitting on Chib's lap, his arms wound protectively around her. Clay was talking to Piney, both holding beers. Tig was chatting up two Crow-eaters. It was one hell of a turn out.
Everyone exclaimed and fawned over baby Abel. Clay even making a joke about his grandson's first beer. And the little ham was soaking it up.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Hale found Stahl in Unser's office, angrily packing boxes. She rolls her eyes once she catches sight of him.
"My boss is pulling the plug on Charming."
"Why?"
"The Mayan body count in Oakland pissed off the F.B.I., and I have to settle for Munson, squeeze him for the rest."
"What about Opie?" Hale asked, concerned for the practically almost innocent man. Well, innocent of being a rat at least.
"Opie made his own bed."
"Yeah, and Clay thinks you're in that bed with him," Hale said angrily. "Okay, this guy's in danger."
"The witness's identity will be out tomorrow. SAMCRO will know that he is not the snitch," she said, as she continued to pack.
"Look, a lot of shit can happen overnight. Okay? You can not pull your detail off him," Hale practically begged.
"It's out of my hands," she said. Hale started to leave but stopped.
"You know, you guys are unbelievable. You storm in here, and you turn this town upside down, and then you just walk away, and you leave us with this mess." Hale was disgusted by her.
"We had some fun though, right?" Stahl smirked.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
The party was most definitely in full swing. Gemma was holding Abel with Chibs looking over her shoulder. He smiled softly once he saw Bella come up and ask to hold him. He watched as Bella gently lifted Abel from Gemma's arms not wanting to wake the newly home baby. She looked down and cooed over the child, running a finger down his soft perfect cheek.
"Perfect practice for when ours arrives," he said softly to Gemma. Gemma turned in surprise, and a smile broke on her face.
"Are you serious?!" Gemma asked in a loud whisper. Chibs chuckled.
"You are the first outside of Angela and Donna to know. Keep it under your hat for now. This is Abel's night," he said, kissing the side of Gemma's head.
"At least you two had the brains to tell me first. I would have hunted to two of you down if I wasn't."
"Izzy said that. She wanted to tell her mother first, and her father second. Though, the lass said she would be kind enough to take her father, so the man wouldn't shoot me." Gemma laughed.
"Smart girl. I'm happy for you, Chibs." Gemma then kissed a scarred cheek and turned her attention back to Bella and Abel, who were now with Angela. "Now if only I can kick Jax's relationship with that one onto the fast track."
Donna walked up to Jax and Opie, who were talking by the front door. "We gotta head out. They've had a long day," she tells Opie and Jax.
"All right. I'm glad you could make it," Jax said with a smile, kissing her cheek.
"I'm glad Abel's home," she said, returning the smile.
"Thanks."
"Come on, kids. Let's go," Opie said.
"Come on, guys," Donna reinforced, and Kenny left his grandfather's side and he and Ellie went with Opie and Donna, as everyone said their farewells.
Only Bella saw Tig get up and silently follow the small family out. She thought it was a little strange but didn't think too much on it. The man was his own mystery. Loyal and good hearted behind his rather rough, scary, and twisted exterior...and a bit of his interior, but her thoughts on the man remained the same.
Donna closed the back door, after making sure that Kenny and Ellie had put their seat belts on. She then went up to Opie and kissed him.
"Bye," she said, as she got into her car.
"See you later. Love you, kids. Bye," he said, turning towards his truck.
"Hey, you coming right home?" Donna asked curiously.
"Yeah. Why?" Opie asked.
"I wanna come back and help Gemma clean up," she tells him.
"Well, why don't you just stay. I can take the kids home, put 'em in bed."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," he said. Donna gets out of the car. "Thanks, baby."
"You're welcome."
"You got some cash? Gemma needs powder for the dishwasher," she asked him. He pulls out some small bills hand hands them to her along with his keys.
He kisses her again. "Love you," she smiles.
"Love you back." She smiles and looks into the back of her car.
"Good night, babies."
"Good night, mommy," they say together. Opie gets into her car and she watches them drive off. Not really wanting to go alone, she goes back into the house to find Bella and Angela. Angela looked a little preoccupied with Jax, but she saw Bella speaking with Gemma, so she went up to her friend.
"Hey, Izzy. Turns out I'm going to stay and help you guys with clean up. Wanna come with me to get some supplies?" she asked. Bella smiled, and handed Abel back to Gemma.
"Sure. Let me just tell Chibs, and grab my bag." Donna watched the interaction with the Scotsman and Bella. Despite him being twice her age, they were good together. He lit up whenever she was near, and she unconsciously positioned herself the best way to be protected when he was near. It was both beautiful to see and unnerving.
"Ready," Bella said, pulling Donna from her thoughts. Donna nodded and smiled, leading Bella out of the house and to Opie's truck. "So what all are we getting?" Bella asked.
"Just some dish soap and A LOT of garbage bags," Donna giggled. She pulled away from the curb and spun around, heading towards a small store that would still be open this late.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Clay exited Jax's house to see Unser waiting for him in the front yard.
"What's going on?" Clay asked.
"Uh, Sorry to bother you on this occasion, but I got some information that probably shouldn't wait," Unser said.
"Hey, listen, if it's about that Niner-Mayan shooting in Oakland-" Clay started, but Unser cut him off.
"No, no, no. No. It's about Opie."
"What about him?" Clay asked.
"I know A.T.F.'s been hanging him out as a rat. But that ain't the case. He's not working for them. The wires on him- not to his knowledge," Unser said. And internally, Clay's stomach dropped. Jax said earlier that the Niner-Mayan mess was the worst case scenario. He was wrong. This was. He truly did view Opie as a second son. A second son he ordered a hit on without the club's approval. And now it was coming back to bite him in the ass.
"The witness is somebody who lives in the building where Hefner got killed. And she couldn't positively I.D. either Bobby or Opie. She only said someone hairy, and Stahl immediately went for Bobby Elvis."
"How do you know this," Clay asked, fighting through the pain of his own making.
"Hale. He's been privy to all of it. I just thought you should know that, in case you were having doubts about loyalty and such."
"I appreciate that," Clay said, not letting on the the maelstrom of emotions Unser unleashed.
"Tell Jax I'm glad his boy's come home," Unser said before leaving.
"Yeah." Clay pulled out his phone and speed dialed Tig. "Come one," he said urgently. Not knowing that Tig had left his phone in his kutte, on his bike, hidden when he changed vehicles to carry out the hit. He re entered the house, passing Gemma who he didn't even see.
"You all right, baby?" she asked from behind him. Worried at the look on his face. She went to stand beside him, but he didn't answer her. "What is it?" she asked.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
"So we told Gemma about baby Telford," Bella said to Donna. Donna blushed.
"I may or may not have told Opie." Bella laughed.
"Don't tell Gemma that. She thinks she's the first. When did you tell him?" Bella asked.
"When we were held by Stahl."
Bella froze. "She doesn't know, does she?" Bella asked in terror. She would be really angry with Donna if she did. Donna shook her head.
"No. I told him through a song. Said Chibs had good news coming his way and then hummed the song I used to tell him I was pregnant with Ellie," Donna said.
"Good song?" Bella asked. Donna smiled. Bella leaned down to pick up her phone that had just lit up in her bag.
"GnR has nothing but!" Donna said with a smile. The cabin of the truck lit up as a car pulled in behind them, and Bella rose, the phone in her hand. She looked back at the blinding light, and could see a man in a ski mask, pointing gun out of his window, right at them. Bella gasped.
"GET DOWN!" she yelled, grabbing Donna and pulling her so she was bent a bit sideways as bullets rained into the cab of the truck.
Both cried out, Bella being hit in her shoulder and the arm she used to pull Donna down, and Donna, in the arm and a grazing along the side of her head. The shock and impacts of the bullets causing both women to pass out.
The SUV that had pulled up behind them, finally pulled along side, and the man driving panicked seeing the two women riddled with bullet holes inside the truck.
"Shit," he said, seeing Donna in the driver's seat. He then looked at the other woman, and saw it was Izzy. Daughter to one brother, and old lady to another. "Shit!" he exclaimed again, racing off.
~~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
They all paled when the text alert came in from Unser that there had been a shooting and they should all come immediately. A howl tore from Chibs once he read that Bella was among the victims. He raced ahead of the others. Pushing his Dyna as fast as the Street Bob could take him. They arrived at the same time Opie skidded to a stop in Donna's car.
"Donna? Donna! Donna!" he yelled racing to his wife's side as she lay on a stretcher on the asphalt. "Baby. Wake up, sweetheart."
"Izzy? Isabella?! Mo ghràdh, answer me!" Chibs demanded of the other woman on another stretcher.
"Sir, you need to step back. We need to stop the bleeding," an EMT said. Chibs growled at the men.
"If yeh think I am leavin' my woman and child in your 'ands, yeh both can pòg mo thòin. I ain't leavin' her."
"Child? Izzy is pregnant?" Jax said with wide eyes.
"She told me yesterday," Chibs said, kissing her hand. "Mo ghràdh. Wake up."
Hale was standing off to one side, fury radiating off him in waves. Clay walked up to Unser and spoke with him, trying to see if anything led back to Tig. But his attention was caught when he saw Stahl roll up in her shiny black car.
"I told you this shit would go bad. The lives of two women and an unborn child now hang by a thread. Whatever blood they shed, it's on you," he spat at her.
"Hey, back off," her partner tried to get in between them, but Hale finally found the outlet he was looking for. He hauled back and punched the man. This was not what he wanted when he called them in. He had a share in this to shoulder as well. Giving Stahl a look of contempt he walked away.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to no one after he left.