A/N 10/11/2018: I know that I said I was going to make this into one chapter, but it was getting so long, so I figured I'd break it up into two. But hey! Good news for you guys! You'll get more out of it that way, right? Warning! Shit went sideways at work and I have some mondo OT coming up. For full details, see the A/N in Ch.3 of my mummy story. Please be patient with me and my sporadic updates. I wanted to make a point of clarification as well. You'll notice that I did edit one key word. Where I was raised, in a predominately black neighborhood, if you even thought the 'N' word, as my brother and I would say, we got the shit beat out of us. It's something that is still ingrained in me. I won't even type the damned word. It is the only derogatory word I can not physically bring myself to say or type. It's just wrong on all accounts, not that the others are any better, this one just had immediate physical repercussions at hand when I was a kid. It's a Pavlovian response, almost. Anywho, In case y'all were wondering...it's small in grand scheme of fanfiction, but there you have it. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I'm taking dialogue straight from SOA. I only added Bella and Angela into the mix. Much love! ~Angel

Bella slowly came to consciousness with the all too familiar sound of the heart monitor, and the sterile smell of the hospital. She groaned out in pain as she felt excruciating heat and the, again familiar, feel of stitches pulling at her skin.

"Lass?" she heard from her bedside. A small smile made its way onto her face at feeling her hand being held and kissed, as her eyes slowly opened.

"Thank fuck, you're okay," Chibs said, leaning forward and kissing her brow firmly but gently.

"Filip," she breathed. But then gasped as the events of why she was in the hospital suddenly reappeared in her memories. "Donna!" she exclaimed, coming to full awareness.

"Fine. She's just fine, thanks to you. She woke up last night. They wanted to keep you asleep for a little longer so you wouldn't shift your scapula too much," Chibs soothed.

"The baby?" she then asked worriedly.

"Hale and hearty with her mother. As she should be." Bella let out a full sigh of relief.

"I keep telling you. We're having a boy," she smiled.

"Aye. So you do. I'm afraid, our plans were ruined a bit. Now it looks like your da is going to be the last to know," he said sheepishly. "Man is going to string me up by my intestines."

"I won't let him," she said, giving his had a firm squeeze, as her smile widened. "I love you too much to just sit by and watch dad kill you."

"I love you, as well, mo ghràdh. Jesus Christ, don't scare me like that again," he said, as she saw the tension literally melt from him, as he brought the hand he was holding up to his forehead and closed his eyes in relief for a moment.

"Any idea on who would want to shoot up two women picking up cleaning supplies?" she asked.

Chibs sighed again, but this time, it wasn't so much in relief. "Aye. We might. I'm afraid we had a deal that went bad. No one thought that the grudge would be taken to such lengths though."

"So it was from outside the club? It wasn't a grudge against Opie. Donna told me the A.T.F. bitch was setting him up," she said.

Chibs shook his head. "No. Opie explained everything. He's square with the club."

Bella stayed quiet. In her short time with the club, she knew there was the club...and then there was Clay. More often than not, both ran on the same wave length, and Clay did his damnedest to protect the club. But there are a few times, usually on the small scale so the others would bitch about it, but small instances where he would just make a decision, without input from the others. Opie being painted as a rat, Clay would have seen it as not only a massive betrayal, but a danger he couldn't allow. He wouldn't have done the deed though. No, that was trusted to his shadow, Tig. Which explained why he left straight after Opie and Donna. Bella wasn't a genius, but she was smart enough to know 2 and 2 is 4. Tig just hadn't figured Opie and Donna would switch vehicles. Bella shuddered at the thought of what would have been if she hadn't seen the gun and pulled Donna down.

"Filip," she said, paling at the thought. She reached out to him with her other arm and he gently climbed into bed with her, holding her firmly and close.

"I've got you, lass. You're goin' to be all right. I've got you," he said, rubbing her arms and kissing her brow once more. There was a knock at the door, and both Opie and Tig walked in together. Bella looked up and smiled.

"Hey guys," she said, not letting go of Chibs. Opie walked right up to her bed, and gave her a smile.

"Hey, little sister. How are you feeling?" he said gently, placing a hand on her head comfortingly.

"Like I've been shot," she said, noticing Tig wincing ever so slightly behind Opie. "But I've had worse. What all is wrong with me anyway?" she asked, looking up at Chibs.

"Three shots in you total. Two in the arm, and your scapula caught the last. You must have shielded Donna after you pulled her down," Chibs said.

Bella's face scrunched up in thought. "I can't really remember. All I remember is seeing the shape of a gun just to the side of some headlights. I freaked, and screamed, and pulled down Donna. Is she okay?" Bella asked Opie.

"Shot once in her shoulder, and a graze along her head. She's fine. I'll wager she'll get out before you do. They called an OB in to check your little one. They want to do a work up before they send you home," Opie said. He then sat in the chair Chibs had been using and looked at Bella hard.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "Thank you, so much. I can never repay what you've done for my family."

Bella held out one of her hands, which he took. "You're my family, too. You're my big brother. Chibs is my everything. Tig-" here she laughed. "Tig is the crazy uncle everyone listens to and laughs at during family reunions, but is the most ready at the most odd and random of times. Loyal and loves going into situations half cocked."

Tig didn't know what to think for his part. Her comment made him want to fidget in guilt. He was honored that Bella thought of him as an uncle. But felt insanely guilty for nearly killing her. Suddenly, all three of the Sons' phones went off.

"Church," Tig tells Chibs, who hadn't moved his arms from around Bella. "It's probably Clay wanting to talk about who could have done this," he continued softly. Opie and Clay both stepped forward and placed a kiss either on her cheek or forehead, before leaving to give Bella and Chibs time to properly say goodbye.

Chibs for his part, didn't want to let go. "I'm afraid if I leave, you won't be here when I get back," he tells her hoarsely.

"Now where am I gonna go?" she said, trying to make him smile. She much proffered it over this uncertainty. She hated it when he felt like this. He was always so sure of himself. "They got me hooked up to everything in here. It'd take an hour just to unplug me," she said, waving her hand up to show her IV and then pointed to the heart monitors, and the oxygen they were feeding her.

"Now I understand why Piney is always toting his Oxygen everywhere...This is good shit." Chibs chuckled. Much better, she thought. He then kissed her. Deep and needy, but being mindful of her injuries.

"I love you, Isabella," he said, using her full name for emphasis. He never called her by her full name. Bella looked up at him and placed a hand on his cheek, her thumb tracing the scar that lay there.

"I love you, too, Filip," she breathed, before kissing him again.

He got up to leave, but Bella stopped him. "Do me a favor?" she asked. Chibs looked down and nodded.

"Aye?"

"Tell Ope that Donna is the glue. He'll get it." Chibs looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but nodded.

"I'll tell him."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~

Gemma found Clay in the dining room, looking despondent and staring off into space as he thought. She placed her coffee on the table and sat down, waiting a moment for him to say something, but he didn't, so she broke the silence herself.

"Can I help?" she asked.

Clay looked at her before pursing his lips. "No," he said, taking a drink of his own coffee.

"You were upset last night," she pressed. And he was. Clay hadn't been that undone in many years. "What that our mistake?" she asked.

Clay didn't answer, but the fidgeting in his chair that he did was all the answer she needed.

"Oh, Jesus," she sighed. "And Jax?" she asked.

"He knows what everybody else knows. The shooting on Donna and Izzy was Niner retaliation," Clay said lowly.

"A mother. A young pregnant woman, who also happens to be the first woman Chibs has looked at in all of the years he's been stateside. This is going to make the guys do some drastic things. This is bad."

"You think I don't know that?" he snapped before his face crumbled. "You think I wanted this?" Clay put his hand over his eyes and sobbed.

Gemma gently took his hand in both of hers. "You feel all that, baby. You feel it here," she encouraged. "That's right. You walk out that door, you be the man they all need you to be."

Clay regained his composure, before he stood without another word, his face stone. He grabbed his kutte that was laying across the back of a chair on his way out to meet with the others.

"Oh, Jesus," Gemma said once more.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Hale met Unser in his office after receiving a summons. Unser looked up as he entered. "Ah. Here you go," he said, handing Hale a small folder.

"What's this?" Hale asked.

"Got a call from Lodi," Unser answered. "A black rover was jacked from a sports bar last night. Take Fain, see if anybody saw anything." Unser went back to the paperwork on his desk. Now that he was no longer under an A.T.F. spotlight, he had a mountain it to get through.

"We both know who was driving that SUV," Hale said with contempt, leaving the file on Unsers desk as he turned to close the office door.

"We got no positive I.D." Unser said, moving the file to the corner of his desk towards Hale.

"This relationship you have with Clay- I don't like it," Hale said emphatically. "But I get it. You make a deal with the devil to keep the peace. But look at this. Look at what we let happen." Unser wanted to smack the little shit. It was this goody two shoes boy scout that flung the door open for the feds. Not to mention fucking her.

"Two innocent young women gunned down and nearly killed. One of them pregnant, for Christ's sake."

"I didn't let that happen," Unser said, looking Hale coldly in the eye.

Hale nodded, looking away. "Yeah, you're right. It's on me. What was I supposed to do?" he asked, looking up again. "Roll over and feed SAMCRO classified information?"

Unser leaned forward on his desk, leaning on his arms. "I get the 'rock and the hard place' this all took you to. Sorry this guilt comes down on you," Unser said.

"Well, then, help me," Hale begged. "For once. Please. Just help me serve justice to these guys."

Unser lost it then. He leaned back in his rather uncomfortable leather desk chair and pointed out of the building. "I should be fishin' somewhere. Or readin' a book half buzzed on vodka and lemonade. And I'm still here in this suit of mine because I've got my own rock and hard place I'm livin' between. I ain't got much more of a run in me. A few years, maybe. Need something to leave Della and my half-smart kids. I'm sorry, son."

"Right," Hale said simply. He started towards the door, and Unser's guilt towards letting loose on a kid who only wanted to do his job well started to eat at him.

"Hey- Hey," he said, gaining Hale's attention. "Without a witness, you'll never put this crime on Clay. But I doubt Jax would be party to anything that would hurt Opie." Unser paused in thought, knowing this advice wouldn't go down easily. "Maybe… we let the outlaws serve up their own justice. Food for thought."

Surprisingly, Hale took it well. His brow furrowing in thought as he left the office. Unser thought that maybe the kid wasn't as uptight as he thought...only slightly.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Jax entered his house to the sound of Abel crying as if the Vikings had won the Superbowl. He went to the nursery, to see Angela pacing the room with him on her hip, in an attempt to sooth him.

"Is he okay?" he asked her. Angela looked over and a relief flooded her features.

"I can't get him to calm down. He's fed and clean, but he's just upset for some reason."

"Where's Gemma?" Jax asked, surprised his mother wasn't here.

"On her way. I called her when I couldn't get him to stop crying after I burped him."

Jax smiled at her and walked forward, taking Abel into his arms. "Hey, hey, hey. Come on," he tells his son gently. "Come on. Huh?"

Abel stopped crying almost immediately. "Come on. What's all that fuss about?" Jax continued to sooth Abel as he sat in the rocking chair. "You're all right, little dude. You're all right."

Angela chuckled. "You little stinker. Why didn't you just tell me you wanted daddy. Would have called him half an hour ago, before grandma," she said to the infant in Jax's arms.

"He just wants to make sure his old man has his back," Jax tells Angela with a smile.

"And here I thought boys were supposed to be attached to their mothers," she said. But once her words caught up with her, she froze, looking at Jax with an incomprehensible look. Jax, for his part, was rather surprised at her declaring herself Abel's mother, but was exceedingly happy about it.

"Give it time. Once a man knows his six is watched, his attention is solely focused on the women in his life," he said with a soft smile. "You can indulge him to your hearts content, and I'll get to spoil our daughters rotten." Angela relaxed once again and smiled, walking over to Jax.

"Already planning on more children, Mr. Teller?" she asked as she leaned down and kissed him softly.

"It's good for a boy to have siblings," he said simply into her lips. They continued their make out session a moment longer before his phone beeped a text alert. Groaning, he pulled back and fished it out of his pocket, opening it to see who wanted what.

"I gotta go. Clay has called a meeting about last night's attack on Donna and Izzy."

Angela nodded. "All right. I think I may take Abel to see Izzy. Seeing the little guy may cheer her up. I'll see if Gemma wants to tag along as well."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you, Angel."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

All of the Sons filed into the meeting room, and each had varying degrees of emotion. Piney, Opie, and Chibs being flat out furious at the attack, while the others were trying to think of ways to calm them so that they could put together a cohesive plan.

"All clear," Chibs growled as he sat in his place. Clay nodded.

"How are they?" he asked. He wouldn't admit it to anyone. Not even Gemma. But he was slightly afraid to go visit them while they were still recovering. Having the reality of his decision hit him in the face like that.

"Donna will be out later today. She was lucky. The main spray was directly through the driver's side. Izzy pulled her down and covered her well enough, the bullet to her arm was a through and through. Stitches and pain killers mostly. Same with the graze to the side of her head," Opie tells him.

"Izzy is staying overnight. They want to keep her for observation. Make sure the stress doesn't induce her to miscarry. Got a text from her earlier. OB says the little one is fine, but doesn't advise testing her diagnosis like that again. The two shots to her arm were a through and through, and the other hit the bone. They took it out after they brought her in, but left the one in her shoulder blade. Said it wasn't causing her any harm there. Though my name now has a nice hole right next to it," Chibs puts in.

"They were shot. How do you think they are?" Piney said viciously.

Clay sighed and nodded, leaning on his arms on the table. "I gotta take responsibility for this. I was the one that pushed for that deal with the Mayans. I knew there was gonna be some kind of Niner blowback, but-" he trailed off, sighing heavily before he continued. "I never thought it would reach this far, go this way."

"We all voted yes on that Mayan deal," Chibs spat. "Nobody seen this comin'. If I had known those piece of shites were into hunting women in revenge, I might have-" he said loudly, clenching his fist in his lap.

"Yeah, but it happened. No use in thinking what if's. So what do we handle it?" Piney asked, ready to settle the score for his daughter and the woman who saved her life.

"The Niners are gonna be dealt with," Clay promised. "But right now, let's just walk through this, be there for Ope and his family, as well as Izzy and Chibs."

"I wouldnae say no to a bit o' revenge myself, Clay," Chibs said, his accent coming in thicker than any had heard it in recent years.

"We help them by settling the score," Piney pressed. "We track down Laroy and put a bullet in that ni*er's head."

Clay looked over at Jax for his opinion, but Piney continued. "Now, what are you lookin' at him for? I'm the one talkin' to you."

"I know, brother. I know you're hurtin'. You and Chibs. You think you're tryin' to help, but-"

"Don't you tell me what I'm thinkin'!" Piney snapped. "You know, if this happened to your family, there'd be six charters halfway to Oakland."

"This did happen to my family," Clay said.

"No, it happened to ours," Chibs said. "I have to agree with Piney. Hell, when Wendy o.d.'d no one stopped Jax from going down to the Hairy Dog and beatin' the shit out of a few Nords. And that was just over drugs. Yes, they sold them to her, but the wench decided to take them. For something she did to herself, you let him have free reign. But when someone lets a Mac-10 loose on our women, you want us to hold back."

Chibs was as pissed as the Scottish during the Battle of Bannockburn, but that didn't mean he was without thought. He knew Clay was hiding something.

"The Niners came gunnin' for my son. They gunned down my daughter-in-law and the innocent young woman she's friends with. They almost ripped a god damned irreparable hole in my family. I will not take that lying down," he said hotly as he stood and left.

"I got it," Jax said, following him out to the parking lot, where he saw Piney just about to leave.

"Where are you going?" he asked. Piney didn't answer. "Look man. No one wants to even this out more than me. Let's just get Donna and Izzy home, catch our breath, and then we'll do what needs to be done."

"Yeah. Let's, uh- Let's do that, huh?" Piney said rhetorically as he started his trike, and sped off so suddenly, that Jax had to quickly step out of the way before his foot was run over.

"Hey, prospect," Jax yelled to Half-Sac.

"Huh?"

"Keep an eye on the old man," Jax ordered.

"Where is he going?" Sac asked as he watched Piney drive off.

"I don't know. That's why you're following him," Jax said, getting on his own bike.

"Right," Half-Sac said, running to his own, so he could catch up to Piney.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Gemma had finally made it to Jax's, and she became a whirlwind in her quest to unpack everything.

"You do know you don't have to do that," Angela said as she watched Gemma.

"Well, I figure, I better unpack for him or this shit'll be sittin' in the garage for the next three months," the elder woman said as she set a box from the laundry room down.

"I would never allow that!" Angela said. "Only, you're taking everything I was going to do while Abel was down for his nap. Now what am I supposed to do?" Angela playfully pouted.

"You were third in your class, sweetheart. You'll find something," Gemma said as she looked Angela. "You, uh, you and Jax? How is that coming?" Gemma asked.

Angela got a soft smile on her face. "Well. We- We talked about children earlier...in a round about way. We agreed that once Abel was comfortable, I could become his enabling mother and Jax would be the picture of spoiling father to any girls."

Gemma smiled. "With you around, maybe I will be able to sit back and just be grandma. It's my job to send them home on sugar highs."

Angela laughed, and Gemma watched her out of the corner of her eye as she opened another box to reveal dirty clothes. "Oh, Jesus," she said, taking a breath of fresh air from a couple of steps back. Angela came up to the box as well and wrinkled her nose.

"Suppose it doesn't matter the male. They hate doing laundry. I swear without us, they'd wear crusty socks that smell like moldy stale corn chips," Angela said.

"Been this way since the dawn of time. Certainly in this family. Grab that basket for me, will you, darlin'?" Gemma asked, pointing to a laundry basket on the floor.

Angela nodded and held it out for Gemma, as she dumped the entire box, without preamble, into the basket. Angela shimmied the basket down a bit so Gemma could move the box, and that was when she noticed a towel wrapped around something square. Making a quick decision, Angela flipped the pile a bit so it was hidden farther in the basket.

"Now this," Angela said, "You will leave to me. I really can't stand being idle, and clothes are nothing new to me."

Gemma smiled and nodded. "All right. I won't say I'm sorry not to doing my son's dirty underwear and sweaty socks. That's your job now, Angel." Angela smiled, and locked the basket in the laundry room, hoping that Gemma will take the stance, out of sight, out of mind. Angela would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in what she helped Jax hide. She was kind of hoping it was a stack of playboys, but she honestly didn't know Jax all that well.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Rosen stepped out of the car as the rest of the club joined him. He did not want to give the most intimidating M.C. in the area cause to hate him. They did, after all, pay him.

"What's goin' on?" Jax asked.

"I wanted to give you this news in person," Rosen said.

"Well, that don't sound good," Clay said.

"It's not. The U.S. Attorney is releasing the details on the witness at 5:00. 5:01, A.T.F. is presenting their case against Opie Winston for Hefner's murder. Bring him in for a line up. From what the prosecution's shared, he's probably not goin' back home."

"Jesus Christ," Clay exclaimed.

"So what do we know, Rosen?" Tig asked.

"It's an eyewitness. Probably a resident. They offered wit pro, which means he's in lockdown," Rosen tells them.

"Opie is spending time with his family tomorrow. Helping Donna and Izzy get home the shooting last night," Clay said.

"I'll do what I can. See that they don't bring him in too early. Sorry," he said. Clay nodded. Rosen didn't want to bring this up. It really was in poor taste, but he did need the money.

"Have my office call you about my retainer?" Jax scoffs and steps away.

"Sure. Thanks," Clay said shortly as the rest of the club followed Jax into the garage.

"G, Dog, go," Tig ordered the two mechanics at work.

"All right," they said, giving the club members some privacy.

"Their whole case against Bobby and Opie is that witness," Clay stated. "Without him, they got nothin'."

"So we gotta get to him," Tig said.

"Kill him?" Juice asked.

"He's a rat," Tig said simply. "Rats deserve to die. End of story." Juice looked away and nodded, though he didn't agree about killing just for telling the truth, ironic as the situation was. They tell the truth, bye bye Opie and Bobby. The witness shuts up, and they get off.

" 'Wit pro' means safe house. Twenty-four hour protection," explained Jax.

"That's a dead end," Chibs said.

"That can't be. Opie goes back to prison, what happens to his kids? What, the state's gonna give 'em to Piney or Mary?" Clay asked angrily. "They're gonna end up in the system."

"Let's not forget Bobby. He got I.D.'d 'cause he had to clean up after Ope's mistake," Tig said practically.

"We gotta do this before Izzy get's out tomorrow. Ope's family can't take another hit, and no one wants to risk Izzy or her and Chibs' baby," Jax said.

"Agreed," Clay said.

"All right."

"Yeah," Tig said.

"Maybe Trammel can help. If the safe house is in San Joaquin, he's probably got sheriffs on him," Jax tells Clay.

"Call Happy," Clay ordered Juice. "I'm sure one of his smiley face tats is for a dead witness."

"I'm on it," Juice said, though he wasn't happy about killing someone for, again telling the truth.

Jax's cell rang and he answered. "Yeah?"

"Jax. Hey, man, I got, like, a serious problem here, all right," Half-Sac tells him. "I followed Piney into Oakland."

"What the hell is he doin' in Oakland?" Jax demanded. Clay looked at Jax, knowing he wasn't going to like what Jax will tell him after the phonce call.

"It looks like he's goin' into a bar, but there are Niner tags everywhere," Half-Sac informs him.

"Jesus Christ. Piney went lookin' for Laroy," Jax tells Clay.

"Oh, goddamn it!" Clay shouted.

"Crazy old kook," Tig said. Funny coming from a man half insane.

"Where are you?" Jax asked.

"38th and Allendale."

"All right, watch his back. We're on our way," Jax said quickly before hanging up, and looking at Chibs. "Let's go get him."

"Get him out of there," Clay ordered. "We'll deal with the Niners later." Clay exhaled as he watched his step-son and Chibs go after the founding elder. He then turned to Tig. "Let's go find Trammel."

"All right," Tig agreed.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah, the feds put us on some safe houses," Trammel agreed. "All depends on the case. What's this about?"

"We need to locate someone, see how committed they are to what they saw," Clay tells him, skipping over the fact that they were planning on making sure they wouldn't be able to tell any kind of a story, true of false.

"Jesus Christ, Clay," Trammel said with a nervous chuckle. "You want me to hand over a federal witness?"

"No, no. We just want to talk to him, Trammel," Tig said.

"How goddamn stupid do I look? Man, I don't care how thick the envelope is. That- No," Trammel refused.

"You don't understand," Clay growled, getting up into the cop's face. "I ain't offerin' you money. When this witness fingers Opie and Bobby, A.T.F. comes after us with RICO."

"Aw, shit," Trammel said simply, but his attitude had done a near completel 180.

"Yeah, man. That means all of us, and everybody attached to us, goes down," Tig ellaborated.

"You do savvy that, my not stupid friend?" Clay asked.

"Jesus Christ."

"We'll have the name of that witness this afternoon," Clay said.

Trammel tsk'd. "They're not gonna use a name. I'm gonna need a case number," he said as he walked away.

"Case number? Where the hell are we supposed to find that intel?" Tig asked Clay.

"Top of Charmin's food chain," Clay said, as Juice approached.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Chibs and Jax pulled quickly up to the bar on 38th and Allendale in Oakland. They were quite surprised, however, to see Laroy waiting for them outside of it, rather than inside, holding a gun to Piney's head.

"We got a problem," Laroy said simply as he walked away from Jax and Chibs. Chibs was boiling with rage. He wanted nothing more than to put a bullet between Laroy's eyes right then. Problem was, A. they were in Niner territory. Not smart putting a bullet into the boss's head in the middle of his own turf. And B. Laroy was too calm. There was acting cool, then there was not having a damn clue about the situation. Laroy was acting the second.

"Well, then, safety's off. Let's go," Chibs said to Jax. Reassuring himself that he at least had a quick draw.

"Mm-hmm," Jax agreed.

They followed Laroy into the bar where they saw Piney sitting at a table with Half-Sac, holding a revolver to a scarred man's head. "Crazy old man," he muttered.

"This doesn't involve you Jax," Piney said calmly. "One of these...assholes… shot at Donna and Izzy, and I'm gonna make that right."

"What the hell is he talkin' about?" Laroy asked. Jax and Chibs both looked at Laroy. It was taking a Herculean effort on Chibs' part, but he needed the full story.

"I get him to put down the revolver, you promise we walk out of here alive?" Jax asked. Laroy scoffed, but agreed.

"Yeah."

"No, no, no, no, no," Piney said as Jax approached the table.

"Put down the gun, Piney," Jax said.

"I ain't leavin'… until the ni*er that shot up Donna and Izzy has matching holes in his body. All right? Chibs, you agree, don't you?"

Chibs didn't answer, and Jax looked at Half-Sac, sitting next to Piney. Half-Sac understood the message, and leaned forward like he was nervous, gaining an advantage on Piney's reclining form. He then, quick as a whip, elbowed Piney firmly in the chest, knocking the wind out of him, as Jax jumped forward and grabbed the revolver out of his old man's, best friend's hand.

"Shithead!" Piney exclaimed, giving Half-Sac a decent punch to his arm.

"Easy," Laroy said, stepping forward and taking a seat with the others in the booth. There was a moment of silence before he started talking. "What the hell is this all about?"

"The mess you made of the Mayan deal we had going, how bad do you want revenge on the club for that?" Jax asked.

"Noise we made at the Maya gun sale is about how pissed off we are. But if we wanted your cracker asses dead-" Laroy trailed off.

"Someone last night in a gangster SUV gunned down my daughter and her friend. Now, that smells just like ni*er revenge to me," Piney said.

"Ni*er, ni*er, ni*er, ni*er, ni*er," Laroy repeated in a trailing voice, staring at Piney. "Old fat bastard here says ni*er one more time, and that 'walking out alive' deal we talked about- off the goddamn table."

"Someone went after one of my guys. Shot his wife twice, by mistake, and her pregnant friend three times," Jax tells Laroy.

Laroy shrugged. "Wasn't us," he said simply.

"So this old fat bastard is supposed to take your word for it because you're honorable and a black man?" Piney mocked.

"Shut up!" Chibs said to Piney. Piney gave Chibs a look of loathing and betrayal.

"And I thought you were in love with Izzy," Piney muttered.

"Aye. But you would be a fool to turn around and kill an innocent in blind rage, old man," Chibs said. Laroy chuckled at Piney before turning to Chibs.

"One of the girls… your woman?" Laroy asked. Chibs didn't answer.

"Your trouble with us- You work that out of your system. Or does this beef keep growin?" Jax asked.

"But you keep talking about beefs-"

"Piney! Let me handle this, or I will kill you myself!" Jax yelled at the old man.

"Our business issues still need to be worked out," Laroy said, ignoring the turmoil within the Sons' hierarchy. "But if my need to hurt Sam Crow took me to Charming, had me killin' women and babies, do you think we'd be sittin' here talkin'?" There was a moment of silence. "I'm tellin' you the truth. Niners didn't shoot up your daughter or your girl," Laroy said, looking to Piney then Chibs, who relaxed marginally.

"I suggest you boys find your way back home. Quickly," Laroy advised before getting up and leaving himself.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Bella was bored to tears sitting in her hospital room. She was thankful Chibs had brought her cell, so she could text a few people, but there really was nothing to do but watch mind numbing television. She even got a hold of her dad, she was so bored. And talking to a worried outlaw father was not high on her want to do list.

"Are you sure you are all right?" Charlie asked for the millionth time.

"Dad, I'm fine. Donna was released an hour ago, and they're keeping me for observation over night. The worst I have, besides the holes themselves are a bullet in my scapula, and a bit of a broken arm. Both will heal, and I am fine," Bella repeated.

"If you are fine, why are they releasing Donna, but keeping you?" Charlie pressed. Bella groaned and leaned back into her pillow.

"They needed to consult with a specialist," she hedged, but that only made it worse.

"What kind of specialist. You're not sick are you?" Charlie asked, his worry skyrocketing again.

"Yes and no. I'm sick, but it's not serious. Should pass in the next couple of months," Bella again, tried to sooth without giving too much away. Her dad, while not being a helicopter parent, wasn't one to let something pass in matters of health, though.

"Bella," he said in a warning tone. Bella sighed.

"Fine. You're going to be a grandfather," she said petulantly. There was silence from her phone. She waited a moment, but still, nothing. "Still with me?" she asked, but still… "Dad?" Nothing. "Dad?" she asked again. Nope. "Daaa-aaad?" she sang. Still nothing. "CHARLIE?!" she yelled into the phone.

Finally she got a response. A predictable one. "I'm gonna kill him," Charlie growled.

"You do that, and my son won't have a male role model," Bella reasoned.

"He'll have me. I'm gonna kill him," Charlie repeated. She could hear both a gun being loaded and Charlie's bike roaring to life on the other end of the line.

"Don't kill him dad. I'll be rather pissed off at you if you do. I'll never make gran's lasagna for you ever again."

Charlie growled again. "Fine. I won't kill him."

"Thanks so much," Bella said sarcastically. Charlie released an exhaled like he was trying to calm himself.

"So, you're having a boy," he finally said happily. Bella chuckled.

"I think so. Chibs is certain it's a girl. I told him, since I was the one cooking, I get to decide."

Charlie laughed. "You know, I fully believe that. Your mom was certain you were a girl. Wanted nothing but- Nine months later, we had you. Have you thought of any names?"

"Yes," Bella said simply.

"And?" Charlie asked in exasperation.

"It's a surprise, no matter the gender," Bella said, deciding that no matter if the child were a boy or a girl, they will have Charlie as a name. She wanted that to be a surprise.

"Never knew you to like torture, Bells," Charlie pouted.

"Learned from the best," Bella said. Charlie laughed.

"I'm about four hours out. How about I meet up with you tomorrow. We'll talk things out," he suggested.

"All right," she agreed.

"I love you, Bells," he said, and she could swear she could hear him choking up, though she knew he would deny it.

"I love you, too, dad. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he agreed and they hung up.

Bella leaned back and sighed. She was just contemplating going to sleep when there was a knock at the door. It was Angela, Gemma, and Baby Abel.

"Hey. I swear, you two must be psychic. Perfect timing. I just hung up with dad," she tells them with a smile.

"Oh? And did you tell him your news?" Angela asked. Bella nodded.

"Yeah. Took a bit to get a reply. Had to yell at him through the phone. Then his next instinct was to kill Chibs," she chuckled.

"All fathers are like that, baby. Mine did it to both husbands. It was worst with J.T. because of Jax and Thomas."

Bella looked to Gemma, who was holding Abel. "How has he been? He sleep okay last night?" she asked. Angela nodded.

"Yup. Like a baby. Woke up every two or so hours crying because he was either hungry or needed a change," she smiled.

"And you love it," Bella smirked. Angela nodded again.

"Every moment."

Gemma smiled. This one was so much better than the junkie or the tramp.