It was late when Amber finally left the hospital. She walked down the corridor in a sleepy daze until she heard her name being called.
"Amber, hi. I'm Dr Knowles, Tara I'm Jax's ah... I'm a friend of SAMCRO," said the woman standing in front of her.
Amber recognised her, she had been at the clubhouse as she was leaving earlier that day.
"Hi," Amber said slowly trying to figure out what she might want.
"Can I ask you a big favour?"
"Ah sure, you can ask but I might not do it," she said with a slight smile to take the edge off her words.
"Tig is here, got a bit banged up today and needs a ride home, I'm due in surgery soon and I have no clue what happened to Piney. I know he's a handful but do you mind giving him a ride home?"
Amber had spent time around a number of MCs, never had she come across an old lady with a well paying or intense job as Tara's.
Amber wanted to say no, she was too tired and hungry to play taxi but she knew she owed Tig for looking out for her so she said yes.
"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Tig as she followed Tara into his room.
"I ah I asked Amber to give you a ride home, Piney is MIA," Tara said cautiously "I saw her walk by while I was on the phone and figured it was a bit more convenient than trying Gemma."
"Aw Amber you're a doll," he said, it sounded more sarcastic than appreciative.
Tig complained most of the ride that she didn't have a functioning CD player in her car.
"I'm sorry your majesty but it isn't exactly high on my to do list at the moment," she said
"Bring it by the garage and get Juice to look at it tomorrow, they should be back in the afternoon, the little retard is good with shit like that."
There was another silence which made Tig uncomfortable.
"You never told me why you dumped your boyfriend," he said casually while looking out the window.
She laughed, he hadn't expected that.
"I didn't exactly dump him I more hung up in his ear and blocked his number," she said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
She sighed, "he got all happy when I told him I had been evicted, said he had a job sorted for me and that I could move in with him"
"I thought you chicks loved that sort of mushy shit,"
"I'm not a mushy shit sort of girl. He was my first proper boyfriend; I'm more of a good time not a long time kind of girl," she shrugged. "He was sweet but to clingy and commitmenty, not my buzz."
Tig laughed, "commitmenty? Not your buzz? You're not normal are you?"
"Not by a long shot Mr Tragger," she said pulling into a driveway.
"Wow, you could mow the lawns once in a while you know" she said taking in the outside of his house.
"I'm not exactly here all too often," he said attempting to get out of the car. She made no move to help him.
They finally got into the house and Tig sat down on the sofa with a grunt.
"Can you get me a beer," he said pointing to the kitchen.
"Ah you don't have any," she said looking into the fridge, "you really don't have any of anything. You weren't kidding when you said you don't spend much time here huh."
He made a grumbling noise that made her laugh to herself. She flopped down on the sofa opposite him.
"Need anything before I go?"
He stared at her for a moment, she stared back.
"Yeah actually, be a doll and do a supermarket run for me," she found his lack of politeness amusing somehow.
With a wad of cash Tig had given her she bought a shit load of beer and a few other things that didn't come under the "girlie rabbit food shit" that Tig said he would refuse to eat because he wanted "man food".
When she returned she just walked in since the door was unlocked and found Tig asleep on the sofa.
When Tig woke he felt like shit. It took a moment but the pain in his leg kicked in worse than ever as the drugs from the hospital began to wear off.
From his position on the sofa he could see Amber putting the groceries away. She was wearing a tight tshirt and a very mini mini skirt that made him remember their morning quickie. She was bending over putting things in the fridge giving him a ridiculously good view of her bright red gstring.
"I'll have one of those," he called out to her causing her to bolt upright.
"Gez give a girl a heart attack why don't you," she walked over and handed him a bottle.
"I got you a present," she said as she pulled a small bag of weed out of her bra and papers from her back pocket.
He watched her as she knelt down by the coffee table and made a perfect joint. She lit it and took a deep drag before handing it to him. She exhaled and leaned back on the sofa by his good leg, the bad one elevated on the table.
"Did you kill Opie's wife," she couldn't stop herself. The conversation with Hale mixing with what Tig had drunkenly mumbled the first time they met was playing over and over in her mind.
Tig choked and almost dropped the joint.
He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up onto the couch. She gasped and moved fast with the hair to release the tension.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" once she was on the sofa he put a large hand around her neck.
He was holding her hard enough to hurt but she still managed to choke out some words. "Hale... told me she was murdered... you said you were sorry about Donna."
He released her, "get the fuck out."
She moved fast towards the door but then stopped with her hand on the door handle.
"I'm sure you had your reasons," he almost didn't hear her she was so quiet yet her words had a lot of impact.
Before he could even think of a response she was out the door.
Just a short one today guys.
If you haven't heard already there has been a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, NZ. As you know NZ is just a small country and an event like this hits everybody around the country hard even if they are not physically in the area. I am not in Chch but I have friends there who are now homeless and jobless and are ultimately refugees in their own country. The death toll stands at 71 but no doubt it will rise. I ask you to keep Christchurch and New Zealand in your thoughts, if you are a praying kind of person please pray for those you.
T.