The Heart of a Broken Soul

Of Foetus and Fetish

A/N: Friends and fans! Venetiangrl92, CupKatyCakes, liiddee, Well I Don't Mind, otte1978, TheKnight000, chibslover, keionisbeast, ILoveAnime89, sweet-on-ryan. Thank you ALL so much for your reviews! I know I haven't gotten back to any of you, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you all!

I'm assuming you're all probably wondering if I died. I (gladly) have not, nor have I abandoned this story. Due to some personal reasons, I have not updated in a while, but I should be on the ball again from now on! I hope you continue to stick with me!

Gabby watched as the boys moved like panicked ants around the shop. Tig almost dropped a tyre on her toes as he rushed to fix it on a car, Jax nearly blew them all up when he dropped his smoke on the ground, not an inch away from a slick of oil that Bobby had previously spilled, and Filip kept glancing over at her as though she was going to drop dead at any moment, which resulted in him poking a hole in the fuel line of the car he was working on. Even Gemma was on edge.

Of course, Gemma knew everything that went on in this place. Gabby only knew some, and even then it wasn't much. Bobby never told her, and Filip was tight-lipped about the whole situation.

She was smart enough to know that something was going on, but just not what was going on; anytime there was something about to go down, the boys would get nervous. They'd make stupid mistakes. Even Juice, the prospect, looked scared, although that might have been because Clay had just given him an earful.

"What are you doin' here, darlin'?" Contrary to his size, Piney had the unnerving ability of being able to sneak up on people.

Gabby shrugged. "Got nowhere else to go," she admitted.

It was true; she had the day off work, the day off school, and was unable to contact Lucy. She didn't really feel like reading, so to the garage it was. At least the boys acknowledged her, even if they didn't stop for a chat.

"Ah, well if you're waiting for it to get better, you'll be a while, I can tell you that much." He took a smoke out of his pocket, lit it, and took a deep puff. "You're better off finding somewhere to go. As for me, there's a drink in there with my name on it."

There was no pointing arguing the fact that it was only nine with him. Piney didn't care. Instead, Gabby wandered through the shop to where Filip was working. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Fixin' a car," he replied curtly. He thrust a spanner into her, and she scrambled to grab it. "Hold this will ye?"

Gabby watched curiously as he pulled out tubes, shoved them back in, fiddled with screws and knobs and leads. He pulled a long, thin bit of wire out. Part of the bottom was black. Holding it for Gabby to see, he said, "Ye know wha' this is?"

"A bit of wire?"

"It's the oil gauge. Tells ye how much oil ye've got. Tha's wha' the black is," he explained, before placing it back in the car.

"You're not trying to turn me into a mechanic, are you?" Gabby asked, fiddling with the spanner.

Filip raised an eyebrow. "Changin' oil is somethin' everyone should know. Ye should know how to change a tyre as well."

"But that's what you're for." Laughing at the scowl on his face, Gabby leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. "You're the mechanic."

"Aye, and ye're just a pain in the arse. Go find something constructive to do, will ye?" He ruffled her hair with his filthy hand.

"Don't – Filip!" Gabby screeched, wrestling his arm away.

He took the spanner from her. "Look at tha', ye're filthy. Go have a shower or feed yer spider or somethin'."

Glaring, Gabby stomped off to talk to Tig, but he told her pretty much the same thing; find something to do, away from the shop. "Fine. Actually, you know what? Maybe I'll go doll shopping, just for you," she finally snapped. "I'll fill your house with them, just to make sure you see it."

Filip watched Gabby as she left the shop, looking more than disgruntled. He felt a pang of guilt, but brushed it away. It was more for her safety than anything; they couldn't trust that Darby's men wouldn't burst in and open fire.

Darby wasn't an idiot; he had to know there was no way Clay would pay him. Not even if there was a gun to his head. Clay wasn't that kind of person. He never paid unless there was something in it for him.

Tig's head appeared from around a car. "Gabby didn't seem too happy to be sent away, man," he stated.

Filip lit up a cigarette.

"Chibs?"

He took a drag.

"Did you tell her what's going on, or what?"

Exhaling, Filip was suddenly shrouded in smoke.

"I'll take that as a no." Tig waved the smoke away, pulling out a smoke of his own.

"If I tell her wha's goin' on, I'll have to tell her why it's goin' on," Filip told him.

"You mean with Jeremy?" Tig asked, his face hardening. He was still finding it hard to forget. The blood. Gabby's body, pale and cold.

Filip nodded. "The last thing she needs is to think she's at fault for all the shit tha's goin' down."

Tig nodded. "I feel ya. She said she was gunna buy some dolls, man," he said with a shiver. "I hate dolls. They creep me out."

"Comin' from you?" Filip asked. "You who practically has a violence fetish?"

Filip had to agree though; he didn't really understand why Gabby had so many dolls. Jax and Opie bought her one for her birthday, but he'd expect her to be over them at her age. And, even though she said she only kept them to freak Tig out, he couldn't help but feel they reminded her of her mother, or sister. He got that; half of his cupboard was full of different types of tea and, though he'd never admit it to anyone, he'd bought himself a floral tea set a while back, because it looked just like the one Fiona owned, and the tea reminded him of home.

Of course, nowadays Filip really wasn't sure where was home. Here, or back in Ireland. Whenever he asked himself, he felt the answer was here, and Ireland was just a bad dream.

"The usual, then?"

Jocelyn was already scribbling on her pad, so Gabby just nodded. "And something to eat, maybe?" she asked.

"I'll make you a toastie," Jocelyn told her. "I don't suppose you've seen my useless sister, have you?"

Gabby shook her head. "Haven't seen her in a while. Why?"

"Mom said she didn't come home last night. She's been spending a lot of time with her boyfriend," Jocelyn explained.

Despite herself, Gabby felt a bit better. So it wasn't just her? It was Lucy's family as well? She promptly reprimanded herself. It wasn't something she should feel good about. "She might be at his house," she suggested. "I'll check it out later."

Satisfied with Gabby's promise, Jocelyn marched off with the order, leaving Gabby to think. Lucy and Cole were close, there was no doubt about it, but the Lucy she knew wouldn't abandon friends and family for one person. Maybe Gabby didn't know her friend as well as she thought.

When Jocelyn came back with her order, Gabby quickly scoffed the sandwiches and sculled the drink. When she was finished she made her way over to Cole's. One of the perks of working at the diner meant she didn't have to pay for the food – as long as it was a meal for herself.

Cole's house wasn't in the best part of town. The houses were run down, and the inhabitants had mean looks about them, as though they'd cut her for her shoelaces. Not only was Gabby surprised she remembered which one it was – as they all looked the same – she was utterly horrified that she's walked from here to Filip's, drunk, not too long ago. Someone could have murdered her.

Knocking nervously on the door, Gabby glanced around. A few people were watching her with mild interest, but nothing more. The door opened soon after.

"What do you want?" Cole snapped.

Gabby blinked. "I'm Lucy's friend; is she here?"

He glared at her, as though he didn't believe her. Then Lucy appeared in the doorway. "Gabby? What are you doing here?"

As she spoke, Cole's face softened, but only slightly. He stepped back to let Lucy past, then wandered off.

"Looking for you," Gabby told her. "Jocelyn said you didn't come home last night, that your mom was worried."

"Oh." Lucy shrugged nonchalantly. "I stayed here, actually, but it's really none of her business. Cole and I were just working some things out." Her face fell slightly, and she rubbed her arm.

Not to be put off, Gabby pushed for information. "What kind of things?" she asked.

"Nothing important," Lucy promised.

"You can tell me."

"Well, no. I mean, it's just that we don't know what we're going to do yet," Lucy explained. She was getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Do about what?" Gabby pressed.

Lucy shrugged, twirling a bit of hair around her finger. "It's just that... well, I'm pregnant."

If there was something Gabby was good at, it was coping with shock. But after Lucy's revelation, she was certain she'd been given enough shock to last a life time.

Her first thought had been horror. Her second, happiness. Lucy was having a baby! Of course, she was only 17, so both her and Cole would get into a lot of trouble for it, unless they jumped the state.

But, of course, Lucy had gone and ruined all that by admitting Cole wanted her to abort it and that, 'secretly' she agreed with him.

Gabby never really yelled at people. She was of the honest belief that raising your voice achieved nothing besides startling the neighbours. And she was fairly certain everyone for miles around knew that Lucy was pregnant, and that it was probably going to be aborted.

Before she'd been stabbed, Gabby wouldn't have had a problem with the abortion. But now, faced with the prospect of never having children, it just seemed selfish. Lucy had gotten herself pregnant – albeit accidentally – and now had a miracle, a baby growing inside her. She had a responsibility to that miracle, but no; she was going to get rid of it.

Gabby refused the thought that maybe it was for the best. Maybe neither Lucy nor Cole were ready. But why should they get the choice when, even when as ready as she'll ever be, Gabby might not ever have a little miracle inside her. She might ever only feel an unborn child kick if someone she knew was pregnant. She might never be called mom or spend sleepless nights fretting that her child's gone too silent or isn't sleeping enough or is crying too much.

She was so lost in her thoughts and anger that she didn't notice the man following her until he shoved her, and she keeled forward onto the pavement, barely throwing her hands out in time to save her face from the cement.

A knee dug into her upper back and two rough hands held her head steady so she couldn't look around.

In a moment of panic, Gabby struggled, screaming, as she threw an elbow back, hitting something fleshy.

Not again. She wouldn't let this happen again. She barely made it out of the hospital last time.

Grunting, the man grabbed both her wrists in one hand and pinned them against her back, painfully. "You tell Clay and his boys they'd better pay up, no tricks, or bodies are gunna start dropping." As a farewell, he smacked her head against the pavement. Not hard enough to do much damage, but hard enough to daze her.

When Gabby was able to sit up, the man was long gone. She rubbed her forehead, while making sure he wasn't going to come back and finish her off.

Whose bodies will drop? And what are the boys paying up? Were they in debt? Did they know they were in debt? It would have to be pretty serious if it was potentially life-threatening. Was Gabby's life in danger? Gemma's? Bobby's? Filip's?

Gabby couldn't bear it if Filip died. Besides, he'd already been through enough. The last thing he needed was to go through everything he did, only to die.

She had to tell someone, find out if they knew. Of course, Filip was her first thought, but he'd just worry. Clay was the most obvious, but he intimidated her slightly. Jax was pretty tight-lipped about anything club business, as was Bobby. Piney was smart enough that he wouldn't tell her, and Opie would go to Jax. She doubted Juice was privy to any information, which left her one choice; Tig.

Tig was pretty much a pushover when you pressed the right buttons, and she was confident enough that he wouldn't tell the others what she told him, because he didn't want to get into trouble for giving her information.

All that was left was to get him into a position where he could speak, without any of the others knowing.