***Thank you all for the reviews! You guys are awesome! I love reading them and get excited every time I see that I got one!***

The past few months had passed slower than Ashley could ever imagine. Things had started to show some promise though with each passing day. Every moment gave her an ounce of strength, resolve and most of all, hope. She wasn't sure what she was hopeful for, but it was enough for her to be able to focus on what she needed to be strong for, her baby.

Mark had done a good job of covering all the bases. Ashley, filled with questions, drilled him daily and he always had the answers.

How would they be able to avoid anyone looking for her, especially Clay? How would she be able to make a clean break? And with Rob missing too? Clay would surely be looking for him and wondering what her fate had been. She tried to never think about what Jax would be thinking and when she did the image of him with that piece of crap would flood her mind, easing the pain she felt of losing him.

Mark had gotten his hands on a female cadaver, had her burned and dumped her body along with Robs in some thick bushes off the side of the highway heading out of Charming. He had his partner Sandy inform Charming PD of the "discovery" and they promptly notified SAMCRO of their prospects fate. There was no way to ID the female but Mark hoped it would be enough to convince Clay that Ashley was gone. The only hard part now was to make sure she was able to stay away.

Mark had set her up in an apartment about an hour and a half outside of Charming. His plan had been to get her way away from there but at this point he still had to wrap up a lot with the Sons and he didn't want to make any sudden moves with her still pregnant. He was staying over every night to make sure she was safe. She knew how weird that was. Why would this man go through all of this for her? Why wasn't he out living his own life? She saw him as the sweet and caring person he really was. She didn't have any feelings for him, but she couldn't deny the friendship that was forming.

Mark had refrained from updating her on any of the Sons activities. He understood that she would never get over everything if she had to hear about what was going on with them. She didn't even want to know about her mother, still angry that she had drove drunk and hurt innocent people when she had promised to turn her life around. It wasn't like Ashley to not want any connection to her family or Jax, but Mark had convinced her of what she needed to do.

Clay would stop at nothing to have her killed. She had threatened the club from the moment she was first questioned by the police about them, until the day he thought she had enough power over Jax to pull him away. She was a liability and the quicker she disappeared the better.

Now she sat, six and a half months pregnant with a little honeydew sized belly, alone in her apartment. She was bored of being trapped inside alone, on very rare occasions Mark would take her out to eat or a movie to break up the monotony.

Tonight was one of those nights. He was taking her out to eat at a Mexican restaurant that she always wanted to try about 45 minutes away. They always had to plan things far away to avoid running into anyone. She had never liked Mexican food until she was pregnant, but now it seemed like she could never get enough.

"Hey lady," Mark said as he came in the front door. She had been waiting for him on the couch. He managed to make it there by the time he promised, which was usually hard for him with his job.

"I'm starving!" she exclaimed from her place on the couch. She shifted her body so the baby wouldn't cut off the circulation to her legs.

"You're always starving. Can you wait 10 minutes so I can take a quick shower? I had to do some chasing today, it wasn't pretty."

"I guess but please hurry," she answered him. She tried to wait patiently for him, but grew more annoyed by the minute. Food was her main priority at this point. When it was messed with she got pissed.

"I'm almost ready," Mark said as he popped up in the doorway. He was wearing nothing but a towel and looked pretty hot, beads of water were dripping from his dark brown hair and trailing down his defined chest. She turned her head, not wanting to think about her friend that way, but her pregnancy hormones had her turned on most of the time lately.

"Put some clothes on please, I'm pregnant, I'm not blind."

"Done," he said going into the spare room.

Two minutes later he walked out, dressed, hair towel dried and sticking up but ready to go so she could eat.

When they finally got to the restaurant Ashley thought she would pass out. Forty-five minutes of driving, there better not be a line! They sat down right away and thankfully the waiter brought a bowl of nachos over to them which Ashley quickly began shoving in her mouth.

"So that was nice," Mark said when they were finished. "I'm not sure there was much conversation since you were constantly stuffing your face."

"Hey, I'm eating for two remember?"

They walked out of the restaurant and it was still light outside. "You want ice cream?" He asked spotting the ice cream shop down the street.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. How pathetic that food made her so happy, but at least she was able to find some happiness.

"I'm just going to run in the drug store and grab some bandages for my blister and then we'll go."

"OK, I am going to stay outside though, I could use a little sun."

"I'll be right out," he promised, leaving her alone on the street.

Ashley walked a few stores down, taking in the sunlight and perfect temperature. It took a lot out of her just to walk down the street. Her stomach was full and with the baby in there too she could hardly breathe. All the stores had their windows decorated and she paused to look into each one. When she came to a record store she leaned down a little to see what records were displayed in the case. She smiled when she recognized most of them from her childhood. Suddenly, she heard the sound of motorcycles coming down the street and she stiffened up, as if her body grew naturally defensive from the threat of them. You can't freak out every time you hear that noise, she told herself. You have to face your fears to get over them.

Ashley turned around to face the road as the motorcycles were stopped at a red light close to her. She had every intention of watching them calmly, reminding herself that there were lots of bikers in these parts of California. But as she turned to look at them she noticed one of the men staring right at her, sunglasses and a helmet covering his face but she knew exactly who it was. She saw his body straighten up when they saw each other. He took his sunglasses off and she felt frozen in place, as if she were trapped in a bad dream and her legs wouldn't let her run away. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and pulled into the record store, but her eyes remained glued on HIM. As he spotted Mark grabbing her, he started to park his bike right in the middle of the street, climbing off. The other men got off of their bikes to stop him, holding him back and pushing him back towards his bike. Mark pulled her out the back of the record store and ran them over to his car. They were out of the parking lot before anything could ever happen. It wasn't until they had turned down a few streets and ended up in a secluded are that Mark felt like they were safe enough to park.

"Are you ok?" he asked Ashley. She was frozen, the only movements of her body was her lungs gasping for air. She could barely remember how hard it was for her to run like that, but somehow she had managed.

"No." she answered, trying to steady her breathing, "They know I'm alive."

"I know, I know…."

"Did you notice Clay?" She turned to ask him. She hadn't seen anyone except Jax but she knew there were others with him.

"I didn't but he's going to find out."

Ashley stared down at her belly, it was hard and crampy from the running. "He knows Mark."

Mark looked forward, quiet for a moment before he spoke, "He thinks it's mine, trust me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I could see it in his face, he wanted to kill me."

"He saw me with you, they think I'm a rat. He has to know she's his." She looked again at her belly, her little baby girl. Every day she felt guilty that he wasn't going to know her, and seeing him now…..

"No Ashley, he thinks she's mine. This is not good for work. I am sure I will be bumping into him soon, and then it will be confirmed. It's strange though, he must still be in love with you. I thought he had moved on when he married that drug addict."

"What?!" Ashley couldn't believe what she was hearing. "He's married?" Wow, that was quick. Her heart sunk further than she ever thought it could. Why was she still so in love with him after everything he had done? She knew she still held on to childish dreams that he meant every word he said to her, that they were meant to be with each other since they were kids, that he wanted to protect her and take care of her, even if it meant pushing her away to do so. But married? That went against all the naïve fantasies she held onto about Jax. She started to feel like she was going to vomit right there.

"Sorry Ashley, I didn't mean to say anything. I was just rattled by everything I guess."

"How could he be married already?" She turned and glared at him. How could he keep this information from her?

Mark started the car back up. "Let's talk when we are back on the highway."

"No, let's talk now Mark."

He pulled the car out, driving quickly to get out of there.

"How is he married already Mark? And to a drug addict?"

"We're going to have to move you. Clay's going to find out right away."

"You're not answering me." Ashley cried out. But she was scared, she did think that Clay would find out. He would wonder why she was with Mark and he would figure out the rest.

"When we get home I need you to pack up your things."

"Mark, fucking answer me!"

"She's pregnant Ashley. Probably even bigger than you."

***So...on a lighter note? What should we name the baby? I have an idea but would love to hear from you!***