The rest of the morning was pure chaos. With Clay, Jax, Bobby, and Tig checking out the remains of the warehouse, the garage was short-handed, and Chibs couldn't even hope to grab five minutes of peace. It seemed like half of Charming had car trouble this morning. Still, as he swung his body up into the cab of the tow truck yet again, he felt the vibration of his phone in his cut pocket. He flipped it open to find a message from Aoife. It was simple. "I miss you. Love you." He smiled at the thought of his lass, and he hoped that the prospect had learned not to complain about his whistling.

He quickly typed back, "Love you, too, lass. Be by for lunch." He and the prospect stopped by her shop early – Chibs wanted to be at the garage when Jax and the guys got back. She was sitting on the stool behind the counter when he came in. She gave him a weak, tired smile.

"Morning, lass. Are you all right? You look exhausted." He pushed her curls away from her face to give her a gentle kiss.

"I didn't sleep very well last night. Mum had a rough evening and I had to go out to the hospital, and then I was…well, I was worried. I didn't hear from you most of the day."

Chibs caressed her cheek. "I crashed early and hard last night. Someone must have exhausted me," he whispered, his eyes twinkling as he gave her another kiss. "You don't have to worry about me, darlin'."

"I try not to," Aoife said, her worry lines relaxing a little. "Not worrying doesn't come easy to me."

"I wanted to see if you had plans later this week. Carnival's coming to town. We could go on another date," Chibs suggested, winking at her.

A smile crossed Aoife's face, her eyes bright. "I'd like that." She wrapped her arms around Chibs' neck and pulled him close to her.

"You're a dream, lass," Chibs breathed. His cell phone trilled. "Aye?" Gemma gave him the address of their next tow. "A deer through the windshield?" he repeated back. "Ah, this ought to be fun for the prospect. I'm on it." He snapped his phone shut. "I'm going to have to take a sandwich to go. Roast beef and Swiss, love." Aoife handed him the sandwich, her fingers brushing his familiarly. Half-Sack had already polished off two shepherd's pies while they talked. Chibs kissed his lass one more time and pulled reluctantly away. On the way to the truck, he caught the prospect giving him a strange look and realized that he was whistling.

Chibs' heart dropped to his feet as he eavesdropped on the conversations between Gemma, Jax, and Tara about Jax's fragile wee boy. He stood between the conclave and the rest of the club, who were lingering uncomfortably in the hospital corridor. Tara, the teenage girl who'd broken his V.P.'s heart, was a surgeon now and working on Jax's son. Who'd have thought that? Chibs thanked heaven for small favors: at least with Tara on the case, Jax wasn't dealing with a stranger. Unfortunately, Jax wasn't "dealing" at all. Chibs wanted to grab the younger man by the shoulder and turn him around, shoving him in the direction of the NICU and the wee one, but instead he found himself chasing after Jax as he stormed out of the hospital in a rage. It wasn't that Chibs didn't understand the desire to beat the shit out of Wendy's dealer, but Jax hadn't even seen his son before taking off.

Chibs bit his tongue a few times to keep himself from offering Jax advice, and more than once he slammed his fist into the seat of his bike to release some tension. He did as he had been bidden, following the VP so that Jax could be stopped before he vented his pain as rage and caused himself and the Club repercussions. Chibs' heart broke as he watched Jax swallow so much pain and anxiety, but he didn't know how to help him except to be a rock for Jax to lean on as Jax had been for him in the past. When Chibs had first come to Samcro as a transfer from the Belfast chapter, he had been haunted, plagued nightly with dreams of his stolen wife and child, and had taken refuge in the bottle. It had been Jax and Gemma who had pushed, pulled, and cajoled him into the Samcro family fold. Chibs glanced over at Jax, now sitting astride his bike next to the Scotsman. Wordlessly, Chibs reached over and put his hand on Jax's shoulder and squeezed it. Jax gave a sad smile. "Thanks, brother."

As soon as he could, Chibs escaped the clubhouse party. He couldn't stay in this place, surrounded by people laughing, drinking and fucking while his brother's son, Chibs' nephew in fact if never in blood, lay in a hospital incubator fighting for his life. This was getting under Chibs' skin more than he could have ever predicted. He had forgotten how much a wee babe could tug at his heartstrings. He texted Aoife that he would be over ASAP. After what she had done for her brother, she understood family. She would empathize with Chibs' pain and frustration.

Chibs rapped softly on Aoife's door before sliding his key in the lock. The light over the sink was on, as was one down the hall in her bedroom. "'Ello, love!" he called, softly in case she was asleep already. He shed his jacket and cut and draped them over the first stool at the breakfast bar. Sitting on the couch, he unlaced his boots. He paused for a moment, inhaling the scent that he associated with Aoife – coffee with undertones of caramel and vanilla. He dropped his boots, socks tucked inside, at the foot of the stool, and stepped softly back the hall to the bedroom. About halfway down the hall, he heard the sound of running water in her shower. He pulled his shirts over his head and dropped them next to the bed. Clad in his jeans and boxers, he paused in the bathroom doorway.

Aoife had left the door open again, allowing him the same lovely view through the frosted glass as he had before. He chuckled to himself. "Forgot to close the door, my arse." More loudly, he teased, "I think you 'forgot' to close the door again, lass. Not that I mind." He heard a laugh from the shower.

"What if it wasn't an accident?" She called back.

"Then I might think you want me to watch you in the shower. Or maybe you even need help in there," he suggested, sliding his jeans and boxers off. Chibs listened to the water run for a minute while she said nothing, and he hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing. Then the shower door opened and Aoife was standing under the spray, making a "come here" motion with her pointer finger. Chibs crossed the distance in two strides, and he was already kissing Aoife before she pulled the shower door closed. They stayed in the shower until the water ran cold and then moved to the bed.

A bit later, Chibs lay on his back, Aoife curled up against his side with her head on his chest. He held his lass tight against him, clinging to her like a drowning man with a life-preserver. "You seem troubled, Filip."

"Aye, that I am, lass." He saw a fearful look on her face as she sat up. "Not troubled about you or us, a chuisle. This," he pointed at her and then him, "is the best damn thing that's happened to me. I just need someone to talk to. Today was rough."

Aoife smiled and rolled out of bed. She grabbed her robe off the hook in the bathroom and held out her hand. "Come on, love. I'll make up some tea." Chibs let her pull him off the bed but paused to slip his boxers back on. When he joined her in the kitchen, the kettle was already on the stove and she was arranging some cookies on a plate. He sat down at the small round table and watched her move about the kitchen.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "Jax's son was born today."

Aoife peered curiously at him as she set the cookies in front of him. "That's good, isn't it?" Chibs shook his head, but the answer caught in his throat. Aoife frowned and commented hesitantly, "I didn't know Jax was expecting. I didn't think he had a wife or girlfriend."

"Ex-wife," Chibs corrected, his disgust with Wendy clear in the way he spit the word out. "She's a junkie – she overdosed and the docs had to do an emergency Caesarean." Aoife gasped softly. The kettle let out a piercing whistle. Chibs waited until Aoife had poured the hot water and put two steaming mugs on the table. When she sat down and reached her hand across the table to intertwine with his, he managed to continue. "The wee bairn's ten weeks early."

"Oh, the poor thing!" Aoife squeezed Chibs' hand sympathetically.

"He's up against some stiff odds. He's gonna have to have surgery to fix something wrong with his belly and his heart. The number I overheard today was a 20% chance of survival." Aoife stood and came to him. Chibs wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in the terry cloth covering her chest. She clasped her hands behind his head and held him there. He felt the tears come, and he let them fall, giving her permission to see him vulnerable. "Jax is my brother in every way but blood. He's storming around, trying to pretend he's not in pain. He hasn't even gone to see the wee one. And I can't do anything for him. I just followed him around, helpless and mute, making sure he didn't hurt himself."

"You were with him all afternoon?" Aoife confirmed.

"Aye."

Aoife picked up his chin so he had to look at her. "Then you were doing something. You were being there for him," she assured him.

"Didn't feel like enough. And then there's Gem. She's being strong for everyone else, but I know this is ripping her up inside." More tears formed, and Aoife let him drop his head again while she stroked his hair.

"Is there something I can do?" She whispered. The tears in his eyes changed a little, gratitude mixing with despair. His lips formed the beginning of the word "no," but then he stopped himself. He had an idea.

"Aye, lass, I think there is. Gem likes you. Tomorrow, they're supposed to do Abel's surgery. I need to keep an eye on Jax. We're already committed to a job." Aoife nodded. Chibs had told Aoife about one tiny sliver of the club's business, that of providing security to trucking shipments. He allowed her to assume that all of their jobs fell into that category. "Gemma's not going to leave that hospital until that surgery is done. I expect Luann will be with her, but she'd appreciate the support." Chibs was so proud of himself that he smiled through his tears. It was a brilliant plan. Aoife wouldn't be alone waiting to hear from him and she would have something to focus on, which he knew helped her cope with her anxiety. It would cement the bond she was forming with the Queen of Samcro and one of the most established old ladies. "Would you mind terribly, a chuisle?"

"No, I'd be happy to, a rúnsearc." Aoife put her hands on his shoulders and locked her eyes with his. "I love you, Filip. They are your family. If there is anything I can do for them, I want to do it."

"And I love you, Aoife."