A/N - Jax is getting pretty devious, here's hoping he gets his comeuppance at some point! But until then... Hope you all find Chibs as adorable as I do :-)

Chibs must have nodded off again, he awoke with a start and looked around the empty bedroom. It was well over an hour since Nina had left, he frowned as he stared at the clock and reached across for his phone to call her. She probably couldn't find the place and was driving around looking for it.

As he snapped his phone open, he smiled to see a text message she must have sent a while ago, probably not long after leaving. He opened it to read,

I vole you. I think I love you but I'm still a little confused.

He dropped his head back into the pillow with a goofy smile, the phone in his hands as he rolled on his back. He felt like a teenager as he wrote and rewrote his message to her, wanting to get it just right.

I'll wait as long as you need to be sure.

He beamed as he sent it and then sighed. He didn't want to wait for her any more, maybe he should just go and find her. He was overwhelmed by the desire to just disappear with her, maybe for a couple of days, borrow the cabin and just hide away with her.

He glanced up as Nero knocked twice on the door and pushed it open. Chibs stood up, rebuckling his pants. Nero looked over him, knowing full well that this was the man who his daughter wanted to be with but still finding the whole concept a little out of his comfort zone.

"Where's Nina?" he asked with a frown. Chibs ran his hand through his hair.

"She went out, wanted to get some food." He gave Nero a smile. "I wanted to ask you, Nero. I... I really care about her, are you okay with me and her... you know..."

"Having sex?" Nero pulled a face and Chibs chuckled.

"Seeing each other," Chibs clarified. No man wanted to talk about sex with the father of his lover, ever. "I'll treat her right, I swear."

"You don't lead her on," Nero instructed. "And you make a decision about your wife, I don't want any surprises."

Chibs nodded, he had already made a decision about Fiona while he had been drifting in and out of sleep. She'd be getting divorce papers and a one-way ticket back to Belfast as soon as he could give them to her.

"Nina's my priority," he said, sure. Nero looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

"What does your Prez have to say about that?"

"The club has no say in who I love," Chibs said defensively. Nero couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"Love, huh? That's a big word, mano."

Chibs blushed a little. "I mean it though. Because I do. I love her." He could feel the excitement creeping across his cheeks. "I bloody love her."

"Tell her, not me." Nero smiled as he turned, pulling his phone from his pocket as it began to vibrate. "Hello? Yes, this is Nero Padilla. A red Corvette?" He frowned and glanced up at Chibs. "Yeah, it's my daughter Nina's. Hire car, yes sir." His expression grew dark. "Abandoned? No, she must have... Oh. Okay, I see. And he didn't see her after she left?" He swallowed as he nodded. "Sure, I'll come by now."

He hung up, Chibs could already tell something was wrong. "What's happened?"

"Nina's car. She left it at some burger place in town. Counter kid reported her picking up some food and then not moving the car. Blocking some sort of fire route, they want to tow it." He was shaking his head, that seemed like such a minor detail. "Where did you say she was?"

"She wanted to get some food," Chibs said, pulling on his shirt quickly. Nero was dialling her number as he dressed, no answer. "I told her I'd go but she insisted. She said she'd be back an hour ago," he added, glancing at the clock. "I fell asleep, shite."

He grabbed his boots, wishing he hadn't lain down again. Charming was the kind of place where going unexpectedly off-radar was never a good thing. Nero could feel the same rising panic creeping into his chest, he immediately headed down to the bar and out towards his car, calling her constantly but hearing the same voicemail message in his ear.

Chibs wasn't far behind and he followed on his Harley to the restaurant. There was Nina's car, the wheel clamped and a parking notice plastered over the windscreen. Nero looked over it for a minute before he turned to stare at Chibs.

"Did you upset her?"

Chibs frowned. "What? No, of course not, we were having a nice time." He looked around the lot in panic, there was nothing even slightly untoward around. Jax had done a good job of tidying away her belongings, there was no sign she'd been there besides the car. "Have you called her?"

"She's not answering," Nero muttered, shaking his head. "Everything was okay? You two didn't argue, she wasn't upset when she left?" He grimaced. "Nina, she's prone to tempers. Being upset, storming off. Disappearing for ten years," he added begrudgingly.

Chibs shook his head. "I swear, she was fine." He looked around, it made no sense. Where would she go? He strode into the restaurant to see the same server leaning lazily on the bar.

"Hey, you're the extra extra rare guy," he grinned. "How was your burger?"

"The girl you served," Chibs muttered, putting his hands on the counter. "Did you see her leave?"

The kid nodded. "She went outside, was chatting to one of you SAMCRO guys before they walked off. Don't know where she went, just left the car. I told her she couldn't park there when she ordered, she said she wouldn't be long." He shrugged. "Cops get real weird about it blocking the way."

Chibs' head was buzzing, but Nero took over quickly. "SAMCRO guy? What did he look like?"

"Blond, beardy." The kid shrugged again. "Was looking really sorry for himself earlier."

"You're sure?" Chibs frowned. There was no doubt it must have been Jax, but why Nina would have been talking to him he couldn't understand. "You know where they went?"

The guy shook his head. "Sorry man, I got nothing. Cameras are dummies too, can't even give you tape," he added, pointing to the overhead. He looked at Nero. "She's cute, is she single?"

Chibs groaned as he turned and walked out. He went straight back to his bike and Nero followed him out with a scowl. He watched Chibs putting his helmet on.

"I'm not your Prez's favourite person, mano," he said. Chibs chuckled.

"Neither am I," he replied. "But if he was the last person to see her..."

Nero nodded and clapped Chibs' back. "Keep me up to date?" he asked. Chibs gave him a thumbs up as he pulled away and headed back towards the club.

Jax was sitting out on one of the picnic tables, having a cigarette as he joked around with Juice and Rat. He watched with a wry smile as he saw Chibs park up and motioned for the others to leave. Juice watched for a moment before jogging away.

"You saw Nina?" Chibs asked. They were the first words out of his mouth and Jax sighed heavily, giving Chibs his most sympathetic expression.

"She said she was leaving," he said coolly. "Said she had to go back to some boyfriend. Said she was sorry." He leaned back on the picnic table as he saw a forlorn expression falling over Chibs' eyes. "I'm sorry, brother."

"That was it?" Chibs could barely believe it. He shook his head, he didn't want to believe it. They had been so happy, it didn't make sense. "She just... left?"

"Flagged down a cab and took off," Jax said, dragging on his cigarette. He offered it to Chibs but he refused it, looking simply distraught.

Knowing there was little he could offer, Jax stood and patted Chibs' shoulder as he strode into chapel. He glanced around for a second before pulling out Nina's phone and slipping out the SIM card. He smiled as he turned it over in his fingers and slipped it into his top pocket, he could destroy it later. She was gone, that was all he needed, and she wouldn't be coming back. It wouldn't take Chibs long to fall back in line, and a distracted Nero would be easy to crush. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as he thought it would after all.