A/N - Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've had 100 reviews for this! Thank you so much to every single one of you who reads this and reviews, it means the absolute world to me. I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'm sure I've lost a few Jax fans along the way ;) but it's all about the big picture, right...? Anyway, thank you, as always, and here's a little bit of love coming your way.

Nina blinked her eyes open slowly. They felt sticky, her mascara clumped together through sweat and tears, and she wrenched them apart to get an idea of where she was. The regular beeps she had been able to hear told her that she was no longer at the strip joint, the red room was a hazy memory but here smelled of disinfectant and... leather. She frowned as she took a breath, trying to move, but her body wouldn't shift. She looked down to see Chibs pressed up against her side, asleep, curled up tight beside her. His head was on her breast, his legs tangled with hers, carefully keeping his distance from her bandaged side.

She tried to breathe but it hurt too much. She moved to press her hand against herself, only to see the leads and wires running into her skin. She swallowed, shaking her head, trying to remember what had happened but she didn't know. It was all gone.

"Filip?"

Her voice was a meek whisper. Her tongue was dry, she tried to lick her lips but it did little to help her. One hand scrambled to reach for Chibs, to touch him. It took a couple of attempts but he sat up suddenly, gasping for breath as he did. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips as he saw her looking at him.

"My love," he murmured. He shifted his weight, leaning across to stroke her hair back from her face. "Christ, thank God."

Nina was almost shaking as he pressed his lips to hers. She purred gently at his touch, the instinctive feeling flooding her body at his embrace. Her hand ran across his cheek lovingly, she had never been so grateful to see a person in all her life.

"You... you were there." She looked around fearfully. "Tig, he helped me."

"Aye," Chibs chuckled. "You're safe now, I'll take care of you, nothing's going to come between us, I promise." He leaned his forehead to hers and took a deep breath, even the smell of her made his pounding heart calm a little. Nina giggled a little as he ran his fingertips along the inside of her wrist, it tickled but the tiny, intimate gesture filled her with a sense of security.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Chibs sat back, giving her a little space but never letting go of her hand for a second. "Desert Palms, a hospital just outside of Vegas. We're outside of North Cal."

Just saying it made Nina reach for her face, she rubbed her jaw absently as she closed her eyes. "Jax. He hit me." She swallowed, her eyes welling up. "Jesus, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to cause so many problems, I just came to..." She blushed. "I needed some money."

"To settle a debt, I know. It's clear." Chibs smiled at her, nodding to assure her. "There's no more of that to haunt you, it's gone. It's... charred," he added with a wink. Nina didn't dare ask, she wrinkled her nose and reached to stroke his cheek.

"You got hurt."

"There was a bit of a fight." Chibs laughed. "You don't remember? You nearly choked a guy to death with, you know, the good Lord." He lifted the crucifix from his pocket and put it in her hand. Her fingers turned it over anxiously, rubbing the beads between her thumb and forefinger. It felt familiar in her grip, she smiled as she brought it to her lips to kiss.

"Thank you, Jesus."

"Amen to that." He crossed himself and ended by pressing his fingertip to Nina's nose. "You'll need to be here a few days. I'll stay, the others, they're heading back."

"Others?" Nina looked towards the door to see Happy faking Tig out in the corridor. "Who else is here?" Her skin went pale as she whispered, "Does Jax know?"

"Jax doesn't know a thing, love, and he won't," he said. "He won't be bothering you any more, I swear, even when I bring you back to Charming. You're my girl, and I'll make sure there's no... confusion about that again."

Nina smiled with a little pride as he nibbled at her fingertips playfully. She liked that idea, the idea of being his. It made her feel good in her stomach, happy. Safe. "What about your wife?"

"I'll sort that problem out when we get back," Chibs nodded. "You're the one that I want, Nina. I should have told yous before but it, I never got a chance." He held her hand tightly as he looked in her eyes. "I love you."

She blushed. "I love you too," she whispered. "And I promise, I won't cause this much trouble again, honest."

Chibs beamed and glanced up as Happy knocked on the door. Tig waved from the corridor and Nina beckoned him in to join them. He edged in, looking to Chibs for a word. Chibs slid off the bed, squeezing Nina's toes playfully as he got up.

"Juice is here," Tig muttered. "On Golden Boy's orders."

Chibs groaned and glanced at Nina. "Shite. If we tell him, he might go straight back to Jax. I need her stronger before he knows anything about this." Happy nodded in agreement and Tig rubbed his fingers along his jaw as he glanced back towards Juice as he hovered nervously in the hall.

"You think we can trust him?"

"Right now, I trust the two of yous and that's it," Chibs said staunchly. "Juicy, he's been... unhinged. I worry."

"He's gonna ask questions, man," Tig shrugged, wondering what the best course of action might be. "We can't keep her from him, it's impossible. He's going to know."

"Then we tell him the truth," Happy insisted. "About Jax. About what he did to her. And when we go home, we challenge this shit."

Chibs motioned for Juice to come in and he looked around at his beaten brothers. He scowled a little, confused, and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Jesus, what the hell happened to you guys? I went by the strip club, it was nothing but a burning mess." He twisted to look at the bed, realising none of the club members were laid up. He stopped as he saw Nina, holding tightly onto Chibs' hand. "Oh, shit."

"Yeah," Tig muttered. "You keep this between us, brother."

Juice nodded instantly, not even questioning the instruction. "What the hell happened? I thought she left?"

"Jax made her go," Chibs said, choosing not to give Juice everything immediately. "But she's safe now." Juice was looking at the bandage on her waist, a little distraught. "Asshole ex shot her, she's off the critical list now, it's just healing."

"Thank God," Juice said, his tone almost apologetic. "That's really shitty, I'm sorry."

Nina gave him a small smile, he was always so sweet. "It's not your fault," she said, moving her legs for him to sit down beside Chibs. "I'm just lucky you guys found me."

"I need her back on her feet, Juicy," Chibs said. "Before I get home, before anyone in Charming knows anything about this. You understand?"

There was a look in his eye, a slightly unhinged one, that made Juice nod, slowly at first but then faster. "Sure," he said. "Whatever you need." He looked at Tig. "Have you told Nero? He's been going out of his mind. Got Biz Lats out looking for you all around Stockton, Lodi."

"You can't," Nina said, shaking her head. "He'll lose his goddamn mind, he'll kill anyone he finds out was involved," she added in a whisper as she looked at Chibs. Chibs sighed, even now she was trying to protect Jax, knowing all too well that Nero would let nothing stop him settling the score. "I'll tell him, as soon as I can get home, I'll tell him I'm okay."

She struggled to sit up in the bed, gasping as she winced and crunched her stomach tightly. Chibs leaned across to press his hand against her and ease the pain, he gave her a kiss as he supported her. A nurse knocked and looked around at them all, unsure of where all these men had come from.

"I need to go through her charts, if you could all wait outside, please?"

Chibs urged them to go, and the four Sons stood in the corridor. Juice could see the others exchanging looks, he bounced uncomfortably on his toes as he waited for someone to speak to him. When nobody ventured anything, he murmured,

"This is worse than it looks, isn't it?"

Tig laughed a little and patted his shoulder. "Like you won't believe, brother. Don't worry, I'll fill you in on the way home."