Charming, CA
It had taken one phonecall and a hell of a lot of pleading, but Jackson Teller had heard Steph out and agreed to at least meet Juice. Jax had made it crystal clear that neither he, nor the club were agreeing to watch out for her neighbour and best friend. She had been ordered by Jax to accompany Juice on his trip to Charming to meet the club. Stephanie was not pleased by this. Having being free of the club's laws for almost seven years, the thought of having to submit to them, no matter how temporary, was not something that she wanted to do.

The initial wave of frustration she had felt about having to come back had all but dissipated, but more than anything it just felt…strange. She felt almost numb, like it was all just a really vivid dream. Despite having left the town on relatively good terms with her extended family, she hadn't returned to the small town in the six years. She had always found one reason or another to avoid visiting; the weather was too severe to get out of the city, she had no personal days, somebody had gone on long term sick leave and work needed her to cover. The list went of excuses could go on for days.

Her passenger had noticed how tense she was the second the car found its way into Charming. He stared at her knuckles, tightly gripping the steering wheel.
"I'm sorry for this. I know you don't really want to be here."
"This isn't on you. Jackson was the one who wanted me here."
"I know that, but if it weren't for me you wouldn't be here."
"I'd rather be here and know that you're safe. What those guys did to you..." She trailed off, the images of his battered body hooked up to the ventilator still bothered her..
The conversation ended there, Juice had done his best to apologise, and there was nothing more he could have said to get her out of the weird mood that she was in.

Steph never really gone in to much detail about why she had left the small town in California. He didn't buy for a second that she was just some small town girl desperate for big city life. That was the story she had fed him when they met two years prior but he got the feeling that there was more to it than that, California's bigger cities had nursing schools after all. He never asked her for the real reason after the one time he had asked. He'd asked one simple question and almost immediately she had shut down on him. He knew that from then on the topic was off the table. It was how she had been raised. Her father, Gemma, everyone in her life had always taught her about not sharing anything with outsiders. Even now, as a young woman living the life of an outsider, she still held every single person in her life at arms length.

Being away for so long didn't mean she hadn't kept in touch. She spoke to her father regularly- when he wasn't in lock-up anyway. Gemma, Jax's mother called from time to time to check up on her, but she had been almost livid when she had decided to leave Charming to attend college in New York. Steph knew that she needed to be free, at least for a few a years. Besides, Gemma had done exactly the same thing when she was Steph's age- except Steph hadn't returned knocked up by a guy twice her age.

"Almost there." She said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence in the car. Her eyes remained on the road in front of her, an almost dark look crossing her face.
"Thanks for this, I don't know what I'd have done without you." His hand landed gently on her knee, giving it a small squeeze. Her stony expression softened, Christ, she was going to miss him.
"Gonna miss you, you know." Juice had commented, as if he knew what she was thinking. He watched Steph light up her cigarette, half wondering if she would tell him to can his sentimental shit.
"Yeah I know." She smiled, blowing a cloud of smoke out the window. "I'll miss you too."
Silence fell over the pair again for a few moments before she alerted him that they had arrived.
Once she had parked the car and killed the engine she sat deathly still.
"You okay?" She gave him a weak smile, accompanied by a nod. An incredibly obvious lie.
"Fuck it, let's just get this over with."

The mirrored aviators that she hid behind remained in their place as she left the safety of her Civic. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she observed the men of the club, just as they observed her. Giving them a small, polite smile she looked back at Juice who stood nervously, like a rabbit in the headlights.
She risked a glance at the office block- of course Gemma was peering through the blinds. She offered the older woman a nod and received a smirk in return. Steph didn't expect much more than that from the woman who had helped raise her only to watch her leave the tight knit family. Gemma knew how to hold grudge better than anybody else.

"Cat got your tongue?" Clay asked, he too throwing her a smirk. She shrugged in return, but for once she actually once was speechless.
"Yeah, I think so." She said, pulling off her sunglasses and tossing them into her purse. Clay made his way over to her, throwing his large arms around her smaller frame.
"Believe it or not, it's good to see you." He muttered quietly into her ear. She wished she could have been truthful when she told him she felt the same. "We can talk later." His voice still low, he released her from the embrace.
"Well look at you. Barely recognised you, kid." Piney Winston ruffled her hair playfully. She wasn't the mischievous, chubby faced, curly haired brunette any more. That version of her was long gone. The soft brunette curls that she had inherited from her father had been dyed platinum blonde and were ironed straight on a daily basis. And the chubby cheeks that Gemma had called 'puppy fat' had all but vanished, she had been shocked to find out that she even had cheekbones. The only resemblance left were her dark brown eyes.
"It's good to see you, Piney."
"Bobby will be out of county next week, if you stick around you'll catch him once he gets out." Piney offered. She had no intention of sticking around until he got out of county jail. This visit was for Juice, she told herself. Once Jax agreed to look out for her soon to be ex-neighbour, she'd be getting the fuck out of there and going back to New York.
Jax emerged from the clubhouse, standing directly in front of Steph. He stared her up and down, taking in her appearance. Silently, he pulled her in for an awkward hug, eyeing her new friend as he did. "Think you and me have some talking to do, don't you?"
"I know." Placing a hand on the small of her back, Jax guided her towards the clubhouse. Turning back to Juice he pointed a finger.
"You, wait there." All Steph could do was throw an apologetic look as Jax continued to walk her into the building.

Once Jax had grabbed a bottle of Jack and a couple of glasses from the bar he guided her into church. She'd only been into the club's inner sanctum once before and it had not turned out well for her, hopefully this time would be better.
"You look different." Jax stated. "Looks like the big city is working for you." She half smiled, saying nothing in reply. The truth, the one that she knew deep down but refused to ever admit, was that life wasn't working out how she expected. Granted, her years in college had been some of the best she'd likely ever have. But after graduation, people moved away, free time became a thing she could only imagine, seeing the people that she regarded as her friends became increasingly difficult due to careers and partners and before she knew it she was pretty much alone again. Unlike the majority of her college friends, she'd opted to stay in New York and ended up taking a job in the ICU of Queens Presbyterian Hospital. Once she had moved off campus and into the apartment in Queens she didn't have anyone, until she met the guy next door.

"I'm happy there." She lied, but she figured if she said aloud enough times, it might come true, or at worst, she might just believe that herself. Jax simply nodded, then reached for the bottle of Jack before pouring out a glass for each of them.

"So you're VP now?" He gave her a nod accompanied by a proud smile. "Bet your mom is on cloud fucking nine."
"Something like that." He smiled fondly at his once, childhood friend.
"I appreciate what you're doing for Juice." She stated.
"Haven't said yes yet. Just said I'd meet him." Jax was back to business and as serious as ever. She got it, she knew how they felt about outsiders, but her vouching for him had to count for something, at least she thought it did.
"Regardless, I appreciate it." She downed the glass of Jack swiftly. "I know I have no right to be calling and asking for favours from the club, or you. I know that you don't owe me anything. But I saw what they did to him- I took care of him when he was in the ICU. They left him to die. He didn't deserve that and honestly, I couldn't handle seeing something like that happen to him again."
"What does he know about us?"
"Nothing. He got the same explanation as any other outsider gets. Harley enthusiasts, mechanics. Just said he might be able to lay low here."
"How long have you known him?"
"Almost three years."
"And what is he to you? Boyfriend? Fiancé?"
"Friend, well neighbour, actually." She slipped a cigarette between her lips and lit it. Jax nodded, appearing to at least consider her proposition. "I'm not asking you to give him a patch now, or even ever. Just to let him lay low here, make him earn his keep and just let him hang around. He'll be safe here and that's what I'm asking for Jackson. He goes off the grid alone and he'll show up dead, I couldn't deal with that especially when I know I could have done something to help."
"And what about you?"
"What about me? I'm barely even involved." Jax shot her pointed look, it was like she had forgotten how people that were 'barely involved' in shit could still get hit with the blow back. "I can handle my shit just fine and you know it. I'll go back to New York and be out of the way."
"And if that crew come back looking for him? I know you can handle your shit, but what about theirs? Suppose this blows back on you?"
"How could it? I told them I barely knew him. We live in New York, nobody knows their neighbours."
"I don't like the idea of letting you go back there alone. I don't think Bobby would be happy either." Less than an hour in her trip home and she suspected that she was about to be subject to club ruling, or the very least Jax's ruling.
"I already told them I didn't know where he was. They have no reason to suspect otherwise. Once they realise he's never going back they'll do the same thing."
"Suppose they don't. I'm looking out for you, just like you're looking out for him." Whilst the sensible part of her brain could see that logic, the stubborn and irrational part assumed that this was some kind of payback for daring to defy her family all those years ago.
"Go get him, I want to talk to him. Once I've talked to him and the club we can talk again, okay?"
"Sure." She nodded before padding over to the door. As she got there, he spoke again.
"I still care about you. You're still family, wherever you are. Got it?"
"I know." She replied before leaving him.

A/N:
Just a quick little note to say thanks for reading. Hope you're enjoying- let me know, okay?