A/N 11/7/2018: Hey Hey lovelies! Sorry for the sporadic update. I'm not going to be able to put up the second part of this episode today like I normally do. But if I want to live my life, I sorta need to sleep! lol Got a bit of OT at work and I'm working on reading three books, and put in some time on an Amino I'm a part of. Not to mention whatever witchyness I'm cooking up at the time. Calendar is FULL! lol I'm trying to find a way to incorporate Donna and Angela more. They've sort of been regulated to the background somehow, and I don't like it. Here's hoping, yeah? Also, I have a Titanic cross bouncing in my head. This will obviously be after I finish this and the Mummy cross, and my Mummy stand alone, and whatever other story I promised. I have the list, somewhere. But it will be a Bella/Cal pairing...What do you think? Thoughts? Let me know. Reviews and criticisms are welcome. It's how we writers become better. Enjoy! ~Angel
Jax knocked on the door to Piney's cabin, worried that the old man had gone on another bender. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, but as he ages, it's just racing him to the grave faster and faster. Piney opened the door, and pulled a gun on Jax.
"Jesus Christ," Jax said, holding his hand up.
"What do you want?" Piney asked sullenly. Like a child who didn't get his way.
"No one's heard from you in weeks."
"So?"
"So, I'm making sure you're not dead. Izzy's going out of her mind, and that shit isn't good for the baby. Especially not on top of this shit she's going through with Chibs in the hospital."
"Well, I'm alive. You tell little Izzy I'm fine. Just a few things I need to sort out," Piney said.
"What the hell do you need to sort out?" Jax asked. "I thought you agreed with the others about Clay?"
"I do and I don't!" Piney snapped. "The man acted predictably, yeah, but it doesn't take from the fact he shot at my daughter! Ordered the hit that could have taken her life and Izzy's. I goes against my grain that he's still at the head of that table. You promised you were going to make things right, and you are, but-"
"Change doesn't come quick, Piney. Have you read the dad's book?"
"A long time ago," Piney admitted, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, well, it's not exactly a how to manual. It's half angry manifesto, half MC love letter. I'm trying to read between the lines. See the path. Working with what he gave me. The biggest hurdle is going to be getting out of guns, and let's face it, so long as Clay is in charge, that won't happen. I figure so long as we stick to only guns, nothing else, in 5 to 10 when he steps down and I take the head patch, then we have a shot. We just need to find another MC willing to take the trade from us that the Irish will respect. We need to think of short-longterm goals. Trying to get this MC to where dad would have wanted it before the last of the original 9 leaves us."
Piney stood there looking at Jax. "You're doing good, son. Just know that if we're not careful, we may not have another 5 to 10 years left in us. And we may die the bloody death your old man predicted for us."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Jax and Bobby walked into the hospital, Bobby holding Chibs' kutte, as today was the day their brother got out of the hospital. Just as they turned into the hallway that lead to his ward, however, they saw Half-Sac pushing him down the hall at a breakneck speed, Izzy laughing at the end softly.
"Alba gu bràth! I'm free!" Chibs shouted as he skidded his wheelchair to a stop right in front of them. "Jackie Boy! Elvis!"
Chibs got out of the chair and ripped the bandage over the wound on the back of his head off. Happy, who had gone ahead of them, Jax, and Bobby all happy to see that their injured brother was on the mend. Bobby held Chibs' kutte out of him, and Chibs slipped it on.
"Put it on. Clearly, there's been some brain damage," Bobby said to Jax.
"You wish," Chibs smiled before Bobby took him into a tight hug, both grunting at the force the larger man was exerting.
"Pretty sure he was this stupid before he got here," Jax said, giving his own hug to the Scot.
"I would prefer you didn't put my lover back into a hospital bed, guys," Bella said with a smile from behind them.
"How are you guys doing?" Jax asked both Chibs and Bella.
"We're all doing just fine," Bella said with a smile. Chibs led with Jax in front as they all made their way out of the hospital.
"What's going on with Zobelle?" Chibs asked.
Jax smirked. "Izzy didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Chibs asked, looking back at his little pregnant lover with an eyebrow raised. She was in the back, talking with Half-Sac animatedly about something.
"The night you were blown up, she lost it. Ordered her two Coven friends to kill Zobelle, his daughter, and Weston. Happy went with to help, but he recognized that he was on the phone with Jimmy O about our gun business."
"So we've lost the Irish pipeline?!" Chibs said in a hushed, urgent tone. Jax shook his head.
"No. Cameron wasn't in on it. Knew that Jimmy was doing something he wasn't supposed to, so he moved the guns away from Jimmy. Has been a step ahead of him ever since. Then we find out a few days ago, the bastard is a rat. FBI informant."
"He's gotta go away. We don't need any more feds in town," Chibs growled.
"I know. Stahl's back. Grasping at ghost straws now, but we still need to watch our step."
"That bitch definitely has to go."
"Agreed. We'll settle the score. Let's just get you home first, brother," Jax said, letting Bobby take over guiding him out of the hospital. Jax fell behind to talk to Bella.
"You didn't tell him about Zobelle?" Jax asked.
"Haven't really had the time, to be honest. They keep people doped up here for no reason. He could have been out days ago if they only stopped pumping him full of tranqs. When we did talk, it was about something much more impactful at the time."
"Like what?"
Bella smiled. "Ultrasound pictures and Callum's heartbeat. His and Fiona's divorced. Pushed through by the Coven's lawyer to make sure it went through. Taunting Fiona," Bella listed.
"Sounds like you guys weren't really hard up for things to do," Jax laughed.
"Not too bad. But the man isn't one to sit idle if he can help it."
"That he's not," Jax agreed.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Everyone met in the parking lot of Teller-Morrow as Clay, Tig, and the others who hadn't been there on his release from the hospital came out to greet him.
"Chibby! Iron man!" Clay said, his arms out wide. He embraced the healing man firmly. "Your girl's set up a gift for you."
"Aye? And what would that be, lovey?" Chibs asked Bella as she came around to join the men.
"The one who blew you up, of course. When Happy heard that he was on the phone with Jimmy O, he aborted killing him. He, Alec, and Jane all brought the three back here. Feds don't know it, but they've been in the basement for the better part of the last month as you were in the hospital," Bella said.
Chibs looked at her in surprise. "You didn't think that we'd wait this long for retaliation did you? We made sure they were comfortable, while waiting for you to be able to do your thing," Clay said.
"So long as I get a shot at the three before you guys do anything. They hurt my family. Now, I'm gonna hurt theirs," Bella said darkly. Chibs didn't like the look on her beautiful face, so he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the side of her head to calm her.
"Easy lass. You're a good six months along. Don't want the stress to bring the lad out before he's ready," he said lowly. Bella's countenance softened as she nodded and looked up at him.
"Still want first crack."
"You brought them to us. And are taking care of disposal. I'd say it was a fair trade," Clay said.
Gemma came out of the office with a sheet of paper in hand. She walked right up to Chibs, and Bella moved out of the way so the elder woman could hug him properly. "Welcome home, baby," she said as she patted his back.
"Hi, darlin'," he said as he hugged her back. "Guardian Angel #2." Gemma smiled then turned to the boys that were working.
"Got a repo run," she said and Opie took the sheet.
"Sac, let's go," he said as he and the prospect headed towards the tow truck.
"Chibs, we'll catch you up. Come on," Bobby said, leading him and Izzy into the clubhouse.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~~
Jax walked into his house, concerned at the text Angel had sent him. "What's up?" he asked. "Text was vague."
Angela smiled at him and guided him into the living room with Abel on her hip. He rounded the divider and saw Agent Stahl sitting on his couch, reading a magazine. "Seems we have a visitor, baby," Angela said, though she cooed it to Abel, as though it were any other visitor rather than a fed.
"Got a warrant?" Jax asked.
"You see me searching?" Stahl countered.
"I got nothing to say to you," Jax said, before going over to Abel and Angela, who were playing together on the floor. "Hey, what's happening little man?" he asked, kissing his son's head.
"Look at you two. Ozzie and Harriet," Stahl mocked.
"I prefer Ozzy and Sharon," Angela countered.
"Get out now," Jax demanded.
"Just wanted to cover my bases. Give you one last shot at the pie," the agent offered.
"Out with it, fed. It's a wonder any of you get any work done with all of the innuendos."
"Same pitch. The Irish screwed you, so you screw them back. More importantly, you screw Ethan Zobelle. You even the score, you protect the MC."
Angela picked up Abel, kissed Jax's cheek, and said, "I'm going to put him down," before leaving him to talk to Stahl.
"Same response," Jax said, watching Angela leave. "I don't rat."
"Sons are living in grace, sweetheart. You're not my target now. But if you don't help me, I will come after you. Uh, is Angela a legal guardian? Because I would really hate to see that perfect boy end up in the system," Stahl pointed out in a thinly, very very thinly, veiled threat.
"Adopted. Finalized last week. Surprised you didn't get the memo. Still grasping at straws," Jax said with a smirk and a happy twinkle in his eye.
"Time to leave, Agent Stahl. I did my civic duty inviting you in. Now, I'm giving you the chance to leave without a fuss. So long as we own this property, the federal government cannot be here without permission or a warrant. You no longer have the former and never had a latter. Leave," Angela said firmly.
"Guess that's my cue," Stahl said, getting up and grabbing her bag. "Congratulations on the adoption, Ms. Weber."
"Thank you. Have a good one," Angela said, not taking her attention from Jax. They waited until she was out of the house before speaking.
"There a reason you invited her in?" Jax asked as he sat on the couch.
Angela shook her head. "Needed to show her that we had nothing to hide. And here in this house, that's the truth. Never said anything about outside of it. I answered her questions honestly. Did I have any knowledge of your involvement with guns? No. Have I met any of your friends from over seas? Ireland in particular? No. Did I have any knowledge of who blew up the van in the Teller-Morrow lot? No. Did I have any idea where Zobelle, his daughter Polly, or AJ Weston were? No. All true, more or less." She shrugged.
"I know the club runs guns, doesn't mean I've seen them or you making a trade, so it's hear say. I haven't met any of your Irish contacts. I have a suspicion that it was Zobelle who blew up the van. And Zobelle, his daughter, and Weston all disappeared after Chibs was hurt in said explosion. I know you guys took them but not where they are, so I answered the question she asked. Easy."
"In the future, I would appreciate you didn't speak to her without me. It's not that I don't trust you-" Jax rushed once he saw that she was about to object.
"I just don't trust her not to pull something like she did with Ope. The bitch took him and his family in the night, no word to anyone what was happening, and Izzy and Donna get shot as a result. I couldn't handle that if it happened to you," he said lowly.
Angela looked at him for a heartbeat before she sighed and went to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and bringing his head to rest in the soft part of her tummy. "All right. I won't invite her in again without you here."
Jax wound his arms around her and burrowed more into her, like a kid seeking comfort. "I love you, Angel."
Angela kissed the top of his head. "And I love you, Jackson. You and Abel."
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
On the Wahewa reservation, Opie and Sac were securing a repo. It was an SUV, and just after Sac put the sticker on the windshield that read 'repossessed', a Wahewa woman came out screaming at them.
"No!"
"Just doin' our jobs, ma'am," Sac said.
"Son of a bitch. I need my truck! Gaah!" she shouted as she pushed Sac to the ground.
"All my bead are in there. They're very rare. I'm a bead weaver. It's how I make money," she plead. "Please."
"Contact your finance company," Sac said through the pain of his swollen testicle. He really needed to get it looked at. Maybe a trip to the doc was in order.
"Please," she tried again.
"I'm sorry," Opie said, not unmoved by her pleading, but now that the vehicle was hitched, he really could do nothing. The woman ran back inside, and he got into the tow.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
At the Teller-Morrow compound, Chibs and Bella were getting him situated into his room again. "I'm afraid I may have spent more time here than I did at home when you were in the hospital," she admitted. "Felt closer to you here than I did there."
Chibs, who was putting the snapshot of Callum's ultrasound to his mirror, turned to her. "Where ever I sleep, you're welcome to share, mo ghràdh," he said, smiling. "And it relieves me to know that you weren't unprotected while I was laid up."
Chibs phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and his face darkened when he saw who it was that was calling. Bella went over to see, and she too became, pissed. "Don't answer it," she ordered. Chibs looked at her, an eyebrow raised.
"This is the start of your new life, Filip. You answer that call, you're giving Fiona, and through her, Jimmy O'Phalen, the grip on the leash that was strangling you for the last two decades. That leash doesn't belong to them any more. It's yours."
Chibs let the phone ring until it died as he held her gaze. "You're wrong. The leash isn't mine," he said. Bella tilted her head to one side questioningly. "It's yours. Only, when I'm with you, I don't even realize I'm on the damn thing," he said with a laugh.
Bella shook her head. "No, Filip. I don't want you to be on a leash, don't you get it? I want you to be who you are."
"And that's just it. You're the only person in my life, except my brothers, that don't want me to be anything or anyone but me. You're the center of my world, Izzy. You and Callum," he said, stepping up to her and cupping her cheek with one hand. "Marry me."
Bella breathed out nearly all of the air in her lungs. "What?"
"Marry me. You say I'm free? Well this is what I want to do. I want to marry you. Wake up with you in my arms every mornin'. Have you be the last thought in my head at night. And think, and worry, and laugh, and cry with you every moment in between. I want our son born with a mother and a father who are married. To see not only the love we have for him, but for each other. So...marry me?"
Bella was crying, soft, happy tears as he spoke. "Aye."
"Aye?"
"Aye, I'll marry you," she said with a bright smile and a giggle as he surged forward and took her mouth in a passionate jubilant kiss. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other firm but gently around her waist as far as a 6 month tummy would allow. It took them a while to come up for air. Chibs slowing and gentling the kisses until he ended with two sweet ones on her lips.
"Didn't plan this well. Still need a ring," he said with a sheepish smile, that showed the handsome younger man he was through the gorgeous man he is.
"Well, how about we tell the others, and then make our way to a ring shop? After all...what girl doesn't like shiny things? Especially one 6 months pregnant!"
Chibs laughed as he followed her out to the garage where Tig and Clay were working on Tig's Dyna. Opie and Half-Sac were pulling into the lot with their repossessed SUV, unhitching it from the tow truck.
"See, you and Bobby got all that fishing gear yesterday. I got dibs on this shit," Sac told Opie.
"Gonna start weaving beads?" Opie asked, his arms crossed. Half-Sac took out his knife as he opened the back to a full load of boxes.
"Maybe. A lot of macramé in Iraq." He stabbed one of the boxes and cut down the tapped lids, opening it. "Holy shit," he said, taking out a bullet not a bead.
"Clay? Tig?" he yelled to the two in the garage. "Bullets." He held one out for Clay to take.
"God damn," Tig said, seeing th box.
"Unstamped," Clay said, looking at the igniter and not seeing the standard imprint. "Homemade."
"We hauled it from the Wahewa land," Opie said.
"Wow. I don't know too many hunters using 9 mil for deer," Tig snarked.
"Nation wide ammo shortage. Pick up the porn slack if we get a hold of this supply," Clay said.
"You should talk to the squaw," Opie advised.
"Before you do that, Izzy and I have news," Chibs said with a wide smile, his arm around her shoulders. Everyone looked up to them. "We're getting married!"
"Hey!" Tig shouted as he came over and kissed Bella on the cheek as Clay hugged Chibs for the second time that day. Opie was the next to congratulate Bella, giving her a brotherly hug before whispering in her ear.
"Donna's pregnant, too," he said with a wide smile. Bella's smile got impossibly wider.
"Dibs on godmother!" she said quickly. Opie laughed, loudly, as he made room for Clay.
"You be good to our brother, you hear me?" he said seriously before he was all teeth and smiles.
"Yes, sir!" she saluted.
"Take notes, prospect! That's how you do it!" he said to Sac over his shoulder.
"Izzy and I are going to buy her something shiny to go with this announcement. Didn't have time, being in the hospital and all," Chibs said.
"She drives. Don't need you passing out and killing you all," Clay said. "Take the van, sweetheart. We're not using it any time soon. We plan on taking care of our guests tonight. Can't keep them for much longer. Risk goes up."
Bella nodded. "We won't be all day. I already have an idea of what to look for," she promised.
"Dangerous. Have fun," he said as he and the others turned back to their recently acquired unstamped ammo hual.
Chibs and Bella left the lot in the black panel van the Sons usually use on their nefarious jobs. They were just making their way off of the interstate and into the nearby neighborhood when their path was blocked by two black cars.
"Asshole!" Chibs yelled in his thick accent after Bella stomped on the breaks with a startled shout. "Are you all right?" he asked her quickly, worry in every note of his voice. Bella nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, just startled. But who-" she asked. She and Chibs looked into the passenger side mirror and saw Agent Stahl climbing out of her own car. Bella growled. "Kavenaugh only gave her a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately, her record was clean, so what I gave in evidence, only measured up to a hard smack on the hand and a magnifying glass as far as her actions. Maybe a review of her cases. Bitch."
"Stay here," Chibs tells her.
"Be careful. And don't do anything without thought. Bitch will use anything as leverage." Chibs nodded as he got out of the van. "You stupid gash. I can look past you trying to kill me, but endangering my woman and child!" he said, getting up into her face. But before he could take more than a step, two other agents had him face down on the hood on the car that cut them off.
"Watch it! Stop! Watch his head," she ordered. Bella was nearly jumping out of the van, when an agent stopped her with a restraining hand on her door.
"Your name?" she demanded.
"Page. Agent Joseph Page," he answered.
"Wonder what Director Kavenaugh will think of your dangerous and unlawful detainment methods," she said off handedly. Like she wasn't threatening his career.
"All right, let him up," Stahl said to the others. Chibs shook them off, and turned to face Stahl. "You okay?" she asked. Chibs didn't answer. Only looked to Bella in the van, their eyes locking. He gave a small smile to let her know he was all right.
"Jesus. You get blown up. Otto gets jumped in prison. You are in a charter that doesn't have a good track record for protecting its members," she said.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Jimmy O'Phalen. I know that the two of you have history. I know he excommunicated you from the IRA, that he stole your wife, raised your daughter. Left you with a, uh, little reminder you'd never forget," she said, tracing a finger along one of her cheeks from the corner of her mouth to her ear.
"The past. Key to a happy life, I've learned, is to let shit go. Dwelling only causes pain. Uses up too much energy," he said, looking from her to the van. And it was the truth. A truth he was only able to see because of his woman, sitting in said van. She not only gave him the means to break from Fiona and Jimmy O, she made his club stronger. This fed didn't know what she was talking about. Probably just liked talking out of her ass so much, she forgot that she's supposed to use her mouth.
"Are we done here?" he asked.
"You hate him. We both know that he's the devil, so… maybe we help each other out, hmm?" she said, putting a business card in the breast pocket of his kutte. "Think about it."
And then she left, the agents that followed her getting back into their cars. Chibs hopped back into the van, and waited for the feds to leave before turning to Bella. She didn't let him talk though. Only took the business card out of his pocket and ripped it up, tossing the paper out of the window. Chibs raised an eyebrow.
"That's littering, lass."
"Paper is biodegradable. What did she want?"
"Thought that I'd like to help her pick a fight wit Jimmy O. If she asked yesterday, I might have considered it. Now, he's only on my mind when someone brings him up," he answered honestly. Bella smiled and kissed him.
"Good. You're learning," she said as she started the van and they continued on their way.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
Jax met Gemma in the garage's office. She was working on that day's work orders, trying to sift through the nearly illegible handwriting of the men working in the shop.
"Hey, ma," he said.
"Hey, baby. What do you need?"
"Nothing. Just need to share some info with you."
"All right," she said, putting down her glasses. "Share."
"We didn't tell anyone yet, mostly because we were waiting for shit to settle down. But Angela officially adopted Abel. Finalized it last week."
Gemma looked at him stunned, before a happy grin split her face. "You finally found a good one in that girl. Isn't nosey. Takes care of Abel full time. Honestly, you need to bring her by more. We almost never see her."
"I'll pass it along," Jax said with a laugh. "Now that Chibs and Izzy are officially tying the knot-"
"Say what?" she asked, raising a brow.
"You didn't know. They're out looking for a ring for her right now. Chibs asked her as soon as they got home."
"Smart enough not to waste time," she mumbled. "You should take an example."
"Working on it, mom. Just need to find a ring, and I haven't found the perfect one yet," he said. Gemma hmm'd in thought, thinking of the rings she and JT had. They would be perfect for the two. Just needed to get them to Jax.
~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~
They toured two jewelry stores before Bella found what she was looking for. And they said that girls were complicated when it came to finding the perfect ring. Lord knew Fiona was a nightmare. Wanted the biggest rock in the most expensive store. Bella wasn't even looking for a diamond. Or a sapphire. Or an emerald.
She was looking for a moonstone. Such a simple rock but as innocently beautiful as she was. It was a slim silver band with a marquise shaped moonstone, set with three blue topaz on either side and one both on top and bottom. An elegant piece all around, and it didn't even need resizing. Bella was ecstatic when she walked out of the store with it on her finger.
"That was easy," he said with a light laugh. "Took Fiona seven shops before she realized I couldn't afford what she wanted."
"Dad said mom forced him to take back the ring he got her and get her one that was at least 3 carats," Bella said with a chuckle, but she stopped once she felt Chibs freeze.
"Filip?" she asked softly. "Are you all right?"
"I just realized. I never asked your da," he said, paling.
"Whoops," she said wincing. "Tell you what. I'll be there with you so he doesn't kill you. After all, he already knows you knocked me up," she said with a smirk.
"Why you cheeky little sprite," she growled as he kissed her.