A/N: I am so thankful for all of my readers! Seeing the number of hits this story has gotten is blowing my mind right now! To those who are following and/or have favorited my story, I especially thank you and am glad to know how much you love it. If you haven't already, please leave me a review and let me know what you think of the story so far. If you have already reviewed, then you know how much I appreciate you and please continue to share your thoughts. The number of reviews I had for the last chapter—WOW! Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and all of your positive comments.
To Ghostwriter: I just love seeing your reviews. I'm glad you liked that moment at the end of the last chapter. It felt sweet to me, Dani finding comfort in Opie's warmth. I will warn you, there may be times when you won't like my Gemma, but I think in the end you'll approve.
To Foreverkee- Thank you! I agree it was a very cute moment for Opie and Dani and felt like an appropriate step forward for them. I've got some things planned for them that I think you will really like!
To Kisses N' Cyanide- Thanks so much! I'm glad you're loving the story! Dani is definitely getting more comfortable with her surroundings. She may backslide a time or two, but ultimately, I want her to be someone that comes across as strong and determined. She's got a way to go but I think she's getting there.
To Guest Reviewer ks- I'm glad you're enjoying the sibling dynamic between Jax and Dani. Dani's past and her escape won't be revealed for a while yet, but more glimpses of her past will be coming soon!
To BekaRoo- Thank you! I'm so happy so many people are liking Jax and Dani. I'm working hard to update if not every day, then every other day, so I promise that an update is never far away!
To Kyharah- Thank you! I'm so glad you like the direction I'm taking Dani and Opie, giving them time to know each other, time for Dani to heal. I've got some cute moments planned for them as they progress. I'm so glad that you and so many others are loving Jax and Dani, and how well they are bonding.
Alright, now let's get on to the chapter at hand…
*****WARNING: MENTIONS OF ABUSE*****
Chapter Eight
Dani was sitting at the table with a pad of paper and a cup of coffee when Opie returned home the next morning.
"Hey," she said taking in his appearance. "You look exhausted. Everything ok with the club?"
Opie nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine." He told her making his way into the kitchen to fix a bowl of cereal and grab a cup of coffee.
"That's good. I was too sleepy to think last night, but when I woke up this morning, I was worried something bad had happened, the way you guys had to take off like that." She replied. Opie nodded as he sat at the table and dug into his breakfast. Dani sensed his reluctance to talk about what happened, so she changed topics. "I'm sure you want to relax for a while, but I was hoping later today, we could go and get some supplies for the garden." She showed him the pad of paper that she had in front of her that had the garden layout sketched out and a list of supplies. "I might need some help cutting the 2X4's for the garden beds, but other than that, I think I can do the rest by myself."
Opie looked over her plans and nodded. "I can help with that. Let me grab a nap for a bit, and then we can go." He told her.
Later that afternoon Dani was in the yard marking out the exact spot for her garden beds while Opie was in the garage running the power saw. Dani had offered to help with that, but Opie declined, and after confirming the measurements for each cut of wood with her, he told her to go set up in the yard.
They had picked up three rectangular flower beds that she wanted to mount on the fence to use to grow herbs and smaller vegetables. Dani was measuring and marking where to drill into the fence to secure them when she heard Opie coming out of the garage. She turned to help him but stilled at the sight of his muscular frame carrying the lumber. His shirtless, very tattooed, muscular frame. It occurred to her in this moment, just how rugged and handsome Opie was. It also occurred to her that if it were any other man walking towards her shirtless right now, she would be out of her mind with fear, but fear was not the feeling she had stirring in her. She quickly shoved that feeling down. It wouldn't do well to dwell on that. She shook her head to clear herself of her thoughts as Opie approached and set the lumber down.
"You ok?" He asked her, taking in her flushed cheeks. Dani nodded and quickly showed him where she wanted the first garden bed to go. She helped hold the wood in place as he drilled in some screws to secure it. The built the frame up three boards high, and then did the process again a second time.
As they were working Dani noticed one of the tattoos on his shoulder was of a woman. "Donna? Is that your ex?" she asked.
Opie grunted something that she took for affirmation. "Do you mind if I ask what happened with you two?"
Opie paused in their work for a moment but didn't look up. He then resumed working. For a moment he didn't say anything and just as Dani was about to apologize for being nosy, he spoke. "Donna was never really a fan of the club. I got arrested and went away for five years. Donna wanted me to promise to leave the club when I got out. Told her I couldn't do that; the club was a part of our family. She said I was choosing the club over her and the kids. She decided I was a bad guy; served me with divorce papers about a year before I got out."
Dani sat there, absorbing the information. In addition to telling her about his ex, he had also confirmed her suspicions that there were indeed aspects of the club that were on the shady side of things. She chose not to focus on this now. "I'm sure it must have been hard for her to have you taken from her for so long, to have to take care of your kids without you. But Opie, you're not a bad guy."
"You barely know me. How do you know?"
"I spent my life around enough bad guys to know one when I see them. And that's not you. I don't know what all the club is involved in, but I know it's a part of you. Your father is in the club, your best friend. To ask you to give that up would be like cutting you in half. That doesn't make you bad."
They had finished building the second box and slowly stood, facing each other. Opie slowly reached out and took her hand and gave it a squeeze. They just stood there for a while, holding hands, taking comfort in each other's presence.
The next day, Dani was in the backyard, planting in her garden by herself. She and Opie had finished their work silently the previous day, and neither said much throughout the evening. It hadn't been an uncomfortable silence, more contemplative, each of them tending to their own thoughts. Dani went to bed early that night, but only managed a couple hours sleep. She spent the rest of the night sitting in bed, writing in her journal.
When dawn broke, she got up and changed into a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, had a quick bite of toast for breakfast and went outside to start planting. She had filled the boxes with soil and watered them yesterday, so the soil was moist and ready for her. She sat in front of one of the garden beds with her handheld hoe and spade and began planting.
The sun was getting high as she was finishing up and she was surprised to hear Jax's voice calling for her from the house. "Out back!" she called and stood up, trying to brush some of the dirt off her as Jax came outside.
"Hey Dani, darlin." He said giving her a quick hug. "This you're garden? Looks nice." He left one arm around her shoulder as he turned to look at the space.
"Thanks, now we will just have to see if anything will grow."
"So," said Jax, "you slept with my best friend, huh?" he said with a serious look on his face before breaking into a grin.
Dani flushed and pushed at Jax's shoulder. "You jerk. If by sleep with, you mean fell asleep at the same place after eating ourselves into a pizza coma, then yes, we slept together. And it was amazing," she responded to her brothers teasing.
Jax bust out laughing. "But really," he said when he stopped "you and Ope getting along ok here?"
"Yeah, I like Opie, he's a good friend. He's easy to be around."
"Friend, huh?"
"Yeah, friend, what else would he be?"
"I don't know, seems like maybe you might have little crush sometimes," he teased, giving her a nudge.
Dani sighed. "I don't—I can't think that way, Jax."
"Why can't you?" Jax asked her, his hand on her shoulder giving her a reassuring squeeze.
"Jax, I'm so fucking damaged and defective." She said as a few hot tears rolled down her cheeks. "After everything that I've been through, even if there was someone I liked, no matter how much I liked them, I don't know that I could ever really let myself be with anyone. And even if I could get past all my shit to get that point, no one would want me even then. I'm too broken."
"Dani, listen to me. You will get on the other side of this someday. You will get to a place where you want to let someone in your life like that. It's gonna take time, and when you do, I have no doubt you will have a line of guys hoping you will choose them. And I have no problem kicking the ass of any one of them that isn't good enough for you or even thinks about treating you like less than you deserve."
"I'm trying. I wish I was there, that I could tell you, let you help me carry the burden, like we talked about, just let go of some of this shit. I'm getting closer, but I'm not there yet."
"I know darlin'. There's no rush."
"Thanks Jax," Dani said. After a moment she spoke again. "If—when I get to that point. Would it be weird for you if I did like the sasquatch?"
"Maybe a little, but not really. I already think of him as my brother. I'd be ok if you made that official for me." Jax teased.
Dani laughed and wiped the stray tears away.
Jax let go of her and tugged on her arm. "Alright, enough of this sappy crap, lets go for a ride." Dani happily let her pull him around the side of the house to his bike and they rode off, Dani letting her thoughts float away with the wind.
A man came into the room, giving the girl a sick smile. "Time to go to your new home, Diana," he told her.
The girl was about 12 years old now, and terrified. She had been in that place for almost as long as she could remember, and she hated it there, but was terrified of where they might be taking her. She knew to stay alert, to watch for a chance to fight, to run. Just as that thought crossed her mind, the man pulled out a syringe and the girl backed away. She knew if he gave her what was in that needle, her chance of escape would disappear.
"Come here Diana." The man commanded, but the girl shook her head. The man took a step towards her, and that was when she made her move, darting around him towards the door that had been left slightly ajar. She had almost made it to the door when she felt a hand grab at her hip and she tumbled to the ground. She turned to see the man coming at her crouching down. She kicked at his chest to try and push him away, but her was back on her within a second. He lifted her up by her shoulders and slammed her back down to the ground, her head hitting the floor in a flash of pain. He slapped her across her face with the back of his hand to further disorient her and then came the pinch of a needle as she faded into nothingness.
Dani gasped as she startled awake. She sat there telling herself she was ok, she was safe. She climbed out of bed and made her way into the darkness of the living room. She sat on the sofa, tucking her legs in underneath her and turned on the tv, making sure to adjust the volume down so not to wake Opie. She flipped through the channels, finding a marathon of the original Star Trek, letting herself get pulled into the plot with Spock and Captain Kirk.
A few episodes in, she heard shuffling come from the hallway and looked over to see Opie peaking from around the corner. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked.
Opie shook his head and came and sat down on the other end of the sofa. "No, you didn't. What are you watching? Cheesy chick-flick?"
"Star Trek. I don't like those cheesy chick-flicks." She told him.
"Why not? Not that I'm complaining, but I thought all chicks liked that stuff." Opie asked
"You said it, they're all so cheezy."
"And Star Trek isn't?"
"It's all crap I know nothing about. Makeover montages, dancing, dating, the perfect kiss, breaking up over a stupid misunderstanding before someone is declaring their undying love and they live happily ever after. Life isn't like that. I hate the idea of a makeover, I don't know how to dance, I'm undatable, and it all goes down from there. Watching that crap is like rubbing my face in what I can't have and don't understand."
"You really think that?" Opie asked her and Dani just shrugged. Opie stood and turned off the tv. He rummaged through a stack of CD's before pulling one out.
"What are you doing?" She asked him as he put the cd into the stereo.
"I can do anything about the rest of that crap tonight, but there's one thing I can fix right now. We're gonna dance. I'll deny it if you tell anyone about this though." He turned on the stereo and queued up a song, before turning to her and extending her hand."
"I can't dance." She told him again.
"Just think of it as a long hug, while moving your feet." He replied as she heard a slow melody start up.
Dani reluctantly took his hand and let him pull her up. He brought her hands up to his shoulders, before sliding his arms down and around her waist. Dani stood there awkwardly for a moment before she relaxed into his embrace, turning her head to place her cheek against his chest. Opie tightened his grip on her slightly, and began rocking them back and forth, turning slowly. Dani just let him move them, listening to the beautiful lyrics and melody of the song playing. She could hear Opie's steady heartbeat and feel his warmth seeping into her and she let herself get swept away in the moment. She pulled back to look up at Opie as the song neared its end. "Opie?" The intensity of his dark gaze set her nerves on fire. If she were braver, stronger, better, she would lean up and kiss him right this moment. She could feel the air from his breath mixing with hers as it was, and it was intoxicating. 'Maybe someday.' She thought to herself. Instead she tucked her head back into his chest and simply said "Thank you."
Her heart skipped a beat as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and pulled her even closer. They stayed that way even after the song had ended.
Opie eventually released her and said, "How's that for a cheesy chick flick moment?" He asked, making her laugh, before taking her hand and leading her back to the sofa. They sat down side by side, and Opie turned the tv back on. They stayed there that way for several hours, hands clasped, watching episode after episode of Star Trek.