A/N: Thanks to everyone that reading and following this story. I so enjoy sharing it with you. Please consider leaving a review and letting me know what you think. And to my current reviewers:

Khyharah- Drunk Dani is kind of fun. Her food order is something that I adapted from a friend of mine. Whenever we would go out drinking, we would always stop at this diner to eat and drink some coffee—sort of sober up at the end of the night. She would order anything that sounded good to her, three or four different things and eat a little bit of everything. She would wake up the next day with tons of leftovers in her fridge. The list of things Dani hasn't done is the list of things Dani hasn't done was designed to remind us just how different her life has been. And yes, I see some fun moments with different members of the club helping Dani cross some of these things off her list.

Ghostwriter- Thank you! I'm so glad you're still loving it. Hope you like the new chapter!

Guest ks-Yeah that was a lot to put on poor young Jax. It definitely adds another layer behind his protectiveness of Dani. But I think Jax needed to say that in order to start to let go of that guilt.

Now on to the next chapter. Happy reading!

*******WARNING: Mentions of abuse*******

Chapter 11

Dani was up at 5 AM. She quietly made her way into the kitchen to make some coffee. She poured herself a cup while she scrambled some eggs and fried up some bacon, then put them both in the oven to keep warm while she went back to her room to take a shower. She dressed carefully that morning in a pair of dark gray skinny jeans, a blue and white striped tee shirt and a lightweight gray sweater. She knew she would be seeing Gemma for a good part of the day and always felt a need to try and impress her. She pulled her wet hair back into a ponytail and went back out into the main room. She saw Jax sitting up on the sofa rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and Opie was in the kitchen pouring himself coffee. Dani held out her cup to him, silently asking for a refill. He obliged, filling her cup and passing her the sugar so she could sweeten it. Once it was sweetened to her liking she set it at her place at the table and pulled the breakfast out of the oven, grabbed some plates from the cabinet and divided the eggs and bacon equally onto the three plates.

She passed one plate to Opie, who had grabbed some forks, before grabbing the other two and bringing them to the table. The two were just sitting down when Jax came into the room, poured himself some coffee and joined them.

"How are you doing this morning, Dani? Feeling hung over?" Jax asked in between bites.

"I'm fine, actually." She told him, grateful that she didn't have to worry about dealing with a hangover and spending the day at TM. She had decided that she was going to try and talk to Gemma today. She had some serious questions that she needed answers too. She only hoped Gemma would be receptive to telling her what she wanted to know. "I don't think I would have been quite so tipsy if I had thought to eat sooner. Guess I know better for next time."

"Next time?" Jax asked with amusement.

"I'm not going to make it a daily habit, but I imagine that I'll wind up having a drink from time to time. Especially with you around," she joked.

The rest of the morning passed quickly. Dani cleaned up the kitchen, sending Jax and Opie to get ready for work. Once the dishes were washed and put away, Dani went outside to water the garden. On her way back inside, she ran into Opie, who was just stepping out on the deck to let her know they were ready. He had two travel mugs of coffee and he held one out for her. "Thought you might like one for the road." He told her.

Dani accepted it and took a sip, smiling when she tasted the perfect balance of bitter coffee and sugar. "Thanks." She said simply. Opie nodded and stepped to the side, allowing her to enter the house in front of him. She grabbed her bag, making sure it contained the book she was reading in case she got bored and she was ready to go.

They walked outside where Jax was already waiting in the driver's seat of her truck. Opie opened the passenger door and she climber in and slid over to the middle of the bench, making room for Opie to get in after her. They had decided they would all ride in together, since Jax's bike was still at the clubhouse, and Opie would drive her home that evening in the truck. Dani did not feel as cramped as she thought she was going to; she had a couple inches of space between her and the man on either side of her.

The ride was short, so it was not long before they were pulling into the lot. They got out of the truck, Jax heading to the clubhouse for a change of clothes, Opie and Dani for the garage office. Gemma was already there, booting up the office computer. Dani and Opie both greeted her with a good morning. Opie punched in with the time clock and took a list of repos from Gemma, telling her he would see her later.

Dani asked what she could help with and was given a stack of paperwork to file. Dani stayed busy most of the morning, filing. Occasionally a customer would come in to pick up or drop off a vehicle, but Dani would just keep filing while Gemma dealt with them. She had seen Opie come and go a couple of times, bringing back a few vehicles that were being repossessed before starting work on a bike in the garage.

When Dani was finished filing, Gemma had her pull up a chair and was showing her how to enter customers information into the computer. Dani had never done any type of data entry and her computer skills were somewhat limited, she was struggling to pick it up as quickly as she would have liked. Gemma ordered them some lunch and they took a break to eat it, sitting on opposite sides of the desk so they would have more room. Dani took three bites of her sandwich before she set it down. Gathering up her courage she spoke. "Hey Mom?"

Gemma looked up at her. "Yeah Dani?"

"Um, I was wondering, if I could ask you a few questions, er, rather if we could talk about some things."

"What's on your mind?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me what exactly happened the day I was kidnapped, and what happened that made you decide to stop looking for me, to have me declared dead?"

"I don't like to talk about that time," was Gemma's curt reply.

"I understand that. It's not something I'm extremely comfortable with either, but I feel like I need to know," Dani said.

"You haven't exactly been forthcoming with where you've been these last 20 years, but no one's pushed you for answers on that." Gemma defended.

"I'm trying, Gem- er- Mom. I'm trying to have enough trust in the people around me to be able to share what happened to me. And part of me having that trust in you is to know what happened, because without knowing it feels like you gave up on me. Between that and the way you've kept me at arm's length since I've been home—"

"Me keep YOU at arm's length, that's rich sweetheart." Gemma scoffed raising her voice. "You're so damn jumpy you don't let anyone close enough to try."

"That's bullshit!" Dani yelled back "Jax and I are close, Opie and I are good. Hell I even spent the evening here last night playing pool with Bobby, Juice and Chibs. Everything was fine. You've barely tried. I've barely seen you since I've been back. There have been six people in and out of this office this morning and you talked to every single one of them more than you have spoken to me today until I tried to ask you about this."

Gemma stood up and stormed out of the office, Dani hot on her heels. "I'm done listening to this crap," Gemma said. "You need to stop playing the perpetual victim, and stop being so damn ungrateful."

Dani reached out and grabbed Gemma's arm to stop her and Gemma whirled around, striking out on instinct, slapping Dani's face. Gemma tried to reach forward to start to apologize, but Dani took a step back. "I am ungrateful," Dani began, "I am ungrateful that I was kidnapped, I am ungrateful that I was held captive by pedophiles who locked me in a closet for days without food when I didn't follow orders. I am ungrateful that I had to deal with inappropriate touches from 'uncles' since I was four years old. I'm ungrateful that I was sold, traded like a fucking animal whenever I grew too old for a particular pedophile's tastes. I am ungrateful that as soon as I started having periods I started being raped on a daily basis. I'm ungrateful that some asshole carved up my back because I was too old and I'd seen too much and they were going to get rid of me. I'm ungrateful that despite all of that I never gave up and fought my way out, and found my way home to a mother who embraced me of all of one second, who I've barely been able to bond with over a cup of fucking coffee. I'm really fucking ungrateful that when I try to understand what happened to me I'm told I'm ungrateful, leaving me with nothing else to think but that the person that was supposed to protect me failed me and gave up on me." Dani realized she was yelling. She also realized that they had an audience. She took in Opie and the others that were in the garage standing outside the bay doors. She noticed Jax and some other members of the club had come over from the clubhouse and were standing on her other side. She would later curse her timing for having yet another 'moment' outside the club house. "Well there, now you know what happened to me. So, now are you gonna tell me what happened that day or why you had me declared dead?" Dani waited several moments, but Gemma never spoke, just continued to stare at her with equal measures of sadness and shock. "Guess not." Stepping closer to Gemma she lowered her voice. "You raise a hand against me in violence again, I will not be held responsible for my actions. I think its best we stay away from each other for a while. That hasn't been an issue for you though, has it?"

With that, Dani stormed past her and off the lot, ignoring the sound of Jax calling for her to come back. She just walked away. Her vision was cloudy with tears and she was struggling to breath. She knew she had walked maybe a block and knew she couldn't keep it together for long when she heard the rumble of engines. She turned and she could see Jax coming up on his bike and Opie right behind him in her truck. Jax got off his bike and came up to her. "Dani, you ok?" He asked cautiously.

Dani shook her head. "No, not really. So you heard all that? Everyone heard all that, right?"

"Yeah, we heard." Jax nodded.

"Well now you know…" Dani said, and the thought of that made her stomach churn. She turned and took a few steps away from Jax, and she bent over and lost the contents of her stomach. She could feel Jax's hand at her back and she wanted to push him away but didn't have the energy. He pressed his bandana in her hand for her to use to wipe her face as her heaving gave way to sobs, and she felt Jax's arms move around her to embrace her. She collapsed into his arms clutching on to him as she cried.

Dani could hear Jax speaking to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. She felt him lift her up and carry her before putting her down again. "—put you in the truck with Opie, but I'll be right behind you ok?" Dani nodded. "I need you to try and calm down Dani. Can you do that?" Dani nodded again and took a few shuddering breaths, though she could not stop the tears from falling. When her breathing became slightly more regular Jax nodded. "Good. Let's get you in the truck." He opened the door and helped her inside, going so far as to secure her seatbelt for her. "Alright, let's get you home."

"No." Dani shook her head. "Can we, can we just drive for a while? I don't really want to be anywhere right now."

Jax looked at Opie, who gave him a nod. "Ok, we'll just drive. If you need anything, just tell Opie and we'll stop." Dani nodded and Jax shut the door. Dani rolled down her window, and as she heard the rumble of Jax's engine, she felt the truck move as it drove past the outskirts of town. Dani watched the scenery change as she stared out the open window. After a while she turned and watched Opie as he drove, and he glanced her way.

"You need something, Dani?" He asked.

Dani reached out and took his right hand from the wheel and held onto it with her left. "Just don't let go."

Opie squeezed her hand, before lifting their joined hands to press a kiss to the back of her hand. "I won't let go. I promise."