A/N: Well, we wondered, now we know. There may not seem like much of an excuse for Gemma's feelings/actions towards Dani, but we will be exploring this more in future chapters. Thank you all for reading, this is the part where I encourage you to let me know what you think of what you've read so far if you haven't already, because I really want to know. And this is the part where I say thank you to those who have already reviewed the last chapter, you are all amazing!

Occasional-episode- The chapter did end on a pretty sad note but I'm glad you enjoyed it anyway.

Ks- Another rough moment for Dani and Gemma for sure. That little bit that you feel for Gemma is exactly what I wanted you to feel.

Ghostwriter- Gemma really did screw up, but more will be revealed as time goes on that may shed a different light on things. Thank you, I promise to keep giving you more, lol.

Khyharah- Lets just take a moment here to appreciate distractions provided by Opie. Sigh. Ok, moving on. That moment you referenced from the show is one that always was playing in my mind on how Gemma would react to a daughter, so that's definitely in there a bit.

And now for the story.

Chapter 20

Dani stood there leaning against Opie while holding onto Jax's hand for a few moments. Straightening up she brushed the tears away and looked at them.

"Dani, what did she say to you?" Jax asked.

"It doesn't matter Jax. I can't change it, and I really don't want to talk about it. I don't want my drama with Gemma to become yours, either of yours. I know how important Gemma is to both of you, and I won't let my relationship with her affect that." She took a moment to look them both in the eye.

"We just want to help, baby." Opie said.

"I know. Just being here is more help that you can know." She gave each of them a hug. "Just help me think of something else right now, I don't want to wallow all night." She knew they both wanted to press the issue but was grateful that they didn't.

She offered them some of the beef stew she had prepared for dinner and they sat around the table, not talking about much. Jax left after dinner and Dani changed into some sweats and a tank top and curled up in her usual evening spot on the sofa next to Opie. Halfway through the movie that Opie had turned on, Dani looked up at him. "Opie?"

"Yeah baby?" Opie replied.

"The other day… when you said I didn't have to hold everything in around you. Did you mean that?" she asked.

"I meant it," he told her.

"I still don't want to talk about it, but I really just need to be sad right now and I—" her voice broke off as her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Opie pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face into his chest and began to cry. Opie stroked her hair. "I've got you. Let it out baby, let it go." He murmured to her.

Dani cried until she exhausted herself and drifted to sleep in his arms.

When she woke in the morning, she was surprised to see that she was no longer in the living room. Opie must have carried her to her room because she was in bed and tucked into Opie's side as he played with her hair.

"You feeling better?" Opie asked when he saw she was awake.

Dani shrugged. "Thank you for being there last night," she told him.

"Whatever you need, you just have to say the word," Opie responded, kissing her softly.

After a bit more cuddling and a few refusals to get out of bed, Dani finally got up and Opie left her to get ready for the day. She threw on some workout gear-leggings, sports bra, and a racerback tank- and tossed a change of clothes into her bag. Grabbing her shoes, she went to meet Opie in the kitchen for some breakfast. While she was frying up some eggs, she texted Jax to meet her at the shop for their morning run.

Opie seemed surprised when she asked to ride into work with him. "I'm not going to sit at home all day when you're talking to the club about me today," she had told him.

"You gonna be ok with Gemma being there?"

"I'll deal with it."

Opie didn't argue further and when he left for work that morning, it was with Dani riding behind him. They pulled into the lot, she gave Opie a quick kiss, wishing him a good day, and walked over to where Jax was waiting at the picnic table outside the club house with Bobby and Chibs. She waved in greeting as she walked up to them. Jax got up from his perch and gave her a hug and messed up her ponytail, and Dani responded by rolling her eyed.

"You ready to go?" He asked.

"I need to stash my bag inside first," Dani told him.

"I can take that in for you," Bobby volunteered. "I'll put it behind the bar for you til you need it."

"Thanks." Dani said, passing over the bag. Looking over to Chibs she said "I would really like to hit something later today if you have time."

"Aye, lass. Come see me when your back from your run, we'll get ya set up." Chibs told her.

She nodded and let Jax lead her out for their run.

"You doing ok?" Jax asked her after they had been running for a while.

"I'm dealing," she said. "I just want to get through today, to be honest," she told him. "And then I want to have a relaxing weekend, get brought back to life next week so I can start living life, get my GED, drive my truck, not have to be so dependent on you or Opie whenever I need something."

Jax nodded. "You gonna feel safe going out and doing things by yourself? After last weekend, and the way you reacted to the news of you being back going public, I kind of thought you'd be a little cautious."

"I'm fucking terrified. But that's why I'm here, running with you, why I'm working with Chibs, why I told you everything. I know I need to be vigilant, but I refuse to not live my life, or live a lesser life, because I'm afraid. I won't let my fear put me in a new cage, otherwise, what was the point of fighting so hard to get here."

Jax stopped running, causing Dani to stop short and look at him. "You're pretty fucking smart sometimes, little sister." He said pulling her into a hug.

Dani hugged him back for a minute before pushing him away and taking a few steps back. "Come on, we have a run to finish, and you stink."

"Oh, now you're asking for it," Jax warned in a playful manner, and Dani darted away, Jax hot on her heels. She finished their run in a sprint, running into the lot ahead of him before slowing her pace. As Jax caught up to her he tugged on ponytail and laughed when she rolled her eyes. Jax headed to the clubhouse to clean up before he started his shift, and Dani made her way to the garage.

She couldn't spot Opie, so she headed in Chibs direction. He glanced up at her over the bike he was working on. "Hey there lass. Give me about ten minutes and we'll get ya sorted for yer next lesson."

Dani nodded and went into the clubhouse to grab a bottle of water before going back outside to wait for Chibs. She perched herself on the edge of the boxing ring and a few minutes later he came her way. He helped her wrap her hands and watched as she started punching away at the bag, making corrections and suggestions to improve her punches and jabs. After a while he called her away from the bag as he strapped some punching pads onto his hands. He directed her to hit the pads with two punches and a jab, and that after each jab he was going to swing at her and he wanted her to duck. He started them off slowly, gradually encouraging her to increase the speed of her strikes. They continued in this manner until he finally put his hands down and gestured behind her.

Dani turned and saw Opie heading her way with a couple of brown paper bags.

"Go have lunch with yer fella," Chibs told her. "If yer up for it after, I have something new to work on."

"More?" Dani asked. She was tired, but she knew it would be better if she kept busy as she waited for the club to meet that evening. She nodded. "Ok, I'll see you then," she said before turning her attention to Opie.

"Hey Sasquatch." She said with a smile as he came near.

"Hey Xena. Looking pretty good there." He said leaning close.

Dani put her hand up to stop him. "I'm all sweaty and pretty sure I smell," she warned him.

"I don't care," Opie replied with a smile and leaned down for a kiss. A wolf whistle caused Dani to pull back and flush red. Opie sent a middle finger in the direction of the whistle and led Dani over to the to an empty table.

He handed her the bag containing her lunch and she opened it and removed a chicken salad sandwich, a bag of chips and a can of Dr. Pepper as Opie dug into his own lunch. They ate in a comfortable silence and when they were done, Dani leaned into Opie's side as he wrapped an arm around her. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Tired, Babe?" Opie asked her.

Dani shrugged. "A little. This is the first time I've been still all morning. It feels good to just sit. But I feel good too. Taking my feelings out on a punching bag is very therapeutic," she half-joked.

"You seem less tense," Opie agreed. "That's good."

"So how has your day been so far?" She asked and Opie launched into a story of a woman who had jumped onto Kip's back and started hitting him with her purse to try and stop them from repossessing her car. When he had finished his story, he told her he had to get back to work, gave her a quick kiss, and went back to the garage.

Chibs was waiting for her by the ring. "Dani girl. Ready to try something new?" At her nod, he jumped up onto the edge of the ring and held out his hand to her. He helped her up and through the ropes so she was standing in the ring.

She felt a little self-conscious up there. She could see Jax and a few other from the garage sitting around, taking their turn at lunch. 'At least no one seems to be paying attention.' She thought to herself.

"PROSPECT!" Chibs shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone turned to look at them. Kip came out from the clubhouse wearing a padded suit. He climbed into the ring, thought he struggled to move between the ropes due to the bulk of the suit.

"What is this?" Dani asked nervously.

"This is your self defense dummy. We borrowed the suit from Lumpy's Gym. Ya need to know how to get away if someone tries to grab ye, right?"

Dani nodded more hesitantly. "I guess. I just wasn't expecting…" She trailed off.

"And ye won't be expecting it of someone tries to grab ye off the street either." He warned her that Kip was going to come and grab her from behind. Dani tensed and felt uncomfortable as Kips arms came around her. She told herself that she knew who this was, and she needed to know how to do this and focused on Chibs instructions on how to slow down or incapacitate someone from that angle. She drove her elbow into Kips gut and heard him let out an "oof" as the impact hit him even through the padding of his suit and stomped on his foot before breaking out of his grasp and taking a few hurried steps away.

Dani stood there, muscles tense and tried to keep herself from trembling. Chibs praised her, though as he did, he took in her state. "Can ye try a few more or do ye need to stop for the day?" he asked.

Dani appreciated the fact that he had noticed her discomfort and that helped her relax slightly. "Just a couple more, ok?" She asked.

Chibs nodded approvingly. "There's a good lass." He guided her back to Kip and walked her through a few more moves, having her try them a couple of times each before he stopped them for the day. He helped her out of the ring before telling her "Ye did good today. I know ye dinne like that, but it's like exposure therapy. If you can train yourself how to react when someone grabs ye like that, then if it ever happens in real life, ye won't freeze up, yer body will just know what to do."

Dani felt extremely grateful for the Scott's words and the effort he had put into teaching her and she wrapped her arms around him suddenly, hugging him with gratitude. "Thank you." She said when she let go.

"Anytime lass. Take a few days to rest and let me know when yer ready for another lesson." Dani nodded and went to sit with Jax as he finished his lunch. She saw Opie watching her from the garage and she gave him a nod to let him know she was good.

"Hey ass kicker." Jax said as she sat with him and she laughed. "You doing ok?"

Dani smiled. "I am. I almost wasn't, but I got a reminder of why this is important and that you and Opie aren't the only ones who have my back."

Jax gave her a big grin. "It's about damn time you figured that out. I was starting to think you were slow or something." He teased.

Dani shook her head as she chuckled. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. I'm now the stinky one between us, and I can't have that." She leaned over and gave him big squeeze. "Stinky hugs." She said as she got up from the table as Jax laughed at her and threatened payback.

She went inside and grabbed her bag from the bar and, she let herself into Opie's dorm. She showered and changed into her Bermuda length jean shorts and vee neck tee shirt. She slid her shoes back on and sat on the couch with her book. She curled up intending to read, but she must have dozed off because the next thing she knew Opie was gently shaking her awake. She sat up and stretched.

"Hey." She said. "What time is it?"

"Ten til six. Almost time to go to church." He told her.

Dani felt a weight settle in her chest when said that. She looked up at him, the concern on her face obvious. "I'm worried about what's going to happen," she confessed.

Opie knelt down in front of her and placed a hand on his knee. "What do you want to happen?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I just think about all the what ifs and it scares me. I wonder if-." She broke off, uncertain how to voice her concerns.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. I promise." Dani wrapped her arms around Opie's shoulders in a fierce hug as his arms wrapped around her back and he pulled her close. He pulled back and gave her a reassuring kiss. "Come on, it's time to go." He stood and held his hands out for her. When she took them, he pulled her to her feet, not letting go of her hand, and led her out into the main room of the clubhouse. He guided her to a seat at the bar, telling Kip to bring her a drink. Pressing a kiss to her forehead he left her, joining the others in their 'chapel.'

Dani sat there, bouncing her knee. She heard someone enter the bar area and saw Gemma approaching. She sat a few seats away from her and didn't speak for a few minutes. "Didn't expect you'd be here." Dani said eventually.

"Thought you might want some company while you wait." Gemma said.

Dani shook her head. "I'm surprised you care." She said.

"I care. Despite what you think, baby, I love you. It may be different than how I love Jackson, how I loved Thomas, but you're mine and I do love you. Someone hurts you, they hurt me too. I want those men to pay almost as much as you do."

Dani stared at her in disbelief. "You're giving me a severe case of whiplash, one minute you tell me you don't love me like you're my mother, the next you're saying shit like that, acting all Mama Bear. I don't know what you want from me."

"I just want another chance to know my daughter." Gemma told her. Dani thought she could sense honesty coming from her but she sighed.

"For how long? A day? A minute? How long will you act like a mother and then pull away again? I'm trying so hard to build myself up, to build a life here. Yesterday, with you… that gutted me. I can't handle any more than that. I need you to figure out exactly what you want out of our relationship, and know that even when you figure that out, it will take time to get there."

Gemma nodded and the two reverted back into silence. Dani didn't know how long the two women sat there when the door to the chapel opened, and they both turned in that direction to see Tig standing in the open door. "Dani, come here for a minute, will ya, sweetheart?" He asked, though Dani knew it wasn't really a question.

She got up and slowly made her way over to him and he stepped aside for her to enter the room. The door closed behind her and She felt Tig walk by her as he returned to his seat. Dani took another step into the room where she saw the club members seated around the table. She was grateful that Opie was so close to the door as she took another step and put her hand on his shoulder.

Clay cleared his throat. "Dani, you gave Jax some information about your kidnappers?" Dani could see her journal and the camera sitting on the table. She nodded. "Why?" Clay asked.

"I know the relationship this club has with law enforcement is unusual. Like I told Jax and Opie, my plan was to give the journal to the police when it was finished, but I gave it to Jax because I didn't know if that was the right way to handle it."

"Do you know what happens if we handle it?" Clay asked.

"I have some idea." Dani replied.

"What do you want to happen to these men?" Clay questioned further.

"What do I want? I want them to be found and tortured sufficiently for days before having their dicks chopped off and shoved down their throat while they bleed to death." Dani paused considering how to continue. "But more than that, I want the people I care about to be safe, and I worry that if you all try and go after these people that something would happen to you. These people, I might of met all of them in their sick little pervert ring. But I worry that its more likely that they're part of something bigger. And if that's the case it's too dangerous for you to do anything, to risk yourselves. I think either way, whether its you or the police that try and find them, that it's pointless."

"Why?"

"I've been thinking about this for a while. If you look at the information I have objectively, there's not enough there to track down anyone. I have some first names, some faces, a handful of occupations. I have no last names, no idea where the hell I was being held. The entire country is too big of a search grid. As much as I want revenge, I think the best that can be done is for you to know what kind of people they are, and for me to stay vigilant in case they try to come for me and to have no mercy on the soul that tries to come for me again."

Dani could feel the tenseness in Opie's shoulder. She was pretty sure he didn't like what she was saying, and by the look on Jax's face he didn't either.

"One more thing, Dani." Clay said. "What's on the camera? Your boys here have been pretty vague."

Dani shifted on her feet. "That might be because I asked them not to watch it unless they absolutely had to. It's a recording of me being… raped… it shows how I got the scars on my back. It also shows how I escaped by…" Dani took a deep breath, "by killing the man who gave me these scars."

Dani could tell there was some skepticism from some of the men on the room. She was sure by her frequent public meltdowns that most of them thought her too meek to be able to kill. She was sure Jax and Opie believed her, and she thought Chibs might as well. Clay nodded. "You can go now. We'll be done soon." He told her.

Dani turned and left, closing the door behind her. She returned to her seat at the bar and glanced at Gemma. "They just had some questions. They're still deciding, I think, but Clay said they would be done soon." She told her mother.

The two women returned to their previous silence. Fifteen minted ticked by, which grew to thirty, and then forty-five. It was almost an hour later when the door finally opened again. Opie was the first one out and he walked straight towards her. Dani barely had time to register that his eyes were red like he was upset before she was engulfed in his arms. He held her tightly to him and after a minute she was ready to remind him she needed to breathe when she felt an hand on her shoulder as Jax pulled her out of Opie's grip before pulling her into a similar embrace. She pulled away from Jax to see that he too looked disturbed and. looking around the room, she could see that trouble on the face of pretty much everyone.

"What the hell is going on?" She said looking back and for the between Jax and Opie. Realization dawned on her. "You watched it, didn't you?" she asked in a whisper. Neither of them would meet her eye at that moment but Jax nodded. Dani felt the bile rise in her throat and she barely had time to barrel past them and launch herself into the restroom before losing the contents of her stomach. She didn't register someone holding back her hair or rubbing circles on her back until she was finished. Opie and Jax were on either side of her, Opie was holding her hair and Jax was patting her back. She shoed them away as she flushed the toilet and went to the sink to rinse out her mouth.

When she turned to face them, it was her who could not meet their eyes this time. "I didn't want you to see that, to see me like that." She whispered, referring to the tape, as she wiped at her face to keep the tears from coming.

Opie pulled her to him. "I'm sorry, but we had to know." He told her.

She nodded. "What did you decide?" she asked.

"You're right about the information not being much as far as where to search, so we are going to go about this on both ends of the law. Juice is making a copy of the journal, and you're going to give the original to the feds, see if that will get rid of them for a while. If we find anything out, we'll take another vote to decide how to handle it then." Jax told her.

Dani nodded. It made a certain amount of sense. "I get it. It's smart."

"We'll get Rosen to set a meet with them on Monday after your court hearing to hand off the journal. We'll tell them you're not answering any questions about the contents unless they get a viable lead from your information. Hopefully that will get them off your back for a while." Jax told her.

Dani nodded and leaned into Opie. "Ok." She said. "Can we go home now? I don't really want to be here when everyone has just seen, well, you know."

"Yeah. You got your stuff?" Opie asked.

Dani shook her head. "It's in your room." She said.

"I'll get it and meet you guys outside." Jax told them.

Opie tucked her into his side, and he led her through the clubhouse. Dani followed Opie out the door and she was grateful that no one came near them or said anything. What she didn't know was that Opie was shooting daggers with his eyes in warning to anyone who looked like they might as he guided her to the exit.

The fresh evening air helped to cool her nerves and she climbed on the back of Opie's bike, resting her face against his back while she waited for Jax. A moment later he handed off her bag and told her he would see her the next day, they had a surprise waiting for her and said goodnight. She wrapped her arms around Opie and closed her eyes, feeling the wind around her as he took off and drove them out of the lot and into the night.