A/N: OMG, this chapter did. not want to be written. I had to fight with it to come together like I wanted. And then I got COVID, and Pneumonia, AND Sepsis, and spent a couple days in the hospital and then a couple weeks at home recovering and sleeping almost all the time. But it's finally done! It's the longest chapter I've ever written, so be prepared to sit with it for a while. Seems like a chill chapter, but shit gets crazy.
Anyway, Thanks as always for all your support and coming on this crazy journey with me as I write this story. Let me know what you think. Love your feedback, always. Ok, I'm shutting up now. Happy reading!
Chapter 42
The motorcycle ride home was the fastest ride Dani had ever been on. She was sure it was due, at least in part, to her wandering hands that roamed over Opie's abs and even down over the bulge in his crotch with a few lingering strokes. Dani had her eyes closed as she reveled in the warmth of the man in front of her and the cool winds that flew all around her when suddenly it all stopped.
She opened her eyes and found that they were home and Opie was all but pulling her off the bike with him. He turned as soon as they were both on their feet and kissed her, claiming her mouth with his own. His hands swept down her sides to her ass and he grabbed her, lifting her up, her legs automatically wrapping around him. This was the second time today that they had been in this position, the first time was much more playful, but now? Now was nothing but pure, fiery passion, as their bodies worked to meld together as one, despite the impediment of their clothing. With a few large strides Opie had made it to the door and carried her inside. Dani pushed at his shoulders as she broke free from their kiss and jumped down from his grasp.
Opie barely had time to send her a questioning glance before she pulled him the few steps towards the dining table grabbed a chair out and pushed him into it. Dani grinned as to Opie as he allowed her to manhandle him into position, then shot him a smoldering look as she unbuttoned her jeans and sliding them down her legs, kicking her shoes with them as they went. She was now standing in front of him wearing only her button up shirt and lacy scrap of underwear. Opie's eyes were glued to the progress her hands were making as they slowly unbuttoned her top until it was open, just enough to show the valley and curve of her breasts and strip of pale skin of her torso.
She took two steps closer and straddled him, his hands going immediately to the sides of her face as he pulled her close enough to claim her mouth wis his again. One hand stayed where it was, the other tracing its way down her neck and over the curve of her breasts, nudging her shirt aside just enough to reveal her dusty pink nipples, and brushed his knuckles over first one peak, then the other, until her nipples were achingly hard. His hand then ghosted down her stomach, tracing the scalloped lace hem of her panties before moving lower and sliding the fabric to the side just enough for him to slip his finger in, testing her, and groaning onto her mouth as he felt how wet she was for him already.
He slowly slid in first one finger, and then a second, slowly moving them in and out of her in time with the movement of his tongue. When his tongue flicked and curled around her own, his fingers mirrored the movement by curling inside her, finding that spot that made her cry out. Dani clutched two large handfuls of Opie's shirt ant pulled up. Breaking from his kiss long enough to demand "Off."
Opie obliged and helped her remove his shirt. Dani gripped his shoulders and biceps briefly before dropping her hands down between them to open his buckle and zipper of his pants. Opie lifted his hips enough to slide his pants and boxers down to his thighs, freeing his large cock. Dani stroked him a handful of times, causing Opie to moan. "Fuck, baby."
Dani rose up and used her hand to guide Opie's cock to her wet entrance and she slowly sank down until he was fully inside her. She clenched her muscles around him, causing him to groan. "Do it again." He commanded. Dani did as he said, tightening herself around his cock once more and then, slowly, she began rotating her hips, rocking back and forth on his cock. Opie's hands gripped her hips before ghosting up her side, carefully avoiding the covered tattoo, coming up to cup her breasts. He leaned down to capture one of her hard nipples in him mouth, alternating between sucking and using his teeth and tongue to toy with the nipple. Dani arched her back, involuntarily pushing more of her breast into Opie's mouth.
"You like that, Dani?" Opie paused in his efforts to talk dirty. "You like me sucking your tits while you ride my big cock?"
"Opie!" Dani gasped, increasing her speed as his words affected her.
"You do, don't you? God, your pussy is so tight and so wet for me. You ride my cock so well baby, that's it." He reached a hand between them and rubbed his fingers over her clit. She spasmed around him and let out a series of pleas. "Just like that, Dani. You want to come on my cock, don't you? That's it. That's my girl. Take that cock, take it all. Ride it until you can't take anymore and come all over my cock." Opie continued toying with her clit with his fingers and went back to sucking on her tits. It wasn't long before the attention started to become too much for her, and she felt herself growing tighter and tighter, aching for that release.
"Opie, I'm-" was all she could manage before she lost herself to complete bliss.
"That's it, baby, cum for me," Opie said, moving his hands back to her hips and taking control of her movements, fucking himself up into her, until he too, found release a minute later. Dani collapsed into him, her body pressed against his, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Opie carefully wrapped his arms around her.
"Fucking perfect," Opie whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair.
"Well, it wasn't the dining room table, but it was the closest I could get until my tattoo heals." She teased, still slightly out of breath.
Opie chuckled. "Come on, let's get cleaned up and get you in bed."
"Not yet. Can't move yet." Dani replied. "My legs still feel like jelly."
"I've got you babe, just hold on." He told her as he stood. He managed to kick off his jeans the rest of the was with Dani in his arms and headed down the hallway to their room.
"Love you Sasquatch." Dani murmured into his shoulder.
"Love you too, warrior princess." Was his reply.
"They're here." Dani said as she peered out the window for the third time in the last 10 minutes, before looking back at Opie anxiously.
They had spent the entire day the day before home and had been unable to keep their hands off each other. One of the few times they did separate long enough to refuel, Opie had talked to her about their engagement and said he wanted to tell his kids first. Dani understood and agreed immediately and sat with him as he called Donna and explained what was happening and asked if she could bring the kids for a visit this weekend, so he could tell them what was going on and spend some time with them. Donna apparently had agreed and said she would come and bring the kids with her for the day. Dani was anxious. She had met the kids once before, and Donna, and they had all gotten along, but what would the kids think about her now that she was going to be their stepmom. What would Donna think? She wanted so badly for everyone to get along, especially for Ellie and Kenny's sakes.
Opie came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, babe," he whispered into her ear. "It's gonna be fine." He gave her shoulders a squeeze and then slid past her to the door.
"Hey guys!" he called as he opened the door and stepped outside. He met them at the walkway and knelt down giving Kenny and Ellie a hug. "You guys hungry?" when they nodded, he grinned at them. "Go on inside and wash your hands," he told them ruffling his hair as he stood.
They raced past him to where Dani was standing in the doorway. "Hi Kenny. Hi Ellie," Dani said from her place in the doorway.
"Hi Dani!" Kenny called as he raced past her into the house. Elli paused and looked up at her and Dani gave her a tentative smile, which Ellie returned along with a small wave before running after her brother. Dani smiled and watched the kids as they zoomed towards the bathroom. When they were out of sight down the hallway, she turned just as Opie and Donna were coming up the step. Dani moved back to make room for them to come inside.
"Hey Donna," Dani said offering a cautious smile.
"Hey," Donna said offering her own careful smile. "Uh, congratulations." She reached out and gave Dani a hug, which Dani stiffly returned
"Is it just me or is this a little awkward?" Dani asked.
"It's a little awkward." Donna said with a slight chuckle. "Definitely."
"I'm gonna go check on the kids." Opie said, giving Dani a squeeze to her hip as he scooted past her. Dani gave him a panicked glare, but he just gave her a wink and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he headed down the hall after the kids.
Dani looked back at Donna and gave another awkward smile. "I'd say make yourself at home, but that feels weird, since you used to live here, you probably know the place better than I do. I'm sorry, I don't want this to be weird for you."
"It is a little weird," Donna agreed, "but at the same time, it's not. I mean, yeah, I had a lot of happy memories in this house, but there were a lot of toxic fights, and anger and resentment at Opie and the club when Opie was arrested. I was never cut out for that life. I didn't have the ties to it, except for Opie, and I couldn't see it was tearing him apart trying to keep up with the club and with the family. In the end, as much as I loved our family, and as much as I cared about Opie, I didn't love him in the way he needed. It was better that things ended when they did, especially for the kids. I'm happy for you two. Opie's a lot happier than I've seen him in a long time. He calls the kids more and sees them more because he's happy, and the kids are happier. And to be honest, I've been kind of seeing someone myself. It's new so I haven't said anything, and I'm not even close to wanting to introduce him to the kids yet, but it's exciting."
Dani gave her a genuine smile that time. "That's great, Donna."
"Thanks. Even if I wasn't seeing someone, though, I'd still be happy for you and Opie, though. The point, really that I'm trying to make is that I want us all to be a team. The fact that you care how the kids feel about you and you being with their dad, and beyond that the fac that you care about me and how I feel about it shows me that you're the right person to step into that role in our family."
"Thanks," Dani said, grinning.
"You need help getting lunch ready?" Donna asked, following Dani to the kitchen.
"I think I've got it. I kept things simple. Sandwiches, mac and cheese, and I was going to slice up some apples." Dani told her.
"That sounds perfect—woah." Donna said stopping short as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh, yeah." Dani said sheepishly. Almost every surface of the counter was covered in pies, cookies, and cupcakes. "Gemma has me making a bunch of desserts for her Taste of Charming event tomorrow. I figured I'd let the kids pick one or two things to sample for dessert if they eat all their lunch?"
"Woo-hoo!" Dani turned around to see the kids peeking into the kitchen. They had overheard her comment on dessert and Kenny had let out a whoop of joy.
Donna grinned at her son. "After lunch, and only if you eat everything on your plate," she told him, mussing up his hair. "Go sit at the table." Turning to Dani, she said "How can I help?"
"The apples are out, they just need to be sliced. I have turkey sandwiches in the fridge ready to go, I'll plate them up with the macaroni. The apple slicer is in that drawer there," she said pointing. "Opie," she called out to her fiancé, who was getting the kids seated. "Can you get everyone something to drink?"
"You bet, babe." Opie called back. The three adults quickly had lunch sorted, and they were all seated. They kept up easy conversation during lunch asking the kids about school and their friends and making little jokes. Once the kids had cleared their plates they were allowed to go and pick a dessert and talked their way into both a cookie and cupcake each.
Dani caught Opie's eye and shrugged, silently asking when they were going to tell Ellie and Kenny about their engagement. He nodded at her, letting her know the moment was now.
"Hey kiddos." Opie said. "I wanted to talk to you guys about something. You've met Dani a couple times now, and you know that she lived here with me, right?" The kids nodded. "Right. Well, I really like her a lot, and it's important to me that you guys like her too and have lots of time to get to know her."
"I think she's nice." Ellie said shyly, and Dani gave the girl a wide smile.
"Yep," Kenny said. "And she's pretty, and she makes really good dessert!" The adults all chuckled, and Dani blushed at the compliment.
"That's great. I think so too," Opie said. "I'm glad you like her, because I love Dani a lot, and I asked her to be part of our family. I asked her to marry me and she said yes. So that would make her your stepmom. Do you think you guys would be okay with that?" he asked.
"Yeah!" Kenny said, taking a lick of frosting.
"Would we still live with Mommy?" Ellie asked.
Dani nodded. "Yes, of course. Your Mommy will still be your Mom. You'll live with her like you do now, and you'll see your Daddy for visits, and come over here for weekends sometimes. You can spend dime with just you guys and your dad, or we can all do something together, the four of us when you're here. Or if you want to we can even do something just us sometimes."
Ellie glanced at her mom, who nodded. "She's right. Nothing is going to change as far as where you live. You guys are stuck with me. You just have an extra person to visit when you see your Daddy."
"Do you like her?" Ellie asked softly.
Donna nodded. "I do. I like that she makes your dad happy. I like that she cares about him and about you guys. She and I are going to be friends."
"So what do you think, Little Duck?" Opie asked. "You okay with this?"
Ellie smiled and nodded, and then asked one more question tentatively. "Can we be in the wedding?"
Opie and Dani smiled at each other before looking back to Ellie.
"If you want to be, we would love you to be in the wedding. How do you feel about flower girl?" Ellies eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.
"What about me?" Kenny asked.
"Do you know any little guys who can be my ring bearer?" Opie asked him.
"Ring bear! That's me!" Kenny said with a laugh.
"Well that's settled then."
"Can we go play in the backyard?" Kenny asked.
"Sure can, bud. Go put your plate in the sing first please." Opie said. Kenny and Ellie grabbed their plates and shuffled into the kitchen. A moment later, they zoomed back out, headed straight for the slider doors, barely pausing long enough to pull them open before racing outside.
Dani let out a relieved sigh. "That went better than I thought it might."
"Told you that you didn't have anything to worry about." Opie said, squeezing her hand.
Dani nodded and smiled. "Thank you again, Donna, for being so great. You're a big part of why this went so well, and I really appreciate it." She was about to say more but her phone buzzed at her hip startling her. She pulled out her phone to see a text message from Jax. "Crap."
"What?" Opie asked.
"I was supposed to pick up some things for Abel for when he comes home, and I haven't had time yet. Jax was asking when he can pick them up."
"What do you need to get?" Donna asked.
"I'm supposed to get a pack and play, and the stroller, and I wanted to get a car seat for when I steal him for auntie time." she said.
"Baby, I don't think a car seat will work in your truck. There's no safe place to strap it into." Opie said to her gently.
"Shoot, I didn't even think of that. You're right. I'll have to look into getting a newer vehicle, something safer for him to ride in. Will you help me look?" she asked.
"Of course, babe." Opie told her.
"You know," Donna broke in, "if you haven't cleaned out the shed, there's a ton of baby things in there that Jax can have."
"Really?" Dani asked brightly.
"You sure you don't mind?" Opie asked.
"Not at all. We don't need them anymore. They might as well be put to use for someone rather than take up space in the shed." Donna said.
"Great. I'll text Jax and tell him to come over." Dani said typing into her phone. She quickly cleared the table before they all went outside to watch the kids play on the swing set while they waited for Jax.
"Oh, I love your garden," Donna commented as she took in some of the changes they had made to the yard. "I always wanted one, but I can't keep a plant alive to save my life," she said with a laugh.
The women sat and visited as they watched Opie chase the kids around the yard. After about ten minutes, Dani heard the distinctive rumble of her brother's motorcycle. She listened as the sound grew louder and then waited for the engine to cut off. Once it had, she turned her head towards the house, looked up and yelled "We're out back!"
"Okay!" she heard in reply and a moment later Jax was coming out the garage. "Hey Dani girl." He said leaning sown to kiss her cheek and tug on the end of her hair, to which Dani retaliated by poking him in the ribs. Jax laughed as he hopped back. "Hey Donna, you're looking good, he said as he leaned down to kiss her cheek as well.
"Good to see you Jax." Donna said. "How's fatherhood treating you?" she asked.
"Scaring the crap outta me, and he ain't even home yet." Jax told her. "But I love the little guy, so what can you do?"
Donna, laughed. "Sounds about right."
"Uncle Jax!" Kenny and Ellie called and ran to him. Jax scooped them up and spun them around before setting them down.
"You guys are getting so big!" He said. "Hey brother," he said giving Opie a chin lift.
Dani and Donna stood up from their chairs and walked closer to the shed as Opie opened it and they watched as Jax and Opie took off their shirts and began wrestling with the playpen.
Ten minutes later Opie looked over his shoulder asked "How did you get this thing in there?" as he gave one final tug and the playpen finally came free, along with a few other unintended items.
"By myself," Donna sassed back playfully.
Jax looked it over as he set it on the ground. "This looks great," he said. "How much?"
"Are you kidding? It's a gift," Opie said, and turned to pick up the other items that had spilled out of the shed. He picked up a car seat and waved it in Dani's direction, setting it down outside the shed before scooping everything else up and tossing the items to the back of the shed.
Jax turned to Donna, who smiled. "Really. It's not like we're using it."
Jax shook his head and reached into his pocket. He pulled a few bills off his money clip and pressed it into Donna's hand. "No. I insist."
"Really Jax, I want—"
"Hey, I'm the one who's getting a deal here." He said and moved away before Donna could try and give the money back again. Donna shook her head and tucked the money in her pocket.
Dani smiled. Her brother was a good guy, generous down to his bones.
"Borrow your truck?" Jax asked her. "Bring it back later tonight."
Dani nodded. "Keys are on the hook by the garage door."
"Uncle Jax, are you going to be in the wedding too?" Kenny asked. "I'm the Ring Bear." He said and roared like a bear, prompting a laugh from everyone. No one had the heart to correct him.
"What wedding?" Jax asked. He slowly looked back and forth between Opie and Dani, watching as the slow smiles spread over their faces and after a moment, Dani held up her left hand, showcasing the ring. "No way." He said. Then he smiled. "No way!" He grabbed Dani around the waist in a big hug and twirled her around. "That's amazing!" He went to Opie and proceeded to do the same thing, making Dani laugh as she watched Jax lift the bigger man and spin him around. "My best friend is gonna be my brother." He said as he set Opie down and gave him a bear hug. "Happy for you."
"Thanks, brother." Opie said, the word taking on additional meaning.
"When did this happen?" Jax asked.
"Just last night." Dani said. "We haven't told anyone yet, so don't say anything until we can. We wanted to tell the kids first so—"
"You wanted to tell us first?" Ellie asked, interrupting.
"Yeah, you guys are the most important people your dad and me, so we wanted you to be the first to know." Dani told her. Ellie's eyes got misty and the next thing Dani knew the girl practically tackled her with a hug. Dani felt her eyes tear up as well as she leaned down and squeezed the little girl tight and blinked several times to push back the happy tears. Elli pulled back and grinned at her with a smile brighter than sunshine before she ran off towards the swings with her brother on her heels. Dani stood and put her hand on her chest. "Oh my heart." She turned to Jax. "Anyway, don't say anything until we have a chance to announce it."
Jax grinned at her. "You got it." He picked up the playpen and turned to Donna. "You gonna stick around for the Taste of Charming?" he asked.
"Yeah, Dani's covering desserts, as you know. And I'm doing fireworks." Opie told her.
"Oh, you are?" Donna asked skeptically.
"It's not a club thing Donna, it's a town thing." Opie told her.
"Yeah, it's a fundraiser for the school that my mom started a long time ago. It's a huge event. There's booths and games, raffle prizes, music. It's a family event." Jax said.
"Well, all right," Donna agreed. "If you want, the kids can stay here tonight, and I'll meet you there tomorrow."
"That would be great, but where are you staying. We have plenty of room if you need—" Dani started.
"That's okay. I can stay with my friend Jen. Staying here would be a bit too much, I think." Donna said.
"Okay, sure." Dani said. "Whatever you want."
"Thanks Donna, I really appreciate this." Opie said.
"Alright, well I'll see you all tomorrow." Jax said picking up the playpen and making his way back towards the garage.
"I'm gonna make sure the kids are okay to stay here and then I think I'll take off too," Donna said.
"If you want, sure, but don't feel like you have to rush off. You're more than welcome to hang." Dani said.
"No, it's been a while since I've had a girl's night." Donna said. "It will be nice to have the night off." She took a couple steps. "Hey guys, bring it in." she called and waited as the kids came running. "Do you guys want to stay over with your Dad and Dani and sleep in your old rooms?"
The kids cheered. "What about you Mommy? Are you having a sleepover too?" Kenny asked.
"Mommy's gong to sleep over with your Auntie Jen. You remember her, right? She lives just a couple blocks away, and I'll have my phone so if you need me you can call me and if you really, really need me, I can be here super fast," she told him.
"Okay then, so you kids are good?" She asked. When they both nodded again she kissed them both and said goodbye.
Dani woke up the next morning to find herself perched on the edge of the bed, Kenny snuggled into her, Ellie curled into her father's side, and Opie on the opposite edge of the bed. Spending the previous day with the kids had ben great. They helped Dani for a while as she continued baking for the Taste of Charming, before running back outside. Opie had to run to the clubhouse for a 'church meeting.' The kids hardly noticed he was gone, they were having such a good time. They were in and out and all over the place, filling the house with noise and laughter. The house felt more alive than ever. They had pizza for dinner, and each stole another cupcake for dessert, and Dani loves seeing Opie relaxing on the sofa with his kids curled into him watching TV. The kids had been put to bed in their own rooms, before Opie helped her clean up the kitchen and box all the goodies to take to the event the next day before they collapsed in their bed. At some point in the night, first one kid and then the other came and crawled into their daddy's bed.
Dani genuinely felt like she was part of this family, and for the first time she could ever remember, her life felt full, complete. She smiled and whispered good morning as Opie opened his eyes and met her gaze.
"I love you." He told her.
"I love you too."
"I mean I really, really love you. I want more of this, for the rest of our lives. I want more kids with you." He told her.
Dani started to tear up. "I want that too, but Opie, I don't even know if I can have kids. I've had a lot of trauma… there," as she spoke she rested her hand on her abdomen. "I've never had regular periods, and I just don't know, if that's something that I can give you. Are you… would you still… if I can't have kids…" Dan I trailed off, not knowing how to ask the question.
Opie reached out and took her hand. "Then we'll foster, or adopt, or have a shit ton of dogs and cats, or just pour all our love into these two," he spoke quietly, but with such intensity, Dani couldn't look away from him. "I will always want you, no matter what, but I want you. Forever, right?" he asked.
Dani nodded, struggling not to cry. "Forever." She whispered back.
"Okay then." And then he spoke a bit louder on purpose. "Let's get these two nuggets up and make pancakes."
Ellie and Kenny stirred. "P'ncakes?" Kenny asked sleepily.
"With blueberries." Opie told him.
"Yummy!" Kenny said and bounced up.
"Go wash up." Opie said and watched as Kenny ran from the room and Ellie, much more sedately followed, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I'll be right there."
As soon as the kids were gone, Opie grabbed her and pulled her closer, kissing her deeply. "I didn't mean to have such a heavy conversation with two little ones right in the middle. I didn't think there might be those kinds of issues. Have you been to the doctor about this?"
"I hate doctors." She said with a frown. "But you're right, we should find out what is or what isn't possible, so that we know."
"I'll go with you." Opie offered. "Hold your hand. Glare at the doc when he touches you."
Dani giggled. "That might be entertaining. But let's focus on the kids you have now for today."
"The kids we have now." Opie corrected.
"The kids we have now," Dani repeated. She kissed Opie again and then went in search of the kids. They found them in the kitchen, just about to make a mess, as they'd decided to start the pancakes without waiting for the grown-ups. Opie swooped in for the save, declaring himself master chef and the kids his sous chefs. When Dani asked what she could do, she was sent to sit down at the table and wait.
She watched with great entertainment as Opie prepared breakfast with his kids. They had a great morning, and all cleaned up the kitchen together after breakfast before getting changed and ready for the day.
Knowing it was going to be a long day outside, Dani grabbed a pair of light wash Bermuda shorts and a scooped neck tank top. She started to grab a long sleeve shirt to thro over it, but paused, turned and looked at herself over her shoulder in the mirror. Her tattoo wasn't complete, she still needed a couple more sessions with Happy, but it didn't look unfinished and as she looked at herself, it covered and blended with her scars to the point they weren't really noticeable. She left the outfit as is, pulling on some sneakers and a necklace before gathering her hair up in a ponytail.
"Opie I have to head out early to get all the desserts to Gemma. Can you help me load up the truck?" She asked as she came into the living room. He was sitting on the floor, playing Uno with the kids.
"I'll help!" Kenny said, jumping up.
"You will?" Dani asked. "My hero!" she exclaimed.
"We'll all help." Ellie added.
"Thank you." She grabbed her keys from their hook and opened the garage door before grabbing several pie boxes. Opie handed each of the kids one box of desserts and grabbed a stack op boxes himself. And they all trailed out to the garage, one after another. It took a few trips before the all the desserts were neatly and carefully stacked in the truck bed, and Dani's mind started wandering, hoping Jax had filled the tank before returning the truck, not wanting to do any extra driving in case she toppled the desserts in the back.
"You kids head on in. I'll be right there. No cheating and peeking at my cards." He called watching them go. Once they were inside he turned to her. "I just want to give you a heads up about something. Yesterday at church, Clay asked about letting a former member of the club attend the Taste of Charming. His kid is in the band that's going to be playing during the fireworks."
"Okay…?" Dani asked.
"He was kicked out of the club because he was supposed to be my getaway the night I got arrested. He heard the sirens and got spooked. Took off. Right as I was headed out and left me to get picked up."
"Wow." Dani said.
"I said to let him come. He's got nothing. I've got you, the club, the kids. Figured it would do me good to see that while letting him see his kid play."
Dani nodded. "This feels a bit like asking for trouble, but if this is something you need to close out that chapter, well okay then."
"Thanks baby. I'll find you when we get there, okay?" Dani nodded, kissed him goodbye and climbed in the truck. She smiled at the full tank of gas and slowly made her way through the streets of Charming, carefully pulling into the school parking lot. She found the closest space she could and parked before taking out her phone and calling Gemma. "I'm here," she said, "and I could use a hand."
"Be right there."" Gemma said and ended the call. Dani hopped out of the truck and peered in the back. Luckily the boxed desserts all stayed where they had been put and she eased down the truck gate as she waited. She didn't have to wait long before she potted Gemma and she was relieved to see she was pushing a cart they could use to carry the desserts instead of having to take multiple trips.
"Hey Mom," she called when Gemma got closer and turned to grab a stack of boxes.
"Hey Hon. See you got yourself some ink." Gemma said.
"Oh, yeah. Happy did it. We still have some more to do, but it's a lot prettier than my scars, don't you think?" she asked.
"Baby you're beautiful, scars or not. But Happy does good work and what I can see of it is gorgeous. I'm happy if you're happy." Gemma said and moved Dani's hair aside to get a better look. "And Opie put his crow on you." Gemma said, tapping her neck lightly where the tattoo was.
Dani turned back around so she could see Gemma. "Yeah. What do you think." Opie's a good guy. You're good for each other. I'm happy for you, baby."
Dani set the boxes down on the edge of the gate. "I'm glad to hear you say that, because I've got more than just a tattoo to show you." She held out her left hand, letting her engagement ring sparkle in the sunlight.
"Oh my God," Gemma said, grabbing her hand. "Oh, it's beautiful baby. You got yourself a good man, and this ring is gorgeous."
"It was his grandmother's. He got it resized for me, but I love that it came from his family. Makes it so much more special."
Gemma let go of Dani's hand long enough to pull her into a hug. "You let me know when want to start planning that wedding. We'll have a lot of work to do."
Dani laughed. "I'll talk to Opie about setting the date. We still have to tell everyone else. Opie had Donna bring the kids down so we could tell them first. And Jax knows cause the kids accidentally told him. So don't say anything til we've told everyone, okay?" Gemma agreed and they quickly filled the cart with the desserts.
"Thanks for working so hard on these, baby. I didn't realize it would come out to so much work, but looking at all this, you must have been baking for days."
Dani shrugged. "I was happy to do it." Was all she said as they reached the festival grounds. This is amazing Gemma. I can't believe you put all this together."
"I had a bit of help. Besides, it's good to give back." Gemma said.
Dani nodded as they approached their booth, and Gemma and Dani went to work unloading the boxes and opening some of them up to display the cookies, cupcakes, and pies.
Gemma disappeared for a few minutes as Dani was working, and when she came back, she had a gauzy white kimono type cover up. "Here baby, your tattoo is beautiful, but you don't want to expose it to the sun when it's so new. This will keep you cool ad your tattoo covered." Gemma said as she passed the item over.
As Dani got a closer look, she noticed it had hand worked embroidery in a shimmery silver thread around the edges. "It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"
"One of the vendors sells them. When we're done here, you should go take a look. She has a lot of pretty things."
Dani smiled and nodded as she slipped on the gift, and they got back to work. No sooner had they finished than people started showing up and Dani went to work helping to sell the delicious treats. They were moving so fast selling raffle tickets, chili, and desserts. Before she knew it, she could see Donna and the kids wandering around. She gave a wave and smiled as they waved back and waited on a few other people as they made their way over.
"Hi Donna, hi guys, you having fun?"
"Yeah, there's so many games! I want to play them all!" Kenny practically shouted with excitement.
"Awesome!" Dani told him. "There's also a bunch of games and contests for kids to enter with their parents. I know your Daddy is really excited about those and hoping you guys might want to enter one or two with him. You think you might want to take a look and see if you want to sign up for anything?" she asked them.
"Yeah," was Kenny's enthusiastic response.
Ellie just shrugged. "Maybe."
"You don't have to, sweetie," Donna told her.
"I want to, maybe, but I'm not very good at this kind of stuff." Ellie said.
"That's okay, Ellie." Dani said. "It's all just for fun. You don't have to be good at it as long as you are having fun. And if none of the games sound fun, you don't have to sign up for any. Okay?"
Elli nodded, looking a little relieved. "Can we have a cookie?" she asked, looking up at her mom, who nodded. They each picked out a cookie that Dani got for them and shook off Donnas offer to pay.
"These are on the house." She said. "You seen Opie?" She asked Donna.
"He was with Jax in the parking lot. They saw some guy that used to be in the club. I didn't know there was a way to get out."
"I think there were some extenuating circumstances," was all Dani said. She glanced around and spotted Opie strolling their way. "Look, here comes Opie now."
Kenny zoomed his way and Dani smiled as Opie scooped the boy up and sat him on his shoulders in one smooth motion. "Woah, I can see everything!" Kenny said in awe as he looked around him.
"Hey there Sasquatch. Was about to go on a search party for you. Everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah." Opie said leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "Jax just went to have a talk with Kyle. It's all good," he told her. "You good to come exploring with us yet?"
"I'm gonna stay and help a bit. None of the guys have shown up yet to pitch in," Dani said.
"They should be here soon, they pulled in same time as Jax." Opie told her.
"You guys go ahead. I'll catch up." Dani told them and watched as the four of them walked away towards one of the game booths.
"You good with that?" Gemma asked, nodding after them.
"Am I good with what?" Dani asked.
"Your man playing happy family with his ex-wife baby mama?"
"It's not like that, Gemma. Donna's been great about everything. We're all grown-ups, and we're going to be friends, not just for the kid's sake, but because I genuinely like her." Dani told her mother.
"How mature." Gemma said sarcastically. "I'd threaten to scratch her eyes out if she so much looked at my man, but I guess that works too."
Dani just laughed at her mom and shook her head. She was about to reply but she got her first glimpse of Bobby Elvis sneaking in. She had never seen him in costume before and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my god." She said slowly.
Gemma turned to see what she was looking at. She glared and chased after the man. "You're late." she said as she followed him out of Dani's earshot.
Dani watched after the pair in amusement. She was startled when suddenly, someone poked her in the ribs, hard. On instinct, she whirled around, and her fist shot out without thinking about it. Unfortunately, she had a cupcake in her hand at the time, so instead of just punching her 'attacker,' they also got a face full of frosting and cake crumbs. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth when she saw what she had done.
"Oh my god, Tig. I am so sorry. You startled me, and I just reacted." Dani said.
"That was beautiful, lass." Chibs said from a few paces behind Tig.
"Sweetheart, what is it with you hitting me with desserts?" Tig asked, pinching his nose with one hand, while reaching for a napkin with another.
"At least this one wasn't on fire," Dani replied sheepishly.
"I think she broke my nose," Tig said, wincing as he tried to wipe his face.
Chibs just laughed and patted her on the back. "Well done lass, well done. Now, the next time someone sneaks up on you like that remember to also…" He went on to give her several additional strikes she should be prepared with as well as a critique of her form.
Dani nodded, blushing as she tried to listen to Chibs while profusely apologizing to Tig, before deciding that Gemma had enough help now and took off in the direction she had seen Opie head last.
It didn't take her long to find them, between Kenny's exuberance and Opie's distinctively large build. Dani rushed towards him and buried her face in his chest. "Bury me now, I'm going to die of embarrassment." She told him.
"Why, what's wrong?" He asked, concern. That concern quickly morphed into humor, and he was outright laughing by the time she finished her story. "Oh babe, that's priceless." He pulled her back so he could look at her and kept eye contact until she broke and let out a small chuckle.
"I guess," Dani admitted. "You guys having a good time?" she asked.
"Yeah. We just finished a three-legged race, right Kenny?" Opie said.
"Oh, yeah! It was awesome!" Kenny told her.
"It was? Did you win?" Dani asked him.
"Almost!" Kenny said. "But it was really funny, and we only fell down three times!"
"Wow! Glad you had a good time!" Dani told him.
"We were about to get some lunch, if you're hungry?" Donna said.
"I'm starved." Dani said, her stomach rumbling to drive the point home. They walked by Bobby Elvis, posing with little Elvis children for pictures and got some chili from Gemma and sat down at picnic table on the edge of the playground. As soon as he was finished playing Kenny was off again, running around the playground.
At the same time, there was father/daughter egg toss starting. Dani noticed Opie watching one man and his kid toss an egg back and forth, and Dani could tell that seeing this man was troubling Opie. "Is that him?" she asked softly.
Opie just nodded and continued watching for another moment before getting up and going around to the other side of the picnic table. He knelt down in front of Ellie. "Want to give the egg toss a try?" he asked.
Ellie shrugged. "I'm not very good at catching."
"Neither am I," Opie said lightly. "We could give it a try, see how it goes?" Ellie just looked down at her shoes. "It's okay, sweetie. You want to go play with your friends?" Ellie nodded and ran off in the direction of the playground. Opie sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go set up the fireworks," he told Dani and Donna before walking off. Dani watched him for a few minutes before standing up as well. "I'm just gonna.." she gestured in his direction before waving goodbye to Donna. She darted behind the back wall of booths and walked along the corridor made by the backside of the booth tents and the side of the school building. She paused when she saw Opie was not alone anymore. Jax was sitting with him, talking. She wondered if she should continue on or go back. As she stood there weighing her choices, she couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"Blow off the egg toss?" Jax asked.
"Yeah. I wanted the guy to be a miserable, broken piece of shit without SAMCRO, but look at him. I tell ya, I'm having a hard time man. "You know the club means everything to me. It's all I ever wanted from the time I went here." Opie said as he gestured to the schoolgrounds. Jax pulled out a couple of cigarettes and handed one to Opie.
"Thanks." Opie said as he accepted the cigarette and lighter. He took a moment to light his cigarette and take a drag. ""I love my life. I love your sister, more than I've ever loved anyone, including Donna. But that asshole- He took years away from me, he took my family. I'm practically a stranger to my kids. Kenny's always excited when I'm around, but that kid is always excited about everything. Ellie though, sometimes things are fine, sometimes she acts like I'm a stranger, or she's embarrassed to do things with me. Donna and I might not have stayed together, she never could handle the club life, but because of that fucker, my relationship with my kids have suffered."
"I don't know what to tell you," Jax replied. "My family plan came straight from the Sid and Nancy playbook." They both chuckled. "I'm so used to shit moving I n the other direction, I don't know what I'd do if something actually hooked up."
"You think he's happy?" Opie asked, nodding towards Kyle.
Jax shook his head. "I don't know."
Dani watched as the look on both of their faces shifted towards anger. "Still has that tat." Opie said.
"Yeah." Jax said, throwing his cigarette down and stood, taking a step, but Opie put out a hand to stop him.
"No, this is me." Opie said and walked off.
Jax watched Opie walk off and glanced around, noticing Dani for the first time. He looked back at Opie one last time before turning and heading in her direction.
"He okay?" Dani asked him.
"Yeah, he's good." Jax told her. She didn't quite believe him.
"He looks like he's about to go do something stupid." Dani challenged.
"Ope knows what he's doing. Trust me, he needs this." Jax told her.
"You got his back?" Dani asked.
"Always, little sister." Jax promised.
"Okay then. I'm going to go check in on Gemma, see if she needs any more help." Dani told him, taking a couple steps backwards before turning and walking in the other direction. She saw Gemma's booth seemed pretty busy, and she didn't see Chibs or Tig, and Bobby was still in his Elvis booth, so she jumped in and started helping to clear the queue.
"Thanks, baby." Gemma said when things finally died down for a minute.
"No problem." Dani replied. "Did I break his nose?" Dani asked referring to the incident with Tig earlier.
Gemma chuckled. "No baby. He'll be sneezing blue frosting for the next few days and he's got quite the shiner, but nothing's broken. Chibs said that you would have, but the cupcake softened the blow."
Dani couldn't help but laugh. "I feel bad but, it's so ridiculous, I can't help but laugh."
"Don't laugh too hard." Gemma warned, nodding as Tig and Bobby approached.
"You seen Jax?" Bobby asked.
"He's with Ope. Why?" Gemma asked.
"Boss called. Wants us." Was all Bobby said.
"You've got two more hours in that booth." Gemma complained.
"Sorry, Mother." Tig said, hitting Bobby in the arm. "Come on." And as quick as that, the two were walking across the lawn in search of Jax and Opie.
"Jesus Christ, Clay." Gemma sighed to herself.
"Sucks being boss, don't it?" Chief Unser said as he sidled up to their booth with a half-eaten corndog..
"You know that fried shit's going to kill you?" Gemma warned him.
"Yeah, cause the cancer's keeping me fit and spunky," Unser sassed back.
"Hey Chief," Dani said as she watched from the side of her vision as Gemma looked out across the festivities, watching something.
"Hey, sweetheart, how ya doing?" Unser asked her.
"Real good, chief." Dani told him with a smile, thinking of Opie and their engagement.
"Hey who's that guy behind the grill?" Gemma broke in.
"That's our new best friend, Agent Kohn. ATF." Unser said as he scooped up a spoonful of chili.
"The fed looking into the club is grilling sausages?" Gemma asked skeptically.
"Must be part of his special feral training." joked Unser.
"You haven't seen the ATF guy who tagged onto my case have you? Agent Johnson?" Dani asked him.
"No sweetheart. He ain't been around our office for a while," Unser told her. "Good chili," he said with a nod and sidled back off into the crowds.
Gemma just shook her head and scanned the crown again. She grabbed Dani's hand and gave a tug. "Come on," she said.
"Where are we gong? What about the booth?" Dani asked.
"Booth will be fine for two minutes. I want a word with your brother before they take off." Gemma said, making a beeline for where she spotted Jax and the others heading for the parking lot. With Gemma's guidance, they cut them off without warning.
"Tell Clay I'm pissed." Gemma said, without preamble. "It's bad enough his sorry ass isn't here. Now he's taking all my manpower."
"Who's that guy with the cops?" Jax asked, ignoring Gemma's comments.
"That's your ATF guy." Gemma told him.
"That guy was at the hospital last night, watching me with Abel." Jax said, his tone changing to one of part alarm, part anger.
"That's dangerous brother," Tig warned.
"Shit." Gemma hissed.
"Well, you guys keep an eye on him. If he follows us out of here or leaves at any point, give me a call." Jax told Gemma and Dani.
"Prepay?" Gemma asked and Jax nodded.
"Where's Opie?" Dani asked.
"He already left for the clubhouse. He's going to be gone a while" Jax told her. "But he'll be back in plenty of time for the fireworks," he tacked on as he saw the tick in Gemma's jaw, showing her irritation.
"He better be," Gemma warned turning from Jax to Dani, "or there's not going to be a wedding because I'll kill the bastard myself."
"Wedding?" Tig asked.
Gemma cringed as she realized her mistake. "Sorry, darlin." She told Dani.
Dani sighed. "At this rate we won't have to tell anybody, because everyone else will do it for us," she joked. "Opie proposed to me the other night." She said to Tig, Bobby and Chibs. "We're engaged." She held up her hand with the engagement ring.
"Congratulations, lass!" Chibs said, bringing her in for a tight hug. "I couldn't be happier for ya."
"Thanks Chibs." Dani said. "Um, we haven't really planned the wedding or set a date yet, but I was thinking, and you've been so great with all your coaching and advice and everything, and I was wondering if, since my dad isn't here to do it, would you walk with me down the aisle?"
"Oh, lass." Chibs said, cupping her cheek in his hand. "I'd be honored." He hugged her again and then stepped back, allowing Bobby and Tig both to give her hugs and offer congratulations.
"Hate to break it up," Bobby said, "But we gotta go." The others nodded and with a warning to be safe, off they went.
Gemma and Dani made their way back to the booth and worked for a while longer. As the sun was starting to set, Gemma finally decided to shut things down. "Go look around while some of the booths are still open."
Dani nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." She paused before adding. "This was fun today."
"Yeah, it was. Bye sweetie." Gemma said.
Dani wandered over to where the vendor booths were set up and she found the booth that Gemma had purchased her cover up from. She perused the items and purchased another kimono-type cover up, as well as a couple of hand embroidered scarves, and prism to hang in the window that would catch the light and cast rainbows into the room. She imagined hanging in in the kitchen window, where it would catch the morning light.
She could hear the band warming up and decided to start making her way to the stage. On her way there she saw Donna and waved, jogging over to where she was leading the kids in the same direction.
"Hey," Dani said. "Having fun?" she asked.
"These guys are having a great time. Me? I'm exhausted." Donna said with a tired smile. "You seen Ope around? We haven't seen him for a while."
"He had to run out for a little bit, but he should be back by now." Dani said, scanning the crowd, getting distracted by a particular booth. "I have a craving for a lemon shake up. Why don't I get us all something to drink?" she offered. "You guys head on to the stage, and I'll meet you there, and we'll go find Opie together?" she offered.
"That sounds great." Donna said gratefully. "You guys want a lemon shake up?" she asked the kids, receiving enthusiastic replies. "What do we say?" Donna asked.
"Thank you." Kenny and Elli chined in unison.
"You're welcome. I'll bring them to you guys in just a minute." Dani waved and jogged over to the line. There were only two people in front of her, so she had a short wait. When it was her turn, she ordered 5 lemon shake ups, thinking Opie might want one as well, and was grateful when a few minutes later her drinks were passed to her in a carrier, otherwise she might have struggled with all of them and her shopping bag as well.
Looking around her, Dani noticed just how dark it was getting, and how thick the crowd was growing, and she couldn't spot anyone that she knew. She knew it was silly, she had been moving among the crown all day, and serving them without a thought all day, but suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up like she was being watched and she had to struggle not to panic. "Get a grip," she told herself, and spotted a path towards the stage that had fewer people around it and darted that way. She was in the same corridor she was in earlier, booths on one side of her, the school building on the other and she moved quickly, not seeing anyone around but feeling invisible eyes in the shadows. She could see the end of the corridor where she could duck out and be right at the edge of the crowd and hurried forward. Before she knew what was happening there was pressure on her arm and she was being yanked to the side, through a doorway. It took all she had not to drop everything she was holding and she wretched away from the hand at her arm, taking in her surroundings in a glance. She was in an isolated school hallway, and she took several steps back as she spun back to see who had grabbed her.
"Agent Johnson?!" She gasped. "What the fuck are you doing? Grabbing me like that?" she demanded.
"Listen to me—" Agent Johnson started.
"No you listen to me," Dani interrupted. "You can't just go around grabbing people. For the last time, I don't know anything about the club, so why don't you grab your other ATF buddy and just…" She trailed off as she noticed the man had his gun out of his holster and in hand. "Why don't you put that away and we'll talk?" she said in a much softer tone, subtly trying to shuffle back towards the door.
"You need to come with me, NOW." Agent Johnson hissed.
"I can't do that." Dani said, with another shuffle to the door. "We can talk right here." She said.
"You're going to listen to me now." The man hissed. "You don't like me, and I don't particularly like you either, but I take my fucking job seriously and you need to come with me now."
"Who are you working for?" Dani asked with a shaking voice.
"What?" Johnson asked. "No, it's not me. Listen. You're in danger, and I have to get you out of her—" before he could finish the sentence the sound of a muffled gunshot rang out and Dani was splattered with blood as a hole appeared in Agent Johnson's chest and a bullet slammed into the wall beside her.
A scream lodged in Dani's throat but got stuck there. Her eyes moved further down the hallway to see a man emerging from the shadows. "A-Agent Green?" Dani gasped out.
"Surprised?" Agent Green asked. "Bet you had him pegged as the bad guy." He said gesturing to Agent Johnson, lying on the floor, bleeding out. "What with his skulking around, and being a general asshole, I can't blame you."
"Why—who—what-?" Dani had a million questions but couldn't articulate a single one.
"Let me see if I can clarify things. I work for the FBI, but I have another employer as well. I was tasked with getting assigned your case to find out what you knew, see how much of a threat you were. At first all we had were dead ends. You weren't talking, claimed to know nothing, just what my employer needed. Then you came back to us with that journal, and, well, that changed things quite a bit. Especially after that attack in Oregon ended with one of my employers' associates going missing, and his property being blown up." Agent Green tisked. "You shouldn't have done that. Now my employer wants you bought in, so they can deal with you themselves. I recommended letting me handle things. Would have been quicker for you, more humane. But My employer is rather insistent. Says you've made this personal."
"I think they made this personal when they kidnapped me and raped me for years." Dani said, taking one more shuffle towards the door.
"Maybe so, but I still have a job to do." Agent Green rebutted. "Now are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?" he asked, as he pocketed his gun and pulled out a different, smaller gun. Tranquilizer gun, she recognized.
Dani turned and sprinted towards the door. She was only a few steps, and she touched the metal release of the door, pushing it ajar when she felt the sting of something hit her shoulder. She glanced and noticed the small dart sticking out the back of her shoulder. She only had time for two more thoughts before she fell, half in and half out of the doorway. First, she hoped Opie, or someone had already noticed she was gone and was already looking for her. Second, she stupidly thought that once again, she wasn't going to be able to try her lemon shake up and the drinks fell from her grip and darkness overcame her.
She faintly heard Agent Green saying, "The hard way, then,' before she completely lost consciousness.