Juice and Mars had the day off, so Talia came to the clubhouse bearing homemade edibles in the form of Rice Krispie treats. They ate the entire batch and were zoned out for most of the day, only perking up when one of the Sons was passing through the clubhouse. Now, Juice was out cold and Mars was feeling the pull too, but he looked over at Talia. She had her head in Juice's lap as she traced invisible shapes in the air with her finger, a smile on her face.

"I'm okay with all this. I've made my peace with what is, what will be." She suddenly said and Mars figured she knew he was watching her.

"Tal, you're baked. Lemme get you to bed." If there was one thing he learned in the weeks Talia was at the clubhouse, it was that she got into a very poetic mindset when she got baked and got to spend some alone time with him or Juice to let her mind spill about all the chaotically beautiful thoughts she had.

"Mars, listen to me." She said in all seriousness. "I kill people, Marshall. I hurt people almost every day and I like it because it makes me strong now when I couldn't be before. I'm not afraid of dying. Shit, I'll probably end up doing it myself."

"Why aren't you afraid of dying?" He asks and cradles Talia in his arms, slowly walking to the dorms. "That's some pretty scary shit. I think I'm afraid to die."

"Because I don't believe in Hell or Heaven or Purgatory or Limbo or any of that Christian cock-sucking bullshit."

"Why?" Talia sighs and lets her head dangle off his arm, making him stop. "Hey, I'm listening to you. I like hearing you talk deep like this, especially with me."

"Why?" She parrots and he smiles at her.

"Makes me feel special knowing that you're comfortable bearing part of your soul to a dork like me." She huffs at him and mumbles something. "You gonna finish talking?"

"Because it's already been proven to me that there is no God, learned that when I was seven or eight." She goes silent and simply stares at the ceiling. Mars gets her into Happy's dorm and sets her down in bed, but she's still staring at the ceiling. "Everything dies eventually, it's part of life and everything must end. People are afraid of dying because they don't know what comes next. You're not supposed to know, that's between you and your faith, but I'm not afraid of death because I know I'll be back."

"Sounds like some Chucky shit." Mars jokes from his spot on the floor beside her. She turns her head to the side to smile at him. They stare at each other and Mars is wondering how great it would be to kiss her. He wants to kiss her in a way that takes her breath away, but he doesn't want to scare her by showing intimacy because he knew what she's been through. He settles for gently stroking her hair and smirks when her eyes flutter shut.

"Samāra." She finally says. "This life is only one of many lives my soul has lived and in each life, there's something new for my soul to learn. All souls, good or bad, are recycled and have been since the universe birthed the first life. That's why people believe that things are hereditary."

"And how do you know that reincarnation or Samāra is true?" She slowly opens her eyes, stares at him and he chuckles. "I know, wouldn't peg me for an active listener, right? Shocking."

"Reincarnation is real because of this…" Mars didn't know where she had it stashed, but she pulled out a picture of Gemma smiling so brightly and it was the first time Mars saw the photo, so it must have been a recent one. "That woman. Her heart. Her love. Her warmth. How she took me in without a second thought…" She taps the picture. "Julianna's soul lives on through Gemma. The universe knew that we were ripped apart from each other and brought us back together. The universe knew she deserved a second chance with her daughter...and she's getting it."

"Sounds like poetry, Tal." Mars is still looking at the picture and looks at Talia, finding her asleep. He kisses her on the head and tucks the picture into her shirt before leaving the room.

Unknown to Mars, Tig is lurking in the clubhouse, nursing a hangover. He sees Happy's door open and goes to it, finding Talia in bed. Before he goes in, he hears Mars coming and goes back into his room to hide from the Prospect. Marshall has his arms full of chips or candy and managed to balance two bottles of Gatorade on his shoulders, not even making them wiggle. When he goes back to the spare dorm, Tig sees him and watches as Mars dumps the snacks at the edge of the bed and reclaims his spot beside Talia.

"I can't talk like that when I'm sober or when I'm drunk or stoned...but you make me want to. You make me wanna do a lot of things, babygirl." Tig is watching the interaction and grits his teeth. "I wanna make you forget all the bad shit you had to go through. I wanna be your band-aid." Mars laughs.

"I wanna make you feel as beautiful as I think you are. I wanna make you feel warm and fuzzy. I wanna make you smile and take away your pain, your anger, your stress. I wanna be your best friend and your best love...but I can't even talk to you like this when you're awake." He sighs and looks down at the snack pile, smiling. "I know how to take care of you though. I know you're gonna be rocked for about an hour, wake up with some crazy munchies and want a Gatorade while you watch some cartoons. I'm feelin'...Ren & Stimpy is the way to go, something classic like that." Mars puts his chin on the bed next to her and kisses her cheek. Tig can feel the predator in him clawing at his bones.

"You might want something cheesy and if you do, I'll get us a pizza or some soft pretzels. Then, we're gonna go to that park you love so much-" Talia softly giggles in her sleep, almost nuzzling into Mars if not for the small space between them. Marshall smiles. "Yeah, that's it. We'll go to that park and hang out on the monkey bars for a while, then we'll go to the swing and you'll be laughing...I love seeing you happy like that." He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "Your Dad will fucking kill me if I get too close, but I don't wanna hurt you or use you...I just want you for as long as I can have you."

Mars goes silent and simply watches Talia as she sleeps. He kisses her nose and cheek or traces her fingers with his. Meanwhile, Tig has gone back to his room trying and is trying not to start screaming or breaking everything from how much he's restraining himself from attacking Marshall. He knows the kid would be good for Talia and that they'd grow together, could actually have a relationship that lasted years. He refuses to admit he's jealous and that makes him angrier because it's the truth.