Two days later, Jax was changing out of his mechanic shirt, trading it for his kutte. It barely felt the same now that he was on Probation and he couldn't shake the feeling, so he decided to distract himself from it. He entered the Clubhouse and the bar floor was empty, so he made his way over to the selection on bottles on the shelves when he heard the door slam open behind him. He barely had time to turn around to see who was loudly coming in when he was grabbed by his shoulders and harshly pused up against a wall.

"What the fuck, Hap?!" He snapped, but Happy's grip didn't waver and the Nomad looked like he was about to explode.

"He's really pissed at you, Jax." Tig said as he came from behind Happy, tutting at the blond. "Remember how you sent Talia running out of here two days ago? She hasn't been seen since. Her loving father was giving her some space and time to cool off, but she didn't come home. He thought she was with Gem and didn't worry about it. Yesterday, he noticed some money in Talia's safe was gone and got worried. He stops by Gem's place and she says she hasn't heard from Lil' Killa either. By the way, she knows you drove Talia off and Hell hath no fury like an ireful Momma."

"I-" Jax tried, but Happy slammed him against the wall as Tig continued.

"Juice has spent all morning trying to track her cell and the signal's saying it's in the clubhouse, but obviously she's not here. Congratulations, Jackson. You've made a teenage girl run away from home to fuck knows where. The Dick of the Year award goes to you."

"Hap, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run her off." Jax managed to say, but Happy just narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Fuck your sorry." He growled. "There's people out to get me and her and she's out there somewhere by herself. If she's hurt, I swear to Christ, I'm gonna crush your fucking skull."

"I'll help you look for her." Jax offered.

"You've done more than enough. When we find her, you better stay the fuck away from my daughter, Jax." With a final sneer, Happy released Jax and stalked back to the dorms while Tig made a call to Larory.

"Yo."

"Larory, it's Tig."

"You got some hardware for me?"

"Not yet, give us another week or two. I was calling to ask if your little friend's been riding around Oakland with you."

"Nah, I ain't seen Lil' Killa in couple weeks. We've talked, but I won't see her for another few days. I might have somebody else I want her to deal with."

"Well, if you know any of her hiding spots around Oakland, can you see if she's around?"

"Y'all lost the damn Princess of SAMCRO?" Larory questioned and Tig could imagine the man was shaking his head at how careless the Sons were. "I'll keep an eye out and an ear to the ground. If I get anything on her, I'll call."

"Alright, thanks." Tig sighed as he ended the call and replaced his burner back in his kutte's pocket. Happy just came back into the room with Juice on his laptop, Bobby and Chibs behind him. "Laroy hasn't seen her, but he just sent a pack of Niners to search Oakland."

"Dylan, Ethan and Josh haven't seen or talked to her lately either." Bobby informed them as he stuffed his Burner back in his pocket.

"If she doesn't wanna be found, we ain't gonna find her." Happy irritably sighed, but he felt his Burner ringing in his kutte, so he took it out to answer. "Yeah?"

"Hi, Mr. Lowman. It's Hayleigh. Talia gave me your number in case of emergencies." How the hell was he going to tell her that her girlfriend's missing? "I don't mean to bother you, but I think you should come talk with Talia. I'm enjoying getting pampered and spending time with her, but she seems…depressed. I'm starting to get worried because she keeps saying she can't tell me what's bothering her."

"Where are you?"

"The Sunset Marquis."

Happy snapped his fingers until Juice looked at him. "Sunset Marquis, where is it?"

"It's a hotel in West Hollywood, a few hours from here."

"We'll be there soon. Thank you, Hayleigh."

~SOA~SOA~SOA~

"She won't put out twenty bucks for a new pair of jeans, yet she's spending almost four-hundred dollars a night on a goddamn hotel room." Bobby chuckled as he, Happy, Tig and Juice entered the lavish hotel lobby.

Chibs chuckled. "Spoils that girl rotten."

Happy was texting Hayleigh and got their room number, so he told the boys to wait in the lobby while he went upstairs. He found their suite and knocked; Hayleigh answered and she was wrapped in a white robe with a pink mask covering her face. She told Happy that she and Talia just came from the spa and that Talia was having a smoke on the balcony.

"Talia Rae Lowman, you damn near gave me a heart attack." Happy sighed in relief as soon as he saw his daughter and brought her in for a hug. "You scared the piss outta me. You cleaned out half your safe like you were about to skip town. No more dippin' off like this, Talia. If you need to get away, fine, but leave me a note on the fridge or call or something."

"I'm sorry I made you worry about me, but you should've known I'd be alright on my own. You taught me how to survive the streets, Dad." She reminded him as they detached. She threw her cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with her sneaker, shrugging. "I just needed some space. I really thought I was gonna hurt Jax out of anger, so I removed myself from the situation before I did something stupid."

"What did he say?" He asked and she frowned, shaking her head.

"He was just pissed about that hit, thought he could save a witness."

"Talia." He called and she met his eyes, saw how serious he was. "What did Jax say?"

"Said I shouldn't be involved in anything the Sons do because I don't belong with them. Told me I was a fucked up, sadistic, homicidal teenager that needs to be thrown into an asylum." She repeated Jax's words almost perfectly, hanging her head afterwards. "Dad, I'm not...You don't think I'm a bad person, do you? I know there's something wrong with me because of what I do and I accept it, but I'm still...good...right?"

"You're good, Talia. You're a better person than I am. Anybody says otherwise, you kick their fuckin' teeth out." He pulled her in for another hug and kissed her head. "Love you, kid."

"I love you too, Dad...thanks."

"That's what I'm here for."

~SOA~SOA~SOA~

Hours later, Talia is back in Charming and after checking in with Gemma to ensure she wasn't worrying, she found herself up on the roof of the clubhouse with her guitar, watching the afternoon sun. Jax was at the ladder leading to the roof and he could hear her strumming her guitar, so he climbed up and found the girl sitting in a chair.

"It's easy from the outside
You're fighting to get in

It's not all gold and glory
I gave my life for this

They never fail to judge me
No matter who I am

I can't change my story
But I'll do the best I can"

"Tal?" He called and she struck a sour note, turning to him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Want me to get off your roof because I don't belong up here?"

"I wanted to talk."

"Then talk." She said and went back to strumming. Jax walked over to her and sat next to her, listening for a moment and thinking about where to begin.

"I was an asshole, okay?"

"What else is new?"

"What I said, I didn't mean it. I was just confused and upset about everything and I didn't know all the details. I shouldn't have used you as an outlet for my frustration and anger." Talia said nothing, but she stopped playing her guitar, so he knew she was listening to him. "And I was...I am jealous of you."

"Not everyone can be blessed with my good looks and charming personality, but that's no excuse for being a dick."

"I'm jealous because since you've been around, it's like everyone's been under a spell. It felt like you stole my brothers from me and then, you took my Mom. But now, I realize that I was just afraid of losing everything I've ever had." Jax sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're family, Talia. You're part of the SAMCRO family and you're part of my family too."

"You don't function like I do, Jax." She turned to him as she spoke at held his eyes with an intense stare of her own. "Your past and my past are nothing alike. You and me? We walk through life with two sets of eyes that couldn't perceive life more differently from each other. I could sit here and preach about how things are for me, but it'd be pointless because you wouldn't understand. Happy and Tig would, but never you. You aren't there like we are."

"I'm sorry, Talia." He apologized again. Apparently, there was a lot he didn't know about her that would be beneficial, but after that stunt, he had a good feeling there was no way Talia was gooing to let him cozy up to her anytime soon. "I don't want us to be distant and acting like strangers anymore."

"Say you're an asshole again."

He smirked at her. "I'm an asshole."

"And let me ride your bike whenever I want for the next week."

"You can ride my bike for rest of the day and I'll treat you to ice-cream."

"Deal."