***Monday Morning***
Up and out of her comfortable bed before seven on a Monday morning was not Gemma's idea of how to start the work week, but her list of to-do's got a hell of lot longer last night after an unexpected visit from Opie and Lyla. On top of her usual weekly errands and responsibilities, she now had to oversee a wedding that was going to take place this coming Saturday. She didn't know if she wanted to hit the two of them for wanting to throw their wedding together so quickly or because deep down Gemma knew that Opie still wasn't over losing Donna and Lyla was undoubtedly going to have to continue to compete with his dead first wife. Taking a deep breath, she reaches over for her purse and steps out of her SUV.
Who knew there were this many people in Charming who wanted coffee at seven am thought Olivia has she patiently waited in line to place her order. With a two hour drive ahead of her, caffeine was a must this morning. Discretely covering her mouth to hide a yawn, she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"I saw that."
Not able to stop another yawn, she raised her hand acknowledging Gemma. "Sorry, not used to being ready and out of the house this early."
"Yeah, me too. I hear my grandson might have a crush on you."
"He's too adorable. I swear I think Tara's going to kiss his cheeks raw before he's two. The three of them are so perfect together. It's nice to see her happy."
"It didn't happen overnight but they finally got past their shit and realized what they mean to each other." Noticing Olivia checking the time, "got to be somewhere?"
"Actually, yes. I should already be on the road."
"Where you going?"
"I have a ten o'clock meeting with a cabinet manufacturer north of here. GPS says it will take me a little over two hours to get there. Why are you out so earlier?"
"Normal errands, but now I get to organize Op and Lyla's Saturday wedding?"
"Oh my gosh, I didn't realize they had set a date. Wow."
The two women now both had their coffee and walked outside. "Me either, but it's what they want, so I'll get it handled."
"I'm sure this isn't the first function who've had to plan and organize."
"No shit. Martha Stewart has nothing on me. You said you're headed north right?"
"Yeah, the company is in Shafter, just north of Bakersfield."
"How about doing me a favor." Gemma said opening her back door and retrieving a brown box. "Was headed to the post office to ship this to a friend of mine, but if it's not too much trouble, it would be great if he could get this today."
"Sure, I can drop it off on my way back."
"Perfect. It's already addressed so just enter the info into your GPS. I'm sure you won't have a problem finding it. It's just off the highway, exit 217. Take a right and it will be on the left about two miles down."
Looking down at the address label, Dr. Steve Horton, Bakersfield Care Center, Olivia noticed the time. "I better get going. I'll drop this off on my way back. Was good to see you, Gemma."
"You too. Appreciate the favor." she said climbing into her car. Well, that's one less thing I have to do today she thought starting up the Escalade and backing out.
***T-M***
"First of all, we need to double up on the runs this week." spoke Clay taking a drag from his cigar. "Laroy's crew needs to lay low next week, but want their weekly order filled."
"What's going on?" asked Chibs looking toward Clay.
"Informant told Laroy about a sting operation starting soon. Doesn't want to take any chances."
"Neither do we." spoke Jax looking around the room. "this week's going to be busy doubling up on runs, plus Op's tying the knot on Saturday."
The room immediately erupted with everyone surprised at the news but also happy for their brother. "Brother, you got a good woman, just don't fuck it up." laughed Chibs giving Op a brotherly hug.
"Just make sure your old lady knows and understands those vows." stated Bobby raising his mug.
Shaking his head at his outlaw brothers words of wisdom, Opie was able to keep his doubts and hesitations about marrying Lyla at bay in order to accept the congratulations from his family.
"My Queen has instructed me to inform you all that no one better end up in jail or dead before Saturday or you'll deal with her. With that being said, let's go make some money." Clay said slamming the gavel down on the redwood. Standing up from the table, "Koz, brother appreciate you helping this week with the runs."
"No problem Prez. Happy to help." Koz replied shaking Clay's hand. Both men filed out of church to find everyone else scattered within the clubhouse preparing for the day's runs.
"Bobby, where'd Hap go?"
"Think he headed to his dorm."
Heading down the hall, he saw the door partially opened. "Man where the hell you been hiding? I've been here all weekend and haven't seen your sorry ass."
Turning to face Koz as soon as he heard him, Happy just smirked at his Tacoma brother. "What, you lost without my ass or something you prick."
"Fuck, man didn't know things were so dead around here. Need some action, brother."
"This deal with Laroy is top priority. No time for action." he said rechecking the clip in his gun and the spare on his hip.
"Why don't you do this morning run with me. I'll tell Chibs to switch with Op.'
"No deal. Doing the evening runs all week with Tig. Heading up to see Ma today. Only chance to see her until next week."
"Dude, weren't you just there?"
All Koz got were two pitch black eyes cut to him. Raising his hands "Just asking man. No disrespect meant." Koz quickly spoke seeing the anger on Hap's face.
Putting his gun in the holster, "Gotta roll." Happy said walking toward his door. As soon as Koz walked out, he closed and locked his door, heading back into the main part of the clubhouse.
"Hap, you got a minute?" Clay asked the club assassin.
"Yeah. Need to be on the road in a few."
Motioning him into the office, Clay closed the door. "Just curious to know what Laroy wanted your eyes on?"
"Laroy's old lady wants another house. She met an agent she wants to work with and he wanted my eyes on it since she's from Charming." Happy said seeing Jax clue in on what he just said.
"Olivia?"
"Yep." Filling his Prez and VP in on what went down last night with Laroy, he looked between the two men trying to gauge their reactions.
"How'd she seem when she saw you?" Jax asked.
His mind flashing back to finding Olivia in the VIP room and standing just inches from her, "Seemed fine."
"We need to make sure she can keep our association with the Niners to herself."
"Don't think we have anything to worry about. Laroy knows she's friends with Tara. Assured me she won't see anything club related."
"Clay, you've seen her background report. You know she's clean." Jax said hoping his hard headed step-father wasn't about to throw his weight around again with Olivia.
"Just want to make sure this club's protected from any threat."
"She's not a threat, Clay." countered Jax, looking over toward Happy. "What's your take, man?" trusting the assassin's instincts.
Taking a minute before answering, "She's good." was his simple response. "Need to hit the road to make it back for tonight's run."
***Shafter, California***
To her amazement Shafter was the complete opposite of what she had imagined in her mind about the small, manufacturing community. High end boutiques, Better Homes & Garden lawns and tree lined streets, this town felt like it should be in the South not in California. The meeting with Thompson Cabinetry went perfectly with the promise of builder package quotes before the end of business today. Noticing the time, Olivia remembered she had one more stop to make before she headed home.
***Bakersfield Care Center***
"I'm starting to get spoiled to these surprise visits." Sofia said sipping her hot tea.
Flashing his mom a bright white smile, "Got a busy week ahead. Won't be able to make it up here again til' Sunday."
"You behaving yourself? And don't you dare lie to your mother."
"Yes, ma. I'm behaving myself. Feel up for a walk?"
Sitting her cup and saucer down on the side table, "Sounds wonderful."
Walking through the well manicured gardens, Happy couldn't help but notice how his mother took in almost every flower, stopping to smell their scent and caress their petals. It was moments like this, seeing her happy, almost forgetting that she was fighting cancer, that he had no regrets over running guns to fund her care. He remembered the promise he made her when she was first diagnosed that he would do whatever it took to take care of her. In his thirty eight years, she had never failed him, and he'd be damned if he failed her now. Taking his mother's hand to walk her back to her suite, he leaned over placing a kiss on top of her head.
"Need to head back, Ma."
Laying her head against his shoulder, "Thanks for surprising me again, David."
"Anytime Mom." he softly said as they made their way back inside. Seeing her safely inside her suite, he kissed her on the cheek and smiled.
"I love you, son."
"Love you too, mom."
***Charming***
With time to kill he made his way about an hour outside of Charming. Completely sure that no one would recognize him considering he wasn't wearing his cut and he was driving a car in for service at T-M, he pulled into the seedy looking motel. Climbing out of the Buick, he saw his contact.
"Knew you'd be back. Shit's too good to stay away." smirked Carl at his latest client. "How much you lookin' for?"
"Just in town for the week. Need enough to get me through til' Sunday." he said knowing he couldn't get too much, didn't want to risk someone at the clubhouse finding it, not to mention, didn't want to risk a felony if he got caught with it.
"This should tide you over."
"How much?"
"$300."
"Damn, this shit's getting expensive."
Placing the bag back in his jacket, "you can always quit." spoke Carl now sadistically laughing at the junkie standing before him.
"Just give me the shit. Here take it!" Koz said shoving the cash into the man's face.
"That's a good boy. You take care now."
Pocketing his stash, he briskly walked back over to the car. Climbing inside he was just about to take a hit, when he saw the motel manager open the office door. Deciding it was best to get the hell out of there, he started the car and made his way back to Charming.
***Bakersfield***
Pulling into the Bakersfield Care Center, she found a parking space not too far from the entrance. Checking her appearance in the mirror, she reapplied her lip gloss and stepped out. Opening the back door, she reached in for Gemma's package. Shutting the door, she turned to walk toward the door, when she felt as if she slammed into a brick wall.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" yelled Happy directly in Olivia's face.
"Hap" was all she got out before he yelled again.
"I said what the fuck are you doing here?" His eyes were completely black in color and his body was standing defensively against her.
Trying to find her voice, she tried to back away from him for Happy to pull her back to him causing her to almost drop the package.
"I brought this package…."
Yanking the package from her arm, he noticed it was addressed to Dr. Steve Horton, his mom's oncologist. He knew he was expecting a shipment of her meds, just wasn't expecting Olivia Parker to have them in her possession at his mom's care center.
"You need to fuckin' leave right now!" his voice even more angrier than before.
Completely stunned and confused, she stood in front of him totally frozen in the spot she was standing in.
"I said leave now. You don't know shit about me so just stay the fuck away from me! Got it?
She felt as if she had to tell herself to breathe. The man standing before her was looking at her as if she was his enemy, and she had no idea why. She was simply doing a favor for Gemma's friend. Wanting to crawl into a deep, dark hole, she turned and quickly got back into to her SUV. Getting enough composure to drive, she pulled out of the parking space before she felt the first tear roll down her cheek.
Fuckin' bitch was screaming through Happy's head. Who the fuck did she think she was coming to his mom's care center? Making sure she left the facility, he stalked toward the entrance to make sure Dr. Horton received his mom's meds.
He made it back to T-M in record time, growing angrier with each mile. He prided himself on keeping his personal shit private, especially when it came to his mom. No one, not even his brothers dared to cross that line with him, and to his complete shock, a woman who he knew for less than two months was sticking her nose where she shouldn't have it. That shit didn't and wouldn't fly with him. Lining up his bike in his normal spot, he quickly dismounted and stalked his way into the clubhouse in desperate need of a drink and to beat the total shit out of somebody.
***Oswald Properties***
She sat completely motionless in her office with absolutely no recollection of how she made it back to Charming. She could literally feel her insides in a knot. What had she done wrong? Why was he so angry with her?
He had just finished checking in on Tristan, when he noticed her staring at her computer.
"Hey there doll face." Tig said noticing she didn't move. "Olivia?" he said walking into her office, seeing that she still didn't move. "Doll face?" he said reaching over to touch her on the shoulder. He watched her turn to look at him, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
"You okay?"
"Tig? What are you doing here?" she asked still not quite together.
Noticing she was upset, "just checking on Tristan. Olivia, are you okay?"
"Um, yeah I'm fine." she spoke barely loud enough for him to hear her.
"You don't look okay. Has that fucker Zobelle approached you again?" Tig asked getting pissed at the thought of the man near her.
Quickly shaking her head, "No, I haven't seen him since the other day. Really I'm fine." she lied hoping she was convincing.
"Bullshit. What's wrong?" Tig could tell something had happened. He may not know this woman that well, but what he did know about her was that she was normally happy, and the woman sitting in front of him looked almost haunted.
"Really, it's nothing. I'll be fine." she said looking at him for the first time, hoping her eyes didn't look as red as they felt.
"Spill it. Not going until you do."
Realizing he was serious, "I just upset someone earlier, and I'm not sure why. Look can we just drop it. Really, I'm okay. It just caught me off guard, that's all."
"You sure you're okay?"
Smiling at the overly concerned outlaw biker, "Tig, I promise I'll be okay."
Seeing her slight smile, he decided it was best to not push her any further. "Alright. You need anything, you come find me. Got it?"
"Got it." she smiled back at him, actually soothed by his insistence of her telling him what was wrong, with the specifics kept to herself. She was already too thoroughly humiliated to confess it was Happy who she had upset. Deciding her day was shot, she gathered her things and made her way home.
Quickly making her way home, she unlocked her door to find her almost roommates, Johnny and Reed. And just like clockwork, the two prospects all but tripped over themselves when she walked through the door. While she would never admit out loud and especially to Clay Morrow, the two wanna-be Son's were quite pleasant to be around, on any day but today. She was certain by now everyone at the clubhouse had heard about Happy ripping into her earlier and the further away she was from SAMCRO, the better. She put her purse on the bar, nodded to the two men, and quietly walked down the hall to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Climbing onto her bed, she hugged a pillow against her chest, unable to get his face and voice out of her head. She felt totally defeated by a man who she barely knew, but in their recent private encounters had made her feel more alive than ever. Pulling herself off the bed, she made her way into the closet and pulled out a suitcase.
***T-M***
He was on the third bag, having literally punched the stuffing out of the previous two. Juice had come down to the ring to keep him company, but he had told him to leave him the fuck alone and get out. Not wanting to ever be on the wrong side of the Killa, Juice retreated back up to the bar and left well enough alone.
"Hello boys." Gemma said walking into the bar. "Hope Clay passed along my message. Better not be any shit go down before Op and Lyla's wedding on Saturday, or I'll have your asses." Seeing as her message had been received loud and clear, she put her sunglasses on and headed out to run more errands.
Pulling into the lot, he saw Gemma walking out of the clubhouse. Hearing the bike pull in , Gemma saw Tig and walked over.
"Where you off to?" he asked dropping his helmet on his seat.
"More wedding shit." she smirked at her lifelong friend. "I could beat the hell out of those two for pulling this shit so quickly."
Laughing out loud hearing her frustration, "yeah but we both know you thrive doing this shit."
"Oh shut up." she said smacking him on the arm. "Before I forget, Hap's here somewhere. Let him know that his mom's package came in and I asked Olivia to drop it off since she was headed up to Shafter. Don't want him worrying that it didn't get delivered."
"Will do."
"See ya. Don't forget, no shit this week. You ass is to be at that wedding on Saturday."
"Yes, Gemma." was his response to the SAMCRO Queen. If there was one woman on this planet he respected, it was Gemma Teller-Morrow. Heading inside, he did a quick sweep of the room and didn't see his partner in crime.
"Shit head, where's Hap?" he asked Juice, laughing that his tech-geek brother responded immediately to shit head.
"Downstairs. Not sure what pissed him off, but fair warning, he's not happy."
Making his way downstairs, he passed the two busted bags before seeing Happy knocking the hell out of the one hanging. He was now worried that his brother had got bad news this morning while visiting his mom, a topic even Tig knew better than to bring up.
"Brother, we got church in a few before our run."
"What time is it?"
"About six."
Finally stopping his relentless assault on the bag, he stepped back away from it, finally looking at Tig.
"Nice work over there" Tig said motioning to the two destroyed punching bags.
"Lettin' off some steam. Goin' take a quick shower. Meet ya at the table." Happy said starting to walk toward the stairs.
"Alright. Oh yeah, Gemma wanted me to tell you that your mom's package came in. She had Olivia drop it off on her way back from Shafter."
Quickly turning around at what his brother had just said, "Gemma asked her to drop it off?"
"It's what she said. Said she wanted to make sure you knew it got delivered, but not to worry, it didn't have your mom's name on it" Tig said walking around his brother heading back up the stairs. "You coming?" he asked seeing Happy frozen at the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah."
Shedding his clothes as soon as he walked into his dorm, he stepped under the shower not caring that the water wasn't even hot yet. He felt like the biggest asshole on the planet right now, not to mention guilty and regretted how shitty he had treated her. Fuck! He was a dick. Gemma had asked her to deliver it making sure she didn't even know it was for his mom. Closing his eyes, he let the hot water run over his head and down his body. He could clearly see her face, confused and hurt. Not at all knowing why he had yelled at her and undoubtedly, humiliated. Damn it! He needed to find her, to somehow apologize to her, but it would have to wait until after this run. It could wait.
***Double Tree Suites***
"Can I help you?" the desk clerk asked.
"Yes, I'll need a suite." she spoke reaching into her purse for her wallet.
"How many nights will you be staying with us?"
"I'm not sure. Is it possible to have an open reservation?"
"Yes, we can accommodate you with that. Will you be charging the suite on a credit card?"
"No, I prefer to pay with cash, if that's okay."
"Yes, ma'am. That will be fine." the clerk said entering her information. "What name shall I put the reservation under?"
"Vivian Whitaker"
"Okay, Ms. Whitaker, I have you all set. You'll be in Suite 620 on the sixth floor. I'll have a valet bring up your bags."
"Thank you." Seeing the valet place her luggage on the cart, she followed him into the elevator and to her suite. Handing the valet a tip, she closed and locked the door. Walking through the suite, she made her way over to the French doors that opened to a quaint Juliet balcony. Taking in the view, she noticed the valley down below with beautiful wildflowers. Finally feeling as if she could exhale, she felt some relief in knowing she was away from Charming and away from him.
***T-M***
With church quickly over after a short recap of the morning runs and a final review of tonight's run, everyone gathered in the bar before Tig and Happy headed out. Jax made his way over noticing the two prospects loading gear into duffle bags.
"What are you two shits doing?" the VP asked Johnny and Reed.
Startled at the question, the two prospects looked at each other before answering. "Doing some night time recon on Zobelle."
"Where at?" asked Chibs hearing the conversation.
Again, the two looked at each other before answering. "Headed back over to Olivia's."
Hearing her name got Happy's attention. It also caused him to feel an unknown feeling in his gut. Turning around on his stool, he waited to hear what was said next.
"Olivia's? I doubt she wants you two there when she's home from work." said Jax looking between the two.
"She's not there. She left." spoke Johnny zipping the duffle bag.
Standing up from his stool, "what do you mean she left?" asked Jax.
"She came home earlier than usual. We were packing up, when she came out of her bedroom with her luggage. Said we could stay as long as we wanted, that she wouldn't be there. Handed us a key so we could lock up." Reed said uneasy at the looks he was getting, especially from Happy. "She didn't seem like herself. She looked upset."
Slamming his empty bottle on the bar, he walked passed his brothers and headed outside. Fuck Fuck Fuck! What the hell had he done?
"Tig, something up with Hap?" Chibs asked noticing his lethal brother's mood all evening.
"Nah, he's fine. Just ready to do this run." Tig half-assed lied. Yes, he knew his brother was ready to get this run completed, but something told Tig his brother's mood was related to Olivia.