It rained the day of Tara's funeral. Not a strong rain, but a light, almost misting sort that covered the people huddled around the small plot in a thin layer of water and made everything seem to shimmer in the overcast light. Angela stood a bit away from the SAMCRO bunch, staring at the light blue casket that was covered in flowers just letting the rain fall down on her.

She was aware of Gemma saying some words at the pulpit. Aware of Nero hovering behind her with his umbrella in hand, but she didn't go anywhere near them. Any of them. It was their fault she was standing there alone. Their fault she didn't have Juice at her side to lean on. And then out of nowhere, the rain stopped falling on her. She looked up to see Bones standing next to her, umbrella in hand. He didn't acknowledge her, just stood beside her in silence. She loved him for that.

Taking in a deep breath, she nodded to Gemma before heading back to the funeral home. She didn't want to stick around to watch them lower the casket into the ground; she'd already said her goodbyes to Tara. Truth be told, she didn't want to deal with the Sons. She knew the fact that neither Chibs nor Bobby had called on her to ask about Juice was because of Tara. They wanted her to take care of her funeral to the best of her ability, untainted by her resentment towards the club.

That was bullshit though. Her anger towards the club burned like an everlasting flame inside of her and would until the day she and Juice were reunited. Until they got their happily ever after, far, far away from the Reaper.

She sat down at her desk, looking over at the empty bassinette with a frown. Chloe was babysitting Evie and Rigor for the day, and she missed them both terribly. It was for the best, though, she didn't want her daughter anywhere near her pseudo uncles.

"Got a minute, Angie-girl?" Chibs asked, peeking his head into the office. At her nod, he walked in. "Beautiful ceremony today."

"Thanks," Angela answered flatly. She knew that wasn't the reason why he was there though.

His dark eyes studied her face for a brief moment. "Too bad for the rain."

Angela let out a long, lengthy sigh, rubbing at her temples to ward off a headache. "Yeah. Look, Chibs, I know what you're here to ask, so I'll just answer it. I don't know where he is," she said slowly. She looked up at him and managed a closed mouth smile. "Sorry."

"Can't believe he'd just leave the two of ye with no notice," he baited, his hands closing over the back of the guest chair. " 's not like him."

"Believe it," she replied on a shrug. "What do you care anyway, Chibs? Isn't it a little high school of you to be against Juice just because of Jax?"

Chibs gave an amused snort at her comment. " 's not just 'cause of Jax, lass. Your Old Man has dug a hell of a hole for himself."

"Oh yeah? How?" she shot back defensively. "Where was his mistake? He's protected the club in every way possible, and you all keep wanting more and more. Jax said he was okay. That he'd made everything right with the club and for one stupid miscommunication, he takes it back. That's—"

"We don't trust him anymore," Chibs cut her off quickly. "Tha's what this is about."

Angela raked a hand through her hair, gritting her teeth in frustration. "Then why can't you just let him go? Please, Chibs. Just...let us go."

Chibs' shoulder sunk, his face growing sad before he ducked his head to hide his expression. For a moment, she thought he was going to give in. Then, he sucked in a deep breath, straightening himself up, a harder look on his face. "I can't, Angie-girl. Boy needs to be taken to the table. We'll decide as a club what to do with 'im."

"And what will you vote for, Chibs?" she asked softly. Chibs looked away, and she had her answer. He'd go with whatever Jax decided. "When did you turn on him? When did you go from being the only person who wanted to help him to wanting him dead?"

"When I found out he was a rat."

She shook her head slowly. "He didn't rat."

"That's for us to decide," he said turning away from her and heading back out. He stopped at the entry way, one hand on the doorjamb. "You see him, you let 'im know he's wanted at the table, yeah?"

Angela narrowed her eyes at his back, her head tilted to the side curiously as she watched him leave. She had the feeling his last words were meant to warn her to tell Juice to stay away. To stay far away. It was Chibs' way of giving him an out. He was letting Juice go. "Chibs!" she called after him. He took a step back, turning to look at her, eyebrows raised in question. "When am I gonna lose my shadow?"

Again, a sad look crossed over Chibs' face. "Dunno, lass. 'til we find who did this to Tara, I guess. Just want to keep ye safe, love," he said, nodding to her before heading out the door.

She let her head fall into her hands as tears stung the corners of her eyes. "Fuck," she murmured to herself before sitting back. She sniffled a bit, swiping at a tear that had escaped her hold. "Keep it together, Ang," she reminded herself, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly like Hap had taught her to so many years before.

"Angie?" a soft voice asked from the door.

Angela looked over to find Kenny standing there, his hands tucked deep in his pockets as he leaned against the doorjamb. She wiped at her eyes again quickly. "Hey Ken," she greeted, doing her best to give him a smile. "What's up?"

He shuffled in, taking a seat on the couch that was in the office. He rubbed at his chin for a moment, a movement she'd seen Opie do a time or do when he was thinking. "I uh...I wanted to ask you something," he said, scratching at his neck nervously.

"Anything, kiddo. I'm here, you know that."

Kenny smiled a little bit and nodded. "I uh...I lost my mom and my dad and my grandpa. My grandma's...crazy and my stepmom is...well, a fucking porn star..."

"Be nice, Ken," she reminded him in a motherly tone.

He smiled again as he usually did when anything maternal was directed his way. "Ang, you're the closest thing to a Mom I got. And I...I've been thinking about this for a long time 'cause I...I kind of...no, really want you to adopt me."

"What?" she breathed, utterly shocked by his request. "Are you serious?"

He nodded slowly as he raked a hand through his hair. "I know you 'n' Juice are tryin' to get out and I get that. I want you guys to be safe too, but I...I want to go with you 'n' I can't if you're not my legal guardian. I can't...it'd be like kidnapping or somethin' if I just up and left Lyla. Not that she would care or anything, but I don't want you guys to get in trouble."

"Kenny—"

"And I get that you'll probably say no because you've got more than enough shit going on with Eves and Juice being in trouble, but I...I just wanted to ask. El said it was stupid. That I should just wait until I turn eighteen and leave like she's going to but...thing is, she's got just a year 'n' a half left, 'n' I got like three," he said, his voice cracking. "I don't want to be stuck here with Lyla for three more fucking years especially if you're not around. I want to be with you and Eves. You're my family. I don't care if I have to change schools or whatever, I just don't want to be alone again."

Tears swam in Angela's eyes as she stood and took a seat next to him on the couch. "You're never alone, Ken," she murmured, lovingly pushing his long hair out of his eyes. "I will always be here for you regardless of where I am. But if it'll make you happy to come with us and officially join our family, I'll talk to Lyla about it, okay?"

"Really?" he asked, his hazel eyes lighting up. "You...you want to adopt me?"

Angela nodded, leaning over to kiss his temple. " 'course I do. You've been my kid for awhile now. Just not on paper," she told him with a wink. "I love you, Ken. We go anywhere, I want you there too, dude. Evie needs her big brother. I just gotta clear it with Lyla first, okay? I don't want to blindside her."

"I actually...asked her first," he admitted, softly. "She...she said that if it was what I wanted, she'd sign the papers. Not because she doesn't love me—she said she does—but because she understands what its like. Said she just wants me to be happy. My dad would want me to be happy."

"Yeah he would, kiddo. We'll figure it out. I'll see if I can call one of my lawyer buddies to see what the steps are to get the papers."

Kenny cleared his throat, shifting nervously. "I kinda...I looked online and I started on all of the letters and shit. Just was waiting for you and Lyla's approval 'fore I really started looking into it. I'll change my name 'n' everything, if you want. Make things easier. Kenny Ortiz doesn't sound too bad."

Angela smirked and shook her head. "You're not changing shit, Kenny Winston. Your mom and dad and grandpa were awesome people. You should carry that name proudly," she told him, squeezing his hand. "Plus, you still got Ellie. Don't want to alienate her, do you?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "She's gonna marry Boner and become a Kelley," he muttered with a shrug.

She laughed, shaking her head at him. "You caught on to that too, huh?"

He shrugged again. "Yeah. 'sides, its all in her diary."

"Kenny Winston! How dare you read your sister's diary!" she exclaimed, a big grin on her face. "But let me know if those two start kissing, please. I think someone who isn't in the um...adult entertainment industry should talk to her about...stuff."

"I know what sex is, Mama bear. I do live with one of the Saffron sisters," he reminded her with a smirk.

Angela stared at him in disbelief. "Are you watching Lyla's pornos, Kenneth?" she asked, tugging on his ear.

He scowled at her, slapping her ear away. "No! Stop!" he exclaimed, trying to get her off of him, a smile pulling up his lips. "That's so gross. I can't even...just yuck. Speaking of baby making, where's my baby sister?"

Her smile faded a bit as she remembered what had occurred earlier that day. She'd dropped Evie off at Chloe's which she'd done a handful of times. Evie was usually a pretty good baby, for the most part. But for some reason, as soon as she was in Chloe's arms and realized she was going to stay there without her mother, she started screaming like a crazy person. She'd been inconsolable. Chloe had to forcefully push Angela out or else she never would've left. She hated seeing her daughter cry like that. "She's with Chlo today. Didn't want her here around all those...assholes."

Bones walked in, his shoulders sagging with exhaustion. "The bikers have left the building!" he announced, throwing himself down on the couch next to Kenny. He looked between the two for a second before grimacing. "Did I just ruin a moment?"

Angela shook her head as she stood. "You're good, Boner," she said with a smile. "Speaking of my beautiful daughter, do you mind picking Eves up from Chloe's house?"

"You avoiding Uncle Hap?" Ken asked, a knowing look in his eyes.

Kenny Winston never ceased to surprise her. He was the most perceptive person she knew. Not much went by him. "I've had my fill of Sons for today," she answered with a sigh. "Plus, I got to deal with Gigantor out there following me around. Don't want him to waste any more gas than he has to."

"That's nice of you," Bones said, getting up again. "I'll go grab the little one and some lunch maybe or do you want her back ASAP?"

Angela considered his question for a moment. The hole in her heart that Juice's departure had left behind made her ache to hold her daughter. Evie tended to make it hurt less. At the same time, she knew it was unhealthy to rely on someone so little for so much, and it seemed Evie was starting to have a bit of a separation problem. It was probably better for her to get used to being taken care of by other people so when she started school it wouldn't be so hard. "Sure. Grab some lunch or something. Probably good for Evie to get some air. I'm swamped with paperwork."

"Cool. You guys want anything?"

Kenny asked for his usual while Angela shook her head, "No, thanks. I'm good."

Bones didn't look happy with her answer. "Ang, you gotta eat."

"And I will. I'm just not hungry right now," she said on a shrug.

He sighed, grabbing his keys off of the hook. "Well, I'm picking you up a sandwich anyway. 'cause you're not starving on my watch, lady."

Angela rolled her eyes but nodded. "Thanks, Boner. Now go get my girl!"

-----------------

Happy walked into Chloe's house with a heavy weight on his shoulders. Despite making up with his little cousin earlier in the week, Angela was still avoiding him. She hadn't even acknowledged him at the funeral. Not that he'd tried to talk to her either. Chibs had told him to see if he could get any information out of her about Juice, and while he hadn't refused, he wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to do it which was why he stayed away. If he didn't talk to her, he wouldn't be disobeying his VP, and he wouldn't be hurting her. Still...he wished she had at least looked at him. Given him some sign that she was okay.

Evie's crying grated on his ears the minute he stepped inside. Chloe was pacing in the living room, holding her while Rigor circled around her ankles, whining anxiously. Her own dog, Hades, was lying on his bed in the corner looking incredibly bored with the whole thing. The nurse looked stressed beyond belief as she rocked back and forth cooing to Evie. "I can't get her to calm down!" Chloe exclaimed when she saw him. "She's been crying on and off since Angela left! I've done everything I can think of! She's fed, she's changed, she won't take the pacifier, and she won't sleep!"

Happy looked at the wailing baby, her little face red, tiny hands curled into fists as she wailed. "Here," he said, holding out his arms for her.

Chloe handed her over. Looking a little relieved when Evie's cries quieted as her dark eyes studied Happy's face. "Oh thank God," she murmured, sitting down heavily on the couch with an exhausted sigh. And then Evie started wailing again, wriggling around in Happy's arms. That's when Chloe made the connection. Evie wanted Juice. Happy had soothed her for a second because his coloring was the same, his build similar, but it didn't take her too long to recognize that the man holding her wasn't her daddy. "You're the wrong guy."

He scowled at her, trying to rock Evie against his chest. "Dealt with babies before. I can do it," he muttered, slightly offended.

"No, no. I don't mean it like that," she corrected quickly. "You're not the one she wants. She misses Juice."

Happy frowned and shook his head. "What am I supposed to do about it?" he asked, sitting next to her on the couch.

Chloe sighed sadly. "There's nothing we can do. She'll cry herself to sleep eventually, I guess. Poor baby."

"She'll get used to it."

Her hazel eyes widened as she looked up at him. "Hap, you're not saying..."

The question went unspoken and lingered in the air. Would Juice ever come back? Happy honestly didn't know what to tell her. How to explain it. "Don't know anythin' yet. Don't even know where he is."

She leaned her head against his arm, playing with Evie's hair. That seemed to soothe her somewhat, and she quieted a bit. Her cries turning into sad little hiccups. "Ang doesn't either."

"I know," he agreed on a nod, watching as Evie's eyelids started to droop closed. Her little mouth opening a bit as she slowly fell asleep. "Kid did that on purpose."

"Of course she did. She can't lie to you, so she's protecting him."

Happy nodded slowly, getting up and carefully putting the sleeping baby into her carrier. He was sure someone would be around to get her soon anyway. That way, they wouldn't have to wake her up again. He sat back down, waiting for Chloe to come over to him. She scooted in closer, draping her legs over his. He circled her legs with an arm, his fingers dragging over the skin of the underside of her thigh left bare by her running shorts. "I don't know what to do about her."

Chloe gently stroked her fingers over his scruffy cheek. "Let her come to you, Hap."

"What if she doesn't?" he asked, turning his head to meet her gaze.

"She will," she assured him. "But you have to decide whether you'll be there for her or for your club."

Happy sighed, hanging his head a little. "Gonna try to help 'em. Can't promise much, but I'll try. For her."

Chloe smiled at him, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "You're a good man, Lowman. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

He caught her lips in a soft a kiss, his hands tangling into her dark hair. He didn't know why he felt the need to kiss her then, but he did. She tasted warm, like chocolate. He was willing to bet she'd eaten a few of those Hershey Kisses she kept in a bowl on her counter. He enjoyed the taste of her, relaxing a bit as he got lost in the kiss.

Then the doorbell ring. Loud and obnoxious, waking Evie up. They both froze, staring at the little girl. It rang again and her face screwed up, her fists clenching as she began to cry. "Shit," Chloe cursed, getting up from the couch to grab her.

Happy went to open the door, opening it slightly to see who it was. Bones stood on the doorstep. The young kid's dark eyes widened in fear when he saw him. "I'm...I uh...Ang wanted me to uh...pick up Eves," he stammered out.

Happy took a step back, opening the door to let him in. "Take her. Won't stop cryin' anyway."

Bones brushed past him, reaching out his arms for Evie. Chloe handed her over carefully. Evie quieted again, her dark eyes searching Bones' face for a minute before she started wailing again, further proving Chloe's theory. "She misses Juice. Cried herself to sleep a few minutes ago."

"Hey, hey, Evie. Calm down," Bones said, rocking her against him. "C'mon, Monkster. Calm down."

"Take her to Ang. Maybe she misses Mama too," Chloe suggested before kissing Evie's head. "I'll see you later, Evie doll."

Bones nodded, casting another nervous glance at Happy before putting the screaming baby in her carrier, whistling for Rigor, and heading straight out the door. He buckled the seat into his Jetta, fixing his rearview mirror so he could see her properly. Hooking up his iPod, he searched for the lullaby he knew calmed her down and turned up the volume. "C'mon, Evie. We're going to get some lunch for Mama and then she can feed you and you can be happy."

He drove slowly, hoping the feel of the engine paired with the song would quiet her. She wailed on, Rigor's whining joining her screams. "Stop, Eves. Please. You're breaking my heart here," he said, pulling his car in front of the sandwich shop. He hesitated before getting out, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "All right! All right! You want to see your Dad, we'll go see your dad. Anything to make you stop crying."

-----------------

Juice heard the front gates open and sat up from the couch, grabbing his gun off of the coffee table and slowly heading over to where the security camera monitors were set up. He relaxed when he saw Bones' shitty Jetta pull in to the drive. Setting the gun down on the counter, he went to sit back on the couch knowing it would take Bones a while to get up the drive.

He'd just made himself comfortable when he heard it. The heartbreaking cries he would recognize anywhere. He was on his feet and heading to the door in seconds. He ripped it open to find Bones trying to balance a crying Evie with one arm and his keys in the other. "What's wrong? Why's she crying?" he asked his eyes wide as he reached for his daughter. "Hey Monk, hey. Relax, pretty girl. Relax for daddy, okay."

The second she was in his arms, she quieted again, her dark eyes studying his face before she reached out a little hand to touch his cheek. "Hi baby girl," he cooed to her, leaning forward to nuzzle his nose against hers. "Hi."

Bones breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God! She's been crying like that for hours."

Juice held her in closer to his bare chest, his heart aching as she snuggled in closer, drool dropping onto his shoulder. He could care less about her slobber; he was just happy to hold her. "What happened?"

"Chlo said she missed you," he explained on a shrug. "Couldn't stand to hear her cry any more so I figured I'd bring her over. 's not like she could tell our secret anyway."

"You miss me, Monk? Huh?" he asked her, sitting on the couch. He lifted her away from him, setting her little feet on his thighs. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, blowing a raspberry there that made her erupt into giggles. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest at the sound. "There's that smile. No more crying, Evie-doll. Daddy's here. Daddy loves you."

Bones smiled at the sight of the two of them together. It was clear Evie was already a total Daddy's girl. "You can take her to Penny's room if you want. There's lots of toys there. Eves learned a new trick too. If you lie her on her back she can roll to one side. Ang was really excited about it."

Juice pulled Evie in closer to him, rubbing a hand down her back. "How's she doing?" he asked, unable to bring himself to say her name.

"Oh she's...fine," he lied on a shrug. At Juice's doubtful look, he held up his hands. "If I tell you more, it'll make this hiding thing a hell of a lot harder for you, dude. I told Ang I was grabbing lunch so you have like half an hour with Eves before Mama Bear gets suspicious. Go play with her while I go walk your crazy dog."

Juice didn't appreciate being told what to do by the younger guy, but he understood why he was doing it. He stood, grabbing Evie's diaper bag, and carrying her towards the only room he'd yet to set foot in. The lilac door had a pretty pink 'P' painted on the front of it. When he stepped inside, he was met with the smell of baby powder.

He balanced Evie against his chest while he grabbed a blanket off of the rocking chair in the corner and laid it out before gently laying Evie on it. He stretched out next to her, grinning at her when she half rolled towards him, her little hands reaching for his face, the most beautiful smile lighting up her dark eyes. Angela's eyes. He mouthed her little fingers making obnoxious monster noises as he did so. She giggled back at him, and he couldn't help but smile. "You're beautiful, Monk," he told her. "Look at those long lashes. You look just like your Mama, baby girl. Just like her. I miss her so much."

He touched her chubby cheek. "You know how me 'n' Mama met?" he asked, just wanting to talk to Evie. Let her hear his voice, know he was there. She stared at him with her undivided attention as he told her the story of how he met Angela. Every so often, she'd smile, showing off her toothless grin. "And then we came back to burn Tig's mistakes in the big oven and someone needed to stay, so I made sure it was me, Eves. No way was I gonna let Sack stay with your Mama. She was too gorgeous to let slip away."

A throat cleared from the doorway, and he looked up to find Bones standing there looking super uncomfortable. Juice wasn't sure if it was the room or whatever pieces of the story he'd heard. "Sorry to interrupt that uh...weird, borderline inappropriate story, but Ang called. She thinks I kidnapped her kid. Which I kinda did. So...we need to head out before alarm bells start going off in her head," Bones stated nervously.

"Yeah." Juice sighed sadly, picking Evie up and slowly getting to his feet. She snuggled against him, her little hand curving around his bicep as he carried her to the front door. He held her close for a moment, pressing a kiss to her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. "Love you, Evie. Be good for Mama, okay?" he told her handing her over to Bones.

The second she was in Bones arms, her nose began to wrinkle, her little mouth turning down as she reached out her arms to Juice and began to wail. Her cries pierced his heart like a knife, and it took everything in him not to snatch her back from Bones as the guy said his goodbye quickly before heading back to his car, murmuring reassurances to Evie along the way.

Juice put a hand to his chest, pressing over his heart as he tried to ease the pain of watching his little girl reach for him while she cried and not being able to do anything about it. The three days he'd been away from his girls had been fine for the most part. He'd done his best to distract himself by cleaning Bones' house until it shined. He'd told himself what he was doing was for the best. That his girls were fine without him, and they'd meet up soon.

But seeing Evie in distress like that. Seeing her reach for him while she cried tore his heart into pieces. He felt like he couldn't breathe as he stepped back into the house. He sat down on the couch, letting his head fall into his hands. "Keep it together, man," he muttered to himself, fighting against the frustrated tears in his eyes. "It's for the best. It's for the best."