Juice walked around the mansion currently serving as his prison. The stereo was on some techno music station at high volume because he couldn't take the quiet anymore. He'd tried watching TV, but a diaper commercial came on reminding him of Evie, and then he'd changed channels and that stupid, sad dog commercial came on making him miss Rigor. It was all just too much. He wanted his girls, his dog, his family. So he'd flipped on the stereo, found the one type of music Angela didn't like to listen to, and blasted it to drown out his own thoughts. Stretched out on the ground, balancing himself on his hands and feet before starting a set of push-ups. He got into a rhythm, up and down, up and down, pushing himself over and over again until he couldn't feel his arms anymore.

He stopped when something caught his eye. Peeking out from under the couch was a pink blanket. His hands shook as he reached for it slowly and pulled it out. The monkey attached to it smiled blankly at him as he rubbed his thumb over the embroidery stitched across the bottom. Evangeline. He sat back on his ass, staring at it for a moment before he brought it to his nose, taking in a deep whiff of it. Lavender, jasmine, and vanilla. A mixture of both of his girls.

Tears filled his eyes before he could stop them. "Shit," he muttered to himself, swiping angrily at his eyes. He couldn't break down now. He couldn't. He had to be strong. For them.

His eyes fell on the wet bar across the way. Alcohol. He needed alcohol. Drown out his sorrows, stop his head from being so insanely loud. The bottles on the shelf were covered in a thick layer of dust as if they hadn't been touched in years. He grabbed a strange looking bottle, wiping away the dust to see the name. "Hello Don Julio," he muttered, popping out the cork and smelling the four hundred dollar tequila inside. "You'll do just fine."

He took a swig of it, pulling a face as it burned its way down his throat. Staring at the bottle, he felt a bout of paranoia hit him. As much as he knew getting shit faced would help block out the pain, he also knew it would dull him to everything else. If the club found him, and he was wasted; he was screwed. He was an idiot sober, he became an even bigger one drunk.

Sighing, he set down the bottle and went back to sit on his couch. He grabbed the little monkey blanket again before stretching out on the couch. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he cuddled it close to him. "Miss you, Evie," he murmured, snuggling it close to him. "We're going to be together soon though, baby girl. I promise. Me, you, 'n' Mama, Monk. We'll be happy together. I know right now it doesn't feel like it 'cause we've been apart so long, but I'm going to find a way to make it right, Monk. We're going to live happily ever after. Promise."

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

Angela nuzzled her nose against Evie's head, breathing her in. The day before, when Bones had brought her home from Chloe's, she could've sworn her daughter smelled just like Juice's body wash. As if he'd just gotten out of the shower and had held her to his bare chest like he used to when he was still around. The smell was gone now, and she mourned the loss of it. "This is going to turn out okay, Evie-doll. I know it," she murmured, her heart feeling heavy.

The doorbell rang, loud and obnoxious in their quiet house. Rigor went insane, barking and running towards the living room. She trailed behind him, Evie held tightly against her chest. "Calm down, Rigs," she said, quieting the dog with a scratch behind the ears. Checking the peep hole, she felt her heart sink in her chest when she saw Roosevelt standing on her front step. "Fuck, Eves. Looks like a little piggy came to visit."

Opening the door, she nodded a greeting to Eli. "Can I help you?" she asked, looking him over. He was unarmed and in plain clothes. Whatever he was doing there, it wasn't business.

Eli shifted awkwardly on the front step, his eyes falling on Evie for a brief moment, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Good morning, Mrs. Ortiz. Just wanted a minute. Got something I need to run by you," he started, holding up his hands when she went to speak, "Off the books."

Angela sighed as she conceded. "Fine. Come in," she muttered, taking a step in. "Look at the piggy, Evie. What do the piggies say? Oink, oink, oink. That's what they say, baby girl. Oink."

He chuckled, standing awkwardly in the living room while she strapped Evie in her little swing. "Nice thing to teach her," he teased good naturedly.

"Yeah, well, when cops try and destroy your family, you kind of get a little cynical towards them," she replied sweetly, smirking as he grimaced guiltily in response. "Can I offer you a drink, Lieutenant? Coffee? Water?"

"Water would be great, thanks," he answered, following her into the kitchen. "Your daughter, she, uh, she's beautiful."

Angela nodded in agreement. "Thank you," she commented, setting a glass of ice water in front of him. "Look, Eli, I'm going to save you some time and tell you that I honestly have no idea where Juice is."

Eli frowned a little, his thumb stroking over the condensation on the outside of the glass. "Do you know what an APB is, Mrs. Ortiz?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye. She blinked for a second, a confused look crossing her face, prompting him to answer his own question. "An all-points bulletin. A broadcast issued from one law enforcement agency to other agencies. Usually about missing or dangerous people we're trying to find to-"

"I know what an APB is," she cut him off quickly. "I'm just confused as to why you're telling me about it."

"The San Joaquin Sheriff's department has brought in a new sergeant to investigate Tara's murder. They wanted someone impartial, someone who wouldn't be...swayed by SAMCRO," he explained slowly. "Sergeant Althea Jarry."

"Okay."

"Now, Jarry's been questioning the rest of the brothers, but there's one missing."

Angela's eyes widened in fear. "She wants to put out an APB on Juice," she finished softly. "Shit."

Eli nodded slowly. "I don't believe Juice has anything to do with Tara's murder, but him leaving the day she was murdered raises some red flags. I want to hear it from you before I step in."

"He didn't do it. He was...I gave Patterson the security camera footage. He was at the funeral home with me and Evie. That's concrete evidence," she defended fiercely.

"Jarry wants more than a tape. She wants to hear it from him. Now, can you get him to come back to Charming? The APB goes out, and we get him back using criminal charges. Violation of parole, all that stuff. He'll go straight to jail after he says his piece. But, if I can get him here peacefully..."

Angela swallowed hard, a large weight settling on her shoulders. Frustrated tears pricked at her eyes as she shook her head. "Eli, he can't come back. He can't...he didn't kill Tara. He'd never kill Tara. You have to know that."

Eli set his hand on top of hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I know, Angela. I do, but this isn't my investigation. I just want to give you a chance to bring your husband home before the APB goes out."

"He's dead either way," she said softly. She pulled her hand away from his, raking it through her hair as she sighed. "Fuck. This isn't fair."

"Why is he dead either way, Angela? What is he running from?"

She sucked in a deep breath, strengthening herself as anger replaced her frustration. "Why do you think he's running, Eli? Why on earth would his own club be after him?" she asked, her voice louder than was called for in the small room. "Maybe because someone blackmailed him with the race of his father, forced him to almost rat, and then went and told the club's President that he was the rat! How's that for a novel idea?"

Guilt took over Eli's face as he listened to her lash out. "Angela, you know I never meant--"

"You went to Jax, Eli! You told him there was a rat at his table! What did you think he was going to do?"

"I never gave him Juice's name. He...he figured it out on his own! I was trying to get back at the people who killed my wife!"

Angela whipped around to face him, her dark eyes flashing angrily. "And how did that work for you? Do you feel better now? Does it somehow make the pain go away to know they're dead? Is that what Rita would've wanted?"

"No, I--"

She shook her head slowly, trying her best to calm down. Being on Eli's bad side wouldn't help her any. She needed his help. "Fuck. Sorry, that was out of line. I just...he's all I have."

Eli's eyes softened a bit as he looked at her. "I know the feeling," he muttered on a frown. He cleared his throat after a moment. "What I did to Juice was wrong. I know it. It's one of my greatest regrets. You know I like you, Angela. Have since the day I met you. Rita did too. I want to help you here, but this can't be a one way street. I need you to cooperate with this investigation. Jarry will be coming to you soon. She's...she's likely to rub you the wrong way. Be patient, polite. I'll do my best to postpone the APB."

Her anger deflated at his last promise, a flicker of hope stirring inside of her. "Thank you."

"What is your endgame, Angela? This blows over and what...are you going to run?"

She smiled sadly at him and shrugged. "I don't know. I just want a fighting chance at being a normal family. That's all."

Eli patted her shoulder lovingly. "I'll see what I can do."

Angela gave him an appreciative smile and nodded. "Thanks, Eli."

"Uh-huh. And this," he said gesturing between them, "never took place. That guy sitting on your house asks what I wanted and..."

"I say you wanted to ask about Tara," she filled in quickly with a nod of her head. "I know how it works."

Eli smiled a little, nodding to Evie who was staring at him with wide eyes from her place in the baby swing. "You take care of your family, Angela. Life's short. Enjoy them while you can. You deserve it."

She nodded, following him to the door and letting him out. Closing it behind him, she leaned her back against it, sliding down the wooden pane until she was sitting on the ground. "Fuck, Juice," she murmured, looking at the ceiling, tears in her eyes. "Please be far away. Please."

Her phone went off from across the room, and she groaned. It was barely eight in the morning and already her day was turning to shit. She grimaced when she saw the sender of the text, Gemma. Apparently, she had to get to the SAMCRO Queen's house as soon as possible. She looked over at Evie in her swing and sighed. "Don't worry, Eves. You're going to hang out with Uncle Bones. Far, far away from all those assholes who made your daddy leave."

After a quick stop at the funeral home, Angela parked in front of Gemma's house, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. The SAMCRO Queen had called her soon after Eli left to demand she stop by the house. She gave in but only because she knew Gemma would hunt her down at the funeral home if she didn't. Taking in a deep breath, she pressed the doorbell, crossing her arms over her chest. She heard Abel call for his Grandma before the little mail slot opened. Angela squatted down, smiling when she saw the boy's blue eyes looking back at her. "Hey Abie baby," she greeted.

"Hi Auntie Gee," Abel drawled in his slow voice before he opened the door.

She swept him up into her arms giving him a big kiss on the cheek. "How you doin', you little monster?" she asked, smiling as he hugged her neck.

"Good," he replied, his hands finding her braid and playing with the end of it. "My Mama's in heaven."

"I know she is, Abie. You're lucky you have a special guardian angel watching over you, you know that?" she asked, kissing him again before setting him down on his feet as she entered the kitchen.

Gemma frowned at her. "He tells everyone that," she said, finishing washing a pot before turning to look at Angela. "Hi sweetheart. Thanks for comin'."

"Yeah, of course," she said, twisting at her ring nervously. She nodded to Brooke as the young girl walked in with Thomas in her arms. She'd heard all about the strange girl from Ellie, who was two years younger than her in school. Ellie resented the poor girl; she didn't understand why Jax was so willing to help her out yet avoided her, his best friend's daughter, like the plague. Angela never knew what to say to that, but it made her sad to think that as much as Ellie didn't want to be in the club, she was jealous they showed someone else attention. The club was still in her blood, still something she wanted to be a part of no matter how she denied it.

"Hi Angela," Brooke greeted timidly.

Angela did her best to give her a friendly smile. "Hi Brooke. How are you?"

The young girl muttered a response, grabbing Tommy's bottle and heading out of the kitchen with Abel trailing after her. Gemma smirked, shaking her head. "You scare her," she said on a light laugh.

"Can't imagine why," Angela muttered as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"It's the dead people thing. Creeps most people out, y'know," she replied, setting a mug of coffee in front of her along with sugar and creamer. She sat down opposite her, taking out a joint and lighting it up. "Where's baby girl?"

"With Ellie at the funeral home," she said, stirring her coffee slowly. "What d'ya need, Gem?"

Gemma blew out the smoke, tapping her thumb on the table. She grabbed a folded piece of paper from the center of the table and slid it to her. "Need you to call that number for me."

Angela gave her a confused look as she unfolded it and stared at the unfamiliar numbers written under the name, Josephine. "Who's this?"

"Juice's sister from back East," she explained, tapping on the paper. "Want to see if he reached out to her since you are no help. You know her, don't you?"

She toyed with the little paper and sighed. No, she didn't know her. The year before she'd walked in on Juice video chatting with his sister, Jojo, when she called to tell him their mom was sick, but he hadn't introduced her; they'd been too busy bickering about him not being able to make the cross-country trip because of his parole restrictions. "Not really."

Gemma gave her a doubtful look. "She's the only blood family he's got left."

"She's on the other side of the country, Gem. How the hell am I supposed to meet her?"

"I don't know! Don't you do that Stripe thing?"

"Skype," she corrected on a smirk. "And no, we don't."

Gemma pressed her lips together, shaking her head slowly. "Call her. Now. We need to find Juice to get those damn feds off our asses," she ordered. At Angela's reluctant look, she switched her game up. "Look, baby, I don't know why he ran off, but I do know he needs to be here. To help his family. If this Josephine girl knows where he is, maybe we can reach out to get him to come back. 'less you're tryin' to hide him."

"I don't know where he is," she insisted through gritted teeth.

"Then call her."

Angela pulled her phone out of her pocket, glaring at Gemma as she punched in the numbers. For some reason, she felt nervous as the phone rang. It felt wrong to call Josephine without Juice there. Did his sister even know she existed, she wondered.

"Yeah?" came the answer on the other line.

"Um. Hi. Is this...Jo Ortiz?" she asked awkwardly.

"Yeah. Well, Dante now but Ortiz first. Who're you?" the response came, the words laced with a thick Queens accent that made Angela's heart ache for her husband.

Angela cleared her throat and sighed. "Um this is Angela. Jui-Juan Carlos'--"

"Wife, right? Yeah, I know all about you, Ang. Wonka wouldn't shut up about ya last time he called," she said on a laugh. "Heard you got a baby now too. Cute little thing. Bro sent me pics."

She smiled, really smiled at hearing that. "Wonka, huh?"

"Ma used to call him Juan-Ca when he was little. I always thought it sounded like Wonka," she explained on a laugh. "So what do you need, sweetheart?"

Angela swallowed back the lump in her throat. How could a woman who hadn't even met her be so inviting and warm? "I uh...Juice left a few days ago. We...we haven't been able to find him, and I...I was wonderin' if you knew where he was."

Jo chuckled softly. "That Gemma lady ask you to call me?"

"Yeah."

"Figures. She called earlier. Probably thought I'd give you a different answer," she muttered before sighing loudly. "Look, I don't know where he is or why he ran. I'm guessin' you know both, though. Wonka wouldn't just up and leave you. Not in a million years. Not my brother. If that's the truth and that Gemma lady is there, say 'are you sure'."

Angela fought against the urge to smirk. "Are you sure you haven't heard from him?"

"Thought so. Give me your number. I'll call ya to check in, we can talk in private or somethin'. Think its weird this is the first time I'm talkin' to my brother's wife."

"Right?" she asked on a light laugh, watching as Gemma pushed away from the table in favor of doing something else now that she got her information. "He doesn't talk much about his life over there."

Jo sighed lengthily. " 'cause it was shit. For both of us. He's lucky he got out alive, the idiot."

Angela frowned a little as she ran her finger around the rim of her coffee mug. She wondered if Juice had been called an 'idiot' his whole life. It would explain a lot about the way he thought about himself. "Guess so," she answered for lack of anything better to say. She heard a two little voices screaming in the background and smiled. "Those my nephews?"

"Yeah. Menaces, the two of 'em. I gotta go make sure they ain't killin' each other. Nice to finally talk to you, Angie. Hope to actually meet ya some time."

"Yeah, you too," she replied, saying her goodbye before hanging up. Her heart felt heavy at the sight of her and Juice grinning back at her on her phone's background. A picture they'd taken at Opie and Lyla's wedding when he had a full head of hair and that damn mustache. It wasn't her favorite look on him, but his smile was at its maximum wattage in the picture, his light brown eyes lit up with happiness. It felt like she hadn't seen that smile in forever. How had they gone from this smiling, happy moment to being torn away from each other? And by people he considered to be family, no less!

Gemma walked back into the kitchen, car keys in hand. "Well, that wasn't helpful," she stated, on a sigh.

"I didn't think it would be. He hasn't talked to her in years," Angela said, raking a hand through her hair while she got to her feet. "Is that all you wanted from me?"

She nodded, reaching out a hand to touch her cheek. "That was a beautiful service you put on for Tara, sweetheart. Couldn't even see that gash on her head when you looked at her. She looked beautiful, at peace. We're all very thankful for what you did. Jax especially."

Angela blinked at her for a moment trying to remember if Gemma had come to see Tara before she cleaned her up. She must've come when she wasn't there and Bones must've shown her in. How else would she have known? "Yeah, 'course. Tara was my friend. We had our disagreements, but I never stopped caring about her."

"You're a good girl, Angie. Glad you're a part of this family," Gemma said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "We'll find Juice, baby. He'll come home when his head's clear. I'm sure all of this stuff with Tara and being a new dad just spooked him a bit. He'll come back."

"You're probably right," she lied, smiling tersely. "Look, I gotta get back to work. The whole place falls apart if I leave the boys over there alone for too long."

"Skeeter doesn't help?"

"Please," Angela scoffed rolling her eyes. "He's just as bad as the other two! Spends most of his time playin' online poker and losing fake money."

Gemma chuckled, shaking her head. "Can't leave the men to do a woman's job."

"Ain't that the truth," she replied on a laugh as she made her way out. Standing at her car, she looked down the street to where Tara's house was, taking in a deep breath. What Gemma had said was still bugging her. She knew too much about what had happened to Tara. Way too much.

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

Bones walked into the funeral home office to find Angela sitting at the desk with her head in her hands. He heard her sniffle a bit before he cleared his throat, catching her attention. She looked up at him, her dark eyes glassy though there was no evidence she'd been actually crying. "Hey," she rasped, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"You okay?" he asked, plopping himself down at his desk.

She shrugged a shoulder, sucking in a quick breath. "Tryin' to be. I just...I'm..."

"You miss him," Bones filled in.

Angela nodded, letting out a long breath. "I do. So much. I can't...I'm going crazy here, Boner. The other day, I thought I smelled him on Evie. I mean, shit, I held her for hours just because I was sure she smelled like him. I didn't want to give her a bath because I didn't want to lose that smell, and it was probably all in my head."

He fought against the urge to grimace. Obviously bringing Evie to visit her dad wasn't his best idea ever. "Maybe she did smell like him. All his stuff is still in your house. Maybe you laid her on his side of the bed or something," he explained, grasping at straws.

"Maybe," she trailed off on a sad sigh. "This sucks. Even Evie misses him. She cried all through bath time since Juice usually showers with her, so she's not used to the tub. She hated it. I swear to God, she kept looking for him."

"She's a baby, Ang. She doesn't know what's going on," Bones reminded her, though he knew it wasn't true. He'd seen firsthand how much Evie missed her daddy. "Where is she anyway?"

Angela pointed up to where the appointment was located. "Ellie's got the day off of work. They're hanging out so I can do all of this paperwork," she said gesturing to the files. Her phone went off, the Imperial March from Star War filling the air. She glanced at the caller ID before grimacing. "Fuck me."

"No thanks," he shot back, earning himself the middle finger. "Who is it?"

"My mother," she muttered, rejecting the call. At Bones' surprised look she shrugged. "I cannot have a sit down with Gemma and my mother in the same day. I'll kill someone!"

"Woah, Cujo. Calm down. What'd Gemma want?"

She sighed heavily. "To know where Juice is which is pretty much the only reason people from that damn club talk to me any more," she explained a bit bitterly. "Hey, did Gemma stop by before I prepped Tara, by the way?"

"Nope. Why?"

She shrugged. "She knew about that awful gash in her head, and I just was trying to figure out how."

"Autopsy reports are public."

Angela nodded slowly. "Yeah, but only after the case is closed. Her case is nowhere near being closed."

"Who knows, Ang? Don't the Sons have all these law enforcement connections anyway? Maybe she got to see the scene pictures. Its not like she was there or anything. Gemma wouldn't kill her own daughter in law, right?" he asked, waiting for immediate assurance. She hesitated, biting on her lip as if seriously considering it. "Holy cow! Do you think Gemma killed Tara?"

"No!" she stated quickly, too quickly. "No, of course not. That's...that's insane. There's no way. I'm just...I can't think straight any more. There's too much going on."

"Why don't you go for a run or somethin'? You need to relax," he suggested. At her heated glare, he backpedaled. "Not that you'll be able to relax because of all the stuff that's going down, but you should at least try, you know? Like take a deep breath, calm down and run it out or something. We're pretty dead right now if you haven't noticed. I think I can handle it."

Angela smirked at him as she pushed away from the desk. "We're always dead, buddy. 's how we make money if you haven't noticed."

"Ha ha. You're hilarious. Go away and run. Far, far away," he ordered, slapping her hand away when she went to muss his hair.

Once she was gone, he finished what little paperwork was left then headed up the stairs his apartment to find Ellie sitting in front of his TV with Evie, The Princess and the Frog playing on the screen. The song Evie had been named for blared over the surround sound speakers while Ellie made the baby girl dance to it, humming softly along with the track. She looked up at him, a huge smile spreading across her face that gave him butterflies. He swallowed hard and gestured to the TV. "What's with the movie?"

Ellie sighed tiredly. "Its one of the only things that calms her down. She's never cried this much before. Ang came in, gave her some cuddles, then took Rigs and went on her run and Eves just started screaming bloody murder."

"She misses Juice," he answered on a sigh. "Probably makes her nervous when she sees Angela leave since Juice hasn't come back."

"She's not even a year old yet. How could she possibly know that?"

Bones shrugged a shoulder. "She's a smart cookie, huh, Monk?" he asked, taking her from Ellie's arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Ellie frowned, sighing sadly as she messed with the black beanie on her head. "This whole thing is such bullshit," she stated, shaking her head. "Why can't any of the damn club members just be happy? I mean, fuck, this is so stupid! If someone's not dying, they're being fucking separated or...or running! What is wrong with these people? Why can't they just be happy with what they have? Why can't they just leave well enough alone? Its not fair!"

He stared at her, slack jawed. It was the most he'd ever heard her talk in a single sitting, the most passion he'd ever seen from her. "I dunno," he answered, feeling a little useless. He didn't know what to say to calm her down. An angry tear slipped down her cheek, and he reached out to wipe it away. "But its going to be okay, El. Ang and Juice, they'll figure somethin' out. You know they will. They're meant to be. Separating them would be like separating Han Solo and Princess Leia. Its just not going to happen. They'll fight for each other until they get their happily ever after."

"Its not going to end well, Bones. It never ends well."

Bones frowned and looked down at Evie, reaching out a finger to her and feeling his heart ache as her tiny fingers wrapped around his. "You can't think like that, El. You gotta...you gotta be positive. Everything will work out."

Ellie leaned over and kissed his cheek, making his face turn tomato red. "I hope you're right, Bones. I really, really hope you are."