Angela's leg bounced excitedly as she sat on Juice's hospital bed while waiting for Juice to change out of his hospital gown. She smiled when she heard the electric hair clippers going; glad she had remembered to grab them for him so he could shave his hair back into his signature mowhawk. The door opened and in strode Bobby, a smile on his face and Juice's cut in his hands. "Mornin' darlin'," he said giving her a nod.

"Hey Bobby," she greeted, smiling at him.

He handed her Juice's cut, smiling back at her. "Why don't you go on and give this to him when he gets out?"

She raised an eyebrow at the older man as she took the soft leather cut into her hands, her fingers smoothing over the front patches as she laid it down on her lap. "All right."

"You gonna come with us down to TM?"

Angela smirked, somehow she got the sense his question was not an invitation but a way to lead her into an explanation about why she couldn't come. "Not if you don't want me to. I drove here so I don't need a ride or anything."

Bobby shrugged a shoulder. "It's not that we don't want you around or anythin', Ang. Clay called a meet."

She nodded in understanding. "Club comes first, right?"

"That it does," he agreed on a nod. "By that frown on your face, I can tell you had somethin' else planned."

"Nothing that can't wait 'til later," she said with a naughty grin.

Bobby chuckled, earning him a curious look from Juice when he walked out of the bathroom clad in a dark red shirt and his black jeans. "There's the little Rican," Bobby exclaimed, pulling Juice in for a light man hug. "Nice to see you outta bed."

"Nice to be out of bed," Juice replied, that huge goofy grin on his face.

"You look good," Angela said as she headed his way. "Missin' something though."

She opened up his cut and helped him shrug into it. He turned around to her, still grinning like an idiot. "Thanks," he said, grabbing her hips in his hands and pulling her in close. He caught her lips in a quick kiss. "You comin' with us?"

"Nah, I can't," she lied with a quick shake of her head. "I've got work to do."

"See you later tonight?" he asked, his light brown eyes hopeful as they raked over her curvy figure.

The corner of her lips turned up in a sexy smirk. "I'll be waiting," she stated giving him a wink before heading out the door.

Bobby whistled in response. "You are one lucky man," he said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Juice chuckled as he nodded exaggeratedly in agreement. "Hell yeah, I am."

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

Juice walked up steps to Angela's apartment, massaging his sore back as he went. His first day out of the hospital had been long and stressful. First finding out about what really happened to Gemma, then trying to come up with enough guns for retaliation, after that finding out about Chibs' shit, and to top it off Piney bursting into the chapel, guns blazing; he felt all the stress from the day knotting up in his shoulders and back.

The small apartment was relatively dark save for the little slit of light peeking out from underneath her door. Bending over with a groan, he untied his boots and toed them off before heading in that direction.

He pushed the door open, leaning against the doorjamb to take in the sight in front of him. Angela was lying across the bed on her stomach, elbows propped up on the edge of her pillow, a book splayed out in front of her. Her hair was pushed messily over to one side, leaving her neck and shoulder exposed on the side closest to him. His eyes raked over her body, drinking in her caramel skin that was barely covered by the lacy lingerie she was wearing, black lingerie with little dark blue rhinestones that he'd specially picked out and ordered for her.

Slowly, he stretched out next to her, his ringed hand smoothing over the soft dip of her back. She shivered under his touch as she turned her head to look at him. "Hey you," she practically purred, leaning in to give him a kiss. "How you feelin'?"

"Sore," he answered honestly, his fingers tracing patterns along her lower back just above the top of her lacy underwear. "Nothin' a little massage wouldn't fix."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I can do that, but you sir, are wearing entirely too much clothing. You are making me feel awfully naked."

Juice grinned at her, his fingers tracing over the lace on her hip. "That's because you are...almost."

"Do you want a massage or not? Because it's been awhile and I was all set for some Little Rican lovin'," she teased.

His eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Little?" he asked in mock offense as he took off his cut and hung it on the hook she had on the back of her door. "It obviously has been awhile if you think its little..."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Goof."

"Massage first," he demanded, pulling his shirt over his head before pulling down his pants so he was just in his boxers. "Big Rican lovin' later," he decided with a grunt as he lay down on his stomach.

Angela smiled, knowing it wouldn't take too long for one to turn into the other. Placing the book on the night table, she slid one leg over his back careful to avoid his injuries as she straddled him. Her eyes looked over the two pink, puckered scars marring his once perfectly smooth back. "Does it hurt?" she asked softly, gently tracing a finger over one of them.

"If you pressed any harder than that, yeah," he answered honestly. He heard her sigh and turned his head just in time to catch her worried frown. "I'm okay, Angel."

"Okay." The frown hadn't come from her worry; it had come from the painful feeling that squeezed at her heart every time she glanced at his scars. It confused her, made her uncomfortable. It was the same feeling she got when she saw Happy get hurt or when she saw how sick his mom looked sometimes. Shaking her head slightly, she pushed back the feeling and squirted massage oil onto her palms. She'd picked some up when she realized how much Juice liked her massages.

The smell of jasmine and vanilla tickled his nose as her hands worked over the muscles in his back. He relaxed under her touch, sighing gratefully. "We're going on lockdown tomorrow. The whole club," he told her.

"Oh fun," she said, her hands sliding up to his neck.

"Including you."

He felt her tense up, her hands leaving his skin for a brief moment. He knew without looking that she was nervously tucking her hair behind her ear and took it as a bad sign. "Juice, I can't. I have work to do," she said after a moment.

Juice shrugged a shoulder. "So take it off."

She slid off his back, choosing to kneel by him instead, angered by his nonchalance. "I can't just do that," she said, a dark look in her eyes as he turned onto his back, propping himself up on his elbows. "I'm not just messing around here. This is my job; it's not something I do just to keep myself busy when you're not around."

He was surprised by her anger. He'd just assumed she'd understand; she'd been so easy going with everything else. "It's only for a few days, I'm sure Skeeter wouldn't mind."

"A few days? Juice, if I don't work, I don't get paid," she pointed out, still trying to comprehend why he thought it'd be so easy for her. Didn't he understand her responsibilities? She had to help pay for her Mom and aunt's house, her aunt's medicine, her aunt's doctor's visits, and then of course, she needed money for groceries and gas. Taking a few days off could mean one of those things slipped through the cracks and she'd go hungry long before she'd ever stop paying for her mom and aunt's necessities. "I can't just take off like that."

"Tara's doing it."

By the way her eyes darkened, he could tell it wasn't a wise thing to say. She stood up from the bed, now fully pissed off at him. "What, you think just because the doctor takes a few days off, I can too? She has paid leave, Juice!"

That and rumor has it she's been suspended, he added in his head, knowing better than to say it out loud. "Angel, it's not safe for you to be by yourself. We're taking all the families in for protection," he insisted, trying to make her see the light. "If we're gonna retaliate against these guys, we need to make sure our families are out of danger."

"Why would I be in danger?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out to the side. "Whoever you guys are retaliating against probably doesn't even know who I am!"

Juice sat up straighter, sweeping a hand over his mowhawk as he tried to work out how to make it better. "You know what? You're right," he said on a sigh. He didn't want to fight with her at the moment, not when he had another trick up his sleeve. "I'm sorry."

Angela narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. He'd flipped sides a little too quickly. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You're not going to try and make me go?"

Not tonight, he thought as he shook his head. "Nope. I just got home, and I don't want to fight with you tonight." If she was his Old Lady, he'd have more of a say in what she did, but being that they were in some weird relationship limbo, he didn't really have a right to tell her what to do. He could suggest she go into lockdown, but he couldn't force her into it, but he knew someone that could.

"Okay," she drawled out, letting him grab her hips and pull her in closer to him.

He dipped his head, placing an open mouthed kiss on her stomach and working his way down towards the top of her panties. His scruff tickled her skin as he went making her laugh. He glanced up at her a mischievous look in his eyes. He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her onto the bed and underneath him in one swift movement before crushing his lips down on hers. "Now where were we?" he asked, his lips moving across her neck.

"Little Rican loving?" she asked, gasping when he sunk his teeth into the soft skin just above her bra. Her hands played with the waistband of his boxers as she corrected her error, "Sorry, big Rican loving.
------------

Angela was awakened by her alarm clock as usual, something she was used to. What was surprising to her was that it was barely light outside. It looked as though the sun was just starting to rise up over the clouds. "The fuck?" she muttered, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. She glanced at the clock and groaned when she saw that it was almost five in the morning. Throwing out a hand to hit Juice, who'd obviously messed with it the night before, she was met with nothing but an empty mattress. "Juice?" she called out, getting out of bed with a groan. She could smell coffee brewing and heard the deep sounds of two people talking.

As she stood from the bed, she almost tripped over a backpack that was at her feet, filled with her clothes. "What the hell?" she muttered, toeing it out of the way before slipping on a pair of basketball shorts and the red shirt Juice had been wearing the night before.

Juice fought the urge to laugh as Angela walked into the living room, rubbing at her eyes like a tired little girl, her dark hair a complete mess despite the ponytail she'd pulled it up in. "Hey Angel," he greeted, knowing better than to call her 'baby' with the present company.

Angela wasn't looking at him though; she was staring straight at her cousin who was sitting at the table across from Juice, leaning back in his chair like he owned the place. "Why am I up before the sun?" she asked Happy, approaching the table cautiously. She took the mug of coffee Juice was pushing at her, giving him a thankful smile as she took a long sip of the perfectly prepared drink.

"Lockdown," Happy replied simply. "Get your shit together."

She almost choked on her coffee. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I packed a lot of it, but he wouldn't let me touch your underwear," Juice explained around a bite of bagel.

Angela blinked at them both, trying to comprehend what was going on; her brain didn't work so well in the wee hours of the morning. Then it hit her. "I told you I wasn't going to go," she started slowly working things out in her head as she looked at Juice, "and you called him?"

"Well, you wouldn't listen to me," Juice explained on a shrug. "Figured you'd listen to him."

"Oh, you asshole," she murmured, her eyes narrowed at him, anger starting to bubble in her veins.

Happy smirked, slightly amused by the situation. He had been glad to get the call for help from his brother. If Juice hadn't called him and had showed up at the clubhouse without her; he'd have been in deep shit. "You got an hour to get dressed and pack the rest of your shit."

"Hap, I gotta work. I can't just leave!"

He shrugged a shoulder in indifference. "Two ways to do this, kid. Easy or hard. Ain't no way you're staying."

Juice watched as she clenched her jaw angrily before going back to her room, the door slamming behind her making him wince. He heard the shower start up and glanced at Happy. "How fucked am I?"

"She'll get over it," Happy said sipping on the coffee she'd left behind. "Knows it's what's best for her."

The shower stopped and Juice pushed away from the table, standing up from his seat. "I better..." he gestured towards the hallway before heading in that direction. She was just pulling a shirt over her head when he walked in. It was a simple black tank with the Jack Daniels logo on it matched to a pair of faded black jeans. By the time he got done looking her over, she was halfway finished with braiding her hair. "So how mad at me are you?" he asked, trying to catch her attention.

She finished off the braid before shooting him a glare; her eyes pitch black in the dim light of the room. Pulling open her underwear drawer, she started violently shoving the skimpy pieces of lace he loved so much into her bag. He grimaced at the implication of her glare and of the violent way she was treating her undergarments. He was sure she wanted to treat him similarly.

"He's doin' it to protect you," Happy's voice came from the doorway. She didn't acknowledge his presence, just kept shoving things into her bag. Cell phone charger, some make-up, a toothbrush. "You know why we're retaliating?"

Angela stopped what she was doing, breathing in a deep breath to calm herself down. She wasn't mad at Happy, she was mad at Juice for betraying her by going behind her back and talking to Hap. He had to have known her cousin would make her go! No wonder he'd switched sides so easily! All for what? A car bomber? What was the guy gonna do to her? Bomb the funeral home? Fat chance. "Chibs," she stated through clenched teeth.

Happy glanced at Juice. "You didn't tell her?"

"I don't...I didn't..." Juice stammered, his nerves frayed by Happy's intense stare. The truth was he hadn't told her because he hadn't wanted to scare her. Now that Happy pointed it out, it seemed like it would've been a better idea if he started out with the reason they were going into lockdown. Maybe then, they wouldn't be having this conversation. "No. I didn't."

"Tell her then," Happy said, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew a part of the reason she didn't want to go was because she didn't see the danger. If she knew what happened to Gemma, it'd be quite clear why the lockdown was necessary.

Juice sighed. "You remember what happened to Gemma the night of Bobby's party?" he questioned, scratching nervously at the back of his neck.

She nodded in response. "Yeah, she got in a car accident. So?"

"Wasn't a car accident," he answered on a sigh. "She was...someone..."

Happy rolled his eyes, he wasn't about to wait all day for the idiot to spit it out. "Assholes abducted and raped her."

Angela's eyes widened, all anger forgotten as the information sunk in. "What?" she breathed, the brush in her hand falling to the floor.

"That's why we're puttin' all the women on lockdown," Juice explained, picking up her brush and handing it to her. "These guys already hurt one of our ladies. We're not gonna let it happen again."

She swallowed hard, running a hand through her hair as she nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, meeting Juice's eyes for the first time that morning.

Juice shrugged a shoulder. "I'm new to this whole relationship thing, Angel," he answered honestly. "I dunno what to tell you, what not to. Sometimes I think I say too much...others, obviously, not enough...it's not easy to balance it out."

Her eyes widened a little bit; he'd just called what they had a "relationship". Had he meant to do that? She glanced at Happy who gave her a quick smirk before disappearing back to the kitchen. "Fair enough," she said lamely, looking down at her bag. It was clear by the confused look on his face he hadn't realized what he just said...that it wasn't as big a deal to him as it was to her which was a good thing, she decided.

"You're still mad," he pointed out; it was a statement, not a question. He knew she was mad.

Angela let out a lengthy sigh as she nodded. "You totally played me, Juice," she explained, less annoyed with going into locked down and more pissed at Juice for betraying her trust. She slipped the backpack on. "Fed me all this bullshit and then just called Hap behind my back. You knew he was going to make me go. Why would you give me all this "you're right" crap and then do that?"

Juice shrugged a shoulder. "I just wanted to keep you safe," he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Whatever," she muttered, walking by him and heading to the kitchen. "I'm ready," she told Happy who had returned to his seat at the kitchen table.

Happy nodded in approval standing up and heading to the door. "You're riding with him," he said looking to Juice.

Angela stopped and stared at her cousin in a mixture of shock and anger. Shock because she knew he knew what it looked like when you rode bitch to the clubhouse; it was a claim on the girl seated on the back of the bike. Anyone who saw her get off of Juice's bike would know who she was with and for Happy to be okay with that was the weirdest thing in the world. Anger because she was pissed at Juice for being such a manipulative asshole and definitely did not want to be anywhere near him. "Are you serious?"

He didn't answer her, just headed down the stairs to his motorcycle.

Juice fought the urge to smile; he'd never liked Happy more than he did at that moment. "C'mon, Angel."

Reluctantly, she followed him out the door, turning to lock it behind her. Happy was already on his Dyna, helmet on, bike started up, just waiting for Juice and Angela to leave. She sighed and grabbed the helmet Juice handed her, putting it on her head and strapping it on. "Let's just get this over with," she muttered, swinging her leg over the bike behind Juice.

As they rode to the clubhouse, Juice noticed Angela wasn't holding on as tightly as she usually did. There was a distinct space between his back and her chest that had never been there before, her hands on his hips instead of having her arms around him. He wondered how long it was going to take for her to forgive him. For him to regain her trust.

Once in front of the clubhouse, Angela got off of his bike the second he stopped it. Adjusting her bag over her shoulder and heading straight for the clubhouse door. A hand reached out to grab her wrist on the way over, and she was so worked up from the morning, she whipped around ready to smack whoever touched her. "Easy there, tiger!" Kozik said on a laugh as he let her go. "Thought you'd be happy to see me."

"Koz!" Angela threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Smiling when he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off of her feet in a big bear hug. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before setting her down on her feet. "How come you didn't tell me you were comin'?" she asked, smacking his shoulder gently.

"Thought I'd surprise you," he said wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leading her over to an empty picnic table. She took a seat on top of the table while he sat on the bench. He watched her eyes follow Juice as he jogged into the clubhouse, starting his duties for the day. "Heard about you and the idiot. What happened to waiting 'til my kid brother to get out of med school?"

She rolled her eyes. Kozik's younger brother, Mel, was a year older than her and had been in his undergrad at the University of Washington at the same time she'd been at the mortuary school in Tacoma. They'd had a brief fling for a few weeks and had ended it just before he got accepted to medical school at UC San Diego. She and Mel were still close and talked every so often, but she had no interest in rekindling that romance; they were much better off as friends. "With the way things are going with the idiot, we'll see how long it lasts," she muttered, looking down at her hands.

Kozik's eyebrows lifted in surprise. The way Happy had talked about them made it seem like Angela was very content with her new man. "Trouble in..."

"Please don't say paradise," she said, cutting him off. She ran a hand through her hair before explaining, "When I told him I didn't want to go on lockdown, he said fine and then called Hap behind my back."

"And Hap made you come here. Kid has balls, gotta give him that." At her glare, he grinned. "Relax, kid. If it wasn't him draggin' your ass down here, I woulda done it. Either way lands you here."

"Guess so," she muttered rolling her eyes. "Still was a shitty thing to do."

"Cut him some slack, Angie pie. He's just takin' care of you. You wouldn't have minded if it was me."

Angela shrugged, knowing he was right. The difference was Kozik would never have gone to Happy to get her to go. It would've come from him. "You wouldn't have gone behind my back."

Kozik nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but I've known ya longer. You listen to me. My guess is you didn't give that poor sucker a chance."

She frowned slightly, Kozik, ever the insightful little shit, was right again. "Shut up, Koz," she said, hitting his shoulder with her leg.

He chuckled standing up and offering her his hands. She put hers in them and allowed him to help her off the table. "I gotta go do some networking. You get in there and help out those Old Ladies and maybe think about making up with the idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said as she walked into the clubhouse. She smiled when she saw Tara, Gemma, and Mary all sitting at the bar making sandwiches. "Need some help?"

Gemma nodded, giving Angela a small smile. "Glad to see you made it."

"Like I had a choice," she replied with a smirk as she sat down next to Mary. "Where's El and Kenny?"

"They're ridin' in with the porn star," Mary explained, shaking her head in disapproval. "Don't know what to make of her. Wish you coulda been the one to hook up with Ope. The kids like you a whole lot."

Gemma chuckled at the look on Angela's face. "Ease up, Mary. The undertaker's already been claimed."

Angela wrinkled her nose at the statement, still so mad at Juice that even the suggestion they were together pissed her off. Tara raised an eyebrow at her. "Somethin' happen?"

"Nope," she lied, glancing over her shoulder and smiling when she saw Lyla walk in with the kids. Glad for the distraction, she pushed away from the bar. "Hey kids!"

Juice rushed passed them, heading towards the door so he could tell the brothers outside to close the gate. He didn't miss the glare Angela shot him, though she seemed to be listening intently to something Kenny was telling her. Lyla noticed the glare too and raised an eyebrow at her in surprise; she'd never seen Angela mad at Juice before. They always seemed to be such an easy going pair. "What happened?"

"Don't ask," she muttered, straightening up and gently nudging Kenny to go play with the other kids so she and Lyla could talk. For some reason, she trusted Lyla more when it came to relationship stuff. She knew the blonde wouldn't judge her for not meeting "Old Lady" standards like Gemma or Tara might.

The two took a seat on the checkered couch. Lyla's foot bounced up and down nervously as she looked around the room. Her relationship with Opie was just starting to get serious, being invited to go into lockdown made her feel like she was getting in even deeper...something she wasn't totally sure she wanted. But she was sure she wanted Opie and the club came with him so she'd deal. In desperate need of a distraction from her thoughts, she lightly hit Angela's arm. "Distract me," she urged. "What happened with you and Juice?"

With a long sigh, Angela launched into the story, making sure to keep her voice relatively low to avoid eavesdroppers.

Juice shot a quick glance at Angela as he made his way across the room. She seemed to be deep in conversation with Lyla, her hands gesturing about as she talked. Again, he wondered if she'd ever forgive him for calling Happy in as reinforcement. He hadn't thought it was such a bad idea in the end, and he honestly wasn't all that sorry for it; it had gotten him what he wanted. She was safely sitting there in the clubhouse with tons of brothers willing to risk their lives to protect her.

He headed over to where Happy and Bobby were talking by the piano as Clay began to address the mass of people filling the clubhouse. Happy surprised him by clapping him on the shoulder, an approving look in his dark eyes. Though Angela hadn't agreed with his actions, it was clear Happy had, and Juice was okay with that; Angela wouldn't kill him if he messed up, Happy would.

"Under this roof you'll all be safe. You should make yourself at home. I love all of you," Clay finished, going to kiss Gemma as the crowd applauded around him.

A few minutes later, Lyla stood to go talk to Opie leaving Angela free to wander around. She headed over to the pool table, leaning against the nearby couch to watch a few Croweaters and some patched members from a different charter play.

Taking advantage of the fact she was alone, Juice moved to stand next to her, a small smile tugging at his lips as he waited for her to notice. She glanced up at him, trying to glare but finding it hard when he was smiling at her like that. "What?" she asked finally.

He didn't say anything, just shrugged a shoulder as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He curled a hand along the back of the couch just centimeters away from her hip. If he stretched out his pinky, he'd be touching her. It was a test to see if she'd pull away. She didn't. He took that as a sign she'd cooled down a little.

Angela let out a long breath as she remembered what both Lyla and Kozik had told her. She knew she was right in being angry at Juice for calling Happy behind her back, but she also knew she was overreacting. With a small smile, she leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Next time I'll listen to you," she said softly.

Juice's smile grew as he took a step closer to her, his arm sliding around her waist and pulling her to his side. "And I won't call your cousin," he replied before catching her lips in a kiss. She turned towards him, leaning into the kiss as his hands slid into the back pockets of her jeans, holding her closer.

A low whistle had him pulling back just as some of his brothers headed inside the chapel. He placed one more soft kiss on her lips, thankful she wasn't mad at him anymore. Kozik ruffled her hair as he walked by. "Glad to see you two worked stuff out," he commented. She flipped him off just as the chapel door closed behind him.

Letting out a small sigh, Angela sat down on the couch, squishing in between Piper and Kenny who were engulfed in their DS games. "You guys playing each other?" she asked, peering at Kenny's game as he angled himself so she could see it.

"Yeah, Mario Kart."

"No way!" she exclaimed, watching the little Mario on the screen. "They have Mario Kart on those things now?"

Kenny nodded, crossing over the finish line a significant amount ahead of Piper. The blonde boy scowled and handed Angela his DS. "Want to play? Kenny's real good. No one can beat him," Piper said on a scowl.

Angela, ever the gaming nerd, grabbed the electronic enthusiastically. Within seconds, she and Kenny were locked in an epic tournament. And that was how Juice found her, her fingers punching away at the little piece of plastic as she and Kenny taunted each other.

He leaned over the couch, putting his face directly next to hers, watching her little racer fly passed one of the colored "boost" boxes. "Missed a box," he teased, earning him a scowl.

"Shut up! I've never played this level before," she ground out, frustrated because she was so far behind. Finally, Kenny crossed over the finish line first. He pumped his fist in the air which made Angela laugh. She stood, handing the game to Piper before leaning over to muss Kenny's hair. "Good game, kid." He swatted her hand away with a scowl as she stepped around the couch to talk to Juice.

"I gotta go," he said, placing a hand at the back of her neck, his thumb stroking over her cheek. Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Be good, all right? I'll be back later."

She nodded, kissing him once more. "Come back safely, Juice."

"Of course," he said with a shrug as though the alternative wasn't even a possibility. One of his hands dipped into the back of her pants, skimming over the lacy fabric of her panties before snapping one of the straps playfully. "I have you and those sexy lacy panties to come back to, don't I?"

Angela rolled her eyes, pushing him away with a laugh. She was aware Happy's eyes on them and knew it was best to quit while they were ahead. "Get out of here, goof! Before you get yourself killed!"