After a long day, Juice walked into the clubhouse, trailing his brothers. His eyes swept the small room, looking over a few Croweaters chatting in the corner, some kids spread out over the floor coloring, and Angela sitting on the couch next to Abel's car seat, making faces at the baby boy while he cooed and laughed in response.

That warm feeling he was so unfamiliar with spread through his stomach at the sight of them. She was so comfortable around the SAMCRO kids and they all loved her. Kenny was sitting on the ground by her legs, his head against her knee while he played his game. Ellie was spread out on the ground in front of her, working on a coloring book, her hair done up in an intricate braid that could only be Angela's handiwork.

Juice took a seat behind Angela, sliding one arm around her hip and setting his chin on her shoulder. She leaned back against him, a small smile on her face. "Hey you," she greeted, one hand reaching to touch his cheek while she turned her head and met his lips with a sweet kiss.

"Hey baby. Having fun?" he asked, reaching out a hand to tickle Abel's tummy.

"Oh yeah, me and Abel have just been laughing it up. Huh, cutie?" she cooed at the infant. For a split second, the image of Angela cooing at another, darker baby flashed across Juice's mind; a baby with her dark eyes and pretty smile. He tensed slightly, afraid of what that image could possibly mean and where the hell it had come from. She glanced back at him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What?"

Juice shook his head. "Nothin'," he said kissing her once more before pushing himself off the couch and heading towards where Tara was patching up Chucky's hand.

She shook her head at his retreating back. "Goof," she murmured to herself.

A few minutes later, Gemma sat down on the other side of Abel's car seat. "We got a few errands to run," Gemma stated, glancing down at Abel with a smile.

"Okay," Angela replied, not really sure why she needed to know.

"You think you can handle watching him while we're gone?" Normally, she wouldn't have trusted a woman other than Neeta or Tara with Abel, but she'd been watching the way Angela was playing with not just Abel but the rest of the kids. If she could handle watching all those kids at one time and give Abel attention, she was a fine caretaker in Gemma's book.

She smiled as she nodded, holding back a sarcastic response that went along the lines of 'how hard can it be.' She had a feeling Gemma would not appreciate it. "Of course," she said with a nod. "We'll have some fun, huh Abel?"

Abel gurgled in response. "Thanks, baby," Gemma said, patting her shoulder lightly before heading out the door with Tara.

Angela stared at the Queen's back as she walked out the door, a quizzical look on her face. Though she'd heard Gemma use the term many times before, it was the first time the endearment had ever been used on her. "Huh," she said, wondering what that could mean. She glanced at Abel who was watching her with his dark blue eyes. "What do you think it means, Abie Baby?"

He gurgled back at her and she laughed. "Oh really?" she asked, tickling his tummy with a small smile. "That's interesting."

She smiled at Juice as he carefully stepped around the kids on the floor and sat behind her on the couch again. "What's he sayin'?"

"Oh loads of interesting things," Angela lied with a smile.

Juice chuckled, tugging at the end of her braid to catch her attention. She turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "I gotta go, but I'll come back. Pick you up so we can sleep at my place."

"We don't have to stay here?" she asked, a surprised look on her face.

He shook his head. "If we got a house close by, we can leave. That way it's not so crowded here. It's Gemma's rule; she likes to sleep in her own bed."

"Can't blame her," she said, her eyes following the boys as they headed out.

Jax made a gesture to Juice, wordlessly telling him it was time to go. Juice sighed, gently taking her face in one hand and pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. "Have fun talking to the baby...baby," he said, chuckling at himself as he stood.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Be safe, goof."

-----------

Once Tara and Gemma came back, Gemma took Abel to one of the dorm rooms to give him a nap leaving Angela with nothing to do. She glanced at the abandoned pool table and then over to where Kozik was sitting talking to one of his brothers. Leaning over the red felt, she started to rack up the balls, making them clack against each other on purpose, knowing it would catch the blonde's attention.

Kozik excused himself from the conversation and ambled on over to her, just as she had expected. "Up for a game, Kozi?" she asked, rolling the rack over to the center of the table.

"You know it," he said on a nod as he grabbed a pool stick. "We bettin'?"

She nodded. "Fifty?"

"Sounds good. Your move first, sweetheart."

She lined up the shot, breaking the rack and sending in two solid balls. "Solid balls are mine."

"That so?" he asked, a twinkle in his pretty blue eyes. "Your boy toy got pretty solid balls?"

"Shut up, Koz," she said, sending him a glare. His words were meant to distract her, and it worked; she didn't get a single ball in. Fucker, she thought to herself.

He smirked triumphantly as he studied the table, considering his options. "How's your mom and aunt doin'?"

"All right. My mom asks about you all the time. She's waiting for us to get married and pop out little blonde grandchildren," she said, wrinkling her nose at the thought. Yeah, Kozik was a good looking man, but blonde and snarky wasn't her type. "Never mind that you're ten years older than me and sleep with anything that walks."

"Age ain't nothin' but a number, sweetheart," Kozik stated, lining up his shot and getting a ball in. "You're not my type though, sorry."

She rolled her eyes in response. "Tell my Ma that, please."

"And ruin all her fun? I don't think so," he teased.

She shook her head at him. "So what's with you and Tig?" she asked. If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have dared asked the question, but this was Kozik. She'd known him for almost ten years now, not much stayed secret between them. At his look, she smirked. "C'mon Kozi. I saw your little face off. There's gotta be somethin'."

He sighed and shrugged a shoulder. "Bitch problems."

"Say no more, I get it," she said holding up her hands.

"I gotta say, I miss havin' you hanging 'round Tacoma," Kozik stated honestly. He'd met the girl when she was around seventeen. He and Hap had just gotten out of jail and Hap's mom was making a celebratory dinner. He'd invited himself to come along. At seventeen, Angela had been one hell of a rebel. She'd had her hair dyed black with bright red streaks in it, a ton of dark eyeshadow, and lips that were lined a shade darker than her lipstick. Huge hoops had dangled from her ears and she was perpetually scowling in an attempt to look tough. The only time she smiled was when Happy walked into the room.

"You been happy in Charming, kid?" he asked after a moment.

Angela laughed and nodded. "Yeah, actually."

"With Juice?"

She smiled despite trying her best not to. "Yeah," she answered.

"Good." Kozik grinned at her as he looked her over. She'd changed a lot since he and Hap had stomped into her Oakland apartment and taken her to Tacoma, away from that Mayan and all of his bullshit.

Angela noticed him looking her over and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just remembering when we pulled you outta Oakland," he said with a wide grin. "You remember that?"

She blushed, it hadn't been one of her proudest moments. "Vividly."

Kozik chuckled. "You thought you were so hood with all your finger wavin' Mayan "chola" shit. Tellin' Hap he couldn't make you do anything. He slung you over his shoulder and took ya right outta there," he said, reminiscing about the little rebel Angela had been in her teenage years. "You were kickin' and screamin' and cursing the club, sayin' we were good for nothing outlaws and that you hated the Sons."

"Is there a reason you're bringing this up?" she asked, lining up another shot.

He shrugged a shoulder. "You've come a long way since then, kid. You're not that obnoxious, chola anymore with the badass scowl and that awful make-up," he teased.

"Please stop talking," Angela muttered, hating being reminded of the bad decisions she'd made in high school. Without Happy there to keep her in line, she'd gotten in way too deep with the wannabe Mayan clique at her school. The girls dressed like cholas, the boys were prepping to Prospect, and they all thought they were badass and bulletproof.

He laughed again, pulling her in for a side hug. "I'm proud of you, kiddo. You really straightened up. I didn't think it could happen," he said honestly. The transformation from the teenage, scowling chola to the smiling woman standing in front of him had been a slow one, but Tacoma and college had done her good. They'd connected her with the right kinds of people and kept her busy. She'd really found herself there.

"Gee, thanks Kozik," she said rolling her eyes at him and pushing him away.

"Hap is too, you know," he said, glancing up at her as he lined up his shot. "He'll never say it, but he is."

"I'm what?" Happy asked as he walked into the clubhouse, the other SAMCRO members filtering in with him.

Kozik grinned at him. "Don't worry about it."

Happy raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. He watched his cousin miss an easy shot and smirked as Kozik grinned triumphantly. He knew Angela could make that shot in her sleep. There was only one reason she was playing dumb. "You got money on this?" he asked the blonde biker.

"Yeah," Koz said, watching her line up another shot. "Fifty. Thinkin' about raisin' it to a hundred. You down, sweetheart?"

Happy caught Angela's small smile, though she'd tried to hide it; the girl was hustling the blonde biker. "Sure," she stated, giving Juice a wink as he approached.

"She's losing?" Juice said, a little surprised as he watched Kozik point out a pocket and get another ball. He'd played Angela more than enough times to know she was better than what the score showed.

Happy shook his head. "Yeah. They're playin' for a bill."

"No shit," Juice said, raising his eyebrows as he watched her miss yet another easy shot.

Kozik's confidence grew as he lined up his shot. "Someone's a little rusty," he teased, though he ended up missing his shot.

"Guess so," she said, lining up for a particularly difficult shot. From Juice's angle, it looked like she wasn't aiming at anything, but once she actually hit the ball; it hit the edge of the table, ricocheted, and pocketed two of her balls leaving them tied with just two striped balls, two solid balls, and the eight ball on the table. "Or not."

Kozik reached over, wrapping his arm around her neck in a tight headlock. "You hustlin' me, kid?" he asked, holding her there while she struggled against him.

"No!" she exclaimed around a laugh. She watched as Jax walked by, stopping to say something quickly to Juice and Hap before walking away.

"Go time?" Kozik asked as dug his knuckles into her head, giving her a noogie. Happy and Juice both nodded. Kozik let Angela go, ruffling her hair before pushing her towards the door. "Why don't you head out there with Op's blonde?"

Angela nodded, heading in the direction Kozik had nodded. She was surprised when Juice caught her wrist in his hand, pulling her into his chest easily. "Go ahead. Be out there in a minute, baby," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. It was a not so subtle signal to Kozik that she was his to order around and he didn't appreciate the blonde stepping in and filling his role.

"Okay," she said on a nod, giving him one curious glance before jogging after Lyla.

Once outside, the guys headed towards their bikes. Angela gave Happy a quick kiss on the cheek and Kozik a big hug before turning to Juice. He gave her his megawatt grin, one gloved hand sliding into her back pocket while the other cupped the back of her neck. Dipping his head, he slanted his lips across hers, delving his tongue into her mouth as she grabbed onto the front of his cut, pulling him even closer to her. After a moment, he pulled away. "I gotta go," he murmured, kissing her once more, quicker this time.

She smiled, patting the front of his cut lovingly. "Be safe, Juice."

"Will do," he said, giving her ass a quick smack before jogging over to his bike. He turned to catch one last glimpse, chuckling when he saw her shaking her head at him, the hint of a smile on her face. He knew it annoyed her when he smacked her ass in public, but a small part of him also knew she secretly liked it too, which was why he loved to do it. He could feel Happy's eyes glaring holes into his head but decided to ignore it and play it off like it was no big deal as he started his Dyna and followed the line of Harley's out the gate.

As the guys started heading out, Angela went to stand next to Lyla, bumping her hip against the blonde's to catch her attention. Lyla smiled, looping an arm through Angela's in a silent show of support as they watched the gate close behind their boys.

"C'mere, come here," Gemma said, wrapping an arm around Lyla and Tara, her hand settling protectively over Angela's shoulder. She pressed kisses to both Lyla and Tara's cheek and gave Angela's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Once the gates were closed and locked she sighed. "It'll be all right," she assured them. "Let's get everyone inside."

Angela nodded, stepping away from Lyla and going over to Kenny and Ellie. She put an arm around each of them and gently herded them inside. Gemma pulled her over to the corner where she already had Lyla and Tara. "You ladies have to be strong. Set examples for all the others. They see you worryin' and doubting your men, they're gonna do the same," she instructed, putting on a brave face.

"Okay," Tara and Lyla answered while Angela nodded, confused as to why she was included in all of this. Tara was an Old Lady and Lyla was well on her way to becoming one. She was not even close.

Gemma nodded, waving the other girls off but grabbed Angela's arm before she could move. "You don't include yourself as one of them?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

Angela shook her head. "I'm not an Old Lady."

"You see any Croweaters pushin' up on Juice?"

She thought about it for a minute. "No," she answered with a shake of her head.

"You know why that is?" Gemma asked. At Angela's blank look, she smiled. "That's because they know who he belongs to. You, Hap's cousin, and none of them want to cross Hap. Apparently, he's one of their favorite lays."

Angela wrinkled her nose at that idea. "Okay," she drawled, shifting uncomfortably. The idea Juice was only with her because he was scared of pissing off Happy crossed her mind briefly, making her feel a little sick to her stomach.

Gemma smirked, patting her shoulder lightly. "Don't sell yourself short, Ang. Like you said, you're no sweetbutt."

With that she walked away leaving Angela thoroughly confused. What was she supposed to take from that? She looked at the Croweater behind the bar who gave her a smile. "Can I get you anythin', darlin'?" she asked.

"A beer, please," she said on a sigh.

The Croweater looked surprised by her politeness as she nodded and turned to get a bottle. She set it down in front of her and opened it up. "So you're Hap's cousin, huh?"

It was Angela's least favorite topic. The title of being Happy's cousin came with a bunch of expectations. Most people who knew Happy expected her to be a tough as nails bitch who wouldn't hesitate to kill someone if they got in her way. But she wasn't a killer. Though she loved guns and shooting, the idea of killing someone frankly sickened her. She'd seen Happy do it once before, and it was something she never wanted to see again. "Yeah," she answered, picking at the label on her beer.

"He always that intense?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

She took a long pull of her beer before sighing. "Yes," she lied, hoping it would end the conversation. "He's that intense all the time. He's a real scary guy."

"He's a monster in the bedroom," the Croweater said with a wide grin on her face. "One of the best of the guys. I hear Juice is all right too, but I never..."

Angela pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her best to keep her cool. "Stop. Talking. Please," she ground out, sliding off the barstool and grabbing her beer. The Croweater tried to apologize, but Angela held up a hand. "Just...stop."

She walked away from them, quickly being intercepted by Tara who was holding a fussing Abel in her arms. "Diaper change," the doctor said, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"I'll give you some company," Angela said, following her. At Tara's curious look, she shrugged. "I'd much rather deal with his crap than hers," she explained, gesturing towards the bar.

Tara laughed, leading her towards the small back room. Once inside, she handed Abel over to Angela while she set up the changing pad. She lay him down for Tara before stepping out of the way and sitting down on the bed next to her. "You seem bothered by something, Ang," Tara stated, looking at what she was doing instead of at Angela.

"Somethin' Gemma said is trippin' me up a bit is all," she answered honestly as she let Abel wrap one of his little fists around her finger.

"I've been there," she said, giving Angela a sympathetic smile. "You still stuck on the Old Lady thing?"

Angela shrugged. "I'm just not...I'm not Juice's Old Lady. I don't have any illusions about that. I'm not even his girlfriend. I'm starting to wonder if he's just with me because he's afraid Hap will kill him if he leaves me."

"I don't think that's the case," Tara assured her. She paused a moment before asking, "Do you even want to be his Old Lady?"

She shrugged again. "I like being with him. The whole Old Lady thing...that's a huge step. I don't know if I'm ready for what that title brings with it," she answered honestly. "I didn't want to come here today. It seemed so ridiculous to be holed up here while they go play cowboys and Indians. I have a job, I have a life, and I can't just drop everything and come running when the club calls. I'm not a member. I didn't ask for that kind of life."

Tara smiled, watching as Angela grinned at Abel, wiggling her finger in his grasp and making the little boy smile. "You love the man. You learn to love the club," she said, repeating Gemma's advice.

Angela sighed. "Guess so."

"So you love Juice?" Tara said, a wide, almost teasing grin on her face.

The other girl blanched. "What? No...I didn't...I'm not..." she stumbled, looking for the right words. "I was just agreeing with what you said."

"Uh-huh sure," Tara teased, sticking the new diaper on Abel. "It's okay to love him, Angie."

Angela ran a hand through her hair, feeling incredibly frustrated. "I don't...I mean, I care a lot about him but...I don't...I can't...we're not..."

"You can love him, you do love him, and you are very important to him," Tara said, understanding what she meant. "You're his girl, Angie. Everyone can see that. You just need to start believing it."

-----------

A few hours later, the boys came trailing in all bloodied, dirty, and looking haggard. Happy gave Angela's shoulder a quick squeeze as he walked by on his way to a blonde Croweater who'd been after him all day. Kozik did much the same, stopping to ruffle her hair before winking at a leggy brunette over by the pool table. The sweetbutt stopped what she was doing and headed straight to him, game forgotten.

As Angela watched the rest of the brothers find their girls for the night, she felt a warm arm slide around her waist as the smell of leather and cologne filled her senses. Breathing in deeply, she leaned back into the warm body behind her. "Ready to go?" Juice asked, his lips at her ear.

She nodded, turning around to face him. Her eyebrow furrowed in concern as she looked at his bloodied face. There was a cut by his eye and the corner of his bottom lip was bleeding. Hesitantly, she swiped her fingers over the dried blood on his cheek. He caught her hand easily. "At home," he said simply, taking her hand and tugging her towards the door.

This time when she got on the back of his Dyna, she slid as close as she possibly could to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. He smiled, leaning back into her embrace as they travelled the short distance to his house.

Once inside, he went to go sit down on one of the bean bags, but she pulled him over to the bathroom. "Where's your first aid kit?" she asked, opening up different cabinets and drawers as she searched. She found a variety of different hair clippers, a baggie of weed, and a huge box of condoms. She glanced at him with an eyebrow raised.

He shrugged a shoulder, giving her a wide grin. "Don't want to run out of those."

"Goof," she muttered, finally finding a bottle of alcohol and some cotton balls. It was no fancy first aid kit, but it would get the job done. "You have a huge box of condoms and no first aid kit."

"Condoms are first aid. Keep me from getting' sick...in a way."

She smiled as she shook her head at him, putting alcohol on the cotton ball and gently touching it to his cheek. He winced, but didn't cry out or complain like she thought he might. "Tough guy, huh?" she teased, gently blowing on the cut. He nodded, feeling a little turned on by the way she was taking care of him. His eyes followed her every movement, the careful way in which she was cleaning him up made those stupid butterflies flutter in his stomach. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

He grabbed her chin in a hand, pulling her face to his and pressing his lips to hers. She responded in kind, leaning into his kiss. Turning her around, her pressed her up against the counter before grabbing her thighs and lifting her onto it.

She hooked her feet around his lower back, giggling when he lifted her off the counter. She trailed kisses down his neck as her walked her towards the bed and gently laid her down on top of it. He took his time with her for once, taking in every inch of her body with his mouth, caressing her soft skin with his fingers, assured they wouldn't be interrupted by the fact that all of his brothers were probably doing the exact same thing with their women. He'd never been so attentive to a girl, so selfless as he was with Angela. Usually, he only thought about one person when it came to sex; himself. Now, he was more focused on the girl beneath him.

He traced her face with a fingertip as they lay there after, her chest pressed against his, hands on his pecs, chin resting a top them. Her onyx eyes studied him, curious in their gaze as if she was trying to figure him out. "What?" he asked.

"Are you staying with me because you're afraid of my cousin?" Angela asked, her voice soft, almost insecure.

"What?" he repeated on a laugh.

She frowned. "Gemma said the sweetbutts stay away from you because they're scared of Hap. I was wonderin' if that's the reason you stay with me."

"Wait a second, Happy's your cousin?" he repeated in mock surprise. When he saw the serious look on her face, he sighed. "Angel, Hap's got nothing to do with this. It's somethin' totally different."

She smiled at him, feeling incredibly stupid for even asking. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah. The sweetbutts stay away 'cause I told 'em to."

"You told them to?" she repeated, surprised by that admission.

"Yeah, your cousin would kill me if they didn't."

"Juice!" she exclaimed, an incredulous expression on her face.

He laughed, the sound of it vibrating through her chest and making her smile. "I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'," he assured her, smoothing one hand down her back while holding the side of her face with the other. "I told them to stay away 'cause I don't need 'em anymore. I have you."

She raised an eyebrow, unsure of what that meant. Did he mean he didn't need to go to them for sex anymore because he got it easily from her? "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, Ang," he said on a sigh. "It means...It means I have a great, smokin' hot girl who takes care of me, listens to me, plays freakin' video games with me, and understands the club stuff. I'm not about to fuck it up by doin' one of them."

"You are so romantic, Juice," she teased, a smile on her face. Surprisingly, she was happy with his answer. His mixed up explanation told her he was loyal to her, that he appreciated her company, but most of all, that she was his. All those things together told her she'd earned a special spot in his heart. No, she wasn't his Old Lady, but she wasn't just any lady either. She was his girl. "So I'm not Skeeter's assistant anymore?"

Juice chuckled, remembering that awful night when he'd introduced her as such. "No, you're my masseuse," he said, hitting her bare ass with a loud smack.

"Juice!" she exclaimed around a laugh. "That little habit of yours is gonna get you in trouble some day."

He laughed with her, rubbing his hand over the red handprint it left behind. "My girl, my ass to slap."

Angela smiled at him. "Again with the romantic line," she said sarcastically, tilting her head to his cheek. "You spoil me."

He shrugged a shoulder. "I try." His hand tangled into her hair, gently turning her head so he could kiss her lips. He felt her sigh into his kiss and smiled. As he kissed her, he decided he could lay like that forever. That it'd be fine by him if she never left his side.
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Author's note: Thank you so much for all of your votes! I love that y'all are enjoying the story! I would love to hear your thoughts though! So don't be afraid to leave me some in the comments! Good, bad, ugly, whatever. Just let me know what you think.
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