Angela woke up with a start as her phone blared beside her. Wiping at her tired eyes, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost five in the morning and still pitch black outside. She looked over to the other side of the bed and found it was empty, cold. Juice hadn't come home. The display on her phone flashed Juice's picture, and she smiled sleepily; at least he'd called this time. "Hey you," she murmured, turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

Juice rubbed at his sore neck. His throat felt like it was on fire with every breath, but after waking up on the ground, he'd been desperate just to hear her voice. "Hey baby," he croaked, slowly getting to his feet. The gunshot wound on his leg throbbed as he moved, he'd obviously landed on it wrong. It was just another reminder of what he'd done.

"You okay?" her voice was concerned as he expected it to be but the sound of it was still welcome. It was a reminder that despite the fact everything else was going to shit, he still had one person to live for.

He glanced at the broken branch with the thick chain still wrapped around it. "Yeah, 'm okay," he lied, his voice shaking as the guilt settled in. He'd almost given up on this life, on her, but fate had stepped in, giving him one more chance, and he wasn't about to screw it up. No, this time he was going to do it right.

"You comin' home tonight?"

"No. Just wanted to check in," he answered honestly. There was no fooling Angela. She'd know right away what the bruise around his neck meant, and he knew it would upset her. He wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. He pulled his hood on over his head, panicking slightly as he heard the sound of motorcycles coming closer. Whatever brothers were pulling in, he didn't want them to see the branch with the chain. His brothers weren't stupid; they'd know what it meant. "I got to go. I'll see you soon, Angel."

Her heavy sigh made him feel even worse. "Okay. Love you."

He could feel the lump in his throat at her words. She loved him, and he'd almost given that up like it was nothing. "Yeah, you too," he choked out, heading towards the sound of Chibs' whistle as he hung up the phone.

Angela didn't go to sleep after that phone call. The tears she'd heard in his voice had put her on edge. Something wasn't right. Then again, she'd been feeling like something wasn't right for a long time now. The door bell rang loudly, interrupting her thoughts. She swung her legs out of bed and padded her way down the hall, stopping only to shake V-Lin awake. Some protector he was, guy hadn't even flinch at the sound of the doorbell. "Go to the backyard and stay out of sight," she ordered, shoving him towards the glass doors.

V-Lin nodded, quickly heading out the back and disappearing from view. She rolled her eyes when she saw his gun still on the couch. Rookie, she thought as she picked it up and tucked it down the back of her pants. She opened the door slowly and was surprised to see Lieutenant Roosevelt standing on the other side. "Oh. Hi Eli," she greeted, feeling awkward in her short boxers and one of Juice's sweatshirts.

Roosevelt was surprised to see her there, though he needed to talk to her anyway. Unser had mentioned the undertaker was in danger, and he hadn't been able to track her down the day before. When he'd stopped by the funeral home, her boss had said she'd had the day off and went to go visit a relative in Oakland. "Hello Angie," he replied, nodding to her. He looked at the numbers on her neighbors' houses before looking back at the address he'd gotten from Juice's file. "I think I may have the wrong house. I'm looking for Juan Carlos Ortiz. Does he live around here?"

Angela bit her lip as she looked down at her bare feet; so much for the Roosevelt not knowing about her and Juice's relationship. "You've got the right place. He lives here."

Roosevelt's eyebrows rose in surprise. Though he'd long suspected Angela had ties to the Sons, he had no real proof of it until now. Sure, Unser's "anonymous tip" of a threat to her may have been some indication of it, but he hadn't really given that much thought; he'd had other, more pressing things to think about then like his current situation with Potter and Juice. "You live with Juice?"

She nodded slowly, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the doorway. "Yep."

"What's your relationship to him?"

"He's my...boyfriend, I guess," she replied awkwardly. She hated using the term boyfriend in reference to Juice; it felt too childish. He was a man, not a boy.

That was something he never would've guessed. She was much too polite to be dating an outlaw. Even Tara Knowles had given him attitude upon questioning, but Angela was being just as polite as ever. Yet she was the one in the relationship with the man he and Potter were blackmailing in order to get information on the cartel. The man he'd turned into a rat. He'd felt awful about that situation to begin with, but now, seeing that Juice had ties to Angela, a woman both he and his wife liked and respected, he felt even worse. "Well that's certainly...interesting. Is he home?"

"Nope. Left early this morning for work," she lied easily. "Sorry."

"Mm-hmm," he said giving her a doubtful look, his eyes on the motorcycle parked in the drive. "There's a bike parked out front."

"It's not his. Got one of the Prospects doing yard work in the back. I don't have a green thumb like Rita," she explained gesturing to the backyard. She took a step back as if to invite him in. "You can check if you want. I got nothing to hide."

Roosevelt nodded slowly as he took a step inside. He looked out the window to where there was, in fact, a Prospect. The young man was lying on the grass, his back against the big tree in the back, smoking a cigarette. "Looks like he's working hard."

"Lazy ass," she muttered, a look of disapproval on her face. "Can I get you something? Coffee, tea, a beer? It's five o'clock somewhere, right?"

He smirked at her offer. It was just barely eight in the morning. "No, thank you," he replied, his eyes scanning the house. It was a small place that was very clean. Not a thing was out of place. Even the large bookshelf stacked with DVDs and games appeared to be perfectly alphabetized. "I went to the funeral home yesterday to see if you were around. Boss said you had the day off."

"Yeah, I went to visit some family over in Oakland," she lied, starting to make a coffee for herself. It was the standard lie she and Skeeter had agreed to. If either of them was gone for any reason and law enforcement came, they were both supposed to answer the same way. "What do you need?"

"Did you happen to get a death threat of any kind? Had an anonymous tip that mentioned your name. I was about to head to the funeral home again because legally, that's where you live, but I guess I don't have to now."

"No death threat. Dead people, of course, but no threat," she answered nonchalantly, a small smile tugging up the corners of her lips.

"So you won't mind if I stop by the funeral home and ask your boss about it?" he questioned. If Tara's supervisor had given her up, who's to say Angela's boss wouldn't do the same.

Angela shrugged a shoulder. Neither Skeeter nor Bones had seen the note, so she knew Roosevelt wasn't going to get very far asking them. Plus, Skeeter knew better than to talk to the police about club business. "Go ahead and ask away. You might want to ask Bones too since he lives in that apartment now. Maybe he got it and thought it was for him."

"There a reason you haven't updated your residency information? Some commitment issues, perhaps?"

She shook her head, a little irritated by his assumption they had commitment issues. It wasn't any of his business. "Nah. We're very happy together. Been almost three years now, actually," she replied with a fond smile. Happy would kill her if he ever saw her talking so openly with a fed, but she was trying to humanize Juice a little bit. If Roosevelt saw just how much she cared about him maybe he'd think twice about fucking with him. Sometimes the best strategy was to kill them with kindness; something she knew her cousin didn't have the patience for. "Just haven't gotten around to it yet, I guess."

"Perhaps its something you should correct," Roosevelt said, putting his sunglasses back on. "Thanks for your cooperation, Angela. Will I see you at the garden party tonight?"

Angela smiled at him as she walked him out to the front door. "Of course. Wouldn't miss it," she said, waiting for him to get into the squad car before closing the door behind her.

She let out a long breath as she headed to the backyard where V-Lin was pacing, patting down his pockets as though he was looking for something. "Looking for this?" she asked, pulling the handgun from her waistband. "Maybe you should keep a better hold on that."

He nodded, carefully taking the gun from her hand and tucking it into the back of his pants. "Sorry. Thanks, Ang."

"Uh-huh," she said on a nod. "I'm gonna shower and then go to work. There's cereal in the cupboard if you're hungry."

"Thanks, Angie," he repeated with a small smile. Though he'd originally thought having to look after Angela was a curse, he was beginning to think he lucked out. Rat had been texting him how bored he was all night. Texts he couldn't respond to because he was deep into teaching Angela how to play Halo so she could kick Juice's ass the next time they played. It wasn't until around three in the morning that she'd given up and gone to bed. He'd been able to see the worry in her eyes, the stress in the tenseness of her shoulders as she walked away. Watching her worry over Juice had him wishing he had a girl of his own to worry for him like that.

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

Kozik sat at the table in his small apartment in Tacoma. In his hands, he held the small sobriety token he kept tucked into the inside pocket of his cut at all times. It was one that Angela had specially ordered for him to replace the cheap plastic ones the group actually gave out. The front of the gold token had an eagle on it with the words "Ride clean, ride free" and some bullshit sobriety quote on the back both he and Angela hated. She'd told him she'd tried to get something better written there, but they wouldn't let her. He could still see the bright smile on her face when she'd given it to him; she'd been so proud. Now with everything that was going on in Charming, the old itch to use was starting to come back. Sighing, he took out his phone and dialed her number.

"Angela Ruiz," came the quick answer.

"Hey sponsor," he replied on a sigh. "Got a minute?"

Angela looked over at Bones who was watching her cautiously, every so often taking notes in his little notebook. The kid was all kinds of smart and artistic as hell. His little drawings of the different things she'd described to him left her in awe. She gestured to the body, silently asking him to take over. He nodded enthusiastically. "For you, Kozi? Always," she said, stepping away from the body and taking a seat on the little stool. "What's going on?"

"How much do you know about what's goin' on in Charming?"

"Just enough to worry about you," she replied vaguely. She didn't want to go into specifics with Bones standing there. "How you holdin' up with it?"

"Not well," he replied honestly. He'd never admit how weak he felt in the presence of the coke to his brothers, but she was his sponsor; he was supposed to tell her this stuff. "Seein' it...bein' so close...gives me the itch, y'know?"

"That's what I was worried about," she admitted, frowning slightly.

Kozik's lengthy sigh told her he was going to say something he wasn't too proud of, and she hoped it wasn't to tell her he'd relapsed. She'd kill Clay Morrow herself if his stupid drug cartel idea made Kozik fall off the wagon. It'd been hard as hell to get him clean. "Thinkin' of movin' back to Tacoma," he said after a moment. "Just 'til this whole deal blows over."

She let out a relieved sigh before smiling proudly. "Smart move, Koz. I'm really proud of you."

He smiled to himself, rubbing his thumb over the token. Her approval was all he needed to hear to know he'd made the right decision. "Thanks, kid. Gonna miss bein' over there all the time though, but SAMTAC is gonna help out with some transport so I'll be over there every so often. Visit my favorite girl. How are things goin' for ya?"

"I'm all right. Tired," she said, watching as Bones took a painstakingly long time to spray too much germicidal solution on the corpse. "Stressed."

"What do you got to be stressed about, kid? The dead people complaining too much?" he teased.

"Lots of shit. I'm allowed to be stressed, asshole," she replied on a scowl.

"Damn, someone's grumpy. You on your period or some shit?"

"No." Angela paused. Her period. She wasn't on her period. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had one. Her eyes widened as she looked down at her stomach. "Shit," she cursed making Bones look up at her, a look of concern on his face. She waved him off as she slipped out of the room, not bothering to close the door behind her.

"What?"

She leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down it until she was sitting. "Koz, I'm late. Like really late."

She heard her blonde friend curse under his breath. He knew exactly what that meant. "How late is 'really late'?"

"When did the boys come back from county?"

"About six-seven weeks ago," he answered, slowly putting the pieces together. "You two went at it like rabbits, didn't ya?"

Angela ran a hand through her hair as she remembered the first day Juice had been home. They'd had a lot of sex without any protection save for the birth control patch she used. She was usually good at reapplying it, but she'd grown lazy while Juice was in county since she didn't really need it. Did she forget to change it all together? No...she wasn't that bad. There was no way. "Yeah, we sure did."

"No protection?"

"We didn't really stop to think about it," she said, mentally smacking herself for being such an idiot. Angela ran a hand over her lower stomach, it didn't feel any different, and she hadn't had any morning sickness. Other than being physically exhausted all the time, there was nothing wrong with her, nothing that had even hinted at a pregnancy save for the fact that she was late. Tears sprung to her eyes as she thought of all the shitty things she'd done. She'd drank tequila until she'd passed out just a few days ago! "Shit, Kozi."

He could hear the tears in her voice and felt his heart break. For a brief second, he contemplated getting on his bike and riding over there to help her. "Hey, don't panic yet, sweetheart. Just...go to the doc. Get it checked out. Maybe somethin' else is causin' you to act like a defective typewriter, skippin' periods and shit. All right?"

She laughed at his terrible joke, wiping at her eyes. "Okay."

"You want me to come down there? Hold your hand? Just say the word, kid, and I'm there."

"Nah, I'll deal," she replied, touched by his offer. Of course, she would do the same for him if he'd said he needed her help with his addiction. That was just the way their relationship worked. "Just don't...don't tell Juice or Hap, please. They've got enough on their plate right now."

It took Kozik a minute to answer, and she knew he was contemplating whether to agree to that promise or not. She knew him and Happy had an agreement of some sort of things that Kozik had to tell him about her. She knew one was if she was using drugs and another was if someone was abusing her, but she wasn't sure if pregnancy fell under that category. His hesitance put her stomach in knots; she really didn't need Happy to know. Not yet. "All right, kiddo. If that's what you want."

"Thanks, Kozi."

"Call me after the doctor's, okay? I want to hear all about my favorite defective typewriter and her future story."

"Shut up," she said on a light laugh. "You comin' down soon?"

"Yeah. I'll be there soon," he said, a warm note to his voice. "Listen, I gotta go. Love you, kid. Stay safe."

Angela sighed, feeling an ache in her chest when she realized just how much she missed her blonde headed brother. "Love you too, Kozi. Talk to you later."

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

Bones drove the big van in silence. Unbeknownst to Angela, he'd heard her conversation, heard the tears in her voice when she'd admitted to whoever was on the other side that she was late. Glancing over at his teacher, he saw her staring blankly out the front window, her hand on her stomach, a contemplative look on her face. "Hey Ang?"

"Hm?" she asked, shaking herself from her little trance. "What's up, Boner?"

She'd taken to calling him 'Boner', something he didn't really mind so much since she never said it teasingly. It was an honest slip of the tongue that was not at all meant to offend him, so he didn't correct her. "I heard your conversation," he admitted awkwardly. "You didn't close the door and you weren't exactly whispering."

"Oh," Angela said softly before sucking in a deep breath. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for his opinion on the matter.

"Um. My mom had my sister when I was like...sixteen, so I remember all the baby stuff. I can help if you need it. Like if you need someone to go to classes with 'cause the dad doesn't want to or isn't in the picture or whatever. They're not that bad. I went with my mom a few times," he offered on a shrug.

She smiled at him, touched by his offer. She'd expected him to ask about the father or what she was going to do with it, not his sweet offer of help sans questions or personal opinions. "Thanks, Boner," she replied, patting his arm affectionately. "But I'm not one hundred percent sure yet so...don't worry about it."

"No worries. I figured you're helpin' me with all this undertaker stuff, it's the least I could do," he answered on a shrug. "I mean, I can't afford mortuary school, so I was happy taking the grave digging job and just being close to the cool stuff. When Skeet said he'd let me apprentice under you, I was stoked."

Angela laughed at his enthusiasm, feeling her ego inflate just a little at his compliment. The nineteen year old was like the nerdy, kiss ass brother she never had. "Glad to hear it."

"I'm learning a lot, Ang. I think I can handle the embalming if you don't want to be around the chemicals. You can sit and yell at me from the sidelines 'til I get it right."

She scoffed at him as he pulled into the parking spot. "I told you, I'm not even sure yet. Relax, Boner."

They walked through the hospital together, Bones pushing the cart in front of him. Angela unclipped her ID card and handed it over to him. "You remember the name of the guy?"

He nodded, showing her his hand which had the name written in bold across it, just as she had taught him. "Got it."

"Go ahead and grab him. I'm gonna get some coffee. I'll meet you out at the van. Make sure to turn the AC on while you wait."

Bones nodded again before disappearing down the hall, leaving Angela alone. She immediately went to the nurse's station, relieved to see Chloe sitting there. The girl had been her friend in times of need. Whether it'd been the time she'd let her slip into Juice's room after hours or when she'd let her take care of Juice after his incident with the Chicken man. "Hey there," she greeted, catching the girl's attention.

Chloe looked up at her with a smile. "Hey Ang. What's up?"

"Got a favor to ask," Angela replied, tapping her nails nervously on the counter. She knew she could trust Chloe but the whole situation still made her nervous.

The young nurse stood up, ready to help. "Medicinal or..."

She bit at her lip, contemplating how best to say it. "I'm late," she replied bluntly. "Really late."

Chloe didn't need an explanation. The panic on her friend's face was explanation enough. "Yikes. Okay, let's get you checked out."

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

Tara had just been pulled out of surgery when she saw an ashen faced Angela walk out of an exam room with one of the nurses. The two hugged quickly before the nurse headed back to the nurse's station. Angela turned, spotting Tara quickly. "Hey Ang," Tara greeted, noting the tenseness in Angela's shoulders, the nervous way she was playing with her rings. "How's it going?"

Angela didn't know how to answer that. How was it going? She was eight weeks pregnant which, in a concept that was foreign to her, translated into six weeks after conception. Her uterus was the size of an orange. She'd heard her baby's heartbeat, seen it fluttering on the monitor. It was healthy by the looks of it, and Chloe had assured her that her little tequila binge happened early enough that it wouldn't effect the baby. "Um. Good, I guess," she answered awkwardly. "Didn't you have surgery today?"

"I've been pulled. Apparently Margaret found out about the threat and threatened surgeons are a big risk," she answered on a frown. "I'm heading over to TM if you want to come. I know the boys are around."

She shook her head slowly. "Nah, I have work," she answered, though that wasn't the real reason. It was rare she didn't want to see her boys, but at the moment, she wanted to avoid them at all costs. She needed some space. Some time to think.

Tara's brows furrowed in concern. "Are you all right? You seem...off."

Angela shrugged a shoulder, letting out a long breath. "Just stuff. I'm handling it."

"If this is about the letters..."

The undertaker gritted her teeth together, fighting the urge to yell at Tara. She'd had enough with those damn letters! Not everything was about those cursed letters! She sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep her cool. "It's not," she answered, trying to sound as polite as possible. "Look, T, I gotta go. I got my apprentice waiting in the car for me with a body. I'll talk to you later. You're going to the garden party, right?"

Tara nodded slowly, concern written all over her face. There was something that was bothering the usually lighthearted undertaker, but if Angela didn't want to talk, she wasn't going to force her. "Yeah, of course. Gemma wouldn't let me miss it."

"I'll see you there, then," she said, trying to give Tara a smile before walking as fast as she could back out to the van. Bones was inside flipping through a comic book nonchalantly. He looked at her, a question in his eyes. She nodded quickly before gesturing to the steering wheel. "C'mon. Let's get this guy home before he starts stinking."

"Whatever you say, boss," Bones said starting up the van and pulling out of the parking lot.

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

Happy rode by his cousin's place on his way back to the clubhouse from the reservation. He didn't see her car in the drive, but Juice's bike was there. She must be at work. He headed towards the funeral home, relieved when he saw her Mazda in the parking lot. Parking his Dyna, he leaned against it, dialing her number to tell her he was outside.

"Hey kid," he greeted as she walked outside, tugging on the long sleeves of the blouse she was wearing.

"Hi," Angela said softly as she moved to hug him.

His cousin wasn't a needy person, he'd taught her not to be, but as soon as her arms were around him, she hung on for just a second longer than usual, burying her face into his chest and exhaling a long sigh. Happy knew then something was wrong. She hadn't sought out comfort in his embrace since she was a kid; he thought she'd grown out of it or had learned better. Something bad had to be happening for her to revert to her childish ways. He gently tugged at the end of her braid, making her pull away. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'," she said on a sigh. "Been awhile. That's all. Guess I missed you."

He shook his head at her. "Don't give me that shit, kid. What's goin' on?"

"Just got a lot on my plate right now," she answered softly, still fidgeting with the sleeves of her shirt. "Got a new apprentice. Young kid. Skeeter said he's better off learning from me then going to mortuary school."

Happy smirked, a look of pride in his eyes. " 'course he is."

Angela smiled in response, her dark eyes going from his face to the ground as a thought entered her head. "Remember how I asked you about getting a crow, and you said not until I told him how I felt?"

"Yeah."

"I told him. After that whole Miles thing."

He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that she'd tell him something like this. She usually kept her relationship things to herself. "And?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "He said it back but...this shit with Miles has got him twisted, Hap. I don't know what to do to fix it."

Happy frowned, he sincerely doubted it was the thing with Miles that had him twisted. Juice had gotten over killing the Russians, killing Miles was no different. That idiot was guilty as hell of something and the club was going to suffer for it. "He'll get over it."

Angela didn't look so sure. "You suspect him of something," she stated, knowing it was true. "That question about whether he came home a few nights ago...you said someone took something. You think it was Juice?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Don't think it was Miles. Guy wasn't smart enough."

"But Juice caught him, Hap. It had to be Miles."

"No one saw what happened."

She swallowed hard at the lump in her throat as she realized he was right. No one saw what had happened, no one could prove Juice hadn't been the one to steal the coke. Except her. "Hap, he came home that night. I swear he did. It couldn't have been him," she tried, her voice shaking just a bit.

Happy shook his head slowly, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Don't lie to me, kid. You ain't good at it."

"I know," she said softly. "I can't lose him, Hap. If you tell the club, they'll take him out, I know they will."

He knew he should bring what he knew to the table for this, but all he had was his suspicion and confirmation Juice hadn't come home that night from Angela. If he brought it to the table, his brothers would ask to talk to her, and she, no doubt would lie her ass off. And unless you knew what to look for, Angela was a damn good liar. He'd taught her well. "Can't say shit, anyway. Don't got proof. 'less you're willin' to tell 'em what you know."

She froze then, her whole body going rigid. If he brought it to the club and brought her as evidence, she'd either have to back up his story or Juice's. Either way, one of them could wind up hurt. "Don't make me choose, Hap," she pleaded, her dark eyes meeting his, a desperate look in them. "I love you, and I love him. Please don't make me choose between you."

Happy nodded, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her temple. He hadn't thought there was a choice. He'd thought for sure, she'd choose Juice. The fact she considered it a choice showed him how much she cared. Sometimes he lost sight of that. "Nah. Don't worry about it," he said, ruffling her hair. "I'll see you later, kid."

Angela sucked in a deep breath, taking a quick step back as he swung his leg over his Dyna. "You goin' to visit your mom?"

"Yeah. You gonna head up anytime soon?"

"Was thinkin' about it."

"Good," he said as he started up the motorcycle, the roar of the engine filling the air. He nodded at her once before driving away.

She heard the gravel crunch behind her and looked over her shoulder as Bones headed her way. "Hey, so Skeet said we should go on ahead to the garden party since he's with a client. He'll meet us there. Also said to wear these."

Angela looked at the black polo shirt he was wearing with the Debrowski's logo on it and his name stitched in gold. The polo he held out to her had her name stitched on it as well. "Yeah, I'm not wearing that," she said, tossing it into the back seat of her Mazda as she slid into the driver's side. "Come on, Boner."

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

Clay watched as the undertaker walked into the fundraiser with a tall, gangling kid following her like a shadow. He thought through all his options when it came to how to deal with the young woman. Her ties to the club made making her disappear just a little trickier than Tara. Tara was the VP's Old Lady, a clear target. Angela was just the intelligence officer's girl and the Tacoma killer's cousin, a fact he knew they both kept hidden at all costs to keep her safe. Should anything happen to her, he knew both Happy and Juice would stop at nothing to avenge her death and the two of them together could uncover some serious shit. Between Juice's computer skills and Happy's interrogation skills, they were a deadly pair. On top of it, Clay couldn't even pin this hit off on the Lobo Sonora because the little undertaker had surprisingly kept her mouth shut about whatever letter Unser had left at her door. If something happened to her, and he tried to pawn it off on them, it'd be very suspicious.

Angela did have one thing that made reasoning with her easier than Tara. She had nothing to gain by exposing those letters and everything to lose. He had enough evidence on both Happy and Juice to send them away for a very long time, something he was sure she'd do anything to prevent.

He approached her slowly, making sure to give the kid at her side a friendly smile. "Hey there, undertaker," he greeted, hands in his pockets. "Got a second?"

Angela did her best to smile back while her stomach churned inside. Clay was one club member she avoided at all costs. In the past it had been because his patched office intimidated her. Now, with what Tara had told her about JT, she was even more afraid of the man probably had his best friend killed just because he didn't agree with him. "Yeah, of course," she replied, pushing Bones towards the sign in table before following Clay up a random path, out of earshot of anyone in the area.

"Heard through the grapevine you and Tara have been sharing some...information," he stated, his words slow and careful.

"What kind of information?" she asked, thinking it best to play dumb.

Clay shrugged a shoulder. "Old letters from a certain mistress with some very dangerous information."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied easily.

"My wife and Unser seem to think differently," he replied, taking off his sunglasses and staring her down. "Now, if those letters got out..."

Angela swallowed hard as she shook her head quickly. "I haven't read them, Clay. I swear. Whatever's in them is not something I'm going to share. I have nothing to gain from it."

"Smart girl," he said on a nod. "Wouldn't do your cousin or your man any good for their girl to have a big mouth. They've gotten away with a lot of shit would hate to see some evidence against 'em spring up. Might violate their parole."

Her eyes widened at the threat; she never expected something like that to come from the MC President. Shouldn't he be doing the best he could to protect his brothers? "Right," she breathed, nodding her head to show she understood. "My lips are sealed."

He smiled at her then, a big cheesy grin as though he hadn't just threatened the two people she loved most. "Glad we understand each other," he said nodding as he clapped her on the shoulder. "See ya around."

And just like that he walked away as if nothing had happened. Angela felt a shiver go down her back as she watched him go. That man was dangerous. In many ways, she thought he was more dangerous than her cousin. Happy would kill you, sure, but Clay would make sure to destroy you first.

"Hey Ang. Got us all signed in and stuff. Rita asked for you. Told her you were around," Bones said, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Cool. Thanks, Boner," she said, patting his arm. "C'mon, let's go get some food."

Angela waved politely at Gemma and Tara, though she made no move to go sit with them choosing instead to sit with Skeeter and Bones at a table in the corner. It wasn't that she had anything against the women, it was just that she knew Clay would also be sitting there, and she didn't want to be  anywhere near him. Plus, she didn't want Tara asking her about her visit to the hospital with Gemma around. She wasn't ready to field those questions just yet.

She watched as a crowd gathered around the stage to hear a few speeches from some of the donors. Skeeter and Bones stood to go join them, but when Angela saw Clay get up there, she shook her head. She'd had enough of his bullshit for one day. "I'm actually gonna head home, guys. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

Skeeter nodded, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "See you later, sweetheart. Drive safely and slowly, Ms. Lead Foot."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she murmured as she snuck out the garden gates and practically sprinted towards her car.

Once she got home, she grabbed her phone and headed to the backyard, settling in on the hammock. Taking a deep breath, she looked through her recent calls and hit the call button. It rang, a slow, steady beat before the voice she wanted to hear picked up. "Hey! There's my favorite defective typewriter!" Kozik's voice answered cheerily.

She sighed, the sound of his voice relaxing her slightly. "I went to the doctor's...sorta."

"And? You a baker with a bun in the oven?"

"Where do you get all these analogies, Kozi?" she asked on a light laugh.

Kozik chuckled in response. "Don't worry about it. So? What's the verdict?"

"I saw the heartbeat."

"And are we happy about this?"

Angela sighed, raking a hand through her hair as she asked herself that question. "I dunno. It's something we never talked about. Shit, Koz, we just said 'I love you.' I don't have the crow, I don't have shit."

"You have his kid...and his heart. I know you know that," he pointed out. "Don't doubt yourself. It's unattractive."

She smiled at the last line. It was something they'd often said to each other for one reason or another. "I know," she replied on a sigh. She bit her lip as she felt a lump form in her throat. It felt like things were slowly spiraling out of control, and she had no way to get a handle on them. "Things are going to hell, Kozi. I don't know what to do."

"Just keep swimmin', kid. You'll make it through."

Angela groaned at his Finding Nemo reference. She'd tricked him into watching it on a night she'd been sick back in Tacoma saying it was a badass movie about a man who's looking for his kidnapped son with the help of a lady with a memory disordered. As much as he bitched and complained about watching that damn movie, in the end, he'd loved it. "This another shark reference?"

"Tell Juicer fish are friends not food, 'less you're into that kind of thing," he teased, grinning when he heard her laugh. "But in all seriousness. You got this, Angie-pie. I know ya do, and if he ain't on board with it, fuck him. Between me and Hap, the kid'll be just fine without his dumbass dad."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. The idea of a child being raised by Kozik and Happy was a chilling one. They were both killers, men that most people would want far away from their children. She, however, wouldn't mind it one bit. "If you say so."

"I do. Now go to sleep, shithead. It's late as fuck and you got a little monster inside of ya to take care of."

"All right, all right," she agreed, though she didn't move from her place on the hammock. It wouldn't be the first time she slept out there anyway. "Thanks, Kozi. Love you."

She heard him chuckle lightly. "Love you too, kiddo."

The line went dead, and she sighed feeling somewhat at peace. He was right, things would work themselves out. Everything would be all right in the end. She just had to keep swimming.

The sound of motorcycle engines jerked Angela awake. She shivered slightly in the cold night as she carefully climbed out of the hammock. It'd been almost two days since she'd last seen Juice, and after her little chat with Kozik, she was kind of excited to tell him the news. Maybe it'd pull him out of his little funk. A loud whistle alerted her that if it was Juice, he hadn't come in alone.

"Oi! Angie-girl!" Chibs' voice called through the house. After they'd dropped the tow truck off at TM, he'd followed Juice home to make sure the idiot didn't try to run off. He had a sneaking suspicion Angela didn't know about his suicide attempt and that Juice had been avoiding her since she of all people would know what the dark bruise around his neck meant.

Juice shifted nervously next to him, his stomach in knots as he tried to picture her reaction. He knew it wouldn't be good. He just hoped she wouldn't leave him. He didn't know what he would do if she did. "I'm gonna grab a beer," he muttered heading towards the kitchen.

Angela stepped into the warm house, a small shiver going down her back at the sight of Chibs' pained face. "What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. "What happened? Is he okay?"

From his place in the kitchen, Juice could hear the panic in her voice, the tears she was holding back. In a weird way, it was almost as if he'd been transported to an alternate reality where he got to hear her reaction when Chibs told her he'd died, he thought.

"He's fine, love," Chibs murmured, trying to ease Angela's panic. "In the kitchen. Just...go easy on him, all righ'?"

"Go easy on him?" she repeated, her brows furrowed together in confusion. "Why? What did he do? What is going on?"

The Scot gently ushered her towards the kitchen where Juice was leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, feet crossed at the ankle. He stood straight when she walked in, swallowing hard at the sight of her. She looked so small, her shoulders slumped, fingers playing nervously with her rings. She always walked and talked with so much confidence that it hurt him to see her looking so broken. She'd hate him if she ever said it aloud because of the terrible association it had with her name, but it'd looked like someone had clipped her wings and he had a feeling it was all his fault. "Hey baby," he greeted, his voice still rougher than usual.

"Hi," she replied softly, her dark eyes sweeping over him. He looked fine. Not mentally fine, but physically so. When Chibs had told her to go easy on him, she'd thought there'd be something visibly wrong, maybe a new hickey or signs of a fight he may have gotten into, something ridiculous like that. But there was nothing. She turned to Chibs. "I don't get it. What's going on?"

Wordlessly, Chibs pulled back the collar of Juice's cut, revealing the dark almost purple ligature mark around his neck. He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew she recognized it. "Guessin' you know what this is," he stated, his dark eyes on the young woman before him.

The anger came first, coursing through her veins like a bad drug. Her hands balled into fists as she saw red. "You stupid idiot!" she growled, hitting his arm, his chest, any place she could save for his face. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Chibs watched as Juice silently took the beating, all the while keeping his head down, hands hanging limply at his sides as if he knew he deserved it. She yelled obscenities at him, called him every bad name she knew and he didn't budge.

That's when the tears came streaming down her face, her hits growing slower. "You idiot," she gasped out, a sob escaping her lips. She put her forehead to his chest in defeat, letting the tears fall. She didn't care who saw her anymore. She'd almost lost the man she loved, the father of her unborn child, by his own hand no less! How could he do that to her? "Don't you know how much I love you?"

Juice wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close to him as possible. "I'm so sorry," he whispered into her ear, his voice breaking as he said it.

She let him hold her for a minute before pushing him away. "Are you?" she asked, wiping angrily at her tears as she took a step back. "Are you really? Juice, you tried to kill yourself! You wouldn't be here if you hadn't fucked it up!"

"Easy there, Angie," Chibs warned, though he knew exactly how she felt. He'd wanted to beat the shit out of him too.

"No. No, there's no easy thing about this! He tried to kill himself, Chibs! Like a fucking coward!" she exclaimed, turning to glare at the Scot for a brief moment before looking back at Juice. She sucked in a deep breath, raking her hands through her hair as she tried to calm down. "Why couldn't you just talk to me, Juice? I would've listened. I always listen," she continued, her voice softer this time.

Juice swallowed hard, feeling his own tears burning his eyes as he watched her fall apart. "Angel, I'm so..."

Angela shook her head, cutting him off. "Stop saying that! What are you sorry for? This wasn't an accident, Juice! I can't...I can't believe you'd do something like that!" she shouted, feeling beyond frustrated. Shaking her head, she turned away from him, rushing towards their room. She needed space, needed to reign in her anger before she hurt someone.

He followed after her, his heart sinking in his stomach when he found her pulling at her drawers, moving her clothes around. It almost looked like she was packing. Was she going to leave him? He caught her wrist in his hand. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to think of the right words to say. "Look, I'm an idiot," he started slowly. This caught her attention, her dark eyes snapped to his, an angry fire crackling in them. She hated when he called himself an idiot. Said it was the worse excuse he had for doing the things he did. "But please don't...don't give up on me. Let me explain."

"Explain what?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Explain why you thought your life wasn't worth living?"

"I love you," he replied softly, one of his hands sliding down her arm until he caught her hand in his own. He played with her fingers as he tried to think of what to say. Fingers that just the night before, he'd pictured massaging his own dead body. Now, he was glad to be able to hold them, to feel their warmth. "What I was going to do...what I did, it wasn't about you. I gave up on myself. I was selfish and stupid and...just don't leave me, please. I need you."

Angela swallowed hard, shaking her head. "I wasn't going to leave you," she said, her brow creased in confusion. She'd come into the room to calm down and bit and thought putting away the neatly folded stacks of clothes would help her. Obviously, it didn't help very much. Clothes littered the ground and hung out of the different drawers, haphazardly shoved in them. Looking around, she could see why he thought she was leaving. "Why would I leave you? I love you, and this...what you did is awful and I don't understand it, but I'm not about to leave you when you need me. That's not how this works. I just wish you would trust me. Help me understand. Let me help you."

A relieved sigh left his Juice's as his calloused thumbs traced over her cheeks, wiping away her tears. God, he loved her. How she found the strength to stick by his stupid ass, he'd never know, but he was grateful for it. He decided then he'd tell her everything. From the beginning to the end as he should've done from the get go. He wouldn't do it right away though; he knew Chibs was still there, no doubt listening to make sure everything was okay.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest. She slid her hand up his back, cradling the back of his head with a hand while the other arm moved around his waist, holding him tightly to her. He dipped his head so it was level with her ear, tears of relief slipping down his cheeks. "I love you, Angel," he whispered again, kissing her temple and squeezing her gently. "So much."

He felt her lips move across his neck, gentling pressing feather light kisses to the injured skin there. "Okay," she breathed, nodding slowly as she pulled back. Her hands reached up to brush the tears off his cheeks, pausing a moment to really look at him. He was broken. She'd seen him breaking for weeks now, but now she could see he was truly broken and she was going to try her damn hardest to fix him. "It's going to be okay, Juice. It'll get better, I promise. I'm going to help you through it...you just have to let me."

"I will." Juice nodded slowly wondering why he'd shut her out in the first place. He pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "You're my angel, Angel," he whispered as he pulled her in close.

A sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob escaped her lips as she gave him a squeeze. "Goof," she murmured softly. She had a feeling the worst had already passed. That as long as he let her in, she could help him. She just hoped he'd let her in enough to save him.