The smell of bacon accompanied by a swift kick to her spine courtesy of the little monster inside of her woke Angela up. Groaning, she stretched out a hand to hit Juice but was met with an empty bed. "Juice?" she questioned, sitting up slightly. Soft music was coming from the kitchen, the sound of Juice's voice singing along with it. She headed towards the sound, smiling when she found him at the stove. He was quite a sight to behold, shirtless and cooking breakfast while he sang to some top 40 hit, his hips shaking to the beat, showing off his Latin roots. She could stay there watching him forever.

Slowly, she stepped towards him, angling her baby bump so she could slide her arms around his waist. He lifted an arm and draped it over her shoulder, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Morning, gorgeous," he greeted, his palm rubbing over her lower back.

"Hi handsome," she said, tilting her head back to look up at him. His face was badly bruised and battered, his cheek an ugly shade of green that worried her. "How you feelin'?"

Juice didn't bat an eye at the answer to that. He was back in her arms, his ring around her finger, his baby kicking up a storm in her belly. "Never better," he answered assuredly, leaning over to kiss her. "How are you, Mama?"

"Good, Evie's dancin' around like the rock star she is," she replied, testing out the name. She'd known as soon as Juice said her full name that Evangeline would only be called that if she was in serious trouble.

"Evie," Juice repeated, his smile widening. "Love that."

Angela laughed, moving over to lean against the kitchen counter to watch him cook. "Need some help, dude?"

"Nope. I got this," he said, flipping a piece of bacon. "Contrary to popular belief, I can cook. Made a shake for you too, 's on the table. Sit."

She peeked over her shoulder to where the kitchen table was neatly set in typical Juice OCD fashion. "Looks good, baby," she said, going to sit down. He set the plate of food in front of her before sitting down next to her with his own plate. She raised her eyebrows at the food in front of her. A leafy cooked glob she decided was spinach, fresh fruit, some scrambled eggs, and bacon...bacon that was oddly colored. "This looks...amazing."

"It's fakon. No cholesterol and that's organic spinach and fresh fruit and egg whites. It's all supposed to be super good for the baby," he said with a proud smile. "Try it."

Angela tried the fakon and did her best to smile despite the strange taste. As soon as he saw her start eating, he dug into his own plate with gusto, used to the strange tasting food, though she had no idea why; she never cooked anything like that. Sometimes she thought he didn't have taste buds. But he looked so proud of what he'd done that she ate it anyway. "Tastes great," she said with an encouraging smile. "What'd ya got planned for the day?"

Juice shrugged a shoulder. He never knew what was planned for the day until he showed up at TM or got a call from the club. "Not sure yet. Why? You got plans for me, Mama?"

A sly smile spread over her face as she stood and walked over to him, grabbing his hand and tugging him to his feet. "Got big plans for you, daddy. Let's just hope they don't get interrupted."

He rubbed his thumb over the ring on her hand, the new ring, the one that said she was his forever. A part of him still couldn't believe she'd said yes. "Phone's stayin' out here," he said, tapping the black burner. After being beat up by Chibs, he wasn't feeling very brotherly any way. If they needed him, they could come get him. At the moment, all he cared about was his baby mama. The smile that lit up her face told him he'd made the right move. He had to admit, it was kind of freeing to be away from the damn thing and focus on the one person he loved most. "I'm all yours."

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

V-Lin knocked on the door to Juice's house until his knuckles were red. He knew better than to ring the doorbell, knew it would make the German shepherd inside go nuts and probably piss off his brother. But Juice was not only late to work, but he wasn't picking up his burner. The club needed him for something or other, so Chibs had sent him down there to get him. The Scot had mentioned a key in the planter, but he wasn't about to do that. He was still a prospect, and he wanted that top rocker badly. Getting killed by Juice for entering his house unannounced was not something he wanted to have happen. Scratching at the back of his neck, he chose the lesser of the two evils, he rang the bell. Just as he expected, the dog inside went batshit crazy. He heard Angela's laughter and relaxed a bit. Angela always laughed shit like this off which, in turn, made Juice laugh it off. If she didn't care, chances are, Juice wouldn't either.

She opened the door with a bright smile on her face, a dark red splotch on her neck and a few peppering chest left bare by the tank top dress she was wearing. "Hey V. Was wonderin' when one of you'd show up," she greeted, her voice light and happy. Her hand was holding tightly to Rigor's collar, keeping him from jumping at V-Lin. "C'mon in. Juice'll be out in a sec."

V-Lin walked into the house, relaxing slightly as he took a seat on the couch. He was often in charge of looking after Angela and spent a lot of time at that house. Usually Angela had something sweet to offer him, but, if the marks on her neck and chest were any indication, she'd been busy that morning. "Cool. Thanks, Ang," he said, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Angela pushed his boots off as she walked by, setting him with a glare as she walked down the hallway he assumed led to their room. He wasn't sure, he wasn't allowed past the living room.

From where he was sitting, he could hear Angela giggling and Juice murmuring to her before she let out a squeal, followed by more laughter. His deeper laughter joining hers. V-Lin smiled to himself; some day he wanted something like they had.

Juice came out smiling despite his bruised and beat up face. He was leading Angela by the hand, both of them still laughing. He grew serious when he saw the prospect though, his posture changing into one that many of the Sons took on when they walked into the clubhouse. Chest out, shoulders back, chin raised. He looked intimidating as hell and V-Lin scrambled to get to his feet, nervously rubbing at his head.

"Hey Juice," V-Lin greeted nervously. "Uh...the guys sent me to get you because you weren't answering. They got some uh...business to do."

"Fine. I'll be right there," Juice answered. When V-Lin didn't move, he glared pointedly at the front door.

V-Lin jumped to it, heading for the door. "Oh uh, Angie? Tara's gettin' home today," he told her, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Thought you might wanna know."

"Thanks, V," Angela replied, wondering if she should even try to visit with Tara. They weren't on the best of terms at the moment. "I'll stop by later."

"Cool. See ya, Angie," he said, disappearing out the door.

Juice turned to Angela, a tired look on his face as he put a hand on her neck, his thumb brushing over her jaw. "I love you," he said, dipping his head to kiss her. "I'll see you in a bit...wifey."

She rolled her eyes at him as she played with the snaps on his cut for a moment before smoothing her hand over the patches on his chest. "Goof," she said, looking up at him with a small smile. "I love you, too. Be safe."

"Always," he replied, pulling her in for a hug. They'd both found the perfect angle to be close to each other without her big belly in the way. "Play nice with Tara."

Angela laughed, nuzzling her face against his neck. She held him tightly, not wanting to let him go. Whatever the day held for him had the potential to hurt him more, to break him. If she could, she'd keep him there with her, to protect him. "Any chance I could bribe you to stay?" she asked, knowing it was a lost cause.

His hands slid down her back, grabbing her ass quickly as he sighed. "I wish," he muttered, pulling away and kissing her once more. "I'll be back soon though, promise."

"Okay," she said on a heavy sigh. "Love you, Juice."

Juice grabbed her left hand and squeezed it, his thumb rubbing over her new ring. "Love you, baby," he replied, his other hand going to her belly. "You too, Evie."

Angela grinned, kissing his cheek before letting go of his hand and pushing him towards the door. "Go, goofy. V's waiting for you."

He groaned as he headed towards the door, sending her one last smile over his shoulder before the door closed behind him. Her stomach was in knots as she listened to his motorcycle start up and drive away. For some reason, she had a very bad feeling about the day. A very, very bad feeling.

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

Between the craziness of the night before and the fun she had with Juice in the morning, Angela hadn't heard about the school shooting until after Juice had gone. Watching the news coverage, she wondered how many of the victims were being sent to Dubrowski's. There had to be a few. She knew some kids from Charming went to the Catholic school; it was the closest one to them. With a sigh, she got into her car and drove over to the funeral home; there was no way she was letting Bones deal with this on his own. He was good at his job, had passed his apprenticeship with flying colors, but there was nothing that could prepare you for the moment when a child ended up on your table. She knew that first hand.

Bones was there to meet her in the entryway. "Go home, Ang," he ordered, his arms crossed over his chest as he tried his best to look intimidating.

"No," she said, walking around him. "How many did we get?"

He hesitated, and she knew he wanted to tell her, wanted to ask her for help. There was something off about him. He wasn't smiling as he usual was and his skin was slightly pale. "Ang, you're not supposed to be working."

"I don't give a shit. I need to help with this," she stated vehemently. "How many of the kids did we get?"

Bones sighed, hanging his head in defeat. This was a fight he wouldn't win. "Two," he answered softly. "Just picked them up."

"What state are they in?"

"Ang..."

"Leonard, please," she begged, voice rougher than usual. The shooting had hit her hard, and she'd spent most of the morning after Juice had left crying like a baby. She was glad Juice wasn't around to see her. "I need to be there for them. I need to help. Please."

Bones blinked at her, surprised by the use of his real name. "Fine," he said, walking towards the work room. He stopped at the door, blocking her entrance, and stuck a finger in her face. "I'm embalming though. None of that chemical stuff near Monk. Got it?"

Angela nodded, exhaling a long breath. "Thank you, Bones."

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

It took them a lot longer than usual to finish up both of the victims. They were taking their time, making sure everything was perfect. Silent tears were falling down both of their cheeks as they finished. Bones grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Video game time?" he asked, sniffling slightly.

She nodded, wiping at her eyes. Together, they headed up the stairs to his apartment, both sitting on the couch feeling emotionally spent. They sat in silence for awhile, the weight of what they'd just done falling heavily on their shoulders. Angela knew it was Bones' first time preparing children for their funerals. It wasn't hers, unfortunately, but it was the first time she'd done it knowing she was going to have one of her own. One that someday could suffer the same fate. The idea of that made her sick to her stomach.

"Why do you think he did it?" Bones asked softly. At her questioning look, he swallowed hard. "The kid. Why do you think he decided to hurt so many people like that? Where'd he even find the gun to do it?"

Angela had a sick feeling the Sons were somehow involved in it, but she kept that feeling to herself. "I don't know, Bones. I just don't know."

"It's fucked up," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly. He crumbled against her, his head on her shoulder as he began to cry. Angela held on tightly to his hand with hers, the other one reaching up to smooth over his prickly head. She didn't cry this time, she'd already gotten all of her tears out. Now, she had to be strong for Bones. "I know, kiddo," she murmured, turning to kiss his forehead. "I know."

He stopped crying after awhile and sat up, pushing up his glasses as he wiped at his eyes. " 'm sorry."

"For what? You're my little brother. I got you," she said on a sympathetic smile.

"Cool. Thanks." Clearing his throat, he picked up her hand and smiled a bit at the new ring there. "He finally did it, huh?" he asked on a laugh. "Looks better than it did on the computer."

Angela was grateful for the distraction. She was worried about her apprentice. If he reacted this way to every difficult case; he was going to have a hard time at the job. She decided to keep up the distraction and asked, "You helped him with this?"

Bones nodded, sniffling slightly. "Yeah, like months ago. He wasn't sure about the black diamond. Thought it might be unlucky or somethin'. I told him you'd like it more than a white one 'cause it's different and not cheesy. And then we went through the different metals before he decided you'd like platinum best," he rambled, a nervous habit of his. "Thought he'd put it on ya a lot sooner, though."

"I wasn't ready for it," she admitted, focused on the ring. "He's talked about it for a long time, and I always said no. But last night, we...we named our kid and then he said I should have the same last name and I just...saying yes finally felt right."

He grinned at her, his smile lighting up his whole face. "You named Monk? What'd you name her? Is it Margarita? 'cause I totally called that one."

"Nope," she said, elbowing his side. "You'll find out when she gets out."

"Fair enough," he said getting off the couch to turn on the TV. "What are we playin'?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. She wasn't really in the mood to play games. "You play, I'll watch."

"Okay. I've gotten epically far in that Marvel Lego game," he said, sitting on the ground, his back against the couch.

She laughed at that, reaching out her hand to rub over his head. "Nerd."

Angela grew bored with watching him play pretty quickly and decided to head over to Tara's house to extend an olive branch. She missed having a friend that was as deep in the club as she was. Gemma was a poor substitute since the Queen never spoke a bad word about SAMCRO. It was all advice on how to deal with it, she never just listened. Tara was good at listening and good at agreeing with and trash talking the club just a little. Angela loved Juice and Hap and, to an extent, the club, but sometimes it felt good to vent her frustrations.

She knocked on the door, smiling when she heard Abel screaming on the other side. Tara opened the door and gave her a small smile. "Hey Ang," she greeted, looking a little relieved to see her. "God, look at you! You're so big now!"

"Ha. Thanks. Crazy how fast babies grow, huh?" Angela asked, rubbing over her belly. Abel ran to her, screaming her name as he wrapped his arms around her legs. She rubbed a hand over his blonde head. "Speaking of...this little monster grows two inches every time I see him!"

"Auntie Gee! Mommy's home!" he said, looking up at her with a big smile.

Angela laughed and nodded. "I can see that," she replied, smiling back at him. He laughed and then ran back to the living room to get back to whatever it was he was doing before. She shook her head at him before looking back at Tara. "How you doin', T?"

"Good. It's...it's nice to be out," she said on a content sigh.

"I bet," she said on a smile. "Hey, can I use your bathroom real quick? The baby's sitting on my bladder."

Tara raised an eyebrow, a light sparking in her eyes as if she had some kind of plan. "Yeah, 'course. The um...toilet's not working great so don't worry about flushing."

Angela wrinkled her nose but nodded anyway. "Whatever you say, lady." She used the bathroom quickly and walked out to find Tara still hovering by the front door. "I uh...didn't flush if that's what you're wondering..."

"Oh no, I actually wanted to warn you that I have Lowen in the kitchen. We were discussing some...things. Kinda glad you stopped by."

She paused in the doorway, unwilling to take another step. "Tara, we've been over this. I can't..."

"It's not about custody. I just...there are a few things we need to discuss. Come on," she said, leading her to the kitchen.

"Hello Angela. Good to see you again," Ally Lowen greeted from her seat at the table.

Angela gave her a small smile in return, still a little ruffled she was even there. Warning bells were going off in her head, but she didn't have the sense to listen to them. "You too," she replied on a nod. "What's going on?"

"Sit," Tara said, gesturing to the chair as she took a seat herself.

"I'm good," she said, holding onto the back of the chair. There was something off about the way the doctor and the lawyer were looking at each other. She had a feeling they were about to tell her something she wasn't going to like. "What's going on?"

Tara and Lowen exchanged a look before the doctor cleared her throat. "I'm getting my boys out of Charming."

Angela felt like she was missing something. "Right. You mentioned that. I said I didn't want any part of it. What do you need from me?"

Lowen looked a little disappointed in her but sighed. "We are trying to get Tara sole guardianship of the boys. In order to do that, she has compiled a list of...incidents which implicate that Jax's lifestyle is unsafe for them. You are mentioned, by name, in a few of the stories. I wanted you to review them before I turn them in as evidence as you will be contacted as a reliable witness."

She blinked as that sunk in, her eyes wide as she looked at Tara. "You're ratting?" she asked, anger in her tone. "And you want me to be a part of it? This could send them all right back into jail!"

"No! No, none of this will indict any of them. It's just going to give me sole custody of my boys," Tara assured her, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please, Angela. Just help me out."

"I can't. I'm sorry, Tara, but you gotta strike my name from the record because I want absolutely no part in this," she said, trying to be calm about it.

Tara had a feeling her reaction would be something like this. She looked at Lowen for help. The lawyer didn't seem surprised by Angela's reaction either. "We need a reliable eye witness, Angela. You are the only one..." Lowen started.

"No!" Angela interrupted, louder than she wanted to. She was losing her cool. There was no way she'd be swayed on this. If there was one thing Happy had instilled on her growing up, it was that any type of ratting was wrong, no matter what the outcome. The irony that she was so against ratting yet still with Juice, didn't go unnoticed, but she didn't fault him for it. She understood where he was coming from, but that didn't mean she thought it'd been the right thing to do. Just like she knew this wasn't the right thing to do. "You want to call Jax out on his lifestyle than have at it, but don't drag me into this! I've had enough with being in the middle of all this club shit!"

"Then get out of it with me, Angela!" Tara exclaimed, standing up from her chair. "There is enough stuff in here to use in a case against Juice as well. You could have sole custody of your little girl and get her out of her before this place ruins her life!"

Angela's hand curled into a fist as she saw red. She couldn't believe what the doctor had just suggested! Taking a deep breath, she reigned in her anger. "I told you once, and I will tell you again, I am not leaving Charming. Not without my Old Man," she seethed, her voice deathly calm. "You implicate me in this shit, and I will deny every word of it and sue you for libel."

"You're making a mistake, Angela," she countered, a desperate note to her voice. "Think about your daughter!"

"I am. I grew up without a father. I know how shitty that is. How much that hurts, but I didn't have a choice in that. Neither did my mother," she replied, fire in her dark eyes. "I will not willingly have my kid grow up without hers. If I don't have your word, both of your words, I will go straight to Gemma and tell her what you're doing."

Tara finally looked angry, her light eyes narrowed at the pregnant woman across from her. "And if I take your name out? You gonna tell her anyway?"

Angela shook her head. "I'm no rat," she growled lowly. "But you fuck with my family, and I'll fuck you up. Understand?"

Tara nodded, following her to the door and slamming it behind her. Running a hand through her hair, Angela sighed. That was a bridge she wish she didn't need to burn. But what Tara was doing was wrong, and she had a feeling deep in her gut that it was going to end up badly for the doctor. She just hoped she wasn't dragged down with her.

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

Juice's hands shook as he put his keys in the front door of his house. No matter how many times he washed them, they still felt dirty. He could still feel Darvney struggling underneath him as he suffocated her. Could still see her dead eyes staring back up at him when he was finished, so dark...so much like Angela's that it was scary. He'd killed an innocent woman just because Jax had told him to. And he'd do it again if it meant he got to live another day. That's what scared him the most. He'd joined the Sons for the brotherhood of it. He'd expected the violence, but he'd had a clear view that, despite the violence, what they were doing was good. But that notion was starting to blur. The Sons didn't kill women as a rule. Jax had broken that rule, hell, he'd broken it. What kind of man killed an innocent woman then came back to his Old Lady and future daughter? How could he look Angela in the eye and tell her he'd just killed a woman? A mother? The idea of it made his stomach churn nervously. What if she left him because of this?

Rigor greeted him as he walked in, but he ignored the pup, walking in a daze towards his bedroom door while he tried to sort out how to tell her. She surprised him by walking out into the hallway before he could even get to the room. Her smile was big, eyes bright with excitement for a brief moment, and then that glow faded. "Juice?" Angela questioned, worry already in her tone. "What happened, baby? Why do you smell like smoke?"

He opened his mouth to answer those questions but couldn't find the words. Slowly, he shook his head, tears filling his eyes. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. He slid his arms around her, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he held on tightly to her and broke down.

Angela didn't know what to do, so she held him tighter, her hand stroking over his head while the other slipped under his cut and shirt and rubbed over the warm skin of his back. "Talk to me, Juice," she whispered, turning her head to kiss his. "Please. You're scaring me."

Juice pulled away and met her gaze. Looking into her deep brown eyes, he saw a very different face staring back at him. All he could see was Darveny, all he could feel was that moment when she stopped struggling against him and lay there still beneath him. He looked away from her gaze and at the floor. "I killed her," he blurted out, wiping at his eyes as he took a step away from Angela. He chanced a glance at her face, seeing her confused expression. "The kid's mom...I just...suffocated her...she was going to...Jax told me to. He...he wanted me to take care of her, and I know...I know what that means. I can't say no to him, Angel. He'll...and I can't...I want to be here for you, for Evie...I can't let him take you away from me..."

"Jesus Christ, baby," she murmured, closing the distance between them again. She laid her hand on the less injured side of his face, her thumb stroking over his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"I couldn't say 'no', Angel. I couldn't," he explained, desperate for her to understand. "He made me do it...and we...we don't kill women but he wanted her gone, Angel, and I had to...I didn't want to. I never wanted to..."

Angela nodded, trying not to let on how worried she was. He'd killed an innocent woman, a mother...a grieving mother, and it was clearly affecting him in a way she didn't know how to handle. "I know, baby. I know," she murmured, standing on her toes and putting her lips to his. "I love you."

"How? How can you still love me?" he asked, stepping away from her and shaking his head. "I killed her."

"But you did it for us, Juice," she said around the lump rising in her throat. "And that's why I love you. That's why I don't see you as a murderer or a monster because I understand why you did it. I would've done the same thing for you."

Juice nodded, tears spilling down his cheeks before he could stop them. "I love you," he said, pulling her to him. "So much, Angel. You know I do. This isn't me...that...I'm not that guy."

Angela felt her own tears spring to her eyes as she nodded against his chest. She tilted her head back to look at him. "I know, baby, I know," she said, taking his face in her hands again. "You have to know that. Do not let this change you. You didn't do anything wrong, Juice."

"I killed her," he repeated, his mind on overdrive. "That was wrong."

"That is on Jax," she corrected, her eyes fierce as they locked on his. "He is holding this...shit over your head and making you do things you would never do if your life wasn't hanging in the balance. I know this isn't you, Juice. I know it. I know who you are, and I love you. I want to marry you. Don't let this change you. Please, baby."

Juice nodded, his hands rising to encircle her wrists. "Okay," he said, though he didn't see a way for that to happen. A way to go back to that happy, goofy guy who just happened to be in a motorcycle club. There was something dark growing inside of him, getting bigger every time Jax asked him to do something. It started with turning in Clay, grew with every punch Chibs landed to his face, and even more when he put that pillow over Darveny's face. The only time he felt it subside was when he was with Angela. She was the light that kept him from sinking in deeper, from drowning. "Just...stay with me, Angel. You're the only good thing I got goin' right now. Don't give up on me."

Angela nodded, kissing him soundly on the lips. "That's not gonna happen," she promised, catching his lips once more. "I'm here. I got you."