Three open crates sat in front of the locked doors of the crematorium. Two cardboard coffins next to them on transport carts. Angela silently thanked Bones for setting those up for the guys because there was no way those crates would fit in the ovens, and she didn't want to see what was inside of them. She didn't want to remember the two prospects like that. Nodding her hello to the guys, she went over to the crematorium and unlocked the doors for the SAMCRO boys standing in front of them. "Both are on. You guys know what to do," she said, opening the doors and stepping away from them.

Happy, Tig, Juice, and Chibs took in the cardboard coffins leaving Jax behind. The president nodded to Angela. "Thanks for this."

"Don't hesitate to ask," she told him on a nod. "These guys deserve better than some backyard burial."

He sighed heavily, his hand coming down hard on her shoulder and squeezing it lovingly. "Yeah. They really do," he replied, his voice thick with a promise of revenge. He nodded to her once before walking into the crematorium, dragging the door shut behind him.

She wasn't surprised he'd shut her out. This was a moment meant for the club men to mourn their fallen brother away from the eyes of those who didn't don the Reaper. Sighing, she walked towards the hearse that was parked across the way. Opening the back, she took a seat on the bumper and lay down, her feet swinging back and forth as she stared at the purple velvet on the roof. Exhaustion hit her all at once, and she closed her eyes to doze a bit, taking advantage of the fact Evie was safe with Bones to catch up on some sleep. She hadn't been out long when someone kicked her foot. Opening one eye, she saw Tig's silhouette standing over her. "Hi," she greeted, holding out a hand to him.

He grabbed it and pulled her up into a sitting position before sitting down next to her. "Too hot in there," he said on a shrug.

"Gets hotter when both ovens are on," she explained in response. She had a feeling the real reason he didn't want to be near the ovens was because the fire was an awful reminder of his daughter's death. She wasn't about to mention that, though. Men like Tig didn't like to be psychologically analyzed nor did she ever want to dig deeper into Tig's psychological state.

"Where's Eves?" he asked, further proving her thoughts.

"In the apartment with Bones," she replied on a sigh. "You can go up and visit if you want."

Tig considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm good. That guy's scared shitless of me," he said with a smirk. Angela laughed and nodded; Bones was scared of most of SAMCRO. She lay back down on a sigh, and he looked over his shoulder at her. "You all right, doll?"

"Fine," she said around a yawn. "Tired."

"Nice place to crash," he said, leaning back to look around the hearse. He looked behind him at how long it was and quirked an eyebrow. "You ever fuck in here?"

Angela gave him a devilish smirk and sat up again. "Not often. Freaks Juice out."

"Bet you don't mind it you, kinky, kinky girl," Tig teased, chuckling to himself as he shook his head.

"I don't not like it," she said, the grin on her face giving her away.

Tig draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a half hug, an almost proud look on his face. "I knew I liked you."

Angela laughed lightly, leaning her head against his shoulder. They were both silent for a brief moment, each of them wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Things are gonna calm down, right?" she asked softly. "I don't know how many more bodies those ovens can take."

He regarded her for a brief moment. Then he nodded slowly. "This shit comes in waves," he explained gesturing towards the crematorium. "It'll end. Just got to wait it out."

She nodded, sighing as she watched the rest of the boys start to file out; she'd had a feeling they weren't going to stay for the whole thing. Tig kissed her temple quickly before standing up and heading over to join them. "Waves," she repeated to herself, running a hand through her hair. They'd had so much death in the past couple of weeks, it felt like a damn tsunami. She wondered when it was going to end...or if it ever would.

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

Juice watched his brothers ride away, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Jax was trying his best to fix the club, to get them out of guns, but it didn't seem to be doing them any good. They'd lost more brothers in this struggle than anything else. The weight of losing his brothers, of murdering Miles and Darveny, of being a rat fell heavy on his shoulders. Most days, he could pull himself out of it by distracting himself with Evie or talking it through with Angela. Lately, though, talking about his issues didn't do very much. She could tell him until she was blue in the face that he wasn't a monster, that what he was doing didn't change who he was, but he didn't believe it. After all of the things he'd done, it was hard to see himself as anything else. He tried to put on a smile for her, though. Act like everything was okay, but he could feel himself starting to drown in it all. He'd been trying his best to find some good in what they were doing, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. Everything was changing, he was changing, and he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

He watched Angela get out of the hearse and close the door behind her. Even in the darkness of the parking lot, he could see that worried look in her dark eyes. He had a feeling she wasn't fooled by his act. She never was. Angela knew him better than anybody, and though she'd play along sometimes, he knew deep down, she felt the changes happening. That's why she was so damn worried about him. "Hey baby," he greeted, stretching out his hand to her.

"Hey you," she replied, taking his offered hand and giving it a squeeze. "You okay?"

For a moment, he wanted to shake his head. Be honest with her and tell her that he was so far from okay, he didn't know what 'okay' was anymore, but he could hear Evie crying from the upstairs apartment and knew Angela had enough on her plate for one night. "Yeah," he rasped, trying to give her a smile and failing.

"Juice..."

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm fine, really," he stated, doing his best to sound confident. He pulled her in closer to him, enveloping her in his arms. Holding her close relaxed him a little bit. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her nose nuzzling against the side his neck with the movement. "Just glad it wasn't you," she answered honestly.

Juice held her tighter then. He remembered how helpless he'd felt when he climbed that tree just the year before. How upset she had been at him for trying to leave her like that. A small part of him wondered if she and Evie would be better off without him. He imagined they'd leave Charming; find a safer place to go away from the reach of the club and the dangers being close to it brought. His head combated that idea though. He didn't want to leave them. He wanted to watch his daughter grow up, wanted to have his family. The two ideas warred in his head, and he didn't know how to get them to quiet. He rubbed his hand over Angela's back as he thought, wanting nothing more to get out. To go for a ride with her and just never come back, but the sound of Evie's crying brought him back to reality. They couldn't do that. Not anymore. "Monk's cryin'," he said, playing with her hair.

"I know, but I miss this," Angela murmured, her hands sliding under his shirt. She massaged his lower back with firm fingers, smirking at his soft groan of enjoyment. She tilted her head back to look at him. "This whole thing...means a lockdown, huh?"

"Hmm," he hummed, his eyes closed at the feel of her hands on his skin. She knew just how to touch him to make him forget everything. Including what she'd asked him. For a moment, she stopped what she was doing and repeated the question. He blinked at her, trying to find the answer in the fog of lust that was clouding his head. "Yeah. Irish are tryin' to hurt the club. We need to keep you guys safe."

"Evie's first lockdown," she said, a smile in her tone. "She's going to drive everyone nuts."

"Yeah," he agreed, still distracted by the massages she was giving him. He leaned into her, trying to get as close to her as possible as her hands moved higher up his back. He grunted as she rubbed harder at a knot in his back. "Gem said you can have my old room. No one's used it since I was there anyway."

Angela nodded as she mentally went through what she needed to pack. "You gonna be around or..."

"No. We got some...shit to do," he said on a tired sigh. He bent his head, moving his face into the crook of her neck as he moved one hand around her waist, the other around her shoulders. One of her hands traveled higher, massaging the muscles in his neck while the other smoothed over his shoulder blades. "That feels so good, baby," he murmured into her skin.

She laughed a little, rubbing harder. "You're really knotted up back here."

"Fuckin' stressed," he groaned, pressing a kiss into the soft skin of her neck. The burner in his pocket went off, making him groan again. The sharp sound brought him back to reality. He was dreading staying up all night in that damn van to watch the Irish. Hopefully, he didn't have to share it with Chibs or Jax. He didn't need to deal with their shit right now. "We should probably head home so we can head over. My bike's at TM. You think Bones'll watch Rigs for a bit?"

"I think he'd love that. This whole thing's got him spooked," she said, taking a step away from him. Her dark eyes searched his face for a moment, that worried wrinkle appearing in between them. "Are you sure you're okay, Juice?"

He shrugged his shoulders this time, giving her as honest of an answer as he could. "I'm dealing with it," he said before heading up the stairs to Bones' apartment. He knew the answer wouldn't be good enough for her. That she would spend the rest of the night worrying about him, but he hadn't had the heart to lie to her this time. He heard her call his name and turned at the top of the stairs. She was still standing at the bottom, twisting nervously at the engagement ring on her finger. "C'mon, Angel. Monk's cryin'. My fuckin' burner is ringing...we gotta go."

She reluctantly climbed the stairs, grabbing his wrist at the top to stop him from going inside. "You'll tell me if you're thinking about... climbing any trees, right?" she asked, vaguely.

Juice knew what she was referring to, and though he had been thinking it about it, it was best she didn't know. "No trees. Just my daughter cryin' her head off," he assured her. At her doubtful look, he smiled. "Honest. 'm not goin' anywhere. I promise."

She still didn't look convinced. When she opened her mouth to question him more, he put his lips to hers in a long, slow kiss. "I love you, Angel," he said as passionately as he could. "Don't worry about me."

"Okay," she said on a resigned sigh. "Whatever you say."

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

Chloe pulled up to the front of her house, not at all surprised to see the familiar motorcycle in her driveway. She tried to keep from smiling but found she couldn't. Her heart did a little flip at the idea of what was waiting for her inside. Opening the door, she found him sitting on the couch where he usually was petting Hades. The pitbull had never looked happier. "Hey there," she greeted lightly, smiling as her dog ran towards her. She squatted down and rubbed her hand over his head, laughing as he licked her face. "Someone's happy to see me!"

Happy smirked. "Crazy dog," he muttered, shaking his head. "Need you to pack a bag. We got lockdown."

"Funny," she said on a laugh. She'd already gone through that once, she wasn't about to do it again.

" 'm serious. Shit went down, you ain't safe here."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. No one knows we...sleep together, Hap. And Ang already had the baby so she doesn't need a nurse, there is literally no reason for me to be there other than the fact you're a control freak."

"You don't got a choice," he stated, standing from the couch. His bike was routinely parked outside of her house, the SOA and Reaper decals he'd painted on it a clear indicator of her association with the club. They might not have told anyone about their strange relationship, but his bike told the whole neighborhood that she was affiliated, and he wasn't about to risk leaving her alone and unprotected.

"Why?" she asked, straightening up from her squatting position.

He scowled at her, hating the way she questioned everything he said. Even Angela didn't question him as much as Chloe did. "What d'ya mean why?"

"Am I really in that much danger? Why is it so important to you that I go?" she asked, a genuine curiosity in her eyes. She really wanted to know.

Happy shifted uncomfortably before letting out a long breath. " 'cause I want you safe," he admitted after a long minute. "That okay with you?"

She quirked an eyebrow, an amused look on her face as she nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before heading up the stairs to her room.

He followed her up at a slower pace, surprised by how easy that had been. "Not much of a fight," he pointed out, leaning against the doorjamb. His eyes stayed on her back as he watched her strip off her scrub top and toss it on the floor.

"You were honest with me," she stated on a shrug. She dug through her drawers for a comfortable, somewhat nice top. "You want me to fight more?"

Slowly, he walked up behind her, his hands on her hips. "No," he practically growled in her ear. He pulled her back into him, using a hand to swipe the hair off of her neck. His mouth was hot on her skin as he trailed kisses across her shoulder to her neck. He sucked on the soft skin there, his teeth lightly scraping across it.

Chloe closed her eyes, loving the feel of his rough hands as they moved over her skin. "We leavin' tonight? 'Cause you keep that up and we're not going anywhere," she teased on a content size. He sunk his teeth into her neck, hard. She winced but didn't pull away; she was used to him being rough with her. "Ow! Why?"

He wondered if 'why' was her favorite word. She said it often enough. His tongue swept across the area quickly as he took a step back from her, a proud smirk on his face. " 'cause."

She stepped away from him to examine the darkening mark in the mirror. There was no way she'd be able to hide that thing. He'd marked her on purpose, the bastard. "You gonna pee on me next, Lowman?"

He seemed to consider it for a moment. "Not tonight," he said, smacking her ass before taking a seat on the bed to watch her get dressed.

She snorted at that, rolling her eyes at him. "There somethin' in particular you want me to wear?" she asked, wondering why he was showing so much interest. She'd have thought he'd leave her be to go play with the dog. There had to be a reason he was sitting there.

"Whatever you want," he said on a shrug. Chloe picked out her shortest pair of shorts and most revealing top as a test. He shook his head. "Not that."

She smirked and put it back, grabbing a pair of light jeans and a simple v-neck t-shirt. He nodded his approval as she pulled them on. "People are going to ask why I'm there, Hap. You gotta give me somethin' to say. Being Ang's nurse isn't gonna fly this time."

Happy ran a hand over his face, knowing she was right; she usually was. It was a tricky question. One that would give away a lot about the way he felt about her. Feelings that were still unclear to him. He stood slowly, stepping closer to her. His hand came up to rest on the side of her neck, his thumb brushing over the dark mark he'd left behind. He touched his lips to hers in a brief kiss. "Tell 'em you're with me. That's all they gotta know."

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

Chloe walked into the clubhouse behind Happy, already feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her. She sucked in a deep breath, straightening her posture to do her best to give off an air of confidence. It was with great relief she spotted Angela standing by the pool table talking to a tatted out Hispanic man without a cut on, Evie was strapped to her front in a Baby Bjorn. Happy discreetly pushed her towards them before heading off to go find another of his brothers. Typical. He tells her to do something then bails. She made her way towards the pool table but was quickly intercepted by none other than Gemma Teller. Clenching her jaw, she gave the Queen a smile. "Hey Gemma. How's it goin'?"

"Hap bring you here?" Gemma asked, cutting to the chase.

"Yeah," she answered on a nod. "You want me to go, I'm fine with leaving. Didn't want to come anyway."

She smirked at her, cocking her hip and putting a hand on it. "Nah, Hap wants you here. That means somethin'," she said, her eyes looking her up and down. "Don't know what but..."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Chloe said on a shrug. She looked around, shifting uncomfortably at the glares she was getting from the surrounding Croweaters. "It cold in here or is it just me?"

Gemma laughed, looking around her and noticing the same thing. "Hap is...popular with the girls. They've been tryin' to get him to pick one of 'em for years. Two ways you can handle it."

"And those are?"

"You can do what your little friend over there does and kill 'em with kindness," she said, nodding towards Angela, "or you can get your fists a little bloody. Either way, it serves to mark your territory. That mark on your neck might keep the boys off your ass, but it don't mean shit to them."

Chloe sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "What am I supposed to do, Gemma? Attack him? He's not one for public displays."

"You're smart. You'll figure it out," Gemma replied, patting her shoulder as she walked by her, heading towards another group of women.

She stood there, mouth open and gaping as Gemma walked away. A laugh from behind her made her spin around. Angela's dark eyes were alight with amusement. "You've just been Gemma-d," she teased on a wide grin.

"That lady is a total mind fuck," Chloe said, reaching her arms out for Evie. "Give me my goddaughter. I need a distraction."

Angela laughed and ran a hand over the front of the baby carrier. "She just fell asleep," she said on a shake of her head. "Trying to keep her quiet for as long as I can. Juice was pretty upset when I told him he couldn't take her out. He wanted to parade her around."

"Idiot," she muttered on a snort. She looked back at Juice who was talking to another brother she didn't know. A Croweater was draped over the other brother but none of them came close to Juice. "You really kill 'em with kindness?"

"The Croweaters?" Angela asked, eyebrows raised. She looked over in the direction Chloe was staring, seeing Juice talking to Tig while Croweaters flitted about the wild haired man. "I'm nice to them because I'm nice to everyone. They don't push up on Juice because no one is ever genuinely nice to them, and they respect that. The veteran 'eaters know not to mess and the new ones get told by Juice to stay off and once they go pouting to the older ones about their brush off, they set them straight."

Chloe raised her eyebrows, impressed by the system Angela had. "You think of that all by yourself?"

"Like I said, I'm usually nice to everyone until I have a reason not to be. I'm not Happy. He's an ass 'cause he never had to be nice to people that weren't his family. I learned early on you attract more bees with honey than vinegar. I kill 'em with kindness, and Hap just kills them."

The nurse's hazel eyes widened significantly at that statement. She'd said it so flippantly as if killing people were no big deal. "I can't tell if you're kidding..."

Angela realized then how little she knew about Happy and the club lifestyle. She knew better than to explain; there had to be a reason Happy was keeping her in the dark. "Don't worry about it."

Chloe shook her head, trying to forget what she'd just heard. Instead, she looked over at Happy. She still couldn't wrap her head around who he was. What he was doing with her. What she was doing there. It was all so strange. "Did you have to...claim Juice?"

The corner of Angela's mouth lifted slightly as she thought back to her first party at the clubhouse. It'd been the night Bobby got home from the pen, and she'd wanted nothing more to claim him, but it hadn't been necessary. Juice had claimed her on his own with a kiss she'd felt right down to her toes. Thinking about it made butterflies flutter in her stomach. "No, he made that move himself," she replied wistfully.

Chloe saw Angela's eyes grow hazy as if she were remembering the moment and scowled. She snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face. "Hey! Space Cadet! Focus! How does that help me?"

She sighed, raking a hand through her hair. "Don't try to 'claim' him, Chlo. He'll drop you like a hot potato. Hap doesn't do PDA or ownership shit. No one owns him, and I think that's why he likes you. 'cause you're easy. You haven't asked for a title."

"I don't want one," Chloe interjected.

"Good. Then don't worry about it," she repeated, on a shrug. "Look, the fact that you're here again is a huge show of how much he cares for you. Before, he could play it off as you being there to help out my pregnant ass, but this time, it's to protect you. That is...unheard of when it comes to Happy. Trust me. He's had fuck buddies before, but he's never brought them to lock down."

"He doesn't bring your Ma and aunt..."

Angela rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Chlo, you've met both my mom and aunt. They are both stubborn as hell and drive us crazy. Do you know what epic pains in the ass they would be here? I mean, I love them, but I would not want to be stuck here with them complaining. They are far away in Bakersfield and protected by Ms. Vivica and her gang of gigantic men," she explained, waving her hands as she spoke. "Would you just accept that he cares about you and leave it at that? He's not gonna touch those sweetbutts with you here. Don't bother yourself worrying about them. They're not worth it."

Chloe nodded slowly, still looking unsure. She'd known from the beginning she was biting off more than she could chew with Happy, and the longer they continued their bizarre relationship, the harder it became to distance herself and her feelings. He was going to hurt her eventually; she knew that, but she didn't want to let him go. "Whatever you say, Ang," she said on a tired sigh, watching as the boys headed into whatever room was behind the double doors.

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

Angela watched as the boys came out of Chapel. They all headed towards their respective loved ones clad in black hoodies. If what they were doing wasn't so dangerous, she would've laughed at the "uniform" they'd all chosen. Juice looked more tired than ever as he approached. "We're heading out," he told her. "Stay here, stay safe."

She studied his face, worried by the darkness she saw in his eyes. There was something bad going on in that head of his, and he refused to let her in. She knew the signs of depression when she saw them; she'd grown up with a severely depressed mother. He'd been showing a few of them, though he tried desperately to hide it. The way he was acting made her uneasy; it was too similar to the way he acted the day he'd attempted to kill himself. "Don't do anything...dangerous, Juice. We need you to come back, okay?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, baby. I'll be back."

She reached up, framing his face with her hands. "I love you. No matter what."

"Love you too, Angel," he murmured, dipping his head to give her a long, sweet kiss. He gently kissed Evie's head, his lips lingering against her soft skin. "You too, baby girl. Don't forget that."

Angela froze then. Those words never meant anything good. Her dark eyes met his as her hand grabbed his wrist. They'd thrown around the phrase at their most dire moments. He'd told her not to forget hours before he tried to hang himself, she'd said the same when she'd managed to call him after Mel had kidnapped her. Those words always prefaced something bad, and she didn't like hearing them on nights like these when he was going off to do something he couldn't tell her about. "Juice..."

He realized his mistake as soon as he said it. "We're not doin' anythin' dangerous, Angel. I promise. Didn't mean to say it, it just slipped. I'm fine."

"Okay," she conceded, nodding slowly. He kissed her once more before walking away and heading out the door. She felt helpless as she watched him walk away. There was obviously something going on in his head that she couldn't get to. She hadn't noticed it before. Both of them had been so wrapped up in being new parents, they barely talked about anything other than Evie. But as the novelty wore off and the club violence was kicked up a notch, it seemed Juice was slowly slipping back into whatever dark place he'd been in the night he'd helped turn Clay in. Her only ray of hope was that he wasn't completely shutting her out this time. No, he didn't blame her any more; he was blaming himself now and that scared her more than anything.

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

Happy said a quick goodbye to his cousin, a little concerned by how distracted she seemed. Her dark eyes kept staring at the front door Juice had just disappeared out of as if she'd wanted to chase after him. There was something going on between those two again. It seemed everyday was something new with them. He got tired of trying to figure it out. As long as Juice didn't hurt Angela, he wasn't going to delve too deeply into their relationship. He wasn't good at that shit anyway.

He turned slightly to look at Chloe who was shifting nervously. The nurse raised her eyebrow at him. "I don't know what you're doing, but just...don't hurt yourself. I didn't bring my med supplies," she said, playing off her concern as part of her profession.

He smirked at that. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Take care a yourself. Take care a them," he said, nodding towards where Angela was standing by the bar trying her best to look like she wasn't spying on them. She stared up at him, shock in her eyes. Clearly, she hadn't expected the kiss which kind of made him want to kiss her again. So he did. He captured her mouth with his own, banding an arm around her back and drawing her in closer. He savored the kiss for a moment before pulling away. "Be good."

And just like that he was gone. Chloe stared after him in complete and utter shock, her lips still tingling from his kiss. "Jesus Christ," she whispered, raking a hand through her hair. She looked across the room at Angela, but the undertaker wasn't paying attention anymore. Her face was ashen as she rubbed a hand up and down the back of Evie's carrier. "Ang? You okay?"

Angela blinked slowly before sucking a quick breath. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she nodded. "Fine. 'm...fine. Totally fine," she assured her quickly.

Chloe knew that was a lie, but she also knew better than to push it. She didn't want Angela to get upset with her; the girl was her only ally in this place. "Whatever you say," she said, rolling her eyes. "Hey, I got Monk somethin'."

She seemed to perk up at the reminder of her daughter. Her dark eyes flitted down to the sleeping baby, a warm smile on her face. "What'd you get her, fairy godmother?"

Chloe dug into her bag for a moment before pulling out a pair of what looked like white headphones. The strap was decked out in red, white, and blue stripes and little white stars with silver glitter. "How cute are these earmuffs? They're to protect her ears from all this craziness," she explained, an excited look in her hazel eyes. "A neonatal nurse was talking about them, and I couldn't resist. Had to get the white pair since someone I know hates pink."

Angela grinned as she looked at the tiny earmuffs. It was a perfect present for a little girl whose life was very...loud. "Thanks, Chlo," she said on a laugh. "Did you put glitter glue on the stars?"

She nodded, scowling when Angela laughed in response. "You won't put her in pink and this was the most girly design that wasn't pink. Figured I'd glitz it up for the kid."

"You're ridiculous. I love them, and I'm sure Evie will too," she said around a yawn.

"You gonna sleep at all? You need some rest, Ang."

Angela narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You gonna be my nurse or my friend?"

"I'm perfectly capable of being both. Are you sleeping out here with the rest of these loonies or..."

"Gem set me up with one of the dorm rooms in the back. Used to be Juice's," she explained around another yawn. "Don't want to leave you alone though."

Chloe waved her off. "Go, Ang. I'll figure out something to do."

Angela nodded, hugging her friend quickly before heading down the hall. Evie began to stir along the way, and she smiled down at her daughter. "Hey Monk. Was wondering when you'd wake up," she cooed, opening the door to the room and taking a step inside. She lifted her out of the carrier and laid her down on the bed before slipping off the contraption.

Evie's little feet kicked in the air as she gurgled and cooed. Angela looked up at the mirror on the ceiling and lay down on her tummy next to her, her face close to her daughter's. She grinned at the baby girl, laughing when she smiled back. "You have your daddy's smile, you lucky girl," she told her, drawing a finger down her nose.

There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Tara standing there with Thomas in her arms. Angela sat up, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Hey T," she greeted cautiously. "What's up?"

Tara stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She lay Thomas on the bed next to Evie and sat next to him. "Just thought I'd stop by and see your new addition. She's beautiful, Ang," she commented, reaching out to touch Evie's bare foot. "Didn't get a chance to meet her before."

"Thank you," Angela said softly. Tara had been "sick" when they had their little homecoming party for Evie. She'd understood. They hadn't been on the best of terms then, and it was better that no one knew there was bad blood between them.

She stared at Evie for a moment more before her eyes met Angela's. "I wanted to apologize for getting so angry with you last time we spoke. I was...a little out of line."

Angela could tell she meant the apology and sighed heavily. "I understand where you're coming from now," she admitted with a sad smile. "And I'd love to get Evie out of here before she has to deal with any of the shit your boys have had to, but..."

"You don't want to leave Juice," Tara finished with a small smile. "There's something admirable in that loyalty, I guess."

"Juice and Jax aren't exactly comparable. Jax is on a whole other level, and you have Gemma to deal with on top of that. I get why you're trying to leave. I really do, but I can't turn against Juice to help you. I'm sorry."

She nodded. "I know," she said softly. "It's just...I'm pregnant, and I need a friend right now more than ever. Someone I can trust. I don't have many of those left."

Angela gave her a warm smile, reaching out to pat her hand. "I can do that," she replied. She looked at Thomas who was staring curiously at Evie, his big blue eyes regarding her warily. He reached out a hand to touch hers before grinning. Angela's smile widened; it looked like Evie made her first friend. "And congrats, T! You hopin' for a girl this time?"

Tara nodded. "Jax thinks it will be. I'm ready for either at this point," she answered with a tired smile. "That's a cute onesie she's got there."

She laughed as she looked down at her daughter's black and pink onesie that proudly stated, "My Daddy rides a Harley" with a motorcycle on the front. "She's my little biker chick," she joked, playing with Evie's chubby foot.

Tara seemed to recoil at the description. "You're not worried at all for her? I mean, you heard about what happened to Tig's daughter, right? That doesn't scare you?"

Angela's smile faded, her expression growing serious. "I worry everyday for her, for Juice, for Hap, for this...little family I acquired. But I can't leave it behind. It's not that easy for me."

"It's not that easy for me, either," she admitted, looking down at her hands. "But I have to get them out. Before they get hurt again. The offer still stands and will always stand for you to be their guardian or to even...come with me. Get out. Get away."

"Thanks, T. I appreciate it."

Tara nodded, picking up Thomas before standing. "I'll let you get some rest. I remember how hard it was to sleep the first few weeks with him."

Angela waved goodbye to both of them, a sigh of relief escaping her lips once the door closed behind them. Her head was buzzing with too much information. The look in Juice's eyes as he left, the sadness written all over Tara's face, all of it made her anxious. She knew despite needing to rest, there was no way she'd ever get to sleep. Not until Juice came back. She pulled herself up to the head of the bed, pulling her knees up and lying Evie back against them. Evie's pretty brown eyes looked up at her, her little arms jerking about. "We're going to be okay, baby girl," she said, holding out her finger to her. Evie wrapped her fingers around it, holding tightly to it. "Me and Daddy will keep you safe. No matter what. We'll do whatever it takes, Evie-doll. I promise you that."