Angela was deep into completing death certificates in her office when she heard a tap on the door pane. She looked up to see Piney standing there, oxygen tank hanging on his side. He looked tired, a sad look still shining in his eyes. It'd been a few days since Donna was buried, and Opie had disappeared on a soul run of some sort, leaving his kids behind to be passed between Piney and Mary. She didn't know why Piney was there now. He'd already helped Ope sign all the paperwork for Donna's service. She'd made sure to give them one hell of a discount, and the club had helped pay for the little that was left. "Hey Piney," she greeted, getting to her feet as a show of respect. "How can I help you?"

"How you doin', sweetheart? Mind if I sit?" he asked, nodding to the chair in front of her desk.

"Please," she answered, gesturing to it. "Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

Piney smirked at her, shaking his head. "I'm good, thanks," he said, waving away her offer. He waited for her to sit down before clearing his throat. "Got a question for ya. 's about the kids."

She had a feeling it was going to be. She'd offered to help with them before, but Gemma had indicated that her help wasn't needed. She'd backed off a bit after that knowing Piney or even the kids themselves would ask for help when they needed it. "Of course. How can I help?"

"Got a big ask for ya. You can say no, of course, but thought I'd give it a shot," he said, an amused glint in his eyes. "Ya see, Ken's got some California Mission report to write."

"Is it that time of year already?" Angela asked, remembering writing her own California Mission report when she was a kid. It wasn't an unusual ask for kids around Kenny's age.

Piney nodded his head, sighing heavily. "Ken's teacher is giving extra credit for visitn' the mission they picked in person. I love that boy, he's a smart kid in a lotta things, but he can use all the extra credit he can get right now."

Angela's teacher had done the same, and she'd chosen the mission over in San Francisco. She and Hap had made a day of it. He'd hated every second of being inside the church, but they'd had fun running around the city afterwards. It was one of her favorite memories with him. "Nice. Let me guess, he picked a far one?"

"San Diego."

She whistled, shaking her head as she laughed. " 'course he did."

"Now, I don't got the patience or the time to take him. It can be a day trip or weekend or whatever. Just need someone to take him down there to see the damn place. I'll foot the bill. Whatever you need as long as I don't gotta take 'im myself."

She mulled over the idea; honestly, she could us a little vacation. A minute to relax far away from Charming. The only thing that would make it better would be if Juice could tag along. They'd never taken a long trip together, and this sounded like as good of a time as any to try it out. "Think I can handle that. I can take Ellie too. That way they both can have an escape. Relax a bit. Can I steal Juice to come with us?"

"Sweetheart, I'll give you whatever you want at this point," he replied on a chuckle. "Got a buddy a mine that's got a beach house out there. That somethin' you can use?"

Angela grinned; a beach vacation with a free place to stay? She couldn't think of a better idea. "Sounds perfect. I'll talk to Skeet about dates and get back to you."

Piney smiled himself, nodding his head. "Sounds good," he said, his light eyes growing warm. "Thanks for this, Ang. The kids need somethin' to look forward to. Think gettin' away would do them some real good."

"Think it'll do all of us some good, to be honest. Things have been so tense around here."

He got up with a grunt, nodding again. "It'll pass. Always does."

Angela got up too, following him towards the door. "Hope so," she said on a sigh. "Goin' to visit some friends?"

Piney looked over his shoulder at the cemetery, staring at it for a long beat before shaking his head sadly. "Not today. Got enough ghosts to deal with right now," he said before nodding to her. "Thanks again, sweetheart. I'll see you later."

~'~'~'~'~'~

Juice walked into his house and inhaled deeply as the smell of something delicious filled his senses. It was Angela's night to cook, and she clearly had made something good. He hung up all of his gear, untying his boots and setting them neatly beside her boots that were haphazardly kicked there. He righted them with a little smile at how small they looked compared to his. "Hey you!" Angela's voice called from the kitchen.

He walked in that direction, loving the sight of her in a pair of NYU sweats and a tank top. He knew Raj had given her those sweats, and they were one of her favorites. It didn't bother him to see her in them; he liked the way they looked on her. Loved how they were hanging low on her hips, showing off the wide band of her Calvin Klein cotton underwear. No lace panties tonight, which didn't phase him. He loved the simple cotton ones almost as much as the lace. "What's cookin' good lookin'?" he asked, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek before going to the fridge to grab a beer.

"Chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice," she replied, nodding towards the oven.

He took a long sip of his beer, nodding his head slowly. "Sounds amazing," he murmured, stepping behind her and nuzzling his nose into her neck. He nipped at the soft skin there, grinning when she shivered against him. He loved the way his touch affected her. Loved it because her touch did the same to him. "How was your day?"

"Pretty good. I actually got a visit from Piney," she told him, elbowing him gently to get him to step away after the oven time went off.

He moved away from her, leaning against the counter as she bent to check on the enchiladas. "No shit? What'd the old man want?"

"So most California schools do this thing where they make students learn about the California missions, which is wrong on a lot of levels because of the way they treated Native Americans, but it's apparently something schools still do," she started, pushing the tray back in and closing the oven before adjusting the timer. He watched her in amusement, loving the way she'd started rambling. Clearly, she was nervous about something, but it didn't seem dire so he was happy to let her ramble. She closed the oven with her foot and knee before turning back to him. "Anyways, Kenny's class is doing it, and he gets extra credit if he goes to the actual mission he picked, and, of course, he picked the one in San Diego, so Piney asked if I could take him. To see the mission. In San Diego."

Juice blinked at her for a minute, trying to let it all sink in. Sometimes, she talked faster than he could think. Was she going on a trip without him? "So you're gonna take Ken to San Diego?"

Angela nodded slowly. "Ellie too, of course. Piney said he'd foot the bill, and I figured those two could use a getaway from Charming so, I told him I'd do it," she said, moving to stand in front of him and meeting his gaze. He smirked, of course she'd agreed to do it; she probably would've even paid for it if Piney hadn't offered. She had a soft spot for the two Winston kids and would help with anything she could. There was a mischievous look on her face as she looked up at him and said, "With one condition, though."

He moved a hand to the side of her face, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. Her dark eyes were beautiful, just gleaming with excitement. He loved how big her heart was. How excited she was to take the kids on a trip. "What's that?"

"You're comin' with."

The idea of taking a short vacation with her, getting out of Charming even with the Winston kids in tow, sounded amazing. "Seriously?"

Angela nodded excitedly. "Yeah. Piney said he'd make it happen. Think your little biker buddies will do anything for Ope right now. You up for it?"

"Oh hell yeah." He leaned in closer to her, sliding his fingers into her hair and drawing her lips to his, capturing them in a hot kiss. He moved his other hand to her hip for a second before he grabbed a handful of her ass. Her arms slipped around his torso as she leaned into him, their tongues meeting as the kiss deepened. He moaned in response, thoroughly enjoying the taste of her.

The oven timer went off, and she pressed her hands against his chest gently. "Food first. Fun shit later," she told him, pecking his lips quickly.

He smacked her ass once more, pouting just a little. "No fun stuff now?" he asked. She shook her head, pulling a plate of enchiladas out of the oven and setting them on top. The smell of them made his mouth water. "Okay, I stand corrected. Think I want that first."

Angela laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "Grab a plate, goofy."

~~~'~'~'~'~'~

Kenny was stoked to be in the back of Angela's little Mazda headed south. He'd never been so far out of Charming for so long, and the idea of spending a few days by the beach was thrilling. He'd been to the beach before, but he couldn't quite remember it. Charming was so deep inland, trips to the beach were few and far between. He had to admit when he picked the San Diego mission, this was what he'd hoped would happen. Hoped one of his mom's sisters might take pity on him and take him on the road trip. No such luck, though. His aunts hadn't even showed up to his mother's funeral. Apparently, their sister wasn't important to them. The only people who had showed any interest in them were on his dad's side. Piney and Mary. They were doing their best, but most of the time, it meant playing with Mary's dogs or hanging out at Teller Morrow waiting for Piney to take them home. No one else paid attention to them. He'd wanted to ask about Angie for a while. See if she could take babysit since she'd offered before, but he didn't want to make his grandparents feel bad; they were doing the best they could. At least they were there. His dad had just disappeared. Apparently, the road was more important than his kids. Kenny kind of got it; he didn't want to be in Charming either.

He glanced over at his sister, who had her headphones on, staring out the window. Angela had let her borrow her iPod and Juice had given him his, but he wasn't really into listening to music on his own. He kind of liked the classic rock music Angela had on the stereo. It was so different from the country music his mom preferred. 

Juice was in the driver's seat, one hand covering his mouth as he yawned. Kenny fought against his own yawn; they'd left Charming before sunrise, determined to make the seven hour drive as easy as possible by avoiding traffic. Everyone was tired. Angela chuckled softly at Juice from her place in the passenger's seat, reaching out a hand to scratch at the base of his neck. "Tired, baby?" she asked, her voice warm and loving. "We can switch if you want."

Juice shook his head, reaching a hand out to set it on her thigh. "I'm good, Angel. Tell me a story."

Kenny couldn't stop watching them as Angela launched into a story about her work week. Juice asked questions and laughed as she spoke, fully invested in what was a boring, normal story. In the end, they were both laughing quietly. Angela even leaned over the center console to peck his cheek. Kenny didn't have many memories of his parents together, but he knew he'd never seen them act like Angie and Juice. Never felt the love between them that was so obvious between the couple sitting in the front seats. He let their love seep into his bones, making him feel warm and fuzzy. Their love made him feel safe. So much so that he kind of wished the car ride would never end. He did have to use the bathroom, though, and he hoped they'd be stopping soon. "Hey Angie?" he asked, catching her attention.

"Yeah, kiddo?" she replied, turning slightly in her seat to make eye contact with him.

"How much longer do we have?"

"About half way. You want some snacks? Bathroom?" she answered with a small smile.

He hesitated, not wanting to make the trip longer just because they had to stop for him to pee. He shrugged a shoulder, glancing out the window. "I'm okay."

"Really? Cause I gotta piss," Juice chimed in, looking over at Angela. "Maybe we can pull off somewhere? Take a leak, get some grub."

Angela nodded, pointing at a sign. "Looks like there's a stop a couple miles away. Got an In-n-Out and everything. Get you guys some animal fries."

Kenny had heard about the fast food chain, but he'd never actually been to one. "Animal fries?"

"Fries with grilled onions, cheese, and special sauce. Angel loves 'em. They're gross," Juice said, wrinkling his nose.

She smacked his arm, scowling slightly. "Says the man who gets a burger with no bun! Lettuce wrapped. A waste of a perfectly good burger. New York Juice would never."

"New York Juice was like ten pounds chunkier," he stated on a scowl.

"I liked the chunk," she teased, poking at his side.

Juice slapped her hands away, trying to keep the scowl on his face, but Kenny could see a smile turning up the corners of his lips in the rearview mirror. "How long have you guys been together?" he asked them, genuinely interested.

"Almost a year now," Angela answered with a little smile.

"But you've been here for more than that, haven't you?" Kenny stated, confused. He'd thought they'd been together forever.

Juice nodded, reaching out a hand to set on Angela's thigh again. They were in constant contact with each other. "We met in Central Park in New York like five – six years ago. I stopped a mugger for her."

"I had him handled," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sure you did," he teased back, chuckling when she smacked his arm.

Angela shook her head at him, but she was smiling. "I won't bore you with the details, Kendo," she said, playing with Juice's fingers for a moment, "but we became really close friends. He was the best friend I had in New York. Lots of stuff happened in between then and now, but we ended up together."

"Think that's what was meant to happen," Juice told her, bring her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.

The small show of affection should've grossed him out, but Kenny found he liked seeing it. Liked knowing that real love actually existed. He'd caught glimpses of it in his parents when they weren't fighting but never like what he was seeing now. "Cool," he said, nodding his head a bit. "Are we going to the mission tomorrow?"

"So here's the thing, guys," Angela said, angling in her seat a bit so she could see him better. Ellie, having been caught listening, pulled down her headphones. "We're gonna do the mission today. That's why we left so early. That way the rest of the weekend we can have fun at the beach!"

Ellie grinned excitedly. "Angie, can we go to the zoo? My friend said it was really big and awesome."

Angela deferred to Juice, who bobbed his head in a nod. "Love that idea, El," he said with a big grin. "We'll make it happen."

Kenny saw his sister's cheeks grow a little pink as she shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Cool," she mumbled before putting her headphones back on.

"Anything special you want to do, Ken?" Juice asked, glancing at the backseat in the rearview mirror.

He shrugged a shoulder; he didn't know very much about San Diego or what was there. "I'm okay with whatever. Just glad to be outta Charming," he answered honestly.

Angela nodded, in agreement. "Couldn't agree with you more, kiddo. We're gonna have a great time."

Kenny smiled at her, feeling his spirits lift a bit for the first time since his Mom had died. He needed this getaway. It finally felt like he could breathe.
~~~'~'~'~'~'~
A bit of a break between seasons. Kind of liking putting more of the Winston kiddos in there!
Let me know what y'all think!!
💜