Angela left St. Thomas hospital feeling exhausted and just a little sad. The decedent she picked up had been expected to pass, but it hurt her heart to see his grieving family around him especially his youngest daughter, who appeared to be in her teens, and had been sobbing in the corner of the room. She knew all too well what it was like to lose a father. Sighing, she checked her phone, hoping there'd be a text from Juice. There wasn't. He had texted her late the night before saying he'd be staying at the clubhouse. It wasn't unsual for him to do, especially if they'd all been busy helping the Oswald family, but it meant a sleepless night for her; she didn't sleep well when he wasn't beside her. It was strange he hadn't texted that morning though. Usually, if he didn't' come home she woke up to a 'good morning' text with extra little emojis. Glancing up from her phone, she saw Hale's Bronco parked on the street and tossed her phone in the passenger seat hoping he hadn't seen her checking her phone while driving and assumed she was texting.

She wasn't surprised when Hale stepped into the street beside his car, waving her down. Cursing softly, she pulled over; she really didn't need to get a ticket with a dead body in the back of the van. She pulled up in front of his cop car, rolling down her window as Hale approached. "Morning, Angela," he greeted with a small smile.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out, license and registration already in hand. "I swear I wasn't texting. Just checking my phone. I got a dead body in the back of my car, and I was just checking to see if I had any messages."

Hale chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Not a worry. I didn't see anything. You can step out of the vehicle. You're not in any trouble. Just got something to show you."

"All right," she drawled out suspiciously as she got out of the car. She watched him warily, hoping his next move wasn't to bust out the handcuffs.

He headed towards the bushes in front of the station, gesturing towards the ground. "I believe he belongs to you?"

Angela gave him a quizzical look before looking between the bushes. A laugh escaped her hold at the sight of Juice laying there between the bushes clad in nothing but a diaper and his boots with a pacifier taped to his mouth and a cardboard sign stapled to his chest that read in all caps, "Slightly retarded child. Please adopt me." She chuckled, wondering how the hell he ended up there. "Yep, he's mine all right. I'll be the one adopting him," she stated, grinning up at Hale. "As long as you don't arrest him."

"Don't tempt me," Hale muttered, nudging Juice's side with his boot. "Hey, idiot. Wake up. You must've really pissed off your buddies."

Juice came to with a groan, immediately going to rip the pacifier from his mouth and grunting in pain as he did so. "Oh shit," he murmured, pushing himself up slightly.

He hadn't noticed her there yet, but he apologized to Hale, muttering something about an eight o'clock feeding as he got to his feet. Hale turned to her and gestured to her van. "Get him outta here 'fore I slap indecent exposure on 'im."

"Yes sir," Angela replied, breathing in sharply when Juice forcefully pulled off the sign stapled to his chest.

Juice must've heard her because he glanced over her, his eyes still sleepy, the sweetest smile on his face. "Oh hey, baby," he greeted, rubbing at his back. "What're you doin' here?"

"Makin' sure you get home safely, goof," she replied, frowning at the bleeding little punctures left behind by the staples. "C'mon, let's get some antibacterial shit on that 'fore you get infected."

"Mmkay," he murmured sleepily, draping an arm over her shoulders. Clearly, whatever drugs he'd taken hadn't worn all the way off yet.

Angela rubbed a hand over his back lovingly before nodding to Hale. "Thanks, Dave," she called to him as she helped Juice towards the van. Hale just gave her a little salute before heading into the station.

"Again with the being nice. 's not necessary, he's a pig," Juice murmured, groaning again as he got into the passenger's side of the car.

"He was nice enough to wave me over to come get you instead of putting you in the drunk tank," Angela answered on a smirk. "If he's gonna play nice, I can too."

Juice rubbed at his eyes for a moment. " 'm not drunk," he said around a yawn. "Just took some vitamins Tig gave me. Musta knocked me out."

She raised an eyebrow while she started the car. "What kind of vitamins?"

"Dunno."

She looked at him like he was crazy. What could've possessed him to take random pills form Tig of all people? It was out of the ordinary for him. "Then why'd you take them then?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno."

She knew he was lying. He wasn't the type to just take random pills. Unless..."You thought they were uppers, huh?"

"Kinda."

She frowned in disapproval. Back in New York, he'd gone through a few months where he'd taken some kind of uppers on a frequent basis. He'd stopped and switched to energy drinks when he started getting heart palpitations that freaked him out. "Thought you didn't mess with that shit anymore."

Juice shrugged again, rubbing a hand over his face. "Was tired. Wanted the extra energy. Don't worry 'bout me, Angel. 's not a usual thing."

She shook her head slowly. After watching Koz go through rehab, she wasn't a big fan of any kind of illicit drug. Weed, yes, but nothing illegal and definitely not prescription drugs that weren't prescribed to the person specifically. Working in the funeral home, she'd seen one too many families torn to pieces by drugs; she didn't want that for her own family, especially not Juice. "Promise?" she asked, glancing over at him.

He nodded lethargically. "Won't do it again." He tilted the seat back, yawning as he leaned over to turn up the heat. " 's fuckin' cold in here."

She turned the temperature back down. "Dude. I got a body in here. It's supposed to be cold."

He looked over his shoulder slowly, noticing the body bag on the gurney. "Shit," he murmured, rubbing a hand over his face as he fought a yawn.

The look on his face was so sleepy and adorable, she couldn't help but laugh. "All right, goofy. Let me drop this dude off, and we'll go home. Get you all washed up and clean. "

"Mmm. Sounds good, baby. 'm tired 'n' everythin' hurts."

Her heart did a funny aching kind of thing at hearing he was in pain. Almost as if he'd transferred his pain to her. "Did you sleep out there all night?"

Juice's brows furrowed as he considered her question. "I um...took the pills late afternoon, started putting together some guns for the guys...then I woke up in the bushes. No idea what happened in between."

That didn't make any sense. Glancing at her phone, she noted the time she got the text from him. "But you texted me you were safe just weren't gonna be comin' home 'cause of club shit," she stated, handing him the phone with the text message open. "Otherwise, you best believe I woulda been at the damn clubhouse looking for you."

He read the text on the phone, a confused look on his face. "Baby, I dunno who texted you, but it sure as hell wasn't me. There's not even a smiley," he said around another yawn. He handed the phone back to her. "Don't even know where my phone is."

She smiled as she took the phone back from him. Her big bad biker boy usually ended most of his texts with a little smiley or wink face, sometimes even a little heart with a less than symbol and the number three. "Huh," she commented, surprised she hadn't noticed that either. Truth be told, when she got the text around midnight, she'd barely opened one eye to read what it said. "Thoughtful badass bikers. Texting me so I wouldn't worry."

"Yeah, sure they were real thoughtful when they were puttin' me in a diaper," he muttered, rubbing at his eyes. Angela took advantage to snap a quick picture of him in his diaper on her phone. The phony shutter sound, alerted Juice as to what she'd done. "Hey! No pictures! Delete that shit!"

Angela laughed, shaking her head at him as he grabbed the phone out of her hand. "No, no, stop! Don't delete! I love it! Look how sexy you look!"

"Baby, I'm in a diaper!" he said around a laugh of disbelief. He shook his head but didn't delete the photo just smiled himself as if content to hear her laugh. "If it makes you laugh, then you can keep it. For your eyes only, though."

She leaned over, kissing his cheek. "Love you, Tommy Pickles."

He snorted at her, his nose crinkling in the cutest way. "That a Rugrat reference?"

"Obviously," she shot back on a laugh. Her cell phone came to life in Juice's hand, Jax's name splashed across it. She raised an eyebrow; Jax didn't call her often. Something had to be wrong.

Juice looked just as confused, a flash of insecurity crossing his face as his finger hovered over the answer button. "You want me to answer?"

Angela had nothing to hide from him, so she nodded. "Sure. You can be my hands free device," she replied on a smirk. He chuckled, hitting the accept button and holding the phone across the center console to her as she said, "What's up, Teller? Everything okay?"

"All good. Just wanted to see if Juice made it home. Haven't heard from him since last night," he replied.

Juice scowled at that, both of them knew full well that Jax most definitely had a hand in him ending up in a diaper. "Funny you should ask," she answered, wondering what Juice did to merit such a prank. "Deputy Hale happened to find him on the side of the road. In a diaper. You know anything about that?"

"Not a thing," he said, feigning innocence. "We gonna have to bail him out?"

"Nah, I got him. Signed the adoption papers a few minutes ago. He's all mine," she joked, laughing as Juice smirked in response. "You the one who texted me from his phone?"

"Well, I didn't want you to worry," he drawled out, and she could hear the smirk in his voice.

She rolled her eyes at the same time Juice did. "So kind of you, Teller," she shot back. "Would've been nice if you told me to go pick him up so he didn't have to sleep outside all night."

"Yeah," Juice agreed under his breath.

"Sleeping outside builds character," Jax shot back. " 's what happens when you take shit you're not s'posed to."

Angela glanced over at Juice as he hung his head, his ears a little pink. "I'm sure he won't do it again," she said, feeling relieved when he rolled his eyes and nodded in response. "Thanks for texting, though, I appreciate the thought, but I woulda rather been told I'd find him on the side of the road in a diaper before Hale did."

Jax chuckled. "Now where's the fun in that?"

"Asshole," she muttered before sighing. "There anything else you wanted?"

"Just wanted to make sure he got home all right. No church tonight, so he's all yours."

She grinned at Juice, who was smiling back; it'd been awhile since they had a full day together. "Thanks, Teller. Have a good night."

Juice hung up the phone for her, reaching over to grab her hand. He kissed the top of her hand sweetly, and her heart fluttered. "Now that you've adopted me, what are you going to do with me?"

She smirked at him, raising an eyebrow at him. "First, I'm gonna drop this dead guy off. Then, you're gonna get clean, and we'll see where the day takes us."

~'~'~'~

After spending the night on the ground, the feel of the hot water against his skin was heavenly, though it did sting the small cuts left behind by the staples his brothers had used to affix the stupid sign to his chest. He still felt stupid for taking those damn pills Tig had shoved at him. He'd thought they were uppers. Something that would give him the energy to get through the day then to stay awake long enough when he got home to be with Angela. He'd dabbled in uppers before, and he knew he could handle them. Of course, the pills Tig gave him were sedatives. Juice had a sneaking suspicion they were some type of Quaalude or roofie. Whatever they were, they'd knocked him on his ass. He was still tired from them. The water was starting to grow cold, and he reluctantly turned it off. Angela was supposed to join him, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen. In a surprising twist, her phone had rang and sidetracked her. Skeeter was having issues with whatever electronic death registry system they had to use, and she had to walk him through it. When he'd gotten in the shower, he'd heard her explaining how to type in his password.

He got out of the shower, and she was still on the phone. Changing into comfy clothes, he headed towards the sound of her voice. She was on the couch, head in her hand, phone still pressed to her ear. He could hear the frustration in her voice as she explained something to him. He knew it would all be resolved if she physically went to the funeral home to show Skeeter how, but she was trying to avoid that to spend time at home. "Angel, just go," he told her, tracing a finger across her cheek when he was close enough.

Angela looked crestfallen as she glanced up at him. Her dark eyes took in his bare torso, landing on the little cuts on his chest from the staples. Her brows pulled together in concern, and she shook her head slowly as she sighed tiredly. "Skeet, just leave it. I'll handle it all tomorrow, I promise."

Juice's heart warmed at her putting him first. He loved her for that, but he couldn't be getting in the way of her work. "Angel..."

She held up her hand to cut him off while she rattled a few things she needed Skeeter to do. Hanging up the phone, she tossed it to the side as she got to her feet. "Those need to be cleaned well or they're gonna get infected," she said on a frown, nodding to his chest. She grabbed his hand, pulling him towards their room.

"Angel, stop," he said, standing firm. "If you gotta go to work, go. Don't mess it all up for me."

"It's fine. He can handle it. Sometimes I need a day off too," she assured him on a shrug. At his unconvinced look, she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it."

Juice sighed in defeat, following her back to their bedroom. This was a fight he wasn't going to win. When Angela made up her mind, there was little that could dissuade her except a whole lot of logic and debate. He wasn't up for that shit, and he honestly wanted to spend time with her, so he let it go. With a groan, he stretched out on their bed, happy for the soft mattress beneath his back instead of cold, hard dirt.

He heard Angela's soft chuckle and smiled to himself. "Come to bed, baby. It's still early," he called out to her, aware of the clock that said 9:00 am. She'd probably been up and working for three hours already.

She walked back in with a little tube of antibacterial gel, alcohol, and swabs in her hands. Sitting by his hip, she soaked the gauze on the alcohol before gently sweeping it over the eight small puncture wounds on his chest. He clenched his jaw to keep from hissing in pain. "You don't have to play tough guy for me," she told him, clearly fighting against a smile.

"Doesn't hurt at all," he lied, feeling a lot better as she carefully applied the gel to each one. "Helps to have such a pretty nurse."

"Goof. Can't believe those assholes used staples. Big ass ones too. Probably old as shit and rusted. Maybe we should get you a tetanus shot. I'll ask Chloe," she rambled, grabbing her phone out of her pocket.

Juice watched in amusement as she texted quickly, all the while muttering to herself about hazing and stupid biker assholes. God, he loved her. So much. "I don't think that's..."

Angela's phone chimed almost immediately with a response. "Did you have a tetanus shot within the last five years?"

He tried to remember if he had or not. He'd done enough stupid shit in New York that he probably could've used one, but he couldn't remember ever actually getting one. "I dunno. Haven't been to a normal doctor in like...years. Just hospital shit. Couldn't really afford it."

"Oh, you mean the mob didn't provide health insurance?" she joked, shaking her head at him.

He smirked at her sass and shook his head. "Y'know, I never really asked," he replied sarcastically. He sat up a bit so he was closer to her. "Didn't matter. Always had this really pretty nurse to take care of me."

She pushed his face away with a laugh, rolling her eyes at him. "Goof!" Her phone went off again, and she sighed as she read Chloe's text. "All right. Get dressed. You need a shot."

"What? No! No, c'mon, baby! I'm fine!" he protested; he couldn't remember the last time he had a shot, and he certainly didn't want to get out of bed to go get one. He grabbed her hand, pulling her down when she tried to get up.

She laughed, squirming against him as he tickled her sides. "Stop! C'mon! I'm trying to take care of you!"

He stopped tickling her, allowing her to settle on top of his chest, her chin on his sternum. He traced the back of his fingers over her soft cheek. "You always have."

She smiled, humming contently before kissing him quickly. "Then get up, get dressed, let's get your shot, and we'll figure the rest of the day later," she instructed, pushing away from him and getting to her feet. "C'mon, goofy. Let's get you healed up."

It took all of fifteen minutes for them to go to St. Thomas and for him to get the shot. Chloe had been ready for them, and Angela had filled out the paperwork and paid for it with the money he'd given her while the nurse gave him his shot. It hadn't hurt too badly, and Chloe had rewarded him with a lollipop.

"Aww were you a brave boy?" Angela teased as he headed her way.

Her dark eyes were sparkling with happiness, and he couldn't help but grin back at her as he nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Didn't even flinch," he replied around the lollipop. He pulled it from his mouth and offered it to her. "Want a lick?"

She gave him a wicked grin, her eyes growing dark in a way that made his pants tighter. Without breaking eye contact, she took the lollipop into her mouth, smirking just a little. He swallowed hard, taking her hips in his hands and pulling her into him. He grazed his lips across her throat, smiling when she shivered against him. Encouraged by her reaction, he sucked lightly on her soft skin, his hands slipping under top as she moaned softly, her fingers trailing over his mohawk.

"Hey! You two! Public place!" Chloe shouted from behind him. "Take that shit home!"

Angela's hands moved to his chest, pushing against it gently. He pulled away with a frustrated sigh. Chloe was right, though. There wasn't much they could do in the middle of a hospital waiting room...even if there wasn't anyone but the nurses in it. Angela glanced over his shoulder at Chloe. "Sorry Chlo!"

Chloe rolled her eyes at them, waving them away before disappearing down the hospital hall. Juice pulled the lollipop from Angela's mouth, sticking in back in his own before taking her hand in his. "Let's get outta here, beautiful."

"You gonna take me to the candy shop?" she asked, a mischievous look in her eyes as she waggled her eyebrows at him, her gaze darting from his face down to his belt buckle. "Let me lick the lollipop?"

He inhaled sharply, shaking his head at her as he stared at her with wide eyes. "You can't just say those things!"

Angela snickered, squeezing his hand and pulling him out of the door. As soon as they were close enough to her car, he pushed her up against it, capturing her mouth with his. With his hands on her hips, he lifted her up onto the hood of the car. Her legs wrapped around his hips, arms reaching up to drape over his shoulders. The lollipop fell out of her hands, laying forgotten on the ground. Her fingernails scratched lazily over the nape of his neck as he deepened the kiss. He could taste the sweet artificial cherry flavor on her tongue and groaned at the sweet taste. He moved his hands over the sides of her thighs and up her torso, sliding underneath her shirt as he leaned into her trying, needing to feel more of her.

He barely registered the sound of a motorcycle until it was right behind them, revving loudly. She pulled away from him, her lips swollen, her chest rising and falling heavily as she tried to catch her breath. God, she was beautiful. He leaned in and kissed her again, desperate for another taste.

She laughed, a warm sound he swore he could feel through his whole body. Leaning into him, she kissed his nose sweetly before nodding at whoever was behind him. Juice turned slowly, leaning back into her. She moved her hands over his chest, her lips pressing into the back of his head. "Jackson," she greeted with a nod.

Jax nodded back, killing his engine and taking off his helmet. "Nice to see you up right, brotha," he said to Juice with a shit-eating grin. He got off the bike, opening his saddle bag and pulling out his cut before throwing it at him. "Was gonna stop by your place after visiting my kid. Make sure you got this back. Kept it nice and safe for you."

"Thanks," Juice muttered, catching the cut. He stepped away from Angela to shrug on his cut, patting down the pockets and making sure the usual contents were there. He felt his personal phone, his work phone, and lace in his pocket."My wallet?"

He tossed the wallet and chain at him too. "You know he has panties in his pocket, right?" Jax drawled, glancing at Angela.

"I'm aware," Angela replied on a shrug while Juice tucked his wallet into it's usual pocket and secured the chain on a belt loop.

Jax raised his eyebrows in surprise. "And you're okay with that?"

Juice smirked, leaning back between her legs. Her arms smoothed over his shoulders down the front of his cut. Of course she was okay with it; she'd put them there on the night he'd gotten his patches. At least one pair. The other pairs he'd managed to steal sneakily without her knowing. "Who do you think they belong to?" she asked.

The SAMCRO VP chuckled in response, shaking his head at them. "Fuckin' freaks," he muttered before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm gonna go see my kid."

"Have fun! Say hi to Tara!" Angela called after him. He flipped her off as he headed inside the hospital. She laughed softly, moving her arms around Juice again, her legs sliding around his hips as she set her chin on his shoulder. "You know what I'm craving?"

"A lollipop?" he asked, turning around to face her.

She laughed, shaking her head at him. All of the heat between them had died down and left him feeling warm and fuzzy. He'd give her anything she wanted. Drive to the ends of the Earth for her. "Some real greasy boardwalk food."

He grinned, knowing where her mind was heading. "Beach day?"

"Beach day," she confirmed, her dark eyes sparkling as she smiled at him.

Juice couldn't think of a better place to spend the rest of the day than laying out on the beach with her. It sounded relaxing and fun. A welcome change from the hectic shit going down in Charming. Not even the idea of eating greasy food could deter him from it. "Sounds perfect."

And it was. After a quick pit stop at their house, they headed to the coast and set up a little camp out on the warm sand. She lay between his legs, her back against his chest as they watched the ocean waves. He could feel the tension ease from her body as she melted into him. He had a feeling she'd needed this break just as much as he did. It was nice to finally be alone together for more than just a few minutes. "Cotton candy?" she asked, tilting he head back, a large tuft of cotton candy in her mouth.

He leaned in, taking the cotton candy from her lips and letting it disintegrate in his mouth as he kissed her. He moaned at the sugary sweetness mixed with the warm taste of her. He deepened the kiss, moving his arms around her torso left bare by her bikini. Her hand moved to the side of his face, sticky fingers stroking over his cheek. He didn't care. For the moment, everything was perfect and there was no place he'd rather be.

~'~'~'~
This one was a fun one to write. I love writing just the two of them being silly and sweet. 🥰
Please let me know what you think!!
💙