IT WAS LATE by the time Jax pulled his bike into the garage. A deep sigh left his throat as he sat on his parked motorcycle and closed his eyes feeling exhausted.

A hiss left his lips at the pain throbbing through his bloodied knuckles, opening his eyes his stared down at his bruised and bloody knuckles, the skin peeled back from them.

The Irish were becoming a bigger problem for the sons, and Jax had thought maybe a little beat down would help keep them in line— he should have known better. The Irish were stubborn pricks and their leader; Jimmy O was the worst.

The Irish were getting worse as the days of dealing with them wore on. Jax had tried reasoning with them, talking to them calmly, but they just smirked like the arrogant pricks that they were and well, Jax decided he needed to send a message.

It wasn't smart he knew that, but in the moment he didn't give a fuck.

Jax ran a hand down his frowning face as he slowly got up from his bike and made his way inside. He wasn't surprised to see Shay awake laying on the couch with the tv on. Especially when he got home on these late nights.

"Sorry." Jax apologized as he kicked off his white sneakers and made his way towards Shay, her bright blue eyes watching his every move. "Had shit to handle with the Irish." He explained while practically falling onto the couch.

"Is everything okay?" Shay sat up immediately, quickly moving closer towards Jax. Her blue eyes going wide as she checked him over, her eyes landing on his torn knuckles.

"I'm okay, darlin'. " Jax assured her worried face with a small smile as Shay softly took his battered hands into hers, eyeing the damage with a frown on her face.

"Is everything okay?" Shay repeated. Shay knew all about the Irish and how much damage they could do to SAMCRO. She needed Jax to assure her that things were okay.

A sigh left his lips. "We'll probably have to go into lockdown for a few days while everything gets sorted out."

Shay nodded as she placed a kiss on Jax's cheek. She hated lockdowns but she wouldn't  argue about it. She could tell the weight of the world was on Jax's shoulders and she wasn't going to add to that.

/

THE CLUBHOUSE WAS FULL of other charters as lockdown went into full effect. Shay let out a sigh as she listened to Clay make his big speech about keeping everyone safe. She hated lockdowns. They were chaotic and always made a pit of anxiety form in her stomach.

What if someone got hurt or worse died? She had already lost too many people she couldn't take loosing anyone else.

"You okay baby?" Gemma placed a comforting hand on Shay's shoulder.

"Yeah." Shay nodded as a the tiniest of smiles found a way onto her lips. "Just hate this shit."

"Me too, baby." Gemma agreed with sympathy in her voice. "You just have to remember they're doing all this to keep us and those babies safe. Jax would never let anything bad happen to you." Gemma had been through many lockdowns, but she too got anxious whenever the club was at war with their enemies.

"I know." Shay smiled before walking off towards Jax.

She had to believe nothing bad would happen. She had to believe Jax would be okay or else she wouldn't be able to get through the day.

/

HOURS HAD PASSED SINCE Jax and the rest of SAMCRO had left and Shay felt like she was slowly going insane from the not knowing if everything was okay. No one has heard from SAMCRO and everyone's anxiety was at an all time high. It also didn't help that boredom was setting in. There was only so many things they could do to keep everyone entertained.

"Shit." Shay looked over at Gemma with a raised eyebrow as the curse word left her lips. "The fucking Tacoma charter is full of prissy men who want different beer." Gemma rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse.

"I'll go with you, Gem." Shay practically jumped at the idea of getting to leave the clubhouse even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Alright baby." Gemma nodded. "Half-Sac let's go!" She ordered the prospect who quickly rushed around the bar, knocking over a few drinks in the process.

"I'll clean that up." The nervous prospect spoke quickly as Gemma shot him a look of annoyance.

"You ready?" Gemma ignored Half-Sac as she turned her attention to Shay.

"Yes." The brunette nodded, grabbing her purse and following Gemma outside.

A sigh of relief left her lips as she walked towards Gemma's Cadillac. She needed to be out of the clubhouse for a little bit. It was too suffocating in there. Besides what bad could really happen to her or Gemma on a beer run?

\

AN —
An update yay! This chapter is terrible.