Fate Misunderstood

Being alone was something that wasn't very appealing to Juliette in light of present events so even though she didn't really care to be hanging around the clubhouse, she was headed there anyway. It was ten o'clock in the morning so she didn't even know if anyone would be there but it was better than sitting at home in her parents' big house all by herself with nothing to do.

Surprisingly the row of bikes was almost full when she pulled onto the lot. As soon as she pushed the door open to the clubhouse, she was greeted with a chorus of hellos. They'd all seen her since she'd been back, but most of them hadn't had the chance to really welcome her back. Both Bobby and Chibs greeted her when she reached the bar where they were sitting and having shots of whiskey.

"Little early to be drinking, isn't it fellas?"

Chibs chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "Ah, I missed ya, Julie girl."

Bobby didn't get up from his seat, but he held his arms out for a hug and she shook her head before leaning in to hug him as well. "How ya holdin' up, kid?" he asked once he'd let her go.

She shrugged before walking around behind the bar and refilling their glasses. "Okay, I guess. It's weird bein' back here, but at the same time it feels like I never left. And I miss Kip, but I'm tryin'." She frowned as she pulled out another shot glass and filled it up for herself, downing it quickly and squeezing her eyes shut as the alcohol stung the back of her throat on the way down.

"Looks good around here," Bobby pointed out, changing the subject. "Your doin', I assume?"

Juliette chuckled. "Of course. Who else would clean up after you pigs when Mom's gone?"

Someone called Chibs from outside and he grumbled to himself as he downed his drink before sliding off his bar stool and heading for the door. He was soon replaced by Juice, who would have completely given himself away with the stupid smile on his face if Bobby had been paying any attention. "Mornin'," he said casually.

"The fuck are you so happy for?" Bobby grunted from beside him.

"No reason," he replied. Juliette rolled her eyes as she poured herself another shot before getting yet another glass and pouring one for Juice.

"Damn, Juice. What've you been doin'? Or I guess I should ask who."

Juliette's head snapped up to look at Bobby, who chuckled and jabbed his finger into the side of Juice's neck, making Juice scoff and smack his hand away. Juliette knew she had left numerous quarter-sized purple marks all over his body and one of those was definitely what Bobby had been referring to. Juice's eyes briefly met hers but he looked away before Bobby noticed.

"None of your business, old man."

"Oh, now come on. Which one of 'em was it? I'd like to get me a piece of that."

Juliette quickly slapped her hand over her mouth before she laughed out loud and she put her head down, letting her hair fall over her left shoulder so that they couldn't see her face. Her entire body was shaking with laughter but she was trying to be as quiet as possible. Apparently they noticed anyway.

"You okay, Jules?" She nodded and gave Bobby a thumbs up with her free hand, not daring to look up yet. "Come on, brother," he continued, turning his attention back to Juice. "Share the love."

Juice just laughed and shook his head at the older man before sliding off his bar stool. "You're insane," he said, patting Bobby on the back before walking away from the bar and toward the dorms. "Hey Julie, can you come here a second?"

She furrowed her brows as she walked around the bar to follow in the direction he had gone and see what he wanted but by the time she reached the hallway, he had disappeared. The door to her left opened and she was yanked inside, the door slamming shut behind her. Juice was only inches away, looking down at her with a grin on his face.

"So I guess Bobby Elvis wants a piece of this," he said, his hand sliding around to her back and slapping her playfully on the butt.

"Yeah, right. Never in a million years. He's like my dad," she snorted. "Now did you need something?"

"Glad you asked," he muttered lowly before grabbing her by the back of the neck and pulling her into him, his lips roughly meeting hers. She reacted immediately, sliding her hands up his shoulders and wrapping her arms around his neck. His large hands found her waist, his fingertips digging into the milky skin that was exposed between the bottom hem of her tank top and the top of her jeans.

When his mouth moved down to her neck, she opened her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings. "You couldn't have at least pulled me into a dorm? This is the grossest room in the entire place."

He paused, lifting his head a little so that his lips were against her ear. "We don't have time right now for me to do all the things I wanna do to you. Trust me, when we do, it won't be in the clubhouse bathroom." His soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine and she pulled him back down to connect their lips as his hands made their way under the fabric of her tank top, ghosting over her sides before sliding under the lace fabric of her bra and brushing over her nipples. She moaned into his mouth, which only encouraged him.

A sudden knock on the door made them both freeze.

"Yeah?" he called, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. He removed his hands from her bra and dropped them to his sides as he glared at the door.

"Could you hurry please? I really have to pee."

"Um yeah, I'll be out in a minute," he answered before looking back at Juliette.

She was already standing in front of the mirror, using her fingers to smooth out her hair. Once she had adjusted her bra and her tank top, she turned back to him. "How am I supposed to get out of here without her seeing me?" she whispered.

"It's just a crow eater. It's not like it's Jax."

"Yeah, but it's the crow eater who might murder me."

"Why would a crow eater murder you?" he asked amused.

"Because I fucked you." Juice just blinked, obviously confused and Juliette rolled her eyes. "Look, it doesn't matter why. Just get rid of her so I can leave."

"That bitch ain't gonna do nothin' to you. And if she tries, don't worry, I'll protect you." He gave her another huge grin, pecking her lips before grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the door. He swung it open and walked out, Juliette following because she had no other choice, and he still had the grin on his face as he passed the blonde crow eater and said hello to her. She glared at Juliette, noting their linked hands and the fact that they had just come out of the bathroom together after a very long time.

As soon as the woman had shut the bathroom door behind her, Juliette dropped his hand to make sure that no one else saw them and she followed him back through the clubhouse and outside. Bobby, Chibs, Piney, and Happy were all standing outside near the garage office when they walked outside and Opie was still sitting on his bike, pulling his helmet off his head. Clay was by the office doors, a cell phone pressed to his ear and an annoyed look on his face. "What's goin' on?" Juice asked once they reached the others.

Bobby shook his head. "Jimmy O. Guess he's got something else on Abel."

Juliette had gotten a call from Juice the night before, long after she'd gone home to go to sleep, telling her the information on Abel that they had learned after she left. The email they'd received had a picture of a dead Cammy Hayes in Belfast, which meant that either Abel was there too or Hayes had given him over to someone before his death. This piece of news was highly unsettling.

Jax roared onto the lot on his motorcycle, parking next to Opie and climbing off as Clay came toward him and handed him the phone. They all watched as he took a few steps away from them and pressed the phone to his ear. By the end of the call, he was yelling and when he hung up, he inhaled sharply before turning back to them. "He said Abel's not in Belfast. Cameron didn't bring him."

He was so angry that he punched the side of the van hard enough to put a deep dent into one of the panels while the rest of them just watched him. His knuckles were starting to bleed as he walked away from them and situated himself on top of the picnic table by the clubhouse door, lighting a cigarette. The rest of the guys followed him but Juliette stayed where she was and watched them talk, figuring it was probably Club business on what to do next.

When they finally came back in her direction, she walked forward to meet Jax. He climbed onto his bike and strapped his helmet on before pulling his leather gloves onto his hands. "We're goin' to get Mom and then we're headin' north. You gonna be okay around here?"

She wasn't sure that she would be without anyone from the Club around, but she nodded anyway and wrapped her arms around him in a brief hug. "Be careful."

"We will. Stay out of trouble."

"I'll try," she replied, cracking a smile. "Love you."

"Love you too, kid."

The rest of the guys reached them then, still talking about Club shit so Juliette gave her brother a kiss on the cheek before turning on her heel to go into the office. She waited by the door, wanting to watch them head out and Juice threw her a small wave as he put his helmet on, a small grin on his face. She rolled her eyes as she waved back at him and then they all started their bikes, pulling out of the lot in single file.

Once they were gone, she sat down at the desk and began working on the fresh pile of paperwork that had been placed there since yesterday. She wasn't sure how her mom kept up with so much shit on a daily basis because just handling the garage paperwork was a full time job in itself. It took almost four hours to sort through the entire stack and by the time she was finished, the garage was already closed and the mechanics had gone home for the night.

She went back to the clubhouse, not wanting to go home to an empty house. No one from the Club was there, but the crow eaters were still around anyway, sitting at the table together, smoking cigarettes. Luckily the blonde one who was hung up on Juice was nowhere to be seen. Two hang-arounds were playing pool but she didn't know them so she went to grab a beer from the bar and then she flopped down on the sofa to watch tv. She could feel the women watching her as she propped her boots up on the armrest and sipped the can in her hand. Even though she didn't know any of them, she was still more comfortable inside the clubhouse than she would be at home alone.

Juliette heard the clubhouse door as it opened roughly, slamming against the wall and she sat up quickly to see what was going on. Her mother hurried into the room, looking around in a panic at the people right by the door. "Has Neeta been here with the baby?"

Both the hang-arounds and the crow eaters just stared at her dumbly and Juliette jumped to her feet, rushing over to where her mother was standing. "What the hell are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!"

Gemma didn't even register the fact that her daughter, whom she had not seen in five years, was standing in front of her. She was too worried for that. "I want to see my grandson. I need to see Abel!" Before Juliette had a chance to respond, Gemma was running back out the door and into the lot.

"Wait a damn minute! Where are you going?" she yelled after her mother. Gemma kept on going until her phone rang and she stopped to pull it out of her pocket, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear. Juliette waited about twenty feet away from her, just watching as her mother listened to whoever was on the other end of the call.

Gemma turned to look at her daughter with horrified eyes and the phone dropped from her hand. The sound of motorcycles approaching filled both their ears and she doubled over, clutching her chest before falling to the concrete just before the guys pulled into the lot. Jax and Juliette both ran toward her, shouting, and Jax reached her first, kneeling down as she rolled onto her back, gasping for air.

"What happened?" he asked, glancing up at his sister.

Juliette stopped when she reached them and she stood over them while Clay came up to Gemma's other side, grabbing her hand. The others had jumped off their bikes as well and were now crowding around. "She said she needed to see Abel and then she came running out here. Someone called her and she talked to them for a minute but then she collapsed."

Clay cradled her head as Jax yelled for Tara, and she came running but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that it was her heart that was causing whatever was happening. Tara looked up at Jax, then Clay. "We have to get her to St. Thomas. Now."