Skeletons

Falyn rolled over onto her back, her eyes opening slowly against the harsh light. When she was met with a dark gray ceiling instead of her bright white one, she frowned in confusion and sat up, looking around the room. The tan uniform tossed over the back of the chair next to the bed caught her attention and she instantly remembered the night before.

She groaned to herself as she threw back the comforter and stood up to stretch her sore body before pulling back on the outfit she had been wearing the previous night. She attempted to smooth down her messy hair before she picked up her boots and opened the bedroom door, looking down the hallway. The sounds of the morning news came faintly from her left so she headed down the hallway into the living room.

David was sitting on one end of the sofa in a pair of flannal pajama pants, eating a bowl of cereal as he watched the news coverage of the shooting. He instantly looked up when she appeared in the doorway and he glanced back at the television, which was showing footage of the scene. He quickly picked up the remote control and changed the channel before dropping it back onto the sofa. He set his empty bowl down on the coffee table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

Falyn sank down onto the other end of the sofa and sighed. "I'm sorry. About last night."

He gave her a little shrug but he didn't look away from her face. "It was bad for everyone. You and Opie especially."

A sad smile found its way onto her face and she leaned back against the cushions, running her hands over her eyes which were stinging with unshed tears. "I should get going," she sighed. "Could you drop me off?"

"Chibs brought your car by last night after you fell asleep. Apparently you left the keys in the ignition."

"Oh...So he, uh, knows about us then?"

"Considering I didn't get fully dressed to answer the door, I'd say there's a good chance. Why?"

"No reason," she replied, resisting the urge to groan. She pulled on her shoes and stood up, looking around the room for her keys. David must have caught on because he got up from the sofa and walked over to the table in the foyer, picking up a small set of keys and tossing them to her. "Thanks," she muttered.

She walked toward the door but David was blocking her exit. Even after everything that had happened between them the night before, she couldn't look him in the eye. The guilt she still felt about the past with Jax was too much for her to deal with, especially when David's icy blue eyes were staring straight at her.

He took a step forward, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Fal, I'm really sorry about Donna."

She stepped forward into his body, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. Her cheek rested against his bare shoulder as her arms went around him to hug him in return, her hands brushing the warm skin of his back. "I'm sorry about Jax," she finally whispered in response.

"Hey," he said, pulling her back from him. "Let's talk about that later. It's not important right now."

She nodded sadly, looking down from his eyes. "I should go. They're probably worried."

He dropped his hands and turned to open the door for her. She walked outside to her car where Chibs had so nicely parked it the night before and she drove away from David's house mentally beating herself up. Not only had she slept with her ex boyfriend, but she had also not let her father and daughter know that she was okay after finding out about her best friend's death. She'd been too wrapped up in the moment to think about calling them and they'd probably been so worried. After all, she had told Gemma that she'd return to retrieve her daughter.

As soon as she walked into the house, her father was coming out of the kitchen, followed directly by Savannah. He immediately pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry about Donna, baby."

When he released her, Savannah threw her arms around her mother's waist but she didn't say anything. They both followed Craig back into the kitchen where he had been making breakfast, or at least attempting. Falyn sat down at the counter and Savannah hopped up beside her. "Sorry about last night, kid."

Savannah shrugged. "S okay. Papa was there the whole time."

"Gemma brought us home," Craig added as he flipped the pancakes over.

"Where'd you go, Mom?"

"A, um, friend's. I was just too upset to drive."

Her father gave her a questioning look, but he didn't say anything because Savannah was sitting there next to her. He could safely guess that her friend had been of the male persuasion, but he didn't need to know who in Charming that happened to be.

Falyn put her head down on the counter, her head aching from all the stress and negative emotions that had been packed onto her in the past twelve hours. This day was a nightmare but tomorrow would only be worse.



The cemetery was just as she remembered it, thought she hadn't been there since her grandmother died sixteen years ago. She could feel the vibrations from the long line of motorcycles coming to a stop behind the hearse and she watched as they walked toward the graveside where she, her father, and Savannah were standing with some others who had come out to honor Donna. She did happen to notice however that Jax was not with them.

Falyn stood directly behind Opie as the short service began, one hand resting comfortingly on his shoulder and the other on Piney's. David was standing only one person down from her and he gave her a sympathetic look as the minister spoke. She looked down at the two now motherless children, Kenny and Ellie, who were sitting next to their father, and tears began to well up in her eyes again.

She noticed someone walking toward them in her peripheral vision and she looked up to see Jax. Tara got up from her chair and walked over to him, handing him his cut, which he slid onto his back before kissing her. He glared hard at Clay as he approached the casket and picked up a flower, kissing it before he gently laid it on top of the casket. Then with one last glare, he stalked off from the service, heading in the direction of his little brother Thomas's grave.

After the service, everyone went back to the Clubhouse. Well, everyone except Jax. Falyn wasn't sure what was going on with him, but she wouldn't dare ask anyone. Savannah had never been to the Clubhouse before so she was enthralled when they first stepped inside. Her eyes immediately found the wall of mugshots and she stood in front of it, just staring. Craig joined her and she immediately began asking questions about the men who were plastered all over it.

After leaving Savannah to ask her grandfather questions, Falyn made a beeline to the bar. She slid up onto one of the bar stools, crossing her legs and running a hand through her dark hair. The prospect set a glass in front of her and grabbed the bottle of Jameson, remembering what her preference had been the last time. "You look like you could use a drink," he commented as he poured her glass full and set the bottle down next to her.

"Thanks," she muttered, picking up the glass and downing its contents all at once. She picked up the bottle and poured herself another. The Scotsman slid onto the bar stool next to her and the prospect immediately set a cold bottle of beer in front of him before leaving the two of the alone.

"Better be careful this time," he joked, taking a gulp of his beer.

Falyn frowned at his presence, still remembering that he had been the one to tell Clay about Agent Stahl's questioning her. Then she remembered what David had told her the day before about him bringing her car over. "Hey, Filip, about the other night-"

"It was a rough night. Ya lost ya friend and ya needed t' feel good. Nuttin' wrong wi' that." He lit a cigarette and chuckled to himself. "Shoulda come t' me instead though," he added after a moment's thought.

She was already uncomfortable that the topic was herself and David's night together, but the suggestion he had just thrown out only added confusion. She decided to ignore the comment altogether. "I would just really appreciate if you didn't mention it to anyone. It was-.....I'd really just like to keep that private."

He shrugged nonchalantly as his eyes focused on the bottle in his hands. "Course. Our lil secret," he said, raising his bottle to her before taking another large gulp.

She shook her head, accepting this as an affirmation, and took a sip of her own drink. Nothing else was said between them, but the silence was surprisingly comfortable as they sat at the bar, drinking.