A/N: Starting two stories in two days was not on my agenda but this idea would not leave me alone. As always, I only own the OC's.
Marissa Ramirez was pissed as she navigated her rental towards Saint Thomas Hospital. She was going to kill Tara, she swore. Pulling into the hospital parking lot, she took one last drag of her cigarette before putting it out. Stepping out of the car, Marissa grabbed her purse and stalked towards the doors, daring anyone to stand in her way. She reached the front desk and ignored the catcalls from some bikers a few feet away.
"Do you know where I can find Dr. Tara Knowles?" She asked the front desk clerk. Before the young woman could answer, an older woman with a short hair cut and glasses responded.
"What is your business with Dr. Knowles?"
"None of yours. Look lady, I have had a very rough couple of weeks and the last thing I need to deal with is some stuck up bitch that is way too nosey for her own good. Do you know where Tara is or not?" The woman looked stunned before telling her that Tara could probably be found in the cafeteria. Marissa nodded before walking down the hallway. Pushing up the doors to the room that said cafeteria, her hazel eyes scanned the room before she found Tara sitting with an older women and a blonde man.
Tara looked up as Marissa made her way over towards the group. She immediately stood up and a smile graced the doctor's face.
"Rissa!" She exclaimed but she halted in her approach to give the woman a hug when Marissa shook her head and held up her hand.
"Don't 'Rissa' me. Do you mind explaining to me why the hell some bitch named Stahl shut down my damn bar?" She heard the man sitting down suck in an angry breath but she was too pissed to care.
"She did what? Marissa, I had no idea." Tara was genuinely confused. Why would Stahl go after Marissa?
"Really? Because she said and I quote, 'You can thank Dr. Knowles for this' I'm assuming this shit has to do with Josh."
"Hey don't be so loud with that shit." The man demanded. Marissa finally took the time to look at the other two people sitting at the table. She noticed the chin length hair and blue eyes and was able to put the pieces together.
"You must be Jax." She shook the man's hand and quirked an eyebrow at Tara. "Okay, I get it now." Jax looked confused as the two women shared a knowing grin. She looked over at the woman who seemed to be throwing daggers at her. It didn't take a genius for Marissa to figure out this was the all-knowing Head Bitch in Charge around here. She introduced herself to Gemma who didn't even crack a smile, just continued to stare. If she thought she was rattling Marissa's cage, then she had the woman confused. Turning back towards Tara, she rubbed her forehead before placing her hand on her hip.
"Tara, we talked about everything and you forgot to mention that the ATF has a hard on for you? Damn it, if I had known I could have at least been prepared. I poured everything into that bar and now I'm left with nothing."
Tara had met Marissa two weeks after going to Chicago to start medical school. The young doctor to be was walking along the campus when she saw Marissa posting up a flyer looking for a roommate. The young Puerto Rican was unlike anyone that she had every met before. She was loud, opinionated and feared very little. Marissa took an instant liking to Tara and offered her the room. They instantly clicked and spent many nights trying out Marissa's latest drink concoctions and sharing stories of love, life and pain.
When Tara got involved with Josh Kohn, Marissa had been against it but she understood Tara's need to date the man. Tara was looking for the anti-Jax: a good boy with a 9-5 and a 401k. When Marissa had finally saved up enough money to open up "Escape Reality", her dream dive bar, the time that Marissa and Tara spent together was lessened. Most of it was due to both being busy in their respective fields, but another reason was that Josh didn't like Marissa and she was more than happy to hate him back. One night Tara came home with a black eye and it took everything in Marissa's power to not castrate the man.
She encouraged Tara's return to Charming, knowing that she needed to get away from Josh because his pull in the legal system wasn't going to be able to keep her safe. She knew that Tara had never gotten over Jax and she knew that despite whatever happened between the two, he would find a way to keep her safe. She tearfully hugged her best friend goodbye at the airport and wished her the best.
They kept in constant contact, through various forms of technology. Marissa knew all about the MC, Gemma, Wendy, Abel and Jax. She knew about Josh returning and Jax "handling" things once and for all. Even though Marissa had never met Jax, she was immediately grateful for what he had done. Tara sounded more and more lonely through each passing conversation and if Marissa was honest, she missed her friend too.
"Escape Reality" had been open for 4 years and was Marissa's baby. It was a dive bar that did very well. She hit the market for those people that didn't want to dress up and go to some stuck-up lounge or overcrowded club. She had finally gotten to a point where she was able to hire more staff and take some of the workload off her and that's when shit hit the fan.
"How bad is it?" Tara asked as her eyes showed worry for her friend.
"That bitch has me tangled in so much legal mumbo bullshit, even if I was to get the bar back, I would be waist deep in debt."
"Can't Nick help you?" Marissa let out a snort.
"I'm not exactly his favorite person right now. Let's face it: a bartender and a lawyer made as much sense as…..well as a biker bitch and an ATF agent." Marissa let a smile reach her lips but sighed when Tara looked at her with questioning eyes.
"Long story short, he was tapping his assistant, so I tapped his jaw with my fist."
"I'm sorry, Ris. So why didn't you just call me?" Marissa sighed.
"I didn't think you would be able to convey my anger over the phone. Besides it's not like I had shit else to do, so why not stop through Mayberry? And I guess, I sort of missed your boney ass." Tara smiled big; Jax thought her face would crack as she pulled the other woman in for a hug. Jax was amused by the sudden change in Tara. Ever since she came back, she had always been so damn serious. Not that he could blame her because of the shit that was going on, but he was starting to see signs of the carefree teenage Tara that he fell in love with.
As they pulled away from each, Jax noticed his brothers walk into the cafeteria. Tig quickly walked up to the new woman and smacked her hard on the ass, much to the amusement of the guys.
"Well hey there sweet cheeks." Marissa whirled around and looked at the guy with the curly black hair and crazy blue eyes. She put a smirk on her face and stepped closer to the older man.
"Hey asshole, if you put your hands on my ass again without me giving your permission, I will crack one of your nuts: left or right, your choice." Tig's eyes darkened and he went to move towards Marissa but Jax quickly stood between the two.
"Chill, bro. She's not a crow eater; she's an old friend of Tara's." Tig stopped moving but the glare never left his face. Tara quickly introduced her to the many men but Marissa couldn't be bothered to care. She turned towards Tara when she heard her name.
"Where's your stuff?"
"In the trunk of a Ford Focus."
"You didn't bring 'The Coyote'?" Marissa shook her head, but the man she remembered as Clay spoke up.
"Coyote?" Marissa simply pulled out her cell phone and scrolled down to the picture of her prized 1971 Plymouth Road Runner. The boys took turns looking at the picture and gawking over the green beauty. Marissa turned towards Tara.
"So where can a girl go to get a drink around here?"
"Why don't you bring her back to the clubhouse, babe? That way I can fill everyone in on what's going on?" Tara nodded her head.
"My shift is over anyway. Let me just change my clothes." She kissed Jax and hugged Marissa. "I'm sorry about the shit coming to your door step but I'm really glad you're here."