Bella ran her thumb over the screen of her cell phone, Charlie's number shining brightly on the small screen. She wanted to ring him, wanted to vent and spew about everything that had happened in the last few months, but every time she brought his number up on her phone, she couldn't bring herself to hit the ring button.

She had been sending a sparse text or email here and there to let him know she was still breathing, but to actually hear him speak, to speak to him, when she had changed so much seemed so difficult a task to make herself do. The problem was Charlie never changed, the proverbial oak tree in the blistering wind, never moving, never changing. He was always the police chief, always going fishing with Billy, always in dreary Forks and he would always be like that, until his dying day. Bella was sure of it.

But she had changed... Dramatically. What if they just didn't click any more? They already had communication problems. What if, even after all these years of raising her, that he fully realized she wasn't his daughter? That it was time to call it quits and cut his loses while he could? Sure, her blooming relationship with Tig's was beyond more than Bella could have ever asked for, but Charlie... Charlie raised her, he was her father. No one could take his place.

Not only that, but work had become a right bitch. That agent, Kohn, had renegaded her to desk duty, piling paperwork upon paperwork for her to fill out while the rest of the CPD had all the fun. On top of that, Hale had tried to corner her for the last week, likely to dig the knife in more, or try to apologize, when really if he wanted to apologize, it wasn't her he needed to speak to. However, she had managed to slip and slide through that horrendous meeting, dodging his attempts with coffee and doughnut runs, or the simple excuse of needing the bathroom and then not leaving until she was sure the coast was clear for her to do so.

And the cherry on top of the shit sundae she was being force fed was this new agent that had come to Charming with sirens ringing and gun at the ready, an agent Stahl if she remembered properly. She hadn't met this person yet, both running on different times and Bella having basically been tied to her desk with an invisible iron chain and ball that was Kohn. However, she had heard about this no-nonsense, stuck up, slightly handsy ATF agent from George, a co-worker.

While she had been detained to desk duty, it didn't exactly stop Bella's need, or want, to find out what the ATF were up too and simultaneously keep an eye out for the SOA the only way she could, and with a bit of luck... Okay, down right blackmail, she had gotten George onto the new team Stahl had set up and have the poor man drip the information to her. Though, she didn't exactly feel bad about the blackmail. George, as she had caught him one time while locking up the office, had been pilfering the drugs from lock up, mainly cocaine, and had been passing it on, making a pretty side of cash for his retirement fund. With a few hushed words in lock up, him holding onto a large parcel of white powder that was only slightly paler than his round face, Bella had managed to crack a deal with the sweating man. She turned a blind eye to his nightly visits, he passed along what this new team of people were up to.

Was it a wrong thing to do? Hell yes. She was breaking so many laws, let alone letting a man, a sworn officer, take home contraband, but if it meant she was able to help out with this shit storm that was swirling above the SOA... From Tig's, Gemma's and Jax's head from landing on them, then her guilt and remorse would always take a back seat to protecting them. Bella could have laughed at herself, really and truly laughed. She felt like she was holding a loaded gun, finger seconds away from pressing the trigger, only she was in the dark and didn't know who the barrel was aimed at, Unser, Hale, the ATF, the SOA... Herself. But that was not the punch line to the joke, she was sure if the option presented itself, if it came down to it, if it meant protecting those few people who had made it into her heart like bulldozers, quick and harsh in their invasion, she would pull that trigger without a second thought.

How far had she fallen? Who the hell was Bella Swan now, and what happened to the old one who got goosebumps and anxiety when she thought a library book was a day late? Dead. This new one that stood in her place, this new her, was hard to understand, hard to predict and even harder to accept she had willingly, by her own choices, had become this person, and the worst was, she didn't feel an Iota, jack shit, nada, nothing bad about it. She actually found it, dare she say, life giving.

Huffing in frustration, she slid her finger over to the texting icon, clicked, typed a few words and then pressed send. It was all too much to contemplate at nine in the morning with not a drop of coffee in her system. With not much thought or care for her phone, she chucked it onto the table, watching it bounce and skid a few inches before settling at the opposite end of the rickety table pushed up at the side of the garage.

"It is way too early for that face, especially when I've just brought you fresh coffee from Molly's."

Twirling around, Bella grinned widely as she spotted Tig with two Styrofoam cups balancing on a little cardboard tray housed on one hand. Chuckling, Bella strolled over and plucked one from the tray, popping the plastic to look inside and take a whiff. She had found the little gem of a coffee house just on the out skirts of Charming, and in an offhand comment, had told Tig of the place while they chatted. Now, the brilliant man had got it trapped in his head and brought her a cup or two from the coffee house whenever he passed by.

"Have I ever told you how fantastic you are?"

Tig chuckled at her antics and wondered over to another table just to the side of a hoisted motorbike, dumping the extra coffee, hers, as she would fight anyone who tried to claim it, next to multiple tool boxes, all opened, leaned on the table and crossed his arms over his chest, grinning at her.

"No, but I can always hear more, so carry on."

Bella shook her head, but her smile stayed firmly in place. Taking sips from the still boiling hot beverage, Bella walked around the bike, eyeing it here and there, even reaching out to run her hand across the new exhaust pipe she and Tig had planted in last week. Neither she or he had a lot of time, and bounding seemed too... Childish and juvenile to label what they had been doing, but they found spare time to chat more, and do their little project that had just popped out of the blue about three weeks prior.

It was banged up pretty good, the owners having sold it to the garage for scrap, but instead of being torn apart for parts and spare gear, Tig had grabbed a hold of the beauty and stashed it at the end of the garage, sequestering it off for him and Bella to work on. When she had first seen it, even mangled and bent the wrong way, Bella had known exactly what it was, and almost cried at the state of the poor thing. It wasn't often you ran across a 1985 FXR Harley. After three weeks, it was looking better, by far, and was now ridable, but no where near to being finished and back to its former glory. It looked like they were in the long haul for this bike.

Coming around the other side of the bike, Bella made her way over to the table, downed a gulp of coffee and plopped the cup on the table next to its counter part, scuttling in the largest tool box as she spoke.

"What part today?"

Tig kicked off from the table, plucked up two little black things Bella had never seen before from the table and walked over to the front tire.

"Tires. You take the back, I'll take the front. First thing first, you gotta let the air out, use the valve core tool, this little thing, and twist it until air starts coming out."

With his back still towards her, Tig chucked her one of the little black things, a valve core tool apparently, and Bella made her way over, peeping over Tig's shoulder to see exactly where to plug it into and twist. Once she thought she had an Idea, Bella made her way back to 'her' tire, found the same little place and did what she had seen Tig do, almost jumping when the hiss rang out from the tire, but thankfully holding onto her pride. Tig would never let her live it down if she jumped from deflating a god damned tire.

And so they carried on, Tig using words she didn't understand until he showed her what he was on about, and then following his example. Bella knew what this all was deep down, Tig, this man she had only known for five months, nearly six, was teaching her his life's trade, and that... Well, that was personal and warmed Bella's heart more than she cared to admit. Although, Bella had an inkling Mechanics wasn't exactly the only thing Tig had for his best accomplishments or tricks up his sleeve.

By the time they were just hoistering on the last tire, to drill back into the open bolts, Bella was nearly in tears due to laughter and Tig, who stood beside her, was chuckling as he recounted one of the many times he had fucked up.

"Please tell me you didn't?"

Tig chuckled deeply as he reached over the small gap between them and ruffled her hair, something she didn't fight this time, as his eyes glistened as he got lost in an old memory.

"Of course I did. Me and Renee had only just started dating and your uncle, Lucas, was a big fucking bruiser who took no shit, back then I was a scrawny little shit and he could have easily popped my head straight off. How was I suppose to know he would have been back at their house so early when Renee had said he would be gone all night? I heard the door open and slam shut, heard him shout for Renee and I fucking legged it."

Bella couldn't hold it in and laughed heartily, taking one hand away from the balancing tire to rub at her eyes as she tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall due to her laughter.

"But butt naked? Jesus Christ, I'm surprised you didn't give no old ladies any heart attacks."

Tig shook his head, he too taking one hand away from the tire to reach into his cutt pocket and pull out a half eaten snickers, taking a large bite before continuing on.

"That isn't even the worst of it. I thought, from the sound of his voice, Lucas was in the living room, so I tried to run out the back door, only to find Lucas in there with the door open. He saw me and instead of stopping to try and weasel my way out of it, I just ran straight out the door he was holding open. It took me fifteen minutes to run to my place, stark naked, and to rub salt into the wound, I had forgotten my keys to my flat back with the pile of clothes I had left on Renee's bedroom floor. Me being the genius I am, thought fuck it, tried to break into my own apartment through the bathroom window, got stuck halfway through and two hours later, still fucking naked, had three fire men come pull me back out and a charge slapped on me for indecent exposure."

Bella couldn't handle any more and pulled away, leaving Tig to scramble for the tire as they both laughed, the sound echoing around the concrete garage. Rubbing at her face, to try and gain some composure back and put a lid on the giggles that kept bubbling up, Bella idly walked over to the work station and found both coffee cups empty. Still chuckling here and there, Bella went over to the other table and plucked up her phone in her jeans back pocket, turning to face Tig when it was safely encased in denim.

"I can't. I need a break and some more coffee. Want anything from the bar?"

Still grinning, Bella watched as Tig's own smile lessoned slightly, becoming reminiscent as he looked at her, shaking his head in the negative to her offer of a drink.

"You look like Dawn when you smile like that."

Bella's smile faltered a little, becoming more of a confused twitch of lips rather than a show of happiness. Tig however, turned around and put his back to her, though, that didn't deter her from asking the obvious.

"Whose Dawn?"

Tig's movements stalled and stopped all together momentarily, before starting back up again in vigour as he twisted the iron in his hand to secure the bolts to the last tire. His voice was quiet when he spoke, but Bella heard him loud and clear and her movements stopped all together too, unlike Tig though, she didn't think she could move even if she wanted to.

"My other daughter. I have two, Fawn and Dawn. They're older then you, Fawn being the oldest and Dawn the youngest... Well, middle child now."

Bella's breath hitched in her throat, forming an uncomfortable lump in her airway. She had... She had sisters? That hadn't even crossed her mind before, when she had found out she had a different father then the one she had always called dad. It was odd, she had been a single child since she could remember, hardly having a mother and father present at that. Now, all of a sudden, she had a father who was a 'bike enthusiast' and two sisters she had never met. God... That was... Hard. But also... Exhilarating. Yes. That was the right word. She had always wanted a brother or a sister, but with a mother like hers she had always thought it best that it was just her that had to put up with all the crazy lines of thinking and just overall craziness of her mother.

From her view point, Bella could see Tig's shoulders and back tense as the silence dragged on, his movements of twisting the bar going a bit sloppy. While they had been talking, working on this bike, Tig may have gotten to know Bella more, but she had also grown to know him too. Underneath all the bravado, the tough man, the sarcasm and grim humour, that frankly she found amusing and linked in well with her own, he was a very... She didn't want to say sensitive, because he wasn't, but warm man, a very warm with a big heart. And her silence, due to shock and not anger or whatever he was picturing, was sending him the wrong message. The message that she wanted to ditch whatever they had going, when really, this only made her want to know more. How many other family members did she not know about?

Shaking her head, knowing this surprise was big enough to last her a week and she didn't need to add any more on her plate right now, Bella slowly made her way over to Tig with soft but sure footsteps. Coming up behind him, to his side, Bella laid her hand gently on his shoulder, watching as he slowly turned to face her, eyes locking on one another.

"If they're anything like you, then I'm sure I'll love them... Though, please tell me if I had have stayed and you knew about me, Pawn would not have been my name because we all know how that would have gone down, without it being written on a name tag."

And she meant the beginning with her whole heart, she truly did, however, she had to add the joke in there at the end. The tension was too thick, blocking her already closing airways from restrained emotion, intimate and emotional conversations were never her thing. Thankfully, Tig seemed to be in the same mindset as her, as he often was and gave her a grin, swiping for the back of her head playfully as she danced away, heading for the entrance of the garage to go get that, now, much needed coffee.

Before she could get fully away from Tig, he reached out and snagged her shirt sleeve, pulling her backwards and around to face him, Before she could blink, or move for the matter, he reached down and something cold and metalic brushed against her palm before he closed her fist around it and pulled back, going back to work on the tire, though he did look back at her from over his shoulder a few times. Glancing down, Bella slowly unfurled her fingers and looked at her palm, other hand creeping up to grab and hold the object up closer to her face.

"Here, Take it, I had that since I was a teen, it gave me a lot of luck when I went on tours of duty. With your balance, you're going to need it more than me."

The ring was big, one she had seen him wear every time she saw him, always on his pinkie on his left hand, though on hers, she was sure it would only fit her thumb, if that. It looked to be a golden eagle, resting on a plate of blue and wings spreading out for the actual ring part. It was beautiful, and not just the design, but what it meant. If she slid it on, then, to her at least, and likely Tig by the looks he kept throwing her way, it would solidify everything. That he was her father, that she was his daughter, that this was all real and not some fucked up jump of imagination. It was the answer to the question they had both been dancing around. Did Bella actually except him and all that entailed?

Yes, she did, and she thought she had for a while now. Steadily, Bella slid the ring onto her thumb, on the same hand it was placed on Tig, and ran an errant finger over the warm metal. The tension was back, and just like last time, Bella needed to break it to be able to breath or function properly.

"Atleast now, If I deck someone, they're going to get cut too. Now quit bothering me old man, I want my coffee."

Turning around, Bella made her way too the door, laughing as Tig's voice rang out behind her, telling her 'less of the old'. Making her way over to the bar, Bella shouldered the door open and slid inside, noticing only two people in the large room. Chibs, and Eddy, or as he demanded to be called, half-sac.

The former was messing with a gun, cleaning out the scattered parts on one of the tables, the latter was polishing the bar with small and slow circles of sweeping clothe, face radiating a forlorn expression that seemed to sit oddly on his normally jovial face. Walking into the room, Chibs was the first to look up and spot Bella, sending her a pleasant welcoming smile as he greeted her in that thick accent of his.

"You alright, lass?"

momentarily forgetting about her quest for coffee, Bella walked over to Chibs, but kept her eyes on Half-sac, who still had not looked up and looked for all his worth to be lost in his own mind, which by his facial expression, didn't seem to be the most happy of places right then and there.

"I'm fine. What's up with him?"

Bella asked as she finally turned to look down at a seated Chibs, jerking her head in the direction of Half-sac that was still polishing the same spot he had been since she walked in. This whole thing didn't sit right in her gut, Half-sac was normally like a puppy, all bouncy, wide eyed and chatty, not... This. Whatever this was. Chibs gave her a chuckle as he shook his head, now too looking at Half-sac.

"The same problem that gets to every lad Bella. A pretty girl. Though, I say your pretty face might brighten his day, I know it does mine every time you pop in."

Bella shook her head good naturedly as she smiled, playfully hitting the charming Scotsman on his shoulder. If you could only attribute one thing to Chibs, it would definitely be smooth-talker, though it was more of just his way of speech rather than actual god given flirting. Still, it was fun to play along if nothing else.

"Please don't. I know your type, love 'em and leave 'em. You'll just break my heart Chibs, and I don't think I could ever get over it. I'm afraid our little romance can never be."

Chibs grinned cheekily to her as he clicked the final piece of the gun back into place with a flick of his wrist, sliding the black metalled weapon back into its holder around his waist, hidden by his leather cutt.

"Aye, I suppose lass. But fear not, I'll think of ye on my deathbed for sure."

Bella was about to sass back when a vibrating from her back pocket nearly made her jump a foot in the air, having forgotten she had stashed her phone there only minutes ago. Delving a hand in and grabbing hold of the ringing phone, she frowned deeply when George's name flashed on the screen, quickly, she flipped the phone open and answered.

"George, what is it?... Slow down... What?!... Back track for a moment, how the fuck has this happened?... George, I swear if you don't slow down, Unser is the last of your worries when I get a hold of you... Start from the beginning... No, the very beginning... Franklin's dead? How?... Jesus Christ... A phone call? From this bar? You're sure?... Who are they after George?... Here? They're coming here now?... Fucking hell, stall them for me... Yes you... I don't know, throw a fit for all I care just stall them for me... Okay, good... Yeah, bye."

Bella slammed the phone shut with one hand and a not so muted curse, jerkily shoving the phone back into her pocket as Chibs squared her with a hard but bewildered look. Bella was already in movement, heading towards the door, as she began to speak, forcing Chibs to follow if he wanted to know anything about the one sided conversation he had heard.

"Where's Clay? We need to find Clay, now."

Just as her hand came to rest on the handle of the bar's door, a heavy but gentle hand came to a rest on her shoulder, stopping her were she stood and spinning her around to meet Chibs's worried face. If he was worried now, he wasn't going to handle what she had to say very well, damn, even she was unsure how she was still functionally after what George had told her. An officer was dead, shot down in one of Charming's side streets. An officer she knew... Had known, one she had talked to, had laughed with, had bantered with... And the cause could be one of these men, the very men she was trying to protect.

"Slow down lass, you would think there was a fire with the way you shot off. What the hell is wrong?"

Bella shook of his hand, twisted the handle and pushed it wide open with both hands, nearly sending the door banging onto the wall with the force.

"No time. We need to find Clay, where the hell is he?"

Chibs had to jog to keep up with Bella as she once again found herself in the cement yard of the garage, looking left and right to try and spot the big and older man she was so desperately trying to track down. George would stall the ATF, but still, that gave her fifteen, half hour max before they would come storming the place. Nothing got the police's blood pumping quite like one of their own dying. Yet again, Bella wondered why she was still doing all of this. She was a police officer too, her friend had died, shouldn't she just sit back and let Clay or whoever get what's coming to them? No, she couldn't as much as she wanted to. Fuck. But just because she would help out, warn them of the what was currently heading straight for them, didn't mean she had to be any less pissed then she was.

"He's over there lass, by the bikes with Bobby, Piney, Jax and Tig. Jesus Bella, hold up!"

Bella ignored Chibs in an act that was hardly herself, and stormed over to the group she could see hanging around the top bikes in the distance, open flannel shirt flapping around her tank top and hips. Once reaching the little group, Bella didn't wait for anyone to say anything as she pushed through to Clay, grabbed a hold of his arm and in some godly moment of strength, shoved the large man hard to the side, towards his bike.

"You need to get the fuck out of here, now."

Clay stumbled from her push, feet getting tangled momentarily before fixing themselves as he whirled to face her, Tig having jumped forward to try and pull her back, likely due to the blazing anger on her face. Because surely they could see her rage, her hands shook with the repressed feeling of wanting to deck someone. However, Bella tugged herself harshly away from Tig as Clay half glared at her, confusion glittering in his eyes and the press of his lips, and when he talked, Bella cut him off.

"What the hell is wrong with yo-"

"You need to leave now. The god damned ATF are on their way to bring you into the station, they likely already have the cuffs ready. So unless you want to be arrested, this place torn apart and a lengthy time in jail, get on your bike and get out of here while you still have a chance."

Or, before she changed her mind, she thought but did not say. Clay scoffed, dusted of his shoulders and spoke, not looking at her, or taking what she was saying to heart. Now she really did want to hit someone, and unfortunately, Clay was lining up to be number one target.

"The ATF have nothing on us. Whatever you were told is complete bullshit. I think you need to-"

Bella went to charge for the older man, but Tig's hand wrapping around her bicep brought her back down to earth and back into the right frame of mind. Still, her temper simmered underneath, her teeth grinding, nostrils flaring as she tried to take a calming breath.

"Bullshit? How about you go down to the county 18 Clay and go tell the dead body of Franklin... Of a police officer and two innocent bystanders that this is all complete bullshit! He was just doing his job, guarding a prison transfer truck, some goons jumped it, freed the prisoner and then shot him in the head. And you know what the icing in the cake is? They tracked the guy's who did this phone, which the idiot dropped at the crime scene and who did they call last? Someone from this bar. So, if you think this is all still bullshit, why don't you just sit around and wait for the ATF to cart you off in chains? Fuck know's why I'm even warning any of you."

Bella ran a shaky hand down her face, shaking her head as if she could dispel this from her mind. Pulling the reigns back in on her temper, Bella straightened herself up, sent one final glare at Clay, who now looked as if he was taking her seriously, and began to walk away, needing to get away from this hell of a mess she found herself drowning in. However, someone yet again snagged her arm, and this time Bella was faced with Jax.

"Bella, this isn't what you think, the boys-"

"Don't, Jax. I really don't want to know. I was alright with that carnie, dammit, more then alright to help out. But this... Franklin was a good man, he had a wife and child on the way. He was like you, just with a badge. This... I want to know nothing of this. I just... I need a moment alone."

Pulling away from Jax, his fingers lingering on her arm for longer than necessary before his hand flopped back to his side and Bella walked away from the group, away from the bar, away from the garage, not sparing a single glance back as, once again, she thought of how far she had come from that Bella who laid curled up on the forest floor, only this time, she really and truly wondered if that was a good thing. Her fingers clenched around the ring on her thumb, pressing tightly together, nearly forcing the metal to cut her delicate skin. It was too late to turn back now, and frankly, she didn't think she wanted to, even after this.

Clay was like that uncle that came around once a year, surrounded by smoke and always with a tale to tell of disproportioned and exaggerated baddassery. Chibs was like that cool older cousin you would try and emulate as a child. Gemma, the sassy aunt who you got along with more than your mother. Tig's, well he was her father. Jax... God knows what the hell Jax was to her and the rest was like a rag tag group of brothers.

After having a situation like this thrown at her face, forced to choose, really choose, whose side she was on, and having chosen their side with full knowledge that this could very well be the worse choice of her life. Well, she was pretty sure anything could be thrown her way now and she would still stick to that decision. Come hell or high water, it looked like she was around to stay... God give her strength.

It had been a week and half since Bella had walked out of the garage and headed home, well, to her house, home seemed to become more and more the club house with each passing day. George had kept her up to date with the whole affair, telling her Clay, despite her warning, had been taken into the department, a warrant was issued, but no illegal activity found, and everyone had gone home all bushy tail and bright eyed... Apart from the ATF agents and their team of course. They had apparently left the garage in a huge tiffy, including Hale, and if she didn't need a break and some alone time, she would have loved to see it.

Gemma had rang her, but after a few words on the first call, and a hasty hang up after Bella had told her she was fine and just needed to actually rest at home for once instead of the rooms above the bar and garage, the two hadn't spoke since. And neither had Bella answered any other calls that came her way from any of the SAMCRO lot. Tig had rang, once or twice, but Bella couldn't bring herself to answer it. Half afraid he would praise her for what she had done. It wasn't something to be praised, she had denied justice to two civilians and a fellow officer, she didn't need or want to be thanked for that, ever.

Even Jax had rang, oddly enough, the most out of anybody. On one occasion, Bella had found her thumb landing on the answer icon, only to snatch it back in the nick of time when her brain kicked into gear. She just wasn't ready to face what had happened. Not them, no, she missed them a lot oddly enough, but she didn't want to face what she had done for them. Handing over a rapist for a good beating, among other things that had happened, was one thing, helping hide what and who killed one of her fellow, innocent, officers was another thing.

So here she was, at two in the afternoon, having freshly showered after painting her living room walls to a nice pale blue that went well with the white washed wooden floor and light wood furnishings, still drying her hair off in a towel as she walked down the stairs. She was wearing nothing fancy, just a pair of ripped up jeans and an old white top that was cropped to show a bit of her stomach off, not due to fashion choice, but because it was one of her favourite tops and when a rip had appeared, Bella had simply torn the bottom off so she could carry on wearing it.

bouncing down the hallway barefoot, heading towards the laundry room by the side of the kitchen to dump her towel inside the washer, Bella had just enough time to close the laundry room door when the bell to her front door rang obnoxiously loud, followed by a rap of knuckles against the wood and glass.

"One moment!"

Glancing down at herself, having not expected anyone to come visit her, Bella sighed wistfully at her haphazard state. There was nothing she could do about it now, all she could do was pull on her shirt hem, wishing now she had chosen a looser and longer top, and scuttle for the door. Unchaining the lock and opening the door, Bella hardly had enough time to step out of the way before Gemma stormed in holding a plastic bag full of groceries... Followed by a long blonde haired woman around her age also carrying bags of food... And she was followed by a mousy brown/red head with a bruised nose and eyes, still bandaged from whatever had caused the accident, paper bags this time clasped in her hand.

"Kitchen is this way right?"

Bella twirled around to find Gemma standing at the end of her hallway, thumb jammed behind her in the direction of the kitchen.

"Well, yeah but what are you-"

It was too late, Gemma had nodded and stormed off into the kitchen, leaving the door open for the other two strange woman to wonder in, ditching Bella at the door to stand there, handle still in hand, staring after them bewilderedly. Coming too, Bella quickly shut the door and walked into the kitchen, growing even more confused and stopping at the door way when she found the women already pulling things out, rooting through her cupboards, putting pans and pots on the oven. Gemma was even unwrapping some vegetables and in the process of cutting them up with one of her pricey kitchen knives. Bella didn't indulge in a lot of things, she didn't smoke, didn't watch much T.V, but cooking was her passion, and so the one thing she splashed out on.

"Err... What are you doing?"

Gemma stopped in her hasty cutting to glance up, even going as far to pull the knife away from the spring onions to point it at her, glaring as she did so.

"It's SAMCRO dinner night, and you know everybody gets together then. However, I tried to ring sweetheart but you never answered. So, if the Muhammed won't come to the mountain, the mountain will come to Muhammed. Be thankful all I did was barge in... Where have you been hiding those?"

Gemma's knife moved down a fraction from Bella's face, and she had to glance down to see what she was talking about. However, when she did, her face flared a bright red and she hastily crossed her arms over chest, trying obstruct the view. This was why she always wore loose clothing, or if all she could get her hands on was a tank, she would wear a baggy shirt over it.

"Shit. Let me just go and get changed."

Before Bella could make a run for it, maybe even lock herself into her bedroom while the embarrassment died down and she wasn't so red in the face, the blonde woman, who had heels that could stabbed someone, tottered over and smacked her hands away from her chest, giving her an appreciative run with her eyes before going back to the stove, speaking to a stunned Bella from over her shoulder as she poured water into one of Bella's best pots.

"Girly, if some of my girls had a body like that, none of that silicone shit, I don't care what the doctors say you can always tell, I would be making a killing. My mama always said don't hide it, flaunt it."

Her girls? Was this woman a pimp? Just who had Gemma ushered into her house? However she was momentarily distracted from her quest to interrogate Gemma when she spotted the youngest of the trio about to use her jam knife to cut into a raw steak. Dashing over, Bella snatched the knife from the woman's hands and pulled it away.

"That's a $300 jam knife! You never use that to carve, you'll break it! Here, this is a carving knife, use that."

Bella reached over and slid the appropriate knife from its holder, handing it over to the the woman, thankfully being saved from rudely asking who the hell they were when Gemma spoke up once more, pointing to the right woman with the knife she had pointed at Bella.

"That ball of glitter there is Luann Delaney, Otto's wife. Don't worry, long story short, he's in jail. And that one there is Cherry, Half-sac's new squeeze that insist's on sticking around. Now are you just going to stand there, or actually help out?"

Bella's eyebrows rose high on her head as she looked between the blonde, Luann, and the red head, Cherry. And as she stumbled over to the still packed bags laying on her counter, dazedly pulling the items out, what was her dignified answer or question? A rounding on Cherry with wide eyes and a confusion laced tone of a redundant question. Yes, sometimes she really was so socially inept she should just quit it all and become a hermit. No, if she did that now, Bella was sure Gemma would still hunt her down for Sunday dinner.

"Half-sac has a misses? When the hell did that happen?"

Cherry froze in her cutting, and instead of glowering at Bella like she had expected, she would too if someone asked her a question like that in the tone she did, Cherry surprised her by smiling brightly, dimples flashing, and instead of answering Bella's question, she simply stated a fact. Or what felt like a fact, Bella still had no idea what the term she used meant.

"And you're Bella, Jax's old lady."

Pulling her hands out of the bag and letting them rest on the table top, Bella's head turned slightly to the side as she squinted at Cherry.

"Old lady? Why does everyone call me old, I'm only twenty two! Is it meant to be an insult? Because insults don't work if the one getting insulted doesn't understand it."

Cherry stuttered as she glanced between Bella and Gemma, both standing and looking at Cherry, awaiting an answer. Bella had the feeling the poor girl didn't know what to say, caught between a shark and a lion. Either way, blood was going to be spilled.

"Well... That's what Gemma said..."

Bella turned to face Gemma, about to ask why the woman she had come to care about so much would go around and tell strangers to insult her, when Luann giggled and playfully hit Gemma's shoulder with a bundle of celery.

"She ain't even his old lady, you little liar."

Gemma sent a quick and sharp glare at Luann, her knife slicing faster than previously. Once again, Bella was left to just watch in amazement and confusion as Cherry sidled over to the pair and put her two cents in.

"It wasn't just Gemma who told me, Half-sac did too. Said Jax told him to back off or else... Before he met me of course."

Still being ignored, Gemma finally stopped her slicing and dicing to smile and use her knife as a pointer again, as she waved it back and forth as if trying to cut a fly mid-air, although, her smile turned more than a dash condescending as it and her eyes landed and locked on Luann.

"See, Cherry get's it, it's all small Details. It's only a matter of time, you haven't seen them around each other. It's like watching two toddlers dancing at a wedding."

Finally having enough of being treated like she was not there, or at best, another appliance in her kitchen, Bella spoke up, dramatically flinging her arms out at her side.

"Hello, I'm right here, what's an old lady and what the hell does it have to do with Jax? Is this... Is it pimp slang? I am not a prostitute!"

Thankfully, Gemma looked towards her and the three women quieted down. Gemma sent her a sardonic smile, but Bella could see the warmth lurking underneath, and maybe she had been wrong and hasty about the term being derogatory. Gemma was the type insult you to your face, and likely spit in it, rather then get another woman to do it for her. Still, that didn't exactly clear up what an old lady was in this small and odd town. Gemma's answer didn't clear it up either.

"Doesn't matter. If you haven't figured it out now, you will soon enough. Now chop chop ladies, the boys will be here by six."

Luann and Cherry both went back to what they had previously been doing, Gemma dropped her knife and reached into a bag next to her, strolling around the counter top towards Bella, her heals clicking and clacking on the hardwood. Bella had just enough time to bring her arms out in front of her to catch the ingredient and food Gemma had dumped in them unceremoniously, when her eyes flickered to Gemma's and stayed there when she found them filled with something she couldn't name.

"Are you actually going to stay and have fun, or run off to your room once the works done?"

Ah. That was sarcastic Gemma speech for if she was going to pull another disappearing act again. Her gut sank a little, realizing in no amount of short words Gemma, in her own special way, was telling her she had been worried about her. Bella was getting quiet good at speaking and understanding Gemma language. Maybe she could put that on her resume if she ever needed another job.

"I didn't run off to my room Gem. I Just... A police officer Gemma. The same I am, the same Charlie, my dad is. That's a hard thing to force someone to accept so quickly. I made that decision, I stood by you... By SAMCRO by Tig... By Jax...I just... I needed some me space, not because I regretted that decision, but because I didn't... If that makes sense."

And right then, as Gemma gave her a tight lipped smile, reached out and ran a gentle hand up and down her arm, Bella knew what that glimmer in the back of Gemma's eyes were, understanding.

"I know sweetheart. I know."

And the soppy moment, if you could count any moment that included Gemma soppy, ended as she turned around to go back to the chopping board, the glimmer in her eyes gone as they hardened and landed back on Bella as she picked up the knife to carry on chopping, one eye brow rose high on her face.

"However, next time, pick up the god-damned phone once or twice when Jax rings. My son can bitch with the best of them and if I have to hear one more complaint, I will drag you to the clubhouse by your hair myself. What are you waiting for Bella? All this food isn't going to cook itself and god knows these two can't cook for the life of 'em."

Bella smiled, thankful for Gemma's no-nonsense and bullshit cut talk. Dumping the food back onto the counter, fingering through the ingredients, Bella was once again forced to intervene with Cherry as the woman went pour spaghetti sauce into one of her bamboo steamers, instead of an actual pan. The tension lessoned into good hearted laughter, the weariness drained into hushed gossip and the edginess transformed into sarcastic derision as they pottered around the kitchen.

Bella found herself easing into a comfortable camaraderie with the new women she found surrounding her, feeling more peaceful within herself since that day in the garage, more grounded and confident in her choice. Damn, she had missed these people.

Bella piled the empty but dirty dishes on top of each other, balancing a tittering tower in one hand as she collected some cups and glasses with the other, darting to the kitchen sink when on plate slid dangerously to the edge, ready to topple to the floor and smash. The continuous chatter and laughter that had been a constant background noise for the last three hours was beginning to sputter and dribble to a stop as the members of SAMCRO and the girls began to leave one by one, or in pairs in the case of Donna, Opie and the kids... Yes, Bella was just as shocked by her arrival as the rest had been, but thankfully she had gotten over it sooner and invited the woman into the back to help her with a refill of drinks, giving the others the moment they needed to collect themselves and not gape like gold fish, digging for something to say.

"Bye Bella! And please, if anything happens, or something pops up, give us a ring. Honestly, I can just get a baby sitter-"

Bella dumped the dishes in the sink unceremoniously, almost grimaced at how high they were piled in the metal box. Turning around to glance at Donna, who was standing in the kitchen doorway with her two kids hovering around her legs, she cut the older woman off with an easy smile and a twinkle to her eye.

"Don't be ridiculous! By the sound of it, that baby-sitter is appalling anyway and the price you pay for her? Pffff. You have nothing to worry about, you and Opie need some time together, alone. Don't worry, I promise to have your kids in one piece by the end of the night. Well, maybe not this one. He just looks like pure trouble."

Bella grinned cheekily to the little boy staring out at her from just behind Donna's leg, even going as far to jog over, snatch him up and twirl him in a circle, thinking a job well done when the normally shy and hiding boy burst out into a peel of laughter. Finally bringing him to sit at her hip, one arm wrapped around him to keep him balanced, Bella turned to the little girl, raising one eyebrow and stage whispering to her.

"What do you say? Should we just lock him in a cell and have a girly night? I'm pretty sure we have enough space down in the station."

The little girl, Ellie, was equal parts as shy as her brother finally cracked like he did and giggled, she too coming out from behind her mothers legs and over to her, dimples shining on her face as she grinned up at Bella. However, the little girls question wasn't as innocent as the aura she portrayed to the world.

"Can we ride in your police car? With the sirens? Pretty please?!"

As soon as the question was out, the boy, Kenny, began to excitedly bounce on her hip, practically shouting a mantra of 'yeah, yeah, yeah!'. Donna went to intervene, likely to calm both vibrating kids, Bella beat her to the punchline, pouting cartoonishly to the kids. instead of dashing their little dreams to pieces by telling them she didn't have her own police car just yet, not being a fully fledged officer and all that, she decided to distract and divert.

"That's a real shame isn't it Donna? If we go in the car, we won't be able to eat the Jello and Ice cream I have in my freezer. Oh well, I suppose I will have to eat it all by myself when you two have gone home..."

The reaction from the two little jitter bugs was instantaneous as Kenny began to scramble down from her hip with Jerky movements and he and Ellie darted for her dinning table, both promising they could and would go in the imaginary police car another time... When sugary treats were not in the equation. Bella almost smugly smiled. Bribing, it worked every time, especially when kids were involved.

"You're going to make a fantastic mother."

Bella's insides jarred as an image came flashing to life on her eyelids. Her and Jax in a blue washed room, little Abel cradled in her arms as she smiled down upon him, rocking him back and forth. Her smile dropped and she gave a harsh, biting cough, trying to sooth it as she spluttered for an answer, a question, anything but the image that had come to her mind. Where the hell had that come from? Her and Jax were just... No, friends didn't fit the criteria of their relationship fully, or sat well in her gut, but no other words would come to her scrambling mind. Thankfully, she was saved by the very same person who had put her in that predicament in the first place.

"Did someone mention getting a ride in a police car? What? You planning on arresting me officer Swan?"

Yes, just what she needed in her moment of swirling thoughts and tongue that would not cooperate, Jax Teller peeking his head around the corner of the kitchen doorway, grin wide, eye's sky blue and damned dimples on full show. He was a heart attack in human form. Scoffing, Bella gave him an look she hoped conveyed how un-impressed she was. And no, her heart wasn't racing a mile a minute, or that was at least what she told herself anyhow.

"Don't tempt me. I have Hand cuffs just upstairs."

Jax's grin only grew in size, his teeth seemingly glinting like a wolf's in the florescent lighting of the kitchen dangling above their heads. He slid out from the door way and strolled into the room, nearly ignorantly ignoring Donna as she stood in the doorway, though, Bella couldn't say much as her own attention was locked onto him as much as his on her seemed to be.

"Ooooh, kinky."

Jax came to a stop barely two steps away, grinning that maddening smile down upon her like some sort of moon beam casting away darkness in the thick of the night. A flush of blossoming heat fluttering over her cheeks, staining them red as all Bella could muster up was a hearty eye roll and her own rebuttal. Obviously the whiskey that had been served that night like water had been spiked, why else would Jax be acting like... Well, like this?

"Please, you would find a sexual innuendo in a Jockey race."

Jax, as quick as ever, as if he didn't even need to think of a comeback leaned back slightly, scanning her up and down as his head twisted from side to side, taking her in, smile still firmly in place but this time accompanied by a playful frown that hooded his eyes.

"Mmm? I'm pretty sure we can find a jockey outfit. You're definitely the right size, but you might have to convince me on the whole whip part..."

Thankfully Jax was close enough to hit, and hit she did as a uncontrollable laugh bubbled up from her stomach and broke free from it's prison as her hand smacked his bicep.

"Jax!"

Jax joined in with her laughter, his bass adding music to her Mezzo-Soprano chuckles, her face going up in flames even as her eyes crinkled in joy, her nose wrinkling slightly as her grin ached in a good way. A very good way that she hadn't felt in such a long, long, long time. However, like all good things, it had to come to an end as both she and Jax's little bubble was popped by a ringing cough and held back laughter, forcing the two to snap around to a still present Donna, who they had both forgotten about, standing at the doorway, obviously trying to hide her ill contained mirth at the two's antics.

"Well, I'll leave you two too it. Thanks again Bella, Jax, I owe you two one."

Puzzlement settled over her like frost over a open landscape, her gaze flickering between Jax and Donna, though the latter was already turning around and walking towards the front room to collect her handbag, Opie joining her halfway there, grinning and waving to the two in the kitchen as he gave his own good night and cheers.

"Us two too it? What?"

Jax simply shrugged and perched himself on her counter top, legs crossed over the other, arms crossed over his plain white shirt, his leather cutt missing from sight for once and oddly, Bella felt it's missing pressance deeply. Funny how you could grow attached to such a simple thing, object, that you can miss it when it's not there.

"I'm staying to help you with the kiddies and the cleaning up. What? You going to kick me to the curb Bella? How cold. How very, very cold of you."

This time it was Bella's turn to hit back without missing a beat.

"You're lucky I don't kick something Jackson..."

The two didn't notice Gemma and Luann, nor their shared glance towards each other from the front door. Gemma's arms were crossed over her chest, smug glint looking all too much at home in her eyes, Luann's plucked brows high on her head as she took in the happenings of the kitchen inhabitants from their little hidey hole, the stairway just blocking them from Jax's and Bella's view, but unfortunately, not them from theirs. Gemma was the one to break the silence, even if it was just with a whisper.

"Twenty on one month."

Luann pulled back from staring incredulously at the two to stare blankly at Gemma's face. Luann may have been a lot of things, things she was and wasn't willing to admit, but one of them, one that she was most proud of? She knew easy money when she saw it and this bet was the easiest thing she had come across in the last year, maybe two. With a dainty fluff to her hair with her hand and a squaring of her shoulders, Luan placed her own bet, Jimmy choo heels digging into the hardwood flooring underneath her feet.

"Fifty says in three weeks."

The two gave each other a sharp nod, and that would have been the end of that, if not for Donna and Opie having walked passed them to escape into the late night and enjoy their time alone together until they picked their kids up from Bella's in the morning. Opie opened the door and tumbled out, his huge frame nearly forcing him to bump his head if he hadn't have ducked just in time. However, just as Donna was about to follow in his footsteps, she paused and sent on look at the two woman, something tugging at the corner of her lips, something the two woman, even Gemma with all her people reading skills couldn't name until what she said was said. Unadulterated superiority.

"One week, two days."

Then the door banged shut with a finality that rang true and hard. Gemma tossed her hair over her shoulder and with one finally glance to Luann, went in search of her husband. Well, that just settled everything for the three women. Game on.

NEXT CHAPTER: Jax and Bella play house, a heart to heart conversation, a could be kiss and an unexpected visitor that is going to complicate a whole lot of things...

A.N: I am one of the worst fanfiction authors, I know, you don't need to tell me. However, I haven't had life intervene for a while now and while it's peaceful, I will hopefully be catching up on my stories. To all those who have stuck and waited for this, THANK YOU so much, you lot have the patience of a saint, no exaggeration. I hope this chapter was worth the wait, while I know it hasn't got much Jax/Bella going on, it has a bit and the next is completely just them until the very end, so I hope that makes up for the lack of it so far. As I've said before, while this is a Bella/Jax pairing, this is still fundamentally a story about Bella, and she isn't going to be around him twenty-four-seven. Still, having said that, I really do hope you still enjoy it and for it being so late in coming, this chapter is a whopping 10k.

Please be gentle, I have no Beta, so all mistakes are mine.

To all those who have reviewed, favourited and followed, I wish I could do more than say thank you and send a virtual hug, but alast, technology hasn't gotten that far yet, so THANKYOU.

As always, please leave a review, they make me feel all warm and tingly. Until next time- Sparks94