A/N: Thanks for the new and continued followers of my little story. Thanks also to Mrssilvers for the encouragement and extra push to keep things going :)

And so life continued for the next several weeks. Courtney and Koz grew closer each passing day. He stayed at her house every night; even the nights he had to be at the club house or make a run for SAMCRO; he ended up easing himself into Courtney's bed at some point during the night. Courtney continued to become more comfortable working at the garage and no longer needed help to figure out how to best serve their customers. The mechanics were also getting used to the changes she'd started implementing, and all agreed things were going smoothly. She, Tara, and Lyla kept building their friendships by having lunch and girls' nights on a regular basis. Courtney also spent some time with Gemma, getting to know the older woman better. It was an interesting time for Courtney. She was falling head-over-heels in love with Kozik. She had a home she loved, with a fantastic garden. She had a job that was not overwhelming, but changed enough every day to be interesting and sometimes even challenging. In addition to her friendships with Tara and Lyla, Courtney had joined a book club through the library; a local gardening club, and volunteered at the homeless shelter, so she was really starting to establish roots with the community as well. The only dark spot was SAMCRO. Courtney noticed some of the people she interacted with treated her a little differently once they learned she was dating a guy from the MC. Some treated her a little more deferentially; others treated her like she was suddenly a leper; or they were afraid of her. Courtney knew she was already in too deep but it was too easy to focus on the good things and enjoy their growing relationship and ignore the problem of the club. But it was all taken out of her hands with a quick phone call from Opie late one night.

'Koz?' Courtney answered the phone sleepily, noticing it was nearly 3 am.

'It's Opie. You need to get to the clubhouse Courtney. Koz has been hurt.'

'Hurt how? Why the clubhouse and not St. Thomas?'

Opie's reply was impatient. 'Tara's on the way to take care of him. Can't go to a hospital. Are you on your way or do I tell him his old lady ain't coming?'

'Yeah, I'll be there.'

Tara's car was already there when Courtney pulled into the lot. Koz's motorcycle was not anywhere she could see. Courtney had no idea what to expect. First she'd never been in the clubhouse before. Second; Koz was hurt. Not being able to go to the hospital could mean a lot of things, but Courtney was pretty sure it meant he'd been shot. Maybe stabbed. Probably shot. And that could only mean he'd been hurt doing something illegal, and that meant she'd no longer be able to ignore anything hinky about SAMCRO after tonight. She was either accepting it, or she and Koz were done; and Courtney would leave Charming. She knew it was down to that as she approached the clubhouse door; there was no way she could keep her life as it currently was without Kozik in it.

Miles was waiting for Courtney right inside the door. There were a lot of people there, she noticed, but the mood was somber and grim. The scantily clad women were huddled mostly in a small group. The guys were all either at the bar or pool tables, although nobody was playing pool. Phil was behind the bar, along with Chucky. They both shot her concerned looks, as did the other guys who noticed her enter. Miles put an arm under her elbow. The croweaters looked at her curiously.

'He's in Jax's dorm. Tara's already working on him. He's gonna be okay.'

'Just take me there please Miles.'

Koz was face down on the bed. Blood was on the sheets, and had soaked through what remained of the white wife-beater covering his upper torso. Tara was working on what looked like his shoulder, an open medical bag on the bed against Koz's side. Chibs was helping; to Courtney it looked like the affable Scotsman was fairly comfortable holding whatever pieced of medical equipment that was in his hands. Courtney swallowed hard at the sight and smell of the blood; then sent Opie, who was looming over the bed, an unfathomable look before addressing Tara.

'What can I do to help, Tara?' she bent to press a kiss to Koz's forehead before asking quietly. 'How you doing, Sparky?'

'Better with you here, Blaze. Sorry.'

'I know. Tara?'

'Can you hold the forceps for Chibs? Just take over where his hands are and hold them steady so Chibs can start an IV?'

'Yeah. Like this?'

'Thatta girl,' Chibs reassured her gently. 'That's perfect. What do you want in it Tara?'

'Bag of saline, 5 mgs morphine. Wish I had some A- for him; he's lost a lot of blood.'

'I'm A-,' Courtney said softly. 'I can donate. I'm over 110, haven't donated in more than two months, and well. It's not like any of this is kosher anyway, right? You can do a direct person-to-person transfusion.'

'Hard to regulate how much blood is transfused that way.'

'If I pass out, it's too much. Elevate my feet and give me some water and juice. Or alcohol,' she added as an afterthought, realizing where she was.

'Okay. Can you keep holding the forceps while Chibs gets you two ready for it?'

'Try and stop me.'

Courtney held on while Chibs got her and Koz ready for the transfusion. She responded quickly when Tara asked her to adjust the angle of the forceps. Once they started the transfusion, Chibs took over the forceps again. Courtney was now seated at the head of the bed, one arm connected to Koz with needles and plastic tubing, the other pressing a towel down hard just above the area Tara was working on, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

'Chibs, can you get that other vein? I can't see what I'm doing here. You holding up okay, Courtney? Not gonna pass out on me, are you?'

'I'm good. Is he going to be okay, Tara?'

'Yeah, I just can't quite get a hold of the bullet. Looks like it missed bone, nerves, tendons; pretty much everything vital I think but can't quite tell for sure until it's out. Like I said, he did lose a lot of blood, and it'll take a couple weeks to heal. Probably put him on antibiotics; and it's gonna hurt like hell for a few days. Ah, got it.'

After removing the bullet, Tara set to work repairing the damage as best she could. She had Chibs put an end to the transfusion, noticing that Courtney was looking a little pale and not wanting to end up with two patients. Miles, who had hung around just inside the door, was dispatched to find water and juice for both Courtney and Koz. Opie still stood silently, watching over everything. He couldn't tell exactly what Courtney was thinking about the entire situation, other than obviously being upset and worried. Courtney had quickly become a part of all their lives, and Opie knew this situation was one they'd all subconsciously been waiting for; Koz was going to have to spell out for Courtney that being part of SAMCRO entailed illegal activities and that he was the go-to guy for enforcement, and she was either going to deal with it, or no longer be part of their lives. He thought of Donna, and how he wished he had been more open with her about the club; the conversations he and Jax had had about Tara, Donna, and Lyla, and wished Jax was here to help deal with the situation. If Courtney flaked, it was going to be a mess on so many differently levels, and Opie didn't want to think about dealing with any of them. He knew she was too smart to not realize a lot of the shit the club was involved in, but that was different that seeing your boyfriend shot, and your doctor friend treating him not in the hospital, but in a dingy dorm room that probably hadn't been cleaned since before Jax went to Stockton. He sighed.

'Hey, Courtney, let's see if we can find you something to eat while Tara and Chibs finish patching up Koz,' the hand under her elbow lifting her up and heading her towards the door gave he no choice but to comply. She was angry, but the look Koz sent her kept Courtney from doing anything but leave quietly. She shook her arm from Opie's grasp the minute they cleared the dorm room, though. And walked ahead of him to the stool at the bar that Badger had vacated so she could sit.

'How's Koz?'

'Tara thinks he's going to be okay. She got the bullet and is patching things up now,' Opie announced to the room before growling into Courtney's ear. 'This shit happens with what we do. This is our life. Can you handle it?'

'Yeah; I get it. Chucky, if there are still bananas, I'd like one please. Or an apple would be okay. Thank you.'

Opie leaned down to get in Courtney's face, and she met his gaze steadily. 'Are you sure about that? If you're gonna flake, you do it now. You up to this as your life? Knowing every time your man gets on his bike, you might get another phone call like you did tonight? Or facing a couple years alone while he's doing time in Stockton? You up for that, Courtney?

'You left out the chance of me being shot in the back of the head, kidnapped, beaten to death with a baseball bat, gang-raped or whatever else some rival gang might do to a SAMCRO old lady to hurt her man or the club,' she volleyed back. 'Just because I don't know what exactly is going on with your club right now doesn't mean I don't know what happened in the past. I was lying to myself that I'd have a choice to walk away once Koz started telling me about what he was doing for SAMCRO. I knew on some level what I was getting into from day one, and I knew the first time I kissed him I wasn't going anywhere. I am not going anywhere.'

'Okay,' Opie snaked an arm around her shoulders and hugged her quickly. 'Eat your banana and drink some water, then go check on Koz. Patches in Church. Chucky hang around. Phil ask Chibs to come to the Chapel; you help Tara if she still needs it. Miles, keep an eye on Courtney and make sure you don't let her hit the floor if she passes out. Everyone else, get the fuck out. Now.'

Courtney silently ate her banana and drank from the bottle of water in front of her. She thought about what she'd just told Opie. She was a little shocked to think about how easily she'd accepted a bunch of outlaws into her life. Courtney had never even had a parking ticket, and now she was associating with people who broke the law on a regular basis. She'd been done for the moment Koz had smiled at her that first day, telling her she looked like she would have nice penmanship. Courtney was pretty sure that was the moment she fell in love with him. She grabbed the half-empty water bottle and headed back to the dorm room, one part of her conversation with Opie suddenly echoing in her head. Miles trailed behind, hovering in the doorway as Courtney walked over to the bed.

'Good timing, I just finished up. Phil helped me change sheets. I gave Koz antibiotics, and something for the pain. I'll be back to check on him around 7. If the pain gets too bad before that, give him two of these,' Tara held up a bottle. 'Call me if you notice he seems feverish, or if he starts bleeding again. How are you feeling, Courtney?'

'I'm good. Go home and get some sleep, Tara. And thanks.'

'Yeah. I'll see you in a few hours. Really, call if you're worried about anything.'

'I will. Good night, Tara.'

'Night.'

Courtney shooed Miles and Phil from the room. She took off her shoes and carefully got into bed on Koz's non-injured side. He opened one eye and smiled a little, reaching over to hold her hand. She squeezed his hand tightly for a second, and then relaxed her grip.

'You doing okay, Koz?'

'I'll be all right. Tara's a good doctor. How are you holding up?' he asked seriously.

'Had a chat with Opie, he seemed worried I was going to sneak out of town in the middle of the night.'

'Are you?'

'No. I don't think so. Depends on how you respond to a question I have. Are you up to the question or do you need to sleep first? I know you're hurting, and the drugs and everything…'

'Ask it,' Koz didn't hesitate. 'I'm good.'

'Donna. Luann Delaney. Lyla. Margaret Murphy. Tara. Gemma. They were killed, hurt, raped, kidnapped by people trying to hurt SAMCRO, right? You, Koz. Do you hurt women from rival clubs like that, to send a message or get revenge?'

'No.'

'Okay. Everything else can wait. I'm tired.'

'So am I.'

'I love you.'

Carefully Koz reached over to wipe a tear from Courtney's cheek, gently caressing her skin 'I love you, too. Get some sleep.'

Courtney didn't think she would fall back asleep. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts. She was worried about Koz, and wanted to stay vigilant about making sure he didn't start bleeding or have a fever kick in, which would mean an infection, she knew. But she was tired. And so even though she fought against it, Courtney did fall asleep soon after Koz. Phil and Miles took turns checking on Koz every half hour, tasked with making sure their SaA didn't bleed to death overnight.