Haven [Sons of Anarchy]

Chapter Eight

Hanna's pencil snapped, startling them both. Juice looked over and sighed, she'd been working all morning. The designs for the townhouse looked great, but nothing felt right. Everything she drew felt too much like the ranch. "You've gotta take a break, Han."

She tossed the pencil aside and groaned. "I just want this place to be perfect, I want it to be ours." Juice patted the bed, and Hanna jumped the railing to curl up beside him.

"It's going to be, but not because you broke six pencils and bled on a piece of paper. It'll be perfect because we live there together," he reminded her. Hanna pressed her forehead into his shoulder. "Are you sure this is about the house, and not about Caracara and Luann?"

After she'd left Gemma's they'd gotten the news that Luann had been beaten to death. A few days later they got word that her studio had burned down. "Maybe, I don't know. I liked working for Luann. I never thought I'd be a production designer for pornos, but, hell, it was more fun that working for Elliot. In the past week I've lost my job, a friend, and royally pissed off my family."

"I thought you liked pissing off your family?" Juice remembered with a smirk. Hanna smacked him in the arm. His laugh didn't make him cringe anymore. It was only a matter of time before Juice was out of the hospital and they were moving into their new home, and though Hanna had long ago decided to stay, a part of her was still itching to run for the hills.

"You and Elliot will work something out," he assured her. "Tristen will make sure of it."

"Oh god, I don't doubt it," Hanna said with a laugh. "That girl can be damn stubborn when she wants to be."

Juice kissed her temple. "Reminds me of someone else I know."

Before Hanna could retort, there was a knock on the door. Jax poked his head in, and deciding he wasn't interrupting, brought Bobby in behind him. "Hey, man, how're you feeling?"

"Better," Juice told them. "I should've been outta here days ago, but still got some blood in my stool." Hanna shook her head, and Jax shot her an amused look. "I've missed you guys."

"We gotta talk," Jax said. Before Hanna could move for the door, he waved her down. "You can stay, Han. After what you did for us, we know we can trust you." She gave him a soft smile, though she felt a little guilty. If it hadn't been for Juice, and how much she and Tristen both cared about him, none of them would have gotten out.

"What's up?" Juice asked.

Jax and Bobby shared a look. "You're gonna need to proxy your vote. I'm asking for transfer. Nomads." Hanna's jaw dropped a little. She'd seen the tension between Jax and Clay, but she hadn't realized just how far it'd gone.

Hanna couldn't help herself from asking the obvious question. "Does your mom know?" After everything Gemma had been through, it would crush her to lose her son too.

"Not yet, and you can't tell her."

"Because she'll talk you out of it?" Hanna countered. "This is a shitty move, Jax. This charter is your family, Charming is your home. It may not seem like much now, but I've known you since we were kids. I know how much that SAMCRO patch means to you. Don't give that up, especially not now."

Jax look at her for a moment, and nodded. "It's a good thing you don't have a vote."

"Yeah, and it's a good thing I'm not at the table to talk everyone else out of saying yes." Hanna shook her head, wishing there were some way she could talk Jax out of doing something he was going to regret. "I can be damn stubborn when I want to be."

He nodded toward Juice. "I'll let you tell Bobby your vote."

When Jax was out the door, Juice looked at Bobby and nodded. "Yea." Hanna shot him an exasperated look. "There are things you haven't been around for, Han. This has been coming for a while."

Hanna wanted to shout that there were things she knew that they didn't, but Gemma's secrets weren't hers to tell. She just had to hope one of the Tellers would come to their senses before it was too late.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Hanna leaned on the bar, swirling her Maker's as if the tiny whirlpool could swallow up all her problems. Juice was out of the hospital, but they'd hadn't had time to go by Gemma's for all Hanna's boxes before Clay had called all the guys into chapel. She had a pretty good idea what they were discussing, Gemma had sent her a text saying as much, but it only made her worry more.

Zobelle wasn't the Mayans or the ATF; he was smarter and a thousand times more ruthless. Bailing her boys out of jail was one thing, but claiming their bodies from a morgue was something entirely different.

The doors opened and the guys spilled out. Jax was the first to reach her, and she noticed the SAMCRO patches, exactly where they belonged. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see stitches that bad."

"Sewing's not my strong suit," he admitted. "Come here." Jax pulled her into a hug, and rubbed her back. "Thank you, for looking after my mom. I wish she would have told us, but I'm glad she had you and Tara. If she'd gone through that alone..."

"She's family," Hanna said, brushing it off. There had never been any question of supporting Gemma through it or keeping her secret. "Is there going to be retaliation?" She asked, half hoping he'd say no.

He sidestepped her question expertly. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Always am." Hanna patted her purse where her Glock was safe and sound. Not that it had saved Gemma. Or kept Juice from being shived. It wasn't herself she was worried about, but there was only so much she could do from the outside.

Hanna returned to staring at her glass, and Juice came up and put his arm around her waist. "You wanna go grab your stuff from Gem's?"

She shook her head. "Actually, I'm going into the city for a little bit. I got a call about a job, figured I might as well take it. You'll be okay without me?"

"Sure, yeah. Someone's gotta pay the bills right?" He joked. Hanna laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to keep all this Zobelle shit to yourself. It must have been scary knowing what he's capable of, and not being able to do anything about it."

She shot him a look. "Welcome to my daily existence. You boys are always getting into some kind of trouble, and then I get a call telling me someone's dead or in hospital after the fact. I feel powerless, all the time, and it's shit."

Juice looked between Hanna and her bourbon. "You're coming back, right?"

It took her a moment to realize what he meant. "Of course. I bought a fucking townhouse for christ's sake. And if anything, someone's gotta be around to scrape your sorry asses off the pavement when this shit goes south. I may go prematurely grey, but I love you and Gem and Tara and all the guys. I'm not going anywhere."

"Tig too?" He fished.

Hanna waved him away, and sat down her glass. "I have to drive to San Francisco," she reminded him. She leaned forward to kiss him. "I love you, don't get yourself killed while I'm gone."

Tig intercepted her on the way out the door, spinning her around like she was the dancer in a music box. "It's like you don't know how close you are to getting punched in the face."

"For fucks sake, what did I do now?"

"Nothing," she said, but then paused and added, "that I know of. But if Clay finds out you broke his rule, it's not gonna matter that it was a decade ago." Hanna put her hand on his arm and kissed him on the cheek. "I have to go, I'm going to be late."

She was halfway to the door when Tig called, "Wait, what happened ten years ago?" Hanna stopped and turned real slow to pin him with a stare. He flashed a shit-eating grin. "I'm just fucking with you. Have a safe trip."

Hanna rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Kiss my ass, Tiggy."

"With pleasure, angel," he taunted. Hanna rolled her eyes, and as she stepped out the door threw a middle finger up over her shoulder.