Gemma watched as the little grey Mazda pulled into the SAMCRO compound. She raised an eyebrow at the cheers the sight of it got from the boys working in the garage. Angela wasn't any kind of smoke show; she was average looking at best. She didn't know what the boys were so excited about. The undertaker got out of the car dressed in rather formal attire. A pretty navy blouse tucked into black slacks with short black heels. Her dark hair was braided away from her face in a chunky braid, long ponytail hanging perfectly straight just a little below her shoulders. She must've come from work because she looked professionally dressed, and if Gemma hadn't known her, she'd definitely think she was some kind of fed.
Angela walked around the nose of the car, leaning into the passenger seat and pulling out two large trays of what appeared to be sandwiches. That was why the boys cheered her arrival; she'd brought food. Juice jogged over to her, a slight skip in his step. He took the trays from her, leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. The cheesy grins on their faces made Gemma roll her eyes at their puppy love. They handed out the sandwiches to the guys. Most of them sang her praises in return, Jax even stopping to peck her cheek.
The SAMCRO guys went to sit together at the tables in front of the clubhouse, but Angela and Juice grabbed their own lunches and went to sit on the edge of the ring. Angela angling her body towards him, Juice leaning in to kiss her one more time before digging into his sandwich. The two of them leaned into each other as they started eating, their conversation fluid, easy. She'd been like that with John and Clay once. At separate times, of course, but she remembered that feeling. The joy that came with being with the person you loved most. The willingness to do anything just to spend a few extra minutes with them. Things like buy whole trays of sandwiches for all of his buddies all to have lunch with him. Gemma missed that feeling, those moments. They were few and far between now, but every so often, Clay stepped up his game.
Like at that moment when he was heading towards the office with a sandwich in one hand and a to-go container in another. She wondered if Juice and Angela had inspired him to come spend some time with her. "Scoping out the undertaker?" he asked as he entered the room, a sandwich in his hand. He set a plastic to-go container on her desk along with an Ice-Tea. "She got you a salad. Said Mario over at the deli told her it was your favorite."
Gemma raised an eyebrow as she peered through the clear plastic top. It looked just like her favorite Mediterranean salad with the dressing on the side and everything just like she liked it. She had to admit, she was little impressed with Angela for thinking of her. For asking the deli owner if she had a typical order. Even more so for not going in there to hand deliver the food. It almost seemed like she actually did it to be nice, not for any type of credit. "Nice of her," she commented, opening the ice-tea bottle.
"Uh-huh," Clay answered, sitting on the couch with a grunt. "Juice is real sweet on her."
"Oh I can see that," she replied with a smirk. "Has been for some time."
He cocked his head to the side, blue eyes narrowing. "You don't like her."
"I don't not like her," Gemma corrected, pressing her lips together. "I don't trust her. Playing both sides is dangerous for us. Her ex almost killed Juice in his little quest for revenge. Who's to say it won't happen again?"
Clay considered her words for a moment. "She's Hap's cousin. If he trusts her, I ain't gonna push it. We need him. Plus, we just bought that new oven for the funeral home. She's useful."
She'd been shocked when she heard the club was going in on a new cremator for Dubrowski's. Apparently, it'd been Juice's idea. One of the first things he'd brought up when he'd been allowed to sit at the table with them. He'd said if they helped pay for it, they could use it as a cleaner way to make their mistakes disappear when needed. It was a great idea, but it seemed a little advanced for Juice. "You really think it was Juice's idea, or did the undertaker pull some strings for that?"
"Koz said it was Juice that brought it up when 'fore he even had his patches. Undertaker had nothin' to do with it."
Gemma knew Kozik and Hap could be trusted and knew there was no reason for them to lie about it. If anything, they would've said it was her idea to get her some clout instead of talking up Juice. "Huh," she said, pulling the salad towards her. "How's our newest patch doin'?"
Clay shrugged a shoulder. "He's not half bad. Updatin' all our shit. Hates goin' on runs though. 's a pain in the ass about it. Always on his damn phone."
"Guessin' that has to do with the undertaker."
"Probably," he agreed around a bite of his sandwich. "Dunno why you care so much. Ain't like she's up your ass tryin' to get into your good graces like the sweetbutts."
There were a lot of reasons Gemma cared so much about Angela and her place within the club least of which was her relationship with Juice. The undertaker and Jax had gotten awfully close, and she knew he respected her opinion. Opie coming home from prison had put some space between them, but it wasn't enough in Gemma's eyes. She didn't Jax having outside influences that she herself didn't trust. "I don't care. Just trying to figure her out. Make sure she's not a threat."
Clay didn't look convinced. "Not somethin' you need to worry about, sweetheart," he said, finishing his sandwich. He threw away the wrapper before standing to give her a kiss. "Worry about what's for dinner tonight."
Gemma flipped him off as he walked away, shaking her head at him. She'd been planning on getting some steaks from the German and doing some kind of family dinner for a select few of the club members. She hadn't thought to extend the invitation to Juice and the undertaker, but it might not be too bad of an idea. Maybe she could throw another challenge Angela's way. See if the undertaker could make the time to actually make something edible for them especially since she'd failed to make a decent cornbread and the next time she was invited to dinner, not only was she late, but she came empty handed because she'd gotten busy at work. She was willing to give Angela one last shot to see if she could step up her game. Hopefully, she wouldn't strike out.
~'~'~'~
Tara's heart was in her throat as she walked away from Jax. She'd known the second Wendy had come in that she wanted to help with Jax's baby's case. She wanted to be there, wanted to make sure everything was done right. As much as the doctors had tried to remain neutral when it came to the Sons, she knew some of them had prejudices, and she didn't want those prejudices to effect any part of Abel's treatment. With a sigh, she grabbed his chart and started to review it in preparation for what was to come.
The sound of creaky wheels rolling on the tile made her look up in time to see Angela approaching, an empty gurney in front of her. She watched as the undertaker awkwardly greeted Clay and Gemma before side stepping around them and heading back towards the nurse's station, a confused look on her face. "Hey Angie," she greeted, nodding to her. They'd formed a strange sort of friendship in the past months, although it didn't go past more grabbing coffee at the hospital when she was on break and when Angela had a pick up.
"Hey T," she replied with a sigh. "Can I ask why the King and Queen are here?"
"Gemma didn't say anything?"
"It's none of my business, apparently," Angela replied on a roll of her eyes. "Which is fine. Means my boys aren't hurt, but the way she said it was..."
"Condescending as hell?" she filled in on a smirk.
She nodded enthusiastically. "She's so good at that."
"She certainly is," Tara muttered before letting out a long sigh. She knew Angela should know what was going on for Jax's sake more than anything. They were friends, and Tara was pretty sure Angela would be a healthier source of support for him than his mother. Still, she'd taken an oath when she became a doctor, and she wasn't going to break it. "Hypothetically, a baby was delivered early due to some...nefarious circumstances," she said, hoping Angela would know what she meant.
Angela's eyes widened as she cursed under her breath. "How's the hypothetical baby?"
Relief flooded through Tara; she'd known Angela would get it. "Stable for now, but Jax is..."
"Unstable," she filled in, messing with a ring on her finger. "Shit. Are you..."
"Yeah. I'll be assisting on everything," she replied. Angela looked relieved to hear that, which she appreciated; she had a feeling Gemma wouldn't be so grateful.
"Good, good. That's..." she let out a long breath, shaking her head. "Shit, this is a lot. How's the hypothetical mom?"
Tara wasn't surprised she asked; she had a feeling Angie and Wendy had some kind of relationship, though Angela never talked about it. "Fine. Feeling guilty, I imagine. Available for visitors though."
Angela's eyes darkened, her shoulders squaring a little. "Yeah, no thanks. Got a pretty good idea of what the 'nefarious circumstances' are, and I don't think I can go in there without committing a murder."
Tara wasn't sure she'd ever seen Angela not be nice to someone. It was what made her such a good mortician; she was calm and kind. She wasn't familiar with this darker side of Angela, but she liked it. She was feeling the same way. "That's fair."
She checked her phone and sighed softly. "I gotta pick up this guy and get goin'," she explained on a frown. To Tara's surprise, Angela gave her a big hug. "Thanks for taking care of the little dude. Nice knowing he's in good hands. I know Jax will appreciate it."
"Yeah, of course," Tara managed to get out. She didn't know why the kind hug had surprised her so much, or why it made her choke up a bit. Maybe it was the confidence Angela seemed to have in her abilities or just the gratitude she showed that she knew she wouldn't be receiving from anyone else in Jax's close circle.
"Coffee date soon? We can talk about more hypotheticals," Angela said as she started walking away, pushing the gurney in front of her.
Tara chuckled and nodded. "Sounds good."
She watched her walk towards one of the rooms in the back where she knew a grieving family was inside with a deceased loved one. Angela paused at the door, smoothing down her shirt as she took in a deep breath and let it out, the smile disintegrating from her face as she strode into the room with her head slightly bowed in respect. Tara didn't know how Angela handled her kind of work as well as she did. She'd only had lost a patient a handful of times before and dealing with grieving families was difficult on her best days. She wondered how Angela dealt with such a heavy job on a daily basis and yet remained somewhat normal when she wasn't working. It almost looked like she had a switch that she could click on and off when needed. She had a feeling she was good at compartmentalizing, something Tara knew how to do all too well.
~'~'~'~
Angela stood at the ring, her stomach sick with worry, whole body tensed as she watched Happy and Tig beat the shit out of each other. Juice had asked her to meet him at the clubhouse after work because he wanted to spend time with her, but she'd gotten distracted by the fight on her way in to find him. She cringed as Happy landed a particularly hard hit to Tig's head and Tig returned it with a strong hit to Hap's side. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at them both to knock it off. She hated watching it, but she couldn't stand not to either. She wanted to make sure that at the end of it, they were both okay.
She felt cold metal brush down her arm and tore her eyes away from the fight to find Juice standing beside her, running the tops of his ringed fingers down her arm, making goosebumps rise as he did so. His dark eyes were mildly amused as they swept over her face for a moment. "Enjoying the fight?" he asked, the teasing smirk on his face telling her he knew she wasn't.
She glared at him, uncrossing her arms with a sigh. "Why would two guys who are supposed to be brothers beat the shit out of each other? It doesn't make any fucking sense!"
He chuckled, moving an arm around her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple. "Don't worry so much, baby. They're just blowin' off steam. Chibs 'n' Bobby'll break it up in a minute."
"It's stupid," she muttered, shaking her head. She glanced across the ring to where Jax was cheering them on with some of the other SAMCRO boys. There was another problem. "Can't believe Jax's here while his kid is in the hospital."
Juice shrugged a shoulder, clearly unbothered by the fact Jax was partying instead of being with his sick child. "Everyone deals with shit differently."
Angela scowled a bit, shaking her head. She had a feeling Jax had been avoiding her because he knew she'd call him on his bullshit. That was fine with her; she didn't feel like playing therapist anyway. "So stupid," she repeated under her breath. She leaned into Juice's side, glancing up at him. He was focused on the fight now, an excited light in his eyes. She could practically feel the adrenaline moving through him as he watched his brothers beat on each other. She elbowed him gently to catch his attention. "Please don't tell me you're next."
He chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "Nah, not tonight. I'm more of a lover than a fighter," he said, his hand dropping down to her ass to squeeze it to further prove his point.
Angela smirked, moving to stand in front of him just as Chibs and Bobby broke up the fight and Tig and Hap hugged it out. His eyes stayed on hers despite the chaos going on around them. He dipped his head to kiss her, and she pulled away with a grin, enjoying teasing him as she grabbed onto the front of his cut by his collar. He grabbed her ass more tightly in response, pulling her in closer and capturing her lips in a searing kiss.
His kiss ignited a fire within her, and she found herself getting lost in the feel of it. His tongue swept into her mouth, and she met it with her own, enjoying the rumble of a moan she felt in his chest that was pressed so closely against hers. She could taste the beer he'd been drinking, smell his leather, feel the warmth radiating off of him through the thin silk camisole she was wearing. Everything about him was intoxicating, and she was absolutely addicted. He pulled away first, breathing heavily as he tapped his forehead against hers. She wanted more of him. So much more. "Think we can find somewhere private?" she breathed, kissing him again.
"Uh-huh," he said, his nose moving against hers as he nodded. His lips ghosted over hers before trailing down her throat in sloppier kisses before his teeth sunk into her neck. His hands slid under her camisole, teasing at her hips before sliding into the back pockets of her jeans. She moved a hand under his shirt to skimming over the warm expanse of his lower back, her other hand moving over his mohawk. Closing her eyes, she let herself get lost in the feeling of his mouth on her skin.
"That's enough," Happy interrupted, smacking Juice's shoulder as he did so. Juice quickly pulled away, leaving her shivering a bit as the cool air hit the spot where his mouth had just been. Happy glared at him. "Take that shit home. No one needs to see it."
Angela stuck her tongue out at him before she realized he was holding an icepack to his cheek. "Are you okay?" She moved away from Juice, to see what the hell was underneath it.
Happy was patient with her for about a second, removing the ice pack and letting her see the bruise underneath before he slapped her hand away. " 'm fine," he replied on a shrug. He nodded to Juice. "Go home 'fore I take you to the ring too."
She saw the smirk on Juice's face, noted the way he'd squared his shoulders, puffed up his chest a bit. "Bring it," he replied on a light laugh.
She immediately moved between them, putting a hand against both of their chest, keeping them away from each other. They were amped up because of the fight. Juice's claim of being a lover and not a fighter wasn't necessarily true. If he was challenged, he wasn't going to back down especially in front of Hap. He was constantly trying to prove himself to her cousin, and he knew backing down would make him look weak. She glanced around and noted Tig, Chibs, and Bobby were watching them with a bit of interest. "Jesus Christ, both of you stop!" she said, forcefully pushing both of them away from each other with her hands. She just caught Happy's smirk as she turned towards Juice. "Can we just go home, please?"
Juice's dark eyes darted over to Hap over her shoulder. She glanced back at Hap who nodded quickly. "Next time," Happy stated before slinging his arm around the nearest sweetbutt and hauling her towards the clubhouse.
Angela whipped back around to Juice who had relaxed just a bit. "There's never gonna be a next time," she said, glaring up at him. When he didn't respond, she tugged at the front of his cut. "Right, Ortiz?"
"Yeah, yeah, 'course," he agreed, though she didn't really believe him. If he was challenged again, he'd get in the ring to prove himself. This time, it hadn't felt like a serious challenge. Happy had clearly said it more to annoy her than anything. If it came up again, though, and Happy was serious, there was nothing she would be able to do to stop it. She just hoped she was there to help clean up the aftermath. Juice didn't seem to fazed, though, he shrugged it off like it was nothing. His hands found her hips again. "You drive here from work?"
She shook her head quickly. "Nah, Skeeter dropped me of," she answered. She'd asked her boss to drop her off because she loved being on the back of Juice's bike. Liked the intimate feeling of it. "Mind giving me a ride?"
He grinned wolfishly at her and nodded. "I'll give you a ride, then you give me a ride," he said, his hands on her ass again leaving little room for interpretation of what he meant. His eyes had grown dark with lust, his voice low and raspy.
Angela's whole body shivered with anticipation. "Sounds like a deal," she agreed, kissing him again before pressing her forehead to his. "Take me home, Juan Carlos."
~'~'~'~
I'm having too much fun getting in these other character's head, but this one was a fun one to explore. There will be smut eventually, but it takes me so long to write because I'm not great at it, so in the interest of time, you can fill in the blanks on your own here. ;)
As always, please let me know what you think!
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