+++

"Hello?" Alex mumbles into her landline. She's just gotten off work from working open to close and she's exhausted as fuck.

"Hey, been thinkin' 'bout you." Will smiles against the receiver. "Missin' you."

She laughs tiredly. "I'm missin' you too." She sighs loudly as she sits on the couch. The two laugh and talk until about four in the morning, two hours isn't bad.

Their conversation ends when she can't stop yawning so he politely lets her go. She trudges her way to the bathroom to shower then climbs into bed with a baggy white Sons tee on and soon drifts off into a peaceful sleep.

A few minutes into her REM cycle, there's footsteps in her living room then the sound of a chair being knocked over followed by hushed swearing. She lays silent, hoping she just imagined it but the footsteps return alongside rummaging in her fridge and liquor selection. Alex slowly pulls the gun she keeps in her nightstand out and quietly tip toes down the hallway with the weapon pointed. She sees a man with a black hood pulled over his head. She follows the figure's legs down to the pair of infamous white sneakers. "Jax? What the hell?"

"Hey." He nods, a half empty bottle of Jose Cuervo in his ringed hand. "Why are you up? It's five in the morning." His face is puffy and his eyes are red. He's been crying. "Nice shirt." He comments gruffly after taking a gulp of the tequila.

"What're you doing here?" She yawns as she sets the gun on the coffee table. He shrugs, taking another gulp of the liquor. "Everythin okay?"

"Didn't want to go home." He grabs another bottle of liquor without looking. Jax takes a few swallows from the bottle as he heads back to her bedroom. "Is it cool if I crash here for a while?"

"Yeah. Sure." She nods as she follows him, climbing back into bed

Jax downs the rest of the whiskey, coughing when he takes a sharp breath. "C'mere." He doesn't wait for an answer before he pulls her on top of him, his hands holding onto her hips.

"Jax, c'mon. It's late." Alex looks down at him, her hands clutching his shoulders. He responds by pulling his shirt off followed by hers. "Jackson..." she whispers, her eyes fluttering closed as she feels his lips against her skin. He drags his fingers down her toned torso to her panties. Jax kicks his jeans off and lays her back, lifting her leg over his shoulder as he starts rolling his hips against hers, pressing his pretty lips to the ink on her calf. She drops her leg to his hip with her hands tangling in his growing hair. "Oh fuck." She breathes, her back arching as she nears her climax. Jax lets out a low moan of her name against her neck, grunting as he pulls out and flops on his back next to Alex.

He slowly stands, his sweaty skin glistening from the street lamps outside her window. "Gonna shower." He mumbles, trudging to the bathroom. He doesn't bother closing the door as he steps into the shower.

Alex lets out a shaky breath, turning on her front to grab a cigarette from the pack on the nightstand after slipping her panties back on. She lights one and sucks it down quickly before grabbing a second one. Jax reaches over her and snags the lit cigarette from her lips, putting it up to his smirking ones. She looks back at him with a scrunched up face, taking in the sight of him with dripping wet hair and a towel around his hips. "You alright?" She asks quietly.

"Yep." He says, dropping the towel once he's stepped foot back in the bathroom. He pulls his boxers up his damp legs. She yawns, slipping back under her sheets. Jax joins her soon, tucking his arm around her shoulders, holding her close, lulling the two to sleep.

+++

Jackson's out on a run while Alex is working at the bar. Sig's in his office working on some orders while Alex is serving drinks. "Get me a Sierra Nevada- Pale Ale." A familiar voice says from behind her.

She turns and scowls at the man opposite of her. "Lawrence." She slams the beer on the counter. "$2.50." He ignores her as her downs his drink. "It's $2.50." She repeats.

"Get me another." She rolls her eyes as she hands him a second.

"$5.00."

"Don't you ever just shut up? You're always demanding shit from me." He snaps making her laugh loudly.

"Are you serious?" She laughs again. "It's $5.00." He taps the bar and she gives him a third. "$7.50."

"For three beers!?"

"Each one is $2.50 and you've had three." He scoffs, angrily snatching the beer. "$7.50." He rolls his eyes. "You back in the club?" She asks, eying the leather on his back.

"Not yet." He responds. "Where's your brother?"

"No idea." She shrugs, handing him a fourth as he hits the bar top. "Thought you would've known."

"Why would I know? No idea where you've been."

"You don't care enough to ask." She shrugs, wiping off the counter.

"You never told me."

"You never asked!" She tosses the empty bottles into the recycling bin. "You don't care anyway."

"I'm trying to be a good dad-" she cuts him off with a hard laugh. "Don't."

"Sorry. I forgot how funny you are." Lawrence rolls his hands into fists as he looks at his second born. "$10."

"Shut up with the fucking total." He rolls his eyes. "You're just like your mother, demanding shit. Good thing that bitch is dead-"

She swings her hand and smacks him hard across the face. "Don't you ever talk about her like that. Don't ever fucking say that!" Her volume silences the couple conversations in the bar. "That woman was my mother!"

Lawrence sets his jaw and glares at his offspring. "You really are your mother's daughter." He spits, rubbing his bright red cheek. "You got her looks and her fucking attitude-" She smacks him again.

"Fuck you." She snaps. Her eyes land on the wallet on the bar counter and snatches a twenty. She clears the transaction and keeps his ten dollars to pocket it for a tip. "Get out."

"Fuck you." Lawrence adjusts his cut as he stumbles to his feet. "Y'know I'm glad my old lady is dead. I don't have to hear her bitch and moan about some unpaid bills I still owe her-" Alex makes her way around the bar and punches her old man in the face. He falls to the floor as the door swings open.

"Alex! What the hell!?" Jax grabs the girl away from the bloodied man. She thrashes and kicks and squirms as Jax has his arms tight around her.

"You even hit like your fuckin mother-" Alex drops to her feet then hits him again before she's grabbed again.

"Shut the fuck up!" She shouts, tears in her eyes. She doesn't care that she's making a scene, this asshole is shitting on her mother and she deserves to be defended, revenged.

Lawrence gets up and goes to hit her back but he's stopped with a tattooed arm around his throat. Jax throws the man out on to the sidewalk. She heads to the door but she's stopped with a heavy hand on her shoulder. She elbows Sig back and heads outside.

It's a good thing it's a slow night.

Jax has the man leaning against the wall, blood dripping from his face. Lawrence is breathing hard with the blonde pacing around him. "Go back inside, Drea." He commands.

"Don't do something you'll regret, Jax." She whispers before going back inside.

"You pull a stunt like that again I swear-!" Sig shouts.

"He was shit talking my dead mother." She snaps, wiping away fallen tears. "Don't fucking yell at me right now. You can in a few hours but I need a break." Alex grabs her purse and heads out the back door to the alley way to smoke probably a whole pack of cigarettes.

She's sitting on an old keg, crying freely by herself with a lit cigarette between her fingers. Her shoulders shake with every sob that wracks through her body, her head against the brick wall. The back door opens and she's surprised to see Jax. "Leave me alone." She whimpers. "I said leave me alone!" Her voice breaks as she throws an empty can at him and Jax's heart shatters at the sight of the tough, badass woman sobbing in front of him.

Jackson crouches next to the girl, his hand rubbing her knee comfortingly. He's never been good at consoling people but he's trying his best for her sake. "What happened?" He whispers.

She starts crying after a bit of silence, her forehead against the heels of her hands. "He came in and kept being an ass and started talking about my mom and saying that he's glad she's dead and I..." she lets out a violent sob. "Kept asking about Nick and telling me he doesn't care about his kids-" Jax pulls her down against him, holding her, rubbing his thumb over her shoulder. "I should leave Charming and go back to Alabama."

"What? No you can't leave." He kicks himself for being is selfish. "I mean, just think about it."

"I gotta get back to work." She says as she stands, using her arm to wipe her face. After taking a deep breath, she returns behind the counter and watches Jax let himself out of the bar.

"You okay?" Sig asks apprehensively.

"Yep." She says shortly, clearing her throat. "I'm peachy."

+++

When she's finally done with her shift, Alex makes her way to the shower to wash away her sorrows and cigarette smoke. She isn't expecting Jax to be there in her bed but he is and she's relieved that she isn't going to be alone tonight. She slides under her sheets next to the biker, keeping her distance from him.

Halfway through the night, Jax stirs and pulls the girl close, hiding his face against the back of her neck, their legs tangling together. "Why are you here, Jax?" She whispers. "Why do you want to be here with me?"

"Wendy overdosed. I lost her and the baby."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jax." She rubs the arm around her waist. "I'm so sorry."

"We found out it was a boy and we were gonna name him Abel. They died in my house and it's just..." She nods, rolling on her back to look up at Jax. He just holds her tighter for the rest of the night.