Overexposed

Ch. 33 Live

Angela came to in a white, sterile room. Somehow, she was on her feet, but she hadn't remembered standing up. She was wearing simple clothes. Jeans, a white tank top, and her favorite boots. Nothing out of the ordinary. Her giant pregnant belly was gone, her hands that had been covered with blood the last time she'd seen them were now pristinely clean, the glittery purple nail polish Evie had picked out sparkling in the bright light. Her wedding ring was gone, but the tattoo of Juice's 'J' stood out bold and pretty on her ring finger.  "What the fuck?" she whispered, staring at her hands. The last thing she could remember was hearing the doctors talking as they started to sedate her then...nothing. What had happened?

A chuckle behind her made her whip around; she knew that chuckle, though it'd been years since she'd last heard it. The blonde man standing behind her made her hear rise to her throat. His blue eyes were twinkling as he grinned back at her wearing his usual jeans and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off underneath his cut. "Koz?" she murmured, blinking at him.

"Hey Angie-pie," he greeted, nodding his head as he walked closer to her. She closed the space quickly, throwing her arms around him. His strong arms wrapped around her in the world's best bear hug. God, she'd missed his hugs. He squeezed her tightly, kissing her temple. "How you doin', kiddo?"

How was she doing? She had no idea. She didn't know where she was, or what he was doing there. He set her down, though his arm stayed around her shoulders. "I dunno, Koz, I was just...in labor with the bugs," she started, dropping her hand to her belly again. It was strange for it to be so empty. What the hell was happening? "And now I'm...here...without them..."

"They're okay, tesoro. Fighters, the two of them. Just like you," a gruff voice said from her side. She turned to find her Uncle Chico standing there looking just as she remembered him save for the SAMCRO cut he donned now.  She never remembered him wearing it before. His beard and mustache were long but neat, hair perfectly slicked back with his usual blue bandana around his head. His arms were covered in the same tattoos they'd always been, tattoos she knew well. One of which was her own name tattooed in beautiful script just above the crook of his elbow in letters not unlike the one on Juice's chest. 

"Cheeks?" she questioned, though she knew it was him. He nodded, stretching his arms out to offer her a hug. She stepped into his embrace for the first time since she was eight years old. His hug was warm, familiar, though slightly strange considering how she was practically his height now.

He kissed her cheek, the smell of the oil he put in his beard filling her senses. If there was one thing she remembered about Chico, it was that he always smelled good. "Hola, mi tesoro," he murmured in his normal raspy voice, pulling her away and holding her out at arm's length. "Look at you all grown up!"

Angela smiled, still confused as to what the hell was happening. These men were dead. Had been for years. Where the hell was she? Her brain told her not to question it for now, but the unknown was still bothering her. "Cheeks, where..."

"What about me? Did you forget?"

The voice that interrupted her stopped her in her tracks, tears immediately coming to her eyes. She turned and took in the man standing just a few feet away. She hadn't seen him in person since she was three years old, but he looked the exact same as he had in the pictures she'd looked at so many times. "Papi?"

He nodded, running a hand over his slicked back hair as he smiled at her. She ran to him, throwing her arms around him and holding him close. Her
father smelled like she always imagined he did: cigars and leather. He held her close, pressing a kiss to her temple, the beard and goatee on his face tickling her a bit. "Mi Angelita," he murmured, squeezing her tightly. He pulled away, his big hands cupping her face lovingly. "You are so beautiful, mi vida. Just like your mother. I am so proud of you."