Blood vs. Loyalty

Smite

Holly had been driving in town when she spotted Jax and the guys outside of the new cigar shop, pulling up next to them and climbing out, going over to Jax.

"Hey, babe. What're you doing here?"
"I have to hit the grocery store and I saw you. You want me to pick up something special for dinner?"
"I don't care, babe. I trust ya."
"You should know better than that. You gotta pick something."
"Ok fine. Steak and potatoes."

She playfully rolled her eyes.

"You always pick something easy. Pick something different."
"No. That's what I want."
"Fine. We'll go simple...."

She trailed off as she noticed the three men standing outside staring at the bikers. There was something familiar about them, but she couldn't think of how. Until she heard them talk. She felt her stomach churn and it took everything she had to keep herself from screaming as she turned around, getting ready to run away, shaking like a leaf as Jax stopped her. Only Chibs would know why she was freaking out.

"Ma'am? Are you ok?"

Her eyes went wide when she heard Weston getting close, starting to hyperventilate, shaking even more in Jax's arms, trying to keep herself upright. She couldn't talk, she couldn't breathe. She felt frozen in absolute fear.

"Babe? Talk to me? You're scaring me...."
"Does she need some water or something?"
"No. I've got her, man."
"I've got her, Jackie Boy. Don't worry about her."

Feeling Chibs' hands on her, she flinched and jumped, feeling like she was running away until she realized she wasn't and she was in Chibs' arms now, relaxing. But as she was led away, tears dripping down her face, she could see Weston smirking at her. She felt Chibs let her go and she immediately fell to her knees in the middle of the street, her knees buckling under her, failing to support her weight. Chibs picked her up and carried her over to the nearest bench, sitting her down as Jax ran over. She broke down in Chibs' arms, feeling him hold onto her.

"It's time to tell him, lass. This isn't good for you. And we can't stand seeing you like this."
"Tell me what?"

She looked at Chibs, shaking her head. She couldn't. She just couldn't.

"You might wanna sit down, Jackie Boy. This is gonna be hard to hear."
"Chibs, no....Please?"
"Then you do it."
"I can't."
"Then I will."

She glared at Chibs as she stood up. She didn't care how it looked, this secret was gonna be kept.

"You swore on the lives of your family that you wouldn't say a goddamn word! You keep that promise or I will kill them myself!"

She stormed back to her truck, speeding home, getting as much distance as she could.

Holly sat in the living room, feeding Abel as she looked through her laptop for a new job. She didn't wanna just live off of Jax and club money. She'd made Jax promise that he wouldn't do something stupid when it came to Weston or Zobelle. And then she got the call that Jax and the guys got into a fight with Weston and his crew. She didn't wanna deal with it. It had been a long emotional day and she was tired. She got up when the doorbell rang, going to open the door when she saw Unser, letting him in.

"Can I get you some coffee, Wayne?"
"No thanks, sweetheart. I just wanted to check on you. You were unconscious the last time I saw you."
"I'm doing ok. I'm doing better."
"That's good. Maybe you could get Gemma to where you are."
"Gemma and I aren't talking right now. We're not seeing eye to eye on this shit. She doesn't want anyone to know, but this isn't a secret you keep. I've seen a lot of rape victims come through the office that say that the only thing they regret is if they didn't win their case."
"I know. I just wish she'd see that she needs to talk."

She went to say something else when she heard Abel start gagging, looking at him, feeling his head.

"He ok?"
"He's a bit warm. I have to take care of him. Thanks for coming over to check on me."

She got him a bottle of water, trying to get him to drink. But when he threw up on her shirt, she panicked a little, going to get him some medicine as Unser left, giving him a rushed goodbye. Over the next couple of hours, she tried to get Abel to feel better, to no avail. She decided to take him to St. Thomas, to get him checked out. When he had been checked in, she sat next to Abel as she called Jax.

"Babe? What's wrong? I figured you'd be asleep by now."
"Abel's sick. He started throwing up a couple of hours ago and the medicine wasn't working so I brought him to St. Thomas."
"Shit. Is he ok?"
"He just got admitted and has an IV in him. Please get here...."
"I'm on my way. Just sit tight, babe."

It was about half an hour before Jax showed up, and Abel had finally fallen asleep. Holly sat on the couch in the room, keeping an eye on him as Jax came into the room, looking at him as he walked in, standing up and going over to hug him.

"It turns out he has a stomach flu. The doctor gave him some medicine and I got him to sleep. He should feel better by the end of the day tomorrow. All we can really do is give him medicine when he needs it and keep an eye on him."
"Shit. At least he's ok."

She nodded and looked over at Abel, sighing softly. Everything was catching up to her and she was tired. But Jax seemed to want to talk. Which she was kind of expecting.

"What happened to you today? You freaked out on Chibs like that and you were talking about promises and secrets. Are you ever gonna tell me the truth, Holly?"

She sighed deeply and went to the couch to sit, hearing Jax go over to the chair to sit. She had the opportunity. But Gemma's voice entered her head and stopped the words as they came into her mouth.

"I've seen a lot of shit when it comes to the club. Dead bodies, shootouts, lockdowns, and so much more, and I don't hesitate to help however I can. But Zobelle and Weston incite a fear in me that I've never felt before. I don't know why or where it comes from, but there's something about them that terrifies me to my core and I'm not handling it well. I fear for my life, for Abel's and yours and the guys', and with everything else going on, I'm drowning. Every once in a while I can come up for air and things are fine for a little bit. And then I'm reminded of their presence and I panic."

He looked at her, meeting her eyes as he took her hand.

"We're trying to get rid of them, but it's proving harder than we thought."
"I know you are, Jax. And I'm being as patient as I can with it. But I don't feel safe with them around. Even if I'm with you or any one of the guys. I'm scared of being in Charming with them here. I've never asked this of you, but I wouldn't care if they don't make it out of Charming alive."

Holly sat with Jax at the clubhouse, outside on the picnic table, holding his hand, listening to him talk about the vote.

"At least you guys are being smart. You don't know how far Zobelle's reach goes."
"I know. I don't know how much longer I can keep Clay at bay on this shit. Something's gonna happen and he'll win out."
"He'll see reason eventually. I know it."

No one got to say anything else due to the explosion coming from the van that Chibs had been sitting in. She looked over in time to Chibs go flying and land on the ground, immediately grabbing her phone to call for an ambulance.