Blood vs. Loyalty

Burnt and Purged Away

Holly let out a soft grunt of pain as Happy placed her into her bed at the house. She'd been discharged that morning and had been told that she needed to stay in bed for a few days until she could make it up and down her stairs without incident. She took a breath before looking at Happy, letting him help her get comfortable.

"You know, sometimes I forget how sweet you can be. You and I haven't had a lot of contact lately, so this is a nice change, Hap."
"How are you feeling, little girl?"
"Physically or emotionally?"
"Let's start with physically."

She chuckled softly, shifting a bit to get more comfortable as Happy sat down.

"I feel like I'm recovering from surgery."
"And emotionally?"

She shook her head, trying not to get emotional. Not because she was embarrassed, but because she was tired of crying.

"I'll be fine. It'll take a while, but I'll be fine."
"He does love you. He went about it the wrong way, but he wants you safe."
"Then he could've kept someone on me. Given me a gun. He didn't have to sleep with someone else."

She heard someone come in downstairs, glancing towards the door, hearing someone come up, sighing when she saw Jax, rolling her eyes before she laid down, laying down on her side, wanting to get some sleep.

"I came to grab some stuff. I've been crashing at the clubhouse."
"Where are the kids?"
"Jessica took them up to Legoland with your cousins. I hope that's ok. Mom was busy and we need the prospects."
"Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure they're gonna have fun."
"Do you have your pain meds?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Take 'em. And get some sleep."
"Stop it, Jax. This is not the first time I've had to recover from shit."
"Right. Sorry."

Holly yawned deeply as she woke up, hearing her phone. She answered without looking at the number.

"Hello?"
"I know you don't wanna talk to me or hear from me, but Ope needs you. Clay killed Piney and Opie found him at the cabin. Piney's been dead for days and Ope's gunning for blood. He's heading to the clubhouse and I don't think I'll get there in time."

She cursed under her breath and hung up, getting up carefully and going straight down to her car, climbing in and driving off. She could feel the pain by the time she got to the clubhouse. She was sweating as she walked inside, her legs shaking a bit as she walked over to the chapel, holding onto the door.

"Opie? I know Clay deserves this, but not like this. Please put it down."
"What are you doing here, Holly? You should be resting."
"Jax told me about Piney. I can't believe he's gone. Jax wants me to talk you down from doing this, but I don't care. Clay deserves to die. Brutally. He killed Donna and now Piney. But think this through. He's meant to meet Mr. Mayhem for his crimes. You bring his killing Piney when that happens and it will ensure that he burns for what he's done. Past and present."

She met Opie's eyes, feeling herself growing weaker as she held onto the door, her bare feet warming up the chilled floor. She hated seeing her friend in so much pain. She watched him start crying, reaching out for his hand.

"I know it hurts. And it'll make you wanna fling yourself off a cliff for what feels like forever. And I wish I could help you and keep you from that, but I can't. No one can. All I can do is tell you that I'm here for you. And I always will be."
"What the fuck am I supposed to do here, Holly? It hurts so goddamn much. How do I get it to stop?"
"I don't have that answer, Ope. I'm still in pain from my parents' deaths. I can't make this decision for you."

She gasped loudly when Ope pulled the trigger, jumping a bit. She looked over to find a couple rounds in Clay's chest and shoulder as Jax came in, trying her best not to pass out. But it was a losing battle.....