Alex smiles to herself as she steps out of the shower. She quickly slathers lotion over her long tan inked legs and wraps her hair up in a towel. She walks around boldly naked as she gets dressed in the pair of loose burnt orange lounge pants with a cream colored cropped tank top. Her off-white wall phone starts ringing in the kitchen. "Yeah, hello?" She answers tucking her landline between her shoulder and ear.

"Hey, is this uh Alex Miller?"

"Depends." There's a small chuckle. "Is this Will Davis?"

"Just checkin' in to see how California's treatin' ya, baby." Will is her closest friend from Alabama. It's obvious he has a thing for her but she keeps pushing him away. "We're all missin you."

"It's nice bein' back with everyone." She finally responds. Will doesn't know everything about her.

She doubts he ever will.

There's a knock at her door. "It's open!" She shouts, the curly cord stretching from the kitchen to her bedroom.

"I'm gonna let you go, Alex." Will says in a sad voice. "Hopefully we'll talk later."

"Yeah okay. Yeah that sounds good." She says as she makes her way back into the kitchen, her blue-green eyes landing on her first guest, Donna. "Okay honey. I'll talk to y'all later." She slides the phone into the wall holder. "Glad you were able to find your way here." Alex says, throwing her hair into a bun with a headscarf tied around her head.

"You said the door next to the Snake Pit." Donna returns as she looks at the sparse picture frames. "Who's this?" She holds up a framed Polaroid.

"That's Will." She chuckles at the picture. "My friend from Bama." It's a picture of him shirtless, holding a Largemouth Bass on a line with a ball cap on backwards. "He actually just called me."

"He's cute. Is he a friend friend or a fuck buddy friend?"

Alex rolls her eyes in response.

+++

After a few hours of slightly awkward entertaining between Donna and Ope, Jax finally joins them with a flushed face. "There you are." Alex smiles from her spot on the couch. "I was startin' to think you bailed on us." He says nothing as he slides a twenty four pack of Natural Light across the laminate countertop, a small paper bag following. "Hell yeah, Teller." She grins as she goes for the bag, snagging a joint from a plastic baggie, lighting it to take a deep inhale and exhale of the plant. She borderline moans at the feeling and takes another drag.

"Don't hog it all." Opie laughs, his jeans tugging at the noises she lets out. He snags the blunt from her hand and copies her, his head falling back as his smoke reaches then ceiling.

Donna glances at the wrap nervously. "You don't have to." Jax whispers, holding his hand out for it. She shuts her eyes and takes a drag, coughing at the sudden intrusion in her lungs and throat. The other three laugh with her as beer starts flowing.

A few hours later, Opie has his arm around Donna's shoulder as he whispers something in her ear, making her blush and giggle. Jax's hand slides from Alex's shoulder down to her hip, playing with the elastic of her pants. She nudges him away only for him to dip a finger behind her waistband. She bites her lip, glad she has a blanket pulled over their laps, and glances over at Ope and Donna. They look pretty engrossed in one another. Jax presses his lips against her ear then jaw then trails down her neck. She stands suddenly and heads to her bedroom, stumbling slightly from the drugs in her system.

When Jax is in arms reach, she pulls him against her and kisses him while he hooks her leg over his hip. She loses her balance and falls against her bed, Jax on top of her with his hand already under her tank top. He pushes the fabric up and starts kisses her chest, trailing his tongue over her hot skin leaving dark marks in some spots. She can't help the moan that falls from her pouty lips. He stretches his leg out and kicks the door closed before pulling his navy blue t-shirt off while she kicks her pants off, her top following shortly.

Halfway through, Alex zones out causing Jax to slow down. "You okay?" He breathes against her lips.

"Uh yeah." She drops back against the mattress. "Just keep going." Jax pulls out and lays next to her. "What?" He shrugs, his hand resting on her hip. "Sorry. Somethin' just-sorry."

Jax leans over to her nightstand and picks up a joint then lights it. Alex reaches over and fixes his necklace, moving it from his back to his chest. "Here." He passes her the joint.

She licks her lips as she inhales a lungful of smoke then exhales slowly, letting her body relax against the sheets. "Are you gonna tell me what's been going on?"

"With what?" He asks as he takes the joint back.

"That one night when you came over so emotional-"

"Nothing happened."

"Jackson..." the look on her face makes his heart ache. "It's me."

"Do you remember Wendy Case?"

"Yeah. She was a year above me in high school. Why?" He keeps his eyes trained on the floral patterned sheets.

"She's pregnant and, uh, it's mine." Alex gasps quietly, reaching out to put her free hand on his shoulder as she tucks her legs under her. "I slept with her twice and got her fucking pregnant."

"So what're you gonna do?" He shrugs, closing himself off. She senses his mood shift and wraps her arm around his shoulders, holding him against her bare chest. He sighs heavily as he stubs the nub out in the ashtray. "Things'll be fine, okay?" She rubs his back as their legs tangle up under the sheets, the two slowly drifting off to sleep.

+++

Her landline phone starting ringing like crazy at three in the morning, waking everyone up. Alex groans loudly, her head pounding as she rolls around. "Hello?" She hears Jax answer. "Who- Who's this?" He nods half asleep, poking Alex in the back. "It's for you."

"Whoda thunk with it bein' my place." She grumbles, sitting up with her arm across Jax's torso. "Hel-hello?" She answers, running a hand through her hair.

"Hey it's me." Will says. "I'm heading out to my granddad's farm for the day."

"Whatcha takin' care of today?" She drops her head against Jax's chest as he plays with her hair, twisting her silver strands around his fingers.

"The neighborin' farm knocked down the fences and some of the cows ran off."

"Holy shit. Do you know how many?"

"Three at least." She can picture him readjusting his cowboy hat, he does that subconsciously when he talks. He doesn't realize half the time. "Do you remember where they ran off to last time this happened?"

"There's that stream 'bout five miles south of the farm that they like to play in." Jax chuckles at her pronunciations. "There's also the fence on the west side of the farm, uh, Jennings' farm." She stifles a yawn.

"Alrighty well, I'll let ya go."

"Call me back when y'all got things figured out and tell your grandpap say hello."

"Will do, baby." Will smiles to himself as he hangs up.

"Who's Will?" Jax asks after a few minutes of silence.

"My friend from 'Bama." She says as she leans over Jax to hang the phone up. "A few cows from his grandpap's farm ran off- why are you laughin?" He can only imagine the look that she's giving him in the dark of the room.

"You sound so sexy." He bites his lip to keep his laughs in as he starts pressing kisses to her neck and chest. "Say more redneck things." She feels his lips curve into a smile against her hot skin.

"You're such an ass." She laughs breathlessly, her eyes closing as he lays her back against the mattress, moving to hover above her. She runs her hands over his biceps and back, pulling him for a kiss. They end up fucking lazily at three in the morning, keeping a hand over each others mouths to stay quiet for Donna's and Ope's sake. Alex winds up gripping the back of his neck tightly as she comes, her orgasm rocking her body into a trembling state while her nails leave bright pink lines across his back and shoulders.

Jax smirks against her shoulder, his hand running down her side to her thigh, pulling her leg off him so he can lay to the side. He chuckles as he pushes his long hair out of his face. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What?" Her voice is quiet and tired, kinda whiny.

"Can you give me a haircut?" She lifts her head and wrinkles her forehead. "What? You've done it before."

"Yeah, seven years ago when I took a semester in cosmetology school." He smacks her ass as he sits up. "Right now?"

"Right now."

She groans childishly as Jax grabs her hand and pulls her into a sitting position. Alex pulls on his big flannel shirt and a pair of panties before she tip toes out to the kitchen to grab a pair of scissors. "You don't have a razor?"

"I do but I don't really feel like lookin'." Jax pulls open the drawers of her vanity and breathes a sigh of relief when he finds an old electric razor in the back of the bottom one. "Sit down." She says as she closes the lid to the toilet. "I'm surprised you trust me enough to do this again." She mumbles as she starts snipping his blonde hair.

"I'm fuckin nervous so don't fuck it up, Drea." She blushes at the nickname but hides it as she directs him to spin so she can get the back of his head.

Alex went to cosmetology school for a few months before she got bored. She ended up getting a job waitressing at the diner a few blocks over where she become closer to Donna, she worked there at the same time, they didn't really talk until their paths crossed there.

After she graduated high school, her and Tara had made a pact to go through nursing school together. Alex was above Tara in the ranking with academics but quickly ran out of money so she dropped out and got the job at the bar below her feet.

She worked hard at the Snake Pit for almost a year before shit went down between herself, Jax and Ope and she ran off to Huntsville, Alabama to start a new life where she met William. She bumped into Will at the grocery store. They both reached for the last case of sweet tea and ended up talking. Turns out they lived a few houses away from each other and became fast friends. Will flirted with her so hard that it was cute. She gave in and went on a few dates with him that ended in her talking to other guys. That made it obvious to Will that she saw him as a friend and nothing more.

He became the older brother she wishes she always had. The one she has is estranged and absent in her life. Nicholas, Nick to everyone, and Alex have a very complicated relationship. He's a year older than Jax and Ope but is extremely immature. He has a worse record than she does. He's done hard time for stupid crimes like petty theft, drugs and aggravated assault; shit like that. The last time she saw him was a few weeks after their dad ran off.

She was completely alone.

Until she got to know Sig.

Sig and his wife took her in, gave her a home and a job, gave her a father and a mother figure. Marge helped her grow into a young woman and Sig helped her with life skills. Then she broke their hearts when she left without a word.

The two most important people in her life were totally heartbroken when she left.

Now that she's back, Sig is beyond happy to have his girl home. He doesn't know she's been thinking she isn't staying in Charming for good.

"All done." Alex says, sighing as she sets the clippers down on the counter. She heads back to her bed and buries herself under her sheets. Jax swipes his hands over his neck and shoulders, knocking random strands of hair to the floor before he gathers it up and drops it in the trash. He smiles at his reflection, flips the light off then slides into bed next to her. He wraps a muscular arm around her waist and pulls her close, his thumb rubbing against her hip. "I'm tired." She whispers.

"Then go to sleep."

"We really didn't have a party, did we?" She sighs again. "We'll have to do another one except with everyone."

"Like?"

"The guys from Samcro."

"Oh I don't know, Drea." He whispers against her shoulder. "With your whole dad thing-"

"That was almost ten years ago. I don't even know where he is anymore." She curls in on herself. "It was just a suggestion."

Jax bites his lip. Her old man, Lawrence, has recently reached out to Clay to make amends with the club. The man's in town and still picks the club over his flesh and blood. The scrawny bastard won't talk to his child but will talk to the people he fucked over.

He rubs her back, his eyes getting heavy as he starts to sink into a peaceful stream of unconsciousness with Alex in his arms. He's never felt scared or worried about anything when Alex is around. She gives him so much confidence but they're just friends, close friends. Alex sighs, her fingers wrapping around Jax's as she joins him in a deep slumber.

+++

Jax wakes first. He shifts and leans on his elbow, smiling at the peacefully sleeping girl in bed with him. He slides out from under her and pulls his jeans on before heading out to the kitchen. "Looks like you got lucky." Opie comments when he sees the marks covering his back and shoulders. "And a haircut? When did you-"

"Three o'clock this morning." He yawns as he starts making a pot of coffee. "Where's Donna?" He asks as he pans over the empty living room and bare pull out couch.

"Bathroom." He responds as he moves to sit at the bar.

"How was your night?" There's a blush that colors his cheeks. "How was it?"

"It was great." He mumbles, looking down at his hands.

Alex lets out a sound as she rolls on her back, stretching her arms and legs. "Morning." She hears Donna say from beside her.

"Ah!" She shrieks, pulling the sheets up to her shoulders. "How long have you been here?"

"Few seconds." She shrugs. "Ope and I hooked up last night."

"Woah. What? How was it?"

"Best I've had so far." Her face is bright red as she giggles. "What about you and Jax?"

"It was good, always is." She says as she stands, pulling a pair of sweats on. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon."

"Shit." She yawns, heading to the kitchen. "Y'all hungry? I can make somethin'."

"Sure yeah." Opie pulls the chair next to him out for Donna. "You working today?"

"No, tomorrow." She answers as she digs around in the fridge. "I'm closin' tomorrow." She sighs heavily. "What're y'all feelin'?"

"Make something southern." Jax smirks from behind her.

She elbows him before she grabs a few things to throw together a hashbrown casserole.

+++

"Are you still working at the shop?" Alex asks as she's bent over the sink, scrubbing the casserole dish.

Jax runs his thumb around the circumference of the coffee mug in his hand as he's sitting at the bar. "Yeah. I'm supposed to be there now."

"Why aren't you?"

"Told my mom I wasn't feeling well." She laughs quietly. "What're you gonna do with what's left of your day?"

"I dunno." She shrugs, rinsing her dish off. "Might get another tattoo."

"Really?"

"No. Can't afford it." She sighs. "I gotta get a bed frame or somethin'. I gotta get groceries too, fuck." She rubs her face with her hands as she leans on her elbows against the counter.

"I'll go with you."

"No I'll be fine."

"Okay but I'm going with you." She huffs and heads back to her bedroom to clean herself up. "You can still drive."

"Oh wow thank you, Jackson." She rolls her eyes but it's short lived when she feels his hands on her hips. She pushes him away so she can get dressed.

Jax lounges back on her bed, his hands tucked in his pockets, as he watches her. "Ready?"