Alexandrea is standing against the railing of the cabin wearing nothing but Jax's shirt and a pair of socks, a hot cup of coffee in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. Her hair is in her natural state with loose curls framing her face. She's watching the sun rise over the steaming lake while Jax is asleep. It's their last day of their romantic getaway and they're absolutely bummed. Both of their phones have been going off like crazy with the club needing something and Will wanting to chat, sometimes Buck reaches out for pathetic phone sex. She sighs quietly, running a hand through her messy hair. She doesn't want to go back. She wants to move away somewhere new; live somewhere new with Jax and make a family with him.

But she knows he can't just go.

He lacks the freedom she has.

Alex can do anything she wants- go anywhere she wants to go and Jax is jealous. He wishes that he can do what she does. Jax wants to go; he wants to leave, he really does. Since his old man died, the Sons of Anarchy isn't the same.

"You're thinking pretty hard." Alex jumps at the sudden voice. "You alright?" She looks over her shoulder and smiles at the sight of Jax with a bed head and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He stands next to her and pulls her in against his warm side. "How long've you been out here?" He asks as he looks at the red tip of her nose.

"I don't know." She clears her throat, flicking her cigarette butt away. "Do we have to go?"

"They're gonna kick us out if we're not gone by noon." She laughs under her breath. "C'mon, it's cold."

"Fall's started." Alex mutters, pouring her now cold coffee over the edge of the railing. She follows Jax back into their cabin where they start to solemnly pack up.

+++

"Have you found a house yet?" Opie asks to Jax as they sit across from each other at the Snake Pit Alehouse off Melrose.

He sighs and shrugs. "Something just doesn't feel right about buying a place in Charming." He says back, picking at the label on his longneck. "I dunno."

"Did you ask her to move in yet?"

"Yeah. Yeah I did and she's on board with it but something just doesn't sit right with me about staying here." He peels the label off and starts rolling it with his fingers. "I don't know anymore."

"Bout what?"

Jax exhales heavily as he looks over at the woman behind the bar. Alex has her eyebrows furrowed as she makes a drink. She says something to another woman that makes them both laugh. Alex's eyes meet Jax and she gives him a smile that has his face heating up and his body burning. "She's my future." Jax laughs at himself. "I know that Samcro is my blood but it just doesn't feel right anymore. Honestly, I think you and I should step down for a while. I mean, you have Donna and Ellie and I want to start a life and I want to start it with her." He looks back over at Alex. She's talking to Sig with a big beautiful smile on her face. "I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

Opie chokes on his drink, coughing loudly as Jax hits him on the back. "Holy shit, man!"

"Y'all alright?" Alex asks, handing Opie a glass of water before she turns to Jax and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Another beer, hun?"

"Yes please." He gives her a flirty wink. Alex rolls her eyes with a small smile on her lips as she grabs another Fat Tire. "Here ya go, darlin." She leans down and kisses him before returning behind the bar.

"Wow." He whispers. "I'm definitely gonna ask that woman to marry me."

"You sure?"

"Ope, I've never been more sure about anything in my life before. That woman is gonna be the mother of my future children." Jax slams his open palmed hands against the table as he stands. "I will talk to you later, Hank."

"Fuck you!"

+++

It's two in the morning and Alex is finally off work. She drops her bag on the counter, kicks her shoes off then goes to the bathroom to shower. After she's washed and in cleans pjs, she slides into her bed with Jax who stirs. "Sorry." She whispers, pulling his arm over her waist. He hums in response, his eyelids heavy as he fights to keep them open. She sighs as she wraps her fingers around his. "I love you." He hums again, nodding slightly before bringing her closer against his chest.

Alex lays awake for a while before she gets bored and moves to the living room. She sighs as she pours herself some boxed wine in a coffee cup, plopping herself on the couch, kicking her feet up. She reaches over and grabs her old laptop and starts researching houses for sale in some places other than Charming.

She's over this town and is ready to leave, with or without Jackson Teller.

+++

Alex is woken up by clanging coming from her kitchenette. She whines as she opens her eyes, glaring at her shirtless boyfriend standing at the stove. He swears under his breath as he shakes his hand; must've burned his fingers, wouldn't be the first time and definitely won't be the last time. Alex stretches her long legs out on the coffee table in front of her. She looks down at her empty mug and dead laptop, sighing heavily as she stands. "Mornin." She mumbles as she shuffles her way to put her mug in the sink.

"Hey. Mornin baby." He responds, kissing her temple. "What were you doing?"

"Tryna to get comfortable on that tiny ass couch." Alex wraps her arms around his middle from behind. "But I couldn't sleep."

"Something on your mind?"

Alex is silent. Of course there's shit on her mind! She doesn't want to share her thoughts with the VP because she doesn't want to either a) piss him off, b) piss him off, or c) piss him off. "Nothing too interesting." She shrugs, pressing a kiss to his back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Really couldn't." He sighs, scraping the eggs forward before titling the skillet back, setting it back on the burner. "You working today?"

"Nope. Bar's closed today." Jax bites his lip as he thinks about the small silver ring in his cut pocket. He's going to do it. He's going to propose. "Goddammit." She mutters as her phone rings. "Hello."

"Hey, I'm just checkin' in on ya, baby." Will says, kicking his feet up on the porch railing. "Can't talk for too long though; Momma's gettin' lunch fixed."

"Nothin' new's goin on here." Alex responds, bending over against the counter with one foot tucked behind the other. Jax leans next to her, his hand rubbing her back as she talks to the Alabama native. "I'm tired." She tells the blonde after she ends her conversation with Will. He must've zoned out for a while. "Eggs are burnin'."

"Shit. Son of a bitch." He grumbles, scraping what he can salvage onto a plate. "Stupid fucking skillet."

"Yeah cause it's the skillets fault." She says, sounding totally wore out. He sighs as he watches her hang up her phone then heads back to her bedroom. Jax cleans up his mess, even washing his dishes, before he joins her. He smiles when he sees her asleep, sliding in under the sheets then pulling her against him. "I love you, Jax." She whispers, cupping his cheek as she runs her thumb across his skin.

He smiles again and leans down to bump his nose with hers. "I love you too, Drea."

+++

"There's something bothering you." Opie says from his spot at the bar. "What's up, baby?"

"I-I don't know, Ope." Alex sighs, drying a stein. "Something doesn't feel right about staying in Charming."

"No kidding."

"Like I can't describe it. I don't feel like I belong here anymore, y'know?" She shakes her head. "I think I wanna leave again." She tosses her towel over her shoulder, sliding the mug back into its spot on the shelf. "But I don't want to leave alone again. I-I think I want Jax to come with me but I know he can't because of the club." She blows stray hairs out of her face. "Everything just feels weird."

"I understand that." Ope nods. "What if you, y'know, talk to Jax? Tell him how you're feeling?"

"He has other important things to worry about. I can't just keep piling shit on 'em." She mutters, looking down at her fingers. "He doesn't need to worry 'bout me too." Opie's heart aches at those words. She needs to feel important. Maybe Jax proposing will help. She gives him a weak smile then turns to the shelves of booze.

"Jax cares more than you think." Ope says, tapping the ash of his cigarette into a nearby ashtray. "Just get the words out." She snorts, shaking her head. "Just fucking do it, Lex. He'll listen."

+++

Another sleepless night rolls in for Alexandrea James. She has her feet kicked up on the coffee table with a deck of cards in her hands. She needs to keep her hands busy or she'll blow through a carton of cigarettes in a matter of hours. She mindlessly shuffles as she watches a shitty Mexican soap opera, her eyes burning from zoning out. She splits the deck with a heavy sigh, shuffling the cards together. She laughs lazily under her breath as one of the actors pushes an actress down the steps, Spanish swearing following. She looks over at her empty wine glass and decides to just leave it. She's too comfortable to move.

Jax, on the other hand, is sawing logs. He's sleeping hard, getting shot at kinda makes you lose your energy. He hums, rolling on his side. Jax groans quietly when he feels cold, empty sheets. He gets to his feet and stumbles out to the living room, his eyes barely open as he looks at his soon-to-be fiancé. "The fuck're you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep." She shrugs, laughing at Jax's bed head. "Why're you up?"

"Missed you." He mumbles, dropping himself on the couch, fucking laying on top of her. She grunts, the cards falling out of her hands and onto the floor. "You've been acting weird lately."

"Sorry." She responds, running her fingers through his hair.

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing to worry about."

He lifts his head and gives her a look that makes her laugh. "I know you better than you think I do and I know something is weighing on your mind so, what's up?"

"Honestly?" He nods. "I've been thinking about life outside of Charming, like what our life would be outside of this town."

"I've been thinking that too." He whispers after a long moment of silence. "Thinking about leaving the club and everything behind."

"We both know it's pretty much impossible for you to just dip from the club." Those words sink in Jax's stomach. "But think of what you could do- what we could do outside of Charming."

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere but here."

+++

Jax wakes before Alex. He decides to move her back into their bed and tucks her in. He quietly dresses and sneaks down to his bike. He starts it up and rides to the clubhouse. "You're here early." Piney comments from his spot on the couch.

"Can I ask for some advice?" The blonde responds, sitting across from him at a high top. "Alex- I want to-" he clears his throat roughly. "Marry her." Piney's eyes go wide. "What? Is that a bad thing?"

"No, son, not at all. Are you sure you want to marry her? I mean I like her and everything but-"

"Piney." Jax sighs. "I want to marry her."

"Marriage isn't easy. You guys'll fight over what fucking towels you want in the bathroom, stupid shit like that. You won't be a, y'know, 'typical' husband. She'll want you out of the club-"

"That's just it. How hard is it to leave?"

"I dunno. No one's really left." Jax nods, running his tongue over his teeth. "Are you thinking about leaving?"

"I don't know. I've got a lot on my mind right now." He sighs as he stands. "See ya." Jax awkwardly heads to his bike then over to the diner to pick up some breakfast for himself and Alex.

+++

Jax tip toes back into Alex's bedroom, sitting next to her with a bag of breakfast. He reaches out and brushes her hair out of her face. She hums and opens her eyes. "Mornin'."

"Hi." She yawns back, sitting up. "What time is it?"

"Nine." She nods and gives the blonde a sleepy smile. "Only the best for the best." He says as he drops the paper bag on her lap. Jax stands, sneaks the small ring from his cut into his jeans pocket then sits next to her. "Dig in, baby."

The two spend their morning laughing and talking while they enjoy their breakfast. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier." Alex looks up from her breakfast sandwich. "And I think we should leave Charming. "

She laughs at first, thinking he's joking. "Shit, you're serious?" Her jaw drops slightly before she laughs again, grabbing the biker in a tight hug. When she pulls away, Jax has the ring between his fingers. "Jax..."

"And I think we should get married." He says with a growing grin. "And I think we should start a life outside of Charming, together." She glances between his face and his hand, biting her lip to keep the stupid tears in. "What do you say?"

"Okay." She giggles, holding her hand out for him to slide her new ring onto her finger. "Wow. Wow." She leans over and kisses him, ignoring their mess from their meal. "I love you."

"Good. I'm glad." She playfully hits him in the chest before pulling him down to lay with her. "I love you too."