endure

It had been a long night already and her shift had only started an hour ago. She hated night shifts but probably hated morning shifts even more. This was her fourth shift in a row and she had another one the following night. She could almost hear her mom yelling at her to take better care of herself. “Katie, new patient in bed 3 once you’re finished with bed 6,” she could hear from outside of the room and she exhaled an inaudible yet heavy sigh. “Okay Miss Mulligan, please remember to take these twice a day, otherwise we will be having that lunch date,” she said with a smile as she handed discharge papers and prescriptions over to the older woman, wishing her a goodnight and then grabbing the new chart waiting for her. Her eyebrow rose as she recognized the name and knocked on the door before entering, “5 times in 2 weeks, do you like our ER that much?” she asked with a polite smile as she leveled hazel hues on the patient sitting in the bed. She grabbed some hand sanitizer and rubbed her hands together before turning to face them again, “what brings you here again?”

Maddox had been seeing a lot of the hospital lately from Sutton’s stay which started a few weeks earlier, having been attacked by a member of the ATF. He was confident that he stayed at least eighty percent of his time at least in the hospital, even if it was just roaming the halls. They were familiar and they were close by. He appreciated that he knew the spots he could go to get away from it all and he could maybe catch a few minutes of sleep. However, he’d gotten caught a number of times trying to get sleep around the hospital where they’d kindly send him home and he would decline. At this point, he’s surprised that Katie wasn’t expecting to find him there. “Look— I was just resting my eyes, y’all didn’t look too busy. Docs kicked me out from upstairs and Sutton, my girlfriend, she told me to go home too,” Maddox smirked, shrugging slightly. “You could always say I’m a really complicated patient and you can take a break,” he tried, knowing that the nurse wouldn’t take the bait. “Or just give me the fluids and go, up to you. But I kinda really need to be nearby, just in case.” Maddox sighed and sat up to the side of the bed, trying not to make the nurse’s life harder than it needed to be.

Jackson didn’t mind the occasional joke, when he felt relaxed enough to make one. He was naturally inclined to getting laughs, but he was always ready to laugh at the expense of his enemy. Though perhaps enemy was even too generous of a term for the ATF. Thus far, they’d only made fools of themselves. They were more of an annoyance than anything to be actually worried about. “I wonder if he thought his little tantrum would actually work,” he continued with the lilt of amusement still in his voice. “That’s good, though. Cocky people are often so easy to topple. They get too comfortable, thinking they can’t be outdone.” Jackson, of course, caught the disdain for Marshall in Maddox’s voice, though he didn’t comment on it. He was, however, pleased that Maddox seemed to accept Sutton and her assignment was simply a part of the being in the Club. “Off, how?” Jackson asked, wanting to be as clear on this as possible if it meant keeping the Club out of harm’s way. 

Cocky was certainly one word for the ATF agents. Another would be off-putting or maybe even unhinged. The pounding on the table paired with the good cop, bad cop approach was old news. It was as if they had watched one too many episodes of Elliot Stabler from SVU doing the same tactics. But he knew what that meant for the Club which was that they would keep arresting and trying to make something stick. In fact, he knew that they at least got something to work. Lettie was facing time and without a cut on her back, it was helpful but her prior record wouldn’t be so much help. At least she had the best lawyers on her side, trying to get her into the right place to get in jail and out soon, if it came to that. For now, Maddox and Andy were safe from all that. “Chaotic, I guess. Like in the Trojan sort of way. Like they were scrambling? Don’t know. But if their chaos helps us, then that’s good,” Maddox explained, trying to remember if any of them had said anything more. “Probably all trying to save their asses. I mean, what kind of eyewitness testimony is gonna hold up in court when they describe like a good thirty guys in town?” Maddox shrugged, sticking his hands in his jean pockets. “Don’t know if any of it helps but figured if it did then maybe we can get them outta here.” While Maddox knew getting the ATF out of here was always the goal for the Primordials, it was even more so Maddox’s goal even now. It would mean less arrests (hopefully), more freedom for the Club, and of course, his girlfriend back to being just his girlfriend.

“Never met her,” Wyatt shrugged, stepping back from the computer and sweeping his hand from Maddox to the computer. If Maddox wanted to do some grunt work, Wyatt wasn’t gonna stand in his way. “Old man never talked about her either. Just left a picture of her hanging up in the kitchen. Woulda been nice to have her around.” He hadn’t talked about his mother since he was a teenager, trying to connect with her at a kitchen table in New Orleans that smelled like stale weed and cheap perfume.

Dead and missing mothers weren’t exactly shop talk. But Wyatt never seemed to avoid an opertunity to be awkward as fuck when the timing was just right. Or wrong. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit and glanced down at his feet, his shoulders shrugging up and down a few times, as though he were having some internal struggle with himself that Maddox couldn’t be privy to. “So, yeah. Job’s all yours.” He shuffled his feet back towards the door but stopped himself before retreating back to his hiding spot.

There was part of him that very much didn’t like Maddox for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He seemed soft, like someone that would be eaten alive by all of this eventually. Still, there was a string of solidarity there now that Wyatt couldn’t clip. And with the vote for Maddox’s membership looming, he was less sure of his impulse to tank the kid’s chances. “What they take you in on?” he asked, curious now, as he slid down into an old folding chair shoved into the corner of the garage.

Maddox listened as Wyatt talked, he wanted to say that he knew how that felt. Wyatt and Maddox were a bit more similar than the prospect had originally thought now that they are standing there talking about their parents or lack thereof. Maddox had a dead dad, whom he’d met and had four years with but by now the memories were hazy and gray. There were no smiles or warm thoughts about the man besides the drunken stories Penelope told of James Hart. But even those weren’t Maddox’s memories. They had been his mother’s, placing James on a pedestal because he truly was the love of her life. She’d told Maddox that over and over. As she went to sleep after a particularly hard night of drinking, after she told Maddox how much he resembled his father in his suit for prom, and every time her drunk mind told her that Maddox was James… that is until she wandered closer and her dream vanished in front of her eyes with only Maddox there. Instead of telling Wyatt all this, he holds it close like a precious jewel for only him to know. Instead, he reiterates, “Sorry, man. I understand,” accompanied with a nod. 

The prospect takes over the job at hand and starts eyeing the paperwork before opening the driver’s side door to turn on the ignition to see the engine light still flashing at him. It was almost like a warning sign, as if there was only more to come. Not just in this appointment or in this conversation but every time Maddox spent another day as a prospect, it meant another day closer to being a member— which is something that you don’t turn back from. Maddox turned the car off, ignoring the warning as he had so many, many times before. He looked up at Wyatt as he allowed the machine to lift the car up in the air so he could get a better look. “They? Oh— ATF? Murder. They had an eye witness who saw a man in a cut, 6’1”, with lots of tattoos. Brought Andy and I in. Guess they hadn’t exactly gotten what they wanted since we’re both free. Evidence was fucked to Hell and I got the pleasure of sitting in a holding cell for two days,” Maddox replied, a hint of sarcasm echoing through his voice. He smiled at Wyatt with a small shrug. “Bunch of idiots.”

Sutton rolled her eyes as she watched the emotions work through Maddox’s features. “What’s done is done, MJ. The truck drives fine.” Leaning in close, Sutton patted her boyfriend’s chest. “You’re welcome.” At the comment about his garage, Sutton actually laughed out loud. “Maddox…even if I wanted to touch that garage, I wouldn’t have been able to clean that shit up in two days. I’d need months.” Ever since they had been together, Sutton has wanted to get her hands on the mess that Maddox called his organizational system. However, she knew it was a lost cause. The older mechanic seemed to have a system, no matter how buried in clutter it was. Sutton just hoped that as time went on, maybe he wouldn’t say no to some sort of label system.

“Your garage is fine and the truck is fine. Your girlfriend is also fine, by the way. She’s extremely relieved to see you out of jail.” Was she fine? That was a very - interesting - word to use in this situation. She didn’t feel fine. She felt exhausted, lost, and desperate to just wrap her arms around Maddox and for a second demand he stay in one place. A place where neither one of them were being hurt physically or mentally. A place with just them, where they could catch a break. “Goose has made himself comfortable on your side of the bed, by the way,” Sutton said, slipping their fingers together, free fingers idly tracing the tattoos on Maddox’s wrist and hand as he drove them back towards his place that would quickly not be his anymore. The movement, and the sight of familiar tattoos just eased her mind even more that Maddox was okay. This was step one to things being brighter. “Shut the fuck up you haven’t been a lot.” 

Looking down at their hands, she tried to find the right words to describe how she’s feeling in this moment. “Just glad you’re alright, MJ.” She finally said, the back of her head hitting the back of the seat as she watched Maddox drive. She let the quiet settle over them for just a few moments; appreciating the fact he was there before asking. “What about you? Things haven’t exactly been easy. Anythin’ you wanna talk about?”

“I’ll be the judge of the state of fine in my house,” he shot back, an eyebrow raising at her but his tone sing-song-like so that the playfulness stayed. Even if it was a fairly serious matter (his truck and his garage, especially). The warmth of Sutton’s hand made him feel at home in the truck. As they made their way through the roads of Olympus, he was overly thankful that he hadn’t made a dumb mistake an tried to take the fall for Andy. Now, the both of them were free and heading to their respective homes to enjoy their alone time. Being in a cramped holding cell for what felt like ages made Maddox want to get up and walk Goose or do anything but sit and stare at a wall. “We’ll take him for a walk, then he won’t be as pissed as when I take back my side,” Maddox smiles. Maddox and Goose were always pals, except when it came to where the both of them slept. Even after months of Goose not being the priority in bed, they still had a near nightly argument between them so Maddox could have some sort of space. Sleeping on a shitty cot hadn’t been cutting it so tonight, Maddox would make no exceptions to the rule. 

Maddox knew that these past few weeks were hard on Sutton, not just him. She tended to take on a lot of his hurt and his pain, as he would always do for her. They were a team in that way— taking on what the other could not handle. And her cleaning and maintaining his truck shows him that she was trying to find somewhere to put her anxieties away. But he’s glad that his presence can maybe soothe her, even if it’s just a little bit. He can feel her eyes on him as he’s driving and it takes a bit of the small amount of energy he has in him not to grimace as he thinks of something to talk about… Marshall. He’d seen him while he was in holding and he’d seen the asshole during some of his interrogation. It made him pissed to know that Marshall could be hanging with his girlfriend— or at least texting her, while he was in there being questioned. “Saw him,” he says, slowly, deliberately. She could probably see the serious look on his face as he said him and she’d know exactly who he was talking about. “Dude’s an asshole. Don’t know how you’ve made it with him so long,” he added, licking his lips with a bit of discomfort. With him nearly made him nauseous. “I’m just glad we’re done with shit for a while… at least I’m hoping.”

Jer knew that Maddox was right even before he finished his sentence. But God would it have been easier to plan retaliation against the fractured club on enemy lines than to plan against federal agents. But he also knew that the prospect beside him was so against the idea of Sutton’s little undercover mission that he would assume it was the agent from the start. The vice president was known to lean towards taking his club members side over anything else, so he had a good feeling that Maddox had a point. “Marshall huh? Interesting….we see him around since she got taken in?” Because if he thought they were together, then he should’ve been right there too. “I know you did. I know, man. But it was her decision. We didnt think this would happen.”

Maddox had seen this side of things before. People in charge of the Club trying to calm him down when they knew he was fucking right. It had happened with Allana and now it was happening again. And it’s giving him flashbacks to when he lost his child and lost his future wife. It made him remember how it felt to sit in this same hospital and feel the same exact fucking feelings. The need for answers. The need for repercussions for those responsible. The need for his significant other to just be fucking better and home with him. Although the reasons were different and ultimately, Sutton wasn’t here because of Reina’s vengeful ways, or he fucking hoped not, it still stung in the same places of his heart. Maddox tried taking a deep breath, his head falling back so that he was looking at the ceiling of the hospital, although there was little interesting to look at. “It just keeps fucking happening,” he breathed, bringing his eyes back to Jer. Maddox wasn’t sure if this statement would make sense to the Thane brother but it didn’t matter did it? 

Especially now because clearly, Jeremiah is in defensive mode. As if he didn’t know whose decision it was. Sutton had agreed and Jack knew there was no way that she wouldn’t agree. Sutton needed to prove herself in every fucking situation she was handed. She needed to be the best. She needed to be running that much faster than the competition (which to be honest, with Maddox as her competition, she didn’t have to do much to outshine the man).  “I’m not sure what choice you think she had but you and I both know that’s bullshit,” Maddox reasoned, his voice coming out a matter-of-fact rather than angry. But he was angry. He was angry at the Club and he was angry at Sutton and he was angry at himself. He should’ve spoken up more. When Sutton asked if he was sure— he should’ve said no. Maddox backed up a bit from Jer, knowing that the conversation hadn’t been going well. Maddox went from okay to mad to sad in the blink of an eye. He was tired and he was getting really fucking worn down from this fucking town. “I can’t fucking lose her,” he added, his voice barely a whisper. “I told her I loved her before she left to get her fucking face beat in.”

The way Maddox talks about Sutton pains Oliver in a way he would never be able to describe. There’s something about the tone of his voice, the sheer defeat and desperation oozing from him. Oliver wants to reach out and take every trouble from both of them because neither of them deserved this. There’s also a spiral of guilt coiling within his stomach at the thought of them becoming patched in members soon. They weren’t even fully patched in and things like this were already happening? This was meant to be a joyous time, one where they’re voted in and party like the world’s about to end. But now Sutton was almost beaten to death, lying in a hospital bed while the one she loves worries and has to deal with the impact of such a thing. Oliver certainly knows it too, having had to witness his boyfriend tortured so badly that he doesn’t remember a damn thing that happened to him.

Ollie moves to lean against the doorframe now, plucking the number from Maddox’s hand. He crumbles the piece of paper and tosses it into a nearby trashcan. It makes it in perfectly on the first try, of course. “Five points.” He laughs out, hoping to shed a little light on the conversation now. He could only hope, but he’s almost certain nothing could really lift Maddox from the temporary void he’s found himself in. All Oliver could do was try, especially with what Maddox says next. 

He can’t help but sigh now, blue eyes scanning over the other man’s expression slowly. “I understand.” He says warmly, a half-smile gracing his own expression. “Sometimes when so much is going on, it’s good to work. It distracts the mind, helps you not think so much.” Another sigh sounds from him before he continues, “It’s fucked up, having to see someone you love just….hurt like that. I know. The worst part is feeling like maybe you could have done something. Even now, I feel like I could have done more to help Eli or to stop it. I wish I did something more. Like, you know, maybe if I was there with him that night or called him earlier, small shit like that. It’s um, it eats at me all the time.” Oliver looks down at his shoes between statements, the topic obviously a heavy one. But just as it was heavy, it was also necessary. “I just — you know, I just want you to know that you did more than anyone could have done. You’ve both done so much for this club and it’s not gonna go unnoticed. Neither of you deserved this but you’re both damn lucky to have each other, especially now. We — I don’t know, they were one step ahead of us this time. It sucks. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with bein’ one step behind, though. That just means we got a clearer view of the bigger picture.” Then Ollie chuckles a little, nudging Maddox’s shoulder lightly. “Don’t go hunting anyone down, alright? Work, be by her side, do what you have to. We’ll figure it out, I promise you that.”

Maddox knew that Oliver meant well and he appreciated having someone that understood him and why he was in such a fucking funk. Hell, Oliver letting him work even though there were times that he just stares at Sutton’s station— both missing her presence there but also so fucking grateful that he doesn’t have to miss her forever. They would be together in the shop soon enough. For now, it was about getting her back to one hundred percent and getting himself mentally in the right sort of place. Ever since Maddox learned that Marshall had been responsible for Sutton’s injuries, there’s a new chip on his shoulder that hadn’t been there before. The chip weighing his morale for being a member of the club down, telling him that this was just the first of many times the club would put the club before Sutton’s safety or his own. They had signed up for it, he knew that, and Sutton had agreed to this job with Marshall, he knew that, but a part of him still blamed Jackson Thane for this. Even if it couldn’t be foreseen, Sutton shouldn’t have been in the position in the first place.

“Thanks, man,” he nodded, a faint smile flashing toward Oliver. He puts a hand on his shoulder in appreciation and also to instinctively comfort the man that had been through something similar recently with his own significant other. “You couldn’t have done anything different. Kane would’ve gotten him one way or another, if he wanted him. And he’s alive,” Maddox reasoned, knowing that he should take his own advice and recognize that there was no reason to blame himself. But that didn’t mean he hadn’t made a mental note to go with Sutton on every shopping trip if he had to, especially with Marshall not taken care of yet. Which has been on Maddox’s mind during Sutton’s recovery, he had to admit. Now that he was already a killer— he had someone who actually deserved to die by his hand and now, maybe this was his time to prove that he could do it without Club pressure. That he could and would do it freely. While part of him planned how he would do it, the other half reminded him that this was a federal agent and if he was caught, Maddox could very well end up in jail for at least the rest of his life. “Not gonna hunt down a federal agent… but I thought about it. Believe me,” he admitted, knowing that no one would blame him for thinking it. “I’ll— We’ll be okay. She’s getting stronger every day.”

Broken fragments of memories filled the dark corners of Sutton’s brain as she went in and out of consciousness. The weight of fists colliding with her body, being slammed against rough bricks of the alleyway she had just been trying to cut through. Words slurring into the air, the stench of alcohol lingering longer than the names she was being called. And then Desmond’s face, which was then replaced with the face of so many doctors barking medical jargon over her body on a gurney. And then darkness. She didn’t wake up again until the beeping of the heart rate monitor started to seep into her dreams. The rhythm of her heart beat started to guide her through memories as she pieced together every other hazy memory of the past few hours.

She remembered the spitting, punching, kicking. A foot colliding with her ribs, then when she wrapped shaking fingers around the only weapon she had on her to defend herself, the foot colliding with her wrist. Knife sliding down the gutter into the sewers below. With each beep of the monitor the memories got stronger; everything felt more real. With each beep, it was harder to keep herself in the dark about what happened to her. As the monotone reminder that she was alive got faster and faster the urge to open her eyes was no longer something she could fight and then all of a sudden she was screaming, eyes opening to a sterile room with white walls and four brother’s surrounding her bed. How they all got in at once she had no idea, but suddenly they were all crowding her so fast that the twins forehead’s collided. So many questions were being thrown around, and Sutton was barely conscious; she just stared at them all. It took Noah’s hand in her hair, careful of where the matted strands stuck up on the back of her head - dried flecks of blood breaking off the strands - to bring her back to the present. And all he had to say was “You’re safe,” For her to start sobbing again. 

There was only a moment with her brothers, before the doctors came barreling in, scolding them for crowding their sister and throwing them back to the waiting room. Trying to console her, the nurses thought the tears on her face were from the pain, not the memories, and gave her more pain killers. She barely had time to answer their question of - do you know where you are? - before she was once again, being tugged back into the darkness of sleep. That had been hours ago and her mind had been playing the encounter over and over again, skipping and repeating particularly painful instances like a scratched CD in the early 2000s. 

What brought her out of the loop of memories, was the gruff voice of Maddox Hart. A voice in the mix that she hadn’t heard since before this mess happened. The voice that told her he /loved/ her. A sentence she forced herself to remember with each blow. A memory to take her away from the pain. He was here. And later she’d swear that her subconscious was pulling her awake with his words because she didn’t want to worry him anymore. Maddox deserved a fucking break. Eyes blinking open as Maddox’s rough fingertips slipped in the spaces between her own, her voice sounded like gravel and felt like shards of glass in her throat as she said “Hey MJ…” Trying to give him a smile that told her boyfriend that she was okay, Sutton was sure it looked more like a grimace. “How long you been here?” And in a vain attempt to see the pained look on Maddox’s face melt away if only for a second she continued. “Sorry babe, I didn’t really take your advice.”

Sutton’s voice responding to Maddox, honestly, had him a bit overwhelmed. There was a noise that comes from his mouth that he doesn’t recognize as his own and it’s some sort of sigh of relief mixed with a desperate plea for her to stay awake. He doesn’t really have any words at the moment so instead of saying anything, he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, rough with wear and tear from the shop. Maddox knew that she needed time and space, she needed to heal, but all he wanted to do was hold her in their now shared bed with Goose at their feet. He wanted to protect her from whatever fucked up piece of shit did this to her and although he has his suspicions, she is the only one that can confirm or deny such a thing. 

He’d had plenty of time to ponder over the facts in the waiting room. Maddox’s phone had died hours ago, after not getting to charge it while he waited up, unable to let the phone leave his sight. Then he was using it to keep people updated on Sutton’s status. Between the Club and her family who mostly stuck around but every once in a while someone had to run to Sutton’s to let out Goose — who from the stories from those that visited him— was not pleased with the confusion. Maddox had gone home for a change of clothes and for some things for Sutton, not even thinking about a phone charger at the time but without it, his mind wandered all over God’s green Earth, searching for answers he may never have.

Maddox shrugged at Sutton, still a bit stunned by her waking up to his voice. His eyes drifted up at the clock and by the image of night again outside the window, he shrugged again. “Twelve hours? Something like that? We’ve been taking turns checking on Goose,” he replied, trying to give her the answers she was looking for. He knew it had to be confusing and no one was quite sure if Sutton would remember the incident but by her sarcastic joke, he reckons that she does remember. Maddox’s hair stood on end on the back of his neck. His heart hope that she hadn’t remembered anything, his head told him that without her knowing, Maddox and Sutton and the Club won’t get their revenge that they so rightfully deserve. 

His opposite hand reaches out to move stray hairs from her face, still caked with matted blood and frizzed out from moving her here and there. Maddox gives her a faint smile, even though he wants to tell her that her joke isn’t funny and it’s really fucked that she would say it in the first place. But he knew she was trying to make him feel better because while she looked really bad with the settling bruising and stitches, Maddox knew he looked tired and worn, like he’d gone to battle and lost himself while he was there. “Sut— you’re safe now. We’re not gonna let anyone hurt you. No one but your parents and your brothers and I are allowed back here,” he paused, because honestly, he wasn’t originally allowed back but the Chambers had made quick work of telling the doctors that that was unacceptable. “Not ‘til you you say so.”

Maddox sighed again, his eyes tracing over her every feature, thankful that he’s able to look at her again, even when she looked like this. “Who did this to you, Sut?” he asked, hoping he didn’t already know the answer. Maddox didn’t want to know that it was Marshall and he had been right. He didn’t want to know that he was going to have to face the people all over again that got her tied up with a psychopath who tried to kill her because they were still his family and his friends. And yet, Maddox would go to the ends of the earth for Sutton and there’s no fucking doubt in his mind that he’s prepared to do just that.

Jeremiah hadn’t really known how Maddox would be feeling, but he had been preparing for a bit more anger. And maybe Maddox was angry, but the fact he was surrounded by Sutton’s family was holding him back. All Jer knew was that, if he had been in the prospects place, Jer would be setting the world on fire. So he gave it to the younger man for at least keeping his outward emotions in check for the time being. But watching him talk about the shallow details given by police statements by the only witness, it made Jer want to fight someone too. The club was family. Whoever did it, hurt his family. 

Making mental notes of the story, Jeremiah looked around their surroundings, ensuring they were alone before pulling Maddox closer to keep their conversation between them. “I know you got a lot on your mind right now. But you say the word I’ll start doing what I can for retaliation. I’ll talk to Jack and Andy, we’ll bring it to a vote. Whoever did this, they won’t get away with it.” Which led him to his next question. “Think this was a Trojan? Getting back for what happened?” From what Jer knew of the prospect behind the double doors down the hallway, he really couldn’t think of who would target her specifically. Not only was she not a full patch and therefor didn’t know shit about the murder of Kane, but she was pretty sure she was at least friendly with everyone. 

Maddox had been angry in the truck. He’d been so fucking angry knowing that from the word on the street, Marshall was to blame for this. But that was just what they were saying. People were scrambling and Sutton’s injuries were more important to him right now. Now that he understood what injuries she’d sustained. There would be time for anger. There would be time for sadness and grief and breaking down. But right now, Maddox was trying to keep his shit together for Sutton until he got to see her. He’d been waiting for what seemed like decades to see her and he wasn’t going to taint that with the anger he knew would come soon enough. However, the word retaliation burns in his brain for a few moments as he resonates on what the fuck he would do to the person responsible.

“I don’t think this was Trojans. They haven’t even gotten their shit together. Why would they attack a fucking prospect? It doesn’t make sense. What about that ATF guy? Marshall?,” Maddox shrugged, trying not to let the shiver of anger down his spine show to Jer as he says the man’s name. He couldn’t turn against the Club in times like these. And as Reina had advised him, he couldn’t argue with the Club, he couldn’t question its descisions… none of it. He had to be a good little prospect and keep his mouth shut. “They were on good terms as far as I fucking knew. He’s an asshole and he wants in her fucking pants but he’s never hit her…” Maddox trailed off, bringing his voice back down to a whisper so that he wouldn’t give anything anyway. “But if it’s not a Trojan and we know it’s not a Primordial... I’ve got money. I knew from the beginning this was a bad idea. I fucking knew it.”

Oliver was genuinely surprised to see Maddox up and working. With everything that’s happened, he assumed he would have at least requested some time off. There’s a part of Oliver that wants to tell him to get out of here, to sit by Sutton’s side and make sure she’s okay because he knows that’s what he’d rather be doing right now. But he also doesn’t want to pry within a place that wasn’t truly his business and force him to do something he didn’t want to do, so he takes it in stride. If Maddox begins to seem distressed or overwhelmed then that’s when he’ll tell him to head out. Even if Jackson had been on his ass about making sure everyone came into work, Oliver prioritizes everyone’s health and mindset before that most of the time. 

He looks up from a clipboard of scheduled appointments once Maddox begins speaking to him, smiling warming at the fellow club member. “Thanks, man. Good work. I might need you for one more appointment, though, since Sutton is out. That okay?” Oliver can’t help but laugh at what Maddox says next, moving to stand and take a look at the customer now padding back over to his Honda. “You’re kidding..” He says with another laugh, which is soon followed by a snort. “No way, dude, he has fuckin’ body odor. I also don’t think my boyfriend would like that very much. God, most of the time there’s never anything wrong with his car and he comes in to see if I’ll let him take me to dinner. I only flirt with him sometimes because his grandpa or whoever owns a good hardware shop in town and he gives me good discounts on tools and shit.” That’s when he points a finger at Maddox, “I’m a good manager, you see.” 

Ollie turns to Maddox again, letting out a quiet, barely-there sigh. “You doin’ alright?” He finally asks though he’s sure Maddox might be sick of hearing it. “If you need some time off, just tell me. I mean it. I know you’re goin’ through a lot right now.”

Maddox liked Oliver and he respected him as a manager, especially considering how considerate he was with time off. Being in the Club meant special hazards and special commitments on their time that usually meant they were always short someone. And while that might not have always been the best thing for the business, it made Maddox okay with the fact that he was able to miss time easily and he could make it up whenever he was back. With Sutton out and her literally being asleep for most of the time that he was able to be there, it gave him time to process all that was happening. He’d only recently lost access to his garage, filled with more electronics and appliances and bike parts than anyone would ever need to see in their lifetime so the car garage was what he had. At least, until it was time for remodeling to begin on his new house— their new house. At least, that’s how Maddox had seen the property… as his and Sutton’s at least some day. “Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. From what I hear, she’s been pretty wiped all day. Her brothers have been giving me updates,” he explained, holding up his phone. “Just want her home,” Maddox shrugged, a weak smile pulling at his lips.

When Maddox came back with the number in hand, he knew there would be a story. It seemed like there always was a story with Ollie and this one surely did not disappoint. Maddox chuckled at the thought of Ollie flirting just to get cheaper tools, wondering how Eli might feel about that… let alone Jack. Maddox certainly was not someone that would take the flirting lightly, especially right now when the thought of Marshall having touched his girlfriend and then beat her half-to-death before leaving her in an alleyway still has him sick to his stomach. Maddox wanted someone’s head for this… mistake and he’s sure that the only one Jack might offer up is Marshall’s not his own. Even if the idea was from him. “Yeah, sounds like you’ve got it under control. So… you want it or should I toss it?” 

Uncomfortably, Maddox sticks his hands in his pockets of his jumpsuit, only really able to shrug. “I don’t need time off. This shit keeps me busy instead of hunting down the fuck that did this to her,” he sighed, knowing that Ollie would know exactly what he meant, having dealt with Eli’s torture. “Just need shit to stop fuckin’ happening for like five fucking minutes, ya know?”

Maddox had been at the hospital for almost all of his time but at some point, he had to work, even if that’s the last thing on his mind. However, it gave him somewhere to place his nervous energy besides sitting next to Sutton Chambers tapping his fingers or keeping her company while she stayed in the hospital. He’d already taken time off following his mother’s death that he probably couldn’t take any more if he tried. But it felt good to be in the shop, he found. At least he was doing something. And with being down a mechanic, Maddox had plenty to work on. Although, every time he looked up, instinctively looking for Sutton to assist him or to tell her something or to try to take their lunch breaks together, Maddox had been disappointed to see an empty station. 

Passing off the keys to another customer in the front office, Maddox turned on his heel to pop his head into the shop to see Ollie. “Hey, I got that Honda fixed up— probably gonna finish that Beetle and then head back to the hospital unless you need anything else?” he asked, leaning in the doorway. Oliver had been pretty lenient (if Maddox had to say) with all the shit going on these days. Half the time they were short staffed and busy as Hell and other times, the whole crew sat waiting for a new vehicle to show up, fighting over who got it out of sheer boredom. But Maddox wasn’t going to tempt fate. “The Honda guy left you his number by the way. I said I’d give it to you but I know with Eli and all… Anyways, your choice.”

@maddoxxhart​

Jeremiah had been under the hood of his car, trying to find the source of a leak before he went to his mothers house, when his phone started buzzing off the hook. Informants had been updating him throughout the day as rumors of a new leadership team was being elected on the other side of the war. On top of that, the ATF was sniffing out a lead dropped onto their laps by Chambers. Seth could do whatever he wanted as president, but the Primordial’s were just making sure that the deck was stacked against the Trojans for a little longer. 

It was a few hours after Thanksgiving dinner though, his hands covered in soap suds as he helped his mother do the dishes, that a message made him pause. Chambers was in the emergency room. Found in an alley. Fuck. He allowed his mother to pass him more dishes as he fought the urge to call Maddox or Martin to ask if it was just a typical trip. Did she get in a fight? Or did she hurt herself cooking and the alley thing was just a rumor that his EMT buddy overheard? He didn’t know but when the dishes were done and put away, Jeremiah excused himself for a moment to get on his bike and haul ass to the hospital. 

Maddox had been struggling as of late, and he wanted to make sure that the prospect’s head was on straight at the moment. If he could show his support by sitting there, he would. Walking into the overly sterlized waiting room, Jeremiah spotted the blonde man sitting with a man who looked exactly like Martin, and two people who were obviously The Chambers parents. Clearing his throat, Jeremiah nodded at the family and glanced at Maddox. “You got a second?” Nodding towards the bank of snack machines in the corner of the waiting room, the vice president led Maddox there so they could talk in private. A hand immediately going to the younger man’s shoulder, Jer gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. “How’s it been? Everything okay?”

Maddox had yet to get to go in to see Sutton. He’d been in the waiting room of the hospital sitting with the Chambers family, trying to keep his own head on straight while his girlfriend’s family panicked, waiting to hear any news. He knew that it was selfish to want to be alone right now since someday, these people may very well be his real family (if things worked out) and he knows that it makes them feel better to be together right now. Noah had been the one to contact Maddox saying that they’d found her in the alley and for that he was grateful. He had been going stir-crazy waiting for her— waiting for anything so that he could feel like he could breathe again. That is, until he feels choked by the waiting room and all the tension inside of it. 

A sense of relief washes over Maddox, even if it’s only a split second, at the sight of Jeremiah Thane. He knew that he’d been busy with Thanksgiving separately, as they all had been, but the Club was still family and the attack was certainly Club business. When Jer asked Maddox to step away, he did as he was asked, giving Sutton’s parents and Noah a look as he sat up from his seat. “I’ll be right back,” he assured them, before moving to follow Jer who hand immediately takes Maddox by surprise. It’s a welcome gesture as Maddox feels like his head might fucking explode if one more bad thing fucking happens. It was bad enough that Maddox’s mother passed away, that he was arrested, that he had to move… and now this. Now, Sutton was laid up in a hospital room while the doctors fought to keep her comfortable.

Maddox sighed, wiping his face for a moment before looking up at Jer again. “I mean, she’s alive. We haven’t seen much of her yet. They found her in the alleyway…” Maddox paused to breathe, trying to keep himself together. He knew he’d be going through the same song and dance over and over again, giving people updates about Sutton, but it’s the first time he’s saying anything out loud. “She was supposed to be going out Black Friday shopping with her sister-in-law. I don’t know what the fuck happened… Maybe she’ll remember,” he explained but God, he really didn’t want her to remember. Not because Maddox didn’t want to kill whoever touched her because he did. But rather, because was that really worth her remembering how she got her face and head kicked repeatedly?