Paroled

Chapter 5

When Opie arrived at the ER with Eva he didn't think Donna would have followed but she came through the door moments later.

"Thank God he came down from the cabin," Eva said to Opie. "His neighbor called the ambulance. If was still up-"

"He wasn't," Opie said quickly. "What did your friend say?"

"Nothing much," Eva huffed. "Just that he was brought in, they're pretty sure it was a heart attack but they have to do some imaging to be sure."

Opie slumped down into a chair and Donna finally worked up enough courage to interrupt. "Is he okay?"

"I dunno," Opie said, not meeting her eye. He didn't know she had come along but he wasn't entirely surprised.

Eva looked at Donna with confusion but knew better than to ask. "I'm going to poke around," she said, turning her attention to Opie again. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded, his heartbreak evident on his face. "Thanks."

Bending over she kissed his cheek, "Piney is a tough old man. I have a good feeling he'll make it out of this."

Opie looked passed Eva and right at Donna "Eva this is Donna."

"Oh," she looked equal parts embarrassed and apologetic. "I'm gonna," she pointed toward the front desk and scurried away.

"Already?" Donna scoffed. "You're just like the rest of them."

"I'm not doing this with you," he growled. "My old man's back there, you bein' pissy about Eva doesn't matter."

Donna realized her mistake and nodded. "I'm sorry, Ope."

"Maybe you should go," he grunted.

"Let me be here for you," Donna pleaded. "For Piney too."

Hanging his head he sighed, despite his feelings for Eva he did love Donna, he had for many years and it was impossible to simply turn that off.

Opie nodded, "For my old man."

—

In just a few hours Piney was conscious and admitted, with his family around him. Opie, Donna, Jax, Gemma, Clay and Eva lingered in his room while news trickled in from Tara.

"He's stable now," she explained to Opie, Eva and Donna. "But it sounds like the cardiologist is going to want Piney to have a bypass."

"Open heart surgery," Eva sighed. "Christ."

"He's lucky you'll be around afterward," Tara said with a small chuckle. "He needed you before but now you'll really be using your education instead of doing his laundry and cooking."

"He's gonna be outta commission," Opie sighed sadly.

"But he'll be healthier," Eva reminded him.

"If there's anything I can do when he's released," Donna offered to Opie.

"I think Eva's got it," Opie said. "She's his nurse, been with him over a year now." There was some resentment in his voice. Had Donna checked on Piney or seen him she would have known but as soon as he was in Chino she kept her distance from everyone, even Piney.

"His nurse?" Donna seemed surprised.

"Eva was here at Saint Thomas for a while before she left to work for Piney," Tara explained, not understanding Donna's anger.

Opie, annoyed by the entire situation, guided Donna out of the room. She looked taken aback but didn't say anything. Obviously he had something on his mind.

"Maybe you should go," he said sadly. "It's not a good time and Eva needs to be here."

"For you or Piney?"

Opie paused, unsure if he'd want her there without the tie to his father, and Donna could see that.

"For Piney," she said with smug satisfaction. "What happened?"

"That ain't your business," he said defensively.

"The hell it's not, you're still my husband," she reminded him.

Opie huffed. "I don't know, I like her, we've been hanging out."

"Are you sleeping together?"

He frowned and broke eye contact. "Yeah."

"If you want to try this baby there's a million nurses that we could hire for Piney," she said sadly. "Ones probably better than her ones with more experience."

"He likes her, we all like her," Opie explained. "It's not just Piney, it's the club. She does shit for all of us."

"She's probably sleeping with all of you too," Donna spat bitterly. She was so crushed by the revelation she couldn't help but lash out.

"Yeah, you know, you should go," he said more forcefully this time. "I'll let you know when I can take the kids. Ain't gonna be good for a while, not till he's home and shit."

Donna clicked her tongue and nodded. "Yeah. Sure." She turned in her heel and charged down the hallway only to be replaced by Eva.

"I'm sorry," she said, truly genuinely sorry for what she had stirred up. "I was just trying to comfort you. I didn't know," she sighed. "I thought it was safe because the guys weren't there yet."

"You're fine," he told her, pulling her in for a hug. "You didn't know and I didn't think she'd come. I told her I wanted a divorce right before you came back." That wasn't exactly true but the words tiblmed from his mouth and he didn't bother to specify. "Think that complicated shit too."

"Oh god," Eva inhaled sharply. "This is a mess."

"Yeah it is."

They jumped apart as Tara and Jax stepped out of the room.

"Maybe I should go," she said quickly. "I can't do anything right now. I can eat and take a nap, grab him some clothes and come back in the morning."

Opie nodded. "Yeah, you could just wait though. He's got a whole hospital, why don't you just wait til he's discharged and really needs you."

"Oh," she forced a laugh to cover her true feelings of sadness, disappointment and offense. "Yeah. You're probably right. He won't need me here."

"I'll call you," he said as if it were some kind of consolation prize.

"Sure," she failed to hide the tears filling her eyes. Eva forced a weak smile and turned away from him. "I'll talk to you then."