𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 - 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮

Nine

The Teller residence has a new sense of life that the once boring, bare, and rarely inhabited house had ever seen. Decorations welcoming Abel home are proudly displayed, the house is clean, and party preparations will be completed once the food is done. It's early in the morning, before noon, and Tara is accompanied by Donna in the kitchen. They're playing some low music while chatting and Donna's the happiest Tara has seen her in days. There's excited shouting coming from the living room and Donna puts the kitchen knife down to check on her children, "Keep it down you two. We're guests here. Remember?" Tara peeks at the Winston children, Kenny and Ellie, who have her old Nintendo hooked up to the television as they take turns playing King Kong and Super Mario.

"Glad I kept that," Tara laughs, "They'd be complaining about how bored they were the whole time."

"Yeah. Thanks." Donna smiles.

They go back to their spots in the kitchen and continue prepping food for the party. Donna continues cutting vegetables as she thinks of Jax and Tara's little girl, "What do you think your Ellie will say when she finds out Opie and I named our daughter after her?"

"I don't know." Tara shrugs, "Maybe she'll think it's cool."

Tara remembers the bittersweet emotions that came along when Opie and Donna announced her first pregnancy after their marriage. It hurt like hell to see them both so happy expecting a child especially since it was a few years after Ellie went missing. She wasn't a good enough, or supportive enough, friend when a newly pregnant Donna was struggling with the usual fears and doubts that came with entering parenthood. Tara wished she could go back and support her more, put her own selfish feelings aside and hold her hand. After all, Donna did the same to her when they were teens and she was pregnant herself. When they found out they were having a girl, they kept it a secret, and only announced it the day she was born.

"We wanna name her Ellie." Tara remembers an exhausted Donna holding her newborn daughter in her arms that day. "If it's okay with you." Opie said as Jax embraced him with tears of his own. Tara still remembers hearing little Ellie Winston's cries as she holds her for the first time. "Ellie will never be forgotten." Donna had promised as the new parents signed the birth certificate.

Tara snaps out of her daydreaming and wipes her hands on a dish towel while she turns to Donna with a smile forming on her face, "Follow me, I wanna show you something."

"Okay."

Tara leads the way as they walk out of the kitchen, through the living room, passed the bathroom, and down the hallway. They stop at the bedroom across from Abel's nursery. Tara pulls her keys out of her pants pocket, finds the right one, unlocks the door, opens it and flips on the light. Donna follows her in. The bedroom is painted a light purple, with a soft lime green rug on the floor, and a twin sized bed with a matching bedset that brings it all together. There's also a white dresser, a cute little empty desk, and old framed photographs of a newborn and young Ellie Teller line the walls.