𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 - 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮

Sixteen

"I finished it." Tara tells Jax as they cuddle up in bed. She finally finished reading his dad's manuscript.

"What do you want me to say?" Jax responds, too tired and agitated from Clay to discuss this with Tara.

"You keep saying you wanna change things. But you keep repeating old behavior."

"You can't have it both ways," Jax pulls her into his side, "Is there anything you love so much you'd protect it no matter the cost? The damage it did to you?"

"Yeah," Tara hums, "Yeah, a child."

"Yeah. That's how I feel about this club. Since I was 5, Tara, all I ever wanted was a Harley and a cut. Look, change won't happen quick or without blood. But it'll happen. It has to." He promises.

Tara silently prays he's right. Things had to change for them, for their children, for their family. She traces the 'Abel' tattoo on his chest as he kisses the top of her head. Ellie's name is tattooed down his bicep in similar style and font. That tattoo is more faded though considering Jax got it in 1995.

"Nervous for Ellie's appointment today?" He asks.

"Yeah." Tara glances at the alarm clock, knowing Abel would be up soon, "I just don't want her to keep things bottled up."

"She'll open up. Gotta give her time."

"Gemma invitied us to dinner tonight. Said she wanted Ellie to be there too."

"Invite or instruct?" Jax laughs, knowing his mother all too well.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Tara's working, dealing with a patients file, as the Queen Bee walks in - high heels and all, "Hey, where's Chibs at? His insurance shit?"

"He'll be off critical in a day or two. He'll have to finish his recovery at Stockton."

"That can't happen. Not with her around. He can't be out of our sight." Gemma refers to Fiona.

"Nothing I can do." Tara shrugs, her attention back on her piling work.

"There's always something we can do," Gemma pauses, "Do you have the paperwork for...?"

"Do you see that redhead?" Tara's totally distracted as she vents to Gemma, "Margaret Murphy, chief administrator. She has been up my ass about the club. I try anything, she'll be all over it. Can't happen."

Tara wishes she could help Gemma and Chibs, but with her bosses strict eye... her hands are tied.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

"Hey, this thing with Jax, man. I mean, you haven't said much. Is it that Donna thing?"

"That's part of it."

"Anything I can do?"

"I doubt it. That shit's already got you spun around."

"What does that mean?"

"Killing Donna, it's flipped some switch in you."

"Not even sure that patch makes sense. You think I can't make the hard call? All the shit that I've done for you and this club?"

"It's not the shit you've done. It's about the shit you may have to do."

"I can do my job." Tig states.

"Good to know." The President nods.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

The smell of a deliciously cooked roast chicken fills the air as Gemma takes it out of the oven. It's getting late now. The dinner she has prepared for tonight is finally ready as she sets the table. Tara is bouncing Abel on her hip while keeping a close eye on Ellie who shyly sits in the corner and avoids direct eye contact. Clay, Happy, Bobby, Tig, Opie, Piney, Lyla, and Jax are all sitting at the table. There's a tension in the air, it's awkward and tense,  they try to keep themselves calm around the kids. Tara takes Abel into another room to change him while Jax calls over his daughter.

She sits on his knee and he kisses her cheek, pushing stray strands of dark hair behind her ear, "Have a good day today, baby?"

He focuses on her as his brothers talk amongst each other. The snippets of conversation he hears from Bobby and Clay anger him.

"Yeah." Ellie leans against her father, happy that he was home, "Will you play Monopoly with me tonight?"

"Yeah, baby, we can play," Jax promises, seeing his mother bring more steaming food into the room, "Maybe we could even get mom to play."

A full blown grin is on Ellie's face, she nods, "Maybe... we could even get another board game? Like, the game of life."

"Honey, I already play that game."

Opie, listening to them from across the table, snorts and bites back a laugh. Lyla, having a bad encounter with Tara in the other room, storms in and asks Opie to take her home. Opie, glad that his kids weren't here, agrees and pats Jax on the back. He tells his dad, he'll come back after dropping her off. Ellie goes to her mother and Jax wonders what went down. Gemma stands at the table, holding the roast chicken, as tempers finally reach a boiling point and everyone starts arguing.

"I was risking my ass for this club-"

"Bullshit! You're as blind as you are crippled."

"No. The blind guy's in jail with no wife because you just got her killed."

"I'm not the one murdering women!" Jax yells as Gemma slams the glass dish on the table, shattering it into a million little pieces. The room goes dead silent. Tara pulls a startled Ellie into her arms.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Jax gets a call from Hale. He arrives at Caracara, where firemen finish putting out the massive warehouse blaze. Everything looks to be destroyed by the fire. The look on Jax’s face says it all: Clay did this. Bobby, Half-Sac, and Happy show up. Jax points the blame at his stepfather. Noone can deny it. Enough is enough for Jax and he wants a transfer to another charter.

"Talk to Quinn. Tell him I want a transfer. I'm going Nomad."