𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 - 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮

Forty-Six

The Sons gather at Gemma's place. Ellie's in her dad's old room with her mom and brothers when her dad checks on them.

"How's he doing?"

"I don't know. He didn't sleep. Wouldn't eat anything." Tara says as she looks at Abel sleeping.

"We're heading up to Chester. Sitting down with the Northwest. Letting them know why this happened."

"Okay," Tara says, "I'm gonna go to St. Thomas and get an ultrasound."

"Is there something wrong?" Jax asks.

"No. I don't think so. It's just a precaution."

Jax stands in the doorway and looks at his daughter who's sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, "Ellie? You okay?"

"I'm fine." Ellie looks at him and Jax nods. He closes the door softly.

Tara and her daughter share a look.

"Nowhere's safe anymore." Ellie tells her.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

"I wanna say thank you for making the ride. Means a lot to me to have a full table. I'm certain you have questions, and doubts. That's what this meeting is for. I know every charter is independent. You run them as you want. But I also know, the things we do in Redwood, especially here in the Northwest, impact your local relationships, and affect the way you earn. Some of you knew my old man. Some just knew his legacy. It's no secret that he was conflicted at the end. Questioned every decision he'd ever made. About the club, about his family. That fear, that doubt. It ruined him. Made him vulnerable. I'm here to tell you that I'm not following that path. The choices that I make are not because I'm afraid, or because I have any doubts about this club. I watched my best friend get his head caved in to protect what we have here. We've all watched brothers die in the service of this club. There's two things you can do when that happens: You can run from the pain, bail; or you can allow it to burn into your heart. To leave it's mark. A constant reminder of the love that brought us all here. Sons of Anarchy is at a crossroads. Our clubhouse blowing up last night, that's a sign of the times. The end result of a bloody relationship with the IRA. It'd be easy for me to sit here, and blame our mistakes on my predecessor, but that won't solve shit. We don't need blame. What we need, boys, is change. I want us out of guns. The RICO heat, the competition, the Irish blow-back. It's just not practical. Between lawyers and repairing the damage, we barely earn a profit. I'm gonna move Redwood into more legitimate enterprises. Diosa is doing great. We're earning real money. We're gonna open another house in Stockton. We're gonna reboot Caracara. We just found a warehouse down by the docks. So I guess it's fair to say that SAMCRO's future is in pussy, not bullets." Jax says making everyone laugh.

"We struck a deal with the Irish. One that keeps the peace. But that transition means we all take a hit. Now, I know everyone here has had a taste of the gun business. Whether it's from protection, storage or distribution. It's gonna sting at first, letting go of that cash. But if we don't, I'm telling you, this club won't have a future. We've had 20 members killed in the last 2 years. All of those deaths, tied to the gun business. Outside of guns, how you earn is up to you. But, if you would like, my charter will do everything it can to help you move in a legitimate direction. A direction that keeps us out of jail. That keeps us whole. And that keeps us alive."

Everyone starts pounding on the table. They're all in agreement, tired of brothers getting murdered.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

At the hospital, Tara calls Jax and tells him the ultrasound was fine. Ally Lowen arrives and tells Tara that Patterson is coming to offer her a deal.

"I love my husband. I know who he is and what he does."

"Then you know it's not you who deserves to be in jail. Full immunity for the proof of the gun running. It's the only offer you'll get."

Patterson makes a pitch to Tara to turn in Jax on gun running in exchange for full immunity.

Tara doesn't need to think twice.

"Tell your lawyer I'll be moving up the trial date three weeks. And I'll be prosecuting the case myself. See you in court, Doctor."

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Jax arrives home late. Abel and Thomas are already in bed sleeping. Tara and Ellie are awake watching tv in the living room.

"Hey, babe." Jax greets Tara with a kiss to the head.

"Hi." Tara sits up on the couch. Ellie's laying on the other one.

"How'd it go- the baby?" Jax sits down next to her.

"The ultrasound was fine."

"You know this one's a girl, right?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I just got a feeling. She's gonna be strong and beautiful, like her mom and big sis." Jax says, gaining Ellie's attention, "I love you, Ellie. I'm really sorry for how things have been between us. I love you so much. I don't want us to be fighting like this anymore."

Ellie doesn't know what to say. Jax gets up and sits beside her, pulling her into his arms, he closes his eyes and kisses the top of her head, "I'm grateful noone was hurt in that explosion. I realized a lot of people could be hurt, including my children. It's my job to protect you guys. I'll talk to Grandma, okay? Tell her to stop hovering so much."

Ellie closes her eyes and leans into her dad's touch. She's still angry and upset. She's mad at him for the things he's done as a husband, but he's only her father. "I'm sorry, too." She whispers as her voice cracks. Jax kisses her again, wiping her growing tears away, "I hate it when you're mad at me. Truce, alright?"

"Truce." Ellie laughs as she pulls back. She sees the look on her mom's face and her smile falls slightly.

"How's Abel doing?" Jax asks.

"His appetite's back."

"Good."

"How'd it go today?"

"I let everyone know what our plans are. They all get it. Every charter's on board." Jax smiles and Tara and Ellie now know the cause of his great mood.