𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 - 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮

Sixty-Three

Putting on his cut, Jax looks down at his President patch. Something he used to envy, but now despises. He was raised to believe that holding the gavel, and calling all the shots, was the only thing he was supposed to do in his life. That he was born to do it. Every decision, good and bad, was for this patch. A patch he let ruin a lot of relationships and get people murdered. As a kid, all he ever wanted was to be like his dad. Sit in that chair, wear this patch. But, now, he wanted nothing to with it. It killed John Teller. It killed Donna, Opie, Clay, Bobby, Juice, and it almost killed his wife Tara. It hurt Ellie, Abel, Thomas and Wendy. It wasn't going to kill Jackson Teller, he knew that much. He promised himself, his wife, and his children, he was 100% over it. He was doing something his father was never able to do. Run. Leave. Save his family. Swallow his pride and move on.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Jax arrives at the hospital. He goes to Tara's room and finds her sitting there with all three of their children. Abel and Thomas are on either side of her and Ellie is sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Daddy's here," Tara greets him with a smile and Jax leans down and kisses her on the cheek, ruffling Tommy's hair, "Hi."

"What does daddy have planned today?" Tara asks him.

"Wrapping a few things up." Jax answers.

Days ago, Unser and Jax came clean and told Tara the truth. The truth she couldn't remember- that it was Gemma who tried to kill her. Tara was scared, but all Jax told her was that Gemma was dead and they'd never see her again. Metaphorically, that is. Tara didn't need to know that though. Jax just wanted her to recover so she would get released and start the journey to their new life. A life without the anarchy.

"Lyla's gonna stop by with the kids later and visit."

"Want me to take these monsters home?"

"No, Ellie's here. It's okay. You go do what you need to do."

Jax sees a light in Tara's eyes. It's hope. Happiness. Something he hasn't seen from her since they found out Ellie was in Washington 3 years ago. Jax says goodbye to them before he heads off to the new clubhouse at the shop.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

At the shop, Jax sits at the head of the table one last time smoking a cigarette. Happy, Chibs, Tig, and new prospects join him.

"What's up, brother? What do you need?" Chibs asks.

"I need to tell you some things you're not gonna wanna hear. I need you to listen. Trust that what I want is the best thing for me and my family. For our club."

"Absolutely."

"I'm out for good this time. I'm giving Wendy the garage and the houses. I want her to sell everything. Take that money set herself up somewhere out of Charming. Tara should be released from the hospital any day now and Providence still has their offer on the table. When Tara recovers, she's gonna take it. I don't know what I'm gonna do, but whatever it is, it's gonna be legit. Even if it's shitty pay. We're moving up there. Gemma's staying with Nero and his kid on their farm. She's dead to me and my family. I don't want anything to do with her tomorrow or 30 years from now. What she did, it's unforgivable. The only reason she's not dead is because my wife survived. I've saved up all the money I can while Tara was in the hospital and I'm buying a house, Ellie's gonna enroll in a good high school for her senior year and the boys are going to elementary school. I've talked to Mayans, everyone, let them know that I'm done. This is it for me. No chance of ever going Nomad, my family deserves this."

They all sit around and listen to Jax give Chibs a pep talk, "This is how you learn to be a leader, brother. Doing the shit that hurts the most. Shit you'd rather make someone else do. It's part of the gig. That's how you earn respect. I appreciate the help you've all given me. In the end, the lies and my family were drowning me. There's only so much you can take before you've had enough. I've reached a dead end. Truth is, I don't know if I'll ever miss it. I'll miss you though. All of you. I love you. I've had more than enough time at this table..."

Jax cuts the President patch off his jacket and gives it to Chibs. Chibs gives his VP patch to Tig. Chibs has tears in his eyes and so does Happy. They all stand up and hug each other. They watch as their former president gets on his bike and rides off.

After all these years, and the debating, he was finally out.

For himself.
For Tara.
For his children.

a/n: finally watched all season 1 of Mayans MC. i like it so far. it's not as fast paced as soa, but i think it'll get better next season. curious what you all think about the show so far? it was so cool seeing alvarez, gemma, chucky, and happy back on the screen. coco and ez are my two favorite characters so far!