Hey everyone I am back. I will probably not continue What If since I believe this story is better than What If. Many of the ideas I had for Season 2 are going to make an appearance in this story but this is a completely different story. I hope you all enjoy and I know there is another story that involves Tara being one of the First Nine kids but I made sure to read hers and make sure nothing is the same. If you feel that there is something similar if you have read it then please feel free to tell me and I will fix it. I hope you all enjoy it and I will try to update soon. Just took some if the advice and used italics to seperate past from present.
"Wake up." An annoying voice entered her hazy mind.
"No." It was the only thing she could say as she moved over to the other side of the bed.
"Yes."
"You have to get up or else we are going to be late." I did not want to actually leave the warmth of my bed.
"No thanks I am going to sleep." Mark Knowles knew how stubborn his youngest child was and that she would not get out of bed until some force was used.
"We need to get on the road as soon as possible." She finally relented and emerged from the bed.
"I will be ready in ten minutes." Tara replied as she grabbed her clothes that she laid out the night before.
The whole Knowles clan waited for Tara around their bikes and cages. It was official all of them were making their trek back to the Mecca of the Son of Anarchy motorcycle community. Charming. The epicenter of all things Sons related.
"Looks like sleeping beauty finally decided to awaken. Where is your Prince though?" Kevin asked from beside his own Dyna.
"There is no Prince but I would love to see you work a thirty six hour shift and then come talk to me." Tara threw back as she threw her bag into her step-mom's car.
"Come on sweetheart we should get going if we want to get going to Charming by tomorrow." Inwardly Tara groaned at Callie thinking of the idea at sitting in the car for the next eighteen hours for the ride from Denver to Charming.
"I can drive first if you want?" Tara knew that there was no way she would fall back to sleep. It was all the training but once she had been woken up, she was up.
"Alright I will take a nap just wake me up when you want to switch." She nodded and followed her dad and brother as they pulled out of the drive way.
For the entire time Tara couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Going back to the only home she knew before she was seventeen. Her life and heart were back there. Mark had somehow found a fellowship for her to continue her work in neonatal surgery at St. Thomas the local hospital. It wasn't as amazing as Chicago Presbyterian but would give her what she wanted.
The drive seemed to be the same landscape until they reached inside the Sierra Mountains. It was like coming back to life for Tara. She could suddenly remember every memory she had blocked while away.
Constant conversation and the flow of music kept both women occupied while they tried to ready themselves for what was coming. These memories seemed to flood back as she looked at the scenery around her. She could remember the first time she could remember being on anyone's bike beside her dad's.
Jackson Teller had charmed her into going for a ride with him. His argument was that he wanted to show her something that no cage could ever reach. In the end the sixteen year old both just ended up lying in the middle of a field together. It was their first date but not their last.
"Are you excited to see everyone?" Callie was the newest edition to their family and had yet to see the world of true outlaw.
Truth was she had been all too excited to come home. Chicago was just a place she lived while trying to get the best education possible. Denver was almost a hostage situation and she was happy that both Kevin and she had escaped the shit for school and the club.
"It will be nice to be home." Callie glanced at Tara before focusing back onto the road. She knew that there was one person who Tara considered hers and that what she was really saying was that she was happy to be returning to Jax.
Almost two years ago Tara decided to make a visit to SAMCRO again. Gemma was ecstatic to hear and even more excited to tell the guys. Tara however was nervous to see him again. A Friday night at the club was nothing new to her. She was use to chaos and activity around her. Members were constantly greeting her with warm hugs and sweet words. One however was missing and it wasn't until she saw him again that she realized how much he really did matter to her.
"I cannot believe you are back." Tara smiled at being able to hear him before seeing him.
"It's good to be back." She paused turning around to finally be able to see his face. "I have missed you so much."
"Sorry I haven't called as much but I figure with school and everything you would be busy." Jax knew that Med School was her number one priority and he did not want to be responsible for being a distraction from her work.
"Yeah it was pretty crazy but I would have loved to talk to you too." It was an olive branch that she had hoped he would accept it.
"I'm sorry. How long are you staying?" He had hoped she would say forever but he knew that was impossible. She hadn't lived in Charming full time since she was seventeen when her mom moved her to Denver with that Son of a Bitch she called a husband.
"A few weeks. Kevin wanted me to come back and help him with my mom's shit." Jax knew that her mom was a sore subject with her and decided not to push.
"Teller!" Speaking of the devil Tara laughed at how clearly intoxicated Kevin already was.
"Good to see you Bro. I bet you are happy to have Tara back?" Kevin had been on a run when he went to go on a little detour to pick Tara up on his way back after visiting his dad.
"You have no idea." He gave Tara's shoulders a slight squeeze as he smiled at the couple on front of him.
"How is your dad?" It was directed at both siblings.
"Good he is out now but he still has a year before his probation is up and he can finally move back." Jax nodded as he remembered Mark Knowles. He was one of the First 9 that started the Sons.
"I bet he is happy to be free. How are the Feds with him?" ATF had been on his back since he made friends with a few gang members in Chicago while visiting Tara at school. They tried to get him on gun possession but he was too intelligent for them and hid his tracks well.
"One is obsessed with him. He comes to Denver all the time." Kevin replied as he took another drink from his beer.
"Oh shit man that's rough. When does school end for you?" Jax turned the question back to Tara. He was hoping that she would stay as far away from the current shit as possible. This was her way out and he didn't want her to be involved with their shit. He didn't want her to become like his mother.
"Actually..." She went to answer but Kevin jumped in.
"She finished two weeks ago. We officially have a Doctor in the family." Kevin beamed as he started to walk away. "I think I need another one."
"So you finally finished? Why didn't you tell me?" He had wanted to go to her graduation or at least call her on the day.
"You didn't call and it just happened last minute. I decided to take summer courses and ended up not needing the one class." She tried to act nonchalant but Jax knew that completing her Doctorate in seven years was a huge deal.
"So should I start calling you Dr. Knowles now?" He smirked down at her knowing that he would get some type of reaction out of her.
"God no, beside I have not completed any of my residency so technically I can't really practice yet." Facts spewed out but a smile graced her lips as she watched Jax's eyes darken in the light.
"What's the next step?" He was hoping she would say move back to Charming but there was a thin chance of that happening with her whole family back in Denver.
"I got an internship at Chicago Presbyterian and then when I am done with that hopefully I will find a fellowship here in California." Years would pass before she could actually have her own career and Jax knew that if she wanted to be successful then that meant she needed to be trained by the best.
"I miss you every day." Jax didn't know if it was the alcohol or the weed but suddenly he felt the urge to blurt out everything he was feeling.
"I missed you too so much." Tara started to lean forward as she felt Jax reach out and grab her hand.
"Come with me." His strong hand pulled her along as he started to make his way through the clubhouse as discreetly as possible. Right at that moment he didn't want any distractions. Tara was all he wanted his brain to think about.
She followed obediently and smiled as he guided her back to her favorite room. The same room she had subsequently lost her virginity in at sixteen. Made sense to her since this place was also the location for every birthday party she ever had. Her heart had fallen back in love and all it took was one night.
"Can you promise me one thing?" Callie asked as she glanced at Tara. "Be careful I don't want you to get hurt."
"I think we both know that I won't let myself get hurt." Tara was different than most girls. She had been raised to never let her heart take over her reasoning. Walking away was something that she could do easily and sometimes that's what scared her the most.
"I know but sometimes it is hard to make the same choice twice." Callie paused while pulling off the freeway following Mark's lead. "Especially when you know how much it hurts."
Tara had never wanted to leave Charming at first. Her mother had made the choice when she had been rewarded full custody when Tara was seventeen. Kevin had already been patched in and there was no chance he would be able to leave. Mark had been locked up for a year in county for some type of gun charge and was six months in when her mom packed up and headed out with her dick of a step-father Robert .
When she came home a year later after her graduation she told them that she had gotten into University of Denver with a full scholarship all of them worried about her choice. Robb was an abusive drunk with ties with White Power. All of them assumed that he wouldn't put a hand on Tara knowing that if he did then he would have the entire West Coast charters of the Sons coming after him.
"It's good to see you baby." All of the boys were on a run when Tara came home. Gemma as always was there to greet her with the love she never really got back in Denver as her car pulled into the compound.
"You too Gem." Her hug was weak and as Gemma put a little pressure on her sides she heard the girl squeak in pain.
"What's wrong?" She looked fine but she was wearing really loose clothing and was standing as if she was in extreme pain.
"Just sore from the drive." Tara tried to play it off but Gemma wasn't having it.
"Bullshit." It was more of a declaration than a question. She didn't even pause or hesitate as she grabbed the hem of her shirt and saw the bruises that laced her stomach. "Who did this?"
"Please Gemma he got pissed and went after my mom. I hopped in the way. That was it." Tara paused as she looked away ashamed. You can't tell anyone."
"Darling we need to tell the boys. There is no way you can go back." Robb was a sick son of a bitch and Tara was family. There was no way they would let her go back to that hell hole.
"He won't do anything to her if I am there. If I leave he will kill her." Gemma felt a shiver of fear go up her spine at how serious Tara was acting. In her eyes there was truth to that statement.
"I am sorry but either you tell them or I will." Tara felt helpless. She had lost the control that she has sought for so long for. In the back of her mind she knew that this needed to happen but somehow she rationalized if she kept it inside then nothing serious could happen. The beating she could take but seeing her mother die that was too much.
The whole entire time she felt helpless. It was as if she was walking into her own version of torture. She didn't want to see their faces. Mark, Kevin, Jax, or any of the others would only break her heart. They didn't need to deal with her shit.
"TARA!" Tig was the first one in the door of the clubhouse. He didn't even pause for a moment before grabbing her into a bone crushing hug that had her squeaking in pain. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah just a little bit sore." She pulled away but as she took a step back Gemma came over with a knowing look.
"Are you gonna do it baby or am I?" All of the men stood there silent as they watched the exchange between both women. Something was wrong and they knew it was extreme if Gemma was getting involved.
"Please don't do this." Tara couldn't even look at them as she felt Gemma's hand grip the hem of her shirt and slowly pull it towards her chest.
"I am going to kill him." Mark was seething was he glanced at the bruises on his daughter's skin.
Tears were falling as Tara ran in the back towards the one room before anyone could confront her. She didn't need their sympathy. All of them would just give her the look that she hated. It was one she had gotten whenever her mom showed up drunk at any event in both Charming and Denver. No way in hell was she going to see them planning the death of Robb.
"Open the door Tara!" She was no surprised that out of everyone they sent Jax. They all knew that he was her weakness and he would be the best to calm her down.
"Go away Jax I don't want to talk!" It was his room and Tara knew he wouldn't push.
"Come on babe just let me in." His voice was strong but never aggressive.
"Please I don't want you to see me like this." Weakness was never something she liked to show in front of anyone and Jax was number one on that list.
"Let me in I don't care I just want to see my Old Lady that I haven't seen in months." The steadiness of his voice was calming to her and she couldn't resist the pull anymore.
Tara slowly opened the door and saw Jax standing there with the same smirk he always wore when he knew what exactly he did to her. She hated it but knew that she would never complain because it was something that worked both ways. "Hi."
"Hey babe." Jax couldn't help but smile at her small pout. "Can I come in?"
He didn't wait for an invitation instead he just pushed the door open and took a seat on the dorm room bed. "You gonna yell at me or is did my dad already call it?"
"No yelling they sent me in here to make sure that you were okay. The rest of them are planning a trip to Denver." Grimacing Tara took a seat next to him and simply laid her head on his shoulder.
"If they go there she will die. He will not let her go." Robert had an obsession with my mother and she was obedient towards him. Kevin and her father would have no sway over her.
"You are safe here. That is all that matters." Tara had actually believed him when he said that but sometimes our hopes don't always hold up.
"Looks like it's too late to turn back." Tara declared as the WELCOME TO CHARMING sign appeared as the caravan finally crossed the border.
"You can always leave." Callie said as she didn't really understand what her stepdaughter was trying to say.
"Yeah right." Charming was something different entirely. It wasn't so much leaving but keeping away that was the real problem. "You can't leave your home."
