A/N- THIS TAKES PLACE A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER SEASON FOUR. JAX HAS GOTTEN THE CLUB OUT OF THE DEAL WITH THE CARTEL/CIA AND CLAY IS DEAD. I KNOW THIS ISN'T THE MOST ORIGINAL IDEA IN THE WORLD, BUT I LIKED THE IDEA AND HOPE EVERYONE ENJOYS READING IT AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING IT. I TOOK THE GOOD DOCTOR DOWN BECAUSE I COULDN'T DECIDE WHERE TO GO WITH IT, BUT HOPEFULLY INSPIRATION WILL STRIKE!
"Jax." Tara Knowles whispered to her fiancée, who was currently still fast asleep in bed. "Jax!" Tara whispered a little more loudly.
"What?" Jax Teller muttered, barely opening his eyes to look at the clock on the nightstand, it was only 8 AM, and he wasn't due to go to Teller Morrow until the afternoon, one of the perks of being the new boss.
"I've gotta go, you need to watch the kids." Tara reminded him, already completely dressed, holding her purse and car keys.
"Why?" He questioned, knowing she wasn't working until the afternoon as well.
"I told Katie I'd meet the movers at her place today." She told him with a slight eye roll, not sure why she was surprised that he had forgotten.
"Who?" Jax muttered, sitting up and scratching his bare chest.
"Katie." Tara told him in an annoyed tone, staring at his blank face. "Oh don't give me that, you know who I'm talking about."
Jax dropped the blank expression and grinned. "I know. I'm just messing with you." He teased. How could he not know who Katie Wagner was? It was all Tara had been talking about the last couple of weeks.
Tara and Katie met at UC San Diego when Tara was a sophomore and Katie was a freshman. When Tara got into medical school in Chicago, Katie followed her a year later. The two complimented each other well, Katie reminding Tara to loosen up and have some fun, and Tara keeping Katie somewhat focused on schoolwork, which was no small feat. Katie was very smart, but avoided studying at all costs. When the time came to select a specialty and a hospital for residency, Tara chose to go the demanding route of Neo-Natal Surgery, while Katie decided to focus on Pediatrics, not wanting to be a 'scalpel jockey'. She was more concerned with having a life and time off. Katie performed her residency in San Diego closer to home and a better night life, while Tara stayed in Chicago at a more illustrious hospital.
Even though they lived thousands of miles apart, they kept in touch throughout their respective residencies, mostly through email, and when Jax went to jail, Tara visited Katie in San Diego, telling her about the potential job opening at St. Thomas. By the time one of the Pediatrics doctor announced his retirement, Tara had already gone to the higher ups in the hospital and lined the job up for Katie. Now, she would be there at the end of the week, and Tara was looking forward to having a friend in Charming that wasn't Gemma, or a Son.
"I'll come by the shop if I have some time before work." Tara promised him as she kissed him goodbye. "Neeta will be here in a couple hours, try to contain things till then." She teased as she walked out.
"Does Thomas at least have a clean diaper?" Jax asked her retreating back as he got dressed.
"No!" Tara called over her shoulder with a grin, running out the door before he could stop her.
"Damnit." He grumbled, hearing Thomas cry from his room.
SOASOASOA
True to her word, Tara pulled in to the TM parking lot around noon. Jax left his perch next to Opie on the picnic table, and met her at her car, pulling her into a deep kiss. "How was it?" He asked her, wrapping his arms around her.
"Fine, she'll need some help, the fence needs work, and the whole place could use a coat of paint, but it's nice." She told him happily.
"I'll send some of the guys by to help her out when she gets here." Jax promised her, hoping by sending a couple prospects and a patch or two, he could avoid the work himself.
"Thanks, baby." Tara hummed, obviously pleased with his offer. "How's he?" She asked, looking past Jax at Opie.
Jax shrugged. "Alright I guess." He told her, though he honestly wasn't sure. After getting the club out of the cartel deal, Clay was no longer a necessity, and the club voted that retribution was the only fair thing. Opie was the most affected by Clay's misdeeds, and he was the one to kill Clay. He never shared the details of the night he killed the man he had considered a second father for so many years. Since then, Opie was a changed man. He was hardened, emotionless, and ruthless. It worried Jax. If he wanted that for a VP; he would have chosen Happy, or Tig. He needed Opie to be his conscience of sorts, and right now, Opie was nothing more than a robot, doing whatever the club wanted, damn the risk. It was on Jax's mind, but it wasn't anything Tara needed to worry about.
SOASOASOA
Katie sighed happily as she finally drove past the Charming city limits sign. She glanced in her rearview mirror at her bearded collie, Hunter who was sleeping in the backseat. "Must be nice." She grumbled, wishing she could take a nap. She'd woken up at 3am that morning to leave San Diego, getting on the road by 4am, and after LA traffic and pit stops was just now getting to Charming at 3pm. After maneuvering her little Honda Accord through downtown and past St. Thomas, she came to her small neighborhood, pulling up to her new home. The 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, one story brick house was available for a steal because it was older and needed some work done, but Katie wasn't afraid of a little elbow grease, especially if it meant she got a bigger house for cheaper. She was still floored at how affordable housing was here, if she had stayed in San Diego, she would have had to wait at least another 5 years to afford a home, and it wouldn't have been nearly as big or nice as the place she'd gotten in Charming.
Katie opened the door, a little annoyed that Tara seemed to have left the door unlocked when she let the movers in, but her annoyance washed away when she saw Tara sitting at her dining room table, grinning at her. "Surprise!" Tara said happily, jumping up and hugging Katie, before kneeling to pet Hunter. "How was the drive?" Tara asked her. Katie sighed dramatically, flopping down on the couch. Tara giggled and sat next to her. "That bad?"
"It was terrible; it's as if everyone in California decided it was time to go for a drive." Katie bemoaned, running her hands through her honey blonde hair, pulling out the ponytail holder and letting it fall just past her shoulders.
"Everyone exists to piss you off, right?" Tara teased.
"Exactly." Katie told her with a serious expression. "So where are those rugrats? And hot biker boy?" Katie asked with a grin.
"Thomas and Abel are with their nanny, and Jax is at work." Tara informed her. "He said he'd send some guys over to help you with some of the repairs once you get settled."
"Hot bikers working on my house? Nice housewarming gift." Katie said with a waggle of her eyebrows.
"Jax just didn't want to do it himself, and most of those men you would not consider hot, trust me." Tara warned her.
"I'll be the judge of that." Katie told her with a grin, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Good to see you're over Dr. Dumbass." Tara told her. Katie had dated a guy in Tara's year of med school for several years, and to say Tara wasn't a fan was putting it mildly.
"Oh, he wasn't that bad." Katie told her.
"I don't know how he made it out of high school, much less med school." Tara confided in her. "Did he ever choose a specialty?"
Katie gave her a sheepish grin. "Plastic surgery."
Tara rolled her eyes. "Figures, I swear when we worked with the cadavers he said 'heheh boobs.'"
"Yeah… well, let's just call him temporary insanity. Besides, we broke up a year ago." Katie reminded her.
"Uh huh, and how many times did you sleep with him after you broke up?"
"A couple…" Katie admitted. "Dozen." She added, looking at Tara's disapproving look. "What? It's easier to sleep with someone you've already trained. A girl's got needs."
"Yeah, yeah, I know all about your needs." Tara teased. "When do you want the guys to come by? I told Jax I'd let him know."
Katie looked around, making a mental list of what would be needed for the first round of renovations. "Tomorrow?" She asked. "If you'll show me where the home improvement place is… and have a truck." She added with a hopeful look.
Tara smiled in spite of trying to look put out. She was so happy to have her friend there she would fix the place up herself if Katie asked her to. "We can go by TM and pick up Jax's truck, and I'll tell him to send some guys over tomorrow." Tara told her, grabbing her keys. "Is Hunter going to be OK here?" She asked Katie as they started for the door.
Katie looked behind her at her dog, who was lounging on the couch. "Hunter? You cool?" She asked the shaggy dog. Hunter lifted his head slightly, letting out a small woof. "Don't pee on my stuff." Katie warned him. Hunter whined slightly, but didn't bother opening his eyes. "We're good." Katie said turning back to Tara.
"That dog is as weird as you are." Tara told her with a small head shake.
SOASOASOA
Tara and Katie pulled into Teller Morrow, Tara rolling her eyes at the Sons who were standing in a circle smoking and bullshitting while the few mechanics the shop employed and the prospects worked in the bays. "Hard at work." Tara muttered to her friend, who was scoping out the Sons, eyeing some of the younger members with an appreciative stare.
Opie glanced over at his Prez's old lady when she got out of her car, but was more focused on the passenger with her. The leggy blonde was about the same height as Tara but was curvier, her ass especially catching Opie's eye. Her blonde hair was loose, with a slight wave to it, and Opie would be lying if he said he didn't have dirty thoughts about the pink lips on her round face.
Jax met Tara halfway, and smiled lovingly at her, draping his arms over her shoulders as he gave her a quick kiss. "Holy hell Tara! I can see why you came back… that's a good looking man!" Katie told Tara, who gave her a slightly embarrassed look. "Sorry… I'm Katie." She told Jax, it wasn't the first time her lack of a filter embarrassed Tara, and probably wouldn't be the last.
"Jax." He told her, shaking her hand. "But I guess you figured that out." He added with a cocky smirk.
Katie laughed. "I'm gonna have a smoke." She told Tara, who wrinkled her nose at her.
"You're a doctor… remember? What kind of example are you setting?" Tara asked her.
"A bad one." Katie told her with a grin, walking back to the car.
"We need the truck to go get some of the stuff for Katie's house." Tara told Jax, who nodded and handed her the keys. The truck mostly sat vacant in the Teller Morrow parking lot, especially now that they had two kids. "Do you think you could spare some guys to go by her place tomorrow and help her with some stuff?"
"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. Anyone in particular?" He asked her, flicking his eyes over to Katie, who was standing by the car, smoking her cigarette, and staring at the Sons almost as inappropriately as they were looking at her. She wished that she had the balls to go over to the group of men staring as if she was a piece of meat, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated by them. She hoped that Tara would introduce her, but until then she was content with staring.
"I guess it doesn't really matter, whoever can swing a hammer, or paint a wall." Tara said, thinking about it. "Juice could set up her computer stuff." She said, thinking out loud. "Maybe Tig."
"Tig?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. "Why?"
Tara shrugged. "For fun. They'll either love each other, or hate each other. Either way it should be funny." Tara said with a conspiratorial grin.
Tara and Jax said a quick goodbye, and the two women left to head to the store. "You could've introduced me to the rest of them, inconsiderate bitch." Katie said in a lighthearted tone.
"Yes, because your introduction to Jax went so well." Tara said sarcastically.
"Sorry." Katie said sheepishly. "But you lied, some of those guys I definitely wouldn't mind seeing naked."
"Who?" Tara asked her in disbelief, she honestly thought none of the Sons would be Katie's type.
"The one with the tattoos on his head was cute in a puppy dog sort of way. The bald one was kinda hot in a 'he might kill me' sort of way, and the tall mountain man was a very tasty looking piece of yummy."
"Opie?" Tara said in shock. "He looks like your dog!"
"My dog's hot." Katie said matter-of-factly.
"You are so disturbed." Tara murmured, dropping the subject. She wouldn't wish the MC life on anyone, least of all Katie. She knew that Katie would see them living in Charming and hanging out with Tara, but she rationalized that it wasn't the same as being an old lady. As long as Katie stayed a casual friend of the club, Tara could keep her out of harm's way, and still have her ally in the minefield that was Charming.
A/N- PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE FIRST CHAPTER! THE OTHER PROJECT I'M WORKING ON CURRENTLY IS TITLED 'CRUSHES AND CONSPIRACIES' AND IS UNDER THE PEN NAME KRISTINMW AFSPOUSE, AND IS A JOINT PROJECT WITH KRISTINMW. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET, CHECK IT OUT!