A/N: This story takes place three months after the finale. If there is enough interest after the first three chapters I'll continue this story. Please enjoy!
For the last three months Jax had been attempting to get acclimated to being the President of SAMCRO. Their ranks were decimated. Bobby was in prison, Kozik was dead, Miles was dead, Piney was dead, and Clay was basically a face at the table. It was Jax's intent to turn him into a puppet that he could trot out when dealing with the Irish. Jax made it clear that if Clay told the Irish that he was being pushed out he'd be executed. No questions asked.
The older man that he once considered to be a father figure and a brother was staying at the club during his recovery under the close and watchful eye of Jax. He would not be duped or played anymore. The only people that knew the depth of the situation were Tara and Opie. Those were the only people he felt as if he could trust completely.
His relationship with Gemma was almost nonexistent. He'd been keeping his distance from his mother for months now. After realizing that they were stuck in Charming Tara decided that Jax needed to know just what type of person Gemma really was. The knowledge that Gemma played a pivotal role in J.T.'s death poisoned Jax against her. He rarely if ever saw Gemma now and for the time being…that suited him just fine.
Jax and Opie were in the middle of discussing their next gun shipment when the doors to the chapel swung open and caught Jax's attention. He looked up to see Chibs standing in the doorway with an odd look on his face. "What is it?"
"Jackie boy, Gemma is here to see you," drawled Chibs in his thick Irish brogue.
No one knew exactly why, but there was a strange new dynamic between Jax and Gemma and everyone could feel it. On more than one occasion Chibs tried to get Jax to open up but he was shut down every time.
Jax frowned at that information but nodded slightly. "Send her in."
Gemma hadn't set foot on the lot in months. He couldn't imagine what would be so important that she break her self-imposed exile.
Chibs nodded and went over to the bar. His eyes trailed over Gemma's body taking in her appearance. There was definitely something different about the woman he'd known for years. She was dressed differently but it was more than that. There seemed to be some sort of personality shift in her.
"Gemma, Jax has time to see you now. How are you doing, love?"
Gemma tossed back a shot of Jack Daniels and said, "I am just fine, sweetheart. Thank you for asking."
She picked up her purse and walked into the chapel closing the padded doors behind her.
"What?" asked Jax in a cold voice.
Months ago that voice had sent shivers up Gemma's spine and broke her heart. As much as she loved her son she could see the disdain on his face whenever she was near him. That voice no longer had that affect on her. Gemma had made peace with the fact that Jax no longer wanted her to be part of his life.
"I need a favor," said Gemma.
Jax sighed heavily and asked, "What is it, Gemma?"
The first time he'd called her 'Gemma' it nearly brought the older woman to tears. Jax was all she had left in the world and he'd ripped her heart out by stripping away the title of mother. It was a simple gesture but one that cut her to the very core. The old saying was true 'the people you love the most are the ones that can hurt you the worst'.
"My lawyer has been trying to get in touch with Clay for nearly two months but he hasn't been willing to take his calls. And since he's been camped out here in the club the process server hasn't been able to serve him with these."
Jax glanced at the document in front of him. His eyes scanned the page and then he looked back up at Gemma.
"You are divorcing him?" asked Jax.
"Can't exactly go back to normal now, Jackson. Can we?" asked Gemma.
The double meaning of her words were bitter but to the point.
"So, it is time for me to move on. I know he's been staying here. I am not asking you to get involved. I just need you to give him the paperwork."
Jax watched Gemma carefully. He was waiting for Gemma to try to guilt him or manipulate him. He had been waiting for her next move for months but it hadn't happened yet.
"Why can't you do it? He's right down the hall," said Jax.
"The last time Clay and I were alone he turned my face into a Picasso painting. I would not like for that to happen again. I don't imagine that his feelings about me have changed very much since I changed the locks and got a restraining order. I could ask Tig to do this for me but I don't want to step on your toes. Your club…you rules," said Gemma.
Jax's eyes went back to the petition. "You are asking for your half of the Teller-Morrow garage and the house? You're not asking for alimony?"
He was weary of his mother but Jax was concerned about how she'd take care of herself. In the time since he'd taken over the club Gemma had not worked in the office a day.
Gemma said, "They are rightfully mine. I owned them when I married Clay. I am just establishing that they are not a part of marital property. I will be selling the house. I don't want anything that Clay has. Besides, you've all but neutered him. He doesn't have much to offer me."
"And what are your plans for your half of the garage?" asked Jax. The idea of an outsider owning part of Teller-Morrow was out of the question. Their garage had served them well over the years. It was the perfect front and a good source of legal income.
"I don't see how my presence would be welcome here and so I see no need for me to maintain ownership…"
Jax rolled his eyes. "If you came here to make me feel bad…"
Gemma cut him off. "I did no such thing. You have been cold and rude every time we have come in contact with one another. I have no use for that sort of contact on a regular basis. This is not about guilt. If you feel any guilt that is not of my doing but of your own conscience."
"Conscience? What would you know about having a conscience? Do you even have one?" asked Jax seriously.
Opie cleared his throat. "Maybe I should give the two of you some privacy."
Jax held up his hand and said, "No, stay. There is no reason for you to leave."
Gemma's jaw tightened and an icy smirk settled onto her lips. "Everything that I have ever done was for the benefit of my family. You may not agree with the methods or the results but do not doubt my intentions. Anyway, I don't want the garage because I have no desire to be the object of your scorn. Or Tara's for that matter."
"Don't bring her into this," said Jax through clenched teeth.
"Oh, but, my fair haired boy, she is knee deep in this. You both sit atop your pedestals judging me and the things I've done. But now you will both see what it means to get in the dirt and the muck of it all. No one stays clean in this life. Not even you, Jackson," said Gemma.
"There is being clean and then there is being a liar and betraying everything you stand for and everything you are. Maybe you don't know the difference but I do and so did J.T."
Gemma chuckled at his naiveté. "You will learn soon enough that as a leader you are going to do some things that you never thought that you would do. It is easy to say what you'd never do when you've never been in that position. Every leader lies, baby. Some lie a little and some lie a lot but they all lie to stay on top. You will be no different. You will lie to protect your club. You will lie to protect your brothers. You will lie to protect your family. Just make sure you don't lie to yourself. Or you'll wind up where Clay is sitting or worse…where J.T. is laying. You and Tara can judge me now and feel morally superior but for every horrible decision I've made you both will have decisions of your own to make. I only pray that you both can be as content with your decisions as I am with mine."
He ground his teeth in annoyance. Jax didn't need a lecture from Gemma. The things that she'd done were morally reprehensible. But there was a little voice in the back of his mind that was softly nagging him. She was right. Jax was already lying to his brothers. He began lying to them before he even took the gavel. Jax silently assured himself that he was lying for the right reasons.
Jax ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "What are your plans for the garage?"
"The club can buy me out," said Gemma. She reached into her purse, took out a file folder, and slid it in front of Jax. "I had it appraised. This is how much my half is worth. I'll knock 20% off of the price."
Normally, the club would tax any old lady. The tax could be hefty depending on how much favor she garnered within the club. Gemma decided to offer the 20% to sway Jax from levying a heavier tax against her. She wasn't sure just how much her son hated her.
Jax opened the file folder and looked at the appraiser's report. He slid it to Opie. "That is how much your half is worth?"
Gemma nodded and said, "Expanding the custom bike business has increased the value of Teller-Morrow. And the overall value of the property itself has increased over the years. You can have the business appraised for yourself to double check but it is on the up and up."
Opie looked over the numbers and frowned. With Bobby in lock up Opie had taken over the job of Treasurer for the club. The case that Potter had amassed was being dropped but Bobby was being held now for the suspicious disappearance of Georgie Caruso.
Jax said, "It may take a few months for the club to pull together that sort of cash. We will buy you out if that is what you want, but I am going on record as saying that no one is trying to force you out of the business."
"I want out. I'm not in any big hurry. I am open to a payment plan as well. The sooner I can sign the garage over to the club the better," Gemma replied.
Jax said, "I'll make sure Clay signs the divorce papers. Anything else?"
Gemma shook her head. "No, that is all. Just kiss my grandbabies for me. Thank you, Jackson. I am going to go clean my things out of the office. You'll need to hire someone on to run things full-time. I hear the office has been running a little slow with Juice doing double duty."
She nodded at Opie and then exited the chapel.
Jax sat there a minute in silence.
Opie looked at Jax and asked, "You okay, man?"
"Even if we buy her out of the garage at full price…she doesn't have enough money to live on. We aren't on the best terms but I don't want Gemma living in poverty. For whatever she is, Gemma raised me for 18 years," said Jax.
"So what are you going to do?" asked Opie.
"I don't know. What would you do?"
"Honestly, I can't say. The relationship you have with Gemma is very different than the one I have with Mary. I don't know what I'd do if I was in your position. She was right about one thing…"
Jax quirked an eyebrow. "What?"
"There is no sense having her here if you are going to treat her like she isn't here. We don't need that kind of drama on the lot. Besides, it will just bring more questions from the guys about what is going on. Questions that you can't give them answers to. Maybe this way she is out of sight out of mind."
