"Andie is comin' down, Gem," Clay murmured as he walked into the kitchen his wife close behind.
"What do you mean she's comin' down?" the brunette asked, her voice shaken, having not talked about this particular person in a few months.
"She's movin' down," he clarified, "I'm gonna help her with college and expenses. Last time I saw her I realized I've missed too much of her life…..going every few months since she's been born…I feel terrible."
The older man sat down at the dinner table, his face in his hands as he contemplated what was about to occur, how their lives were about to change completely.
"Where is she staying?" Gemma questioned, eyeballing her husband, her heart beating wildly. "Clay? Where is she staying?" she tried again when there was silence she proceeded to sit down beside him, taking his large hand into her much smaller one.
"I don't know if she should stay here," the woman half whispered, feeling like absolute shit after it left her mouth. "Maybe she can stay with Jax and Tara then," he reasoned, "I'm just sick of bein' a half-assed dad to my little girl."
The pain and guilt began to weigh heavy in Gemma, knowing it would be harder than hell to see the girl on a daily basis. Hell, she wasn't even a girl anymore, but a woman; 25 years old. A gloss began to coat the woman's dark eyes, a feeling of nausea deep within her guts.
"Don't cry, Gem," Clay warned, kissing the back of his wife's hand, "please don't. We both did this, this is both of our faults." T
hat was all it took to send the water works going, the older woman unable to truly cope. The tears were like a flood down her usually stoic features, her words coming out jumbled and messy.
"I have had no part of her life, hardly," Gemma whimpered, "I took care of Jax…I abandoned Adrianne out of fear. I couldn't bare livin' the lie, knowin' she was yours and not John's and I was still married to him. I let you take our baby and shuttle her off to your sister's in Chicago. It's not right. She doesn't even know I'm her mother, Clay! She thinks her mother's dead! How am I supposed to look at that precious girl and face those demons!? Daily, mind you, daily I'll have to lie to her face. To everyone's face. I don't know…..I just don't."
So many secrets within Gemma Teller, now Gemma Morrow. So many lies the woman tried to hide, her double life never to be known by anyone not even those closest to her. Adrianne was her baby girl; her child with Clay that they'd hidden from view. A pregnancy that she'd convinced John Teller was a miscarriage while he was gone for days on end. Meanwhile a girl was being raised by Mira Marrow in Chicago, a girl that turned into a star student teen that thought her mother had passed when she was but an infant. Now the teen was a woman, wise to the world and a little wild, a woman that was going to be reunited with her father in just a few days. This was a blessing and a curse, something that Gemma wanted for her husband and yet her life had been lived as simply as it could be with their lifestyle choices. Everything would be in shambles, they'd be walking on egg shells, and yet she knew there was nothing that could be done. Her dirty little secret was upon them, her darling daughter would appear, materialize right before her very eyes.
"We'll work through this," Clay muttered, pulling Gemma close, forehead to forehead as he tried to calm his erratic wife.
"It isn't fair," Gemma whispered, "it isn't fair to her."
Shaking his head, the older man closed his eyes, taking it all in as he sighed deeply.
"Nothin' in this life is fair," he consoled, "but I want this to work. I want to know she's happy, I want to know she's safe. I'll never be able to make up for all the time that's lost, but I sure as hell can have her close while I still got the chance."
The couple sat in silence for what felt like ages after that, allowing the brunette to cry and both of them to breathe. This was the way it had to be, she saw that now, but truthfully, the brave and hard as nails Gemma, was terrified.
"Maybe we can put her up with Ope's sister," the mother finally announced, "Clary lives alone, maybe she'd take her…..that sounds bad…..I mean maybe it would be nice for her to live with someone her own age. She'd probably be more comfortable. It's better than Jax's place….Lord knows those two kids would be enough for Andie to go crazy on her first few days back."
Clay nodded, giving his wife's hands a gentle squeeze. "We'll cross that bridge when she gets here my love," he suggested, "call Clary in the mornin', tell her my daughter's movin' down and needs a place to crash for awhile. I don't think she'll mind, both them kids are good, Opie's set a good example for his little sis."
Wiping the tears away from her eyes Gemma shook her head, still perplexed by how complicated this was all going to be.
"How are we gonna insert her into our life?" she wondered, "I mean the way we live…..the club…..I just don't know if she's ready."
Kissing the brunette's forehead, Clay motioned to stand up from the table. "Andie knows her old man's in the club, her ex is part of the midwest charter….trust me my girl knows a lot more about what we do than you think," he chuckled, realizing just how much he could actually discuss with his only child.
"Our daughter had a boyfriend? Have I met him?" in an instant she went into mother mode.
"Yeah maybe once," Clay nodded, "Dayton, he was from Nevada but then relocated to Chicago and became a member. Good guy really, wish they woulda worked." Gemma ran her fingers through her hair, pulling at the strands some.
"Please tell me it wasn't Marty," the brunette snarled, unable to handle the fact that her little girl may have been touched by that asshole.
"No Gem, it was the younger one, Dean," he reassured, "I'da killed the prick myself if it woulda been the other."
Looking to the sky Gemma let out a silent prayer, thanking the lord that her daughter had decent taste in men.
"Still, he's too old for her," she practically spit, "and my girl needs a class act not someone like that. How the hell did he even last in Chicago is beyond me."
Clay laughed loudly at his wife's comments, remembering the stories that he'd told her about the midwest charter and the members.
"Don't worry 'bout nothin'," he grinned, "just wait till ya see her, Gem. She's beautiful, smart too. I'm a little pissed she quit Columbia College to go tour with some band and write; the fact that my sister let her do that burns me up. She's too damn educated to just give it all up. I'm glad she's comin' down so that she can go back to school, I'm gonna make damn sure of it."
"When is she coming?" Gemma finally smiled, standing up from the table as she followed her husband back to the bedroom.
"Saturday," he informed, realizing that in two days his daughter would actually be in his arms once again.
"Let's have a get together," the brunette suggested, "it will be nice, she can meet the group and settle in better. I'll handle everything."
Once again Clay chuckled, settling in to his side of the large mattress.
"You always do dear," he grinned, "thank you…but trust me, you'll be happy she came once she's here."
Nodding, Gemma snuggled in close to her bear of a husband, knowing that even if the world would crumble that he was right, seeing her daughter would mean everything to her.