A/N: I have been on an epic binge rewatch of SOA since 'Mayans MC' will be premiering soon and I've realized while watching it that my writer wheels were spinning- so I put "pen to paper" and here we are.

This story will intertwine canon from the show as well as my own little AU so I can make things fit in to the story the way I see/want them to fit.
A main point to make is that I'm not totally sure how much Tara will be involved because well...I hated Tara (sorry!).

I own nothing other than my original characters.

This story will start in between the end of Season 1 and the start of Season 2.

Thanks for checking things out and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Home

It was mostly still dark outside when Gwen Winston stepped on to the small covered front porch of her brother's house. She pulled her hands in to the sleeves of her thin running top and inhaled slowly. The air was cool, damp, but somehow still full of the light dust that was ever present in Charming. She loved that smell. She had missed that smell.

This was her favorite time of day. Those moments right before the sun broke the horizon and the world started waking up. There was nothing prettier than a still, quiet, California sunrise; except maybe a California sunset.

A few seconds later she was bounding down the two small steps, making sure her headphones were secured in her ears, and casting a weary glance at the truck in the driveway, loosely covered with a tarp, before her feet were beating against pavement and she was falling in to her running stride.

There was a long day ahead of her and a long day of traveling and late night arrival behind her and this was what she needed to clear her head, settle her anxieties, and get her ready to tackle the day; the air, the sting in her throat and lungs as she ran, the music pulsing through her ears and the feeling of making contact with the pavement.

She hadn't been in charming in three year and even that visit was a short one. She hadn't lived in Charming for over four years but as she jogged her way around the streets, making a turn when she hit the 2.5 mile mark to head back to the house, she realized that it hadn't really changed that much.

It was good to see that. It was comforting.

It was only a few moments after she had made her turn towards home when the rhythm of her stride was interrupted by the subtle vibrations of the road beneath her feet. Even through her running shoes she could feel the approaching motorcycles; it had to be at least three she thought to herself.

That made the return to Charming even more comforting; that was a vibration and a roar she was more than familiar with.

They passed her on the left; it was three of them, all black machines and leather cuts and black helmets, wild hair flying around them and whipping in the air.

She smiled and chuckled when the two riders in the back, Chibs and Tig, gave her a second look before getting too far out of sight. At least she knew she would be seeing them shortly, she knew they were headed to Opie's.

She crossed over to the side of the street the house was on and slowed her run to a jog before falling in to walking strides as she made it to the start of the driveway. There were the three bikes, the orange and pink of the sky glinting off of their shiny exteriors.

Like it or not, babe, it's time to say hello to your old friends she thought to herself as she pulled the headphones from her ears and ascended up the steps and in to the house.

The voices were coming from the kitchen area and she stepped around the shelves in the opening foyer of the house and turned in to it, greeted by the sight of her dad, Piney and his two companions.

Tig's eyes lit up immediately and he smiled brightly, "that was you! I thought I was seeing things!"

"Well you know the early morning light plays tricks on people sometimes," she replied with a smile.

"Come here, doll," Chibs added, reaching out for her, beckoning for a hug.

She crossed to them and hugged both men and then leaned down to greet her dad with a kiss on the cheek, "morning pops."

"The baby bird came home," Chibs stated, shaking his head, using the familiar nickname she had been carrying around since she was small.

"I felt like if there was ever an appropriate time for me to come home it was now. I tried to get in here earlier but I had to tie up some loose ends with work. I got here really late last night; I promise I wasn't hiding from you."

"Ah we would never think you were hiding from us," Tig waved her off. "We're glad you're here."

"Yeah it's good to see you. Are ye' staying long?" Chibs asked. His accent made Gwen's ears dance. She always loved to listen to him talk.

"It's all up in the open right now," she answered.

"If I have my way she'll be staying," Piney grumbled.

She rolled her eyes and gave the men a warm smile, "if you guys will excuse me, I need to grab a shower. Well, I need to grab a coffee and then a shower."

She pointed to the coffee pot behind her dad and winked at him. She was given hugs all around and promises of 'see you later' before she poured the warm liquid in to a worn brown mug, topped it with a splash of half and half and disappeared down the hallway towards the guest bedroom she was occupying.

She couldn't help but smile to herself and she strolled down the hall. Whatever anxieties she had held about seeing the club after her long absence; the men her dad and brother called family, the men she had called family her whole life, they had disappeared with the first hug and the smell of warm leather and dust.

She was struck with a pang in that moment, bringing her to a stop before her doorway.

She hated that the reunion had to be under somber circumstances. She had always wanted her return to Charming to be on happy terms, her terms, coming back to settle in and continue with the plans and life she had always thought she would have.

She was here to help her brother lay his wife to rest. To help her dad stay as healthy as possible while her brother took some time to reconcile himself with his future. To be an aunt to her niece and nephew and care for them when they needed someone the most.

"Gwen?" a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

She lifted her head. Apparently in her drifting of thoughts her gaze had fallen to the carpeted hallway, spacing off. She looked in the direction of the voice with her eyebrows raised in question. A small smile played on her lips and she inhaled slightly, "hey Ope."

"What're you doing?" He asked.

"I just got lost in my head."

"In the hallway?"

She frowned at him and his deadpan tone. That was Opie, that's just how he spoke, but it still managed to get under her skin from time to time.

"It happens," she took a sip of coffee from the mug cradled in her hands. "Who was that outside with you? I saw Chibs and Tig."

"Oh it was Clay, he told me to say hello and he hoped to see you tonight."

Gwen didn't verbally respond aside from a 'humph' sound from her throat. Clay Morrow wasn't her favorite person. She had always tried her best to play it off and treated him with the reverence and respect he had earned by being the Sons of Anarchy President- but deep down she could never completely shake off not liking him.

"Figures that would be your response," he stated. He had the slightest twist of a smirk on his face.

His eyes were heavy. His sun tanned and slightly weathered face appeared darker than usual; solemn. She could tell he was exhausted. She also knew she couldn't really do anything to help him.

"Can I uh, ask you a favor?" He asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

She found it slightly ironic that he was the one doing the most talking in this moment. "Anything," she said.

"Will you ride with me? Tonight and tomorrow? I'm not…I'm not sure that I can…I don't want to do it alone."

Her gaze softened on him. "Is that allowed? Are there like…protocols or something?"

"I don't give a shit if there is," he shrugged, his deadpan tone returned.

She nodded and crossed the space between them, reaching up to touch his cheek softly. "You got me, Ope. I'll be there."

He nodded and leaned down to kiss the side of her head. "Thank you."

"Of course."

He nodded again and stepped back, glancing towards the kitchen where Piney still sat, conversing with Chibs and Tig.

"There's breakfast and coffee in there. You should eat something. I know you haven't eaten."

"Nah, I have some stuff to do. I have to find Jax, we have church."

"Ope…" she started, starting to scold him. "Really?"

"I'll see you tonight, we'll pick you up."

She sighed heavily and waved him toward the front door with one hand, "be careful at least, ok?"

Gwen and Opie were only half siblings, Gwen the result of a tryst with a crow eater in her old man's hey days of SAMCRO. Trying to point that detail out to either of them was a lost cause, though. They were barely a year apart but it never stopped Opie from touting his "older brother" status over her and it never stopped them from sealing a best-friend type of bond. In the fucked up world between their dad, his alcohol, and their mothers; they were all each other had. Aside from the rest of the club.

In all honesty Gwen's mother, Rose, had been more of a mother to Opie than Mary had. There was a part of Opie and Piney that Mary could never accept and she definitely didn't accept Gwen- not that it had mattered to the young woman much.

Once Gwen had made it out of high school, Rose had finally made the move away from Charming. She didn't ask Gwen to come with her, she had known it was a lost cause to try and get her to leave the safety in familiarity of Charming, but she had always left the door open.

The year Opie had gone to jail had been turmoil. Donna would barely look at her, let alone speak to her, or allow her time with the kids. Piney was spiraling deeper in to his tequila, or whiskey, or whatever drink was readily available for him. Jax was lost in own world and problems. With her best-friend and mom both not around and her family in tatters; Gwen had realized she needed to leave. She needed a break. Her mother's phone call to tell her daughter that she had cancer had sealed the deal.

Think of it as my walkabout she had wistfully smiled at her brother when visiting him before packing her car and leaving for Georgia, and her mom, and something new.

"Hey," Opie's voice interrupted Gwen's walk down memory lane once again.

It was late, after eleven, the day of Donna's funeral finally coming to an end. She had stepped in to play hostess to the waves of well wishers and sympathizers that came through the house after the service, and was now in the kitchen with a batch of cookie dough chilling in the fridge and a load of dishes in the dishwasher.

"Hey yourself," she said as she turned to face him.

It only took a few seconds for her to register the bed roll tucked under his arm. She angled her head and cut a glare at him. "You aren't leaving tonight, Ope."

"I have to."

"Opie!" she exclaimed, keeping her voice at a hushed level so she didn't wake up either of the kids. "Opie, you're supposed to be leaving in the morning."

"I can't say goodbye to them, bird."

She sighed at his response, her heart cracking again at what he was going through. They stood for what seemed like minutes, silently looking at each other.

"I know," she finally said.

He crossed over to her and hugged her, pulling her tight, neither of them speaking for several moments while the clock on the wall ticked away in the silent kitchen. "I couldn't have done this without you here. I would've killed someone by now. I would've gone crazy."

"I wouldn't have been anywhere else, Opie. You're my family."

He pulled away from their hug and looked at her. "If you need anything, anything, even if it's something small- you call Jax, ok?"

"I know. I haven't been gone that long."

"He'll take care of you."

"I know. Jax first, then Chibs, then Bobby, then Tig, then Mickey Mouse, Barney and if everyone else in the world has disappeared, call Clay. I remember."

He nodded solemnly. "Take care of my kids."

"Like they're my own."

With another kiss to her temple, he turned and quickly made his way to the garage door and was gone. She sighed heavily and leaned back against the counter top, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hand. She listened to his motorcycle start, rev, and then fade away into the night and quiet of Charming.

It wasn't more than 15 minutes later, long enough for her to remove the dough from the fridge and start rolling it in to balls and placing them on a cookie sheet, that the sound of a motorcycle drew closer to the house.

She turned her head towards the garage door, waiting and hoping to see Opie walk back in. Maybe he had changed his mind about not saying goodbye to Kenny and Ellie.

There was a light knock and she exhaled the breath she had been holding.

"It's open!" she called out, angrily snatching the dish towel from next to the sink to wipe her hands.

"You should probably check to see who is at your door at 11:30 at night instead of just inviting them in," Jax Teller greeted her with amused eyes and a slight grin.

"You parked a loud ass motorcycle in the driveway and there's only a handful of people who would be doing that at 11:30 at night. None of those people are a threat to me."

"Fair enough."

She smiled and his grin grew to a full smile in return.

"Come here, darlin," He beckoned her over and greeted her with a hug.

They hugged for a moment and she stepped back, scowling at him, "took you long enough to make an actual appearance today."

"I know. But Opie understood. It's been a crazy couple of days."

"What's new?" she sarcastically stated.

Jax's response was a gruff 'huh' and smirk.

A small voice calling for Opie interrupted their very short silence before either of them had a chance to speak again.

Gwen's face fell and she closed her eyes briefly, swallowing hard.

"Ope not here?" Jax questioned.

She shook her head 'no' and turned her head towards the back of the house when Kenny called out again.

"Give me a minute," she smiled weakly at her long time friend. "Do me a favor and put these in the oven, ok? And there's plenty of beer in the fridge from this afternoon, and food; help yourself."

"Yeah, I got it."

She returned to Jax sitting at the table in the dining area, half eaten sandwich on a paper plate in front of him and a beer sitting next to it. He was mid chew when she made her appearance, his blue eyes speaking before he was able to actually speak.

"He ok?"

"He will be," she spoke as she walked by him and straight to the fridge, retrieving a beer for herself and a second for Jax. She sat it next to the one he was already working on and plopped down in the chair next to his. "I"m mad at Opie."

"I can tell. When did he leave?"

"Not too long before you got here," she shook her head. "He said he couldn't say goodbye to the kids."

"He was avoiding the send off from us, too," Jax nodded, "I figured he would sneak away but I didn't think he would do it this early. I'm sorry."

She shrugged nonchalantly and took a long sip from her beer. She reached out gently in the quiet moment to run her thumb along the scab and bruise forming on Jax's chin and lower lip. It had been far bloodier when he made his brief appearance at the funeral earlier that day.

"What happened with this?" she asked.

"Internal disagreement," he replied quickly. She met his stare and he held it, taking a sip of his own beer. He watched her lips tighten and purse together as she studied him. "It was a onetime thing. It's handled," he added.

"You'll still tell me what I need to know?"

"Yeah, I will. I promise."

She nodded. That was enough for now. "Opie should have at least stayed the night. They just lost their mother and now they're going to wake up and he won't be here. I know he's hurting but they could have at least had a chance to say goodbye to him. They didn't get that with Donna. And now they're just alone."

"They're not alone, bird."

"You know what I mean."

He sat back against the back of the chair and watched her as he took time to finish his bite of sandwich he had just taken. "They have you, first and foremost, and if you look out for them half as well as you tried to look out for me and Ope growing up, they're in perfect hands. They have Piney, for what that's worth and they have us. I know what Ope is dealing with right now."

She raised an eyebrow at him, a silent sign to continue.

"My kid doesn't have a mom either."

"Wendy was at the funeral today. So was Tara. You don't have a valid argument."

"Tara is only here for a few weeks and Wendy is leaving in the morning. She's going to a sober living house. I don't know that she'll ever be back. I'm not sure I care…" he trailed off with a shrug.

Gwen inhaled deeply and couldn't help but smile slightly. "Jackson Teller is a dad; a single one at that. I couldn't have called that one."

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

She glanced at the clock on the oven over his shoulder, keeping track of the time the cookies had been in the oven, and stood from the table to check on them. The sweet aroma of the fresh baked treats filled the kitchen as soon as she cracked the oven door open. If that wasn't the most comforting smell in the world, she didn't know what it possibly could be.

Jax didn't turn to watch her but he could hear her moving around the kitchen behind him. He finished his sandwich and took a long drink from his beer before standing up and moving in to the kitchen. The plate was discarded in the trash can by the door from the garage he entered through and then he settled with his back against a counter. She was scooping a second batch of dough on the cookie sheet as he lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

"Why are you making birthday cookies?"

The cookies Gwen were diligently working on at midnight were lovingly named 'birthday cookies' by Jax, Opie and her. They were standard butter cookies with full size reese's cups cut in to them and it had been the favorite recipe of her mother's. Every birthday, for every member of their family, including Jax; Rose had made those cookies.

"Because tomorrow is my birthday," Gwen answered him, "well, today is my birthday."

She heard his quick and heavy exhale behind her.

"Shit."

She turned to him with a soft smile, "it's okay. With everything going on, I didn't expect anyone to remember. It's just another day these days anyways; we're old. But I wanted to be sure the tradition was kept alive. Ellie helped me mix everything before she went to bed."

"You'll have to make some for Abel."

"I will."

She turned to discard the newly loaded sheet of cookies in the oven. She grabbed one off of the cooling rack and crossed the few steps to Jax, holding it out for him. He took the cookie and she reached for the half smoked cigarette in his hand, taking her own drag from it.

"Opie told me to call you if I needed help with anything, even it was small."

"Yeah."

"Can you send whoever is on tow truck duty tomorrow to get that damn truck out of the driveway? Shove it in an empty bay at the shop until Opie gets back but I don't want to look at it and I sure as hell don't want those two kids walking by it every day."

"I'll take care of it."

"Are you hanging out for awhile?" she questioned him.

"Do you want me to?"

"I want to hear all about that baby boy of yours and I want to know what the hell has been going on around here."

"Then I guess I'm hanging out for awhile."