Disclaimer: I do not own Sons o Anarchy.
"D, you know I love you and your kids, but you better have a really good reason for dropping your twin terrors on my ass at the last minute." Jolene warned.
Standing in the entrance of her foyer, Jolene Teller crossed her arms under her chest as she eyed her excited friend.
"I do," Donna was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "And I come back baring gifts, so you don't have to worry about dinner tonight." She held up several bags of what Jolene could smell was Thai food.
"There better be an order of spring rolls in one of those bags with my name on it." Jolene started. Wearing nothing but a pair of old cargo pants and a tank top with her long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, the 30 year old mother suddenly turned on her heel and winced as the argument in the family room started escalating and increased in volume.
"God, what I really could use right now is a shot of tequila." Jolene muttered under her breath as she stomped towards the ruckus.
Too excited and happy with the news she had to share, all Donna could do was practically skip behind her best friend as she followed her to Ground Zero.
"Oh my God, dude! That was a freakin' cheesy move and you know it!" Abel tossed his PS3 controller over his shoulder and onto the couch.
"It's only cheesy to you cuz I won. Again!" Kenny argued.
"You only won cuz you cheesed, man! You keep coming at me with the same move, over and over. Change it up, or every win for you is going down as cheesy." Abel countered.
"Elle, was I being cheesy?" Kenny turned to his sister.
"I haven't had a turn for like the past half hour! You both suck!" Ellie countered.
"Uh oh, A-bee! Look at Mommy's face! You gonna get it now!" It was surprising how, even with three arguing kids, a barking dog, and now a squalling infant, the tiny, piping voice full of snark had managed to be heard. But much like the woman she was named after, there was no way three year old Maddox Gemma Teller would be denied getting a word in edgewise as she sat on the arm of a recliner swinging her bare little legs.
Quickly spinning around towards the doorway, Abel's huge green eyes widened even further as he met his mother's awesome death glare. Knowing that he and his friends were in the shit, Jax and Jolene's oldest tried to smooth things over by flashing his father's patented grin.
"Gee, Mom. I'm sorry. We didn't mean to set the kid off." Quickly crossing the room to the play pen set up next to the sofa, Abel bent over to pick up its occupant. Bouncing the irritated infant in his arms, Abel whispered to his little brother, "Yo TJ, help me out here or else I'm gonna have the taste of Ma's foot in my mouth after she shoves it up my ass."
Suddenly, as if the newest addition to the Teller household understood his brother's request perfectly, eight month old Thomas John Teller showed mercy on Abel and settled down. Rubbing his teary eyes with small, chubby fists, the baby hiccupped repeatedly as a result of his crying fit. It was obvious that the little one didn't appreciate having his nap time disturbed and, like his mother, didn't have a problem letting everyone know when he was unhappy.
Jolene reached out to take her young son from Abel. Cradling the baby in her arms, she eyed the three suddenly subdued children avoiding her gaze. "Aunt D brought dinner, so go wash up now. And try to do it without waking the dead or messing up my bathroom, you hear?"
A chorus of apologies could be heard as the three older children hastily exited the room, closely followed by Maddy and Chopper, with at least two making sure to avoid another death glare from their mother.
"Shit, girl, with that look I'm surprised they're still breathing." Donna chuckled.
Jolene plopped herself down onto her couch as she rocked her son back and forth. "Hey, I was on the receiving end of that look plenty of times myself, so I did learn from the best." Jolene said, thinking of her mother-in-law. "You'd think I'd have them in check, but Fridays at Excelsior Prep are tough and my death glare ain't what it used to be. Besides, I thought I was going to have a relatively quiet afternoon until you showed up with two-thirds of the Brat Pack. You didn't even tell me what was up your butt, you ran out of here so fast."
Jolene had only been home an hour when Donna had called asking if she could drop the kids by while she went to a meeting.
"I know, I'm sorry." Donna plopped down next to her best friend, the shit-eating grin on her face looking anything but contrite. Settling into the comfy sofa, she took Thomas, affectionately known as TJ, from his mother. "You'll forgive me, though, when I tell ya that I finally wore my old man down."
Considering that they were practically inseparable since their middle school days, it took very few words between the two women to convey what they were thinking and Jolene immediately jumped to the proper conclusion. "Are you fuckin' kidding me? You got Sasquatch to cave?" Jolene exclaimed excitedly.
"Yup! It's surprising what a good home cooked meal and a couple hours of vigorous fucking can accomplish." Donna crowed as TJ, swept away by the excitement between the two friends, clapped along happily with his mother. "We had our first meet with Britt today and we saw two houses. And guess what? One of them is in Crestwood!"
Jolene reached over to give her BFF a hug as the baby squealed happily between them. "That's great, D! Where is it?"
Donna grinned. "Just five blocks away. It's the old Binghamton house."
Jolene's eyes rounded in surprise. "That place is gorgeous." Jolene knew the house well as she passed the two-story home on a daily basis on her way to work since moving into the neighborhood.
"The best part is that it has a mother-in-law apartment that looks out into this beautiful garden. It would be perfect for Piney."
Her best friend hooted at that. "You really think you're gonna get my drinking buddy to move in? Piney is so not the suburbia type."
"I don't care what the old cranky bastard thinks. He's moving in, and that's that. You know it's time, Jo." Donna reasoned.
Jolene sighed. "Yeah, I do."
It was an open secret in the Clubhouse that Piney's health had been on the decline over the last couple of years. The hardcore outlaw biker had been on a non-stop party train of booze, weed and women for over 40 years and despite his doctor's warnings, the old coot had no intention of getting off.
This, of course, was familiar territory for Jolene, having put a stop to her own father's destructive ways in order to squeeze out as much time with the old man as possible. "You're gonna have your work cut out for you with that one, but you can count of me to lean on him. If we pull Gemma in, too, I'm sure the three of us can nag him into moving in just to shut us up."
"Ope doesn't think it'll work, but he's supporting me on it. He knows I'm right when I tell him I'm afraid one day Piney will keel over in that stupid cabin of his and nobody will know about it for days. It would devastate Ope and the kids. And me."
Jolene smiled. Piney wasn't the easiest of her father's brothers to love. He used that brash, rough exterior to keep people at bay, but once he let you in, you were in for life. "Sometimes I think you're closer to Piney than Opie is."
Donna nodded. "He's gruff and rude, and likes to fart at the most inappropriate times, but I see so much of him in Ope that I can't help but love the old bastard. In a lot of ways, I think I love him more than my own dad. He's certainly been there for us a lot more than my own family."
To say that Helen and Bob Lerner had not been overjoyed by their only daughter's decision to marry a member of the town's outlaw MC would be an understatement. It had taken a number of years before the staid, middle-class couple could come to terms with the fact that Donna was committed to her husband and their family and that she wasn't going anywhere. While her father had eventually caved and accepted Opie as his son-in-law early in their marriage, his wife on the other hand barely tolerated the father of her grandchildren. In fact, had it not been for Kenny and Ellie, Helen Lerner might have never repaired her relationship with her daughter, and this was something that had astounded Jolene. As a mother now herself, Jolene couldn't think her children capable of doing anything that could justify her withholding her love from them.
As a result of her estrangement from her family, Donna had surprisingly found herself embraced by her husband's SAMCRO family. With Jolene's help, Donna had managed to find a balance between her marriage and the Club. Always looking for a way for everyone to get along, Donna started gravitating towards Opie's grumpy father in the hope of strengthening the relationship between father and son. Ultimately, after the birth of the twins, Piney had become closer to his daughter-in-law, always taking Donna's side on any domestic disputes between the couple. Granted, Piney was no Grandpa Walton, but he had often drunkenly pronounced that the love he had for his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren was what was keeping him alive. Donna was determined to keep the old man around for as long as possible for her family.
"What did Ope think about the house?" Jolene asked.
"He actually liked it, but I was sure the price would be a deal-breaker, so I resigned myself to going with the other one we saw that wasn't bad, but not nearly as nice and we could really use the four bedrooms." Donna explained. "Britt offered to show us a couple of more, but Opie surprised the shit out of me by telling her to make an offer. Now, all we have to do is wait and see if the sellers accept. At this rate, we could be neighbors in a couple of months."
Jolene cocked an eyebrow. "Four bedrooms, huh? Any plans on turning one of those into a nursery and maybe give my little boy a best friend?"
Donna rolled her eyes. "No, no, no. This baby factory is closed for business. Yeah, this little bundle tugs at my heartstrings, but I'm done. If you want a playmate for TJ, you're gonna have to push another one out yourself."
"That's not gonna happen, D. It was hard enough talking my old man into having this cheeky monkey." Jolene stroked her son's sparse blond hair.
"Can you blame him?" Donna questioned.
"Not really." Jolene knew that she had pushed the envelope with this third pregnancy. After successfully giving birth to their second child Maddy, the new Queen of Charming had been determined to have one more. Jax, however, had not exactly been in a cooperative frame of mind when she had casually broached the subject soon after their daughter's birth.
Giving him time to catch his breath, Jolene had gone on to finally earn her Master's degree in Education in the 2½ years following Maddy's birth. All the while, Jolene had worked on softening up her old man enough that Jax finally broke down and promised to think about thinking about it. Not exactly a yes, but it was a start considering how possessive the love of her life was and how much he feared losing her.
After springing numerous surprise booty calls on him at the Clubhouse and one particularly hot vacation to Baja for just the two of them, Jax's resolve had finally melted and her potent old man had managed to knock Jolene up again in quick order.
Unfortunately, this time, in spite of the loving care and preparation on part of both parents, Jolene's pregnancy had gone a little sideways. Thomas John Teller had been born with the Maddoc family flaw—a congenital heart defect.
Although carried to full term, TJ was born at 5 pounds, 17 inches and had several tears in his heart. With Jax and Jolene fearing that they had pushed their luck, the chances that their youngest son wouldn't survive had been very real. After undergoing several surgeries and months of treatment, even though it had been a close call, the Tellers' youngest son finally received a clean bill of health after six months.
Now that their family was numbering five, Jax had put his foot down. He wasn't about to risk his old lady's health or the life of any more unborn children again. Realizing the wisdom of his words and his fears for her, Jolene had made the decision to have her tubes tied.
Donna could sense the shift in her friend's mood as Jolene pulled her son into her arms and squeezed him tight. It was a miracle the pudgy, robust baby had survived and in an attempt to lighten the mood, Donna changed the subject. "So did your slave driver of a mother-in-law finally manage to rope you into this Taste of Charming thing happening tomorrow?"
"I've done a pretty good job dodging her so far, but I just know my conscience is gonna kick in, not letting me skip the event altogether. After taking leave from work to take care of TJ, it's taking me a minute to get back in the swing of things. I really look forward to the weekends and spending down time with my old man and our babies. I'm really stingy with my free time, but it is for a good cause."
"And it's good P.R. for the Club." Donna added. "And you are the Prez's Queen."
Jolene rolled her eyes. "Exactly."
The Taste of Charming festival was held annually in late summer. For many years now, the festival had served a dual purpose. Not only did it promote the many and varied Mom and Pop businesses in Charming, but it was also a fundraiser, raising thousands of dollars to fund many programs in the three public schools in town. The festival showcased the food and family activities available year round in the town and had grown in popularity, drawing visitors from nearby towns such as Modesto and Lodi and as far as Stockton.
While organized by the Chamber of Commerce, it was heavily funded and backed by the Sons of Anarchy. With Gemma Teller-Morrow at the forefront of the planning, it was just one way the old ladies of the MC gave back to the community, while at the same time fostering good will for the Club.
This year would be the largest festival ever. With over thirty different businesses sponsoring booths, it was expected that the family-oriented event would probably be the best and most remembered festival in its 25-year history.
As the saying goes, however, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
The town of Charming was a sleepy little village of sorts, a true slice of America. Only 23 miles in diameter, its 14,682 residents were used to a slower paced lifestyle, unlike the larger cities of Lodi, Modesto, Stockton and San Leandro. Small town venues go hand in hand with small town life and the Taste of Charming was a part of that.
The funds for this year's festival would be donated to the School District to fund Charming Middle School's music program. The large quad on the school grounds was the location of this year's event and Gemma had worked hard with the planning committee, Charming MS's PTA, and the school's Principal Michael O'Leary to make sure that the event would be a success.
Several of Charming's businesses and organizations were hosting a booth or had made a cash donation, including Nicky's Diner, Charming Police Department, Oswald Beef, Charming Dairy Works, Gina's Cut-N-Curl, and of course, the Sons of Anarchy. The huge square of school property not only housed the colorful booths, but was big enough for games and activities as well, such as a dunk tank, relay races, and an inflatable Castle gym for the younger children. A raffle and outdoor concert featuring Bobby Elvis and the TCB Band were planned for sundown, with a fireworks display courtesy of SAMCRO and rigged by Opie to close the festivities.
It was just barely noon and the town folk were already making their rounds to all of the booths, with their children running wild and generally having fun while one of several local bands played live music at the bandstand.
Gemma smiled as she directed a small army of croweaters in setting up the three SAMCRO booths—one for Bobby's prize-winning Chili and jalapeño corn bread, the second selling SAMCRO Supporter t-shirts and other bike accessories donated by T-M Auto, and the third an Elvis Makeover booth. She turned around as she heard someone call her name as they walked by the booths.
"Hey, Gem! Looking good. Seems like you have everything under control, so I'm gonna head over—"
"Stop right there! Do not move a damn muscle!" Gemma ordered, pointing a finger at Jolene as she came around the table. "You are not getting away so easy, especially not with my new grandson." Gemma was practically jelly as she cooed, reaching into the double-stroller to pick up the sleeping infant.
Jolene crossed her arms as her mother-in-law paid absolutely no attention to her as she cuddled TJ in her arms. The baby didn't bat an eyelash as he slept through his grandmother's onslaught of kisses. Finally looking at the young mother of three, who had seemingly stopped aging when she graduated college, Gemma grinned as she reached over to give her a hug.
"Shit, Jolene. Every time I see you, you're looking better and better." She marveled, grateful that her son's old lady had come through the other side after a difficult third pregnancy had depleted her health. "I thought you were going to bail out on me."
"To be honest, I considered it. After a year off from work, getting back into the swing of things is really kicking my ass, but Abel really wanted to come and wherever he goes you know Maddy has to follow." Jolene explained.
"Speaking of the rest of your little devils, where are they?" Gemma asked.
"With Jax, who's parking the Teller Mobile." Jolene grinned. The stripper pole in the bedroom had definitely been a good investment. So far, it had gone a long way in helping Jolene get her way with Jax, especially when everything else had failed in trying to convince him to buy a cage big enough for their growing family.
"You need to stop calling it that. I'm surprised he'll drive that thing at all." Gemma laughed.
"Yeah, my big bad outlaw really hates mini-vans."
"Well, when he gets here, he can take care of your precious babies while I put your ass to work."
Jolene crossed her arms under her enlarged chest, which she had managed to squeeze into a fitted t-shirt. "Gem, my baby needs access to these puppies on the regular, so I think—"
"That your old man can take care of him while you man the Chili booth for a couple of hours. Now come on and help me." Gemma strapped the sleeping baby back into his side of the double-stroller. "Besides, here comes Mr. Mom now."
Jolene looked up and smiled as she spotted her old man carrying his daughter, with Abel at his side leading the way.
Good thing Abel is there to direct his father over here, Jolene grinned to herself. The man is still so enthralled by his baby girl that he can't bother to look and see where he's going.
Jax came to abrupt halt in front of his old lady and mother, while Maddox continued to play her favorite game of tugging on his goatee and laughing hysterically whenever he groaned in pain as he made faces.
"Maddy, why do you want to hurt your daddy?" Jax pouted.
The three-year old with dark shoulder length hair pulled back in a ponytail smiled mischievously at her father, her blue-green eyes sparkling madly. "Cause you funny, Daddy." Stretching her small arms out, she clasped her little hands on either side of her father's face and plastered a wet kiss on his mouth. "I lub you."
Jolene playfully rolled her eyes as she literally saw her outlaw husband melt in to a puddle of goo. "I love you to, Mad." He whispered his pet name for her.
"Man, I am so over the mushy stuff." Eight-year old Abel rolled his eyes at his father as well. "I'm gonna go find Kenny and Ellie, okay Ma?" He asked.
"Okay, but make sure you stay in the quad. It's getting crowded." Jolene ordered.
As her brother ran off, Maddy tried to wriggle free of her father in order to chase after him. The toddler, dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a white SAMCRO t-shirt would have gotten away too had Jax not had a tight grip on her. "Sorry Mad, but you need to stay with me and TJ."
The little girl crossed her arms and pouted. "But I wanna go play with A-bee." She stared mutinously at her father.
"You can play with him later, honey." Jolene said as she reached out to stroke her daughter's hair. "Daddy's going to take you around to play some games with TJ while I help Grandma."
But the little girl wasn't giving up. Pointing at the sleeping baby, Maddy did a pretty good imitation of her grandfather. "I can't play wit him. He just sleeps and makes poopies."
"Don't worry, Mad. It's just you and me, but we'll still have a good time, okay?" Jax lifted his daughter up so that she sat on his shoulders, which caused her to shriek with laughter and excitement.
"Hey, Mrs. T!" Someone called out, causing Jolene, Jax, Gemma, and several other women working the SAMCRO booths to look in the direction of the quad. "What? No kissing booth?" One of Jolene's students, a jock from one of her math labs, called out as he and a group of his friends walked by.
Jax glared daggers at the abnormally tall teenager. In spite of his size, the young man's grin fell off his face as he made eye contact with the SAMCRO President and he hurriedly made himself scarce.
"Geez, baby. He was just kidding." Jolene giggled. "I think everyone knows by now that I am the property of one Jax Teller."
"And that trespassers will be shot." Gemma snarked.
Jax leaned into Jolene's personal space and nearly sucked the tongue out of her mouth. "Yeah, and survivors will be shot twice." He was smiling, but Jolene could see in his denim-blue eyes that he was deadly serious.
"That was so fuckin' hot." Jolene murmured to herself as she watched her old man walk off, holding onto his daughter with one hand, while using the other to push his son's stroller.
"Uh huh, cool down there, baby girl." Gemma teased before shouting after her son. "Jax! While your strolling about, give your brother a call and tell him to get his ass over here ASAP! We can't do Elvis makeovers without a fuckin' Elvis!"
By mid-afternoon, the grounds of Charming Middle School were swarming with people, with the sounds of laughter and music filling the air. Gemma had one eye on her booth and the other on Jolene. The young woman was inching further and further away from her station at the Chili booth, calling out encouragement at the top of her lungs as Abel took the lead in the sack race. Gemma stopped cutting a pan of cornbread into neat little squares long enough to whistle and clap as her grandson crossed the finish line first. Gemma shook her head, deciding to give Jolene a temporary furlough as Abel grabbed his mother by the hand, encouraging her to join him for the next event, the three-legged race.
Gemma grinned as she saw caught the eye of Chief Wayne Unser, who was working the Charming Police Department's booth on the opposite side of the quad. The hot dog booth, which featured a miniature jail cell next to it, proclaimed in big bold letters that Charming PD had been "Grilling Suspects for Over 50 Years." A short time later, the Chief stopped off at the fried chicken and apple pie booth sponsored by Nicky's Diner before making his way over to her.
"All that fried crap is gonna kill you." She warned her long-time friend as she eyed the container full of piping hot, deep-fried chicken.
"Yeah, 'cause the cancer is keeping me so fit and spunky." Unser replied sarcastically as he dipped a fried chicken tender into a cup of Nicky's special sauce and popped it into his mouth. Two years ago, the Chief, a thirty-year veteran of Charming's Police Department, had been diagnosed with second stage lung cancer. The older man seemed to be managing just fine, despite the fact that he and his wife Della had recently called it quits.
"How's the Chili?" Unser asked as he eyed several large crock pots and slabs of cornbread sitting on the table.
"Bobby put his foot in it as usual." Gemma's eyes narrowed as she looked over the Chief's shoulder. "Speak of the devil. He's finally here."
Hurrying over to the heavyset biker decked out in a white sequined pantsuit and wig, Gemma barked at him. "You're late, Elvis!"
Bobby, managing to dodge her, ran in front of Gemma and headed behind the Chili booth. "Do you have any idea of difficult it is to get this shit into a helmet?" He whined, pointing at his wig.
"The kids have been waiting for over an hour, damn it." Gemma complained.
"I've been cooking damn Chili and cornbread for 18 hours straight. Don't I deserve to get some sleep?"
"You can sleep when you're dead." Gemma fought the urge to kick his behind. At least he was here. "Speaking of dead, where's my husband and the rest of Club?"
"Relax, they're here. I think some of them went over to Oswald's booth to get some steaks. Now will you stop jerking my chain so I can get to the kids?" Bobby grumbled.
Suddenly popping out from behind the draped curtain of the booth next to the Chili stand, Bobby Elvis made his grand entrance. "Why bless my soul! Oooh, look at all of God's little children." Bobby clasped his hands together, each finger sporting a colorful and gaudy ring. "So tell me, who wants to look like Elvis?"
Several boys and girls all sitting with guitars shouted and jumped up and down, "Me! Me!"
"Really?" Chief Unser shook his head. "I thought all kids wanted to look like that Bieber kid."
"Not in this town." Gemma finally relaxed and smiled as Bobby placed huge gold aviator sunglasses on a little boy dressed in an identical pantsuit and wig before his mother snapped a picture.
"Well, it's about damn time you dragged your ass over here." Gemma folded her arms as her old man sauntered into the booth.
"Hey, babe. Hi, baby girl." Clay grinned as he stood between his wife and daughter and dropped kisses on Gemma's lips and Jolene's forehead.
"Where have you been?" Both of them said as one voice.
"Chewing the fat, that's all." Clay held up his hands in mock surrender.
"That fat had better not been attached to one of Oswald's steaks. And don't you even dare visit the hot dog booth—" Gemma started.
"Or the ice cream booth—" Jolene added.
"And if you go anywhere near Nicky's booth and all that fried chicken and pie, your ass and my foot are gonna get reacquainted real quick right in front of God and everybody else here." Gemma finished.
"You know, you two buzzkills suck the joy right out of life." The former SAMCRO President groused.
Jolene crossed her arms. "Only because we love you and want you around. Be grateful."
"Look, if it's all right with you two clucking hens, I'm gonna go and say hi to my old friend Unser."
"Fine, but if I see a hot dog in your hand, you're gonna need another surgeon to fix 'em." Gemma called out.
"Or worse," Jolene called out at his retreating back. "We'll sic Neeta on you!"
Jolene wiped the sweat from her brow with a napkin before serving the next customer a heaping bowl of Chili and cornbread. The booth was doing brisk business and somehow a "couple of hours" was quickly turning into all afternoon as Gemma kept her on lock down at the tent.
Looking for a reprieve, Jolene scanned the crowd trying to spot her old man, but found her BFF instead. Donna was approaching the booth with her daughter Ellie and Jolene's youngest children.
"Hey," Jolene walked around the table and quickly hugged Ellie and Donna. "When did you get here? And what are you doing with my kids?"
Donna smiled as Jolene bent down to pick up her young son who was now wide awake and looking for attention, his blond head nuzzling against his mother's breast.
"We got here a couple of hours ago. I've been doing my part to man Oswald's booth. I left Kenny and Abel playing with some kids and water guns. And by kids I mean Opie and your old man, who's a real pain in the ass, by the way."
"What did my mentally-challenged old man do now?"
"He called Kenny 'Dirty Harry' and told my son to come talk to him in a couple of years 'cause he sure knew his way around a gun." Donna rolled her eyes. "Which is totally true. My baby shot his ass right between the eyes, but still. Then he had the nerve to drop your little bundles of joy on me. Said he was going to help Opie unload the fireworks from the truck. I'm supposed to meet him with the kids by the benches in about thirty minutes, but first we had to make a pit stop. TJ's hungry and wants his milk directly from the cow."
"Is my baby boy hungry? Huh, sweet pea?" Jolene lifted her son up in the air as he gurgled and waved his little fists In the air. "Well, let's get you fed."
While Ellie ran off to find her brother and Abel, Donna followed Jolene behind the booth. The two women sat down on a couple of milk crates while Jolene, using a light weight burping towel she placed over her shoulder and TJ's head, got down to the business of breastfeeding.
The baby's energetic sucking noises managed to penetrate through the barrier of the towel. Donna laughed. "Damn, that boy is one hearty feeder."
"And this surprises you?" Jolene snarked. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree where breasts are concerned, if you know what I mean." The two women snickered to each other.
"How did you get dragged into working?" Donna asked. "I thought you were just going to show up and play Lady Bountiful."
"Actually, it hasn't been too bad. I've enjoyed catching up with people I haven't spoken to in months." Hearing a large vehicle pull into the parking lot behind the fence they were leaning against, Jolene looked over her shoulder. Peering through the wire, Jolene groaned as she saw a school bus of elderly people disembarking.
"Oh shit. It's about to get crazy up in here." Jolene said. "Gemma arranged for the seniors from Oakdale Assisted Living to be bused in. Apparently, this particular set are all compulsive gamblers and will triple our raffle dollars."
"God bless Social Security." Donna intoned solemnly.
"Amen!" Jolene threw up one hand and set both of the women laughing again.
"They accepted our offer, Jo!" Donna blurted, unable to contain herself any longer.
Jolene squealed happily as she gave Donna a one-armed squeeze. "What took you so long to tell me? Those should have been the first words out of your mouth!"
"I haven't told Ope yet. Britt called me on my cell phone about twenty minutes ago. She wants us to come in on Monday." Donna explained.
"We're gonna be neighbors," Jolene smiled as she nudged her head towards Gemma. "All three of us."
"Aw, crap, Jo! Why did you have to go and kill the moment? I had totally blocked that part out."
The two old ladies continued to talk and laugh until the youngest Teller had finally gotten his fill, gave a huge burp and then just as quickly passed out. Donna took TJ from Jolene and placed him into the stroller next to his big sister, who was still knocked out after enjoying her good time with her daddy. "You better get back to work before Drill Sarge comes looking for ya. I'm gonna go deposit your two little angels with their father before TJ decides to go number two."
"Thanks, D." Jolene smiled as the threesome walked off. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
Donna turned back and smiled. "No, but you don't ever need to."
Jax smiled as he passed a large man stripping off his t-shirt in order to slip on his new purchase. The white t-shirts with "Free Big Otto" in bold black letters were apparently a hot seller as he had already spotted a number of them in the crowd. Big O would be pleased to know he had such a huge following.
Heading over to the Chili booth, Jax saw his old lady and mother sitting down taking a break. "Hey, darlin'," Jax walked around the table to wrap his arms around his old lady, who had jumped up at his greeting. With each hand on one butt cheek, Jax practically lifted her off the ground as he did his best to swallow her tongue. Again. "Looks like you're done here."
"Yep," Jolene smiled, her arms wrapped around his neck. "We're completely sold out and it's only 5:00."
"And if Bobby wasn't such a big hit next door, I'd send his ass back to the Clubhouse to make some more." Gemma snarked as she lit a cigarette.
"Good, then I can steal you away now." Jax waggled his eyebrows lecherously at Jolene, who was nodding her head emphatically.
"Uh, think again, shithead." Gemma got up from her seat. "I still need help cleaning up."
"That's what hang-arounds are for." Jax countered. "I wanna spend some quality time with my old lady before Bobby takes the stage."
"Well, go reel some in because they all took off the second I uttered the words 'clean up'. I need at least three before I'll let Jolene off the hook." Gemma replied.
Jax was tempted to drop his wife onto her feet and point out to his mother the patch on his kutte that said "President", but realizing his intention, Jolene quickly grabbed his face and kissed him. "Did Opie get everything set up?" She asked when she finally pulled away.
"Yeah, the big guy's ready to go boom. He's got Kenny and Abel over there with him."
Jolene eyed her husband warily. "Baby, that's not such a good idea."
"Everything's good, Jo. You know Ope. He won't let the kids get into trouble."
"You better go find Donna then and bring my babies back. She needs to talk to her old man." Jolene suggested.
"Oh shit!" Jax let Jolene slide down and onto her feet. "She hates me enough for teasing her about Kenny joining SAMCRO. Now she's gonna kill me 'cause I told her I'd get the kids from her fifteen minutes ago." Jax started heading over to the middle of the quad.
The controlled chaos of the festival as the citizens of Charming and visitors alike enjoyed the beautiful day was loud, but not loud enough to drown out the rumbling roar of bikes.
Looking back, Jax remembered suddenly feeling the cold fingers of dread creep up his spine as he came to the realization that something was very wrong. Looking through the crowd, he saw his brothers milling about the quad—Juice and Half-Sack arguing over the merits of hard ice cream versus soft serve. Bobby dressed to the hilt in the heat of the day wearing his Elvis get-up. Happy and Tig standing at one of the shooting gallery booths, bankrupting the owner of Jason's Toy Box as they battled to see who could win the most stuffed animals, which they subsequently threw to a group of little girls shouting their encouragement. Clay shooting the shit with the Chief while leaning against a tree.
Everyone was having such a good time. So when it happened, when the full roar of the bikes burst onto the grounds of the Taste of Charming festival and the bullets started flying, no one was prepared.
Jax had made it only about four feet away from his wife when he heard the distinctive pops of gunfire. Turning to see about a dozen Harleys, maybe more, ripping through a sea of screaming people and headed their way, Jax didn't hesitate.
Refusing to let history repeat itself, Jax took a running leap and flung himself against his old lady, knocking both Jolene and his mother to the ground as a rain of bullets blew passed him and tore through the Chili booth.
To her credit, Jolene had managed to hold back a scream as Jax landed on her. "You okay, darlin'?" Cupping her face as she laid on the ground, Jax did a quick scan of her as Jolene nodded, her eyes wide. Making sure Gemma was good, Jax roughly grabbed his mother by the arm and pulled her towards Jolene. "Keep your heads down and stay together." Jax shouted as he reached into his kutte and pulled out his Glock. The President never made it a practice to carry a firearm when he was simply having a good time with his family, but with the shit that had gone down a few days before in Lodi, Jax had made sure he was always packing.
Scrabbling towards the front of the booth, Jax tried to survey the chaos from his vantage point underneath the table and out of the line of gun fire.
It was bedlam, people running, screaming, and trampling each other in their haste to get away from their attackers, who were both on foot as well as on bikes. As one of the riders sped by, Jax's eyes hardened as he recognized the kutte.
Fuckin' Calaveras!
Climbing from underneath the table, he motioned to Clay, who had managed to make it over to the SAMCRO booth. "Stay with Mom and Jo!" He instructed before dashing into the crowd.
Using his body to cover Ellie Winston and another little girl behind the shooting gallery, Tig took another shot, catching a CL member in the hip as his bike spun out of control. Only moments before he had been horsing around with Happy, shooting a BB gun at a string of metal ducks and in the next, he was shooting the mother fuckin' bastards who had invaded a peaceful and happy day.
"Hap! How much ammo you got?" Tig yelled above the screams of the crowd.
"I got two clips, bro." Happy shouted back, taking aim and winging a CL who ran by on foot. "Keep their heads down!" He yelled at the plump elderly man who had been manning the booth as the three girls he had managed to grab cowered beside him. "These assholes are gonna to pay!"
"Hap, cover me. I'm going to see if I can flank them and take the ones coming from the opposite direction." Tig eased out from behind the booth and kept low to the ground, all of his senses and his reflexes on high alert. Refusing to allow himself to think about why this was happening, he edged out around the booth and froze.
In the middle of the square, Tig spotted Donna Winston, struggling as she tried to lift up an overturned stroller. Tig could hear the panicked screams of the children trapped in the stroller and realized who they were.
"Holy fuck!"
Gathering himself to run to her aid, Tig heard the roar of a powerful bike. Turning his head, Tig could see a heavyset biker cutting a path directly towards Donna and Jax Teller's children. Bringing up his gun to take the shot, Tig Trager fired.
And missed.
Horrified, Tig watched as Donna threw herself between the stroller and the bike. The impact sent her flying over the ape-hangers and high into the air. She landed with a solid thud on the paved area of the quad.
Tig's knees gave way as his body sank down onto the grass. He didn't see his brothers grabbing innocent by-standers and getting them to safety. He didn't see the remaining Calaveras speeding off the grounds and high-tailing it out of Charming. All he could see was Donna Winston's neck twisted at an odd angle as blood came out of her nose and mouth.
He could also hear a gut-wrenching scream above all the others as Jolene Teller broke free from her father's hold and ran past him, throwing herself down besides the stroller. Focusing on the anguished young mother, Tig could finally see the tears streaming down her face as she lifted her screaming children out of the mangled stroller, with Jax skidding to a stop next to her.
And finally, he could see his brother Opie, with two young boys as he barreled across the grounds, screaming at the top of his voice.
"Donna! DONNA!"
"Babe, they're all right. They're okay." Jax's heart was beating in double time against the wall of his chest as he gathered a hysterical Maddy into his arms. Jolene was cradling TJ, who was wailing inconsolably, his tiny face a bloody mess from a split lip.
Jolene almost looked catatonic as Clay and Gemma ran to their family. Motioning to his mother to grab the baby, Jax tried to get Jolene to respond.
"Babe, look at me. Maddy and TJ are fine. You hear me?"
As Jax's words finally penetrated, Jolene first looked to her husband before her eyes started darting around frantically. "Where is she?"
"Baby girl, hold on—" Clay tried to get a hold of her shoulders, but as her eyes shifted to the left, Jolene doubled over as if she had been punched in the gut.
"No! Oh, please God, no!" She screamed as she staggered to her feet. Ignoring the shouts of her old man and father, Jolene made it only about seven feet before literally dropping to her knees at the sight before her eyes.
Opie Winston was cradling the body of his wife. Rocking back and forth, keening and wailing like a wild man, Opie kept pleading. "Come on baby. Wake up now. Everything's okay and you're gonna be fine, but you gotta wake up, baby. Please."
Jolene couldn't hear Abel or his best friend as they held each other and cried. She could only focus on the cries coming from her brother from another mother as he nearly crushed the woman he held in his arms.
Finally, making it to his side, Jolene placed a hand on his arm. She gazed into the unseeing eyes of the woman she had known for over 20 years. As the tears poured down her cheeks, Jolene tried to get through to her beloved Sasquatch.
"Ope." She whispered. "Opie, please."
But Opie was in another place, so far removed from anything sane, he couldn't hear her.
All he could do was to hold his wife. And cry.
