Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC's and the slightly-AU I created in this story. Kurt Sutter and FX own Sons of Anarchy, and I do not mean or intend, to infringe on their rights in any way, shape, or form other than for entertainment purposes.
Enjoy and review!
Once 4:00 hit, Sam was racing to get Ember from daycare in time. Once she pulled up to the hospital, she headed to the third floor where the daycare was located. As she turned the corner, all she saw was a sea of cuts. Taking a deep breath and tucking her long auburn hair behind her ear, she lifted her head high and made her way past them, feeling the stares that several sets of eyes were aiming her way.
"Well hey there doll, how are you doing today?" A man with wild black hair and piercing blue eyes asked, stepping in front of her. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm doing fine, thank you. But I'm in a hurry, so if you don't mind." She stated, a thin smile on her face as she side stepped the man, continuing towards the daycare.
"Someone needs to remove that stick out of her ass." She heard the man mumble. She rolled her eyes and continued on, smiling as she walked into the daycare and spotted Ember playing with a little boy who looked about the same age as her with blonde hair.
"Ember, your mommy's here." Amanda, the daycare assistant called over to the little girl, causing her head to pop up.
"Mommy!" She yelled joyously, a large smile on her face, her dark brown waves bouncing as she ran over, throwing herself at Sam.
"Hey baby, did you have a good day?" She asked, kissing her head and smiling at her.
Ember nodded, the smile still firmly in place. "Uh huh. I made a new friend, his names Abel. He wanted to know if I could come sleep over tonight and we could play. He asked his mommy already and she said that is you say yes, it's okay. Can I mommy? Please?" She hurried out, a hopeful look on her face.
Samantha sighed, looking at Ember. "Well… I don't see why not," She began, but was cut off.
"Yay! Abel, my mommy said yes!" Ember yelled over to him, causing the little boy to jump up and run over, a large smile in place as well.
"Thank you Embers mommy!" He said, smiling up at her, causing her to smile back down at him.
"It's no problem. But I do have to meet your mommy and daddy first, is that okay?" She said, placing Ember on the floor and kneeling down to be level with the two.
Abel quickly nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. My daddy always has to make sure of who I'm around, he says that's what makes a mommy or daddy a good parent." He says, a proud grin on him.
Sam chuckled and nodded, looking at him. "That's very true, your daddy must be very smart." She said, smiling. She then motioned for the two to go play and turned, walking back over to Amanda, who had watched the interaction with rapt attention.
"Do you know where I can find Abel's mother and father?" She asked, looking at her.
"Dr. Knowles' office is down the hall, make a right after the elevators and it's the first door on your right. I believe his father is in there as well." She said, smiling at her. Samantha nodded, thanking her and then turned, heading towards the direction of Dr. Knowles office.
Once she reached the office, she knocked, and after a minute or so, heard a female voice yell out 'come in'. She opened the door to see a brunette with shoulder length hair in a doctors coat standing in front of the desk, and a blonde hair man in a kutte sitting on the couch. Both turned and looked at her as she entered.
"Hi, I'm looking for the parents of Abel, he's in the daycare with my daughter Ember." She said, giving them both a slightly shy smile. The womans' eyes suddenly lit in recognition.
"Oh yeah, she's Abel's new friend." The woman said, smiling at Sam, causing her to almost immediately relax. "I'm Tara by the way, and this is Jax." She said, extending her right hand as she motioned to the man on the couch with her left.
Samantha took her hand, shaking it, smiling at her and nodding her head at Jax.
"Nice to meet you both. So Ember told me that Abel invited her over to stay the night and asked you already?" She asked, looking at Tara.
Tara laughed, nodding her head as well.
"Yes, that he did. I don't see a problem with it, our Nanny will be with them all night. She's been a friend of the family for years, so we trust her completely." Tara said, looking at Samantha reassuringly.
Sam swallowed and nodded, smiling at her.
"Alright, I don't see a problem then. Is there a time I should bring her by, and where should I drop her off?" She asked.
Tara smiled, relieved as well. She went over to her desk and grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a time and address before handing it to Samantha.
"There's our address. You can bring her by around 6:30 or 7 if that's okay. Jax and his mom Gemma will be there, and Neeta should be as well. That way you can meet her." Tara said.
"Okay, thank you so much. Were new here and Ember hasn't made any friends yet, so I really appreciate this." She said, smiling.
"It's our pleasure darling. Our son hasn't been able to make many friends either." Jax spoke up, standing.
Sam looked over at him and nodded in thanks. She bid her goodbyes, before leaving and retrieving Ember, heading home. Once she had written out a list allowing Neeta or whoever was caring for Ember to get her medical attention if needed, as well as contact numbers for herself, Sydney and Marcy's cells and putting all of it in an envelope then into her purse. She helped Ember pack and picked out several outfit choices for that night.
At about 6:45 that night she pulled up to the address that Tara had given her to see two motorcycles and a large SUV in the driveway. She pulled in front of the house, parked, and proceeded to retrieve Ember and her things from the car. Walking up to the front door she swallowed and knocked, only to have the same woman from the diner earlier standing in front of her.
'Oh Shit.' She thought to herself, feeling her eyes become slightly wide at her sudden realization. She placed a smile on her face, attempting to be civil.
"Hi, my name is Samantha Jones, and this is my daughter Ember. Your son Jax and Tara said she could stay tonight with Abel." She stated, looking at the woman who was appraising her with a critical eye, whilst not attempting to hid her displeasure in the least.
"Yeah, come on in." She said, moving aside and allowing them inside. Sam smiled in thanks before moving into the home behind Ember, handing her daughter her overnight bag.
"Mrs. Gemma? Where can I put my bag?" Ember asked, looking up at Gemma, who simply smiled at her and bent down.
"You can call me Gemma baby, no Mrs. needed. That can go in Abel's room. It's the first door on the right down the hall." She said, pointing and smiling at her.
"Thank you!" Ember said, smiling and heading off, excitedly saying Abels name once she was in the room. Sam smiled, watching her walk down the hall.
"You know, if you're going to dump her on other people so you can go whore yourself out, I would suggest using someone else, not the president of SAMCRO's nanny." Gemma snapped once Ember was out of earshot, causing Samantha to snap her head towards her, her eyes darkening in anger.
"Excuse me? Did you just not only imply my daughter is not important to me, but also that I'm a whore within what, 2 seconds, of knowing me?" Sam snapped, placing a hand on her hip, giving Gemma a challenging look.
Gemma smirked, crossing her arms over her chest, refusing to be out-bitched by this woman.
"Yes. I did. I heard you at Gus' earlier with your two little friends. They're regulars at the club, always willing to do whatever the boys' want. Heard you were coming to the club tonight, and then all of a sudden your daughter needs a place to go for the night?" She said, glaring at her.
Sam scoffed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, chuckling slightly before looking at Gemma.
"First off, you don't know me or my situation from a hole in the wall, so I would halt your judgments until you actually know me as a person. I haven't slept with anyone, not that it's any of your business, in over a year. I do not sleep around. I love my daughter with all of my being; I would do anything for her. Abel asked Tara if Ember could stay the night, I already had a place for her to go, due to the fact I'll be bringing two drunk adults home with me, and that isn't something I want her to see. Be sure to tell Tara and Jax thank you. Give Neeta this list and note pertaining to Ember and her care." She said, a glare on her face the entire time.
"Is there a problem here?" Jax asked, emerging from the kitchen, looking between both of the women. Sam sighed, looking over at him.
"I'm really sorry Jax. But I refuse to be talked to by anyone, regardless of who she is, about my life and my parenting. Thank you for allowing Ember to stay, but maybe I should just take her home." She said, running a hand through her hair.
Jax looked at her, then to his mother. He always knew she had an affinity for giving women that were loosely associated with the club a hard time, but to attack someone so carelessly was something he hadn't seen before. There was no reasoning behind it, and the realization that this may be what Tara was referring to for so many years stung Jax.
"You've done nothing wrong darling. I apologize for my mother, and Ember is more than welcome to stay." He started, before turning to Gemma.
"You, however, do not get off as easy. You don't know her, she is the mother of one of Abel's friends, his only friend. She's new to town, and what she does in her free time, is no concern of yours." He finished, before smiling at Samantha and taking the list, note, and insurance cards from her.
"I'll be sure to give these to Neeta for you. Don't worry about things here, and Tara and I will see you at the clubhouse later." He said, smiling at her and walking her out.
Once Sam was in her car, not realizing that Jax and Gemma were both watching her, she broke down in tears. She had tried so damn hard to take care of her daughter, and for one woman who knew nothing about her or her situation or past to break her down to feeling like a shitty mother, pissed her off. She quickly stopped the tears and took a few deep breaths before leaving the curb and heading home to get ready for the night.
Two and a half hours later she was back in her previous mind frame. She was dressed in a mid-thigh black dress, with cut outs on the shoulders, allowing the sleeves to look flowy, while the bottom hugged her like a second skin. Her shoes were 5 inch platform black and beige peep-toe heels, her skin was glowing and her deep auburn hair was down and wavy, with a part in the middle framing her heart shaped face and allowing her bright blue eyes to shine. She had minimal makeup on, only a smoky eye look with some baby pink lip gloss. She pulled her Range Rover into the lot, parking next to a large escalade before Sydney, Marcy and herself exited the vehicle.
Walking towards the clubhouse, she felt a smile tug at her face. What most people would see as a vulgar party, she saw a family enjoying themselves and celebrating another day in the world. As they entered the clubhouse itself, the source of the loud music was revealed. There was dancing, pool, and a conveniently placed stripper pole in the front right corner of the room, which had a girl currently spinning on it. Sam laughed and shook her head, moving towards the bar.
Once the guy behind it, whom she quickly realized had a 'prospect' kutte on, turned to them she smiled.
"Can I have 4 tequila shots?" She asked, smiling at him. He nodded and quickly poured them before sliding them over to her.
She took all four shots and walked over to her girls, handing each of them one while holding the other two in her hands. Marcy looked at her and laughed loudly.
"You little hoarder!" She exclaimed, giggling.
Sam looked at her innocently.
"Well excuse me for handling my tequila better then you. Plus, if I'm driving, I'm gonna have a limited drink amount. So shush and allow me to enjoy." She said, smirking.
They all downed one shot at the same time, and then Sam took her second quickly after. Soon after, she saw Sydney and Marcy's faces light up as they looked over her shoulders. She rolled her eyes, a smile on her face.
"Go on, get laid, have fun. I'm gonna get another drink then head outside. Text me when you're ready to go." She said, smiling at them both and heading towards the bar.