A/N: this was part of my rewrite too! make sure you read because I changed around ALOT of stuff!


Wendy brought the washcloth back to Jax's ribcage. One of the Mayan bastards clipped him in the fight and the ring had cut through and left Jax bleeding.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Wendy asked.

"Yep," Jax shrugged. "It's not the first time I've been hit, babe."

Wendy nodded, covering the washcloth in peroxide, "You probably need stitches."

Jax just nodded and let Wendy work on cleaning the cut. He started to nod off in the middle, thinking about what he was doing at this time, exactly five years ago.

Jax lifted Tara up to the bathroom counter of Opie's bathroom. Her face was sporting a busted lip and her hands were so bloody Jax knew they needed to be taken care of. He reached behind him in the cabinet and grabbed an old washcloth, first cleaning her knuckles with peroxide, then washing the blood off her hands. She was silent; the only movement was flinching from the peroxide and alcohol.

"All done," Jax said, finishing the last band-aid.

She took the washcloth from him and dipped it in peroxide. "Your turn."

Jax retreated, sitting on the closed toilet lid and taking off his hat. He knew that Mike's cheap shot and busted open his head because he could feel the blood run down his face. He tasted blood inside his mouth too, and he knew that Mike had busted his lip. Tara went to work cleaning the cuts on his face and knuckles.

He didn't move, but instead observed the way Tara worked. Her fingers were fast and sure, and Jax wondered how many times she had done something like this before. "You wanna be a doctor, huh?"

She smiled at him for the first time since he led her to the roof, "Yeah. Always have."

He smiled back at her, fingers wrapping around hers and staring into her eyes. "Well you've done a great job so far." The silence hung, but Jax didn't feel like breaking it. He just wanted to stare in her eyes.

"You…you really beat the crap out of Mike," Tara chuckled.

He grinned, "Couldn't let him treat you that way. But how about Marcie?"

The two had finally left, Mike with a broken nose and wrist, and Marcie with a black eye and several bruises.

Tara rolled her eyes, "I've wanted to do that for a very long time. She's always thinking she's better than me because she's almost a Crow-Eater or whatever."

Jax nodded – he knew the type. Somehow, girls in Charming felt as if that Crow-Eater tattoo made them important, special. But Jax also knew that unless a girl was an Old Lady of a member, she really didn't matter more than any other piece of ass.

"Well now that you're patched up, do you want me to take you home?"

Tara shrugged, "It's already three am, dad's not going to notice if I don't come home. He's probably already passed out." She turned to the bedroom, "Just like Opie."

They turned and stole a look out of the room, seeing Opie's large form curled around Missy in his bed. They looked at each other and giggled. Jax led the way down the hall to the Winston spare bedroom. Jax had spent so many nights there that it could have basically been his room as opposed to any other guest.

He turned down the bed and reached in the dresser for a pair of his shorts and a teeshirt that he kept at Opie's for emergencies. He handed them to Tara and pointed to the bed. "It's not the most comfortable in the world, but it's better than the floor."

She smiled, taking the clothes from him. Jax turned away from her so she could change. When she was done, he nodded to her and turned toward the door. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch downstairs is comfortable," he replied.

Tara shook her head, "I can't allow that. I'm not even supposed to be here."

Jax nodded, "Sorry, can't let you take the couch."

Tara looked at her feet, feeling bad for taking advantage of Jax this way. "No… but you can stay here with me. I don't sleep well in houses I'm unfamiliar with."

Jax smiled and nodded, it was unreal how cute she looked in his clothes with her "battle scars" from the catfight.

Since Tara had taken his emergency clothes, Jax just stripped down to his boxers and socks and climbed between the sheets.

"Well, goodnight Jackson Teller," Tara said softly as she got between the blankets.

"Goodnight, Tara."

When Jax woke up the next morning, it took him a few seconds to remember what happened. Rain was driving hard against the window next to the bed, and clashes of thunder shook the bed. He rubbed his face, wincing with pain when he touched the cut on his forehead. The thunder clashed again and Tara jumped awake.

"Wha—where am I?" She said, panicking.

"Shh, shh," Jax said, bringing his arms around her. "You're at Ope's house, remember?"

He didn't know if it was the storm, the unfamiliarity of her surroundings, or if she just wanted him as well, but Tara allowed him to put his arms around her.

And Jax Teller, for the first time in his life, was afraid to breathe, afraid that it was a dream.

On Monday morning, Jax rose early and got ready for school, taking his mother off guard. Gemma was used to Jax stretching out time as long as he possibly could, in hopes of missing the school day. But on that particular day, he was excited, running around the house an hour earlier than normal. He didn't carry a backpack, just his leather jacket and his lunch that fit in the saddlebags of his bike. He kissed Gemma goodbye, said he'd see Clay later, and was out the door at 7:05 – 45 minutes earlier than normal without a word.

If Tara was surprised when Jax pulled into her drive way, she didn't show it. She came outside in faded jeans and a sweatshirt, carrying her backpack on one shoulder. She looked at her father's Cutlass, then to Jax. "What's the occasion?"

He smiled, "Thought you might need a ride. You mentioned your dad needing the car."

She narrowed her eyes at him, clearly surprised that he had remembered. After she had made it clear that she wasn't going to sleep with him, she had been sure that Jax Teller wouldn't speak to her after taking her home the next morning.

But to her surprise, he had held her all morning, taken her to breakfast, and kissed her cheek before she got off his bike.

And now he was picking her up for school? Jax knew it wouldn't make sense to her. Or to Opie. Or to anyone at school.

But here he was.

Tara didn't say anything. She just put her backpack on correctly and took the extra helmet Jax offered her before straddling the bike behind him.

Jax took the long way to school, remembering that he was going to stop by Opie's house as he did every day. He checked his watch and realized he was right on time. Sure enough, Opie was just coming out of the front door, still looking half-hungover. He did a double take when he saw Tara on the back of Jax's bike, but Jax knew that Tara wasn't the worst person he'd ever seen in that spot.

The three of them drove to school and Jax couldn't remember the last time he was so eager for school to be over so he could take her home again. Tara wasn't on the cheerleading squad like Missy, so she didn't have any reason to stay after school, which meant Jax could take her home.

When they pulled in the parking lot, all Jax could see were wide eyes and open mouths. He supposed everyone in the school had heard what happened to Mike and Jason and what Tara had done to Marcie. As they got off their bikes, he laughed when he saw Mike and Jason's faces, looking worse than his and Opie's. He thought he heard Tara chuckle when Marcie threw her a dirty look, but he couldn't be sure.

It was a little odd, the outlaw and the good girl, but he figured it was just like every good love story that had ever been told. For some reason, Jax just wanted to stay there, with Tara's fingers interlaced with his, for the whole school to see. He kissed her before going to class and he thought he saw her blush.

At lunch, Opie eyed Missy. "Are you sure I didn't bang her?"

Jax nodded, "You were too far gone, man."

"What a shame. She'll probably never go out with me again after I beat the shit out of her boyfriend."

"Yeah," Jax laughed. "But that dick needed it."

Opie dove into his ham sandwich, "What happened with you and Tara? Whole school's talking about it, brother."

Jax shrugged, "We just slept in your guest bedroom. And I picked her up this morning."

Opie cocked an eyebrow at him, "You sure are putting in a lot of work for this one."

"Something's different, man," Jax said, taking a sip of his Coke. "She's not just some Crow-Eater. Her dreams are a lot bigger than being a SAMCRO groupie. In fact, I'm not even sure she knows about us."

Their parentage had been more of a trouble for Jax and Opie than anything. Their fathers were both First 9, the founding fathers of SAMCRO. Nearly everyone in Charming knew that, and they treated Opie and Jax with a reverence that was more fear than respect. Even the girls who chased them, it was only because they knew Jax and Opie were the future leaders of SAMCRO.

"You serious about it?"

Jax shrugged, "I like spending time with her."

Jax quietly shut the bedroom door behind him, trying his hardest not to wake Wendy. He walked into the living room and saw Opie sound asleep on the couch, sitting straight up. There were dark, dark circles under his eyes – the evidence of several sleepless nights with a new baby at home.

Jax shook his head – he was definitely not ready for any of that. Kenny was a beautiful baby, almost as beautiful as Ellie had been, but Jax was just a kid himself, he hadn't matured like Ope had. He could be a godfather, but a regular father? He was only 24, he wasn't ready for that.

He went to the kitchen to pour himself some coffee, wondering if he would be ready for kids now if Tara hadn't left. He supposed he would be, but that was a different lifetime, a different universe from what he was dealing with now.

He took another drink of his coffee. Seemed like it had been a different lifetime that he and Opie had finished the house and threw the housewarming party, but it had only been a month ago.

The house had been a straight steal, a favor for the club from a real estate agent that got caught dealing drugs. But it had also been a giant piece of shit, and it had taken Opie, Jax, and all their friends helping, nearly six months to completely remodel the house. As Jax looked around, he realized it had been completely worth it.

And when they finished, they threw one hell of a party.

Every member of the club, old ladies, Crow-Eaters, all of them had come. He had met Wendy Case that night.

She had been new in town and caught Jax's attention right away. She was hot, blonde, and could hold her liquor. He had stayed close to her all night, poured shot after shot, and made sure that she really felt included, being new to the circle. Donna even liked her.

After the party was over, Wendy stayed in Jax's bed, and he remembered having the best sex he'd had since… well, in a long time. And in the morning, Jax woke to the smell of freshly cooked breakfast and Wendy in his teeshirt.

Since then, Wendy had taken to sleeping over at his house every night, and for some reason Jax couldn't find it in himself to tell her to leave. The sex was good and the bed got cold if he were by himself, he reasoned. And it was a nice change of pace from chasing girls all over California and leaving early the next morning. He had been tired of the constant disconnection of one night stands and random hookups. It wasn't the same as it had been with Tara – nothing ever would be – but it was nice to go home without trying to find some hot blonde to fill his bed.

He heard the bedroom door open, and he prayed Wendy had the good sense to shut the fuck up and let Opie sleep. She had baby sat Kenny and Ellie a few times before (which had given her baby fever), and she knew how tired Donna and Opie must be.

Thankfully, she was quiet and came into the kitchen, fully dressed. She eyed Jax in just his sweatpants and socks and smiled. "I see you have an exciting morning in front of you," she said, pointing to where Opie was sleeping on the couch.

"Probably, Clay wants us there early to discuss some job," he said. "What're you all dressed up for? Ain't it a little early?"

She nodded, "I have some shopping I've been wanting to do. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. What're you looking for?"

"Just some more stuff for the bedrooms, picture frames and such."

She kissed him and turned to walk out the door. Jax took a drag off his cigarette and felt bad. He was so nonchalant toward Wendy and he knew that she truly loved him.

"Wendy, wait." She stopped with the door opened as he walked into the bedroom to get his wallet. He dug out a couple hundred dollars and handed it to her, kissing her deeply on the mouth, "Buy somethin' pretty for yourself, darlin'."

She smiled, "Are you going to be late tonight?"

Jax nodded, "Probably should head over to Mom's after your shopping. I think Donna's gonna be waiting there with the kids and Piney tonight too."

"Okay, that would be nice. Be careful, Jax." Wendy walked outside, closing the door behind her.

Jax shook his head. He couldn't decide if he liked the fact that Wendy never asked questions or not. Tara always had asked questions, and Jax had liked that she wanted to be included. But Wendy... it was almost like she didn't care.

He looked at the clock, deciding it was too late to let Opie sleep any longer. He shook his best friend's shoulder.

"Huh?" Opie said, wiping his face, "I'm awake, Jax."

"Mornin' sunshine," Jax chuckled.

"I'm sorry, man. Used the spare key."

"You and Donna get into something?" he handed Opie a cigarette. Opie had made it a habit to come to Jax's when things got bad between him and Donna.

Opie nodded, "The baby's colic, so neither of us get very much sleep and we end up fighting about stupid shit."

"She doesn't want you to go tonight, does she?"

Opie was silent. "Thinks it's too dangerous now that I have kids."

Jax nodded, sipping his coffee, "Well, it is. I don't think I'd volunteer if I had kids. That's probably why I don't and never will."

"Sometimes those things just happen, brother." Kenny and Ellie weren't planned, Ellie coming during his senior year of high school, he hadn't been ready either. "If you're in love, things like that just happen, and you handle it."

"That's the problem though."

"Wendy's been staying here most nights, right?"

Jax took a drag off his cigarette. "Since the housewarming party. Wendy's not Donna though, she doesn't ask any questions. She's just happy waiting in that clubhouse with the title of Old Lady."

"Is that where she thinks this is headed?" Opie asked.

"What the hell do I know?"

"Nobody ever said it was easy. Hell I was sure that Donna and I were going to go under after Ellie was born. Our prospect days," Opie laughed.

Jax remembered it well. Opie and Donna were married, pregnant, and broke. He distinctly remembered Clay giving Opie the lead on a lot of jobs he didn't deserve, simply because everyone knew Opie needed the money to feed his kid. That was something Jax loved about the Sons – they were a family, first and foremost. Opie had been too proud to ask for money, and Clay knew that, but he let him earn it.

"I think it's time for work, brother," Jax chuckled.