Chapter 7-To be or not to be
*Forever and for Always*
As always I do not own any of these lovely SOA characters they are owned by Kurt Sutter himself. I would like to thank all of the readers who give me great reviews as always. This chapter is going to be a little twist but hang in there I promise it gets better. Enjoy.
Tara's POV
For so long I wanted out of Charming. I wanted Jax away from SAMCRO and all the violence that comes with it. After he was taken away from my arms for 14 months I had nothing but time on my hands. I do think this is the best plan.
My husband needs to know that I stand by him 100%. Him getting the club out of running guns is exactly what we wanted. JT's vision for him was not a violent one but one that he could survive and not have to worry about the outcome. I however, am very worried about how the Irish is going to handle SAMCRO wanting out.
Jax and Clay have been going at each other's throats since they came home. I knew telling Jax the truth would change things but this is crazy. This is not how I intended for things to go but we need to make a move and we need to make a move fast.
Gemma was just getting to TM when her phone rang. It was Clay. "Hey Babe" She answered.
"Gemma, I need you to talk to Tara. Find out what is going on with Jax. Something is different and I need to know what" Clay sneered on the phone. "He keeps talking about voting for no more guns. Gemma we need this money if we plan on retiring rich, your spoiled son is going to ruin our plans" Clay nodded to Tig and Gemma heard gun shots.
"Clay I told you I will handle it. Don't do anything until I say" Gemma snapped back and ended the conversation by slamming the phone down on her desk. 'I need to get to the bottom of this' she thought to herself.
As she watched Jax, Happy and Juice walk out of the clubhouse she was concerned. She saw that same look in JT as she sees in Jax. That scared her. What happened to JT needed to happen, but Jax; Jax was meant to be head of the table. That is what Gemma and JT worked so hard for. To leave their legacy with their son. Something had to have happened for Jax to not see clearly anymore.
"Jax, where is Bobby" Juice asked looking around at the empty lot.
"Oh he had to take care of something for me, he should be back by noon" Jax said as he lit a cigarette.
"Good, tell Elvis to bring us some lunch then" Juice said chuckling. Happy and Jax just laughed.
**Meanwhile at St. Thomas**
"Hey Opie, I thought I was just meeting Tara" Bobby asked, looking confused.
"What's the matter Bobby, you don't love me anymore" Opie said with a grin on his face. Bobby slapped him on the shoulder.
"Boys, stop the arguing you know you are both here for me" Tara said as she walked in to her office and closed the door behind her. "Hey Bobby", she kissed him on the cheek before walking over to Opie; doing the same thing.
"Ok Bobby, you might want to sit for what we are about to talk about" Tara said as she sat down. "It's not going to be easy for you to hear, but we have a plan and you play a big role in it Bobby, I'm going to need you to promise me that what we talk about does not leave this room"
Bobby was a little uneasy, last time everyone said they had a plan it resulted in half of SAMCRO being locked up for 14 months.
"Ok, Doc I'll listen, but if this involves you getting hurt in any way, I'm out" Bobby said.
"Bobby, you won't be saying that after you read these" Opie said as he tossed a stack of papers to Bobby. "Read these, I'm going to smoke" he turned to Tara; "why don't you go make your rounds, give him some time to read"
Tara nodded in agreement and followed Opie out, closing and locking her office door so no one would disturb Bobby.
"Opie, Thank you so much for your support; I don't know where I'd be without you all" Tara said as she smiled and hugged Opie. "Now hurry up go fill your lungs, we have lots to talk about when you get back"
As Tara and Opie returned, Bobby was pacing the office. If he paced anymore Tara swore he would go right through the floor. "I brought some coffee" Opie offered.
"Bobby I know what you read is burning inside of you right now but we have a plan. We also have to act as if nothing has changed. So far, Opie, Jax, Piney, Chibs, Lyla and I are aware of the plan; we will be bringing Kozik and Happy in before Juice. Tig and Clay will be kept in the dark. Obviously" Tara said.
After what seemed like hours; the plan was set in motion. Everyone who was crucial to the beginning of the plan was on board ready to go.
Jax's POV
It's hard to look at Gemma and Clay without wanting to rip their hearts through their chests. What they did was unforgiveable. Now everything seems to fit right. They way Gemma was acting when JT was on his death bed. The way Clay stepped right up and bypassed the VP for the President's patch. It all came full circle after I read those letters.
Tara was always my center. She knew when I needed her without me ever having to tell her. She knew my move before I did. God I love that woman with my whole heart. She's always centered me, always made sure my head on my shoulders was just right before anything. This plan was perfect she came up with. Gemma and Clay aren't even going to know what hit them.
I remember when Tara snuck into my bedroom window the night her father couldn't control his drunken anger. She was scared, shaking and crying. I didn't know what to do or say; I just wanted to punch him and take her pain away. We sat on my bed and I held her for 4 straight hours as she poured her heart out to me. I knew then that she would be my wife someday.
After reading those letters I felt like we were 11 again, except this time, she was holding me while I cried. I left her pregnant, with a toddler to do a 14 month bid and she repaid me by sticking by my side; having my back when no one else would. This plan she came up with I know it was hard for her; she always wanted out of Charming. She made that crystal clear to me when she left and didn't come back for 10 long years. This time, she's proving to me that we can live a happy healthy life if we get rid of the poison in Charming. That's exactly what I intend to do.
After Opie and Bobby returned, Clay called church. We had to vote. Of course the vote was for the drug cartel that was shot down 3 times before. Clay kept pushing for it while Chibs, Jax and Opie kept pushing for Redwoody. Finally, after getting Piney to agree to come to church last week it was voted. Jax, Opie, Chibs, Bobby, Piney, Kozik, Happy and Juice all voted YAY. Much to everyone's surprise Clay and Tig voted NAY. Thankfully majority ruled. Jax and Opie could care less of the vote because their ol' ladies were already almost up and running. Now the hard part was for everyone to vote YAY for this drug cartel. All the guys were against it; most didn't know why it was voted YAY; others knew the exact reason why the vote needed to go Clay's way.
Much to everyone's surprise not one person at the table voted NAY. Clay couldn't be happier. He slammed the gavel down, excused everyone from church with a bullshit grin on his face. "VP, I need you to stay" Clay looked at Jax as he lit a cigarette.
"Clay, you got your vote, I have nothing to say" Jax looked up at Clay trying to walk out.
Clay grabbed Jax by the arm "Listen Son, the President needs a word with his VP not sit your ass down and listen" Clay said as he slammed the church doors shut.
"Now I don't know what bug crawled up your ass but you've changed since we got out. What is going on?" Clay asked, blowing smoke out of his mouth.
"Clay honestly I'm sick of your bullshit. This gun business bullshit as well as the cartel shit, I'm done with it. This is not how my father wanted his club ran. We aren't some gang; we are a club, a brotherhood. No one wants to even be near us anymore because of the violence. What's it going to take for you to realize this violence is spreading into our backyards" Jax snapped. "I want out of guns Clay. Bottom line"
"Son this isn't your fathers club. He wanted to run a bunch of pansies that's why it didn't work out for him" Clay said.
"Watch how you talk about my father Clay" Jax slammed his fist to the table and stormed out of the room.
"Opie, I'm going to have lunch with my ol' lady. Happy, Kozik, I need you with me" Jax said as he passed the guys at the bar and walked out of the clubhouse.
Tara saw Jax staring at her out of the corner of her eye while she was talking to the nurse at the Nurse's Station. When she finished her conversation she slowly made her way to Jax giving him a smile as she walked down the hall.
"Hey baby" She said as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him hard.
"Damn babe, if you don't stop that I might have to kick Kozik and Happy out of your office" Jax said as he grabbed her hand and walked down the hall towards her office.
"Oh Jax, I wasn't prepared for them. I thought I was talking to them tomorrow" Tara said as she smiled at him.
Walking in her office door she heard Kozik and Happy talking. They must have read the letters already. Tara looked at Jax and he smiled and said "yeah babe they read them" as he opened the door Happy stood up and hugged Tara.
It caught Tara off guard. Happy was the killer. Happy tortured people for answers and here was this man; with a tear stained face hugging this little petite woman.
"Tara I'm all ears. This needs to happen like tomorrow" Kozik said shaking his head. "I know I'm not an original 9 or even an original member of SAMCRO but I'm down for whatever happens" Kozik said looking at Tara and Jax. "Brother you do know Clay gets a mayhem vote right?" Kozik asked Jax.
"Guys listen, I know all about what's going to happen with Clay. Tara's plan involves Gemma not Clay. I need to make sure Tara stays safe through this whole ordeal. Her and the boys are the reason I haven't murdered Gemma and Clay yet" Jax said as he sat down.
"Tara, you have our support 100%. Who else knows about this?" Happy asked.
Tara laughed and looked at the men and said "Well it's easier to tell you who doesn't know about this then it is to tell who does know"
"It's obvious that we are not including Gemma and Clay; but we are also not including Tig in anything. I have everyone on board except Juice. He's our last member to involve minus you two" Tara said pointing at Kozik and Happy.
Jax stood up and handed each men an envelope. "Take these, keep them safe. You'll know when we need them" He said as each grabbed an envelope. "There will be more instructions to follow. Kozik I need you to bring Juice in tomorrow. Tara and I will be here at St. Thomas early. Try to have him here before her shift starts at 10" Jax said then looked at Happy and said; "Happy I need you to go to the cabin with Opie, Bobby and Chibs; Piney will already be there waiting for you"
The guys nodded in agreement and left without saying another word. Tara sighed. "Are you ready for this Jax?" She asked
"Babe I am if you are. We got this. Nothing bad will happen as long as we stick to the plan" Jax said as he kissed Tara. "Come on babe, I'm hungry I think I have a nice lunch waiting for me but we have to go somewhere private, let's go home babe" Jax smirked. "I love you" Tara whispered as he led her to his bike.
TBC—what do you think will happen next? Does the plan come together or does it fall apart? Does Clay figure it out?
