She wanders back in the house, still pondering why Abel leaving had made her feel a twinge of regret. Ellie and Gavin are sitting at the table and their conversation dies off as Willow floats through the kitchen and pulls open the fridge, grabbing an apple and sitting down next to them.
"Hi Wills." Ellie says unsurely.
"What is the deal with this town and SAMCRO?" Willow demands abruptly, apparently not taking notice of Gavin. "I don't want Abel here. He stirs up old shit and I've moved on." She tells them, a bit fiercely.
"But you want him here because if he isn't, no one will ever talk about dad again." Ellie says wisely and Willow looks at her, startled. "Like I said Will, he was my dad too. I know what it's like. You move in cycles. You don't want anyone to talk about it, and then all you want to do is talk about until you lose your voice. He just forced you to swing from one extreme to the other."
"Well, he's leaving soon, so I expect that I'll be able to swing back to ignoring the club pretty quick." She grumbles.
"He's leaving?" Ellie asks. Willow nods. "Huh." Ellie says, leaning back.
"What?" Willow asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you remember the last time we tried to bring out the photo albums?" Ellie asks her and Willow snorts.
"How I thought mom was going to tear your head off? Yeah, I promise I don't forget that shit." She says and Ellie grins.
"Well, lets bring a Teller around mom, get her a couple glasses in, and see if he does the trick." Ellie suggests and Willow stares at her with wide eyes.
"Why do you want into them?" She asks and Ellie's hand involuntarily clenches into a fist. It relaxes when Gavin puts a hand over it.
"Because I'm in the stage where I only remember the good." She says quietly. "And I want pictures of my dad." Willow nods.
"I'll text Pipes. I'll tell him to invite Abel over for supper tonight." She says thoughtfully. "Then we'll tell mom that Ken and Pipes are bringing him. You get her favorite bottle of wine." She orders, pulling out her phone.
"Oh, and Wills?" Ellie says hesitantly.
"What?" Willow asks distractedly.
"There's a family supper Sunday night." She warns. Willow looks at her, uncomprehending. "At Happy's house." She clarifies and Willow scowls. "Don't look at me like that, I didn't declare it!" She protests.
"I'll bet you all I have in savings that Happy went home with news of him," She jerks her thumb towards Gavin. "And Zaneta decided one big family get together is just what we need." She says angrily.
"Well, so be it. Help me make that apple pie that Chibs likes so much." Ellie says, ignoring Willow's hissy fit. Willow groans but gets up and opens the pantry, cussing. Gavin grins when Ellie glances back at him.
"I like her." He decides.
"The feelings not mutual yet Gavin!" Willow calls and he and Ellie try to stifle their laughter.
"What's that smell?" Lyla yells as she walks in.
"Wills and I made a pie for Sunday supper." Ellie explains, idly flipping through a magazine as Willow finishes labeling a map of Europe.
"And what's in the oven?" Lyla asks suspiciously, cracking it open.
"A roast." Willow answers, rolling the paper up and snapping a rubber band around it triumphantly.
"That doesn't smell like my roast." Lyla says, eyes narrowed.
"It's Gavin's recipe, I like it." Ellie says, still carefully reading the magazine. Lyla pursues her lips then shuts the oven.
"And where's he?"
"Getting wine for supper." Willow says, crawling over and sitting herself in front of Ellie. Ellie sets aside the magazine and starts braiding her hair.
"Is Abel coming?" Lyla asks with a raised eyebrow and both girls nod. "And Wills didn't throw a fit?" She jabs. Willow sticks her tongue out.
"I'm over my dislike of him." She proclaims loftily. Then she shrugs. "Besides, I feel bad for the kid. At least I grew up with some stories of my dad. He didn't get any of that." She watches as her mother looks up briefly, a look of sadness on her face. Then she nods and leaves the living room.
"Nice touch." Ellie mutters.
"I figure if we want to dig those albums out, she's gonna need wine and some guilt tripping." Willow mummers back and Ellie nods, impressed.
"What smells so good?" Piper demands, the instant he opens the door.
"There's a roast in the oven, but don't touch the pie on the counter!" Ellie bellows and she and Willow scramble off the couch and run for the kitchen. Piper is grabbing a knife and advancing on the pie, clearly ignoring them. Willow snatches the pie away.
"Aww, guys." He complains.
"You can have some Sunday." Ellie tells him, plucking the knife from his hands. "No touching." She orders, waving it at Ken and Abel, who put their hands up, instantly wary.
"Set the table." Willow says, putting oven mitts on. Piper and Ken open cupboards and drawers, laughing and joking as they pull chairs up.
"Where's Gavin?" Ken asks and though he struggles to keep his tone disinterested, Ellie still tenses.
"He's decided to go see what bars Charming has to offer." She says between gritted teeth.
"Thought it was family supper." Lyla comments from the doorway.
"Well, as far as I'm aware, we're all Winstons here." Ellie says and Willow pulls the roast out of the oven, careful to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"I'm not." Abel pipes up and that breaks the tension somewhat.
"We'll make you an honorary Winston." Piper says, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"Is that a title you really want?" Willow asks with a raised eyebrow and all her siblings ignore her, setting the table with cups and side dishes. Ellie produces a large bottle of wine, setting it by her mother's plate. They sit and pass the roast around, joking and laughing loudly.
"And then guess what he said." Ken says, tears rolling down his cheeks. Abel is laughing too hard to get it out so he gestures to Piper, who looks at his sisters and mother.
"Well I guess that makes two of us then." He whispers and the boys roar in laughter again.
"I don't get it." Willow says flatly and a hint of a smile tugs at the corners of Ellie's mouth.
"Cause, like, gay sex… Two of us… They both… Nevermind." Abel says, shaking his head. Willow smiles smugly.
"Your father would've laughed." Lyla says quietly and both Willow and Ellie look at the bottle of wine, nearly gone. Abel looks at her, surprised.
"Yeah?" He asks, startled.
"He had a funny since of humor. They both did. Jax and Opie." She clarifies and Ken and Piper exchange looks.
"Yeah, that's what the club says." Abel says, his knuckles white as he grips his glass tightly.
"Did they tell you about Tara?" She asks him and Ellie and Willow look at each other, wide eyed.
"A little. My mom talks about her sometimes. Said she saved my life more than a couple times." He says and for some reason he puts his hand over his stomach. "That she was a good mom."
"The best." Lyla corrects him. "Better than all of us. She was a great mom. She loved you and Thomas more than anything. She protected you with all her might. She reminded me of your grandma Gemma sometimes. Did your mom ever talk about Gemma?" She prods.
"Only a couple things. Like the fact that she was a little bit crazy, but she would kill for her family." He says and Lyla gives a humorless snort.
"She did kill for her family." She says broodingly and Ellie gives Willow a panicked look.
"Hey mom." Willow says hurriedly. "Abel has that picture of Thomas and I too. That one where we're sleeping."
"Of course he does. You use to play together." Lyla says quietly and they both stare at her in amazement. Willow knows that she knew Abel as a baby but she had no idea they were that close.
"I don't remember this." Willow says, looking at Abel then her mother.
"I do." Ken and Ellie say at the same time. Piper is staring at his mother, jaw slightly open.
"When your father was in prison, Abel. Opie had avoided it, Tara had just had Thomas, and I had just had you Willow… Tara would drop Abel off when she went to work and Gemma was busy and I would put you and Thomas in the crib. You'd sleep for hours. Abel would watch over you two. You were so protective of her, of your brother…" Lyla trails off and Abel glances out the corner of his eye at Willow. She's staring at her mother, dumbfounded. "You even took baths together." Lyla says breezily and at this, Willow goes pink.
"I'll kill you before I let you show anyone those photos." She threatens and Lyla just smiles.
"I have other ones." She says quietly. "Of you and your father Abel." Abel's head snaps up. "Go get the albums, sweetheart." Willow stares at her mother in astonishment.
"The leather ones?" She asks lowly and her mother gives her a look. "Sorry, we just don't open those up. Ever. Last time Ellie tried, you two got in a fight so bad that I'm pretty sure dad rolled over in his grave." Lyla gives her an incredulous look and she puts her hands up defensively. "Really mom, if anyone has a more fucked up family than us, it's him."
"I can help." Abel says hurriedly, getting up. Willow waits till they're in the hall to smack his chest.
"What are you doing?" She hisses.
"You're not exactly subtle." He responds. "You and Ellie planned this, I knew you had when I saw the bottle of wine. What are you two doing?"
"I'm not telling you." Willow crosses her arms defiantly.
"Fine." Abel says with a shrug. "I don't give a damn about those albums." He leans against the wall with a raised eyebrow. Willow appraises him with narrow eyes, then says coolly,
"We haven't seen these albums in a long time, alright? We'd like to see some of them."
"Alright, glad to know." Abel says, bowing to her and moving aside. She stomps up the stairs, scowling. She enters her mother's room and easily kneels by the bed, reaching under it and pulling out a long, wide box. She removes the top with a moment's hesitation. Abel peers over her shoulder.
AN: Review and give me thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, and dislikes or likes. I would love feedback!