Note: Thanks for everyone that's added this story to their favorites thus far and for all of you for following along. Last chapter was more of a hurry up and get it posted type. I promise to bring the goods this one! I do try to respond to every review when they come in. Apologies if I missed yours. If you are following along per the series (which this story is following, loosely - we are in season 2 episode 10) In regards to Lana/Tig it's more of a slow burn. We all know what happens w/ Hale and the plan is to cannon his story as much as possible. We're going to start to see her and how she interacts with other club members as well. More Clay/Lana! More Gemma/Lana. This is also going to be the beginning of her budding relationship/friendship with Jax - which the whole story is based around - as Lana's story is parallel to his. I appreciate you guys! Thanks for reading!
Carrying boxes up the stairs of Lana's home, Juice tries his best to avoid dropping or breaking anything. "Alright, I think this is the last of it," He calls out over the hoard of boxes already set in place. He looks around and when he doesn't see the raven haired woman, he goes on a one man search party. "Lana?" The petite woman stands there admiring herself in the mirror. Juice smirked a little, "looks nice."
"Thanks," she smiled before taking the jacket off. "I found it in one of these boxes. Didn't realize how much shit she had, you know?" Juice, having been the one to help bring all of this stuff in – had some idea. "Thanks again, even if Clay forced you to do it." Even if Clay hadn't been the one to force him to do it, he just got out of the hospital after being stabbed while in jail. She wouldn't have been upset if he said no.
Things with the club had been quiet since Luann's death. Rather than question why she needed the help, Clay had offered Lana whatever she needed. When the arrival of all of her mothers' belongings had been shipped out from storage, she really only needed a heavy lifter. Juice had provided that among so many other things.
"I think you should keep it," he says noting her hesitance on taking the jacket off. "Looks better on you anyway, than in a box," grabbing the jacket from the box he hands it back to her. "Besides, you have to own some leather if you really want to fit in, right?"
Smirking, she puts the jacket back on and nods her head at the reflection staring back at her in the mirror, "Yeah." She watched Juice through the reflection as he started going through some of the boxes, it wasn't unnatural for her, or even uncomfortable; as opposed to the first time she'd asked him for help. She still wasn't sure if it had to do with everyone in the club thinking she was a cop, or his own choice in being so weird around her – but she was glad they'd found this spot.
"Hey," he called with both arms elbow deep in a box. "What's this?" Lana walks over to him just as he pulls out a small box. She takes it from him and opens it; and Juice looks through the box for something, anything; A note, maybe. Unfortunately for him, he isn't fast enough in hiding it because Lana pulls it out of his hand. "What's it say?"
"It's from Clay," Lana's voice goes soft, and her legs give out underneath her. Juice moves from the chair and lets her sit down before biting the sides of his cheeks when she mentions Clay. "…he wanted to marry her." Piney had made Lana believe that her mother and Clay had some short lived affair, but that wasn't true. Why would he lie to her? She handed Juice the ring, and the letter, from Clay – to her mother. "You can't tell anyone."
Putting his hands up quickly in defeat, "I won't. Shit like this would kill the club. Or Gemma would kill Clay." Juice stared over at the box and put the ring back inside of it. He looks back at her, and when he realizes she's not paying attention to what he's doing, he goes through the box some more. "There isn't anything else in here." He lies, before taking out a copy of her birth certificate. Unsigned, like the one he was able to pull up for Clay. He swallows hard when he sees the letterhead on another packet of papers – are the same as those on Lana's mothers' will. He quickly folds them up and pockets them. "I uh, I gotta piss."
The club had its own bullshit to deal with lately. Jax wanting to go Nomad, and Clay actually putting it up for a vote had sent tremors through the club. It didn't matter which end of the spectrum you were standing - President of the club, or newcomer like Lana. While reactions slightly differed from one to the next, everyone felt a certain type of way about it. Gemma, who'd been known to have a loud opinion on most club related matters - had been quiet all afternoon. She knew her husband, but most of all, she knew her son. This wasn't going to be good for either of them. Gemma was a planner, everything she did had a purpose. There was a lot of purpose missing in this damn club lately, and the very idea of losing her son made her sick to her stomach.
"Hey baby," Clay whispered walking up behind her. His arms wrap around her and pull her close to him. When she tenses up against him, he doesn't say anything. Too much shit has been going on between them lately. The shit with Jax only adding to their marriage issues. "What's the matter with you?"
"What isn't the matter with me?"
"Stay out of it Gem." Letting his wife go, he slowly walks towards the bed and sits down. He watches her, watches the way her mind works. He knows she's scheming something in that head of hers. "I mean it, stay out of this Gem."
"He's my son," Gemma responded.
"This is my club!" Clay gets up from the bed, now pissed at the situation. "He wants to go Nomad, let him! All he's doing is tearing this club apart! He's acting more and more like John every day." Ignoring the knocking on the door, Clay starts to slam dresser drawers shut and grabs something to change into. "Will ya get that damn door." Gemma, instead of fighting with him, leaves him to his yelling in the bedroom. When she opens the door, she arches a brow at Juice standing there on the other side of it.
"Hey darling," her brow arches and she moves to let him in. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Juice sighs. "Is... Is Clay home? I gotta give him something."
"I'll give it to him." Gemma puts her hand on her hip and holds out her hand for whatever is so important that Juice had to hand deliver it. Gemma took note of how much Juice hesitated before handing over a bunch of folded up papers. "He's in the shower." She smiles at him before looking at the papers, again. "What is all this stuff anyway?"
"Oh uh, just some papers he might want. Thanks Gemma." Juice smiled at her, assuming that Clay tells Gemma a lot, so he'd probably have mentioned Lana and her mother once or twice since finding out, he himself, was her father. Still, there was a part of him that knew Clay would ring his neck if he were wrong about Gemma knowing. Juice left, and Gemma shut the door behind him. She waited a few minutes, and when Clay hadn't come out to see who it was - she'd assumed he went to bed. Curiosity got the best of her and she took the papers, poured herself a cup of coffee and read their contents. Every last word.
The next day Lana walked into Teller Morrow a little confused when she saw not one, but all of Samcro working in the garage. She watched with curiosity and amusement. Clay noticed her shadow before following it up and seeing it was her. He arched a brow, equally amused by the look on her face and decided he'd be the one to speak first. "Something funny?" He walked over with the rag in his hands trying to wipe as much oil off as possible.
"No," she admitted, a little nervous at first. Her intent wasn't to offend, but rather make an observation. "I just, didn't..." pointing over at Tig and Opie whom both were working on vehicles, respectively. "I didn't think you guys actually did any of the work. I'm impressed." Clay, now smiling, led her out of the garage. "Am I in trouble?"
"No," He whispered, there was a slight laugh in his response. Which, usually never meant what it's intended purpose was. Lana gave a look back at the guys and then up at Clay, whom now was the one casting the large shadow. "Just never got a chance to thank you for staying with Gemma after all that shit about Luann happened."
"Of course," Lana nodded her head in agreement. She still wasn't used to this. The whole positive reinforcement he'd started giving her. It meant a lot that he was willing to give her a chance. Even if it was a small task, he noticed, and always pointed it out that he had. When she thought back to the clubs reception of her earlier - she'd never thought they'd be where they were now. A small part of her thought it was Piney's doing, but when Clay started being nicer to her, she felt like it was her own. "I love Gem, she was hurting so it wasn't a big deal."
"It was, and I noticed. You didn't know Lu like we all did." Clay finally stopped walking and gave her a smile. He was unusually happy. Probably more to do with Jax wanting to go nomad, but whatever. "I uh..." he started to stumble on his words and his entire expression changed. Lana arched a brow and kind of smiled. Whatever he was trying to get out must not be something that came easy, which in turn made her fully invested. She wanted to tell him that she knew about him having an affair with her mother, but something in her made her stay quiet. "Never mind."
"I'm sorry," Lana questioned? She cocked her head curiously at the hesitance in his voice, which matched perfectly with her own. She sighed when he turned his attention to Opie and Sac pulling into the garage. Great, she thought.
"Also, uh... stay away from Tig. He'll give you worms." He made quick to finish whatever conversation they had before walking away to go deal with his shit. Lana stood there dumbfounded by what he'd said, but rather than press it, like she's always been known to do - she just helped herself to Gemma's office. When she heard Gemma and Tara's voices inside, she waited outside for a few seconds, where; Gemma was obviously upset about Jax, and Tara playing devils advocate a bit about it being a good idea; before leaving to find Jax.
Nobody was happy about Jax's want to get out. Even if it seemed like a good idea on the surface, even Lana didn't understand the need for it. She'd casually listened to the guys talk about it, hell, even Jax himself had told her a few things here and there. Still, it didn't make sense. Tara was good at playing Devils Advocate when it came to Gemma, but now it was Lana's turn to do the same thing with Jax. When Lana had first approached the subject, Jax was keen on keeping quiet. Even with all the work she'd been doing, she still wasn't somebody he trusted, which stung a little. Besides Gemma and Clay, Lana worked hard for his trust.
When she revealed knowing about Donna, he opened up a bit more. Hale had given her a lot of information in his attempts to stay away from the club, but she didn't want to believe they were capable of doing those things. There was a part of her that didn't want to believe Clay could set up something like that, but the same part of her understood just how dirty a task within the club could be. She listened to him for an hour vent about shit being turned upside down since then, and hint at feelings of jealousy and betrayal even longer before that. Jax didn't ask for anything in return outside of Lana's ear. She wasn't Tara and she sure as shit wasn't his mother. She was just someone new, who didn't know any better.
In return for all of Jax's honesty towards her; Lana opened up a bit of herself for him as well. She made note that he didn't even flinch when she'd expressed the pain of growing up without a parent. A cross he too had to bare. He didn't even blink when she told him how manipulative her father was, and could be. Something he saw often in his own mother. When she told him she feared for her life, of not being able to live it the way she believed her mother wanted her to; he leaned in intently. Feeling the same way about his father, and the legacy he'd sought with the club and himself. Lana had swore naivety when it came to her arrival in Charming, but then offered up all the questions and their answers that she'd discovered since. When Lana revealed that she too, had killed someone he made note of the way she spoke about it. Serene and matter of fact. He was the one listening now; paying attention to every detail in the way she spoke. Her eyes lit up when she talked about her mother, he remembered feeling that way once with John. Her lips curled when she described eerie details about her past, which he found respect in. And her arms, her arms whaled from one direction to the next, when she tried to get her point across, which she didn't need to do. He believed her. He believed every single word.
"Looks like we're two sides of the same coin, darlin'" The irony in his response to everything had been the truth behind it. Jax kept to himself that Hale had given him an envelope with Lana's name on it. He put it up with some shit in storage, but made note to find the time to look at it.
"Still," Lana sighed with a half-hearted smile. "It doesn't change anything does it?" Her smile faded when he shook his head. "You know what I think?"
"What's that darling?"
She smiled, "I think the hell with them. We make our own paths right?"
"That's what they say."
"So if you need to go Nomad to save the club, then do it. I don't know Clay as well as you do. We aren't inherently bad, and I just like to believe that if my mother saw good in him, and in this club - that it existed. Jax..." Lana smiled over at him and gave a stern look, and he met her eyes and stood up. He swallowed hard and looked over at her, referring to earlier when she told her story. Seeing the sincerity in her expression, one that matched very few people he knew; in the club, and otherwise. "It still does, you just gotta find it." Lana truly believed that, and when Jax walked over to her and closed the space between them, she didn't know what to prepare for. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him for a hug, she smiled against him.
"Thanks darling." Neither Jax nor Lana said a word to one another for a second or so, until Jax told her it was time for the vote, and Lana offered up another ear - had he needed it later on.
Jax and Tara wait at Gemma's house; Lana arrives next and questions what the other two were doing there. Jax and Lana lock eyes for a second, but when Tara notices, Lana looks away and helps herself to a cup of coffee. The three of them sit in silence until Gemma arrives with Clay. Both Jax and Clay are surprised to see the other, but Gemma jumps on them before the have a chance to speak.
"Sit down," Gemma demands. "Both of you." Lana, now standing side by side with Tara watch as Gemma walks over to the table. Both woman know what's about to come; neither Clay or Jax know what to make of it. Making notice that this would be a family conversation, Lana tries to leave, but the older woman stops her. "You too sweetheart, sit." Nervous, she moves to sit down next to Gemma at the table. "You know what it is I have to tell them."
Clay looks at Lana confused, and then over at Tara whom was also staring guiltily down at her lap. Jax stared at his mother and then over at Tara. "What is this?" Clay cautiously asked.
"The night of Bobby's party," Gemma started, and something trembled inside of Lana making tears swell up in her eyes, she was quick to straighten herself in the chair and give Gemma all the time she needed. "I didn't get into an accident driving home," Gemma continued. "I was attacked." Gemma continues her story of the night she was raped, and it sends chills down Lana's spine. "A minivan pulls up behind me. Girl jumps out in a panic, says her baby's choking." Tara stares at Gemma and forces her lips shut tightly before looking down at her hands.
"That girl was... very convincing," Gemma told them, locking eyes with Clay. "It was a god damn doll in the car seat" Gemma continues her story; slowly the men begin to figure out where it is headed. Clay's eyes begin to water, and Lana can't take her eyes off of him. "They hit me over the back of the head... with a blackjack or, something."
"I came to, handcuffed to a chain link utility house out by the access road" Gemma swallowed, and Lana looked at her and shook her head a bit, her heart breaking, again. She tells them about Weston, and the repeated gang rape and about his warning to Clay about selling guns to color, or they'd do it again. Lana jumped when Jax slammed his hand angrily on the table. Both Jax and Clay process the news, and Lana shuts her eyes for a second before taking Gemma's hand in hers and giving it a little squeeze.
Near tears, Jax gets up from his chair and walks over to Gemma and kisses his mother's hands. He places a supportive hand on Clay's shoulder; Clay reciprocates. It is a simple but powerful gesture. Lana sits up and meets his eyes before he leaves with Tara. She finally gets up from her spot next to Gemma at the table and leans down to hug Gemma, "I love you." She whispers, Gemma doesn't reciprocate the words, but places a soft kiss against the raven haired girl's cheek and that says enough. When she makes contact with Clay, she moves past and looks back as Clay cradles his wife's face in his hands, unsure what to say. As Jax and Tara leave, Lana watches as he stops at the doorway and reclaims his patches from the counter. He looks back at his mom and Clay, but sees Lana staring at him. He mouth's the words 'thank you' at her and turns to leave.