The black SUV drove smoothly through the streets of Sacramento, the surrounding areas becoming seedier as it moved along until it pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of the Dollhouse. A well -dressed young man stepped out of the back seat as soon as the SUV was parked and made his was silently to the front door, leaving his driver to wait in the car. The sun shone heavily upon him, the only time of day when his short brown hair appeared blond, until the darkness of the club enveloped him as the door closed behind him.
He ran a hand subconsciously over the five o'clock shadow growing across his face, his weary blue eyes scanning the club. He hadn't seen it yet, but it looked good. He smiled as he looked around the empty bar before making his way upstairs where he knew they'd be waiting.
"Tommy!" Rob said in his welcoming voice, ushering his second in command into the VIP room, and immediately snapping his fingers at the lone waitress, who rushed to bring him a drink. Tommy took it, barely giving the girl a second look as he sat across from Rob.
"I trust the drive up went well," Rob said, settling into his seat. Tommy shrugged.
"Uneventful," he responded.
"Operations down south going smoothly?" Rob asked. Tommy nodded.
"Should be up and running in a few weeks," he said. Rob nodded, looking pleased, as Tommy leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Tell me about the meeting," Tommy said. Rob stared back at him, his pleasant expression darkening.
"We haven't gotten an answer yet," Rob said, "But it's not looking good." Tommy nodded, taking a sip of his drink and leaning back in his chair, resting an Italian leather shoe over the opposite knee.
"We need this deal, Rob," Tommy said, "SAMCRO doesn't get on board, we don't have a chance in hell at recruiting the other charters." Rob looked stonily across at him.
"I'm aware, son," he responded, trying to remind him who was actually in charge.
"So what's their hesitation?" Tommy asked, not acknowledging Rob's agitation.
"From what I hear from Judge, it seems like they're not sure it's worth risking a war with the Nords," Rob explained. Tommy nodded in understanding. He, too, had seen the intel on the Nords and had expected them to be a problem.
"Apparently they have a deal with the Nords and things are peaceful at the moment. Clay's worried about our deal having blowback on Charming," Rob continued. Tommy nodded, his eyes thoughtful. He took another sip of his drink.
"So let's break up the peace," Tommy finally responded, "Make the Nords a problem the Sons wouldn't mind starting a war over. Kill two birds. Get rid of Darby's competition and get SAMCRO on board." Rob looked shrewdly at Tommy before giving him a small nod.
"Darby's been dealing out of a park in Lodi. Get some Tritans to go score from him, let it slip SAMCRO's getting into the business soon," Rob said, "I have a feeling the ducks'll start lining up after that." Tommy nodded, finishing his drink and setting the glass on the coffee table. Both men stood and shook hands as Tommy made his way back downstairs, taking his phone out of the breast pocket of his blazer as he walked and began putting the calls in.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
"Have I mentioned how much more quickly the day goes by with you here?" Carrie asked, taking a seat in the lobby next to her new receptionist. Donna glanced up and grinned, nodding.
"Once or twice," she said. The phone rang and Donna answered it quickly, taking down the information of a parent who would be late picking their child up. She replaced the phone in the cradle and looked over at Carrie.
"Thanks for giving me this job," Donna said and Carrie grinned.
"Are you kidding? I've been practically begging you to come work here for months," she reminded her. Donna laughed.
"Yeah, I guess Opie going all Tyler Durden on my boss's ass turned out to be a good thing," she said, giggling as she jerked her head around to make sure no small children were listening to her swear. Carrie laughed, nodding as she glanced up at the sound of two motorcycles pulling into the lot, a sound that had recently started bringing butterflies to her stomach and a smile to her face again. Donna glanced over at her and rolled her eyes, but couldn't conceal the grin she was struggling to contain.
Less than a minute later, Opie and Jax sauntered into the day care, both leaning over the counter Carrie and Donna were sitting behind to give their respective girl a kiss.
"What are you doing here?" Carrie asked.
"Bustin' you outta the joint, darlin'," Jax said, grinning as he leaned against the counter. Carrie laughed, sitting back in her chair.
"We can't leave, Jax," Carrie reminded him, "We, unlike you, actually have day jobs – you know, responsibilities?" she added, teasing. His grin broadened.
"Hey I got a day job," Jax responded, glancing at Opie, "Just thought we'd treat our ladies to lunch at Charming's most exclusive restaurant." Carrie glanced at Donna who laughed, looking back at her.
"You mean the diner on 5th?" Donna asked, laughing as Jax and Opie both nodded their heads. She turned to look at Carrie, grinning.
"You know what this reminds me of?" Donna asked. Carrie nodded, laughing at the memory. These boys never changed.
Carrie sat turned around in her chair, going back and forth between staring at the clock on the wall at the back of the classroom and the hangman game she was playing against Donna, hoping to pass the time of their detention. She and Donna had been spending a lot more time together in this room since Carrie had started dating Jax, fueling her mother's fire on what a 'bad influence' Jax was on her.
Carrie glanced behind her to see the detention monitor sitting in his chair, his feet propped up on the desk in front of him, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there. Carrie knew the feeling. She was startled by the sound of a rock hitting the window next to her and looked over to see Jax and Opie below, boyish grins spread across their faces. Donna looked up and spotted them as well, shaking her head and giggling.
Carrie stood up and opened the window a crack, barely noticing the detention monitor nearly falling out of his chair.
"What are you doing here?" she called down to them, gaining the attention of the ten or so other students in the classroom trying to miserably pass the time.
"Bustin' you outta the joint, darlin'," Jax called back.
"Excuse me, close that window!" the detention monitor yelled, but Carrie ignored him.
"We can't just leave, Jax. We've still got an hour left," Carrie said back.
"C'mon," Jax said, his adorable grin almost enough for Carrie to jump out of the window right there, "I swear I'll make it worth your while." Carrie laughed, looking at Donna, who shrugged.
"I said close that window!" The detention monitor had finally gotten out of his seat and walked over to the window, about to slam it shut when he saw who they were talking to.
"Oh lord," the detention monitor muttered. Clearly, Jax and Opie's reputation preceded them at Charming High School.
"Hey, we'll give you two free oil changes if you let them leave!" Jax called up. Carrie laughed. She loved when Jax was in a playful mood like this.
"C'mon man, you don't want to be there anymore than they do," Opie pointed out. By now the entire class was watching the exchange with interest.
"We'd consider it a personal favor," Jax continued. The monitor turned to Carrie and Donna before glancing at the rest of the class. He checked his watch, sighing.
"I'm going to take a bathroom break," he said pointedly, turning around and walking out of the door. As soon as the door closed behind him, the whole class cheered, thanking the girls as everyone rushed out of the room. Donna and Carrie smiled as they walked outside, jumping into the guy's arms and kissing them.
"You two are crazy, you know that?" Carrie asked.
"Only about you, darlin'," Jax responded grinning. Carrie laughed, shaking her head.
"Don't start using those corny lines on me now, Teller," she said and Jax laughed, kissing her once more before setting her down on the ground. He slung his arm around her as he and Opie led the girls to their bikes and handed them each a helmet.
"So where we going?" Carrie asked. Jax shrugged.
"Anywhere," he responded and she smiled at him, knowing he had just summed up their relationship in one word. That's how she always felt around Jax – as if the possibilities were endless, all of them exciting.
Carrie looked across the counter at the same man, now 7 years older than the 19 year old who had gotten her out of detention, but he still wore the same boyish grin he had on that day, and chuckled, shaking her head.
"You're a bad influence, Teller," she said, standing up and grabbing her purse.
"Tell me something I don't know," he said as she and Donna walked around the counter.
"Let me grab Neeta to watch the front," Carrie said, giving Jax a quick kiss before running back to Neeta's classroom. She stuck her head in the door to see Neeta working on lesson plans while her aid, Stephanie, read to the class.
"Hey Neeta, I'm taking lunch. Need you to watch the phones for me," she said. Neeta glanced up, checking her watch.
"A little early for you," she commented. Carrie grinned.
"Well, something came up," she said.
"Mmmhmm," Neeta responded, "Tell Jax I say hi." Carrie laughed, nodding her head.
"Will do," she said, "Thanks, Neeta."
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Clay walked into the Hairy Dog flanked by Tig and Bobby, squinting as he slipped his sunglasses off his face and looked around the dark room. Spotting his meeting in the back corner he strode towards them, slipping into the booth, Tig and Bobby sitting in the booth behind them.
"So what's this all about, Darby?" Clay asked. Darby took a sip of the beer in front of him, setting it back down on the table and crossing his arms on the table.
"Rumors," Darby said simply.
"Rumors?" Clay repeated, his annoyance level rising. He did not like taking time out of his day to deal with a cockroach like Darby.
"Care to enlighten?" Bobby asked from his seat behind Clay. Darby flicked his eyes up to look at Bobby before returning them to Clay, his face expressionless.
"Word around the water cooler is Sons are getting into the meth trade," Darby said quietly. It was only through years of practice that Clay managed to hide his surprise.
"Didn't your mama teach you not to listen to gossip?" Clay asked.
"Cut the shit, Clay," Darby said angrily, "We've had a deal for a long time with SAMCRO and I've held my end. Made sure my boys don't deal in Charming. But if you step on my business, that deal will become null and void."
"I'm gonna give you one second to remember who you're talking to," Clay said angrily, his finger in Darby's face, "And for you to remember that it is nobody's business what SAMCRO does… or doesn't do." The two men stared at each other for several moments before Darby gave him a small nod.
"Nords don't want problems with SAMCRO," Darby said, "That's why we've stuck to our bargain. But we're not going to let you mess with our business."
"Well I'm not askin' your permission," Clay responded. Darby sat back in his seat.
"So the rumors are true," he said. Clay shrugged, standing up, motioning for Tig and Bobby to follow.
"We're gonna have problems if they are!" Darby shouted after them, standing up from his seat in the booth. Clay turned around.
"Don't go and do anything stupid now, Darby," he said before leading Tig and Bobby out of the bar. He threw his leg over his bike, snapping his helmet on before turning to Tig and Bobby.
"Looks like someone's got a leak," Clay said.
"We know it ain't SAMCRO, brother," Bobby told him, "We haven't even voted on this deal yet and it's already causing us problems." Clay nodded in agreement, looking over at Tig.
"But the money, man," Tig moaned, "Think about the money."
"That's all I think about, shit face," Clay said gruffly, revving his bike up.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Carrie leaned against Jax, winking across the diner table at Donna as they sat and listened to the boys recant a story from when they were kids. Jax slung his arm absentmindedly around Carrie's shoulder as he continued with the story, laughing and tossing a straw wrapper at Opie who shook his head, tossing it back at him. She loved seeing Jax so happy. He deserved it, after everything he'd dealt with for the past four years. Donna's cell phone rang and she glanced down to check the caller ID.
"I've got to take this," she said, as Opie slid out of the booth to allow Donna to get out and take the call in private.
"I gotta take a piss," Jax said, kissing Carrie on the side of the head before sliding out of the booth.
"You're a class act, Teller," Carrie called after him, laughing, before turning back to Opie, who was smiling at her.
"What?" she asked. Opie shook his head.
"Nothin'," he said. He paused before continuing, "I wanted to, you know, thank you for giving Donna that job at the day care," he said, looking slightly uncomfortable. Carrie nodded.
"Of course, Ope. I've been asking her for months to come work with me," she said. Opie nodded.
"Well she's been a lot happier since she started working there, especially with being able to see the kids during the day," he said, "She feels like she needs to work, won't listen to me, so I'm glad she found a job that she likes." Carrie smiled at him.
"Me too," she responded. Opie looked across the table at her for a second before nodding to Jax's empty seat.
"Him, too," he said, "I haven't seen him this happy… ever, actually. I'm glad you came back to him." Carrie gave him a small smile.
"Oh it was inevitable," she said, glancing up to see Jax walking back to the table, "What's meant to be will be." Jax slid into his seat, kissing Carrie on the cheek.
"What's meant to be?" he asked.
"Us," she told him. He grinned, kissing her again.
"Got that right," he said gruffly. Donna came back to the table and slid into the booth, shoving her phone back in her purse.
"Everything alright?" Opie asked.
"Yeah, it was just a friend from Pinyon's, asking me about what happened," Donna explained. Opie nodded as the waitress came by for the bill.
"It's on me, brother," Jax said, snatching the bill out of Opie's hand as he scowled. Jax grabbed his wallet, giving the waitress several bills before Opie could argue.
"Oh, Opie, I forgot to tell you," Donna spoke up, distracting Opie, "My parents want to take the kids during their fall break." Opie grinned.
"So I get you all to myself?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her. Carrie smiled, watching them, hoping that she and Jax would still look at each other like that after being together for so long.
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