Thank you, everyone, who is enjoying the story and taking time to leave feedback. I'm glad that you like it! I've always wanted to write something that wove Jax and Tara's history in with the first season of the show because I always kind of felt that their relationship came full circle in that season, like they were reliving a lot of their past but trying for a different outcome with the advantages of age and time under their belts. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy it, I intend to move the story forward a bit faster from this point on. Please let me know what you think:)

1994

Jax lay on his side in his bed, his leg between Tara's legs, as he looked down into her eyes and stroked her hair lovingly away from her face. The party raged on in his backyard, but they may as well have been the only two people on the planet. They'd fallen into his bed immediately once they'd reached his room and made love as passionately as the first time.

Reaching up, the glow of what they'd just done warming her skin, Tara brushed her knuckles down his cheek and smiled lightly. "I don't wanna go to school tomorrow."

He chuckled and dipped his head to brush tender kisses over her forehead, her eyebrows, her nose, as he murmured softly. "Fuck school, let's just stay here for the rest of our lives."

She smiled as his lips found her mouth, returned the gentle kisses he pressed there as she lifted her hand again, this time to run her fingers through his soft blonde hair. He shuddered slightly, but she didn't miss it and she locked the feeling of it away in her heart for later. Nothing in this world could make her feel the way that did. Knowing how she could make him feel, knowing that he wanted her so much, cared for her so much, that his body shivered in response to her was the most incredible feeling on earth, and she'd discovered a lot of pretty incredible feelings over the course of the last couple of months.

Soon their kisses grew deeper, though the speed that he took her mouth was still completely unhurried. He wanted to take his time, to fill every part of her with himself as he plunged his tongue, playfully at first then more and more deeply, to stroke hers. The low groan in her throat drove him fucking insane, made him physically ache for more, as he lowered his hand from her hair down the side of her face, down her neck until it rested on her breast.

Pulling his head back he lowered it immediately to her nipple, his heart slamming in his ribs when she took in a shaky breath and fisted her hands in his hair. He felt himself getting hard again but paid no attention to the disbelief his mind felt at that. She had a power over his body and his heart that he'd never felt before and at the moment he didn't give a damn about analyzing it.

Placing a trail of kisses to her breast up to her collarbone and neck and finally coming back to her mouth he paused, his crystal blue eyes finding hers, his voice whispering. "I need you again."

It was her turn to tremble this time and she took his mouth as a means of answering him.

Reaching over to the box on his nightstand, he tore open a new condom and rolled it on before he positioned himself over her, loving the way it felt when she automatically opened her legs to let him settle between them. She wrapped them around him, locking them at the ankle while she ran her hands lightly up and down his back. The size and strength of him over her was intoxicating, she loved feeling the bunch of his muscles, the solidness of his arms as they wrapped under her shoulders.

He buried his face in her neck and slid inside of her with an agonizing slowness. He would have bet his life that she was sore, but if she was her body didn't let on as she clamped warm and wet around him and they found their rhythm.

She turned her head, tugging his earlobe with her teeth and making him groan, his thrusts staying gentle but growing erratic at the sensation. "You feel so good inside me Jackson."

Something about the way she said his full name, the way it whispered across his ear on the deep, throaty sound of her voice put him on the brink. Without warning, he flipped her over so that she was on top, needing a break in the pace or it was going to be over embarrassingly quickly, especially considering that they'd already done it less than half an hour ago.

She straddled him, loving how deeply she could feel him this way. The sight of her on top was almost too much and as he reached up to take her breasts in his hands he wondered if he hadn't made a tactical error in an effort to slow himself down. Her inexperience showed as she sat motionless for a second, but then she reached forward to grab the headboard for leverage and began undulating her hips in such a sweet back and forth that he tipped his head back and moaned, not giving a fuck who heard it. Dropping one hand to work on her with his thumb, he dropped the other to cup her from behind, helping her ride him when his ministrations with the other hand brought her closer and closer to the edge he'd been dancing on since she'd taken his earlobe in her mouth.

He felt her walls start to quiver, felt her legs clamp tighter on either side of him and he watched as she gave in. Her skin was damp and flushed as a small cry escaped her lips and he pushed himself up to take her in his arms just in time to bury his face in the curve between her neck and her shoulder and come with her.

They sat wrapped up in each other for a few seconds, catching their breath, before he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. She pushed his damp hair away from his face and laughed, "Are you trying to kill me Teller?"

His body felt so thoroughly spent that he understood what she meant and he couldn't help but laugh too. "Not if you kill me first."

Scooting them so they could lay down he pulled out of her to get rid of the condom and then tucked her under his chin, holding her as close to himself as he could under the covers. She fit perfectly, every curve and swell hitting him in all the right places and found himself getting drowsy. With her cuddled up to him, warming his bed, he was pretty sure he'd be able to sleep through an apocalypse.

She could feel herself getting sleepy too, feel the soft mattress beneath her and the comforting heat coming off of his bare skin and she knew she'd better get up before she spent the night and her dad came looking for her with a shotgun. "I should go."

Jax pulled her closer, the idea of her leaving now making him want to whimper like a little bitch. She felt so fucking good, so right, in his bed. "Stay."

She smiled and placed a kiss to his chest. "I have to, it's late. My dad will be back by now."

Jax loosened his hold on her enough so that he could pull back to look in her face, remembering the conversation they had earlier on the phone. " Is everything okay with that? With your dad?"

She looked at him in confusion. "You mean with me coming home at dawn?"

He nodded. "Yeah that, and I don't know, everything I guess. You said something earlier that just got me wondering if you guys are cool."

Tara rolled her eyes. "I guess. Mostly he's a little on the absentee side but certain things can still make him try to act like a dad. I'm sure coming home in the wee hours two nights in a row will fall into that category but he's all bark, trust me."

He searched her face but couldn't see any reason to believe she was underplaying anything and let it pass. He knew guys who were drunks, hung out with them at the clubhouse from time to time. Some of them were harmless while some of them...well, he'd just keep an eye on it.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he let her get up and enjoyed the view as she pulled her clothes back on. Her hair was messy and wild, her lips swollen and he knew if anyone saw her there would be no doubt what they'd been up to. He could only imagine what he looked like, but he was a guy and at the end of the day he didn't really give a shit.

Sitting up he pulled her back down onto the bed and kissed her one last time, running his hand through her hair so he could cup the back of her head. "I'm gonna miss the fuck out of you."

She sighed against his mouth, knowing the feeling. "We'll see each other tomorrow at school."

His expression turned sly and flirty. "Gonna be tough to keep my hands off of you. Might need a quickie in the bathroom."

She smacked him playfully on the arm and got up, heading for the door. "See you in the morning Jax."

"Tara."

She turned at the gentleness in his voice, her hand on the doorknob, and her heart melted at the wistful expression in his blue eyes. "I love you."

Turning the knob and opening the door she smiled lovingly at him. "I love you too Jackson. With all my heart."

She walked through the door and turned to leave, her head so far on cloud nine that she didn't see the solid form in the hallway before she plowed headlong into it. Looking up to apologize, her heart stopped.

Gemma smirked at her mirthlessly. "What's your rush sweetheart?"

Tara had no idea what to say. Gemma Teller, now Morrow, was an intimidating woman on a good day. She'd never want to be on her bad side. Now that she was with Jax that held even more true and this was not a good first impression. She knew she looked like she'd just spent the last hour having her way with the woman's son. Had she heard her say I love you also?

At a loss for what to say and feeling more and more stupid by the second Tara tried to smile. "Congratulations on your marriage Mrs. Morrow. It was a wonderful party."

Gemma's eyes narrowed. "Save it honey. I've been watching you with my son all night. You seem like a nice girl, so I'm gonna set you straight. Save you some heartache. You may think you feel something for him, that he feels it for you too, but that boy's already been around the block so many times I doubt there isn't a piece of ass he hasn't seen. You're a distraction, a temporary toy to fill the time."

Tara stared at her, stunned speechless as the older woman walked past her. Just before she made it to the end of the hall she turned back. "Trust me. Don't get too attached. It will make it easier when he moves on."

Tara felt sick.

Picking up the pace she was practically running when she walked out of the front door and got into her car to head home. All she had to do was think about the way Jax looked at her, think about the look in his eyes as he'd told her he loved her and the gentle way that he touched her to know that Gemma was full of shit, but why would she say something like that?

As she pulled into her driveway and walked in, her dad mercifully asleep on the couch, she couldn't help but wonder if his mother knew something that she didn't. Was she so blinded by love that she couldn't see she was being played? She closed the door to her bedroom and physically shook her head to wipe the thought away. She knew Jax, on a fundamental level, she knew him. He wouldn't go to these lengths just to get into her pants, it wasn't his style. Was it?

As she lay down on her bed and felt her eyes begin to droop she couldn't help but feel the tiny seed of doubt. Did she actually know his style though? She knew Jax was experienced, he'd basically told her that himself. But she'd stopped shy of really wanting to know how experienced he was and with few exceptions she really didn't even know the girls he'd been with. She was sure there were a lot, but would he put months into them before hand?

She fell asleep with uneasiness around her heart that she couldn't shake and anger at Gemma for putting it there in the first place.

As night crept into morning Jax felt as if he'd just fallen asleep when a small smack to the top of his head jarred him back awake.

"What the fuck?" Looking up irritably he saw his mother standing over him in her robe, a cup of coffee in one hand with a cigarette balanced between her fingers.

"You're gonna be late for school."

For just a second he contemplated saying fuck it and going back to sleep, but then he realized that he wouldn't be able to see Tara if he did that.

Sitting up slowly, he ran a hand over his face and through his hair.

Gemma smirked. "Wow, no bitching and moaning about wanting more sleep? You must really wanna go see little Ms. "I-love-you-with-all-my-heart."

Jax looked at her in confusion. How the fuck did she know? Was she listening with a stethoscope at his door last night? He tried to remember if the door to his bedroom had been opened or not when Tara said that. Even if it had, with the noise from the party still pumping from the yard his mom would have had to be in the hallway to overhear, which meant she would have run into Tara on her way out of his room.

The look on his mother's face was one he'd never seen before and it was hard for him decipher. She looked the way she always looked when she knew something that she wasn't necessarily supposed to, but it was more than that. She almost looked worried. A small feeling of dread began to weave its way through his system and he met her eyes.

"What did you say to her?"

Gemma's expression turned to one of pure innocence. "When? When she was running out of my house after banging my son during my own wedding reception?"

Jax leveled his mother with his eyes and she was stricken with the menace in them despite the low and measured tone in his voice. "What did you say?"

She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at him. He looked more and more like JT every day and now with the fresh look of love in his eyes it was almost unbearable. She'd heard that Knowles kid say that she loved him last night, or more specifically that she loved him too, and it had made her blood run cold with fear. Jackson was the rightful heir to the club, would sit at the head of the table someday and he didn't need some girl turning his attention away from that prize at such a vulnerable age. He could prospect in a year, be a patched member by the time he was out of high school and that was going to take a lot of his time. What if this little bitch didn't want him spending all of his spare time around the clubhouse? She knew how easily a woman could manipulate a man into giving them exactly what they wanted. She knew it all too well.

"I didn't say anything to her baby, but I know what you said. You're only sixteen. You have no idea what love is and I don't want to see you get your heart broken."

His face softened. "I know what I'm doing mom. I'll be fine, I promise."

Gemma shook her head. "That's what everyone thinks when they get into something new, then you don't see it coming when it bites you in the ass."

Jax smiled, his eyes dancing with humor. "Mom, I know I'm only sixteen but I'm not a kid. Fuck, even when I was a kid I wasn't a kid. I've seen more shit than most people have who're double my age, don't you think I can handle getting bit in the ass or not on my own?"

Her expression grew sober. "I don't care if you're a hundred and three, you will always be my baby."

Jax nodded, a smirk filled with genuine affection on his face. His mom may have been complicated and a little intense sometimes, but she loved him completely and he understood that. "Tara's a good girl mom. You have to give her a chance."

Standing up she dropped her cigarette into her coffee, clearly deciding that she no longer wanted either of them as a resolute expression took over her features. "Well then, let's have her over for dinner in a few days. We can get to know each other."

From any other mother the offer would have been a compromise but Jax knew that having Tara to dinner would be like throwing her into a viper den. Still, it was a hurdle he could tell he wouldn't be able to avoid and he nodded his head. "Okay."

She nodded her head and left him to get ready for school. It didn't take him long to shower and throw on a flannel with some jeans before he got on his bike and headed for Charming High. His own eagerness was amusing even to him. He wasn't just going to be on time for school, he was actually going to be early. If only he and Tara had gotten together freshman year, he'd probably have perfect attendance.

Pulling into the parking lot, he cut his engine and tossed his helmet onto the handlebars. The parking lot was half full with cars for the band kids and the teachers along with some of the early birds that had zero hour classes but it was still pretty empty.

Walking through the front entrance, he thought maybe he'd grab a coke from the vending machine when the office door banged open behind him. "Teller. A word."

Jax turned to see Mr. Samson standing in the doorway, his expression serious. As he walked toward the vice principal he saw a glimmer in his eye that set Jax's nerves on end. Triumph? Anticipation? He couldn't put his finger on it but as he fell in line behind him and realized he was being taken into the principal's office he figured he would find out soon enough.

Mr. Samson opened the door and Jax walked in. Mr. Welks was sitting at his desk and motioned to one of the chairs in front of it. "Please take a seat Mr. Teller."

No stranger to the seating in front of the principal's desk, Jax made his way to take a seat and realized that one of them was already taken. He vaguely recognized the man now sitting beside him, but couldn't place his face.

"Mr. Teller, this is Mr. Hale. I'm sure you know his son David."

"Or at least, his nose?" Jacob Hale Sr. looked over at Jax, disdain dripping from his words as he glared.

Jax nodded his head and said nothing, trying to ignore the thinly veiled glee he could see in the vice principal's expression from where he stood behind the principal's desk.

"Mr. Hale tells us you have been targeting his son."

Jax jerked his gaze from David's father back the principal, his expression defiant. "That's bullshit."

"Language!" Mr. Samson shouted from against the wall, making Jax want to fly over the table and tear his head off.

"You've been bullying him at school and now you're bullying him at his own home. MY home. This won't stand young man, do you understand me?"

Jax's expression turned cocky as he slid his eyes to Jacob. "I haven't done shit to your son. In fact, I didn't even realize he was even still alive since he stopped delivering my morning paper."

Hale's face reddened but he kept his composure. "Careful boy. I've got witnesses that put you and that Winston kid in my house as trespassers before you started a fight that injured my son and two other minors." The redness in his face faded and it was his turn to adopt a cocky sneer. "If you want to avoid charges I'd sit there and listen to your betters for the rest of this meeting."

Jackson clenched his teeth against a response. Hale's suit was perfect and his shiny shoes actually matched his douchy fucking briefcase. Jax knew he was some big attorney, knew that he liked to throw his weight around and act like a powerful big shot.

Mr. Welks cleared his throat to get everyone's attention back on him again, his voice coming out firmly as he trained his gaze on Jax. "Consider this a final warning Mr. Teller. We've had discussions about your disruptions in the past-"

"And your truancy." Mr. Samson chimed in.

Mr. Welks nodded his head at the interruption and continued. "And your truancy. Obviously the time for warnings has passed so here is an ultimatum. You step one more toe out of line and you are gone. Understood?"

Jax's mirthless smile sat under furious eyes as the bell for the start of classes rang in the background. "In other words, now that I'm sixteen, you aren't required to keep the bad apples in with the bunch anymore." Looking over at Jacob Hale, Jax continued. "Shouldn't my parents be here for a conversation like this? You know, legally and all?"

Hale leaned toward him with unadulterated arrogance and hatred in his eyes. "Oh, I'm sure your parents would agree that you need to mind your P's and Q's son. You see, I'm in line for county judge. I'm sure, considering the line of work your family is in, that they'd like a county judge to feel impartial toward them."

Jax's expression was murderous. "I don't know that mechanics have much use for county judges."

The man and the boy regarded each other from their opposite lines in the sand, neither giving an inch as Mr. Welks broke the tension. "I think we've addressed this issue. Mr. Teller, if you'd please go to class now."

Jax got up, looking at Mr. Samson with feigned innocence. "I'm gonna need a note. Wouldn't want Ms. Fisher to think I'm truant."

He followed the Vice Principal out, not even bothering a parting glance at Hale as he got his grudgingly written note and stormed to his first class. He handed the note to his teacher and she took it with surprise, something he would have thought was amusing if he hadn't been so pissed. It was only minutes into first period and he'd already had to put out fires with his mother, been threatened by a powerful local asshat along with the principal and missed his chance to see Tara. They didn't have a class together in the morning, which meant he would have to wait until lunch.

He wondered if she'd waited around for him before class, which she had. She'd seen his bike in the lot and looked around for him a bit in the normal places he might be but when the bell had rung her uneasiness had grown. He was here, but he clearly had other things to do than wander around looking to see her.

She'd gone to class, barely listening to the biology teacher as her mind analyzed the entire situation to death for the millionth time. By the end of first period she felt no better and stopped at her locker to switch out her books. A tap at her shoulder had her turning to see a girl she had gym with handing her a note before turning without a word to walk away.

She unfolded the notebook paper and a smile touched her lips.

Meet me in the girl's bathroom by the cafeteria fifteen minutes into second period.

Jax

He'd mentioned wanting a quickie in the bathroom and though she was pretty sure she wouldn't be going along with that plan, she desperately wanted to see him. If she could just lay eyes on him she knew all of this doubt would go away.

As the minutes dragged on during her Algebra class her spirits lifted. She couldn't believe she'd let Gemma get into her head like that. This weekend had been one of the most incredible of her life and only she and Jax knew what was between them. The way he'd looked at her, told her he was in love with her, was etched into her mind and she started to feel absurd that she'd let her faith in that be shaken, no matter who had been the one to do the shaking.

Fifteen minutes into her class she asked to be excused and made her way to the bathroom furthest from the majority of the classrooms. A small smile touched her lips and her pace picked up. He would have picked this one for the fact that, this time of day, it would be the least busy. The cafeteria sat all the way at the end of the school with only a few classrooms around it.

She had to force herself not to yank the door open once she reached it, but her restraint was wasted when she saw that he wasn't inside. Anticipation licked at her and she realized that she might be more easily talked into that quickie after all. Walking over to the sinks, she looked in the mirror and did a quick check just as the door swung open and she turned to greet him.

Except instead of Jax, the tall, bruised vision of Angie Wilson came walking in with her eyes glued to Tara's.

Keeping her face devoid of a reaction she watched as the girl walked to the mirror beside her own and began nonchalantly fluffing her bleached blonde hair. When she spoke, she kept her eyes on her own reflection. "So you're Jax Teller's new fuck buddy."

It was phrased as a statement and not a question so Tara didn't answer. The disdain she held for Tara was thinly veiled and she wondered if that was the reason the girl refused to meet her eyes. It was obvious that she was trying to start a confrontation after what had happened at Hale's party, but she was taking her time with it.

Taking out a compact, she started dabbing fresh powder on the black smudge under her right eye, never taking her gaze from her own reflection as she spoke. "You know, I almost feel sorry for you. Jax has a way of making you feel like you're the only woman in the world. Then he gets into your pants and, well, you realize you were one in a long string of numbers."

Tara's blood pressure began to rise as she glared into the mirror at Angie's face, imagining just how sweet it would be to blacken the other eye so she had a matching set, but she stayed stock-still. They were at school and if there was anything that Tara liked it was to fly below the radar at school.

The bathroom door scraped open again and the girl who'd given Tara the note along with the girl who'd been at the party with Angie walked in to stand behind their friend, both staring daggers at Tara and she realized that flying below the radar might not be in her cards today. She'd been set up. Angie turned to face her head on and Tara stood her ground, calculating the odds of getting through the three of them to the door of the bathroom with minimal carnage. The odds were slim and she didn't like being outnumbered.

The triumphant look on Angie's face as she watched Tara try to work through the scenario in her head made her fists clench reflexively. Three against one wasn't a fair fight, but Tara realized that she didn't have to beat everyone's ass. She just had to fuck up one.

"I don't need you to feel almost sorry for me Angie. At the end of the day, I may end up being just a number for Jax but I can still say I'm not some herpes infested whore who no one comes back for twice."

Angie's eyes flared. "Big talk for a girl who's about to get her ass handed to her."

Tara walked up to her until they were nose-to-nose and whispered calmly against her mouth. "It'll be kinda hard to hand my ass to me when Jax isn't done with it yet. Maybe we should pass yours around instead?"

And with that, Tara slammed her forehead against Angie's already damaged nose, taking advantage of surprise as the only chance she had.

The girl crumpled to the floor, blood spilling from between her fingers as a wail poured from her mouth. One of her friends reached for her and Tara threw a punch, connecting with the side of her head as the other girl managed to get a handful of her long, dark hair. Vaguely, Tara heard the boom of a stall door being thrown open and saw the streaking form of a person run from the bathroom. She hadn't noticed anyone had been in a stall, but she'd gotten pretty preoccupied shortly after walking in as it turned out.

The girl from the party recovered from the fist to the side of her head just as the girl from Tara's gym class got her arms around her body, pinning her. Her smile was pure evil as she planted her feet.

Stars erupted in her eyes as the girl plowed her fist into Tara's face, the shock of the blow disorienting her for a second. "That was for Angie."

Before she could recover from the first punch the girl cocked back and decked her again, making Tara wonder how many more she had in her before she lost consciousness. "And tell your bitch ass friend Cheryl that was for me."

Vaguely Tara that this was the girl Cheryl had kept off of her long enough for she and Jax to get away from Hale's party. Tara forced a smile, tasting blood in her mouth. "Why can't you tell her yourself? Afraid she'd kick your ass again?"

Rage lit the girl's already lethal eyes and she cocked her fist back again, but the bathroom door swung open instead and Mrs. Mahoney burst in, rushing to grab the girl before she could follow through with her punch. "What the hell is going on here?"

The girl who'd been holding Tara dropped her and there was silence in the bathroom except for Angie's pathetic mewling about her nose coming from the floor.

Mrs. Mahoney turned her incredulous gaze from one girl to another until she'd taken in the whole scene and then looked directly at Tara, her lips settling into a thin line. "Everyone. Office. Now."

As the bell rang, signaling the end of second period, Jax was sure that time was moving slower just to fuck with him. School was boring on a normal day, but when his day had started off terrible and the only shining light at the end of the tunnel was seeing Tara, boring was taken to a whole new level.

He made his way through the halls, vaguely aware that people were whispering and throwing him looks but he had no idea why. Had Hale told everyone that his dad was throwing his weight around? He doubted it, that would only make Hale look like a pussy. He thought for just a second that maybe he was being paranoid, but by the time he got to his history class he couldn't ignore that people were staring at him.

Opie met him at the door and Jax looked at him in confusion. "Dude, what the fuck is going on? Why is everyone staring at me?"

Opie raised his eyebrows as he looked down at his friend. "You didn't hear? Angie Wilson jumped Tara in the bathroom."

Jax's heart slammed in his chest. "When? Where the fuck is she?"

Opie shrugged. "Sometime during last period. They're all in the office."

His friend had barely finished his sentence before Jax was sprinting to the office. He'd nailed Angie over the summer after she came by the clubhouse a few times with her older sister and some other girls. She hadn't made a big deal of the fact that Jax was obviously just interested in having a little fun and she'd never acted like she wanted more than that herself so this shit was coming right out of left field. A few months ago he would have found two chicks fighting over him hilarious. Now that one of those chicks was Tara it felt like a sucker punch. He didn't want her to hurt because of him. Ever.

Jax got to the office and flung open the door, the sight of Tara sitting along the wall with her eyes down on her shoes twisting his heart in his chest. She looked sad and defeated and he wanted nothing more than to get her the fuck out of here.

"Do you have business in here right now Mr. Teller?"

Tara's eyes shot up at the mention of his name and she watched as he shot a glare across the front office desk at Mr. Sampson, his pace never faltering as he walked over to her. "She's my business."

His words warmed her heart but the doubts she'd had since last night had only sprung back in full force after her fight in the bathroom. Twice now in twenty-four hours she'd been told that Jax was using her, that he would say anything to get into her pants and then leave her swinging in the breeze.

He knelt down in front of her and met her eyes with a look of concern so sincere that, to her horror, she felt tears burn the back of her eyes. She squeezed them shut, dropping her chin and his concern grew.

He took her chin in his hand, lifted it gently up until she opened her watery eyes to meet his again. She wasn't an easy crier, in fact he didn't think he'd ever seen her do it and it twisted him up. She'd awoken every protective instinct he had inside of him and right now, they were all screaming at him to get her out of here and make her pain go away.

Dropping her chin, he took her hand gently. "Come on."

He pulled her to her feet and picked up her backpack. Mr. Samson cleared his throat from across the room. "You're not excused to leave Mr. Teller. I hear that thin ice cracking."

Jax hit the vice principal with a stare that was so deadly that even Tara wondered what he was going to do. It was the look she'd seen him give when he'd been pushed just a little too far.

"I'm taking Tara home. You got a problem with it, call my step dad."

Mr. Samson returned his stare with one of his own but said nothing, the veiled threat in Jackson's tone registering loud and clear. There wasn't a person in town that didn't know his mother had married Clay Morrow, the newest president of the Sons of Anarchy, after having been married to the founding president before his death.

Keeping his eye on the older man he lead Tara out of the office and she realized that he must really be over Mr. Samson's shit. Everyone knew Jax, Charming wasn't a big town and the Sons were notorious, so it was rare that he would use his position in the club to intimidate anyone. In fact, she couldn't ever remember hearing him do it. People just knew not to fuck with him too much, but primarily Tara knew Jax liked to settle things for himself.

They said nothing to each other as he gave her his helmet and they got onto his bike, heading for her house. She laid her head against his back, taking comfort from the solid feel of him. He smelled like soap and cigarettes and she let it wrap around her, feeling better despite herself just for him being here. This entire nightmare of a day was because of him, and yet he was all she'd wanted through the whole thing. It seemed incredibly fucked up, but she couldn't help it.

Cutting his engine in front of her house he went to get off of the bike but she tightened her grip on him. He rubbed her arms and then crossed his over them, lacing his fingers between hers and sat with her for a minute. "Is your dad home?"

He felt her shake her head. "Let's get you inside. We have to put some ice on that lip babe."

She didn't move for another second and then he felt her reluctantly extricate her fingers from his and climb off of the bike. Following her inside he walked with her to the kitchen and watched as she slumped down onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table, dropping her head into her hands. Her silence was unnerving and he made himself busy getting a dishtowel to put ice in.

Walking over to the table, he sat in a chair next to her. "Look up at me Tara. Let me take care of you."

She dropped her hands and lifted her head but the defeat and sadness that had been in her eyes at the school had been replaced with anger and he sat up a bit straighter in surprise.

"How many girls have you fucked?"

Her tone was acidic, a stark contrast to the way she'd broached the subject before and he blinked at her in shock before he could will his mouth to form words.

A cynical smile graced her lips. "I bet you don't even know do you?"

He could feel himself starting to get annoyed at her sudden attack but he told himself he'd probably be plenty pissed if he was in her shoes. He took a deep breath. "If you really want a number I can give it to you but I don't see how that'll solve anything for you."

The distrustful twist to her mouth didn't waiver and he hated seeing it there. "It would just be nice to know how many whores I'm gonna have to fight if we're going to date. Or is everyone right and you don't plan on sticking long enough for it to be much of an issue?"

He felt like he'd been kicked in the balls and he stared at her in stunned silence. He had no idea where this was coming from, but this was more than some bullshit catfight in the girl's bathroom. Someone had seriously gotten into her head and he had a nagging suspicion it wasn't just Angie Wilson.

"My mom say something to you last night?"

Tara dropped her eyes and he could see the answer written all over her face. He would kill Gemma for this.

Putting the makeshift icepack down gently on the table, he kept his voice soft. "What did she say?"

Tara kept her eyes averted from his despite the kindness and patience in his voice. She could feel her hold on the anger that she'd latched onto to disguise the hurt and insecurity starting to slip. "It seems like there are more than a few people who think I'm about to be another Jax Teller hit and run."

He leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. He had no one to blame but himself for that perception but the fact that Tara could doubt his feelings so easily was a little exasperating. Dropping his gaze back to hers he willed himself to be understanding. He hadn't tried to avoid getting the reputation that he had, he would just have to realize that it came with consequences.

"Tara, look at me."

She slid her eyes up to meet his, the anger slipping even further as she saw the openness and honesty in his face. "I don't give a fuck what other people think this is. They aren't in this relationship. What do you think this is?"

She was in the precarious situation of being vulnerable and she fucking hated that. This thing with Jax was the most she'd ever let herself be unprotected with another human being, the most she'd let anyone in. If someone got too close, she always seemed to feel the need to push them away and she realized that was actually what she was doing right now. She had a choice to make, she could turn her back on this because it made her feel too exposed or she could overcome her fear and truly be with another person. It was truly an all or nothing scenario and feeling the way her heart skipped as he watched her quietly she realized, deep in her gut, that she wanted it all.

"I think this could be something big."

The knot in his chest loosened and he reached over the table to take her hand in his, running his thumb lightly over her bruised knuckles.

"I've never felt like this before Tara, I don't have some kind of blueprint to go off of. All I know is I think about you every minute and yeah, part of that scares the shit out of me. But not enough to run away from this."

Squeezing her hand softly he looked her dead in the eyes. "Shit is gonna come up from time to time that tests that, tests us, and I'm not afraid to face it. You in or out babe?"

Tara thought for a minute, the resolve in his expression and sureness in his voice telling her that he meant every word and the last piece of the anger crumbled away. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze in return and nodded her head. "I'm in Jackson. I'm in."