A/n: This is the chapter that went wrong. I thought the inclusion of Winsome was going to pan out. It did not and it was a liability to the story's momentum. That and my computer acted up so I was unable to just take one chapter out and revise it. That and I realize that the story was not over yet. I apologize for the inconvenience.
San Joaquin County Correctional Facility / 2025
Very few if any were ever allowed to be outside at sundown. Considering all she was able to accomplish in the infirmary, it was a luxury afforded to Tara. It also was a bonus that she was allowed to have Bobby's muffins delivered to her every week.
How strange was life that the one place where she found a sense of peace and purpose was the last place she ever expected to find it?
The taste of Bobby's muffins put an ear-to-ear grin on her face. The flavor and texture as it passed across her tongue was comforting as she watched the sky turn bright orange and pink with the sunset.
"Those muffins go great with tequila."
Tara was surprised to see Piney in his worn-torn denim kutte sitting at a nearby table to her right. "Didn't think I would find you here, Tara."
"I didn't think I would see you again, Piney." Tara said. "You could have lived a bit longer, you know?"
"No human being has ever left this world alive. I figured you would have caught that by now."
Tara took another bite from the half eaten muffin in her hand. "I do miss him. He put me here and I miss him. They tell me Jax has changed."
"I'm sure they told him you changed too." Piney said. "Did you tell him about you banging Juice because he deserved it or because you wanted to see him squirm?"
"A bit ot both. I was angry at him. He hurt me." Tara said moments before she heard Otto's voice. "How's the hand, Doc?"
Turning to her left and saw Otto wearing denim jeans and a black shirt underneath his old kutte. He looked like what he did before he got locked up.
Tara looked down at her right hand and moved her fingers for a bit. "It doesn't hurt as much."
Otto grinned. "We all have lingering pains. Some heal over time. Others change who we are."
Looking out onto the sky as the sun set into the distance and stars began to appear in the darkening night sky. "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come true."
"You know that song?" Tara asked, bewildered that Otto would have known the words to that familiar song from Walt Disney's Pinocchio.
"You'd be surprised at what I knew. Or maybe it's you who remembered it."
"Knowles, time's up." The guards spoke, breaking Tara's train of thought. Glancing back at the now empty yard, Tara walked back into the prison.
Apart from the critical times where a patient was the brink between life and death, her days have become the same.
Wake up, brush teeth, eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, receive new clothes from supply, go to work in the infirmary, lunch, visit the prison chapel, dinner, continue work at infirmary, return to cell, read the latest letters that came with the care package from New York, brush teeth and lights out.
She had the distinction of having a day where nothing unexpected happened. As the days went by, whatever anger Tara had towards Jax seemed to lessen. At the same time, she hadn't seen him for weeks. There were days when she began to believe that she had severely traumatized Jax to where he could not even talk to her let alone see her again.
Then one day, after finishing up her rounds in the infirmary, Tara was approached by the guards. "Knowles, you have visitors."
Tara walked with them to the visitor's room, which was left vacant for her and the three men who were inside already. He finally showed up again. Some of his wounds were still healing, others looked fresh and a handful of them became distant memories.
Tara first walked up to the Scotsman. Looking the older man in the eye, Tara asked, "How are you running things in Charming?"
"Low key and quiet." Chibs said.
Tara smiled and hugged him. "It's good to see you, Chibs."
"It's good to see you too." Chibs said. "A lot of things have been changing in town."
"I wouldn't know. Why don't you fill me in?"
"We've gone legit. At the very least, we're getting there one step at a time." Chibs said objectively. "Jax has changed too. Been working again in Teller-Morrow again. Fixing cars and helping train the Prospects. Even fixed your father's Cutlass."
Turning her attention to Jax, Tara saw something in his eyes that she had not seen. Humility and a complete absence of arrogance. "It was all that kept me from doing what I would have done before."
"It was one of the reasons I put him back in the garage as a mechanic, Tara. It helped him focus on what's important."
"It felt better to build something up instead of tearing something down. For me, it did."
Tara looked to Chibs and Happy. "What did you...How did he..."
"We voted him out of office, Sharky threw him a long overdue beating. Those things went a long way to humble him and to give him a new outlook on life. As for the Cutlass, he meant to follow through on getting it fixed. This is him making strides to keep his promises."
Tara looked at Jax for a moment before asking for Chibs and Happy to give her some time alone with Jax. When they were alone, in spite of the cameras being on, Tara spoke directly to Jax.
"How have you been sleeping?" Tara asked. There was no mockery or scorn in her voice.
"Not very well but I've not been up all night either. I haven't been with anyone else since we last saw each other. I don't know if it makes a difference. You would probably think I'm lying. I've spent most of my time in Teller-Morrow working on cars or drilling the Prospects on physical training and disciplining them on how things are done."
Tara listened carefully while keeping her eyes scope locked on the man in front of her.
He looked and sounded like Jax but he sounded different. His smile wasn't the cocky grin she remembered; it was mellowed and matured.
Without the blinding rage glazed over her eyes, Tara spoke to Jax. "I did not do it to hurt you. Juice and I...we were high on weed. That's not an excuse. I'm telling you what I didn't say before. When I ran, I was afraid of you. Before that, I was angry at you."
"What can I do?" Jax asked. A simple question but one that spoke volumes. How can I make amends with you? How can I make you not fear me? How can I make you not angry with me?
"Give my SUV to Lyla or sell it. When I leave San Joaquin, I want to see just how good you fixed my father's Cutlass and then I'm going to ride out to find our sons. By then, they will be full grown men. Probably Marines too."
"Do I have a part in this reunion?" Jax asked.
"Right now, I don't know." Tara said. Standing up as she did, Jax watched as she made her way either to the door or to him.
She surprised him by hugging him and whispering, "I'm not angry with you anymore, Jackson. I don't hate you anymore either but I can not tell if this reform of yours is an act."
Jax took a deep breath and a moment to gather his thoughts before he decided to tell her the one thing he had been keeping to himself even from the Redwood Original. "I talked with Chibs about a transfer. I have nothing left in Charming to stay for. If what's between us still has a chance, if you still love me and if you could forgive me, I'll go with you. No detours, roundabouts or stalls. From the moment you walk out of this place a free woman, you and I are going to hit the road straight to Chicago."
Having been in solitary for quite a while with not much else but books and her own consciousness to keep her company, Tara did not think that it would have any effect on her mind.
"Time will tell, Jackson." Tara said with a kiss on his cheek before returning to the infirmary to finish her shift.
As she was reading FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, a voice from outside her cell spoke callously, "You really buy that story, Dr. Knowles? Maybe you dreamed up the notion of Jax's reform so many times in your subconscious mind that you only heard what you wanted to hear." Tara glanced through the bars to her right and saw the bearded, hardened and dead ex-US Marshall Lee Toric standing there.
"I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to hear Otto got to stick it to you before he went out."
"Toric, you can't be surprised to hear that kind of remark from her. Once a biker slut, always a biker slut."
Tara looked to her left and saw Joshua Kohn staring at her with a look similar to Toric's with a smile. "You know what brings me relief at the fact that the two of you are dead and in my head?"
Neither Toric or Kohn got a chance to reply when Otto bashed Toric's head into the wall on her right and Piney slammed Kohn's head against the wall on her left.
"It's good to have friends like that, even if they're in your head." Tara turned around and found herself staring at the last person she ever expected to see.
"How does it feel to be in prison for something you actually did?"
"You are not here."
"Yes, I am. I've been here since you and Jax first met." Gemma said. "He will not change. I raised him that way. Made him stronger that John ever was."
"You have lied to so many people and hid so much from others that I would not be surprised if you also lied to yourself."
"So you are not sorry about killing me?" Gemma asked.
"If they were brought up by you, Abel and Tommy would either have criminal records or plots at the cemetery before their 18th birthdays. I wouldn't have killed you if you didn't try to kill me."
In the blink of an eye, Tara was all alone in her cell again. Picking up her book, Tara continued reading.
A/n: I will need time to go over what I have so far and see how this story should end. I thought I had it down right the first time. I hope this time it came out better. On the plus column, the story is not over. Not yet anyway. I think there is still a few more things to tie up before the end credits roll.