AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is another update. I hope you guys enjoy it. Pardon all the grammar mistakes and all that jazz.
Jax wipes his sleepy eyes and he finds that the house is quiet – too quiet. He moves out of bed and checks his kids' rooms and frowns when he finds them empty. He doesn't like the feeling that makes his stomach heavy as he hasn't even found a trace of Noelle in the house either. It makes his feet move faster until he releases a relieved breath as he finds Noelle sitting at the kitchen table by herself with a cup of coffee.
Jax comes up to her and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Where's the kids?"
"Lena came down and surprised them." She informs him to his own surprise.
He begins making his own cup of coffee and is worried by her silence when he takes a seat from across of her. "What's wrong?"
"What did you do to Kyle last night?" She asks him quietly.
Jax sighs as he really isn't surprised by the question. He rubs his hands down his face as he thinks how the guys handled that Kyle didn't get his tattoo removed. Even though the stench of burning flesh makes his stomach turn, Kyle knew the consequence if they ever found out. And in some sick sort of way he had gotten some satisfaction from hurting Kyle.
"He didn't get all his tattoos removed." He tells her simply. The kicker of it all was that Kyle was so gung ho about being invited back to the clubhouse that he didn't even care he would be missing his kid playing in his band.
Noelle nods her head, but he knows she really doesn't care about that. "Did that Fed approach you again?" He asks quietly.
Noelle shakes her head and she sits up straighter. "I don't really think the Fed is here for SAMCRO."
Jax furrows his brows. "What are you talking about?"
Noelle rubs her forehead as she stands up and dumps her coffee in the sink. "It's just a feeling Jax."
"Babe?"
Noelle takes a deep breath as she doesn't know how Jax will take her theory. Right now she knows she doesn't want to have to deal with him proclaiming that she is being paranoid or anything. It might set her off and cause both of them to snap at each other.
"When he came into the shop, he bought some stuff," she begins and Jax nods his head. "He bought things for a girlfriend who happens to be a Neo-Natal surgeon in Chicago."
She watches as Jax processes her words and it doesn't seem to be clicking as he looks confused until it dawns on him.
Jax opens his mouth, but the door to the house opens and Chibs steps through. "We have a situation brutha."
Jax nods his head as he stands up from the table and approaches Noe, "We'll talk about this later."
She nods her head and he presses a kiss to her lips.
…
"Jesus Christ." Jax mutters as he looks at the dead body in the kitchen. The cause of death could be from the bullets and the final blow from a knife being embedded in the back of his head. He rubs his face as this is the last thing he really wants to deal with.
"Sorry, brother." Clay says voice tight with sympathy. "What happened?"
T.O, the Grim Bastards president trying to reign in his grief and anger, "I found him like this. Bullets killed him. Knife was a message."
"From who?" Chibs questions.
"It's buried in his skull." T.O says hotly.
"Calaveras." Jax answers for Chibs
"Yeah. Had to be Salazar." T.O points out.
"Anybody else see this?" Opie asks from next to Jax.
"No. Baby mama's got his kids"
."911?" Happy ponders gruffly.
T.O shakes his head. "Didn't call, man. The things we're gonna do to the Mexicans, best no one puts motive on us."
Clay's head snaps up, "Retaliation's tricky, T. The deal we made with the Mayans? It's barely a day old. Alvarez still has a connection to the Calaveras."
Bobby nods his head in agreement. "And we have to vet all things Mexican before we do anything else."
"And if Alvarez says no?" T.O fires back with barely contained rage. "Huh? What then? This is because we backed up Sam Crow."
Jax holds back his sigh as in a way he knows this is true, but this is the outlaw life they chose to have. "Come on, man. We got to bring Alvarez into the loop, or he's gonna think we crossed him."
"Race and rally in the barrio out today. Mayans are sponoring and I'm guessing those wetback skulls are gonna be there." Tig informs them.
"Give Alvarez a call. Tell him we're coming down." Clay orders his Sergeant at Arms.
"Bastards are going." T.O insists.
Clay sighs and compromises. "Take two guys, T. All right? We-We're going for Intel, not for battle."
T.O scoffs.
…
Jax isn't surprised with the way the meet went with Alvarez and the Calaveras. Jax still thinks even with stripping the idiotic president of his Patch isn't going to help that the Calaveras aren't cut for the outlaw life. If anything half of them look like they just graduated from the 8th grade. Plus considering how easily Hector squealed about what Alvarez wanted with the Calaveras, he thinks the Mayan president needs to find some crew with a bigger back bone.
…
What people would find most surprising is that Clay Morrow loves pillow talk. Then there wasn't much that Clay kept secret from his wife. So after Clay came home from dealing with the Mayans and Kyle, Gemma was taken back by another little nugget that no one had informed her of especially when it regarded her grandchildren.
She had seen how something happened with the way Addie was clinging to Jax before he left. Her granddaughter was spooked about something, but Gemma had seen nothing out of the ordinary. And she knew she wasn't going to receive anything from Noelle if she asked especially in such a public place. But her grandchildren were glued to her side following that and there was a time and place for everything. If there was something serious going on she would know.
But nothing could have prepared her for Clay telling her that some grown man – a Fed – had approached her granddaughter asking questions. This Fed obviously had a death wish and she was even more infuriated with her husband that he didn't know any more details regarding what this Fed wanted.
She was holding back the need to throttle her husband and she made sure he got an ear full last night. And she couldn't wait until she sees her son.
"Hey, Gem, we need to get the Cutlass off the lot. Do you mind calling the owner," Lowell says from the door.
Gemma perks her head up and nods her head. "Cutlass you said?" She asks as she begins to go through paper work.
"Yeah, I think it's Tara."
Gemma pulls the paperwork to calculate the cost when an idea pops in her head. "Hey, Lowell, you want to go for a ride?"
…
Gemma smiles at the look of disbelief on Tara's face as she dangles the keys in front of the good doctor before dropping them into her hands. Gemma doesn't wait for an invitation as she walks into the Knowles' home.
"You drove it here?" Tara questions.
"I'm thinkin', uh, me and you got off to a bad start. It's my way of saying sorry."
"That's nice of you. Thanks." Tara replies skeptically.
Gemma nods her head as she takes off her sunglasses and looks at the very packed house. She knew Tara's dad was a drunk, but not a hoarder. "Wow. You weren't kidding about the clutter."
"Uh, workin' through a room at a time."
Gemma picks up a photo of Tara's old man and is surprised to find that before he became a raging drunk he was actually a good looking guy. "Oh, wow. Your dad was real handsome. Kinda nuts, but cute.
"Yeah." Tara replies shortly. "Why are you here, Gemma?"
"Your car." Gemma says.
"Yeah, the Good Samaritan bit's not really playing. What do you want?"
Gemma takes a good look at the woman her son was so crazy in love with. Sometimes she did wonder what would have happened if Tara would've stayed, but she thinks it would have never worked. Some people didn't belong in this life and Tara was one of them. Tara's default for everything was to run and she knew when times would get tough or even being left to raise three babies alone, Tara would've bailed.
"You left Charming because it was incestuous backward and small-minded. That's pretty much an exact quote. I don't forget. You leave Chicago to come back to this- shit-filled house, mediocre gig at a community hospital." Gemma points out. It didn't fit Tara's M.O unless she was running from something and Gemma knew she was.
"I needed to tie up family business."
"People don't upend their lives to pack up a dead relative's house."
"You seem to be spending a lot of time and energy worrying about my life. Do I scare you that much, Gemma?"
Gemma almost laughs at Tara's words. If anything she was familiar with the wreckage Tara could bring down on people. She knows her son isn't stupid and she isn't worried about him stepping out on Noelle. But she's worried about what mess Tara could have possibly brought to Charming. "I don't forget. I'm not worried about you. Just the people you touch. Stay clear of Jax."
Tara releases a derisive smirk. "We're not 19 years old anymore. You can't dictate what he does, who he sees-"
"I'm his mother, and until I am dead and cold I am gonna do anything I have to do to protect him and his family. You do remember that Jax is happily married with three kids." Gemma rubs in the good doctor's face. She jumps with joy inside as she can see Jax's family hits a nerve with Tara. She finds it almost pathetic Tara would assume Jax would still be pining for her after all these years. Gemma slides on her sunglasses as she is satisfied with her work. She heads to the door, but stops. "Oh. And, uh I'm not sure why you're carrying a gun but if you're gonna use one make sure to be safe." Gemma digs into her purse for the gun she thought would suit Tara. "No serial numbers."
…
Noelle finds herself heading over to Charming PD on her lunch break. Luckily, Unser isn't there as she knows her coming to the station would find it's way to Jax. Heading in she finds the man she is looking for talking to the receptionist and she can tell he is surprised to see her there.
"How can I help you, Noelle?" David asks as he abandons his conversation.
"Can I talk to you in private?" She asks.
David nods his head as she leads her into his office and shuts the door.
"Is everything okay, Noelle?" David asks concerned.
"How well do you know that ATF agent?" She asks quietly.
Hale looks at her quietly before he releases a chuckle. "You know I expected Gemma to have taught you to be less subtle in trying to extort information."
"This isn't about getting information on some bullshit investigation." Noelle fires back taking the Deputy by surprise. "This man approached my kids."
David freezes. "What are you talking about?"
"They were at the park and he approached them. Spooked Addison." She tells him. "I just want to know if you really know who you're getting into bed with because I don't think he is here for SAMCRO."
"Who do you think he is here for?"
"Tara." She tells him.
"Can I ask why you believe that?"
"I just do. Can you please just look into him. I know you don't care about Jax or the club, but can you do this for my children." She almost begs.
He nods his head. "Of course, I'm sorry, Noelle."
"Thanks, David."
…
Lena is starting to think her sister is Superwoman because right now she doesn't know how her sister had managed three energetic Tellers. It's barely noon and Lena finds herself worn out watching after her nephews and niece. She knows most of the energy is from her being there, but she is glad they are distracted by her coming down to visit after her late night phone call from her sister. Lena really wanted to take the kids to Davis with her to wait for whatever was happening to cool down. She knows Noelle wouldn't mind, but it would be convincing Jax to let his kids out of his sight. But for now she is happy entertaining the kids except she has noticed something since she left Noelle's house.
The kids haven't noticed it and she really doesn't want to draw attention to it, but she knows she will as she turns onto a nondescript street.
She parks the car and it draws confusion from the kids especially AJ.
"What's going on?" Noah asks from the passenger seat.
"Lock the doors," Lena tells them as she moves out of the car.
"Should we call Dad?" Addie asks from the backseat.
"Lock the doors, Addie," Lena tells her again as she shuts the door and approaches the man who is parked two vehicles back and smirking at her.
Lena flashes a smile while she digs into her boot for her Ka-Bar knife. She watches as the man's smug smile falls as she stabs his precious front tire.
"What the hell!" The man exclaims as he gets out of the car. "That's six month in county."
"And tell me how long do you get for stalking minors?" She tosses back. "Because trust me I have no problem in calling your superiors."
"SAMCRO doesn't talk to the cops."
"Good thing I'm not SAMCRO." She tells him as she walks back to her car.
The kids are looking at her scared as she starts the car and she zooms to the clubhouse.
…
Pulling into the lot, luckily Jax is there and is smoking at the picnic table with Opie and Bobby. She doesn't bother finding a parking space as she parks right in front where he is sitting.
"We need to talk. Now." She tells him through the window.
The kids scramble out of the car to hug their dad before Jax directs them to their uncles. Jax motions for her to follow him into the chapel.
"What's going on?"
"That ATF agent was following me and the kids the whole morning." She tells him.
"And you didn't call me?"
"The last thing your family needs is you going to jail for killing a Fed." She retorts.
"Where is he now?"
"I sliced his tires a few blocks from Main. He was driving a Compact." She tells him.
It's all he needs before he rushes out of the Chapel. "Jax, where are you going!" She shouts as she rushes to keep up with him as he practically runs to his bike. "Jax!" She shouts as he straddles his bike and zooms out of the lot. "Fuck!"
…
All Jax can see is red. He finds the silver car with the tires sliced and he wishes he had a bat to trash the vehicle even more. He knows that trashing the vehicle wouldn't do anything to stave off his bloodlust. Luckily there is a neighbor who is watching as he looks at the vehicle and does his civic duty in telling him that he saw the guy walking towards Main Street.
Jax makes the two minute drive to Main and parks in the middle. There isn't a lot of places the man could go and it seems he isn't in a hurry to call Teller Morrow for a tow. He can rule out Noelle's shop as she would have called immediately if the man had set foot in there. However, Jax thinks he needs to think like this man. He wants to ruffle feathers and he knows the guy will probably get off him being in rage and possibly rushing to Noelle's side.
So he looks at the three stores that have perfect view of Noelle's shop. And the only one he can imagine the man going into is Floyd's.
Jax stalks into the shop and finds Floyd giving the man a hot shave. Luckily Floyd is a perceptive man as he can see how tense he is and walks away to let him handle business as he enters with no greeting.
Kohn is unsuspecting as he lays back exposed. Jax thinks it would be easy to stab the man right in the throat. Jax almost laughs as Kohn tries to jump out of the chair when he opens his eyes to find him standing over him.
"You wanna go to war with me, you sick piece of shit!" Jax spits as he hauls the man up and Jax isn't too far gone in his anger to mess up Floyd's shop, but it doesn't stop him from throwing him throw the glass window.
They obviously don't teach self-defense to Feds as Jax easily maintains the advantage as he pounds into Kohn. He watches as he busts the man's nose and his rings make cuts in the guy's face. However, the little shit fights dirty as he feels a pair of scissors in his legs and it makes Jax bounce the man's head off the pavement. He doesn't hear the sirens approaching or even Hale as the Deputy drags him off Kohn, who is laying bloody.
Jax doesn't calm down until he finds small smooth hands cupping his face and Noelle floods his vision. "Jax, you need to calm down."
Jax takes a deep breath and he goes lax in Hale's hold. He watches as Noelle frowns at him before she looks down at his leg. He then feels the searing pain and he leans against a patrol car. "Jesus, Jax." Noelle mutters at him.
Jax looks at her with no apology in his eyes and she steps between his legs and looks at his red hands. "He was following the kids." Is all he tells her before Hale approaches with a contemplative look. "After the paramedics check you out, I need you at the station for your statement."
Jax nods his head as he doesn't object.
"I want you at the clubhouse, Noe." He tells his wife. "You stay with a patch or my mom."
"Okay," she agrees before she places a kiss on his lips and moves out of the way so the paramedics can check his leg.
…
Jax thinks even if Floyd didn't cover up for him, Kohn was still neck deep in shit as he had violated an apparent restraining order he had filed against him. Yet, even though Noelle had suspected Tara being behind why Kohn was here, he wasn't prepared for that particular bombshell that he was stalking Tara and it didn't take long for Jax to deduce that was why Tara fled Chicago. With his leg hurting like a bitch, somehow he manages to make it to the clubhouse. He spots Lena's car on the lot, but not Noelle's and he frowns but he doesn't see Opie's or Chibs' bike either. He limps into the office where he finds his mom looking over paperwork.
"How's your leg?" She asks.
Jax limps to the couch and sighs at the relief of pressure. "Fine."
"You know Tara has a restraining order against him? Gemma asks.
Jax nods his head, but narrows his eyes at his mother. "How do you know?"
"I was suspicious of her motive for coming back. So I did a little research." She tells him.
"Jesus Christ, Ma." He mutters. He was annoyed that his mom found Tara important enough to him that he would need to dig into Tara's motive for returning to Charming.
"What?"
"I don't know how to many times I need to say this or what, but Tara is not fucking important to me. What she does is her own fucking business. I don't need Noelle around this shit thinking Tara has some kind of hold on me."
"I know, baby –" His mom tries to soothe.
"Do you?"
"Yeah, but I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't have a hunch. And it turns out I was fucking right." His mom says defending herself. "And you know I am concerned because the bitch has you doing her dirty work."
Jax's eyes flash dangerously. "He was following the kids, Ma."
"I know, but the point of the matter is that she still came back here. And I don't care if she says she didn't expect you to be here because she knew you would." His mom tells him. "She came back here fearing for her life because she knew there was one guy in the whole world that would have no problem putting a Fed through a plate glass window. And if I can piece that together so can Noelle and all of fucking Charming."
…
Jax finds himself furious with the way his mom's words stick with him. Most of all he hates that he knows it is the truth. So he finds that it is better to go to the source than listening to everyone else. He grabs a bottle of Jack to dull the pain in his leg as he seats outside on the steps of Tara's childhood home. He finds himself regretting this as he has already been waiting for almost two hours for her to show and people are looking at him curiously as to why he is sitting on the steps.
Eventually headlights flood his vision and the Cutlass pulls into the driveway.
"Jesus. Are you okay?" She asks as she joins the steps and sits next to him.
"Yeah." He replies gruffly.
"Hale told me what happened." She says as she looks down at his leg.
"Kohn's gone. I watched him leave town."
"Thank you." She tells him with a smile and her hand reaches out to his arm and gives it a squeeze, but the look he shots her as her recoiling. "What is it?"
Jax looks at Tara and he wonders why he was so in love with her back in the day. Back then he could find a good lay anywhere. Sure, she was smart and didn't fall into his charms too quickly which enticed him, but other than that when it came down to it, they were truly polar opposites. And now that he had finally allowed himself to be here with Tara, he compares her and Noelle for the first time.
Both women were smart and for the most part never took his shit. But he realizes that Tara never really knew him. She knew this outlaw biker persona that everyone else did. Noelle knew who he was without the kutte. She knew his greatest fears and his aspirations. She knew him intimately and in a way that didn't make him weaker like it did with Tara, but stronger. There was also the fact, Noelle didn't put up with his shit. Tara would easily make it a back and forth game of who could reach their limit in pissing each other off the fastest. Noelle would nip that shit in the bud with clip concise words where he didn't know if he wanted to kill her or kiss her half the time.
But the most striking difference was that Noelle never needed to be saved. She wouldn't allow someone else to do that. With Tara, he had saved her from her drunken daddy. Saved her from his abuse and kept her save. Hell he practically beat on any guy that disrespected her during their wild courtship and like he did years ago, he fell back in her little snare.
"You left Chicago 'cause you were afraid this guy was gonna hurt you." He states.
"One of the reasons." She admits.
Jax looks at her right in the eyes and she has trouble meeting his gaze. Something Noelle has no problem in ever doing in the thick of things. "Did you come back here 'cause you knew I'd hurt this guy - do what the cops wouldn't do?"
"God, no." She says instantly, but Jax isn't so sure he believes her. "I had no idea he would follow me. L- I didn't know you'd even still be here."
He hates that she tells him everything that his mother said she would.
"That doesn't sound like you, Jax. It sounds like your mother." She tells him bitterly.
"My kids got caught up in this Tara," he tells her. "They could've gotten hurt."
At this, she at least looks guilty. "I'm sorry, Jax. I didn't think Josh would go that far."
"Well, you're safe now." He tells her as he moves off the steps and to his bike.
…
Jax arrives home to a quiet dark house. He finds Lena and the kids all passed out in the living room. It appears they made their own pillow fort as blankets and sheets are thrown everywhere. He smiles and is surprised his wife isn't out there with them.
Just to double check, he checks all the room to make sure there isn't the presence of anyone else before he makes it to the bedroom where Noelle is sleeping peacefully.
He strips off his clothes down to his boxers before he slides into bed. He comes up behind Noelle and presses a kiss to her shoulder.
He smiles as she sighs and burrows into him in her sleep.
"I love you, Noe," he whispers before his eyes flutter shut.