As Tara sat at the weathered old picnic table beneath the trees at Sophie's favorite park, she wasn't sure she'd ever been more uncomfortable in her entire life. Not because the wooden bench was sagging and splintering from years of wear and tear. And not because of the two tiny humans she was growing in her womb, who often made her feel like they were sumo wrestling inside her. But because she was in the company of the two most important men in her life, and each looked like they wanted to rip the other's throat out.
Beside her was her fiancée, the love of her life, and the father of her unborn babies. His hand on her leg was supposed to be a comfort, but she could feel it shaking as he sat, rigid, staring down her daughter's father, the man who had taken care of her and looked out for her for years. Chibs was her best friend, if she was being honest with herself. Well, until recent months, at least. She loved them both, in very different ways. She didn't want to hurt either of them. But she had to. The two of them were on very opposite sides of a life changing decision, and she was stuck in the middle.
"Well…" Chibs asked her through clenched teeth. "Is this what you want?" The answer should have been simple. Yes. Yes, she wanted what Jax wanted, to raise their family away from Charming, and away from SAMCRO. They'd talked about it at length. She knew it was the smart choice. But her heart just wasn't in it, not the way it should have been. She'd spent the first twenty years of her life despising the tiny town that so often felt like a prison. But now, it was home. It was the only home Sophie had ever known.
"Yes," she lied. "This is what I want. It's what's best for my family. It's what best for our girls."
"Girls?" Chibs' eyes narrowed.
"I want Kerrianne to come with us," Tara said carefully. "I think it will be good for her to get away from Charming. You said yourself you don't want her around the club anymore." Chibs stared at her blankly for a moment, trying to process her words. Then his lips spread into a wide grin, and he began to laugh. "Chibs?"
"Aye, you're funny, girl. You don't just want to take one of my daughters away from me, you want me to take them both! And you want my permission to do it!" He roared with laughter as he stood up from the table. Jax and Tara exchanged worried glances. Chibs recaptured their attention by slamming both of his fists on the table, nearly shattering the old wooden planks. "This was your idea," he hissed, unleashing his fury on Jax. "You come waltzing back into town and think you can just take whatever you want. Tara. Sophie. Now Kerrianne?"
"Chibs, it's not…" Tara's voice trembled with fear.
"It's not going to fucking happen," Chibs said in a low voice that was somehow more menacing than when he yelled. "Neither one of my girls is going anywhere. You two can go wherever you want. To hell with ya. But you're not taking my daughters with you."
Jax intervened. "It's not your decision, old man. We were asking out of courtesy. Because when we take this to court…"
"Caaareful, Jackie Boy," Chibs seethed, leaning across the table until his nose was nearly touching Jax's. "Be real careful what you say next. I'd hate for you to make a threat you don't intend to keep. Because if I thought that you were actually planning to try to take my daughters from me…I'd kill ya." He turned to Tara, his usually kind eyes jet black with rage. "I'd kill ya both." As he began to walk away, Jax jumped up in pursuit, ready to pummel Chibs for threatening his family. Tara latched on to his arm and pulled him back toward her.
"Don't," she begged. "He didn't mean it. Just…let him go." Jax reluctantly sat back down, but didn't take his eyes off of the man who was quickly becoming his enemy. Tara watched him as well, as he sauntered casually toward his bike, then roared out of the parking lot. He didn't mean it. He would never hurt her. Would he? She thought she knew Filip, but lately she wasn't so sure. He felt like they were backing him into a corner, Tara could tell. And a man who feels trapped is capable of anything.
Tara was still shaking when they pulled into their driveway. Neither she nor Jax said a word the entire way home. She wondered if he sensed her hesitation in answering Chibs. She wondered if he knew how much she really didn't want to leave Charming.
"Well," he said lightly, finally breaking the silence between them. "That went well." Tara looked up at him and was relieved to see a smile on his face. She laughed in spite of herself. Jax took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips, kissing it sweetly. "It's my fault shit got so out of hand. I shouldn't have threatened him with court. I'm sorry, babe."
"It's okay," Tara said quietly. "I shouldn't have brought up Kerrianne. This is going to be rough on Chibs. On all of us. We should have revealed our plan in stages. Instead, we just dumped it on him like a big bag of dog shit. I don't blame him for freaking out."
"You're not worried about what he said, are you? I mean, he would never?"
Tara shook her head emphatically, trying to convince herself more than Jax. "No. Of course he wouldn't. He was just angry." Jax studied her face, searching for any sign of concern. She did her best to hide it.
"Okay," he conceded. "Then let's table this topic for now. We'll just forget about it, okay?"
Tara smiled. "Okay."
The smell of something burning assaulted Tara's senses the moment she opened the door, and she instantly went into panic mode. She and Jax rushed into the kitchen, where they found Kerrianne and Sophie in the middle of a gigantic mess. There was water boiling over on the stove, smoke pouring from the oven, and what looked like spaghetti sauce splattered all over the floor.
"What the hell is goin' on?" Jax demanded as he turned off the stove burner and opened the oven door. When Tara handed him a towel, he reached into the thick smoke and pulled out a tray of very well done garlic bread.
"This was supposed to be dinner," Kerrianne explained, raking her hands through her hair in frustration. "It's not really working out, though." The four of them took stock of the destroyed kitchen.
"It's a disaster, is what it is," Sophie decided, breaking the tension with a brutal honesty that's only endearing in children. Together they laughed, and Tara went to the hall closet to get out her cleaning supplies.
"You girls take care of this mess," Jax instructed, "and I'll go out and pick up some pizza from Marcel's." Sophie's eyes widened. "That sound good?"
"Yes!" she and Kerrianne said in unison. Jax kissed Tara on the forehead and headed out the door. As the three girls took to the task of cleaning the kitchen, Tara's troubles faded away. She loved her little family with her whole heart. She didn't care where they lived, as long as they were together. If Jax needed to be in San Diego, they would go to San Diego. She just wished he could find the happiness in Charming that she felt in her heart every day, now that things were falling in to place. It would make life so much easier.
The Teller/Knowles/Telford family sat at the dinner table together eating pizza and breadsticks until they were all so full, they could barely move. They talked and laughed and discussed their plans for the weekend. Sophie was trying to convince Jax that they needed to go to the new aquarium that had just opened in the mall. Too clever for her own good, she'd already figured out to go to Jax rather than Tara when she wanted something. He was incapable of telling her no.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Tara finally said, worried that if Sophie pushed any further, Jax would wind up promising to build her an aquarium of her own. Sophie had him wrapped around her little finger, and she knew it. "Go get ready for your bath," Tara ordered. Sophie sighed in defeat, then headed down the hall toward her bedroom. "Ker, do you have homework?" she asked.
The teenager groaned and rolled her eyes. "Accounting." She pushed her chair away from the table and grabbed her and Sophie's dinner plates to take them to the sink. "Sorry again about dinner," she said.
"You kiddin'?" Jax replied, his mouth full of pizza. "Best spaghetti I ever had." Kerrianne smiled, and maybe even blushed a little. Jax was so good with her. He was so good with both of the girls, even though they weren't his. Even though their father had just threatened to kill him hours earlier. His selflessness never ceased to amaze Tara, and she often found herself wondering what she did to deserve such a wonderful partner.
"You're pretty great, you know that?" she said, smiling at the man she loved.
Jax grinned, embarrassed. He never really took compliments well. "Thanks, babe. You're pretty great yourself." He stood up and walked around the table to where Tara was seated. He took her hand and pulled her up. "Wanna go be great together later?" he whispered.
"Jackson Teller," she teased. "Are you getting fresh with me?"
He winked. "Always." He brushed his lips lightly against hers, then began clearing off the table. Tara went into the kitchen to start on the dishes. Even the most routine things made her happy, because she loved the ease with which she and Jax worked together as a team.
Her peace was interrupted by someone banging on the front door. Before Jax even opened it, she had a feeling she knew who it was. Jax apparently had the same idea, as she heard him mutter under his breath, "I'm gonna kill this motherfucker."
He threw open the door, ready to lay into Chibs for showing up unannounced, but was taken aback when he saw that Chibs wasn't alone. Beside him was a man that looked to be in his early twenties, with sandy blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Chibs had him by the neck.
"The fuck is this?" Jax demanded.
"Came to get my girl and found this one lurking in the bushes. You know him?"
Jax balled his hands into fists. "Naw, I don't know him. Tara?" She shook her head. "What the hell you doin' sneaking around my house, punk?" he demanded.
"Kerrianne!" Chibs bellowed. "Get out here, girl!" Chibs' daughter appeared at the end of the hall, her eyes wide. "Who the fuck is this? And what was he doing outside your window?"
Kerrianne's face twisted in confusion. "What? I don't know him. He was trying to get in my room?" The fear in her eyes told Tara she was telling the truth. Either that, or she was becoming a very skilled liar.
"Don't lie to me, child," Chibs warned. "I've had a shite day and I'm lookin' for somebody to take it out on."
"Dad, I'm not lying!" she insisted. "I don't know him." She turned to Tara. "Why was he outside my room?"
Tara rubbed Kerrianne's back as she spoke. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, sweetie. Would you mind helping Sophie with her bath?" Kerrianne nodded, thankful for a reason to leave, and disappeared back down the hall.
"Check him," Chibs said quietly as he held the frightened young man upright. Jax patted him down with the precision of a trained police officer. He offered Chibs a quick nod to let him know that the lurker was weapon-free. Chibs dragged him into the living room and tossed him toward the couch like a sack of potatoes. Jax and Chibs stood over him, side by side. It was nice to see them working together, even if they were just threatening a peeping tom with physical violence.
"I'm gonna ask you again," Jax hissed. "What were you doing sneaking around my house?"
The young man cleared his throat. "I wasn't sneaking," he stammered.
"That's sure as hell what it looked like," Chibs argued.
Jax humored him. "Then what exactly were you doing?" As the stranger thought about his answer, Tara took the moment of calm to observe. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Maybe he was from around town and she'd seen him out and about. He certainly didn't look like a creep. He was dressed in expensive looking, tight fitting jeans and a button-up white shirt. His leather loafers looked as though they probably cost a pretty penny, and he wore a silver Rolex on his left wrist. His hair, which was just a bit darker than Jax's, was styled into a long, well-maintained crew cut.
"I was just...looking," he finally said. Chibs took a step back, and Tara was worried for a minute that he might hit him. But Jax stepped between them, getting right in the young man's face. This seemed to rattle Jax, and he pulled back. The young man and Jax stared at one another, and Tara felt like there was something there, some piece of the puzzle she was missing.
"Who the hell are you?" Jax asked quietly, a bit of the venom gone from his voice.
"My name's Tom," the stranger said cautiously. "Tom Carpenter." Jax shook his head. It didn't ring a bell. "But that's my adopted name. My last name used to be something else." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think my last name used to be Teller. I think you're my brother."