Note: Hello :D New chapter!

Big thanks to everyone for reviewing and following.

Update: There will be another update next week and then nothing until my midterms are over. Sorry guys :/

I haven't watched the last three episodes of SoA but I am aware of what's happening thanks to tumblr. Honestly. WTF? I can't even ... This show is irritating me so much!

Word Count:2185

Sorry for typos and mistakes.

Happy reading :3

The Old Ladies Meet

Tara agreed to meet with Gemma and Abel at the park, though she was more excited to meet Donna.

Gemma had mentioned her before, saying that aside from her, Donna was the only old lady left. Since Tara was curious as to what the life of an old lady looked like, meeting Donna and getting a chance to talk to her about it might help her sort her thoughts out about all of it.

Aside from her interaction with Jax, Gemma, and Abel, for the past couple of weeks Tara didn't have much going on in her life.

She was too absorbed in her job, grading papers and overseeing a school play she volunteered to direct, that she just didn't have the time to go out with any of her colleagues or accept David's wife's invite for dinner at their place, though she very much wanted to.

Also, she had been receiving phone calls from an unknown number, which would end abruptly as soon as she'd pick up the phone.

That wouldn't have been some big of a deal, hadn't those calls been happening at random times, mostly during the night when any normal person was asleep.

The calls irritated her and made her cranky. She couldn't remember having a good night sleep since the bastard obviously wanted to play with her nerves.

Tara quickly showered and combed her hair, then put on some clean clothes and rushed to meet with Gemma and Abel.
...

The sky was coloured with the brightest shade of blue, cool breeze bringing much needed fresh air. The sun was shining brightly.

If it weren't for some puddles and fallen leaves scattered all over the street and pavement, one could think it was a spring morning, rather than an autumn afternoon.

Tara wore her most comfortable jeans and navy blue sweater.

Yesterday evening she made a blueberry cheesecake, one of the few cakes she knew how to make because it didn't require baking.

She intended to bring it over to Gemma's house since she made it for Abel. It was a nice coincidence Gemma invited her to go to the park today.

Tara packed the cake in a basket, along with freshly made lemonade and plastic cups. She hoped Donna and the kids would like the cake.

During Jax's absence, Tara visited several car dealerships, looking for a cheap, and yet good car. She came upon an ad in newspapers where an older woman was selling her husband's old car. It was a 67 Chevy Impala which looked amazing. It needed some furbishing, but Tara was pleased.

After bargaining with the woman for more than ten minutes, they settled on seventy-five hundred dollars. The price made an enormous hole in Tara's savings, but she really needed the car, so there was no use crying about it.

Arriving to the largest park in the area, Tara parked next to a red sedan and turned off the engine.

She took the basket from the backseat and her purse than slowly walked to a picnic table where Gemma was already sitting crossed legged, puffing out cigarette smoke.

There were some red apples on the table, along with a bag of candy.

Looking around, she saw Abel chasing after a much older boy, probably about nine or ten years old. A girl stood by the slide, pointing her finger at them and laughing.

Tara placed the basket on the table, then sat next to Gemma.

-"Hi" - she said to Gemma.

Gemma grinned widely, placing her cigarette on an improvised ashtray made of aluminium foil wrapper, then drawing Tara into a tight embrace.

-"Hi, sweetheart. How are you?"

-"A bit tired."

Tara was still caught off guard by Gemma's change of behaviour towards her.

Gemma's attitude went from hate and disdain to I-like-you-lets-hug-all-the-time-and-braid-each-other's-hair in matter of days, which was odd and suspicious.

Tara's senses were on high alert all the time, waiting for her new BFF to show teeth at any moment. The moment never came and Tara didn't know whether to be glad or afraid.

-"Didn't get any sleep?" asked Gemma worriedly, furrowing her eyebrows and taking another smoke.

She was dressed in her usual attire: black shirt, black jeans, black leather jacket and black heels. Tara wondered if Gemma ever got hot under Californian sun, since she the only colours she ever saw on her were black and beige.

Tara ruffled her hair. She fought back a yawn.

-"Barely. It's these calls. One day everything's fine, no calls. The next, I feel like screaming out of pure anger and annoyance. I would turn the damn thing off, but during the day the kids and the others that are working on the play call me, and by night..."

Tara paused, blushing. Gemma smirked, already knowing what Tara meant to say.

-"Jax calls. I get it. But honey, I'm worried. Shouldn't you talk to the police?"

Tara's eyes widened in surprise at Gemma's words.

-"If I remember correctly, you were the one who told me never to involve police. Also, what would I say to them?"

She took one of the apples, wiped it with her hand and bit it hard. Chewing slowly, her gaze followed Abel and his friends as they played in the sandbox.

A woman, whom Tara recognised from that time she saw her talking to Jax a few houses down her street, was sitting at the edge of the playground, talking on the phone.

-"Tara-"

Gemma started but Tara shook her head.

-"Can we please forget about this? It's a beautiful day and the only thing I want to do is enjoy it."

Gemma pouted her lips in her usual fashion, but nodded.

-"Fine."

Pointing her finger at the woman who was now standing with her back to them, Tara asked:

-"Is that Donna?"

-"Yeah. She's talking to Ope."

Just as Gemma said that Donna turned (apparently finished with the conversation) and walked towards them, a smiled plastered on her face.

Tara stood up to greet her, extending her hand but Donna ignored it and enveloped Tara in a friendly embrace.

-"I'm so glad to meet you, Tara. I've heard so many wonderful things about you."

Taken aback, Tara hugged her too though she didn't know how to react.

-"Nice to meet you, Donna. What did you hear about me?"

She genuinely wanted to know since she herself knew little about Donna.

-"That you're a nice, decent woman who has Jax Teller on the palm of her hand." - said Donna jokingly.

-"Am, what? No! I-" Tara tried to defend herself but Gemma jumped in.

-"No need to deny it. We all know it's true."

Tara turned to face Gemma thinking she was trying to start a fight.

The look on Gemma's face and a warm smile she offered to Tara, without any trace of malice made Tara feel... She didn't know what. Accepted? Like Gemma really gave up on trying to mess with Tara and her 'relationship' with Jax and Abel.

-"Ope says he talks about you nonstop. It's nice to see him act like a school boy." Donna giggled, followed by both Tara and Gemma.

-"I honestly have no idea how to respond to that."

Donna laughed, sitting opposite Tara. Gemma went to check on the kids.

-"You don't have to. Your face says it all."

Once again, Tara blushed. Was it that obvious, she thought. Only, instead of thinking she actually said it out loud.

Donna took one of Gemma's cigarettes and lit it. Smiling fondly at Tara, she said:

-"Well, yes. Don't be shy about it. I for one am glad Jax found a nice woman and not some fucking croweater. Those whores don't know where their head begins and their ass ends. They're all just a sad twist on gold-diggers."

They both laughed at Donna's words, though Tara was more than curious to see those oh-so-often-mentioned croweaters.

What did they look like? Was Jax ever serious with any of them?

She knew well it was stupid to even think about that since Jax and she were just getting to know each other and asking around about his ex girlfriends or women he had slept with over the years went totally against her 'we shouldn't move too fast' policy.

-"Jax mentioned you on the phone a few times. He really loves you and Ope. I'm happy to know he's not alone in this world."

Tara's words were honest ones. The way Jax talked about Donna, Opie and their kids was the same as when he talked about Abel or Thomas. There was certain warmth to it.

Not like when he talked about the club.

Tara knew his feelings for his MC brothers were strong, but he himself admitted that thinking about the Sons and their safety sometimes overshadowed his feelings towards Abel's safety and he hated it.

He hated that when he was with these guys, he was only supposed to think of them and club business because then there was no place for thinking of his son.

And when he was with Abel, the thought of something going wrong during some job while he was away just nagged at him.

Tara understood the burden was too heavy for one man alone. A man who had other things to worry about not just the club.

-"Yeah. Ope, Jax and I have known each other since diaper days. We went to school together; Opie and I started dating our second year of high school, got married when we were seniors. Jax and Ope dropped out and became prospects, but I stayed and graduated."

The last sentenced was spoken with certain degree of pride, and Tara smiled at Donna. In that moment, Tara knew she liked this woman and would like to be her friend.

Something in Donna's voice, the way she said that she graduated, gave Tara an impression that people didn't expect her to get far because she was involved with guys like Opie and Jax. It reminded Tara that people saw her like a failure too, just because her father was a dead beat drunk.

-"I hope you don't mind me asking, but... How do you manage to live this kind of life? I mean, don't get me wrong. I was judgemental at first, but if anything, my talks with Jax taught me to listen first and judge later. And I don't want to offend you or anything like that. But, the constant danger, not knowing if everything will be ok..."

Donna finished her cigarette and tossed the cigarette bud in the nearby bin, then turned to Tara.

-"It's fine. I ask myself the same questions sometimes. The answer is simple. I love Ope. I love my kids. I know we're not the perfect family, but we love each other and that's what matters. I've talked to Opie about moving away, starting somewhere fresh, but... " - she sighed, picking at her nail polish.

-"It's hard to get out of something you've dedicated your life to. But, we've been saving some money, and soon... Jax is trying to lead SAMCRO in the right direction before he steps down. That's hush hush for now, but he wants a normal life too. He wants Abel to be safe and grow up without having to look back and be scared something bad was going to happen to him. The three of us, we have a plan. We just need time."

Donna looked full of hope, hope of something better and Tara wished with all her heart that it would come true.

-"How about you? Why did you come here?" - Donna asked Tara.

Tara stiffened momentarily. Every time people asked her that, she knew she had to lie. The risk of Josh finding her just because someone was curious about her...

She breathed out slowly, calming her nerves before saying anything.

-"Let's just say, I had some bad experience and needed to get away."

There. Tara hoped her sentence gave Donna a hint that she didn't want to talk about it.

Donna understood what Tara meant and didn't push the subject further.

Instead, they talked about high school years of the three friends, Kenny and Ellie, about Gemma and her status as the Queen of MC.

Their talk returned to the MC orbit and Jax. Then Donna said:

-"Jax cares about you. He likes you. I can see you like him too. Please, don't let his role in the MC overshadow who he real is. I know it's hard. But, please, don't leave him."

Tara was surprised by Donna's plea. Before she could say anything, Abel ran towards her and gave her a tight hug.

-"Tara! I missed you!"

Tara laughed, hugging her little boy.

-"I missed you too, baby."

Thoughts of Jax, the MC and everything else aside, Tara spent the whole day with her new 'friends' and the boy whom she cared about more and more each day. They ate the cake, drank lemonade and played.

Unbeknownst to her, not far from the place where she parked her car, sat Josh Kohn, planning his next move.

(First of all: Let's just pretend for the sake of the fanfic that Tara has enough savings to buy a Chevy impala :P

What did you think of my depiction of Donna? How about Tara and Donna's conversation? Leave me some feedback :D

Next: Two amazing chapters all Jax and Tara and Abel and they are so OMG I fangirled while writing them. XOXO

p.s. If you haven't read the first chapter of my SoA AU Canon Divergence fic Hearts Go Crazy, do me a favour and read it and if possible leave some feedback, it will be much appreciated. Thx :D )