Episode 12- The Culling
The call going out for lockdown
Gemma sits in her kitchen, phone in one hand and a tattered notebook in the other. It's been awhile since she's had to do this and she notes sadly that some of the names on the list will no longer need protection- Luann is dead, Kyle's family is gone, and so on.
She oddly enough likes these moments. She likes having a feeling of purpose, that ironclad resolve that she's going the right thing. So she picks up the phone and starts running through the numbers. Clay has already reached out to bikers and friends of the club. Her duty is to gather the women.
"Hey baby, it's Gemma." She says to the first number. "Grab the kids, we're going on lockdown."
"What, why?" A nervous woman on the other end asks.
"Long story. We'll explain when we get there. Grab your babies. Supplies. Anything. Hurry up." Gemma orders. It's a conversation she has over and over again- all the crow eaters must be gathered, along with old ladies and children. Anyone who's ever shown kindness to the club will join them behind their walls.
Tara gets the call first. She's been expecting it, the way Jax has seemed tense and worried. She's had Abel's bag packed for what seems like weeks, all the extra clothes, diapers, and formula she can spare for him. She's unpacked and repacked her medical bag, debating on which items will be needed the most. She's never quite sure what's going to happen in the club.
As much as she doesn't want to admit it, she gets a thrill of excitement as she and Jax dance around each other in the small house, trying to remember all the things they'll need. It's like preparing to ride out a long storm, safely hunkered down. She feels protection at the club.
Gemma and several crow eaters walk into the supermarket. Gemma raises her sunglasses, looking around. Several citizens of Charming are doing their own shopping and look mildly alarmed at the sight of wild-eyed women with long lists, frantically grabbing everything within reach.
"However much you think we need of something, double it." Gemma commands, looking at her own list. "Except toilet paper. Triple that. Go straight to the clubhouse after this. Nowhere else, you understand?" They all nod and Gemma dismisses them with a tense wave.
Lyla gets both a call from Gemma and Tara and that makes her smile. She hefts Piper's bag onto her shoulder, helping Ken grab more underwear and less toys. She reassures Ellie everything is fine and smiles as Opie kisses her check, inspecting the kids bags and her own before nodding and sending them to safety.
Unser's never sure what to bring to these things. Ammo, ammo, and more ammo. He always feel a little off balance during times like these, his allegiance swinging further from his shield and closer to the bikers. But he has chosen his path long ago and now he puts bullets into a bag and readies himself for what's coming.
The lot in front of the clubhouse is filled with cars. Nervous crow eaters are streaming in, gaggles of kids behind them. Other bikers have answered the call and stand watch. As they pull in, Tara feels a swell of happiness in her heart. Once this might've scared her. Now it's all she's ever remembered wanting. A family to love and protect.
Jax locks down the club, smiling slightly as he remembered similar things happened as a child. It had always seemed fun back then, a mini vacation with all his friends and uncles. Days out of school, plenty of time to get into mischief with Opie, and new bikes to inspect and admire. Some of that happiness carries to now, except he feels like he's finally shielding those that need it.
Tara walks into the clubhouse and is surprised at the number of people there. Crow eaters, talking easily to the new bikers and SAMCRO, kids that look around, not fearful, just curious, and even Unser, looking slightly out of place. She's never realized how far SAMCRO's roots spread into Charming.
Jax follows Tara, observes the same thing she does, his crowded clubhouse. He sees the women and children and he smiles to himself. No one else will get hurt on his watch. His club, his growing and thriving club, it's safe. Everyone in it is safe. Everything will work out.
"You're here because you're family." Clay declares and for Lyla, her heart fills with pride at those words. She keeps Ellie tucked under her arm, the little girl's head resting in her shoulder. Family. Her new family. For Tara, those words strike a cord in her. She had tried to rip Jax away from this family and now they've enveloped her. She finds herself so deeply entrenched with them, she can't even recall who she was when she hated them.
"You got a comfort concern, you talk to my Queen." Gemma looks out into the crowd at the faces of the people she loves more than anything, those that she's gathered here. From the pornstars that have somehow become more, to the oldest crow eaters that have been with the club almost as long as her. This is her place. This is her duty.
Opie always being the calm head (or 3 times Opie talked Jax out of a fight and 1 time he didn't)
"And do you know what he did?" Jax demands and Opie raises an eyebrow, unconcerned.
"Probably took your glove." He suggests and Jax clenches his fists so tightly they go white.
"He took my glove like it belonged to him!" Jax rages. "C'mon, we're going to go beat him up!"
"Or," Opie says calmly, still busy trying to watch TV and ignore Jax. "We could wait until he leaves it in his locker tomorrow at school, leave class, and go get it from his locker."
"But then he'll just steal it again!" Jax protests and Opie looks at him.
"So rip open that leather jacket of his he loves so much." He proposes evenly and Jax lights up.
"Ok, that's a good plan." He admits, thinking it over.
"Yeah and now I don't have to save your ass." Opie mutters under his breath, settling back in to watch TV.
(-)
"Opie!" Tara calls and he leaves off talking to a group of guys to wander over to her. She's leaning against the wall of the bar, looking glum.
"What's up?" He asks with concern and she gestures to inside, where Jax is downing a shot and yelling at another man. "What's he fighting about now?" He asks her and she shrugs.
"Respect. Dick size. I don't know, I don't care. But he won't listen to me and I would prefer that I not drag him back home and have to do homemade stiches, so can you talk it out of her?" She begs and he gives her a look.
"If you can't talk him down, how am I going to?" He asks her and she rolls her eyes, waving her hand.
"Do that thing where you say a couple words in his ear and instead of punching people, he just punches walls." She orders and Opie cracks a smile, enters the bar, grabs Jax's upper bicep firmly, speaks lowly to him, and then drags him outside to Tara.
"C'mon, let's go home." Jax says roughly to Tara and she raises an eyebrow behind his back.
"What'd you say to him?" She mouths and Opie grins.
"Just reminded him that you're waiting on him." He says and Tara laughs and smacks him.
(-)
"All those pussy-ass bikers, thinking they're tough shit." A loud voice sneers and Opie rests a hand on Jax's forearm when he sees him tense. "Half the guys thinking a scrap of leather makes them big and scary. They ain't nothing." He scoffs and Jax looks at Opie with pleading eyes.
"Not. Tonight." He states, taking a drink of beer.
"Why not?" Jax points out. "He's clearly a poser Op. We gotta say something, do something!"
"And what, tear down the bar while we're at it? Clay sent us here to keep watch and you think we can do it when we're kicking the shit out of someone? Drink your beer, calm down. We'll do it later." He reasons and Jax sulks.
(-)
Opie observes the fight in the ring without much interest, alternating between puffing on a cigarette and drinking his beer. There's a bunch of bikers all together and the normal festivities are happening- drinking, fighting, hookers, the like. Even Jax has pulled himself out of his wallowing misery to enjoy it. He's across the fire, laughing.
"Hey, Jax." Someone calls and Opie doesn't recognize who the man is, just the fact that he's very drunk.
"What?" Jax asks, looking up from the hooker on his lap.
"Where's that hot piece you had last time I was here? Taylor? Tyra?" He questions, laughing. "Man, she was fucking hot." Opie doesn't even flinch in his seat, even though Donna's nails are digging into his chest.
"Op…" She mutters warningly. "He's gonna lose it."
"Just like he has every other time someone's brought up Tara. I can talk him out of a lot of things Donna. She's not one of them." He explains. Donna watches in horror as Jax launches himself at the other man with a roar of anger. Opie just takes another drink.
Queen Lessons
There's more to being a queen than letting other people make your coffee, Tara realizes. She watches Gemma and reflects on the lessons she's learned so far from her. Being a queen is so much more than that.
It's grace under pressure. Gemma comforts the women that are nervously wringing their hands. She kneels down and makes jokes with the children, smiling until they do too. She acknowledges the other charters, doing whatever she can to make them happy. She keeps the atmosphere of the clubhouse happy and calm, more like a party than a dangerous situation.
It's making the right choices. Gemma listens carefully to everything that's going on and Tara's half convinced that Clay and Jax don't even notice. She settles disputes and gives her ideas and thoughts. Never does Tara see her hesitate or misstep. She's always ready for whatever will come next.
Mostly, it's about strength. It's about being able to handle this situation, one that makes Tara feel like she's going to throw up, without batting an eye. Gemma thrives here, picking people up, being a mother to fifty people. She doesn't ever show the weight of it, doesn't even flinch at the guns being carried out. It's like the force of her love casts a giant shield around them all.
Tara feels like she's in a bubble, constantly being around people but never quite touching them. She's not sure how to let these women in. She feels above them in a way- she has probably double the years of schooling they do, a job that actually helps people, and an IQ that several of them couldn't string together if they tried. Yet here she is, sitting beside them.
She doesn't look like them. She's lacking the faded tattoos, piercings, tight corset tops, low cut jeans, and teased hair. She tries to retain a sense of who Tara Knowles was before, but the more she's around them, the less she remembers that girl. She finds herself admiring them in a strange way.
Does she even want to be their queen? Is she even ready to be a queen? She can impersonate Gemma's behavior for an hour or two. She can mimic the attitude. But she's still learning. She's still figuring out the rules of being the queen. She knows she shouldn't worry. Gemma won't give up her crown. But Tara is still nervous at the concept of being a princess.
She follows along behind Gemma, listening to problems and reassuring people. She sees the fierceness in Gemma's eyes as the men plan to attack instantly turn to tenderness when Abel needs a bottle. She watches and observes and learns from Gemma, a quiet and obedient presence in the background. Gemma walks around like a monarch.
She used to laugh when they called Jax a prince, but now she's beginning to understand just how much of royalty they really are.
Clay and Gemma (for cheryl24, who suggested this!)
"It's gotta be big." Clay tells the saleslady, who looks mildly terrified at the sight of leather, bandana, boots, and tattoos.
"Well, we have lots of large stones." She says, her voice trembling just slightly and Clay shakes his head.
"No, I mean huge." Clay says, leaning forward and she tries to take a step back but takes a deep breath and forces a smile onto her face, pulling out a tray of rings, showing him.
"These are the finest selections we have." She says bravely and Clay looks them over with a sneer.
"I want bigger." He declares and she bites her lip, glancing over her shoulder at her manager.
"Well, those options are significantly more pricey…" She says hesitantly and Clay stares her down.
"Price isn't a problem." He states flatly and she scurries away from him, talking to the large man behind the main counter. With a frown, he walks over and Clay rolls his eyes.
"Hello, Mr. Morrow." He says pleasantly and Clay just raises an eyebrow. "How can I help you?"
"Well, as you could probably guess, I'm here to buy a ring." He tells him, a twinge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Are you not satisfied with these rings?" He asks, feigning ignorance and gesturing to the tray on the counter.
"No." Clay says flatly.
"Can I ask why?" The manager asks, still feigning confusion.
"I. Want. A. Bigger. Ring." Clay spells out through gritted teeth. "And if you don't understand that, I'll go somewhere else, got it?"
"Well, we just typically like to make sure that our clients are aware of the significant price increase that comes along with those things." He says smoothly and Clay fights his temper back down.
"Money is not a problem. I want the best for my queen." He says and the manager's fake smile grows.
"How romantic, you call her your queen." He says and now Tig, who's previously remained quiet and watchful of any trouble outside, even looks a little annoyed. He walks over.
"You know anything about a biker club?" He asks the manager, who shakes his head, likely intimidated by the huge gash on Tig's face from a recent fight. "Well the woman of the president, her title is queen. It's not some nickname." He says and Clay hushes him.
"Can I see the bigger rings?" He requests once more and the manager bows his head, heading to the back.
"Christ, I am not the right person for this job." Tig mutters, rubbing his head and Clay grins at him.
"You're better at getting your dick sucked and leaving them." He states and Tig shrugs.
"Amen to that brother." He mutters and resumes his post by the door. Finally, the manager comes back with another tray.
"These are the biggest rings we offer, Mr. Morrow, I assure you of that." He promises and Clay takes a long time look each other, ignoring the man as he prattles on about cuts and settings.
Time and time again his eye is drawn to a ring in the corner, a large yellow gem with diamonds surrounding it. He picks it up, inspecting it carefully. It's nothing like the ring John had bought her and that's why Clay loves it. Different. Perfect. Worthy of his queen.
He imagines her in it and nothing else. Her wry smile, sparkling eyes, and a giant rock on her finger, proclaiming her as his and no one else's. Wordlessly, he signals for Tig to come over and see it.
"That's a gem for Gem if I've ever seen one." He says and Clay ignores his pun, handing the ring to the manager.
"That's the one." He decides and the manager hesitates until Clay pulls out his checkbook. "Just give me the amount of zeros." Twenty minutes later he has a small velvet box and a smug smile on his face.
"When are you going to ask?" Tig asks and Clay shrugs, getting on his bike and putting his sunglasses back on.
"When the time feels right." He says vaguely, revving the engine. Then he drives for Gemma's house.
(-)
"I should get dressed." Gemma mutters, tracing patterns on his chest as he runs his hands over her naked body.
"There's something I want to see you in." He mummers and she frowns, checking the clock.
"I don't think we have time for some role play babe, Jax will probably be home from the shop soon." She warns him.
"I think you'll want to make time." Clay advises her and while she's frowning, confused, he pulls out the box and pops it open. "I've been thinking about you in it all day."
"Clay…" She gasps, looking at it in surprise.
"I'd get down on one knee, but I think this is the position I should be in for what's coming next." He says confidently. "Be my wife Gem." She slips the ring on and then draws him close to her. "Is that a yes?" He wonders and her lips answer the question for him.
SAMCRO kids
"Jesse!" His mom calls to wake him up. "C'mon, school!" Grumbling, he rolls out of bed and pulls on the clean clothes he has left, grabbing his backpack and heading downstairs. He grabs his pop tart breakfast and trudges out the door, heading for the bus.
"Hey Jesse." A couple kids mutter when he slumps into an open seat, trying to get a couple more minutes of sleep. They rouse him when they get to the school and blearily, he follows them into school and his desk, where he rests his head until the bell rings and class begins.
He's still mostly asleep until midway through the morning and his teacher is teaching them state capitols. He's listening and trying to keep North and South Dakota straight when the loudspeakers go off. All the students look up in interest- this is the most exciting part of their day.
The principal is asking for a list of students to come to the office. Jesse jumps when he hears his name, but the closer he listens, the more names he recognizes and sees a pattern. They're his friends, the ones that have been gifted a slightly mocking nickname- club kids.
It's not that his father is in the club, riding around with a cool motorcycle. No, he's not that lucky. He doesn't know his dad. Never has. Only his mother, who loves him and tries to only disappear to the club on the weekends but sometimes fails. Then there are the kids who have both parents that are with the club in other ways- friends, tattoo artists, bartenders, and the rest.
They bond together naturally. Shared experience or exposure or whatever it is. Maybe it's because they don't fit in with the preppy kids, with their cheap shoes and clothes that smell just faintly like cigarettes. But they have their own friend group and that's enough.
His teacher dismisses him to the office and with his stomach feeling hollow; he grabs his bag and heads downstairs, wondering what could possibly be going on. Are they in trouble? What did they do? He didn't do anything. Thoughts swirling, he pushes the glass door to the office open. His heart soars when he sees that Tiffany, Jaeger, and Chloe are already in there.
"What's going on?" Chloe asks him and he shrugs, indicating that he knows as much as they do.
"You're all instructed to wait her until a parent can get you." The secretary tells them kindly and they wait as more of the younger kids file in, sitting on the ground and looking around with wide, scared eyes. Finally, after what seems like hours, their parents finally arrive.
"Mom!" Jesse says loudly when she walks in. "What's going on?"
"We have to go." She says quietly, kneeling down and checking to make sure he has everything. "Don't worry, everything's fine, we just have to go somewhere for a little while."
"Where?" He asks and the look she gives him makes him go quiet. He follows the other kids and parents out of the school, to a long black van. They pile in, sitting on the floor, parents holding kids, as a dark haired man with a funny accent makes sure they're all fine.
"It's ok." His mother keeps repeating and he stays quiet beside her until they pull into the club.
"Mom, why are we here? It's a school day." He says, eyebrows furrowed. She shushes him as they get out of the van. He looks around and his stomach turns over. The parking lot is filled with cars. Men with guns stand on the roof. More men in their leather kuttes are walking around, smoking and talking in low tones between the bikes.
"Jess, go with the other kids." She orders and he hesitates near her. "Go, sweetie, I'll be in soon!" Reluctantly, he follows Jaeger to picnic tables and they sit, watching as people pass with no regard to them.
"I wonder what's going on." He mutters and Jaeger shrugs, wide eyed as a man with a massive knife pauses to adjust it next to them.
"It's like they're getting ready for a fight." He says back quietly and that makes Jesse more nervous. Why couldn't they have stayed at school? Will they have to fight too? He wishes he were back in his bed. It's not long before his mom comes back and grabs his shoulder.
"Baby, you know how I told you there's some bad people out there in the world?" She implores and he nods. "Well those people are here now. But that's why we're with the club, they're going to protect us."
"But why do they have to?" He protests and she sighs, kissing his forehead and hugging him tightly.
"Because Jess, they love us and this is what a family does, we protect each other and they're going to help you, ok?" She asks, searching his face.
"Ok." He mutters.
"Cheer up, you get out of school!" She says brightly and he shrugs. "Well, go play with Jaeger. Stay out of the guys way, ok?"
"But-" He starts to whine and she gives him a stern look. "Ok." He agrees, drooping slightly.
"Help out with the other kids." She orders. "Be a big boy today. I love you. It's going to be just fine." With that, she disappears inside.
"Well, what should we do?" Jaeger asks and Jesse shrugs. They wind up inside, trying to keep the younger kids engaged with out of date toys. He's getting frustrated and annoyed and tired and when he snaps at a younger kid, it's not his mom that comes over, but an older, dark haired lady.
"Is everything ok?" She asks and they all remain silent, unsure of her intention. Their collective silence seems to amuse her- a small smile grows. "I'm sorry the toys aren't much." She apologizes, picking one up and looking it over. "They must've been fun when my son Jax was your age, but now they're just old."
"How olds your son?" Jesse blurts out and she smiles, turning and pointing to a man at the bar, bouncing a baby with a smile on his face.
"That's him." She says proudly. "And my grandson, Abel. He's probably the only one in here who'd like these toys." She jokes and they all smile, reassured that they're not in trouble.
"He looks nice." Jaeger says slowly and she smiles at him.
"He's not as scary as the other guys, huh?" She asks and they nod. "Yeah, he's a real sweetheart."
"Are you scared of the bad men?" Tiffany asks the woman and her faces falls a little bit.
"Oh, come here baby." She says, opening her arms and without hesitation, Tiffany crawls in. "I'm not scared of the bad men, that's why we're here. My son, he's going to protect all of you. All the men are. There's nothing to be scared of. I promise you." She says, tenderly stroking her hair.
"That's what I told her." Jesse informs her.
"You're a good boy." She praises.
"I could go with them." He says brightly, emboldened by her flattery and she shakes her head.
"No, they need you here. You keep all the little babies safe." She says and he frowns. "You see Abel?" He looks back towards the baby. "I love him more than anything on this planet. So do his mommy and daddy. And they don't want anything happening to him, so they're trusting you to take care of him. And that's very important, I want you to know."
"Ok." He says thoughtfully, chest puffed out with purpose. The woman smiles at him and stands back up, rubbing their backs.
"I'm very proud of you all." She tells them. "You're all wonderful for letting your parents be and behaving. Thank you." When she walks away, they quietly resume playing, all of them feeling special. Jesse thinks to himself that the cool kids at school can keep their phones and shoes. He'd rather have this family over that stuff any day.
AN: So this episode holds the record for best episode ever, and I hope i conveyed some of that in my writing! So many things I loved- Queen Gemma, Princess Tara, protective daddy Jax, the other side of the club. I've always been fascinated by the other kids in the club, who they are, what'd it be like... So please review and tell me what you think of my favorite chapter!