Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy. I do, however, own Jolene and any other OCs that appear in the Jaxene Universe.

Jolene was Clay Morrow's daughter through and through. Although she wasn't a patched member of the Club, and had never wanted to be one, she had all the instincts of one. Her old man Jax was a strategist by nature and the smartest man she knew. From both men she learned that in order to gain an advantage over an adversary, it was always best to deal with them from a position of strength, never allowing a crack in their armor to be seen.

In any confrontation, according to her father, it was always best to have home court advantage. That was something she lacked when she had been ripped from her family and sent to Seattle to live with the woman who had given her life. In Seattle, it had been Valentina who had the advantage.

But now, Valentina was in Charming and the SAMCRO Queen was in her element. Knowing that there was no way she would allow this woman into her home under the same roof as her children so they could witness the shit storm she was about to unleash on her, Jolene changed strategy. Catching her by surprise, Valentina wouldn't have the chance to prepare a line of bullshit lies and excuses to try and ram down her throat. Jolene didn't want her to justify her despicable actions. All she wanted to know was why.

Nothing Valentina had to say would melt the stone cold bitch Jolene was prepared to be. There was no way for this woman to worm her way into finding some sympathy because Jolene had none to give.

I'm just here because I have unfinished business to attend to once and for all.

Glad she had chosen the dead of night to come calling, Jolene grinned inwardly as she noted her egg donor's state of undress and the shock reflected in the green eyes that matched her own.

"Are you going to keep my ass standing on the doorstep all fuckin' night?" Jolene said quietly.

Holy shit! Talk about déjà vu, Tina thought with some consternation. She even sounds like Clay.

Unable to form a verbal reply with the large lump in her throat nearly choking her, Tina closed the door to remove the chain. Taking a deep breath, she managed to pull the door open wide enough for her daughter to stride through with a totally confidant air.

Stepping into the foyer, Jolene's eyes widened slightly as she noted how neat and clean her former home was being kept. Surprised, she even spotted extra décor in the living room that was not part of the rental furnishings, adding an extra touch of warmth and hominess to the room. The Valentina she knew had not been big on decorating an apartment, much less keeping it clean. Jolene had expected to find the house she had loved once in pretty much the same condition Gemma had described with disgust after Jax had tossed his ex-wife Wendy out so many years ago.

Watching Jolene take in her surroundings, much like her father had when he had paid her an unannounced visit, Tina felt defenseless and stripped bare in her pajamas. Jolene, on the other hand, was wearing what appeared to be a brand new pair of knee high designer boots paired with skin tight black leggings, matching tank top and a fitted burgundy leather jacket. With an oversized black hobo bag casually slung over her shoulder, sterling silver jewelry and her make up done to perfection, she looked every inch an old lady, beautiful and powerful. Tina noted with pride that her daughter was truly stunning.

After their disastrous first meeting and Jolene's edict of no contact, Tina had resigned herself to never seeing the daughter she had treated so despicably in her childhood again. Although it had been a bitter pill to swallow, it had come as no surprise. There was no mistaking this late-night visit for a social call. More than likely, Jolene had heard about her son's visit to the salon and had come to tell her to get the fuck out of Charming for good.

And if that's what she wants, as much as I love Fawn, I will leave. I at least owe Jolene that much.

Finally finding her words, Tina gestured towards the couch. "Would you like to sit down?"

Not really, Jolene thought grimly as she turned to look Tina over. But these new boots are killing my feet! That was the last time she would ever take Gemma's "Fashion Before Comfort" advice.

Sauntering over to the couch, Jolene almost smiled at the flood of memories that hit her all at once. If the couch could talk, it could relate to the world just what a little slut she was when it came to her old man. Taking a seat in what had been her favorite spot, Jolene crossed her legs as she tried to keep her face passive. Thankfully, her tenant excused herself briefly and headed to the master bedroom, giving Jolene a moment to regroup.

Jolene watched as Valentina returned after removing the green gunk from her face. Completely free of make-up, Jolene was surprised by how fresh and clean her skin looked. As a matter of fact, despite the amount of time that had gone by, Valentina looked even better now than she had when Jolene left Seattle over 17 years ago.

In spite of all the surprises that had jolted Jolene from the moment she had stepped inside the house, she was determined to maintain the upper hand as she coldly watched Valentina take hesitant steps across the floor to sit in the loveseat directly opposite her.

Tina, on the other hand, unaware by how unnerved Jolene was, wished the young woman had decided to show up just five minutes before she had removed all her make-up. Without that barrier, she felt totally exposed and vulnerable before the younger woman.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Tina asked, managing to sound even and calm.

Jolene shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I wouldn't mind a shot of tequila."

Tina winced. "I'm sorry. I should have been more specific. I have coffee and herbal tea, and some flavored seltzers on hand, but I don't keep liquor in the house."

Tina watched as Jolene aimed an arched eyebrow at her in slight disbelief. "Well, that's a first. So what, no more Cranberry and Vodka Spritzers for ya? I think I remember that being your favorite drink or, at the very least, I remember you enjoyed throwing them at me during your drunken middle of the night tirades."

Tina nodded. She could see that this was going to be a long night of well-deserved sarcasm and anger-filled one-liners made at her expense. But since actually sitting down and talking with her only child was not a chance Tina believed she would ever get in her lifetime, she was determined to suck it up. Tina had her pride, but right now it was secondary to hearing her daughter out. It had been a long time coming and she deserved whatever vitriol was aimed at her.

"That's right," She admitted. "It was a favorite of mine, but that part of my life has been over for a long time now."

"Well, the fact is, I didn't come here for a drink or to talk about your new life, Valentina—" Jolene started, but was interrupted.

"If it's not too much to ask, please call me Tina. I don't use Valentina any more."

Jolene eyed the women who in the space of a few seconds seemed to grow something of a backbone. Apparently, Valentina was a sore subject for her as well. At the mere mention of her old moniker, Jolene had noticed her egg donor move from a pitiful and slumped position to sitting erect and straight in her seat, her hands folded delicately on her lap.

"To be honest, I don't really care to call you shit." Eyeing the woman coolly, Jolene continued. "As a matter of fact, I don't particularly care for being here at all, that is, if it wasn't for my son, Abel."

Tina sighed softly as she resigned herself to whatever fate Jolene wanted to assign her. "I figured that's why you were here. Just so you know, I didn't seek him out. He dropped by the shop a few days ago on his own accord."

"Oh, I know. Had that not been the case, had you instigated a meet, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Jolene replied with confidence. "My husband would have escorted you out of town himself."

At first relieved that there was still hope she would be allowed to wrap up her business with Fawn before being forced to leave California, Tina suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of what "escorted" actually meant.

"I want to know what you said to him." The SAMCRO Queen continued.

Almost quoting the conversation between her and Abel verbatim, Tina told her daughter what she wanted to hear.

"So he never said who he was?"

"No, he didn't."

"How did you know it was him?"

Tina smiled. "Except for his eyes, he's the spitting image of your husband. I would have known him anywhere."

Jolene nodded as she absently tapped her knee. The sudden nervous twitching didn't sit well with her and almost had Jolene wishing she hadn't quit smoking years ago so that she would have something to do with her hands. Having Tina corroborate Abel's side of the story, which she finally got out of him after they had mended fences, was the only thing keeping her from completely losing her shit.

"I guess I should just get to the reason why I'm here. My children. You see, as far as they are concerned, SAMCRO is our family. We may not all be related by blood, but when I first came to Charming, I learned from them the true meaning of family. I take great pride in them and in the lives we have built with each other and I want my children to know as little as possible about the more shitty aspects of family life. I want them to know nothing of my life with you." Jolene explained, her green eyes suddenly flashing with anger. "And now, here you are in Charming and suddenly all these questions are coming up about who you are and why my children don't know you. And I don't know how to answer those questions short of telling them that I don't want them to know you."

Jolene almost did a double-take as she noted the nearly imperceptible flash of hurt on her egg donor's face before Tina managed to compose herself enough to respond.

"I accept that," Tina replied quietly. "If I was in your position, I'd probably do the same."

Jolene shook her head and chuckled bitterly. "You'd need to have a heart to understand my position."

Instead of seeing hurt flash across the woman's face again, Jolene was surprised to see anger spark in Tina's eyes. Having made up her mind to accept whatever stinging remarks her daughter threw at her, Tina simply couldn't let that one go.

"I have a fuckin' heart and it's still bleeding over the shit I did to you. I deserve your anger, even your hate, but don't tell me that I lack the ability to see all the damage I've done, that I cannot possibly feel remorse and sadness because of all the hurt I caused." Tina spit out. "For the past 17 years I have been trying to repent for my sins. I don't expect forgiveness, Jolene, but I had hoped that you, of all people, understood my position. I know it's all my fault for passing on my shitty genes, but after you went off the rails I wanted to reconnect with you. I wanted to help you, but by the time I knew how bad shit had gotten for you and I managed to locate the Lollipop Café, you had already left—"

Tina literally shrank back in her chair as Jolene leapt to her feet. "What are you talking about?! AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE LOLLIPOP?!"

"I—um, that's where that nasty bitch told me you had been working," Tina replied, feeling more than just a little uneasy under Jolene's piercing gaze. She moistened her lips. "Just before you died."

Jolene felt her legs give out from under her as she sank back onto the couch. "What?" She asked blankly.

Tina ran her hands through her hair. "Maybe its for the best if we leave all this in the rearview," She sighed. "Talking about it now isn't going to do either of us any good."

Jolene was shaking her head violently. "No! You can't just drop shit like that on me and then try to sweep it under the damn rug. Who told you that I had died?"

Having now opened the can of worms, Tina realized that she really had no choice in the matter. Rubbing the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb, she finally looked up to make eye contact with the angry eyes staring her down.

"It was some federal agent who came to see me about eight years ago. She was a real bitch, too—"

"June Stahl," Jolene said quietly as she ran her own hand through her midnight black hair.

Tina's eyes widened. "Yeah, but how did you know?"

"Oh, I've had my own run-ins with that piece of shit." Jolene replied. "Let's just say that between the two of you, I actually hated her more, which considering our history, is saying something."

"Well, at least I can be grateful to her for pushing me down to the second slot on your shit list."

"It wasn't quite a tie, but just barely." Jolene smirked as she leaned back into the sofa and crossed her legs again. "I know she came to see you. She took great pleasure in telling me about your rehabilitation, not caring that I really didn't give a shit. Oh, and she did mention the fact that you told her about how your asshole pimp boyfriend tried to rape me. Why the fuck would you tell her that shit? Did it ever occur to you that asswipe was on a fishing expedition?"

Tina nodded shamefacedly. "It did, just a little too late. She really did a number on my head. Told me how bad life had turned out for you after you left Seattle and returned to Charming. How by the time you were 18, you were living with a criminal and that he was awful to you. He had knocked you up and made you leave Charming, so you ended up in Seattle again working in strip clubs in order to support your sickly baby." Tina rattled on, keenly aware by how shocked Jolene was by everything she was hearing. "She pretty much led me to believe that you were on drugs. She came across so sympathetic that I really thought she was trying to help you by figuring out what bad shit had happened while you were living with me that caused you to lose it. That's when I realized that it was all my fault, because of Ricky and what he tried to do you. I broke down," Tina mopped at the tears suddenly streaming down her face and sniffed. "And I confessed my role in how that shit played out. She convinced me that the MC was partially to blame as well and that maybe I could help you by giving her any information about what happened to Ricky in order to make the Club pay. I was so grief-stricken by the stuff she told me about you that it took me until that moment to realize what she was trying to do. By then she had already let it slip that you were working at the Lollipop Café, so I told her to get the fuck out of my house and when she refused, Frank put her ass out. And then we started looking for you."

Jolene was literally frozen in her chair, her mouth dry as sawdust. "You went looking for me? Why?"

Tina inhaled and exhaled loudly. "I wanted to help you," She whispered looking at the wide-eyed woman. "Frank had a lot of money and no children of his own. When he found out about you and the trouble you were in—with drugs and with Abel being so sick—he wanted to help me do whatever we could to find you. It broke his heart thinking that as a mother, you were doing all you could to get your son the best care. But Stahl said you were a lost cause, that you had given up and were spending most of your money on drugs and alcohol. Just like I had. She even said that you were doing lap dances at the Café and I knew that it was just a matter of time before you moved from lap dances to—" Tina lowered her eyes.

"Hooking." Jolene finished.

"Yeah. It didn't take us long to find the Café even though you have no idea how many titty bars in Seattle have 'Lollipop' in the name." She said. "The owner, Mick Something-or-Other, told me that you had quit just a few days before and that he had no idea where you had taken off to. About a month later, I got a call from Stahl with the news that the grandson I had never met had died and the daughter I was so desperate to find had deliberately O.D. and your remains returned to Charming. I was devastated. Again, I had failed you. Had Fawn never come to Charming to take care of her father, I never would have known that you were alive. Why would Stahl tell me something like that? Why would she lie about you being dead?"

"To keep us from finding each other," Jolene said softly. She had to clear her throat several times before she could speak in a voice loud enough for Tina to hear. "Agent Stahl had an agenda involving the MC and she wanted to use me. She must have heard that you were looking for me and figured that if I had someone to turn to in Seattle I wouldn't fall in line with her plans, which was for me to return to Charming and the MC.

"Why did she want you to go back to Charming?"

"That's not important anymore," Jolene waved off Tina's questioning. Despite everything Tina had shared and the overwhelming feelings she was experiencing, Jolene wasn't about to divulge Club business to an outsider. "Point is, she didn't succeed."

"I somehow understand now why you hate her so passionately. What a bitch!" Tina said angrily. "Where is she now?"

For the first time since sitting to talk with Tina, Jolene smiled. It was a cold, hard smile, reminiscent of Clay, which Tina found a little disturbing. "Stahl's dead. She had many skeletons in her own closet, literally, and was facing a lot of jail time, so she killed herself." Jolene explained quite convincingly. Only a handful of people knew the truth about the end of June Stahl by Jax's hand.

"Sounds to me like justice was served." Tina replied. "Thanks to Stahl, I lived all these years believing you were dead."

Jolene's jaw clenched as she fought what felt like tears forming in her eyes. "You should have just kept believing it."

"How could I?" Tina asked somewhat indignant. "You have no idea how shocked I was when Fawn told me about the dust up she got into with one of the Club's high ranking old ladies named 'Jolene'. The name is too uncommon. What are the chances of there being two Jolenes with ties to SAMCRO? I nearly shit myself and since I never told Fawn about my own connection to the MC, I had to play it off like I had no clue who you were. I had no intention of ever coming to Charming, so I used the internet to learn as much about you as I could and that's when I realized that you had a pretty good life. And you hadn't needed my help. I guess that shouldn't have surprised me since you are so much like your father. Neither of you will take shit from anyone and will fight to the death for your family."

"He taught me well. After all, taking care of family isn't something I learned from you, is it?" Jolene asked bitterly.

Tina looked at resigned face of her daughter, startled that the young woman seemed on the verge of tears. "No," She said sadly. "You didn't."

And suddenly, without warming, all of the overwhelming feelings Jolene had been experiencing finally bubbled to the surface as she sprung off the couch to stalk over to Tina. "And why the hell is that, huh?! What did I do to you that you would so callously abandon me emotionally and treat me worse than a piece of shit?! I have a right to know, damn it!"

Tina stood up to face her. "You didn't do anything, baby. Nothing was ever your fault. You need to believe that."

"No, I don't believe that shit for a minute! I must have done something to you!" Jolene shouted. "Just tell what it was because you can't just go from taking care of someone—loving a child—to treating them like garbage!" She said brokenly. "I remember! Don't you understand, damn it?! I remember when you used to love me! When you used to play with me and show me off to all your friends. I remember you fixing my hair just like yours and showing me affection. I remember you FEEDING me! And then I woke up one day and my mother was gone. Next thing I knew, I was starving and living in a fuckin' closet and being burned with cigarettes like an animal. So you tell me what the fuck I did to make you stop loving me!"

Hearing her daughter's pleas, Tina wrapped her arms around her own body, her heart racing and burning in her chest. The pain she saw reflected in Jolene's eyes, as well as her own feelings of self-loathing and recriminations were suffocating her. Tina swiped at the tears running down her face and tried to get herself under control. Hearing the anger and hurt in Jolene's voice, Tina truly came to understand what emotional damage she had done to her child and she knew she had to try and fix it.

"You NEVER did anything wrong, baby girl," She whispered hoarsely. "I swear. It was all on me, always on me. You were never to blame. My addictions and my own pathetic weaknesses were."

Reaching out, she tentatively placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders and, when Jolene didn't resist, Tina gently pushed her down on the sofa and sat next to her.

"It's time you heard the truth about everything—my relationship with your father and how I ruined it, the life you and I had together before I messed everything up and the man who set me on that path of self-destruction." Tina related, trying to remain calm. She knew she didn't deserve it, but she had just been given a gift, the chance to explain herself to the only person that mattered, her daughter. "No matter what you may feel about me, Jolene, whether or not you choose to hear me out or believe anything I have to say is up to you. But whatever happens between us going forward, I want you to know that even when I was a train wreck and living in denial," Tina paused as she looked into the green eyes swimming with tears and grief. "I have always loved you."

After Tina spoke for what seemed like hours, with Jolene only interrupting to ask a question or two, both women now sat in complete silence as they tried to process the wealth of information they had just discovered about each other. As Tina confessed every misstep she had taken in her life and every sin she had committed against the child she had loved very much, she felt a burden lift from her shoulders. Jolene, on the other hand, instead of achieving a sense of closure after allowing herself to hear Tina's side, felt crushed and weighed down by all she had learned.

Jolene had come into this meet prepared to block any attempts by Tina to try and soften the hatred she felt towards her. As she listened to Tina relate how her life had spiraled out of control after her introduction to hard drugs, Jolene had to admit to herself that, on some small level, she was moved. But it was confirmation that her early memories of a happy life with her mother had been real that emotionally devastated her.

As a teenager, Jolene had refused to cut her mother a break when her probation officer Debra McAllister had tried to justify Valentina's behavior, saying that her addiction was at the heart of her problems. Now Jolene was starting to realize that her stubborn pride had kept her from seeing that maybe the cold-hearted bitch McAllister might have had a legitimate point after all.

Thinking about her time spent in Seattle after Abel was born, Jolene couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had she been reunited with Tina. She had been desperately homesick for her old man and for her family, but too pig-headed to go home. Had Luann not died and Tina and her husband had found her, is it possible that in her desperation she would have accepted a relationship with her birth mother? The thought of it was mind boggling and for the first time, Jolene really looked at the woman sitting in front of her.

And she didn't see Valentina. She saw Tina. And it was frightening.

Standing up suddenly, Jolene grabbed her bag. "I need to go."

Tina wanted to cry some more as she saw the cracks in her daughter's defensive armor, the pain and anxiety on her face. It was simply too much, all that they had shared, and it was obvious that Jolene was overwhelmed, much in the same way that she herself was.

"I understand." Tina got up and followed her to the front door.

Jolene pulled open the door and started to walk through it, but turned back to face her mother. "No. You don't understand." She started with a little despair in hr voice. "I had a plan coming here tonight. I was going to reiterate that I didn't want you having any contact with my family, that I wanted to go on pretending that you didn't exist. Now, I don't know what I want."

Tina's heart literally broke and soared at the same time as several tears ran down her face. "Then take your time to figure out what you want to do. I'm not going anywhere and I promise, I won't overstep my bounds." Tina offered quietly. "And thank you, for hearing me out. I know that I can't ever make up for everything thing I did to you, but please know that I am truly, truly sorry for all the hurt I caused you."

Not trusting herself to speak, Jolene nodded briefly before heading to her car.

As a member of the Sons of Anarchy for over 40 years and as its former President, phone calls in the middle of the night were quite common and not enough to make Clay lose much sleep, especially if the problem could be dealt with over the phone without having to leave his bed. Even Gemma barely stirred anymore when his prepay started ringing hours after they had called it a night.

Tonight was different, however, as the call that had pulled Clay out of a deep slumber had come from Jax. It was a quarter to three in the morning and instead of being tucked into his own bed with his old lady, the current SAMCRO President was sitting on his bike parallel to his wife's Mustang, which was parked right outside the Morrow home.

"Why would you let her out of the house by herself in the middle of night?" Clay hissed, fuming as he threw his legs over the side of the bed, his feet searching for his slippers in the dark.

"It wasn't the middle of the night when she left, a'ight?" Jax countered, more than a little annoyed that Clay saw fit to bitch at him instead of doing as he had asked. "Can you please just go check before I swing by the Clubhouse again?"

The lamp on the night table by Gemma's side of the bed suddenly illuminated the room. "Something wrong, Clay?" Gemma groggily pushed herself up on one elbow as she tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her free hand.

"Nah, go back to sleep, Gem." Clay said as he stood up from the bed. "I have to check on something for Jax."

Looking at the alarm clock on Clay's night table, Gemma's eyes widened. "It's three o'clock in the morning. What's going on?"

"Club business," Clay lied. "Now stay put."

With Jax still on the line, Clay made his way downstairs. "Why would you ever let her go over there by herself in the first place?"

Jax made an exasperated noise. "You keep asking why I 'let' her do shit. Did you forget we're talking about your daughter here? Besides, this is shit she needed to take care of."

"Brilliant idea, by the way," Clay said sarcastically. "I want to shake the hand of the moron who put the idea in baby girl's head."

"This is something she had to do, Clay." Jax reasoned.

"I know, but she wasn't ready."

"You don't know that."

"If she was, she wouldn't be missing now, would she?"

"She's not missing, damn it! I know Jo and so do you. Where's the one place she takes off to when she needs to be close to her father?"

"Alright already." Clay groused as he saw light coming from his man cave. He hated when his son-in-law was right about his baby girl. Clay peeked around the door and heaved a sigh of relief before bringing the phone back to his ear. "She's here."

"Told you. Now open the door and let me in."

"What the hell for?" Clay whispered.

Jax made an exasperated noise again. "So I can bring my wife home."

"No. You said so yourself, baby girl needs her father." Clay said quietly. "You go home and I'll drop her off when she's ready." Without waiting for a response, Clay ended the call.

Jolene was sitting at his desk, her back to the door. She held a glass of amber colored liquid in one hand as with the other she flipped through some sort of book resting in her lap.

"You never have tequila down here." She said without turning around.

Clay almost chuckled to himself as he realized that his stealth skills were no longer what they used to be. "You know I don't drink that shit and this is, after all, my man cave."

Taking a huge drink from her glass, Jolene turned in the swivel chair to face her father. "You're not supposed to be drinking this shit either." She replied as she looked at her father with a raised eyebrow.

Aw shit, Clay caught on to the fact that he had been busted with liquor in his man cave just a moment too late.

"Alright, Eliot Ness, you got me," Clay walked over to his daughter with his hands up and noticed that she had been flipping through the baby album Tina had made for him. "But you do know that Prohibition ended in the 1930s, right?"

Jolene smiled weakly. "I'm not here to bust your balls, Dad." She swirled the whiskey in her glass before swallowing it down. "It's not what I was looking for, but I needed a drink anyway, so thanks."

"You're always welcomed here, baby girl, but you wanna tell me why you're raiding my liquor stash at three o'clock in the morning?" Clay asked quietly.

Placing the empty glass on the desk, Jolene got up from the chair and moved over to the couch, clutching the photo album to her chest. "I heard you talking to Jax, Dad. You know why I'm here." She had taken off the boots that had been killing her feet and sat down with her legs tucked underneath her.

"Yeah," Clay replied quietly as he walked around the couch and sat next to his daughter. "So how you holding up?" Seeing the pensive look on his daughter's face spoke volumes, but Clay needed to hear it from her lips.

"I'm okay." But Jolene's lackluster tone betrayed her true feelings.

"You sure about that, little girl?" Clay asked. "You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. You wanna tell me what you've been up to tonight?"

Jolene shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know if I can, Dad." She replied as she ran her hand through her dark thick hair. "I'm not exactly sure I know myself." She sighed quietly as she opened the photo album and started flipping through it again. Jolene had left Tina's house hours ago and had yet to find a way to process all she had learned.

Clay watched her as she examined every photo as if seeing them for the first time. He could see an internal struggle playing out on her pretty face, her bright eyes glistening with tears she refused to shed. Clay could sit next to her all night talking, but she had to start talking first. This silence between them was breaking his heart.

"You know you can tell me anything, right baby girl?" Clay pressed gently.

Jolene nodded and hesitated a moment before blurting out. "I went to see Tina tonight." She said, snapping the photo album shut.

Clay nodded, noticing, but not reacting to Jolene's use of her mother's new name. "How did that go?"

Jolene chuckled bitterly as she blinked and one lone tear rolled down her cheek. Quickly brushing it away, she shook her head. "Not at all as I had planned."

Clay furrowed his brow, quickly doing a visual scan of Jolene for bruises. "Shit didn't jump off, did it?"

The earnest look of concern on his weathered face forced Jolene to giggle. "If you're asking if I kicked her ass, Dad, no, I didn't. Our talk was more like an episode of Oprah, not Jerry Springer."

Once Jolene had come to live in Charming with her father as a young child, her memories of the time she had spent with her mother had receded to the back of her subconscious. As a matter of fact, Jolene had managed to become quite indifferent when it came to her mother, going years at a time without even thinking about her.

Everything changed for her, however, when at 17 Jolene was forced to return to her mother's care as part of her probation, the price she had to pay for coming to Jax's defense with a steel bat. Although they had managed to mostly stay out of each other's way, the six months that Jolene had lived with her mother had abruptly ended with her near rape by her mother's pimp. Jolene's indifference had turned to bitter hate then and, as far as she was concerned, her worthless egg donor was as good as dead to her.

Now, 17 years later, Jolene found herself stripped of the hatred she had carried around with her like protective armor. Even though Jolene knew that there was always more than one or two sides to every story, she had managed to convince herself that Tina's side wouldn't make a difference to her one way or the other. Instead, what Tina had to say was eerily similar to what Jolene had always wanted to believe were false memories, but all she had to do was look at the photo album she was holding to know that Tina had told her the truth.

Looking at her father—the man that had rescued her from a living hell as a child—Jolene wasn't sure she could tell him that her resolve to keep Tina at bay and away from her family was weakening.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Clay ran a hand through his thick head of grey hair. "She wasn't at all what you expected."

Jolene met her father's direct gaze, his steely blue eyes set deep in his face. The look of concern and love she saw in those depths instantly transported her back to a time when, as a small child, she would crawl onto his lap and tell him everything that was wrong with her world and he would make it all right.

"No, she's not." Jolene replied softly. "And I hate myself for accepting that."

"Don't," Clay advised. "Because maybe the person she is today is the person she was always capable of being if given the chance and I didn't give her that chance."

"Dad—" Jolene started to argue.

"Just hear me out, baby girl." Clay ordered and his daughter subsided. "When I met your mother, I was a pretty hard nut to crack—shit! That's not really true, is it? I've ALWAYS been a hard nut. Point is, I was pretty set in my ways, even back then. I loved the Life and I loved my Club and I enjoyed the hell out of being single. I had no desire to snag me an old lady. What the fuck for? There were always plenty of Club women around to take care of my needs, so when I met your mother, I treated her pretty much the same way, only—" Clay hesitated.

"Only what?"

Clay sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to say this shit out loud. It was something he swore he would carry with him to his grave, but now was the time to come clean with his daughter. If Tina could do it, so could he. "Only difference was that I fell for her. Hard."

Jolene wrinkled her brows in confusion. "Fell for her? You mean you loved her?"

"Yeah, I did. For the first time in my life, I was in love. For the better part of a year I would make special trips to Tacoma just to see her. I seriously wanted to marry her, but she was young and stupid. And I was old and even stupider." He paused.

"She told me about not being faithful to you and blamed her own insecurities for ending your relationship. Doesn't seem like you, Dad, to fall for someone with so many weaknesses." Jolene commented frankly.

"I loved her, baby girl, but the fact was that I couldn't overlook those weaknesses. Like I said, she was young and I could deal with the partying while I wasn't around, the weed, the drinking and the occasional acid trip. Until I officially made her my old lady, if I didn't see it, it didn't happen." Clay explained and hesitated for a moment, as if the memory were too painful, before continuing. "What I couldn't overlook was the fact that she was fuckin' around on me with my own brothers. That shit gutted me like a fish, so I just tossed her to the curb. I was too embarrassed and too proud and pussy never got in the way of brotherhood anyway. It was just easier to act like she was nothing to me."

Jolene reached out and placed her hand on her father's shoulder. "And you regret that?"

Clay met his daughter's gaze head on. "I do." He nodded. "In all the time we were together, I think I told Tina I loved her maybe once. Things might have been different had she heard that more often. At least she would have known that we had a future together. Instead of you growing up surround by the shit her life became, you could've had a better start in life. I could have been there from the very beginning for you, baby girl."

"Dad, no," Jolene scooted over to her father and wrapping her arms around his neck kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "You can't blame yourself for the shit I went through with Tina. That shit's on her, not you and she knows it."

Clay nodded. "She does. It has taken her a long time, but Tina recognizes those weaknesses in herself and knows the mistakes she's made, but she's not the woman she used to be. And even though I told Tina that I can't ever forgive her for all the bad shit she let happen to you, that's more my own baggage than yours, baby girl. I may not be able to forgive her, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't."

Jolene was startled, not expecting her father to ever say those words to her. "Forgiveness is one thing, Daddy, but where do we go from there?"

Clay shook his head. "That's a decision only you can make, sweetheart. I will tell you this, if you feel you need to start some kind of relationship with the woman she is now and you're worried that I won't approve, don't. I raised myself one helluva a kid and I know any decision she makes is a good one. I support ya and I know your old man won't only kill for ya, but he trusts you with his life. Don't worry about anyone else because they will either fall in line or need to get the fuck out of the way."

Although Jolene was far from having thought this situation over, knowing how the two most important men in her life felt eased her mind considerably. Grabbing her father's arm and wrapping it around her shoulder, Jolene wiggled herself into her Clay's side, resting her head on his chest and opened the photo album.

"That one's my favorite." Clay commented as Jolene smiled. "I'm not sure, but that might be the only time you've ever wore a dress as a child."

Jolene giggled. "That looks like a christening gown, Dad. Even boys wear them, so I don't think it counts."

"Hey, it's not a T-M work shirt and a greasy pair of jeans, so it counts."

There was a soft tapping on the door frame and both heads flew up, both father and daughter expecting to find Gemma. It was Jax.

Clay did a double take. "How the hell did you get in?"

"Same way Jo did," Jax smirked. "Who did you think taught her how to pick a lock?"

"Hey, baby," Jolene smiled as she slammed what Jax noticed was her baby album closed.

"Uh-huh," Clay started. "I clean and bandage the wounds and dipshit over there gets the smiles."

"Oh, stop," Jolene swatted at her father. "You're not fooling me. I know I've been replaced in this tug o'war between you two by Maddy." She teased.

"Everything good?" Jax asked, a little in awe of Clay's abilities to soothe his sometimes emotional daughter.

Jolene shrugged her shoulders. "More like okay, but it's getting there. Thanks, Dad." She dropped another kiss on her father's cheek before jumping up from the couch and into Jax's arms.

"Anytime, baby girl, only next time, bring your own bottle of booze. I have a hard enough time sneaking my own stash in here." Clay kidded.

A/N: Jolene's showdown with Tina didn't go exactly as she planned, with both women discovering some hard truths about one another. With Jolene at a crossroads regarding her mother, it's her father who provides the most surprising advice.

Stay tuned for the next chapter as Fapie enjoys their first getaway together before returning to Charming and Jolene comes to a decision about Tina and what role, if any, she will have in the lives of the Tellers . Thanks so much for your patience while I worked through the Jolene-Tina arc of this story.

With the plan to wrap up Tina-gate in the next chapter, I will return to a whole lot of Fapie love with a vengeance! But there will be a little Ellie/Tiki and maybe even some Tig/Tina romancing going on and best of all, the return of Big Otto and the opening of Take Five!

There are at least another 8 chapters before I bring this fic to its conclusion, so I hope you guys are going to stick around for the ride.

As always, your reviews are important so keep them coming as they have been winding down a little. Your reviews feed the beast!

—Harlee