Author's Note: I just want to make a quick shout out to user Shantigal, for your reviews! Thank you for the encouragement. I'm still reeling over the finale and I was questioning my abilities to finish this story. Kurt is a genius! And I am so intimidated. Anyway, I have a lay out of how I want to do my story justice, and I hope people will continue to read this fanfic and see what else I have in store! Thanks for the support!

Their morning was a respite from all the bloodshed and chaos that occurred these last few days. Jax, Ari, and Gemma came through and cooked enough food to feed a small army. One by one, the club members rose and fought for coffee. Ari made so many pots, the poor coffee maker couldn't pump out the essential morning juice fast enough.

Jax asked the guys to help set up outside. They lined a few picnic tables together and brought out the pans of food Gemma had slaved over. Once everything was ready, they all made their plates and sat down to eat together. The morning breeze blew through the trees and Ari welcomed the change of pace and mood of the men around her. Gemma had gone back inside the cabin with food for their guests and Nero.

Jax sat at the head and she was seated on his left side, where she belonged. She half listened to the conversations going on around her and focused on the food her mother made. She was famished, but she was interrupted by her vibrating phone. Ari pulled it out and saw Wendy's name on the screen. She picked up the call.

"Ari? Hey?!" Wendy said. "I'm sorry it's so early. But I gotta tell you something. Are you near Jax right now?"

She could feel Jax's eyes on her so she turned to him and mouthed "Wendy" before she stood up and walked away from the table. Ari walked a few yards out and replied, "Well he can still see me, but he can't overhear this conversation, for now anyways."

"Ok good. Because, um, Margaret came by Gemma's house to try and find you," she said worriedly.

"Margaret? I'm not sure I know who you're talking about," Ari admitted. She glanced at the table and saw that Jax had stopped eating, and his attention was locked on her. She tried to shrug it off and play it cool.

"She was Tara's old boss at the hospital. We were just coming back to Gemma's house from the lockdown. Brooke answered the door and she called me to deal with her. Brooke said she sounded a bit unhinged," Wendy explained.

"Well who isn't a little nutty nowadays?!" She responded. "What did she tell you?"

"She's devastated over Tara's murder, I can tell you that much. She looked like shit! All she told me was that she needed to talk to you, then she left her number with me and left," Wendy said. Ari cringed because Jax stood up and started to make his way towards her.

"Text it to me," she said as Jax reached her. He brushed a piece of hair away from her eyes and leaned in to kiss her. That caught her off guard. "Do you want me to come down, help you watch the boys? I can help clean up around the place. Mom would appreciate that," She continued.

Wendy got the hint. "Wow. He really does watch you like a hawk." She laughed out loud. "Everything's pretty good here, but I wouldn't mind some company. I love Brooke, and she's a doll, but I honestly don't know how to relate to these young girls. It wouldn't hurt to ask."

Ari looked up at Jax and asked him for permission to go back into town. When he nodded she let Wendy know and ended the call.

"What am I going to do with you, babe?" Jax asked as he held her in his arms. "Why are you keeping things from me? You could never hide anything from me, remember? You wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Do you trust me Jax?" Ari questioned in return. She met his stare as he contemplated the words he wanted to tell her. In the end, he just nodded. "Say it. Say that you trust me."

"I do sweetheart, fully. Completely," he affirmed. "I trust you with my life. Just tell me what I need to know. Don't make the same mistakes Tara did. She made deals with Patterson and went behind my back with her scheme to get the boys out of Charming. I could've easily reassured her had she not done what she did. Don't do that to me too, Arianne."

She sighed sadly. "Do you want the truth, Jackson?" He nodded again. "Then let me go and find out. Wendy said that Margaret stopped by mom's house looking for me."

"What? Why?" Jax asked in frustration. "I can't babe. I can't let you do this."

"Whoever this Margaret woman is has something important she wants to say or else she wouldn't have braved the wrath of Gemma had she been there. I would like to hear it," she argued. "Jax, I want to see the bigger picture. I want to see the end game. And if this woman can give it to me, then I need to talk to her!"

"Then we'll go together!" Jax shouted back. "Why can't I hear this for myself? Why do you have to go alone? What else are you hiding from me? Ari, love, please. Ease my mind." He held Ari's cheeks and kissed her repeatedly. "Please," he pleaded.

"Jax, let me go. Let me do this one thing for you. Trust me, please. I'll let you know what I find when the time is right. When I have all the pieces together," she promised. "I know that's the last thing you want to hear."

"You're driving me crazy, you know that right?" He placed a kiss on her forehead. He agreed to let her go under one condition. "Bobby goes with you. He sits with you and Margaret for the entire conversation. If she doesn't open up then, oh well."

"No." Ari adamantly refused. "We wouldn't be wasting our time if you let me do this my way. Let me meet with her my own. Bobby can hover close by, keep us in his line of sight. That's what I'm going to do."

"I never win with you," he said, unable to come up with a counter-argument. "This is why you would never have been able to put on a kutte. You have an issue following orders."

"Oh that. Like mom said before, being an old lady is a tough job on it's own. I gotta keep your ego in check," she quipped back. He laughed and enveloped her in his arms. Jax leaned in to breathe in the scent of her hair.

"Ari... I have never stopped loving you, you know that, right?" Jax whispered in her ear.

Ari knew better than to take the bait. "Oh, my Jackson... Sorry to break it to you baby, but that is just not possible."