A/N: Alright, so I wrote the first half of this last night, when I was wide awake... After a nine hour shift today, and non-stop housework after that, I wrote the second half, which isn't quite as good, but I wanted to give you guys a slightly longer update. Sorry. But anyways, I did get a job, so updates are going to be a little further spaced... I know, most of you are thinking... Two updates in a month is already to few! But I'm still working on them... I'm trying here lol. Anyways, thanks for reading, please review, and enjoy. : )
Nick groaned, as Tig changed the channel again.
"Tigger!"
Tig glared at her. "What?"
"Can you please just pick a channel, and stay there?! That's the fifth freakin' channel in less than a minute!" She said exasperatedly.
"They're commercials! You honestly wanna sit there and watch commercials?" He asked, his tone of voice indicating that 'watching commercials' was on par with 'killing puppies and bunnies'.
Nick growled under her breath, and threw the blanket off herself, gently stretching her legs.
Despite everyone's best laid plans, both her and Tig had ended up at Gemma's house. A five car accident on highway 99 was keeping everyone busy at the shop, not to mention McKeavy's offer of more guns for sale. It'd been all hands on deck; they could barely afford for Tig to be down and out. Without Chibs, the whole damn thing would've been more of a nightmare than it already was.
So it was day two, and between Tig's channel surfing, and the constant stream of well-wishers, she was ready to scream.
"Hey, what're you doin'?" Tig demanded.
"Gettin' a drink," She snorted, pushing herself off the love seat, and moving towards the kitchen.
She stopped in the hallway, hearing Jax's angry voice on the other side of the wall.
"… right now!? Seriously?! My little sister just got outta the hospital, and you're gonna throw this shit at me?!"
Nick pressed closer to the wall, straining to her the reply. It sounded like a woman, which would make it either Gemma, or Tara.
"… scholarship… time… decision…. now…"
"You've gotta be kiddin' me, Tara! Would it have killed you to give me a little bit of a heads-up on this?"
"Jax… choice… nothing… you…"
"I'm not going to fuckin' Chicago!"
Nick jumped, as she heard the front door slam shut. A few seconds later, she heard a quiet sobbing.
Grimacing at the pain in her side, Nick slowly limped into the kitchen.
Tara gasped a little as Nick came around the corner, wiping at her eyes, as she sat up a little straighter.
"Nick! You really shouldn't be up walking yet; do you need something?" She asked, clearly trying to hide that she had been crying.
Nick grunted a little, as she pulled a chair out, and dropped into it. "How long… have you been dating my brother, Tara?" Nick asked slowly, her ice blue eyes steady as she stared Tara in the eye.
"I… I guess, about a year and a half now," Tara said unsurely.
"Year and a half. That's a pretty long time."
"Nick, is there something –"
"The fuck do you think you're doing?"
Tara drew back sharply. "Excuse me?"
"I asked just what the fuck you think you're doing, Tara. Who the fuck do you think you are? Tryin' to get Jackson to go to Chicago with you. Ripping him away from his family."
"Nick…" Tara started slowly, "It's a little more complicated than that, I –"
"No, it's not," Nick interrupted. "You wanna run off, and play 'Doctor' Knowles? Fine. I don't really give a shit. But everything my brother has, everything he'll ever be… is right here, in Charming."
"Nick –"
"I'm not finished," Nick snapped, before continuing calmly. "What exactly is Jackson supposed to do in Chicago? Hmm? 'Cause let's be honest here, my brother isn't exactly college material. So why should he give up his family, to go play Mr. Tara Knowles? Give up everything he's ever known, to go be your househusband?"
"Because! Don't you get it, Nicole?! Jax is gonna end up dead, or in jail! That's the only possible outcome of this! Same for Chibs! And I'm not going to sit around here, and wait to be a widow!" Tara yelled.
"Uh… am I… interrupting?"
Both women glared at Tig, who was leaning against the wall gingerly, face pinched in pain. After a few tense moments, Nick stood, and leaned over Tara.
"If my brother leaves?" She whispered into her ear. "You won't have to worry about all those long hours of being an intern… It's gonna be hard to get a degree, or a job when colleges and employers find out how many of your papers I wrote. Much less how much harder it is to get a job period, when all twenty-seven bones in both hands are broken. Just a little something to bear in mind."
With that, Nick turned back to Tig. "C'mon. You shouldn't even be standing, you stupid ox," She said, her voice back to its usual, playful manner. "We'll get settled in, call my ma, and see if she'll bring us home some Chinese."
As she hooked one arm through Tig's, and began leading him back towards the living room, she shot Tara one final look.
"You remember what I said, Tara."
Gemma frowned as she seen Nick come out of the living room, and sat down at the dining room table.
"Baby, you really shouldn't be walking around yet," She said disapprovingly, as she continued loading dishes from dinner into the dishwasher.
"We…" Nick paused, discomfort clear on her face, as she maneuvered herself around in the chair. "We need to talk."
Instantly, Gemma set down the plate she'd been wiping, setting one hand on her hip as she stared at her only daughter. "About what?" She asked finally.
"Tara's trying to convince Jackson to go to Chicago. She's got a scholarship to that big medical university out there."
Gemma chuckled, as she sat down across from Nicole. "And just what the hell does she think Jax is gonna do in Chicago?"
Nicole pulled herself a bit straighter, a dark gleam in her eye. "I told Tara, if Jackson follows her to Chicago, she'll never be a doctor; I'll make sure of that."
A real smile came over Gemma's face as she grasped her daughter's hand. "You know, Nicole… You're gonna be a real good Queen someday. Watching you be an Old Lady… Dealing with the other women… And this thing with Tara? I used to worry what would happen, if something ever happened to me. Most of the women in the club… They're no better than Crow-Eaters. Stupid, petty, argumentative," She said, waving her hand dismissively. "Without a strong woman to guide them, they'd rip each other apart. Which would set the club at odds. Hard to get along with your brother, when your wives are ripping each other's hair out.
"But the more I've seen, the more impressed I get. Hell, I think you'll do a better job than I do. I use fear, because I don't have much else to work with. But you? You know how to talk 'em into seeing things your way, but you're not afraid to get dirty if you have to."
She was surprised to see Nicole's eyes fill with tears. "Really? You really think I'd… I'd make a good Queen?"
Gemma smiled, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I'm bettin' on it, baby. When I'm gone… Who else is there? Tara? Even if she stays, she doesn't care about the club. About our family. Donna? She's a sweet girl, but she's not all that bright. She's a follower. Not a leader. And those are the only ones worth mentioning."
She stood, before placing her hands on her hips again, and giving her daughter a firm look. "Just remember… Until I'm gone? I'm head bitch around here. And while you've got the start of a good leader… You've gotta lotta things to learn."
