After getting done at the hospital, Dennis had gone with Tig and the girls to the market so Jules could buy things for Soph to eat. Even Gemma admitted that the clubhouse pantry wasn't stocked with a three-year-old in mind.
When they got back to the SAMCRO clubhouse, Gemma had decided to order lunch in for everyone. Sitting with Eric, he dug into the club sandwich he'd grabbed, while keeping an eye on the table next to them where Jules was sitting with Jax and Soph. He looked over to where Pop was sitting with Clay and Gem, happy to see Pop was losing the stick up his ass look he'd sported most of the morning.
Eric leaned over and muttered softly. "Has she mentioned anything about going running?" Nodding to Trager as the other man sat down with them.
"Not really. Told her I had her running shoes, that's about it." He knew it was only because she was about ready to drop was the only reason Jules hadn't mentioned it again. "Why?"
Eric rolled his eyes at him. "Seriously?" His older brother took a drink of the soda Eric had grabbed with his sandwich. "You know what's gonna happen when she decides she wants to go running."
He did. One small Miss Thing would lose her little mind when she couldn't go too. "Yeah. I suppose we could find earplugs for everyone."
He ducked, anticipating the smack to the head from Eric. He heard Trager snicker, and looked back at Eric who just shook his head. "That wasn't what I was thinking." Looking over to Jules and Sophie who were both way too busy paying attention to Jax Teller.
He gestured for Eric to continue. But his older brother looked over to Trager. "Who do we…" Eric looked over to him. "Talk to about borrowing one of those vans?"
Tig looked confused but answered anyway. "Gemma. They're garage vans. Why?"
He grinned at Eric and then back to Tig. "Big brother here wants to go get a running stroller for Miss Thing, so she can go running with Jules and Eric, while he's still here."
Eric arched an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you the one who just suggested earplugs so no one would have to hear the meltdown she'll have when she's told she can't go?"
"Yeah, so?" He grinned at Eric. "You're really gonna go spend four-hundred bucks on a running stroller just so you don't have to tell Miss Thing no?"
Eric shot him a look. "No, we're gonna spend four-hundred dollars on a running stroller so that Sophie has her routine you fucking moron."
His brother had a point. Both Soph and Jules were creatures of habit and neither one of them did well without their routines. He nodded. "Yeah, okay." He looked over to Trager. "Is there a ToysRUs in Lodi?" Then rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck am I even asking you?" Grabbing his phone out of his pocket.
Tig chuckled. "No clue." Then looked over to Jules and Soph who were still not really paying attention to a damn thing other than Jax. "If there isn't one in Lodi, Stockton should have one."
Eric looked up from his phone. "There's a Dick's Sporting Goods in Stockton. We can get it there."
He shrugged and put his phone away. Jules and Eric were the runners in the family, he'd let the big guy decide where they were going.
Looking over to Trager, he could see the man staring at the monitors that showed the parking lot of the garage/clubhouse. Looked like a cop car with someone in a sedan behind them.
Trager called over to Clay. "Clay, Unser is here and looks like he has company."
Both Clay and Pop came over and looked at the monitors. He smiled a little as he saw Mike Murphy step out of the sedan. Pop looked at Clay. "Mike Murphy and Russ Schulte."
Clay nodded, then looked over to the girls. "Let's go meet them out there, figure out how they want to do this." Leaning into Pop. "They're gonna want to talk to Jules at least."
He nearly snorted. Mike Murphy was gonna want to talk to both of the girls, whether or not he actually took statements from them.
Pop raised an eyebrow at Clay. "Mike Murphy is gonna want to see both girls. And I'd rather he talked to them here than at the station." He looked over to Eric who was nodding his head.
Pop looked over to Jules who was now paying attention. "Mike Murphy is here."
Jules nodded, but looked like she wanted to go crawl in a hole somewhere and sleep for about three days. That, or have a total meltdown. From what he had managed to gather from the SAMCRO crew, she'd had a mini-meltdown last night when she was smacking that piece of shit around. Well, Juice had called it a 'total breakdown', but from what he'd been told; SAMCRO had NOT seen his sister in full meltdown mode. Not enough ranting, and not nearly as much hitting. He had to be honest; he was glad he hadn't missed it. As long as it wasn't directed at him, or because of him, he found them to be highly entertaining. Directed at him; bad and potentially bruising. Because of him; still potentially bruising, but coupled with the possible need to grovel.
Soph on the other hand, perked up at the mention of Mike Murphy. "Unca Mike here?" She sounded happy but confused.
"Yeah baby, Uncle Mike is here." Jules gave Soph a quick kiss on the head, and looked at him, Eric, and Pop with tired eyes; then looked back to her daughter. "Uncle Mike is here to…" She looked up at them again, and suddenly the prospect of his sister melting down was rather unappealing. She looked absolutely lost and it made his stomach twist.
Before he or Pop or Eric could step into the breach and help, Jax Teller lifted Soph onto his lap. "He's here to talk to your Mommy about some things." He could see Teller take a deep breath. Like the man already knew that vague explanation wasn't gonna fly.
But before Soph could ask the obvious 'what things?', the Charming cop had entered the clubhouse with Mike Murphy and his partner on his heels. If anyone had asked him, which they hadn't, he'd always thought Mike Murphy looked like a thinner John Goodman. His partner was shorter and stockier with dark eyes and dark hair, and forgettable face.
Pop and Clay crossed the room to intercept the three cops. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he could see Mike nodding, so it was staying friendly.
After a couple of minutes, Pop nodded and moved aside. Mike walked over to the table where Jules was sitting. His sister got up and gave the man a quick hug. Of course, Miss Thing couldn't be left out and was nearly getting ready to crawl over the table to get her hug too.
While Mike had been saying hello to the girls, Clay and Tig had been clearing the room of anyone who wasn't a Lyons, Morrow, Trager or Teller.
Jules sat back down with Soph in her lap, Jax beside her; Pop and Eric hovering behind. Mike pulled up a chair, while his partner stayed in the background, pulling out a small notebook.
Mike looked at Pop and Jules. "I think we can do this without getting a formal statement from…" Mike indicated Soph. "There's more than enough physical evidence to nail that idiot on that." Then Mike looked at Jules, as sorry as could be. "But I do need to talk to you."
Soph looked up at Mike, her eyes wide and fearful. "Is Mommy in twoubwe?" Her speech getting worse with fatigue.
Gemma who had stayed behind, because as far as he could tell she was in the middle of everything that her son might be remotely connected to, reached over and picked Soph up. "No baby, Mommy's not in trouble." Gemma grabbed one of the Target bags. "Why don't we go to my office and you can color a picture for your Uncle Mike." Soph went happily.
When the two had left the clubhouse, Mike leaned back in his chair and looked at Pop. "Who do I have to bribe to get a beer?" His partner chuckled. Mike shook his head. "Fucking coach." He grinned a little, because Mike was a big dude and he was sure coach hadn't been the most comfortable experience.
Tig jumped behind the bar and grabbed a beer and handed it to Mike. Mike nodded. "Thanks." Taking a long drink.
Tig looked at Mike's partner. "Want one too?" Russ shook his head.
"Nah, but I'd take a soda." Tig grabbed the man a soda and then sat down not far from Jules.
His sister looked at Mike, who reached over and patted her knee. "Tell me what happened, honey."
Sighing, Jules nodded. "I needed to go to campus to get paperwork in for getting back after taking this semester off." Mike nodded, already knowing that she had taken the semester off because Soph had managed to get meningitis right before the fall semester started.
"When I got home, and walked in the door, the house was too quiet, you know?" Mike nodded because he did know. If Soph was up and about there was no such thing as quiet.
He could see his sister was starting to get antsy, fidgeting in her chair. He caught Eric's eye, and glanced back to Jules. Eric gave a barely noticeable nod letting him know that the eldest of their merry band of siblings knew she was close to losing her shit.
Jules got up out of her chair and started walking around the room. "When I walked into the living room, I saw Max." He could see her bite her lip as she turned away from all of them, looking at the framed newspapers on the wall. After a minute she turned back around, looking at Eric. "I forgot to ask, nobody just…" Her eyes were wet.
Eric shook his head. "Max is taken care of. Pop and Lu's back garden." Eric's tone suggesting that she should have known better. None of them would have let Animal Control take Max Cat away; Ma had gotten Max for Jules's seventh birthday.
Jules nodded, then went back to lapping the clubhouse. "So, just as I saw Max, Dougie came out of the kitchen holding Sophie." He noticed her shaking her hands out, like they had fallen asleep. "She looked so scared. Then I saw the gun he had against her ribcage."
Even though Eric had told him what Jax had spilled earlier, and the fact that he knew it would have taken nothing less to get his sister in that fucking car; those words were still like a frying pan upside his head.
Jules was still rubbing her hands as she went on, a slight shake in her voice. "I couldn't see Ray, but I could see the blood on the kitchen floor." She shook her head. "I knew he was already dead." He could see she was looking around for something.
It seemed like Jax had been paying attention too, because the man lit a smoke and then got up and gave it to Jules. As she nodded her thanks, Jax led her back to the tables. Sitting down and taking a drag of the smoke, she looked at Mike again. "That's when Dougie told me that he wanted what was in the safety deposit box out here and made me leave my shit and made both me and Soph get into the car." Her hand had clenched into a fist. He could see it trembling. Jules was still looking at Mike, nearly defiant. "I didn't know what I could do that wouldn't get me or Sophie dead, so we went."
Mike shook his head at her. "You did what you could." Then plowed ahead. "Did Dougie give any indications he was working with someone else?" The fact that Mike even asked the question meant that Pop was holding that nugget within the biker fraternity. Hopefully Jules picked up on it.
"Not that I was aware of." He should have known better. Mike Murphy was damn close to being family, but he was still a cop, and cops were to be told the minimum. Jules shrugged at Mike, still looking upset. "And I was worried about other things. Other than making sure he didn't go off and kill us, I wasn't thinking about his motivations." Sounding more than a little pissy about it. "I'd think the cash I'm sure Rip left in that safety deposit box would be more than enough motivation for that fucking junkie." Yeah, she wasn't happy and wasn't gonna hide it at fucking all.
The other detective spoke up, and what a mistake that was. "He had to ask, now why don't you calm down and tell us what happened when you got here."
Even Mike winced when his partner uttered the words 'calm down'. He wondered; in all of history had any good ever come of a dude telling ANY woman to calm down? As far as he knew, no. And this time was no different.
With her mouth in a hard line and her eyes blazing with anger, his sister stood up. All six-feet of her. Most of the time he really didn't notice his sister's size; maybe because Eric and Butch were still bigger than she was, it didn't seem so…there. But now, in an unfamiliar place, he was reminded that his baby sister was a freaking amazon who could take over a room when she wanted. And right now, she wanted to.
"Calm down?" She shook her head as she stood there for a second. She looked at Mike. "Did he really tell me to calm down?" Mike shrugged like he wasn't responsible for his partner's stupidity.
Stalking towards Mike's partner still shaking her head, his sister nearly snarled. "My daughter had a gun held on her after seeing her father murdered, then we were dragged halfway across the country by a meth-addled Nazi. I've had approximately five hours of sleep in the last three days, my right knee and hamstring are fucking killing me right now, and you tell me to calm down?! Fuck you." Then turned and walked the fuck out of the clubhouse.
Mike looked at his partner. "Great job, Russ." Mike shook his head. "That whole four ex-wives makes total sense now." Mike looked over at the Charming Police Chief. "Would you mind taking Russ back to the station and get the transfer paperwork started?"
Unser, he was pretty sure that's what the Chief's name was, nodded. "Sure." Then looked to Mike's partner. "Let's go."
Russ didn't look thrilled to be sent away, but at the look Mike gave him, just nodded. "Yeah."
When the two had gone, Mike leaned back and sighed. "Well fuck, I was really hoping to get through that without her yelling at someone." Mike shrugged with a slight smile. "Guess I should just be happy it wasn't me."
Him, Pop, and Eric just nodded. Jax, Tig, and Clay looked mildly surprised that the detective was taking the fact that his 'witness' had told his partner to fuck off in stride. Mike finished his beer. "Guess I should go find her and finish up."
"No need." Jules's voice was at the clubhouse door. "I don't like your new partner, Mike." She walked back in and stood next to Eric, just behind where Jax was sitting. "There's not much else to tell you. The drive was uneventful other than making sure I stayed awake to make sure that little fuck didn't do something that was gonna get me and Sophie killed. I finally got him convinced to stop for food just outside of Charming. When we were leaving, Jax and a couple of other Sons pulled into the lot. I made the mistake of mouthing off to Dougie to keep him from noticing them and Sophie ended up with four stitches in her face." She sighed. "There's really not anything else I can think to tell you Mike."
Mike nodded while scribbling in his notebook. "Okay." Mike looked at Jules, sympathetic. "When you get home, you'll have to come down to the station and sign the statement."
Oh, this was gonna be interesting. He stretched his legs out in front of him and lit a smoke, getting comfortable for the show.
Jules shook her head. "Not planning on going back anytime soon." She looked at Mike, jaw set, then nodded at Trager. "I just found my biological father. We're staying for a bit."
He could also see that Mike hadn't missed the fact that Jules was also resting her hand along the back of Jax's neck. At least Mike was smart enough not to bring it up. Mike shook his head. "I'll go type it up down at the station here." Then as he stood. "You will have to come there to sign it." The detective sighed, but it was laced with a bit of humor. "I have a feeling Dougie will be taking a deal anyway, so it's not like you're gonna have to testify." The tone of the man's voice letting all of them know he would be explaining to Dougie in great detail why taking a deal would be in his best interests.
Pop answered for Jules. "She'll be there in a little bit." Pop looked at Jules, who nodded. As Pop went to go escort Mike out of the SAMCRO clubhouse, he glanced back at Jules. "Want me to see if Gemma can keep Soph while you go do this?"
Jules sighed. "No, I'll go ask her here in a minute. I need another cup of coffee before I deal with anything." His sister did look like she could use a day or so of sleep.
Pop just nodded as he, Clay, and Mike left the clubhouse. When they'd left, Jules looked at him with a wan smile. "Where's that handy tin at Den? There's no way I'm not smoking part of a joint before going down there." She shook her head. "I can't believe that I just told Mike's partner to fuck off."
Jax started to laugh as he was shaking his head. "I've known you less than twenty-four hours and I'm not shocked at all." Both Eric and Tig laughed their agreement. He just lit a joint and handed it to his sister.
After taking a hit, she shrugged and smiled at Jax. "Okay, so maybe not a total shock, but still…" She shook her head.
Eric went and sat next to her. "Hey. Mike didn't seem too worried about it and it's not like you punched him or anything like that." Eric gave her shoulder a slight shove, then grinned at her. "You know he's had worse things said to him in the line of duty."
Tig just grinned as he stood. "I'm sure he has." Tig looked at Jules. "I know Jake said something about Gemma watching the baby doll, but as far as I know, I'm here for the afternoon, I can watch her."
Jules nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." Then put out her hand. "Here, give me your cel." Tig handed it over without question, watching as she programmed in what looked to be a couple of numbers, then handed it back. "I put me, Eric and Den's numbers in there. If you gotta go and I'm not back and she throws a fit with being left with Gemma, call me or Den." Then grinned at Eric. "Eric is a last resort."
Eric flipped her off as he chuckled a little. "Me and Den have an errand to run, we won't be around." Eric glanced over to Jax with a smirk. "He can practice his new dad skills on her if Tig has to leave."
Jax shook his head regretfully. "Actually, Clay and I have to leave for a bit." He looked over to Tig. "Gotta go to Oakland for a minute." Tig nodded, obviously the man knew exactly what Jax was talking about.
Jules shrugged. "Whatever. She should be fine for what little time I plan to be gone." Then looked at him and Eric. "What errand do you two have to run?"
He looked at Eric, it was his idea, so he'd let the big guy take the credit. Eric gave their sister a small smile. "Running stroller."
For once their sister didn't have a snappy comeback. She sat there staring at the two of them for a minute. He could see she was trying not to cry. She was weird that way. Finally, she just took a deep breath and smiled at the two of them. "Of course. Silly of me to even ask." She took another hit off the joint and handed it back to him. "I should go let Gemma know that her and Tig are on Sophie patrol."
He put it out and left it in the ashtray. "Yeah, I'm sure Pop is ready to get going." Looking over to Eric, he grinned. "I'll ask Gemma about the van. We have a rapport."
Tig barked out a laugh. "I hope it's not the kind of 'rapport' that'll have Clay kicking your ass." He looked over to see Jax and his sister with similar grins.
"Dude, she's old enough to be my mom." He rolled his eyes. "I do not have a 'Mrs. Robinson' fetish. At all."
"And this is where I step off." Jax was shaking his head, still smiling. The man looked over to Jules. "C'mon. I'll walk with you to the office." The two of them started heading out of the clubhouse.
He, Eric, and Tig followed. When they reached the clubhouse door, Jules turned. "You know; we really don't need a chaperone to the office. It's like ten steps."
He grinned at the two of them. "I'm going to ask Gemma about the van."
"I'm with him." Eric raised an amused eyebrow.
Tig on the other hand was laughing his ass off. He waved at Jules and Jax. "I just want to see the baby doll."
Jules rolled her eyes at all three of them. "Whatever." She looked over to where Pop and Clay were talking by Clay's bike. "I should get going." She opened the office door and they could all see Soph asleep in Gemma's lap.
"This makes it so much easier." He heard Eric murmur behind him. It really did.
Jules nodded and smiled at Gemma. "You and Tig have Soph until I get back from the police station. Eric and Dennis want keys to a van so they can go get a couple of things me and Soph will need if we're staying for a bit." Then glanced back at Tig with a slight grin. "I don't know what he wants except maybe to stare at Sophie while she naps." Tig just shrugged with a smile.
Gemma reached over to a board with keys on it and grabbed a set and threw it at him. "There ya go." Her voice quiet as to not wake Miss Thing. "Just make sure you bring it back with gas in it." Then looked at Jules. "You go do what you need to do baby, we'll be fine here." Gemma gave his sister a soft smile. "She'll probably sleep the whole time you're gone."
"Hopefully." Jules nodded. "Thank you." Then his sister elbowed him in the ribs.
"Yeah, thanks for letting us use the van." He elbowed Jules back.
"You're welcome." Gemma's voice still soft. "Now get out of here before you wake her up." There was no mistaking the order in her voice.
They all left the office. Pop and Clay came over, Pop looking at Jules. "You ready?"
She nodded. "I suppose."
"You two going with us?" Pop looked over to him and Eric. He'd let the big guy handle it.
"No, we're gonna go to Stockton to get a couple of things the girls will need." Eric answered. Pop just nodded.
He wanted to roll his eyes. If he'd have given Pop that answer, there would have at least been a couple of follow-up questions. Then again, Eric was not only the responsible one, he was Pop's VP. There was a level of trust that went beyond parent/child.
Clay looked over to Jax who'd been quietly conversing with Jules. "We need to get goin'. We've got people waitin' on us."
This time with more than just him, Tig and Miss Thing hanging around, Jules just patted Jax's arm as they said good-bye.
When Clay and Jax pulled out of the lot, Jules turned to Pop. "Let's go get this over with." She sighed. "I really need a nap."
Pop just nodded with a bit of a wry smile. "Just don't fall asleep on the back of the bike."
"Yeah." His sister snorted a little, then looked over to him and Eric. "Thanks."
"Wasn't my idea. I was all for handing out earplugs." He grinned at her.
"You're an idiot." She shook her head as her and Pop walked away towards Pop's bike. At least it was said with affection.
After Jules and Pop had ridden off, he and Eric left to go to Stockton. About five miles outside of Charming, he turned to his brother who was driving. "So, we're just letting them stay in Charming?" He was fine with it, but he was a little shocked that Pop and Eric seemed to be dealing rather well.
Eric barely took his eyes off the road. "Yeah." Eric smiled just a little. "Pop seems to have made his peace with it, so…"
"So, you're just fine with it because Pop is?" If Eric really wanted the girls back in Chicago, then that's where they would end up, period. Jules would defy Pop before she would Eric.
"No. Jax is a good guy from what I can tell." Eric looked at the GPS on his phone for a second. "He's good with Sophie." Eric put his phone down, and glanced over to him, annoyance all over his face. "What do you want me to say Den? Ultimately it's Jules's decision and it sure as shit looks to me like she's made it."
He knew he was just playing devil's advocate, but he couldn't help himself. "She's known him less than twenty-four hours."
Eric shook his head, but it was something different. There was something almost mournful in it. "Pop once said he knew ten minutes after meeting Ma that she was the one." Eric took a deep breath, like he wanted to say something else, but just stared at the road ahead.
He sat back in his seat. He'd been almost five when Pop had met Ma. He can vaguely remember that it was like one day their life had been him, Eric, Butch and Pop; the next Ma and Jules were there like they always had been. Well. Doesn't that just put it into perspective?
"Yeah." Eric's voice was soft. He must have said something without realizing it.
There wasn't much else to be said about it for the time being. So, he grabbed Eric's phone and looked at it. "We're the next exit."
Eric just nodded as he flipped the blinker on the van, signaling their exit from the freeway.
When they arrived at their destination, he looked at his brother. "Since we're here, I gotta see if they've got trikes. If not, there's a ToysRUs in Stockton." Rolling his eyes at Eric's grin. "Might as well get started on Miss Thing's birthday present."
"Do I even want to know?" Eric groaned good-naturedly.
He grinned. "Probably not." His grin got wider. "Because once again I will totally slay you in the presents department."
But as usual, his elder brother was unflappable. Eric just flipped him off as the giant strode off towards the store. "Hurry up, you fuckwit." Eric barely glanced over his shoulder. "I don't want this to take all afternoon."
Shrugging, he hustled to catch up. He really didn't want this to take all afternoon either. If Jules and Sophie were stayin' in Charming, he wanted to spend as much time with them as he could. Because life at home without them will take some getting used to.
Following Eric into the store, he laughed at himself a little. Who was he kidding with the 'if' the girls stayed in Charming? They were staying; and he had the feeling not just for the foreseeable future, but for good. And if Pop and Eric could make their peace with it, so could he.
Right after he has a little talk with Jax Teller.
With that thought he caught up to his brother and let Eric yank him in the direction they needed to be going.