This is my longest chapter yet! And this is the chapter where Dru tells them the whole truth about what happened the four years she was gone. I love how this chapter turned out. It's what I wanted it to be, so I'm more than happy with it.

I hope you guys love it as much as me. Please read and review!

Thank you so much for all the support and the reviews that you have left. I appreciate them so much.

Fallon: A Story of the Legacy

Chapter Thirty-Five

The Chinese had their guns drawn on them, so in return they had their guns pointed at them. But they were surrounded by over a dozen men while there were only six of them.

"Put them down," Jax ordered them.

Dru acquiesced. She slowly put her piece down. The others were soon to follow. The Chinese demanded they get down on the ground. Dru put her knees on the ground while keeping her hands up, and then slowly let herself fall to the dirt below. She could feel the guns pointed at her from above. She hated being in a vulnerable position, and this was about as vulnerable as you can get.

"We've got no control over what Galen does!" Jax shouted. "The psycho just cut two of my guys into pieces and blew up our goddamn clubhouse. We got the cartel business with Henry. Why would we okay the Irish to take him out?"

"Relax!" Lin snapped. "If I wanted you dead, I could've killed you six times already."

"Well then what the hell do you want?" Jax asked.

"You're getting out of guns. We should have that business. The cartel's shipments have been grinding to a halt. We need the streets. This is our territory. We own it. We deserve it."

"It's not that simple, sir."

"Then let me dumb it down for you, son. The only way that any of you walk away from here is if you shut down the Irish pipeline, and my family takes control over the guns in Northern California," Lin explained.

"I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" Jax shrugged.

"No, you don't. And you close the deal when you tell me where I can find Mr. Galen O'Shay and their guns. I need to even the score after what they did today."

"Galen's got a shipment coming in tomorrow. The drop is at a new location. I'll let you know when and where."

Dru was puzzled. What the fuck was Jax up to?

"Okay. But I'll entertain one of your men until then to keep everyone honest," Lin told him. He was staring at Happy. "I like the crazy looking one."

"I'm not letting you take one of my guys."

"Then I'll keep you."

"Don't touch him!" Dru growled from below. She went to rise up when one of Lin's guys grabbed her. They stuck their gun in the back of her neck.

"Dru, stand down!" Jax yelled at her.

"I'm cool, boss," Happy told him. "You guys split. I'll chill with old Wayne Chung." The Chinese drug him away and put him in a van.

"Tomorrow," Lin said.

Jax could only nod. "Now, will you tell your guy to get the gun off of the girl?"

Jax decided to let the men blow off some steam at Diosa. They deserved a few hours of fun from the women there. The only thing he intended to do was finally get answers out of Dru. He would listen carefully and try not to let his rage get the better of him. It could be impossible, but he needed to pay more attention to her needs than his own. He would soothe her when she needed it. The only thing he feared was that he wouldn't be able to handle the answers she gave him.

Obviously she had an ugly past. Galen had been correct when he said that she wouldn't have stayed gone that long. She had been loyal. Three years had been a long time to stay away from the only thing you knew. Now Jax knew why. It had been her shame that kept her from them. She didn't understand that she had nothing to be ashamed of.

Collette met them at the entrance. "Business handled?"

"For now," Jax replied. "How are things going here?"

"Good. We're all set. I'm going to sit down with Lila tomorrow and come up with a schedule," Collette answered.

"That's great."

"Yes, it is," she nodded. "Make yourselves at home, gentlemen."

"Go on. Unwind. Tomorrow's a big one," Jax told them.

"What about—" Chibs asked glancing over at Dru who stood near the staircase.

"I got it," Jax muttered.

"I'm sure you do." Chibs walked over to Dru and placed a single kiss on her forehead. "You're a strong one, lassie," he told her. He winked at her then stepped away to take a woman who had come up to him. The others soon followed Chibs' way.

"Come on," Collette said. "Time for you to unwind." She ran her hand over his abdomen.

Jax struggled not to flinch away from her touch. "Not this time, darlin'. I got more important stuff to do."

Collette had been smiling, but at this rejection she quickly frowned. "Alright. Well, can I do anything?"

"Just give me a room and some privacy."

"No problem," she grinned forcibly. "And her?" Collette asked referring to Dru.

"She'll be with me."

Dru took steps as slowly as she could down the hallway. She knew what was coming and she didn't necessarily feel the desire to go there just yet. She didn't want to play around in her memories. But Jax had an agenda. He'd been wanting answers for fucking ever. The least she could do was give them. She just needed time. 'Not yet, Jax. Don't make me,' Dru thought.

Collette had told them to go to the last bedroom on the left. Jax opened up the door and quickly motioned for her to go in first. He muttered to her to sit down on the bed. Jax made himself comfortable on the ottoman that sat in front of the chair. He scooted it over to where he could sit in front of her and look her straight in the eyes. No lies would be told today.

"Start from the beginning, Dru. Start from the day you left me," he instructed her.

Dru closed her eyes. It brought back so much—the devotion, the loyalty, the hope that she once held. It brought back the endless love that she would always feel for him. Four years ago, she still had possibilities. She had faith. She had dreams and aspirations. She had the potential to make anything out of her life. Dru had known from the tender age of seventeen what she wanted for her life. She'd had her family and then she'd had Jax. Those were the things that had mattered most.

Cars and motorcycles were a close second given that she had been an awesome mechanic at TM. She would spend hours in the garage under a car if you had let her. Then she would spend the other time with her family. The only people she had needed in her life were the ones who were also part of the club.

Dru had been given the keys to the castle. SAMCRO held nothing back. She knew about the gun business. She knew that her family were criminals, but hell, so was she. And she kept their secrets and she covered for them when needed. Nothing could have stopped her from doing so. The mug shots and the nights in jail proved that.

But it had all came to a screeching halt when Jax had married Wendy. Suddenly, her dreams had been shattered by reality. Jax would never want her the way she wanted him. And then Gemma had broken the worst news of all—Wendy carried Jax's child. That bitch hadn't deserved the privilege of doing so. She hadn't deserved the honor. She proved that when Abel was born addicted to crank and with a hole in his stomach. 'Dumb fucking cunt!' Dru thought.

She remembered the day she had gone to Opie. She told him everything and in return, he had given her his blessing to leave. He had hated to see her go, but he understood why she felt the need to.

It was after she left that her life had turned into a nightmare.

"I had been gone for a few days whenever I made it to Kansas. I hadn't left anything behind for you to use to be able to find me. I only carried a burner phone and I used cash. There was nothing for you all to use to trace me with. I needed it that way in case I did want to stay gone for a while." Dru could feel her emotions getting the better of her as the story took a turn for the worse. "But on that day I regretted making that decision. Then maybe I wouldn't have gone through what I did. Maybe you all would've found me. But that's my fault. I was the one to blame for that."

"How did he find you, Dru?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I was in a diner. There was nothing special about this diner. It was a hole in the wall. They had good coffee though. I remember that." She cleared her throat. "I was just sitting there and all of a sudden, Galen was across the table. He was there like it was no big deal. He knew my name. I knew who he was immediately. I mean, I had seen him before when we were younger. But I didn't think he would know me or that he would want to know me. I wasn't important. I wasn't even a goddamn member.

"And then he began to tell me about Dad. He told me what Dad had really done for the club. And then he told me that it was my destiny to be what my father had been, and that I had no choice. And then I got scared. I wanted to run so bad, Jackson. I'm not one to tuck tail and run, but I wanted to that day because it's like my gut…my heart…knew exactly what was going to happen to me.

"Galen and four of his men tied me up and threw me in the back of a van. WE stopped after about twenty minutes and one of the guys put a handkerchief over my face. After that…" Dru trailed off shaking her head.

"Chloroform," Jax mumbled.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Next thing I know I'm in Belfast. I'm in a room. It was smaller than your dorm at the old clubhouse. I wasn't tied up anymore, but I knew I was locked inside. And I was right because I tried the door. There were no windows. The only thing that was on the door was this little peephole thing about the size of a Hershey candy bar. It would slide open. It was how they put food in my room. Well, what little food they gave me," she told him rolling her eyes as the last sentence left her mouth.

"I wouldn't give them what they wanted. They came in every day to get me and I trained for hours and hours. Hand to hand combat, reconnaissance, stealth…they taught me how to kill a man in every way. They gave me weapon training, which I excelled at because of you and Opie. But it was more than guns. I trained in bombs, which was kind of fun, but I still hated it.

"They quickly noticed that I was not giving them my best. So, in retaliation, the IRA beat the hell out of me. And I'm not just talking about their lackeys doing all the work, but the Kings themselves did it. I remember Brendan really well. He liked to take a whip across my back until I shredded open and was bleeding out to the point that I didn't think I could bleed anymore."

Jax was openly crying at this point. She watched as he shed tear after tear for her. But it wasn't pity that was in his eyes. 'Thank God for small favors,' Dru thought. She could tell he wanted to touch her, but he didn't dare what time she told her story.

"I still didn't give them what they wanted. I wouldn't bow down to them. I refused, and I figured I was going to do die for it. I expected to die in that place, Jax. I had prepared for it. I was actually at peace knowing that I would die. My body couldn't handle anymore, and they proved that when Galen came into the room one day and raped me. He raped me as hard as he could till it hurt so bad that I was begging for God to take me," she cried. "And then when He didn't, I knew there was no God. He wouldn't let me suffer that much."

"Dru—" Jax whispered as he leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Dru."

"It's not your fault. I wouldn't give them what they wanted. That's on me. I was not going to allow the Kings to change the person that I was," she paused. "And then I couldn't fight it anymore. The rapes just got more violent, and finally they broke me. But I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing that, so I played it off like nothing had happened, when in all reality it did.

"And then the worst thing happened once my training was done…"

Jax waited while misery was pouring over his body. He didn't know what to do to comfort her even though he was begging himself to find a way.

"I was sent out on missions for the Kings. They wanted certain people killed. Some politicians and mobsters, and then some civilians too. I killed them because I knew if I didn't I would endure even more than what I could handle. I already knew my breaking point. I didn't want to step over it.

"When I had completed those tasks, Galen wanted to…mark me…to show his ownership. To show that I was finally his."

"Dru…" Jax growled. "What did he do?"

"He burned my Reaper from my body."

Jax sucked in a breath. He remembered the day that Clay had allowed Dru to get the Reaper tattooed on her body. She had been ecstatic, proud to know that she had earned a place within the club. She couldn't become an actual member, but she could be an honorary one. She was the club's property, a bloodline from an original. She had to be marked as such. Dru hadn't seen it that way. Getting the Reaper placed on her had been a step forward for her.

Opie and he had been there the day that she had it tattooed on her. She'd had it placed on her left side close to her heart. Jax had known why she had picked the ribs. It had been her first tattoo, and the only one that truly mattered to her.

"He burned the Reaper from my body, and then burned another brand into me."

It was those words that brought Jax back to the present. "Another brand?"

Dru nodded. "I was free to do what I wanted, but they still kept an eye on me. I had just returned from one of the…tasks….that they gave me. They strung me up by my hands. I was just hanging there. I remember my shoulder came out of socket once I began moving around, struggling to get away from the heat. Galen told me that I no longer belonged to the Sons, that I belonged to the Kings now and I needed to be marked as such. I had to be branded as one of them. He told me that I had no right to wear the Reaper. Hearing that hurt more than the brand did.

"They burned the Reaper from my body first and then placed a branding iron shaped as a crown against my shoulder next. I had never felt such pain. I was in so much agony that I passed out. I woke up days later back in that room. It still fucking hurt and I couldn't move. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that I could finally even walk. Before everything hurt too much to even stand up.

"It was then that I finally came to the conclusion that there was no saving me. I was stuck in an impossible situation. And it was that conclusion that saved me. I became numb to everything around me. Nothing hurt. I didn't feel a thing. I didn't think about Charming. I didn't think about the Sons. I didn't think about you. I couldn't, or I'd go right back to feeling nothing but sorrow and grief. And I couldn't survive knowing all the things that I had lost, including my own soul."

Jax kept on squeezing Dru's hand trying to give her his strength. He wondered how she had survived the hell she had gone through. Now he had an idea. The only way she had persisted was by forgetting all about him. Now didn't that just hurt him more than what he thought was possible.

"Well, obviously you finally escaped. How did you do it?" he asked.

Dru scoffed. "It wasn't without trouble. There was a man there. He was IRA too. The only difference between him and the others was that he actually had a conscience. He was one of Galen's men. Galen had ordered him to rape me, but when Liam came into that room, he refused to. He said he was a better man than one who would take away a woman's choice. He said he wasn't an animal. And he wasn't. He would take ten or fifteen minutes just to make me feel human again. He would simply talk to me or just hold me. Liam helped me get away.

"The day that I asked Liam to help me escape from the Kings clutches was the day that I killed a politician for Brendan. The politician, who shall remain nameless, had two small children. I didn't know that going into the mission. It wasn't until I had already killed him that I found out that bit of information. Knowing that made my heart ache for them. I took their father away like mine was taken away, and I hated myself after that.

"When I came back, I confronted Brendan. I had never had the courage to challenge them after what they had done to me because I knew the consequences of it. I mean, that's how I ended up the way that I was then. I couldn't antagonize them further, but that day I did. At that point, they could've killed me and I wouldn't have cared."

Jax hated hearing that she hadn't cared about her own life. Thank God she had lived. He brought her hand to his face and rubbed her hand against his face. Jax wanted her to feel his presence just like he wanted to feel hers.

"I remember Brendan back handing me. He split my lip open. He told Galen to make me feel like shit so that I wouldn't dare cross him again. He told me to torture me. Galen knew the only way to accomplish that was by humiliating me, and he knew the perfect ways of doing that. I was raped by him one last time," she paused to inhale and exhale roughly. The tears kept on coming. "And the things he did to me and said to me during that last time…they're still in my head. Those memories will never go away. I haven't slept well in…I don't know how long. I don't even remember what sleep is really.

"It was after that happened that Liam helped me get away. I came back to America and moved around quite a bit after that just to stay off the radar. I couldn't stay in one place for too long. I was too afraid of getting caught again. When I finally became comfortable again I settled in Savannah, Georgia. I continued the work that the Kings had taught me cause it was the only thing I knew…know. I immediately checked up on you guys and kept doing that.

"I made a lot of contacts over the years. They've kept me in business. I communicated with Opie a few times. He would tell me stuff," Dru paused again and Jax realized they were back to present times. "And then the call came in from an acquaintance of mine that you all had been arrested. And you know the rest."

Yeah. He knew the rest. When she had returned out of the blue for Opie's funeral he had been floored. He'd been angry at first because she had the audacity to come back after abandoning them three years earlier. He remembered the rage he felt. If only he had known why she had been gone for so long. Jax would've wrapped her up in his arms and never let her go. Then she left again. That had hurt more than her showing up unexpectedly. Granted he hadn't done anything to make her want to stay. He had slapped her trying to make her feel as low as he did.

"I'm sorry I hit you that day, Dru. You didn't deserve it. I was just mad because you just showed up out of nowhere after being gone for three years, and then you made that comment about me being like Clay, and I just…I lost it," Jax explained. "I'm sorry I did that to you, Dru. I'm so sorry."

She squeezed his hand. "Water under the bridge, Jackson. I might've deserved the slap a little bit because you're nothing like Clay. I regret saying that to you."

Jax smirked. "But you definitely retaliated well. You have a mean right hook."

Dru chuckled. "Well, I did learn how to fight from you and Opie. Then those skills got even better with the training that the Irish gave me."

It was that comment that made their moods darker again. Jax didn't have anything to say. He needed to say something, but he didn't know what would make Dru feel better. There was really only one thing he needed her to know.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Dru," he told her. "None of this is your fault. I should've done something to make you stay four years ago, before you even left the first time. I don't know why you felt the need to leave, but I'm sorry you felt you had to. My only hope now is that you never have the desire to leave again because you can't. You can't leave me again, Dru. I need you too much. I need your friendship and your loyalty…I need everything.

"You are a part of me, just like I'm a part of you. We've been intertwined for so long that I don't know where I begin and you end. That's the way it's always been with us. It's never changed. And knowing what I know now…it still doesn't change anything. I still need you and you're still my best friend. I still love you. I just see you differently now. You're stronger than what I gave you credit for. You're an incredible woman, Dru. Don't ever think that you're not."

Dru grabbed him up in a hug and tightly fitted her body to his. She couldn't get close enough. He had just taken the biggest weight off of her shoulders. She had been terrified that after Jax knew the truth he would only see something dirty, maybe even think she had betrayed him the four years she had been gone. But like he'd always done, he implicitly trusted her and believed that only the best could come from her.

Jax held onto her, rubbing her back and sometimes running his fingers through her long red hair. He'd always loved her hair. He grabbed her beneath her arms and easily picked up her petite body. He sat her across his lap so that nothing separated them. Not even air.

It was at that moment that Jax felt his body stir. He felt like a tiger that was finally allowed out to prowl and pounce on his prey. Dru had always been the one. He'd just been too afraid to do anything about it because she deserved more than what he had to offer. He'd always known that Dru would make the perfect old lady because she knew what was expected and she would blindly follow him anywhere. But she wouldn't allow him to get away with certain things because the girl did have a backbone.

Jax had loved Dru from afar for as long as he could remember. He just hadn't done anything about it because he wanted more for her. But at this moment, this vulnerable moment, he forgot all about those reasons. He reached up to grab her face between his hands, and quickly before he could change her mind or she could stop him, he kissed her.

Fireworks exploded between the two. Jax struggled to keep himself leashed. Dru was grinding herself against his cock and he was harder than he'd ever been in his life.

What they didn't realize because they were too wrapped up in each other was that Tara was standing at the door witnessing the whole thing.