A/N sorry I haven't updated in a LONG time. With it being summer i'm not on the computer as much as I used to be. I'm thinking it's time to start winding this story down. I know you all don't want me to but i'm out of ways to make the spark between the two of them stay. We all know she leaves, and from my interpretation it's not on good terms. I'm going to keep writing Juiced though and may even start a new Jax story about what life was like without her. We'll see. There are still a few more chapters left to tell of this story too. Hope you all enjoy! ~AliKatt~

Thanks to Anne for being my Beta! I really really really appreciate it! NO copyright intended. I just love Kurts creation and JAX!

¡°What the fuck, Tara!"

I say, as I'm practically tripping over my feet to get to her.

Grabbing her chin in my hand, I turn her face first one way and then the other, looking at her eye.

¡°Who the fuck did this to you? I'm going to kill them. Just watch!"

Tara starts crying when Donna walks over and hugs her.

Donna shoots me a look that tells me to settle down. I run my hands through my hair and tell Opie I need a cigarette. Walking out into their back yard, I sit on the step, lighting one up. Opie stands to my left.

¡°Just calm down, Jax. We don't know what happened yet. Maybe Tara fell or something."

I tell Opie he must be delusional.

¡°Fell? Tara doesn't fall. How do you get a black eye from a fall anyway without any scrapes or other bruises?"

Opie takes a hit from his cigarette, blowing the smoke out in a perfect ring.

¡°I guess you're right, brother. Someone's going to pay for this."

I take another hit off my smoke. I can't sit out here any longer. Grounding the butt underneath my sneaker, I stand up and head back inside. Donna and Tara are sitting at the kitchen table with beers in front of them. Before I can say anything, Tara puts a hand up.

¡°Stop, Jax. You can't do anything about what happened."

I shake my head

¡°Yes I can. Whoever did this will fucking pay. No one and I mean no one lays a hand on my ol' lady and gets away with it!"

She shakes her head again.

¡°No Jax, it was my dad, ok. He didn't mean to hit me. He was drunk. I bent over to put on my shoes and my shirt rode up in the back and he saw the crow. He'd have never hit me if he was sober. I know it. All this with my mom being gone has really messed him up."

I stand up, pushing the chair behind me out and over. I pound the table with my fist and head for the door. I barely process Tara screaming at me in the background and I barely pay attention to the fact Opie is right behind me. All I'm seeing is red and I'm hearing the rush of anger in my head. I'm going to go teach that mother fucker a lesson. I don't care if it's Tara's dad or not! Throwing my helmet onto the grass, I start my bike and head out with a roar of the pipes. I feel Opie ride up beside me. He doesn't say anything just nods, almost giving me the go ahead for where I'm headed and letting me know he's got my back. Brothers, no matter what.

I pull up to the curb and notice Tara's dad's car is gone. Surprise, surprise, I bet he's at the bar. I turn around and head back towards town. Sure as shit, that motherfucker's car is parked in front of the door. I park my bike and throw the door open. Sitting at the bar is Tara's dad. I reach him and before he can even turn to look at me, I've pulled him off the stool. This stupid motherfucker is laying there on the ground crying. By this point I'm so mad, I'm shaking. I grab him by the collar and haul him outside to the curb. He's not even struggling with me. Right then, Tara and Donna pull up to the curb and I hear the wail of a police siren in the distance. Great the fucking bar called Unser. Just what I fucking need! I punch this beater in the face and he's so drunk he just falls over. No fun in this fight, I stand over him spitting on him.

¡°That's for Tara. Next time you won't see what gets you."

Tara's standing on the curb looking at me like she doesn't know me.

¡°Come on, babe. Let's get moving before Unser hauls me into jail."

She shakes her head no.

¡°I'm not going anywhere with you Jackson Teller. I told you to leave it be and now look. My dad's bleeding on the side walk in front of this bar. Just get out of here, Jax. You've done enough."

I sneer at her and head for my bike. Fuck her. If she wants to be a bitch after I stuck up for her, then so be it. Starting up my bike, I roar out of there, Opie right behind me. I don't get too far when I hear the sirens behind me. I look over at Op and he shrugs his shoulders.

¡°Fuck."

I pull over and Unser gets out of his car.

¡°What are you doing, Jax? I can't do shit for you if you fuck up in front of all those people!"

I nod in understanding. Unser tells Opie to get out of there and to send someone back for my bike as he puts me in handcuffs in the back of his cruiser.

¡°I've gotta take you in, son. I'm sorry."

There's nothing I can say to that, so I sit silently in the back of the car on the way to the station. Ma's gonna be pissed. She never really did decide if she liked Tara yet. Fuck, Tara. How am I going to patch things up with her? I just did what any good boyfriend would do, didn't I? Now that my rage is settling, I realize I probably could have handled things a little differently than I did. Shrugging my shoulders there's not much I can do. We pull into the station and Unser opens the door pulling me out of the car.

¡°Come on, Jax, let's get you inside. You've never been in jail before, I wondered how long it would take you."

I just laughed. Sons end up in jail. It's part of the deal when you patch in. There's no way around it. We do illegal shit and we have bad tempers so we expect jail time. I'm looking forward to when Ma gets up here. She's going to rip Unser a new asshole for putting me in jail for defending my girlfriend against her father.

Unser undoes my hand cuffs so he can finger print me. The process takes little more than a minute and I'm taken in the back to a cell. After I'm put inside, Unser asks who I want called. I shrug.

¡°It don't matter, my ma or Clay. Either way, one of 'em will have me outta here soon."

I'm really not worried about this whole jail thing. What's got me worried is Tara's attitude towards me when I was taken away. I thought she'd be happy I defended her and instead she was hurt and angry. I just need to get out of this cell so I can go talk to her! I hear a bang and the security doors open at the end of the hallway. I'm guessing whoever is coming is for me since I'm the only one sitting on this side of the gate. I put my hands on the bars and try and peer out. I hear click click of heels and immediately I know it's Gemma. She walks up first with Unser right behind her.

¡°You're free to go, baby. Tara's dad isn't pressing charges."

The latter part said with a smirk. Clay and the boys must have gotten to him to make sure I didn't go down for defending Tara. I grab my cut up off the bench and slip it on. I shoot Unser a smile as I head out. Unser shakes his head

¡°That boy's got an attitude a mile long. Not the last I'm gonna be seeing of him."

I laugh. I don't think I was supposed to hear his muttering but I did. Following my mom, I walk out of the station. Moose is there waiting with my bike.

¡°Thanks man!"

I kiss Ma on the cheek.

¡°Love you, Ma."

She pats me on the cheek a little harder than usual.

¡°Don't make this a habit, baby. Next time I'm not going to be so easy on you and I might actually make Wayne keep you in there."

I chuckle and she tells me to get going but warns me that where ever I go it had better not be to Tara's house. I agree. I'm gonna head to the club house and talk with Op. See what the hell happened after I was taken away. With that I hop on my bike, start it up and click it into gear.

It only takes me a few minutes to get to TM. I park and go in hoping to find Opie. When he's not around, I head back out. I look around. Op's bike isn't here must mean he's at home. I crank up my bike and just as I'm doing that Opie turns into the lot.

¡°There you are, man. I went by the station. Unser said you'd already been released."

¡°Ya man. Tara's dad didn't press charges. My ma got me out of there."

Opie nods. I can see there is something he wants to tell me.

¡°Op just spit it out. What's up? Why are you driving all over God's green earth looking for me?"

Opie runs his hands through his hair.

¡°I don't know if I should tell you this or not brother. It's about Tara."

Now my heart's hammering. What could Opie know about Tara that he doesn't want to tell me? This doesn't sit well.

¡°Just spit it out, Op. What do you know?"

He thinks for a moment before speaking.

¡°I just heard Tara tell Donna that she got accepted to a college."

I look at Op.

¡°No shit. She put an app into Lodi Community. I knew that."

Opie starts shaking his head.

¡°No, brother. Not Lodi Community. Ah shit, Jax, she's leaving."

I can't believe what I just heard come out of Opie's mouth.

¡°Leaving. She can't be leaving. It's only been a couple of hours. How could she make the decision to leave this fast?"

Opie shakes his head.

¡°Not sure but I think I heard her tell Donna she applied just to see if she'd get in. She wasn't going to leave with you here but..Jax, I saw the look on her face. She's serious. I wasn't supposed to hear. I was standing out on the porch smoking a cigarette and the window was open. I'm sorry, man. I don't know what to say."

What was there to say? I nod and tell him thanks. Climbing off my bike, I put its stand down and head over to the ladder that leads up to the roof. I need some time to think. Tara's leaving. There's got to be some way I can keep her here. She can't go from one day getting a crow and being my ol' lady to being so pissed off at me that she's going away, can she? I mean the ink's barely dry. Sitting on the ledge, with my head in my hands, I let my mind wander. I hear Opie start up his bike and drive away, probably headed back to his place where my ex ol' lady is. Man I really fucked this one up, didn't I? Not really sure what to do, I climb back down to my bike. I've got to go see her. My ma told me not to go to Tara's but she never told me not to go to Opie's!

I fly through the quiet streets. It's well past midnight. I'm sure all these folks just love hearing my pipes roaring down the road so loud at this hour but you know what - I don't give a fuck. I've got to make things right. I don't care if I've got to beg and plead on my knees. I'd do anything for her. That realization hits me like a ton of bricks. She's all I will ever want. If she leaves what will I do?

I pull up to the curb in front of Opie and Donna's house. The lights are on and the shades aren't drawn. I see Tara sitting at the table with Donna. She looks out at me. I know she knows I'm here. She could hear my bike. She doesn't smile or make a move like she even cares. I sit there for a minute staring into those cold eyes of hers and I decide tonight is not the night. Starting my bike I pull away from the curb slowly, lighting a cigarette. I think it's time to head back to TM and drown myself in a bottle of whatever is handy.