Donna was helping Jules and Tara unpack books as the movie that no one was watching played in the background. As she was putting books on the shelf Jules had told her they went on, she looked over at the newest member of the 'old lady' club. "You have a lot of books on art."
Jules shrugged. "Most of them were for classes. But there are a couple of the glass blowing ones I refer back to a lot." Jules took a drink from the bottle of water she had switched to about an hour ago.
"I used this one in an art history class." Tara said, running her fingers along the spine of one of the books. Then smiled a little at the shocked looks on both her and Jules' faces. "It was a science heavy semester." Tara sighed. "I needed one class that wasn't in a science building." Then giggled as she lowered her voice. "Much cuter guys in the art building."
Jules gave Tara a fist bump. "You know it, sister!" The two women falling into each other laughing. It still surprised her a little how well these two got along. She would have thought that Tara's past with Jax and Jules' future with the same man would be a wedge between the two, but it really wasn't. She laughed along with them because she could see Tara's point.
She'd liked the couple of classes she had taken at the community college over in Stockton before she got pregnant with Ellie. She'd wanted to get a business degree. She had always liked the idea of starting her own business, having a shop; but then real life got in the way of any dreams she might have had.
She was starting to feel awkward that she'd done so little while these two have done so much, when Jules touched her arm. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Giving a bit of a nervous laugh. "I've only taken two college classes and you guys..." She looked at Jules, shaking her head a little. "I mean you went to Stanford!"
"For a year." Jules shrugged. "To play tennis." Jules grabbed a joint off the coffee table and lit it. "College really only means you're good at the thing you went for, you know?" Passing the joint off to the guys after both her and Tara declined. She'd already had enough to drink, if she took a hit of that thing she'd be asleep in ten minutes. Jules went on. "I know all sorts of people who simply cannot navigate life outside of a university bubble." Jules grinned at her. "The older I get the more I value common sense over book learning. So many things that we go to college for can be taught under a mentoring type situation." Jules waved a hand as Tara raised an eyebrow. "Not for what you do, obviously." Then Jules smirked. "But isn't interning and residency just a form of mentoring?"
"After a lot of years in school." Tara laughed. "But I see your point." Tara looked over to her. "I know you're doing the stay at home mom thing right now." Tara rushed ahead before she or Jules could be offended. "And it's totally paid off because you have great kids, but is there anything you want to do for yourself?"
She sighed, knowing that the other woman wasn't trying to make her feel bad. The kids were getting old enough that she didn't need to be home all day. She looked back up at Tara and Jules, both of their faces open. Neither woman was judging her, only curious about her dreams. She was just sorry that her dream for herself wasn't as grand as the dreams they held for themselves.
"I always wanted a little shop." She laughed a little before taking a drink of her beer. "No idea what will go in the shop..." She shrugged. "I just like the idea of waiting on customers, keeping things neat and orderly and doing the books at the end of the day. A place I can show my kids and say I did this and so can you."
Jules grinned. "That sounds awesome..." Jules trailed off.
She looked over to where Jules was looking and saw Dennis smirking hard as he handed Jax a leather-bound binder. "You will owe me for at least the next week, dude. You can thank me with cash if you like."
She looked back as Jules hung her head and was muttering something she couldn't quite make out. Leaning closer, it started to make sense. "I will not kill him, Sophie and Abel need a mom."
"Is it that bad? Like high-school pictures?" She asked rubbing Jules shoulder.
"No." Jules groaned. "It's worse. It's baby pictures.
She and Tara laughed as they watched Jules jump up and try unsuccessfully to pry the album from Jax's hands.
From there they stopped getting anything done and just hung out telling stories, laughing at the dumb things they all did as kids and teenagers. She liked Jules and hopes that after everything settles into the new normal, that they'll get to have more nights like this.
/
Her husband was already asleep when she came out of the master bath, Gemma pulled the blanket up over him as she turned his bedside lamp off. She wasn't quite ready for sleep and thought a cup of tea before bed sounded good.
As she was nearing the kitchen she heard Old Jake's voice. "I am capable of making my own damn hot chocolate Mercy. I'm not a doddering old man who can't do a damn thing."
"I know, Dad." Mercy shot her a wink as she entered her kitchen to find Mercy at the stove and Old Jake sitting at her kitchen table, both had changed into sleepwear. "But you always make it too hot." Mercy looked over to her. "Want a cup?"
"Sure." Why not? It saved her the work of making a cup of tea. "Thanks." Taking a seat across from Old Jake. "You find everything you need?"
Mercy smiled. "After a bit of hunting, yeah." Mercy turned back to the stove.
Old Jake turned to her. "Do you know much about the property Rip bought out here?"
She shrugged. "I know it's a nice parcel of land. Goes all the way back to the creek." She thought for a minute. "It's got a nice two bedroom cottage on it. Other than that, not much at all."
Old Jake nodded as he made a little note on a small notebook. "That's good. They might be able to build without having to tear down that little house." Old Jake looked back up to her. "That way they have an extra place when we descend on them." Mercy chuckled at the counter as she poured hot chocolate into the awaiting mugs.
She blinked a little. "You guys planning on spending a lot of time out here?" She knew that Lu had a job at a hospital that she seemed to love and that Jake and the others had their business interests and their club, she wasn't seeing a lot of free time to be visiting out here.
Old Jake shrugged as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. "I'm retired." A small smile crossed the elderly man's face. "And all my grandkids are adults." The smile faded to almost nothing. "I don't have many years left and I don't want to be a stranger to my great-grandkids." He shook his head slightly. "I don't want to be a bunch of stories they hear from everyone else." The smile came back. "I'd like 'em to have their own stories."
Mercy side-eyed her father. "Dad?" Sitting her mug down on the table. "Are you thinking of moving out here?"
Old Jake shook his head with a slight laugh. "Nah." Then grinned a little. "Although winters are slightly warmer here." He waved a hand. "It's not like I don't have the time to come visit on the regular."
"True." Mercy conceded. "But how about we get the girls settled and Abel home and everyone back to their new normal before we start building houses and implementing any other plans you've decided to concoct." Mercy gave an amused sigh. "You've got too much time on your hands, Dad."
She laughed as she lit a bedtime joint, after exhaling she handed it to Old Jake. "You people just don't do anything by halves, do you?" She took a quick sip of her hot chocolate. "I thought I was a pro at taking charge but you guys make me look like a rank amateur."
Old Jake chuckled. "I'm old. I've had a lot of practice." The old man swallowed down the rest of his hot chocolate. "Think I'm gonna hit the sack." He stood and turned to her. "Can you drop me and Mercy over at the kid's place in the morning?" He shook his head. "Should have made Jacob and Grace carpool and leave us one of the vehicles."
Mercy took the cup her father was holding. "You head on to bed, Dad. I'll take care of this."
Leaning down Old Jake gave his daughter a quick kiss on the head. "Thanks, hon." He waved at them both as he headed back towards the guest room. "Goodnight."
When the door to the guest room clicked shut, Mercy stood and headed towards the sink with the dirty cups.
"Just rinse 'em and leave 'em in the sink." She stated while finishing her own cup. "I'll deal with them in the morning."
Mercy nodded and tried to smile around a yawn. "Thanks. I should head to bed, too. I'm freakin' beat and tomorrow is gonna be a long day."
She sighed. "Yeah, it will be." She looked to the other woman, who was dressed in a pair of ratty sweats and old t-shirt. She did look tired. But considering what had happened, she was sure that those in Chicago had more than one sleepless night until they had gotten word that the girls were okay and in Charming. "Do you really think that Jules and Lu's plan of having everything done tomorrow so Abel can come home the day after will pan out?"
Mercy nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Jules can be a pretty tireless worker when she wants to be, and she's got strong motivations." A brief smile crossed the woman's face. "And Lu was pretty organized when we were packing stuff up, so there won't be a lot of 'where's whatever', if you know what I mean." Mercy shrugged. "The only real problem I can see is that the house isn't big enough..." She shrugged again. "I know I heard Jake and Jules talking about trying to find studio space for all her art stuff. Most of it's sitting in the garage, and some of it should really be where it can be locked up better." Mercy sighed. "They'll get it figured out." Pushing herself away from the counter, Mercy nodded her head towards the bedrooms. "I think I'm gonna follow Dad's lead and try and get some sleep. 'Night Gemma. Thanks for putting up with us."
"You're welcome, sweetie. Get some sleep." Getting up and rinsing her own cup out and setting it in the sink. Once that was done, she sat back down at the kitchen table and lit a cigarette.
Tomorrow morning after she dropped Old Jake and Mercy off, she'd pull Jules aside and ask about what kind of space she was thinking of for her art stuff. That way she could get Jules and Jake a list of places for them to choose from.
Stubbing out her smoke, she got up from the table and started to head for bed. She had the feeling that the next few days would be busy in the extreme.
/
Tara unlocked the front door to her house and took a deep breath before entering. "Come on in." She turned to Dennis Lyons, who was standing behind her.
The ride over to the house had been quiet, she had a feeling Dennis was trying to follow her lead. Too bad she had no real idea how she really felt about coming back here.
Stepping into the entryway, she flipped a light switch and the living room lit up. Dennis walked over to the couch and dropped his bag on it. "Doesn't look too bad."
"There is actually another bed." She felt bad making him sleep out on that old couch. "It's just covered in boxes, it wouldn't take that long to move them off." She laughed nervously, just being in the house was cranking up her anxiety levels. "Unfortunately my dad was a bit of a hoarder. I've been trying to deal with all of it." Nodding her head at the stack of boxes in the corner of the living room.
"Don't worry about it. The couch will be fine." Dennis smiled. "I don't really sleep all that much to begin with." Then looked around. "I know Pop is planning on all of us sticking around for at least the next four or five days, I think we could probably help you tackle some of this while we're here."
She shook her head. "You guys are gonna be busy getting Jules and Sophie settled, plus Abel coming home..."
"And Pop has decided you're one of his kids, so it'll get done whether you like it or not." Dennis continued over the top of her excuses. "Unless, you know, you convince him you absolutely love living in a hoarder's paradise." He finished with a grin.
She hung her head for a minute trying not to… well, she wasn't sure if it was laugh or cry or maybe both. This family sure had a way of prompting both. She looked back up at him. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Dennis nodded while getting his laptop out of his bag and plugging it in. "We will."
"I'm going to take my bag to my room. If you need anything, let me know." She took another deep breath as she headed back to her bedroom.
Turning on the light, the room looked as it always had. The blood that had been on the wall and on the floor was gone, as were any signs of a struggle. She set her bag on the bed automatically.
The moment it hit the bed, all she could hear was that fucking song and the taunts from him, and all she could feel were his hands all over her making her skin crawl, and…
"Tara!" She felt a hand on her arm and jumped about a foot in the air. "Jesus, fuck Tara! I'm sorry!" Dennis looking extremely concerned. "But I've been calling you for a couple of minutes now and you did not look to be in a good headspace..." Dennis let out a breath. "But I didn't mean to scare you."
She was having trouble catching her breath, a little overwhelmed with all of the emotions surging through her. Dennis seemed to notice. He took her arm and led her out of the room, sitting her down on a dining room chair. "Okay, deep breaths. In and out." Once her breathing was normal, he patted her knee. "We can always go back to Jules and Jax's, everyone would understand."
She shook her head. She wasn't going to let Josh drive her out of her own damn house. "No, I have to get used to being here again." She found the steel in her spine that had allowed her to leave home at nineteen and not look back. "And I'm not going to let that bastard drive me out of my own home."
Dennis grinned and patted her knee. "That's what I like to hear." Then the smiled tapered off. "Are you gonna be okay to sleep in there tonight?"
Well, that was a question she wasn't sure she had the answer to. And she said so.
Dennis looked over towards the living room as he spoke. "We could switch, you sleep out on the couch…" He looked back to her. "Or not." Seeing the look on her face. "Yeah, I know, doesn't really help with the getting used to it." He sighed. "I'm not tryin' to hit on you or anything, but I could sleep in there with you. Maybe change the feng shui in the room with me being there." Sighing, she could tell he was slightly frustrated. "I mean, I can use the couch cushions and make a bed in here. Or..."
She nearly laughed at the look of consternation on Dennis' face. He was trying so hard to make things better but not freak her out at the same time. She figured she should say something before he decided to say screw it and just take the two of them back to Jax's.
She sighed. "It's not that I don't trust you, because I do." And she really did. "But I think I'm going to try to sleep in there by myself." She shrugged. "I have to get used to it." She stood and gave Dennis a hug. "But I appreciate the offer." Letting him go. "I'm going to go change into some pajamas, and make a cup of tea before I go to bed." She smiled just a little. "I think the DVR should still be recording 'The Daily Show', you want to watch that before we go to bed? I think I could use a little levity."
Dennis grinned, looking a little relieved. "Sure, sounds good." As he turned to go back to the living room, he stopped for a second. "For the record, if things get weird in the night, I do expect that you'll come get me." His face grew gravely serious. "No one should have to navigate shit like this alone."
With her heart in her throat, all she could do was nod before retreating to her bedroom. Once in there, she let a couple tears of gratitude fall, wiping them away quickly as she got out of her clothes and into pajamas.
As 'The Daily Show' ended and they were waiting for 'The Colbert Report' to start, Dennis turned to her. "Can I ask you something?" Inquisitive blue eyes staring at her.
"Sure." She had a feeling he was going to ask about Josh.
"Was your Dad always a hoarder or did he start that after you left?" Wow. That was not the question she expected. At all. But she sure as hell knew it was preferred to the one she thought he was going to ask.
She had to laugh. "He always had the tendency, I think?" She looked around at the boxes of just some weird shit her father had collected over the years. "My mom held it in check when she was alive..."
"What happened to your mom?" Dennis' eyes got bigger and bluer.
"Same as yours, cancer." She replied quietly.
"Shit." Dennis hung his head for a second. "How old were you?"
"Seven." Still looking at the boxes that constituted her father's life. "My Dad didn't handle it well." She let go a deep sigh. "Pretty much dove into a bottle." She nodded to herself. "I was lucky he was still a gentle man, and for the most part still managed the day to day. He just wasn't really..." Trying to search for the right word.
"Present." Dennis finished for her, sounding a little sad.
"Yeah." She shrugged a little. When she was in college she went to a counselor, wanting to work out some of her own crap before starting internships and working with patients, thinking she owed it not only to herself but to those who would be trusting her to care for them. "I forgave him a long time ago. He just loved her so much that living without her just wasn't..."
Dennis threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. "Yeah. Pop wasn't a picnic for the first six months after Ma died. Then Gran kicked him in the ass, and about a year later he met Lu." Dennis stared at the television. "Not sure what would have happened if he hadn't met her."
"Lu is pretty special." She smiled. Watching Lu with Jake and his kids had been a highlight of the evening. She was part drill sergeant, part caretaker, part cheerleader and part party director. It was a hell of a thing to witness the tiny woman, who on her best day was maybe an inch or two over five feet, run her clan with a velvet fist. Really, she'd almost rather deal with Gemma.
Dennis laughed. "In more ways than one." Then laughed a little harder. "Then again, you have to be to deal with all of us." Hugging her to his side again.
"This is true." She laughed along with him, settling in for the next show.
Once it was over and her tea was gone, she stood. "I think I'm going to go to bed."
Dennis nodded as he turned the television off and grabbed his laptop. "Goodnight. I'm going to do some work, just let me know if it bothers you and I'll figure something else out. And remember..."
"If it gets weird, come get you." She finished. Then grinned just a little. "Like things aren't already weird."
He waved a hand at her as he shook his head with a wry smile. "Channeling Jules, huh?" His wry smile turned into a gleeful smirk. "But we're fun weird, not bad weird." The smirk faded. "Come get me for bad weird." Then as quickly as it had gone, the smirk was back. "Hell, for that matter come get me for fun weird too."
She stopped and turned back to him fully. "What would even qualify as fun weird?"
Dennis shrugged as his laptop was booting up. "I don't know; you have a dream that aliens came to abduct you and they all look like Keanu Reeves. And all they eat is ice cream." He nodded, either to himself or his computer, she wasn't really sure. "Yeah, that would qualify as fun weird."
She shook her head with what had to be a bewildered smile. Dennis really was an odd man. "Good to know."
She headed off to bed with silent giggles at the truly strange turns her life had taken in the last few days, both bad, good, and whatever the hell that just was. Getting into bed she was still chuckling at what Dennis felt would be fun weird.
And if she dreamt of aliens looking like Neo, eating ice cream cones; she was keeping it to herself.
/
Jules took a last look in on Sophie after getting Eric and Jase set up. Before straightening the blanket, she brushed a couple sweaty curls from Soph's forehead. Soph didn't even flinch, totally dead to the world. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she finally made it to the bedroom where Jax had absconded to about twenty minutes earlier.
"Sorry it took me so long..." She shut her mouth the moment she saw Jax asleep across the bed. He'd managed to get down to his boxers and she could see a pair of sleep pants on the bed next to him.
Grabbing the sleep pants, she threw them over to the chair that was sitting at her vanity. Then she shed her own clothes and got into her usual sleepwear of an oversized t-shirt. Once dirty clothes were in the hamper, she turned off the overhead light leaving only the dim light of the bedside lamp.
Going over to where Jax was lying on the bed, she leaned over him, letting her hair tickle his face and chest. At first he half-heartedly batted away her tresses, but she was patient. After another minute, his blue eyes eased open and settled on her.
"Hey, babe." With that sex me up smirk on his face.
"Hey, yourself." She grinned down at him. Then tapped his hip. "Come on, get into bed." Following as he crawled in under the comforter after turning off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness, only a sliver of light from the streetlight outside.
She snuggled in as he wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her in as he laid on his back. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss.
"Sorry babe, I was just gonna lie down for a second..." His hand running up and down her back in a sleepy motion. "I'm more tired than I thought I was." He finished with a chuckle. "There goes christening the bed."
She chuckled along with him. At some point while Pop and everyone were here, she was giving them Sophie and Abel and telling them to get scarce for at least four hours. "I think at this point we'd bruise each others egos." Then popped her head up to look at the alarm clock. "It's after one, and that thing is set to go off at six."
She settled back in as Jax gave a half groan, half chuckle. "Cock-blocked by life again." Tickling her ribs a little. She poked him in the chest as retaliation. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his heart. "I say we sneak away tomorrow afternoon for an hour or two."
"Deal." She yawned out. "Tig got me the title to the Caddy and it's covered as of today, so we could use getting plates and shit as cover." She threw a leg over his. "Now cuddle me so I can sleep properly." She smiled into his chest.
"Yeah, yeah." Was the sleepy reply she received. She grinned wide in the dark. Even half asleep he was going to throw it back at her. God, she loved that!
All of a sudden, for a moment, she could see her and Jax when they were as old as Gramps; still bickering at each other with a wink and a grin. With a kiss and a pinch on the ass. Still in love.
Barely patting his heart, she murmured into his chest as she was dropping off. "Love you."
She smiled as she heard a sleep filled reply.
"You too." Then a beat later. "Sleep now."
She just gripped him tighter and followed his lead.
A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed! Many thanks for all of the favorites and follows and reviews! They are much appreciated!