Chapter 19

The Result

It was a long night. We sent the families to Diosa for the night, with protection from Rouge River. Jax and Chibs remained at TM with the police, waiting for the fire department to clear the scene, while the rest of us went to Gemma's. Tara took the boys to Jax's old room, locking herself in there for the night. Gemma went into her own bedroom, clearly upset by not only the explosion, which had shaken us all, but also the arrest of Nero for Erin's murder.

Tig, Rat and Happy set to work, contacting the Northwest charters. Jax wanted to organise a sit down tomorrow, a chance to explain what had happened tonight and why. This had become bigger than just SAMCRO.

I lay down on the sofa for a while, trying to get some sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was explosions and babies crying. After a while, I got up, walking back into the kitchen.

"I'm going to head into town, grab some coffees," I said, grabbing the keys for the van off the table.

"I'll come with you," Happy said, taking the keys out of my hand, walking out to the van without a word.

Outside, the sun was just starting to lighten the sky, and a cool chill was in the air. I sat in the van, quiet as we drove. Jax and Chibs had explained that the delivery yesterday was from the IRA, and the kegs were actually loaded with C4, not beer. I couldn't help but blame myself - I was the one who told them to accept the delivery.

I sighed, rubbing my head. I felt sick, whether it was just because of the thought of what could have been the day before, or something more, I did not know.

"What's wrong?" Happy asked, reaching across, putting his hand on my lap.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I lied. "So what's next? What do we do now about the Irish?"

"If it was up to me, I'd go and rip Connor's head off," he said. "But we wait, see if the Irish reach out. Talk to the other charters today. Not much else we can do until then. Jax still doesn't want a war."

"Do you?" I asked him.

"Of course not," he replied. "Revenge, yes, but not war."

"And revenge would start a war," I said. "So we wait."

"We wait."

I ordered the coffees with Happy and left him to wait for them, while I quickly ran across the road to the 24hour chemist. Happy just getting our order when I returned. I picked up a tray of coffees, and carried them back to the van.

"Everything ok?" he asked as we climbed into the van, looking at the chemist bag on my lap.

I tucked it beside me on the seat, grabbing the coffees off him so he could drive. "All good. Just a bit of a flu, I think."

"You sure?" He looked concerned. "Maybe you should stay here today..."

"I'll be fine," I said, shaking my head. "I might ride up in the van with Rat though."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," he agreed.

We pulled up at Gemma's, and Happy came around to help me out of the van, carrying a tray of coffees inside. I tucked the bag from the chemist under my arm, and Happy wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked up the stairs to the front door.

Gemma was just heading out the front door as we reached it.

"You're off early," I said, handing her a coffee.

She nodded. "Going to see Nero."

"Give him my best," I said, putting my hand on her arm, giving it a reassuring pat. "If he needs anything, just let us know."

"Thanks. And thanks for the coffee," she said, walking down to her car.

"Come on," Happy said, leading me in through the front door. I put the tray of coffees on the kitchen table in front of the boys. I grabbed one, and walked down the hallway to Jax's room, throwing the bag from the chemist into the bathroom cupboard on the way past. I knocked on the door quietly.

"Come in," Tara said from the other side.

I poked my head around the corner. "Sorry. Just thought you might need a coffee."

"Thanks," she said, taking the coffee from me. She sat on the bed, holding Thomas while Abel played on the floor.

"How are the boys?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Abel didn't sleep. Neither did I. Managed to get Thomas down for a few hours. He's too little to understand, but Abel..."

I went and sat on the floor next to him. "Hey buddy, you hungry? I can make you something to eat if you want. Maybe some chocolate chip pancake? Your favourite?"

He didn't say anything, just kept playing with his lego. I looked at Tara, and she just shook her head, worry clear on her face.

I ruffled his head. "If you change your mind, let me know, ok?"

I smiled apologetically to Tara, and closed the door quietly behind me when I left. With a sigh, I stepped into the bathroom, quietly locking the door behind me. I reached into the cupboard and pulled out the bag. Here we go again.

I sat on the floor in the bathroom, staring at the stick in my hand. Well, that explains a lot, I thought to myself. As if on cue, my stomach lurched, and I was hunched over the toilet once again. Once my stomach had settled, I stood up, rinsing my mouth in the sink, and splashed some water on my face.

This was not what I had planned. Yes, I loved Happy, but I wasn't ready to have a child. Hell, I was nearly blown up just last night. Could I really bring a child into this world?

There was a knock at the door.

"Georgia?" Happy asked.

"Yeah?"

"Jax and Chibs are here," he said.

"Alright, I'll be out in a minute," I told him. Once he had gone, I shoved the test back in the bag, throwing it in the rubbish bin. I fixed myself up, took a deep breath, and walked back out to the kitchen.

"Where's Jax?" I asked, pulling up a chair at the dining table next to Rat.

"In with Tara," Tig explained.

Chibs pulled one of the burner phones out of his pocket as it rang.

"Long-distance," he said.

"I'll get Jax," I offered. I knocked quietly, and opened the door. "You got a long-distance call, Jax."

Jax nodded. "All right," he said, kissing Tara before following me to the kitchen.

Chibs handed Jax the phone as he walked past. Jax pulled the gavel out of his jacket pocket, and placed it on the table. Rat went to stand.

"Hey, stay," he said, motioning for him to sit. He looked at me, nodding toward the empty seat next Rat. I sat quietly as Chibs took his seat next to Jax

Jax sighed before he connected the call. "We're all here."

Gaalan's voice spoke on the other end of the phone. "The council is prepared to offer you terms for your betrayal."

Jax looked incredulous. "Our betrayal?"

"That's right," he said. "A peaceful transition. Or we do what we did yesterday to every clubhouse between here and San Bernardino."

"What terms?" Jax asked.

"Clay will be handling the distribution of our guns in Northern California," Gaalan explained. "How is none of your concern. What is your concern is facilitating that transition, making sure all your buyers are on board. And you won't be taking a percentage." He paused. "You wanted out-that includes profit as well. Understood?"

"We'll have to take a vote," Jax told him.

"I don't give a shit about your democracy," Gaalan retorted. "Are we understood?"

Jax raised his eyebrows for a silent vote. Everyone agreed, knowing they didn't have much choice.

"Yeah," Jax spoke into the phone. "Understood."

"Glad to hear that, Jackson," another voice said. One of the Kings.

"Really?" Jax asked in disbelief. "Cause your plan was to blow up our clubhouse with a full table, so forgive me if I have a little trouble believing you're glad to hear anything from me."

"We regret being pushed to such desperate measures," the voice replied. "Let's make sure that never happens again."

"All of us here can live with that," Jax agreed. "I'm not sure everyone at your table feels the same way."

"We all want the same thing, Jax," Gaalan insisted.

"No, we don't." Jax sighed. "I'll cut Connor and your other guys loose."

There was a long pause on the line. "They're still alive?"

"Yeah. I told you. I didn't want a war," Jax reminded them

"Aye," was all they said, and the line went dead.

"I say we keep Connor for a couple more days," Chibs suggested. "Make sure this peace shit is real."

Jax looked around the table. "Is that what you all want?"

"Yeah," Tig agreed. "Yeah."

"At least a couple days," Happy said.

Juice nodded. "Makes sense."

"Okay," Jax agreed. "Tacoma's still at the barn. Let's keep them there until we get back."

"Uh, Jax, Rogue River, Indian Hills, Eureka, Moab, Tacoma," Tig said. "All officers are confirmed."

"All right," he said, banging the gavel. "Let's go."

We are almost ready to go when Gemma's car drove up the driveway, followed by a police car.

Gemma got out of her car, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Have a nice day," the officer said, leaning it the window. "At home."

"Eat me," Gemma said, as she walked off. The officer chuckled as she drove away.

"Police escort?" Jax asked.

Gemma shook her head. "Don't ask."

Jax and Gemma spoke while the guys were all getting ready to head off. As I watched, my stomach started to turn, and I quickly walked around behind the van, throwing up into the garden.

I heard footsteps behind me. "There you are. Ready - Are you alright?"

Rat came over, putting a hand on my back. He pulled a handkerchief out of pocket, and handed it to me.

I nodded, standing up as I wipe the corner of my mouth. "I'll be fine," I said. "Thank you. Don't say anything to anyone, ok? Especially Happy."

He looked unsure, but nodded in agreement. "Come on then," he said. "We'd better get going before someone else comes looking for you."

The fresh air coming through the window as we drove made me feel better, and Rat and I passed the time by discussing the phone call from the Irish this morning, and their plans for Clay. He didn't mention me being sick this morning, and I was grateful that I didn't have to have that awkward conversation with him.

On our way to the meeting in Chester, we passed through a small town called Eden. Just after we passed into the city limits, two police bikes turned on their lights and sirens behind us.

"Pull over," I said to Rat, throwing a blanket over the cooler box filled with guns in the back.

He slowly pulled over to the side of the road. The two bikes rode past us, pulling in behind the Sons. We pulled back onto the road, a few hundred meters back from the others now. I saw Jax signal to the others, and they stopped on the shoulder of the road up ahead.

"Keep driving," I said, glancing at the cooler in the back. "We'll pull in somewhere up the road and wait for them there."

We rounded a few corners until we were out of view, and pulled over again. It felt like ages that we were waiting, Rat and I exchanging glances.

"Maybe we should go back and check on them..." Rat said, looking conflicted.

I shook my head. "Just give them another few minutes."

I watched out the back of the van for any sign of them.

"There," I said, as 4 bikes came into view around the corner, followed by a police bike. A police wagon followed them around the bend, and I looked closer at the police bike.

"Is that... Juice?"

"Oh, shit," Rat said, seeing what I did. They sped past us, and I saw that it was indeed Juice riding the police bike. What the hell had gone down?

"Hang on," Rat said, pulling out onto the road behind them. "I have an idea."

He drove up behind the wagon, as Juice brake checked them, swerving in front of them as they tried to drive around. This not only created distance between him and the others, but allowed us the chance to catch up.

"Jump in the back," Rat instructed. "Open the back door."

I caught onto that he was thinking. I climbed over the seat, sliding open the back door as we pulled up alongside Juice.

"Hey, Juice!" I called, holding my hand out as I leant out of the van. "Come on."

He stood up on the bike, balancing as he calculated the distance. He leapt, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him inside and we both fell to the floor.

The bike fell away behind Juice, wobbling before crashing under the front of the following police wagon. With the bike wedged underneath, the car lost all steering, swerving across the road before it crashed, flipping as it hit the side of the road.

"Holy shit," I said, watching the car roll gently on its roof. As we pulled away, I saw people crawling out of the overturned car.

Rat, Juice and I laughed as I lay back in the van next to Juice, the adrenaline coursing through us. In front of us, Chibs jumped up and down on his bike, yelling. Juice got up swung out the window, banging on the roof as he whooped and cheered. Grinning, I climbed into the front seat next to Rat. He patted my back, still laughing. Juice swung back into the van, and slid the door closed. He leaned over the front seat, planting a big kiss on my cheek.

"Nice catch, G."

We pulled into a gated complex in Chester, Three Point Lodge the sign on the gate said. Driving up the long driveway, we pulled in near the main building. A row of bikes were parked along the front, the officers from six different charters were all here for this meet.

We pulled to a stop behind the bikes. Juice jumped down out of the van and went and spoke to Jax, Rat and I following behind.

"I talked to Barosky," he said. "No APB, no POI call. No one's looking for us."

"Which means they were dirty," Happy said. He grabbed me as the others kept walking, kissing me. I responded, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer. He pulled away, glancing up to the main house where people were coming down the path.

"We'll continue this later," he said, lust in his eyes.

I smiled and stepped back with Rat, while he caught up with Jax. As Sargent at Arms, his duty today was to his president, not his old lady.

We stood behind Jax while he greeted an older man. I watched as the two of them hugged, thinking how familiar this man looked.

"Good to see you, Jax," he said as he stepped away.

"You, too, Jury," Jax said. I knew who he was. Jury White, an old war buddy of John Teller, Jax's father. His club had been patched over by the Sons a few years earlier.

"That flash looks good on your chest," Jury commented.

"Just trying to live up to it, you know?" Jax stopped as he saw someone walking towards us. I followed his gaze, and saw Bobby walking down with Quinn and a few other guys I didn't recognise.

"He asked to come," Jury explained. "I figured it made sense."

"It's all good," Jax said, and walked up the path to Bobby.

The rest of SAMCRO greeted Jury. Tig and Chibs seemed especially friendly. They had known each other for years.

I saw Jury glance towards me, where I stood behind the others. "Thought this was supposed to be members only," I heard him say in a hushed voice.

Happy chuckled. "Just don't call her a Crow-Eater," I head him mutter, mostly to himself.

Tig nodded, bringing Jury over to where I stood. "This here is Georgia Moran, Otto's daughter. She's in Charming for a while, been giving us a hand lately. Her Uncle was the president of the Australian charter before he died."

Jury nodded. "I knew your father, he served in 'Nam with us. Different platoon though. You got your Dad's eyes, now that I look at you."

"And his temper too, don't you worry about that," Tig said with a grin.

Jax walked off from where he was talking to Bobby, and SAMCRO advanced, greeting their brother.

"Who's this guy?" Chibs asked , grabbing Bobby around the shoulders as Tig and Happy pounced, laughing and hugging Bobby.

"You never call, you never write," Tig said jokingly, as they let go of him.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said when he saw me.

I hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek. "We've missed you, Bobby."

He pulled away, smiling at me. The boys started dragging him off to the lodge, while I hung back with Rat.

"Feeling better?" he asked in a hushed voice.

I nodded and smiled as we kept walking.

Once we'd reached the lodge, the Sons from each charter walked into a large room at the back of the building. Happy waited as they all walked in, and we were alone.

He pulled me close, his hands wrapped around my waist. "You be right out here?"

I nodded. "I'm going to go for a walk. It's so beautiful here... I think I just need some quiet time, you know?"

He kissed me softly. "I'll find you when we're done."

I wandered through the grounds of the lodge, lost in my thoughts. The idea of me being a mother was a scary thought. I thought of Tara, and what a great mother she was to Thomas and Abel. She managed to juggle her career, and being an old lady, and yet her boys always came first. And then there was Gemma, who was the closest thing I knew to a mother. If you had to describe Gemma in one word, that word would be mother. She just fitted the role so perfectly, sometimes too perfectly - it was hard to see her as anything else.

I sighed, climbing a nearby tree, swinging up onto one of the large branches.

And me? I never knew my mother, I was raised by a bunch of bikers. Ask me anything about a motorcycle or a car, no worries. Ask me about the inner workings of an MC, piece of cake. But raising a child? I was clueless. And then there was Happy. What would he say when he found out?

Even if we had this baby, what kind of life would we be bringing him or her into? Less than 24 hours ago, we were nearly blown up by the IRA. Yes, it looked for now like we were at peace with the Irish, but if not the IRA, then someone else would be after us. A few weeks ago it was the Nomads targeting the club.

Maybe we could leave Charming? I shook my head as soon as I thought it. We could leave Charming, but one thing I had learnt was danger could find you no matter what. SAMCRO wasn't the only cause of violence. Hell, I'd been hurt just as much with the Geelong charter as I had since coming to Charming. And there was no way I would ever ask Happy to walk away from this life. I didn't even know if I could walk away from it. It was too much a part of me.

In the distance, I heard music playing, bikes starting. Sounded like the meeting was over. I stared across the top of the trees, the sun getting lower in the sky. I felt like I should get down and go see how the meeting went. But at that moment, I didn't care. There was no gunshots, no explosions, no violence. There was just peace and calm, that that was all I could deal with at the moment.

"What are you doing up there?" I heard Happy ask from below.

"Just thinking."

"Do you want to come down now?" he said.

I sighed. "Not really."

He waited for a minute. "Should I come up?"

I shook my head, swinging down out of the tree. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Jax told them we're out of guns, what our plans are," he explained. "Every charter's on board."

I smiled. "That's great."

"Hey," he said, grabbing my hand, pulling me towards him. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing," I assured him, putting my hand on his cheek. "Today's about the club."

"I can't fix what I don't know," he explained.

"It's fine. I promise," I said, grabbing his hand as we walked. "So, we heading home now?"

"Kind of," he said. "Just going to make a detour on the way."

"Detour where?" I asked.

"Eden," he said with a smile.

I shook my head, smiling along with him. Of course we were.

As we walked back towards the lodge, I saw Jax talking to Bobby, papers in his hand. As I got closer, I could see Jax smiling as Bobby spoke, before they hugged each other.

I nudged Happy, pointing at the two. "That looks like a good sign. Wonder what happened there?"

Happy shrugged, but had a slight smile on his face. We reached the rest of SAMCRO.

"What's going on?" I asked, nodding towards Bobby and Jax, who were walking down. They stopped to talk to three guys, including Quinn, and all of them walked down to the van where we were standing.

"Looks like we're going to have some company on the ride home, boys," Jax said smiling, as he handed the papers to Chibs.

Chibs read them. "Transfers?"

I smiled. "You're coming home," I said to Bobby.

He nodded. "Always was. Just needed to find some extras. Quinn, Montez and West. They'll be riding back with us." We shook hand with the three new transfers, introducing ourselves.

"Alright, let's hit the road," Jax ordered, and we made our way back to the bikes.

"Fancy some company?" I asked Happy, walking to his bike with him.

"From you? Always," he said, kissing my cheek. I grabbed a helmet out of the back of the van, and jumped on with Happy as we rode off, now with an extra four riders.

It was dark when we pulled into Eden, stopping around the corner from Pagone's Impound and Salvage Yard.

"All right. Me and Hap," Jax instructed once everyone was there, pulling off his Kutte. Happy did the same, and handed it to me. "Rest of you guys stay close. Montez, watch the bikes."

We followed Jax and Happy toward the gate, waiting around the other side of the tow truck which was parked out front.

Happy rang the old-fashioned bell once. No one came, so he rang it over and over again, until Jax yelled "Enough."

Peering around from behind the truck, I saw Happy grinning like a little kid, and Jax was laughing. I shook my head.

"We're closed," a voice told them from the other side of the gate.

"Hey, an Eden cop told me to give you this," Jax said, holding up a business card along with a pile of cash tucked behind.

Pagone stepped towards the gate, reaching through to grab the money. "What kind of car is it?"

Jax grabbed his arm, twisting it as he pulled him hard against the fence. "You alone?"

He groaned as Jax pulled harder on his arm. "Yeah."

"Keys," Jax demanded, and he fumbled in his pocket for them. "Come on."

Pagone passed the keys through the gate and Happy took them, unlocking it as we all walked up behind them. The gate opened and Happy grabbed him, pushing him up against the wall.

"I got him, I got him," Chibs said, grabbing Pagone and leading him into the yard as we walked. "Tiggy?"

"Yeah."

"Find Juice's bike," he said.

"Rat," Tig called, and they headed through the lot.

I handed the guys back their Kuttes, and Happy pulled his on as we followed the others. He winked at me, clearly having a ball.

"This okay with you, Mom?" I heard Jax ask Bobby behind me.

Bobby's response was simple. "Blow me, boy."

"Hey!" Juice said, seeing a stripped bike ahead of us. "That's my bike."

He grabbed Pagone, throwing him into a nearby car. Juice grabbed him around the neck, as the others called out to him.

"Hey, Juicy!" Chibs said, grabbing Juice and pulling him off Pagone. "Hey, hey, come on!" He grabbed Juice by the shirt, walking him away to cool off. "Hey, hey, hey! It ain't right."

"That's new," Bobby said to Jax.

"Yeah."

"Jax?" Tig called from the building up ahead. "You got to see this in the garage, man."

I whistled as I followed Jax into the garage. The room was filled with brand new bikes, the room looking more like a Harley Showroom than a salvage yard garage.

"Oh, snap," Jax said.

"I checked the stickers," Tig said. "They're brand-new. All of 'em are going to Bernacchi Harley in Butte County, Jax."

"Wow," Chibs gushed. "What do you want to do, boss?"

"What you're supposed to do when you find stolen merchandise," he replied, a big grin on his face. "Call the police."

"Pagone?" a voice outside called. "What the hell's going on?"

"In here," he answered, as Tig put duct tape on his nose. I chuckled from the other side of the garage, sitting on the bonnet of a red Porsche, the rest of the guys making themselves comfortable on the bikes.

The door opened, and the two crooked cops from earlier today walked in wearing plain clothes. Happy and Quinn were standing behind the door, and pulled them in, reaching inside their jackets and grabbing their guns.

"Shit," the first cop swore.

"No need for guns, boys," Jax explained. "We're all friends now."

"They made me call you," Pagone insisted.

"Yes, we did," Jax said, rolling a smoke. "We also took pictures of all these vehicles, just in case we need to return them to their rightful owners."

"Did you know that these are the bikes that you said were stolen?" Tig asked. "And we found them all here. I mean, how crazy is that?"

"What do you want?" the cop asked.

Jax lit his smoke. "First of all, leaving all this shit here - that's just stupid and lazy."

"Yeah, if you're gonna go outlaw, boys, use half a brain," Bobby agreed. "I mean, you're making us all look bad."

"Which one do you want, Juicy?" Chibs asked, sitting on the large white cruiser in the corner.

Juice looked at the bike he was sitting on. "This one is good."

"He's gonna take Liberace's bike," Jax said, and I chuckled at the reference to the glittery green paint job. "Don't worry. We'll change the numbers ourselves. What I need you to do is make sure that none of the shit that happened today comes back to bite us in the ass, or all of this goes very public."

"Okay," the cop agreed. "Yeah."

"And," Jax continued, walking up to the cops, "I need you both to apologize to all my guys for your behavior today."

The other cop raised his eyebrows. "You got to be kidding me."

Jax elbowed him in the face, and he dropped to the ground, groaning. Jax grinned, and turned to his partner. "Do you think I'm kidding?"

He shook his head. "Didn't think so," Jax said, taking another puff of his cigarette.

He nodded to Quinn and Happy. "Take our friends out the front. Juice, get your bike."

Chibs and Tig pulled open the roller door of the garage for Juice, and Rat went to open the back gate. I jumped down off the Porsche, running my hand over it one last time. These cops may be crooked bastards, but god, they had good taste. Quinn and Happy walked the two cops out to where our bikes were parked, the rest of us following behind. The two cops stood next to Jax and Bobby, while the rest of the club got on their bikes, lined up by the road side.

Jax held his hand out, indicating to the two cops that they could get started. They stood at one end of the line, starting in front of the nomads.

"Sorry for my behavior today," the first cop said, his partner following behind. Down the line they went, stopping to apologise to each Son as they passed. I stood to the side with Jax and Bobby, watching them walk down the line. They got as far as Tig, before Bobby and I looked at each other, and cracked up laughing. Jax chuckled as he walked away, following the cops as they walked down the line.

"It is good to be back," Bobby laughed, watching it play out. Jax nodded, grinning as he made his way back to his bike.

I kissed Bobby's cheek. "It's good to have you back," I said. I was still giggling as I reached Happy's bike, climbing on behind him.

"You seem like you're in a better mood," Happy noted, big smile plastered on his face.

I nodded, not saying anything as I pulled on my helmet. I tried not to think of all the other problems going on - they could wait until tomorrow. Instead, I wanted to at least enjoy the ride home with our club, making the most of the joyful mood everyone was in.

"Get home safe," Jax said to the cops, still grinning as we rode off home.