As the three of them reached the threshold of the room that Gem had told him she had put the girls in, the door between the main clubhouse and the dorms opened and Jax came through.
Tig was simultaneously irritated and grateful at the intrusion by the VP. Irritated because he was finally getting a chance to be alone with his kid and grandkid, and grateful, well, for pretty much the same reason.
His kid looked over to Jax who was unlocking the door to his own room. The SAMCRO VP gave her an easy smile. "Rode to the Cali-Oregon border and back. Feeling a little grimy."
Jules gave him a knowing nod. "That would certainly do it."
Sophie lifted her head from his shoulder and put her arms out to Jax, who took her like it was somethin' he did every damn day. His cute as a fuckin' button of a grand-kid gave Jax a kiss on the cheek. "Night-night."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his daughter smile as Jax placed a kiss on Sophie's temple. "Night, sweetheart." Then handed the half-asleep girl back to him as he looked over to Jules. "Still going back out for your drink and smoke?"
His kid nodded. "I'm a little too worked up to sleep yet. It'll probably be fifteen, twenty minutes before Miss Thing is down for the count though."
Jax nodded with another smile. "I'll see you out there then." Then he disappeared into his room.
Jules opened the door to the room that Gem had moved the meager bag of things that Donna and Opie were nice enough to put together. He was amazed they had what they did considering how old their kids were. He followed his daughter through the door.
When he laid his grand-daughter down on the bed, she looked up at him with sad, tired eyes. "Want 'pook." Her little eyes growing teary.
Her Mama sat down next to her, running her fingers through her curls. "I know baby. Spook will be here in the morning. Uncle Red is bringing him to you." His daughter sounded a little teary too. And he fuckin' hated it.
"Hold on a sec." Both of his girls looked at him. "Be right back." He went across the hall to his room, unlocking the door.
As he entered the room he noticed how raunchy it really was. Stuff strewn everywhere, reeking of booze, weed, and pussy. He shook his head. He'd have a croweater come in and clean up. Eventually, Sophie would probably want to come in here. Or, at least he hoped she might.
Looking around quickly he spied the bag he was looking for. Grabbing it he went back to the room across the hall.
When he went back in Sophie's eyes opened, looking at the bag in his hand.
Feeling more than a little self-conscious, he reached in, pulling out a small bear with a SAMCRO t-shirt. He'd gotten it for Abel, but the little guy wouldn't know and he was sure that Jax would understand. "I know he's not Spook..."
He relaxed just a little when Jules smiled at him. Ok, he hadn't totally fucked up and overstepped.
Sophie was still looking at the bear. "Wha's his name?" Her little voice barely forming the words she was so tired.
He shook his head. "I don't know sweetheart. You'll have to give him one."
His grandbaby looked at the t-shirt on the bear. "Wha tha say?"
"SAMCRO baby doll. It's what we call this charter." He shuffled a little closer to the bed. He really wanted to sit on the bed with them. Here was a kid he hadn't fucked up, with a kid of her own who seemed to like him. Fuck. He wanted so badly for this to work. The only times he ever heard from the twins was if they needed money. Never a call just to see how he was doin'. Never a visit to just to shoot the shit. Either they wanted something from him or they wanted nothing to do with him.
Sophie reached for the bear. "Hi Sam." He let go and the tiny girl pulled the bear to her, wrapping a small arm around it as she closed her eyes.
He continued to stand there stupidly staring at his grandbaby when he heard Jules clear her throat softly. He looked over to see her roll her eyes a little. "You can sit down." It suddenly occurred to him that she was probably as nervous as he was. "If you want."
He sat down at Sophie's feet and really took a look at his daughter. She may have his hair and eyes, and maybe his smile, but the rest of her face was her mother's. Which was a good thing. Marina had always been beautiful, since they were kids. At least to him. And even with all of his years in California, his kid was a little darker than he was thanks to Marina's Basque heritage. But Jules' build was his side though. He'd had an aunt who'd had the same build. But he already knew all this. Knew a lot about her and Sophie. Rip had always been pretty good about keeping him up to speed after he'd found out about her when Marina had died. It was the deal he'd made with his oldest friend. Rip would tell him about his kid and he would stay the hell away, abiding by Marina's deathbed edict that Jules stay with Jake and his boys. She had seen the changes the military had made in him, and wanted him nowhere near their daughter.
But there was the rub. He knew all sorts of shit about her and she hadn't even known he was her Dad. While he really didn't want her to be pissed that he'd gone along with Marina's wishes, she was gonna be, and he couldn't really blame her. So, he was gonna do what he usually did. Jump the fuck in and see what the hell happens.
His daughter was looking at him expectantly. He gestured to her right knee. "How bad is it?" He'd noticed her favoring her left leg just a touch as she was leaving the garage and as they were walking back to the room.
She shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about." Although her face, body, and tone of voice all said differently. Cool. First lie out of the way. Perfect time to let her know that he could read her pretty well already.
He grinned just a little. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter, doll. I was at Stanford when you tore your ACL at the NCAA's."
A flash of surprise crossed her face quickly before she schooled it back into a nonchalant look. "It's been better. But being cooped up in a car for two and a half days, it's to be expected." She shrugged. "It's just a little stiff."
He nodded. He had more than a sneaking suspicion that she was underplaying how bad it was. He knew when she had originally hurt it she had continued the match she was playing. It was another way she was like him, she had an unnaturally high tolerance to pain. "Got some muscle relaxants if you want 'em."
She shook her head with a small smile. "I'd love one but I think a drink and smoke will have to suffice for the night." She gestured towards Sophie. "She'll be out cold for a little while, but I'm not sure how she'll do through the night. I should be relatively sober just in case." Then smiled again. "But if you've got ibuprofin, that would be cool."
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure we can come up with a few of those." Then swallowed. "And how are ya seein'?" Remembering the glasses the eight-year-old Jules was wearing at her mother's funeral.
She shrugged. "Things are a little blurry. I can see what everyone looks like, but don't ask me to read anything with small print or drive at night. I didn't have my contacts in when I got back to my place and Dougie made us leave. My glasses were another thing he made me leave." His kid looked at him seriously. "Rip kept you pretty well informed." She didn't really sound angry, but she did sound a little hurt.
He nodded. Then sighed. "Yeah." Sighing again. "Look sweetheart. When your Mom died..."
She put up a hand. "Can we save all of this heavy emotional shit for a little further down the road? It's already been a hell of a couple of days and not looking to get any easier over the next couple." He could feel his heart sinking. His kid didn't want to hear shit from him. "We'll have plenty of time for blame and anger and making up and all that shit later on."
He was so busy beating himself up that he almost missed the last part, as it sunk in he looked up with a smile. "Sure doll." He looked down at Sophie who seemed to be passed the hell out. "Want to go back out? I can stay with Sophie."
She shook her head. "Nah, whoever packed this bag was nice enough to put baby monitors in with the clothes. If they work."
He gave her a small smile. "They'll work. Opie and Donna wouldn't have put them in there if they didn't."
Jules brow furrowed. "Opie and Donna?"
He grinned. "Opie is like Jax, born into SAMCRO. You'll meet his dad Piney in the morning. Piney is one of the first nine and a crotchety old fuck. Opie just got out of Stockton. Did five years. Donna is Ope's wife. She's not really a fan of the club, so it was really pretty cool of her to put that bag together."
His kid nodded. "Yeah, I don't think Soph is gonna want to give the jammies back. She's pretty enamored of them. I'll have to do something to thank them." She stood with one of the monitors in her hand, putting the other where Sophie could see it if she woke up, then headed for the door.
He stood and followed his kid back to the main clubhouse.