July 2009 - Lodi, California

The modest home was nestled in the middle of a quiet block. From the outside, it appeared as though its lone occupant lived a humble life. He never threw raging parties, kept to himself. That was enough for the neighbors not to question the off-the-boat Irishman who never seemed to keep a regular schedule.

If only they knew inside that house, the garage was stocked full of assembled weapons, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and enough explosives to wipe the small Northern California town clean off the map.

Those who lived in the neighborhood understood he made his money by working at the local military surplus store. They didn't have the slightest clue that the store he managed and dwelling he occupied, was bought and controlled by one the world's most ruthless paramilitary organizations.

On a Thursday night, long after the sunset behind the horizon, Edmond Hayes sat in the kitchen of the IRA safe house. A cold bowl of mashed potatoes went untouched, as well as the cup of Barry's tea he brewed nearly an hour ago. Nothing settled his nerves like a glass of tepid Jameson, which he opted for instead of a proper meal after the day he had.

Sitting on pins and needles, Eddie anxiously drank his whiskey. He didn't dare to take his eyes off the flip-phone resting in the center of the table. Getting hold of his boss back home was never an easy task, mainly because Jimmy O liked to make it complicated.

After his meeting with Jax Teller, Clay Morrow, and the rest of the outlaw motorcycle enthusiasts who comprised the Sons of Anarchy Redwood Original, Eddie sent Jimmy a message through the encrypted messaging tool WhatsApp. The text had been simple, concise, containing only the phone number to the burner Eddie bought at a 7-Eleven convenience store out near Stockton.

Nearly six hours after the urgent message was sent, Eddie scrambled to answer once the phone buzzed to life.

"What's the craic, mate?" Jimmy asked.

Eddie imagined the aging IRA leader standing inside a derelict barn somewhere in the Republic, hunched over a dusty workbench as he clenched the receiver of a land-line. It was just after four in the morning in Belfast, so it was hard for Eddie to gauge whether or not Jimmy was in a good mood.

"My Da and I pitched the new deal to Clay this mornin'."

"How'd that go? Did ya make it clear it's better in the long run?"

Hearing the slight slur of Jimmy's words was a bit unsettling. It was never a good sign if Jimmy was drinking, and arguably an even worse one if he was still blotto at such an hour. The butterflies in Eddie's stomach were working overtime tonight.

"Aye. They agreed to a deal."

"Brilliant," Eddie could hear him pause to take a drag from a cigarette, "what terms did they agree to?"

That's where things got messy. Very, very messy.

"Twenty-eight percent." Reaching out, Eddie grabbed his glass and knocked back the rest of the whiskey. "And they want the Russian surplus."

"You agreed to that?"

"Aye."

When the line went silent, he had a feeling that was because Jimmy was trying to figure out a way to reach through the phone and strangle him. During his tenure, he made foolish decisions, but this was by far the worst one he's ever made.


Co. Donegal - Republic of Ireland

Slamming down the receiver of the phone, Jimmy grabbed the Bushmills by the bottle's stubby neck. He hurled it against the wall, soaking the splintering wood in wasted whiskey and sending little shards of glass to the floor.

Donny pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how in the hell the call turned sour so quickly. It sounded as though things weren't looking all that bad.

"Troubles across the pond?"

"That's an understatement," Jimmy huffed. He lit another cigarette, hoping the nicotine buzz would chill him out. "Turns out our American business partners were very persuasive about keepin' their access to the Russian stock, and wee Eddie agreed to give it to 'em."

That was a bigger problem than they expected.

"Shite. We don't even have access to the Russian hardware anymore."

Thank you, Capitan Obvious, Jimmy thought.

"You know, you're not as stupid as ya look."

Donny took offensive to Jimmy's intentional jab. Reminding himself it was just in Jimmy's nature to be a mean son-of-a-bitch every hour of the day, he tried not to take it personally. Throwing insults back and forth wouldn't do anything to remedy the terrible situation they've been thrust into.

Taking a breath, Donny rolled up the sleeves of his sweater and took a seat on a bale of hay. "It may be difficult to see right now, but we're not totally fucked. We can get access to the AK's again…as long as we're willing to pay."

Jimmy's features tightened into a scowl when he realized where Donny going. Maintaining his integrity when it came to honoring business deals was something Jimmy took incredibly seriously. He would do just about anything to keep his name from being dragged through the mud. Nonetheless, Jimmy would rather blow his brains out than swallow his pride and crawl to Dessie on his hands and knees begging the ONH chief of staff to make a deal so SAMCRO could get what Eddie already promised.

"No way fuckin' way am I goin' to that prick.

Donny really couldn't blame Jimmy. The last time the two leaders sat across from one another, tempers flared which resulted in the True army losing their stronghold in Derry. At the rate Dessie was steaming rolling them and gaining more momentum than ever predicted, it kept Jimmy up at night thinking Belfast was slipping from his grasp. Making a distribution deal with Dessie for the surplus of their flood of Russian stock would only inflate the ego of the south Armagh man.

"What about Catherine?" suggested Donny. "Out of 'em all, she'd be the one more willin' to work a deal with us. For Filip, she'd put her gripes aside and make it happen."

"If I side-step Dessie and go right to Catherine, it'll only make me look a pussy. Like I'm fuckin' scared of him. Besides, she hates me so much she won't do me any favors."

"Then give 'em a damn good reason to meet ya halfway. Don't forget you've got somethin' Dessie desperately wants, and lettin' Catherine come back to Belfast will get her to set up the meetin' between youse."

Jimmy hated to admit Donny was right. If he wanted ONH to play ball and give him what he wanted, he needed to be willing to give back in return.


Newry, Northern Ireland

After three days in the Intensive Care Unit, Catherine was thrilled to be moved into a regular room. She could sleep without being woken up every two hours to have her vitals taken, and she no longer felt like she was in a fishbowl. The conditions were still less than ideal; all she wanted was to be home with her boys, get back to her life.

Half paying attention to a rerun of the Inbetweeners, Catherine poked at the sad plate food on the tray that was supposedly breakfast. The blood clot and seizures hadn't killed her, but she was convinced what they tried to pass off as food would. Setting the plastic fork down, Catherine pushed the tray away before curling up as best she could with the blanket.

Her incision still hurt like none other, and she missed snuggling up Eamonn and Sean. Dessie finally managed to convince Eamonn to visit her, though it didn't seem like a good idea in the end when he broke out into hysterical tears after realizing Catherine wouldn't be coming home with them. Sean would have been upset too if it weren't for the fact he knew his nights of playing Call of Duty with Dessie would come to a screeching halt once she was back.

Seeing the door pop open, she turned down the volume of the television. She was hoping Dessie and the boys would waltz in, but she instantly knew it wasn't them based on the lack of noise.

Much to her surprise, it was Jimmy.

Kicking the door shut behind him, Jimmy held up a recognizable paper bag decorated with golden arches, and two green and white takeaway coffees.

"I brought you real food," he said, setting down the bag and coffees on the tray by her bed before digging into it. He pulled out a hash brown and McMuffin for her. "Well, real by McDonald's standards. I did get you a strawberry milkshake too, but I drank it on the drive down here."

"That's not very nice of you." She wasted no time unwrapping her sausage McMuffin, never so excited in her life to consume fast food.

Plopping into the cushioned chair, Jimmy dove right into his meal and coffee. "I'm not a very nice person. You should know that by now."

For reasons Catherine couldn't explain, hearing him say that sent a dagger through her chest.

"You can be when you want to."

Jimmy ignored what she said, taking off the lid to his coffee so he could stir in the cream and sugar.

After Catherine stabbed him, he promised himself he would never forgive her. After he sliced open Dessie's face, she promised herself she would never forgive him. While hostilities were still running as high as ever, the only reason they were willing to put everything aside, for the time being, was because it reminded them of better days. And Catherine was so bored out of her mind, she wasn't going to turn away a visitor, even if the said visitor was Jimmy.

They sat in silence as they ate, watching the end of the Inbetweeners episode. Neither of them felt the need to fill the void space with a conversation, yet it was making them uncomfortable with how comfortable they felt being in the same room together.

"How long are they holdin' you hostage?" he wondered.

"Couple'a more days. They wanna make sure the clot is gone and see if I can stabilize my blood pressure without meds first."

"And Danny?"

Leaving Daisy Hill without Danny was a tough pill Catherine was having a hard time swallowing. She often found herself hoping that any minute she would wake up from this horrific nightmare, beside Dessie in bed and still pregnant.

"They said he'll be here a minimum of seven weeks," she grabbed her hash brown, laying back to take the pressure off her tender incision, "he's gotta be at least thirty-seven weeks gestational and weighs just over six pounds. He's not ready for a bottle yet, but when I saw him earlier he was going to town on his dummy."

Jimmy wasn't sure why he cared, but his curiosity got the better of him. "He look like you or Dessie?"

She shrugged. "Seein' as to how neither Eamonn or Sean look like me, Danny'll probably take after his da, too. He's already got a full head of dark brown hair, but he does have a cute wee button-nose like me. His eyes…his eyes are covered because the lights are too bright for him so I have no idea what color they are."

Her words were strangled with so many emotions, Jimmy wasn't sure which ones he could decipher first. Before she had a chance to break down in tears, he set down his food and moved over to the bed. Settling in, he wrapped her in his arms with her resting her head on his chest. She found the steady beat of his heart comforting. Taking a sharp breath, she became intoxicated by his amber, tobacco, and ginger cologne.

Being back in his arms, feeling the familiar warmth radiating from the embrace, made Catherine realize how much she missed him.

She didn't miss him in the romantic sense—far from it. She missed his comforting squeeze, the way he always made her feel that no matter what, she'd be okay.

"What happened to us, Jimmy?"

Running his fingers through the soft waves of her hair, he stared off into space. Deep in thought, Jimmy pondered her question carefully. What did happen to them? Looking back, it seemed like everything was fine until suddenly it wasn't. His biggest regret was bringing her to California all those years ago. That's where it all went wrong.

"Filip happened," he breathed. "You let him fill your head with nonsense and you got angry with me over things which aren't even true."

Catherine closed her eyes, trying to remember that trip. Most of it was a blur, except for the scar on her side which served as a constant reminder of the first time he lost his temper with her. By how angry he had gotten after finding out about her visit with Chibs, she wondered just how much of what her uncle said were lies.

When it became apparent he wasn't going to take responsibility on his part for the collapse of their romantic relationship, and rather throw all the blame onto someone who wasn't there to defend himself, she decided to drop it. There was no point in reopening barely healed wounds.

Taking her head off his chest, Catherine sat up despite the discomfort of her incision.

Moving back to the chair, Jimmy formulated the best way possible to bring up the real reason for his visit. He had to go about it delicately; upsetting Catherine from this moment on would only spell disaster. Maybe it was an asshole move, but he decided to play her soft spot for Chibs.

"You know that your uncle and I don't have a very amicable past; sort of like us," he started. "When I took over the position I'm in now, the hardest thing I had to do was accept that it meant playin' nice with Filip when I don't want to, because my main priority is keepin' a cordial partnership with SAMCRO. As much as I despise the Belfast Agreement, Adams, and McGuinness, one of the biggest lessons I learned durin' that transition period is how important diplomacy is. Especially with those you can hardly stand. Do you know why I promoted you to commander of the Belfast brigade?"

Catherine shook her head. She didn't know why. When it happened she guessed it was because she was doing everything Jimmy asked of her and was fucking up the least.

"I promoted you because I saw you could be diplomatic. You attempted to rebuild the bridge with Sinn Fein, you were fair, and you listened to and advocated for your men. You were the leader the lads needed in Belfast, and I promoted Dessie because he was the leader the lads in south Armagh needed."

"Why are you tellin' me this?"

Taking a deep breath, Jimmy rested his forearms on his knees and laced his fingers. "The other day, Eddie Hayes stupidly agreed to a deal with SAMCRO which includes giving 'em access to the Russian stock. I need those AK's to keep my partnership with the blokes, so I need Dessie to make a deal with us and I think you're the person to make that happen. This isn't me comin' to you as an ex-boyfriend or even as the father of your eldest son, Catherine; I really need your help. I'm beggin' you to put our past aside and help me as one soldier to another."

"What do you need from me?"

"Arrange a sit down with Dessie. If he agrees to it, you can come back to Belfast whenever you want."

Catherine buried her face in her hands trying to digest what Jimmy said. She hadn't been to Belfast since the day of Seamus' funeral and that wasn't a choice she made willingly on her own. As a consequence of her actions against Jimmy, she was ordered to stay off the streets she once called home. Hearing Jimmy say he was willing to lift the ban if she helped him was a no-brainer. She'd do anything for the chance to show her face north of Newry again.

Patrick always told Catherine if something seemed too good to be true, it probably is.

"What are the conditions?" she asked. "What I did…I understand you can't just let me back in without some strings."

Jimmy hadn't thought that far ahead. He'd been so preoccupied and worried about securing a deal with Dessie, the conditions in which Catherine had to abide by while in Belfast slipped through the cracks.

There were two options: limit her movement to only the stretch of the Falls Road or give her free reign over the city. It didn't matter how much he loved her, Jimmy didn't trust Catherine with a single bone in his body. Giving her access to North, South, East, and West Belfast meant running the risk of her and Dessie gaining the traction they sought to push the True army out.

But seeing her lying in bed looking so fragile and harmless reminded Jimmy of his once sweet Catherine Mary. Catherine who would fight beside him, not against him.

She gave him far too many second chances to count; maybe she deserved one, too.

"You get Dessie to the table, there are no strings."

"And if I can't?"

Jimmy reached out and placed his hand on Catherine's thigh, his fingers sliding dangerously inward. "Then you and I can work somethin' out. I wanna help you, and I know you wanna help me."