"Oh my God I'm so sick of this clubhouse!" Lux moaned, collapsing on a chair next to the couch where Jess was sitting, reading a magazine. Jess glanced up at Lux, nodding in agreement.
Jess had been discharged after a two week-long stay in the hospital and for the next several weeks the girls had been confined to the clubhouse. The excuse was that their window still hadn't been fixed, so they couldn't stay at the apartment, and as Jess couldn't go back to work for another couple of weeks she didn't have a lot of reason to leave.
But Jess knew the real reason they were being kept under lock and key. Jax was terrified of something happening to them again and he still hadn't gotten any leads on who was behind the attack. Jess knew until the attackers were found, he wasn't letting her or Lux out of the sight of a Son. She didn't blame him at all; on the contrary, she was also terrified of this unknown danger lurking out there somewhere. But two weeks cooped up in the clubhouse was almost enough to make her forget how scared she was.
"I know," Jess replied, closing her magazine and looking back at Lux, frowning slightly, "Has anything like this happened to you before?" Lux shook her head.
"No," she replied, "Not because of the club, anyway. There were a couple of years there where I managed to find danger perfectly well on my own, though." Jess nodded, feeling slightly relieved that this, at least, was an anomaly and not the rule.
"My mom, though," Lux said quietly, "She was attacked once. Some guys trying to get to the club through her." Jess frowned, looking back at Lux. For some reason, she couldn't picture Gemma ever letting anyone get the upper hand over her. She always seemed so tough and confident, so sure of herself.
"What happened to her?" Jess asked. Lux shook her head, sighing as she reached into her bag to get her cigarettes and lighting one, inhaling deeply.
"Some bad shit," she finally responded, "But she came out the other end all right, I guess. They weren't gonna try to kill her, but… some things might be worse." Jess nodded, deciding not to press Lux for details. It wasn't any of her business.
Jax walked into the clubhouse from the lot wearing his mechanic uniform – black pants slung low on his hips and a black Teller-Morrow T-shirt. Jess watched him walk, licking her lips subconsciously and biting her lip as he strode up to her.
"Don't do that," he said, his voice husky as he grinned, leaning over her with his hands resting on the back of the couch to kiss her.
"Don't do what?" Jess asked innocently. He kissed her again, this time a little longer.
"You know what," he said, "Otherwise I'm gonna have to throw you down on that bed in there, doctor's orders or not." Jess giggled, wrapping her arms around Jax's shoulder.
"Just a few more days," she said and he groaned.
"Anticipation," he said.
"Good God, get a room already," Lux spoke up from her spot on the couch. Jax turned his head slightly to look amusedly at his sister before turning back to Jess.
"I think we're bothering her," he said. Jess nodded.
"She seems bothered," she replied. He stood, jerking his head towards the hall and holding his hand out. Jess stood, taking his outstretched hand in hers, and he led her down the hall. He stopped at the ladder to the roof, motioning for her to climb up and she grinned. She stepped onto the ladder, climbing carefully until she'd reached the roof, Jax close behind her.
They sat on the opposite side of the roof this time, watching the sun beginning to set. Jess rested her head on Jax's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him.
"You know, the first time I took you up here – that's when I knew I was in trouble," Jax said and Jess smiled, looking up at him. He glanced down at her, kissing her softly.
"Tell me more about this," Jess said, her grin widening. He shook his head, breathing deeply.
"You have no idea how much I care about you," he said softly, "Seeing you, lying on the floor like that in your apartment. It felt like my heart was getting ripped out of my chest."
"I care about you, too, Jax," Jess said, "I always have." Jax nodded, turning to look back at the sunset.
"I feel like… I need to explain things to you," he said, "About everything that happened over the last 5 months."
"Jax…"Jess tried to stop him, but he shook his head.
"I know we said we were just going to start over, but I don't think we can really do that without a clean slate," he said. Jess pursed her lips but finally nodded.
"Okay then," she said, "What do you need to explain?" He sighed, taking several moments to collect his thoughts.
"When I decided to get back together with Tara… it wasn't because I didn't have feelings for you. My biggest fear was that you wouldn't be able to handle my life and when we got in that fight, I thought there was no chance you'd want to be with someone like me," he said.
"You didn't give me a chance," Jess told him and he shrugged.
"No, I didn't," he admitted, "You were new and risky, and Tara was familiar and … comfortable, I guess. But the whole time… I knew all along it wasn't gonna last. She knew it, too. We were both just… pretending," he said.
"Jax, you really don't need to explain," Jess said, "It wasn't like I sat around waiting for you." He smirked, turning to look at her.
"Yeah, don't I know it," he said, "What was with that asshole, anyway?" Jess laughed.
"I thought he was normal!" she said, her smile fading as she continued, "But it never felt right with him."
"Why?" he asked. Jess looked up at him, giving him a look that said plainly that he knew why, "What?" he asked, grinning innocently. Jess rolled her eyes.
"Oh I don't know," she replied, "I guess obnoxious biker who can't take a hint is my type." He chuckled, curling an arm around her neck to pull her closer to him as he kissed her.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Opie pulled the truck into the Teller-Morrow lot and glanced over at Jess, who was sitting in the passenger seat. She smiled at him as he parked the truck and she hopped out.
"Thanks for taking me for my appointment," she said.
"No problem," Opie replied as they walked into the clubhouse. She'd had her stitches removed and the doctor said the wounds were healing perfectly, which was a relief. She'd wished Jax had been able to take her, but he'd been running down a potential lead on the attacks and had asked Opie to take her in his stead.
Jess walked back to the dorm she and Jax had been sharing, quickly disrobing and stepping into the shower. She glanced down at the wounds on her abdomen, now stitch free, and ran her fingertips over the dark, raised scars as she went over the conversation she had to have with Jax. Her doctor's appointment had given her a lot to think about. They'd cleared her to return to work as early as the next day, but Jess knew Jax wouldn't care what the doctors said. He would not like the thought of her going back to work, but Lux and Jess had been cooped up in the clubhouse for too long and it couldn't last forever.
She finally shut the water off, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel to wrap around her. She could hear Jax walk into the adjoining room, throwing his keys on the dresser and several moments later he opened the bathroom door. He smiled at her, taking a few steps inside to kiss her before leaning against the counter.
"You find anything out?" Jess asked, grabbing a second towel to pat her hair dry. Jax shook his head, sighing heavily.
"Not even a whisper," he said, "Info I had was bad." Jess frowned, knowing everyone was working nonstop to find the attackers and every time she asked him the same question she was always hoping for a different answer. She wanted nothing more than to put the whole incident behind them so that she and Jax could move on with their life together, but it seemed that day was not going to be today.
"You'll figure it out," Jess said encouragingly and Jax smiled at her, tilting his head as he watched her pat her hair dry, his eyes moving down to the towel wrapped precariously around her body.
"Yeah, we will," he agreed, but his mind was clearly now focused elsewhere. Jess grinned, setting the towel in her hand down as she turned to look at him.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," she said, deciding not to wait until she put clothes on. Perhaps naked under a towel would put Jax in a good enough mood that he wouldn't fight her on returning to work.
"What's that, darlin'?" he asked, his eyes finally returning to look into hers. Jess paused for a moment, trying to remember the speech she had prepared in the shower, but it had become lost.
"At my appointment today, the doctor cleared me to go back to work," Jess began, wincing as Jax's grin turned into a scowl.
"What? No," he said firmly, turning around to walk back into the bedroom as if that was the end of that conversation. Jess sighed, following him.
"Jax, I can't stay cooped up in this clubhouse forever," Jess said, trying to appeal to his common sense. He shook his head.
"No, not forever," he agreed, "Just until we find who did this."
"Who knows when that will be!" Jess exclaimed in frustration, "Lux and I are going to go crazy. We need to go to work. Luann is counting on me."
"Luann got along just fine before you started working there," Jax said, his voice growing irritated, "She'll do just fine until you can go back."
"I'm going back to work, Jax," Jess stated, thinking that maybe if she put her foot down, he'd listen. She was wrong.
"No, you're not!" he yelled, banging his fist on the dresser angrily. Jess pursed her lips, trying to decide the best way to proceed as they squared off across from one another. She eventually changed track, deciding that a logical approach was not the way to go. She smiled flirtatiously at him, slithering up and allowing the towel to fall as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
She could see the anger still flashing in his eyes, but it was decreasing exponentially the longer she stood pressing her body against his. She turned her eyes up to his, biting her lip and he smirked at her, shaking his head as he finally wrapped his arms around her, his hands trailing down her naked back.
"This isn't going to work, either," he told her and she looked up at him with sad eyes, but he shook his head again, "I became immune to those by the time Lux turned 10."
She frowned, breathing deeply as she stared up at him and she tried to figure out how she was going to win this argument. She and Jax hadn't been together long enough for her to discover his weak spot, and as she stood there studying him, her arms still wrapped firmly around his shoulders, she wondered if he even had one.
She finally stood on her tips toes, kissing him gently on the neck as her lips trailed to his jawline and up to his ear. She felt him tense as she ran her hands through his hair, gently taking his ear lobe between her teeth.
"Going back to work isn't the only thing I got cleared for today," she whispered and he groaned, his hands roaming down to her ass as he lifted her up, carrying her the few steps over to the bed before laying her down. She grinned up at him as he pulled his clothes off before settling back on top of her, kissing her fiercely.
"But then this means I get to go back to work," she said as he lips trailed down her body.
"Fuck it," he said distractedly, "But you'll have a patch there with you."
"I can live with that," Jess said happily, laying her head back as she enjoyed Jax's ministrations.
SOASOASOASOASOASOA
It turned out that when Jax said he'd have a patch on Jess while she was working, he actually meant he'd have half the club hovering around Jess and Lux at all times to the point that Lux finally blew up at Phil and Rat.
"You are getting in the way of my tips!" Lux shrieked at them after their hovering had caused one of her tables to finally leave, "Which means you're getting in the way of the new Ferragamo peep toes I've been saving up for which means I'm PISSED!" Phil and Rat exchanged glances with each other but neither of them responded or moved.
"Ugh!" Lux said in frustration moving around them and marching past Juice, who was carefully guarding the door to the office Jess and Luann now shared.
"How are you living with this!?" Lux asked, throwing herself in the chair opposite Jess. Jess glanced up at her, shrugging.
"He's not bothering me," she said.
"Easy for you to say," Lux grumbled, "You're back here being all managerial and not having your tables scared away by stupid bikers." Jess shrugged, leaning back in her chair.
"Look, it makes Jax feel better to have them around and to be honest it makes me feel better, too," she said. Lux rolled her eyes.
"Well I'm gonna have a word with my dear brother," she grumbled, "He needs to tell them to stay at least 10 yards away. I almost dropped an entire tray of drinks earlier because Rat was standing right behind me. It's obnoxious." Jess grinned, shaking her head.
"Good luck with that," she responded.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Jess sat on the counter in the bathroom, doing her makeup to get ready for work that day, in higher spirits than she had been since the drive by. The past week had gone by fairly smoothly and Jax had agreed to keep the hovering to a minimum for Lux, who was much happier being carefully watched from afar. Nothing bad had yet happened, anyway, and Jess found herself finding a sense of security once again.
She glanced up as Jax strode into the bathroom, smiling and kissing her quickly. She smiled back at him, setting the bottle of mascara she had in her hand next to where she sat on the counter as she looked at him.
"We're meeting with the Niners at Cara Cara again today," Jax told her and Jess nodded.
"What time should we have the room ready for you?" she asked. Jax shrugged, checking his watch.
"About 5," he said, "I'll have Tig and Opie at the club with you and Lux until we get there." Jess nodded.
"Okay. Rat and V Lin still keeping guard outside the front doors?" she asked. Jax nodded, "Okay, then I guess I'll see you at 5."
"Can't wait," Jax said softly, kissing her deeply before finally pulling himself away reluctantly, "Alright I gotta go. I'll see you soon." Jess nodded, watching him leave before returning to finish her makeup.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Opie stuck his head inside Jess's office while she was busily filing paper work and she glanced up, smiling at him.
"They here?" she asked. Opie nodded and Jess stood, following Opie up the stairs to the VIP room that she'd had set up for the meeting. Lux and Tig met them up there and the rest of the Sons and Niners followed shortly behind. The only one missing was the prospect, V Lin, who was standing guard outside the front doors of the club. Jax walked up to Jess, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a kiss in greeting as she smiled up at him.
"I must really like you to go back to waiting tables for you," she said jokingly.
"Ah, well I appreciate it," he said grinning, kissing her again before walking away to take his seat and Lux and Jess went around the table getting drink orders.
"So you and the prez now, huh?" LeRoy asked Jess, grinning up at her as she went to take his order. Jess blushed, smiling.
"Guess so," she said. He shook his head, grinning, and she wrote down his order before moving down the line.
After everyone had been served, Jess and Lux walked outside of the meeting room, followed closely by Rat, and the three of them waited outside. It was nearly an hour before the doors opened again and the Sons and Niners filed out of the VIP room.
"Anyway you can take a break and come have a drink with us?" Jax asked as he slung an arm around Jess's shoulder. She grinned up at him.
"Well, I'll have to ask my boss," she said, "Oh wait, that's me. Yes I think I can do that."
Jax laughed as they all filed downstairs and the Sons took their usual table by the stage, the Niners sitting at the next table over. Jax pulled Jess onto his lap and she smiled, looking around at everyone sitting around the table. You'd never know looking at everyone smiling, joking around and having a good time how somber the mood around the clubhouse had been of late and Jess was happy things seemed to be getting somewhat back to normal.
"Jess!" Jess glanced up at the sound of her name to see one of her newest waitresses, Tina, scurrying up to her looking worried. Jess crawled off Jax's lap, frowning at Tina's expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked quickly. Tina shook her head.
"I don't know. Table 46 wants to talk to a manager but I swear I didn't do anything," she said, her eyes wide. Jess shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, I'll go talk to them," she said, trying to reassure Tina, who looked close to tears. Tina nodded as Jax started to stand. Jess looked at him, shaking her head.
"You can't go with me, Jax," she said, "You're going to scare them and they're obviously already upset."
"I don't care," Jax said firmly.
"I'll go with her!" Lux spoke up, hopping off of Tig's lap and walking over to Jess. Jax rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, that makes me feel better," Jax said sarcastically. Lux looked around the table, pointing at Rat.
"Rat can come, too," she said, "He looks the least threatening."
"Gee, thanks," Rat muttered, standing up. Jess looked back appealingly at Jax, who finally shrugged and nodded, taking his seat once again. Jess walked over to the table, which was the farthest in the back behind the stairs, to see it crowded with at least ten men crammed around. Jess looked around at them, smiling.
"Hi, I'm Jess," she said, "Is there a problem?"
"Yes, I'd say there's a problem," a voice spoke up and Jess looked around for the source of the voice before finally spotting Ethan, the man she'd waited on several times before.
"Oh, hi Ethan," she said smiling, but he did not return the smile.
"What were you talking to the niggers about?" another man at the table spoke up and Jess scowled at the use of the slur.
"I don't like that word in here," she said, "And it's none of your business what I was talking to them about." Ethan stood, walking around the table toward Jess and Rat stepped in between them.
"You need to back away," he said and Ethan narrowed his eyes at him, trying to push past him but Rat shoved him away from Jess. One of Ethan's friends stood, punching Rat in the face as Ethan grabbed Jess by the arm, holding her in front of him.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," he said quietly in her ear and she looked back at him strangely, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.
"Jax!" Lux called, looking desperately across the club. Jax looked up at the sound of his name and rushed towards them, the other Sons and Niners following closely. Jax came to a halt as soon as he saw who was using Jess as a human shield, his face full of shock. He quickly regained his composure, lunging for Ethan and trying to get Jess away from him.
"Mother fucker!" he screamed as all of Ethan's men stood to separate them, "Fucking Zobelle!" Jax screamed as two of Ethan's men held him back. Lux looked at Ethan with wide eyes, suddenly lunging for him as well.
"ZOBELLE?" she shrieked as Tig held her back, her arms and legs flinging wildly in an attempt to free herself, "You had my mom raped you son of bitch! And I comped your drinks!"
Jess looked frantically between the man holding her and the looks of rage on Jax and Lux's face, which had spread to every other Son surrounding them. The Sons stood squared off against Zobelle and his men and Jess did not see a way out of this for herself. Zobelle's grip on her was far too strong and she had no idea what his plan for her was. According to what he had whispered in her ear, this was a day he'd been planning for a long time.
"What the fuck do you want?" Jax finally spat at Zobelle, not taking his eyes off of him.
"That's easy enough," Zobelle responded airily, "I want you to stop selling guns to the Niners, effective immediately. Take what happened to your old lady and your sister as a warning. You know what I'm capable of."
Jax's nostrils flared as his lip curled in anger and disgust. He glanced desperately at Jess, obviously trying to find some way to get her away from Zobelle, but Zobelle just shook his head.
"Relax, Jax," he said, "I'll give you the day to follow our instructions. I just need to use Jess here to make sure none of you do anything stupid. As soon as I'm safely to my car, I'll let her go. But make a move and I won't be so kind."
Jax stared at him, making a sudden move as Zobelle began walking away, keeping Jess in front of him. Jess shook her head at Jax, begging him to just let Zobelle walk out so he would let her go. Zobelle waved his finger at Jax.
"No, Jax," he said, "Don't give me a reason to hurt her. Again." Jax glared at him as he walked away and they all filed out carefully behind them, Jax not taking his eyes off Zobelle. They stood, crowded around the entrance to Cara Cara as Zobelle walked to his car that had pulled up in the round about before shoving Jess away from him as he hopped in the car. Jess flung her arms around Jax, burying her face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"You're okay," he whispered soothingly. LeRoy walked up to Jax solemnly, nodding.
"Whatever you need, Jax," he said. Jax nodded.
"Thanks," he said. LeRoy shook his head.
"Hey, I'm not doing it for you. I like them," he said, nodding first to Jess and then Lux, who was standing close by. Jess gave him a tearful smile, her cheek still pressed tightly against Jax's chest.
"Alright, everyone. Clubhouse. Now!" Jax shouted. The Sons all nodded as Jax shook LeRoy's hand before walking Jess to his bike.
SOASOASOASOASOASOA
Jess clutched Jax's hand as he walked her into the clubhouse, grabbing a beer for each of them as he waited for everyone to congregate inside. Jess sat on a stool, looking worriedly at Jax as she clutched the beer in her hands.
"Who's Zobelle, Jax?" she asked. He shook his head, standing close to her as he rubbed the back of his fingers tenderly down her cheek.
"Don't worry," he said softly.
"He shot me!" Jess exclaimed, "Twice! Please, just tell me who he is." Jax sighed.
"He runs a white supremacist organization called L.O.A.N," he said, "We dealt with him a couple years back. He likes to get to us by getting personal." Jess frowned, remembering what Lux had told her about her mother once getting attacked.
"Gemma?" she whispered. Jax pursed his lips, nodding.
"Yeah, but don't worry," he said, "He will not touch you again." Jess nodded, looking around the room for something else to say.
"Did my windows ever get fixed?" she asked. Jax nodded.
"Yeah, but you're gonna need to stay at the clubhouse until all this cools down," he said, preparing himself for an argument, but Jess just nodded agreeably.
"Yeah, okay," she said.
Author's Note: We really hope you liked this chapter! The story now is going to start taking on a different tone as they all deal with Zobelle, etc, but I really hope you like where we take it! Your feedback, as always, is helpful so please let us know what you think! Thanks!