A week went by and still Jess was having a hard time making it through the day. It was the first time Jess could remember where she really did not want to go into work. Cara Cara was usually her haven from all the drama surrounding her life, but she was so drained from all the secrets, lies, and betrayals that she didn't know if she had the energy in her to complete her shift.

The downside to being the owner after you fired your manager - no one to call in sick to.

Jess finally managed to drag herself to the club, saying a quick hello to the bouncer, Steve, on her way inside. Bartender Rob was already there, setting up for the night, and a few waitresses and dancers had beat her there as well, making their way to the locker rooms in the back. Jess walked straight to her office, hoping to hole up there for the night and not deal with a single person. She wouldn't call it hiding… exactly…

"Jess?" a meek voice called from the doorway to her office and Jess's head whipped around, her jaw dropping slightly at the audacity of Daisy to show up here after everything. She was so stunned she couldn't even bring herself to utter a word as Daisy tentatively walked into the office, shutting the door behind her.

"Get out," Jess said as soon as she was able to find her voice.

"Jess, please," Daisy said, her eyes actually watering with tears. Jess narrowed her eyes at her. She'd always felt a little sorry for Daisy, whose life was such a disaster, but now there was no pity left. She hated her.

"If you don't leave now, I will call the police and let them know all about your little foray into white collar crime," Jess said, her teeth gritted. Just looking at Daisy made her blood boil. The person who had given her life and then broken her heart time and time again. There weren't enough words to describe how completely over it Jess was.

"I just wanted to apologize," Daisy said quickly, taking a few steps closer until she was standing in front of Jess's desk. She wrung her hands together nervously as she spoke, looking pleadingly at Jess, "I'm so sorry, baby. About everything. I messed up big time, I know I did, but all I ever wanted was to get to know you. I just love my little girl so much." Daisy reached a hand out to touch Jess, but she jerked away, her lip curling in a sneer at Daisy.

"I don't want anything to do with you! I don't want your apologies! I want you out of my life!" Jess screamed, every bit of frustration that had been building inside of her finally getting some release. Daisy stared back at her, stunned at her outburst, as Jess's office door flung open and Nero stood there. When he saw Daisy, his eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms across his chest menacingly.

"Get the fuck out," he growled and Daisy jumped, turning to look at him, her eyes widening in fear. She glanced back briefly at Jess but seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere, gave a curt nod and slunk out of the office. Nero's eyes followed her to the front door, returning to Jess once he was satisfied she'd actually gone.

"You need to get Steve her picture," Nero said, "So he knows not to let her in." Jess nodded, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," she said distractedly. Nero frowned.

"You okay?" he asked, and Jess sighed, shaking her head.

"I never should have trusted her," she said, so angry at herself for falling for Daisy's scheme all over again, "Everyone warned me, but I wanted to badly to believe my mom had come back to me. That I had a real family." She sunk into her desk chair, her face in her hands.

"Hey, you got a real family," he said, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, "Blood don't mean shit. Blood don't make a family; love does. And Jess, you got plenty of people around here that love you." Jess peeked up at him, smiling.

"I ever tell you you're the best?" she asked, and he grinned.

"Don't feel like it's something you need to say just once," he replied jokingly.

"Well then, you're the best," she said, "How are things going up at Diosa?" Nero grinned.

"Business is booming, baby. Our client base is building back up. Things are good." He took a seat at Jess's desk across from where she sat, "Speaking of, I wanted to get with you to talk about schedules. The girls are getting stretched thin, and in the sex business you know that's not a good thing." Jess smirked.

"I could see that," she said, turning to her computer to pull up her schedules for the upcoming weeks. Daisy was pushed completely out of her mind as she and Nero worked on reorganizing the schedules for the girls they shared.

SOASOASOASOASOASOA

Several weeks went by and there had been no new Daisy sightings. Jess was relatively satisfied that Daisy had left Charming, proverbial tail tucked between her legs, and everything else had been running smoothly. The only thing still keeping Jess up at night was thoughts of Jax, and what he would do if he ever found out what his mother was actually capable of.

Living across the street from the clubhouse had not been helping. It was impossible not to catch glimpses of him every now and then, and the stress of it all was getting to Jess. She had been planning on moving out of the apartment in a few months when Lux's due date was closer, but the more she saw Jax, the worse she felt and she knew it was time to move on.

Which is how Jess found herself in the middle of an insanely busy apartment, Sons running around picking up boxes and loading them into the moving van on the street below. Jess sat on the balcony with Lux, taking a break from packing and watching the boys, thankful Jax was on a run in Nevada and couldn't help.

"You really don't have to move out just yet, you know," Lux said. Jess looked over, eyeing Lux's increasingly swollen belly, and raised her eyebrows. She hadn't been able to tell her the real reason she wanted to move, so she'd told Lux it was to give her and Tig some space while they got prepared.

"Baby won't be here for months," Lux reminded her, "You know you're welcome to stay until then. Hell, he'll be sleeping in my room for a couple months after he's born, so really…" her voice trailed off as she gazed helplessly at Jess.

"I know, Lux," she said, "End of an era. I don't want to go, either. But it's time." Lux nodded.

"We've had a lot of good times in this place," she said, glancing around, and Jess nodded.

"Yeah, like that time I got shot," Jess said jokingly, and Lux rolled her eyes.

"Don't ruin the moment, asshole," she muttered, and Jess laughed. She was going to miss her friend so much it physically hurt, but she knew it was time for her to move into Luann's.

"So, how you feeling about everything?" Jess asked curiously, turning her attention back to the moving van on the street and trying not to make the change in conversation too obvious. Lux shrugged.

"I worry a lot, you know," she said, sighing, "I mean, I look at Abel and… don't get me wrong. I love the life and I love Tig but… I'm afraid for Abel, and now I'm afraid for my baby. Things have been so crazy lately, and I'm just… I don't want to turn into Gemma."

At the sound of Gemma's name, Jess was suddenly back in that room at the bank, staring at the papers scattered in front of her. The blood types proving JT wasn't Thomas's father… the letters expressing JT's concern that Clay and Gemma would try to kill him… the accident report detailing the cut break lines of JT's bike.

Jess shivered, realizing Lux was still talking.

"I mean, my mom's ultimate goal, the reason she does every batshit, crazy thing she does is for Jax and Abel. And I guess me, to a degree. And so it gets me thinking… I'm responsible for this kid and everything I do affects him. How am I not going to fuck him up?" Lux finished, looking back at Jess as if she were seeking all of life's answers. Jess took a deep breath, taking a moment to figure out how to respond.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say your son's going to escape the life, or that it's not going to affect him," Jess said, "Chances are, he's going to be there right alongside Abel. But you know as well as I do that those guys aren't just the tough guy criminals they look like. You can teach your son to be as passionate about his family as Jax, as fun loving as Tig, as kind hearted as Juice. Hell, even as good a baker as Bobby is. You can definitely teach him to not put up with any shit from his grandma. If you try to teach him all of those things, you're not going to fuck him up." Jess smiled at Lux, wanting to pat herself on the back a little for that speech, but her smile quickly fell as Lux burst into tears.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" she wailed in between sobs, "And I'm really hormonal and now I want a brownie!" Jess laughed, reaching out to grab Lux's hand and pull her into a hug.

"I love you, Lux," Jess said, Nero's words from earlier cementing into her at that moment. The family she chose was absolutely better than some she was born with.

SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA

Gemma nodded in greeting at Tig and Juice as she passed them carrying boxes to the u-haul on the street and ran up the steps, walking into Lux's apartment. She spotted her and Jess chatting on the balcony and went back to Jess's room to see what else needed packing. The faster that girl moved out, the better. Farther away from Jax and farther away from her. Just like she liked it.

Jess's room was nearly empty, with a few items still scattered around. Gemma grabbed a box and started placing things in it. She double checked the dresser, making sure it was empty and ready to be moved by the guys. The drawers were all clear until she came to the last one, which only had a manila envelope laying in it, Jess's name typed on the tab.

Curious, Gemma picked it up and flipped through the papers in the folder, realizing they were Jess's hospital records from when she had been shot by Zobelle's guys. Gemma frowned at the memory, wishing they could all go back to the time when Zobelle was the enemy, instead of Jess. But Gemma had a constant, nagging feeling that Jess was going to be the downfall of her family and everything she had built, and because of that she couldn't help but see Jess as the enemy.

Gemma stopped at one of the pages, detailing the injuries to Jess's uterus. The doctor's explanation was that the retrieval of the bullet resulted in scar tissue, blocking the entrance to the uterus from the fallopian tube. Gemma stared at the page, shaking her head. She wasn't a doctor, but she knew what a blocked uterus meant.

"That lying bitch," she muttered, knowing Jess had told Jax exactly none of this information. Jax was under the impression that Jess had no lasting consequences from the shooting, and that she was perfectly fine, apart from missing part of her spleen. Jess better be glad Jax had dumped her sorry ass, because if he had found that out, he would have been livid. And Gemma knew a time would come when she'd be happy to use that information in her favor.

SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA

Jess pulled up to Luann's house, which in a few hours she would finally be able to call her home. The U-haul was already there, and Tig, Juice, Opie, and Chibs were hauling stuff out. She stepped out of her car and followed the boys inside, smiling as she looked around the living room. An entirely new and different feeling consumed her as she stood in the space, and Jess finally felt at peace.

She no longer felt haunted by the ghosts of Luann. Her memory was in all of the walls, the carpet, the furniture, the decor. But it no longer filled Jess with grief or regret for the life she would never have with Luann. Instead it was comforting to be in the house of somebody that Jess knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, had truly loved her like a daughter.

"Where do you want these boxes, Jess?" Tig asked, and Jess looked over at him.

"Kitchen," she replied. She began helping the boys unload, telling them where to put each box as it was hauled off the truck. Jess was amazed at all she had accumulated in the years she'd been in Charming. Coming here from Santa Barbara, she'd had next to nothing. But now, she'd finally been able to build a life.

It was a good feeling.

SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA

Jess was at Cara Cara the first time she saw Jax again. He'd been in Nevada for a couple of weeks on a run and with her moving out of the apartment and Lux taking a leave of absence from Cara Cara because of the pregnancy, she really hadn't seen anyone from SAMCRO in awhile.

But there he was, strolling through the doors of Cara Cara flanked by Juice and Chibs. He slid his sunglasses off his face as he looked around and nodded when he spotted her. She gave him a casual wave, her belly doing flip flops that she wished would stop. She couldn't help feeling a jolt every time she saw him. Her first instinct was always to run up to him, wrap her arms around his neck, and kiss him. It was almost painful to have to abstain.

Hence why she had become so good at avoiding them all.

"Can we talk?" he asked, nodding to her office. Jess nodded, leading the way, and she closed the door behind her after they walked in.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Niners want to set up a meet," he said, "I wanted to check with you if we could have it here. We haven't been holding meetings here since you took over, but things are shifting and it'd be good to have a spot on our turf that they'll agree to come to."

"What's going on with the Niners?" she asked, realizing that it had been nearly a year since she'd seen any of them. Jax shrugged, shaking his head.

"Not your concern," he said. Jess frowned, drumming her fingers on the table.

"It is if you want to meet here," she said, "I don't need any trouble here. I already got Nero peddling sex upstairs. I don't need anymore reason to bring heat down on Cara Cara."

"It'll be a friendly meeting," Jax assured her. Jess gazed back at him, already knowing that there was no way she was going to say no to him. What pissed her off was that he probably knew it, too.

"When?" she finally asked, and Jax grinned.

"Next Friday," he said. Jess nodded.

"I don't have any trusted waitresses," she reminded him. Jax shrugged.

"We can live," he said, standing from his chair. He paused, like he wanted to say something, but shook his head instead, a hint of sadness flashing across his face as he looked at her.

"You know you can still come by the clubhouse whenever you want," he said, "I know Lux misses you." Jess gave him a small smile.

"I'll think about it," she said. Jax nodded.

"Alright, well I'll see you around then," he said, "Mind if we stick around awhile?" Jess smiled, shaking her head.

"Not at all," she said, "I'll send my best girls your way."

"Best girl's right here," he said, and she froze, her smile fading.

"Jax…" she said, her voice trailing off. He took several steps towards her, sweeping her into his arms and before she knew it, his lips were pressed against hers. She instinctively threw her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer to her.

Eventually they pulled apart, Jess breathing heavy and gazing up at Jax, searching his face.

"What are we doing here, Jess?" he whispered quietly, "This is stupid. We know we belong together." Jess bit her lip, wanting nothing more than to agree and get swept up with him again. She loved Jax more than she had ever loved anyone, and the realization that right here, right now, she was about to end it for good made bile rise in her throat. She took a step back from him, escaping his grasp, and shook her head.

"No, we don't, Jax," she said, her voice shaking. She could feel the tears forming and tried fighting them back. It wasn't a battle she would win for much longer. He frowned, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Jess shrugged, avoiding looking him in the eye, but she could feel his eyes intently on her.

"We can't be together, Jax," she said, turning her eyes to the floor. He took a step forward, his hands reaching for her, but she took another step back until she felt the desk hit her legs behind her. His hand fell dejectedly to his side, and he shook his head, scoffing.

"What is going on with you?" he asked angrily, "This was never supposed to be a permanent thing. We needed some time to get our shit together. Well I got my shit together. You got yours." Jess winced, turning her head away from him. She couldn't think of a single thing to say to him, and she needed every bit of energy to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

"Is there somebody else?" Jax finally asked, his voice soft and more hesitant than she had heard it before. Her eyes turned back to his, horrified. Didn't he realize that there would never be anybody else but him?

Of course he didn't. She was ending their relationship, and couldn't even have the decency to tell him why. She shook her head, her eyes cast to the floor.

"No," she responded, "Of course not."

"Then what is it?" Jax asked, the anger replaced by hurt and confusion. Jess imperceptibly shook her head. She didn't know what to say, what to tell him. She had not been prepared for this conversation.

"I just… can't," she finally said. Jax stared at her, his eyes narrowed. The anger had returned. Finally, he turned and stalked out of her office, slamming the door behind him, and she sank down into her chair and cried.

Several minutes later there was a knock on the door and she sat up straight, her tears drying up quickly as she checked her pocket mirror.

"Who is it?" she asked, and Steve the bouncer poked his head in.

"You got a visitor," he said, "Some guy named Georgie Caruso here to see you." Jess frowned.

"Tell him to get the fuck out of my club and never come back," she said. She was in no mood for Georgie, of all people.

"He said you'd say that," Steve replied, "He said to tell you if you don't let him in, he could call the police and have this entire place shut down." Jess's heart stopped for a split second and she checked her mirror again, wincing at the black streaks of mascara running down her cheeks.

"Shit," she muttered, "Give me 5 minutes and then send him in." Steve nodded and shut the door. Jess quickly fixed her make up just in time as Georgie strolled through the door, looking positively smug. Jess glared at him as he took a seat.

"And to what do I owe the honor?" she growled. Georgie placed a tape recorder on the desk.

"I have a feeling you are going to be owing me lots of things," Georgie said, glee in every note of his voice as he pressed play.

Jess heard her voice and then Nero's, her eyes widening as she realized this was a recording of the conversation she and Nero had about Diosa. All about scheduling the girls for their sexcapades upstairs. If this tape landed in Roosevelt's hands, Jess had more to worry about than getting shut down. She could go to jail. Everything they'd done to set it up so that Jess wouldn't get caught up in any fall out would be null. This tape proved she had knowledge, and even if it wasn't admissible in court, it would give the police plenty of cause to search. She couldn't afford that. She did not have the mental capacity to deal with this shit right now, but she knew enough to at least attempt to play dumb.

"And?" she finally asked, hoping Georgie would buy her nonchalant attitude.

"You're running a brothel upstairs," Georgie said, grinning sadistically at her. Jess rolled her eyes.

"If only life were that interesting," she said, "That's not what that conversation was about, and you can't prove that it was."

"That's the best part," Georgie said, "I don't have to prove it. That's a job for the sheriff. All I have to do is turn this little tape over, and you're fucked. Which, now that you mention it, is all I want anyway. I guess I'll be going." Georgie stood, reaching for the tape, and Jess instinctively grabbed it, realizing that Georgie had just called her bluff and she had failed in a pretty epic way.

"What do you want, Georgie?" Jess asked. He sat back down in his chair, kicking his feet up on top of her desk and resting his hands behind his head.

"Oh, I'm sure we can work out some arrangement," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

AN - Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review if you have a second - I love hearing your thoughts :)