4

Jax Is Really Alive

Chapter Recap 43 Jax finds Opie in Hale's gym drenched in sweat. He updates him on Abel's medical condition. He admits to Opie that he should have done more to be a friend to him when Donna died and Opie admits he had been weak and should have turned to being a father to his kids and not to the MC.

Hale interrupts any further conversation. Skeeter has called and Ryland needs them to respond to this latest alien emergency.

A pale shaken Skeeter is leaning against the wall outside the crematorium. Hale, Jax and Opie enter and find Aranora's body in a wedding dress. She was tortured, but not for information. There was duct tape over her mouth.

There's a note stabbed into the middle of her stomach that promises the troll will soon reveal all.

Chapter 44 Same Old, Same Old

Among Hale, Jax and Opie the men thought they had seen it all, but the grisly way Aranora died was evil on an entirely new level.

"Skeeter or someone is going to have to finish the cremation or I'm going to have to arrest him," Hale said. "I know he didn't do it, but the evidence is all there. I can't ignore it. It's going to have to disappear."

"You think he was framed?" Opie asked.

"No," Jax said. "I think this was a message to us aliens to aliens."

"We can talk about all this later. Until the body is ashes, Skeeter is in danger."

The trio of men returned outside. Some of the color had returned to Skeeter's face, but he was still leaning against the building.

"Skeeter, I'm sorry," Hale said.

"Yeah," Skeeter said, nodding his head. "I never even loved her. Just got tired of being alone," Skeeter said.

"I've made that mistake," Jax said drily.

"Can you tell me what to do to finish . . . the . . .er . . . process?" Opie asked.

"Her body is a danger to you. She has to be burned to get rid of the evidence," Hale said.

"I know. I can do it. Why kill her like that?"

Skeeter was not a bright guy. This was thinking on a scale he'd never attempted.

"Is there anyone we can call for you?" Jax asked.

"You think Sophie might come here?" he asked Hale.

"Sophie?" Jax asked.

"Remember Donna's little sister," Opie reminded Jax. "She killed herself after Donna died."

Jax had missed that fact because he had been so focused on SAMCRO. He remembered her from Opie and Donna's wedding. (Jax and Tara's Unexpected Christmas) She'd been just a kid. Of course it made perfect alien sense that she would die and come back, but he didn't know that she'd taken her own life.

"When Sophie came back, she got help from the Paralorns. Turned out she has an alien superpower. She can absorb the negative emotions of others without hurting herself," Opie explained.

"I'll call her," Hale offered.

"Sophie and I aren't on the best of terms," Opie explained to Jax.

"Give me a minute," Hale said. He pulled a pair of gloves and returned inside. "Jax, come here for a minute."

Jax walked back inside the crematorium. Hale had on glove and pulled the note and knife from Aranora's body. He dropped the note and the knife in the back, carefully pulled the gloves from his hands and added them to the plastic bag.

"I don't want to be anywhere near this," he said handing the bag to Jax. "I can't jeopardize my job as police chief."

"I get that," Jax said.

"Get this back to my home and bring it into the alien part of my house. Don't even open it. Our alien friends can run better forensics. It would surprise me if there's anything of use, but sometimes people can be sloppy."

"This is a new position for me," Jax said with a faint smile. "I never thought I would be taking orders from you back in my SAMCRO days."

"We've both come a long way. We've got to get the hell out of here now. I need to make sure I keep police units away from here until she's ashes."

Jax took the plastic bag and put it under his shirt front, tucking it securely into the waistband of his jeans.

Opie was standing near Skeeter talking quietly to him.

"OK. Deal with the body. I'm going back to PD and I'll call Sophie on the way. I know she'll come."

"OK, thanks guys," Skeeter managed a small smile. "Don't know what I'd do without you."

"We stick together," Hale said. "We have each others' backs."

"Sorry, Skeeter," Opie said.

"Stay tough," Jax said, giving Skeeter a brotherly punch in the arm.

The men watched Skeeter go back inside to burn up his former almost bride.

"/

Sophie, Donna's little sister first appeared in Jax and Tara's Unexpected Christmas. If you haven't read this story, give it a try. It's light funny with lots of Jax and Tara love including a love scene in the trunk of Tara's father's car that goes wrong.

"/

Author's Note: I am mixing up the way I write this story so it will be a combination of shorter chapters with some longer ones.

It's moving in a little more action oriented direction. When Chibs holds the open house party for the clubhouse it is going to go wrong in all the worst ways.

The problem with SAMCRO now is all the smart guys got killed or got killed and returned to life as aliens from another planet.