The next morning J.T. awoke, her brain pounding against her skull. She groaned as she got up, looking around to try and figure out where she was. Figuring out she was in Abel's bedroom in Jax's house, memories of the previous night came flooding back to her.
"Oh, my God!" Gemma exclaimed, dropping the things in her hands "Jude, what happened?"
"Some guy...trashed the room, attacked me when I tried to stop him" she answered
"Don't move" Gemma ordered, going to the kitchen for ice and calling Jax. She handed J.T. the ice pack and helped her sit on the rocking chair, examining her injuries.
"Besides my head it's nothing. Bruises and a bloody lip. I've gotten a lot worse" she told the older woman
Gemma sighed, looking around the destroyed room "Smells like piss"
"Because he pissed on the damn floor"
"Holy shit" Gemma scoffed
Jax walked into the room, taking in the damage before noticing J.T. in the chair.
"Jesus Christ" he sighed "Are you ok?"
"Fine. Just a headache at this point" she replied
"Who did this?" Gemma asked Jax
"ATF" he and J.T. answered at the same time
"What?" asked Jax
J.T. shifted and groaned "This old guy, seen him at the hospital with Abel before. He was here last night when I got here. Had a badge on him. I called him a cop, he said he was ATF, came at me, knocked my blade out of my hands and slammed me against the dresser till I passed out"
"Why would ATF do this?" Gemma questioned
"Tara" Jax answered
"That stupid bitch" she exclaimed
"How is this her fault?"
Gemma didn't answer and J.T. couldn't think straight enough to answer
"This guy's dead" Jax spat maliciously
"At least" Gemma huffed
Once he walked outside Jax called Hale
"Yeah, Kohn's still in town. Damn near busted J.T.'s head open" he told him
"I know he's still in town. He's at Floyd's and I'm taking care of it" Hale replied
Jax hung up the phone and started his bike, racing toward Floyd's to get his payback for J.T. before Hale got to him.
He parked down the block and walked into the barbershop, Floyd seeing the biker and knowing what was about to happen, stepped away. Jax stood over Kohn until he looked up and tried to run, Jax grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him against the mirror
"You want to go to war with me you sick piece of shit?" he growled, "Attack my kid?"
He then threw the corrupt agent through the window, climbing out to throw a few punches and screaming when Kohn stabbed him in the leg with a pair of scissors, but continuing to swing until Hale breaks up the fight. Hale and the other officers hauled both men into separate patrol cars and down to the station. Floyd swearing up and down that Jax was using self-defense after Kohn stabbed him with the scissors.
"Barber says you came in for a haircut" Stahl read "Agent Kohn attacked you with a pair of scissors. So you pushed him through a plate glass window. Self-defense"
"If that's what Floyd saw I guess that's what happened" Jax commented
Stahl gave a sarcastic grin "That's fantastic. So tell me, are they all just afraid of you...or convinced that you're a necessary evil?"
"Are you charging me?" Jax asked her
"No charges" Unser answered
Jax nodded and began to get up
"Why does Kohn have a hard-on for you?" Stahl suddenly questioned
He sat back down "You know why"
"You're right. I do. Tara Knowles, the charming ingenue. Highschool sweethearts right?"
"Yeah"
"She fears for her life, so she comes back home...to the only man she knows loves her enough to protect her, a guy who would have no problem...putting a fed through a plate glass window. That's beautiful. Really, it is. I wish I had that kind of pull over someone. You're a lucky man"
"You done?"
"Yeah" Unser interrupted "She's done"
Jax nodded to him and got up, limping away
"My regards to little Jude too. I look forward to talking with her soon" Stahl called out to Jax
He did a double take and glared at her, continuing on his way to make sure Kohn left town.
Gemma made J.T. stay in bed all day, not wanting her to overdo it with her head. By the time J.T. was up and moving around again, it was nighttime again and Gemma had already cleaned up the mess.
"How you feel?" she asked
"Sore" J.T. answered with a dry chuckle "So, I gotta talk to Jax when he gets back. Gotta go away for a little while"
"What? Why?"
"Long story"
Gemma didn't get to press for more answers since Jax had finally come back to the house
"Why aren't you at the fight?" she asked, blowing smoke
"I had my share for today" he scoffed, kissing her cheek and taking the smoke from her hand "How you feeling kid?"
"We'll talk," J.T. said, giving him a knowing look
"Yeah" commented Gemma "Your leg ok?"
"Yeah"
"Where's the doctor?"
"I don't know"
"Where are you going with that Jax?"
"Nowhere. I got more important things to worry about"
J.T. caught the intense glance he sent her way, almost like he was trying to make a point to Gemma without J.T. knowing about it.
"I know," Gemma told him "But I don't believe you. I've seen you two together, how you act around her. She's still got ties in you"
"You know what? I don't give a shit what you think" he stated
J.T.'s eyes widened
"What I do, what Tara does- it's not your business" he finished
"Oh, cleaning up piss, broken cribs, J.T's blood, that's my business?"
"No one asked you to take this on. This house, this kid. It's not your burden. It's mine"
No one said a word, so Jax hobbled away, leaving J.T. to follow him.
"Shit" Gemma mumbled
"Jax!" J.T. shouted
He stopped and turned around "I'm sorry you had to see that"
"It's fine. You know Gemma cares about you, that's why she acts so damn crazy" J.T. told him
"Yeah, well, she can drive you a little crazy" he muttered, lighting a cigarette
"I have to ask you something" she stated
Jax raised his brow, trying to maintain a cool facade while his heart skipped a few beats
"In there, what the hell was that between you and Gemma?"
"What do you mean?"
"When she was asking about where you and Tara were going, you said you had more important things to worry about and you looked at me. You looked at me like you didn't want me to catch something unspoken between you and Gemma"
"I just...I meant about your head. That's all"
J.T. stared at him for a solid minute
"You are a shitty liar Teller," she said slowly "What're you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything"
"Mhm. Well because of this social services thing I guess I'll have to wait to find the answer"
"I'm trying to do something for you. Keep you out of another home"
"It's too late. The caseworker called me today, she said if I don't walk into Charming police station by 9 a.m. tomorrow, they're going to have a warrant out for my arrest. So, I don't have much of a choice but to go to whatever group home they put me in"
"A group home? I thought they'd find you another family to be placed with"
JT shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears, "The Spencers were my last chance. Because of the problems, I had before I got put in the 'high-risk' category"
"What does that mean?" Jax inquired
"It means that I'll never be fostered again and no one will want to adopt me" she answered. Jax looked at her with a frown, he had no idea she wanted to be adopted "I mean, I don't care much about any of that. In a few years, I'll be on my own anyway, but those group homes...some of the worst kids in there. Co-ed isn't so bad, but if it's girls only I'm screwed. Guys will beat on you and call it a day, girls...girls are a lot more malicious. They'll mess with your food, get you in the shower or while you sleep. It's like a prison in there"
"So juvie or the group home it's lose-lose"
JT nodded. Jax grabbed her chin and turned her head so that she was looking at him
"Listen to me. I'm going to get you out as soon as I can, but I need you to stick it out in the meantime. You can come to the shop and leave your stuff with me so you don't have to worry about anything but keeping yourself safe." He sighed, looking worn "There's a lot I need to tell you and when I see you tomorrow, I swear I will. All of it"
"The truth?" Jude asked
"The truth" he agreed
JT nodded, letting out a breath and wiping her face "My car and everything will stay, I'll leave it all in the trunk. Don't worry Jax, I know how to survive in there, I just can't guarantee it'll be unscathed"
Realization struck Jax like a semi "The burns…" he whispered, "They happened in a group home, didn't they?"
JT nodded
"Come on. You need to sleep before you have to go in tomorrow"
"Yeah, better sleep while I can"
Jax put his arm around her shoulders, steering her into his bedroom, where he tucked her into his bed and waited until she was asleep before going into the nursery to talk to Gemma.
"Jude's going to a group home tomorrow," he told her
"What?" she exclaimed
Jax shushed her "She just fell asleep, I don't want her to wake up. Lena kicked her out today. She said Destiny didn't want her to but she did anyway. The caseworker said that if she didn't show up at the police station tomorrow to be put in a group home, she'd be put in juvie"
"We have to do something" Gemma stated "Call Rosen and see what he can do"
"I will, but it's going to take time and even then, there are no guarantees"
"You need to tell her the truth Jax"
"I am. Tomorrow. I'm going to tell her everything"
Gemma shook her head "We should've done this a long time ago Jax. Her in that place...I don't like it, she's not safe there"
"I know, but she's leaving everything here, taking the clothes on her back and her phone. She's going to spend as much time at the shop as she can, so she'll be safe"
"You should sleep too, we got a long day tomorrow"
Jax nodded, kissing Gemma's cheek "I'll let you know when I find everything out. I think you should be nearby to talk to her"
Gemma agreed and turned, leaving the house and Jax went out to the couch, stretching out and falling into a restless sleep.
A/N: Please review!