The next day JT woke up and went to school holding her head high. She sought out Ray, finding him with Lucky and a senior she didn't know. She greeted Lucky and turned to Ray
"You still pissed at me?" she asked
He sighed, "No. You're probably right, which is why I got so pissed"
"I know I'm right. But I get why you were mad. So we're cool?"
"Yeah, we're cool"
"Good"
"What about you? You cool with everything going on?"
"I don't know. But I do know I'm a Teller and Tellers don't run"
"Didn't your dad do that with you and Abel?"
"Not exactly. He didn't even know about me and he's stepping up with Abel"
"Riiiight"
"Whatever. Anyway, Abel's coming home today"
"That's great! That means you get to go home too, right?"
"Yeah, tonight will be my first night at Jax's place. I'm moving my stuff over after school"
"You need a hand?"
"Sure, Gemma would love to see you again"
"Ok. I'll just text mom to let her know"
"How's she doing?"
"She's alright, just trying to get through it"
"She's tough. She'll make it"
Ray nodded as the bell rang and they both went off to their respective classes.
Once the last bell rang Ray and JT walked over to Gemma's house where Gemma was packing up some of JT's stuff.
"Hey Gemma" Ray greeted
"Hey, baby. How are you?" she replied
"I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm good. You here to help move JT back home?"
"That's the plan. I'm ready for her to be my next door neighbor again"
"Then you won't have to walk so far just to walk with me to school" JT commented
"Well come on, let's start moving boxes," Gemma told them
They each grabbed a box and went out to the van and the prospect. Half-Sac took the box from her hands
"Why don't you help Gemma and I can take the boxes," he told her
"You sure?"
"Yeah"
"Ok"
She went back inside and helped Gemma pack up a few more boxes
"You talk to my dad today?" she asked
"Not really, but I'll see him in a bit. Why?" she answered
JT shrugged "No reason really. I just haven't talked with him since I got arrested"
"You know your father. He's got himself busy with Abel and the club-"
"I know, I know but I just need to explain to him what happened and make sure he's not mad at me"
"Sweetheart, I told you before, your dad isn't mad at you for what happened"
"Well the fact that he literally hasn't said a word to me since he picked me up tells me otherwise"
"He'll talk to you. I'll make sure of it" she closed up the last box and put her arm over her granddaughter's shoulders "Let's get out of here"
After Ray and Half-Sac put the last of the boxes in the van they all drove over to Jax's house and began to unload. After the van was unpacked Ray decided to head home and Half-Sac headed back to the clubhouse. JT went to work unpacking the boxes while Gemma finished setting up for the party. When the time came for Abel to come home Gemma had JT change her outfit into something she approved of and the pair of them went to the hospital.
They arrived at St. Thomas before Jax did so Gemma called him and asked him to pick up Wendy, all while eyeing Tara with Abel. She and Gemma went into the room to grab Abel, Gemma holding him tightly and bouncing him as they walked out of the room.
"This might be your most insidious move yet," said Tara
"You have to be a lot more specific" Gemma scoffed
"Convincing Wendy that she might actually have a shot of winning back Jax and her family. That's a lot of false hope to lay on a recovering addict"
"I don't know where you're going with this, but I was trying to help Wendy. Encourage her efforts to change"
"Yes. You are the embodiment of encouragement"
"Hey" Jax called, coming around the corner with Wendy beside him. He went up to Gemma and took Abel from her "Hey little man. We're busting you out of here. Thanks, Doc"
"Yeah," said Wendy "Appreciate it"
Gemma put her arms around JT and Jax "Alright, let's get this family home"
They turned and walked out the door, Jax and Wendy getting on his bike and JT joining Gemma in the car with Abel. The ride home was quick and before she knew it, JT was walking into the house behind Jax into a room full of people cheering and happy to see Abel. She right away excused herself to get a drink, overhearing everyone talking about the baby. She was staying in the kitchen out of the way when Donna came in and spotted her
"You hiding out?" she asked the teen
"Just staying out of the way" she replied
"Don't tell me you're jealous of the new baby" Donna teased
JT laughed "No nothing like that. Just staying out of Jax's way. Pretty sure he's pissed at me"
"Why would he be mad at you?"
"I just cause a lot of trouble"
Donna laughed "Baby, your dad was never anything but trouble. He and Opie used to get into all kinds of trouble all the time"
"Really?"
"Yeah. You can never cause too much trouble for him"
"Bet I can"
"Is this about you getting arrested the other day?"
"You know?"
"Opie told me. He can't be mad at you for that. God knows how many times he got picked up by Charming PD when he was your age"
"He's not speaking to me. So that tells me he's mad about something. Gemma keeps saying that it's club stuff and Abel and that I should just give him time but...I don't know I guess I just want him to tell me what the problem is"
Donna frowned then slung her arm over JT's shoulders "Stick with me babe and you'll be ok"
"For tonight"
"For tonight. Any other time you know I'm always here for you"
"Thanks, Donna"
They walked back to the party together watching Piney balance a cup on Kenny's head while Ellie tried to scare him. They laughed and Tara caught JT's eye, JT lifting her bottle up to her in a cheers motion. Tara sat on the couch next to Jax, then kissed him on the mouth hard. Jax got up and excused himself and Tara, disappearing into the baby's bedroom. JT looked at Wendy, who looked heartbroken, then at Gemma who gave her a look.
"Hey JT how do you reckon I'm supposed to drink this?" Piney asked her
"Easy like this," she said
"No hands" Piney reminded her
She grabbed the cup with her teeth and tilted her head all the way back, the amber liquid pouring into her mouth. Everyone around her applauded as she dropped the cup into her hands.
"That is what you call skills" she joked
Tara came out of the room and slammed out the door, Jax ordering Juice to go with her.
"Hey I'm going to drop the kids off, then run to the store to come back with powder for the dishwasher. You want to come with?" Donna asked JT
"Sure" she answered
Donna went to talk to Opie and JT told Gemma where she was going before heading outside.
A few minutes later Donna came out with Opie and the kids, putting them in the car. She saw Tig leave the house and get on his bike before getting into the passenger seat of the car. Opie and Donna kissed each other goodbye and Opie went to get into his truck but was stopped by Donna
"Hey" she called, "Are you coming straight home?"
"Yeah. Why?" he replied
"I want to come back and help Gemma clean up with JT"
"Why don't you just stay. I can take the kids home and put them in bed"
"You sure?"
"Yeah"
JT and Donna both got out of the car
"Thanks, baby," Donna said with a kiss
"You're welcome"
"Hey, you got any cash? Gemma needs powder for the dishwasher"
Opie handed her a 20 and the keys for the truck and kissed her again
"Love you," she told him
"Love you back" he smiled
"You guys are so gross. I love it" JT commented, making Opie and Donna laugh
"Night babies," Donna said to the kids
"Night mommy" they chorused
She and JT got into the truck and Opie got into the car. They had to turn around first but soon they were off on the road. They drove for a bit, talking and laughing as they went. They stopped at a stop light when JT's phone went off. She went to open it but dropped it onto the floor. She reached down to pick it up when she heard shots go off and the window breaking. She screamed and sat up looking over at Donna's dead body slumped over the steering wheel. She turned to get out of the car when she locked eyes with a man in a ski mask in a black Range Rover next to them. She recognized those eyes but before she could do anything he drove away. She opened the door to the truck and fell out onto the ground, trying to get as far away from Donna's body as she could. She finally stopped next to the curb across the street, bringing her knees up toward her shoulders and putting her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth, trying to block out the sound of the horn.
When the cops finally came JT hadn't moved from her position next to the curb. Hale sat down next to her and put a blanket over her shoulders.
"JT did you see what happened?" he asked her
JT nodded
"You see who did this?"
She nodded again
"Can you tell me?"
She shook her head. The deputy sighed and stood up at the sound of approaching motorcycles. Jax and the guys got there just as Opie came speeding up. He jumped out of the car and started screaming,
"Donna! Donna!" he cried out, rushing over to the body
JT pressed her hands over her ears tighter and tried to block out the noise.
Hale went to Jax "JT saw the whole thing. Even saw the guy that did it"
"Is she ok?" Jax asked
"She's in shock but she's fine. She's not talking Jax" Hale told him
Jax told Juice to help JT while he went to help lift Ope from Donna's body.
Juice lifted JT up and walked her over to his bike, sitting her down on it and holding her steady.
"What do we know?" Clay asked Unser
"Guy walking his dog said he saw a black SUV roll up on the truck. Shot her through the back window. JT is the only witness but she's not talking"
"Did they see the guy? Was he black?" Clay questioned
"He didn't see and she's not saying anything. Unless Donna's been living some kind of double life, I'm thinking this brutality was meant for Opie. Some scumbag made a tragic mistake"
"Yeah I guess that's a pretty fair guess"
Jax had Juice take JT home while he rode behind them. They walked into the house and Gemma immediately pulled JT into her arms
JT was frozen against Gemma, unmoving in her embrace
"I am so sorry baby," she told her
Gemma then let her go and moved to hug Jax who cried in her arms for a moment.
"How's Opie doing?" she asked her son
Jax shook his head "You should go home, mom"
"What about JT and the baby?"
"I can take care of my kids. It's time for me to do this"
"Ok, baby"
"Hey, Jude. Let's go to bed"
She followed behind him and went into her room, not bothering to change, just crawling on top of her covers and laying on her side, letting the tears roll down her face. After checking on a sleeping Abel, Jax went into JT's room and laid down in the bed next to her, putting an arm around her and pulling her close
"I'm so sorry Jude" he whispered
She turned around so that she was facing him and sobbed into his chest while he held her and stroked her hair. He stayed there until she fell asleep, then went into his room with Wendy where he stayed for the rest of the night.