Author's Note: I am amazed by all the positive reviews of the last chapter. A bit of a cliffhanger, I know. Some of you have guessed it right-I killed off Opie. Trust me when I say, it wasn't an easy choice since I had another fate for Opie in mind. Like Sutter always says, his death came to me "organically." Plus, now I have another angle I want to write as to what happens to Jax and what are his plans for the club. Opie's death will have a major impact on all (hint hint).

Now, I did a bit of a time jump because this chapter is one of the many chapters that I am labeling, "The Chapter of Reveals." Stay tune ;)

You guys know the drill... ten reviews or more.

XOXO

Chapter 20

Friday, July 4th, 1997

Tara tensed when she felt her cousin walk into the kitchen. She continued reading the headlines of the New York Times, without bothering to look up.

"Fuck Tara, how long you going to continue with the silent treatment?"

Tara turned and fixed her icy glare at her cousin. "When you tell me the truth of what fucking happened to you."

Katie sighed. "I already told you a hundred times. I was mugged coming out of the subway. Two dudes with black masks."

"Then why did you still have your purse and necklace?"

"Cause, I fucking fought them off!"

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it." Tara turned around and continue reading the headlines.

"Seriously Tara?"

Tara closed the newspaper and walked towards the living room. Gathering her purse and small duffel bag, Tara turned to her cousin. "You know, Katie, for all the shit you gave me for remaining in Charming, one would think that you would react differently to having your boyfriend beat the shit out of you. Jax was many things, but one thing he never did was lay a finger on me. It saddens me to think that you define Joey's abuse as love. God knows how long he has been doing it and if he is continuing to do it and we can't see the bruises cause you are covering them up. God knows what is going on with you anymore. You don't talk to me or confide in me. You just lie." Tara shook her head and walked towards the apartment door. "Don't wait up for me. I am going to spend the weekend in Brooklyn with a few friends."

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"Are you sure this is legal?"

Luis Mario nodded as he pushed the door open with his back, the cooler weighing heavily in his hands.

"We are amidst concrete jungle, Tara. We don't have much land in our beloved city so we have to improvise."

"A barbecue in a rooftop, though?" laughed Tara as she carried shopping bags full of buns and toppings for burgers and hot dogs.

"What better way to celebrate this nation's independence. Booze, food, and a view? Great place to see the fireworks, might I stress." Luis Mario placed the cooler near a massive water tank. To Tara's surprise, other tenants of the building had fired up the massive grill and Luis Mario's cooler wasn't the only one present. All around the roof, people mingled, with beers or other beverages in their hands.

"Ok, I could see the appeal of Brooklyn," admitted Tara as she walked to a nearby table and dumped the bags on top. She gladly took a bottle of water that Luis Mario handed to her.

"This area is pretty awesome. Within this building, we are like a small community. Not all of Brooklyn is like this though. There are some really rough areas." Luis Mario took a sip of water. "I guess if you agree to be my roommate, you'll learn more," he said coyly.

Tara gave him one of her looks. "I thought we discussed this already. We barely know each other and people will get the wrong impression. Plus, I can't leave Katie alone. Not until she is done with that asshole."

"You never told me what happened."

Tara shook her head as she noted Matt's arrival. "Nothing you have to worry about. Let's just not bring it up for now," she finished off as she waved Matt over.

"Luigi my love! I didn't know you lived in the rich part of this shithole borough." Matt hurriedly kissed Tara's cheek and took her water bottle and drank all its liquid.

"Luigi?" laughed Luis Mario. "For your information, Brooklyn is in its way…"

"Yeah, yeah, not interested," interrupted Matt. "So, who are these fantastically boring folk?"

Both Luis Mario and Tara laughed.

"Come on, let me introduce you to my neighbors," Luis Mario said as he grabbed Tara's hand and pull her towards a group of people.

Matt followed with a small smile on his face. A smile that didn't leave, especially when he noted that Luis Mario and Tara's hand remained intertwined long after all the introductions were made.

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"I have never seen anything like that before," whispered Tara as Luis Mario closed the door to one of his spare rooms.

"The fireworks or Matt's horrible drunken rendition of 'Like a Virgin'?" question Luis Mario as they walked back to the living room.

"Both I guess," giggled Tara as she sat in one of the black couches. "You think he is down for the night?" Tara pointed to the room which contained a passed out Matt.

"He will be out until tomorrow early afternoon, that I can guarantee," Luis Mario lay down in the same couch that she sat on. He lay his head on her thighs and Tara started stroking his hair.

They remained silent for a long while, both lost in their thoughts.

"Tara," whispered Luis Mario, looking up at her. "What is this?"

Tara looked down and saw the sadness in his eyes. "I honestly don't know, Luis Mario." She stopped stroking his hair and placed her hands beside her, careful not to touch him. Luis Mario sat up and turned to her.

"I want this to be more."

"I can't give you more. Not know. Timing is wrong. Everything about this is wrong."

"Why?" Luis Mario placed his hands on the side of her face. "Tara, we could be great together. I could feel it. Just let go of the past and make a future with me. I promise that I could give you the life you always wanted. I won't leave you like the Dutch boy with his finger in the damn."

Tara looked down and closed her eyes. "Maybe you can," she said. "Maybe, we could be great together but I highly doubt you would want to start a relationship with me. Especially now."

"And why is that?" he gently asked.

Tara looked into his eyes. With her hands, she removed his from her face. Giving him a sad smile, she responded, "because I have to focus on other things that do not include a boyfriend. I have to focus in school and my career," she paused before continuing, "and in the child I am going to have in a couple of months."

"What?" whispered Luis Mario.

"You heard me, Luis Mario." Tara stood and walked to the massive window that faced the Manhattan skyline. "I'm pregnant with Jax's baby."

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Saturday, July 5th, 1997, 10:13am

Tara slowly opened her eyes. She smiled as she stretched. Its been months since she slept in an actual bed and her back was loving it.

She sat up and noted the simplicity of the room in which she slept on. The walls were painted in the lightest of blue; so light it almost looked white. Around the room, beautiful pictures of beaches surrounded her, making her miss California more than ever. She looked out to the sole window in the room and noted the beautiful New York morning, with a view of the water and Manhattan skyline. She rubbed her belly and felt that it had harden a bit over the past weeks and she knew that in a few more, she'll start to show.

Sighing, she laid back and looked at the ceiling. She smiled when she noted the small, plastic stars glue on. Her old room in Charming had the same stars that were glued by her mother before she committed suicide. Overwhelmed by the sudden sadness, Tara let a few tears stream down her face as she rubbed her belly.

"You know, your Daddy made fun of my stars once. Asked if I was afraid of the monsters under my bed. When I told him grandma put it up there when I was a kid, he apologized because he knew that talking about grandma made me sad. Your Daddy never liked to see me sad. He loved me so much, my little sunshine."

Tara smiled at her nickname. "Yeah, that's going to be your nickname. My Little Sunshine. Your Daddy was like my sunshine and now that he isn't here, you'll be it. If he knew you were inside me, he would be so scare. So scared but happy. And he would love you so much. So so much."

Tara felt her heart swell in love.

"I know that one day, you are going to ask about him. And one day, you are going to ask why you didn't have Daddy in your life but I love you too much to see you grow up like Daddy did. Sometimes, Mommies have to make hard decisions to protect their babies. And this is one hard decision, I had to make to for us… for you, my little sunshine. You could never know the life. That life swallows people whole and then spits them out when its too late. I couldn't save your Daddy but I could save you."

Tara gently pats her belly. "One day, you'll understand and one day, maybe he will too. If that day ever comes, maybe your Daddy and me could be a family." She smiles gently, "you see, my little sunshine, I will always love your Daddy. Always."

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Saturday, July 5th, 1997, 12:01pm

Tara moved the food around her plate, feeling uncomfortable. She peaked up over her lashes and saw that Luis Mario was also moving his food around, not eating much.

She felt the guilt encompassing her being. To think that they had started their day in a high note, yesterday and like always, it ended in a shit storm.

"Fuck man, I could cut the tension between you two with a fucking butcher knife. What the fuck happened after I graciously passed out in that wonderful bedroom across the hall, Luis Mario?"

Luis Mario cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Nothing that concerns you, Matt," he stood and grabbed his plate and moved to the nearby kitchen.

Tara pretty much did the same thing but remained sitting. "How about you finish up brunch, Matt and we will get out of Luis Mario's space. He might need some time on his own."

By the time Tara finished her sentence, Luis Mario had walked out of the loft and slammed the door shut.

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Saturday, July 5th, 1997, 2:13pm

"Must have been some horrible fucking…" muttered Matt as he filed his nails on the 2 train.

"We didn't sleep together, Matthew. I just laid the cards on the table, so to speak."

Matt sighed as he put the file away inside his messenger bag. "For someone so smart, you could be pretty dense at times, Mopey. That guy is one of the good guys and he is head over heels over your ass. Anyone could see that from a ten mile radius. And what are you doing? Throwing it away for a guy who you barely have any good memories off? A guy that let you slip away, for what? To keep Mommy happy?"

Tara flinched. "Not all memories of Jax are bad," she countered argued. "Plus, he felt he had to keep his father's memory alive within the club."

"For who?" questioned Matt. "Not for his father's best friend who would eventually turned into your ex's stepfather, who fucked his best friends' wife a few weeks after the chump was laid to rest. That grave was still fresh when Gemma push down her panties and spread for legs for Clay. So Jax isn't keeping John's memory alive for Clay or Gemma, who clearly didn't give two fucks about John. It isn't for the other best friend, who is drinking his life away. If Pacey…"

"Piney," corrected Tara.

"If Piney gave a crap about John's memory, he would put down the tequila and oust Clay's ass out of that President's patch. And the other member's don't seem too bothered with what is going on with the club, if not, they would had long ago kept John's memory alive by doing something instead of partying and drinking like everything is honky dory. So, no, don't use that bullshit excuse that Jax wants to keep John's memory alive within the club. Jax wants the club because its the only thing left of his father. He is desperately trying to hold onto the last thing on this Earth that symbolizes John. It isn't about saving the club or keeping the club alive for John's sake. It's about holding on to what is already gone. That sounds pretty selfish to me."

"Can you blame him?" asked Tara hotly. "Jax loved his father deeply. Losing John was horrible for Jax…"

"I bet it was, Mopey, but guess what? He can't live under his father's ghost forever or it will kill him. He's got to move on and leave bygones be bygones."

Tara scoffed. "Easier said than done. Gemma got plans; plans that Jax has to fulfill."

Matt crossed his legs. "Gemma is going to get a dose of her own medicine one day and it won't be pretty. The one thing she loves will one day despise her. People like Gemma always drown in the cesspool they create."

Tara looked over at Matt. "You think so?"

"Yep. Anyways, I get that Jax is the one true love of your life, but, Mopey, you can't let your life slip away. You got a good thing going for you with Luis Mario. A good thing that could turn into an amazing thing if you just let it happen. Forget Charming, forget Jax. Look ahead of you and choose wisely. Think of your future. What is best for you is what matters, now." Matt stood and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Play your cards wisely, Tara. Fortune favors the bold."

With that said, Matt placed his sunglasses on his face and raced off the train to catch the transfer one to his home.

Tara bit her bottom lip and she gently placed her hand above her belly. "I got to think of my future. Of our future," she whispered as the train moved forward.