"Well..." Gemma said questionably as she sat outside with Kris and Jess while the boys played.

"Well what?" Kris shrugged, pulling on her cigarette

"You tell him?"

Jess looked over with an expressionless face, waiting for her friend's reply. Kris shook her head "No. I'm not so sure I want to either. He was talking about settling shit already, I don't need him going back to jail."

Gemma ashed her cigarette "You two" she groaned disappointingly. "You don't give them enough credit. They were set up. Jax and the boys know what they're doing."

"It's not about that Gem" she argued "I tell him... He's going back to prison."

"No he won't. You don't want him finding out any other way."

"You, Jess, Mary, Fi, Kerri and my family know. None of the boys know. That's it. So unless one of you tell him..."

"You're underestimating him again. He will find out. He's settling his score regardless. You're better off telling him now, than waiting for it to blow up."

She shook her head "I don't think so. As long as no one else says anything, it's fine. It was a year ago Gem, it's over with."

"I'm not going to say a thing. Not my place. But don't say I didn't warn you. You're making it complicated, Jax isn't as complicated as you're making him seem."

"I think I'll be fine. Besides, it'll be completely overshadowed by the fact that I'm pretty sure we'll be having another kid soon."

Jess snorted and looked at her "I'll beat ya to it."

"No girls" Gemma laughed "no girls"

"It's not up to me" she shrugged "technically, it's up to him."

"Tellers have boys. We don't have girls. Well..." She snorted "Almost."

Kris smiled "We'll see."

"We wanna take bets on who gets knocked up first?" Jess asked taking out her wallet.

The back door opened and Fiona walked outside with Kerrianne "Mornin'" Fi smiled

"More like afternoon" Jess chuckled "it's two thirty"

They took a seat at the table and saw Jess throw down one hundred dollars "whatcha bettin' on?" Keri asked

"See who gets knocked up first" Kris nodded throwing down the same amount

Fiona rolled her eyes as Kerrianne reached into her bag "So endearin'. But..." She chuckled "One hundred on Kristina"

"I'll take that bet" Gemma nodded, adding to the pile. "Hundred on Kris"

"What the hell?" Jess asked "C'mon"

"I got you" Kerri smiled "wait. Hold up!" She said grabbing her money back "calendars. Let's go. I need to calculate this."

"Oh shit" Gemma chuckled "didn't even think of that. Let's hear it"

Kris rolled her eyes and grabbed her phone "Today is the twentieth."

"And?" Kerri asked suspiciously "When's your period?"

"January third" she sighed

Counting on their fingers, Gemma slammed her hand down on the table "what about you?" She asked, pointing to Jess

Jess chuckled "The sixth."

"I like my odds" Kerri said putting her money back in "Kris, you've got the next twenty four to forty eight hours to do this. Jess... You've got four days. Better odds."

"I dunno" Fiona shrugged "I'm still stickin' with Kris. We should get everyone in on this."

"Betting on my uterus. Not cool." Kris chuckled "but... I could win a few hundred if we get everyone in. Wait. How are we gonna figure out the winner? Technically we gotta wait until at least the sixth, right? Cause it wouldn't be fair."

Jess laughed and nodded "what she said! What if we both end up pregnant?"

"Then we keep the money in the pot and bet on the sex of the babies." Kerrianne offered "fair?"

Everyone nodded "Fair"

"I really don't think my husband is going to appreciate this" Jess smiled, shaking her head "I really don't."

Gemma scoffed "I'm sure he and Jax are going to love this. It's a challenge. Something they're both good at."

"Daddy!" Abel shouted, running towards the door, hearing the faint growl of the motorcycles.

Sitting in her mom's lap, Gabby's ears perked up and her eyes went wide. "Here we go" Jess chuckled "here comes the crying until she sees him."

"Woah!" Kris called"slow down buddy!"

He flung open the door "I'm going on the bike!"

Jax headed through the house into the backyard followed by everyone "almost got knocked over" he laughed. Sitting at the table as JT and Jackson ran to him, he saw the pile of cash and looked up at the men. "Five hundred dollars?"

"Takin' bets" Kerrianne said "you all want in?"

"Bets on what?" Juice asked, sitting down next to her.

"On who gets knocked up first." Chibs and Juice lost the color in their face as they looked at her "Not me idiots." She sighed "them."

"Thank Christ" Chibs groaned, reaching for his wallet "I'm in. Hundred on Kris."

"Kris" Bobby said undoubtably

Gabby's whining incited Opie to immediately scoop her up as she clung to his neck "Really?" He chuckled "babe. Grab my wallet." He said turning around "gotta take my wife on this."

Happy shook his head throwing down money with Tig "Kris" they said in unison "sorry Jess."

"You all suck" Jess sighed

"Nah. I'm thinkin Jess" Rat laughed "I'm in"

"Same" Jimmy added "Jess."

"You gonna go against your wife?" Kris asked slyly

Trying to reach his wallet as he balanced his boys, Jax chuckled and shook his head "never. I got Ope beat at this. Juicy?"

Eyeing both women he pulled his mouth to the side as if he was deep in thought "I dunno. I'm gonna have to go with Jess. Bigger pay out if I win."

"And" Kris said, stacking the money "if it turns out that we BOTH end up pregnant, money stays in the pot and we bet on the sex of the babies. Deal?"

Jax looked up at Opie "Up for the challenge brotha?"

Opie scoffed "ain't no challenge. Please."

"Well you got the next seventy two hours or so to make it count." Jess added "Just as an FYI"

"How long do I have?" Jax asked

Kris bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows timidly "twenty four... Forty eight if you're lucky. My family is coming in in two days, make it count, Prez."

Brushing his hair back, he let out a loud sigh "God I'm so fucking tired though" he smiled "I guess I gotta power through"

"You ain't gonna cost me a hundred bucks asshole, and I could make about seventy five. Drink some fuckin coffee" Happy growled

"Daddy" Abel groaned, grabbing his forearm "I wanna go on the bike!"

Jax nodded and handed his sons to Gemma and Kris "just for a few minutes, let me take your brothers first. Then we'll go"

"Fuck" Kris sighed, putting her hand to her forehead "I don't want them on the bike."

Mirroring his mom JT put his hand to his own head "fuck" he sighed, making everyone roar with laughter

Kris gasped loudly "NO!" She said pointing to him as everyone continued to laugh, encouraging the behavior "NO! Don't laugh! John. No." She sighed and stood up "Dammit. Alright let's go. Get this anxiety attack over with." She pleaded as she walked through the house following Jax and Abel. "PLEASE don't go fast" she begged, handing over JT as Jax walked over to his bike "shit I'm gonna puke" she groaned "please don't go fast."

"I've been on the back of a bike for twenty years Kris. Since I was fifteen. I think I got this." He nodded, throwing his leg over and wrapping his arm around his son as he rested against his stomach.

"You can't ride one handed though!" She argued

He rolled his eyes and smiled "I can. It's fine. Relax" he repeated, starting up his bike.

Kris turned around and covered her eyes as he slowly took off down the street. She could hear the low growl of the engine as he drove back down, knowing he kept his speed to a minimum and did the same with Jackson. Gemma couldn't even grab the toddler from Jax before Abel hopped on behind Jax and snapped his helmet in place, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "I wanna go really fast" he pleaded

"NO" Kris growled "Not fast."

Jax scoffed and looked back at Abel "you ready monster?"

"GO!" Abel shouted as Jax took off slowly but they could all hear his engine's roar grow louder and louder the further he got away, knowing he was picking up speed.

"I'm gonna kill him" she seethed, hearing the bike go around the block at no less than fifty miles an hour "I'm gonna fucking kill your son Gem" as he got closer and turned the corner, he was driving slowly again and Abel had the look of pure excitement on his face. "Are you okay?!" She asked, taking the helmet off his head.

"I wanna go again! It was so fast!"

Gemma laughed "Later baby."

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Bobby looked up at everyone "Prez" he mumbled. Jax stepped over as the men cautiously huddled "that was Alvarez. Wants to chat."

Jax nodded and looked over at Kris who was shaking her head "I'll see ya later, Prez" she sighed.

"Let me take the boys for tonight." Gemma interjected "Go. Spend the rest of the afternoon with Jess and Kerri."

Kris smiled and shook her head "it's okay Gem. Jess still has the kids."

"Fiona and I are here. I'll call Mary. Go. You three go out. When you get back, I'll take the boys for the night."

Kris nodded "alright. Let me get my bag."

Kerrianne held her right hand out to Chibs with a smile. He rolled his eyes and groaned "fuckin a Kerri. What happened to the hundred I gave ya?"

"Put it in the pot, Da. Please?" She begged

He shook his head and reached for his wallet "Shouldn't ya be hittin him up for money now? I just sent your tuition in. Jesus Christ."

Kerrianne shrugged and held her left hand out to Juice "I can hit ya both up."

"Great" Juice scoffed, handing her money along with Chibs "that enough?"

"Depends" she winked looking back at Jess "where we goin?"

Jess laughed "Liquor store. And then... Well... Gotta get somethin' trashy right? I've got a bet to win."

Chibs snatched the bills that were in Kerri's right hand "Don't think so."

Juice nodded and threw down more money "You get whatever you want" he smiled and as if on instinct Chibs' hand smacked the back of his head, making him flinch. "Ow! Shit!"

"Be respectful asshole." Chibs growled

"Ladies" Tig chuckled "we gotta head out"


"Good to see you" Alvarez said to Jax as they approached one another

Jax nodded "you too. Long time."

"Sure has. Heard you all just got out?"

"Yesterday man. What's goin on?"

"Tryin' to earn our street cash, Jax"

Jax shrugged "Isn't everyone? What'cha got goin' on?"

"I thought you all were doing more than fine with the porn business?" he questioned

"Extra cash never hurt anyone" he chuckled "Always room for more"

"Workin for a contact, money's good man."

"You hear of Panelli? Old school guy, warehouse by the docks. Known him for a few years. He's organized, and wants his shit done and clean. Let me give him a call, see what we can arrange. Probably sometime next week."

Alvarez nodded, "Alright"

"This goes through, we might need a favor. But till then, keep it quiet."

Waiting for the men to walk away, Jax looked back at Opie and the rest with a smirk, "like taking candy from a baby."

"Send 'em in when Panelli's ready to roll with his shipment, they'll flee and T.O. gets his man, and we get ours." Happy smiled "It's perfect."

Jax pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear "Yo Prez. Gonna set em up the night we move in on Panelli. Told Alvarez it was a contact. We'll both get our men…. Absolutely, alright man. Later."

"He in?" Opie asked, tossing his leg over his bike.

Jax nodded "All good. Let's get home, I got twenty-four hours to win a bet."

"I don't think so" Opie laughed "I got money to win."


Gemma had already taken the boys by the time Jax and Opie got back to the house with Juice. The girls were sitting at the dining room table with bottles of beer and a bottle of vodka while they held cards in their hands. "Well…" Jax laughed sitting next to Kris "Looks like you all got started early, it's only six."

Kris snorted loudly, her inebriation clear "Shhhh" she smiled, leaning into him "We're playing a game"

"Deal us in" he said, cracking open a beer.

"You don't get dealt in" Kerrianne scoffed "see the cards in the middle? you just pick one."

Jess looked up from her beer "Each one has a meaning. It rhymes. Two is you, you gotta choose someone to drink. Three is me, so you drink. Four is floor, last person to touch the floor has to drink. Five is guys and six is chicks. Seven is heaven, last person to point up drinks. Eight is mate, so you choose someone to drink with you. Nine is 'bust a rhyme' and you gotta rhyme whatever sentence the person before you says…."

"Woah, woah woah" Jax said adjusting his seat "What?"

"Perfect" Kris laughed "You're gonna be fucking wasted. Ten is never have I ever, so you name things you've never done. We all put up three fingers and the person who doesn't have any fingers up has to drink. Jack is categories- so you pick a category and everyone has to name things in that category, first person that can't, has to drink. Queen is question, so you everyone has to keep asking questions until they don't, loser obviously drinks. King is make a rule, and Ace is waterfall and you can't stop drinking until the person to your left stops."

"The fuck kind of game is this?" Opie asked, opening a beer

"The kind we played in college, it's called Kings." Jess sassed "Very hard four years."

"I can tell" Opie smiled "Alright." he nodded reaching for a card and holding it up

"Fuck!" The girls growled looking at the Jack "Alright, pick a category" Jess sighed

Opie chuckled and nodded "Guns"

"Oh fuck you" Kerrianne groaned in her thick accent, sitting to his left "Ummm… Pistol?"

Juice smiled and nodded "Nice. Rifle"

"Glock?" Kris said looking up at Jax who laughed.

"EH!" he yelled making a buzzer noise "A glock is a pistol"

"Oh fuck you. I should get credit for that." she said bringing the beer to her mouth "Kerri, you're up"

She pulled a card from the pile and smiled at the King "Hmmm… New rule, can't touch your beard."

The men narrowed their eyes "Really?" Juice asked "That's fucked up." he sighed pulling a card "Ace" he smiled

"So you gotta start drinking, and none of us can stop until the person to our left stops." Kerri said putting the beer in his hands.

"Fuck" Jess sighed bringing the bottle to her mouth. Her phone started ringing and she groaned looking at Mary's number as they all paused their drinking "How much you wanna bet your darling daughter is raising hell?" she asked looking up at Opie

He picked the phone up and put it to his ear "Yeah, Ma?… I can't… I can't hear you"

"Definitely raising hell" Kris chuckled

Opie sighed "Alright. Put her on. Baby girl, why you crying?" he asked sympathetically

Jess rolled her eyes "My God. Babying her isn't gonna help, Ope."

"It's okay. Grandma is going to bring you back home after breakfast tomorrow. But you need to be good tonight and no more crying? Okay? Alright baby, I love you, go eat dinner. Bye bye." he put the phone back down and Jess was looking at him and shaking her head "What?"

"She's not a baby, you can't baby her. She's gonna keep throwing those fits if you give in."

"She was crying though…" he said defensively

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed "Please God, make it a boy. Please."


The next morning Jax was fixing the window with Opie and Jimmy that his sons had managed to break playing with a baseball. Kris and Jess were sitting at the table outside watching them as they enjoyed their coffee.

Exhaling smoke into the air, Kris looked down at her ringing phone "Of course she's calling." she chuckled seeing her Aunt's name across the screen "Zia, what's up?…. Yes, he's home." she rolled her eyes listening to her aunt "Yes, handsome is just fine. I promise. How am I supposed to know? I know you want another great nephew or niece but you gotta give me a few weeks. Shit." she laughed. Her face changed and Jess already knew what her aunt had asked by her face and at how quickly she looked over to see if the men were listening "No, non sapevo. Perché? Perché egli non ha bisgono di sapere."

Jax looked up at Jimmy "What's she sayin?" he whispered

"She said 'No, I didn't. Why? Because he doesn't need to know." he whispered back, handing him a screwdriver as Jax furrowed his brow and looked up at Opie

"So che é importante. Ma é passato un anno. Voglio guardare avanti, non guardare indietro." she argued

Jax looked back at Jimmy "Man…." Jimmy drawled "I don't-"

"What. Did. She. Say." he seethed

"Said I know it's important, but a year has passed and I want to look forward not back." he sighed

"What the fuck?" Opie said questionably, shaking his head "What passed?"

Jax shrugged keeping half an ear on her conversation "Gemma ha detto la stessa cosa. No, lei non. Perché un aborto spontaneo é di nessuno affare ma il mio. Ecco perché. Voglio dimenticare, Zia."

"Shit" Jimmy sighed

"Well?" Jax asked

"Gemma isn't going to say anything because…" Jimmy paused and looked up at Jax who didn't appear to be playing any games "because a miscarriage is no one else's business but mine, that's why. I want to forget it."

She was smiling by the time he looked back at her "Just pray for a girl so I can stop at four, okay? Yeah" she chuckled "I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye."

Jax hadn't said a word about her phone call earlier that morning and kept his conversation to a minimum- she attributed it to being tired and didn't think twice about it. Opie also knew the longer he left Jax alone, the more of a chance there was for him saying something, and he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. Later that afternoon, sitting on the couch with the boys, Kenny and Opie, Jax looked up from the video game they were all engaged in. "Where ya off to?" he asked plainly

Kris tossed her bag over her shoulder "Gotta go food shopping with Jess and Ellie, and… get the p-l-a-y-s-t-a-t-i-o-n for the heir to your throne."

Jax nodded and looked back at the screen "You need help?"

She shook her head and saw Jess impatiently waving her on from outside "It's okay. I gotta get the you know what for him, can't have em with me."

"Alright, we'll be here." he nodded

"You takin' Gabby?" Opie asked

Kris smiled and rolled her eyes "Really Ope? You really think she's gonna unlatch herself?" she asked pointing to the toddler who was resting on his chest as he played.

"You could try" he chuckled

"Gabby" she smiled walking over to the couch and sitting next to Opie "Mija, vamos al supermercado. Quieres venir?"

Gabby shook her head "No. Quiero papi." (no, I want daddy)

Kris chuckled and shrugged "Sorry Ope, wants to stay with you."

Opie laughed and shook his head "At least one of my girls still latches on."

"And I hope you get three more just like it" she smiled as she stood up and twirled her keys around her finger "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Mommy" JT called out "Dove stai andante?" (mommy, where are you going?)

"Vado al negozio, bello. Vuoi venire?" (I'm going to the store handsome, do you want to come?)

He looked back at Jax, then up at Kristina and back at Jax again "No."

"So much for being your favorite, you're taking them away from me one by one. Bye boys."

While she missed the hell out of him for the last year, and was beyond elated that he was home, Kris was torn with the transition. She and Jess struggled internally with the fact that they were practically single moms for the last twelve months. However, with Kenny and Ellie being older, they understood that Opie would be coming back and that the club was something that they were born into. Kris didn't have the luxury of having two out of three kids understanding that and battled daily with the "why isn't daddy home?" questions. While it wasn't weird, she didn't realize how different she'd feel when he came home. She thought she'd go right back to the normal routine- which they did- but didn't realize how acclimated she had become bringing the boys everywhere she went. She was used to seeing someone else's bike in the driveway or someone else's car when they got home from class. Talking to the girls, Nero, Juice, Jimmy and Rat about the boys' doctors appointments and her three minute phone calls with Jax every few days became the norm. Their conversations didn't extend pass the I miss yous and the the boys are doing fine because she couldn't bring to tell him what she really wanted to- didn't want him doing something they'd both regret making his stay at Stockton even longer. Now that he was home, she hated to think it, but she was more on edge. There was always a chance he'd have to go away again, and she had convinced herself many months ago that she didn't want her boys knowing their father in an orange jumpsuit through weekly visitation. The reason she had pulled away from her own family was because of that same mess she had experienced with her own father, and didn't want her sons battling with the demons she had met in her past. Somehow, she had convinced herself that another baby might make her feel closer to him again- the way they were before he went inside. While deep down she knew that shouldn't be the case, there was something missing from their interactions the last forty-eight hours. It wasn't until Jess made her see it, that she knew what it was.

Walking through the mall, Ellie laughed and pointed to the baby store, nudging both of them. "We're gonna need to go back in there soon, huh?"

Jess rolled her eyes "You know, I don't even know where the hell we'd put another kid. We don't have any spare rooms. I don't wanna leave the house…"

"You can always add on. I was thinking of suggesting that to Jax. Boys make enough to afford it, and that way you don't need to leave." Kris suggested blandly as she picked up the new PlayStation that she had promised Abel if he had met his goal on his stars months prior. "Unreal, four hundred dollars. And I have a feeling Jax is gonna get more use out of this than Abel will." she said as she walked towards the register. Ellie made eye contact with Jess and shrugged questionably at Kris' demeanor, receiving a shrug in return as Jess was unsure of it too. Heading out of the game store, Jess looked on at her friend as she absentmindedly walked towards the exit.

"What's up with you?" Jess asked

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're just… off. What's going on? You've waited for the last year to have him back. And you've got the same look on your face as you did a year ago when they were arraigned."

Kris shrugged and headed out of the mall towards her car "We gotta hit the supermarket. I gotta start cooking first thing in the morning if I'm gonna be ready for my family of beasts." she chuckled as she put the game system into her trunk and got into the driver's side.

"Hold the fuck up" Jess hissed, putting her hand over Kris' before she could put the car into reverse. "What the fuck is going on?"

"I dunno. Everything's fine." she said optimistically as she pulled out of the spot.

"No it isn't. Kris, don't fucking lie to me. C'mon."

"I feel like something is missing. I don't know if he feels it. But it's just… weird. I feel like there's a piece missing."

"In what sense? Like fucking him?"

"WOAH!" Ellie shouted "Oh my GOD I'm right here!"

"Oh please" Jess scoffed, turning to look at the girl "You and I have had many discussions. Don't act all prude, Miss 'what's the difference between a blow job and a hummer'. You want your father to know you asked me that?"

"Point taken." she said throwing her hands up in surrender "As you were."

Kris laughed and shook her head "No, not that. It's… like almost as if there's just a piece missing. I can't explain it. Everything really is fine, it's great. I'm the one that feels like something is missing."

"Kris, it's cause you won't fucking tell him. That's why. It's because you two agreed on full disclosure a long time ago and you feel guilty that you didn't disclose this. Just tell him. He isn't gonna go off the deep end, you're not in turmoil, you've healed. You keeping a secret isn't a good idea- for you. You don't handle that pressure. Just get it over with. Besides, your family is gonna be here tomorrow and you really don't want any weird vibes out there. Nothing gets past your aunts, they'll sniff it out a mile away."

"You're right." she sighed "Fine. I'll tell him. Besides, Gemma is right. He'll find out anyway somehow. Might as well do it myself."

"Good. Now my next question is, Jax has never seen your dad, has he?"

Kris bit her lip as she pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket "Nope"

"Does he know how tall he is?"

"I think he's expecting some tiny Italian man. Even though my uncles are pretty tall."

"Your dad is taller than them. He's like six-four. Not as tall as Ope, but still."

"I'm just gonna let that be part of the surprise. And I still find it adorable that he keeps calling him Mr. DiPalo."

"I caught that a few times. I figured you'd say something."

Kris chuckled and shrugged as they got out of the car "Look, I think the world of my husband. But sometimes, I don't think he puts two and two together. He knows Nico and Joe are his brothers. Both of their last names are Cocuzzo. But it's cute. He'll realize that they gave me my mom's last name."

"You sure you're ready for this?"

"Look, if my parents want to make it work, then good for them. But I'm not fighting in front of my boys or your kids for that matter. Furthermore, everyone knows the back story, and knows before I hit my breaking point. I've already told Gemma to step in if I need her to."

"Great." Jess laughed sarcastically "Just what we need."

"I'm serious. You know my mom Jess. You know how conniving and manipulative she can be. The only person that can even hold a flame to that is Gemma. And I say that with all the love in my heart. I don't need my boys seeing their mom screaming at her own mother and then getting slapped. I really don't."

"I'm with you on this. Just keep it in the back of your head that you're doing all of this to see your aunts, uncles, cousins, and most importantly your dad. And for all of them to share Christmas with us. Don't let her ruin that."


On their way into the store, it was already seven o'clock. Opie had called to let Jess know that the kids were starving and they had ordered them a pizza and to bring home something. By the time they got home around eight thirty, they were lugging in cases of beer and bottles of wine, the boys were already in bed and Gabby was asleep in the twins' room. Kenny was next door enjoying the silence and having control of the TV. Opie and Jax were half-way through a bottle of whiskey and in the midst of a House of Cards marathon that the girls had gotten them hooked on the year before, but had missed the second season since they were away. "Ordered Chinese food. It'll be here in a few minutes." Kris said struggling with the twenty-four pack that was in her hands. Jax looked up from the TV and went to stand up "No. I got it." she smiled "What episode you on?" she asked as he sank back into the couch.

"Just started." Jax called back as she headed back towards the front door.

"Shit is gonna get crazy. Just wait." she laughed, heading back outside. Ellie came hurrying in and grabbed Kris' wallet from her bag in the kitchen and ran back outside. When she returned, she handed the bags of food to her dad and Jax, as she headed back outside to continue helping with the bags.

"How much shit did you get?" Opie asked, seeing Jess' arms filled with grocery bags with Kris and Ellie behind her, kicking the door closed with her foot.

"I gotta cook tomorrow and for the next four days. Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner? I'm lucky if we're able to fit all this between our two houses. I dropped off a bunch of shit at Gemma's, and brought stuff next door." Kris said from the kitchen.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jax yelled

Opie threw his hands up "Aw man what the FUCK?!"

The girls snickered putting the last of the food away "I'm gonna go next door. Kenny said there was pizza there. I'll see you later." Ellie said, scurrying out of the house.

"The train?" Jess laughed walking into the living room.

Kris followed behind with shot glasses and forks "You sad?" she asked looking up at their shocked faces

"Yo, how the fuck could he do that?" Opie asked rubbing his beard "He's… holy shit."

After four episodes and the rest of the whiskey, Opie and Jess headed out with a sleeping Gabby. Kris laid across Jax's lap as they continued watching "Feelin' pregnant yet?" Jax laughed

Kris snorted and shook her head "Two days won't give me an inclination. But I'm pretty sure if the timing was good enough, you definitely got the job done."

He chuckled lightly and nodded, keeping his attention on the TV "Good to know."

She took a deep breath and looked back up at him "Look. I gotta tell you something. Everything is fine. But I feel like theres a barrier right now because I'm not telling you. Last year, when we went to the hospital after the cops showed up…" Jax looked down at her and waited for for her to continue "I didn't know. But I was only like three weeks along. The doctors found out when they were checking me and and I had really bad pain, that's how they found it. I can't keep it from you. And I'm sorry I did."

Jax leaned down and kissed her forehead "You okay?"

"Yeah. It was a year ago. I'm more than okay. I just didn't want to tell you when you weren't home."

"As long as you're okay. You ready for tomorrow?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled "I'm excited to see my dad, my aunts, uncles, cousins. My mom…"

"Don't worry about it. She starts anything, she's gone. Simple."

"She won't start shit right away. And you probably won't even notice it, until I start throwing shit."

"You'll be fine. Like I said, she starts anything, she's gone."

"Oh. And by the way, stop calling my dad Mr. DiPalo."

Jax chuckled and shrugged "Why?"

"Babe." she laughed "Who're my dad's brothers?"

"Nico and Joe…"

"Right. And what is their last name?"

"Oh shit" he said surprisingly "How much of an ass did I sound like?"

"Stop" she smiled "You didn't sound like an ass. I have my mom's last name because she refused to have him in the delivery room and put her name on the birth certificate. Dumb shit. But that's just a little taste of how much of a dumbass she is."


Putting her curling iron down against the dresser, Kris heard commotion coming from the living room and knew her family had shown up. Her stomach flipped and she took a deep breath, she hadn't seen her father in almost a decade after she stopped visiting him at the prison only a few months after he went inside. Getting dressed she felt almost as if she would before a first date, she was careful in what she chose, because anything either too revealing or too subtle would incite a comment from her mother. She pulled her bedroom door closed and headed down the hallway.

"Baby cuz" Joey smiled, wrapping her in a hug "How you doin' doctor?"

Kris chuckled and nodded "I'm good. Boys missed you" she smiled pointing to the twins who were already covered in lipstick from her aunts. Her two aunts, Giuliana and Maria had come along with Nico, Joe, their kids and Kris' parents. Thirteen adults walking through the door and she was trying to push her way through when she saw her father's large frame behind them all as he spoke to Jax. Skipping the hellos to her aunts and uncles, and the rest of her cousins, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed the top of her head. Her feet were barely touching the ground- her father stood over a foot taller than she did and had the frame of Opie. Her father was the baby of the family and wasn't that much older than anyone else in the room. He and her mother had Kristina when they were eighteen, leaving him at only forty-seven, he looked as though he was in his late thirties. He had a thick head of jet black hair and green eyes, a stronger jawline than Jax and knew how to dress himself. Shocking Jax when he walked through the door- he had expected a much older man, someone like her Uncle Joe who was ten years older than Kris' father. She stood there with her face buried in his shirt, but promised herself she wasn't going to cry, and she managed not to. Everyone carried on their conversations, knowing that this was going to be a long reunion. "Mi sei mancata a così tanto" (I missed you so much) She was finally able to say.

Her loosened his grip, letting her feet hit the ground "I know Stellina." he said, kissing the top of her head "I missed you too. You look great."

"Not lookin' so bad yourself old man." She chuckled patting his chest "C'mon. Which one of you scavengers has my boys?" She asked, looking around the living room. Her aunts laughed and emerged from the kitchen holding the boys and a glass of wine each "You people don't waste any time" she sighed, holding her hands out. She took Jackson from Guiliana and motioned for Maria to hand JT to Jax. Kristina was purposely ignoring her mother who had already made her way into the kitchen and was working on emptying the wine bottle. "Egli è tuo nonno." (this is your grandpa) she said to the boys, pointing to her dad "Egli è il mio papà. Dire 'ciao nonno'" (this is my dad, say hi grandpa)

"Ciao nonno" the boys repeated, taking Gino's hand that he offered to high five them with.

"Daddy, you can hold him. He won't bite." she laughed, handing over Jackson "He might steal your wallet though." While her sons were all a spitting image of their father- Even JT with his darker hair and green eyes, the resemblance that JT and her own father shared weren't noticeable until they were face to face.

"She teach them that?" Gino asked looking over at Jax

"She also taught them to key another man's bike" Jax chuckled

Her eyes widened and she balled up her fist hitting his shoulder "I did not"

"Kristina" Gino, Nico and Joe growled simultaneously

"Ugh" she scoffed "Daddy, really? You too?"

"Don't hit your man." he replied

She rolled her eyes and sighed as Jax victoriously smirked "Abel, c'mere" she called out and saw him walk out of the kitchen with the lipstick stains of several women "This is my dad, Gino." she said pointing

"Nice to meet you" Abel said, holding out his hand

Gino smiled and shook it "Very polite. You've got a lot of manners."

"Yeah, but I'm also really smart. I'm the total package." he shrugged

Kristina's jaw dropped and she looked down at him "Who told you that?"

Abel pointed up at Jax who laughed "What? Boy should know who and what he is."

"Alright King Jax. Prince Abel doesn't need to get his head too big before gets his training wheels off."

"So you're my grandpa?" he asked

Gino looked over at Kris and nodded "Yep"

"That's cool. So I can call you grandpa then?"

"You can call me Nonno."

"Alright." Abel shrugged "You wanna play video games?"

Kris smiled and held out her hand towards the couch "When the boy asks…. You gotta play."

"I can see that" Gino chuckled "You teaching him Italian yet too? He's still young enough."

Kris nodded "Yep. He's just more English dominant, and he's also learning Spanish too. So he's all over the place still with his words. You can help him though."

"I see cars!" Jess called out as she stepped through the front door followed by Opie, Kenny and Ellie. As they made their rounds saying hello to everyone, Kris made her way into the kitchen followed by Jax to greet her mother. Giuliana snatched JT from Jax so quickly the boy didn't even know what was happening.

"How are you?" Kris asked, grabbing two wine glasses from the counter and filling each to the rim.

"Fine. You?" her mother replied, bringing the glass to her lips

"Three boys, a husband, a doctorate and a career? I'd say I'm pretty okay. Jax, this is my mother Camilla." she said keeping her attention to the wine as she leaned against the counter. Kristina's mother was about her height and frame. She was beautiful but it was obvious she had either had work done or spent way too many years sniffing white powder.

Jax extended his hand "Nice to meet you" he nodded

Her mother smiled back and shook his hand "You too. Boys are beautiful."

Kris sarcastically smiled "Thanks. They take after their dad and grandpa."

Camilla chuckled "Still didn't lose all the baby weight?"

Jax's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider as he leaned in to the fridge to get a beer as Opie and Jess appeared in the doorway. He tossed one at Opie before he could blink and Kris reached across and handed Jess the wine "I did lose the weight. Thank you."

Camilla shrugged "You just seem a little bit more…" and she puffed her cheeks out to drop the hint instead of using her words "Jess, you look fabulous."

"Thanks Camilla. So do you." Jess replied plainly, leaning forward and kissing Giuliana's cheek. Jess never felt close to Kristina's mother for obvious reasons. She had heard fights between them and that was more than enough to solidify her opinion on her.

Kris stood there with an eyebrow raised and looked at her mother. "Well, it looks like any of the weight I did lose, you found." she couldn't let the comment slide. "And my size zero ass begs to differ with you."

"Oh baby it ain't in your ass. It's in your face and stomach." Camilla retorted

If you could see eyes change color, Kris' went from the bright green that they normally were to almost grey. "Get to know your grandchildren" she growled as she grabbed her cigarettes from the counter and walked out of the kitchen followed by Jax, Jess and Opie. Walking towards the back table in the yard, Julie was outside smoking a cigarette "Alrighty see you soon, bye" she smiled hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Kris asked suspiciously

Julie shook her head "No one. What's up with you?" she could see the look of fury written across Kris' face

"Can that bitch go ten seconds without insulting me?" she spat flicking the lighter "Fuck her, man."

"Kris, I don't know why you even listen to her" Julie argued "Just let her talk her shit, ignore it."

"No. She's in my house now. I'm not fifteen and standing in her kitchen."

Joey stepped out of the house with an unlit cigarette in his mouth "Disappearing already?" he asked, putting the cigarette between his fingers and taking a swig from the beer bottle. "It's fifteen years ago all over again."

"Don't start asshole." she growled, shaking her head

Joey pulled a chair over and sat between her and Jax. He put his feet up on the table and lit his cigarette "I just don't get it. You gotta ignore her shit, Kris."

"If your mom did that, you'd hit the fucking roof."

"She does do that." he groaned "Hello? Where have you been? You just take it differently than the rest of us. Seriously, ignore it."

She rolled her eyes "Whatever"

"Don't whatever me. She isn't gonna change. So you gotta be the one to grow up. C'mon."

"Look, I promised I wouldn't lose my head. And I didn't. So I'm gonna deal with it the best way I know how" she smiled and held up her almost empty wine glass. "Four more days of her shit. Thank God she's going down south on the twenty-sixth. I can make it till then."

"Maybe it's good my parents aren't around anymore. Because if my mother said that to me…" Jess began before snorting and shaking her head "There'd be a blood bath."

"And my dad is a dumbass for even trying to work shit out with that crazy bitch." Jax and Opie sat silently, pulling on their cigarettes. Kris' phone pinged and she picked it up, reading the text from Kerrianne "They're on their way over. How'd they know my family was here already?" she asked looking up from her phone. Everyone shrugged.

"You tell her when they were coming?" Jess asked

"I said they were coming in today, but that I'd let them know when they got here. I haven't texted her yet."

"Intuition maybe" Jess smiled

"I guess." she said questionably, replying to the text and putting her phone back on the table. She finished off her wine and looked up at the sky, pulling on her cigarette "Wait" she smiled, looking over at Julie and snatching her phone before she could react.

"Hey!" she growled "Stop!"

Kris raised an eyebrow "Put the password in."

"No" she argued "Give it back"

"Joe" Kris said holding Julie's phone up.

He grabbed the phone and looked at his sister "What's the password?"

She rolled her eyes and huffed "Six three two four"

Joey smiled and handed it back to Kris as she began looking through her recent calls and texts. Her jaw dropped with a smile "No fucking WAY!"

"SHUT UP!" She yelled, burying her face in her hands

Kris held the phone up to Jax, Opie and Jess "Oh really?" Jax smiled "How longs that been goin on for?"

"Since before you guys went away" she sighed

"Ohhhhahahaha!" Kris shrieked "Maria is going to fucking love this! She doesn't know?"

"Of course not" she groaned "Please don't say anything."

"Oh, oh of course not" she smiled "I'm not going to say a thing. But… this is going to make for one hell of a week. And I'm gonna have my fun."

"I'm a little surprised" Jess nodded "I didn't take him as your type."

"This is gonna be a fucking shit-show" Joey laughed "Another typical family holiday. Let's get wasted and torture the shit out of her"

Kris handed him her and Jess' wine glasses "You can start by refilling it." she said.

"I'm just gonna grab the bottle. Fuck it" He groaned and stood up "You guys need a refill?"

Jax and Opie nodded "Aww, look how sweet these texts are!" she grinned

"Oh he's catching hell for this now." Opie laughed "Never thought I'd see it coming."