Gemma watched and took mental notes. It's what she did. She watched them all interact and then, in the darkness of their bedroom, she made her move. It was true, behind every powerful man was an even more powerful woman. And in this case, she was stronger than all of them. Or so she thought. She smiled at all the guests that filled the clubhouse, courtesy of her attempts to give Dana a good welcome home, but somehow she felt that it would all come back to bite her in the ass.

Dana and Jax had grown up together, along with Tyler. They went to the same school and soon became best friends. They all found a haven in her home from their fucked up family. Dana and her mom, Tyler and his dad. They all ran to Gemma for some loving and she ate this all up. It was through the Teller's and Clay's support that Dana was allowed to join the club. Sam Cro was a brotherhood, but Dana proved herself to be as tough, if not tougher than the rest of the club.

When the trio had worked their way up the ranks and were given their cuts, it was official. They were family. Gemma always dreamt that Dana and Jax would end up falling in love and giving her gorgeous babies but when Dana and Tyler started dating in high school she knew her dream was crushed. Jax soon fell into the arms of Tara and Gemma tried her hardest to split the two up. She had succeeded when Tara left to finish her education but was pissed off to hear that the bitch was back and that she was planning to stick around for Jax and his son, Abel.

Gemma and Dana were the powerful ones. They both played Clay Morrow like a violin. Although Jax was the vice president, both him and Clay usually looked towards Dana for her opinion, her thoughts on any particular issue before making any moves. She played a key role in the club- she was the voice of reason, but at the end of the day her specialty was being the reaper. Her father served in the army alongside the other originals that formed Sam Cro, but before he died he taught her everything he knew about sniper rifles. She was good with a sniper rifle and Clay Morrow knew this- she and her father played a major role in the rising and constant domination that Sons of Anarchy had over other motorcycle clubs.

Gemma sighed happily as she thought of Dana's return and how that would affect the family dynamic Jax was trying to create. Wendy, the crack head ex-wife was a good replacement for Dana, but now that Tara was trying to become a constant presence in Jax's life, she knew she could count on Dana to straight the both of them out. Gemma knew that sooner or later Dana and Jax would get back to their old ways.

Sooner or later they would go back to fucking behind her husband's back.

It was just a matter or time.

----

Dana looked at the sleeping beauty in front of her and sighed. Tears threatened to erupt as she thought about how she left her daughter, Lilah, when she was just two years old by herself. "She's grown so much," she whispered, reaching down and pulling the blanket up to the little girl's chin. She was the spitting image of her father, dark raven hair and bright blue eyes. "Yeah, she's a handful," Tyler whispered, leaning against the door frame.

Dana placed a kiss on Lilah's forehead and exited the room, making her way downstairs towards the kitchen. " I see you finally got around to fixing up the house," she said, making small talk. They didn't really have any communication while she was locked up. She preferred it that way. It made it easier. She would have loved to say that it was for them. That she didn't want them to see what prison had made out of her, but it would be a lie. She just didn't want a constant reminder of what she was missing.

Tyler followed after her and leaned against the kitchen counter, mimicking her stand across the room. She drank in her husband and his strong, muscular 6'3" build. She knew him like the back of her hand and knew something was up by the way he was standing. His shoulders were hunched and he stared at the floor. This was unusual for him.

"Spill it," she said, lighting up a cigarette and taking a pull from it. Tyler cleared his throat and retrieved a yellow manila envelope from his back pocket. She glanced at it, instantly recognizing it. Dana took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Those were the divorce papers she planned to serve him a week before she got arrested.

"I know things were bad, but I never thought it would come to this," he said, throwing them onto the kitchen table. "What did you expect? You ran around with anything that had a pulse. I had to beat them off of you. The house was falling apart. Our daughter spent days without seeing you and I was all alone, Ty. You left long before I did," she said, anger flowing through her body.

"You could've said something. It didn't need to come to this!" He yelled. Dana laughed at the top of her lungs. "I tried time and time again. I begged you to stop drinking and partying. You blew all your money that you earned on any little scheme that gave you a rush. Lilah was the only thing that stopped me from walking out on you for years."

Tyler crossed the room in a mere second and grabbed her arm forcefully. She backhanded him and spit on his face. "Don't kid yourself, Tyler. I had it all planned. I had a house, a job- everything planned out. All I needed to do was hand you those papers. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't bring myself to quit on you like you quit on this family!"

He pushed her against the counter and his face came within inches of his. "You knew from the start- since we started dating in high school, that this was what it was gonna be like. You knew! But you wanted the house, the kid, the happy home life. And now you're gonna get it! Things have changed around here, including me," he said. Dana laughed in his face.

"Who are you trying to fool? You? Change? You can't teach an old dog new tricks," she spat back, all the venom from the years she had been married to the heartless asshole starting to flow through her veins. "You promised me happiness. You said you were gonna stay by my side no matter what. And it came down to it. You're still here now. You're not going any where and neither am I. So you better suck it up and roll with the god damn punches, because it's gonna be one hell of a ride if you think I'm gonna stand for any more of your bullshit."

Tyler stepped back and chuckled. "That's where you're wrong, sister," he said, walking over to the table and picking up the divorce papers. "I had my lawyer draw up one of these. He'll be serving you soon. I'm taking Lilah and the house. You can keep the truck and that shit hole house you bought. Feel free to go and get that job you got when you were planning to leave me. Have fun enjoying your freedom!" He said, throwing her divorce papers in the garbage can.

Dana froze. He was leaving her and he was going to get away with it. He was going to take her daughter away from her. She just got released from prison. There was no way in hell a judge was gonna give Lilah to her. There was no way in hell, she decided. "Yeah, you talk that talk, Tyler. But I swear to god that if you make one move to take my life away from me, I'll kill you. I will destroy you, Tyler. I just got my life back and there is no way in hell that I'm gonna lose it again. You see this," she said, raising her hand to his face and fingering her wedding ring. "We're in it for the long haul, mister. There's only one way out of this. In a body bag or chopped up into little pieces. You decide, but I won't have any problem becoming a widow."

He looked at her and smiled. "God! When am I gonna stop being turned on by all the bullshit that comes out of your mouth?" Dana erupted in laughter and laughed until she was practically heaving. "Did you really plan on leaving me?" He whispered, killing her laughter immediately. "Yeah. Things around here just weren't working out for me anymore. We grew apart. Did you really draw up divorce papers?"

Tyler nodded and dug his hands deep into his pockets. He was nervous. Dana took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Anger management. She learned it on the inside and it was starting to become real convenient. "I'll move out as soon as I can. I figured Lilah should stay with you since she probably doesn't remember me anymore. Just don't take her away from me. Or I really will kill you," she said, smiling sadly at him. He nodded, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Now we gotta go see the rest of the family."

---

The clubhouse erupted into cheers as Dana entered it. She received hugs and welcomes as she made her way through it. She knew the deal. Get together now and charter meeting later, then more madness. She lived for this shit for years and today wasn't any different. It felt good to be surrounded by her friends and family. It felt…. Right.

Gemma engulfed Dana in a big hug. "I got you something," she whispered in her ear, stepping aside and letting Clay walk towards her. "We missed you," he said, retrieving a wrapped box from behind his back. Dana accepted the present with a suspicious attitude. It was wrapped in hot pink paper and had a big satin bow on top. She set it on top of the bar and raised an eyebrow at Clay. "Go on and open it already," he said.

The entire clubhouse was silent as she unwrapped the box and peeled the paper off. She opened it, revealing a box full of crumbled up tissue paper. Dana reached in and felt around in the box, finding nothing. "It's empty. What the hell kind of game is this?" She yelled, angrily, turning around to face Clay and yell at him for his joke. When she turned around, she found Jax holding up her cut.

Her cut.

The cut she worked so hard to earn. The cut she cried, bled and fought for. The cut she went to prison for.

Her cut.

She smiled sadly and slipped into it, pulling the leather around her body. It held a lot of memories for her. Good and bad- but it held a lot of memories for her.

All the people in the clubhouse began to cheer and held up their drinks to toast her. "Because at the end of the day, all dogs find their way home," Clay said. Someone handed her a beer and smiled, downing it in what seemed to be mere seconds. Best beer ever, she thought.

Jax threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. "Welcome home," he whispered in her ear. As Jax was hugging her, Dana looked around at all the people around the clubhouse and focused on several persons that piqued her interest. In one corner, Tara. In the other, Wendy. And then there was Opie. "What's going on here?" She asked, ungluing herself from him. Jax followed her line of vision and sighed. "It's a long story," he said, smiling at her. "I'll play nice until you explain to me what the fuck is going on," Dana growled, walking off.

He stared after and shook his head. "Women."