…

Thanks for all the reviews and kicking my butt back into gear. Had to go back to work and sadly, my writing was put on the backburner. I have the whole thing mapped out, but considered scrapping the story after re-reading it. There are so many things that I want to tweak, but I'll leave this up until I send out the revised copy. Make sure to subscribe and add an author alert so that you can get updates to my NEW stories as well. To all the loyal J/T fans, this one is for you.

…

Tara's hands are numb and her knuckles are an angry, swollen red. Her head is pounding and she is hungover-again. She is trapped in a cell, the beige, crusty walls seemed to be closing in. Natalie Givens, that fucking bitch, she thought.

It was another one of Gemma's ploys, she was sure. There was a tension with Jax, an impending foreboding originating from his frantic behavior. He seemed to always be looking over his shoulder and it made her nervous. He wouldn't tell her what was going on and that was the way she preferred it. She didn't want to get caught up. However, it was becoming increasingly obvious that ignorance was not bliss. She had taken to nagging him lately, and what once was a pure and cohesive love had recently been strained and awkward.

Gemma took advantage of the situation, striking out like a viper. Tara had an argument with Jax that left them both bruised and bitter. He had quit school…it was his senior year, a move that prompted Tara to also consider dropping out just to be with him. He wasn't hearing that, citing how bad of an influence he was on her. They had almost ended things then and there. The severity of the argument was only temporarily muted out by the aggressive make up sex that followed.

His mother pounced on the opportunity to further drive them apart, something she was always itching to do. Gemma had invited that Natalie bitch over for dinner. She practically threw her on Jax and Tara had walked away before she had it out with both women. Jax had started to chase after her, but after seeing how pissed she was, he backed off. She wished he would have gone after her. Instead, she was left pondering all the possible licentious things they apt to do. She was sad and lonely, and felt like she was losing the love of her life. Why wouldn't he come after her?

The next day she saw Natalie at the gas station. She had that shit eating grin on her face, and suddenly Tara had the urge to hit something. Jax was still outside at the pump, oblivious to the exchange taking place. Things had still been tense between them.

"Had a nice dinner with Jax," said Natalie, making sure she rolled her tongue across her lips.

"God, when will you stop? It's getting really pathetic," said Tara. Her nerves were fried, and she could feel her eyes starting to water, not in sadness, but in rage. It took all of her will power not to slam her face into the newspaper stand.

"Desert was even better," she started, and then made a crude gesture with her hand. Tara balled up her fists and lunged, landing a hard right on Natalie's perfectly formed nose. The crunch was almost as satisfying as hearing Jax moan post coitus. To Natalie's credit, she did land a couple of good blows before Tara ripped out a wad of her hair. Natalie wailed and started to cry, as she bit back a triumphant laugh. By then, the owner and Jax had come inside to separate them. Unfortunately, there were a couple of officers in range who were instantly attracted to the ruckus. One of them got too grabby with Tara, and Jax asserted himself into the situation, shoving the officer down onto the pavement. They were both put into the back of a squad car, Jax seething and Tara cackling at the absurdity of it all.

They were originally going to be charged with assaulting an officer and a slew of other rough charges, but thanks to their connections within Charming PD, they were let off with resisting arrest, and luckily there would be nothing but a dirty slap on their records. No charges would be officially filed. Tara felt like she had gotten off scott-free, that was until she ran into the imposing figure of her angry Irish father. She remembered the conversation from the last time she got arrested, and was already panicking at what would happen next.

…

"I can't believe this happened, girl," her father said. It was right after her victory ploy to keep Jax from committing murder, and the insane encounter with Gemma. They were riding in the cutlass, and she felt ridiculously small in the passenger seat.

She was still hungover, and her adrenaline was running high after her blowout with her lover's mom.

"What would your mother say?" said Patrick, eliciting a hiss from his daughter. Her mother was a touchy subject. She had tried to initiate a heart to heart with her father several times, only to have him clam up and leave her feeling guilty. Then he would go out on a bender, leaving Tara to clean up the vomit and empty glasses. She learned that it was best to leave the subject alone.

"Do we really want to have this discussion right now?" said Tara, not bothering to hide the malice in her voice.

"You see, this damn attitude you've developed. You were never like this before! What the fuck has he done to you?" he practically shouted.

"Don't go there Dad, this is me, it's always been me. I was just too fucking busy trying to fix your fucking life to let myself go. I'm always wound up-with this fucking-fucking pressure-" she shouted, her breath hitching as she struggled to express herself.

"I feel so sick of worrying about everyone else and being tied down by your shit. Now you wanna go and bring up Mom? I've tried to talk about her, to talk to you…." She trailed off when her voice started to tremble. Her father looked absolutely horrified. Her stomach turned to ice when she realized that he was crying, and then his face crumpled as he broke into heavy sobs.

"I know babe, I know…I've been a shit father, but what else can I do? It's hurts me to look at you, you're so much like her, did you know? I loved her so much and she just left us. It was all my fault, and I don't want you to be stuck in the same situation. I don't want you to be stuck!"

…

She had tried to straighten up a bit after that, at least at home. She held it all inside in front of her father, determined not to see him break down again. But she wouldn't give up Jax, she could never do that. And here she was, her second time in jail since being with him, and the little voice that said her father was right just got a tad bit louder.

Her father was there to escort her home again, but this time he was silent. He said nothing on the somber drive, and didn't meet her eyes until they pulled into the driveway. "Your mother would be ashamed."

…

Later, they've agreed to meet at their special place and she leans back onto their tree. On the other side, Jax has carved their initials with his knife, cheesy heart and everything. She casually fingers the jagged letters on the dried bark. Glancing back at the meadow, she thinks of her mother and how she would take her there to picnic as a kid. She remembered sunlight and dandelions, and thinking that her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world.

That was before she pulled away and started to isolate herself. Before Tara could get too lost in her memories, Jax snuck up behind her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Ah, the new memories they'd created together. This was a good place. They had laid with each other and made love for the first time under the tree.

He nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her scent. He groaned into her neck, the vibrations sending electrical sparks down to her stomach. Silence. They were both lost in their own thoughts until,

"Are you okay?" he asked. It took a minute for her to respond, and she looked again at the meadow.

"My mom killed herself," she said. She seemed lost in a trance, and her voice was monotone as she droned on, "right here in Charming. This damn town…"

"Shit," Jax said, tensing up, he wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"I found her, when I was nine. She just took a bunch of pills, I thought she was sleeping."

He turned her around to face him, trying to get her to meet his eyes. They were blank. It scared him to see her this disconnected, and something inside of him was screaming that he had to pull her back. Pull her back! He clutched at her face and pressed his mouth against her, sucking in her lips and trying to force her to respond. She was slack against him.

"Baby?" he said, kissing her again a little more forcefully. He wasn't going to lose her, not like this. Finally she kissed him back, meeting his eyes. She looked weary, exhausted, and he could tell that she was fighting back tears.

"We have to get out of here Jax. She couldn't stay stuck in this town, and neither can I. I can't go out like that. We have to get out."

…

Eliza watched the exchange through her binoculars, noting the intimate and almost desperate way that he touched the girl's face. He really loved her, she realized. And Eliza would use that to take him down. She would bring them all down.

…

BUM BUM BUM…muahhahaha. Okay, a lil cliffie I know,and lots of new info to go. Only 3 chapters left… I needed to broach the subject of her mom, because we know she died young from the series. I want this to be a sensitive subject for Tara and I'm trying to establish the motivation for her to get the hell out of dodge. Things are going to get ugly and it'll be painful, but don't worry folks, they end up together in the end! Reviews are love!