Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.

A/N: I apologize if I confused anyone regarding the ages of Jax and Jolene in this prequel. This ficlet takes place during the 3 years Jax and Tara were together, so the ages breakdown as follows: Chapter 1: Jolene was 12-13 and Jax was 16-17. Chapter 2: Jolene 13, Jax 17. Chapter 3: Jolene 14, Jax 18. Chapter 4: Jolene 15, Jax 19.

As always, I want to thank everyone for reading, submitting reviews (which I really love reading), and adding me or the story to your alerts. If you read, please review. Enjoy!

Banging reverberated in Jax's head. The morning after a Clubhouse party always wreaked havoc with his head. Jax gave another moan as he realized that the banging wasn't in his head, but on his door.

"Get the hell away from my fuckin' door." He tried to yell, but it came out more like a hoarse whisper.

The door cracked open. "You better have some clothes on and there better not be a ho-bag in there with you 'cause if there is, she's gonna have to hit the bricks." Easing the door open, Jolene stuck her head in to find Jax lying face first on an extremely rumpled bed.

Thank God he's alone.

Jolene knew that she would have lost her mud had she found some naked whore draped all over the man that was destined to be hers. Knowing that Jax was a man-whore was just a tad bit easier to swallow than having to witness it first-hand.

Walking into his dorm, with a mug of coffee and a bottle of aspirin, Jolene looked down at the mess that she called the love of her life.

This shit's is getting really tired.

Ever since the big blowout over a month ago that had resulted in the end for Jax and NP, now OP after 2½ long years, Jolene had been trying to get Jax sober to no avail.

Jolene had thought that with the end of the relationship, Jax would finally realize that he had made a great escape, but her poor mentally-challenged man was in deep denial.

All hell had broken loose the morning after the Patch Party. Tara, it seemed had finally had a change of heart and showed up that morning to apologize for not coming to the party. Unfortunately for Jax, depending on who was telling the story, Tara walked into his dorm and found him with Gigi still in his bed.

Apparently, Jax had not learned the first rule of sleeping with sweetbutts: never let them stay the night.

Jolene couldn't blame NP for her righteous anger. She stormed out of the Clubhouse and that was the last time anyone had seen her. Not long after, however, Jax heard through the grapevine that 19 year old Tara Knowles was dating Second Lieutenant David Hale, who was on leave from the Marines before shipping out overseas.

Now Jolene was left to clean up the mess, which she was glad to do if it meant that Jax would finally see what had been in front of him all along.

At 15, Jolene had grown a little taller and had finally managed to spout some A-cup sized breasts, but her figure was still boyishly slim. Jolene had taken pains with her hair as she knew Jax had a fondness for it, but she knew that Jax still continued to see her as just his "little stepsister."

Sitting on his bed, Jolene put the coffee and aspirin on the night table and managed to shove Jax awake.

"Wake up, sunshine." Jolene chirped brightly. "It's morning."

A moan came from the bed. "Jo, get the hell out." Jax growled.

"I can't do that." Jolene replied briskly. Stepping over to the window, she yanked the blinds so that bright sunshine flooded the entire room.

The moaning turned into howling as Jax desperately tried to hide his face from the onslaught of the sun. Finally managing to pull a blanket over his head, he said, "When I recover from this, I am so going to kill you."

Jolene laughed. "No you won't 'cause, at the rate you're going, at this point it's if you recover. Besides, I'm doing this for your own good, or did you forget that you're going out of town with the Club this afternoon?"

Jax eased the blanket off of his face and used one of his hands to rub the stubble on his face. He had decided to grow a goatee, but it was still in its early stubble stage. Jolene just knew that when it came in fully he was going to look so freakin' hot.

"Oh, shit. I forgot." Rolling over in the bed to face her, Jax had also forgotten that he was completely naked under the thin blanket. Jolene's eyes widened as she got the full view of a beautiful man basking in the early morning sunlight.

With his well-developed muscles and long, lean legs, Jolene's mouth went suddenly dry as she got the full view of his unfinished Reaper back tattoo, which was reflected in the mirror behind him, along with his well-defined and naked ass.

Swallowing hard, Jolene moved to retrieve the aspirin and coffee, which was exactly how Jax liked it—loaded with milk and sweet to the point of nausea. How he can even taste the coffee is beyond me. Jolene had been drinking coffee for about a year and loved it only one way—strong and black.

Trying to appear nonchalant, Jolene perched herself on the corner of the bed facing him at an angle away from the mirror, knowing she couldn't take another eye-popping glimpse of his ass. She handed him four aspirin and the coffee.

Sitting up, Jax threw back the aspirin and gulped down the coffee, which he noted was perfect. Looking at Jolene he managed a small smile. "What would I do without you?"

"Let's hope you never have to find out." Jolene replied. "I just wish you would listen and do everything I tell you to. It's for your own good, you know."

"Are you going to start bitching to me about—"

"OP?" Jolene shot back. "Yes, I am."

"I told you to stop calling her that." Jax said exasperated.

"Too bad. So not going to happen." Jolene crossed her legs confidently as she smiled cheerfully. "And do you know why? Because that's the way she needs to stay—old pussy."

"You better not let your father hear you talk like that."

"He wouldn't have to if you didn't keep making me repeat myself." Jolene retorted. "You are one of the smartest guys I know. I just don't understand why you can't get it through your thick skull that she is not the one for you."

Sitting up fully, Jax completely missed Jolene's gasp as the blanket fell even lower to barely cover his penis. "Look, OP is the right—damn it—I mean Tara is the right woman for me and I know that once we get this resolved and she forgives me for being an asshole, everything is going to be all right."

"All right?" Jolene scoffed, trying to keep herself from peeping at the blond short and curlies that were peeking out the blanket. An inch lower and someone was going to have to pick Jolene up from the floor. "You need to face reality. If she was ready for life in the Club, she would have stood her ground and dealt with you right then and there. Choosing not to deal with your shit, she ran out of here like the devil was on her heels, instead of doing what needed to be done."

"Which was what?" Jax retorted sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe instead of running straight into David Hale's arms she should have dragged that sweetbutt out of your bed by her cheap extensions and went to town on your ass." And, if it were me, I would've jumped into your bed and given you a million and one reasons why you'd never have to go back to any ho bag again. "She's not for you, Jax. She's too soft and can't deal with the reality of living the Life. If she truly loved you, she would realize that you are SAMCRO, instead of trying to change you. You wanna be with her, you're going to have to drag her kickin' and screamin' into the Life and that is not old lady material."

Jolene walked to the door and turned around. "I hope that one day you wake up from this fantasy world you've been living in with her before the person with whom you really need to be with isn't around anymore."

It was a Saturday night and Jolene was speeding down the I-22 in her new, but used cobalt blue Mustang with Donna. With a learner's permit in one hand and her best friend's legal driver's license riding shot gun, Jolene was living the teenage American dream. But instead of looking forward to a girls' night out in Lodi, Jolene was brooding over recent turn of events.

"I really hope this movie lives up to the reviews. It's supposed to be really funny and I'm really in the mood to laugh. No moody chick flicks for me tonight." Donna started.

Looking over at an unusually quiet Jolene, it seemed like her friend hadn't heard a word she said. Jolene had one hand on the wheel as she chewed on the thumbnail of her left hand. Donna reached over to turn down the radio, which was currently blasting her favorite song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"If you're still upset over Jax, we should've just stayed home." Donna stated.

"I'm not upset about Jax." Jolene claimed, not too convincingly as she took her eyes off the road to glare at her friend.

"I never would have guessed. That's the most you've spoken since we left Charming."

Turning her attention back to the road, Jolene shook her head grimly. "We had plans tonight, D."

"I know." Donna replied, a little bummed out herself since the original plan for tonight was to hang out with both Jax and Opie, her own secret crush.

"What kind of bullshit is that, anyway?" Jolene said angrily. "They broke up almost three months ago. She started up with Hale almost as soon as she dumped Jax. Yet, he takes her back the minute Hale is sent overseas and she comes crawling back?"

"Maybe he really does love her, Jo. People do stupid shit when they're in love." Donna reasoned.

Jolene smirked to herself. Donna doesn't get it, Jolene thought bitterly. Nobody fucking gets it, least of all Jax.

They could claim to love each other all they wanted, but true love means accepting the person you fell in love with as is. Both Jax and Tara had been guilty of trying to change the other to fit into their lives and their futures for the past three years. Jax wanted an old lady that loved the Life as much as he did. Someone that would understand when the road beckoned and he was gone for days, sometimes weeks at a time. Someone that wouldn't fall apart when the shit got real. That woman wasn't Tara, who had to know Jax's every movement, every minute of every day.

Tara wanted out of Charming. She wanted to leave behind the miserable existence she was convinced had sent her mother to an early grave. As much as she hated Charming and the influence the MC had over the town, she wasn't brave enough to leave on her own. She wanted to take Jax with her. That's why she had delayed college for a year, hoping that eventually she would be able to convince Jax to leave the MC and go to Chicago with her. That wasn't love. That was loving the idea of being in love and needing someone to fight your battles for you. The fact was that they spent more time fighting and making up than actually happy and acting like a couple in love.

Donna was right. Maybe they should have just stayed home tonight because her evening had certainly turned what should have been the best day of her life into a major letdown.

She still couldn't believe that the car she was driving was actually hers. After getting her learner's permit, thanks to Big Otto for teaching her how to drive like she would be operating a getaway car, it was only a matter of time before she had her license. But her dad couldn't wait until Jolene was officially licensed to drive.

Jolene had arrived at the T-M lot bright and early, as usual for a Saturday morning. Her father had been waiting for her at the entrance to the garage. Wrapping her in one of his big Papa Bear hugs that she loved so much, Clay had kissed the top of her head and reached into the inner pocket of his cut to pull out a small blue box with a gold bow.

"Just a small reward for passing." He said.

Jolene still remembered the feeling of stunned wonder at seeing the box, only to roll her eyes when she pulled out a Ford Mustang tear drop keychain.

"Cute, Dad. Really cute. So I guess this is going to have to hold me until I get my driver's license and I can score some real car keys, huh?" She snarked.

Clay smiled at his daughter. "Baby girl, I thought you were smarter than that. The keys are exactly where they should be." As Jolene quirked an eyebrow, Clay grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. It was a good thing that he had been holding her up.

Jolene gasped as a shiny cobalt blue Mustang with a huge bow on the front hood pulled into the lot. "Oh my God, Oh my God, OH MY GOD!" Jolene was dangerously close to hyperventilating as the car pulled to stop in front of her and out popped Jax.

"It's mine, it's really mine?" She squealed as she jumped up and down.

"Well, since you have a keychain, I guess it might as well belong to you." Hugging his daughter to him, Clay smiled happily. "Now remember our agreement. You follow all the traffic rules and no lead foot, right?"

But Jolene was not perfect and like any teenager who had been presented with their own car, all such talks, agreements and promises quickly left her head as she broke free from her father to race around to the driver's side to hop in. Jax had jumped into the passenger seat, requesting a demonstration of her driving skills. Jolene had gunned it out of the lot and onto the highway as she and Jax talked about making plans to hang out later tonight with both Donna and Ope.

Jolene had played it cool, but she couldn't help but notice the furtive looks Jax was throwing her way as they drove back to Charming. Dropping Jax off at the garage, Jolene had headed to Donna's to show off her new car and to recruit her friend into giving her the makeover Donna was always nagging her about.

Jolene had been floating on cloud nine until she made her way back to T-M and spotted Jax talking to Tara, who was leaning against his bike. It looked intense and no one was smiling, so Jolene was caught completely off guard when Jax buried his hands in Tara's hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

Jax hadn't actually bailed on their plans for the night because Jolene hadn't given him the chance. She bailed on him first, not giving him the chance to break their "date" because Jolene knew what that kiss meant. They were back together and the last thing she wanted was for Jax to confirm it because there was no way Jolene was going to be supportive or diplomatic about it. Their three-month break up was just a dry run. The next time Tara left, Jax was going to be blindsided and Jolene wasn't sure she would be able to pick up the pieces again because her own heart broke every time she saw them together.

Destiny or not, there was just so much a girl was willing to take.

Jolene halfheartedly danced around the ring feeling pretty unmotivated.

Wearing a pair of sweatpants, a tank top, protective headgear and a pair of boxing gloves, Jolene haphazardly took direction as Chibs tried to refocus her energies on the task at hand.

Outside the ring, Opie and Tig shouted encouragement as Chibs stood in the ring throwing punches and barking out instructions. While in the past, Chibs had taken time to show her a tip or two on how to protect herself, tips that Jolene had put to good use in her school battles, Chibs had finally decided to keep a promise he had made to Jolene when she first came to Charming and for the last few weeks, he had been training her in the art of boxing.

Jolene had been extremely enthusiastic at first and was a great student, making rapid progress. But Jax's recent reconciliation with OP had devastated her. Adding insult to injury, Jax asked OP—now RP, as in recycled pussy—to get his crow and the bitch said yes! Jolene was pretty sure that getting Jax's ink had more to do with Tara wanting to rub being chosen by Jax in the face of every single woman in the Clubhouse. Jolene was convinced that it was no more than a status symbol and less a permanent sign of commitment on her part to their relationship. Either way, it didn't matter.

Tara Knowles was now officially Jax Teller's old lady.

Suddenly, Jolene felt a hard jab hit her alongside her protective headgear. Shocked, she looked up to see an angry Chibs, who had managed to sneak a right jab through her sadly lacking defenses.

"What's wrong with ya, luvvie?" Chibs demanded. "You're standing there like you aren't even here."

Jolene sighed. "I'm sorry, Chibs. I guess I've got stuff on my mind."

"Well, get it off then!" Chibs demanded. "Lass, you need to focus your rage. Get angry. Think about someone whom you'd like to pound to freaking dust and then hit me. Now get your arms up and let's go!"

Jolene sighed and got into position, dancing around the ring. As she turned to the left and faced the front of the lot, she saw Jax and RP ride in. Parking his bike, Jax playfully pulled Tara out of the seat, then piggy-backed her to the Clubhouse, obviously heading for what was sure to be a lively bang session.

As Jolene heard Tara's high pitched squeals, a rage inside her burst forth and with no warning, Jolene shot a one-two combination that caught Chibs square in the face. Almost knocked off of his feet by the impact of the unexpected blows, Chibs staggered once, then twice, before righting himself.

Amid the bursts of laughter and hollering of Opie and Tig, who, if they had blinked would have missed it, Chibs slapped Jolene on the shoulder.

Rubbing his sore jaw, Chibs crowed, "Now that's what I'm talking about 'lil luvvie. Where the hell did that come from?"

As Opie's eyes followed Jolene's gaze, who was still watching the couple heading towards the Clubhouse, Opie quietly remarked to Tig, "I bet ya fifty bucks I can tell you where."

"No deal. That's a sucker bet." Tig smirked.

"You know, I see some great benefits to this new gig of yours." Jolene said as she sipped on a free Cherry Coke.

"You know I'll always hook you up." Donna replied cheerily as she slid into the booth opposite Jolene. "Just don't expect it all the time."

It was late afternoon in Nicky's diner, the only decent family restaurant in town. Donna had been working at the diner for two weeks and already she was quickly coming to be known as the best waitress in the place.

The diner was quiet at the moment with the dinner crowd not expected in for a couple of hours, so Donna could kick back and relax with her best friend. And it was good timing to Donna's way of thinking. She had news to share and only her best friend would do.

"So, you drag me down here to spill some intense drama, so drop it on me. I'm all ears." Jolene said as she finished her soda, with a loud sucking noise.

"I've got a confession to make."

"Really? Well, if it's about a certain 6'4 biker I know, you can stop right there. I know all about it." Jolene rolled her eyes at her friend's gasp. "What? Did you really think I didn't know you have a major crush on one Opie Winston?"

Donna leaned back in her seat. "I thought that I hid it rather well, actually." She replied sheepishly. "After all, since you've had your head up Jax's ass for the last three years, I didn't think you noticed." She drawled.

"Hey, one obsessive stalker knows another one when she sees her." Jolene shot back.

"Well, here's something you don't know, bitch—I think he likes me back."

"Shut Up! When did this finally happen?"

Donna giggled excitedly. "He's been showing up every day for breakfast going on two weeks now—in this very station—my station."

"You biatch! He's been coming here every day for two weeks and I'm just finding this out now?" Jolene crossed her arms and gave her friend the stink eye.

"Look, my bad, but you've been a little down in the dumps lately about Jax getting back together with—" Donna hesitated.

"DON'T say her name!" Jolene interrupted.

Donna continued, "So I didn't want to rain on your parade with my good news."

"D, you should know me better than that. I'm not about to be mad that your love train has finally pulled into your station. The two of you have been circling each other for a couple of years. I'm just surprised that Opie has finally stepped up to the plate." Jolene leaned against the diner's table. "So, when are you gonna let him get to first base?" Jolene leered.

"Nasty!" Donna cackled. "I'm a good girl. I don't know where this is headed, but I know I'm going to take my time getting there. As it is, it's going to be hard enough getting my parents on board. For some reason they seem to think that SAMCRO's no good."

Jolene sighed to herself but kept quiet. She loved Donna like a sister, but the reality was that she was an outsider and there was no way that she could tell her about the true nature of the Club. That would be Opie's job.

"All I can say is, if Ope is what you want, then you better go for it. Believe me, when the opportunity presents itself, I will make my move on Jax."

"Jo," Donna said hesitantly, but Jolene cut her off.

"D, I know you think I should give it up, especially after what's happened, but I told you. It's my destiny to be with him. It's just taken me some time to understand some hard truths."

"And those would be?" Donna inquired.

"That in order for Jax to truly appreciate me, he's going to have to go through this 'relationship' phase with RP until it goes through its final death throes. I've come to understand that Jax needs to go through this first love bullshit and suffer the pain when it finally crashes and burns. It's horrible and unpleasant and terrible, but there you have it. He needs to go through all this drama with her so that when he finally sees me, he recognizes me for what I am—the best damn old lady to ride bitch on his bike. Ever. Granted, I'm suffering having to watch this play out now, but if it means that eventually he will be mine, I can wait."

I can wait forever if I have to.

Jolene stood over the bed looking down at her first and only love and wondered just how long she was going to have to put up with this shit. It had been six months since Tara Knowles had fled the small town to find her destiny in Chicago and Jolene couldn't be happier. The woman who had been the bane of her existence for three years had finally left Charming, and Jax, for college, but her ghost was still haunting him.

Six months was more than enough time to get over this bullshit, or at least that was Jolene's take on the situation. But just as she predicted, Jax had not seen it coming and was having a tough time dealing with the reality that she wasn't coming back. Ever since she had left, Jax spent most of his waking moments more drunk than sober. It seemed that his penis was in constant go mode and there was always plenty of pussy in the Clubhouse, and elsewhere, just waiting for the privilege of spreading their legs for him.

Jolene had known that the aftermath of Tara's departure would be difficult on Jax, but she simply had no idea that it would get so out of control. It seemed that Jax two favorite pastimes were booze and pussy. Between his constant solo runs to Reno and his visits to Cara Cara, even the croweaters and sweetbutts at the Clubhouse were in a frenzy as they hardly got to see him, never mind his dick. It seemed as if he was hardly ever at the Clubhouse anymore, except for Church, which was why he finally showed up on Thursday night.

How he managed to make it here from Reno without killing himself is a mystery to me.

Opie had called the house to let Clay know that Jax had finally shown up, but it was Jolene who had answered the phone. Jolene was pretty sure that Jax was in no condition to see anyone, especially not his President, and decided to let him sleep off whatever poisons he was trying to kill himself with and wait until the next morning to deal with his bullshit. Enough was enough.

Driving down to the Clubhouse in her new Mustang, Jolene pulled into the lot and spotted Opie sitting at the picnic table eating one of Bobby's blueberry muffins.

"Hey," Jolene said as she sauntered over to the table. Grabbing one of several muffins Opie had on a paper towel, she bit into one. "Thanks."

With eyebrows raised, Opie replied, "I don't remember offering."

"You didn't," Jolene shot back cheekily. "If I had waited to be asked, I wouldn't have got any." Sitting across the table, she looked at Opie. "So, how did it go last night?" Jolene wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm a gentleman. I don't kiss and tell." Opie replied, referring to his first official date with Donna.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to tell me what color the panties were." Jolene snarked.

I know my best friend. She won't be giving up the goods to you any time soon. Besides, I'll get that kind of 411 from Donna.

"Good, 'cause I didn't see any." Opie smirked, but the young biker realized that that was okay. If he wanted easy, there was a Clubhouse full of easy always available. Opie wanted a relationship.

He had always enjoyed hanging out with Donna in a group. He could tell she was different. Not only was she pretty, she had an outgoing personality, his exact opposite. Opie was reserved and quiet and having Donna around had brought out a different side of him. She was smart, energetic and had a wry sense of humor. Even though the date was nothing overly special, just dinner and a movie in Lodi and then a ride home on his Harley, Opie had really enjoyed himself. Even before he had dropped her off at home, he had decided not to press her for a kiss, so he had been pleasantly surprised when Donna reached up and grabbed him by his beard to give him a tender kiss on the lips before running inside. She had tasted sweet, like strawberries.

I have a feeling it's going to take a long time for me to get to first base. Opie smiled to himself. But I think it's going to be worth it.

Jolene echoed his sentiments. "Good. Anticipation is a very good thing for you two." Believe me, I've been waiting three long years. "It's character building."

Opie quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" He drawled.

"Uh huh." Finishing her muffin, Jolene changed the subject. "So can I assume that our resident drunk and pussyhound is in his dorm?"

Opie sighed. "Yeah, although I don't know what condition he's in."

Jolene rested her chin in her hand. "Ope, I just don't get it. It's not like she was all that and a bag of chips. I knew she wasn't cut out for the Life and she's proved it by running off and leaving him. Why is he still mourning her?"

Opie shrugged his shoulders. "First love B.S. dies hard, I guess. I think he'll get over it eventually. It's just going to take some time."

"Yeah, but in the meantime he's gonna wear his penis down to a nub." Jolene retorted.

Opie tried to stop the laugh from coming out, but it came out as a snort. "I don't think he minds that right now."

Giving him the stink eye, Jolene rose from the table and headed off to the dorm to do some damage control. All jokes aside, Jolene was afraid that Jax was really dealing with the whole Tara situation rather badly. The last thing she wanted was for him to go completely off the deep end and mess up his standing in the Club and with his President, or even worse, do some long-lasting damage to himself.

After the last time she had gotten the eye-popping view of Jax's manly attributes, Jolene knew she needed to prepare herself mentally. She didn't want to act like the totally hormonal and completely obsessed teenager she knew she appeared to be the last time around. So it took her a good ten minutes to psych herself up in order to treat him as a snarky and bratty younger sister before she had thrown the door open.

Thank God. At least this time he's got some clothes on.

Jax had apparently come in the night before and fell flat on his back in his bed fully clothed, including his sneakers. He reeked of liquor, weed, and pussy.

Looking at her watch, Jolene realized that she had less than two hours to get him clean and sober for Church. Desperate times call for desperate measures, she thought grimly. Picking up a wastebasket filled with garbage, Jolene emptied the contents and went into the bathroom.

Jax was in a dream world, an alcoholic haze from which he didn't want to awaken from when suddenly a sheet of icy cold water was unceremoniously dumped on his head.

"Son of a bitch!" He nearly gasped as he leapt off the bed. Whirling around he saw his stepsister, with one hand cocked on her hip and the other holding his garbage can.

"Morning." Jolene said cheerfully. Looking at her watch, she tsked, "Actually, it's afternoon now. I couldn't find your alarm clock in this mess, so I thought using this would be best." Putting the garbage can back in its proper place, she crossed her arms underneath her very small bosom. "Had a good night's sleep?"

"Are you fucking crazy, Jo?" Jax demanded as he used his hands to slick back his sopping wet air from his face before dropping onto his back on the bed.

"No, but you must be to show up here looking and smelling like you do when you have Church in less than two hours."

Suddenly, the clanging in Jax's head became a loud roar and a feeling of nausea started churning in his belly. He put his hand to his mouth and in a flash, Jolene grabbed the garbage can and ran to him. Pulling him into a sitting position on the bed, Jolene shoved the garbage can into his arms. Jax held onto it as if it were a life preserver as he violently threw up the contents of his stomach.

Holding back the longer strands of his hair, Jolene held onto him as his stomach continued to heave. Finally, the ordeal seemed to be over and Jax wearily leaned back on his bed.

Quickly, Jolene ran into the bathroom to dispose of the noxious waste. Returning to the room, she managed to get Jax to sit up while she gently cleaned his face with a wet washcloth.

Realizing that there was no way around it, she told herself to get a grip and in a no-nonsense tone demanded, "Strip."

Although still drunk, Jax realized that probably wasn't a good idea, but Jolene was insistent. "Now, Jax." Not giving him a chance to argue, Jolene bent down and started with his sneakers.

It took about ten minutes, but Jax was finally sitting on his bed wearing nothing but his boxers. Jolene handed him a glass of water. "Sip that very slowly."

In an effort to keep herself from passing out at the sight of a nearly-naked Jax, Jolene bundled up all of his dirty clothes, managed to find some clean ones, and put them with his cut on a chair in the corner of the room. Jolene worked quickly to put the rest of the room in order, making Jax stand so that she could strip the bed of its soiled bedding and remake it with some fresh linen she had found. Finally, shoving him back onto his bed, Jolene stood over him.

"How long are you going to let that bitch twist you up?" She demanded.

Jax rubbed his face tiredly. "She's not."

"Really, 'cause from this here, that's not the impression I'm getting. Look, she bailed on you because she was never right for you from the get. And in your heart, you know I'm right because if you didn't, you would have left Charming and went off to Chicago with her. This Club and this family is your home, Jax. She's not like Tommy or your Dad. If they had a choice, they never would have left you. She left of her own free will and there's no need to punish your mother, your family, or yourself because she's gone."

Squatting in front of Jax, Jolene tenderly reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. "You know, nobody likes an 'I told you so,' so I'm not going to say it, but just promise me one thing, okay?"

Jax nodded tiredly. "What?"

"Please don't go all Kurt Cobain on me, huh?" Jolene replied with a catch in her voice. "I really couldn't take that shit."

Giving Jolene a crooked smile, Jax reached out with both hands and ran his fingers through Jolene's mass of black curls. "Darlin', there's nobody I love that much to go off that ledge for."

Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Jolene trembled slightly. "Glad to hear it. As far as I'm concerned the subject of NP, OP, RP is officially over. Let's just pretend that the last three years never happened. It was just a violent, horribly disgusting nightmare, never to be thought of or mentioned again. Deal?"

"Deal." He winked at her.

Feeling a little weak-kneed, Jolene stood up to her full height, turned and headed for the door. "Why don't you get in the shower while I put on some coffee? Clock's ticking with only ninety minutes before Church is in session. I don't think you want my Dad or your brothers seeing you in this condition."

As Jolene pulled the door closed behind her, she heard Jax making his way to the bathroom.

It's going to take a little time for him to get his shit together, Jolene thought as she walked towards the kitchen to fix Jax some coffee. But I can wait.

I'm not going anywhere.

~ To Be Continued ~

A/N: This chapter ends Jax's history with Tara and was meant to chronicle the 3 years they were together and how that affected Jolene and her relationship with Jax. Tara was never meant to be the focal of the story as she was only ever a part of Jax's history. Up until now, although there are hints that his affection for Jolene borders on non-brotherly territory, he's still in denial, convinced that he cares for her only as a stepsister and friend.

But that's gonna change.

The next prequel currently in the works will detail the 2-year time period between Jax and Tara's break-up and his relationship with Jolene, which began way before Chapter 1 of Charming's Worst Kept Secret. I know there are a number of situations that were mentioned, but never fully explained in CWKS. The second prequel, He Just Doesn't Know It Yet, will explore, among other things, the bat-swinging incident and the reason why Jolene came back to Charming after living with her birth mother for 6 months.

If you're interested, please sign up for author alerts. Thanks again for reading and I hope to hear from ya'll soon in the form of feedback! Thanks!