Yeah Jax is a little lovey dovey here, but I like to think when the cameras aren't rolling he turns into that bad boy with the heart of gold we all like to think is out there. Even if he doesn't, its my fucking story. MKAngelus

OLODL CH10

"Jackson," she sighed into the phone, as always the deep timbre of his voice penetrated straight through her. She and Lila had been in Vegas for a medical conference and although it was interesting to see what was new and upcoming on the horizon in her field, not to mention all the clubs and late night parties at the Las Vegas clubhouse, she wanted nothing more than to be home, held tight in his strong, warm embrace, looking at her sons. Home, where chaos reigned supreme, danger was a given and she missed with everything in her being. "How are you?"

Jax smiled into the phone as he opened the door of the truck to get Abel. "I'm good babe, real good, are you calling to tell me you want to stay another couple of days? Really tear it up in Sin City?" He was only half joking, another couple of days rather than hours was totally what he needed to make this whole nightmare go away before Tara came home. Home, where once she found out that not one, but both of her sons were exposed to the bottom of his life, and that his mom was keeping his ex wife and a porn bitch hostage in her basement, before she saw all the blood and damage at the garage and most of all before he could get Abel to stop saying his new favorite buzzword. He reached in to grab Abel, resting the phone between his ear and shoulder as he unbuckled the now drowsy baby.

"No actually, we were thinking of coming in on an earlier flight. I mean, it's only like two hours earlier, but there's really nothing keeping us here."

"An earlier flight? Really?" He coughed slightly. Mentally subtracting the flight time, after all Vegas was only at most a six hour drive from Charming, the flight itself was only going to take an hour or so. "Why don't you just stay and make the most of it, you're going straight back to work, the guys are coming back down south, I'll be busy and the boys are going to take up any free time you have. You should stay and enjoy your break and really relax." He was desperate, she had to stay. Even if he had to call down and have Rick make her and Lila stay there, he had a whole shitstorm to figure out and very little time to do it in.

"I want to see you and the boys Jax, there'll be plenty of times for vacations; I miss you." She paused, she trusted him, she really did, but given their tumultuous relationship she had reason to pause, it seemed he'd only barely gotten out of Stockton and she worried constantly that the blanket of safety and serenity that was over their lives right now was going to be ripped away at any given time. "Is there something…wrong?"

"No baby, no, I miss you, the boys miss you, I think even my mom misses you, I want you to come home, I just think you deserve to have a little fun. We're all fine here, the boys, me and Ope, all of us, really, just fine." He carried Abel into the house and handed him off to his grandma who was only too happy to see her little man. She'd traveled halfway around the world to get this baby and a couple of days without seeing his dimpled smile and she was nuts.

Tara sighed into the phone; there was a very small part of her that wanted to stay and be that carefree girl again, a very small part. Mostly she just wanted to come home and hold her men. Jax began to pace and then he said, "Tara really, come home when you want to, I'll be there to get you either way."

Lila called her name and Tara turned and looked over her shoulder, Lila was gesturing to one of the dancers and Tara smiled at her friend. Lila needed this just as much as she did, living with Donnas' presence couldn't be easy and it wasn't fair to take that away from her. Tara nodded back and gave her an okay sign with her hand, "Maybe you're right Jax, there's no reason to come back early, its only two hours anyway. The boys will just be getting ready for bed anyhow; I guess we'll just come home as planned."

Of all the emotions he'd experienced over the past three years, the words he'd heard and spoken, none made him feel as relieved as these. He exhaled into the phone and thanked the universe, "Okay babe, I'll see you tonight then, I love you."

She took a deep breath at his admission and smiled into the phone, "I love you too Jax, give my boys a good night kiss for me and I'll see you tonight." It was amazing to her how he could be the toughest man she knew and a total asshole truth be told, but times like this, he was so loving that all of the heinous acts he'd committed seemed like some sort of dream. Jax clicked the phone closed and chugged the drink his mom had left on the counter, didn't matter that it was still morning, he'd take all the help he could get right now, out of a bottle or not. He walked around the corner and into the living room, where Gemma had sat on the couch, Abel in her lap, she gently rocked him.

"Okay mom, what the fuck do we do now?" He asked without preamble. "What are your great plans with the two of them?" He sat down across from her.

"I really didn't think that far ahead Jax, I just saw the opportunity and I took it."

"What opportunity?" He asked, pouring another drink.

"I was so mad that you wouldn't let me see the kids and I'm so damn bored when Clay isn't here that I went for a drive, I was driving home and saw the truck pull into the lot. I wondered one, what the hell was the gate doing unlocked and two, did that mutilated nut job know? So I cut the lights on my car and parked, I slipped in through the gates and saw those two retards pulling that pig carcass out of the back of the truck. I started to say something, but then I waited to see just what the hell they were going to do. So, I watched them splatter the blood everywhere and drag the pig into the bay. They came out and knocked over a half empty oil barrel and it sounded like a gunshot echoing around the lot. I thought for sure that Chuckie would come out and then it would just get all messed up, well," she paused and took a small sip of the drink by her arm, "More messed up than it was, so I pulled my gun and stepped out of the shadow and told the both of them to get into the car. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, I just knew that Wendy wasn't going to get my boy and Ima; well I don't give a shit what happens to her. The rest is history; I stuffed them into the trunk, tried to call you, tied them up when we got here and left them in the basement."

"Okay, as fucked up as all of that is, there's got to be some sense in there somewhere," although I'll be damned if I know where, Jax thought to himself before continuing, "but that still doesn't tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do with them."

Gemma looked up, completely serene and said quietly, "Well, kill them of course; what else are we going to do?" She looked back down at Abel and didn't see the look of incredulous fury that crossed his face, "Just kill them? Just like that?" He asked sarcastically.

"What's a matter with you? You trade your dick in for a vag Jackson?" she asked, still speaking softly to not wake the baby, "You act like you've never had to get rid of something that was in your way before, since when do you puss out?"

He sat up and put his hands on his knees, "I'm not pussing out," he hissed, "I'm trying to think rationally and like an adult, apparently I'm the only one in the fucking room that thinks 'just kill them' is a piss poor plan. First of all, how the hell do you expect me to kill Wendy and Ima and what the fuck am I supposed to do with them once I do? You don't think anyone will notice their gone? Ima's a fucking Nord hag and Wendy is dating one of Darby's lieutenants; even if they're too fucked up to notice that they've been gone all night, I've got a fucking Nord truck at the garage to deal with and disposing of two dead bodies isn't as easy as calling some freak show to dispose of one!" his voice raised at the end of his rant and Abel twitched, Gemma looked up disapprovingly.

"I don't care what or how you do it Jackson, I've got them here, they aren't going anywhere and it's up to you now to get rid of them. Wendy's going to go straight to her lawyer as soon as she gets out of here if you don't put a bullet in her. Is that what you want?"

"How do you know about that?" He asked, standing up and beginning to pace again.

"Jackson, I'm a bitch, but I'm not a stupid bitch. Why else would she be on the scene again? Plus, I called Rosie and asked if you had called and asked for any legal advice lately."

Jax took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. This day was slowly becoming the worst day of his life with each passing minute. He really didn't think that it was going to get any worse and then it did. He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling before replacing his cap. Just then there was a loud crack and what sounded like something heavy falling downstairs. "Jesus Christ," he swore, "What the hell was that?"

Gemma looked up from Abel's sleeping face and said, "Sounds like one of those dumb bitches got loose and fell down the stairs, why don't you go check?" All the while sounding like she was reading a children's story to orphans in a charity ward. Jax shook his head and looked at her and then silently turned and made his way to the basement door. Pulling his pistol out, he thumbed the safety off and carefully turned the knob.