A/N 10/8/2018:This is it people! This chapter officially makes DFTR my longest story! WOOT! PAR-TAY! and we are so close to the end of the season too! My goodness! Already?! Well, I hope y'all have enjoyed the ride so far. And things are about to get dramatic! WWWOOOOOOOOOO. I hope these two chapters make up for my sporadic updating this past week. It's been a hell of a week at that with all of the OT and no sleep! Then mom. Then my needy patron deities. My tarot readings. My witchy chat blog update...shit just got busy. lol Anywho. Enjoy!

Jax stepped out of the nursery to find his mother waiting in the hall, and she did not look happy.

"Little family reunion?" she asked.

"How long you been watchin'?"

"Since 1978."

"She just wants to hold her kid," he tried, barely, to defend. "You of all people should get that."

"You think she has a right to hold that baby?"

"As much of a right as I do," he shrugged. "I wasn't shooting crank, but I bailed on that kid too. I'm making up for that now. She just wants the same chance."

Gemma thought for a moment. "What about Angela. That girl has been more of a mother to Abel than even I have. You may have bailed, but you came back when given the chance. Wendy was given a chance, and she still pushed that shit into her veins. She isn't his mother. Angel is."

Jax didn't answer, only nodded.

"Anything new on Ope and Bobby?" she asked.

"No, nothing. But Clay is sure Ope sold us out," he said sullenly.

"I don't care what anyone says. Opie didn't rat," Gemma tells her son.

"I had a doubt, I'll admit. But Angel set me right. And the signs were glaringly obvious once she did."

"Smart girl. Better than either of the ones before."

Jax smiled. "Thanks, mom."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Chibs and Bella were still in his dorm. Both laying on his bed, Bella on her back, Chibs with his ear pressed to her bare stomach, her shirt riding up just under her breasts, listening as if he'd be able to hear the life inside right then.

"I had a thought on a name," Bella said softly. Chibs raised his head to look at her.

"Aye? And what was your thought?" he asked her.

"Callum. Callum Charles Telford. A nod to his Scottish roots."

"So sure we'll have a son are you?"

Bella nodded. "Why not? I'm the one cooking him. Why shouldn't I get a say in what gender he is?" she asked with a mischievous look in her eye. Chibs chuckled.

"And if the child is as stubborn as her mother?" he asked. Bella shrugged.

"I honestly hadn't thought of girls names. Why don't you pick that one?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair.

"Charlotte Isola," he said after thinking. "For both her grandfather and mother."

"Looks like the family is getting another Charlie no matter what," she smiled. "Dad will be thrilled."

Chibs merely hmm'd. He then kissed her bare tummy, right over their child, before moving lower, and lower. Settling between her legs, he kissed her center, still covered by the jean shorts she had thrown on that morning just before the feds dragged her out of their room.

Bella moaned at the fire he always managed to cause racing through her system. Her fingers scratching along his scalp. Undoing the button, Chibs pulled them off her, and dove right in, reveling in her taste and the sounds she was making. It had been too long, and with the happy news she had given, he was going to show her just how much she meant to him. One hand traveled up to her breast, rolling, pinching, and playing with her nipple, as the other sent two fingers into her snatch. Curling and beckoning her tight little cunt to clench and offering them both a sense of release, as he lightly nipped and played with her clit.

Bella's moans of passion found their way out between shallow breaths as her hips rose and fell in time with his thrusting fingers in order to find the release she so wanted.

"Aah! Ooohhh! Yes. Fuck! Filip! Oh, shit! Yes. Yes! YES! AAHH!" Her perfect little cunt clenched around his fingers tightly as they pushed into her once again. He allowed her to ride her orgasm out on his fingers as he kissed his way up her body, stopping to lightly kiss both of her aroused tight little peaks.

Drawing level with her, and looking at her beautiful, satisfied countenance, he kissed her forehead. "I love you." Then her nose. "You are beautiful." Then her chin. "And you are a miracle." And finally her lips. Settling between her hips, he took his cock in hand, and slid, slowly into her still spasming channel.

The pace he set was slow and maddening to Bella, but when she looked up at him, to tell him to go faster, the words caught in her throat. He was looking at her in pure undisguised adoration. The love in he eyes, shining so brightly, she blushed. This wasn't about all out passionate fucking. This was love. The kind that every couple strives for. Where you show through your very being and the act of making love...were two people become truly one.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Stahl entered the room she had Donna Winston and her children situated in. Donna was immediately in her face.

"Tell me what the hell is going on," she demanded lowly so she wouldn't startle her children. Stahl looked at Donna and then to the Child Advocate in the room with them.

"See if the kids want some ice cream?" she asks her.

"Sure."

"Is that okay with you?" Stahl thinks to ask Donna as an after thought.

"Yeah. Hey, kids. Go with the lady. Hey. Kenny," she said trying to pull her son away from the video game. "Come on. Go with the lady, okay? She's gonna get you some ice cream."

Donna then sat down, facing the bitch who first had the audacity to enter her house, then take her and her family into custody in the middle of the night.

"You recently paid off three months of back mortgage on your house in cash. Where did it come from?" Stahl asked. Donna didn't answer. No way was she going to rat on her old man. Took her this long to trust him again because of her own insecurity. Thanks to Izzy. It was no longer there.

"You spent it. You fed your kids on it. How was it earned?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."

"You know, Donna, your family is falling apart. Now, I want to help you, but I-"

"Don't pretend you give a shit about my family. As far as I'm concerned the only one TRYING to tear my family apart...is you. You've got shit and smoke, lady. And pretty soon, your hands are going to be filled with nothing but shit."

"The U.S. Attorney hasn't released the name of the witness, and as far as SAMCRO is concerned, one person shot a man, another person witnessed the crime. That's why you're here- for your own protection."

Donna scoffed. "No."

"No?"

"No. We're here under the false pretense that it's for our own protection. 'Another person witnessed the crime'? There was a witness and now you're bending it to your needs. Only we wouldn't be here if they were able to identify Opie. He would just be in jail. You're setting Opie up. You stupid fucking bitch."

"It doesn't matter. Clay and his crew think Opie has turned. Do you have any idea what these guys do to a rat?"

Donna looked hard at Stahl. "No. Jax wouldn't let anything happen to Opie. They've known each other since they were kids."

"Well, I certainly hope hat Jax has enough pull to make that happen, because I can only protect him for one more day. Without my help, this thing goes one of two ways- Opie is in prison, or he's dead."

Donna didn't believe it. Sam Crow always found a way to help those that remained true.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The door to the interrogation room opened once more, and Opie looked up to see Donna enter. He stood and met her, enfolding her smaller frame into his.

"Opie," she said. He stood there for a moment, relishing the feel of his wife in his arms.

"Are the kids okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. You're mom's coming to get them," she said, looking up at him.

"My mom? Are you serious?" he asked.

"A.T.F. spooked my family. Mary's the only one willing to come down. They wouldn't let me call anyone of the club."

"Shit."

They both sat at the table. "Stahl said the club thinks you turned on them."

"They hauled us in here to make it look like we took a deal. Bitch hung me out as a rat. Hoped that she could scare me into giving up something about a crime that I knew nothing about," Opie told her. Donna smiled.

"I know. Remember when Ellie was 3. She said that bad guys always talked too much in her movies. If they wanted to do something they should just do it. The talking was boring, she said." Opie smiled at one of the memories that kept him sane in prison.

"I remember. Smart as a whip even then." Donna nodded.

"Yeah. Well, turns out, it's not just bad guys that talk too much." Opie took her hands and gave them a light squeeze.

"Smart like her mother." Donna smiled.

"Want some good news? It'll keep your spirits up. Our new friend has a secret." Opie tilted his head and looked at her with a smile.

"What's that?" Donna began humming Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses softly in his ear so it wouldn't be picked up by Stahl. Opies eyes widened. He remembered when Donna told him she was pregnant with Ellie. She had that song playing.

"You've gotta be fucking shitting me!" he exclaimed with a wide grin. Donna shook her head. "That is good news. Bet she's freaking out."

"She fainted." Opie gave a snort of laughter.

"Not so tough then."

Stahl was pissed that not even allowing Opie and Donna see each other brought forth any new information.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"You killed a state official, Bobby. The U.S. Attorney will seek the death penalty."

"I didn't kill anybody," Bobby said to Stahl. "Anybody who says I did is lyin'. And if you have anything else to say, why don't you talk to my lawyer."

"Well, if my witness statement is a lie, then maybe you should hear all of it," she said, sitting down.

"Yeah, I like a good story."

Stahl opened her file. " 'Hefner got spooked by something Opie did. He turned back to you, you shot from 10 feet away, hitting Hefner in his lower torso three times. Hefner fell. You and Opie fled the balcony and met up downstairs with Jax Teller. Jax was the look out and drove the car."

Bobby smirked. "Great fiction."

"Eye witness fiction." Bobby's smirk never left his face.

"I'd believe it, if you show me the writing in that file. Right here. Right now."

Stahl froze. Everything from her eyes, to her smile, to her, to her posture, froze. Bobby was going to show her why you didn't bluff with an outlaw.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Mary entered the room Donna was waiting in.

"Where are the kids?" Mary asked.

"Cafeteria. Finishing dinner. Thanks for picking them up," she said as she began gathering their things.

"I don't know how much fun they're gonna have with me," Mary mused.

"They like your dogs."

"One of them died," Mary tells her. "Wanna tell me what's going on here?"

"They have shit in one hand and wishes in the other," Donna tells her.

"You're not in lockdown for shit and wishes, sweetheart," Mary tells her. "He's going back to jail."

"He's your son," Donna spat.

"He's a criminal," Mary shot back. "Just like his father. Opie made his choice."

"He was 16 when you bailed." Mary walked up to her.

"I took Opie with me… to get away from all of this shit. He's the one who ran back to his old man, the club. His problems aren't mine. If you have half a brain, you will take these kids, and move to another planet. Before their father poisons them."

"His problems are yours! You birthed him. If Kenny went to jail tomorrow, I would stand by his side. Because that kind of fear, you need a parent, father, mother, doesn't matter, you need someone to know how you feel or you'd die of insanity! Piney was too pissed off and wanted club justice, and you just weren't there. He's loyal to the MC because Clay was the one to tell him they would be there for him. It was to Clay he told his fears to! That is why he is loyal to the Sons, Mary."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Angela was at Jax's, stocking up his pantries for when they brought Abel home the next day. She had also bought a few party things, but was sure Gemma had an idea, so didn't go all out on the decorations. She heard the front door open and close and turned to see the very woman, and chuckled.

"What are you laughing about?" Gemma asked.

"I was just thinking about you," Angela said as she put things away. "How I bought a few party things, but knowing that you might have had a better idea than mine, I stuck to streamers and balloons."

"I knew you were smart. Sit down. They way your buzzing about like that is giving me a headache," Gemma said, lighting a joint. She took a couple of tokes before passing it to Angel, who took to it like a pro. Gemma raised an eyebrow.

"I was the daughter of the town's reverend. Didn't mean when daddy was away I didn't play."

Gemma chuckled. "I just want everything to be perfect for tomorrow, Gemma. Abel coming home is a really big deal. Especially the fight he had to put up to get here."

"Amen, Angel. But I have a serious question, and I demand nothing but a truthful answer, do you understand?" Gemma said with a hard look at her.

Angela nodded before Gemma continued. "You love Jax?" Angela looked at her and smiled.

"I care deeply for Jax. And would never intentionally hurt him. Do I love him. Not completely. Am I falling for him? Very quickly, and very hard."

Gemma smiled. "Truth. Will you do anything in your power to keep this family together?"

Angela's smile never faltered. "To my last breath. It is a small family, but it is fierce. And there is a huge extended family to draw support from."

"Truth," Gemma said. "Good. Abel needs a mother. Jax needs a woman to depend on and love. You keep your promises, you have my full blessing."

Gemma leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Angela smiled. "And it is only an idiot who goes against Queen Gemma. Especially when all you are asking for is to keep your family together."

"Smart girl. Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow. A shitload of stuff to get together for his coming home party. Night, baby," Gemma said, picking up her keys and leaving.

"Night, Gemma."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

They were finally letting them free. Opie and Donna walked as quickly as they could to the elevator, but Stahl was sticking to them like a bad trip.

"You know I'll be picking you up again, Ope. As soon as we put this case together, you will be tried for murder."

"I guess I'll see you then," he snarked.

"Going back to the club is a mistake. It puts you and your family at risk."

"I can protect my family," he said at the same time Donna said,

"Wonder whose fault that is, bitch."

"You need to start thinking about your kids," Stahl said as she turned Donna around by her arm. "Donna, what kind of mother are you gonna be?" Donna stared at Stahl hard.

"The kind who doesn't bail on her family. Don't you ever insinuate such a thing again. I am a good mother," Donna said, turning to Opie. "Let's go." They left and Stahl addressed her partner.

"Did you cover it?" she asked.

"Yeah. I got mikes and trackers in his cell phone, bike, and truck," he informs her.

"Good. Stay on him. I want to know his every move. I gotta keep this shithead alive," she bemoaned as she turned back into the building.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Clay, Ope left Stockton. He wants to come in, tell us what happened," Jax tells Clay as he and Tig approached the clubhouse.

"That's good. We all want that," Clay said.

"Hey. I need to know he's gonna be safe, despite all the shit we think we know," Jax pressed Clay.

"Ope's a member of this club. He's gonna get his time. Safe room," Clay promised. Jax looked to Tig.

"Yeah," he said.

"Okay."

"I gotta go see Rosen. Make sure Bobby's okay. You tell Ope he comes in when I get back, all right?" Clay asked Jax.

"All right."

"All right." Clay said, hugging Jax, before Tig got in one as well.

~~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~~

"U.S. Attorney won't disclose the name of the witness because of security issues," Rosen tells Clay.

"No ideas?" Clay asked.

"Talked to Bobby last night. He says Stahl knows there was a third man. She knows it was Jax. Bobby said whoever saw him could never have I.D.'d Jax," Rosen said.

"Only one other guy knows that Jax was there," Tig said.

"That's my guess. Looks like Opie Winston is turning."

"So why would the feds cut Opie loose, huh? Why would they let him come and plead his innocence to the club?" Clay asked.

"Well, if I was gonna cross-examine, I'd argue that Opie is a criminal and he's lying to make a cushy deal. He might need more evidence to get witness protection."

"You think they're gonna wire him?" Clay clarified.

"He gets Jax talking about the alleged Hefner kill, it's a lock."

"Jesus Christ," Tig whispers. Clay was torn. He really did see Opie as a son. Especially knowing what the kid went through in Chino. But he had to protect his club.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Opie exited the house to see Jax on the curb waiting for him.

"Gonna make this right, bro," Jax said, hugging it out with Opie.

"Yeah."

"Look, you trying to push me off this thing that happened- I know you're just trying to- trying to watch my back," Opie tells Jax. Jax nods.

"Come on. They're all waiting," Jax said, hopping onto his bike as Opie took his truck. It didn't take them long to reach the clubhouse, and they found everyone in the bar area waiting for them.

"Piney, your boy's here," Chibs tells the elder. Piney looks towards the door to see Opie entering and laughs.

"How you doin' son?" he asked, with a bone crushing hug.

"I'm good. I'm good," he tells Piney.

Chibs was next. "Good to see you back here. Welcome home. You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," he tells the Scot.

"Check it all," Clay says lowly to Tig before he walks up to Opie and gives him his own welcome home hug.

"Ope. Go on in," he said, gesturing towards the redwood table.

"Hold on gentlemen. Phones please," Chibs said, having everyone place their phone in a cigar box and leaving it on a nearby pool table.

Nearly everyone gathered around the table, but it was Jax who noticed the missing member. "Where's Tig?" he asked.

"He'll be in in a minute," Clay promised. "Thanks for coming in, Ope. It says a lot."

"It says he's not a rat," Piney corrected. Clay gives a small scoff.

"We got one member in jail, and another in a wit-pro facility. You can understand my worry," Clay tells the founding elder.

Opie took a moment. "Yeah, I know how this looks- what Stahl has done. She set me up to look like a rat. It's all a lie. She threatened me with my own club. I don't know who the hell the witness is, but it sure as shit ain't me."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Tig was checking Opies truck for bugs. It had gotten to the point where he was beginning to hope and be optimistic that Opie really had been set up. He checked every crease, nook, and cranny and found nothing. Until the sensor picked up something in his cabin light. Tig winced at the results, truly upset that a brother would turn on them. He gently unscrewed the cover and pulled out the small microchip looking bug, sighing at the irrefutable proof of Opie's betrayal.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"She tried to turn Donna against me, offered her that whole wit-pro bullshit dream. But she turned it down. She could've walked away. I'm honestly not sure she would have done that if we hadn't met Izzy when we did," he said, giving a nod to Chibs. "She trusted me that if I came in here and had the chance to tell you guys the truth, that I could make this right."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

This was the last place he had to look. The cell phones on the pool table. Tig was run down at the betrayal. And at the same time, pissed off. Why? Why would Opie do this? He found a bug in his phone all right. And it pissed him off so much, he dunked the damn thing in a pitcher of beer before entering the meeting room.

"Sorry," he said, as if he hadn't been catching a traitor. Opie shook his head.

"I was just telling that getting squeezed made me realize I can't do this with one foot out the door. I'm here. I'm in," Opie tells the others. "No more doubt. No more mistakes."

"You're a good man, Ope."

Opie started a bit, but addressed Clay. "Am I good with you, Clay? The M.C.?" There was a tense moment of silence before Clay answered.

"Yeah. We're good." Chibs turned to Opie. "Ah! Good news, Opie. Great news."

"Hey," Piney said, getting Opie's attention. "I'm proud of you son."

"Thanks, Pop," he said, giving his old man a hug. Everyone filed out into the bar but Tig and Clay.

Tig ran his sensor along the table, Opies chair, and the pack of cigs he left behind. "Room is clean."

"Anything?" Clay asked.

"His truck was wired. His phone was wired. And I killed them both."

"Jesus Christ," Clay exclaimed.

"Opie has turned on us," Tig said with fury. "This has got to happen, Clay." Clay looked out the window to the others celebrating Opie's return.

"Jax'll never be able to hurt him. Take this to a vote- I've seen this shit before. I mean, this is the kind of shit that can crush a charter."

"Then we do it quiet," Tig whispered. "Me and you. For Bobby. For the club."

"We need total deniability. This death never lands at our feet," Clay emphasized.

"I understand," Tig said, nodding. Jax enters the room.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Ah, I'm just catching Tig up on what he missed," Clay lied.

"Yeah, it's all good, brother. It's all good," Tig went along before leaving Jax and Clay alone.

"Everything Opie said- you believe him, right?" Jax asked. "I mean, he's clear of this shit now."

"Of course. I love Opie too, bro. Come on," he said, going to the door. "Let's go join the party, huh?"

Jax nodded and passed Clay, missing the man's face fall in agony at what must be done.