Gemma knew Jax had been on edge lately. Not that she blamed him really. She knew better than anyone what having a sick kid does to a parent, the way it eats away at you, makes you question everyone and everything. So when she spotted Jax storming across the lot, she couldn't say she was all that surprised.
For a moment she considered cutting her smoke break short and meeting him at the pass. But she knew how that conversation would go. The same way all conversations with him seemed to go lately. He'd tell her he didn't want to talk about it, that it was none of her business. Then, after reminding him of her golden rule "her son, her business," she'd continue to pry and ask if Clay was the reason behind today's temper tantrum. Whether or not he actually was, Jax would deny it, and she'd be forced to move on to Tara, because God knew the last thing he needed was to get caught up in that pussy again. Jax would then recite his bullshit mantra that nothing was going on between him and the good doctor, that she was just helping on Abel's case, which was complete bullshit and they both knew it. But before she could inform him of that fact, he'd start his bike and speed away, leaving her with nothing worthwhile.
Gemma decided to hold back this time. She knew she'd get her answers eventually so she figured she might as well finish her cigarette first. Besides, she was currently busy trying to figure out how to get rid of Tara before the inevitable happened and that bitch twisted up her baby more than she already had. However, aside from killing her, Gemma was drawing a blank. And considering Tara had just finished fixing her grandson's heart, that was, rather unfortunately out of the question.
When she reached the end of her smoke, she threw the butt down on the pavement, rubbed it out with the toe of her boot, and sauntered her way over to the club house. She doubted she'd get much information out of her husband, but his vague answers would definitely be more helpful than Jax's. What she really needed to do was corner one of the goons. Those men were worse gossips than two old broads sitting in the back of a southern baptist church. All she needed was a little pressure and she knew at least one of them would give it up like a sixteen year-old on prom night.
In the end though, it had been easier than she thought possible to find her answers. As soon as she stepped through the door she spotted the source of Jax's current frustration. Seated across from Clay was the same trigger that had been sending Jax in to orbit since he was nine years old. The halo of perfect blonde curls that was her step-daughter, Veronica Anne Morrow.
"You didn't tell me Jax got married," V was saying, as Gemma stayed back hidden in the doorway."
"Didn't think it was relevant."
Gemma rolled her eyes at her old man's stupidity. Veronica may have been the one to leave Jax, but only a fool would think that meant she didn't want to know how he was doing. How the hell else was she supposed to know if he was miserable without her, if she'd made the right choice? Men could be so fucking dense.
"How is he?" V asked, clearly referring to Jax and thereby proving Gemma's point. However, judging by the way she quickly added, "the baby, I mean," before taking a nervous sip of her beer, she had caught her mistake.
"He's doing just fine," Gemma explained with a step forward, covering both the question of Jax and Abel in one foul swoop. "Although I'm surprised that you, of all people, are the one asking.
After almost choking on her beer, her step-daughter slowly turned and stared at her with wide-eyes. She had that same look plastered on her face she used to get when she was a child and had been caught red-handed. The same look she had when Gemma revealed she knew all about her and Jax sneaking around. A strange mix of shock and fear clouded in absolute defiance.
"Well," Gemma said placing her hands on her hips. "Are you going to get off your ass and give me a hug or just sit there gawking at me like Bambi staring down a fucking semi?"
Veronica rose hesitantly and came forward, her eyes searching Gemma for hidden intentions. It reminded Gemma of a stray dog, hungry as hell but still wary of the stranger dangling food in front of its muzzle. V had always been like that when it came to her, so desperate for motherly love but too fucked up by her biological mother to accept it. Although, in this case it was probably a wise decision to proceed with caution, considering Gemma hadn't completely decided against smacking the shit out of her when she got within reach.
"Hey Gem," V offered pathetically.
Gemma rolled her eyes. "Oh for god sakes, I'm not gonna fucking bite. Although the thought certainly crossed my mind."
As she not-so-gently pulled her into an embrace, she felt V tense before reluctantly returning the gesture. "I missed you, Gem. You and your candor."
"Oh yeah?" she asked pulling away. "Well, you're lucky my candor is the only thing I'm dishing out after what you pulled, you little run away tramp."
"I guess I deserve that," Veronica admitted tightly.
"You think?" she shot back before giving the girl a once over. "I see you finally learned how to feed that scrawny ass of yours. If it weren't for the hair, I wouldn't have recognized you. You don't look a god damn thing like the little tomboy I had to force to wear a bra."
Instinctively, Veronica crossed her arms protectively over her now voluptuous chest. "Thank you…I think."
"Guess that's just how life works. One minute you're making mud pies, the next you're turning all the guys' heads just by walking down the street."
Veronica didn't respond, just continued to stare Gemma down with those piercing blue orbs that were so much like her father's. It was as if she was daring Gemma to start something. Or, perhaps more accurately, daring her to mention Jax. Sadly though, Gemma didn't have time to lay into her for hurting her son. She had bigger plans where her sweet little step-daughter was concerned. Plans that unfortunately required at least a tad bit of niceness on Gemma's part.
"So," Gemma said walking past Veronica and over to the table, "has she told us what has her tucking her tail between her legs and dragging her ass back to Charming yet, or do I have to take a guess?" When no one answered she turned back to V. "What? Law School not all it's cracked up to be?"
"Actually," Veronica began with a smirk, "School's over. Found out I passed the bar two days ago. And, I'm waiting to hear back from a firm I interviewed with a last week."
"Well, what do you know," Gemma uttered, looking to Clay, "we officially have a lawyer in the family."
Clay nodded and pretended to be more interested in his ash tray than the conversation. "Looks like it," he added unenthusiastically.
Gemma knew it was a total front, that Clay was every bit as proud of his little girl as any other father would be in his shoes. There was nothing in the world Clay Morrow loved more than his little girl, even if he was hesitant to show it at times. The day she left he practically fell apart. And the way the man lived for those Sunday night phone calls of hers, you'd think the girl's voice had healing powers. Gemma couldn't even begin to imagine how truly happy he was to have his baby back. She also couldn't imagine how afraid he was to say goodbye again.
"So does this mean you're going to come bail my ass out of trouble the next time I get picked up?" Tig asked with an amused grin.
"Who are you kidding, Uncle Tig?" Veronica shot at him. "Everyone knows there's not a lawyer in the world capable of saving your sorry ass."
Gemma smiled despite herself as Chibs patted Tig on the back. "Lass, makes a very good point my brother."
"Ah but you could be the one, doll, the greatest god damn lawyer there ever was. And all you'd have to do was help your ole' Uncle Tig out of a bind. It's a win-win."
"More like a lose-lose," Juice chimed in.
"Yeah, I'm with him Tiggy," V added, flashing Juice a dazzling smile that turned him a nice caramelized shade of red.
"How you going to do me like that, doll?" Tig countered. "Have you no love in your heart?"
"Nah, I just know a lost cause when I see one," she replied with a laugh.
"Not that I don't love this playful banter," Clay interrupted, almost looking bored, "but where exactly are you planning on staying?"
Veronica looked a tad bit crestfallen at her father's coldness. "I got a room at the hotel out on Peterson."
"That shit hole?" he responded snuffing out his cigar. "I don't think so. You'll stay with us."
"I really don't want to be any trouble…"
"Recognizing the potential opportunity, Gemma jumped in to back up her old man. "Honey, you've always been trouble, doesn't mean you're not coming home with us. You can even have your old room back."
"Veronica's shook her head. "I appreciate it, I do, but…"
"We insist," Gemma retorted, both cutting V off and putting her foot down at the same time.
"I bet you do," Veronica replied with a tight smile. "Why do I get the feeling I could have said I was staying at Palace of Versailles and you would still have some bullshit excuse to get me to stay with you?"
"Because you and I both know family belongs with family," Gemma answered matter-of-factly.
Veronica sighed in defeat. "Okay, then. Looks like I'm kickin' it with the parentals tonight. When should I come by?"
Clay rose from his seat. "Give me a couple minutes and I'll follow you over. You eaten?"
Veronica shook her head. "Nope. I was kind of planning on hitting up Nicky's and seeing how many people from high school I can awkwardly run into and pretend not to know," she joked.
"Feel like some company?" he asked, throwing his empty bottle in the trashcan behind the bar. "I kind of thought I might like to take my renegade daughter out for a bite. That is, if she's not too embarrassed to be seen with her old man."
"I don't know pops…you are kind of lame," she said, pretending to consider it. "But I guess, since it's been awhile, I can look past it just this once. You're paying though."
The way Clay's face lit up at the prospect of a simple meal with his daughter was damn near heartwarming. "Wasn't that a given?"
She laughed. "Good point. Should I just meet you there then?"
"Yeah baby, I'll be right behind you."
Veronica said her goodbyes to Tig and Chibs, promising them that she would at least consider showing up to the wild welcome home party Tig was apparently planning in her honor. When she turned to Juice, Gemma couldn't help but notice the way he blushed when V gave him a hug and told him how nice it was to meet him. If they weren't careful, his obvious infatuation could prove to be a bit of a problem for her and for him.
As they watched V make her way out to the parking lot, Gemma turned to Clay. "Glad to have your baby home, old man?"
"Is it that obvious," he asked with a giant smile.
"Maybe just a little, even if you are doing your best to hide it," she replied, returning the smile. "She looks good."
"Yeah she does," Juice agreed enthusiastically as he peered over Gemma's shoulder. A loud smack followed causing him to issue you an "ow."
"Don't you know that's the man's kid," Tig asked.
"I was just sayin,'" he muttered.
"Better not let Jax hear you "just sayin," she informed him. "That shit won't end for you well for you, sweetheart."
"I thought Jax was into that doctor," he commented stupidly.
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that." She replied knowingly.
After all, the perfect solution to the Tara problem had all but fallen into her lap. And conveniently for her, it just happened to come in the form of a leggy blonde. A leggy blonde her son had a long history of being unable to resist.
Jax couldn't help but feel slightly foolish sitting next to the incubator and reading aloud to his son. As a whole, the being a dad thing was throwing him for a complete loop. Not to mention daunting as hell. He was hardly father material; after all, three felony charges and a stint in Chino did not a decent father make. Regardless, Jax was determined to do right by his boy, and if that meant looking like an idiot and reading about merry-go-rounds in a stuffy ass hospital room then he was damn sure going to do it.
He knew Clay and the boys thought he was going soft, that having a sick kid was messing with his head. And yeah, Abel's birth had definitely changed things for him. But questioning the gun running and all the death, he'd been doing that since…well, since V left. Finding JT's manuscript added fuel to a fire that had been slowly eating away at him for a long time now. Having Abel? That just finally gave him the reason he needed to let it burn.
He didn't understand how the other guys did it, how did they dealt with the violence day in and day out and then went home and looked their kids in the face? Then again, the simple answer to that was they didn't. Most of them were divorced and had forfeited custody to their ex-wives years ago; poor bastards were lucky if they saw their kids once a year, and the kids were probably all the better for it. Unfortunately for Abel though, Jax was his only option. Wendy sure as fuck wasn't capable of being a mother, not in her current state. Addicts were terrible mothers, especially ones who had a habit of getting sober just long enough to regain your trust and then turn around and relapse again. Just ask Veronica, she knew first had what growing up with that kind of role model could do to a kid.
"Veronica…how the hell did everything in his god damn world always seem to come back to fucking Veronica? He kept telling himself not to go there, that her walking back into his life didn't mean anything. She'd be gone in a few days anyway, if she wasn't already, so it wasn't even worth the headache. But he just couldn't help himself when it came to that girl.
Jax ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He'd come to the hospital to focus on his son, not think about her. But that was the thing about V, she'd always had a particular knack for getting into his head. No, not just getting into his head, more like burrowing, down deep into the back of his mind like a life-sucking parasite. A beautiful, charismatic, and total pain in the ass parasite. From the very first time he laid eyes on her, she had captivated him and he still couldn't break free. Hell, he was every bit of an addict as his crazy ex-wife, it was just his brand of crank came in a nice, blonde-haired, blue-eyed package.
"Ope and me are the Pres and VP," a nine-year-old, Star Wars tee-shirt wearing Jax explained as he headed towards his Huffy. "Tommy, you're the prospect."
Thomas groaned. "Again?"
Jax nodded kicking up his kickstand. "Yeah. Have fun putting my toys away, grunt. And make sure mom doesn't catch you doing it this time or you won't get voted in."
"What about me," the seven-year-old mess of unruly curls, introduced moments earlier as Uncle Clay's long lost daughter, asked eagerly.
Jax turned and stared at the girl with eyebrow raised. "What about you?"
Veronica took a step forward and stared at the older boy with puppy dog eyes."Who do I get to be?" she asked innocently."Who said you were even playing?" Jax replied snidely.
Veronica's sweetness diminished as she crossed her arms over her chest and smirked knowingly. "I do. Otherwise, I'm telling your mom you're making your little brother do your chores."
Jax huffed. "Fine!," he conceded before a wicked grin spread across his face. "You can be Ope's old lady."
"Gross!" Opie said as he pretended to puke while V simultaneously scrunched her nose.
"No way. I don't want to be that stupid-head's old lady."
"Somebody has to."
"Then why don't you do it," she suggested.
"I'm a boy," Jax said, rolling his eyes at her stupidity.
"So!"
"So you're a girl, that means you have to be an old lady. You have no choice."
But that's not fair!" she said with a stomp. "I won't do it."
Jax shrugged. "Either you're his old lady or you're not playing," he explained. "Choice is yours, Toots"
Anger flashed in those giant blue eyes of hers as she stalked over towards him. Before he saw it coming she hauled off and kicked him right in thee shin as hard as she could, thereby causing him to grab his leg in pain and fall off his bike in the process. Right into his mom's rose bush.
"Thinking about it made Jax smile. She had always been a feisty little firecracker, it just took awhile for him to realize that he liked it, that the hate he supposedly felt was really just his way of fighting the attraction. It was her attitude that had caught him off guard that day. Growing up in a male dominated environment, Jax wasn't used to women who fought back. Well, aside from his mother, but even she occasionally backed down to keep the peace. V wouldn't even imagine such things. Unlike other girls, she made sure to let him know exactly how she felt about every subject without any inhibition. It didn't mater that he was Jax Teller, heir apparent of SAMCRO, if she didn't agree with him or like what he was telling her to do she had no problem making damn sure he knew. She was the first girl to ever call him on his shit and the first girl to tell him no. She challenged him and, like any other man, Jax appreciated a good challenge. He just wished he hadn't lost so miserably in the end.
In a perfect world, she would be the one reading to Abel. She would be the mother of his son, not Wendy. This was supposed to be their life, their son, their family. Yet, here he was, alone, a single parent without a fucking clue. She shat on their plans and ripped his heart out with pen and paper. Bitch couldn't even tell him to his face that she wanted out, that he wasn't good enough for her.
God damn, Veronica. If he had a chance, he'd…
Thankfully, Jax was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening to his left. Turning, he found it was his mother darkening the doorway, a loving smile on her face.
"Hey baby," she greeted, kissing him on the cheek. "I figured I'd find you here."
"Hey ma," he replied as Gemma turned her attention to Abel.
"And how's my favorite little man?" she asked switching to baby mode, her voice automatically rising two octaves higher than usual.
"He's good," Jax said, standing to join her in looking over the incubator. "Tara says he healing nicely from the surgeries and gettin' stronger everyday."
Gemma's eyes darted over to him. "Tara huh?"
Jax sighed and rubbed his face. "Not now, ma."
Gemma put her hands up in surrender and went back to admiring the beautiful little boy before them. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, both just watching him sleep. Jax couldn't help but be envious of his peacefulness. Although it sounded horrible considering the heart problems and the crank addiction, the kid had it made. He didn't have to worry about letting people down or making the right decisions. Hell, he wouldn't even remember the suffering his little body was currently going through. In a couple years he'd be happy and healthy and completely oblivious of all this shit. What Jax wouldn't give for that, to forget all the bad stuff just for a second and start anew.
"You know," Gemma said pulling Jax out of his head for the second time that night. "Timing sure is a funny thing."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Oh ya know," she mused, "just that things always seem to have a weird way of happening all at once. Your divorce, Abel being born sick, your old flame Tara conveniently being one of the doctors that helped save him…"
"Where are you going with this, ma?" Jax asked slightly annoyed.
Gemma smiled tightly. "I think you already know the answer to that question, Jackson."
Jax looked down and sighed. "I take it you know about Veronica?"
"Found her in the clubhouse right after you stomped out of there looking pissed enough to go and do something stupid," she explained. "I'd ask how you're handling it, but I'm pretty sure I already know."
"I'm fine."
Gemma eyed him skeptically. "And I'm the Queen of England."
"Jax sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you want me to say? She's here, she'll be gone soon, end of story."
"Somehow I find that hard to believe."
Jax was getting slightly riled now. The last thing he needed was for his mom to grill him about V liked she did with Tara. "Look, Veronica and I are over, she made that clear a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, her being here now means nothing."
"So you say. But that doesn't mean you can't try and be cordial for the sake of family."
"You got to be kidding me."
"I'm serious Jackson, I'm just as pissed at her as you are, but Clay is really happy to see her so we need to be supportive."
"Un-fucking-believable," he uttered through a clenched jaw.
Gemma ignored him. "She's coming to the fundraiser tomorrow and the last thing I need is for you two to start airing your dirty laundry in front of the whole god damn town," she continued. "Do you hear me, Jackson?"
"Loud and clear, ma," he replied sarcastically.
"Don't be a smartass," she snapped. "This fundraiser is for the middle school music program and an opportunity to prove that SAMCRO is good for this community, it is not an excuse for you to have a knock-down drag out fight with your ex-girlfriend before you sneak off to fuck her down by the streams for old times sake."
Jax's eyes flashed with anger but he kept his voice steady. "Believe me, the last thing I want is to have anything to do with that bitch. You've got nothing to worry about. I'll stay out of her way if she stays out of mine."
"Good," his mother replied with a smile. "I'll see you there then?"
"You say that like I won't lose my balls if I chose not to show."
Gemma smirked. "For the sake of your balls, make sure you're on time."
Jax smiled. "Yeah, I hear ya."
"Bye baby," she said, placing another kiss on his cheek.
"Bye, ma," he reciprocated before turning back to his son.
"Oh and Jax?" Gemma asked before making it through the door. "Do you think you could maybe come by the house in the morning and help load the truck? Clay's hands are always worse in the mornings."
He nodded. "Sure thing, Ma."
Hey guys, I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for the all the follows and reviews. This is my first story so I'm really excited to hear that you guys are liking it so far! Thanks again!