Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.
"Shit! Fuck! Shit! Shit! Fuck!" Wendy raged at herself as she tried to make it back to Charming without killing herself on the highway.
Huff returning from the road and finding his old lady not there to greet him was not good. It was getting late and how the fuck was she going to explain where she had been?
Wendy smacked herself on the forehead. "I can't believe I forgot he was coming back today!" She tried lighting a cigarette while steering as she ripped down the I-22, but her hand was shaking violently.
She was still fucked up from all the partying she had been doing all day and the odds of her making it back to the Clubhouse in one piece were stacked against her if she didn't slow down. Not only was she speeding, but she was weaving dangerously in and out of her lane.
Wendy had been so happy that her old man had taken off on some protection runs for the Club, she had almost been giddy with glee. Not only did it afford her the opportunity to spend some time with her honey Dahlmer, but it gave her the chance to get the stink of dirty old man biker off of her. The last couple of days had gotten out of hand, however, and she should have realized that something like this would happen. Wendy had pretty much been in a sex and crank-induced haze for the past few days and had not even bothered returning to the Clubhouse to keep up the pretense that she actually wanted to be there.
Instead, she had holed herself up with her boyfriend in his room at the motel under the Nords protection in Pope, just eating, tweaking and fuckin' for three straight days. Neither of them, or anyone else partying with them, had paid any attention to the TV when it was on, so Wendy had absolutely no clue that the news of the apparent suicide of a federal agent in Stockton impacted her at all. It was only when she checked her phone to see if she had any messages that the date registered.
Flinging off Dahlmer's heavy arm from her waist, Wendy had leapt out of bed, running and stumbling as she gathered her clothes, suddenly in a hot rush to get her ass back to the Clubhouse. Now, looking down at her rumpled blouse and food-stained jeans, she knew she looked like hell and probably smelled worse.
"Shit!" Wendy cursed as she pulled down the visor and looked at herself in the lighted mirror. "How the hell am I going to explain this?"
Leaving the motel without barely saying good-bye, Wendy had totally ignored Dahlmer when he suggested that she might want to jump into the shower first.
Pulling some make-up removal wipes from her handbag, Wendy frantically started wiping away at the clumps of mascara and greasy, caked on foundation as her mind tried to come up with a plausible excuse for her absence, but she was finding it hard to concentrate. It was nearly midnight and the bright headlights of the cars on the opposite side of the highway shone into her eyes, stunning her so that she barely avoided having an accident.
Suddenly, from what seemed to be out of nowhere, a car and a cargo van boxed Wendy in from the side and behind her Maxima.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me right now?" Wendy screeched. "Not now, you fuckin' stupid ATF bitch!"
Wearily, Wendy realized that there was nothing she could do as she was bullied off the highway and onto a deserted strip of road. With only the crescent moon illuminating the sky, it was literally pitch black when the three vehicles pulled to a stop.
Wendy struggled to get herself out of the seat belt, threw open the car door, and jumped out.
"Damn it, Stahl! I know I fucked up, but you pulling me off the road isn't going to help. I need to get back to the Clubhouse to Huff, so let's make this quick." In response, a bright light from a high-powered flashlight shone directly into Wendy's eyes. "Hey! You trying to blind me, asshole? Point that shit somewhere else!"
"How's 'bout I point this straight up your ass instead?" A familiar male voice replied as Wendy heard the safety come off a weapon.
As the flashlight was pointed away from her, Wendy Case's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the crazy blue-eyed son of a bitch standing in front of her. She noticed he wasn't wearing his cut as the cargo van's sliding door opened behind him. With the interior light on, Wendy could see a large sheet of clear plastic sheeting covering the floor.
Hearing a second gun being cocked, Wendy looked back at the SAA with terrified eyes only to find him pointing the gun directly at her. "Looky, looky what we got here. My personal favorite animal to torture. A rat!"
Even in her half doped up state of mind, Wendy quickly realized that she was in seriously deep shit and tried to bargain her way out. "Please, you got it all wrong. Stahl was blackmailing me." She whined.
"No shit, Sherlock. Well, you won't have to worry about her any more." Tig replied.
Wendy continued babbling. "But, but you can't, you can't do this. Jax hates me, I know this, but he'd never be okay with hurting a woman."
"Ya think so? Maybe you should tell that to Stahl. Oops, I forgot. Ya can't 'cause Jax splattered her brains all over her living room hours ago for threatening his old lady and the Club. He sent us out here to clean up this loose end 'cause he couldn't be bothered to waste anymore time on you. Time he'd rather spend with his real old lady." The SAA said with a fierce grin.
"Yo, are you gonna kill this junkie whore or not? Shit, not only is she a faithless bitch, but she's a mouthy one, too." Happy stuck his head out of the van. "Let me finish her. I can always find a spot for another smiley tattoo."
"I was Jax's old lady!" Wendy raged, tears pouring down her face as she stamped her foot.
"Stupid bitch, as long as Jolene walked the earth, you were never his old lady." Happy practically growled.
"And after all the shit you pulled, the smart thing to do would have been keeping your ass out of Charming." Tig aimed his gun. "Just be glad that my Pres is a gentlemen and he said not to torture you. In case you didn't know, I live for that kinda shit, but fortunately for you, Jax said we should make this quick. So, light's out, gash."
Just before the bullet passed through Wendy's brain, it finally dawned on her that she would never get her happily ever after.
"So, how long is this gonna take?" Tig asked the tall and slightly hunched-backed man who was silently examining the body lying on the floor of Piney's cabin.
Standing up, Bachman looked at the SAA. "I have to remove the silicone implants and the dental work, so I figure three hours, tops."
Happy, who was sitting on a chair across the room, laughed raucously, which sounded more like two boulders rubbing against each other. "I told you, Tigger. You owe me fifty bucks."
"Shit! I would have sworn those puppies were real." Tig groused as he dug up a fifty dollar bill and threw it at his brother. "I guess we'll let you get to it, Bachman. Anything else you need?"
"Some 80's music would be nice." The strange man replied. Happy rolled his eyes at Tig, who pulled out an iPod and stuck it into the docking station he had set up on Piney's kitchen table.
As the Eagles poured out through its small, but powerful speakers, the Cleaner nodded his head in appreciation. "Excellent."
As Tig and Happy headed towards the cabin's front door, Happy said, "I hope he doesn't leave a mess. Piney will shit a brick if he clogs up his pipes."
"Nah, Bachman's a legend for a reason. Besides, ain't nothing a good snake job won't fix." Tig replied. "We'll get one of the Prospects up here, see what they're made of."
"As they see what this bitch was made of? You're a sick fuck, Tig." Happy clapped him on the back.
"That's why you love me, brother." The two laughed as they headed to the cargo van to wait out the completion of the job.
Even though it was still dark out, Jolene couldn't help but feel like she was entering a ghost town as she pulled into the T-M lot. It was almost morning and a new day was about to break, but Jolene couldn't live with herself a minute longer without hearing from her old man.
Jumping out of her car, Jolene started for the Clubhouse, but was stopped by her reluctant escort, who had barely managed to trail behind his lead-footed charge even on his otherwise powerful bike as Jolene thundered through Charming.
"Jolene, with all due respect, maybe I should go in first, don't you think?" Half Sack said tentatively as he jumped in front of her. "Just to make sure things are okay inside."
Jolene, who just stopped short of bumping into him, crossed her arms. "I think I can manage walking into the Clubhouse all by myself, Kip. I'm sure everything's fine." She tried to edge around him, but he wasn't budging.
"If that's the case, why didn't you just wait at home for the Pres like he wanted you to?"
With an exasperated sigh, Jolene gave in. "Okay, okay." She waved a dainty hand. "Lead the way, MacDuff."
Following the strawberry blond, baby-faced patch into the Main Room of the Clubhouse, Jolene wasn't surprised at all to find it empty. No members, no hang-arounds, no one. Peeking over Kip's shoulder into the open doorway, Jolene could see that her old man wasn't in the Chapel either.
"Let's try his dorm." Jolene said, her heart literally jumping in her chest. It had been beating a steady, but accelerated staccato beat ever since her beloved Sasquatch had called to let her know that everything was fine, but that Jax would be spending the night at the Clubhouse.
She had really tried to respect Jax's wishes and just stay put at the house, but she couldn't escape the feeling that things were playing out like they had before. Jolene remembered all too well how Jax had decided not to return home after the Club had dealt with the Hobart situation. Now, with the weight of what he had taken upon himself for her and the Club, Jolene was afraid that maybe it was too much for him to handle without falling back into the same old pattern of behavior.
Jolene trusted her old man, but her fucking paranoia was doing a number on her.
We squashed all that shit, she reminded herself. We're not running away from each other anymore, we're running towards each other.
But just in case his ass was flipping out on her, Jolene decided that it was best to nip this shit in the bud right now.
Quickly coming up on Jax's dorm room door, Jolene was about to open it when Kip jumped in front of her yet again. "Why don't I get that for ya?"
On the off chance that he's not alone in there, maybe I can still save him, as well as my top rocker.
Cracking the door open, Half Sack peeked inside and gave a silent sigh of relief as he saw the lone figure of his President occupying the bed. Flinging the door open so that Jolene could enter, Half Sack whispered, "I'm going back to the house to help Filthy Phil with Clay."
Jolene smiled. "And I suppose Neeta's pancakes wouldn't have anything to do with you abandoning your post."
The young man blushed and shoved his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "Maybe just a little bit, but you're with your old man now. He'll take care of ya."
"Thanks for bringing me to him, Kip." Jolene smiled and squeezed his arm. "It was really sweet of you."
"No problem."
Jolene entered her old man's dorm and closed the door behind her softly. Watching Jax breathing deep and even as he was lying on his side, Jolene realized just how exhausted he must be. Quickly slipping out of her clothes, she approached the bed and shivered as she pulled back the thin blanket draped over him. Jolene smiled to herself. Sure enough, her old man was naked as the day he was born. Quietly slipping in beside him, Jolene cuddled up and contemplated going to sleep. Instead, she decided she couldn't wait a second more to find out where his head was at and started trailing feather-light kisses down his torso in order to wake him up.
Jax groaned as he felt parts of him coming to life. Cracking his eyes open, he smiled sexily as he saw his old lady, her beautiful midnight curls trailing over her shoulders and covering her breasts, her chin propped up in a dainty hand. "Morning," He said as he stretched to cup her face in his hand. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to check up on you, baby. You didn't come home." She admonished as she placed tender little kisses on his face.
"You came by yourself?" Jax groaned as her hands stroked his chest.
"No, Kip brought me, but he left when he saw that you were alone. I don't think he would have let me in had there been some slag in bed with you."
"Good man. I guess letting him patch in wasn't such a bad idea after all." Jax laughed as his old lady grabbed the pillow his head was resting on and tried to smother him with it. Lightly wrestling her so that she had her arms pinned above her head, he smiled. "I'm just fooling, babe."
"You better be." Jolene sighed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I just had to see you. Opie called and said everything was over, but you that weren't coming home right away. Hearing that put me in a really weird place, baby."
Correctly interpreting Jolene's feelings, Jax said, "Babe, there's never going to be a repeat of what happened before. We have problems, we deal with them together. I'm not running away anymore." He promised as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him until she was lying with her head on his chest. "I just needed time to wrap my head around some shit regarding the past couple of days, and I didn't want to bring that home to you, darlin'. That's all, I promise."
Jolene Teller had known her old man since she was six years old. She knew what kind of man he was and had a pretty good idea of how his mind was dealing with the decisions he had made. Even though Jax knew he was doing what had to be done for the good of the Club and his family, she knew him well enough to know that he would probably wrestle with his conscience for a long time to come.
"Baby, I know that what you've done for your family—for us—is going to weigh heavy on you, but you don't have to shoulder it by yourself. I really hope you know that." Jolene pushed herself up to look him in the eyes. "I'm always here for you, Jax. I have always loved you and I always will. Nothing will ever change that."
Jax sighed as he gently ran his hand through her beautiful hair. "What have I ever done to deserve you, Jo?" His voice was almost a whisper.
"Why would you ask that, baby?" Jolene furrowed her brow as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You know I only love you for your big dick." She teased.
Jax laughed as he pushed her onto her back and rolled on top of her. "Is that right?"
Suddenly serious, Jolene cupped his bearded face in her hands and brought her lips to his, kissing him long and slow. As always, the love she had for him was like a salve for his injured and bleeding soul. Jolene always knew what to do and say to help him deal with the shit that, as of late, seemed to be coming down on him like rain.
"I love you, Jolene."
"I know you do, baby." After all he had put himself through these past 48 hours, Jolene knew she would never doubt his love for her ever again.
Jolene was standing in the Clubhouse's kitchen, wearing nothing but one of Jax's SAMCRO t-shirts as she went about making a pot of coffee. She had spent the early morning lazily making love with her old man as the sun slowly made its appearance.
It was just her and Jax in the Clubhouse. Deciding to crawl back into bed with her husband while the coffee brewed, Jolene made her way into the Main Room and was surprised to find Jax sitting at one of the tables, in nothing but his jeans, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey, darlin'." He smiled at her, beckoning her into his arms. Waking up without her next to him had almost scared the life out of him. It took him a minute to remember he wasn't in Chino and was able to contain his shit only when he saw her clothes still on the floor by the bed.
Smiling, Jolene slipped onto his lap, holding his face in her hands as she kissed his mouth softly. "What are you doing up? I thought you were going to get a little more sleep, or didn't I wear you out enough?"
"Nah, babe. You invigorated me. Without our little cock-blocker busting in on us this morning, I'm really enjoying having you all to myself." He smiled.
Jolene stood up, holding both of his hands in hers. "Well, let's enjoy it while we can. Let's go back to bed."
"Wait a minute," Jax flashed her a sexy half grin. "I've got a better idea."
Jolene's eyes widened slightly as she let go of his hands.
"I'm a little curious," Jax started, nodding his head towards the stripper pole. "Just how good did you get at pole dancing?"
Jolene raised an eyebrow at him, her hand on her cocked hip. "I was more than good, baby. I was dynamite in a g-string." She drawled.
Jax looked around the semi-darkened Clubhouse. "See, when you say shit like that, darlin', all I can say is, since there's no one here, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and let me be the judge?" He winked at her.
"Now?" Jolene was looking at him like he had three heads.
"Hey, I do believe someone owes me epically after allowing our in-laws to move in. I know that with Lil' Peanut on board you can't give me the Full Monty, but a little sneak peek will do for now." He turned to look her directly in the eyes. "You know what they say, seeing is believing."
"Oh, so you doubt me?" Jolene laughed as she sashayed her way to the stripper pole and after flipping on some Guns-N-Roses, jumped onto the platform. Turning his chair around, Jax settled back, his arms crossed over his naked chest, his long legs stretched out in front of him, and a lecherous grin plastered on his face as he watched Jolene take several spins around the pole.
"Wait," Jolene stopped. "I may not be able to give you the pleasure of witnessing my whole routine, but I will give you something no one at the Lollipop Café ever got to enjoy." She smiled at Jax before pulling off her t-shirt.
Jax almost fell off his chair. The t-shirt was all she'd been wearing. Jax's eyes happily danced over her beautiful and flawless body, his crow tattoo and the nearly-faded scar on her chest somehow adding an edge to her soft sexiness and allure.
He would definitely classify her as more than good as she did things on that pole he'd seen others do hundreds of times before, but without the effect she was having on him.
Wrapping one leg around the pole, Jolene let herself spin around. Although she was quite capable of more acrobatic and difficult moves, in her current condition Jolene wasn't going to risk it. Instead, with her back to Jax, she bent over slightly while holding onto the pole and let one of Jax's most favorite assets shake like a bucket of jelly.
Jax nearly came in his pants as he watched her round and perfect ass jiggle up and down. "Fuck that shit!" Jax muttered under his breath as he jumped out of his seat. If any pole was going to make her ass bounce like that, it was going to be his.
Taken by surprise, Jolene yelped as Jax spun her around and yanked her off the platform. With her legs wrapped around his waist, Jax carried Jolene over to the pool table as he smothered her mouth with his. Dropping her onto the table, Jolene quickly undid his pants as he buried his hands in her hair and pulled her towards him. He was breathing hard as Jolene pulled his stiff cock out of his pants.
"Remind me never to doubt your skills ever again, darlin'."
As Jax and Jolene turned into the driveway of their home at the end of the cul-de-sac, Jolene's eyes widened as she noted the long line of bikes and cars parked out front. Parking her Mustang behind what was Donna's car, Jolene slammed her car door.
"I guess this explains where everybody went after you kicked them out of the Clubhouse." She said as her old man pulled up beside her.
"Don't any of these assholes have a home?" Jax grumbled good-naturedly as he pulled off his helmet. "Maybe we should have stayed at the Clubhouse."
"And miss Neeta's chocolate chip pancakes?" Jolene asked incredulously. "I don't think so." Jax got off his bike, causing Jolene to squeal as her old man grabbed her from behind. "Haven't you had enough?" She teased as Jax sent goosebumps straight down to her toes as he alternated kissing and sucking her neck.
"Babe, after seeing your pole dancing skills in action, I'm seriously considering installing one in our bedroom. You 'working the pole' has taken on a whole new meaning for me."
"I am so glad I found yet another way to make you horny to add to the list, along with breathing and a stiff wind." Jolene turned in his arms as Jax's mouth slammed down on hers. Suddenly, Jax's eyes widened and Jolene wrinkled her nose in embarrassment as her stomach growled rather loudly, interrupting his examination of the back of her throat. "Damn, Lil' Peanut's hungry."
"Yeah, right. I guess this is the point where women start blaming the 'baby' for their need to eat everything in sight. If that's the case, darlin', you've must have been pregnant since you were six the way you eat." Jax joked.
"A-ha! You're so funny." Jolene smirked sarcastically, heading towards the front door. "I'd hold on to that pole dancing memory if I were you, sport, 'cause that's the last p—" She stopped in her tracks as she heard what Jax had to say next.
"Baby, let's tell them."
Turning around, Jolene saw the excited grin on his face. "You mean about Peanut? Now?"
He nodded. "The worst is over for us, Jo and I can't think of a better time. It's a new day, darlin', everyone's here, and we have a new life cooking in there. That is something to truly celebrate." Jax lovingly caressed her flat stomach.
Jolene wrapped her arms around her old man's neck as he squeezed her tight. "We are so going to get it for not saying anything sooner, Jax." She lamented.
"I'm your big strong man. I'll protect you."
To the ends of the earth.
Entering their home, the couple quickly headed for the noise coming from the kitchen. Although the Tellers had expected a full house, they literally gaped at the crowd of people. Somehow, their entire SAMCRO family had managed to cram itself into the breakfast nook, the patio, and at the long family table in the kitchen itself. It seemed like every chair in the house had been pulled into service.
"Hey!" Jax bellowed loud enough to be heard over the boisterous voices and raucous laughter. Suddenly, all activity stopped as everyone turned to stare at him. The scowl on the face of the SAMCRO Acting President had Neeta ready to throw Gemma under the bus as it had been her idea in the first place. "What the hell is going on? You guys having a party without us?" He shouted as he finally cracked a smile.
Running through the crowd of bodies, Abel leaped into his father's arms. "Daddy! You been gone a long time!"
"I'm sorry, Little Man," Jax kissed his son on the forehead. "But I had some business to take care of."
Abel nodded his head. "I know and Grandma says it's finished, so we having a breakfast party."
"This is all on me, Jax. I thought this family needed to celebrate, in spite of the fact that I was the last to know why a celebration would be in order in the first place." Gemma groused from behind Jax as she held another platter of Neeta's chocolate chip pancakes. Reaching out with her free hand, Gemma gave her son's ear a good tweak.
"Shit, Ma!" Jax yelped, grabbing his ear as Abel stared wide-eyed at his grandma.
"That's for starters. You'll get the full, unedited version when I get you alone later." Gemma eyed him, daring him to contradict her.
After marriage to two bikers and over thirty years living the Life, there wasn't much that could genuinely shock Gemma Teller-Morrow. Until the night before, that is, when Clay finally dumped the shitload of problems that had hit the Club sideways over the past week. The fear she had felt for her son and his new family, even after the fact, had literally rendered her speechless.
Accepting Jax's decision to keep his mother in the dark until it was all over, Clay decided that news of recent events would be better coming from him in order to soften the blow for Jax.
Apparently, I was wrong, Clay thought wryly as he watched his old lady tearing into their son.
Passing the platter of pancakes to Donna, Gemma turned her attention to her daughter-in-law. "And as for you." She started, the menacing look in her eyes the perfect match for the threatening tone in her voice.
However, before Jax could rein his mother and keep her from ripping into his old lady in front of everyone, Gemma reached out, gently pulling Jolene into a hug, which somehow frightened Jolene more than the thought of getting reamed. Stroking Jolene's hair softly, Gemma pulled away to look into her daughter-in-law's dazed and confused eyes. "I am so proud of you for stepping up and being there for your old man when he needed you the most. You took care of your family just like the ferocious Mama Bear I knew you'd grow up to be."
"I had an amazing mentor." Jolene smiled as she embraced the older woman again. "Does this mean I finally passed Old Ladies 101?"
"With flying colors!" Gemma laughed as she swiped away at her tears.
As the two women hugged it out, Clay found himself getting emotional. Sitting at the head of the table, seeing his entire family and his Club surrounding him as he ate a meal worthy of a king—which he was currently wolfing down before baby girl took his plate away—he didn't think he possibly could be any happier.
Neeta, who was standing next to Clay, looked down at the crusty old biker as she placed two more strips of bacon on his plate. "Give your mouth a chance to register the taste before you wolf this down too 'cause you ain't getting any more, so you better make it last." She whispered.
Grinning up at Neeta, Clay threw her a wink. "Good looking out."
"Daddy, what on earth are you eating?"
"Don't you come any closer if your intention is to take my plate away." Clay pointed a fork at his daughter, who was bearing down on him. "It's a celebration and Mama Bear gave me a furlough from Tofu Prison."
"Okay, but come tomorrow, you are back on your strict diet. I want you around for a long, long time, Dad. Gemma's gonna need all the help she can get spoiling another grandchild." Jolene said as Jax, holding Abel in one arm, wrapped the other around his wife.
The room suddenly became quiet again, the only sound to be heard was Gemma's gasp as her hands flew up to her mouth.
Jolene looked up at Jax and smiled. "You wanna tell them?"
Jax bit his lip as he nodded his head solemnly. "Looks like I did it again," He started before beaming a smile at his mother. "I went ahead and knocked my old lady up a second time."
As laughter and cheers erupted, Abel grabbed his father by the hair on his chin and pulled, forcing Jax to look at him. "I don't know what that means, Daddy."
Losing Jolene as she was engulfed by a pack of old ladies, Jax chuckled. "It means we're having a baby, Little Man."
Abel's already-big green eyes doubled in size. "You mean I'm getting a baby sister?"
Jax was shaking his head vehemently as Bobby approached and slapped him on the back. "If you believe in karma, a little sister is exactly what you're getting, Abel." Bobby laughed as the little boy pumped his fists in celebration.
"Finally." Neeta heaved a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, Gemma, who was busy hugging Jolene, overheard the simple statement. An expert at reading between the lines, she practically pushed her daughter-in-law to the side as she turned on Neeta. "Finally what, Neeta?"
Neeta looked at Gemma like a deer caught in the headlights as she struggled to come up with a response.
Oh shit!
"Uh, uh," Neeta stammered. "Finally? You must have heard wrong—I'm mean—isn't it wonderful that Abel's gonna finally get a little brother or sister? Yeah, that's what I meant."
"Oh you know that's not what you fuckin' meant!" Gemma practically yelled.
"That's five dollars, Grandma!" Abel tried hollering above the laughter, but Gemma was too busy stalking her prey.
"You no good heifer! You knew!" Gemma called out, her heels click-clicking on the kitchen tiles as she practically chased the woman she had considered a good friend around the breakfast table. "You knew and you didn't tell me shit!"
Abel looked at his mother. "Mommy, did you know 5 + 5 is 10?"
Jolene tried to smother her laughter, but couldn't. "Yes, baby, I did." She soon stopped laughing when Neeta threw her ass under the bus.
Standing behind the mountain that was Opie, Neeta pointed a finger at Jolene. "Hey, I figured it out all on my own, honey. Jolene was the one swearing me to secrecy after I found her ass—" Slapping a hand over her mouth as she looked at Jax, Neeta realized she was just about to dime out her young friend.
Jax smiled at Neeta's expression. "Don't worry, Neeta. I'm not gonna chase you down. Jo told me you had figured it out."
Neeta sighed in relief. "That's great. I'm really glad she told you because I think I was making myself sick worrying about this child. No need for you to worry, though, Jax. I've been watching her like a hawk, making her eat and rest as much as possible. She hasn't had another episode since." The wide eyed panicked look Jolene was throwing at Neeta told the older woman she had stuck her foot in it. "Oh, shit. You didn't know about her cheek-to-floor dancing, did ya?"
"What the fuck, Jo?" Jax bore down on his old lady. "Cheek-to-floor dancing? For your sake that better not mean what I think it does."
"Baby, do we really have to discuss this now?" Jolene was batting impossibly long eyelashes at him, but Jax was nowhere near being appeased. Throwing her hands up, Jolene gave in. "Okay. I was going to tell you, but I made an executive decision to tell you after you handled everything that was on your plate. You didn't need one more thing to worry about, Jax."
"In the future," Jax nearly growled. "I'd appreciate if you would let me decide whether or not something's too much for me to handle."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Jolene turned to glare at Neeta. "Thanks a lot."
"It's not her fault!" Clay bellowed, pissed that his daughter was pregnant and passing out with everyone none the wiser. "What the hell were you thinking, baby girl?"
"I was thinking that maybe my family needed me more than I needed them worrying about me. The plan was to tell you right after the bike rally, but then you had the accident and—Oh fuck!" Too late, Jolene realized she had babbled on too much.
"Daddy, what's five five dollars together?" Abel piped up as he tried to keep track with his fingers.
"You knew since the bike rally?" Gemma, Clay and Bobby shouted at Jolene.
"And if I know her partner-in-crime over there," Neeta nodded over at Donna. "I bet she knew, too."
If I'm going down, I'm not going down alone.
Gemma whipped her head in Donna's direction. "You knew, too? Humph! I wonder who you told." Gemma looked right at Opie.
"Hey, I didn't tell anybody. Jax told Opie." Donna shot back.
"I can't believe you just put me in this shit." Opie exclaimed as their audience continued laughing.
"Don't worry," Donna laughed. "You were just ammunition. She's going after her real target now."
As Gemma whipped her head around to face her son, Jax knew that he was in the shit for real this time. "Ma, I'm holding your grandson, so think twice before you start hurling shit at my head."
Gemma threw her hands up. "My tits were never the same again and this is the thanks I get for bringing you into the world. Opie didn't carry your ass around for nine months in kick ass high heels. I did, but he's the first one you tell? Has everyone forgotten that I am the HBIC in this damn town?"
"How could they with that loud mouth of yours?" Piney groused as everyone laughed. He held up his shot glass containing his beverage of choice. "To my new drinking buddy, whenever she gets here."
"Jesus Christ! Can everyone just stop with this 'she' business?" Jax was seriously exasperated as his old lady pulled him down for a kiss.
Seeing everyone genuinely happy and laughing gave Gemma pause. Realizing that the impending birth of her next grandchild was not a cause for a feud, she let her anger dissipate. Looking at Neeta, who was still hovering behind Opie, Gemma shoved the big man out of the way so she could finally confront her friend.
Neeta decided that she was done running. Crossing her arms, she eyed her friend. "Are we done?"
"Oh, so you're done running now, huh?" Gemma crossed her arms too.
"Hey, I might have been running scared for a hot minute, but you ought to know me by now. I ain't no punk bitch. So, we cool now?"
Gemma sighed. "Oh, get over here, you damn heifer." Wrapping their arms around each other, both of the women started laughing. "We are going to have so much fun with my new grandbaby!" Gemma whispered gleefully.
"But first, we gonna need to watch Jolene's ass like a hawk." Neeta whispered back. "She's been getting away with a whole lot a shit. It's a good thing you moved in here. Between us, we can keep her in line."
"All right you two. If you're gonna keep up with all this sappy shit, I guess there's one more piece of news to share." Clay said. Clearing a path with his wheelchair, Clay headed towards the Tellers' front door. "C'mon everybody. There's something outside we need to check out." Grabbing his grandson from Jax, he deposited him in his lap.
Neeta looked at Gemma quizzically. "What is he carrying on about now? I know he's not thinking he can get his broken down ass on that bike of his. Is he?"
Looping her arm with Neeta's, Gemma smiled. "Let's go see."
Clay managed his wheelchair through the front door and came to a halt at the edge of the front porch, his family following closely behind.
"Neeta, I hate to spoil this day, but I have some bad news for you." Clay started ominously. "I know that you asked Jax to fix that heap o' junk you've been riding, but that piece of shit's not worth the man power it's gonna take to get it running properly again."
Neeta shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not too surprised. Poor thing was on its last legs anyway. Guess we're gonna have to discuss a raise so that I can get myself another used one."
"Whoa, slow down there, lady." Clay grinned. "I don't think that's going to be necessary."
Suddenly, the door of the third garage bay opened and everyone heard the powerful roar of an engine. A moment later, a Ford Explorer Sport SUV in Ruby Red with a huge white bow on the hood rolled out to stop in front of the house and Half-Sack hopped out of the driver's seat.
Clay grinned at his shell-shocked housekeeper. "I hope you like the color. Abel picked it out."
"Oh and Miss Neeta, it was so hard keepin' a secret, too." Abel said from his grandfather's lap. "But I wasn't gonna violin the man code, right Papa?"
"You mean 'violate', Little man." Clay corrected.
Abel nodded emphatically. "Yeah, that too, Papa."
Clay chuckled. "Anyway, it's this year's top buy and even though I know you were fonda your Honda, I don't buy foreign-made cages. I only buy American."
"Are you shitting me?" Neeta screeched as everyone clapped and whistled loudly. "You brought me a car? Are you frickin' insane?"
"Nah," Clay sported a shit-eating grin. "I'm just really good at bribes."
"Oh no you don't!" Gemma said as she punched her husband on his good arm. "Despite the fact that this was all his own idea, he knows that this won't buy him a damn meal in this house. You, my old man, are on a strict diet and that's the way it's going to stay."
Jax smiled as the large women looked as if she were on the verge of passing out. "Go on and check it out, Neeta. This bitch is fully loaded—navigation system, top of the line rims, awesome stereo system, DVD player—the works." Wrapping an arm around the woman, who was trying desperately to fight tears, Jax whispered. "You're a big part of our family and SAMCRO takes care of its own. Now, go on, take her for a test ride."
Giving Jax a hug that Jolene noticed with a smirk lasted a little longer than necessary, Neeta walked over to Gemma and Clay. Hugging Gemma first, Neeta looked down at the old biker. "You know Gem's right. This here," She pointed at her new ride. "Isn't going to get you any bad-for-you food out of my kitchen."
"I accept that."
Bending over, Neeta whispered, "I ain't gonna get sloppy all over you," She said in spite of the tears flowing down her face. "But thank you so much."
Clay grinned. "Listen, you've looked out for my baby girl and our family all these years. This is just a small token to show you my appreciation."
Neeta smiled and suddenly threw her arms around the old biker. "Maybe one or two bad meals every now and again won't hurt." She murmured and then straightened up to run down the stairs to the open door of her new ride.
Clay sighed happily as his old lady wrapped an arm around him.
Neeta Benson is one classy broad.
The End?
A/N: Maybe . . . maybe not. I really hope that you guys have enjoyed This Charming Life. I had a really great time writing this and tackling the themes that I did in Jax and Jolene's relationship. They have gone through the fire and have come out stronger because of it. But there is one more thing they need to do to make them a true family and that's to welcome Lil' Peanut into the world. So I hope you guys enjoy the remaining chapters of this story, coming to you very soon and which will bring this trilogy to its proper conclusion. As always, I appreciate your detailed reviews in the box below.