Chapter 18

~Cemetery, December 18. 2001, 4:49PM ~

He stood beside the small mound of dirt that had covered the tiny hole where his son lay. The thought almost seemed surreal to him that he was so close to being a father, and yet it was never going to be. His icy devoid eyes refused to break away from the site that created such an overflow of emotions in his heart. He felt frozen locked in time, unable to move, unable to shed a tear. The beautiful creäture that had looked so much like his mother so perfect, so small and innocent. Gone. The future his son would never have flashed in his mind vividly thawing him and anguish coursed through his veins, as well as the thirst for revenge. He knew the latter was the stronger of the two.

A small part of him halted the anger for a moment thinking it was for the best that his son was laying in the ground. The life he lived was shit and even though he had tried desperately to decrease the risk, he had failed miserably. He had to live with the fact that he had failed to protect the woman he loved and as a result, she had almost died. The small dam that had pushed back his anger just for moments cracked, gave way, and he was filled with hatred, a hatred he hadn't felt in so very long. A hatred she had freed him of with her love and bright light. A hatred that had smoldered on the beaches of Laguna, but was now reigniting. He tried to visualize their time together in Laguna when he was different person, when they were different people together. When their life coexisted easily with little risk. It now seemed surreal as if it had never occurred, and had been a dream. Life was so very complicated for them now the simplicity they once shared now on the distant horizon far out of reach and possibly never attainable again.

"Mike." Aiden's voice came from behind.

"Yeah." Mike responded emotionless not even bothering to turn.

"We need to go we been away too long." Aiden responded only able to glance for a moment at the ground. The small area of dirt reminding him of a pitcher's mound. "We need to get back to her."

Hatred combined with remorse brewed in Aiden's heart for the person or persons that had violated Amelia. The absence however of emotions for an innocent baby caused a bitter-tasting bile to rise up from the pit of his stomach. He was sickened that he felt relief and not remorse for the tiny being under the pitcher's mound. The horrifying truth was Aiden felt a certain relief and happiness Amelia wouldn't be giving Mike a son, not now and maybe not ever. He had cursed himself silently without ceasing for the morbid fucked up thought but he helpless to contain his true feelings.

Aiden had always known from a very young age he never wanted to be a father. Most assumed it was because his mother had abandoned him, but it really had very little to do with his mother. When he thought of the crack whore that had given birth to him all he felt was thankfulness that she had the common sense to leave him with Lenny. He had to give credit where credit was due the bitch knew she couldn't be a mother, and didn't try. The beauty about Amelia from the beginning was her feelings about having a baby mirrored his own. He recalled the day she had confided in him that she was scared of becoming her mommy dearest. They had already talked of a future together and she had worried he would be upset when she revealed to him she never wanted a child. Instead, he had been overjoyed. Just another confirmation that she really was his soul mate.

Now though he wondered if they had been wrong as he avoided looking at the cold hard ground. As fucked up as his thought process was part of him wished to fuck he had been careless and gotten Amelia pregnant. Just another twisted fuckin' emotion to add to the tangled web within you Janowitz he thought to himself as he stood avoiding the small plot. Aiden knew how easy it would have been when they were together. She careless, always forgetful about taking her birth control pills for someone so determined not to ever have a child, but that really was Amelia in many ways forgetful and careless. Mike didn't seem to have a clue to that side of her. Just another thing Aiden felt he seemed to understand about Amelia that Mike did not her carelessness. He glanced at the man who stood statuesque at this side. Mike had often thrown in his face countless times that his relationship had more longevity where his own with Amelia had only been a flash in the pan. While it was true Mike had time on his side, Aiden felt he didn't really know her on the same level and never would. What they had was different and it didn't matter who she loved or didn't love. Amelia would always be a part of him, and he would always be a part of her. They were the 'A' team.

He continued to study Mike peering down at the dirt the angst etched into his hardened features. Aiden knew he was a son of a bitch to be standing over the grave of a fellow brother's son thinking such morbid bullshit. He shrugged his shoulders to no one in particular he might be a son of a bitch, but no one could ever accuse him of being dishonest even when it pained him to be so. The bitter pill of truth had been every time he had looked at Amelia while she was pregnant he had wished it were his own. She had fallen asleep in his arms many nights while Mike was tending to club business that had become his obsession once again. On those nights, his hand had brushed over her belly many times while she slumbered. His mind would always drift to a vision of them as a family her, Mike and the baby. The image was agonizing. Now his heart wouldn't rip from his chest each time he looked at her holding another man's child. Now the possibility of her even being able to carry a child was very small.

"Everything ok with…" Mikes voice cracked and he bit his tongue stopping in mid sentence.

"Yes, they have her grave site covered as well." The sentiment Aiden didn't have for the tiny creäture before them was not lacking for Marie who lay not far away. He hung his head down thinking about her bloody dead on the marble foyer floor. The close range shot to the head had been resulted in a closed casket funeral for Maria.

Mikes clenched hand opened and the tiny crumpled blue flower he had a tight grasp of fell upon the mound of dirt, pivoting his body slowly he turned walking away from his son never looking back, and with no intention of ever returning.

~St. Thomas, Hospital, December 18, 2001, 5:20PM~

Her eyes felt as if they were lead as she struggled to open them, one blink, two blinks still her lids remained sluggish and resistant. She raised her hand to rub them trying to clear the haziness that would not leave. Never had she felt so drugged. Amelia tried to recall the days that had just passed in a blur. Even though she was disoriented and groggy from the drugs they had given her a few hours earlier she hadn't forgotten about the funerals.

"Christ." She spoke barely above a whisper yet it sent a ripple of pain through her head. Bringing her hand up slowly she attempted to brush her fingers over her scalp, and through her blonde hair in hopes, it would ease her aching head. The stands of normally silken hair felt limp and oily.

There was no clock to know the exact time only the window gave an sign that it was late in the day. Time, the singular word echoed through her subconscious. Time was both passing swiftly and standing still. It seemed like weeks, months even since the attack yet hours ago in some aspects. She squeezed her eyes tight as the memories threatened to invade her. His voice the big man's voice as he beat her relentlessly still echoed inside of her, the pain that had radiated through her body threatened to consume her as if it were happening all over again. His cold callous voice rang in her ears.

"Oh God." She breathed the words as anxiety began to wreck her body.

Amelia's blue eyes searched the room nervously looking for solence. Her expression relaxed when the vase of pink roses that adorned the table across from her bed caught her eyes. Mike had left them for her. Just looking at them knowing he had placed them brought her the relief she desperately sought. Her gaze remained fixated on the vase as she thought about the man she loved. She longed to escape with him back to a place, and time she knew they couldn't return, Laguna.

Her mouth creased downward as she thoughts of the big man who had been cruel to her that night on the beach so long ago pushed into her mind. The night that Mike had kept him from raping her, or really just prolonged the inevitable, he had finally reaped the revenge he promised when disappearing into the darkness of the dunes. Her own pleas to the heartless man filled her ears, she had begged not for herself but for the baby yet he had shown no remorse, as she lay underneath him bloody and beaten. She heaved recalling all the hanis things he had done to her and she covered her mouth with her hand for fear she would vomit. His raspy voice filled her ears and the smell of his foul breath lingered in her nostrils. She knew it was ridiculous but she could still smell him on her skin. Still feel the weight of his body pressing down on her; still feel him ripping into her as she pleaded for a mercy he was unwilling to give. Amelia didn't know if she would ever be free from the feel or scent of him. The heavy tears welled in her eyes as his threats of what would occur if Mike returned to Laguna and resumed his business endeavors echoed in her subconscious. The big man had seemed convinced that Mikes business endeavors, and their meeting on the beach that fateful night was a not coincidence. It was though sheer coincidence, a cruel twist of fate that had brought her the man she loved, and led to the attack.

The rattle of the metal door handle startled her from the grotesque images that played in her head. A sense of relief washed over her bringing some peace with the knowledge that Mike was on the other side of the door. Aiden's image surfaced in her mind and she knew she wanted them both to be on the other side of the door. Maybe it was wrong, maybe people wouldn't understand but she only knew that she needed Aiden as much as she needed Mike. Together they seemed to make her feel protected and loved the feeling only cemented more by the attack. The serenity that had begun to blanket her was short-lived as the familiar clicking sound enveloped the private hospital room. Her sickening sweet expensive perfume wafted the room and Amelia felt once more as if she might vomit. This can't be happening, please not now, she pleaded silently as if the pleas would make her mommy dearest dissipate into thin air.

"Hello Amelia." The thick sound of resentment dripped from her words as Mommy Dearest lowered her body to the chair not far from the bed crossing her legs gracefully.

Amelia's blue eyes made contact with her mother's and for the first time since the day Abigail Tate-Southward-Shaw-Cummings-Wentworth-Thomasson whatever in the hell her last name was now, had blackmailed her with Aiden's freedom. She suddenly felt small helpless and out of control. The little girl with little power and no voice to rival with mommy dearest.

~5:36PM~

"When are they arriving the scene?" Aiden asked as they moved down the hallway towards her room in unison. Everything they seemed to do since the attack had a certain unity and unison to it. It felt both disturbing and right.

The echo of their boots bounced from all directions off the white floors that they seemed to travel endlessly as of late. The smell of sterility engulfed him as they moved forward. Aiden hated hospitals in general they never brought anything but sorrow. His time spent under the same roof after his accident years earlier had started the distaste, and now the situation with Amelia only etched it in stone.

"They are arriving the day after tomorrow the doctor says she's out of any danger now so we can get her secure, and then move forward with what needs to be done." Mike answered his voice as devoid as his eyes. "Everything set up on your end?"

"It's ready." Aiden responded.

"Are you sure it's safe I don't want to take any chances with her." Mike halted his strides turning his body towards Aiden before speaking the next words. "No chances. Not with her. Not ever."

"Do you think I would take any chances with her?" Aiden countered back containing his irritation.

Mike opened his mouth to respond when the loud voices followed by screams drifted from the room down the hall that was occupied by Amelia, panic coursed through him as he looked up to see the two prospects not at their post.

"What the fuck?" Mike ran towards the door his heart pounding in his chest.

"That's right Amelia like it or not you are responsible not only for Marie's death but your own child's." Abby hissed the words drenched with hatred from her venomous mouth. "You killed them! You deserve the punishment of never being able to have a child! You should have died! I wish you had never been born!"

"You fucking cunt!" Mike pounced towards her his hands in motion ready to stretch around her neck.

"Mike holy fuck!" Aiden grabbed him from behind before he reached the frothy woman who sat before them.

"I see neither of you barbarians have learned to control your temper." Abby flashed her socialite smile at them before returning her attention back to her daughter. "Both of them at your disposal now how endearing."

Amelia sobbed uncontrollably the words cutting her deeply like a knife. Knife. The singular word echoed teasingly though her mind. That's right you can't escape your fate... She glanced down at her wrist the scar painfully visible to her for the first time in years. For the first time since France. Her eyes narrowed in on the perfect incision that she had made across her wrist once upon a time in the bathtub when she thought Aiden was dead. It throbbed begging her to open it once more. Go ahead Amelia you know you deserve to die for what happened to Marie and the baby; you are just living on borrowed time. The evil words played repeatedly within her. "No." She mumbled shaking her head in response to the haunting voice that cackled inside her.

"You fucking bitch!" Mike yelled pulling away from Aiden's grasp with ease. "I should fuckin' kill you." He finished the last words in a quiet demented tone as his green eyes sparkled. "Maybe I will kill you, you hateful fucking bitch."

"Are you threatening me?" Abby sneered at him as she rose from the chair.

"No bitch I am making you a fucking promise." Mike responded ensuring his tone and stance left no doubt in her mind that he would kill her.

Aiden turned from the scene unfolding with the bitch that had given birth to the girl he loved to the sound of Amelia's soft whimpering. His dark eyes immediately noticed her blue ones fixated on her wrist.

"Fuck me…" He muttered in frustration moving away from Mike who he knew could more than handle mommy dearest perhaps too well. "Amelia baby look at me." He crotched down at the bedside cupping the sides of her face between her hands. "Baby don't listen to her." She attempted to shake her head free and he tightened his grip. "Please don't listen to her focus on me ok."

"You are a savage and I should have you thrown in jail." Abby spit the words at Mike as she glanced at Aiden crotched down his gaze fixated on Amelia. "You have both fucked her up I should take her away from here immediately away from you both. Have her committed somewhere so they can attempt to undo the damage you have both inflicted."

Amelia whimpered at the last words, a whimper that quickly rose in tone to full-blown sobs as her shoulders quaked in response.

"Amelia baby she's not taking you anywhere." Aiden pressed the palms of his hands on her cheeks firmer making her look into his eyes. "She has no power over you and we won't let her hurt you, no one is taking you from us. No one." He said again with more conviction.

"Well isn't that sweet." Abby laughed mockingly. "You always were such scum Aiden you ruined her do you hear me you ruined her with your trashy life. You had no right to touch my daughter she was way out of your league, but you did and you tainted her soiled her…"

Aiden rose from Amelia's side his fist clenched he had only been tempted to hit a woman once before. Roxy. He had held himself back that time, but this time he wasn't sure that type of restraint was going to happen as his fist clenched into tighter balls and his knuckles paled.

Mike reached out halting Aiden's hand just before it made contact with her face the smacking of their flesh connecting filled the room. Abby stood before them with a smug smirk upon her face, and Mikes hand burned from the impact meant for another.

"You are going to pay for even attempting to lay a hand on my Aiden Janowitz." Her voice quivered slightly with fear and she cursed herself silently for the loss of composure. Loss of composure simply wasn't acceptable in Abby's socialite world.

"Get the fuck out bitch!" Mike raised his voice at the Ice Queen his patience now depleted as his arms struggled to contain Aiden. "Forget you have a daughter do you hear me? Don't you ever contact her again! EVER!" The words bellowed loudly from him. "She has a family and it's not you. Told you once before to stay the fuck away. You didn't heed my warning. Show your face here again you cold-hearted fucking cunt I will bury you alive. Do you hear me bitch I will bury you alive and you will break every one of those fancy fake nails off trying to claw your way out."

Abby's mouth dropped open as she stared into the furious green eyes that glared at her with a chilling glimmer she had never seen before. Slowly she moved towards the door with caution looking back only once before disappearing down the hall her trademark clicking heels growing fainter and fainter until they were no more.

The prospects entered the door wide-eyed surveying the scene as the neither recognized the woman that scurried down the hallway.

"Where the fuck were you two?" Aiden walked up hitting the larger of the two square on the back of the head will such force that he stumbled forward.

"We just stepped away for the moment." The second one stuttered the response.

"You step away from her door again you will find yourself fucking dead." Mike spit the words at them furiously his tone only halted by the sound of her sobs drifting to his ear.

~December 19, 2001, 9:00AM~

Tara sat back on the couch peeling the plastic protectant wrap off the bottle of Tylenol labeled childproof. It seemed to her the bottle was only child proof for adults. She worked feverishly trying to dispense two white caplets to relieve the ensuing headache that had nagged her for days. Finally retrieving what she hoped would bring her relief she downed them with a few sips of lukewarm water sitting on the end table to her side. Placing the mason jar glass back on the table along with the evil child proof bottle she rubbed her pulsating temples as she contemplated what to do or better yet what not to do next.

Finding Josh sitting on the very couch that now cuddled her as a mother would a babe in arms had shocked her. Although she wasn't sure why it had been so shocking he was bound to show up after the ugly scene in Chicago. She has known that. She just hadn't anticipated it would be so soon she would be dealing with Josh's wrath. Again, she pondered why she was even surprised. Nothing ever went as planned or occurred how it should in the Northern California town of Charming or in her life really. Her feet weren't even planted firmly on the ground before Hannah Marshall had gone missing, and Amelia Tate beaten and raped. They had celebrated the birth of Ellie and mourned the death of two others. Fuck what have I gotten myself back into, the unspoken words causing her temples to throb with more force.

Her heart ached for Amelia, but her feelings about Hannah were almost those of irritation. She knew it was complete lunacy but once again, dear Hannah had managed to put herself in the spotlight where Jax was concerned. His swift departure from the clubhouse the night of her return to deal with the issues on County road had blown her game plan to smithereens. As if those thoughts swirling around in her head weren't enough to shock the God, damned Pope she found herself glad to have Jax's childhood friend was out of the equation. Even though that meant Hannah was most likely dead. Tara knew most would find it repulsive that she would wish or want such a horrific thing to occur, especially those that were part of her new and improved life in Chicago. Sighing deeply as she pressed her back into the old tattered woven cushion of the couch that her mother had picked out shortly after marrying her father. The realization washed over her that most would find themselves dumbfounded by the thoughts that presented in her proper appearing brunette head.

Full of restlessness she shifted her weight on the couch to lay her body lengthwise her head coming to rest on the sparsely cushioned arm her mind drifted back to the scene in her living room. The only silver cloud lining to finding Josh sitting smugly in wait where her body now rested was the dampening of the romantic mood that was on the verge of escalating with Jax. She had repeatedly scolded herself for the momentary lapse in judgment that had almost resulted in her making love with him. It was too soon to even consider such a move if she planned to make her presence in his life more than just an obsession this time around. She had to be more to him; she demanded to be more to him. He's mine, the thought coursed through her with a certain finality. He is going to act as if he is mine, she thought.

She sighed deeply the need to make sure everything was on her own terms was very important. Even though her body ached for Jax, she couldn't be the weak googled eyed girl clinging to his arm this time around. She wouldn't be the Queen Bitches puppet on a string either. No one was ever going to yank her strings again man or woman. Jax Teller would have to prove himself strong enough to be her man and part of that meant that he release himself from the almost incestuous hold Gemma had on him. She wondered if perhaps that transition wasn't already taking place, his tone and his mannerism with Gemma had changed in the few years she had been absent. It was almost has if he had a deep-seated hatred for her.

Tara eyes peered blankly at the vacant living room of her father's modest home ignoring the neatly piled clutter. Her father was a pack rat she had grown accustom to living in a more organized dwelling. Her mind moved from the random thoughts back to the plight at hand. She had to be smarter this time around, the stakes were too high and weakness could cost her severely. She wiggled upon the lumpy couch evaluating the sudden development of a backbone that Jax seemed to have where Gemma was concerned. The answer she needed to know was what had truly caused him to grow a set of balls was it due to her departure from Charming or was it due to the fiasco that had occurred with Hannah. Was it the chicken or the egg who in the fuck knew, who in the fuck would ever know for sure, but it was something she desperately needed to know. She needed to be the reason for his change in attitude, her and her alone, but Tara couldn't shake the gut wrenching feeling in her core that the last straw that had caused his baditude to rise to the top like cream had indeed been Hannah Marshall. That Hannah was unattainable to him because of a social taboo they had no control over was simply not enough.

She blew out a breath of air forcefully. There were no easy answers. It all rolled back to her undying need to know unconditionally without any doubt that she was the one he wanted by his side in every way. Tara needed to know he loved her in the same way she loved him. Sure Aiden had compared their situation repeatedly on the phone that morning to his own with Amelia, but she wasn't sure they were really talking about the same type of devotion. The same kind of love. Although she hadn't had but a few precious minutes with her dear friend Amelia over the last few days, it was clear to her that the two men were both devoted to her. Aiden was in love with her perhaps even more so than he had been when they were teenagers. Tara didn't know Mike but she remembered their chance meeting in the TM parking lot all those years ago. How Amelia had taken up for a man she didn't even know in the kitchen that night at the cabin. Her friend had the devotion from two men the type of devotion Tara had been confident Jax felt for her at one time. Now however she wasn't sure it had ever been the level of devotion Amelia received from Mike and Aiden. Had Jax's blue eyes been looking upon someone else all that time with that type of devotion and she just hadn't realized. Her mind ventured to a place she didn't want to go, to a place where Hannah was sitting beside Jax and together they were the King and Queen reigning supreme. It could have easily been reality had the blood ties not bound them together.

No, she wouldn't compromise and regardless of her love for Jax, she had to stay strong and steadfast. Compromising would make her nothing but a doormat. She recalled her vows and self-proclamations that day on the bus. Gemma had to pay for all the indiscretions inflicted on her over the years, but also she had to be cowered and reduced to be nothing within the club that was her late husband John Tellers creation. Yes, there not only had to be a fifty, fifty partnership with Jax if they were to have a life together, but the Queen bitch had to go. There would be only one Queen in Charming and her name would be Tara Knowles, and when she decided the time was right a hyphen could be added to join Teller. Tara Knowles-Teller, Jax Tellers wife, the only reigning queen.

~December 19, 2001, 9:01AM~

Josh sat in the cheap stiff desk chair that he supposed would have to do for the moment but was certainly not the quality he was accustom to back in Chicago. His long thin fingers sifted through the photos that he had requested. He glanced up for a moment, and taking in the area his lip curving in disgust. The chair was not the only cheap piece of furnishing in the shoebox they had offered to him when he had arrived; the desk was a genuine piece of shit also. The wood was aged and discolored in many areas; his manipulative eyes cast down focusing intently on the many circular stains that he assumed were from glasses placed without a coaster underneath. Josh despised such laziness from people he was a meticulous person by nature and expected no less from those that surrounded him. One could go through this loft at any time and find all the cans in the pantry in perfect alignment as well as each towel hanging on a rack folded neatly.

Josh wasn't surprised to find such dishevel around him when he arrived the Charming Police station it was after all run by the king of slobs himself Wayne Unser. Peeling his eyes away from the abuse that the desk had endured from the carelessness of others, Josh returned his full attention to the photos shattered about neatly. He grasp the first photo with his index and third finger bringing it closer to look at the young man with baby blue eyes and Sunkist California blonde hair. Jackson Nathanial Teller the President of SAMCRO. He was well aware of the young Mr. Teller and his many antics throughout the years. A huff escaped him as he laid the photo down neatly before picking up the next one in line. The brown eyes glared at him from the photo. His eyes truly irked him, but what irked him more was the long brown curly tussled hair that needed taming. Aiden Janowitz another of the Princely Trio and perhaps out of the three the one with the most intelligent but also the most volatile temper. He often acted in hast and without thought. Unlike Jax who seemed to give issues more forethought. Josh intended to teach Aiden what the repercussions were when you reacted without thought to a situation. Lowering the photo, placing it neatly beside the others he picked up the next in line. Opie Winston perhaps the calmest of the Trio, sure he was an outlaw but he appeared at least from what Josh had seen from the outside looking in to be the more mature and level-headed of his childhood friends and fellow brothers Aiden and Jax.

"Last but certainly not least." He spoke the words in a low tone with almost a hint of sexual longing in his voice. "Tara." He didn't pick up the photo instead; he traced the pad of his finger round her face.

Tara Knowles the premedical student that he had seduced with the ease and calculation of a panther stalking its prey. She was not the innocent reserved woman that she pretended to be in Chicago. Tara was one of them. She had been a biker's whore and not only that arrested with Mr. Teller on three occasions for various reasons. All that before the legal age of 18. Josh paused in thought wondering what else her record might have included if she hadn't escaped the cesspool of Charming. He tapped the pad of his finger on his well shaven chin. It was stubble free. Stubble would have been unacceptable. He shifted in his seat the growing need for her bulging against the zipper of his pants. He hate to admit it but she intrigued him in a way that he hadn't anticipated.

For a time he had thought there was no possible way she could have ever been involved with people like Jax, Aiden, Opie and the rest of the misfit outlaws. Tara had been very reserved in speaking of her past before Chicago and really, the only person that ever came up in conversation was a man she referred to as Dr. Martin. She had almost made him sound like a guardian angel of sorts getting her help to pay for school in San Diego, and then later aiding her with the applications to the medical school she attended in Chicago. Josh had questioned in his mind many times what Dr. Martins story was and why he had been so insistent for her to leave Charming. When it really appeared that the man was quit captivated by her. Why be so eager for someone who captivated you to leave your proximity. Josh recalled one evening at dinner when he had casually asked her if they had been lovers. She blushed many shades of crimson at the question but he could tell from her response that they had not, but perhaps it had crossed her mind. Sex was an innocent area for Tara Knowles. Actually, he was fairly certain that other than Jax Teller he was the only other man she had ever had intimate contact with. So perhaps she wasn't a biker whore beyond saving just yet. The sound of the hollowed knock on the cheap rickety wood door snapped his attention from the thoughts stampeding through his head.

"I see you found the place ok." The familiar voice and body invaded the room from the crack created as the door opened.

Josh crinkled his nose at the lack of couth and respect people had for even the simplest of courtesies. The man should have waited until he told him he could enter "I did." He responded curtly as the figure closed the door behind him. "Have a seat." He offered to the man already lowering his body to chair.

"Things are a little chaotic." The man before him spoke the words cautiously eyeing him as he did.

"Chaotic?" Josh responded to his words with a singular worded question followed by silence, a tactic he found unnerved most. Only after allowing the silence to envelop them did her pursue the conversation. "I find things in a disarray and not going at all how we planned them David."

"Well I wasn't expecting the outside interference to occur." David Hale responded as he shifted in his seat.

"I thought you were doing away with the suspected outside interference, so that we could execute what was needed for us." Josh paused again allowing the silence to ensue before continuing. He enjoyed and relished watching people squirm in their seats during conversation. "To get his location much less a face on that man took an amazing amount of time, effort, and promise of favors. Now it would seem those efforts were all for not." He leaned back in the seat crossing his arms over his perfectly heavy starched blue pinpoint button up.

"I went over to his home to extinguish the situation as discussed on the phone, but when I got there fucking SAMCRO was camped out on this front lawn. What the hell was I supposed to do it left me no choice but to deal with them." He looked annoyed for a moment. "Which I did, and when I returned he had vanished."

"You know David it was your idea to reap this revenge for my cousin Jason, you came to me for help to right the wrong that cost him his professional future in football." He paused once more. "Please don't misunderstand revenge is due. I mean he is stuck being a mere salesmen for some computer company not the future he should have had at all." Josh straightened his posture in the chair as he spoke.

"Well he is your cousin I felt you of all people should have some sort of loyalty to him, I mean he is not even my blood and my loyalty to him runs deep." David glowered at Josh as he spoke. "They robbed him, and if you want to get right down to the fuckers robbed me of Hannah and our future together. We should have been married her family money along with my family connections, I would be reigning fucking supreme in this town not starting my career off as barney Fife to dipshit Unser."

"Oh woe is you. Now listen I only got involved with this whole scheme because you and Jason begged and pleaded. I expect things to be handled in a more organized fashion from here on out." Josh placed his palms together strumming the tips of his fingers in a perfect rhythm.

"You joined in our plot for revenge because of the money that we both offered you." David shot back he had never really cared for Jason's cousin even when he had been a younger man starting his career out, but Jason had always looked up to him. "You no Tara slipped through your fingers and arrived back in Charming unexpected. It would seem I am not the only one incurring complications."

"This bickering back and forth is not going to get us any closer to the goals we have set." Josh narrowed his eyes the rage building in him at the unexpected twist that Tara's arrival back in Charming had caused. One of the biggest irritations was coming to Charming it wasn't originally in the grand plan. His only job in this game of revenge with David and Jason should have kept an eye on Tara until the time came that she might be needed for leverage. "Now let's take a look at the damage that's been done to this situation and plot our forward plan. Have you found Hannah Marshall?"

"No, I haven't it would seem she has disappeared into the thin air." David spoke the words in disgust as he plopped back on the hardback wood of the chair.

"With her blood splattered all over the dash of her Porsche?" Josh replied curtly. "A rather interesting disappearance don't you think?"

"Regardless of why she disappeared that is one Achilles heel slashed, perhaps not how we wanted it slashed but a slash nonetheless." David hissed the words he had such plans for Hannah and poof it was as if a guardian angel had swooped down and protected her from them.

"What about the other weaknesses?" Josh asked reaching out for the picture of Aiden once more. "He really is the one that should suffer the most after all."

"Oh he will, he will when we are done with him, he will lose everything he holds dear, his brothers and the girl he loves. They will all turn on him." David responded with a certain eerie happiness in his voice.

"What about her? I am assuming she is an Achilles for him just as Tara and this Hannah girl are for Jax?" Josh curled his upper lip up in disgust at the thought of Jax's relationship with the Marshall girl. Why David had even hoped to bed her again was beyond him. Tainted goods were never a commodity a man needed in his life. Of course, when a man's pride suffered an inflicting wound a good hate fuck often sufficed for some healing.

"Amelia Tate is in the hospital as you know half beaten to death, lost the baby that was due in less than a month. From what I have heard she has suffered more than enough." David replied his mind recalling the scene at the Tate estate that night. It had truly been like nothing he had ever dealt with before. He almost felt like an asshole when he walked onto the scene and Janowitz was bellowing like a broken man clinging to her almost lifeless body. Almost being the key word.

"It would seem someone else is after vengeance as well, otherwise he wouldn't be here." Josh replied his voice monotone. "We need to find out who hired him and why. Perhaps we can be of help to one another."

"What are you going to do about Tara Knowles?" David asked, "I mean Hannah, the Tate girl those were expected strikes we had planned to use them, apparently someone else had plans they need to be used in as well. Beat us to the punch but Tara wasn't supposed to come back."

"No she wasn't." Josh recalled the morning she had informed him she would be returning to Charming.

The rage and bitterness had consumed him, much to his dismay he had enjoyed Ms. Knowles Company far more than he had anticipated, or cared to admit. She would have easily integrated into lifestyle. She was after all a premedical student with a promising future, but now they were an impasse. Tara Knowles was on the verge of being a whore past the point of no return.

~Chicago, December 11, 2001~

"You are not leaving this loft Tara." Josh walked over slamming the suitcase closed almost catching the tips of her fingers in the process.

Tara looked at him with her hazel eyes in utter shock at his response; she had seen a more controlling side of Josh since moving in but his behavior was truly frightening. She knew that his controlling nature had attracted her to an extent, he was after all the polar opposite of Jax Teller but some of the reigns he attempted to hold were almost scary in a way.

"I need to go my friends back home need me." Tara responded mustering all her inner strength not breaking eye contact.

"Perhaps you didn't understand what I said," Josh pressed his hand firmer on top of the suitcase. "You are not leaving me Tara Knowles."

"I don't like your tone." Tara countered back with a newfound strength before turning her back to walk to the chair close by where her purse lay.

Josh watched as she defiantly turned her back to him moving swiftly behind her he turned her forcefully. "You are not leaving me Tara." He pulled her towards the bed as he spoke the last words.

~Chicago O'Hare Airport, December 12, 2001 2:00AM~

Tara looked around the airport as she approached the last checkpoint that would be her protection to get safely to the gate and on board the flight bound to California. Placing her carry-on items in the black square bucket she watched nervously as it traveled down the black conveyor belt slower than she would have liked. Her flight was due to leave in just 40 minutes. Walking through the metal detector, she held her breath. Only releasing it when she was free and clear with no beeps. Collecting her items swiftly she walked with large strides towards the gate. Glancing back one last time to make sure he wasn't following her. She knew after the turn of events that had occurred hours earlier regardless of what the future held in Charming and with Jax there would be no coming back to Chicago. A great distance was needed from Josh nothing less would be safe. She only hoped as she handed her ticket stub to the waiting gate attendant and made her way down the walkway to the airplane that California would be distance enough.

~Chapel, December 22, 2001~

"No!" Jax spit the word out with fevered fury across the table towards the piercing eyes glaring daggers back at him. "There will be no stepping down we are in the middle of a fuckin' war! Mike you even fired the shot that sealed the deal square in the head of the Mayan President Jose. Marquez Alvarez is taking the seat and his mouth is watering like a rapid dog for vengeance. We backed you in that play brother, that spontaneous play!" Jax paused for a moment to steady his breathing and voice. "My sister is missing, they have killed two patched members and then the innocents in all this Marie, your kid and Amelia." He broke eye contact looking from one brother to another a deep scowl upon his face. "It's personal. I get that." He rubbed the stubble upon his chin before proceeding. "But we are taking vengeance together as one."

An eerie silence fell upon the room that hadn't been experienced in some years as each patched member along with the Nomads and SAMREN crew sat in almost a reverent silence. Each had an opinion on the various situations that had occurred over the many months. Several of the older members felt that Jax should have struck as soon as the bullets started flying. Others felt that immediate retaliation would have been irresponsible when the culprit and motives for the deaths and those presumed dead were so unclear.

Mike sat at the end of the table with Aiden by his side the ash of his cigarette curved in an arch towards the ashtray, growing longer with each moment that passed. His emerald-green eyes roamed around the Reaper table at each man sitting and then to those standing in the background. Mike knew if the whistler was involved in all the shit that had gone down to date the blood of Clay, Piney and even his own child were on his hands. He had brought the grim reaper to their doors unbeknownst by making a move he thought would give stability to another allegiance he had with several men. Mike looked at Aiden sitting beside him and wondered about split loyalties and how they really worked. He had loyalty and allegiance to the Laguna crew he had put together to produce and move drugs along the southern Cali. Coast. That bonding had definitely conflicted with his loyalties to a group of men that had provided him a home and a family when he had none. It made him wonder how the split loyalty Aiden had for Amelia and the MC would play out, and even his own towards the two of them.

He mowed his large hand through his unwashed hair. He needed to take a shower and change clothes but he lacked the want to do shit but sit by her bedside. Since the attack, he had barely slept and he certainly had not returned to the Charming Cathedral. Jax had offered him any available room in the clubhouse until Amelia was discharged from the hospital, but Mike knew he needed a certain solace to ponder what had occurred. A solace the confines and noise of the clubhouse could not offer, especially with them being on high alert and the extra bodies that entailed. His days since the attack had mainly been spent at Amelia's beside, and much to his surprise in the spare bedroom of Aiden Janowitz house. Even though they had somewhat laid their bullshit to rest for Amelia's sake during the pregnancy, they were an unlikely duo, but other than his Laguna crew he had few that he could turn to and trust with his secret. Janowitz had been right if Jax found out about the deceit and that he was the entrepreneur king pen of the Southern Cali. He might very well find himself not only removed from the brotherhood but also 10 feet under.

"Jax I don't think you are being reasonable Mike has suffered a tremendous loss and he needs to get Amelia away from here." Aiden protested his brown eyes showing little emotion. "He's Nomad let him go."

Aiden's eyes shifted to Happy who sat in the seat that he would normally occupy. Happy had stood when he entered the room, but Aiden had told him to stay taking a seat towards the end of the table. The irony of everything taking place in their lives was not lost on him. They were unlikely alleys now aligned to avenge a wrong inflicted on the woman they both loved. He knew that Mikes comment in the hospital parking lot a few nights earlier was true. What was going on between the three of them was not likely to have a pleasant outcome. He knew that for now their focus was on the violence that had been committed, but once vengeance was dished out whom Amelia truly belonged to would take over. He hated the word belonged to it made her sound like something they were bartering for but in a way he knew that was true. In his heart Aiden believed that she belonged to him, he was her first and that had to mean something.

His mind drifted uncontrollably to the morning of her attack. Why that morning to decide to change everything between them? He didn't fuckin' know but really everything that had occurred in this last several days had led them to the turning point. The biggest occurrence the return of Tara Knowles. When she entered the clubhouse for the first time in five years, and they all occupied the same place and time once again, a rare alignment, the type that sets certain events in motion occurred, everything shifted on it's axis. They had all started together as one and in his heart; Aiden believed they would all end together as well.

~Charming Cathedral, December 14, 2001, 7:55AM~

"Aiden I wasn't expecting you this morning with everything that's been happening." Marie looked up from the preparations she was already making for lunch and dinner acknowledging him with a warm smile.

"Yeah, just needed to stop by and see her." Aiden strolled over to the extravagant coffee maker that looked like it belonged in a business establishment and not a kitchen. Going through the motions as he had many times since he was 17 years old he grabbed a mug and poured the steaming black liquid that was survival most days.

"She's sleeping still." Marie continued chopping the carrots not even looking up as she spoke the next words, "But I suppose you knew that already."

Aiden glanced at the red numbers on the built-in microwave he knew as well as anyone his sleeping beauty was still slumbering. Fuck he knew he would still be asleep if it weren't all for all the bullshit that had occurred the night before. "I know Marie." He finally responded with a coy smirk upon his face.

"I figured you did." She looked up and smiled faintly unsure of what to say as she watched him make his way from the kitchen towards the stairs.

~5 Minutes later~

"Aiden what are you doing?" Amelia asked her voice muffled as she turned her face into his chest as he carried her down the hall. "Where are you taking me?" She asked yawning the words.

Aiden didn't respond he couldn't find the words as he walked with her nestled in his arms towards the door of the bedroom she had lived in before moving from Charming as a Teen. Opening the door careful not to tossle her he closed it with the sole of his boot before walking over to the bed laying her down on the plush pillow top. He smiled as the downy comforter curved to her body enveloping her just as it always had.

"Aiden?" She questioned rubbing her eyes.

He couldn't speak as he looked into her blue eyes laying on the bed where they had made love so many times, right or wrong he knew he had to have her. He broke eye contact only long enough to walk back over the door to lock it before making this way back to the bed.

~Chapel Meeting~

Happy sat back in his seat silent for a moment before glaring at the end of the table his tolerance at an all-time low with all the shit that had gone down. First Hannah's disappearance out of the blue and now this shit. He could feel the demons building in him as his mouth watered to cut the motherfuckers up responsible for the shit that had gone down. Time to add some more smiley faces to the collection. Happy stared down at the end of the table at Mike his request to walk away infuriated him.

"He's not the only one that has suffered the loss of someone close." Happy grunted his tone emitting a certain fury that none of his brothers were accustom too.

"No one is trying to down play that brother." Bobby injected from across the table in trying to calm the building situation.

"Sure seems like it." Happy shifted his eyes from the end of the table to Bobby.

"I think we are just getting to pussy absorbed about all this …" Clean the SAMREN VP began speaking the words from the background pausing for a moment a devious smirk growing on the corners of his lips. "Truthfully it would seem some of us have been saturated in certain pussy juice for fair to long." He turned his head towards Aiden before looking at Mike.

"Motherfucker…" Aiden jumped from his end of the table his normally hot temper certifiably out of control.

"Sit down Aiden." Mike spoke the words low and calm his green piercing eyes never leaving Cleans as he spoke. "Perhaps you are right brother." He diverted his eyes from his SAMREN brother to make contact with Jax. "This is why I want to lay my cut down Jax, that way you aren't pulled into my…" He looked back at Clean his longtime friend and brother attempting to keep the dark fury at bay. "Pussy wars." Mike hissed the last words.

"Same for me." Aiden responded sternly before taking a seat.

"Aiden you are one of the first nine heirs." Opie spoke in a monotone voice. "One of us, your place is beside Jax and you know it. We made a pact brother remember?" He paused for a moment. "Laying the cut down is not an option for you." Their eyes met as he spoke the last words.

Aiden wanted to break Opie's gaze, which flooded, back to him all the reasons he shouldn't even be considering such an asinine move. Deep down he knew walking away was wrong, went against everything that ingrained in them, he was one of the first nine princes. Opie and Jax were his brothers in every way. A woman should never take priority over that never; Lenny had told him that on more than one occasion. She did though. Amelia did take priority over every person that seated at the long wooden table. The table they were supposed to reign supreme at, the table where they were supposed to bring SAMCRO club to the future. The vision had been so clear until that day in the parking lot so many years ago when she extended her hand to him. Now it was just muddled and cloudy. The future wasn't clear at all, and he wondered if it ever would be again.

"The vote cast earlier stands." Jax slammed the gavel down on the table his eyes narrowing in on Aiden before shifting to Mike.

~December 23, 2001 12:01PM~

"Where are they?" Jax looked around the group poised and ready. "They should have been here by now."

"They will ride pest bin daein' it daily fur puckle weeks noo." Chibs responded.

Opie glanced over at Jax his own eyes smoldering he had never expected it to come to this. He opened his mouth to speak just as the two bikes roared past them.

"There they are." Happy spoke the words a crooked grin forming on the corner of his mouth. What was going to happened to the fuckers riding past served them right.

"Those two fuckers are gonna get some of this." Tig snarled grabbing his crotch, "In there fuckin' ass."

Jax motioned his hand in the air as he pulled his bike out onto the desolate stretch of road. He cleared his mind of the fury that threatening to build to focus on the two men in front of him. They had to pay; they had to be a message for what would happen if one crossed the line.

Both men looked back simultaneously as the hum of multiple engines propelled towards them like a herd of wild horses.

"Fuck me." The man muttered has he hit the throttle of his bike just as the black van cut him off.

~1:00PM Unknown Location~

"You better fuckin' answer me or you will regret the day you were fuckin' born." Tig wrapped his hand in his long brown hair, yanking his head forcing him to make eye contact. The blood oozed from the open gashes on his cheeks.

"Fuck you." He spit towards Tig's face.

"No fuck you." Happy flicked the lighter placing the tip of the welding torch the flame turning from yellow to blue instantly as it made the transfer.

The man wiggled helplessly against the rope that confined his arms to the metal chair as the flame approached.

"Now fuck head are you going to tell us what we want to know?" Happy snarled.

"Ese we don't know shit." The look of helplessness in his dark brown eyes shined.

"You mean to tell me your fuckin' former President told one of our members his old lady was going to die and you don't know fuckin' shit." Jax walked over his teeth grinding together.

"He's telling the truth." The other man spoke up.

"I ain't buying this shit." Opie flicked his cigarette onto the dingy grey concrete floor. "Happy…" His voice trailed as a smirk revealed itself on his lips.

"No! No!" The man began to scream as the blue flame touched the skin of his arm, his flesh began to form bubbles, and the stench permeated the room.

~3:00pm~

Jax stood leaned against the tree trunk with his hands folded against his cut. His blue eyes remained fixated on the whole that the prospects worked feverishly to dig. It was 10 feet deep just as he had requested it to be. The smell of burnt flesh still filled his nostrils as he inhaled the fresh crisp afternoon air. He closed his eyes for a moment unable to fathom the fact that Christmas Eve was the next damn day and they were dealing with this bullshit. Squeezing his lids tighter, he could almost see her laying casually reading a book her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder. Jesus Christ he mouthed silently not even bothering to make noise because who the fuck really cared anyway what was going through his mind.

Nothing had gone right since he had taken over the club it had been one disaster after another he huffed in silent disgust. Not exactly sure what he had expected considering the circumstances of his rise to power in the first place. He longed to smell her scent and not the stench of the burned Mayans. Not being able to reconcile with her in the fashion he desired was worse agony than her being in Chicago. His mind turned to the fuck wad that had interrupted what he had thought was going the perfect reunion with Tara. Jax recalled his image as he pushed off the tree walking towards the unmarked grave the prospects were digging. The fury and the jealousy consumed him as he walked. Josh Kohn. Jax rolled his name around in his mind, a man that needed to realize sooner than later he was in crow territory, and Tara Knowles belonged to him.

"You ok brother." Opie asked as he walked up beside him.

"Yeah." Jax fished in his pocket for a pack of cigarettes placing one between his lips.

Opie tossed Jax his lighter, "This will send a clear message to Alvarez, you made the right call."

"Did I?" Jax placed the lighter to the cigarette inhaling the nicotine into his lungs.

"Don't doubt yourself Jax." Opie took a quick hit on his cigarette before flicking it to the ground and stomping it with his foot like a bug.

"Fuck me where are they?" Jax growled in a low agitated voice. "He put the bullet in the Mayan Presidents head, and he doesn't even show up, and Aiden he is all twisted up as well. What the fuck is going on Opie."

"I don't know brother, maybe something came up at the hospital." Opie offered his gut gnawing at him that Aiden and Mike were on the verge of making moves that would be unforgivable and punishable.

"Find them." Jax spit out the words resentment dripping from his mouth.

~St. Thomas, Hospital 2:00PM~

The two men walked down the hallway towards her room feeling a bit out-of-place and conspicuous, each hoping they weren't bringing unwanted attention upon themselves. Like clockwork, the prospects guarding her door disappeared around the corner for their fifth break of the day. Everything was going just as they had planned it.

~2:05PM~

Amelia looked in the bathroom mirror at her reflection that revealed pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. Standing on two feet seemed almost awkward after being in bed for the last few days. She ran her fingers through her clean hair the shower had felt good after a long restless night. The nightmares were coming now every time she closed her eyes. Just the thought of the images caused her to feel faint. She grabbed the sides of the stark white sink to steady herself as the tears threatened to spill from her lids into the basin. Mike and Aiden had asked her relentlessly who the attackers were. She just stared at them not speaking, Amelia knew they would want vengeance and she wasn't willing to lose them. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she straightened her body pushing the door open to make her way back to the bed. The cool air that brushed her fleshed caused her to shiver the hospital gown offering little protection. Then she saw them standing by her beside her bed one holding black duffel bag and the other standing with is arms folded.

~December 24, 2001, 3:00 am, Abandoned Warehouse~

"You got them?" He asked not even raising his head from the pictures scattered on the glass top desk.

"I do." Dr. Martin responded placing the large envelope before him.

Conor raised his head from the pictures not even bothering to look at the envelope that contained what he had waited for the last many days. Martin concerned him he was off not his normal self. It wasn't lack of words he responded with that alluded to this fact but the tone of his voice, and the gesture of his hand when placing the materials on the desk. Conor looked at him with his trademark unemotional face that many had seen but few could describe.

"Is there an issue we need to discuss Martin?" Conor arched his brow the action instantly changing his entire demeanor, and appearance.

"Issues, bloody hell Conor where do I start we have issues coming out from under the doormat mate. The Tate girl, Hannah, Tara returning to Charming…" His voice trailed off.

"Am I to assume by your shift in tone before speaking the last words that the latter has you more perplexed than Ms. Hannah Marshall, or Ms. Tate." Conor sat back in the high back mesh seat crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes." Martin answered flatly. "She wasn't supposed to return. Why in bloody hell would she have made such a stupid move?"

"I told you not to form a bond with her years ago. You were here on assignment placed by the Marchese's to keep an eye on developments. Help find the timing for certain maneuvers not to become infatuated with girl that has no concept of the life we live." His brooding dark eyes narrowed in on his friend.

"You sit there smugly lecturing me about not being infatuated Mate? Really? Are you not guilty of the same sins with the enchanting Ms. Marshall? They are both caught up in something that they never should have been and you know it." Dr. Martin shot back crossly.

"That is not our fault." Conor rose from the chair his eyes never losing contact. "Might I remind you if you're Intel on Hannah's parentage and relationship to Jackson Teller had been more accurate …?"

"Fuck accuracy Conor." Dr. Martin blurted out with a lack of composure uncharacteristic. "You care about her. I think you even love her."

"I don't allow myself the luxury of love Martin… ever." Conor spoke the words refusing let any emotion surface.

"Then why are you hiding her?" Dr. Martin shot back. "Why these documents?"

Conor stood before his friend and co-conspirator, a man who perhaps knew him to well.

"This conversation is over." Conor turned to leave the room.

"You know taking her from this country is the wrong move." Dr. Martin called after him.

"How is it the wrong move?" Conor turned eyeing his friend. "I am going to take her to my homeland to a place that is safe. How is that a wrong move when the alternative is her life?"

"Her memory can come back at any point Conor, you know that right? I am frankly shocked that such a blow to the head even caused amnesia to begin with. What's going to happen when she remembers who you really are and what you have done?" He stood eyeing Conor waiting for answers.

"I will worry about that when the time comes." Conor responded flatly. "Your job was to make sure the passport, birth certificate, and other documentation in this envelope it solid as if this person has always existed. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, interesting papers you required for her. Especially love the one with your real surname attached to it. You are playing a dangerous game my friend that will eventually explode in your face." Dr. Martin eyed his cold-hearted friend who now stood in the doorway.

"You let me worry about Hannah; you have your hands full with the enchanting Ms. Tara Knowles it would seem. I will be back in the country within two weeks and we will move forward as planned." Conor replied before turning from his friend ending the conversation.

"Bastard." Dr. Martin mumble under his breath.

~December 12, 2001, County Road~

"Are you sure this is such a good idea after the impact to her head?" Conor eyed Martin with a rare look of concern.

"What do you suggest Conor, we need the blood to splatter in the car so that we can lead the investigators to believe she is dead." Dr. Martin felt the pop of the needle entering her vein just as the last words left his lips. Attaching the tubing normally used for blood donations of a different kind the bright red began making its journey to the collection bag.

"Yes, I know that Martin." Conor replied the annoyance clear in his voice. "It was my plan or have you forgotten."

"No Conor I haven't trust me you can take full responsibility for this one." Dr. Martin glanced at him shortly before returning his attention the job at hand.

"What choice do I have Martin. They want her dead." Conor brushed the hair back from the bleeding wound on her head. He hadn't expected her to put up such a fight yet in truth, her struggle didn't surprise him at all. "Should there be this much blood Jaysis Christ you could get all you need from here!"

"Head wounds always bleed profusely, trust me it is not fatal." Dr. Martin answered removing the large 14-gauge needle from her antecubital vein and holding pressure for a moment. "Let me tend to her and you take care of his." He handed Conor the unit of warm blood in his hand.

~December 25, 1991, The Winston Home, 6:00PM~

"Tara you don't know what it means that you are here especially considering everything that has happened." Donna smiled a she watched her friend place ornaments on the Christmas tree a prospect had dropped by the night before.

"I am happy to be here also Donna." Tara turned to her friend who was feeding Ellie a bottle the view creating a smile on her face. They had all suffered so much in just the short time she had returned yet in the wake of it all there were these perfect times that fueled them with hope.

"Do you think they will be back soon?" Donna asked with concern in her voice.

"I don't know Donna." Tara replied softly as she reached down for the box of candy canes to adorn the tree with.

"You don't think they will stay away long do you?" Donna removed the bottle from Ellie's mouth before placing her on her shoulder and patting her back. "I was really hoping that we could all spend Christmas together this year. I mean we haven't done that since we were teenagers."

"Jax says they will be back soon. Amelia just needed time that's all." Tara turned her attention back to the tree hating to lie to her friend.

When she had inquired about Amelia's leave from the hospital without a formal discharge Jax had been truthful with her about what they suspected. Although sharing the truth was an avenue that Jax was willing to explore with her, Opie didn't want Donna concerned or upset. She had disagreed with both Jax and Opie about keeping the truth from Donna but after doing so much damage all those years ago with idle gossip that wasn't even the gospel truth she agreed. What was the truth about their disappearances anyway? There wasn't any yet just speculation and plenty of idle gossip, in less than 2 days. Tara was unsure what the weeks to come would bring or reveal. Jax had suspected that they had slipped away with Amelia but after entering Aiden's home and finding both of their cuts laying neatly in the middle of a ram-sacked house where it looked like a major struggle had taken place, he wasn't so sure. The cuts laying neatly side by side on the bed were either a message from Aiden and Mike or a message from club enemies. The same with Amelia's disappearance from the hospital. No one had recalled seeing a couple of bikers entering her room, and the prospects had not been at the doorway.

"I hope so …" Donna paused for a moment shifting the weight of baby Ellie into her arms. "Tara are you staying?"

Tara opened her mouth to speak just as Jax, and Opie entered each with bags of wrapped presents in tow. The smell of the feast she had been preparing with Donnas help filled the room and for the first time it truly felt like Christmas.

"I'm staying Donna." Tara replied as Jax walked over to her sitting the bags down beside the tree.

"You do this?" His blue sapphire eyes glowed from the reflection of the Christmas lights.

"I did." Tara replied with a coy smirk on her lips.

"You are amazing you know that?" Jax moved in closer to her.

"Am I?" Tara responded in a tone that was flirtier than intended.

"You are." Jax replied as he slipped his arm around the small of her back pulling her closer to him.

"So you are staying?" Donna's voice interrupted.

"Yes, I have enrolled in a campus close by and St. Thomas is going to allow me to complete my residency there." Tara smiled radiantly at her friend before turning her eyes back to Jax. "I made the arrangements before arriving to Charming and well I confirmed them just a few days ago. I will be starting school again after the first of the year."

"Fuck yeah!" Opie burst out with a goofy grin on his face.

"That's the best news I have heard in a very long time babe." Jax tilted his head beaming a smile at her tightening his grip on the small of her back.

"I am glad you approve Jax." Tara replied nonchalantly as she slipped from his intimate holding walking towards the kitchen.

Opie bellowed out laughing at the brush off the Prince of Charming himself had just received. "God Damn I love this, Chicago was good for her brother. She is going to be primo old lady for you and the club."

"Yeah." Jax spoke the words as he watched her from afar. "Let just hope I she gives me the chance to make her my old lady."

***Next Chapter will Be Posted Under book II Aiden and Amelia in the next couple of weeks***