CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. So I've finished drafting the timeline for this, looks TTAC will be complete at approximately 150 chapters…I could compress it but I've gotten used to writing about this length chapters, and it means that the updates will still be once or twice a day.

We're barely back in the truck again before Donna looks over at me "Did you get the order to be at the clubhouse tonight?"

I nod silently "Yeah, but Abel's out of the incubator soon so I've gotta drop you and run. TM or back at Gem's?"

Donna shakes her head "Drop me off on Main, I'll go look at paint and carpet and then walk down to the lot."

I laugh and head towards town "You're not going to waste any time are you?"

Donna shakes her head "Jennifer said that once they can get the plans in and approved then it'll be at least 2 weeks to demolish the old house and remove the foundations. Then once they have a clean slate to start with it's a 16 week build time."

"So less than 5 months total?"

Donna nods "Yeah, but the downside is having to live with Gemma for another 5 months at least."

I laugh again at the distressed look on her face. "Well, there is an alternative if you'd like."

"What? What?" Donna bounces in her seat and I can't help but laugh.

"Well, depending on how long it takes to get the staircase, painting and flooring done in our new house Jax's place will be empty soon. We can always see if Juice is happy to wait till your new place is built before moving in. Then you and Opie can go with the kids to Jax's while the house is being built."

Donna grins, the corners of her mouth almost reaching her ears "That would be perfect. How long is your new place going to take to finish?"

I shrug "Don't know, meeting the carpet layer and the builder this afternoon and then the painter on Monday. Then we'll find out next week how long things will take."

Donna bounces, clapping her hands happily "Talk to Jax and Juice before you start planning stuff like this, but that would be awesome. Living with Gemma for the almost a month and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy."

"I can imagine. I'll talk with Jax when I see him at the hospital; he can talk to Juice when they go into Church later."

Donna sighs "So how are things going with Jax? You haven't told me shit lately."

I grin "Well, remember what I used to think it would be like?"

Donna nods, remembering the teenage fantasies I had about how perfect it would "I do."

My smile gets wider "It's even better than I thought. It's so easy being with him. There's no effort, no stressing, no worrying. Well, I lie, of course there is stress and worry, but it's about little things, stuff that doesn't matter in the long run. As long as we're both happy and healthy and Abel is doing as well as he is nothing else is important."

"Ope mentioned something to me this morning, I'm not sure how seriously to take it though." Donna looks a little upset and I glance at my watch before pulling to the side of the road just before the start of the shops on Main Street.

"You have about 5 minutes before I'll kick you out. What's wrong and how can I help?"

Donna laughs at me threatening to kick her out before swallowing "Ope said that there was talk about getting the club out of guns. I don't know how much to believe it."

I sigh and mutter "Jax you're an idiot." Looking over at my best friend I can see the frown lines between her eyes and the worried look that is flicking in the corner of her vision. "Jax was meant to go to Piney first to see if he could get the VP onside before talking to anyone else."

Donna shakes her head "Don't tell me if it's gonna get Jax in shit."

I giggle "No, he won't be in trouble. It was his idea to get the club away from the illegal shit. It was absolutely perfect what he said actually. I can't quote it but he basically said that he wants to get away from the guns cause he can't deal with the idea of going away from me if something happens."

Donna nods "Ope said that. It was one of those very weird conversations though. Full of his half-sentences and odd comments."

I look at my watch again "Okay, in four minutes or less I will attempt to tell you what I suggested to Jax that he float to the club, but it does not go further?"

Donna nods and looks over patiently "I suggested that with Cara Cara as a source of income they can expand that to a live girl house, you know those ones where people pay to watch gorgeous half-naked women go about their normal lives?" Donna nods "Okay, so that went further into the idea of porn packages. The movies that Luann sells complete with various degrees of accessories similar to what was used in the movie, lingerie parties, mail order sex toys. That sort of stuff."

Donna's eyebrows raise "You told Jax to suggest this to the club?"

I nod "If it works it'll be a huge money earner for them, the guns can be moved to other charters and the risk lessened for all the guys here. If you tell him I said this I will kill you, but Piney wouldn't survive if they went back inside, his lungs are just too bad now and the old bastard refuses to do anything about it."

Donna nods "I know, we're trying. But you'd be okay with the club being so involved in that side of things?"

I shrug and restart the truck "Isn't porn better than guns?"

Donna reaches over and grips my forearm "It is, but do you think Clay will go along with it?"

"Honestly, I don't know. He may agree to trial it and if he does I'm sure he will see how profitable it is for not much in the way of running costs."

I pull into the angled parking just outside the paint store "So, you feeling better now?"

Donna nods "Yeah, I'll tell Ope that he needs to get Jax and Piney in a room together and see what happens."

I giggle "Yeah, but at least wait till they're all in a good mood, like after the current shipment is gone next week."

Donna undoes her seatbelt and looks over at me with semi-narrowed eyes "You know far too much about what's going on."

I smile and shrug one shoulder "I'm exceptionally good at listening to what's not said, and I realised that the whole thing with the Mayan's and why Clay was so upset at their attempt on Bluebird had more to do with what was inside then the idea of the building burning down."

Donna rolls her eyes towards the sky and opens the door "Maybe I should start following you and getting tips. I don't know half the shit that's going on."

"Tell Ope you want to know more, he's waiting for you to let him know that D. He's not a mind reader and if you don't tell him you need more information then he's never going to share it."

Donna sighs as she closes the door behind her and leans in through the window "I know I'm just scared about what I'll be told."

"You don't know till you ask. And remember, without you Opie would fall apart. He loves you and his kids more than anything. I would hate to see what he would become if you couldn't deal with the club and everything else. I'm glad that you realised that without accepting SAMCRO you were facing an uphill battle, but Donna, you need to make him tell you whatever he's afraid will be too much for you. Only then will you really know if you are woman enough to stand beside him and call yourself his Old Lady, look at the last years as being a trial run and now you're going to get on the starting blocks, don't blow it." I smile softly and put the truck into reverse as she nods and steps away from the bonnet.

"Love you S, thanks for the reality check."

I poke my tongue out at her "Love you to. Don't bankrupt me."

Donna's shoulders start shaking in laughter as I pull into the flow of traffic I can't help by smile. I know my best friend is still a little apprehensive about the club but she needs to realise it's all or nothing. I can't think what it is that she doesn't know but I don't want to see what happens if she suddenly backtracks, none of the stuff that she may not know now is as 'bad' as the gun-running. I giggle at the memory of her reaction when Ope had told her about the gun running. She'd proceeded to stand in my room and scream at me for almost an hour about how it was illegal until I'd pointed out that the Sons had always run guns and in the 20 odd years had only been busted once, and that was the reason Otto was currently incarcerated.