A/N: Thank you soooo much to all my reviewers. Your words of encouragement mean so much to me! And again than you to everyone reading.
This chapter wound up being so much longer that I anticipated, I thought about breaking it up into two parts, but I promised you a reunion and some intros to some Sons, so that is what I give you.
Happy reading, and if you feel so inclined, leave a review to let me know what you think so far!
Chapter Three
After Dani returned to her hotel room, she checked in with Alice, let her know she was safe, had spoken to the police, and would know more soon. She then went to fill up her ice bucket and grabbed a few cans of pop from the vending machine before returning to her room, where she stayed for the next two days, fueling herself with reheated leftover pizza and caffeine.
The next day, Chief Unser had called her to ask if she was feeling up to answering some more questions. She declined and did her best to explain that she reacted like she did in the station any time she thought too much about what she had experienced, let alone tried to speak about it. Unser was understanding, though he did tell her that the more information they could get from her, the more likely they would be to arrest those who had hurt her. He also offered to arrange for her to speak with a therapist, someone to help her work through and discuss things on her terms. Dani thanked him and asked to think about it and Unser agreed, assuring he would be in contact with her when he had the results from DNA testing.
Dani didn't hear from him the rest of the day, or the following day until late in the evening. They had compared her DNA to Jackson Teller and it was confirmed that they were full siblings. She was, in fact, Danielle Teller. Dani let out a sigh of relief and asked what would happen next. Unser asked her to come to the station the following morning so they could go over a few things, and he would be arranging for her to meet her family as well. She agreed and wished him a good night. Dani sat there bouncing her leg as waves of joy and relief ran over her. She shed a few tears of happiness and allowed a rare smile. She flung herself back on her bed and sighed. "Finally." She whispered to herself. Then she groaned. This was going to be an exceedingly long night.
The next morning had Dani practically vibrating with nervous energy. She inspected herself in the mirror wanting to give a good impression. She stood tall and squared her shoulders, drawing herself to her full height of 5'9". She had pulled the top half of her hair back into a braid, letting the lower half flow into long waves. Her complexion was clear, her skin pale. She applied some mascara to her lashes and admired her high cheekbones as she added a hint of blush to the apples of her cheeks to give her face a bit of color. Some tinted lip gloss finished her off and she turned her attention to her outfit. It was the nicest one in her limited wardrobe. She was wearing a pair of fitted white capri jeans, a heather gray racerback tank and lightweight coral and white striped Henley tee shirt with long sleeves. She wrapped a gauzy, white and floral scarf around her neck and slipped on a pair of coral flats. She thought the outfit looked casual but nice and appreciated the feeling of security the layers gave her, as well as knowing that it covered all her scarring.
She gave herself a nod, grabbed her keys and her purse, and walked out the door. She drove herself towards the police station, parking a block away again and made the short walk to her destination.
Chief Unser was waiting for her just inside and ushered her into the same room she had been in on her first visit to the station, leaving the door wide open. "How you doing today sweetheart?" he asked as he gestured for Dani to take a seat.
"I'm good. Nervous, anxious to see my mother and brother, but really good." Dani replied as she settled herself into the chair. "Mostly I'm wondering what happens now."
"Well, your case is officially being reopened. When you were kidnapped, that automatically triggered an FBI investigation. They investigate all missing children's cases. My guess is sooner rather than later, they will be here, wanting to ask you some questions and I have a feeling their gonna be a bit pushier when it comes to getting some answers."
"Why haven't you? Been pushy, I mean."
"This ain't just an investigation for me kid. I've known your family a long time. Knew you since you were just a babe. That's how it is in a town like this."
Dani just nodded as she absorbed the information.
Unser coughed before he continued. "Now I know what you been through isn't easy for you to talk about. Based on what happened the other day, I'd say it's a good bet you've got post traumatic stress. Now I'm not saying you have to talk about what you went through, but if you see a psychiatrist and tell them what happens when you try and talk about it, you can probably get a diagnosis for PTSD, and the feds wont be able to push so hard for answers."
"Thank you. I'll look into that." Dani said, grateful for the information.
"While you're looking into things, you're gonna want to look into getting a lawyer. There's gonna be some paperwork and processes you'll need to go through to, well bring you back to life, so to speak."
"Back to life?" Dani asked, puzzled.
"Christ." Unser muttered to himself. "Look, when you went missing, it tore your ma up real bad. After you had been gone seven years, she had you declared legally dead."
"You've got to be shitting me." Dani's tone was full of surprise and hurt, and those emotions read clearly across her face.
Unser gave her a sympathetic smile. "She really thought you were gone, kiddo."
"Clearly she was wrong." Dany retorted somewhat bitterly. "I'm sorry, this is just a lot to process. Do you think I could get a few minutes alone?"
"Sure thing. You want something to drink or anything?"
"Maybe some coffee?"
"How you take it?"
"Black, with sugar."
"How much?"
"More than I should."
Unser chuckled and nodded. "You still wanting to meet your family today? I know I just threw a lot at you."
"I still want to."
"They're supposed to be coming in about 45 minutes. That gonna be enough time for you?"
Dani nodded. Unser left the room, returning a moment later with a cup of coffee, a handful of sugar packets and a coffee stirrer.
Once he was gone again, Dani busied herself with fixing her coffee, and took a sip of the now bittersweet liquid and sighed. She set the cup down on the table and buried her face in her hands.
"What the actual fuck…" She whispered to herself. Dead? She was dead? Ironic considering how hard she had clung to life, to the possibility of one day being free and reunited with her family. To learn that her mother had, for all intents and purposes, given up on her stung more than she could express. On some level she understood that some parents could not take having a child disappear and never know what happened to them. Some people needed that closure. She had always imagined her mother to be in the other group though. She imagined her mother to leave no stone unturned, to never give hope, never stop searching.
She knew she was not going to come to terms with this in the next 45 minutes, but she had to find a way to gain control over these emotions. She had to reign them in, put them in a box and set them aside—for now at least. She didn't want anything to cast a shadow on her reunion with her family. She took another sip of her coffee, the taste of the liquid and the warmth of the cup in her hand had a calming effect. She stared into the darkness of her beverage and allowed herself to bring forward the anticipation of what was about to happen and ignored the lingering doubts in the back of her mind. She sat there, drinking her coffee, staring into her cup until it was gone.
Unser came and knocked on the door frame to get her attention. "You ready sweetheart?" he asked her
"They're here?" Dani asked. Unser nodded and she rose and walked shakily towards him. When she reached the doorway she looked out into the station and spotted two men in leather and brunette woman with blond streaks in her hair. "Is that them?" She asked and again Unser nodded and lifted his hand to waive them over.
The younger of the two men was the first to reach them and stood a few feet in front of Dani. He was a few years older than her, tall, with blond hair that reached the collar of his plaid shirt and a neatly groomed beard. When she looked into his eyes she was struck with a memory of a boy, maybe eight or nine years old with those same eyes, sitting with her in the dark, arm around her shoulder as heavy rain beat against a window while bolts of lightning and thunder flashed and boomed, as he told a much younger version of herself she was safe.
As she brought herself back to the present the man started to speak. "Hey there. I don't know if you know who I am but—"
"You're Jax." She cut him off, speaking softly. "I remember you. Well, sort of. I remember you used to take care of me during thunderstorms."
She could see his eyes swimming with emotion and his voice was thick with it when he spoke. "Yeah, I did."
They stood there for another few seconds just staring, and then in a flash Dani stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her brother, who quickly embraced her back as she buried her face into Jax's chest and began to cry. Jax brought one had up to the back of her head, holding her in place while the other was rubbing her upper back in small circles. She felt him kiss the top of her head and began to speak softly to her. "I'm so sorry Dani, Darlin. It's ok now, you're home now. You're safe. I promise I won't let anything happen to you again."
Dani nodded and willed herself to stop crying. She was a little shocked when she embraced Jax. She hadn't had any physical contact with anyone aside from a handshake or when Alice would squeeze her hand. She had never even hugged Alice. With Jax though, instinct kicked in and she just knew that she was safe with him, that he would do everything he could to keep her safe- from thunderstorms and more. Dani took a small step back and looked up at Jax, giving him a small smile. She started to reach up to brush the tears from her face, but Jax stopped her, reached into his pocket and gave her a bandana-style handkerchief. She dabbed it under her eyes and looked back up at him as he turned them to face the brunette woman.
"You know who this is?" Jax asked.
Dani nodded and took a step forward. "Hi Mom," she said awkwardly.
"Hey baby." Gemma said stepping forward and wrapping Dani in a fiercely tight hug, but Dani barely had time to respond before Gemma pulled back.
"I'm sorry about the phone calls." Dani told her. "I didn't know how to explain."
"It's alright. I should have heard you out. But you did good. You found your way here."
The interaction with Gemma was feeling a bit strained and Dani reached back with her left hand and grasped Jax's arm. The older man moved to stand next to Gemma and extended his hand.
"Clay Morrow. I'm Gemma's husband. I guess that makes me your stepdad." Dani reached out with her right hand to shake his, but as he clasped his hand in hers, he leaned forward. Dani tensed every muscle in her body and squeezed her hand that was still clutching Jax's arm, but held still as Clay kissed her cheek, released her hand and stepped back. Only then did she force herself to relax and loosened her hold on Jax's arm.
There was an awkward moment of silence between the group before Clay spoke again. "Gemma, er your mom here, put together a little welcome barbecue for you back at the house if you're up for it."
Dani glanced at Jax who gave her a nod of encouragement. "Yeah sure," she replied. "Sound ok. Better than standing in the middle of a police station for sure."
Everyone chuckled and they made their way outside. Jax told Gemma and Clay to go ahead and meet them at the house, and they nodded as they walked towards the parking lot.
"You doing ok?" Jax asked Dani. She nodded. "Good. You mind if I get this back then?" He asked gesturing to his arm that she was still holding.
"Sorry." Dani said sheepishly as she looked up at him embarrassed.
"It's all good, little sister." He told her. "So where are you parked?"
"My truck is down the block."
"Why'd you park down there?"
"Um, I don't technically have a license to drive. I didn't want to risk it by flaunting that in front of the police station. "
Jax laughed. "Do you want me to give you a ride over to Mom's on my bike?" he offered.
"Honestly, Id really like to, but I've never been on a motorcycle before. I'm a bit overwhelmed and in my head at the moment. I'd like to remember and enjoy my first motorcycle ride. Maybe later?" Dani asked.
Jax nodded. "Want me to go with you in your truck then? If that's how you're feeling then maybe you shouldn't be driving right now. Especially without a license." He smirked down at me.
Dani laughed but nodded, and they began walking towards her truck. When they got there Jax didn't look too impressed. "This is your truck?" He asked.
Dani made a face at Jax and replied "Yes this is my truck. It's done ok by me so far. I just drove it 2000 miles to get here and made it just fine."
"Well tomorrow I'd like you to bring it by the shop, get you an oil change and I want to look this thing over and make sure it wont give you any problems. Now fork over those keys."
"Hang on a sec, I'm just soaking up this protective older brother moment." She said before fishing her keys out of her bag.
"Get used to it, little sister," Dani held the keys out in her open palm and as Jax took them from her, his other had come up to hold her hand open. "What's this?" He asked as he ran his fingers over the crescent shaped scabs from the cuts that hadn't completely healed from the other day.
"Oh, um, when I first got to town and the deputy was asking me about where I had been and what happened while I was, um, kidnapped. I guess I had, I don't know, a panic attack or something. I guess I clenched my fists so tightly that my fingernails…" Dani trailed off for a moment. "I didn't even know I was doing it until the deputy pointed it out." Dani glanced up into Jax's concerned gaze. "I'm ok." She told him.
Jax brought her hand up and kissed her palm before releasing it and opened her car door. She climbed in and Jax shut the door, walking around to the drivers' side before getting in and starting the truck. He glanced at his sister before putting the truck in gear and noticed she was watching him with a strange expression on her face. "What is it?"
"It's just—you. Being concerned over basically a scratch, helping me into the truck, wanting to make sure it's safe to drive. I'm not used to having someone care about me like that. I know I just made a joke about it, but it means a lot… to have someone care."
"Like I said, get used to it." Jax replied while giving her a sad sort of smile, putting the car in gear and driving off.
On the ride, Dani told Jax about her conversation with Unser and his suggestion about seeing a psychiatrist for PTSD, and about needing a lawyer to bring her back to life.
"The club has a lawyer we keep on retainer. I'll call the office tomorrow to get the ball rolling on that. As for the rest of it, I don't know much about psychiatry, but if it will keep the feds off your back, give you some time to figure out how to deal with all this, it might not be a bad idea." Jax advised.
Dani nodded. "Do you know why Gemma did it? Had me declared dead, I mean?"
Jax shook his head. "I never really understood it, but she said she needed to do it. I can tell you she was a wreck. Maybe you should talk to her about it."
"Maybe. I don't know, things seemed kind of tense with me and Gemma back there. I think maybe I should give us some time to get used to each other before I ask her. I'm worried if I ask her about it now it might come out wrong and I don't want her to think I'm accusing or attacking her."
Jax nodded. "I get it," he told her.
"Yeah. So anyway, what am I getting myself into with this barbecue? How many people are going to be there, who are they, how do we know them?" Dani asked.
"Pretty much it will be my brothers from my MC, and some of their families." Jax informed her.
"What about you? Is there a sister-in-law or some nieces or nephews I'll be meeting?" Dana questioned.
"Nah. Technically I'm married, but we are getting divorced. We tried to reconcile a while back, things didn't work out but Wendy got pregnant while we were trying to make things work, so in a few months you will be an aunt."
"I don't know whether to offer my condolences on getting divorced or congratulations on the baby." Dana said.
"Don't worry about it, we're here anyway." Jax said as he pulled along side a house with a few cars and even more motorcycles parked out front.
"Can I ask you a favor?" Dani asked Jax. "Can you stay close by me? I just- I don't do well around new people and if they get too close, I might accidentally freak out and I don't want that. I trust you and I think I'd feel a lot better if you were nearby." She confessed.
"I'll be right here." He said as he reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "Now get out of the truck. We have a party to get to."
They stepped out of the truck and Jax guided her inside. There were a couple people in the living room, but Jax just nodded at them and led them into the kitchen.
"Hey Ma, we made it." Jax said as he kissed Gemma's cheek.
"Everything ok?" Gemma asked Jax.
Jax glanced at me them looked back to Gemma. "Yeah, we're all good."
"Uhm, thank you, for putting all this together." Dani said gesturing to all the food prep going on. "Is there anything I can help with?" she asked.
Gemma gave her a brief smile, "No sweetie, not this time. You are the guest of honor today. Why don't you get your brother to take you outside and introduce you around?"
Jax nodded and pulled her away. "That was a good way to get Gemma to warm up to you, offering to help out like that. She's big on stuff like that." He told her as he put his arm around her shoulder and guided her outside.
"Jackie Boy!" a man with salt and pepper hair and a Scottish accent called out as he approached the pair. As he came closer, she noticed a scar on either side of his face. "Ah, and this pretty thing here must be the reason for the celebration." He said as he smiled at Dani kindly.
"Sure is." Jax said. "Dani, meet Chibs, Chibs meet my sister, Dani."
"Aye, welcome home lass!" Chibs told her. Dani was somewhat prepared, but she still tensed up for a moment when Chibs leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on her cheek.
"Thank you. I am glad to be home." Dani told him with a smile.
"I'll let you get acquainted with the rest of this brood, but you come find me later and I'll fill yer head with all the embarrassing stories about your brother here." Chibs gave her a wink and with a pat to Jax's back headed inside.
Jax looked around and started guiding her over to the far corner of the yard. "I'm going to introduce you to my best friend since before you were born, you might remember him a little bit, he was always around when we were growing up." He told her as he gestured to a man who could only be referred to as a giant. The man appeared to be Jax's age and was wearing a beanie and had a rather impressive beard. He had broad shoulders and muscular arms, and Dani knew she would typically be afraid of a man like him, but she wasn't. She was intrigued.
She looked up at her brother and joked. "So, your best friend is a sasquatch?"
Jax let out a loud laugh, alerting his friend to their presence. "Dani, this is Opie Winston, the sasquatch." He introduced, causing Opie to chuckle and Dani to blush as she nudged Jax with her elbow.
"Welcome home Dani girl." Opie said offering his hand to her. She took it and when she did, something happened. It was as if all her senses were suddenly twice as strong. Every nerve ending in her hand was alive as he held her soft hand with his rough calloused one. He smelled of leather, smoke, and something that made her think of the forest.
"I'm sorry I don't remember you," she paused as she thought for a moment, "but for some reason I do remember a stuffed bear, or something, named Opie."
Both Jax and Opie laughed. "You had one." Opie told her. "I got you that bear for your birthday and you so cleverly named it after me."
"Clearly, I was a creative genius." She said. "Though not as creative as this group you hang around. Chibs, Opie. Your friends have some interesting names Jax." She said.
"We use a lot of nicknames around here." Jax explained, " Chibs' real name is Phillip, and Opie here was christened Harry."
Both men looked at her strangely as she started to giggle. "I'm sorry, it's not really all that funny but as soon as you said his real name was Harry all I could think is 'I wonder if his parents knew how appropriate that name would be.'" She started giggling again.
Jax smiled broadly at the sound of his sister's laughter, and he vowed to himself to make her laugh like that more often. He hadn't seen her so at ease all day. Opie just chuckled and shook his head.
"Cute," was all Opie said as she regained her composure.
"You ready to meet the rest of the party goers?" Jax asked her.
Dani straightened her spine and looked at her brother. "Bring it on." She said and they strolled towards the middle of the yard arm in arm, with Opie just a step behind.