Chapter 37: Lochan Mor

Bella POV

Dad and I had ended up getting arrested for our little joy ride/chase through Charming. We were sitting in a cell waiting for somebody to bail us out. The choices were slim. It was either Tara, Lyla, Piney, or Kozik. My money was on either Tara or Piney. "Dad, I can't believe you got us arrested." I said.

"Well, it was either that or the others. And that wouldn't have helped anyone." He said.

"I know, your right. Ope's not gonna be happy when he finds out."

"He's not gonna find out. We're gonna be home before he ever finds out." Dad said. A little while later, Unser came in. "Where's my lawyer?" Dad asked Unser.

While the boys were in Ireland, I was taking the time to do some much needed cleaning around the garage and the clubhouse. I didn't want Gemma to come back home and have to worry about anything.

I was sitting in my office when Tara walked in. "Hey." I said.

"Hey. How was your night in jail?" She asked me.

I sighed. "Ope's gonna be pissed when he finds out." I said.

"It'll be okay. Listen I need to talk to you about something and I need for it to stay between us." She said.

"Sure thing. What's on your mind?"

Tara sat down on the couch across from me. "I recently found out that I'm pregnant." She said.

"Congrats. Jax must be thrilled." I said.

"He, uh, he doesn't know." She said.

"Well, I'm sure when you tell him that he'll be happy." I told her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. He's been pushing me away ever since Abel got kidnapped. Then he slept with that slut of a porn star. It pushed me over the edge." Tara said.

I nodded. "Tara, I know it's hard but you guys will get through this. Once the guys are home with Abel, you'll see." I told her. She nodded. I had to ask. "Do you…want to keep it?" I asked her.

She looked shocked that I'd asked her that. "I do but I feel like now isn't the time." Tara said.

"Everything is going to work out Tara." I told her.

"Thanks." She said.

MEANWHILE…IN BELFAST…Gemma POV

We'd just arrived at SAMBEL. There was two women standing off to the side. One was older and the other was a teenager maybe a little older. Clay, Jax and I walked over to introduce ourselves.

"Well, welcome." The older one said.

"Maureen." Clay said. I'd forgotten that he'd met her years ago after SAMBEL had been set up.

"Jax." Maureen said.

"Hey." Jax greeted her.

"Welcome." Maureen told him. I knew it was going to be awkward but I wasn't expecting it to be this awkward. "Gemma." She said. "Oh this is Trinity…my daughter."

"Gemma." I said, introducing myself to Trinity. I could definitely see the family resemblance. She had John's eyes.

We all made introductions before Maureen told Trinity to go watch the register. "Didn't expect you to make the journey." Maureen said to me.

"Neither did the Feds." I told her. "Where is my grandson?" I asked her. I was tired of waiting. I wanted to find my grandson and go home. I needed to be there for Tara and my other grandchild.

"Come on, upstairs. We'll have a cup of tea." Maureen said.

"I don't want any goddamn tea." I told her. I wished that she would quit stalling.

"This is my home, Gemma. Wee bit of respect would go a long way." Maureen said.

Maybe I was being a little bit bitchy. "You got coffee?" I asked her.

"Aye." Maureen said. We followed her around the corner and up a flight of stairs to an apartment. After we'd sat down and Maureen fixed coffee and tea, she spoke. "Cammy brought the baby to me. He knew that he was in deep shit with the club and the army. Set a meeting with my brother." She said.

"He wanted a pass from the priest." Clay said.

"Aye." Maureen said. I took a drink of my coffee. "He didn't get one. After that, Kellan took Abel to keep him safe." Maureen said.

"Then let's go talk to Kellan." Jax said. He was right. We needed to be questioning the good father.

"No, he knows where you are. He'll find you." Maureen said.

"So, we just wait?" I asked.

"Aye." Maureen said. "Your questions will be answered soon enough. Look, I'm…sorry this has happened to you. I can't imagine the pain you must be feeling."

Jimmy POV

"Nothing we could do. Pissers folded like girls. Didn't give anything up. Charming don't trust me Jimmy. I can smell it on 'em. And McGee? Shite, I don't know if he's got the heart for this." Liam said.

Nothing was going according to plan. "I don't need heart! I need gut and brains! It won't be long until we have the girl. We just need to keep SAMCRO busy until I have her." I told him and it was the truth.

Tara POV

I was in the office at TM trying to help out with some paperwork, while Bells had gone to run an errand. Tig and Kozik were acting weird. I'd never seen anything like it. Not even with Clay and Jax were at each other's throats.

"I don't mind jail, I just like it better here." Tig said.

"Yeah, me too." I replied.

"Where's my five eighth socket?" Tig asked.

"I got it." Kozik answered.

"Hey! Those aren't your goddamn tools." Tig told him.

"Blow me." Kozik said.

"What?" Tig asked.

"I said blow me." Kozik told Tig getting in his face.

"I need that socket." Tig said.

"I don't have your goddamn socket." Kozik told him.

"What is up with those two?" I asked.

"They have history." Bells said walking back into the office.

"How bad?" I asked.

She walked around me and sat at the desk. "It involves Dad's ex-wife and a dog…I think. Kozik told me but I can't remember all the details." She said. I nodded.

I told Bella that I had to get back to the hospital but told her to call me if she needed anything else. As I crossed the parking lot, I saw Lyla heading towards the office. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." It wasn't a secret that she wasn't exactly my favorite person, but I'd spent some time with her and Bells and I was starting to get to know her.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry about what happened yesterday with Ima." Lyla said. She wasn't the one who owed me an apology.

"It's not your fault." I told her. "I, um, saw you hit her. Thank you for that." I said.

"My pleasure. Um…can I ask a favor?" Lyla said.

"Okay." I said. We walked over to the picnic table and sat down.

"I need a good clinic for an abortion. Some place you can get in quick, pay cash." Lyla said.

"How far along are you?" I asked her.

"Not far. About eight weeks." She told me. Chibs would be crushed if he found out.

"I can't think of any offhand." I told her, thinking for a minute. "What about Kettleman?" I asked her.

"They only take HMOs. I don't want this on the books. Word gets out, could hurt potential gigs." She told me.

I guess I could understand that. "I'll ask around." I told her.

"Thanks." She stood up and started to walk towards her car.

"Does, um, Chibs know?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No. Timing's just not right. I've been here before, Doc." Lyla said before she crossed the parking lot, getting into her car.

Jax POV

We were currently sitting in the in the Belfast Clubhouse discussing what had happened that morning when we'd arrived in Ireland.

"Had to be Jimmy, bought off the cops." Bobby said.

"Why would Jimmy try to deport you?" McGee asked.

"I don't know, but he's been lying to us this whole time." Clay said.

"You guys been having any problems with the army?" I asked.

"Nope. Still running protection for weapons in and out of Dungloe." Liam said. "It's our main gig. Got one tomorrow. We got to find Jimmy."

"Should talk to the priest." Opie said.

"Kellan won't download his army intel on outsiders. Call like that will get you an asskicking from the Caseys." McGee said. We all nodded. We understood what that meant. Nobody messed with the army. We heard a vehicle approach so we all jumped up and made our way outside, prepared for anything. "We got visitors."

"God, it's my girls." Chibs said. He walked over to them and pulled them into a hug. "Hi."

"Hi, how are you doing?" Fiona asked him. He just nodded.

"Hi." Kerrianne said to him. I'd only seen pictures of her, but she was the spitting image of Fiona.

"Jesus, look at ya." Chibs said and Fiona started crying.

We led everyone back inside with SAMBEL giving us some space to talk to Fiona. "I have no idea why Jimmy lied. I'm not privy to his plans, he doesn't trust me anymore." Fiona said.

"Do you at least know what he's been up to since he got back?" Chibs asked her.

"Recruiting. He's at his bar in Newry, pretty much every night. Got a redhead with him. She's from some Italian Mob." Fiona said.

I looked over at Ope. His ears perked up at this information. "What about O'Neill?" I asked. "He on Jimmy's permanent payroll?"

Fiona shook her head. "Not that I know of. But like I said, last few months, I've been in the dark. Sorry I have nothing that helps." Fiona said.

"Actually, you helped more than you realized." Ope said.

This caused Fiona and Gemma to look at him confused. "What do you mean?" Fiona asked.

"The Italian Mob, the redhead, their after my girl. She's Tig's daughter. A few months ago, we found out that Tig's dad is one of the shot callers. Blackmailed her mom as well as Tig's ex-wife. We got rid of some of the players but there's still a couple that are after her. We know that right before Cameron kidnapped Abel that someone was watching her. I'm wondering if it's the redhead." Ope said.

"Might be. The times I've been around Jimmy, he's always on his phone…To someone named Caius and Victoria. I'm assuming that she's the redhead." Fiona said.

"Makes sense." I said.

A few minutes later, the door opened and two guys walked in. "Start wrapping it up, Fi. Need to get back." One of them said.

"Kellan wants us to stay at the rectory. It's like a bloody fortress." Fiona said.

"Jimmy really gonna hurt us, Ma?" Kerrianne asked.

Chibs pulled her into a tight embrace. "Hey, no one's ever gonna hurt my baby. I'll make sure of that." Chibs told her.

"Can't they stay for a while? They just got here." Ma asked.

"Church is nearby, right? We can get 'em back safe." Clay said.

"You lads armed?" We all flashed our side arms. "Tonight then. Aye."

"Thanks." Chibs said.

Gemma POV

While the boys took Fiona and Kerrianne back to the church, I decided now would be a good time for Maureen and I to talk. I was about to make my way to her shop when the door opened and Maureen walked in. "This jet lag's kicking my ass." I told her.

"Brought you some coffee." She said sitting the coffee can on the counter. I immediately started a pot. "Right." Maureen said. She turned to leave.

"We should talk." I said, causing her to turn around.

"Aye." She said taking a seat at the table. I sat across from her.

"I was holding on to this pathetic hope all the way here. Maybe you were wrong about Trinity. But one look…" I said trailing off.

"She's got his eyes and his smile." Maureen said.

"Did he know?" I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer.

Maureen looked down at the table. "Yes." She said.

"Jesus Christ." I said as I got up to pour us each a cup of coffee. I sat hers in front of her.

"I was eighteen!" Maureen said. "I didn't know what I was doing, and neither did he." She said. She took a drink of her coffee, pausing a minute. "Look, I've no delusions about you and I being friends. I just think a lot of hate right now is no good to anybody. The shit between us, it needs to stay buried." Maureen finished.

I hated to admit it, but she was right. It wouldn't do anybody any good for us to rehash the mistakes that John had made 20 years ago. "Seems no matter how deep I bury that shit…someone always digs it up." I said, drinking my coffee.

"The truth about John will only distract Jax. That's not a good idea. Not now." Maureen said and I agreed.

"Thanks for the coffee."

Jax POV

I was sitting in one of the dorm rooms on the bed when there was a knock on the door. I stood up to answer it. "Hi." Trinity said. "My Ma doesn't trust this place to lay out clean sheets." She said. That was when I noticed that her arms were full of linens.

"Good to know thanks." I said taking the sheets from her.

"Gonna be a rough one, isn't it?" She asked me leaning against the doorframe.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I said. And I didn't.

"I'm sorry about your son. Wasn't here when my uncle showed up. Ma didn't want to tell me." She said.

"Can you blame her?" I asked. She was pretty. "How old are you?" I asked.

"22." She said.

"You look younger." I said.

"That a problem?" She asked smirking at me.

Tara POV

I walked over to the nurse's station where I saw Margaret Murphy standing there. "Do you have a minute?" I asked her.

"I gave the FBI my statement. Don't worry. I didn't change my mind." Margaret said.

"Oh, thank you. This is about something else." I said and she nodded. "A friend of mine needs a procedure, probably an MVA, but it has to be discreet. She doesn't want to report it to her HMO. It's a job thing." I told her.

"There's a family center in Merced County that will do abortions anonymously." She said.

"Can she get an appointment quickly?" I asked.

"I'll make a call." Margaret said.

"Thank you." I told her. We hadn't always seen eye to eye but she was helpful when she wanted to be.

"I guess your friend is gonna need some down time afterwards? I'll make sure it's covered." Margaret said. Maybe I spoke too soon.

"Wait. You think this is about me?" I asked.

"It's none of my business but if it was, I'd tell you that you were doing the right thing." She said.

"Why? Because you think the father's a criminal?" I asked.

"Because I think the mother is uncertain about her future… and she knows that it would be an unstable environment for a baby." She said before walking away.

Jax POV

I'd just finished kicking Liam's ass and Trinity had offered to let me use their shower when I looked up and saw the priest standing there. "Jax Teller." I said introducing myself.

"Father Kellan." He said. "Well…better clean yourself up. Sean here'll see you make it to St. Matt's in one piece this time. We can talk there."

I nodded. "Okay." I said. I turned to Trinity. "I'll see you later." She nodded.

Kellan looked at her for a moment. "You need to put your ma to bed." He told Trinity and she nodded, making her way home.

Tara POV

Lyla had asked me to accompany to her to the clinic, which I didn't mind doing. Part of me wondered why she hadn't asked Bells to go with her, but then again I hadn't really seen Bells. Which worried me. "Thanks again for this. I don't really have any people except for Chibs and Bells." She told me.

"It's okay. I don't mind." I told her. "I am curious though… why didn't you ask Bells to come with you." I said.

She shrugged. "She's got a lot going on. I didn't want to burden her." Lyla said as she finished filling out her paperwork. "You must think I'm a freak, right? Porn star, baby killer…" She said trailing off.

I shook my head. "I don't think that. You sure you want to go through with it?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She said nodding. "I love Chibs. Be nice to have kids with him someday but now. Even though she's never lived with him here, Fiona is everywhere. I mean hell, their technically still married and I don't see that changing." Lyla said and I could understand where she was coming from. I mean hell, technically Jax's divorce from Wendy just finalized the other day…but neither of us has spoken about it.

"Sarah Palin?" The nurse called.

"I guess that's me." Lyla said standing up.

"Yeah."

Gemma POV

The boys were playing poker so I walked into the kitchen where Bobby was. "Hi." I said.

"Want some tea?" He asked me.

"Sure. Why not?" I said. I turned to look at Clay playing poker with the boys while Bobby started the water for our tea. "Drive-by. Nearly deported. This is just day one." I said and Bobby laughed.

"Just another vacation." Bobby said causing me to laugh. "How you doin'?" He asked me.

"Okay." I said.

"You know, we're gonna find the kid." Bobby said.

"I know." I said nodding.

"You know, it's good to see him smile." He said looking at Clay. "He's a whole different guy when you're not around." Bobby said.

"You know, you're gonna have to take care of him, Bobby, when I'm gone." I told him. "He trusts you more than anyone." I could feel the tears building.

"Hey…there is no reason to go to the scary place, Gemma. We're all right here. Okay?" He said.

I nodded. "Yeah…okay." I said.

"Come here." He said pulling me into a hug. "How about that tea."

Jax POV

I'd finally gotten cleaned up and Sean had gotten me to the church. I found Kellan sitting on one of the front pews in the sanctuary. "Maureen said you have my son." I said.

"Well, I know where he is, yes." Kellan said.

"Where?" I asked.

"He's…he's safe. Far from Belfast." Kellan said.

"What the hell does that mean? Do you have Abel or not?" I asked. I was starting to get pissed off. I wanted my kid.

"Your son was in danger; that threat is still present." He said.

"Jimmy." I said.

He nodded. "Aye." Kellan said.

"Why? He has no reason to hurt my kid." I said.

"Oh he has many." Kellan said. "What I'm about to tell you Jackson, is a very volatile subject. The words I say, only God can be a witness. You understand?" I nodded. "Jimmy O'Phelan wants to end the army's relationship with the Sons of Anarchy; wants to cut off the Belfast Charter…from any future work. Stop dealing guns in Charming."

"Running protection is SAMBEL's main gig." I said, remembering a conversation earlier in the night with McGee and O'Neill. "It's why my dad helped set up the charter."

"Well, Jimmy wants to keep that income in his pocket. Wants to start selling your guns to the Russians up in Oregon. For greater profit. Everything Jimmy does… is for profit." Kellan told me.

"What does that have to do with my kid? My cousin. I know that Jimmy's been meeting with the Italian Mob as well." I said, thinking back to what Fiona had said.

Kellan sighed. "The Army council have come to a very difficult decision. Jimmy's greed and arrogance has become a hindrance both internally and politically. You experienced a vivid example of that hatred tonight."

"You're gonna get rid of him." I said.

"Well…Jimmy is enmeshed in so many things that define us if word got out that we had killed one of our own leaders, there will be chaos. The loyalists would have a field day." Kellan said.

"But if someone from the outside killed him…" I trailed off.

"Vengeance of a distraught father. Something every Irishman would understand." Kellan said.

"And Jimmy knew that if we came here that you and I would be having this conversation." I said.

Kellan nodded. "He knows a line's been drawn." Kellan said. "That's why he lied to you about the baby. Why he tried to get you deported. Why he wants that little one and your cousin as leverage. He is a grave threat to both our families. You kill Jimmy O'Phelan and I promise I will make sure Abel goes home in the arms of his loving family." Kellan said.

"And Bella? What does he want with her?" I asked him.

He sighed again. "I'm not entirely sure. The only thing I can guess is that he's tiring of Fiona. Hence why she isn't in his small circle anymore. Bella is part Irish so she has a blood connection to the council just as you do…I can only assume that he plans to have his new associate abduct her and bring her here, hoping to right the wrongs he's made with the council." Kellan said.

I nodded. "I understand." I said.

Hopefully we could get rid of Jimmy and the Italian pricks before anything happened to Bella and if we didn't…Ope was gonna lose his mind…again.