Chapter 17

Jess POV

When Gemma and I left the prison, I knew that I had to tell her. "How was your visit with Hap?" She asked me.

"It was good. I had some things that I needed to tell him. And we had a couple decisions that we had to make." I told her.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" She asked me.

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I'm six weeks pregnant." I told her.

"Really?" She asked, sarcastically.

"You knew?"

She laughed. "Of course I did baby. How's Hap feel about it?" She asked me.

"He's excited." I said, before I turned and looked out the window. "He's putting in a transfer to Redwood. And his mom is going to move in with us." I told her.

"Maria's selling her house?" She asked, shocked.

I nodded. "She said it's too big for her." I told her.

"Wow. What'd Hap say?" She asked me.

"He was shocked, but he'd do anything for Maria so he's happy that she wants to live with us." I told her honestly.

"That's good. So now what?"

"I gotta find a house in Charming that's big enough for me, Hap, our little peanut and Maria. Plus maybe a guest room." I told her.

"You let me take care of that." Gemma said.

"Thanks Gem." I said. I suddenly felt exhausted.

When we pulled up at the lot, I climbed out of Gem's SUV and made my way over to the clubhouse. Ope was right behind me. I turned to look at him. "Can we talk?" I asked. He nodded. We made our way through the clubhouse back to the dorm rooms. We walked into Hap's room and I sat on the bed while Ope closed the door and leaned against the desk.

"What's going on?" He asked me.

I sighed. This was going to be a long conversation. "I'm pregnant." I told him.

He wore the same smile that Hap had when I told him. "Congrats, Jess. I'm happy for you." Ope said.

I smiled at him. "Thanks. Have you talked to Clay since we left?" I asked him. He shook his head. I nodded. "Hap is asking for a transfer."

"You guys are moving back to Charming?"

I nodded. "Yep. It'll be me, Hap, Maria and little peanut." I told him.

"Wow. It'll be nice to have you close by again. You gonna be okay seeing Jax and Tara all the time. Your family?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. But I'll deal with it. What's new with you?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

Ope sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Do you think that I'm rushing things?" He asked me.

I knew what he wanted to know. This was about Lyla. "What do you think?" I asked.

"Donna was the love of my life. She was the mother of my children. I don't know if I can love someone else like I loved her." Ope said. I knew that even though he'd made peace with Tig and Clay that he was still hurting over Donna's death. He would probably always hurt. There was no way to completely take that pain away.

I thought for a minute before I said anything. "Ope, I think that Lyla is lovely. I know that she's not Donna. Nobody will ever be able to replace Donna. She was one of a kind. But I also know that nobody can tell you when it's time to move. Only you can decide that. You know, Lyla talked to me during Lockdown." I said, and he looked surprised. "She was nervous. She thought that I was going to hate her. She knew that you and I were best friends and that Donna and I had been friends. She was worried that if I didn't like her that she'd never be able to have a future with you. I watched while we were here, and I gotta say Ope…she's great with not only her kid but Kenny and Ellie too. I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told her… you don't need my blessing, Ope. You're a grown man. But… if you're looking for a blessing, I think that you should look closer to home."

"You mean Kenny and Ellie?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I mean if your planning on moving on with someone don't you think that they should get a say?" I said.

He thought for a minute. Then he nodded. "Your right." He said.

After Opie left, I took a shower and climbed into bed. I was exhausted. It had been a long drive and then after going to see Hap, I felt better about things. Sure it would be weird being back in Charming, especially when the guys came home but I couldn't help but feel like this was the right move for us.

A/N: I know short chapter. I promise the next one will be longer. It's storming here so hopefully I get some writing done today.