Chapter 5: Patch Over

Hale POV

I was sitting in my office talking to Kohn the ATF agent that had showed up in town two days ago. "Sam Crow's been in this town since I was a kid. My old man was a county judge. Saw some of them catch their due. But for the most part, Clay and the others keep slipping through the legal cracks." I said.

"Been chatting folks up the last couple of days. Most of them get pretty quiet when I ask about Sons of Anarchy." Kohn said.

I nodded. "Yeah. Clay has some of the locals convinced… his brand of outlaw justice keeps away the corporate bogeyman." I said.

"I'd say he's right. Franchise development in Charming's pretty much nonexistent." Kohn said. "I've been jonesing for a Starbuck's since I got here."

"Sam Crow isn't stonewalling growth by themselves. They get a lot of help, some of it from inside this department." I said.

Just then my office door opened. Unser stepped in. "Hi." He said. Kohn decided to step out and get back to his investigation. "Want to tell me what the Fed's doing in Charming?" Unser asked.

"Showed up two days ago. Chicago division, looking into Sam Crow." I said.

"And I'm just finding out now. How long is he gonna be here?"

"No idea. He's collecting intel. Fact finding. Didn't go into too much detail." I said.

"I don't want you out rogueing with this guy, you hear me? Stick to Charming business. This fed wants anything, he runs it through me." Unser said.

"Oh, of course. You're the Chief." I said, sarcastically.

"That's right. I'm the goddamn chief."

Jax POV

ATF. I hate the ATF. Their always trying to pin something on us. "We've taken every precaution to stay out of ATF's crosshairs. No busts, no investigations for five years. We don't know this guy's here for us." Clay said.

"Hale flagged Bluebird as our gun warehouse. He's pissed off we made Unser crush the case, and he called in the feds. I think it's gotta be about us." I said.

"Be my guess." Bobby said.

"And we've got a garage full of 25 to life." Tig said.

"Any legit place we store those guns is a straight line back to us." Clay said.

"Can't Rosen get us some storage short term?" Bobby asked.

"He's killing Bluebird, man. He's setting up a dummy corp. It takes a few weeks." Clay said.

"We got that call from Jury last week." I said. "Mayans pressing the Devil's Tribe to pay a vig… to keep running book and pussy out of Nevada. Look, maybe I do head to Indian Hills, offer Jury some advice. He offers our Aks a safe house."

"No." Juice said. "No that's a risky ride brother. Northern Nevada is Mayan territory. They're still looking to settle the score from our little raid."

"The Mayans know that the Tribe's a brother club." Bobby said. "The part of asking for that vig is about shitting on us. They knew Jury would call. They're gonna be watching."

"That's what I'm saying. That's why just me and you go, under the radar. We'll bring the guns in the same way." I said.

"And you think you could bring Jury on board?" Clay asked.

"Shit. My dad saved his ass in Tay Ninh. He owes the Tellers a chit." I told Clay. He looked unsure. "Look, man. We're not gonna go cowboy. I promise."

"Promise." Bobby said.

"Low profile. I don't want no wetbacks knowing we crossed into N.V." Clay said before he turned to Tig. "They pull this off, I want you and Juice driving the barrels."

"Done. We'll need something big though." Tig said.

"I'll call Unser." Clay said.

Bella POV

I was sitting in the office working on some paperwork, when Dad came in. "Hey." He said.

I looked up and smiled at him. "Hey Dad."

"I uhh… I might have to go to Nevada later." He told me.

"Club?" I asked him, meaning that he was going for Club business.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna be gone for a couple of days so I want you to stay with Ope. Okay?" He said.

"Yeah okay." I said standing up and walking over to my dad. "Be safe." I told him.

"I will." He said. He looked down I know that he was looking at my necklace. "Pretty. From Ope?" He asked.

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah. He said that he knew that it was too soon to talk about me getting his Crow, but he wanted me to have some so that everyone would know that I was his." I told Dad.

Dad nodded and smiled. "That kid might be smarter than I give him credit for." He said.

A few minutes later, Lowell walked in and said that he needed an intake form. I nodded, grabbing the form and a clipboard. It wasn't long after that when Tara walked in behind Lowell. He handed me the clipboard. "Hi." I said to her.

"Hey." She said. "Lowell said that I needed to sign some stuff?" She asked.

I nodded. I looked at the paperwork. I grabbed the extra forms that I needed her to sign. After she signed the paperwork she walked back out of the office and climbed into Gemma's car. No good could possibly come from that situation. I thought to myself. I shook my head, turning back into the office to go back to work.

Edward POV

Alice had been able to track Bella's phone. She was in Charming, California. I couldn't understand why she was in California. What could possibly be there for her? Alice had been able to do a little digging finding out that Charlie wasn't Bella's actual father, he was in fact her step father. I could only assume that Charlie had helped her find her father and that's what led her to California. But I had news for her… she wouldn't be staying in California. She would be coming back to Forks with me… where she belonged. And once I got her back, I'd never let her out of my sight again.

I'm coming for you Bella.

Opie POV

When I'd finished my shift at the mill, I headed over to TM to see Bells. My mom was sitting with the kids until I could get home. When I pulled into TM I noticed that majority of the bikes were gone. I wondered where the guys were. I parked my bike and walked over to the office. I stood in the doorway for a minute and watched her work. "Hey." She said when she looked up and saw me standing there.

I walked in and over to her, giving her a quick kiss. "Hey. Where is everyone?" I asked.

She leaned back in her chair. "Aunt Gem is at St. Thomas with Abel. They guys headed to Nevada for a run." She told me.

I nodded. "Clay didn't need me I guess." I said.

"They wanted you to stay here and protect me." She said, smiling. "Or at least that's what Dad said."

I nodded. "Alright. You coming to the house when you get done." I asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah. So I'll see you later?" She asked me as I stepped towards the doorway.

"Yeah." I said.

Jax POV

Clay wasn't happy about the fact that we'd blown our low profile. He told me when I'd called to check in that he wanted me to mention a patch over to Jury. I felt bad about it, like Clay had sad, it was the only way to save Jury's club. That was when Clay told me that him and the rest of the Club were coming out. When Bobby and I walked out of the diner that we'd stopped at for a quick bite, we found this shithead sitting on my bike. He was wanting her to take a picture of him sitting on it. "Here let me do it." I said as we walked over.

"Holy shit. I told him not to sit on your bike." The girl said.

"That's all right." I said to her. Then I turned to the shithead. "You look like a guy who knows how to get his way. You do that to her lip?"

"Bitch has a mouth on her, ya know?" The shithead said.

"Sure I get it. So you like Harleys, huh?" I asked him.

"Yeah. They look good. But I'm way into the slant bikes for their speed, ya know?" He said.

"Right, right." I said. "Alright say cheese." I said as I took the picture with his phone.

"Nice. That's before." Bobby said.

"Before?" He asked.

That's when I decked the shithead. "Don't ever sit on another man's bike, asshole." I said.

"Holy shit." The girl yelled.

"Shut up bitch!" The shithead said.

"A little respect for the fairer sex." Bobby said. Bobby took the next picture. "That's after." Bobby tossed the phone at the shithead.

Bobby and I finally made it to Indian Hills. When we pulled in and cut the engines to our bikes and took our helmets and made our way to the clubhouse doors. Jury was standing out front. "Jackson Teller!" Jury said.

"Uncle Jury!" I said, greeting him. "You guys remember Bobby."

"Bobby." Needles said.

"Needles, how you been?" Bobby asked.

Needles nodded at him. Jury led us inside. "M.C. royalty in the house, folks." Jury said. "Jax Teller and Bobby Elvis of the Sons."

Jury and I were sitting at the bar and I decided to approach the subject of patch over. He wasn't happy when I told him that Clay was coming out to talk to him about the future. That was when he realized that I was talking about a patch over. I had to make him understand that it was the only way.

Bella POV

Later on in the afternoon, I noticed that things were really slow and I didn't really wanna be working at that moment. I walked out to the garage and told the guys that they could finish the car that they were working on and then head home. I told them I was leaving. I headed back into the office and started to shut things down.

After closing up the office, I headed towards St Thomas in my car. I decided to go see Abel before I headed to Ope's for the night. When I walked into Abel's room, Aunt Gem was sitting there reading to him. "Hey." I said.

She looked up at me. "Hey, you okay?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't know, garage wasn't busy and with the guys gone it was too quiet." I told her.

She nodded. "I know what you mean. Where you staying tonight?" She asked me.

"Dad said he wanted me to stay with Ope." I told her.

She nodded. "How are things with Ope?" She asked me. I told her about the necklace that Ope had gotten me for my birthday. "He's such a sap that one." Aunt Gem said. I walked over and looked at Abel in his incubator. As I was staring at him, I couldn't help but think. Someday I wanted kids. Would Ope want more kids or was okay with just the two that he had? "Penny for your thoughts?" Aunt Gem asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.

I looked over at her from where I was standing. "I know that it's too soon to be thinking about it, but looking at Abel… I can't help it. Do you think that Ope would want more kids… someday?" I said.

Aunt Gem looked deep in thought. "Honestly?" She asked and I nodded. "Donna did a serious number on him. You know that Ope did 5 years in prison because of a mistake that Kyle Hobart made right?" I nodded, remembering a conversation about it that Jax and I had once. "Donna stuck around during all of that. When he got out, she didn't even wait a full 24 hours until she had all of her stuff packed and told him that she didn't have what it took for this life. When he'd asked her about the kids… her only response was that they were better off without her." Aunt Gem told me. The only thing that I could do was shake my head. "So, yes baby, I think that Ope would want more kids someday… with the right person." She stood up from where she'd been sitting and walked over to me. "And I think that person could be you."

I smiled at her. "Thanks Aunt Gem." I said.

Clay POV

"Next time this gavel slams down… will be the last for the Devil's Tribe. History between our clubs… Jury and John Teller were in the same platoon in Nam. Needle's brother's a 20-year member of our Fresno Charter. We have a deep respect for each other. Now… it's time to become brothers. I know some of you look forward to wearing the reaper. Others of you are afraid of it. That's a choice each man will have to make. From this point on, we're family. Indian Hill, Nevada Charter… Sons of Anarchy. Congratulations. It is my personal hope that every one of you wears this Kutte. I know you got a lot to talk about. I'll leave you to your business." I said as me and the club walked out to let them decide their future.

"How do you think this thing will play out?" Jax asked me as we were sitting outside.

"Half, maybe more will stay. And that pack'll thin out once the Mayans come a-knockin'." I told him.

"Which will be real soon."

"We can't leave these guys with no backup." Jax said. He'd been pushing buttons with me ever since the warehouse had burned down and his kid had been born.

"Vegas can hang. Indian Hills is gonna have to learn how to protect their ground. Best way to thin out a herd." I told him.

"Herd's already pretty thin, Clay. I want to be here for Jury when the shit goes down." Jax said.

"I ain't worried about Jury. He can handle himself." I said as the clubhouse doors opened and a couple guys stormed out. I looked back at Jax. "Looks like the vote's in, huh?"

We walked back into the clubhouse and found Jury. "We're in." Jury said.

"Patch over party!" One of the guys yelled.

Tig POV

Juice and I were headed to Unser's trucking yard to get a truck. Clay had told us to make sure that we made it look like we stole the truck. Unser had a guard dog, so I'd told Juice to drug the meat that we were gonna feed the dog. "Did you dose it?" I asked him as we approached the fence.

"Triple dose." Juice said. I told him to toss the meat over the fence. He did. We watched the dog chase down the meat. The was when we cut the chain to the fence and made our way in. "Which one?"

"Unser said to take the cargo truck. The keys should be in it." I said. That was when I heard growling then barking. I turned around to look. The dog was now chasing us. Juice and I took off running towards the truck. "Holy shit! Run! Shit! Shit! Go, go, go! Run, run, run! God! Open the door!" I yelled at Juice. The damn dog had bit my ass. When I got in the truck I turned and faced Juice. I thought you said you drugged the meat."

"I did." He said.

"Look at him. He's foaming at the mouth." I said.

"That thing should be dead! I dosed him with like 2 grams." Juice said.

That's when I thought about what he said. "Grams? Grams of what?" I asked him.

"Crank!" Juice said.

Fucking idiot. "You fed Crystal to a killer Doberman?" I asked him. "Are you retarded?"

Bella POV

When I left St. Thomas, I headed to Ope's. The kids were probably hungry. That was if Ope hadn't ordered pizza. When me or Mary wasn't there that was usually his go to for lunch or dinner. Mary and I kept telling him that they couldn't live on just junk food. They needed real food.

When I walked into the house, I could hear yelling. I tossed my keys onto the table that was by the front door and walked into the living room. They yelling was coming from the bedrooms down the hall. I could hear Ope in the kitchen. I walked in to see what he was doing. I was shocked at the sight that was in front of me. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

He looked up at me from the stove. He smiled. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cooking." He said. He stopped what he was doing to walk over and kiss me. "Hi."

"Hi." I said. That was when I heard the yelling again. "What's that about?" I asked nodded my head toward the hallway.

"Kenny broke a bottle of her perfume that Gemma had bought her." He said.

"Okay. So how long has she been yelling?" I asked.

"About forty-five minutes. I'm hoping that she'll get tired of yelling." Ope said.

I shook my head. "That's ridiculous." I said. I turned to head down the hallway. "I'm going to talk to her." I said. I walked out of the kitchen and headed down the hallway. "Ellie!" I said as I reached their bedrooms.

"Bells, your not gonna believe what Kenny did." She started to tell me but I put my hand up.

"I already know. Your dad told me. Look, I'm sure that Kenny didn't mean to break it. And I know that your upset. But don't you think that yelling at him for forty-five minutes is punishment enough?" I said to her.

She stared at me for a minute. "I guess." She said.

I turned to Kenny. "Apologize to your sister." I said to Kenny.

Kenny turned to his sister. "I'm sorry Ellie." He said.

"Good. Now clean up your rooms and get ready for dinner." I told them. They went into their respective rooms and started cleaning. I headed back to the kitchen to see how Ope was coming along with dinner.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter when I walked in and he smirked at me. "Your really good with them you know?" He said.

I smiled at him. "I do try." I said.

After dinner, Opie and I got the kids settled for bed. I'd taken a shower and put on one of his shirts and a pair of lounge pants that I'd left there. We were stretched out on his bed, just enjoying each other's company. "I could get used to this." He said.

I looked up from where my head was laying on his chest and smiled. "Me too." I said.

Gemma POV… Next morning

When I'd gotten to the garage that morning Tara's car had been ready. I had this sickening feeling that she had some ulterior motive to pull Jax back in. I decided to take her car to her house and drop it off. I had Lowell follow me in the tow truck. When I pulled into her driveway, I walked up and knocked on the door. "Hi." She said when she opened the door.

"Car's ready." I said. "Figured you'd need it for work."

"Oh. Yeah." She said. She looked around me and saw it sitting in the driveway. "You drove it here?"

I sighed. "I'm thinkin' you and me got off to a bad start. It's my way of saying sorry." I said.

"That's nice of you. Thanks." She said.

"Wow." I said looking around. "You weren't kidding about the clutter." I said.

"Uh, working through a room at a time." Tara said.

I walked over to the mantle and picked up a picture of Tara and her dad. "Oh wow. Your dad was handsome. Kinda nuts, but cute." I said.

"Yeah. Why are you here, Gemma?" She asked.

"Your car."

"Yeah, the good Samaritan bit's not really playing. What do you want?" She said.

"You left Charming because it was incestuous… backward and small-minded. That's pretty much an exact quote. I don't forget. You leave Chicago to come back to this - shit-filled house, mediocre gig at a community hospital." I said, baiting her.

"I needed to tie up family business." She said.

"People don't upend their lives to pack up a dead relative's house."

"You seem to be spending a lot of time and energy worrying about my life. Do I scare you that much, Gemma?" Tara said.

"I don't forget. I'm not worried about you. Just the people you touch. Jax is in a real strange place. He doesn't need any outside voices in his head. Stay clear of him." I said.

"We're not 19 years old anymore. You can't dictate what he does, who he sees -" She said until I cut her off.

"I'm his mother and until I am dead and cold… I am gonna do anything I have to do to protect him." I said as I turned toward the door.

Later that afternoon, I was sitting in Abel's hospital room when Jax walked in. "Hey Ma." He said.

"How was Nevada?" I asked.

"Uneventful." He said. "All in one piece."

"Smartass."

A/N: Okay so that's Chapter 5 or better yet Season 1 Episode 4. Things are slowly starting to heat up between Bella and Opie. He loves how good she is with his kids. Edward is slowly making his way down to Charming. Things are about to get interesting in Charming. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to read, review and favorite.