#hes so babygirl and he does in fact spend time covered in blood both his own and others <3

[wheelsupin-five]

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR COD OC MERCY!!!!!!!

MERCY MY TRAGIC BELOBED BOY <33

Name: Emrys Leigh (meaning immortal meadow/clearing)

Call sign: Mercy (obtained through the fact he is RUTHLESS in the field and excelles in ✨information extraction✨)

Age: approx 28 but who's counting (not me)

Picrew by lunevani

He normally wears a dark fabric face mask bc the scar pulls on his lips and exposes his teeth a little bit (I am normal I promise I am sooooo normal) and it drys out his mouth and also it makes him look more intimidating which he likes (it's also just one scar running from temple down through both his lips). He has THEE winter soldier stare of all time which terrifies new recruits but also anyone with a healthy sense of self preservation

He joined the British army at 19 (it was 100% an act of self destruction but now he cant leave bc it's all he knows) he specialized as a sniper and joined the SAS at 22, (was captured and tortured (but did not break) at 23 and took a year to rehabilitate before rejoining), and was hand picked by Price to join TF 141 at ~27 (again my math might be wrong but idc).

At some point during this he leveled up to a Sargent which is his current rank.

Looking at the scary brooding man who speaks very little who WILL snarl at you if you piss him off enough you would not guess it but he is a BIG card game fan HOWEVER do not play w him bc he will CHEAT bc hes also very good at slight of hand (and card tricks!!)

Hes literally just a silly little guy with a tragic background and enough trauma for a fucking large city but he tells silly jokes when he warms up to you (but takes a while) and once you have his trust you will have it for life !! You would kill for you without question !! Hes a coffee snob but in the way he'll turn his nose up at anything that isnt literally the shittiest instant coffee you've ever tasted !!

He also has an idle animation of systematically tensing + relaxing muscle groups which earns him some side eyes but no one has the balls to ask abt it <3

Anyways soap was the first person to gain his trust bc that man is relentless it's not his first rodeo (befriended ghost asap), then price (had worked w him prior a few times so he did have a head start), then gaz, then eventually ghost (if you put two private quiet people in a room together they WILL just sit in silence)

#mercy is literally me my son and also my boyfriend and worst enemy whats not clicking 🥰🥰 #yes i skipped over his pre army trauma bc its fucked up #but also he has a real fucked up relationship w sex/intamcy bc he IS a people pleaser at heart #and if youre looking at him like hm . that man is not stable enough to be in the army 🤨🤨 then you are very correctbut i make the rules so #also obligatory disclaimer before the fun police some for me: he is a fictional character i do not condone his fucked up actions #i dont support the militry #also he and soap have fucked at least once they told me themselves (aint nothing wrong with bros being dudes helping eachother out okay) #anyways sorry emily if you read all that ik have of it probably doesn't make sense but ily <33 #oc: mercy #am thinking of making a blog for him #actually i already have one but idk if im gonna use it yet #lincoln.txt #call of duty #call of duty oc #cod #hes so babygirl and he does in fact spend time covered in blood both his own and others <3 #anyways here is my most self indulgent oc of all time hdjxjfj #asks #li

[sswissy]

𝕷𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖄𝖔𝖚

𝖎𝖑 𝖑𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖒𝖊 | 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫

Ever since Dahlia Amato had to leave for a short meeting with Cardinal Copia for a Latin class, Dewdrop had became more feral at the end of his cycle. The stench of his leader drove him mad with anger after spending so much time covering her in his scent. Her breathy moans sending a shiver down his spine as he pounded into her from behind. His cum coating the inside of her thighs from earlier, some blood from multiple bite marks had been smeared everywhere.

"You're mine, kitten. Nobody is allowed to touch you, understood?" Dew pulled his mate against him, his claws running up and down the length of her neck. Dahlia could barely form a sentence from the feeling of his cock inside of her. She wasn't sure how the ghoul could get any deeper but it seemed like he was always full of surprises.

"Yes, I belong to you." Dahlia whined as his fangs scrapped against her neck. Dew had been questioning whether or not to officially mark his mate for the past few nights. Even going as far to leave the perfect space unmarked on her neck in case Dew decided to just say fuck it. It was becoming increasingly hard for him not to when she was whining about belonging to him, wanting him to keep fucking her all night long.

"Can I mark you?" His tone was much softer as he left kisses down her jaw. It was the gentleness that surprised the human so much after him relentlessly fucking her all evening. Dahlia could feel the warmth in the room heighten as she slowly nodded, her heart thumping erratically. Dew knew there was no going back after this but the way his mate's body was calling out to him was enough of a reason to allow his fangs to puncture deeper into the skin of her neck.

The pain caused the woman to jump in surprise but Dew wrapped his arms tighter around her midriff to keep her steady. It felt like the room was spinning, the feeling of Dew's knot inside of her causing a shaky moan to slip past her lips. His fangs retracted from the bite and the feeling of pride coursing through him. There was plenty of times before that he found Dahlia to be absolutely stunning but there she was with his mark permanently.

"You did so well taking me, babygirl." Dew nuzzled the mark while waiting for his knot too deflate. There was no possible way now that he'd let the Cardinal take away his mate, even if meant running far away from the church. His duty no longer to any Papa, Dew would dedicate his eternal life keeping his mate loved and protected.

"What does this mean now?" Her voice sounded so quiet, so timid almost scared to know what he'd say next. Dew pulled his cock out of his mate feeling the haze of his cycle slowly slipping away from him. Dahlia turned to look at the fire ghoul who was purring louder than usual, his tail wrapping around her waist.

"Do you know about how ghouls mate, kitten?" Dew knew his mate had some kind of idea about it after seeing the book the Imperator gave her on her table. His assumptions correct when she nodded her head and heart began racing again with anxiety. Dahlia wasn't sure how things would work with Sister Imperator and Cardinal Copia in the way. But with the way Dew was nuzzling her neck, purring and eyes glowing with devotion? It seemed possible that the both of them could figure it out or at least have Aether help in some kind of way.

"You are now mine and I'm yours." Dahlia could feel the wetness of her tears slide down her cheeks. It wasn't out of sadness but out of joy that now that heavy pit in her stomach was slowly disappearing. Granted there was several obstacles to still come but the fact that Dew was now with her meant so much more to her.

The both of them held each other closely to just enjoy the moment before the Imperator possibly wrecking havoc. Or the weight of the ceremony drawing closer without a plan in action to change it. Dew was still enamored with his mark whereas Dahlia was just glad to be enjoying the warmth from being in the ghoul arms.

translations:

il legame - the bond

taglist:

@chiggennuggie 

#ghost bc #ghost band #dewdrop ghoul #dewdrop x reader #nameless ghouls #nameless ghouls x reader #lost without you fic

[tenskittens]

Not Enough - Part III.

Part 3

Warnings: Smut, threesome, john x ten x y/n, ass play, john x ten sex, fingering, dominance, cum (everywhere, ew), angst.

Words: 2.8k.

Read part 1 & part 2 first!

It’s been a week since you contemplated changing things in your relationship. As of now, nothing has changed. In fact, things have been sort of chaotic in the NCIT house this past week - you’ve been mostly hanging out with Jaehyun working on a coding assignment you were set over the summer. Ten went away for a couple of days - he said he just wanted to spend more time with his other close friends in the WayV house, who you were all pretty close with, but you suspect he also needed a bit of time away from you and Johnny. And Johnny - well, he’d been pretty distant too, and that hurt the most. You usually spend your rare moments of free time hanging out with him, snuggling on the sofa snacking on popcorn and crisps, having a low-key smoke and binging FRIENDS or comedy movies. This week, though, he hasn’t been here as much for you - in fact, you’ve probably spent more time with Jae, even Doyoung and possibly even Jaemin and the other freshers, than you have with Johnny or Ten.

“Ah, shit, watch it! Fucking arsehole” you yell as you walk directly into your boyfriend and drop your freshly-popped corn all over the floor. “The fuck, y/n, it was an accident. Chill.”

Johnny looks at you with genuine hurt, and you’re sort of embarrassed by the way you snapped. You didn’t want him to know that you weren’t feeling great about the whole ‘being abandoned for the whole week to stress about your work with Jae whilst your boyfriend and best friend fuck of and have fun’ situation.

You are pissed off. But you remember what you’re wearing - the little pair of shorts that perfectly hug your arse, and your hair tied back just how Johnny loves it. So you bend down to scramble and pick up the popcorn from the floor, ignoring Johnny but moving yourself in such a way that you’d gain his attention. Johnny watches you from his distance, and your plan begins to work - he feels himself getting hard at the sight of you bent over on the kitchen floor. Your silence was only turning him on more - he had no idea what to say, and felt at your mercy in that very moment - an unusual feeling for someone who was the dominant one in most scenarios. You stand back up after scraping together most of the popcorn. You stand slowly, looking Johnny up and down as you do, pausing to focus on how the veins in his arms have started to show - a tell-tale sign that he must be horny for you, despite not talking to you all week.

“So?” you ask him, a stubborn and demanding tone in your voice. You’re still pissed off - he literally hasn’t spoken to you about anything, leaving you in the dark about what the plan was and forcing you to seek comfort in Jae because he wasn’t there to hang out while you’d been stressed. Anyway, fuck all of that, you think to yourself. You firmly place the popcorn tub onto the countertop next to you and cock your head slightly, looking at Johnny’s face this time, but avoiding eye contact.

“So, are you going to like… tell me what’s going on?” you ask, frustrated now, trying to hide your emotional vulnerability by holding yourself in a powerful stance, sitting into your hip and casually leaning back into the countertop. You know you look fit, and Johnny knows it, too.

He sighs, now too turned on to even play his little game of piss y/n enough to get her to start the conversation first. He practically launches himself on you, keeping you pressed against the counter top and using his knee to hold your torso firmly in place. He locks his hand into yours and holds it firmly, too. You’re suddenly well and truly held down by John Suh, at his complete mercy and most-definitely not able to escape from his grasp.

“Y/n, Ten’s in my room literally right now. We’ve been waiting for you to break the silence because we thought you were the one mad with us. We thought you didn’t want to talk to us, so, we just sort of left you some space... for a bit...”. His voice is low, frustrated and tense.

Why was he being like this? He sounds genuinely annoyed, yet he’s acting like he wants to fuck me right here? And why’s he being so touchy?

“John, I’m literally pissed that you’ve been ignoring me. How are we never on the same page?”

Johnny doesn’t even reply, and you don’t really care. Stood over you, he’s one of the most gorgeous men you’ve ever laid eyes on - you never fail to forget this. His hair is falling slightly over his eyes, textured and dark, complimenting the deep brown colour of his irises. His muscle tee reveals his broad shoulders, dressed in a bold, dark tattoo on one side. Nothing about Johnny Suh screams “innocence”. He is dark, intense, experienced, and always ready to show you a good time.

“What I mean, y/n, is that Ten’s waiting for me in my room”.

Oh.

“No problem, Johnny, I’ll be alright down here” you tell him, your voice tight, wondering whether this was an invitation to follow him, or a request for him to leave.

“No, y/n. Come on”. Johnny’s eyes are dark and serious, as they so often are when he’s turned on. You’re suddenly hyper aware that you’re in

a communal space - Jae could easily be slumped in the corner of the room, listening to the tension between you two as he so-often was - but you still don’t want to make nice with Johnny, so you shake him off you and somewhat stomp your way to his room, the man following you closely and quickly.

You barge open his door, pushing your weight onto it, and sitting in a leather armchair, leaning out of the window, is Ten. Shirtless. Oh shit, he’s hot.

“Oh, y/n, sorry fuck- hi” Ten sputters, reaching for something to cover himself up and eventually just wrapping his arms around his torso.

“Baby, you still up for trying this?” Johnny asks. Both you and Ten respond quietly and quickly with a tentative “yes”. .

“Hah, I was talking to Ten, but sure y/n I know you’re okay with it”, responds Johnny sassily, walking past you towards Ten. “Hot”, he assesses, looking at Ten just as he’d looked at you earlier.

Knowing that Johnny was checking him out like that turned Ten on, his cock growing harder under his lazy cargo pants. He hadn’t long been at the gym with Jae and Haechan, and the post work-out effect had left him slightly tired but, visually, incredibly attractive. His abs were tight and defined, even as he was leant over the window frame.

“Heard Ten was really good at fingering when he was dating that girl in first year. Not to make this weird or anything”.

Neither you nor Ten replies to this. So like, does Ten actually want this? I don’t get it, you think to yourself. And, honestly, you don’t know that Ten is only really doing this for Johnny. In the moment, he seems pretty damn into you. He stands tall, despite being the same height as you, shirtless with his hair slightly wet from just having showered, carrying the scent of sandalwood and sweet floral undertones. He moves towards you, and your heart pounds, your hands trembling slightly as you become hot and wet for him... Confidently, the man sits on the edge of the bed, a slightly playful and teasing smile spreading across his lips, and he pulls you by your arm so you end up falling next to him. You’re surprised by the sudden action, causing your heart to race faster.

“Mm, he’s right, you know, I’m pretty fucking good in bed” Ten teases you. You and Ten locked eyes as he placed his hand around your waist and pulled you close to him. He wasn’t sure about this, but he felt a compelling urge to kiss you. Ten feels Johnny place his hand on his thigh, squeezing gently, and it gives him the confidence he needs to lean in, chasing for your sweet, tender lips.

As Ten’s lips meet yours, you feel your heart murmuring, beating like it never has before. You take his kiss deep - although it feels sexual and intense, as opposed to passionate and loving. His tongue is greedy, chasing for yours and playing with your lips with gentle nips every so often. Johnny stands behind Ten, softly playing with his long hair, almost reassuring him. You feel Ten move his hands from your waist down to your thigh.

“Well, aren’t you two both such needy and horny, little things” Johnny teases, his voice dark and dominant. “Ten, honey, you know you don’t have to fuck her tonight, but she seems to want more than just a sweet kiss from you”.

Disappointing. Of course you didn’t expect that Ten would actually go all the way with you - although he has been with many girls in the past, you guess he just doesn’t actually enjoy that. But you can feel his fingers dancing up your thigh, altering their pressure as they skip across your crotch, brushing with gentle pressure over the crotch of your trousers and making their way to your opposite thigh. He is so careful and coordinated with his touch, different to Johnny - more thought-out, almost. Johnny bends down closer to Ten and kisses the back of his neck, whispering to him with a firm tone; “Ten, you need to be rough with her, she’s a dirty slut. You need to rip her panties off and fill her with your fingers and -”. You stop listening to Johnny’s instructions, becoming distracted by your growing wetness, pulsating as you feel the blood rush through your body. All you can feel is how Ten pushes you down onto your back, moving on top of you so he has full access to your delicate, glistening folds. As he does so, Johnny follows, teasing Ten’s upper thighs but not yet removing his cargo pants. “Ten, pleaasee” you beg, slightly moaning when you feel his slightly cold hands work at the button of your trousers, pulling them down awkwardly. You arch your back at the cold, slightly ticklish sensation. The arching is enough to grab Johnny’s attention - “damn, babygirl you’re sensitive tonight, does our slut need more attention?”. You whine in frustration, arching your back again to allow ten to remove your trousers all the way. As Ten does so, Johnny leans over him from behind and grabs his pants and pulls them down - he’s commando, so Johnny immediately grabs his hard, throbbing cock, releasing a moan from the man who is largely preoccupied with you, teasing your clit at a constant, steady pace. Johnny slowly pumps up and down Ten’s cock. “Listen, sweet baby, I want you to make y/n come all over us. I’m going to do to you what I want you to do to her - follow my lead, and you’ll make her come”. You heard that part - fuck, i just want to come, you think to yourself.

Johnny cocks his head. “Sound okay, babies?” he asks you both, receiving two half-confident moans in response. He’s definitely in charge of you both.

Johnny tightens his grip on Ten, prompting him to slip two fingers immediately inside of you, taking you deep without a second thought. It was intense, but so necessary. You respond with a sharp intake of breath, once again arching your back. When Johnny speeds up his movements around Ten’s pulsating member, Ten quickens his pace with you. He’s moving his fingers in and out of you at a rushed pace, desperate to bring you to orgasm. Ten was genuinely horny, enjoying playing with you and chasing your upcoming orgasm, and although he had some limits, this wasn’t beyond his boundaries. He was so incredibly attracted to you. Your little, desperate breaths quicken, becoming deeper and longer as Johnny tightens his grip further, slowing down on Ten’s cock, and Ten responds in the same manner. He begins to slowly, but deeply, insert his fingers inside of you, pushing deep and steadily against your G spot.

“She’s actually so beautiful” Ten mutters quietly and breathlessly. Johnny responds, once again quickening his pace on Ten’s cock, planting kisses along his shoulders. This encourages Ten to quicken his pace, using the “come here” motion to hit your g-spot successfully with every repetition he makes. “And she’s such a slut” Ten adds, as you now whine quietly, high-pitched moans leaving you every time he hits your g-spot. He places his lips on yours, swallowing your moans with his deep, warm kiss. His lips are sweet and slightly swollen, making them gentle and exciting enough to continue kissing him, despite how close you were to your oblivion, and how distracting Ten’s fingers were. Johnny finally releases Ten after edging him for way too long - but doesn’t let Ten come just yet. Ten takes this as his cue to focus purely on you, tipping you over the edge. You’re moaning deliriously as Ten slips in a third finger and, with his other hand, wraps around your ass, playing with your sensitive skin around the entrance. Ten’s very good at this - he presses a thumb against your ass, gently but with enough pressure to change the sensation deep inside of you. You feel your pussy tightening, grabbing onto Ten’s slender fingers as he continues desperately chasing your orgasm, waiting patiently for his own. But Johnny is becoming fed up of waiting, so he drops his own pants and presents his cock in front of your mouth. “Work for your orgasm. Be my cumslut” Johnny demands strictly. You take his cock as deep as you can, feeling your pussy tighten as Ten drives you closer to orgasm. You suck Johnny deep and hard, using your tongue how you know he likes it. The sight of Johnny’s cock, dripping and filling your mouth, drives Ten insane. He isn’t even being pleasured, but he, too, feels so close to his orgasm, dripping presum from his tip. You’re still panting and moaning into Johnny’s cock when you finally reach your orgasm. Ten reaches one hand from your ass to Johnny’s, again pressing his finger into Johnny enough to send him over the edge. He explodes into your mouth, causing you to gag and splutter as you immediately come over Ten’s fingers. Your eyes stream with tears as the intensity of your orgasm sweeps through your body, weakening you head-to-toe.

“Y/n, you’re not finished, baby” says Johnny, standing. “Y/n, suck Ten’s cock while I fuck him good”, he tells you. And you do exactly what he says. Johnny is so gentle with Ten - so tender and loving. You can see now, despite your mouth being stuffed with Ten’s dripping, pulsating cock, that the love between these two is different. It’s intense, it’s passionate, it’s inherently sexual but yet so nurturing and tender. What you have with Johnny is fun - but you know you were friends first, friends now, and will always be friends. But you also know that this might be the last time you fuck John Suh as your boyfriend, and you didn’t even actually end up fucking him. The thought saddens you, but it passes quickly as you continue to pleasure Ten whilst sat on your knees. It doesn’t take long before you release him, and he lets his come spill out over your swollen breasts. Just a few moments later, Johnny follows, adding his cum to the sticky mess dripping on you. Johnny leans over you to kiss Ten - and in this kiss, there is so much love. You realise that he has chosen Ten in his moment of vulnerability, not you. But lying there, barely awake and covered in their come, you don’t mind. Ten flashes you a sexy smile as he kisses your belly, covered in Johnny’s come. Johnny pleasures your nipples, cleaning them up with his swollen lips before leaning down to kiss you, and moving back to kiss Ten, forcing him to taste his own mess. “Okok”, you say quickly. “I’m going to wash up in the bathroom”.

Your back is aching, you’re covered in come, and your whole body is weak and trembling from the intensity of working so hard for these two men. And Johnny was right - Ten was very good in bed. But you expected nothing less of the man who is good at everything.

Within 15 minutes, the three of you were asleep in the bed together. And within a few hours, you woke up, noticed how Ten wrapped his leg over Johnny’s, and how Johnny held his arm out for you to lean into. Feeling disgusting and tired, your heart sort of aching, you decided to slip back into your own room. You know you have to leave.

Thanks for reading! I’m sorry I didn’t go into full angst detail about the end of the *situation*. There will be a short follow-up sequel, mostly just angst, that will deal with the end of the relationship, just so this story doesn’t end up with no proper resolution. I hope you enjoyed how the situation unfolded, but more importantly - I hope you enjoyed the smut. I’ll be releasing follow-ups set in the NCIT frat house in the future, so please follow and interact!

~tenskittens~

#nct 127 #nct smut #wayv smut #johnny smut #ten smut #johnten #nct reader insert #nct frat #x reader #nct 127 angst #nct

[obxing]

Don’t Let Me Disappear|| JJ Maybank x Reader

Hello welcome to my attempt at writing, i’ve had a hard time with it for some reason. I’ve been working on this for two weeks now, I still don’t like where I’m ending it, I might continue it into something better I’m not sure I just knew that I needed to publish it somewhere before I got discouraged and upset with myself.

Word Count: 3,323

Warnings: Language, Mild Smut, Angsty I guess!

He had never felt drawn to anyone until he saw you, head thrown back in laughter at something Kie had said. Your hair tied up into a messy bun, pieces falling out and shaping your face. He didn’t feel himself walk over to the table, or realized that he was staring at the pair.

“Uh earth to jj” Kie snapped in front of his face, he quickly made eye contact with her as Kie repeated herself “as I was saying, this is (y/n).” she said with an eyeroll towards the boys behavior. You shot him a smile that made him weak in the knees.

“Pleasure to meet you jj, I’ve heard a lot about you” you held out your hand for him to take. His hand met yours maybe a bit too eagerly, taking note of how soft your palms were and what color you had painted on your nails.   “Pleasure is all mine.” He winked at you causing Kie to smack him on the chest with a scoff.  

“My friends are off limits” she told him when you excused yourself to the bathroom “I can’t let you hit it and quit it on my girlfriends, she’d never talk to me again.” Kie poked a finger into his chest.  

“Kie I don’t want to fuck anything and everything, I’m just saying she’s cute that’s all.”  

-

Shortly after that run in at the Wreck he did anything and everything in his power to spend extra time with you. Offering to walk you home any chance he got. You began to talk about your lives, how your family had moved here from states away and how their marriage was crumbling and how his dad didn’t love him and his mother left him. You both reassured one another that you were loved and that the other was never going to abandon you. He shared things with you that he had never shared with anyone, crying to you more than once, his blue eyes glistening with tears asking you why he wasn’t enough to be loved. He never thought you’d be locking eyes with him as his world crumbled away around him. The rest of the group stood a few feet back from him as his body sat on his dads knocked out body, the barrel of the gun pressed into his temple. Everyone stood with their hands up as they watched in fear at the situation unfolding in the Maybank’s living room. He’d never been like this, sure when he’d fight he’d always end up going a little too far and hurting the other person a little bit more than he intended to. This was different, his world was black and all he wanted was to end it.  

“jj” you spoke, breaking the silence, as you stepped forward to him, her friends cringing as you did so. Jj had always been a lose wire, unpredictable at times. Now jj seemed like a bomb, with the time ticking away. “I need you to put the gun down.” You spoked calmly as she continued to make small steps towards him.  

“Fuck off” his jaw clenched as he turned his head towards you, when your eyes met his you realized this was a jj you did not know. “You can’t just walk into my house and act like you fucking know me!” He raised from his place on his father and stepped towards you.  

“jj stop-” John B started to warn him.  

“You don’t get to decide what I fucking do.” He laughed at the both of them. The gun moving about as he waved his arms in frustration.  

“jj” she repeated, stepping closer to him, “I need you to put the gun down”

“And I need life to stop fucking pounding on me” He looked at her “but, that’s not what’s going to fucking happen.” He turned back towards his father and pointed the gun towards his head, “I just want this to end.” His body was shaking now, you couldn’t read him to figure out what emotion he was feeling but you saw the tears in his eyes. “I’m so tired of this bullshit” he exclaimed angrily, the gun shaking as he started to break down.  

“jj, if you don’t put that gun down, I will never get to go on that date with you” you retaliated at him knowing that he had been begging you to go early morning surfing with him. “We won’t ever get to do any of the stuff we talk about doing in the future.” He paused turning towards you again.

“What are you talking about?”

“jj if you pull that trigger, you’re going to go to jail, and I’m never going to see you again” you could feel the tears starting to fall down your face. “You’re going to be gone forever, we can fix this jj. It doesn’t need to end this way” you stepped closer to him your hand coming up slightly to rest on his chest as his eyes followed your movements. He looked down at you staring into your eyes, you could start to see him come back down to reality. Your hand moved slowly out to the gun as your other one wrapped around him pulling him close to you. As soon as your hand was on the gun you felt him erupt with sobs. You slowly sunk to the floor with him before sliding the loaded gun to John B who, like the rest of them, were stunned at the situation.  

“I’m so sorry” he blubbered as he turned into a snotty mess on you chest as you held him to you.

“Shh, it’s alright” your heart broke at the sight of him, “c’mon let's get out of here and go back to John B’s for dinner okay? We don’t have to talk about this now okay?” He nodded as he rose from the ground with you, his friends giving him knowing glances and they made their way to him and wrapped him a group hug. That day you saved him for the first time. That day he decided that he wanted to be good. He wanted to do good. Not just for you, although you were a large part of it but, for him as well.  

-

And so Jj Maybank stopped being a walking tornado causing a path of destruction with every step that he took and became the beginnings of a man. He stopped picking fights over everything, having a reason to not get in trouble changed his whole outlook on the world. John B talked shit and picked on him all the time, “bro she’s got you so pussy whipped it’s not even funny.” He rolled his eyes as Jj cancelled plans for the fourth time to eat dinner with your family at your house. “Oh yeah like you wouldn’t do the same shit for Sarah.” He rolled his eyes “I’ll be back tonight don’t wait up for me” “Wasn’t planning on it” John shot him the finger as Jj shut the door behind him.  

He kicked the rocks lining the pavement as he walked the path to your house, feeling excited to see you and to discuss the plans for senior year as the summer was coming to an end.  

“Long time no see Pogue.” He heard the footsteps behind him for some time but the voice made him stop dead in his tracks.  

“Dude, I don’t want any trouble just fuck off” Jj glared over his shoulders and just kept walking.

“What are you on your way to (y/n)’s house?” He paused his walking again as the boy behind him continued to talk “I wonder if she moans for you like she did for me, God isn’t her pussy just amazing?” He didn’t even have time to think before his fist collide with the cheek bone of Topper’s. Topper stumbled back with a wicked grin on his face.  

“Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth?” Jj raged, flexing his fingers ready to swing again.

“Why don’t you fuck someone in your class level?” Topper hit back with words. It was a known fact that she was wealthier than most of the pogues, she fell somewhere between the classes. Her family wasn’t struggling but she wasn’t any millionaire.  

“How many fucking times do I have to beat your fucking ass man? Like this shit must get boring to you at some point.” Jj  shrugged throwing his fist back in the air signaling he was ready to fight.

“Listen Jj we don’t have to get violent buddy, I’m just saying it’s only a matter of time until she comes crawling back to someone that’s good for her.” Topper stuck his hands out in the air “Isn’t that thing she does when she cums so fucking sexy?” Topped barley finished out the sentence before jj’s hands collilded with his chest sending him back a few inches.

“Stop fucking talking about her like that” his voice was deep and his eyes could’ve killed.

Topper pulled his fist back before sending it right under Jj’s chin causing him to stumble back. Jj shook his head, a wicked grin on his face as he spit blood on the pavement.

“Wrong fucking move buddy”

The next thing jj knew he was running from the cops, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket with texts from you.  

babygirl:

5:00

where are you?

5:15

my mom made your favorite

5:30

Jj come on you’re scaring me you’re never this late for dinner.  

6:00  

we ate without you... not sure if you plan on coming here or not...  

You sighed pressing send on the last text and moved to help your mother clear the table. “I’m sure it’s nothing (y/n), he probably got caught at work” your mother tried to reassure her as she loaded the dishwasher. “He always calls mom” you sighed as she scrubbed left over food bits off the silverware before passing them to your mother “I just don’t want him to be in trouble, he’s been doing so good.” Your mother nodded in agreement, you both had a tight relationship in a weird way, she wasn’t very motherly but she was you best friend. She knew everything you knew about jj.  

When he finally reached the house all the lights were out. “Fuck me” he cursed before walking around the back of the house, scaling his way up to her window. He climbed in to as he had done so many times before on nights where it was just too much at his fathers. You sat in bed, reading a book. The small lamp on the table left the room with a light glow.

“Look who showed up” you didn’t bother looking up towards him, not really wanting the bullshit excuse he’d throw to you.  

“Baby, I swear I didn’t mean to miss dinner” he grabbed the foot board of your bed leaning forward, not wanting to disturb you by climbing in bed. You looked up to him, her face covered in shock as you saw the dried blood and bruise on his face. Shit.  

“What the fuck did you do?” you sat up quickly, disregarding the book as you fingers touched his wounds.  

“I swear to God (y/n) I didn’t start it, I didn’t even want to fight but he wouldn’t stop fucking talking about you and it made me sick to my fucking stomach and I couldn’t take it.” He rambled on trying to make the situation better.  

You pressed a soft kiss to his lips to shut him up, “go get cleaned up” you nodded towards the bathroom. He nodded in agreement and made his way over to her bathroom. He came back, less bloody and smelling much better. He moved the blankets to climb in with you, his arms wrapping around and pulling you into him. “I also forgot to tell you that I had to put run the cops and that’s why I was so late” he said wincing at his own stupidity. You turned ripping yourself from his grip. “I’m sorry you did what?” you exclaimed sitting up and glaring at him. “Jj we have talked about this! You can’t keep doing this!” You scolded him, he knew he was in the wrong as well. Both of you knowing it was only a matter of time before they tried him as an adult with his charges. “I didn’t mean it, I tried to walk away (y/n)” he argued back. You sighed running a hand through your hair “you’ve just been doing so good lately I don’t want you to get bad again.” You both knew that if he fell into his past ways there would no longer be a (y/n) and jj. “I love you too much to lose you (y/n)” his hand caressed your face, the callouses on his thumb scraped lightly on your cheeks. He loved you, you knew this you didn’t have a single doubt of this. He was the storm and you were the calm, he needed you as much as you needed him.  

His lips found their way to yours brushing over them softly. You melted into his touch as his hand now rested on your hips his finger tips tracing circles on your back, your arms found their way wrapped around his neck as you leaned into the kiss more whimpering as he bit on your bottom lip. His tongue made its way into your mouth tasting the toothpaste you both used. He pulled himself away from you just to push you on your back as he straddled you lightly. Your finger dancing on his toned abs before tracing the bruises that littered him. He hovered over you now his lips landing softly on your neck. He nibbled and sucked until he earned himself a soft moan from you. His hand slid under your top and towards your breast. He must have felt your breath bitch because his actions stopped “is it too much?” he pulled away from you quickly not wanting to make you uncomfortable.  

“no not at all, I love it. I love you” he only smiled at you before pulling your shirt over your head.  

“God I can’t believe I get to look at you like this” he peppered kisses on the exposed part of your breast. Caressing them through the bra you had on, your back arched towards him as he slid his under the padding and flicked at your nipple. He pulled the cups down to expose your breast’s fully before kneading then with his hands, taking turns on each nipple. His tongue circling them slowly causing you to let out a little moan. With his mouth still on your breast his hand made its way down to toy with your shorts, soon pushing past the worn elastic and into your underwear. His finger made contact with your slit, tracing up and down lightly just enough to make your hips grind into the action. “I get to love every single part of you” he stated almost in disbelief as he trailed kisses from your collar bone to inbetween your breasts. Taking his time trailing kisses down your stomach before reaching your core. He placed a soft kiss on your clit causing you shudder. He looked up at you smirking as he reached down to slip off his boxers. His hand reached down and rubbed at your pussy slowly before slowly guiding himself into you. You gasped at the sudden penetration, feeling him stretch out your walls. “You are so fucking tight” he moaned quietly as he thrust into you slowly. You looked up at him, your hand in his hair as you reached up to kiss him softly. Jj Maybank didn’t make love, jj Maybank didn’t have girlfriends. Jj Maybank wasn’t Jj Maybank when he was with you, he was just jj. He was kind, he was loving, he was everything that you had ever wanted. You were what he didn’t know that he needed, he didn’t know he to lose so much of him to find out who he really was and he could never thank you enough for that.

-

It started out as a typical kegger, you, Sarah, and Kie sitting on a down log by the fire laughing as you sipped your drinks talking about your boys and the stupid things they have done to make you made. The said boys were lost in the crowd doing god only knows what.

“What the fuck” Kie stated causing you two to follow her line of visions “please tell me that is not who I think it is” and there stood a blonde haired boy, your blonde haired boy, with a blonde haired girl dancing on him acting as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

“You can’t be serious” Sarah looked disgusted at the sight. Your eyes followed her line of vision to see jj, one finger on his left nostril and a dollar bill rolled up in the other as he snorted the powder off of the kids cellphone. “What the fuck.” Kia stated as she watched your face for emotions. “What the hell is he doing?” you questioned, rising from you spot where you sat. “Well it looks like coke” Sarah scoffed lightly. “Yeah no fucking shit” you replied coldly as you made your way to him.  

“Oh hey Baby.” He smirked at you, his pupils so dilated you could barely tell the color of his eyes. “What the fucks up with this shit” you nodded referencing his nose. He quickly wiped his nose and residue onto the back of his hand. “Babe it was one line cool it” you scoffed at him. “Yeah, one line turns in to ten. You know John B’s rules, no hard drugs your out” Jj had danced with this devil before, his friends helping him come to his senses. “Stop it. I did one line it fine.” He rolled his eyes at you “I wish you would stop being so fucking controlling all the time” “I’m sorry I’m just trying to keep you safe” you crossed you arms over your chest angrily. “News flash (y/n) I’m a man I can take care of my god damn self. Go find some other pussy you can baby around call him your boyfriend” “Go fuck yourself jj” you spat at him turning to push past the crowd of people. You ignored to calls of the girls as you made your way back to the cars.  

You sat with your forehead pressed against the wheel as the radio played late night oldies hour. The words replaying in your head. You had never wanted anything more than to help him, he had so much potential that he left unexplored because he was comfortable where he was. You couldn’t keep doing this. You loved him more than anything but you couldn’t keep spending all your time gluing pieces back together just for him to turn around and knock them over again. It wasn’t fair to you.  

The next morning you sat on your front porch as you sipped your coffee, trying nurse a heartbreak instead of the hangover you had planned for. John B had texted you last night and let you know that Jj had made it home safely knowing you wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing his whereabouts.  

You heard the bike approach your house before you saw it. That was the joke of the street you lived on, they could always hear him coming even from miles away. You used to love it but today it made you queasy. You twiddled you’re fingers on the now empty coffee cup, not ready to look up and meet his eyes as you watched his feet climb the stairs of the porch. He let out a sigh as he sat next to you on the old wooden rocker.  

“(y/n)” he tried to meet your gaze. You let out a shaky breath as you looked up. Blinking your eyes to try to stop your tears from falling. “Please don’t” you replied looking at him, you could see the pain in his face. “Please don’t give me some sorry excuse about how you didn’t mean to do it and how it’ll never happen again” he chewed on his lips, he knew he had fucked up. He always knew. That was the damn problem, he knew whatever he did was wrong but that never stopped him from doing it. You were always there to pick up the pieces. “Because it always fucking happens again, I’m so fucking sick of this shit.” He was visibly taken aback by your anger, you’d always welcomed him home with loving arms. “I don’t even know what I was thinking” he pleaded trying his hardest to hold it together. “You never think! That’s the problem JJ, you just fucking do you don’t fucking think about what the consequences are.” You were standing now, tears falling down your cheeks as you looked down at him. “I think you need to get your shit together without me” “No no no, you do not mean that”. He stood now his hands resting on your shoulders as his heart broke at your words. You shrugged him off “JJ I do, I can’t keep doing this” you wiped your eyes “this is so unfair to me. I’m trying to build us a future and you just destroy everything I build.” He had tears covering his flushed cheeks “I can’t keep trying to fix these problems JJ, you need to fix them first” You place a kiss lightly on his cheek before walking into the house and shutting the door behind you leaving him standing on the porch with his heart in pieces.          

#jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank one shot #obx imagine #please don't let this flop i promise i can write better than this idk why I'm struggling

[untilmynextstory]

CHAPTER ONE: HOME

WORD COUNT: 18K

WATTPAD | FANFICTION | AO3

Also I think I might only be posting the first chapter on here. I’m not sure yet. It’s just these chapters are really long! I’ll see the response this gets if I will post the second chapter on here. 

The best part about returning from a run is simply coming home. When he was younger and unattached, Jackson Teller thoroughly enjoyed the perks of the runs. The women, booze, and the vast road had always been something to look forward too. Although it’s hard to believe that it has been only six years since he has last indulged in the many pleasurable vices the club has to offer. 

Those vices paled in comparison of the treasures that waited for him in his small three bedroom ranch. Jax wanted something bigger – much vaster. With his lifestyle, he had the means to spoil those he loved. 

Even if he would have preferred a stripper pole in the bedroom, Jax would never look to replace his quaint home that rests at the end of the cul de sac. It’s hidden by the redwood trees and the dark brick exterior blends in perfectly. If it wasn’t for the cars and the bright childlike paraphilia that decorated the lawn, most would probably miss it. 

The growl of his bike echoes throughout the neighborhood. He has learned to ignore the looks that peek through curtains and how some neighbors still shoo their kids back inside when he rides through the settlement of family homes courtesy of Elliot Oswald. It’s one of the few developments that the club allowed to pass through. 

He pulls into his designated spot in a long driveway. After the week-long run, his bike is in a serious need of a wash. He would put the task off onto the Prospect, but instead he thinks it would be good to do it at home. 

He grabs his bag filled with dirty clothes and a few souvenirs as he enters the house through the side door, which leads him into the laundry room. He immediately throws his clothes in one of the baskets. 

Leaving the laundry room, he stands in the hallway and his eyes sweep around. He expects to hear the platter of feet and maybe the TV shouting some Disney song. The house is quiet – seemingly empty. 

Yet, a quirk settles on his lips. He walks into the kitchen and places his pack on the kitchen island. If the house wasn’t so quiet, probably would have missed the shushing sound followed by childlike laughter. 

Jax plays along anyways. 

He exaggerates his movements as he opens cabinet doors and checks behind pillows as he questions if anyone is home. 

The first bedroom painted a baby blue color covered in posters of various athletes and a few drawings of Harley motorcycles is empty. 

The second bedroom painted a lavender color with silver accents. He had expected his life to be overtaken by princesses and tiaras. Yet, the only thing he has been subjected too is glitter tutus. 

The laughter gets a little bit louder as he gets closer to the final destination. He knocks very loudly on his bedroom door before he opens it. 

It’s instantaneous that he is attacked by his two kids. 

“We got you, Daddy!” They shout between their laughter and giggles. Jax laughs along with them as he holds them tight in his arms. He looks at his oldest first, who has his blue eyes. It’s been six years since he has become a father. Six years that made coming home from runs the best part from going on them. He runs his hands through his son’s dark wavy hair before he presses a kiss to his head. Outside of the eyes, Nathan is all his mother. 

He turns his attention to his youngest, his four year old daughter, who owns his whole heart. Her brown eyes are a carbon copy of her mother’s whiskey ones, shining brightly as she tugs at him. “I missed you so much, Daddy.”

Jax’s smile is bright. “I missed you too, Babygirl.” He hugs Kaylee tighter. She squirms in his hold as she presses a kiss to his lips as she wraps her arms around his neck. 

“Did you miss, Mama, too?” Kaylee wonders as her blonde furrow in seriousness. 

A shadow overtakes them and Jax looks in the doorway. Alma stands in the doorway with a fond, proud smile as she watches the scene. Jax’s hold slackens around the kids. He places another kiss on each of their foreheads. His hands grip the familiar curves of his wife and he answers his daughter’s question as he presses a burning kiss to his wife’s plump lips. 

The kiss barely lasts 3 seconds when he feels small hands tugging at them while Nathan exclaims gross. 

Jax pulls away as he looks at Kaylee. “Daddy, you going to come swimming!” It’s then Jax realizes both of their kids are clad in their swimwear. The in ground pool they added last summer seemed to worth the money as he is sure his kids are going to turn into fish with how much they swim. 

“Sure, but I think Mom needs to help me with my swimming trunks.”

Nathan scrunches his nose as he grabs his sister’s hand. “Come on.”

Kaylee gladly follows her older brother. 

Alma huffs as she turns back to go into their bedroom, she is already wearing her bathing suit. The two-piece that is an electric pink is something he doesn’t recognize. Jax surmises it must be new. He closes the door and knows that he is on a serious time crunch. His kutte is thrown onto the bed. 

Alma can barely squeak a Hi before he attacks her lips. His body hums in the familiar taste of oranges that he associates with Alma. 

His hands find purchase in her short brown hair as he nips and sucks on her pouty lips. A week was nothing in the grand scheme of things. The longest run he had ever been on was a month as the club had managed to open a few charter on the East Coast. That run had been brutal as Nathan had only been 3 months than. He told Clay that he would never go on a run that lasted for more than two weeks. 

Alma pulls back, “Jax, baby, slow down.” She whispers against his lips. 

“I missed you.” He tells her as he places another softer kiss to her lips. They’ve been married for five years and Jax didn’t think the wanting would ever stop. 

“Me too, but we have tonight.” She smiles at him and her arms wrap around him. He can’t help the wince as she hits a particularly tender spot. 

She frowns and pulls back from him. “What happened?”

Jax chews on his lip. He had hoped he would’ve been able to hide the bruises from him a little bit longer. He honestly almost forgot about the bruises he received three days ago. 

“I’m fine.” He tells her. He hopes to distract her with a kiss, but she creates a bigger distance between them. 

“Let me see.”

“I’m fine, babe.” 

She folds her arms across her chest. Jax sighs as he kicks off his shoes. The room is quiet as he goes and removes his socks, jeans, and boxers and replaces them with swimming trucks. He removes his white t-shirt last. He exposes the sets of bruises that dot his skin like a grotesque connect the dots his daughter loves to do. 

Alma is at his back. Her touch gentle as she skims across a bruise that is near his kidney. “Was it the Mayans?”

“Don’t stress about it.” He dismissively. 

“How can I not?” She retorts. 

Jax turns and brings her into a hug. He places a kiss on her forehead. “Everything will be fine.” The words don’t bring any comfort as she is stiff in his hold. “Just be careful and keep your gun on you.”

Alma pulls back completely and he can there are many questions on her tongue, but she doesn’t ask. “Nathan’s grounded.”

“What?” Jax says mostly from the complete 180 in turn of where the conversation has turned. “Why?” 

“He got into a fight at school. Won’t tell me why so until then he is on punishment.” Alma says tiredly. Jax wants to question why she didn’t tell him this fact during their many phone calls, but he doesn’t. “I’m tired of being the bad guy,” she tells him softly. 

“I’ll talk to him.”

Alma gives him a small smile. 

“Mom! Dad! Come on!” Both chuckle and they go to exit their room, but Jax grabs her wrist and pulls her back. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The great thing about an indoor pool is that it works wonders in tiring out his kids. Nights like these where he is anxious for uninterrupted hours with his wife makes him not regret spending over a grand for the concrete pond. 

He watches as Nathan does his night time routine, which consists of feeding the fishes in his room. He is too big for a night light now, but he still sleeps with his Mr. Toad. It was the first thing Jax ever bought for his son. Considering his reaction to finding out Alma was pregnant, he had a lot of groveling to do and the stuffed toad was in the one in plenty of the apology gifts. 

He tucks his son in bed. He can hear Kaylee and Alma from the bathroom as they brush their teeth. He looks back to his son, who is already six years old. 

Fatherhood wasn’t something Jax never seriously thought about. He knew his mother wanted him to have kids. Gemma wanted the grandkids despite never liking any of the girls he hung around with. Even then with the promise of free pussy why would anyone want to settle down and have babies. Babies meant a bigger responsibility that he felt was greater than the club. 

And then it only led to one time of him not using protection for him to enter the world of fatherhood. He doesn’t regret having a kid at 18. His children are something he would never regret. 

Fatherhood just brought a lot of responsibilities, or crisis to his state of mind. When he held Nathan in his arms for the first time Jax had been confronted with his own morality and mortality. 

Nathan despite his blue eyes was all his mother. Even down to their temperament and mannerisms. Nathan was Alma. He was the best part of him, but all of Alma. Jax knows the life he leads. He knows that Nathan is expected to follow into his footsteps. He isn’t going to say he doesn’t expect the same thing out of his son. But at the same time, his son could have more. 

He can’t picture his son coming home with bruises or killing a man in cold blood. But Nathan is a part of him; he has a part of him that has violence coated in his DNA. 

Jax sits on the edge of his son’s twin sized bed. “Are you going to tell me what you did in school to get in trouble?”

Blue eyes peek up shyly from behind the comfort of his cover. Nathan’s fist clutches the navy blue comforter as he turns on his side still facing him. “Mom worries too much.”

Jax places his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Your mother loves you.”

Nathan nods his head as he clutches Mr. Toad. 

“Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about this.” Jax tells his son as he gets up from the bed. He is at the door and getting ready to turn off the light when Nathan speaks up. 

“You love Mom too, right?”

“With my whole heart.”

Nathan smiles before his eyes close. 

Jax makes his way next door where Kaylee is already tucked in, but he finds a stack of books on her nightstand. 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to read all these,” Jax tells her as he skims through some of them. 

Kaylee smiles, her missing teeth noticeable. “Why not?” She can’t stop smiling to even pout.

“What are we going to read for tomorrow?”

Kaylee’s eyes go wide like a deer. “Will you be here tomorrow?” She asks softly. 

A lump forms in Jax’s throat. “Of course.”

“Okay, we can read the story about the mouse and cookie.”

“Sure thing.”

Kaylee falls asleep by the 10th page. Jax smiles as he places a kiss on her head and turns on her nightlight. 

Turning off the hallway light, his bedroom is encased by the moonlight. Alma is already laying in bed. He frowns, but he wonders if this is a slight payback for his reluctance to tell her about the bruises on his back. He strips down to his boxer briefs and slides behind his wife. He sees she is only wearing a cami and cotton panties. He concludes she must not be too mad. 

He wraps his arms around her bringing her back into his chest. He just holds her relishing in her weight and warmth against him. 

“The kids are growing up so fast,” he tells her. It feels like only yesterday that he was holding a newborn Kaylee in his arms wondering what in the hell he was going to do with a girl. 

“Your mom said the same thing.”

“Yeah, and what does she have to say?” Jax already has a feeling on what his mother had told his wife. 

“She was wondering if we planned to move into a bigger house.”

The fact that her husband hesitates makes Alma turn over to face him. His eyes tell her everything she needs to know. Despite the fact both of their children were unplanned, she knows her husband wants more. She still is unsure if it’s more from his mother’s urges or the need for her to be fat. 

“I wouldn’t mind a bigger house,” he answers. Alma has mixed feelings on expanding their family. 

Alma does not nor will ever regret her children, but she can’t deny that she feels as if she was penalized for having babies by 18 and being married by 17. Even worse, the father was the blonde biker Jax Teller and now her husband. She had fulfilled the stereotype that she fought against all her life. She had plans. She wanted a life outside of the world she grew up in. She still doesn’t know why she had let Jax Teller into her bed. She knows she can’t deny that she loves him, by being pregnant at 16 and practically having to settle down wasn’t something she wanted. 

Since she was 17, she had been a stay at home wife and mother. With Kaylee starting school this year, Alma yearns for more than just being a mother and wife. She loves her husband, her family, and even the club, but she doesn’t have one thing for herself. She has nothing outside of it. 

She takes a deep breath. “I was thinking of looking for a job.”

Alma knew from a young age college wasn’t something she wanted. Instead, she found herself doing acrylic nails. Since she was young she had been doing her mom’s, most of the old lady’s nearby including Gemma and Luann, as well as a few neighbors. She had a steady side hustle to maybe even open her own shop. Though she thinks she will try her luck at applying at a few shops in Stockton to learn the business first. She couldn’t let her license go to waste. 

Jax doesn’t say anything. “Besides, after Kaylee being in the hospital…” She adds. 

Jax’s hold tightens. Kaylee inheriting the family flaw was hard on all of them. They were lucky she was even able to get into school. Gemma had been worried about the germs and the toll of letting strangers take care of her granddaughter. 

“If we have no more kids, I’ll be fine with the two we have. Though I’m not going to object to more.”

“And for me to start working?”

“I’ll support you with whatever you want to do.” He tells her earnestly. She’s relieved that he doesn’t suggest that she could just work at the garage. 

Alma smiles wide and she rewards her husband with a sweet, wet kiss. 

Alma knows there is not a lot to do in her days. One, her day is catered to a four year old. There is a lot of cartoon, coloring, and sometimes temper tantrums. Most days, Alma spends her morning trying to teach her daughter her letters, numbers, and colors. Afternoons are when they would frequent parks, or run errands with Gemma for various things. Today they are venturing to Stockton. Alma is dressed in a modest summer dress that can pass for business attire. She even dressed Kaylee in a pretty little dress and blonde hair in two buns. Jax telling her that he had to actually work on the garage said he could take Nathan to teach him some things. 

Alma is in a very good mood despite her sparse resume, but she has a portfolio of the work she had done throughout the years. She knows she shouldn’t really expect anything, but the fact she is doing something for herself is all that matters. 

She knows that the only thing at her disadvantage is she isn’t a regular at Claws. It’s a very upscale nail salon. The parking lot is packed and as she eyes the Mercedes and Hummers in the lot she feels very inadequate. She grips Kaylee’s hand a little bit tighter as she walks through the sleek glass doors. 

Inside is cool and the interior is cold from the harsh geometrical designs from the lights to the sharp edges of the desks. Alma knows she can’t be picky and this place is currently hiring. Besides, her work will speak for itself and maybe if hired she will break down and let Gemma take her on a real shopping spree. 

Alma approaches the receptionist desk with a bright smile where a blonde with pink glossy lips and fake boobs greet her warmly. 

“Hi, are you in for an appointment or are you a walk in?” The receptionist asks. 

“Actually, I saw in the paper that you were hiring. I was hoping I could apply?” Alma questions. 

“We actually might even be able to get you an interview right now. We are in desperate need of help.” The blonde informs her. “I’m Holly, by the way.”

“Alma Teller, but I have my daughter with me,” Alma looks down as Kaylee looks up and waves at Holly. 

“She is so cute, but that will be no problem. Our manager, Kim, is here right now. The wait will only be a couple minutes.”

Alma isn’t able to reply as Holly leaps from her desk and walks across the room to an office that overlooks the whole salon. 

Alma turns her attention to her daughter, who is thankfully being good. “What do you say about some ice cream after this?”

Kaylee’s eyes go wide. “Mint chocolate chip!”

“Up even with graham crackers.” Alma promises. Alma digs in her purse for her daughters leapfrog to at least keep her distracted enough for this possible interview. 

The sound of heels clacking against the ceramic floor brings her attention to a tall lanky woman in a black suit. Her strawberry blonde hair is in a severe bun. 

“Holly tells me you’re looking for a job?”

“Yes.”

“Follow me. Holly can watch your daughter.”

“Are you sure?” Alma asks as she looks from Kim to the receptionist. 

“It’s fine. I’ll sit her right here so you can see her from the office.” Holly promises. 

Alma nods her head and whispers to her daughter she will only be a couple minutes. Kaylee is too consumed by her leapfrog to care. 

Alma follows Kim to her office. The salon only has a handful of clients, but she can tell by the shine of their rings it’s more about quality than quantity. 

Alma isn’t even in her seat before Kim speaks to her. “Have you ever worked at a salon before?”

“Uh, no. I have not.”

“You’re applying to be a nail artist right? I don’t need another Holly.”

Alma clutches her portfolio and offers it to Kim. “I work from my house. I’ve been doing nails since I was a kid.”

Kim takes the folder and opens it. “You barely look older than 18.”

“Thank you, but I’m 22.”

Kim is quiet as she flips through the portfolio. Alma hopes she is impressed. “Why did you decide to wait until now to work?”

“I have two kids. I am a stay at home mom and wife. My youngest, Kaylee, is starting school. I decided it was time.”

“Married and two kids at 22,” Kim whistles. “Tell me the differences in gel or acrylic nails?”

“Gel nails have a more natural look with a glossy finish. And if primed right, gel has no damage to the nail bed that acrylic would. Gel nails cure faster and more flexible than acrylic nails. Although, acrylic nails are more durable and sturdy.”

“If hired, considering your lack of previous work, you will go through a three week trial period where we can fire you without just cause. Your work is good.”

“Thank you.”

“You from Stockton?”

“I live in Charming.”

“Really? I heard…” Kim clears her throat. “Alma Teller tell me more about yourself.”

“Well as you know I have two kids. My oldest, my son, is six. My youngest, Kaylee, is four. I’ve been married for 5 years to their father. I’ve lived in Charming all my life. I’ve been doing nails since I was young. My mom and various friends and family I’ve used for practice. And now I’m looking for something to be outside of a wife and mother. I want to improve my skills as a nail artist.” Alma tells her and as she sweeps her hair out of her face she watches as Kim narrows at her tattoo on her left bicep. 

“If hired, we don’t allow tattoos in the shop.”

Alma looks down at her crow. “Okay.” She knows it will be easy to cover up. 

“You said you’re from Charming, right?” Kim asks again. 

Alma nods her head, but dread feels her belly. 

“Alma Teller, I know that last name.” She watches as recognition washes over her features. “Does your husband own that mechanic garage? The one with that motorcycle gang?”

“It’s a club. A motorcycle club,” Alma refutes on instinct. She knows where this is already heading. 

Kim eyes her silently as she closes her portfolio. “Leave your portfolio with Holly. Someone will get back to you.”

She still takes Kaylee for her ice cream. It takes everything in Alma not to cry like a baby at her first failed interview. Maybe she needs to develop thicker skin. She knows she needs too. Having Jax’s name is going to follow her around especially outside of Charming. People in Charming tolerate the club, but their hold doesn’t go beyond the borders. Her mother had warned her about this when her pregnancy test turned out positive with Nathan. 

Alma doesn’t want to mope in the house nor does she want to spend it on the bench outside of the clubhouse. Instead, she drives over to the Winston household. Thankfully Donna is still home with a newborn Ellie. 

Alma is sitting in the backyard as she watches Kenny run around with Kaylee. The only comfort that Alma had during her pregnancy with Nathan was that Donna was pregnant with her at the same time. At least Donna had been 18 and a few months shy from graduating high school. Alma had been the one to walk the halls with a big belly as whispers and snide comments followed her for being a biker whore. After all, Jax had managed to talk his way into her pants when he was on one of his numerous breaks with his high school girlfriend, Tara. 

“Al, I think you should just open your own shop. You already have clientele. You have the talent.” Donna tells her. Alma leaves out the part of the interview when the woman realized her connection to the club. The club is still a little bit of a sore spot between Donna and Opie and Alma doesn’t want to add any more fuel to it. 

She smiles at her friend’s supportive words. Sometimes, she is envious of Donna. Donna still had managed to have her independence from Opie despite the marriage and baby at 18. Donna had a good job working as a receptionist at Oswald Lumber. Opie loved her wholeheartedly. She and Jax didn’t have the most conventional start of a relationship. 

“I don’t know…”

“What’s stopping you?” Donna inquires. “Kaylee is starting school. Nathan is 6. They aren’t babies. You need your own life too ya know.”

“I know.”

Donna places Ellie in a swing and shields her from the sun. Donna’s eyes narrow. “Is Jax not being supportive?” 

“He is. He is. Maybe I’m just a little bit scared.” Alma admits. 

“Alma, you need to start doing things for yourself. You take care of Jax, the kids…you need to start taking care of you.”

Alma picks at the hem of her dress. Alma thinks that is part of the problem. Her whole love has been so consumed by Jax she doesn’t know anything else. As proven earlier, her identity is seemingly tied to Jax and the club. 

“I’ll think about it. Maybe start looking for some spaces. Go to the community college and take a couple business classes.”

Donna smiles and gives her knee a squeeze. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“So unsure of yourself. Everything okay between you and Jax?”

“We’re fine,” Alma insists. 

Donna eyes her, but doesn’t press. “Nathan, say why he got into that fight?”

Alma sighs. “No. Jax said that he would talk to him.”

“He’s a boy. Stuff like this happens.” Donna soothes. 

Alma purses her lips. “It’s just Nathan would tell me everything…”

Donna gives her a knowing smile. “Nathan will always be a mommy’s boy, Al. You don’t need to worry about that.”

Alma snorts. “That is so not it.”

Donna chuckles. “Sure it’s not.”

“It’s not!” Alma protests. 

Donna shakes her head. “Hey, do you know what the guys did on the run?”

Alma’s smile dies and she thinks about the fading bruises on her husband. He still hasn’t said how he managed to acquire those. Now she’s only curious as to what happened to Opie to make Donna wonder as well. 

“No, I don’t.”

Donna frowns. “I’m worried. I know…I know some things.” Donna knows that club isn’t exactly legal. “I found a bloody bandana in Opie’s pack. His clothes reeked of smoke.”

“Would you want to know the truth, Donna?”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t recognize Opie if I did.” Donna confesses before the cries of Ellie wanting her mother’s milk interrupts. 

“Dad, can we please please please have lunch on the roof?” Nathan begs as he follows Jax into the clubhouse. 

Jax decided to bring Nathan to work with him today. There was no pressing club issue and it gave Jax time to bond with his son. Jax isn’t a great mechanic like his own father, Clay, and even Opie, but he enjoys the work. He enjoys that it gives him something to teach his own son. Something so innocent. 

With the large lunch box in his hands, he looks at his son’s blue imploring eyes. For some reason, Alma did not like the thought of her babies on the roof. He knows better than to take Kaylee. He thinks motherhood has made Alma a little anal in some respect. “You better not tell your mother.” He warns as they go to the ladder. 

Nathan knows better than to stand too close to the edge as they find the clusters of crates. They use a crate to make a makeshift table. Nathan preferred to sit on the ground while Jax sat on the blue milk crate. 

Their lunch contained two chicken salad sandwiches, Gatorade, cookies, cheese and crackers, and a small container of fruit salad. Nathan’s portions were obviously smaller than his. 

It’s quiet between father and son as they eat their lunch. Jax looks out across the lot where he can see the bustling bodies below and the expanse of Charming before them. He is brought back to his own childhood where his father would bring him up here. Jax has seen many sunsets and sunrises on this roof. It’s one of the few places he can go to escape and actually feel calm. 

It seems his son feels the same way. 

Jax turns to Nathan, who is greedily eating his food. Some of the chicken salad is smeared on his cheek. He realizes his son is losing some of the exaggerated features of childhood even at six. He can see under the baby fat that his cheeks will be of Alma’s. His straight nose will be his own to match his eyes. He knows his son will most likely inherit his tall height compared to Alma’s short stature. He watches as Nathan pushes back his wavy hairs from dangling in his eyes with a scowl. 

“You ready to get a haircut?”

Nathan shakes his head. “I want my hair to be as long as yours.”

Jax smiles as he pushes back his straight blonde locks. The tips are brushing the edges of his shoulders. The only reason his hair is this long is out of neglect. He hasn’t just had Alma cut it for him yet. 

“You might need to put in a ponytail soon.”

Nathan’s nose scrunches. “Then I will look like Kaylee.”

“Your sister is cute.”

“She’s a girl.” Nathan says knowingly. 

Jax smiles that Nathan still has his innocence when it comes to the opposite sex. Nathan moves from the floor of the roof and pushes a crate next to him. His boy mimics his movements as they munch on their cookies and overlook the small town. 

“You going to tell me what happened at school?”

Nathan frowns and he begins picking at the seams of his shorts. “A boy pushed me so I pushed him back.”

“Is that all?” Jax presses. 

“He said…”

“He said what?”

“He said that we were white trash. So I told him to shut up. Then he pushed me.” Nathan reveals. “Am I in trouble?” Nathan asks with watery eyes. 

Jax shakes his head. “No, you’re not. But next time he says something, you need to tell your teacher okay? Your mom will worry if you get into more fights.”

Nathan nods his head. 

The two play I-Spy and soon point out familiar landmarks. That leads into Jax telling his son about treasured memories of him and his father. 

“Will you lead the club with Uncle Opie?” Nathan asks after Jax regales a story about him and Opie thinking they were mechanics and took apart their father’s bike out of curiosity. 

“One day,” Jax tells his boy. He knows Nathan isn’t stupid to some of the on goings around the club. Despite Alma being raised in this life like him, it wasn’t easy. There were nights he would come home reeking of gunpowder that would lead to loud spats that were unfortunately witnessed by Nathan. The worst was when Jax had been in a rush to leave from the house and Nathan had seen him stuffing a gun in his ankle bracelet. 

Jax still remembers that fight with Alma, who was heavily pregnant by that point with Kaylee. He was surprised she didn’t induce labor with how she chewed a piece out of his ass. But they both knew it would come to a point where they could hide the truth from their boy. There would come a point where Kaylee would need to know the truth too. 

“One day soon?”

Jax shrugs. Clay wasn’t giving up the gavel soon and at this point Jax wasn’t sure he even wanted it. He knew it would pull him away from his family more than being a simple patch would. He remembers the nights his dad wouldn’t make it home due to business. How his mom would clutch a rosary that she thought was hidden beneath bracelets or gold necklaces. “Not for a little while.”

“When can I be a member of the club?”

“Not until you finish high school,” Jax replies. Unlike him, he wasn’t going to allow his son to get a GED. He knows Alma isn’t either. It will probably be the one stipulation his son will need to follow if he wants to be a patch. 

“But that’s in forever!”

“It’ll go by fast,” Jax soothes. He wraps his arm around his boy. “But I want you to be a kid forever.”

“I don’t.” Nathan pouts. “I want to be just like you, Dad.”

Every Sunday, they had dinner at Gemma’s. There was no exception, but once a month out of those Sundays, they had a Potluck. All the members of the club (including the mechanics) and their family were invited to Gemma’s. 

And this Sunday happened to be one of those. Alma had grown up looking forward to these Sundays. Even more, she remembers being doting on like a princess on these Sundays. After all, she was the only daughter of a First 9 member. She’s Chico Vellenueva’s daughter. 

Alma is working on adding cheese to the anti-pasta salad when she hears Gemma’s heels smacking the floor. 

Thankfully, she and Gemma get along. They butt heads occasionally, but she has never received the cold shoulder or passive aggressiveness that Gemma bestowed on girls Jax would bring home. She assumes she got brownie points for giving her grandchildren and managing to tame her son. 

Even then, Gemma was an aunt to her growing up. She remembers wanting to be like Gemma growing up. Poised, elegant, but deadly like a viper and sharp like thorn on a rose. 

“You hear from your mother lately?” Gemma asks. 

Her mother, Ana Rodriguez, her father’s favorite croweater, was one of the first croweaters that had managed to snag an important member. She gave them hope that sucking dick could actually lead them somewhere. Despite that, Alma is considered royalty. That royalty is what she sometimes felt made her and Jax obligated to get married when he got her pregnant.

Her mother and father were together until Alma was five before they split up. Her mom was tired of the life and wanted a man that was home and most of all faithful. Despite having Alma, her father never wanted to marry her mother. 

She knows there was a time she didn’t see her father for a few months. She was living with her grandmother when Gemma Teller had found them. She doesn’t know what Gemma said, but the next day she was back in Charming. Her mother and Gemma have been enemies ever since. She only knows that the ice had thawed a bit when her father became the first casualty of the Mayan War. 

Though the frigidness returned when Alma became pregnant, her mom advocated for an abortion. She didn’t want her tied down to Jax so young. Her mother didn’t want her to be with anyone from the club. She knows her mom is still disappointed in her decision to marry Jax. It seemed before the ink was even dry on her marriage license her mom had moved out of Charming to live a different life. She was too young to be a grandma, she said. Gemma never forgive her mother for that or for Ana turning her back on the club. 

“A few days ago. She talked to the kids. Told us about a wonderful vineyard she is at with a boyfriend. It’s very kid friendly.”

Gemma snorts. “What in the hell are kids going to do at a vineyard?”

Alma shrugs her shoulders. “Crush grapes?”

“Sometimes, I wonder about your mother. She acts like it’s a burden to come to Charming and see her grandchildren.”

“At least she calls. Sends them things. We video chat. They know her.”

Gemma purses her lips together. She knows there is more on her tongue to say, but she doesn’t waste any more breath on her mother. “Jax mentioned you were thinking about going back to work.”

Alma fights the eye roll. Her husband has very loose lips. She did not want Gemma to find out about this until things were more concrete. She only nods her head as she goes to the fridge to add the pepperoni. 

“You know I could use help in the garage.” Gemma offers. 

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Alma wants something outside of the club. Besides, she does appreciate some distance from her husband. 

Gemma places a hand on her shoulder. “I know things can be hard and sometimes a bit lonely, but you’re not alone, sweetheart. You do have a good husband and a good life, don’t forget that either.”

Friday means no kids until Sunday morning. Gemma keeps the kids on the weekends. It’s more of a break for her than Jax. Of course, depending on Jax’s schedule they would keep the kids, but more often than night, Alma looks forward to the weekends. 

After spending the day cleaning her empty house with her glass of wine, Alma strips out of her sweats and a forgotten oversized shirt of Jax’s. She makes the water hot enough that her skin will be pink and fog the shower in less than a minute. 

She begins her shower with washing her short brown hair. She had cut it short more for convenience. She was getting tired of the hair in her face as she ran after two kids. She knows Jax misses her long hair. She thinks she misses it a bit herself and thinks she might try to grow it out. Maybe even put a few blonde highlights in it. She scrunches her nose as that would mean matching Gemma. 

She sighs as her fingers massage her scalp. Maybe she will dye all of it blonde. She is rinsing off the suds when she hears the slap of metal hitting her bathroom floor. It’s seconds later when the shower door opens. 

“Can you have it any hotter in here?” Jax comments as he steps in. 

“No one asked you to be in here.” She replies as she turns around and steps under the full spray of the water to get rid of the excess water. 

Jax steps under the spray and she huffs as he steals most of the water making him laugh. “Did you see the kids?” She asks as she grabs her soap. 

“Yeah, stopped by my mom’s with Clay. They were already in their pajamas. I was practically shoved out the door for interrupting their time with Grandma.” 

Alma smiles and she pauses her cleaning as she wraps her soapy arms around her husband. “Well don’t worry I won’t kick you out…along as you behave yourself.”

“And what happens if I’m a very bad boy,” he eyes with a waggle of his eyebrow. 

“You’ll get punished.” She tells him as she bite his nipple causing him to jump. 

Alma laughs as she goes back to rubbing soap across her body. Jax moves around her to grab his own soap. The two are in a comfortable silence as they shower. Of course, Jax can’t help himself and get a few gropes here and there. But outside of shower sex being complicated, this had been a routine of theirs after the birth of Nathan and even more so after Kaylee. They found taking a shower is the only time they could talk and enjoy the company of each other without one of their kids wedged between them. 

“You wanna take a ride?” Jax asks as he begins washing his hair. Alma is surprised that Jax doesn’t want to stay home on this Friday night. 

“Every time we go on a ride, I end up pregnant.” Alma jokes. 

Jax’s eyes light up. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Alma doesn’t bother replying to his comment. “Is it cold out?” 

“Your denim jacket will do,” he tells her as she steps out of the shower.

Alma squeezes her husband tight as he roars on the open road. He knows she prefers the late rides in the night than those during the day. She loves the wind whipping her hair. She even puts her arms out and screams “she’s flying” as he speeds down the highway. 

Even before they were married or together, she had always begged Jax to take her on rides. He always obliged especially when he was looking for an escape himself. She loves being on a motorcycle. She loves the freedom of the open road. They are on the border of Charming when Jax stops at the gas station with a small store. He claims he needs more cigarettes even though he promised her that she would quit. 

She follows him a few steps behind. She rolls her eyes as he greets the cashier, Louisa. The young blonde seems to be her age, who blushes at his attention. Alma can’t even feel mad as the girl pulls down the front of her shirt to show off a modest cleavage. 

“You want anything, darling?”

Alma stuffs her hands in the pockets of her denim jacket as she follows Jax to the aisle he is standing in. By the smirk on his face, she knows it might get him punched. She finds her husband standing in front of the small display of condoms and lubricates. 

She looks at her husband with a scowl. 

“Hey, you’re the one that isn’t on birth control.” He points out as he skims the different brands and styles. 

“I keep track of my days,” she tells him as she slaps his hand as he picks up a box. “I don’t want a warming condom.”

“We never tried that one before.” He says innocently. 

“You trying to say my pussy’s cold?”

“Never.” He tells her seriously. He swipes a small pack of the ultra-thin. 

“You know, you can buy these by the case. Be a lot cheaper.” She tells him. It’s not like they use them all the time. Just when she is ovulating. She knows that she should just get on birth control especially now that there are more options than the pill. 

“Nah.” He brings an arm around her shoulder.  “A box at a time keeps me humble.” 

“You’re an idiot.” 

Jax laughs as he goes to the counter to check out. Louisa’s cheeks are still rosy from Jax’s greeting and Alma spies the white frill peeking from the V-neck of her shirt. She can admit the girl is bold to do that with her standing with Jax. 

Jax pays for his things as he follows her out the door. 

“I think the cashier has a crush on you,” Alma tells him as they reach his bike. 

“What?”

Alma stares at her husband knowingly. 

“Your boobs are bigger.” Alma scoffs at him. Jax gives her a wolfish smile as he approaches her. She’s unprepared for the slap on her ass, which he soothes as he rubs it as he pulls her into his chest. “Besides, you know I’m an ass man.”

“Sometime, I really hate you.” She mumbles against his chest. 

“No you don’t.” He tells her as his hands weave into her hair. He places a soft kiss to her lips, but she chases his lips as she leans on her tippy toes. He meets her lips again and she doesn’t feel bad if she breaks Louisa’s heart. But Jax is her husband and it is disrespectful to try and flirt with a woman’s husband when she is standing right there. 

She’s about to pull back and suggest they go home when the dark sky is lit up. It almost like fireworks are lighting the sky with the booming sky that follows. 

Jax’s body goes rigid. “Shit!”

With the explosion at the creek, the joyous mood had been disintegrated. Jax had loosened his lips enough to tell her that it was one of their warehouses. He didn’t elaborate. Yet, as he stayed most of the day at the clubhouse on Saturday to handle the blowback, according to the news and the paper most knew that the blast belonged to SAMCRO. Alma suspected it was the Mayans. 

Alma spent the day indoors as she didn’t want to deal with the looks or whispers. Jax didn’t come home late in the night and as he cradled her in his arms, he had offered an apology. 

With it being Sunday and not finding the kids at Gemma’s, she had to travel to the Charming Gardens to pick up her kids. This was no doubt a scheming move from Gemma to show the town they had nothing to hide from. 

The kids are too busy feeding the ducks to notice her presence as she finds Gemma sitting on a bench watching the scene with a smile. 

“You could’ve just dropped them off.” Alma says flatly. 

Gemma looks at her from behind her sunglasses. “You need the sun – fresh air.”

“That’s what my backyard is for.”

“Staying in the house only makes you look guilty.” Gemma accuses. 

Alma purses her lips as it isn’t about her. It’s about the kids getting the brunt of the blowback. She knows how cruel parents can be and how it trickles down to their children. She can only imagine the nasty things they are already saying. She knows deep down that the fight Nathan got it has to be from a kid repeating the words of his parents. 

“Gem –“

Alma’s words are cut off as Nathan’s screams for his sister in the park. 

There are times when Jax can fully understand why his mom is crazy overprotective. There is no greater fear or pain than that of bearing witness to your own child’s suffering. He has learned that from the time he had to witness his firstborn stumbling in taking his first small steps. 

Though that fear and hypervigilance was magnified with the birth of Kaylee. They had a child with medical needs – critical – needs. With Kaylee’s birth, he had been transported back in time to watching his mother practically live at the hospital with Thomas. 

He thought he could connect with that pain his parents were feeling – to simply share it. They all loved Thomas, but now as a father; he can truly feel that pain. It’s a pain that never goes away. Never. 

His strides are swift and determined as he walks the halls of St. Thomas. He is more than familiar with the floors of the hospital for the first six months of Kaylee’s life they became a second home. 

He finds his mom sitting in a lounge chair, Nathan clutching her as they rock together. Luann is silent as she holds vigil next to Gemma. 

Clay, Opie, Bobby, Tig, and Chibs are behind him. He is barely aware of their presence as his mom’s eyes connect with his. This pain she can’t hide from him. Her hold on Nathan becomes tighter as she nods to the door next to her. 

He debates if he should comfort Nathan. He debates if he should hold his son, but his mom seems to be enough comfort for now. He moves to the door and can see through the window Alma looking into the adjacent room as they perform surgery on Kaylee. 

He clutches the doorknob as he opens it. A blast of cool air and grief hits him. Alma’s whiskey eyes turn to him. They are wide and scared. He is transported back in time to her being only 18 years old and wondering why Kaylee wasn’t wailing when she gave birth. He remembers seeing how blue Kaylee looked and believing his baby girl had been still born before a broken cry escaped her lips before they took her away. 

He remembers it being weeks before they could hold their daughter without tubes and wires keeping her alive. 

Alma is in his arms immediately. She clings to him and he can feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He clutches her. His hand finds purchase in her brown hair. He wants to say everything will be alright, but he can’t. 

Alma pulls back a little as she looks up at him with watery eyes. “They have to run the wire through her leg, up to her heart.”

“What happened?” The only words that he was able to make out from both her and his mother were Kaylee was in the hospital. Both were crying too hard for him to really understand. 

“She was playing with Nathan when she just collapsed. I don’t know.” Alma sobs. 

It takes everything in Jax not to crumble along with her. He knows that he needs to be strong for his family. He needs to be strong for Alma. He turns his gaze to the operating room. His baby girl is in the center. Wires connected to her to monitor her heart and breathing like it did when she was a newborn. 

He can’t help but notice how small and fragile his girl looks as they work to correct her heartbeat. He presses a kiss to Alma’s head. “It's gonna be okay, darlin’.”

“Like she hasn't been through enough shit.” Alma mutters. 

Jax tugs on her hair making her look up at him. “She’s going to be okay.”

He receives a watery smile as Alma melts into him. 

In the clubhouse getting ready for this current job was the last place Jax wanted to be. He shouldn’t be here really. He should be back at St. Thomas with his family. Kaylee’s surgery was a success and she was staying at the hospital for a couple days as a precaution. 

But business still needed to be handled. He would have opted out. Bobby, Tig, or even Chibs could’ve replaced him. This was his job, a simple one that he and Opie had done many times before. He was still weary on Kyle as the man had been distracted by his marital problems. Besides, this retaliation against the Mayans needed to be done. Jax swaps his white sneakers for his black ones. He slips a gun in his ankle holster. To keep some form of anonymity, they are wearing all black and the kuttes are to be left at the clubhouse. 

He hopes tonight goes by smoothly. When he left, Kaylee was sleeping and Alma had dozed off as well. Nathan was being spoiled by his mother. Jax takes a seat on the edge of the bed in his former dorm room. He still has meager belongings in here. Extra clothes so the kids don’t smell the gunpowder. He has a drawer for Alma and the kids as well. Pictures of his youth are still stuck on the wall. 

A knock comes from the door and Opie pokes his head in. Jax nods his head that it’s safe to come in. 

“You sure you want to do this?”

“It’ll be quick.”

“Kyle and I can handle this on our own, ya know. Or Chibs and Tig can be the extra lookout.”

“It’s like you don’t want me to go.”

Opie smiles. “You should be with your family.”

“I am.” Jax tells him as he stands up. “Besides, you know I got your back.”

“Kaylee will be alright, Jax.”

Jax looks up to his best friend with shiny eyes. He feels like shit that he can’t feel that optimism. Kaylee’s heart will always be a problem. He fears his daughter might suffer the same fate as his brother. 

“No need to go to that dark space, right now.” Opie cautions. 

“I know. I know.” Jax sighs. 

“Well lets go set off some fireworks.”

It all happened so fast. They dispatched the guards quickly, set the boom, and as they enjoyed the fruits of their labor. Sirens were on them immediately. Jax doesn’t know how he lost sight of Opie, but all he knew was Kyle had bailed at the first wail of a cop approaching. Kyle had left them stranded. Worst, Opie had gotten arrested. 

It’s 3 o’clock in the morning as he walks down the halls of St. Thomas to Kaylee’s room. Clay wasn’t too happy and he had debated on calling church immediately. He knew though that there couldn’t be much they could do this late. They would have to hear from Rosen before they could help Opie. Jax was already advocating for Kyle to lose his fucking patch. 

He enters Kaylee’s hospital room to find Alma curled on the chair. There is no convincing his wife to at least sleep at home. She would be back before Kaylee would wake up bright in the morning. Jax walks over to Kaylee where she is sleeping soundly. He watches as her chest goes up and down. He memorized it. He plants a kiss on her forehead. He walks over to Alma. He wants to move her without jostling her too much. He sits beside her on the couch and begins to move her, but she jumps awake. 

“Shh, it’s just me.” He soothes. 

Alma blinks at him rapidly before her eyes dart over to Kaylee. “She’s still sleeping.” He confirms. 

Some tension leaves her shoulders and she moves a bit so he can lay his feet up. She curls on top of him and they tangle their legs together. 

“Everything go okay?” She asks sleepily. 

“We can talk in the morning.”

Alma’s eyes snap back open and she sits up. “What happened?”

His body sags in the couch. He squeezes his eyes shut before they connect with Alma. “Opie got arrested.”

Alma remembers Gemma telling her that the club goes through cycles. It will be extremely calm – downright boring – then things take off rapidly and they can’t catch a break. Alma never had one of these experiences with Jax. She has been lucky her husband has been able to keep his nose clean for the most part. When he got arrested for Gun Running, he had been lucky to only get probation and house arrest for his first official arrest that got his mug shot on the infamous wall. Sure when he was a teen, Jax spent the night in the slammer for public intoxication and public disturbance with Tara. She had been livid for Jax for even getting caught as she had just found out she was pregnant with Kaylee. 

She knows that her situation could be worse. Jax could have done years. Jax could’ve been in Otto’s position, or now Opie’s. 

Alma winces as Ellie lets out another high piercing scream. Donna is clearly frazzled about Opie’s arrest. 

“Donna, let me hold her. You need a break.”

“No, I can do this myself.” Donna insists as she rocks her infant daughter. She had been surprised Donna even let her through the door. Since Opie’s arrest two days ago, Donna had begun to pull away. There was hard evidence against Opie and they all knew he wasn’t going to walk away with a slap on the rest. 

“Don –“

“I don’t need your pity.” Donna snaps. Blue eyes pin her down. Alma isn’t used to this side of Donna. She’s not distraught about Opie being gone. She is fucking angry. Pity isn’t what she has for Donna though. It would be the last thing she would show her friend. 

“I’m just trying to help.”

A bitter laugh escapes Donna’s throat. “Help? Can you tell me exactly why my husband was in San Leandro committing arson?”

Alma purses her lips. She finds Kenny staring at them with wide eyes. She looks away from him as she can’t imagine being in Donna’s situation. She doesn’t know how she could even explain to her children why Jax couldn’t come home. 

“Donna –“

“Tell me the truth.” Donna begs. 

Alma’s nails dig into her palm. She can’t tell Donna why. There are rules to this. It was Opie’s choice not to tell Donna anything. She has to respect that. She can’t undermine a patch even if it’s her job as an old lady to support another one. Donna deserves the truth, but she knows the truth isn’t really going to bring her any peace. It would just give her more ammunition to blame the club. 

“It’s not my place,” Alma tells her. 

Donna scoffs. “I thought we were friends.”

“We are.” Alma replies. “It’s just that Opie should be the one to tell you this.”

“Why? Because I’m his old lady?” Donna seethes. 

“Because it should come from him.”

“You should go.”

Alma feels as if she has been slapped. “Don –“

“I want you to leave.”

Alma seals her mouth shut. It’s best to respect Donna’s wishes and she doesn’t want to make things worse. She grabs her purse and heads to the door when Donna relays her last parting words. 

“Tell the club I don’t need their charity.”

Alma arrives at Kaylee's hospital room to find Gemma reading a book to her granddaughter. There are smiles on both of their faces as Gemma changes her voice for each different character. After her visit to Donna, this is a very welcomed sight to see. 

Alma smiles as she walks over to the couch and sits. She listens to Gemma finish the story while Kaylee’s eyes become heavy. 

The stress and meds have Kaylee more tired than usual. Alma closes her own eyes as she lets her body sag against the couch. The past few days have taken a serious toll on her body. She might need a nap of her own. 

“Come take a walk with me.”

Alma’s eyes snap open as Gemma peers down on her. Alma doesn’t really want to leave. She doesn’t want Kaylee to wake up alone in this hospital room. Gemma also isn’t really asking though. Alma moves up from the couch and follows Gemma out to the hall. She thinks they are going to go to the chapel. Despite Gemma never stepping foot in a church since her teen years, she knows Gemma is still a preacher’s daughter at heart. Gemma still prays and looks for guidance. 

Instead Gemma takes them outside to a bench. The biker matriarch digs through her enormous leather bag and plucks a cigarette. She’s surprised it isn’t one of her medicinal cigarettes. Alma joins her at the bench silent. Gemma takes a few puffs as they watch the traffic. 

“I take it Donna isn’t too happy.” Gemma surmises as she turns to look at her through her sunglasses. 

“It’s a shitty situation.”

Gemma hums. “It could be worse.”

Alma knows Opie could be dead. She thinks Donna knows that too. Even then, Gemma has lived through worse with the club. She had lost both of her husbands to significant amounts of prison time. Alma had lost her own father to prison. 

Alma has already lost her father and Gemma lost a husband. They know that prison is tame compared to the alternative. 

“She should at least know the truth.”

Gemma flicks her cigarette. The ashes smear against the pavement. “That isn’t our place.”

Alma folds her arms around herself. “Is it bad…is it wrong that when I was there all I could think about how lucky I am that Jax didn’t get locked up.”

“No, sweetheart.” Gemma comforts. “But don’t take for granted that it could’ve been.”

Kaylee is discharged from the hospital late in the night. Jax is carrying her to her room to put her  right to bed. Nathan follows his father. Alma walks into the kitchen with Kaylee's medical information. She fills a glass of water up and drinks it in a few seconds. She fills it again and downs it again. She places the cup in the sink and opens the folder. She first reads the general summary of Kaylee’s stay along with the new updated meds. She works to memorize the side effects. 

But the paper she gives her full attention to is the medical bill. Kaylee will always have medical problems, which translate to bills. Sure, Jax makes more than most, but the money isn’t exactly clean and it is a process to make it something they can really use. Insurance only covers so much. 

Most importantly this is a single income home. Jax works. Jax makes the money. He provides financial stability. 

Jax walks back into the kitchen and stands behind her. He places his chin on her shoulder and gets a good look at what she is looking at. His arm reaches out and moves the papers. “Don’t worry about that.”

Alma turns. She looks up at her husband. She can see the stress and worry in his eyes not only from Kaylee, but the situation with Opie. They still haven’t really talked about what exactly went down. 

“I could be in Donna’s position right now.” She tells him. Unlike Donna, she has no job. She wouldn’t be able to support her children. She wouldn’t know what to do. “I mean…do you even know how long Opie’s sentence is going to be?”

Jax cups her cheek. “Don’t worry about that.”

He silences her response with a kiss. She knows he needs a distraction. She lets herself become one. 

5 years. 

Opie was sentenced to 5 years in Chino. A six hour drive away. The judge showed no mercy on the husband and father to two small children. Alma was sure that this had been a small consolation to the government as they couldn’t connect the club to any of the charges they had tried to pin to the club for years. 

But 5 years minimum, that was the plea deal. Opie wouldn’t be able to get out sooner unless there was some type of miracle. As the sentence had left the judge’s lips, she heard Clay and Jax already muttering that they needed to secure protection fast for Opie quickly. 

Alma felt stupid she didn’t think far ahead that he would even need protection. Alma’s worries had been solely focused on Donna. 

Despite Donna’s anger, the small brunette didn’t turn away from her support today. She had already seen how her parents were whispering in her ear. The words divorce seemed to be a favorite with her parents. Thankfully, Mary can't hide her disdain to herself about Opie’s choices. Mary may have been an absent – distant mother, but she was making it up through being a grandparent. 

Alma closes the door to Donna’s room. Donna had regretfully accepted a valium to calm down and had dozed off. Alma had promised her that she would stay until tomorrow with Mary to keep an eye on the kids. Ellie being a baby doesn’t understand what is going on. Worse is the little girl won’t really know her father outside of prison visits. Kenny knows what is going on, but he doesn’t understand. Alma knows that it won’t hit the little boy until the first visit in Chino. She worries though that those visits will be far and in between. Mary had let it slip Donna had already talked to her about watching the kids more so she could pick up over time. 

Alma checks on the kids, who are blissfully sleeping despite everything. She walks into the living room to find Mary folding clothes. Mary seems awfully comfortable and at home in the house. 

“She sleeping?” Mary inquires. 

“Yeah,” Alma replies as she stands unsure. She bends her fingers. The house is already clean. There’s nothing to really do. 

“Sit down. I don’t bite.” 

Alma looks at her with wide eyes, but does sit on the couch opposite from her. Even when Mary was around, Alma never was close to her like she was to Gemma or Luann. She always remembers Mary being bitter. At the time, she was too young to really understand why. 

Though now, she knows Piney’s infidelities weren’t even close to a secret. Being married to a patch now, she knows it’s not easy. She knows some might say it’s weak to walk away, but she admires those you have the strength to. Alma thinks it would be easier to stay. She had been 14 when Mary had finally got her divorce after years of estrangement.

It seemed Mary didn’t look back until the birth of Kenny 6 years ago. 

Mary’s hazel’s eyes scrutinize her. “You look like your mother.”

 “Uhh…thanks.”

“It broke her heart when you got pregnant by Jax, no less.” Mary adds. “You were only a child. He knew better.”

Alma resists the urge to roll her eyes. She already knows her mother’s feelings about the father of her children and her relationship with him. 

“Your mother and I speak from experience. Don’t dismiss our knowledge.” Mary adds. “Do you see what Donna is going through? It could’ve been you.”

“You think I don’t know that.” Alma protests. 

“Just because you have children with Jax doesn’t mean you have to be with him.” Mary elaborates. “This life is just pain and suffering. Look at Donna, Luann, your mother, and hell even Gemma.”

“You only talk about this when times are bad.” Alma refutes weakly. Everyone is ready to hurdle the greatest insults when times are regrettably bloody. Yet, there is only silence when the bank account becomes heavy. When there are riches to indulge in. 

Mary shakes her head. “I wanted Opie out of this, but he went running back to his father. This club will always come first to all of them. As a mother, do you think I wanted this for my son? Do you want this for your own son?”

Alma feels a ball forming in her throat. Of course she wants more for her son – children. But as a mother she can only do so much without stifling or hindering their child from being their own person. “All I know is that whatever choice my son makes I wouldn’t abandon him. I would be there to support him and guide him even when he is wrong.”

The clubhouse is quiet. They had already known what Opie’s sentence was going to be. He had taken a plea bargain. There wasn’t going to be any surprising developments. No judge was going to grant leniency. Opie was doomed from the moment he got arrested.  

But there is someone Jax can lay the blame on. There is someone who should be in jail right now and not his best friend. The club hadn’t decided to make any decisions yet. They wanted to be focused on Opie. Give their full attention to his best friend and how they were going to provide protection for him in prison. How they were going to support Donna for these next five years. Yet, for Jax it took everything in his power to not kill Kyle from where he stood. The vote on what to do with Kyle wasn’t going to be until Sunday night. It was only Tuesday. 

Jax takes another swing from his sweating beer bottle. He knows Alma is going to stay the night over at Donna’s and his kids are with his mom. He thinks after a few more drinks he might just make the journey over to Opie’s. He knows if the positions were reversed that Opie would be with Alma and his kids. He takes another drink of his beer and finishes it. The Prospect takes it and quickly replaces it with another one. 

Jax holds the bottle as he turns around. The depressed mood doesn’t stop a party. It’s not the loud ones they are used to entertaining. But the booze, weed, and scantily clad women still roam around the room. 

Nothing like losing a brother, thankfully to just prison, to make them appreciate their freedom and the overabundance of pussy.

Jax ignores the eyes wandering over his melancholy frame. Despite Alma’s constant presence and the signs of a happy and satisfying marriage, women still try to tempt him to stray into their bed. He thinks the only activity he might participate in is the ring. Since Happy came into town, he knows that the nomad won’t hold his punches either. The only thing he would have to worry about is Alma’s fretting and narrowed eyes as she scolds him about what in the hell he would explain to their kids about his owies. 

Maybe he should just leave. After everything with Opie and Kaylee, he needs to be with his wife and his kids. It’s not too late and he still can stop by his mom’s before heading to be with Alma. 

He swallows the rest of his beer and ignores the slight brain freeze he gets. He moves from the bar. 

“You headin’ home, Jackie Boy?’ Chibs asks as he joins him on the way to the door. 

“Yeah, I’m going to check on the kids then to Alma.”

Chibs grips his shoulders. “We’ll get through this, ya hear me.”

“I know.” Jax tells him with a small smile. He just needs to be strong for Ope’s family and for Opie. 

Chibs smiles as they exit the clubhouse. The sun is low and in 20 minutes the streetlights will kick on. His kids are probably going to get ready for a movie and popcorn. 

“Jax?”

Chibs smile falls and Jax’s body goes still. The few who lingered outside go deathly quiet as they look back and forth between Jax and the owner of the voice. 

Jax makes a fist as for the first time in weeks he has looked at Kyle. He took it upon himself to bar Kyle from meetings and the clubhouse until Opie’s sentence. But now…Jax sees red. 

One second Jax is standing next to Chibs and the next he has gripped Kyle by his short as he slams him onto the table. 

He doesn’t register the table collapsing under their weight. How the spilt beer is creating a puddle around them. 

Jax and Kyle are similar in weight and height. However, Jax is leaner while Kyle has an extra couple pounds with his bulk. They all used to work out together. Him, Kyle, and Opie spent hours in the gym together, so Jax is familiar with Kyle’s weak spots. Jax has the advantage of surprise and his fucking rage as he straddles Kyle and his hands latch onto the man’s neck and restrict his air ways.

Kyle doesn’t go for punches as he tries to pry his hands away from his neck. Jax is partially aware of the silence. 

Though he feels hands on him when he notices Kyle is turning a dangerous shade of blue. 

“Jackie Boy,” Chibs shouts as he manages to hook his arms underneath his shoulders. Chibs manages to loosen his hold and pulls him away for a few precious seconds. 

But Chibs can’t combat the fire inside of him. Jax shakes himself loose from his hold. Kyle only has time to worry about replenishing his oxygen when Jax strikes again. 

The first punch, Jax connects with Kyle’s temple. 

The second punch, Jax feels his knuckles take the brunt of hitting him in the Jax. 

The third punch busts Kyle’s nose. 

The fourth punch has blood coating Kyle’s left eye like mascara and eyeshadow. 

The fifth punch, Kyle accepts defeat. 

The sixth punch, Kyle spits out blood as Chibs and Tig manage to pull Jax off him.  

“It’s done!” Chibs shouts in his face. 

Jax resists the urge to spit on Kyle’s prone form as he walks away to his bike. 

The first month seems to be the easiest Alma thinks. The wound is too fresh to really notice what Opie’s absence feels like. Alma never really realized how much Opie was so integrated into her life. She forgot how much Opie would stop by to visit with or without Donna and the kids. Even though he had kids of his own, he played the role of doting Uncle to a T. Better yet, he was someone she could lean on when Jax would get on her nerves. 

There were no more Sundays of him and Jax rotating spending the day together in one of their garages restoring a bike to sell or keep for their own sons. It’s hard to let go of him being a phone call away. The reassurance of him there is something he can’t rely on. 

It’s the second month that Alma realizes she needs to find a way to fill the hole of his absence. 

She doesn’t ask what happened to Kyle. She figured it out when Jax came home with bloody hands. April, Kyle’s wife of 3 years, divorced him under the guise of infidelity, but staying in Charming with the kids. She wasn’t blind to his missing picture on their mugshot wall of fame. 

She tries to help Donna as much as she can or the woman will allow, but she can only try so much before she becomes angry herself. She doesn’t know how to explain to Donna that Opie’s patch has nothing to do with the help she is offering. Her wanting to help Donna has nothing to do with her obligations of being an Old Lady. She finds it best for now to let Donna simmer. She hopes maybe the fire will turn to ash at some point. Alma will still be there no matter what. 

Besides, she has Jax to focus on too. She thinks he is handling it better than she anticipated, or the fact as a patch is a consequence of the life they chose. He still has his days where he will ride by himself in the glowing twilight, or in the hazy dawn of the morning. 

By somehow the days glide by and it is a sticky summer day for the annual “Fun Town” festival. On top of that, her mother is in town. Her mother’s visits are not really welcomed by anyone outside of her kids. They are still young enough to not really notice the tension she brings to Jax and Gemma. 

“Is Donna coming to Fun Town?” Ann asks her. Jax had taken Nathan to get his haircut before heading to the festival. Kaylee decided to tag along so she wouldn’t feel left out. 

“No, most weekends she heads to her parents.”

“Such a shame,” Ann adds with a sigh. “Just to think that could’ve been you.”

Alma doesn’t reply. She begins switching her purse to a smaller one, but big enough to carry emergency items that are needed for small children. 

“I can say that I didn’t think this would’ve lasted as long as it did, or maybe you are better with the out of sight out of mind.”

Alma’s spine stiffens. She knows her mom is talking about the run policy. Technically, Jax could do whatever he wanted. The boys would see no wrong as long as he isn’t on their home turf. She had no cause to complain or cause strife. 

She also isn’t blind to her husband’s look or life choices before he knocked her up. Since he hit puberty Jax always had a different girl on his arm. Even when Tara had been his first serious girlfriend it didn’t stop his wandering eyes. She can recall the many times he had use that insecurity to ruffle Tara’s feathers on one of their numerous breaks. 

Worse, she wasn’t even anything to Jax when they slept together that one time that got her pregnant. When she really thinks about it, Jax's sudden desire to sleep with her had to be him simply marking his territory. She had been dating Josh Collins. Her first real boyfriend, one she suspected she loved. He had been pressuring her a bit to take that final plunge. She was rightfully nervous. Being raised in the club, a reputation had been bestowed on her. 

They had a terrible fight at a party. She had called Jax with tears running down her face. Of course, Jax and Josh got into a fight that only happened when Josh had accused her of already sleeping with Jax. 

Jax had taken her home. He offered to stay. Her mom was gone for the weekend. Jax claimed he didn’t want to be at the clubhouse. He had been more subdue, or sad really. Tara had finally decided she was going to college far away from Charming. 

It was natural to find comfort in Jax’s arms as she told him everything. How she was going to sleep with Josh for the very first time. Jax was sort of her best friend like Opie. They were her protectors. Her everything at that point. 

But when Jax kissed her, he simply became more. 

When it was over she felt guilty and embarrassed. She told Jax that it could never happen again. After all, technically he was with Tara still. She could never be that girl. She was only barely 16 and him being on the cusp of 18, he has a newbie patch. What she would want wouldn’t fit in what he could give her. 

She pushed him away. Her and Josh broke up especially after she learned that Amanda Green had tended to his wounds. 

Four months later, she was staring at jeans that couldn’t fit any more and denial burning her throat as she released her guilt in porcelain. 

And sure there were bumps in the road with her relationship with Jax. She was young. She still is. 

She remembers the many arguments her parents had over the other women. It wasn’t until after the birth of Nathan when she came back from her six week checkup that she set the terms with Jax. She couldn’t share him. Just because they had a son didn’t mean they needed to be together. She didn’t care about him having to soothe the scandal of him messing with a first 9’s daughter. The only daughter that was a “legacy”. 

For six years she has trusted Jax, she isn’t going to let her mind unravel that now. She and Jax aren’t her parents. She’s not her mother. 

“Mom, can we please not do this? Can you at least try to be civil to Jax?” Alma implores. 

“How can I be civil towards him? He took advantage of you. You were 16! He knew better!”

“Mom, I could’ve said no, but I didn’t.” Alma says tired of this argument. She feels her mom brings up the same facts every time. “Besides, there is nothing in the world that would make me take back Nathan and Kaylee.”

The mention of Nathan and Kaylee cracks her mom’s righteous façade a little. “I love my grandbabies, I do, Al, but can’t you see things from my perspective? It hurts me to know you’re stuck here in this town. I worry that one day I might get a phone call about Jax going to jail or being killed.” Her mom’s breath catches in her throat. She wishes her mom could simply just ask her about the weather or hell what laundry detergent she uses. She doesn’t really want to dismiss her mother’s words. She was an old lady and it obviously changed her. 

The front door opens and Nathan and Kaylee look like blurs as they run into the kitchen. Alma holds them tight as she presses kisses to their heads. Her mother watches with a sad smile. 

Thankfully her mom doesn't spend her time in Charming at one of the fancy hotel franchises the Hale’s own. The Ramada is too low class for her. 

Alma is fresh from the shower and has just wrapped her hair in a microfiber towel when Jax approaches from behind. 

He holds her close and sways a bit. She closes her eyes as she leans back and enjoys this simple moment. She runs her fingers over the tattoo memorial of his father and of their son’s name. 

“I think today went well all things considered.” She opens her eyes to find Jax nods his head. She knows that he doesn’t really agree. She turns around and folds her fingers behind his neck. “What?”

His hands find her hips as he nudges her back into the countertop and as if she weighs nothing, he places her on top. He begins to rub circles into her thighs. “You know I don’t like your mother.”

“And…”

Jax’s blue eyes burn into her whiskey ones. “I just feel like she only criticizes you. She always has something to complain about.”

“If she didn’t she wouldn’t be my mother.”

“Al…” Her husband whines. 

“Jax…” She mocks. 

“I’m being serious.” Jax replies as he makes his home between her thighs. She splits her legs to accommodate him as the fabric of her black short cotton robe bunches at her thighs. 

“I don’t know what to say Jax.” After all, her mother saves her grievances just for her. Ann knows better than to badmouth Jax in front of the kids. Her hands find purchase in his blonde hair. She presses a kiss to his check and nose. She manages to get a smile before she meets his lips. He is at first reluctant, but as she presses her body into his and her legs lock around him, he sighs against her lips. She immediately deepens the kiss as her tongue demands entrance into his mouth. 

Jax groans and she smiles as he melts into her kiss. “I love you,” she whispers against his lips. 

She loves him no matter what her mother says. She loves him as the father of her children. She loves him as her husband. She loves him as the man that doesn’t complain when she needs him to paint her toenails because she is too lazy to do it. She loves him not despite his flaws but because of them. 

Jax throws an extra pair of his jeans in his bag as he watches Alma pout from the bed. The run was impromptu as ATF had made a temporary home in Charming. It had Hale’s stink all over it. Hale seemed to have a little heart as he at least waited for the dust to settle on Opie’s arrest before making his move. It seemed despite the four months since the warehouse explosion it was enough evidence for the ATF to grapple onto. 

Now they need to find somewhere to store their guns after the vomit inducing storage crate they were forced to do after an impromptu search. Now they were heading into Nevada to visit Uncle Jury. Usually Alma doesn’t linger or pout this much, but with her mother’s recent visit she seems to plant non-existent troubles that he needs to weed through. 

He zips his bag and he plants both hands on the side of Alma’s face. She frowns and he laughs as her nose scrunches up. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Why do you have to go?” Alma presses. 

“Because Uncle Jury likes me better.”

“Or he likes your money.”

Jax’s lips tug up. “Maybe.”

Alma punches him in the stomach and Jax manages to pull her tight against him. “I’m just…it’s…Nevada is Mayan territory, Jax.”

Jax feels guilty that he immediately thought Alma was worried about the brothel Uncle Jury called him that would be open to Jax. Alma never has hassled him on croweaters and the run policy since their one and only conversation after Nathan was born. She trusted him and he wasn’t stupid. He was more than satisfied with what he had at home. 

“I’ll be careful.” He promises. “It’s just me and Bobby. Low profile.”

“You can’t be low profile with that kutte and bike, Jackson.” Alma remarks bitterly. 

“Hey…” Jax says as he looks into her dark eyes. Alma may be moody sometimes before runs, but she usually isn’t like this. He knows she isn’t on her period as despite 6 years of marriage she isn’t comfortable with period sex. So it’s always at least a week each month they go without sex. “Something else bothering you?”

Alma pulls back from him and she falls back onto the bed. She spreads out and sighs. “Sorry.”

Jax eyes his wife’s form. She covers her eyes with her forearm, but she doesn’t elaborate. He peeks at the skin that has been exposed from her sudden movements. He smiles as he bends down and blows a raspberry against her stomach. 

Alma jerks and he immediately locks her down and begins blowing more. “Jax, stop!” Alma yelps between laughter. 

It isn’t long before their kids become curious as they jump on the bed. He is easily outnumbered as they work to save their mom. It isn’t long before small hands pull him down to the bed. He lies on the bed, his cheeks hurt from the laugher and smiles. As he looks at his family, their eyes sparkling, he wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. 

With Jax gone, Alma is left alone with the kids. Being a weekday, both of them have school. It leaves Alma with plenty of time for herself. Despite many offers to watch Ellie for Donna free of charge, Donna only takes advantage on Thursday and Friday. Being Monday, Alma finds herself with nothing to do. She feels guilty for abandoning her job search, but with everything happening to Opie it seemed that would have been the last thing anyone needed. With a clean house and no kids, Alma finds herself driving the familiar route to the clubhouse. 

It’s weird to think that this structure out of brick and wood has such a significant importance to her life. 

Maybe Gemma needs help, or wants to go to lunch. 

She pulls into a parking spot. The lot is busy and loud from the machines. She waves to the workers. Tig whistles at her. She flips him off. She finds Gemma in the office with a stack of paperwork. Her reading glasses on the bridge of her nose. 

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Alma smiles as she sits on the couch. “Hey.”

“Bored?” Gemma questions. 

Alma shrugs her shoulders. 

Gemma chuckles. She pulls the glasses off her face. “Missing Jax?” She surmises and looks at the clock. “He isn’t around for you to give him his afternoon snack.”

Alma wrinkles her nose. “Gross. I came to see if you wanted lunch or help.”

“I could always use an extra pair of hands, or the company.” Gemma replies. “But today isn’t all that bad, but thanks for the offer. We can leave for lunch though in about 30.”

“Anytime,” Alma replies. “So have you met this ATF agent?”

Gemma shakes her head. “No, but I imagine she is going to start sniffing pretty soon. You and I will be the next target.”

“Lovely,” Alma drawls. 

“I’m more worried about Donna.”

“Why?”

“You see how much she misses Opie. Probably would do anything to get him back.”

Alma doesn’t know whether to be offended for her friend or not. She knows that Donna would never do that. No matter the desperation, anger, or sorrow. “She wouldn’t…”

“This Agent is going to push and pull at her. The smallest of things could take these boys down. Opie was so worried about keeping her in this bullet it might backfire. It will backfire.”

“We shouldn’t…we shouldn’t write her off and think about her like that. If she wanted to do that…she would’ve when the charges were first coming down hard.” Alma says in defense of her friend. 

Gemma doesn’t say anything. Alma knows Gemma is cynical of most things. 

“You could try to be…nicer.” Alma hedges. 

“Nice?”

“You know what I mean.” 

“Hmm, maybe she shouldn’t stick her nose up then. She knew who Opie was. Knew where his loyalties lie.”

“Yeah, but she wasn’t born in this Gemma. You can’t deny that the first time John got locked up that he was angry and hurt.”

Gemma softens at the mention of John. Though the look is immediately washed away by her standard hardened exterior.  “Still you don’t turn your back on family.”  Gemma doesn’t add like Mary did and Ann did. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if Precious, Bobby’s ex-wife was on that list as well. 

“Just give her time.”

“That’s like watering a dead flower,” Gemma answers before answering the garage’s business line.

Jax feels guilty that it took six months before he could visit his friend in Chino. One, he didn’t want to take away any visits from Donna. He would have gone on more trips if she was refusing to allow them to follow her. She would make the trip early in the morning to make it there by 11 am. She spent the whole duration of Opie’s visiting hours for the trip she would only take once a month. Her only day off during her workweek was Sunday as she was working overtime on Saturdays. He wasn’t sure how Donna was doing it. 

But Jax kept up with his friend through phone calls and letters. After making sure Donna didn’t mind if he had this Sunday, he booked the visit after the long wait of his paperwork to be approved. He knows he plans on making a visit with his kids and Alma. He just knows that the judge had been particularly petty to sentence Opie six hours away. 

Despite Rosen’s pleas, Opie has been denied transfer to Stockton. Rosen advised it would be smart to exhaust, but wait a year into his sentence to show he is a model inmate. 

Jax enters the cold and stale visiting room. He scans the lot and finds his friend already sitting. A wide smile is on his face. Jax rushes over and immediately braces his friend tightly. He is taken back by the weight his friend has already lost, but he embraces his friend tightly. 

“I miss ya, bro.” Jax tells him. 

“Me too. Thanks for the pictures of the kids and Alma. Feels more like home.” 

They both take a seat in the hard chairs. “You need anything? Money?”

“Your mom already has me covered,” Opie says with a chuckle. Jax can only imagine the smoke Opie is accumulating from poker games, or better yet the small commissary he is probably building. 

“How’s art class?” Jax asks cryptically. It was their code for the Nords. It was a hard bargain brokering the deal with the wannabe Nazi’s as it came to a hard line that they wouldn’t mess with the Nords as long as they didn’t sell in Charming. 

“It’s been easy. Been working on the landscape.” Opie is working on feeling them out. “The fence needs some work, but I’m happy I don’t need to paint a tool shed.” Opie hasn’t been asked to do anything to compromise his sentence. He is just the appearance of muscle. 

“Let me know if you need anything.” 

“Actually, I might need you to talk to Rosen for me.” 

Jax’s brows furrow. “For what?”

Opie scratches his black beanie. “Donna’s not happy. I don’t want to keep her tied down.”

Jax feels his mouth go dry. “Wait…you’re thinking about a divorce?”

“5 years is a long time.”

“So?”

Opie buries his face in his hands. “Can we ignore who we are for a second and look at the reality. I’m stuck here for five years minimum, that is if I can get on parole. It’s not right for me to expect her to wait.”

“Ope, people have gone through longer sentences. Christ, it’s not like you’re in here for murder or some shit.”

“But we’re not other people.” Opie replies. “I can already see the toll this is taking on her. This isn’t even about me and my feelings. This is about Donna.”

“Donna just wants you to keep your head down and come home.” Jax interjects. 

“Did she actually say that?” Opie implores. 

A heavy feeling settles in Jax’s guys as he imagines the type of stilted visits Opie has been enjoying for the past six months. “Ope…she’s just adjusting…”

Opie snorts. “I don’t want her to become bitter and angry because of me. I don’t want her to stay when she is unhappy. What happens when I come home?” Opie looks up at him with wide hazel eyes. “Whatever…trust…we had is broken. She’ll always been suspicious. I’ll turn her into someone she’s not.”

“Christ, Ope, it’s only been six months. See where you are a year from now. If Al –“

“Don’t tell, Alma, please just keep this between us.” Opie begs. 

Jax would’ve laughed if his best friend wasn’t deadly serious. “I won’t, I promise.”

“I can already hear her screaming in my head. She would probably scalp me over the phone.” Opie jokes. 

Jax chuckles. “Yeah and she would take it out on me.”

“Thank her for me. I know she is probably the only person in Donna’s corner.”

“You just can’t think negative bro. Sure Donna’s pissed, but dwelling on this isn’t going to help you through this. If Donna was really pissed she wouldn’t be making these 6 hour trips. You need to hold on to what’s good. Not let it go.”

The “Taste of Charming” festival is Gemma’s annual PR campaign. Charming has a love hate relationship with the club. They are willing to turn a blind eye to all the shit until it gets bloody. Charming doesn’t complain that it keeps the franchises out of the town. It kept everything local and contained. 

Like they weren’t complaining about this year’s good will campaign was going to benefit the school’s music program. 

Alma did her part and helped with the flyers, setting up, and she even let her kids used their wide innocent eyes to sell tickets for the many raffles. 

However, her main focus is looking after Donna. It took her forever to even agree to come to the annual fundraisers. She knows Donna has slowly become more reclusive since Opie’s prison sentence began. She wants to tell Donna that hiding is only going to make things worse. 

The only good thing is the kids are having fun. 

Donna is watching the kids play with water guns when Alma joins her with a funnel cake and pop. Donna gives her a small smile as she accepts the food. 

They eat in silence. It’s how it is between them now. Neither of them knows how to fill the silence if it doesn’t revolve around the kids. She hates how things are turning out between them. 

“Thanks for coming out Donna.” Alma settles on. 

The brunette prison widow nods her head. “There’s no point in hiding away.”

“Don –“

“It’s alright. I know how I’ve been. But thank you for being here even with the things I’ve said.”

“I know that you do the same for me.” Alma soothes as she reaches out and grabs her hand. 

“But I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Donna begins. “I’ve seen April Hobart around…what happened to Kyle?”

Alma freezes. “He left.”

Donna scrunches her brows. “Left?” 

“Yeah. He’s not a member and him and April got a divorced.”

“He just left though?” Donna repeats. “You can do that?”

As Donna’s wide and hopeful eyes look up at her, Alma knows her friend has hope – dangerous false hope. She needs to find a way out of this conversation. Alma goes to open her mouth to explain it is much more complicated than just leaving. 

She jumps as hands enclose around her waist and she finds a kiss being planted on her head. Sandalwood, gasoline, leather, and smoke flood her senses. 

“Kids know their way around a gun,” Jax jokes, but Donna does not find it funny as her face falls. 

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Donna mumbles as she makes a quick exit. 

Alma turns to her husband and glares at him. “Really, Jax?”

He gives her a blank stare as he straddles the picnic bench and caging her slightly between his thighs. He steals some pieces of her funnel cake. “I saw her staring at April. I could tell where the conversation was going.”

“Don’t you think she should know everything?” She didn’t see the benefit of keeping Donna in the dark. She deserved to know the whole truth. 

“What would the truth do? Doesn’t change that Opie still is going to rot in jail for the next five years.” Jax remarks bitterly. 

“I would want the truth.” Alma interjects. 

“You already have it.”

“But if I didn’t. It’s almost like you’re…” Alma stops herself before she can really say what’s on her mind. 

“We’re what?”

Alma backs down. “Nothing. It doesn’t change anything anyways.”

Jax’s blue eyes soften and he pulls her into his arms. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

But it doesn’t stop her from thinking that it could’ve been him too. 

Jax is grateful that his one meet for the day was with Piney’s old jarhead buddy. He had a bad feeling about the son. When it comes to selling guns, but Jax had made a hard peace with the fact the bullets of the guns aren’t doling out harmless water. 

He didn’t want to think about the moral ramification of his outlaw ways. The kids would still be at school and it left him with a few hours of alone time with his wife. A lecherous smile comes across his face as he thinks about the naughty things he has planned, but stops at the couple of unfamiliar cars parked in his driveway. 

He enters the house and he is immediately hit with the scent of nail polish, acetone, and his ears already ring from the high pitched squeals, which he supposes is categorized as laughter. 

He walks through to the dining room near the open windows where Alma usually has her mini nail salon set up. 

It’s been awhile since Alma had people over to do nails. In fact, she hasn’t mentioned how her job search was going, or if she even was still looking for a job. 

He doesn’t feel like dealing with curious eyes. They are both aware of the fact most of the people that went to Alma for her nails were just curious about the state of her marriage to Jax. 

Jax walks into the kitchen and goes into the fridge where the laughter seems to stop at his arrival. He turns and leans against the counter and is relieved to find that Alma is in the process of cleaning up as the woman’s hand is under some fancy drying contraption. 

Eying the beach blonde stringy hair and the orange tan, he recognizes the girl as Alicia Rogan, who is drying her nails and the companion is Diane Lawrence. Both girls were on the cheerleading team in high school. Alicia had tried to give him a blow job on one of his numerous breaks with Tara in high school. She does possess a decent rack and he had heard stories about her certain skill set from rumors in school. Though he also heard about her having some problems he wasn’t looking to contract. 

Diana had always turned her nose up at him. 

“Well, I’ll let you two be. I can only imagine how exhausting two kids can be.” Alicia says sweetly as she passes Alma some money. “I’ll see you in two weeks. It was nice seeing you, Jax.”

Jax gives them both a tight smile as they find their own way out of the house. Jax takes a swing of his beer as he watches Alma clean up. She is wearing short jean shorts, a white wife beater, along with one of his flannels. Her brown hair is up in a very sloppy bun. 

“So should I expect more strangers in the house?”

Alma rolls her eyes. “They honestly just showed up. Must be bored with their crop of gossip.”

“So we are just so entertaining?”

“You’re something to look at.” Alma retorts as she enters the kitchen and then washes her hands. 

“Well this merchandise is off the market.”

“Lucky me, huh?”

Jax smiles. “So how is the job search going?”

“I think there have been more pressing matters to deal with.” 

“Maybe, but you’re already doing so much, I don’t want you to forget about yourself, babe.” Jax explains as he comes up behind her. 

“Its just…Donna needs my help. And maybe right now isn’t the right time.”

“If you say so.”

Alma turns around and her fingers trail over his kutte. “So are you done for the day?”

“Just me and you, babe.” Jax informs her as he grips the back of her thighs and throws her over his shoulder as he races to their bedroom. 

The kids had an in-service day. Jax was working at the garage. The kids were outside running in the backyard. Jax had recently bought them a trampoline and as it was new they were spending every second outside jumping on it. 

Alma is inside making them a simple lunch of a sandwich, chips, and apples and peanut butter. She has just grabbed the some juice boxes when a knock comes from the door. Opening it she finds a tall scrawny blonde in a pantsuit and blonde hair staring at her with an amused smile. 

“Can I help you?” Alma greets. She has a feeling she knows who this woman is. 

“Mrs. Teller, I’m Agent Stahl, A.T.F.” The woman shows her badge. “May I come in?”

“You got a warrant?”

Stahl raises an eyebrow. “I just have a few questions. I’m not here for anything more.”

Alma clenches her jaw, but opens the door wider. She leads the agent to the small kitchen table. “Wait, here.” She orders. 

Alma goes to the sliding door and calls for her kids that its time for lunch. She directs them to the living room and allows them to eat while watching TV, something she doesn’t normally do. It’s enough to distract them though that they don’t pay attention to the fed lingering in the kitchen. 

“Cute kids.” Stahl comments. “I think your son thinks like your father.”

Alma scowls. “You said you had some questions.”

“Do you know any illegal activity that your husband, Jax Teller, or the Sons of Anarchy are involved in?”

“No.”

“What about your husband’s whereabouts yesterday morning?”

“He was here, at the garage, and came back. There were no kids home so it was just us.”

“Well that was easy.” Stahl says as she hikes her purse up her shoulder. 

“What are you even looking for?”

“You know I seen your friend Donna. I can tell Opie Winston’s prison sentence is taking a very hard toll. You have two beautiful children, you’re young. I hope your children don’t know what it's like to lose a father from prison or a bullet. I know you know how that feels.“

“I think you should go. I already answered your questions.”

“Right. I imagine we’ll be seeing each other again.”

Alma follows Stahl all the way to do the door. She waits until the woman’s government issued car is down the block before she goes to her computer and loads up the Charming Gazette. The top story of the day is of a prison van escort being ambushed by men with guns. A cop was killed in the attack. 

Jax stubs his cigarette in the ashtray as he sits next to Clay in the Pub. It’s the local Irish spot where they meet their contact from the IRA. Jax thinks it’s a little on the nose, but it’s only a meet. They don’t exchange anything outside of words and some cash. There isn’t anything to connect what the money could be exchanged for. 

“You alright, son?”

Jax’s  blue eyes flicker over to Clay’s. “He’s late.” 

Clay nods his head. Jax can see the tension in his stepfather’s shoulders. It seems hit after hit keeps coming from the warehouse explosion, Opie’s prison sentence, and the prison transport van being attacked. Thankfully, there was nothing to connect them to being the providers of the gun. It was only hearsay that had the Feds flashing their badges all over town. He was peeved to find out that Stahl had the nerve to go to his home when the kids were there. He knows that was a calculated move. 

Still, the high profile of the case had made it hard for them to sell the remaining guns. Despite Piney’s vocal protests because of military bonds they had no choice but to get rid of the right wing militia. 

Clay’s eyes flicker to the door where Tig is at the bar keeping watch. Tig seems uneasy too. The door swings open and a blading skinny man walks through. The bartender nods at him and motions towards him and Clay. 

Jax sits up straighter as the man comes to their table. Tig immediately stops him. The bartender intervenes, seemingly vouching for the man. Tig eyes them skeptically. He makes the man wait as Tig comes over. 

“Cameron Hayes, Michael’s cousin. With the cause. Doesn’t come stateside much.” Tig informs them. 

Clay nods and Cam Hayes walks over. “Where’s McKeevy?” Clay asks before the man can even take a seat. 

“He's dead.” 

“Jesus.” Jax says. He wonders how come they haven’t heard anything on it. Though maybe this news is something that needs to come in person. 

“How?” Clay ponders. 

Cam Hayes eyes narrow. “The Oakland park commissioner threatened to bust open... a shipment we got coming in on Monday. Wants to triple his payoff money. Hefner. Greedy prick.” The man snarls. “Been riding roughshod over the ports for years. Michael was pissed. Went off on him for changing the deal. Must have spooked Hefner. He had his port goons jump Michael. They beat him, broke his neck. Left him for dead.”

 “Sorry. That's awful shit, man. Condolences.” Jax replies. 

“Thank you.” Cam says gratefully. 

Clay tilts his head. “Anything we can do to help with this?”

“No. No, it's personal.” Cam answers. “I'll handle Mr. Hefner.” Cam sits up straighter. He turns serious as he begins to discuss their business. “Michael spoke very highly of SAMCRO. Trusted you. Hope to be able to continue the relationship. That's why I'm here. I'll be your new contact.”

Clay grimaces. “I mean no disrespect. I'm sure everything you're saying is the truth-“

Cam nods his head understanding. “No, no. Wish we had a secret handshake or business card.” He digs in his pocket and pulls out a photo. It shows Cam along with Mckeevy and other people wielding guns. Jax spots Jimmy O and Keith McGee, the Belfast president. It seems to be enough for Clay. 

Tig picks up the black bag from the floor. “That's the package there that we were delivering to McKeevy.  Two months, and a month insurance, 200 K." 

“Mind if I take a quick count?”

“I got all night, brother.”

“Thank you.” Cam says as he moves to another table. 

 “Shit,” Clay mutters. 

“You think that is why ATF came down too. Hoping to catch Hayes?” Jax wonders. 

“Could be. We’re going to have to be really careful.”

Jax fights the urge to snort. They always have to be careful. 

Cam comes back to their table with the duffle bag. “ Lovely. This will float the cause, keep SAMCRO and us in business. Glad we could work it out, Clay.”

“Me too, Cameron.” Clay exclaims as they shake hands. “How is, uh, the cause going?”

“Like any good war- slow and steady.” The Irishman tells them. 

Clay grabs the untouched shot on the table and they all do the same. “Michael McKeevy. Good soldier, good friend. To a unified Ireland.” 

They are unprepared as the glass around them explodes. 

Jax sits in the chapel as they grimly go over last night's attack. Luckily no one was killed, but Cameron Hayes had walked away with a bullet to the ass. Someone Chibs was able to remove the slug and stick the man up, but Cameron wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. There was also the fact; Cameron had been mumbling about handling Hefner and the club had agreed to do it. Their payment would be refunded if they could. 

Still with Mayans deciding to do such a violent attack only meant they had to go to war. It was going to be Bloody ’92 all over again. 

Clay is about to dismiss church after all agrees to summing all the Presidents and Vice Presidents to Charming. 

“Before we go, I need to say something.” Piney says gruffly. “If we are going into a war, we need someone better at our President’s side. Let’s face it, I’m getting old and this oxygen tank is slowing me down. I’m stepping down as VP and I’m nominating Jax to take my place.”

Jax is still in a slight stupor from Piney’s announcement. There is a smile on his face, but this is a big change. He walks into his former dorm room. His kids are tucked under the covers sleeping. With the Mayans attacking it meant all of them were in lockdown. He begins to remove his shoes, kutte, and jewelry when the bathroom door opens. Alma is highlighted by the bathroom light in his oversized SAMCRO shirt. 

“Hey.” Alma whispers. 

“Hey back,” Jax replies. He watches as Alma lingers by the door. “Everything okay?”

“You first.”

Jax steps out of his jeans and walks to his wife. He brings her into a hug. “For now. Tomorrow we’ll really know. It’s going to be busy with all the number ones and twos coming. But Piney nominated me to be Vice President.”

Alma reels back. “What?”

“Yeah,” Jax says with a dopey smile. 

Alma wraps her arms around his neck and attacks him with kisses all over his face. “I’m so happy for you Jax.”

“Thanks, babe. So you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

Alma purses her lips and she tugs him into the bathroom. She points at the small stick resting on the counter. 

“I’m pregnant.”

#soa #soa fanfiction #sons of anarchy fanfiction #jax teller x oc #jax teller #sons of anarchy