221Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
ie. Other than my OCs, don't own diddily-squat :)
Hey there! Welcome to my SoA story. Its a Jax/Tara and Opie/OC AU fic. It takes place primarily in Season 4, but there are references to different takes on prior SoA events.
I hope you all enjoy. Feedback is more than welcomed. I'd love to know what you think and answer any questions you might have.
Standing under the awning of the clubhouse, with Thomas dozing on her chest and Abel nearby coloring, Tara had never been so nervous.
It had been a long fourteen months – working full time while raising two little boys by herself and traveling every weekend to Stockton to visit Jax. She wouldn't dream of keeping the boys away from their father, but that didn't change the fact that it had taken a toll on her. Truth of the matter was, the past three years had taken a toll on Tara and Jax imprisonment had only ignited what had been building inside of her for some time now.
It started when she found out she was pregnant. She was going to be a mother, but she quickly realized, as she watched Abel sleep that night, she already was. Since the moment she held his tiny heart in her hands and put it back together, he had captured hers. For those weeks he was in the NICU, it was so hard for her to keep a professional distance while growing more and more attached to the little boy.
When she and Jax finally figured out what they were doing with their relationship, Abel wasn't his extra baggage, but a bonus. He became a treasured priority in her life so quickly, caring for him was second nature.
It wasn't until later that she understood the magnitude of what she felt for Abel and it came to her in the worse way possible – when he was kidnapped.
She had never felt so helpless in those moments knowing if she tried to fight Cameron, she'd be dead, her unborn child would be dead and he still would've taken Abel. Those weeks after were even worse; trying to be there for Jax who was clearly pushing her away while trying to keep herself from falling apart. She felt completely alone in her grief especially when everyone around her seemed to have dismissed the fact that she thought of Abel as her own and treated her as if she was to blame. Feeling lost and alone, she jumped at any chance to help find him and try to fit in with the only family she ever had. In the end all she got was more blood on her hands, a broken heart and center in a hostage crisis.
In the hospital after being saved from Salazar and finding out that both Abel and the baby were okay, Tara had a revelation. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't be like Jax or Gemma and sacrifice her life and sanity for the club. She had two children that she needed to live for. She refused to put them second to anything, especially not to prove her loyalty or deal with any more heartache from Jax.
She had enough and started making plans in preparation for this day. And if necessary, she was more than ready to fight.
"You okay?" A brunette woman asked as she walked up next to Tara, breaking her out of her musing.
"Are you okay? We're kind of in the same boat."
"True, but my husband is not my reason for being here. Just like I told his little porn star fiancée over there." She said nodding towards Lyla who was standing with some of the other wannabes. "I'm here for my father. I figure it's the least I could do."
"You sound so enthused."
She shrugged. "It takes a lot to love or even like Alexander Trager."
Devon Winston, nee Trager, was Tig's only child and Opie's estranged wife. Today was her first day back in Charming, California since she left two years ago. Her departure was sudden and without any goodbyes, but considering what caused her to flee, she hardly felt guilty about leaving. She doubted the club felt the same, abandoning your family was not cool. She wasn't very hopeful for a warm reception.
"He's going to be happy to see you. Everyone is." Tara assured her, giving her a quick squeeze around her shoulders.
"Piney didn't roar at me too loudly." She reminded herself. After lecturing her and getting an apology, Piney opened his arms to her. He gave her one of his big bear hugs, saying "I missed you little girl". It was reassuring to know that her father-in-law, who she had always been close to, didn't hate her. "And Gemma actually gave me a hug, that's a good sign."
"Yeah, but I think Gemma's too suspicious of me to worry about anyone else." Tara said, eying the biker queen on the other side of the lot.
"She would have said something by now if she knew."
Tara nodded. Thankfully Gemma was clueless to what was really going on with her and her son, but the woman had the senses of a bloodhound. She could tell that something was off.
"Maybe things will go better than you think."
Tara shrugged, though she knew today wouldn't end with happily ever after.
Suddenly they could hear the roar of motorcycles approaching.
"Here we go." Devon said, watching the bikes pull into the lot.
Everyone was cheering and clapping, and as the guys came to a stop, the crowd moved forward to welcome them home.
When Jax pulled up, he stopped right in front of Tara. He had a big smile on his face as he took off his helmet and sunglasses, and dismount from his bike. Tara was smiling just as brightly and so caught up in the moment, seeing him free again, she relished in the deep kiss he enveloped her in.
"Hey." He said once their lips separated.
"Welcome home."
"I missed you."
"You've been missed by us all." She looked down pointedly at their sleeping son and he gently cupped Thomas' head, kissing his temple. Tara turned slightly in search of their oldest. "Abel." She saw him popped up from the other side of the picnic table where he'd been coloring with some sidewalk chalk. "Daddy's home. Come say hi."
With a big grin on his face, Abel raced over to his parents and finally releasing Tara, Jax scooped him up.
"Hey buddy." He exclaimed and hugged his son close.
The four of them moved to sit at the picnic table to continue their reunion. After greeting her husband, Gemma joined them to welcome her son home.
Meanwhile, Devon had slipped away from Tara to greet her own family among the fleet of bikes. She strolled over to her father who already had a set of women throwing themselves at him.
"Excuse me? How about you two go prostitute yourselves to one of the other members, okay?"
Tig and the two girls looked over to see Devon standing there with a condescending smile. Fortunately for the girls, they knew who she was and quickly made an exit.
"Thanks." Devon said and now that her path was clear, she walked right into her father's open arms.
"Hey baby." Tig hugged her tight, picking her up off the ground. Too happy to see her to care about the interference with the welcoming home pussy.
"Hi Daddy."
"Man I missed you." He gave her one more squeeze before setting her down. "I'm glad you're here."
"Well I had to come and make sure you didn't get shanked or anything." She grinned as he laughed.
"Holy shit Devon." Someone called out from behind her.
She turned to see Kozik walking up to them. "What the hell are you doing here?" Looking at him, she took notice of the patches on his kutte. "You left Tacoma and patched in here?" She glanced at her father then back to Kozik, and laughed out loud. "Priceless!" She reached out to hug him, followed by Bobby, Chibs and Juice who had notice her presence as well.
Nearby, Opie stood with Lyla and some of the other members watching them all welcome his estranged wife. He almost gave himself whiplash when he heard Kozik shout her name. He couldn't believe his eyes, watching her standing there with his brothers.
Lyla noticed his reaction and filled him in on her tense introduction to Devon. He assured her that there was nothing to worry about. Her arrival was actually perfect timing so he could get the divorce proceedings started.
"Church." Clay called.
"You gonna stick around?" Jax asked Tara, even though he already knew the answer.
"No. I need to put the boys down for a nap so I'm going to head back to the house. I'll meet you there later?"
"Of course. I'll be home after we catch up on some business."
"Good because we need to talk now that you're home." She stated bluntly, wanting no misconception about what was happening between them.
It was time for them to have the conversation that had been put off for the last fourteen months; no one was getting out of it now.
Staring at her knowingly, he replied. "Alright." Tara nodded and moved to pack the boys up without another word.
Jax scrubbed his face, dread filling his gut, telling him that it wasn't going to end well. Until then, he had business to take care of and shook it off, heading into the clubhouse.
"Run along. Your king is calling his loyal servants." Devon mocked, standing next to her father's bike where he had parked it along the side of the lot.
"Stop." He warned. She was finally back home, now was not the time for her attitude. "You gonna hang here?"
"No, but I'm going to be in town for a little bit." She revealed, having decided to bite her tongue on a retort to his order. "I have some running around so I'll see you later."
"Cool." He kissed her cheek before walking away.
As the guys headed into the clubhouse, Devon rejoined Tara who was at her SUV, fastening the boys into their car seats.
"So was that the calm before the storm?" She asked in regards to her smooth reunion with Jax.
"Pretty much." Trepidation was written all over her face. "I got get the boys home. Hopefully they'll be asleep when the shit hits the fan."
"Call me if you need anything."
"I will."
They kissed each other on the cheek and Devon headed off to her car as Tara climbed into her SUV. Both drove away feeling a sense of foreboding to come for the next few days.
So there it is. Did you like?
The title of my story is inspired by the song Is Your Love Strong Enough -The Trent Reznor & How to Destroy Angels version. Each chapter will actually have a song dedication sort of speak. I'm a big music fan and a lot of the songs I picked remind me of the things that will be happening in my story.
If you want to know what Devon looks like, I put a link to a picture of who I envision as the character in my profile.
Thanks for reading!