Skeletons

The sun was setting and cars were already parked up and down the street on both sides near Jax's house. They parked a block down from the house and walked up the sidewalk to the front door, which was standing wide open, the loud laughter and conversations being heard from the front steps.

Craig walked into the house first with Savannah right on his heels, her hand wrapped tightly around her mother's wrist and dragging her along behind her. She froze just before she stepped inside, her nerves becoming worse now that she was here with Savannah. It was one thing to say it; it was a whole other thing to actually do it.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

Falyn took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she walked into the house behind her daughter and they all slowly made their way into the living room. Craig was greeted with a chorus of hellos but when he stepped over to the side to talk to Clay, the loud conversations turned to quiet chattering. She knew what it was they were talking about.

Most of them hadn't seen Savannah yet and didn't even know she existed. But when they saw her, there was no questioning her paternity.

A pair of arms wrapped around her middle and she glanced over her shoulder to see her best friend grinning at her. "You actually came," Donna whispered in surprise. "Honestly, I expected you to chicken out."

"Fuck you," Falyn pouted.

Donna laughed, placing one arm around Falyn's waist and another around Savannah's shoulders. "I love you girls," she sighed happily.

Falyn looked down at her best friend with an amused expression. "You're fucking crazy tonight. Have you been drinking?"

"Nope! But you look like you could use one or two."

"You have no idea," she muttered under her breath. It was then that her words became even more prevalent than they had been just a half of a second ago. Jax had spotted her through the crowd of people packed into his little house and was making his way toward her.

"Gotta go!" Donna exclaimed and with a kiss on Falyn's cheek she left the two alone to await the awkward meeting.

"Hey, Fal," he called once he was close but then he saw the young blonde standing next to her. His blue eyes were wide as he stared down at her, for the first time ever.

"Um, Sav," she began, winding her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "This is Jax."

Savannah stared at the man, much like he was doing to her. After her whole life of not knowing who her father was, there he stood right in front of her. "Heard you're my dad," she finally said, thrusting her hand forward.

All her nervousness disappeared at Savannah's words, instantly putting her at ease as she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing at Jax's shocked expression. He obviously didn't know what to think about his new daughter. He chuckled to himself, reaching out to shake her hand. "Heard you're my kid."

She shook her head and attempted to keep her smile hidden as best as she could, but it only lasted a moment before she let out a laugh. Jax joined in on the laughter while Savannah just looked between her parents, unaware of what they thought was so funny.

"She's got your sense of humor," he noted.

"I know," she agreed with a grin. "Too bad she's got your everything else."

"Looks like it." Jax briefly glanced behind him before turning back to Falyn. "Gemma's got the kid over there if you wanna go meet him."

"Yeah, definitely," she smiled. She left him to go over to the sofa where Gemma was sitting, cradling a small baby wrapped in a blue blanket.

Gemma momentarily looked up from the baby in her arms and gave her a smile that wasn't seen very often coming from the queen of Charming. Falyn slid into the seat next to her on the sofa and Savannah squeezed in on her mother's other side.

"He's beautiful," she commented, looking down at the baby boy. "Looks just like Jax."

"Wanna hold him?"

"Yeah, lemme take a crack at 'im," she replied, leaning forward to take him from

Gemma's arms. Once the baby was in her arms, she sat back against the back of the sofa, gently rocking him as he looked up at her with his wide blue eyes. "Hey, buddy," she cooed softly. "You're a beautiful little boy, aren't you?"

"I forgot how much fun it is to have a baby around," Gemma commented, watching the woman holding her grandson. "Don't you miss it?"

Falyn purposely dodged Gemma's prying question and kept her eyes on the baby. "He looks a lot like Savannah did when she was a baby."

"You got pictures?"

"Yeah, tons. You should stop by the house one day. Have a look through."

"I'd like that," the older woman agreed with a grateful smile.

"Pretty great, isn't he?" Jax observed as he appeared behind the two women, leaning over the back of the sofa.

"You definitely make beautiful babies," she replied, brushing her finger gently against the baby's soft cheek.

Savannah nudged her mother with her elbow. "Do I get to hold him or what?"

"I just got him, sassy ass."

"He's my brother."

Falyn sighed, turning toward her daughter. "Alright, fine," she agreed, gently moving the baby from her own arms to her daughters. "Now put your other hand behind his head. There you go."

"I got it, Mom."

"Fine fine," she said, raising her hands up in defense. "By the way, Sav, this is your grandma Gemma."

Savannah didn't even lift her eyes from the baby for a second. "Hey, Grandma."

"Hey, baby," Gemma replied with a smirk and a shake of the head.

"You alright with him for a minute?" Falyn asked her daughter.

"Fine, Mom," she groaned.

"I'll be back then," she said, standing up from the sofa.

Once she had found the kitchen, she made herself at home and fixed a drink. She was just adding ice when someone spoke behind her. "It's Falyn, right?"

She dropped in two ice cubes before shutting the freezer and turning toward the voice. A woman stood leaning against the counter, her long blonde hair thrown back off her shoulder and her tattooed arms crossed over her chest. "Yeah....?"

"I'm Wendy." She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know this woman because she was absolutely sure she had never seen her before. If they'd gone to high school together, surely she'd remember. "Jax's wife," the woman added for clarification.

"Oh! Right, of course! Sorry. I completely blanked for a second. Congratulations, you know, on the, uh, kid. He's beautiful."

"So's yours."

"Thanks." She smiled politely and took a sip of her drink before setting it back onto the counter. She turned her back on Wendy to open the refrigerator and put back the bottles she'd used to make her drink.

"You know, out of all the women Jax's slept with, I think Gemma likes you the most."

Falyn quickly spun around to give the woman a look of disbelief. Had those words actually just come out of her mouth? The woman seemed to understand how it sounded after a moment. "Oh, shit, that sounded really blunt. Sorry," she chuckled. "She just hates most of 'em. Me and Tara especially."

Falyn decided to brush it off and she shrugged her shoulders. "I've just been around her and the Club for a long time."

"I thought you just got back?"

"Well, yeah, I did. I left Charming after high school just like Tara did. But I didn't take Jax's heart with me."

"No, just his kid, right?"

Falyn's eyes narrowed at the woman and she crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the counter. "I'm not really sure what your aim is here, Wendy."

"Gemma likes you. If she's pushin' Jax to get with anyone, it'll be you."

"Are you serious right now? I'm not going to 'get with Jax' okay?"

"You didn't come back for him?" Wow, this woman was blunt.

"No. Is that what people think?"

"That's what I thought."

Falyn shook her head. "My mom died last month and my dad is the only family we have left. Besides, Jax and I were never together. And we're not gonna be. Trust me, this is not the life I would've picked for me and my daughter."

"So you don't want him," she stated skeptically.

"Fuck no, I don't want him."

"Well, Gemma likes you and, regardless, you're the mother of his kid, so your opinion is gonna matter."

Falyn stood there for a moment, staring at this woman who had A LOT of fucking nerve. "What, you lookin' for my vote or something now?" It was obvious now what Wendy wanted. She wanted Falyn and Tara both out of the way because she wanted Jax back. Falyn knew that they were already in the process of getting a divorce so she didn't think there was much of a chance for her anyway.

"Look, Wendy, I hate to break it to you, but Tara is one of my oldest friends. If I had to pick anyone for Jax to be with, it'd be her. They're meant for each other."

"Then why'd he marry me, huh?" she asked smartly.

Falyn looked her directly in the eye. "Because Tara was in Chicago."

The smug look was wiped off her face instantly and she rolled her eyes. "I have a kid with Jax. That's a bond that you or that doctor bitch can't break."

"So do I," Falyn reminded her. "And that's a bond that you can't break. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Abel almost die because of you?" When Wendy didn't answer, she continued. "And wasn't Tara the one who saved his life? I'd say that's a pretty strong bond too."

Wendy glared daggers at her from across the kitchen but Falyn just glared right back at her. It had been a long time since she'd been forced to bring out the claws but this bitch was just making her angry.

"Somethin' goin' on in here?" Jax asked, as soon as he appeared in the doorway and noticed the tension.

Wendy couldn't stop her glares but Falyn quickly put a relaxed smile on her face as she looked at the man. "Nope. Just chatting. How're the kids?"

Jax smiled in return at the mention of his now two children. "Gemma's smotherin' 'em both with love."

"Of course," she sighed, picking up her drink and taking a sip.

Wendy stormed out of the room without a word and a confused look crossed his face at her mood. He knew something had transpired between the two women but he wasn't about to ask what it was. "You sure everything's okay?"

Falyn chuckled as she walked over to him, drink in one hand, and patted his shoulder. "All good. Nothing for you to worry about."

"If you say so," he replied, glancing down at her. He caught sight of her upper arm which was marked by ugly brownish purple bruises. His eyes shifted to her other arm and the same pattern littered the skin there too. He took her elbow, pulling her arm up to examine the marks more closely. "Fal, what happened to you?"

"That was your fault," she answered with no hesitation and a roll of her eyes.

He thought back to the day before when he had roughly grabbed her arms and pinned her to the wall while he yelled in her face. Definitely not his proudest moment. "Shit. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I know."

"No, seriously, Falyn. I had no right to be so angry. And I definitely had no right to put my hands on you."

"No, you didn't," she agreed. "But I accept your apology."

Frantic calls for Jax came from the next room and they both went back into the living room where all the Club men were on their way out the front door. "What is it?" he asked Clay as he passed.

"Somethin' bad happened," was all he said before he pushed his way out the front door. Jax quickly followed after him and the loud rumble of motorcycles sounded from the driveway.

Gemma came up behind Falyn, gripping her shoulders. "Follow them," she commanded.

Falyn didn't even ask questions as she looked into Gemma's eyes and she knew immediately that it was something terrible. "I'll be back for Sav," she said before running out the door. She quickly made it to her car and got in, speeding down the street in the direction they had gone.

Not long after she got onto the main road, she could see a ton of flashing red lights up ahead of her. She parked her car and hurriedly got out, running down to the crowd of people now gathered there. Her eyes immediately landed on the figure hunched over another figure lying on the ground. It was Opie and he was sobbing as Jax stepped forward and pulled him away.

Her eyes filled with tears and her whole body fell numb when he moved away from the figure on the ground and she could finally see what had happened. Her hand went up to cover her mouth and she let out a strangled sob at the sight of her best friend lying there unmoving, a stream of red flowing from her head.

Deputy Hale noticed her standing just behind the yellow tape and he saw the dazed expression on her face. He stepped forward, putting his hand gently on her arm. "Fal?" Suddenly, her knees gave way and David caught her just before she collapsed onto the road. He hugged her tightly to his chest, comforting her as she sobbed over the loss of her best friend.

Clay and Tig exchanged guilty looks but no one seemed to notice. Jax pulled his best friend away from Donna's body and as everyone else congregated around to see what had happened, there was one common thought.

This had to be Club business.