Skeletons

Over a week had passed since the funeral and Falyn hadn't spoken to anyone except her father and her daughter during that time. She hadn't left the house because she hadn't felt like dealing with the people in town. She hadn't seen anyone from SAMCRO because she had a nagging suspicion that they'd had something to do with it.

She was sitting at her vanity applying her makeup when Savannah pushed open the bedroom door and immediately walked over to the desk to turn down the volume on the stereo. "Jax called," she informed her mother as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What'd he want?"

"Us to come over. And bring some of my pictures."

Falyn looked over at her daughter, who was waiting expectantly for an answer. "Alright, fine," she sighed, standing up from the chair. She pulled her long hair up into a knot on the back of her head and slid her feet into her flip flops.

"You're not wearing that, are you?" Savannah asked, concerned.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she asked, looking down at her cutoff jean shorts and gray short sleeve v neck. "It's hot outside, Sav."

"Hate to tell you, Mom, but you look like a bum."

"I do not."

"Um, yeah you do."

"Well, what would you have me wear?"

Savannah grinned and sauntered over to her mother's closet, flipping through each item until she found a dressy somewhat slutty top and holding it up for her to see. Falyn shook her head at the suggestion. "Sav, it's just Jax." She couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on her daughter's face at that remark. She wasn't sure what it was that Savannah was thinking, but she knew she had to meet her halfway. "Tell you what, kid. I'll wear jeans just for you."

Savannah rolled her eyes, but accepted the negotiation. "I'm gonna go tell Papa where we're going." She left the room to go downstairs and Falyn shed the comfortable clothes she was wearing to put on an outfit that was satisfactory to her daughter. Once she pulled on her boots, she hurried downstairs where Savannah was waiting with two boxes of her childhood pictures. "I got one box of baby pictures and one box of kindergarten." Falyn chuckled and shook her head as she picked up one of the boxes and led the way outside to the car.

When they pulled into the driveway of Jax's house, Falyn got out and grabbed one of the boxes before heading to the door with Savannah following. Just as they reached the door, Savannah turned on her heel and jogged back to the car, having left her box of pictures in the back seat. Falyn knocked gently on the door and it opened a few seconds later, revealing a pleasantly surprised Jax on the other side. "Fal, hey, what're you doin' here?"

She bit down on her bottom lip, glancing back at the car where Savannah was watching intently. She shook her head and sighed before looking back up at the man in front of her. "You didn't call."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"She's creative, our daughter. I'll give her that." She balanced the heavy box in one hand, pushing her sunglasses up off her face with the other. "She must've really wanted to see you and Abel, making up that whole story. I'm sorry we bothered you. I'll have a talk with her."

She turned on her heel to leave but Jax quickly shouted her name, calling her back. "I could really use some help with the kid," he said, nodding his head back toward the house. He took the box from her hands and stood back from the doorway to give her room to come in. She looked back toward the car, motioning for Savannah to come inside and the young girl quickly snatched the box from the backseat before hurrying into the house behind her mother.

"Don't you do that again, you little sneaky ass," Falyn warned her playfully under her breath. Savannah said nothing in response, instead smiling innocently.

"So what'd you bring?" Jax asked as he set the box down on the coffee table. Savannah was immediately enthralled with the baby boy lying on his pale blue blanket in the center of the room and she ignored her father altogether.

Falyn rolled her eyes and pulled the box into her lap, removing the lid. "She said you wanted to see some of her pictures. I'm tellin' ya, she inherited that mischief from you."

"Lemme see," he said, holding out his hands. Falyn slid the box over into his lap and he grabbed a handful to flip through, while she moved closer so that she could look at them over his shoulder.The first photo in the stack was Savannah's hospital picture. Both eyes were squinted almost shut and her blonde hair was sticking straight up while her tiny pink fists were raised beside her. "Shit, Abel does look like her."

"They both look just like you," she corrected.

The second photo was one that Falyn's mother had taken a few hours after Savannah's birth, the first time Falyn held her baby girl in her arms. The eighteen year old in the picture was the girl he remembered. Her long dark hair and bright eyes were the same, as was the infectious smile on her face. She was holding the tightly wrapped baby up close, smiling brightly at the camera.

"This is a good one," he mumbled quietly. Falyn glanced up at him, noticing that his blue eyes were glistening with tears.

"Jax-"

"I'm sorry you had to do it all alone."

"I wasn't alone. I had my parents."

"I shoulda been there."

She laid her hand on top of his gently. "Hey, everything worked out alright, didn't it?"

He didn't answer; instead, he just stared down at the picture in his hand before flipping to the next one. Falyn smiled at the memory. "That was the day we came home. Three days old and already a little monster."

They looked through every single picture in the two boxes, Falyn giving backstory with each one. When they finally finished, Jax put the lid back on the box and slid it onto the coffee table, sitting back with a heavy sigh. "I missed a lot, didn't I?"

She smiled apologetically. "But you're here for her now. That's important." While she did feel bad that she had kept them apart for the past eleven years, she knew that she had done the right thing. The simple truth was that his lifestyle was dangerous and violent and she didn't want her daughter to be exposed to it constantly when she was so young. Though now she didn't have a choice in the matter.

They both watched Savannah, where she lay on the floor, her head propped up by one arm as she looked down adoringly at the baby beside her. Falyn smiled at how happy Savannah seemed to be with her new brother.

Falyn's eyes drifted over to the bookshelf in the corner, one framed picture standing out among the others. It was an old photo of their group, taken at one of the many clubhouse parties only a few weeks after Tara left Charming. Jax stood one one side of Opie, both of them unsmiling, while Donna and Falyn stood on Opie's other side, grinning warmly at the camera.

"Jax, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

She faltered, asking herself if she was sure she wanted to say it. She had been around long enough to know that their business was not her business-- that you don't ask questions when it comes to the Club. But the nagging feeling was constantly there, ever since the night Donna died.

"Fal?" Jax pressed, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What is it?"

She let out a shaky breath as she looked away from his questioning blue eyes. "Donna told me the Feds were setting up Opie to look like a rat." He slowly nodded, even though she wasn't looking at him, and she frowned, hesitating again. "Did SAMCRO do it?" she finally whispered.

Jax was silent for a moment, attempting to find the right words, but when none came to him, he simply closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure it was Clay."

Tears immediately filled her eyes, overflowing into a stream down her cheeks. Her head dropped to her hands and her body shook with quiet sobs. Jax ran his hand over his face, covering his mouth with his hand as he hesitated reaching out to her. "Come 'ere," he said gently, pulling her shoulders back so that she was sitting up again. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into his chest as he stroked her back comfortingly.

Savannah, who had been in her own little world with her new baby brother, looked up at her mother and frowned. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Falyn pushed Jax away quickly and wiped her hand across her tear-stained cheeks, ignoring the look he gave her. "Nothing, baby. Just thinking about Donna again. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.

Her mother nodded and offered her a weak smile before looking back at Jax, who was leaning forward with his elbows propped on his thighs and his forehead resting against his fist. "I think we should be heading home, Sav."

"You don't have to go, Fal."

"No, we really should. I have some things I have to do at home. Plus, it's probably getting close to nap time for the little one." As if on cue, the infant in Savannah's arms began to cry. Having no clue what to do with a crying baby, she quickly handed him off to Jax, who almost looked just as helpless as the eleven year old. It was obvious this whole 'taking care of a baby' thing was still very new to him.

He looked up at her pleadingly and she sighed, gently taking the baby from his arms and walking down the hallway to the nursery. She laid him down on the sofa and swaddled him tightly in his light blue blanket before picking him up and taking a seat in the rocking chair in the corner. She gently rocked him back and forth as she rubbed his back soothingly and only a few minutes later, he had drifted off. She waited until he was sound asleep before she slowly rose from the chair and carefully laid him in his crib.

She didn't know she had an audience until she made it to the door and found both Jax and her daughter watching from the hallway. She stepped into the hallway, pulling the door shut softly behind her. "What?" she asked suspiciously, looking between the two of them.

"Nothin'," Savannah replied casually.

"Alright, kid. Ready to go?" she asked as she walked back to the living room. She made sure to turn on the baby monitor that was sitting on the coffee table before she began putting all her pictures back into the boxes. Once they were all put back, she handed one box to her daughter and she picked up the second one before turning back to Jax. "He's going to be hungry when he wakes up so have a bottle ready."

Jax nodded his head, grateful for any baby advice he could get. "Thanks, Fal. And thanks for bringin' those pictures by."

"No problem," she replied, giving him a small smile. "Alright, let's get going then, Sav. Give your dad some peace and quiet."

"You know that ain't my style," he chuckled.

"True. But you should enjoy it for the moment."

He leaned forward, planting a kiss on her cheek before doing the same to the top of Savannah's head and the two of them headed out to the car where it was parked in the driveway next to Jax's motorcycle. The large picture boxes were set in the back seat and they got into the car for the relatively short drive home.

"You should have another baby, Mom," Savannah said randomly as she looked out the window.

Falyn nearly choked on her own saliva at her daughter's suggestion. "What?!"

Savannah shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Just saying. You're really good with them and it'd be pretty cool if I could get a baby sister too."

"Sorry, kid," Falyn chuckled nervously. "That ain't gonna happen anytime soon."