Skeletons

Ever since Falyn had been attacked, Craig refused to go on business trips, insisting that if anyone needed to see him face to face that badly, then they could be the one to travel. He wasn't going to leave his family alone with no protection again. Falyn still hadn't told Jax that it was Ethan Zobelle and his crew who were responsible. She had honestly planned to, but so much shit had been happening that she just hadn't had the chance. Besides, there were so many things on his plate now; she didn't want to add to it.

Falyn had just finished cleaning up the kitchen from cooking lunch when the doorbell rang. Savannah jumped up from the sofa to answer it before she could and the girl swung the door open, saying hi to whoever was behind it. When she reentered the living room, Tara was on her heels carrying Abel in his car seat. As soon as she set the car seat in the chair by the window, Savannah was unstrapping the baby from his carrier and carefully picking him up. It was safe to say she adored her baby brother.

"Chibs was released from the hospital this morning."

"That's great! So he's good to go now?" Tara nodded, but the look on her face was one of distress. She sighed heavily as she sat down on the sofa, running a hand through her dark hair. "Everything okay?" Falyn asked, concerned.

"Did you know Jax is going Nomad?"

"What?! Since when?!"

"Since he apparently made the decision without telling anybody."

Falyn sank down onto the sofa next to her friend, a million thought running through her head at hearing the news. "Why would he go Nomad now? I thought he was trying to fix SAMCRO."

"It's all this shit that's been going on with Clay. He says he can't take it anymore, being around him and having to be under his authority. They beat the hell out of each other in County and then there was the whole Luann thing. Now CaraCara's burned down and Jax think Clay did it because he said he wanted to get SAMCRO out of porn."

Falyn glanced over at her daughter, hoping she wasn't listening to everything that Tara said. Murder and porn were things she didn't want her almost twelve year old to be hearing about. Savannah however seemed too enthralled with the baby in her arms to be listening in on their conversation. She was curled up on the loveseat with Abel, talking to him softly and she'd removed his baby blue SAMCRO beanie to kiss the top of his head.

"Do you think he's really going to do that? Leave Charming?"

"I don't know, Fal. He seemed pretty serious about it."

Falyn shook her head. "I just can't see him doing that, no matter how hard Clay pushes him. What about you? What about the kids? God, if he thinks he's just going to leave behind a baby and an eleven year old who only just fucking met him-"

"Yeah, I know. Is he just expecting me to raise Abel while he's away? I mean, I don't know if I'm ready for all that. I love Abel, I really do, but he's....he's Jax's son, not mine."

"This is bullshit. What does Gemma say?"

"I don't know. I'm on my way to talk to her now. I have a feeling she doesn't know yet and she isn't going to be very happy when she finds out."

Falyn chuckled, shaking her head. "Definitely not."

"I guess I should head over there. I'm dreading it, but if Jax will listen to anyone, it'll be his mother."

Tara stood up from the sofa and Savannah pouted as she got up and went to put Abel back in his car seat. She buckled him up and replaced the blue blanket that was covering his tiny body before sliding his beanie back onto his head and kissing the tip of his nose.

"Wish me luck, girls."

Falyn gave her friend a quick hug before Tara picked up Abel's carrier and headed for the door. As soon as she was gone, Savannah pounced. "What was she talking about? What does Nomad mean exactly?"

"You shouldn't have been eavesdropping, Sav."

"What eavesdropping? You were sitting right in front of me. I'd have to be deaf not to hear, Mom."

Falyn sighed, shaking her head as she wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "It's nothing to worry about, Sav. Now come on, let's watch a movie. Your pick."

Savannah watched her mother suspiciously for a moment but then she went over to the television set and put in a dvd. She settled on the sofa with Falyn and was immediately enthralled with her favorite of the Harry Potter movies, but Falyn's mind was on other things. She knew she had to talk to Jax about it.

Craig came in from doing some yard work about an hour later so she took that as her opportunity to go and find Jax. "Dad, I'm just gonna run out for a minute. I need to talk to someone about something," she told him, following him into the kitchen.

"Oh? What's that?" he asked curiously as he pulled a cold beer from the fridge and pulled off the cap, taking a long gulp from it.

"Jax wants to go Nomad."

He paused, looking at her confused. "He wants to do what? Why?"

"Shit with Clay," she shrugged. "But I want to talk to him."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"It's Club shit, sweetheart. Not exactly something you should be gettin' in the middle of."

"It's not just Club shit, Dad. If he goes Nomad, then he's leaving Charming. He's leaving Tara, and Abel, and Savannah. I just want to make sure he understands that."

Craig thought for a moment before finally nodding his head and taking another sip of beer. "Yeah, that's somethin' for him to think about."

"I won't be gone long." She turned on her heel and went back into the living room, kissing her daughter on the top of the head as she told her she'd be back in just a few and grabbing her keys and purse as she walked out the front door.

The first place she tried was Jax's house, but the driveway was empty so she kept going past it. The second most probable place on her list of possibilities was Teller-Morrow. She drove through town ten miles over the speed limit and when she pulled into the lot, she immediately spotted his long blonde hair hanging out the bottom of a black baseball cap. She quickly parked her car next to Gemma's black SUV and got out, walking toward him while he walked from the Clubhouse toward his bike.

"Nomad? What the fuck, Jax?"

He turned midstride to see her walking up to him. He could tell by the look on her face that she was pissed. "Ah, shit," he grumbled, adjusting his black cap as he kept walking. "You're the fourth woman to hassle me about this today."

Falyn caught up to him as he swung his leg over his bike and she planted her hands firmly on her hips. "I know things have been really tense with Clay, but if you leave, SAMCRO isn't going to stand a chance. Jax, you're the Vice President; you have pull in this charter. Without you, Clay is just gonna do whatever the fuck he wants to do."

"It's already in motion, Falyn. Nomad Prez accepted me. All that's left is SAMCRO votin' on whether or not to let me go."

"What happens if it passes? You're gonna leave? You have a baby here, Jax! And a daughter you only just got to meet! You're just gonna walk away from them so you can go be on the road by yourself? You're gonna walk away from Tara? Is getting away from Clay really fucking worth it?"

Jax just watched her silently as she went from angry to upset in less than five seconds. He knew the shit she'd been through with the feds trying to blackmail her into giving up information on the Club by using their daughter. He knew how hard it had been for her when she realized that Agent Stahl had told her secret anyway. He knew that it had been difficult for her to accept the fact that Savannah was his daughter and therefore the Club would forever be a part of her life, as well as her own. She had been trying so hard to make things okay so that Savannah could have a father and a baby brother and a grandmother and a whole new family she never knew she had. And now he was about to just walk away.

"It's not like I'll be gone all the time," he said more softly. "I'll still see 'em."

"Bullshit."

He sighed heavily, removing his cap to rake his fingers through his blonde hair. "Fal-"

"Tara's really stepped up for you, helping take care of Abel. Are you really gonna put him off on her to raise while you go roam the open roads?"

"I'm tellin' you, it won't be like-"

"Jax," she interrupted him, shaking her head as her jaw clenched. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying. "If you walk out on my kid after all the guilt you laid on me about not being able to know her, you're done. You won't get a second chance with her." With that said, she walked away from Jax, leaving him sitting there utterly stunned. She'd almost made it halfway back to her car before he finally gathered his thoughts and called after her.

"Falyn, come on!"

She stopped in her tracks, waiting a moment before she turned back to look at him. "I don't give a shit what you do, Jax. But if you do go Nomad, then you can stop by the house on your way out of Charming to explain to her why she'll never see you again."

Jax couldn't do anything but watch her as she began walking away again and got into her car, driving off the lot.