(S1, E1)

━━━━━Synopsis:

A rival gang steals the Sons' stockpile of assault rifles, while Jax's ex-wife's drug overdose leads to an emergency C-section and life-threatening surgery for their baby. Hayleigh is still adjusting to being back home and reconnecting with old acquaintances.

━━━━━WARNINGS━━━━━

━ death, violence, profanities, smoking, etc...

"Great. I'll add that to the list of things. Mommy issues, check."

August 28th, 2008 

IT HAD BEEN A COUPLE MONTHS SINCE Hayleigh had moved back home. If she was being completely honest, she couldn't complain.  Hayleigh had gotten herself situated in a small apartment not far from where the clubhouse was. A couple of the club members had helped move her in and get settled. Which is how she met this new prospect guy. Half-Sack? 

The young Teller was transfixed on the empty apartment. Echoes reverberating throughout the main living room before hearing multiple footsteps approaching the door. Jax, Juice, Chibs and the prospect we're helping her move in. Lugging the hefty boxes one by one. It wasn't many, but they were still heavy enough that it could hurt your back if you carried multiple.

New guy's muscles were taut and tense as he grappled with the burden of the heavy box, every fiber of his being fighting to maintain a firm grasp despite the tremors coursing through his arms.  Hayleigh quickly rushed over in attempts to try and help.

"Jesus, let me help."

"Nah, it's all good...I think," His voice sounded slightly strained. "I got it." With that, he grappled with the box momentarily before placing it on the ground. "Shit, you got a lot of crap." He joked, resulting in the Teller to also have a chuckle brought out of her.

"Yeah, sorry about that,"  The brunette grimaced. "If I'm being completely honest━ I'm not even sure what I put in there or any of them. I kinda just stuffed them and then headed home."

"No worries, hey um━ where do you want me to put this one?" The blonde questioned while taking hold of another box.  Her eyes squinted. "Ummm, here let me take that one. I'm pretty sure it's kitchen shit."

"Okay, cool." The blonde had paused, glancing at the woman who'd set her box on top of the counter. "So, your name is..." He trailed off as he questioned the young brunette. Glancing at him, she dug her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. "Hayleigh." 

The prospect's body expression was friendly━━just awkward. His hands rested on his hips before dropping down to his sides to take a couple steps forward reaching his arm out. "Nice to meet you Hayleigh."

"You know, this is normally the part where you tell me your name."

"Oh," The man giggled in embarrassment. "Shit sorry, um━ I'm Half-Sack."

Half-Sack? Really? 

"Do I even wanna ask?"  Hayleigh let out a soft laugh, causing Half-Sack's dimples to appear on his face as he blushed with embarrassment. "I lost one of well━" His hand motioned towards his lower area. "Back when I was in Iraq, some asswhole blew my left nut off."

Hayleigh's face contorted, displaying a wrinkled brow and tightly pressed lips. "Shit man, that must've sucked."

"Was that a pun?"

Hayleigh quickly realized the unintended joke, attempts to refrain from laughing were at a fail. "No, but good catch." Bringing his hands together, Half-Sack glanced around the apartment as he spoke. "So um, is there anything else for boxes wise?"

"I don't think so, pretty sure Juice had the last two boxes. Hey━━thanks again. I know that the guys made you come out and do this so...thanks."

"No, it's not a problem at all. You know? I'm happy to help."

Both had shared a brief moment of silence. "Looks like this is my que. See you later, Hayleigh."

"See you."

 After all that, she'd set up her apartment. Nothing too fancy, but still made efforts for it to look like home to her. Hayleigh got herself a job working at the Teller-Morrow Auto Repair. Just basic easy stuff. Sorting through files, getting the clients keys after their car's been repaired, help them sign paperwork. Fairly straight forward━━aside from the occasional snobby douchebags who have their head so far up their ass.

The next thing was her mom. If we were being honest here, her mom really didn't say much to her.

Was that a bad thing? Probably.  Ever since Hayleigh came back, everyone else had welcomed her with open arms. Gemma was far too stubborn. In Gemma's mind, she didn't extend that courtesy to Hayleigh simply because the whole time her daughter was gone, not a single fucking phone call. Not a letter, nothing. Fucking nothing. All she got was a small letter that described Hayleigh "going out on a trip with friends to honor Sam". After that, not a single update.

Scared the shit out of that woman, and nothing can really frighten her. But oh, this did. 

So she didn't talk to Hayleigh at all. It was better to keep a distance yet, that woman never failed to throw digs at her daughter when the opportunity presented itself. It was too good to pass up. Regardless, Hayleigh ignored it to the best she could.

 Which now brings us to today. The brunette was hung over the desk as she filed through papers. It was only 10am and the day couldn't have possibly gone any slower. Holy fuck, it was dreadful. Hayleigh drifted off into what seemed like a different world for a few minutes before being abruptly snapped back to reality by the incessant ringing of the bell. Her head slightly jerked back before glancing up at an annoyed female customer clutching her purse tight.

"Um, hey... are you dropping off your vehicle or picking it up?" Hayleigh asked kindly. That kindness was met with a bitchy attitude exuding off the customer. "I dropped it off earlier. If you had eyes, you would've seen me here a couple hours ago."

A small faint hum for laughter escaped Hayleigh's lips. Wow, she's extra cheerful this fine day. "Well, seeming as though I was busy sorting through files. I'm so sorry that I didn't take a minute out of my morning to make your face memorable."

Hayleigh quickly shot up from her chair and made her way to the section of the sets of keys. "Which one?" The red-haired quickly pointed it and Hayleigh set it on her desk. "Before you leave, I just need you to sign a couple papers."

The red-haired bitch rolled her eyes as she signed the papers needed before picking up the vehicle. As Hayleigh was looking at the signed papers, she could see in her peripheral the woman clutch her purse tighter. "You can relax, you know?"

It caught the customer off-guard, never refraining from her bitchy attitude. "What's that supposed to mean?" A simple shrug was what Hayleigh responded with back. "Well, nobody's gonna rob you in an auto repair shop."

"Well, you can never be too sure," The red-head spoke. "I'm sure you get all types of customers coming in and out of here, so you can't blame me for being a bit cautious. Not to mention, all these rednecks that are working on these vehicles."

With that, the brunette's attention quickly drew back upwards to the woman with brows knitted together. "I'm sorry?" 

"The rednecks working here." The chick repeated. No, no, she heard it the first time. "I don't think that's appropriate. Don't you?"

"━━Oh, come on. Don't give me that. You know these men that work here are rednecks, right? Most of them are uneducated and probably poor just by the looks of them. You honestly think that's the type of people you want working on your vehicle?"

Okay, great. So, the bitch chose death. Cool.

Despite her internal rage, she maintained a customer-service demeanor, with a slight grin creeping onto her face. "Those 'rednecks' out there are highly educated war veterans," Hayleigh enunciated. "Who not only have more class but have also served in the military to protect pathetic-ungrateful asses like yourself. And I'd also like to remind you, that you came in here looking for a repair."

That shit-eating grin that came from the customer's face slowly pulled downward as the young Teller spoke. "Either respect the workers who are taking their time out of their fucking day to repair your shit vehicle or get the fuck out. Those are your options."

Hayleigh was not about that shit. Maybe it was the way she was taught, but you never disrespect someone in their own place. Regardless if it's a business or a simple household. Not to mention, she hadn't even gotten the chance to drink her monster and she already had to deal with an asswhole customer? Nope. 

"Fine, in that case, I apologize."

The young Teller let out a "hmm" sound before grinning. "That's a better tone." The sound of the keys being pushed was a sharp and metallic clink. Hayleigh clenched her jaw tightly, resisting the urge to comment further. The red-head grasped her keys before heading out. 

"See you next Tuesday!" Hayleigh spoke with dry enthusiasm before muttering under her breath. "Bitch." The brunette took a moment to compose herself, shutting her eyes and breathing in deeply as her head hung back.

"You good?" A man's voice cut through, resulting in the young woman to see Bradley with his arms folded up against the door. Hayleigh's head remained tilted back as she emitted a soft hum of affirmation, followed by a deep exhale. "Yeah, just━━really, really  wanted to throat-punch a bitch."

Bradley peered into the woman's car, letting out a sigh as she quickly drove away from the driveway. He couldn't help but chuckle at her hasty departure. "One of those days, huh?"

"Oh yeah, all of the fun," The woman's voice dripped with sarcasm. "She decided that she wanted to  full send on being a spoiled little bitch, then made comments about how this place is full of 'rednecks', so I took her down a few notches." Bradley's eyebrows arched inquisitively as he smirked, clearly eager for her to shed light on the subject.

"Oh yeah?" His voice slightly pitched. "Just how far did you take her down?"

Hayleigh nonchalantly dismissed it with a shrug, her hand raised to make a small gesture with her fingers. "Just a tad." Bradley's smile grew broader as he shook his head. "Oh, I can imagine  'just a tad'." The young man paused before bringing himself closer to rub her back. "You're my damn hero, Hayleigh. You and your words."

The brunette emitted a chuckle, before grasping the cold can in her hands and cracking it open. "I haven't even had my monster yet."

"You're kidding? You haven't had your daily dose of radioactive piss yet?" The man teased.

"Oh fuck off." The girl playfully retorted. "You know you're addicted to that crap, right?"

"What can I say?," Her voice began as her hand holding the can elevated in the air. "It makes me a nicer person." Yeah, let's emphasis on the 'nicer person' part for a minute.

"━━ Yeah. It's also going to give you a heart problem by the time your 30, but who the hell cares, right?" Hayleigh casually brushed off the subject with a flick of her hand as she leisurely sipped her carbonated beverage. "It's fine. We all die eventually, full send it."

His eyes briefly flickered up before he began to speak. "You're just a hopeless case, aren't you?"

"I really am," Her lips tugged upwards. "But I'm your  hopeless case. I mean, it's your fault. You and Juice chose to be friends with this hopeless case." Hayleigh finger pointed towards herself, shit-eating grin never faltering even once.

"You're like the little sister I never wanted." Brad joked. "I know, it's great."

Emitting a faint giggle, the boy shook his head from side to side. "You're a damn headache."

"━━You're the migraine. Teamwork." Hayleigh's hands raised up in the air in sarcasm. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Both shared a few more giggles before hearing the tow truck pull in, resulting in both to walk outside. 

The sight was something else entirely. A bloodied deer in the windshield of somebody's car.  She brought her hand up to her mouth before the pair walked closer towards where Jax, Chibs and the prospect were.

"Holy shit." Her voice exaggerated. Half-Sack crossed over to the other side, head tilted as his eyes scanned the destruction. "Some days you're the beamer, somedays you're the goddamn deer."

"Some yuppie creamed her, up at the streams." Chibs added. "He run into it? Or hit a tree while it was giving him head?" Jax inquired, eyeing the lifeless deer, as Hayleigh's expression twisted in repulsion. "Ew." The prospect's hands were pressed firmly against the hood of the vehicle, a look of disgust and confusion etched on his face as he turned to the blonde. "How the hell you want me to get it out of there?"

Jax's smile widened as he exchanged a knowing look with the Scotsman, then sauntered over to the tow truck and pulled out a chainsaw. Resulting in Half-Sack to turn back, letting out a nervous chuckle "Come on, Jesus man."

Hayleigh's stomach twisted into knots. Hand still covered her mouth in attempts to not vomit. "Just pretend it's 'carve your own steak night' at Sizzler." Jax suggested amusingly. Half-Sack held the chainsaw, hesitant and nervousness plastered on his face. "I don't eat meat, man."

"Figure it out, grunt." The blonde spoke before putting a cigar in his mouth, walking away with the Scotsman. 

Bradley and Hayleigh still observed Kip questioning all of his life choices. "Christ. That looks brutal. You think the guy's okay?" Bradley asked as he quietly talked to Hayleigh. "I don't know, but man, my guess, dude saw the fast and furious movie and thought he could be Vin Diesel."

"Fair enough," Bradley spoke, "Still, though. Imagine driving around and accidentally hitting a damn deer."

"Yeah, that's a special kind of fucked up."

 Bradley nodded before speaking up once more. "Must've been the dude's worst day ever. Probably had to explain to the insurance folks how the hell something like that had happened."

The young Teller nodded once more. "I feel bad for this poor sucker, he was literally a deer in headlights." Right then and there, Bradley quickly turned to look at Hayleigh, almost stunned she did that. Hayleigh bit her thumb in desperate attempts to try and keep a serious composure as she made the joke.

"Oh, you're terrible for that."

Both shared a small ounce of laughter. "I mean━━come on, how often is it you get to make that joke?" 

"Oh no, don't try and justify that nonsense, you're terrible."

Hayleigh and Bradley were filled with disgust as they watched the prospect wielding the chainsaw. Its ear-splitting sound rang through the air as it relentlessly sliced through the deer's head. The pair cringed in disgust as the prospect struggled with nausea and horror, causing blood to splatter against the windows in a disturbing scene.

As the deer's head fell into the car and hit the seat, the duo bore witness to the grisly sight. Hayleigh, in response, quickly shielded her mouth with her sleeve and coughed to compose herself. "Great, you just killed Bambi."

"I think in Rudolph's defense, he was already dead." Hayleigh's gaze swiveled around as she peered among Bradley. "And you say that I'm bad for it."

"I never said I wasn't a hypocrite, now did I?" She rolled her eyes before giving an approving nod. "Touche."

"Alright boys," Hayleigh gently tapped Bradley's chest before continuing to speak. "I have to get back to work. Duty calls. And Bradley━━help the new guy, will ya?"

"No problem, I'll make sure Halfie doesn't cut any of his fingers off."

"LONG RIDE FROM CHARMING TO OAKLAND." Laroy spoke, both he and Clay took a seat next to each other on the bench. For a full minute, the two of them avoided locking eyes, instead staring intently ahead at the scenery in front of them. "How come Easy Rider meetin' me face-to-face?" 

"Assembly warehouse burned down. All the guns━━including your M4s, blown to shit." Clay was straight to the point. Hell, might as well rip off the band aid.

"There's zero balance due on that hardware." Laroy's tone grew deeper and more irritable.

"That shipment, is gonna be a little late━━."

"━━That can't happen," Laroy cut off. "Got a shipment of my own coming in. Very important cargo." With that, Clay halted. His posture hovered ever so slightly leaning in. 

"I've been doing business with the One-Niners for a long time. I always respected our arrangement. I never sold gun one to the Mexicans. Now I need for you to show me a little respect. And give me a few more days for delivery."

"━━I don't give a shit about history or respect. This is about business, old man." Clay proceeded to echo words right back at him. "And I'm telling you, brother...give me some more time. Really smart business."

Laroy took a moment, turned away from Clay and mulled over the idea. He was pissed, sure. But he needed his shipment. "You got till Sunday. I don't get those M4s by then, there's gonna be some new black faces cruising the streets of Charming. And a burned down warehouse is gonna be the least of your problems." Laroy rose from the bench and headed towards the remainder of his group, leaving behind Clay.

BOBBY ENJOYED A PEACEFUL moment as he strummed his guitar in the almost-empty clubhouse, accompanied by some quiet rock music. Suddenly, the door swung open and Hayleigh was greeted by the sight of Teagan, a warm and friendly face. Her long blonde hair swayed from side to side as she casually fetched a couple of beers for the guys.

Teagan was stood behind the bar, humming a tune, polishing glasses, lost in her thoughts. Upon spotting Hayleigh, she smiled, placing the glass down and walking towards her. "Hey, Hayleigh-girl. Good to see you."

"Yeah, hold that thought for a minute." 

Hayleigh sneaked behind the clubhouse bar and deftly grabbed a bottle of whiskey, causing the other bottles to clink in the background. After taking a shot glass, she expertly poured the amber liquid, knocked it back quickly, and the sound of the empty glass hitting the bar followed. Resulting in Teagan looking confused. "You okay?"

Leigh ran her fingers smoothly over the bar top, eyes shut as she took a deep inhale. "Tell me why I have to deal with stupid people?"

"What happened?"

"So," Hayleigh seized the bar stool with a firm grip before easing herself into a comfortable seated position. Once settled, she began to speak. "The whole day so far has been a shit-show. I had one girl call the club members rednecks to me, countless files my adhd-ass has to reorganize and this one guy earlier asked me if we do changes in 'blinker fluid'. "

The blonde's forehead creased as she frowned in confusion, her head tilting slightly to one side. "The fuck, there's no such thing as 'blinker fluid'..." 

"I explained that to the guy...for ten fucking minutes. I have a headache."

"You know," Teagan spoke as she wiped down the bar top. "I can help you out if you need me to."

Hayleigh shakes her head, keeping eyes on the countertop. "No, it's all good. Just," She brought her hands to her face, emitting a deep huff. "Can't wait for my shift to be over."

"Yeah, I hear ya. Hey, why don't you come to the bar with me?" Hayleigh's eyebrows gradually drooped. "Depends, is it a country bar?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then no."

Tegan's head cocked to one side, displaying a playful expression of disappointment. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"I don't do country." Hayleigh spoke, cradling the chilled beer in her palms. "Oh come on, you can learn to enjoy it. It's not that difficult." Teagan spoke with a gentle, elevated pitch in her voice. She'd set down her cloth and glanced to Hayleigh. "Where the hell do you find a country bar in Charming? Or San Joaquin for that matter?"

"You'd be surprised. I know a spot. It's right by the docks. They do karaoke too. It's all around a good spot. You're going, whether you like it or not." The brunette sighed deeply, emitting a discernible sound of frustration. "Fine, does next Friday work?"

"Yep. Friday's good, you can borrow my spare boots when we do go."

"You do know I'm like━━ I dunno, three months older than you?" The brunette asked jokingly, prompting in the blonde's smile to crease upwards.

"Yeah, and I'm the barkeep, so show some respect."

Teagan and Hayleigh exchanged a small, subdued laugh, their eyes glinting with amusement. The sound of their giggles rippled through the silent clubhouse until it was interrupted by the creaking of the door swinging open. They turned to see who had entered, their attention drawn towards the growing murmur of chatter that wafted inside from outdoors. Half-Sack and some other dude.

Half-Sack appeared to be having difficulty lifting the weighty box, as his arms were shaking visibly while he attempted to maneuver it alongside his helper. Their progress towards the entrance of the clubhouse was slow and strenuous, inching closer and closer. Bobby's voice resonated across the room with a booming tone. "Half-Sack?"

"Huh?" The blonde turned to look in the direction Bobby was in.

"Piney clogged the toilet again." Bobby replied. "Jesus Christ, that guy shits more than a grizzly man. It ain't human." As the duo made their way towards the pool table, peals of laughter echoed through the air. The young Teller brought the cold beer bottle to her lips as she watched the pair.

"Here, just put it right under here. Yeah." Half-Sack pointed downwards, casting down the heavy box and nudging it underneath. "Where'd you get that name?"

Half-Sack pivoted around with a perplexed look on his face. "Huh?"

"Half-Sack." The guy replied. As soon as he comprehended the other guy's inquiry, a slight dimple emerged on his cheek, suggesting an amused reaction. After a moment's pause, he began to speak while simultaneously unzipping his pants and pulling them down. "Oh, I uh━━ I got my left nut blown off by an aper frag in Iraq. Look at that guy." 

In the clubhouse, a group of men shielded their eyes in embarrassment or chuckled awkwardly. At the same time, Hayleigh and Teagan were left puzzled, as they both tilted their heads slightly in unison. That was when the clubhouse door swung open once more to reveal the rest of the club members. Clay and Tig being the first to see that. Bradley came in and did the same thing that Teagan and Hayleigh did.

"Jesus Christ. Put that deformed nut-bag away will ya?" The guy's smile faded the minute he saw Clay. Fumbling on is words from embarrassment as Tig approached him. "Disappear, go on."

Clay made his way to the bar, where he reached for a chilled beer. "Find Jax." Chibs took in a deep breath, allowing his lungs to fill with air before releasing a commanding and loud shout towards the blonde biker. The sound reverberated throughout the room, causing Hayleigh to slightly jerk her head back in surprise at the sudden and intense sound of his voice. "Jax!"

"That's great, I definitely didn't need eardrums at all. Ah, they lasted for a solid twenty years. I don't need em' anymore."

ALL THE CLUB MEMBERS were seated together around the table, where chilled beers were either held in the palms of their hands or rested on the surface, leaving behind a slight layer of condensation that dripped down from the bottles. As Clay began to speak, everyone leaned with a slightly hunched posture.

"I got one more day out of Laroy, that's it. Niners are expecting a huge heroin shipment. The carbines are for protection." Clay's eyes kept glancing downwards at the table before casting a glance at everybody else. All slowly carrying a gentle nod.

"What happens if those Mayans crash that dope party with Laroy's M4s?" Bobby interjected.

"Yeah, I mean, if anything else━━ Mayans will likely try and take that too if they haven't already, and if they've got the arsenal to do so..." Bradley trailed off. 

"Then we lose all the Niner business, buy ourselves a huge black━" The blonde spoke before being met with an elevated hand from Clay, obscuring the VP from finishing his speech. "That ain't gonna happen." He jabbed his hand forcefully onto the table, causing a resounding thud to echo around the room.

"These 'Mexicans' come into our territory. They steal from us? They shit on our livelihood ?" Clay stalled, swiveling his head to address each person in the room, his words packed with intensity and emphasis on every little aspect. "Now, I don't care who we got to grease or kill. I want those goddamn guns back."

"Alright, me and Chibs will pull together all our current intel on the Mayans. Juice," Jax spoke, "Start hacking into crime databases. Get addresses of any Mayans in the system."

"Wherever you find those guys, Bobby, I want a fat man and little boy every inch of that goddamn place." Clay spoke, his tone lowering ever so slightly before Jax interjected. "Bobby's got Tahoe this weekend━"

"No, I'm canceling that shit."

Various voices intersected in the room, challenging Bobby's point of view until the club president's voice boomed to regain control. "You got two ex-wives who already spent the goddamn casino checks. Last thing we need is P.I's and lawyers camping out front."

"Yeah? and who's gonna handle the pyro if I'm not there?" Bobby asked.

"Nobody blows up shit better than Opie." Tig offered. "Opie's leaning right these days." Jax defended before Clay pointed at Jax once more. "Opie's gonna lean any way we need him to. You get him on board."

From Hayleigh and Teagan's viewpoint, they witnessed the men getting up from the table and walking back into the main area. Clay downed his beer before gently pressing a kiss on Hayleigh's head. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey dad."

Clay's hand lightly tapped her arm. "How're you doin kiddo?" resulting in the young Teller to let a soft raspberry pass her lips and her shoulders to raise. "I mean, it's going for the most part." 

"That's good at least, your mother talk to you?"

"No," Her head cocked slightly, brows down casting in  confusion. "Why would she? Something happen?"

Shaking his head, shoulder quickly raising nonchalantly. "Just, figured she would've talked to you." 

Hayleigh deeply sighed before bringing the cold monster to her lips. "Nope, not even a little." A few moments passed before Bobby slowly inched his way to the counter, hovering over before hesitantly speaking to Clay. "So, you're sure you're okay with me stepping away from this?"

"Yeah, yeah...take the prospect with you."

"Yeah," He chuckled. "I'll get him half laid." 

Hayleigh snickered. "You're something else Bobby." before she knew it, her eyes casted upwards at the tv that had monitored outside.  All to view her mother's black car speeding into the Teller-Morrow. "Hey, dad...speaking of the devil herself." Clay looked to where both Bobby and his daughter we're looking at. Bobby turned to Clay and chuckled. "You might want to go see your old lady." As Clay drops his head down and sighs. "Shit. Yeah fine. Hayleigh wanna say hi  to your crazy mother?"

Hayleigh paused for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath. "Yeah, sure, why not? She'll pick things up where we left off." She rolled her eyes as she walked with Clay. He chuckles at her response and turns his head to her as they're walking out with Jax.

As they all walk out, the sudden and aggressive slam of a car door can be heard before Gemma starts to walk out pissed off. The hot ass wind blowing Hayleigh's hair around the bright ass beaming sun wasn't helping anybody's case either. Gemma walked over to Jax. "I tried to call you." 

Jax raises an eyebrow in confusion, his hands buried in his jean pockets. "What is it?" The four of them all form into a small group. Clay, Jax, Gemma and Hayleigh. "Your wife, she's in the hospital. We need to go see her." Jax rubbed his chin anxiously. "Shit." He whispers as he walks to his bike. 

Gemma gave a quick glare towards her daughter, not saying a single word before walking back towards her own car. "I have...so many damn questions." Hayleigh spoke.

Clay put his gloves on before walking away. "You and me both, kid."

JAX AND THE OTHERS make their way to the St. Thomas hospital. All of them were walking towards Wendy's room. As they were all picking up their pace. Gemma caught up with them and slowly filled Jax and Clay in. Holding up a tiny bag filled with white powder. "I found these matches next to a bunch of empty thumb bags. Hairy Dog."

Jax nose scrunches in disgust as they all kept walking. "Shit," Clay hisses. "It's got to be the Nords dealing out of the Dog again." Clay spoke. "Darby got out of Chino two weeks ago." Bobby interjected. Hayleigh's head turned towards Bobby... "Wait, that arrogant racist prick? What else did I fucking miss?" 

"3 years." Gemma had snapped in a harsh tone.

"2 and half." Hayleigh snapped back.

"Not the time, Haisy." Chibs softly spoke. Chibs always called her 'Haisy' ever since she was a little girl. Nobody could ever say why, it just suited her in his eyes.  That and she always used to love daisies so he made it into a nickname for her. 

 "Yeah, well, call that 'Extremist' prick. Set a meeting." Clay gave the order as they approached Wendy's room. Hayleigh spotted a brunette leaving the room - Tara. There she was. Jax shook his head as he observed Wendy's unconscious form behind the plexiglass doors. He then turned his gaze to Tara, who clutched her clipboard tightly to her chest.

"What the hell happened?." The blonde spoke in a soft tone. Jax was an arrogant prick a lot of the time. But there was one thing for certain. He always showed his soft side to Tara. At least that never changed.

"When was the last time you saw her?" Tara inquired softly as Jax stumbled. His hand quickly moved to cover his mouth as he backtracked. 

 "Couple weeks."

Tara didn't know how to word this to Jax. She didn't want to hurt him and she knew this would set him off. When it came to Jax, if you pissed him off enough, he would set the whole damn world on fire if he had to. She took a deep breath before her eyes looked back up into his.

 "Her hands and feet were full of tracks. Toxicology reports aren't back yet, but it's mostly crank."

"Holy shit..." Both Hayleigh and Jax muttered. "The baby?" Jax went deathly pale with fear for the baby. His gaze flitted anxiously between Wendy and Tara. "We had to do an emergency C-section. He's ten weeks premature."

Holy shit. Was all that Hayleigh could think. This poor kid. This world is already shitty enough and you start off in the world desperately fighting for your own life straight out of the womb.

"Come on, let's sit down, I'll talk you through it." Tara guided Jax forward, but he shook his head and interrupted her. "Just tell me." Hayleigh could make out her mother gradually nearing Jax as Tara continued to speak.

"He's got a congenital heart defect and gastroschisis, a tear in his abdomen. The gastro and the early birth are from the drugs. The C.H.D. is probably..." She trailed off for a moment.

"━━The family flaw." Gemma had cut off, looking down. Hayleigh had heard of the condition simply from when she was a kid. Only because Jax had told her very little about her brother Thomas. All she'd had known of Tommy was that he'd died when he was six due to that condition. 

"Yes, it's genetic. Either one would be serious, but not life-threatening. However the two of them together... " A faint pause between everyone. " Dr. Namid gives him a twenty percent chance, and━ I'm afraid that's being optimistic." Tara said in a somber tone.

She was completely unaware that she was going to become an aunt, and now that she knows... the baby's chance at living is close to none?  Jax was consumed with guilt over the entire situation. Hayleigh cautiously approached Jax from behind and began gently rubbing his shoulder in attempts to trying to help him in any way she could.

  "She never wanted to talk to me. I didn't know."

"Her OB said she missed her last three appointments. No one knew... Dr. Namid wants to fix his belly first. Then if he stabilizes, he'll go in and try to repair the heart. I'm sorry, Jax. I can take you in to see him now." Jax and Tara were separated for their private conversation. Hayleigh closed her eyes and tilted her head gently. Clay embraced his daughter from the side and planted a gentle kiss on her head.

"It'll be alright sweetheart."

"I know, this just sucks. I wish I could do something."

"I know, I know." Suddenly, the group turned to see Jax striding away with determination. Fuck, he was furious. Hayleigh and Clay both sensed it. "Um, where the hell is he going?" The dark-haired woman asked. Clay squinted slightly before turning to a few of the members. "Watch his back."

TARA GAZED AT HAYLEIGH, leading her over to the window overlooking the baby's incubator unit. Stirring the hospital coffee with a continuous motion, the brunette fought back tears upon seeing her nephew. The sight of the tiny baby in the incubator, connected to tubes in his small arms and a breathing apparatus on his nose, left her speechless. As she tremulously exhaled, Hayleigh turned to Tara. "Holy shit," She'd paused. "Poor kid, it's his first day and already he has this shit to deal with."

"I know, Jax named him 'Abel'." The creases of Hayleigh's face slowly formed upright. "That's a good name."

"Yeah, it is." Tara muttered.

A brief moment of silence filled the gap between the two of them. Pivoting her body once more to Tara, she began. "You know, last I heard, you'd left Charming. What made you want to come back?"

The older woman's lips smacked together. "I don't know, maybe I missed the scenery?"

"Just...figured you'd try and get away from this place as best as you could. Jax said you hated it here."

Tara took a deep breath, holding onto her clipboard. She pressed her lips together before speaking. "I didn't really hate Charming. I just kind of hated myself in it at the time. I was miserable. That and I didn't want Jax to suffer by putting up with me. So I ended it. And I left, I went to Chicago and was an intern for my medical."

"Yet, you came back."

"I did. I dunno, I guess I missed home. Plus, despite all the chaos I went through, this is the only place that's ever made me feel safe." 

The dark-haired woman gave a silent nod of affirmation, acknowledging that she could empathize with Tara. They shared a common experience, which made it easier for Hayleigh to relate to her. This was ultimately why she had taken a break from everything that had happened, not to abandon her family, but to take a moment away from the chaos and turmoil.

"I get that," Hayleigh hesitated for a moment before a gentle smile spread across her face. Embracing Tara tightly. She missed her, Tara was like the older sister she never had. No matter what Tara was doing in that moment, she always took care of Jax's little sister. Both her and Donna.

"I uh━━should probably head back to the clubhouse. It's nice to see you again, Tara."

"You too."

JAX WAS PERCHED ON his motorbike, watching the laborers chip away at the wood in the distance. The piercing sound of the saws filled the air. Opie approached Jax with his worker's helmet tucked under his arm.

"So, everybody's saying it was a gun factory that blew up by the streams last night." Opie said, his eyes fixed on Jax. "Mayans hit us," The blonde had answered. "Stole our M4s. We need you."

"For what?" Opie stood before Jax with his arms folded tightly across his chest, face painted with confusion. "Bobby's got a gig this weekend."

"━━ No way, man." 

"We gotta get in and out fast. You're the only guy that can pull it off." Jax maintained his speech, cognizant of Opie's tentative and hesitant manner. "You think I wanna be here chippin' wood for shit pay? I made a promise to Donna. I'm earning straight." Ope spoke, his arms folding once more, resulting in Jax to jump off his bike. "Come on, Opie. We all earn straight. I spend forty hours a week with a goddamn power tool in my hand."

"When you're on Clay's payroll, everything in your hand is a power tool." There was a heavy silence that settled between the two of them. "You saying 'no' to the club?" Jax asked.

Opie's arms remained tightly folded across his chest, pausing for a moment of silence before releasing a deep sigh. He started speaking as he walked over to his lorry to fetch his cigarettes. "Everything turned to shit since I got out. I'm in debt up to my eyeballs, my kids hardly know me, and I even mention SAMCRO to Donna, she's gonna bust out crying."

As the dark-haired man took hold of his packet of cigarettes, he extended his hand to see if Jax wanted one, before helping himself to one and returning the packet to his rear trouser pocket. "Look man, if you need money━━" Jax suggests. "I don't want to borrow, I want to earn." Opie cut him off, flashing the lighter before lighting his cigarette.

"Your family's just gotta adjust to you being around again," Opie's eyes flicked back to Jax's, who had clasped his hands behind him on the tailgate. "Kids have gotta get used to how ugly their dad is." This caused both of them to have a shared, light-hearted chuckle together.

"And Donna knows what the life is." Ope paused for a moment, with his head tilted slightly towards Jax. "You leave a woman alone for five years, with two kids, the only thing she knows is that she doesn't want it to happen again."

Jax nodded in agreement. One thing to know was that... beyond the club, they were brothers. Knew each other ever since they we're kids. Opie was practically Jax's and Hayleigh's brother.

A moment of silence hung in the air before Opie's boss hollered from a good distance away that break time was over. Opie remained silent as he continued to mull over the idea Jax had gave. "Let me know when you need me."

THE CLUBHOUSE MUSIC WAS quiet, but it could still be heard. A few staff members loitered around. Hayleigh reentered the clubhouse, dressed in a black zip-up hoodie that draped elegantly over her figure, paired with low-rise jeans. She noticed Teagan sitting on the couch, sipping on a beer and idly tapping her fingers on the bottle.

"Hey, sexy." Teagan spoke, painting Hayleigh a warm look. "Hey, hottie." Hayleigh replied back, flopping herself down on the sofa beside her.

"So, you feeling better?" Teagan asked, facing her with her arms crossed over her chest, taking a sip of her beer. Her foot tapped against the floor. Hayleigh used her finger to flick away the fringe in her face before surveying the room. "Yeah, I'm good. The guys at the table?"

"Yeah, they're good. Just talking about their club business is all." She adjusted her position slightly, setting her beer on the table before looking back at her. "But are you sure you're good?"

"I'm okay, Teagy. I just had a shit day is all."

Hayleigh and Teagan remained seated on the couch, savoring their pints as they watched the TV in the clubhouse. Meanwhile, the rest of the club members were gathered around the table, with Clay smoking a cigar, alongside the rest of the members smoking their cig's, causing the room to fill with smoke.

"What's the, uh, Nord's roster looking like these days?" Clay inquired, his fingers tracing on the table as he casted a glance at Bobby. "Fifteen, sixteen guys," Bobby replied. "A few new kids breaking in. Same extreme hate shit."

"Still got meth labs outside of Lodi," Juice added. "Selling mostly to truckers, some of the Mexi gangs."

"You think they's steppin' up?" The blonde drew from his cig, posture reclined in his seat. Clay drew another long drag from his cigar before letting the puff escape his lips. "Only two things feel good in the joint. That's jerking off, and thinking about all the shit you're gonna do when you get out. Darby's been in there for three years. I just want to make sure all his big-shot dreams ended up in his cum rag. And not on his to-do list."

The club members huddled around the table burst into laughter at Clay's clever quip, which filled the room with echoes of their amusement. "How's his guy doing?" 

Earlier, when Jax stormed out of the hospital, he'd went to the bar where most of Darby's guy's were and beat the ever living shit out of the guy who sold crank to his ex-wife. So much so that Jax used the pool stick and aimed for his crotch.

 "Fractured cheek, broken nose, and left nut swinging solo." Juice listed, everyone began to tap their hands proudly on the table in roots for Jax. Chibs was the one who rooted loud and proud for him. "Yes, it was beautiful ! That's me boy!"

"Who knows," Bradley started. "Maybe him and Halfie can start a group meeting together."

"Yeah, he's lucky to be breathing." Jax spoke in a low undertone, still pissed off about the whole thing. Everyone else fell quiet for a minute before Clay spoke up again to redirect the conversation. "So, any luck up North?"

"Tacoma can help with the glocks, but there's no M4s anywhere. Washington State, Oregon, Nevada━━Nobody's got stock, man." Happy's low-raspy voice came in. Jax turned his head to see Clay slowly starting to get visibly upset alongside disappointed. "We'll have all the Mayan intel by the morning, we'll get our guns back." Jackson reassured.

"Oh, yeah we will. Treasury?"

Bobby reached for his glasses and perched them on the bridge of his nose. "All of the bills are paid, bar is stocked, uh━━run fund is covered for the next two months. Tig's the only man who owes me dues."

"I'm a little short, I'll catch you next week."

"Guess those little Tai boys are getting expensive?" Happy mocked, laughter erupted among the club members. "Yeah, they are. How about I slit your eyes and have you suck my dick?" Tig said with a smile before Happy raised his hands and gestured 'bring it on' as the others tapped the table.

"Alright, alright," Clay's voice raised to redirect everyone. "Anything else?"

"Yeah I━━ I just want to say to Jackson on a club level, the Sons of Anarchy, The Redwood Original is here for you. You're father would be proud of you for the man you've become. Every time I see you sittin' at this table, hell━I do a double take."

Opie next him was tracing his beer bottle with his thumb for he hummed. "It's probably just the weed, Pop."

A small laughter broke out once more, Piney always was like a second father to him given that Piney and his dad we're close. Jax got his point. And it was nice, hearing it. Given everything that had went down in all of a day. "Anyway," Piney added. "Whatever you need son. It's yours."

"Thank you, Piney. Thanks, boys." 

"Meetin' closed." Before their club prez slammed the gavel. 

From Hayleigh's perspective, she watched as the club members slowly made their exit out of the table room. First person she saw was Opie. As Hayleigh watched the members of the club depart from the table room, her attention was quickly drawn to Opie. A grin formed on her lips as he approached her and Teagan.

"Hey guys."

A warm smile spread across her face as she stood and enveloped Opie in a loving hug. "Hey, Opie." Opie gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he continued to smile. He responded with warmth and tenderness in his voice. "How have you been?"

"Good, how's Donna and the kids?" She asked, burying her hands in the front of her pockets. A slight smile formed on Ope's face as he scratched his face. "They're good." Piney then came over and took a seat on the settee. As they chatted, the fellow club members shouted in revulsion as they gathered around Bobby. Hayleigh gave an exasperated sigh before making her way over to where the small group of men had congregated.

"What the hell did you guys do now━━" In that moment, a pungent and putrid stench hit her senses as Bobby raised the antlered part of the deer's head, causing her to recoil in a disdainful way. The young Teller instinctively covered her mouth in revulsion, struggling to contain her nausea at the revolting sight before her. "Eugh, gross, why the hell is Bambi in here?"

"That's━That's mine!" Half-Sack maneuvered his way with a gentle push through the cluster of people, determined to reach the deer head. Bobby, on the other hand, felt a sense of disgust as he attempts to extend his arm further. It was as if he was repulsed by the idea but couldn't resist the urge to try. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"No I just━ You know I thought I uh, as like a surprise we could mount it in the club, you know like," Half-Sack grasped the weighty deer head firmly, his intention clear as he attempted to direct attention towards the wall with a light-hearted smile. "On the wall."

"It's gotta be stuffed and treated, you idiot." 

"Yeah I know, just..." He went quiet. "Stuffed with what?"

Amidst the amusement, Hayleigh couldn't help but cover her eyes in embarrassment, her laughter escaping through her lips. The rest of the club members joined in the mirth, finding humor in the sight of Half-Sack clutching onto the deer.

After thirty minutes, everyone has gathered outside. The air is filled with the scent of a burning fire, cigarettes, and alcohol. The sound of murmuring conversations can be heard from the bikers and cro' eaters.

Hayleigh stood ringside, her gaze fixed on the two bikers exchanging blows within the squared circle. She cradled a almost emptied bottle  of beer. Leaned back, resting one arm on the railing while the other hung by her side. The night air was warm yet cool, with gentle breezes brushing against her skin. This was exactly what she had missed. The combination of it all brought a smile to her face. Suddenly, she felt an arm brush up against hers. She turned her head to the side and saw Half-Sack standing beside her. He held two bottles of beer, offering one to her.

"One for you... and one for me." He chuckled, a hearty laugh escaping his lips as he popped open his bottle with a satisfying sound.

"Cheers." The two bottles met with a gentle clink, their glass surfaces making a soft, melodic sound. 

"How's it going?" She asked, switches up her glances from Half-Sack to the brawl fight. "It's goin'." He deeply inhaled from his cigarette, savoring the smoke as it filled his lungs.

"Thanks by the way, for the beer."

"Yeah, no worries." Half-Sack brushed it off with a casual shrug, his unwavering gaze fixed on her. "You enjoying the show so far?"

"Yeah," The brunette nodded. "My money's on Happy." Plus, it's always fun watching a good brawl."

"They know how to put on a good show." The blonde spoke, taking a drag of his cigarette, offering her a hit. She inhaled deeply, savoring the taste of the smoke before exhaling a cloud of it before passing it back. "So, you excited about going to Tahoe?"

"Yeah, I guess so. How'd you know?" He asked, eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I was there when Clay suggested that you go with him." 

"Yeah, it'll be interesting. You ever been?" Hayleigh redirected her focus towards Half-Sack, a look of bewilderment etched across her face. "Hmm?"

"You ever been to Tahoe?"

"Can't say that I have." The brunette observed as he took a sip of his drink before casting a glance back in her direction. "It's pretty... you should come with us. It'd be fun." A single eyebrow arched on Hayleigh's forehead as she looked at him. "You and Bobby...would want me to come to Tahoe this weekend?" With each word, her tone was slow and emphasized when she posed the question back to him. Half-Sack ever so slightly pivoted his body weight a little to the side.

"Yeah, would you come?"

"I mean━━yeah, sure. Watching Bobby dressed up as Elvis and sing to a bunch of drunk people? Fuck yeah." His dimples slowly crept through trying to maintain a calm composure. "That's great. We'd be staying at a motel this weekend if you're cool with that."

"Yeah...I just would have to take some money out of the account before I leave." Leigh spoke. "Oh, that's not a problem... I can spot you." Half-Sack uttered, casually flicking his cigarette away with a swift motion.

"No, it's all good. I have no problem whatsoever with taking some money out to go."

"Hayleigh..." The blonde spoke, "I insist. You're coming with us to Tahoe. I am more then welcome to foot the bill."

"Well, expect a reimbursement coming your way." Hayleigh took a swig of her chilled beer, condensation dampening. The cold bitter fizz on her tongue as she drank. "Like hell you're reimbursing me. I want you to come with, let me treat you."

"Oh, Halfie. It's adorable that you think you're gonna win this."

"Why would it be adorable exactly?" His expression subtly inclined, manifesting a fusion of perplexity and amusement in response to her remark. "You kidding? Teller's are the definition of stubborn. If you look at one of the oldest caves, you'll see markings of us carved in stone as the most unfaltering people known to man." She joked.

"There's no way you're that stubborn."

"Given the fact you've only known me for a month, it makes sense. If it came to anybody else, they'll tell you I'm stubborn, can be batshit crazy at times, and high maintenance."

"Doubt it. You seem laid back."

 Hayleigh delicately plucked the cigarette from his grasp. She proceeded to take a long drag of its harsh contents before expertly releasing a cloud of smoke into the ambient atmosphere. A knowing smirk adorned her face. "Trust me, pretty boy. You haven't seen the crazy yet."

A small brief momentary paused hung between the two before she gave back his cigarette. "This is yours, I'm gonna go find Teagan and maybe grab something with a little more kick." Before upping and walking away. 

 "Damn..." He mumbled under his breath.

GEMMA WAS TRYING HER best to organize some shit around Jax's place. Jax had loaned Wendy his place by herself and the state Wendy left it in was a complete pigsty. It wasn't a shocker to anybody since she couldn't even take care of herself half the time.

Jax gingerly opened the door. He found himself gazing upon an unexpected scene - his mother was meticulously sifting through the rubbish that had accumulated on the couch. The young blonde man subtly rapped his knuckles against the wall sanely, successfully drawing her attention towards him. 

"It's almost midnight." Jax quietly spoke, setting down his shit.

 Gemma proceeded to express her mild displeasure, shaking her head in disapproval, but continued cleaning. "This place is a goddamn pigsty."

"Yeah, cleaning was never her strong suit." He spoke while casually leaned against one of the chairs. Gemma found herself striving to remove clutter whilst tossing unwanted clothing in a heap on their occasional chair. It dawned on her; Jax is almost never at his own place.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's my house."

"You know what I mean," She paused. "I don't want you to see it this way." Jax silently emitted a sigh, observing his mother's struggle for a moment without uttering a word. "Mom, you don't have to do this."

Gemma shook her head no. "I just━━want to get it livable," She protested. "Buy you some decent carpet...goddamn cigarette burns everywhere."

"Mom━━" The blonde kept trying to speak. He knew better though, when Gemma was stuck to something, she wouldn't let it go till it was done. "Get you out of that damn dorm room, and back home... with your son━."

Jax had enough, his body raised along with his voice. "Mom, for Christs sakes, stop cleaning!"

 Unraveling her gaze upwards, Gemma met the sight of her son. With somewhat quick momentum, she steadily regained an upright posture. An expression adorned with perplexity. 

"He's not gonna make it." The thought of this scared Gemma, but she was more confused if anything. She was there when Tara said about the surgery. "What are you talking about, Jackson?"

Jax sighed and bit his tongue as if he was giving up. "Mom, he was born with half a stomach and a hole in his heart. He's gonna die."

Hearing those words ringing in her ear not only frightened her at the thought, but pissed her off. How could her son just so easily give on his own baby? The brunette's nose crinkled in anger before giving him a hard slap across the face. 

Jax could feel the lingering sting on his cheek and his face heat up. "Don't you say that!," She fought. "You are the only one this boy has got. You don't believe he's gonna live, you might as well go down there and kill him yourself." She walked away and sat down at the table. 

Aggressively grabbing a cigarette and lighter to have a quick smoke. She put the lighter close to her face to light it up before taking a strong puff. Jax followed behind her after he realized where he went wrong with what he said. In that moment he knew that he wasn't the only person afraid of losing Abel. Gemma was equally scared. It was one thing to lose her child, but to lose her grandchild?

It would've broken her. "I'm sorry," The brunette muttered quietly with her back turned. "You gotta go see him, Jax━"  

"I can't."

"Why? Cause he'll break your heart?," She asked, taking another puff of her smoke. "It's called being a father."

"For how long? A day? A week?" The blonde spoke back to her. Both sat down at the table and sat in silence for a hot minute.

 "You know, you and your sister were born with the same heart defect your little brother had," She softly hit his chest to emphasize her point. "You both seem pretty sturdy to me." A smile creeps on Jax's face.

"I came through hell, landed on my feet. Your father was hit by a goddamn semi. Dragged a 178 yards. And that bastard lived for two more days. Teller's do not die easy."

"No, we just die bloody." Jax joked. Gemma smiled and flicked her smoke. "That's the Irish in us." She spoke taking another deep puff before blowing out her smoke. "When you and dad hooked up, did he ever talk to you about his vision? About what he wanted for the club?" Jax clarified.

Her nose scrunched and her shoulder lifted ever so slightly whilst looking down at her smoke. "It was, you know━what it is. A brotherhood. A family." The brunette replied handing her smoke to Jax.

"And running guns? He want that?" 

"He never talked about that. Why?" Gemma rose up from her chair and started getting back to cleaning. Focusing her attention on the sink. "I found a box of his old shit in the storage unit. There's, like, pictures and journals. Things I never knew about him."

"What kind of things?" Gemma had asked unbothered. "I dunno, it seemed like his original idea for the M.C was something simpler. You know? social rebellion. He called it a "Harley commune". It wasn't outlaw. It was real hippie shit." The blonde explained.

"We had a lot of bright ideas back then. We were kids. Your father became a man. And men take care of business."

"Yeah...we do." Jax let out a puff of smoke as he looked down at the ground. "How's that sister of yours doing?"

Jax shrugged. "I dunno, she's happy to be back." Gemma's jaw clenched ever so slightly at the comment. "I'm sure she would be, having you know━abandoning us and all. Guilt trip possibly." Gemma digged. Jax sighed deeply before looking back up at his mom. "Mom, you know it wasn't like that at all."

"I don't care what it was, Jackson. That sister of yours up and left without a damn word of explanation. None. And all the sudden were supposed to cater to her? No."

Jax nodded slowly before getting up out of the dining chair. "Mom, you should get home. Finish cleaning tomorrow. I'll lock up." Jax softly spoke.

He did infact lock up, but not before finding anymore of Wendy's drug packets. Prior to Jax going back to his place, Wendy told him she still had some stash and that she didn't want it to "Blow back on him". 

 So, he had to get rid of the evidence. 

Authors note: There's not that really goes on much in episode 1, but this is pt.1/2, hope you enjoyed it!