Tribulation | Jax Teller

The Return

Even though him and Noelle didn't necessarily argue or really get into about the retaliation and the state he came back home in, Jax finds himself unable to sleep.

Noelle is sleeping peacefully beside him and he thinks she is able to do that as with him gone for five years she learned how to compartmentalize. Learned to not let things affect her sleep.

He knows that he should be worried about the Mayans patching over the Calaveras, but he finds himself trying to figure out what to do about Noah questioning – knowing – that he is involved in an outlaw club.

Jax wasn't ashamed of who he was.

But as a father, there was a dilemma with knowing that your kids would come to realize you aren't some personal superhero.

There would come a time when they would see you were just a flawed human being like everyone else. He wasn't just like everyone else. His flaws – sins – were deeper than most. They were able to be dissected by the public and worst of all his own sons and daughter.

He didn't know how he was going to explain to his son about the lifestyle he had chosen – grew up in. Noelle had pointed out that Noah didn't want a lie either. He wanted the truth that Jax knows his 11 year old shouldn't really have yet.

Hell, Jax was even younger when he found out about what the club really dabbled in. He had to be about 8 when he stumbled across that truth. The club didn't have anywhere to store their source of income and he had no choice but to see it as his dad had stashed them in the clubhouse. They were assembling them in the clubhouse.

Jax, however, was groomed for that. He didn't think anything of it. His sons weren't. Noelle had made sure they were fully aware of their choices outside of Charming. He knows the Noah for sure probably wasn't cut out for the outlaw ways. He didn't think is son was soft or couldn't handle it. It just wasn't for him.

He knows AJ is a different story. Jax knows that AJ will follow in his footsteps. AJ looks at him how he imagined he looked at his father and for a time Clay.

Jax sighs and is about to roll over and scoop Noelle in his arms and maybe wake her up for a sure fire way to exhaust. Instead, his body freezes when he hears something fall in the house. The noise doesn't wake Noelle up, but he is on alert when he hears something creak.

Jax sits up in bed and grabs his pair of sweatpants and his muscle tee and throws them on. He creeps down the hall where he can see the kitchen light is on. He exhales a breath as he sees a flash of blonde.

He swipes a hand down his face as he enters the kitchen, but he almost loses his shit when he sees AJ on his tippy toes on a chair trying to balance himself to climb onto the counter.

Jax knows if he says something that he will most likely startle his son. With light feet, he moves into the kitchen and grabs his son, which startles him.

"What are you doing?" Jax asks angrily as he places the boy on his feet.

Since Jax has come home, he hasn't had to scold his kids for anything. That job was left to Noelle. However, even now that he is angry, he doesn't like the feeling looking at his boy, who is clearly distressed at making him upset.

"I just wanted something to snack on." AJ explains quietly.

"And you couldn't look in the fridge?" Jax asks as he folds his arms across his chest.

"Mom keeps the good stuff up there," his son tells him.

Jax rubs his forehead with his fingertips. He moves the chair back to the table and looks into the cupboard on the very top shelf that he can barely reach and wonders how in the hell Noelle can even reach up here. Sticking his hand up, he grabs a plastic bowl and brings it down where it's loaded with candy.