*A few days later*
Jax was finally awake, surprisingly, with Gemma by his side as most of the Redwood members gathered in the hall. Some stayed behind to hold down the fort in Charming but Opie and the longest standing patches were all there. Jax had something to say to them, however weak and strained the words were, and he was doing it immediately. As soon as the meeting was called they all knew it would be devastating to the club.
"Baby," Gemma whinnied. "This isn't smart."
"I gotta," he coughed. "I can't even look my kids in the eye. The gavel corrupts," he sighed, "But this is something else. Tara was right, I turned into a monster."
Gemma opened her mouth to speak when Bobby and the others finally stepped into the room. No one was walking in blind, they knew Jax had a list of dirty deeds to confess to, they were just surprised at how and when.
"I know none of you are gonna be surprised," he started, "But I'm stepping down as President. I hurt this club, my family, my brothers, and their families. I became what I always fought against."
"This about Katie and Ryan?" Bobby asked forcefully.
"Katie and Ryan, Galindo, the Mayans, they're just the last pieces," Jax sighed. "When we found Katie and everyone went home, I sold my soul. I sat down with Miguel Galindo, I agreed on guns and mulling and I never thought twice."
"This shit was over guns and coke?" Opie asked angrily.
"Yeah," Jax said without hesitation.
"Hap almost died covering your ass," Chibs growled.
"I know."
"Why now?" Tig asked Jax. "Why do this now?"
"My wife left me, my daughter hates me, my SA doesn't trust me, I lost friends and brothers and my own goddamn way."
Opie shook his head. "Stepping down won't save you from a vote."
"I know."
"What else did you do?" Juice asked innocently. He was the least suspecting of them all.
"I don't even remember it all," he chuckled ruefully.
Opie growled low and stormed out of the room followed by a tearful Bobby. Then, slowly, the others left their disappointment and disdain palpable even after the room was empty again.
"Happy knows," Bobby said to Opie. "He's gotta know all this. We'll get the truth from him."
"Then we'll figure this out," Opie said, beginning to cry. "Did we make him what he is?"
"We all had our roles," Bobby said sadly. "We played our parts."
—
Despite Happy's insistence, Katie still went by his room daily. She checked in with his nurses and sat outside his room trying to send positive vibes his way. At one point she even attempted to pray for him but, as it was never something she did regularly, it felt awkward and insincere.
When she got word that Charlotte would be released in the coming days, Katie had to actually do something. With help from Bishop, who undoubtedly found the forfeited property with Pena's help, Katie had a place to stay with room for all three of her children. All she had to do then was get them.
"We ready?" Angel asked a book bag of snacks slung over his shoulder.
Katie laughed. "You're a dork. It's not a camping trip."
"It's gonna be a long ride to and from," he said defensively. "Damn, mama, gimmie a break. I wanna have fun."
"We will," she assured him. "You sure Coco and E don't mind staying with Charlotte?"
"Nah," Angel chuckled. "They'll be fine."
Relaxing a bit, Katie nodded and the two of them then jumped in her car and made the trek to Charming. The ride felt quicker than ever and their conversation was constant and flowed easily.
"Aren't you glad I brought snacks?" He asked as she chewed happily on some cookies as they passed the Welcome to Charming sign.
"Oh please, I had like, one thing. Your fatass ate everything else!"
