A/N-This is the "Love Song" reboot-it's not that I didn't necessarily like that story, I just felt like I had run myself in a corner and needed to start over. So I used the alternate title I'd had for "Love Song" and the alternate name for the OC. She's essentially the same but the situation is different. I'm still planning on leaving the original story up (and continuing "An Education"-promise!) but I felt like there was just another angle I wanted to try out with these characters if put in different circumstances. So here it is...I hope you enjoy...

TRUE LOVE WAY

Chapter One

With a deep sigh, Emma Delaney took in the reflection in front of her. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to see but she'd been expecting...something. Here she was, standing in the room of her childhood, and everything looked exactly as she'd left it. But she figured six years of college and a double major would have done something to the reflection this mirror had been used to seeing. Sure, she looked a little older, her hair was a little bit shorter than usual, and she'd filled out a little more since she'd officially resided in this room but shouldn't there be something more? She'd have thought graduating from college would make her different somehow but she didn't really feel that different.

She glanced around at the remnants of her childhood and smiled softly when her gaze found the wall of pictures she'd collected over the years, most of them with her best friend—who was beyond thrilled, almost in a scary way, that not only was she finally back for good but she'd also agreed to move in with her—and she realized, as she looked around the room with its purple walls and bright white dresser, that childhood rooms had a way of making you remember the good instead of the bad.

"Em?" Her mom called from down the stairs. "You almost ready? The party's gonna start without the guest of honor..."

She blew out a breath and did another once over in the mirror, almost stumbling back when her mother materialized behind her.

"Shit, mom—you scared me."

Luann held up a hand in defense. "Sorry...I just wanted to see if you were ready...honey, you look fantastic."

She gestured to the mirror in front of them and Emma tilted her head to side as she surveyed her outfit. After an unnecessarily pain-staking rifling through boxes in the U-haul still parked in the driveway, she'd finally decided on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a silky and flowing white top with delicate spaghetti straps, and a pair of nude heels. She wasn't sure what to wear to her own graduation party, especially when it was being held at the clubhouse of an outlaw motorcycle gang. She was secretly hoping it wouldn't turn out to be just another typical Samcro party that ended with drunken bodies lying face down on top of one another, joints still blazing, and the smell of stale beer and pussy in the air. She shuddered a little at the thought...it'd been a while since she'd been to one of those and part of her just prayed that maybe they would be able to tone it down a little. But then again, these were the same people she'd known all her life—and even if she'd changed, even just a little, they most certainly had not.

"Here, Em," her mom was saying behind her now as she grabbed the still-hot curling iron off the dresser in front of them. "Let me just touch up a couple pieces in the back."

She waited as her mother silently worked behind her and bit her lip...she wasn't used to this kind of motherly bonding with Luann and if she was being completely honest with herself, she felt a little uncomfortable. It didn't necessarily seem forced but this just wasn't normal for them. And while she appreciated her mother's efforts, she still found it difficult to completely trust her. She'd learned from experience that trusting her mother, regardless of what she said, usually lead to heartbreak and disappointment.

"There," Luann whispered softly as she gazed at both their reflections. "Almost perfect."

"Almost?"

Her mother smiled brightly and then dug into her back pocket to extend a small box towards her. She took it hesitantly as more feelings of uneasiness and a little bit of agitation rose up in her again. Playing out her role in this new game of happy family was going to quickly take a toll on her. With slightly shaking hands, her fingers tore at the packaging until she held the naked box in her hand.

"Well..." Luann prodded with a happy smile. "Open it already."

She found herself smiling back and carefully lifted the top. A thin silver locket was nestled on a piece of cotton and she gingerly lifted the long chain from the box.

"Look inside."

Feeling her chest tighten, she slowly snapped the locket open and stared with wide eyes at the picture framed inside of her mother, young and healthy, and her father, free and happy, holding her in his arms. The left side of the locket read: "To our Emma—We're so proud of you."

It took all of her strength not to throw the locket across the room and scream at the top of her lungs. Instead, with shaking hands, she pulled the chain over her head and stared blankly at her reflection.

"We were thinking that someday you could swap out that picture when you have kids and a husband...don't give me that look," Luann laughed and she could see that her mother was on the verge of tears, which made her feel even more uneasy. "I mean it—look, Emma, I am so proud of you—the only Delaney to finish college and with two fuckin' majors no less—excuse my language."

She laughed in spite of the sinking feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

"Your dad wishes he could be here, you know," her mother went on and now the tears were really flowing. "We could try calling him later during the party, if you want...we could probably get him."

She nodded slowly and swallowed. She'd been trying not to think about her dad all day, the one glaringly obvious missing piece. She'd been trying not to think about how he was sitting in prison right now and probably picturing this moment in his head. She swallowed again and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry, especially in front of her mother. That was the last thing she needed today.

"I'll, um...I'll give you a second to finish up here. Let's plan on leaving in about five minutes, ok?" Luann was saying now, a slight hitch in her voice. She quickly stepped aside from the dresser and was out the door moments later.

Figures, Emma thought as a grim line set across her face. Things get too real, too emotional and Luann bails. What was new?

She shook her head and ran her forefinger underneath her lower lashes to make sure none of her eyeliner had smeared in that moment of weakness. And when she closed her eyes again, all she could see was the moment her relationship with her mother had been forever severed. It had been a typical night at the clubhouse—she'd only recently been allowed access into the clubhouse after months of begging and pleading with her dad to let her come. Dawn got to go and they were both sixteen, she'd reasoned and her father's response was always: "Yes, Dawn gets to go but her father is also a fucking idiot." It had been so predictable, she'd wondered if he was just looping it on auto-repeat. So when he'd finally relented, she'd just about shit her pants she was so shocked. And after she'd received long explanations about what she could potentially see from both her dad and Gemma, she was finally escorted into the real world of Samcro—ugliness and all.

Of course, she and Dawn hadn't been even planning on going to the clubhouse that night but had swung by because Dawn had needed to grab some cash from her dad—they needed money to get those fake IDs after all—and they'd just sauntered through the throngs of drunkeness and loud, blaring music in an attempt to find Tig like they were old pros, even though she knew they were both still secretly freaked out a little by what really went on inside walls of the clubhouse. While Dawn was charming her dad out of house and home, she had just rolled her eyes and decided to see if she could find either of her parents. As she searched through the crowd, it didn't take long to spot the newly-minted VP on a nearby couch with not one but two croweaters wrapping themselves up in his longish blonde hair and cocky grin. When he saw her, he'd flashed a wide grin her way and waved. She'd mouthed to him: "where's my mom?" And the second she saw the grin slide off his face, she'd known something was wrong. And when he hastily untangled himself from the two croweaters at his side and started pushing his way towards her, she'd known something was very wrong.

"Hey little darlin'," he'd lowered his head down to her ear so she could hear him and if the circumstances had been different, her reaction would've been too. "I think I saw her over there."

Everything seemed to happen all at once—just as Jax was trying to lead her back towards the front door, she'd turned her head and saw a flash of bleached blonde hair and had known instinctively that it was her mom. She'd squirmed out of Jax's grasp and staggered over to the bar, only to see her mother with a rolled up dollar bill held to her nose, snorting a long line of white powder. She barely registered Jax stepping in front of her, to shield her, didn't even feel his hand on her back, and when she pushed him away, she'd come face to face with the reality that her mother was a drug addict. Luann had stared at her with a wide, horrified expression, her hand coming up to cover her face and then to tear at her hair, black streaks falling down her cheeks and making her look crazed and frightening at the same time.

"Mom..." she'd choked out even as Jax pulled her away. "What are you doing?"

She'd felt her legs give out on her and Jax had had to wrap both arms around her waist to keep her upright. When he'd finally gotten her outside, she'd pushed herself away from him, stumbling to the ground as she screamed into her hands. His hands were on her back, on her waist, on her arms and he pulled her up and into his arms. She'd sobbed into his cut as he stroked her hair, his arms supporting her weight. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten home that night. All she knew was that the next morning, Luann checked herself into rehab.

She might feel differently if that had been the only time Luann had tried to get clean. But by the third attempt, Emma had stopped believing her mother's promises. Yet now, she was back. She hadn't intentionally tried to run away but San Diego had been a welcome alternative to Charming. If she was being completely honest with herself, she knew, deep down, that she'd purposefully pursued a double major just to keep herself away for a little bit longer. She knew she didn't have to come back—she could've stayed in San Diego or moved to LA or Chicago or anywhere. She didn't know what had pulled her back—maybe it was guilt, maybe it was because she knew that was what was expected of her, maybe it was because this was all she really knew. And ever since she'd been back—a full twenty-four hours to be exact—Luann had been so happy, practically walking on air. Then she'd offered her a management job at CaraCara and she just didn't know what to do with that yet. While business management was technically one of her two majors—something she'd honed an interest for as a part-time office secretary at Teller-Morrow during high school—working at CaraCara and TM were two completely different things. It would make her mother unbelievably happy but she didn't know where that left her. She didn't necessarily want to have any part of her mother's business but maybe a job was a job and Luann had offered her a very nice salary with benefits just to sweeten the deal and make it that much more difficult to say no. She knew for a fact that she couldn't get a salary like that anywhere else in Charming but that also meant she'd have to be surrounded by her mother's business and everything it entailed. But Luann had sounded so hopeful when they'd discussed it over the phone and she couldn't remember the last time she'd heard that in her mom's voice. Could she really handle CaraCara…just because her mom was trying? Didn't that mean she was supposed to try too?

With once last glance at her reflection, she met Luann down the stairs and they silently left the house to head out to the clubhouse. In an act of pure desperation, her mom started chatting absent-mindedly as they drove, probably to tune out the silence between them.

"As far as I know, all the Samcro boys will be there—just to warn you, I think Bobby's got some kind of surprise planned for you—Gemma and I tried to talk him out of it but I don't think he's gonna listen..."

Emma groaned and leaned her against passenger side door. "I thought I said no surprises."

"I know, Em, but you know him—he won't take no for answer. He mentioned something about some of the other boys being in on it too but wouldn't tell me anything..."

"As long as he doesn't sing..."

Luann laughed and reached over to smooth a wayward tendril that had blown up from the wind. She immediately turned to face her mother with wide, surprised eyes and Luann's arm quickly fell back on her lap, as if she knew that would be asking too much. When her phone buzzed in her purse, Emma dug it out and handed it over to her. Luann sighed deeply and quickly pounded out a reply, keeping one eye trained carefully on the road.

"Who texted you?" Emma asked.

Luann blew out a nervous breath and tossed her phone back in her purse. "Just Gemma—wondering where we are. Everyone's already there waiting for us."

"I guess we better hurry up then, huh?"

Luann smiled weakly and her hands tightened on the wheel.

"Mom...? Everything alright?" This agitation was starting to make her nervous too.

She nodded quickly with a tight smile and focused back on the road.

Emma wasn't used to seeing her mom on edge...well, she corrected herself, she wasn't used to seeing her mom on edge for something that wasn't drug-related. She knew that wasn't exactly fair; Luann had been attempting sobriety on and off for eight years and she'd seen plenty of true sober moments to know the difference. Maybe she was just nervous too. And it felt really awkward to be nervous about going to her own graduation party. After all, everyone at the party were people she'd known since she was in diapers...she just hadn't seen most of them in a few years.

Since leaving for college, she'd put some distance between herself and the club. Sure, she came back for holidays and some breaks but it just wasn't the same. The only non-blood related person associated with the club she'd kept in regular contact with was Dawn because they'd been best friends basically since they'd left the womb and even that was scattered at best. Dawn, who had chosen beauty school instead of the two-year college Charming offered, had made regular visits at least every other weekend when she'd first started school—then it was once a month and then every couple of months as their lives became busier and increasingly separate. But they'd never lost the fierce loyalty to each other and when they finally were back in each other's company, it was like no time had even passed. So agreeing to move in with her had been a no-brainer.

It was just everyone else she wasn't sure about. Luann had mostly kept her up-to-date with any major gossip or happenings within the club and whenever she did come back to visit, everyone had always welcomed her as if nothing had changed, as if she had never left in the first place and would always be a member of the family. But things had changed and she didn't really know where she fit in the grand scheme of things anymore. She didn't know if she could just slip into the fold again and allow herself to be submersed in the club.

As Luann parked the car, the clubhouse loomed in front of them and she had to blow out a deep breath to get her bearings. This was it. When they walked through the parking lot and stood face to face with the front door, she almost felt like she was outside her body, looking down from above as she watched herself go through the door behind her mom.

She didn't have a chance to even register where she was or who was there because the second her body was completely through the door, a flash of bright red was barreling towards her and slammed into her, taking them both out and onto the sticky floor below them.

"Em!" Dawn practically screamed into her ear as her arms locked around her neck.

"Jesus Christ, Dawn—let the girl at least say hi to everyone before you start playin' football," Tig muttered with a laugh as he bent to pull both girls up to their feet. He promptly pulled Emma to him and planted a wet kiss on her forehead. "How's it goin', sweetheart. Long time no see, right?"

"Hey Tig," she laughed and pushed her hair out of her face. She didn't even get a chance to say anything else because Bobby was already pulling her in for a bear hug, who was then unceremoniously pushed out of the way by her godmother.

Gemma embraced her tightly and gently pushed her back to hold her at arm's length by the shoulders. "It's good to have you back, hun. And congratulations...we're so proud of you."

"Thanks, Gemma," She whispered softly back to her before Clay took his turn and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

The procession line went on a little like that—next up was Chibs, then Juice, Piney, Opie, and as everyone seemed to be simultaneously embracing her, she caught a glimpse of the blonde, long-haired, smirking VP with his arms crossed over his chest as he hung off to the side to wait his turn. After Opie released her, Jax stepped forward with a wide grin and quickly pulled her into his arms.

"Welcome home, Em," he murmured in her ear. "I'm glad you're back."

She pulled back a little and didn't realize her hands were still resting lightly on his shoulders. "Hey Jax."

He chuckled and she quickly slid her hands off his shoulders to clasp in front of her.

"Shit—it feels like it's been years." He was saying now.

She laughed in spite of the fluttering in her stomach and nodded. "Yeah, well, that's because it has been years. Three, I think."

He squinted a little and glanced up at the ceiling as he finished his mental calculations. She knew she was right—the most recent time she'd been home was Christmas but she hadn't seen anyone but her mom and Dawn because she'd had to go back to her internship right away. The two times before that he'd been on a four and five day run somewhere—she couldn't remember where—and before that, he'd been serving a three-month stint in Stockton. Sometime in between, he'd gotten married but she had skipped the wedding, using finals as an excuse. There was something about the idea of him marrying a stripper and known junkie that she just couldn't bring herself to watch. Her mom and Dawn, of course, had given her a full report—Jax had mostly likely been drunk or at the least very close to being drunk and Wendy had most definitely been high. A shitshow of epic proportions if there ever was one. And now, he was newly divorced with a baby on the way.

"Yeah, you're right." Jax was saying now. "Three years. Damn—that seems like a long fuckin' time."

She smiled and swallowed when she realized how close they were standing. "Yeah, it is."

"Sorry to interupt," Dawn sang out as she materialized next to her, linking their arms together. "But, um, I think someone needs to start drinking because this is a fuckin' graduation party!"

She allowed herself to be steered away and to the front of the bar where she was introduced to some new prospects and Opie's girlfriend, Lyla. Dawn plopped a beer in front of her and she quickly took a long pull, scanning the room for the first time with an agitated sigh. There weren't any streamers or signs or weird tablecloths and she was grateful her mom and Dawn had actually listened to her about that, just a few card tables jam-packed with chips, slow-cookers, pasta dishes, and a huge stack of buns. The beverages, of course, were behind the bar. But it really was just immediate Samcro family—just like her mom and Dawn promised her. She glanced over at her mom, who was deep in conversation with Gemma, and sent her a reassuring smile. Then her eyes landed on Jax, who smiled back as he brought his beer to his lips.

"So," Dawn chirped next to her. "Is this alright? I know you said you didn't really want to have the party at the clubhouse but..."

She just waved a hand. "This is great...can't say I'm still not a little worried about what the rest of the night will bring, though."

Dawn pouted and crinkled her nose. "It's gonna be a fuckin' good time because it isn't everyday my best friend graduates from college. So, basically, I'm tellin' you you're gonna have a fun tonight whether you like it or not."

"Wow," she laughed. "Ok, then."

Dawn shrugged smugly and turned her head to scan the room. A few seconds later, she nudged Emma with her elbow and leaned over to her as she whispered: "Jax is lookin' at you."

"What? Um...our backs are turned, Dawn. I think you're losing it."

Dawn tried to discreetly look back at him by resting her chin on her shoulder. "Oh yeah, he totally just looked away now 'cuz he knows I caught him."

"Uh huh. Right. That's pretty ridiculous."

Dawn just shrugged again and all she could do was take another drink. Dawn must've lost her mind since the last time they'd spoken—Jax had never seen her as anything other than Otto's much younger daughter and while he'd always been friendly, always been kind to her, he'd been just as friendly and kind to Dawn too; he'd always treated her like the child she was. She remembered him ruffling her hair with a greasy hand, turning up a song he knew she liked on the radio, and sometimes sharing his dinner with her whenever they had a shift in common at TM—she'd started unofficially working there when she was 12, officially at 14—and he'd often teased her about having to beat the shit out of any guys that might show up looking for her. That had actually only happened once but it had been the stern, menacing glint of murder in her dad's eyes that had sent Adam Williams running for the hills; Jax had just stood behind her dad with a wide, toothy grin, his arms crossed over his chest as he'd yelled out to Adam that he'd better never see him around TM again if he didn't want a foot shoved up his ass. She'd been horrified and didn't speak to either of them for two full days; needless to say, after that incident, no boy made the mistake of ever doing that again.

She was five years younger than him and he'd had his interests preoccupied by much more mature and experienced prospects to notice a skinny, awkward little girl who'd had glasses and braces until she was fourteen. The endless revolving door of women was almost vomit-inducing—before and after she'd witnessed Jax trash his dorm room mere minutes after he'd realized Tara was never coming back. He'd turned to face her, chest heaving with wide, watering eyes and they stared at each other for a few moments before he promptly shut the door. That was the moment she'd realized he might actually be capable of legitimate feelings towards a woman—even though said woman would never be her. What she really wanted to do, though, was mentally kick herself—she was 24 years old and needed to stop acting like a stupid teenager. A few stolen glances when she thought he was looking, minor cardiac arrest when he actually did, swooning from afar—that was all innocent enough when she was in high school. But she wasn't in high school anymore. She wasn't even in college anymore—which meant it was time to start really acting like an adult.

"He looks good though, right?" Dawn leaned over to her again with a low murmur.

She just shrugged. "Yeah, so? Doesn't he kinda always though?"

"Shit—I forget you haven't seen him for a while. He's looked sorta rough the last couple of years like he's just been in between being drunk and hungover the whole time—like seriously, worse than when what's-her-name blew out of here—he looked fuckin' miserable. But the last couple months he's finally started to look better—like back to his eye candy old self. I am so glad he kicked that bitch to the curb."

"Jesus, Dawn," Emma admonished her softly. "She's pregnant with his kid-"

"So what?" Dawn snorted. "Still a dumb bitch even when she's not high."

"Right."

She'd only met Wendy once in passing and once was really enough. Jax's ex-wife hadn't seemed all that coherent when they'd met—she could recognize that from a mile away. But Wendy had just sneered and dismissed her like she was a piece of dirt which didn't sit well with her given her own connections to the club, even though she didn't usually like to acknowledge her 'rank' among the women connected to Samcro. They'd barely exchanged two words; Wendy had just stared her down with half-hooded eyes and dilated pupils. The words "what the fuck does Jax see in you" were right on the surface but she'd bit her tongue. They didn't know each other and now, as good luck would have it, they probably never really would.

"Have you thought about what you're gonna do yet?" Dawn pulled her from her revelry with a surprisingly quiet voice, given the escalating party behind them.

She just sighed and took another drink. "I'm not sure."

Dawn nodded quickly. "Right...we'll talk later, ok?"

Grateful for the moment of silence, she scanned the room again and grinned widely when she caught the eyes of the Son Dawn had been relentlessly pursuing for the past six months. When he realized she knew his eyes were on her fire-haired best friend, he immediately looked away and headed for the food table.

"So..." she leaned over to her best friend...it was time for some payback. "Someone was looking at you..."

Dawn's eyes lit up and her head immediately whipped around to find the object of their discussion.

"He's not lookin' anymore, Em," Dawn whispered under her breath, disappointment etched in her features.

"Yeah, but he was though," she pointed out. "That's what really matters here."

"I guess you're right...I didn't get a chance to tell you yet but...tonight's the night. I know it...he's gonna get drunk enough and then I'm gonna pounce on him and then he won't be able to keep sayin' no." Dawn said matter-of-factly.

"Wow—I wish I had a tape recorder so I could play that back for you. You realize you sounded like a crazy stalker, right?"

Dawn smirked conspiratorily and took a long pull from her beer. "Maybe I am."

"Well, you're setting him up to be murdered—painfully and sadistically, I might add—you know that, right?"

Dawn just shrugged again. "Everything has a way of workin' itself out, you know?"

She rose her eyebrows. "Ok, if you say so."

"Yo Dawn," Jax called out behind them, his voice getting closer and closer as he spoke. "Quit hoggin' the new grad...what are you talkin' about, anyway? Causin' trouble already?"

A few moments later, Jax was elbow to elbow with her and he leaned on the bar with a cocky, lop-sided grin that made her throat tighten.

"Go away, Jax—girl talk," Dawn reached across her to swat at him playfully. "Besides, we were just reminiscing about the time you stole our fakes and got us grounded for a month."

Jax grinned fondly at the memory and rubbed his chin as he bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I didn't steal shit. I was helpin' you. And you ladies were about to land yourselves in a heap of trouble if you'd gotten an underage. I'm still waitin' for that thank you, by the way."

Emma smiled back at him and felt her heart race a little faster at their sudden closeness. "That's not the way I remember it."

"Oh yeah?" He cocked an eyebrow at her in a faux-challenge.

"Yeah," she laughed. "I remember Dawn and I having a great time, dancing and drinking and who shows up but the big VP on his high horse-"

"You mean white horse." Dawn interjected with a evil smirk.

She held a hand out to her best friend and shook her head. "No, I said high horse. Anyways—I seem to remember you yanking us out of that bar in Lodi, grabbing our wallets out of our purses, and taking the IDs."

"Like I said," he shrugged. "Helpin' you."

"Yeah," Dawn pointed out, her eyes narrowed. "But you didn't have to inform our dads about our little trip to Lodi though. That royally fuckin' sucked."

"I thought I would never see the light of day again, actually." Emma added with a firm nod.

Jax raised both hands in the air and laughed. "Whatever, ladies. What your dads dished out was tame compared to what would've happened to you if you'd been in that bar when the cops showed up. But I think we're missing the big picture here-I promised you I would give your fakes back when you were eighteen and I did I give 'em back, ladies?"

"Yes." They answered in dejected unison.

"And we're still arguin' about this how many years later because..." Jax trailed off with a triumphant grin.

Dawn rolled her eyes with an unnecessary dramatic flair. "Whatever, I'm gonna go grab some food."

Jax shook his head and took another drink as he watched her leave.

"I know she's your best friend but you know she's fuckin' crazy, right?" He leaned into her as he spoke. "You sure you wanna move in with her?"

She just chuckled as she put her palms on the bar to lean back. "Trust me, I've known that since before we could walk...but she's my best friend. Always has been always will be, you know?"

He nodded with an easy smile. "So when's the big move-in day anyways?"

"Uh...the plan is tomorrow but we'll see if that actually happens...depending on how the night turns out."

"Need any help? I don't really have anything goin' on the next few days."

Her brow crinkled in thought as she weighed her options. Of course he was just being a nice guy but she didn't really need to get in the habit of asking him for help. That was a place she just didn't want to go.

"Nah," she answered finally. "I think between me, my mom, Dawn, and Tig—we got it."

He shrugged. "Alright—well, I'm all yours if you need me."

It was better just to ignore that and she chewed on her bottom lip in thought. Instead of responding, she just smiled and took another drink of her beer, quickly finishing it. A moment later, he propped himself up to lean down underneath the other side of the bar to grab her another beer from an ice bucket. He popped the top off, tossed it over the bar, and slid it over to her with a sly grin.

"Startin' the night off right, huh?" He smiled as she quickly took a pull from the bottle.

She shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's my party right?"

His smile widened and she could've sworn he was slowly inching closer to her. As his head dipped a little lower and tilted towards her, she couldn't stop herself from shivering. And just as he opened his mouth to say something to her and she could feel his warm breath on her ear, someone was pulling on her arm and yanking her anyway from him.

"Time for your surprise, sweetheart," Bobby was telling her. "I'm not gonna sing, scout's honor."

She just rolled her eyes and allowed herself to pulled over to where the rest of the party was waiting for her and was acutely aware that Jax was right on her heels. Bobby sat her down in a chair right at the front of the group just as Juice wheeled out a large computer screen sitting on a cart.

"What's going on?" She frowned, not sure she liked wherever this was potentially heading.

"Don't worry...you're gonna like this, promise." Bobby reassured her with a nod as he bent down to turn on the screen and then waved into the tiny camera she hadn't realized was there. "Everythin' set, Juice?"

"Should be ready." He nodded, taking a step back to disappear into the crowd.

Bobby looked down at her from where he stood by the screen and grinned. "Alright, girl, happy graduation from all us Samcro boys."

Her heart froze as he stepped away from the screen and her dad's gruff yet smiling face spread across the screen.

"Dad?" She couldn't believe what she was seeing and her eyes welled up with ready to be shed tears.

"Hey, Em—I'm sorry I can't be there with ya but we figured this was the next best thing."

A silent sob escaped her lips and she quickly covered her mouth to hide it.

"That's alright," she replied shakily. "I miss you, Dad."

"I miss you too, honey...but shit, you look great, you sound great...you've got the whole world ahead of you now. Grab it by the fuckin' horns and hold on." He was trying to smile, but she could tell he was really trying to keep his emotions in check. They had an audience, both in the clubhouse and in the prison where he sat. Neither of them wanted to look like weak, blubbering idiots and she had to smile at how alike they were. She was always grateful she tended to take after her dad more than her mom, for more reasons than one.

A tear was sliding down her cheek now and her dad quickly shook his head.

"Don't cry, Em—this isn't the time for cryin'. Now—I only have a couple minutes left, so here's what I want you to do tonight: have a couple drinks for me, have a couple drinks for yourself...and just have fun, alright? No more cryin'...just be happy, ok? You're finally fuckin' done with school...took you long enough, right? Now you can finally get busy livin'...I love you, Emma."

"I love you too, Dad."

They smiled back at each other and she quickly wiped another tear away, hoping he didn't see.

"Is it alright if I talk to your mom for a second?"

"Sure." She turned to find Luann but she was already right next to her. She looked on as her mother and father exchanged sincere and longing "I love yous" and she realized she'd forgotten just how devoted they were to each other. Their marriage had somehow survived a shitstorm—rehab, near separations, countless arguments and struggles surrounding the natures of their respective 'careers', and now prison. It was a miracle they were not only still in love but still married. Despite everything, she knew how lucky she was to have parents that loved each other and were still together.

When a prison guard came into view and announced their time was up, Otto winced and placed a hand gently on the screen. "Well, girls, I gotta go. Come visit me soon, alright?"

Both Emma and her mother nodded.

"I love you, Em, and I'm so fuckin' proud of you I almost can't sit still. You're gonna be fine, sweetheart."

A moment later, the screen went black and her father's image was gone. She quickly stepped away from her mother to avoid having to embrace her in front of the entire club and her eyes immediately flew to Bobby. Before she knew it, she was being pulled in for another bear hug.

"Thanks, Bobby. You didn't have to do that but I'm glad you did."

"Well...we didn't really know what kind of present you give someone for a college graduation..."

"It was perfect."

As Bobby released her, she turned to the crowd of people she'd known her entire life. Since she'd left for college, she hadn't allowed herself to think about family and Samcro in conjunction with each other. It was hard to think of them as family. Maybe part of it stemmed from the circumstances that led to her father's current stint in prison—if he wasn't a member of Samcro, he wouldn't be there in the first place—and it had always been easier to think of the women associated with Samcro as family—Gemma and Dawn, in particular—than the men of Samcro. But now she had a feeling she'd judged them a little too harshly.

"Thank you, guys," she started, worried she'd start to tear up again. "I don't know how you pulled that off but that was seriously the best present ever."

"It was Bobby's idea," Tig offered simply. "I just gave that guard a little cash."

"Juice set up all that computer shit," Bobby held up a hand and pointed. "And Jax made all the calls."

She smiled again and quickly realized that trying to dam up her tears was futile. A few tears slipped easily down her cheeks as she stepped over and embraced each of them as a silent thank you. When her arms wrapped around Jax's shoulders, it took her a moment to completely step away from him. The pull that'd been absent for the last three years had quickly taken root again and she was not happy about it. She was older now, wiser, and had learned that bad boys were always just that—bad. It wouldn't be a good idea to fall back into old habits, especially when she'd only been back in Charming for a full twenty-four hours—it was pathetic. And she felt it too.

When she stepped away from him, there was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite process. Something she had never seen there before—at least not directed towards her. Still, she took a few cautionary steps back with a soft smile and a sigh, then she turned away from him completely and decided it was time to find Dawn.

Jax kept his eyes trained on her as he watched her bounce from person to person, trying to give ample time to each party guest and keeping a careful distance from her mother. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. When he glanced up, Dawn was staring right at him with a smug expression as if to say: I told ya so.

To be fair, she had told him that Emma wasn't quite the same. So he had anticipated a change in her. Prepared himself for whatever was different about her. But he had not prepared for the mature, intelligent, beautiful, and alarmingly sad woman that had walked through the clubhouse's doors. The twenty-one year old girl he remembered from three years ago was gone and replaced with the vision that floated around in front of him. The physical alterations were immediately obvious. A fucking blind man could see how gorgeous she had become...firm, long legs flexing easily in those heels, curves in all the places he loved them—her shirt just skimmed over what he was positive had not really been there before and her blonde hair—a little shorter than he remembered—fell just below her shoulders in loose curls...he found himself wondering if it was as soft as it looked.

But her eyes were still the same—the eyes that had been seared into his memory. And seeing them now...it almost felt like he was seeing a ghost. Those were the same eyes that had struck him when he'd briefly glanced up during the destruction of his dorm room and had held him firmly in place. When he'd shut the door, and shut her out with it, he'd sat on his bed and allowed himself to cry. It was like she had given him permission to let go and purge himself of the turmoil inside him. And it was his first, most vivid memory of those eyes that had allowed him to do so.

The morning of his dad's funeral, he'd locked himself in his room and wouldn't answer his door for anyone, not even his mother. He just didn't want to see anyone, didn't want to see the pity, didn't want to hear "I'm sorry" anymore. So when there was yet another knock on his door, he growled at the intruder to go the fuck away. And then he'd heard a little tiny voice asking him to please open the door. He'd known it was her immediately and something propelled him off of his bed and over to the door. He'd opened it carefully, just an inch, and found himself staring down into wide, glassy, and sorrowful blue eyes. He hadn't been able to move even as she brushed past him and sat down on his bed. It had almost felt like there was some magnetic force coming from the bed, pulling him closer and closer until he was sitting next to her. She'd just looked up at him again with those wide, angelic, haunting eyes and when she wordlessly folded her tiny hand into his, he'd felt a tear slip down his cheek. They'd sat there for at least a half an hour as he cried softly on the bed, no words exchanged between them.

That moment had never left him—it still amazed him that a ten year old had been able to do what none of the adults in his life could. And when his mom told him she was moving back to Charming, seemingly permanently, he found himself thinking about those eyes in the strangest moments...sometimes before he drifted off to sleep, sometimes when he was just mindlessly riding his bike on the open road, the last time he'd been forced to shoot a man, and most recently, when he'd seen his kid's ultrasound for the first time.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he hadn't wished she was a little bit older. He'd toyed with the idea when she was sixteen, then again after she turned seventeen—then had completely berated himself for

even thinking it...jailbait, especially the jailbait daughter of a man he had a deep respect for—not to mention his mother's almost-namesake and his parents' god-daughter-was not something he could allow himself to be interested in. Then he'd considered it more seriously when she turned eighteen. The foundation of what he saw before him now had already been put in place even then and while he wasted time contemplating over too many bottles of Jack Daniel's and too many nameless crow-eaters, she'd already left for college. Part of him had been relieved. The other part of him missed her. That's why it felt so fucking good to finally be in the same room with her again.

And now, he was faced with the woman she had become. It was arresting and alarming all at the same time. When had this happened? When had this maturity and confidence and intelligence appeared? Sure, she'd always been smart as a kid but this was different. Education had clearly had an effect on her. She'd obviously gained some experience in college and he could only guess as to what that exactly entailed. Still...he couldn't take his eyes off her. And he knew he needed to stop. Dawn was starting to catch on to him.

That was the last fucking thing he needed right now—the devil's bat-shit crazy spawn all over his ass. Besides, he had to remind himself, he hadn't really seen or spoken to Emma in three years. That didn't exactly mean he could pick things up right where they, or he, specifically, had left off, especially since it had never even started in the first place.

He wasn't sure what to do now—he had changed since she'd last seen him too. Married. Divorced. Father-to-be, even if he still wasn't sure what to do with that title. He'd been consistently unhappy and a lot of it stemmed from his relationship with Wendy and what it did and didn't represent and had tried to rectify his mistake with too much whiskey and too many faceless crow eaters, porn pussy included. He'd also consistently refused to listen to his mother until it was too late...until she was pregnant. He had never really loved her; he'd tried but he'd been forcing it since day one. But once Wendy finally agreed to sign the divorce papers, he'd felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Of course, the irony wasn't lost on him that all this—in addition to stumbling across his dad's dumbfounding, head-spining manuscript—had all coincided within a month of each other. Wendy finally letting him go. Beginning to come to terms with being a father and what that meant. Wondering what the club would be like if his dad was still alive. Emma coming home. It was too much to process at once. He needed a fucking drink.

At some point, the party had slowly shifted outside and someone had started a bonfire. Everyone began congregating within the vicinity of the fire as the prospects brought coolers and kegs outside. The party itself continued on like it had been inside the clubhouse—rowdy and slightly out of hand—and so he'd been more than a little surprised to see the guest of honor nearly sitting it out, just watching the night unfold on a nearby picnic table. With a quick glance around, he approached her with slow steps. He didn't want to seem overly eager but he was grateful to have a little time to really talk to her, to figure out just what was different and what had stayed the same.

Her eyes were trained on something off to the side as she played with the half-empty beer bottle in her hands. When she realized he was there, her expression shifted into something he couldn't quite read.

"Hey." He called out softly as he approached.

"Hey." She smiled.

"What are you doin' over here by yourself?"

She grinned devishly and pointed towards the direction she'd been looking before with her beer bottle. "Just taking in the show."

His eyes followed and he shook his head when he realized what she'd been watching. Dawn was perched against the far side of the clubhouse and pinning Juice between her and the wall with more than just her hands. Juice's eyes flicked nervously from her to the bonfire then back to her with a scared expression on his face...it was difficult to tell which was more scary...Tig catching them in their current position or Dawn herself. Both were equally nightmare-inducing.

"Ah yes...the game appears to be back on." He chuckled as he sat down across from her.

Her ey es narrowed and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Wait...you mean you already knew about them?"

He shrugged. "Everyone knows...I think Tig has an idea; he's just pretending he doesn't know shit right now. Probably helps him sleep at night. It's not like Dawn's done a very good job of hidin' it though. I just can't believe he's been able to escape her clutches for so long."

She laughed and reached over to swat his arm playfully. "Aww, come on. You make her sound like she's the devil incarnate."

"I think she might be." He quickly held his hands up in defense. "Sorry; no offense or anything. We've had this discussion before."

She just smirked at him and her eyes shifted back to check on Dawn with a small sigh. "You're right. She doesn't do a very good job of hiding it. Sublety is not her forte, that's for sure."

He blew out a laugh and took a pull from his beer. "I think that's the understatement of the year, darlin'."

He'd almost said little darlin', like he used to call her. But he caught himself. She wasn't little anymore. And she seemed to recognize this shift and nervously focused on her beer bottle again.

"I never got a chance to congratulate you," she glanced up at him as she spoke and made his heart clench. "When is she due?"

It took him a moment to grasp what exactly she was talking about and when he did, he was quickly brought back down to reality again. Oh right. That.

"Uh...two months, I think."

"You think?" She frowned, tilting her head to the side.

He shrugged. "I haven't exactly been around...she's supposed to be sendin' me her doctor bills but it's been awhile since I've seen one."

Her frown deepened. "Don't you think you should check on her? I mean...take her to the doctor, make sure everything's alright, you know?"

He started chewing on his lip as he considered her suggestion. Maybe he'd slacked a little on the care-taking part of all this because he was still trying to figure out how the fuck he was going to be a father. Or what kind of father he was going to be. It still scared the shit out of him just to think it.

"Are you nervous?" She was saying now.

"What?"

"Are you nervous about...you know, being a dad?" She seemed hesitant to ask as if she instinctively knew this was a sensitive subject for him.

So he just shrugged. "Yeah...who wouldn't be, right? I'm still tryin' to figure out how to set up a nursery, I have no idea how to change a diaper, and I have no idea what's gonna happen when he's here."

"He?" She asked with a small smile.

He found himself grinning back. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a boy. I mean, it has to be a boy, right?"

She just shook her head with a soft laugh. When her eyes lingered on his, it was difficult to keep himself in check. But just sitting with her like this, in as much quiet as they were going to get given the party behind them, sent a wave of peacefulness through him that he hadn't felt in a long time. Then, a moment later, her eyes were back on the bottle in front of her.

"So...are you gonna take that job at CaraCara?" He asked quietly.

She sighed deeply and took a drink from her beer, which he noticed now was close to being finished. "I have no idea yet."

He nodded slowly and chewed on his lip as he surveyed the internal struggle splaying across her features. It was a well-known fact that Emma and Luann's relationship had been strained at best since the night he'd pulled her away from her mother's glaringly obvious drug habit. Luann's drug use had also been well-known within the club and she'd made no efforts to hide it whenever Emma and Dawn weren't there. If their roles were reversed, he knew he'd feel the exact same way. He imagined he probably wouldn't even be able to be in the same room as Luann, if she was his mother.

"No one would blame you if you didn't, you know." He told her softly. Someone needed to give her permission to say no, to tell her that it wouldn't make her a bad person if she did.

She nodded and swallowed tightly. When she looked back up at him, there was a sadness in her eyes, something he had first noticed earlier.

"I know," she started quietly. "I know I don't have to and I know she'll understand if I don't...it's just that..."

She glanced nervously at him again and he found himself leaning forward, wanting to slide his hand over to cover hers. But that would be too intimate though. He didn't need to be over-stepping an boundaries just yet anyways.

"What, Em?" He didn't want to force her to tell him anything she wasn't ready to talk about but judging from the look in her eyes, she seemed almost grateful.

She blew out a deep breath. "I don't know...she's just trying so hard, you know? When she first brought it up, I kinda wanted to laugh at her. Why would I want to work in the porn industry? I know it would be just the business end of it but still..."

He nodded quickly. He'd figured as much and couldn't blame her feelings. Being around those film sets was not exactly for everyone.

"It's not really about the sex and everything else that goes on on those sets; well, I mean yeah, that'd unconformtable as hell and weird but," she went on as if she could read his mind. "It's just that...I didn't go to college just to come back here and work at CaraCara, you know? I don't really know what my plan was but that definitely wasn't it. But she's just trying so hard...she seems so happy about being able to spend more time together...that's what she told me when she first offered me the job."

He nodded silently and smiled reassuringly to tell her he understood.

"I feel like if I tell her no, I'm saying no to having a relationship with her too. And I'm not sure that's what I want. I don't really know what I want but I'm not sure that I can let her get her hopes up like that...and it's like she's been walking on air since I got home, Jax; she's so happy. I can't remember the last time I saw her like that. I mean, she was always happy when I came home to visit but there was always this underlying distance anyways because I wasn't going to stay."

"But now you are gonna stay." He finished for her with a soft smile.

She smiled back and nodded. "Yeah—and it's not like she made me a shit offer either. I know I can't make what she's offering anywhere else, especially here in town, and part of me feels like I'd be stupid to turn that down. But still—I just feel like it seems so counterproductive, you know?"

"What?" He frowned.

She gestured out into the air with a sigh. "I just...I feel like I put all this work into school, I worked so hard for everything, my grades, my internship, my resume and then...I feel like I'd just be throwing it all away just to go work at CaraCara. It just feels like a step backwards, you know?"

"Yeah."

"But then I think about my mom...and how hard she's trying to make things better, to make up for everything that...I just don't know if I'm going to be able to tell her no. And I need a job."

Her dilemma was sure a shit one and he didn't envy her position. But, he figured, at least she was working through it and talking to somebody about what she was really feeling...and he didn't know what it mean that that somebody was him.

"Well...maybe my mom could find you something to do at TM while you decide. It'd buy you some time." He offered, trying to be helpful and give her an alternative.

She smiled and just shook her head. "Isn't that still kinda the same thing though? Going back to my part-time job from high school? At least CaraCara would be something different."

From the sound of her voice, he could tell she was starting to come to terms with the idea. And even though he knew it wasn't really his place, he wanted to make sure she had all the information before making her final decision.

"You know the club's put some money into CaraCara, right?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "The club needed another legit way to earn; Luann needed a little extra help. Everyone wins."

"So what...the club owns part of CaraCara now?"

"Yeah but Luann's still got all the "creative control"; I think those were her exact words. Bobby's over there pretty regularly to do the books and we stop over every once and awhile to make sure everything's goin' alright but that's it."

It took her a moment for all that to sink in and he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have told her. Luann had obviously conveniently left that detail out, most likely because she didn't want Emma to know CaraCara was in some trouble, and most likely because she wanted Emma to take the job because she wanted to, not because she knew her mother actually and legitimately needed help to save her business. He also wondered if now, knowing what she knew, Emma would have an even more difficult time making the decision that was right for her, not for her mom.

When she was still silent, he decided to play that angle.

"Well—if you didn't take the job, what would you do instead?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea."

"What do you really want to do—if all the rest of that shit didn't matter?"

Her eyes flew up to meet his and he had to swallow nervously from the burning intensity of them.

"I think I would open my own business if I could...maybe a bookstore, maybe a restaurant."

He chuckled, not really surprised by her answer or by the fact she hadn't even needed a beat to think about it.

"Well," he offered. "Maybe you take care of both—maybe you need to work for your mom for a little while, save up some cash, figure out a plan, and then, when you're ready, you do it."

"You think I could?"

"Hell yeah—you're smart, you know your shit...so you get some experience at CaraCara and then once you've got everything else figured out, you open your bookstore or your restaurant or whatever you want and I'll be your first customer."

She laughed and he was grateful to see her in a better mood. "You in a bookstore?"

"Hey," he pointed out good-naturedly. "I can read and as long as you've got a nice big stack of engine manuals and shit like that, I'll be there all the time."

"I don't even need to ask if I go the restaurant route."

"Oh yeah...definitely, I'd be there everyday."

They laughed and then she was leaning forward and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Thanks, Jax. I feel a lot better about everything...I thought I was going to lose my mind or something or at the very least, drink myself into a stupor tonight. But I feel better."

He nodded with a small smile. "Good—I'm glad I could help. It is your party after all and you should be havin' a good time."

"I am."

"Good."

They sat there for a moment and he didn't know what he was supposed to say now. But then, he was saved by a flash of red moving through TM's parking lot.

"Holy shit." He exhaled and pointed behind Emma.

She turned and her mouth dropped open at the sight of Dawn and Juice, practically tangled up in one another, stumbling through the lot and headed straight for the clubhouse's back entry. "Oh wow...she wasn't kidding about tonight being the night."

He just shook his head. "That stupid bastard doesn't know the storm of shit that's about to rain down on him."

She nodded and then she winced, running a hand over her face.

"What?" He laughed with a smile.

"I was just thinking that this is a really bad time to be moving in with her. I'm gonna see a lot of shit I don't want to see, aren't I?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." He shuddered at the thought. "Dawn isn't gonna let him off the hook after this."

"Stupid idiots." She muttered under her breath. "I think they have no idea what they're about to get themselves into."

"Got that right."

And as Emma sat across from him, with those wide, haunting eyes staring up at him, he was struck with the echo of her previous words and felt a strange sense of foreboding as he caught the smiling sparkle in the eyes that he'd never quite been able to shake. All day, he'd felt this way. And when everyone had sat there waiting for her to finally show up to the party, he'd felt it again. And now, in this quiet moment of solitude with her, he felt himself sinking lower and lower into something he couldn't describe. Maybe, if he was being completely honest with himself, it was something he wasn't ready to describe and he had a feeling that whatever it was, it was going to be a problem.

A/N-Hopefully you enjoyed it! I'm still planning on having this be more of a slow burn, like the original. It's gonna take them awhile to realize what has really always been there-and don't worry, I have no plans to bring Tara back. I like her where she is. Wendy will be a different story but will factor in more after Abel is born. I'm also looking forward to having a few different things going on at once with this story-Jax/Emma, Jax and JT's manuscript, Emma working at CaraCara and everything that will bring (yes, Ima will be making a few appearances), Emma and Luann working on their relationship, and Dawn/Juice-it's gonna be a fun challenge.

So, hopefully you liked it and would like to see more. Please let me know what you think...any feedback will be appreciated since I realize some people will be disappointed that "Love Song" as it stands will probably not be continued. But please let me know what you think! R/R!