"Okay, here we are." Caitlin let Abel jump out of the car and ruffled his hair before pushing her sunglasses from her eyes onto her head, watching contentedly as the three-year-old ran towards Jax, who was already walking towards the car, a big smile on his face as he saw Abel. Then he scooped the little boy up and threw it into the air before catching him again.

Abel's giggle could be heard across the yard, catching the attention of a man Caitlin didn't know yet.

The man had to be at least in his sixties or even seventies. The tired smile on his wrinkled face widened as he came closer to Jax and Abel, but it still seemed as if these few steps were straining him and taking a lot of strength.

Caitlin quickly gripped her bag that was lying on the passenger seat, slammed the door of the car that actually belonged to Jax and strolled over to Jax, who put Abel back on the ground and cupped her face in his hands.

He greeted her with a gentle but decisive kiss and ran the tip of his thumb over her rosy cheek, grinning at her. "Hey babe. Everything okay?"

"Mhmm.." she hummed, her lips still close to his, her hand resting on his chest. "I sent the registration for Abel's kindergarten by email and canceled my apartment. The keys need to be handed over in three months, everything has to be sorted out by then. Now I only need to quit my job at the hotel."

"Don't worry, we'll figure it all out", Jax said confidently, barely able to contain his excitement and joy that Caitlin would actually stay here. "I talked to Ope, he's trying to convince Erin to stay here."

The redhead rubbed the tip of her nose skeptically. "Do you think I should feel bad because we're somehow using Ope to give Erin another reason to stay here?"

"It's not like we're using him", Jax countered, sliding his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her head closer again before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Ope really likes your sister, he would be happy if she would stay here so he could get to know her better."

"Really?" Caitlin asked, her brow raised. "I don't want her to get her hopes up unnecessarily."

"Believe me, Ope likes her. Otherwise he would've never asked her if she wanted to come to Kenny's school play", the blonde assured with a mischievous grin. "He's definitely into her."

Reassured by his words, her lips curled into a smile. "Good, because I'm sure that over the last six days Erin has gotten used to being greeted by a giant bringing her coffee every morning."

"See, he would never do that if he was just looking for a quick fuck", Jax winked before he put his arm loosely over her shoulders and ran a hand over Abel's head, who was still standing right next to him, chatting animatedly with Wayne Unser.

"So that's Abel. You can immediately tell who he belongs to", the old man stated matter of factly, a faint smile on his lips, still leaning forward a little to be halfway at eye level with Abel. "I heard you're staying here. You happy about that?"

"Yes." Abel nodded eagerly and gave the man a toothy smile. "Daddy doesn't want to lose me again like he lost me in Ireland. And he likes my mommy too!"

Jax rubbed his face with a sigh, grinning down at the redhead in his arm, who snorted a laugh at Abel's words. "I should've used other words when I told him how he ended up with you."

"Well, probably", Caitlin started, still laughing softly. "It sounds cute when he tells people that you lost him. Weird and kind of scaryᅳ but cute."

"Oh I understand." Surprised by the boy's brutal honesty, the retired cop raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Of course your dad doesn't want to lose you again. Do you like it here in Charming?"

"Yes, I love it. It's so warm here", the three-year-old beamed with excitement, who was slowly becoming impatient and looked up at his parents, a sheepish smile on his lips. "Can I go play?"

Jax nodded with a smile. "Sure. Grandma's inside, she's already waiting for you."

"Can I, mommy?" Even when Jax allowed him to do something, he always waited for Caitlin's approval. He was just used to listening to his mom.

"Of course you can. We'll be there in a minute, okay?" She lovingly stroked his cheek before the three-year-old disappeared inside.

Since Caitlin and Gemma were getting along pretty well by now, the redhead had no problem leaving him alone with the matriarch for a few minutes. In general, she was slowly starting to feel really comfortable here.

The club had given her an incredibly friendly welcome and regularly asked if she needed anything and whether she felt comfortable here. The first intimidating looking men were a bunch of sweet guys who had a gentle spot for children and spoiled Abel every time he came around.

Only the guns were still something Catilin had to learn to deal with. She was still worried about the fact that her boyfriend constantly carried a gun and a knife with him and was involved in illegal business.

But what should she do? Jax was Abel's father and he was a really good dad. Her son was happy and so was she. Every day it felt like she was falling even more in love with Jax. She didn't want to give that up because of something she still had to get used to.

She trusted Jax to protect Abel and herᅳ which he promised her more than once in the last few days, every time he noticed her skeptical, worried look on his gun.

"You must be Caitlin then. Gemma already told me about you." The older man's voice brought Caitlin back from her thoughts. She quickly put on a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, that's me. I hope Gemma only said good things", she chuckled, holding out her hand to the older, visibly weak man.

"Don't worry, she only said good things." Equally chuckling, he reached out to shake Caitlin's hand. "I hope you're as excited about Charming as the little rascal is."

"Good, otherwise I would've had to have a word to her", Caitlin noted with a grin, nestling more into Jax's side. "Yes, definitely. I think it's great here. The weather is perfect, the people are nice and the town is really beautiful. It's actually perfect."

"It's always nice to see when people like our little town", Unser answered happily. "By the way, I'm Wayne, a friend of the club."

"He used to be the sheriff here in town until he retired a while ago", Jax added to give Caitlin an image of all the people here. "And now he lives here on the lot in his trailer."

"Oh, so that trailer back there is yours", the redhead stated, genuinely interested in such things. "Then I look forward to seeing you more often from now on, Wayne."

"Same here." The friendly smile now reached the dull eyes of the older man, who pointed with his crooked thumb behind his shoulder and pointed at his trailer. "You are always welcome. If you need someone to keep an eye on Abel and no one else has timeᅳ don't hesitate to knock."

Caitlin smiled softly. "I will, thank you."

"Good, I won't bother you two any longer. See you around", Wayne said his goodbye before slowly walking back to his trailer.

"Is he okay?" Caitlin looked up at her boyfriend questioningly.

Jax, shaking his head slightly, gently pulled her inside. "Cancer. The medication and the chemo ensure that he has a few more months or years left, but they still worsen his condition somehow."

"Oh no." Visibly moved by the elder's fate, she twisted her face slightly. "I hope he gets through this. It's always the nice people who have to fight horrible shit like this."

"He's a tough guy, darlin'", Jax assured her, loving this empathy she possessed. One thing that had got his attention from the start. "Do you have plans with Erin tonight or are you free?"

"Uh.." Caitlin thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, I'm free. Erin and I just wanted to explore the town a little more tomorrow."

"Well, then you and I have a date tonight", Jax let her know with a grin, slipping his arm from her shoulder so Gemma could greet her with a hug.

"A date?" One of her red eyebrows shot up in surprise, but at the same time she also felt an exciting tingling sensation in her stomach.

When Gemma hugged her, she hugged the older woman back for a moment and then pulled away, still waiting for Jax to answer.

"Yes, you two need a few hours for yourself", Gemma explained, her hand on one hip as she leaned against the bar where Abel was also sitting and drawing. "And if it's okay with you, I'll watch Abel while you two are out."

"Is that okay with you?" Jax asked, who could understand if Caitlin wasn't ready yet to trust Gemma alone with their son.

He only left this task to Gemma because he knew that Clay would be home tonight and would stop Gemma from getting any stupid ideas. Not that he still believed that Gemma would do anything stupid, but he also had to build up trust in her againᅳ and at some point he had to start doing that.

"Oh yes! Can I stay at Grandma's and Grandpa's today?" Abel asked with wide eyes. That boy really did love everybody around here.

"Iᅳ well..", Caitlin hesitantly cleared her throat, feeling a little unsure. However, she also had a good feeling when it came to Gemma and finally nodded. "A date night sounds good. And if you have time, then you're welcome to watch him him for a few hours."

"Thank you baby." Gemma hugged the younger woman again, grateful for the trust that the redhead and her son had in her. Then she hugged Jax too before looking at them both sincerely again. "I appreciate you allowing me to spend time with Abel."

"I know", Jax nodded, still a little reserved towards his mother. "Prove that we made the right decision to trust you, Ma."

"I will", the matriarch promised, happily ruffling her grandson's hair. "What do you think of spaghetti tonight?"

Beaming, Abel put down his green pen. "I love spaghetti! Can I get ice cream after it?"

"If your parents allow it", Gemma winked at the blonde boy.

"May I please?" Sheepishly, Abel looked at his parents with his best puppy eyes.

Jax let out a laugh, unable to say no anyway. "As far as I'm concerned. But only one, okay?"

"And you don't beg Grandma for a second one either. You know how hard it is for everyone here to say no to you", Caitlin added amused, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay, I promise to eat only one", Abel giggled, wiggling his feet dangling from the chair.

Gemma's lips curled into a grin. "What a good boy you are. Your mom did a good job."

"Well, he definitely doesn't get the good manners from his dad", said Tig, who walked past with a grin and took a seat next to Abel. "What are you drawing, little man?"

"Oh yeah? You better be careful what you say", Jax countered with a smirk, whereupon the man with the dark curls just chuckled.

As so often lately, Caitlin found again that she loved just observing moments like this. How Jax blossomed more every day because his son was with him, how happy Abel was and was surrounded by so many lovely people. Then there was Gemma, who really had a lot in common with her late mother. Not in appearance, but in character.

The more days that passed here in Charming, the more certain she became that she never wanted to leave this place again.

ᚔ

Chibs had watched Caitlin leave the clubhouse and decided to follow the Irish woman to see if everything was okay. Since Jax was busy with Abel, he would take over quickly.

He tilted his head ever so slightly to the side and put a cigarette between his lips before taking a seat next to the redhead who was sitting on one of the picnic tables outside.

"Are ye' okay?", he asked carefully, offering her a cigarette.

The redhead declined with a polite smile as she slowly wanted to quit smoking again. Charming was probably the wrong place for that since everyone around her was smoking half a pack a day or even more. "Yeah, I was just talking to my dad on the phone."

"A good conversation?", he asked without seeming nosy. "Or are there any problems?"

Caitlin liked his Scottish accent; there was something calming about it. Others here might have had trouble understanding him, but she didn't even have to really pay attention to understand him properly.

"No, it's really okay. I was just hoping that he might've had time to come here so he could get to know Jax", she let the Scotsman know, something sad in her tone.

"I guess he doesn't have time?", the elder guessed, his scars stretching further to the side as he gave Caitlin a smile.

"No, he does have time, but not until next month. That's why he's helping Abel and me moving from Ireland", she said, then she pointed at his scars. "May I ask what happened there?"

Chibs nodded briefly before remaining silent for a while. He really liked the young woman and he also knew that she was a loyal soul. Did he really want to burden her with such violent stories? Not really.

"I don't think ye' want t' know tha'. And I don't like talking about it either", he answered with a nice wink and rested his elbows on the curves of his knees, his gaze still resting on her. "Jax said you're still having a hard time getting used to the guns. Is there anything we can do to ease your worries?"

"That's okay. But if you change your mind, I'm a good listener", she offered with a small smile, also accepting that he didn't want to talk about it.

Then she tensed her shoulders at his question. "It's weird and I really don't know how to deal with it. The guns aren't even my problem. It's more the fact that you guys have to carry weapons with you to feel safe."

"I don't know how much Jax has told ye' about our life so far", Chibs paused briefly, flicking his cigarette away, letting the remaining smoke pass his lips. "But it's not tha' we use or need the guns every day."

"I know that", Caitlin nodded slightly. "It's still weird, though. Have any of you ever been seriously injured?"

"Yeah, of course." Chibs didn't see the point in lying, he liked Caitlin too much to lie to her. "But something like tha' rarely happens. And at the moment the situation here is pretty calm. No wars, no major problems or trouble with other clubs. You've come at a good time."

"Wars?" Nervousness rose inside her and Caitlin felt her pulse beating violently in her throat.

"Yes, between clubs. Tha' can happen." He slightly let his back crack and straightened his shoulders, placing a hand on her knee and giving it a comforting squeeze. "But Jax has it all under control. And since you've been here with Abel, he finally seems to be able to think clearly again. That's a good sign."

"So you think it could stay that quiet and safe?", she asked meekly, hoping to get an answer that would calm her down.

"It's possible", Chibs nodded confidently. "With you at his side, he seems balanced. You need balance and a clear head, among many other things, if you want to run a club and find a peaceful solution t' problems."

A smile crept onto her face. Chibs' words felt good and caused a warm feeling to spread in her chest. "Then it was a good thing that he was looking for Abelᅳ otherwise we would've never met."

"If he hadn't found Abel, he would've probably fallen deeper and deeper and lost himself. So yeah, it was good tha' he went looking for his son. And the fact tha' he found an Old Lady was probably a sign of fate", he winked with a smile and patted her knee. "Don't worry too much, lass. Jax knows what he's doing."

"Thanks, Chibs", she said, her voice genuinely grateful. The Scot really was one of her favorite people around here. "I'm trying to worry less. I guess I just need to get used to it."

"And tha' will take a while, after all, ye' didn't know this life before. But I'm sure you can get used to it." He looked at the redhead from the corner of his eye, wondering whether he should say his next wordsᅳ which he finally did. "Please don't leave him because of this, that would set him back quite a bit. For the first time in three years he finally has tha' sparkle in his eyes again, he has hope again. Even though you haven't known each other for long, I'm sure that he needs you."

Letting out a soft laugh, Caitlin shook her head. "That's something you don't have to worry about", she assured him firmly, her gaze serious. "I've never felt as strongly for another man as I do for Jax. I'm not going to leave him because of one little thingᅳ even if that thing is more than just a little thing. I need him just as much."

"Sounds like you two have found the right partner." Satisfied by this, Chibs stood up and waved the redhead inside. "Come on, I'm sure Jax is already looking for you."

"Mhm...I think we did find the right one in each other", she agreed without hesitation, climbed down from the table and followed the Scotsman back inside. She had gotten used to the smell of cigarette smoke, leather and booze, and even cheap pussy. And honestly, she couldn't really imagine a life without it anymore.