___________

JOLIE'S MOUTH HUNG OPEN AS SHE SAT ACROSS from her father in diner's booth; shocked as she tried her best to process the news he had just told her. Cancer — even thinking the word made Jolie scared. How could her father have cancer? Her father had always been invincible to her, yet, here they were sitting in their favorite diner talking about cancer.

"I don't know what to say." Jolie admitted as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "What have the doctors said?" She questioned, reaching a hand over to place on top of her father's cold, spotted one.

She could feel the tears that threaten to spill, but she wouldn't let them—not here at least. Charming was too small of a town, and having a breakdown in the middle of the day at the diner probably wasn't the best thing to do on her first day back.

A small smile found it's way onto Wayne's face as he patted his daughter's hand. "You know how doctors are, Jolie." The chief of police said with a laugh. "They only talk in medical bullshit that I don't understand." The Unser man said as he waved the waitress over, holding up his empty cup of coffee for her to refill.

The dark haired woman sucked on her teeth as she watched the waitress refill both of their cups before walking off. Jolie didn't believe her father's words for a second. She knew him too well; he loved to down play things. Sure, Jolie worked closely with doctors—that was her career after all, but she knew that if he father asked for the doctors to break it down for him they would.

"Dad, don't bullshit me. I'm a nurse." She reminded the man as she took a sip of her coffee. "Don't play this off like it's just a damn cold or something. This is fucking cancer." The word fell from her tongue like poison. It felt wrong for her to say it out loud, like saying it would make her dad sicker somehow.

"Jolie, I don't want you to stress out about this. I'm in good hands with my doctor. Hell, I can even smoke pot now—legally." He laughed as he placed a few bills on the table from his wallet.

The smallest of smiles formed on Jolie's lips at her father's words. Of course he would find a silver lining in all of this. Though that's what most people with an illness as bad as his did; try and find the good. Which is what Jolie had preached as a nurse when she worked long shifts in the cancer ward. Some days it was the only thing getting people through their treatment.

"Does Erin know?" She was certain her younger sister already knew. While Jolie was closer to her father, her younger sister was the apple of Della Unser's eye—she could do no wrong.

Wayne nodded as the pair exited the diner. "Your mother went and saw her a few weeks ago."

A scoff left Jolie's lips. Of course she did. It hadn't surprised her. Della would drop everything to visit her favorite daughter.

"Erin got a visit and I got a phone call. It's nice to see things haven't changed." Jolie's tone was bitter as she shook her head. "Where is mom anyway?" It wasn't that Jolie wanted her mom around, but she felt as though the woman should be here right now. It felt a moment for Della Unser to act like a loving wife and mother for once.

A deep sigh came from Wayne's mouth. He knew his wife and oldest daughter never had the best relationship; it had been that way since Jolie was a young girl, and no matter what it never seemed to improve.

"She's been working a lot." Wayne stated simply. "Look, why don't you go down to TM and pay Gemma a visit. I'm sure she'll be excited to see you." He suggested as he unlocked his police cruiser.

Jolie nodded after a moment. There was so much more she wanted to say about her mother's absence but for the sake of her father she decided against it.

"I love you, dad." Jolie hugged Wayne as she inhaled his all too familiar scent—a scent that had always comforted her.

"I love you too."

——

IT HAD BEEN FIVE LONG YEARS since Jolie last visited Teller-Morrow automotive, and by the looks of it nothing changed. The motorcycles lined up on the lot were a comforting sight to the Unser woman as her feet dragged her towards the office of the shop.

"I'd like to file a complaint." Jolie teased as she leaned against the open door of the office, smirking as Gemma's head whip up so fast from whatever she was looking at.

A wide smile took over Gemma's face as she quickly got up from her desk and closed the distance between herself and Jolie.

"You little bitch." The SAMCRO queen teased as she pulled the dark haired woman into a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you, sweetie." Gemma stated as she pulled away from Jolie, staring into her brown eyes.

"It's good to see you too, Gem." Jolie smiled. "I missed you."

Gemma Teller was someone Jolie could always go to for support. She was the mother that Della never was to her. When Jolie left there was only a few things that Jolie missed about Charming, and Gemma Teller was one of them.

"You see your dad?" Gemma questioned immediately as a sadness took over her face.

"Yeah. I just finished having lunch with him. It's really fucked up, Gemma. It's obvious he's really sick, but he's down playing it like usual." The tears from early finally rolled down her brown eyes. "And, you'd think my mom would have the decency to come to lunch with us, but no." Jolie shook her head as a bitter laugh left her lips.

"Your mom has always been a bitch." Gemma stated matter of factly. "She's not going to change just because your dad has cancer."

"I know." She agreed as she wiped at her eyes.

Gemma placed an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "Let's not worry about that shit right now, baby. The guys are in the clubhouse and I'm sure they'll all love to see you." She winked with a smirk.

——

THE CLUBHOUSE HADN'T CHANGED MUCH EITHER Jolie noticed as she sat at the bar, laughing at a story Juice was telling about Tig getting his ass bit by a dog.

"Please tell me someone made sure that dog was alright after biting that ass."  Jolie said through laughter as she looked towards Tig; the curly haired man feigning hurt.

"My ass is perfect, doll. That dog was lucky to get a taste of it." Tig winked at Jolie as wide grin took over his face.

"Sure, Tiggy." Jolie laughed, shaking her head at the blue eyed man. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." She said, patting his chest before walking away.

Tig watched Jolie walk away, his eyes on her ass the whole time. It had been five years since he last saw Jolie Unser, and those five years had been great to her. Tig had always thought she was beautiful, but she was even more so now.

"Now that's an ass I'd like to bite." Juice smirked as he dug his elbow into Tig's side.

A loud laugh left Tig's lips as he took his eyes off of Jolie. "You fuckin' wish. You couldn't handle all of that. Jolie Unser is for grown men, not little boys." Tig stated before walking off towards the exit.

Tig lit up a cigarette as he stepped outside the clubhouse, nicotine filling his lungs as he deeply inhaled on the stick. His blue eyes stared at Jolie sitting on a picnic table a few feet away from him.

"You know doll, I'm really sorry about the shit going on with your dad." Tig said as he approached Jolie, tossing his cigarette to the pavement. He remembered how much she hated cigarettes and anyone smoking them near her.

"Thanks, Tig." Jolie smiled up at the curly haired man. Jolie had always been close to the Trager man; their personalities just clicked.

"I'm glad your back though, not to sound like a heartless prick." He added with a smile.

"Don't worry Tig, there's a lot of things you could say that would make you sound like a heartless prick, but that's not one of them." Jolie assured the blue eyed man with a laugh.

"I'll have plenty of time to say them to you too." The biker joked, tossing an arm around her shoulders.

Jolie leaned into Tig's side as a small laugh left her lips. She still wasn't happy to be back in Charming, but having friends around would hopefully make things a little bit easier.

——

an —
this chapter is meh. I'll be updating Delicate and Mastermind tomorrow! Thanks for the votes and comments ❤️