Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.

A/N: I know I said that this was going to be a one-shot, but the muse kicked in. Once started, it kinda got away from me and ballooned up to almost 12,000 words. I probably should have broken this installment into two chapters, but since it contains mostly snippets documenting Jolene's first year in Charming, I believe it reads better as one chapter. I hope you enjoy and, if you do, please let me know. Thanks for reading!

"You gonna eat that?"

Looking down, the man shook his head in wonder at the empty platter sitting in front of his companion. Nicky's famed "Hale & Hearty Breakfast" was not for the faint of heart. It was named after Daniel Hale, one of the men responsible for establishing the town of Charming back in 1859. Unlike the prominent and upscale family the Hales had always purported themselves to be, Daniel had actually come from old pioneer stock.

Leaving his family on the East Coast behind, he had joined thousands of Americans who journeyed across the country to find their fortune during the California Gold Rush. Arriving in 1852, Daniel was not afraid of hard work and, being a solid laborer, he moved quickly in his quest to become a rich man. After working in a gold mine, Daniel was able to branch out on his own, striking it rich with several gold strikes before relocating to the fertile Central Valley. It was there that he met Robert Oswald, who had invested his own gold mining fortune into purchasing large tracks of Redwood country to start his own lumber mill. Together, these two men, who had become good friends, went into business, ultimately bringing well-paying jobs to the area, which eventually morphed into the small town of Charming.

However, several generations later, the two families had severed ties, with the Oswald family coming out ahead financially. Over the next hundred-plus years, the Oswalds had increased their lumber empire to tackle the construction and beef industries, while the Hale family went strictly white collar, entering the area of law and politics while still making a fortune as prominent land developers.

A hard worker, Big Dan Hale, as he was known to everyone, had a legendary appetite. Nicky's breakfast special consisted of three eggs, two strips of bacon, two sausages, two pieces of ham, hash browns, three pancakes, and a choice of juice, tea or coffee.

However, Clay's companion always chose milk instead.

With his eyebrow raised, Clay looked at the empty plate, which practically looked as clean as if it had just come out of the dishwasher. Looking down at the remains of his own breakfast, Clay lifted his plate and switched it for his daughter's empty one.

Picking up her fork, Jolene smiled at her father. "Thanks, Daddy." Reaching for the bottle of syrup on the table, she liberally poured it over what was left of Clay's pancakes and bacon. "Can I have some more milk, please?" Jolene inquired.

Trying his best not to laugh, he replied, "Sure. Why the hell not?"

Clay waved a hand to their waitress and when he caught her eye, raised Jolene's empty glass. The woman shook her head with a smile and, retrieving the pitcher of milk from the refrigerated display case, headed towards their booth to refill Jolene's glass for the third time. It had become well-known that although Daniel Hale had long ago passed away, his ferocious appetite lived on in the form of a tiny, wide-eye Kewpie doll by the name of Jolene Morrow.

Ever since Jolene had come to Charming, breakfast at Nicky's Diner had become something of a staple for the Morrow family. Clay had made a number of significant changes to his lifestyle, including moving out of the Clubhouse and into a real home for his new daughter, but there were some lines Clay was not about to cross. Putting on an apron and cooking were two of them.

Fortunately for Jolene, Uncle Bobby was a whiz in the kitchen and genuinely loved to cook. Most mornings, Clay would get Jolene ready for her day of learning and, if Bobby was available and not at home with his own family, he would take her to the Clubhouse so that Uncle Elvis could feed her.

The rest of the time, Clay would take Jolene to Nicky's Diner where she had literally amazed the townsfolk with how much she could put away. Sometimes, the outlaw biker and his daughter ate at Nicky's twice a day, especially on Thursdays for their meatloaf special. Although it was pretty good, nobody could make a meatloaf quite like Gemma Teller, which was Jolene's all-time favorite, not that she would ever admit it to anyone.

Clay smiled to himself. My baby girl sure looks a lot better now than when she first came home.

It had been six months since Jolene's arrival in Charming and she was practically unrecognizable from the small and half-starved child she had been. She had recently been giving a clean bill of health from her doctor, who informed Clay that, as far as development went, Jolene was almost on track with her peers, having managed to gain twelve pounds and growing two inches in the time she has lived with her father. Although she would always suffer from the cold due to the irreversible nerve damage caused by her POS egg donor, Jolene was now the picture of health and vitality.

The couple made a strange pair—the rough as a cob outlaw biker looked frightening to the extreme, while the little girl sitting across from him, slender and barely 3½ feet tall, with wide green eyes and a mop of black curls, looked nothing like her father. Generally speaking, while most of the folks around the small town respected the biker and the Club that protected it, others found it hard to believe that the child wasn't at all afraid of the biker like they were.

But to Jolene, her father was her knight in shining armor—albeit with a few dents and patches of rust—who had saved her from a lonely existence and brought her to a town where she was now part of a big family and was protected by an extended brotherhood.

Jolene drained her glass dry and slammed it down, in imitation of a certain Patron-loving biker and smiled at her father as she let out a loud burp. "That was good." She announced.

"You sure you don't want nothing else?" Clay snarked. "I'm sure they can find something back there for you to eat." He kidded.

"It's not my fault that you don't know how to eat good food when it's there." Rolling her eyes, Jolene said mischievously. "You should never waste food, Daddy because you never know when you're going to eat again." She counseled wisely.

Clay felt a pang in his heart. The lessons Jolene had learned in her childhood had been hard. Even though she had been with her new family for months, Clay realized that it would probably take years for Jolene to be able to overcome the years of abuse and doing without. Thanks to her bitter waste-of-good-air mother, it would take a long time and a lot of love in order for Jolene to get over the feelings of fear and low self-esteem that had been drilled into her at such a young age.

Wishing he had done more than just smack her bitch of a mother down, Clay forced a smile onto his face. "It's okay, baby girl. You eat what you want, when you want."

One day, she'll understand that she will never have to worry about where her next meal is coming from ever again.

Standing up, Clay tossed cash on the table to cover the bill and a generous tip. "C'mon, or you're going to be late for school and we can't have that."

Jolene quickly slid out of her chair. "No we can't."

'Cause Drill Sarge don't play that.

Clay pulled his 1985 Impala into the driveway. He wasn't into cages. Not at all, but with a young daughter, it had certainly come in handy when it came to getting her around. Jolene actually preferred riding on his Harley with him. Well, no surprise there, after all, she was a Morrow, but as carefully as Clay rode his bike, he knew it would destroy him should something happen to Jolene while she was riding with him.

Slamming the car door behind him, Clay followed Jolene up the walk to the screen door, which was currently shut, but the front door was open to allow the cool Spring breeze to travel through the house.

Knocking on the doorframe with one of his bear paws, Clay grinned as Gemma Teller walked into the hallway and pushed open the screen door.

"You're late." The stunning woman was dressed conservatively today, wearing a pair of denim jeans, a white tank top and one of JT's oversized blue flannel shirts. As her eyes met Clay's twinkling blue ones, Gemma was surprised to see the obvious, although respectful, admiration reflected in them, especially considering how plainly dressed she was.

"Sorry," Clay said with a big shit-eating grin, as he and Jolene stepped into the house. "Had to tie a feed bag on The Kid." Clay always referred to Jolene as "The Kid", for the most part, when speaking to others. After all, he couldn't let the other patches think he was soft, even though he would sometimes slip up and call Jolene by his true pet name for her, baby girl.

Gemma shook her head at his comment and looked down at his daughter, who over the last few months had quickly shown her true colors. The once quiet child actually had a bubbly and vibrant personality, totally different from her father. In fact, Gemma had come to believe her husband's VP was a little taciturn and cold, but after seeing him interact with his daughter, she realized that he had a somewhat charming personality—when he chose to exercise it.

Making eye contact with Jolene, Gemma nodded. "Well, go on in. Tommy's waiting for you."

Quickly glancing at her father and her teacher, Jolene finally decided she didn't care. Tugging on the long sleeve of her father's shirt, which was her standard way of getting him eye-to-eye, Clay bent down to face his daughter. Wrapping her small arms around his neck, she gave him a good squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

"See ya later?" She questioned.

"You bet." Clay stroked her tangled mop of her hair once, before swatting her lightly on her behind. "Go on, get to work."

As the little girl ran into the house, Gemma smiled wryly. Even after all this time, it still amazed her how quickly Clay had settled into his role as a father. He wasn't perfect, not by any means, but his love and affection for the young girl was obvious to anyone, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

However, the man is in sore need of some help, Gemma thought as she looked at the tight red sweater on Jolene's retreating small frame.

Gemma put a hand on her cocked hip. "Clay, don't you think it's about time Jolene got herself some new clothes? The way you feed her, it's a miracle she can still get in them."

Clay rubbed his hand wearily on his forehead. Shit, what was it with broads and clothes?

"Yeah, Gemma, I know. I know, but I can't go through that shopping hell again and neither can Bobby." He groused. "Just too much damn pink." Clay muttered his breath to himself.

Gemma shook her head. Clay was just as bad as JT, if not worse. What is it with men and shopping?

"Well, Spring is here and you can't have your daughter running around in tight sweaters and high-water corduroy pants looking like some Little Orphan Annie reject." Gemma complained. "Look, Luann and I are going on a shopping trip to the new mall in Stockton this weekend. I don't mind taking Jolene along and getting her outfitted."

Clay looked at JT's woman with a light in his eyes. "Really? Gem, that would really help me out a lot."

Gemma smiled. "Well, we are family—that's what we do for one another." Walking Clay to the door, she opened it to let him out. "Don't worry. We'll take her on Saturday morning and get it done in a snap. I mean, how hard can it be to dress a little girl?"

Clay turned back to look at the sexy brunette. "You'd be surprised. Jolene has a pretty strong opinion."

"I know, I've been teaching her for six months now, remember? I think I got a handle on her though."

Shutting the screen door, Gemma walked away. Clay couldn't help but look at the retreating figure.

JT sure is a lucky man.

Jolene had come to love being in the Teller household. The warm and comfy atmosphere was different than her home, not necessarily better, but different nonetheless.

It was just dealing with the Drill Sarge that Jolene found to be somewhat terrifying. The title, which Jolene couldn't take credit for, had been given to Gemma Teller by her oldest son behind her back. Jolene couldn't believe that Jax had the balls to make fun of his mother like that and, in the six months that she had known him, had steadily built him up into some sort of hero and looked up to him, much like his younger brother Thomas did.

The fact was that Jax had been pretty accurate with the description, for over the last six months, the Drill Sarge had cracked the whip over both Jolene and her young son, homeschooling both children five days a week.

Gemma Teller loved her family more than anything on earth, with only the Club coming in a close second. Her children and her husband were the center of her universe, but it was her baby Thomas that tugged at her heartstrings the most. Thomas suffered from the family flaw since birth and had undergone numerous surgeries in his almost seven years of life. Gemma and JT had hoped that somehow, like Jax, Thomas would outrun the disease that had inflicted so much strain on his health, but the doctors were not optimistic.

Hoping for the best, but fearing the worst, Gemma wanted to make what time Tommy had as normal as possible and had decided to home school him as his health would never allow him to attend public school. When Jolene Morrow found out, she begged her father to allow her to be taught by Gemma as well, to Clay's great shock.

Gemma had been grateful. From the moment she saw Jolene tenderly administering to her son, Jolene had managed to burrow her way into Gemma's heart. She had a soft spot for the girl because anyone who was willing to bring some joy and normalness into her son's sheltered life was okay in her book.

Both children managed to make good progress, although there were times that, with Tommy's ill health, he would be unable to participate. Jolene, however, always helped him catch up on his missed work. Often times, she would even help him during tests when she knew she wasn't supposed to.

Now, as Gemma faced the blackboard that was set up in the Teller living room, she heard the soft giggling of the two children. Hiding her own grin, Gemma turned to face them with a stern expression. Tommy and Jolene were sitting on the sofa, each with breakfast trays across their laps that made perfect makeshift desks. That morning, Tommy had been adamant about wearing a pair of jeans and a SAMCRO t-shirt.

"Mom, kids don't wear pajamas to school." He had insisted, as he struggled to put on his clothing by himself earlier, so Gemma stood back and allowed her son his dignity.

He is so much like his father.

"All right, you two. Enough chattering. We have a lot to cover today." Gemma said as the two children groaned.

"Mom, we're home!"

As the screen door banged shut and the thunderous running footsteps travelled through the house, Jolene and Tommy looked at each other and grinned.

Seeing the mischievous looks on her two young charges, Gemma figured that she might as well throw in the towel. It would be unlikely that she would be able to finish her planned lesson now that Jax and Opie were home.

Entering the living room, Frick and Frack—as Uncle Elvis called them—threw their backpacks down on one of the chairs. While Opie sat down next to Jolene, Jax plopped down next to his baby brother and put Tommy in a gentle headlock, giving him a noogie.

"Hey, Ma. How'd the brat do today?"

Looking at her oldest son, who was the picture robust health, Gemma opened her mouth to respond, but Jolene beat her to it.

"He's not a brat, and he's just fine." She said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," Tommy chimed in as he leaned into his brother's embrace. "I'm fine. Mom, can we play some games with Jax and Opie? Please?"

"What?" Opie asked in mock shock. "You looking to get creamed again?" The 5½ foot tall man-boy moved Jolene's table tray, stretched out on the sofa, and put his feet in her lap.

Jolene quickly shoved his feet off her. "Watch it, Sasquatch!" She warned. "Besides, me and Tommy are gonna take both of you out this time."

"That's some pretty big talk coming from such a small squirt." Jax snarked.

"I'm bigger than you where it counts, sport." Jolene shot back, pointing to her head.

Tommy looked at the two of them and grinned. He loved when Jolene gave his big brother as good as she got.

"Well, make some room in that big brain of yours cuz you are in for some real schooling. C'mon, Ope. Let's get this game going. You get it from my room." Jax directed. Standing up, he easily picked up his little brother in his arms. "Jo, go get a blanket and a pillow and meet us outside. It's a nice day for us to play at the patio table. Can you get us some snacks, Ma? I think we're all hungry."

Not waiting for his mother's reply, Jax headed for the doors leading to the backyard.

Seeing the tender way in which he cared for Thomas tugged at Gemma's heart. Jax was well aware of his brother's failing health, but would not give up on the hope that he would one day recover.

She could only hope that Thomas would survive and save his big brother the devastation of losing him.

Clay wasn't kidding when he said Jolene had a mind of her own.

Luann voiced Gemma's opinion out loud. "That is one stubborn little kid. I didn't think one simple dress would send her spiraling into orbit." She half-whispered.

The two women waited patiently by the 360-degree mirror that was in the middle of the girls' fitting room in one of Stockton Galleria's upscale department stores. Jolene had pointedly insisted on trying on the clothes she had selected by herself in one of the small cubicles, relegating Gemma and Luann to wait outside.

The SAMCRO women and child had made an early start to get to the mall in Stockton, the plan being to get Jolene outfitted and done in time for her father to pick her up by noon. That way the two old ladies could continue shopping on their own. Now, waiting for the SAMCRO Princess to show off her wardrobe choices, the two old ladies discussed their young companion thoroughly.

"That is no little girl," Replied the Queen of Charming, thinking of the girl's father. "That is a crotchety middle-aged man stuffed into the body of one."

"No shit." Luann hissed. "She is so totally like Clay, it's a little scary."

"Luann, you should have known better thinking that Jolene would even consider wearing that." Gemma nodded at the red, white and navy blue sailor dress hanging on one of the racks for unwanted clothing, with a pair of red patent leather Mary Jane's on the floor beneath it. "She is nothing but a straight up tomboy."

"Heavens forbid she should look like a girl! I don't know what I was thinking. After all, look who she hangs around with all the time. Nothing but big, brawny, tatted up bikers and their sons in the garage. Is it any wonder she wants to look just like them?"

And Gemma couldn't help but agree when Jolene finally came out of the cubicle to face them.

The only thing that identified Jolene Morrow as a girl were her long dark curls, which she had managed to shove into one of Piney's old denim caps she had taken to wearing. Sporting nothing but a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, Jolene looked more like miniature version of Jax than Clay Morrow's "baby girl."

Having strategized in the tiny cubicle while changing, Jolene decided go after the mark that would best get her what she wanted. Looking Luann dead in the eye, Jolene felt she had a better chance of intimidating Big Otto's old lady than dealing with the Drill Sarge. Besides, her father had always told her that she should be direct and to the point about what she wanted.

"I want this one." She directed at Luann.

"But sweetie, it's a little on the plain side, don't cha think? How about adding a little splash of color, like a pink sweater, maybe?" Luann suggested.

Jolene almost rolled her eyes, but caught a glimpse of Gemma's icy expression and quickly managed to keep them from rolling around in her head. "I don't do pink and neither does Jax—my daddy." She replied confidently.

"Oh Luann, give it a rest already. Obviously, Jolene is no different from any other woman and knows exactly what she wants to wear." At this point, all Gemma cared about was that she didn't look like a ragamuffin. After all, the women of SAMCRO had a reputation to maintain, even the ones barely four feet tall. "Why don't we just pick up a bunch of jeans, t-shirts, some new underwear and a couple of pairs of sneakers and call it a day, huh?"

"I could use some steel-toed boots, too." Jolene announced.

"I didn't know they made them in toddler sizes, but we can check." Gemma snarked, earning a dead-eye stare from Jolene. "Seeing that you and your father have a ban on 'pink' would blue or red be up your alley?"

Jolene cocked her head to the side. "I'll consider it, but I'll need to see it first." She countered. Sometimes shirts would have lace or frilly bits, and she wouldn't put it past either woman to try and sneak something like that under her radar.

Throwing up her hands, the Queen of Charming said, "Fine, then let's get the hell out of here."

That wasn't too bad, Jolene thought happily.

She had been dreading the ordeal ever since her father dropped the bomb on her several days ago. There was no way she was going to be tricked out like a mini-version of Gemma or worse, Luann. While Jolene thought they looked all right, and knew that they were the envy of all the women hanging around the Clubhouse, Jolene wasn't interested in all of that frou-frou girly jazz.

Besides, I can't play with Jax and Opie wearing a dress.

Overall, Jolene was pleased at how everything played out. That was until she rounded the corner and saw the display in the intimates section for girls.

The large display was lavish. With helium-filled balloons and stuffed animals, it was attention getting. Jolene nearly caught her breath as she saw dozens of princess nightgowns in every size and color imaginable.

Now Jolene never considered herself to be the princess-type. After all, she was SAMCRO through and through, just like her daddy. But when she first went shopping with her father and Uncle Elvis, the saleslady had picked out a pink princess nightgown for her and Jolene had loved it from the moment she had put it on. With her recent growth spurt, however, she had quickly outgrown it, but she still wore the tight garment, unwilling to give it up.

Seeing Jolene eyeball the display of gowns, Gemma made a spur of the moment decision. Reaching over, she snatched one up that she thought was Jolene's size, with a little room to spare, and hung it over her arm with the rest of her new clothes.

Looking at the wide-eyed expression and raised eyebrows of the little girl, Gemma said, "I know this is probably way too sparkly and pink for ya, but every girl needs a nightgown, so you're just gonna have to put up with it. I'm sure you and your father will get over it."

Jolene casually shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't give a flip. "If you say so."

"I do." Gemma managed to say without smiling.

Walking ahead of the two women towards the cash register, Jolene allowed herself a small little smile.

It was a subject for the ages, one that had baffled fathers and sent them running away in terror and fear since the dawn of time.

Clarence Morrow was no exception to the rule.

It was a quiet Saturday morning, normally a favorite of both Morrows. However, it was a different story altogether if Clay had over-indulged at the after-Church party the night before, as was the case on this particular morning.

Jolene sat at one of the tables in the Main Room of the Clubhouse, steadily working her way through a large plate of French Toast and spicy pork sausage, all of which was swimming in loads of butter and pure maple syrup, with gusto. Her father, on the other hand, was nursing one of Piney's special Bloody Mary's, a surefire cure for the dog that had bit him, a pitcher of which sat between him and Bobby Elvis, who had also overindulged.

The late morning sun filled the Clubhouse and gave it a hazy look as it reflected on the dust motes in the air. The majority of the revelers had already left the Clubhouse, with the exception of those patches who were still sleeping it off in their dorms.

Bobby smiled as he watched Jolene dip another piece of sausage into a pool of syrup, twirling it around until it was fully drenched and then popping it into her mouth. It still tickled him pink to see his goddaughter tear into her food with such obvious enjoyment. He was glad that he hadn't tied one on too much the night before so that he could handle making her one of her many favorite breakfasts without tossing his cookies. He wasn't sure, however, if his brother would be able to take watching his daughter eat for much longer.

Clay don't look too good.

The VP of the mother charter had decided to have a really good time last night. Having a kid around during the last six months had almost brought the biker's sex life to a complete and utter halt. Last night, however, with Jolene spending the night at the Teller household, Clay decided that it was time he took his dick off the chain and let him loose on the always eager to please croweaters and sweetbutts littering the party.

As a result, he was not quite sober when Gemma dropped Jolene off at the Clubhouse in the late hours of the morning. He barely managed to get the two ripe, young sweetbutts out of his dorm without his baby girl seeing them. Getting a heads up from her Uncle Elvis on his pre-pay, and with Bobby distracting Jolene with the offer of breakfast, Clay hustled the women from his dorm and out the back exit. He barely had enough time to get his ass back in bed before his daughter opened the door and pounced on him.

Nagging him to get up and take a shower—which, Clay was the first to admit, he sorely needed—Jolene had done her best to make his bed. After getting Bobby to open the windows, Jolene liberally sprayed the room with a can of air freshener she found sitting on a chest of drawers in order to get rid of the funky odor hanging in the air. As Clay showered, Jolene attempted to tidy up her father's dorm. Failing to mention that Gemma had already fed her a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs earlier that morning, Bobby headed off to the kitchen to start on Kit's French toast.

Now, as he sat at the table, Clay did everything he could to avert his eyes from the remnants of Jolene's plate while the scent of the butter and maple syrup assaulted his nostrils.

Baby girl will be pissed if I throw up on what's left of her breakfast.

While trying to deal with his still-inebriated state, Clay was completely unprepared for Jolene's next question.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, baby girl?"

The little girl cocked her small head inquiringly at her father as he raised his Bloody Mary to his lips. "Did you have sex last night?"

Without warning, Bloody Mary spewed out of the biker's mouth, while Bobby had a coughing fit. Using a blue bandana to wipe the contents of his hangover remedy from his face and his cut, Clay almost roared, "What did you just say?"

"I said, did you have—"

"Don't finish that, Kit." Her uncle managed to get out, as he tried to wipe his own vest clean of Clay's projectile.

To say that Clarence Morrow was shocked, flabbergasted and dismayed would not be unexpected. What was worse was the feeling of embarrassment he felt as, for the first time since he had been a boy, he felt a blush stain his cheeks.

"Ah shit!" Piney roared with laughter from the bar. "You're in for it now!"

Seeing the alarm and fear that was reflected in Jolene's seafoam green eyes, Clay did his best to rein in his anger. "That's pretty grown up talk for a little girl. Why would you ask me that?"

Jolene's lips suddenly trembled. "Daddy, you said that if I ever had a question that I should always ask you about it, so I'm asking 'cause I found a pair of panties in your bed sheets, and Jax says—"

Stupid, damn sweetbutts!

"What the f—hell, what the hell did Jax say and when did he say it?" Ignoring the reference to the no-doubt provocative undergarments his little girl had stumbled upon, the middle-aged biker almost growled.

It was slowly dawning on Jolene that maybe this was not the time to ask her father any more questions. "Never mind, Daddy. It's not important."

But the twisted side of Bobby Elvis couldn't let it go. "I'm with your dad on this one, Kit. Just what exactly did young Jackson have to say?"

Realizing that she might have just dropped a one ton dime on her hero, Jolene thought quickly. "Well, he didn't actually tell me anything, I kind of overheard it."

And that had been true. The night before, Jolene and her two brothers-in-arms had set up sleeping bags at the foot of Thomas' bed and had a great time until Thomas had fallen asleep around midnight. Jolene quickly followed him to the Land of Nod, but had woken up to the hushed whispers of Jax and Opie less than an hour later. Unaware that she was awake, Jolene got an earful from the two 11 year old boys about the women of SAMCRO.

While Jolene had been sheltered for the most part regarding the reason why there were so many women hanging around the Clubhouse who were not old ladies, she did spend a lot of time people-watching. For the most part, she was usually never around when these women were there, but Jolene had big ears and, hanging around the old ladies, one tended to pick up a fair amount of information about these women whether you wanted to or not. As a general rule, most old ladies, Gemma and Luann in particular, called these hang-arounds "dirty whores."

Jax and Opie, however, had unknowingly filled in some of the gaps of Jolene's limited knowledge and she now wrinkled her nose in disgust as she thought about one of those women in particular.

One croweater, a woman named Tina, came to the Morrow home at least once a week to do general housekeeping for the Club's VP and his daughter. But now, armed with the knowledge she had culled from the old ladies and her two brothers, Jolene was feeling none too happy about this woman hanging around her father, whether in their house or at the Clubhouse.

Jolene would see them on the lot, sometimes in passing, pressed up against one another, laughing shrilly and flirting with the patches foolish enough to give them a second glance. She didn't like them. Not at all.

They reminded her of Valentina.

And the things Valentina would do with her boyfriends while I was in the closet.

So Jolene was determined to find out just what her father was up to and put a stop to it, if she could.

Mustering up courage, Jolene put her fork down and looked her father in his steely blue eyes. "Jax said that the women who hang around here aren't nice women and that Gemma got one thrown out of the Clubhouse."

Technically, what her hero had said was that they were whores who would throw their skirts up for anyone with a top rocker and that his mother had beat the stank off of one of them and then threw her out of the Clubhouse. Jax had been quoting a conversation he had overheard between his mother and Luann. They had been talking about a girl named Liza that Gemma had recently run out of town on a rail.

The boys had been talking so low that Jolene couldn't hear all of the details, but she knew that if she made her presence known, Jax would stop feeding Ope the 4-1-1.

Sometimes he treats me like a little kid.

But the information she had heard was enough, especially when she put it together with other little tidbits she had picked up here and there. From what she could gather, the woman had stepped out of line with Gemma's old man and she had sent the woman off packing. If the Drill Sarge thought the woman was bad news, then as far as Jolene was concerned, all the Clubhouse women were bad too and she didn't want them around her daddy. Period.

"I don't think you should hang around with bad women. Gemma doesn't like them, and I don't either." Jolene crossed her arms and laid them on her chest as she looked at her father with narrowed eyes.

Clay rubbed his head. Damnit, JT, this is all your fault.

Clay was well aware of the incident that Jolene was talking about. Word had spread like wildfire throughout SAMCRO as well as the other charters. The fecal matter started flying when a relatively new croweater, who was also apparently light on brain cells, thought she could press up on the handsome President in the mother charter's Clubhouse and get away with it. As the young woman would quickly and painfully learn, she was sadly mistaken.

Gemma Teller wasted no time in jacking the bitch up and promptly sent her on her way with a busted nose and a patch of bleached blonde hair missing from her head.

Why JT would want to fuck up what he had with Gemma by hitting that skank in Charming still baffled Clay. There was plenty of opportunity for that kind of distraction on the road.

You don't shit where you live, bro.

Now, the story had finally come full circle and landed in his baby girl's ear. And now he had to try to find a way to explain his "needs" to his nearly 7 year old daughter.

Seeing that his brother was a loss for words, Bobby decided to put Clay out of his misery and came to the rescue.

"Come here, Kit." The little girl quickly climbed down from her chair and settled herself in her uncle's ample lap.

I know Uncle Elvis will be straight with me.

But as Bobby peered into the direct bright green gaze of the little girl, a lump suddenly formed in his throat.

How did I get myself suckered into this?

"You see, Kit, your daddy loves you very much—" Bobby started.

Jolene was quick to interrupt him. "I already know that, Uncle Elvis." She rolled her eyes as if to say "get to the point already."

"Well, you wanna let me do the talking?" He blustered. The little girl sighed, but remained silent. Looking at his VP, whose blue eyes were imploring him to figure this shit out and quick, the grizzled biker had a hard time concentrating, especially as Piney was still snorting with laughter at the bar.

I'm going to cut the wire to his oxygen tank when I'm done with Kit.

"But your dad has other friends. I mean, you have Jax, Opie and Tommy, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you have sleepovers, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, last night your dad kinda had a sleepover, too."

A spate of snorts, coughs and strangled laughter came from the general direction of the bar, but Bobby refused to pay any attention.

"Is he okay?" Jolene looked over her uncle's shoulder at Piney. "Maybe you should take a hit." She said, referring to the portable oxygen tank on top of the bar.

"Yeah," Clay said as he gave his old sponsor a hard look. "Preferably as you light a cigarette."

With any luck, his oxygen tank will explode and chunks of Piney flying overhead will distract baby girl from her interrogation.

Bobby got back to the matter at hand. "Now I know you love your dad, but I know you're best buds with the boys, so you care for all of them, right?"

Jolene nodded.

"Your dad loves you too, but he has friends that he, uh, cares about too. Don't mean he loves you any less. It's just different, and in the end, you are the most important person to him. Do you believe that?"

Jolene looked at her father and, to Clay's relief, she smiled. "I do."

"So Kit, you don't have a thing to worry about his friends at the Clubhouse, you gets?"

"Okay. I gets." Reaching over she gave her uncle a big hug. "Thanks for explaining, Uncle Elvis." Sliding out of his lap, Jolene walked around the table to face her father.

"So, we okay now?" He said gruffly.

"Yeah, we're cool." Jolene grabbed her father's face and kissed him on the forehead. "I'm going outside and see what Dog is working on."

Clay slumped in his chair as he watched his baby girl run outside. "Oh my God!" He moaned. "Do you believe this shit?"

Bobby stood up and walked over to the bar to grab a bottle of Jack and two shot glasses.

"After that mindfuck, I need a drink." Looking at the still-stupefied VP, Bobby managed a grin. "You owe my ass big time for this."

"Will you teach me how to clean a bathroom?"

The question was a bit of a shock to Gemma Teller. Standing at her kitchen counter fixing a plate of sandwiches for her two students, she hadn't heard Jolene creep up behind her until she spoke up.

Turning around, she looked into the determined face of the little girl and realized that somebody had stuck a stick up the child's ass.

Narrowing her eyes at the wise-beyond-her-years child, Gemma chuckled. "That is absolutely the last thing I would ever expect a tomboy say. Take a seat." Nodding over to the small breakfast nook in the kitchen, the old lady sat down, placing the plate of food on the table. "You don't seem to be the Betty Crocker-type to me, so why in the world would you want to learn how to clean a bathroom?"

Jolene didn't want to confess her reasons, but knew that she probably wouldn't get what she wanted unless she was upfront with Drill Sarge. "I don't like other people in my house, so if I learn to take care of it, Daddy won't need to have Tina come over any more." The child wrinkled her nose disdainfully. "She's not a good woman."

Well, well, so the SAMCRO Princess is putting her size ones down, Gemma smiled to herself.

It was all over the Clubhouse how Jolene practically had her father's balls put on a keychain and in her pocket after discovering some sweetbutt's panties in his dorm. Apparently, the girl had decided that she wanted no whores in her father's room at the Clubhouse or in her home either.

Smart kid. Wait until I tell Luann.

Gemma nodded approvingly at the little girl. "That's makes sense."

Jolene was a little in awe. Drill Sarge agrees with me?

"But there's more to learn than just cleaning the bathroom. And I don't mind showing you how, and a few other things, but its going to take you a while to get used to doing stuff on your own."

"I can do it." Jolene replied adamantly.

No doubt. The girl was obviously determined.

"Well, until you learn everything you need to know, I think you still need somebody to take care of your place." Seeing the mutinous glare in the girl's eye, Gemma raised her hand. "Hold your horses. I'm not talking about Tina. Let me talk to your dad. I know a few people in town. I'm sure I can get somebody to come in to do some housekeeping, a nice middle-aged lady to clean up after you, that is, until you can take over. Does that work for you?"

Jolene put her hand on chin and carefully thought the matter over. "I guess that could work. And she wouldn't be one of the ladies from the Club?"

"Nope. I promise."

"Okay." Jolene remembered what little manners her Uncle Elvis tried to instill in her. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem. Here," Gemma handed Jolene the plate of sandwiches. "Take these in for you and Thomas and I'll bring in the milk."

"You got some chips or some potato salad and fruit to go with this? It's not a lot." Jolene warned.

"Keep your shirt on, there's plenty."

Watching the little girl leave with the sandwiches, Gemma chuckled to herself.

If Clay ever does take on an old lady, she will have to be pretty quick on the uptake to deal with that little rascal.

Jolene sat in her chair, her eyebrows furrowed in tight concentration at the task at hand.

Peeling eggs wasn't as easy as her Uncle made it look.

Sitting at the small table in the Morrow's tiny kitchen, Jolene was getting her first cooking lesson from her Uncle Elvis.

Actually, to Jolene's untrained eye, it seemed more like cutting and chopping than actual cooking and she as much said so to Bobby.

"I know I like to eat what we're making, but I'd rather learn how to make Chili."

Bobby Elvis let out a hearty laugh, his ample belly jiggling in response. "Oh, Kit, the art of learning how to make my Chili is a privilege to be earned. It's gonna be a good long while before I think you're ready for that."

The biker had not been as surprised as Clay when his goddaughter had asked him to teach her how to cook. Jolene had a pretty mean independent streak running through her and quickly pleaded her case with cold, hard facts. "I can't always wait for you to be around to cook for us and since I can't drive to Nicky's Diner on my own, I need to know how to fix our own food when I want it 'cause Daddy don't know how to either."

Proud that his goddaughter wanted him to share his knowledge regarding one of his passions, Bobby borrowed Clay's cage and took Jolene to Murphy's Stop-N-Shop. Once there, he gave Jolene her first and, in his mind, the most important, lesson in cooking as they picked up the ingredients needed for her first dish.

"Always buy quality ingredients, Kit. And if at all possible, always go organic and locally grown. For instance, tomatoes fresh off a farmer's truck will always be sweeter, riper, and juicier than that cellophane-wrapped shit you find in most markets." Bobby lectured as they walked down the produce aisle with Jolene pushing the shopping cart. "Also, always get your meat from a butcher. Store-bought will do ya in a pinch, but I always get meat for my chili from a German butcher in Lodi. Quality ingredients mean you'll get a tasty meal."

For her first hands-on cooking lesson, Bobby decided to teach Jolene something simple, which he knew was a favorite of both the bottomless pit and her grumpy father: Bobby Elvis' Deviled Tuna Salad.

Bobby's recipe was quite simple, with his only rules being that certain brands were NOT interchangeable with the ones he used and that no good tuna salad was made without eggs, which was why Jolene was currently peeling four large ones.

"Now, Kit, I know the only thing we 'cooked' was the eggs, but this here tuna salad is not only tasty, it'll stick to your ribs, especially when you eat it on a crusty yet doughy bread like the French rolls we picked up at the bakery." Bobby waggled a finger at her. "Remember, you are not to use the stove unless your father is around. Now I know your dad ain't trained, but I have to believe he can at least boil a freakin' egg. You gots?"

Jolene nodded her head vigorously. "I gots."

Bobby spent the rest of the afternoon directing Jolene, showing her how to chop the eggs up using a fork and giving her background info on each ingredient as she added it into the large bowl holding the eggs.

"You gotta remember that when making a good tuna salad the mayo is everything. And what do we use in this house?"

Jolene nodded her head solemnly. "Only Best Food's."

"Good girl. I can't tell you how many times people have ruined a perfectly good tuna salad with the wrong mayonnaise. And one other thing. I only bought this expensive pre-diced celery because I don't want you using knives yet. When you get more skilled, you can buy the whole celery and chop it up yourself. Now, when you're done mixing it, we'll put it in the fridge and let it chill for a couple of hours. Have you mixed it up good?"

Jolene's little tongue stuck out between gritted teeth. "I think so."

"There's only one way to find out. Let's take a taste. Sometimes I get it right on the first try, sometimes I got to add a little more of this or that to it." Taking two forks, Bobby scooped up a generous bite on each fork. "Let's see how good you did."

Jolene took her fork and shoved the salad into her mouth. After chewing judiciously for several seconds and then swallowing, she smiled up at her uncle. "I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty good!"

"You know, I think your right. You did pretty good for your first time in the kitchen, Kit."

Jolene beamed at her uncle's praise. "Thanks, Uncle Elvis and thanks for teaching me." The little girl looked at the contents of the large bowl. I wouldn't mind a sandwich right now. "How long do you think this will last?"

Bobby took a good look at the bowl. "For most other people, probably four or five helpings. With you and your father, I'd say two, the way the two of you eat."

Jolene giggled. "Daddy's gonna be really surprised at how good it came out. Before I know it, I'll be so good, we'll be eating at home a lot more."

And not at the Clubhouse.

There were no words to express the horror! Jolene stood frozen with her hands over her mouth as if to stifle a scream, her eyes wide and wild.

The figurine was smashed to bits! A billion sparkly bits!

Just a moment before there had been laughter, fun and good times.

Now, there was nothing but silence.

Finally, one of the four spoke.

"Oh shit!"

Jolene couldn't believe he had said it out loud. Looking around the room searching for the one adult she knew with the hearing of a bat, she cried out, "Tommy?"

"Uh, Jo, this is definitely an 'oh shit' moment." Opie advised darkly.

"You ain't kidding, bro." Jax knelt down to examine the remains of what had been a crystal swan made by Waterford. "It's a goner."

"I'm gonna have to tell her." Tommy sat down heavily on the sofa. He had been winded before their game had been called to a halt and now he was extremely tired.

Both Jax and Jolene moved together in unison to check on him. "Are you okay?" Jolene said urgently, pushing a hank of dark hair that had come loose away from her eyes.

"I'm a little tired, but I'm more afraid of what Mom's gonna do. That was her favorite."

"Tommy, don't worry about that right now. Ope, you go to the closet and get the broom and dust pan. I'll go get Tommy some water. Jo, you keep Tommy quiet," Jax ordered, quickly assuming the role of group leader.

As he ran towards the kitchen, Jax was angry and pissed at himself. It had been his idea to toss a football around in the house.

Idiot, there's a perfectly good backyard we coulda used!

But Jax knew his reasoning against going outside. He had been thinking of his little brother and, how in a more controlled environment inside, Tommy wouldn't be tempted to overdo it by running and jumping. Jax had been right in that regard. His little brother had wanted to play so much and Jax just wanted him to have some fun. The last time they had actually played outside was a family trip to the beach back when Tommy's health had seemed to be taking a turn for the better.

Jax tried hard to remain optimistic, hoping that eventually Thomas would make a full recovery. But even at his age, it was becoming more and more clear to Jax that his brother's health was failing. He could see it in his father's eyes and hear it in his mother's constant worrying. Gemma had changed her mind at least half a dozen times today before finally deciding to trust them enough to leave them alone with Tommy. There had been just no way around it. She needed to make a quick run to Lodi to pick up some steaks from the German for the big Sunday dinner she had planned.

Jax returned to the living room with a glass of water to find that Opie had started cleaning up the broken crystal and that Jolene had Tommy settled into the far corner of the couch with his feet up, a light blanket over his legs and a pillow supporting his back. The high color he had from overexerting himself had returned to normal and he seemed to be breathing evenly again.

"Hey little bro, drink up."

Tommy nodded his thanks as he literally drained the glass dry. "I didn't know I so thirsty."

"Do you want some more?" Jolene said anxiously.

"No. I'm good, but what are we going to do about that?" Tommy pointed to Opie, who had scooped up the last bit of the figurine into a Hefty bag.

"I think there's no help for it. We're gonna have to fess up." Jax replied.

Tommy crossed his arms. "I threw the ball. I'll tell her."

"No, that's not a good idea." Jolene shook her head solemnly.

"But it's the truth." Tommy protested.

"Yeah, I know, but if one of us broke the swan, well, it ain't gonna be pretty, but just one of us will go down for it. If you cop to it, your mom's gonna go nuts! She'll know that you were running around and getting overheated and excited and all that happy crap and then we'll all go down." Jolene said wisely.

"Jo's right. I'll take the blame." Jax stood up.

"No. I will." Jolene exclaimed to Jax's utter shock. "I was supposed to catch. If I had, we wouldn't all be in trouble right now."

"Squirt, you would have needed go-go Gadget arms to catch that shit." Opie snarked.

"And that's why I should take the blame." Tommy interjected.

"We already talked that shit out, Tommy." Jax gave his little brother a hard stare. "You're not copping to it, a'ight?"

"Okay." Tommy mumbled.

Jax sat on the corner of the sofa and threw his arm around his little brother. "Hey, it's gonna be okay."

Just then, at the sound of a car pulling into the Teller's driveway, the four children froze once again.

"Damn it! It should've taken her at least another thirty minutes. Ope, quick. Hide that mess under my bed and get back here fast. Maybe if we keep her occupied, she won't notice it right off." Jax suggested.

Jolene rolled her eyes. "Really? Your mother's old—not stupid! She's gonna notice it eventually."

Grabbing a deck of UNO cards that was sitting on the coffee table, Jax quickly dealt out some cards as Opie skidded back into the room.

"Start playing, talking, anything!" Jax ordered as he handed his fellow conspirators their cards.

I smell a rat.

Gemma knew it the moment she entered the front door. All mothers had the instinct. It was only a matter of whether or not they chose to exercise it.

Coming around the corner of her entranceway loaded down with bags, Gemma found four, very sedate children playing a card game in her living room. Gemma narrowed her eyes. UNO is in no way, shape or form a sedate game, especially when her little monsters were involved, so immediately Gemma's hackles were up, but decided to play it cool anyway.

"Hey, kids. Whatcha got going?"

"Uh, just some cards, Ma." Jax put down his hand and walked over to his mother as he swept his longish blond locks away from his face. "Those look heavy. Let me grab that for ya." Flashing her one of the many patented Teller smiles, Jax took one of the bags from his mother's arms. "Man, this is heavy. Get the other one, Ope."

"Well, just what I needed, my two strong young men." Walking over to her youngest, Gemma bent over to kiss him on the forehead. "How are you doing, baby?"

"I'm just fine, Ma. We've been having a good time." Tommy replied, a little breathlessly.

"Are you sure, baby? You seem a little out of breath. Have you been off the couch?"

"NO!" All four children exclaimed.

Uh huh. They must think I'm old and stupid. Maybe I'll give them a little more rope to hang themselves before I start the interrogation.

Gemma straightened up. "There are some more bags in the car the two of you can get for me after you take those to the kitchen."

It was then when she turned around that it hit her—there was an empty space on one of the shelves of her black lacquer curio cabinet.

Oh, Hell's no!

"Freeze!"

Jax literally froze in his tracks. He recognized the sound of barely-under control rage in her voice all too well.

Busted! But no sweat.

Preparing to fall on his sword for his loyal band of mischief makers, he turned around to face a furious Gemma. But before he could open his mouth, Jolene jumped up from the sofa. "It was my fault. I did it."

"Did what?" Gemma glared at the suddenly terrified little girl.

She looks like a deer caught in the headlights, Gemma thought as she fought to keep a straight face.

Jolene nearly swallowed her tongue but then quickly spit out a story, without taking a breath, that to her mind sounded like it made sense. "I threw the football before Jax realized that I was going to and he tried to catch it, but it was too late and it smashed into the swan, so it's not his fault."

Bullshit! This has Jax written all over it.

But as Gemma looked from one to the other, Jax tried to interrupt. "Ma, it wasn't like that—"

"Yes it was, Gemma. I did it by myself, so you should punish me."

"Mom, we're both responsible, so we should both be punished." Jax insisted, deciding he couldn't let Jolene take the fall by herself and gave her the look that begged she keep her mouth shut.

Gemma looked at the mini Bonnie and Clyde. "Okay, since one or both of you either throws like a girl or can't catch worth shit, you can both work KP duty for tomorrow's dinner. Jolene, your father can drop you off around 8:00 a.m., and Jackson, there's plenty of work that needs to be done in the backyard and then you can come help out in the kitchen. Dinner isn't until 4:00, but I'm sure I can find plenty to keep you busy all day, so you won't be tempted to play ball in the house."

"Yes, ma'am." They both replied meekly.

As Gemma looked each child in the face, she caught the expression in Tommy's eyes. His beautiful eyes were indeed a mirror into his soul and reflected everything in him.

The little devil!

Gemma realized that she pretty much had both Jax and Jolene's number, especially when it came to protecting Tommy. She was absolutely sure that this wouldn't be the last time these two would find themselves in a mess together and, even though she had a pretty good idea about what had actually gone down, Gemma decided to let it go.

For now.

"Okay, Kid." Clay crouched beside his daughter. Wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, steel-toed boots and his T-M work shirt over a white wife beater, Clay made an imposing figure on the lot, but to Jolene he was just her daddy. "So, have you figured out what everything is?"

Jolene smiled at her father. She had done her research, questioning Jax and then Opie to make sure she had it right. "Yup." She pointed to the two tools. "That's a diamond jack and a tire iron."

"All right. So what do you plan on doing with 'em?"

The little girl rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna do anything. I'm just a kid. You're going to show me and I'm going to watch."

"I guess that makes sense, but you learn better from doing and if you want to learn how to change a tire right, you need to be hands on about it." Clay advised.

"Okay. I guess it's better if I learn to do it now, huh? That way I can change the tire on my own cage when I get my driver's license." Jolene grinned at him.

"Baby girl, having a driver's license and having a car are two entirely different things." Clay snarked. "Besides, you're better off getting a pilot's license because by the time I let you behind the wheel of a vehicle, we'll be living in a world of flying cars."

Because if she's anything like me, she'll have a fuckin' lead foot.

Deciding that he rather not think about his little girl behind the wheel, Clay turned his attention back to the subject at hand. "Okay. The first thing we're going to do is to loosen the lug nuts."

"Those are the screws that keep the tire on, right?"

Clay nodded approvingly. "That's right." Taking the tire iron, he showed Jolene how to fix it onto a nut and quickly gave it a couple of turns. "Now I want you to try it."

Jolene placed her hands on the tire iron and with her father's help, managed to loosen the next nut. "That wasn't too bad." She exclaimed happily.

"Nah, you did pretty good." Clay mussed up his daughter's wild hair with his bear claw.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Clay looked over his shoulder to see Otto Delaney heading over. "Use your eyes, idiot. I'm giving the Kid here a lesson on how to change a tire."

The younger man grinned at Clay's usual greeting, which Otto was convinced was a term of endearment, as he bent down to assess their work. "Smart. We could always use another grease monkey around here."

Jolene leaned against Big Otto's shoulder. "What's a grease monkey, Big O?"

"It's a nickname for a mechanic. You're smart taking lessons from your old man. He's probably the best mechanic on the lot, with the exception of Lowell Sr." Otto nodded at one of the middle-aged mechanics currently on break. "That is, when he's not tweaking."

Jolene wrinkled her brow. "What's tweaking?"

Clay's eyes nearly bore a hole through the younger patch's face. "See why I call ya 'idiot'?" He shook his head disdainfully. Addressing Jolene, Clay said, "It means nothing you need to worry your head about, baby girl. But one thing Otto's right about. We could use a little more help around here."

"I bet I can be a great grease monkey."

"I have no doubt whatsoever about that, baby girl," Clay beamed at her proudly. "But less yapping and more doin'. Let's get back to finishing up this tire."

The table was groaning with the weight of the food.

Just the way I like it.

Jolene grinned as she shoved another bite of Gemma Teller's juicy meatloaf into her mouth and followed it up with a bite of mash potatoes swimming in gravy.

Looking over on her right, her father was busy shoveling food into his mouth as well as he laughed with his brothers. On her left, Tommy was giggling as his brother and father argued over the merits of newest Harley out on the market versus JT's beloved panhead.

It was a late fall Sunday afternoon in the Teller household and it was a special one as this one marked a full year that Jolene Morrow had become a member of the SAMCRO family. Since Jolene was the guest of honor, all First 9 progeny were invited to sit at the table with the grown-ups.

Catching Gemma's eye, Clay raised his bottle of beer at her with a smile and a nod. It was Gemma who had approached him about having a special get-together for SAMCRO's inner circle to celebrate Jolene's first year in Charming. Clay had been truly touched by her thoughtfulness.

Truth was Clay felt indebted to Gemma Teller in ways he would never be able to repay. She had welcomed his baby girl not only into her home, but into the SAMCRO family as well. Gemma treated Jolene no different than she would Opie and at times, no different than she would treat her own sons. He was truly grateful that JT's old lady, in her capacity as Queen of Charming, served as a role model for his impressionable daughter. No doubt that the almost-regal looking woman and loving mother had managed to undo years of damage inflicted on his little girl by her worthless egg donor. Gemma was truly the ideal old lady.

About a month before, and completely out of the blue, CPS had called the Clubhouse once again to speak with Clay. They advised that he was required to return to Seattle with Jolene for her final health and well-being evaluation before the end of her first year in his custody. The results of that evaluation would determine whether or not Jolene would stay with her father permanently.

To the surprise of Jolene's former CPS case worker Miranda Brant, the evaluation revealed that the "minor subject" had fared very well in her new environment, growing in good health physically and mentally and passing the standardized testing for first graders with flying colors, with Jolene showing a high aptitude for math and science.

Having returned to Charming at the tail end of the last week, Clay soon received a certified letter from Washington's Child Protective Services congratulating him. Impressed with how well the child was thriving, Clay Morrow now had sole-custody of his daughter, with CPS no longer required to monitor Jolene's case.

Finally, baby girl—the child he didn't know he loved until he met her—was officially his!

Clay suddenly banged the table with his meat hook fist to get everyone's attention and stood up. "Well, I ain't one on making speeches, so I'll keep this brief. On behalf of me and the Kid here, I want to thank my President and best friend JT and your amazing old lady Gemma for this spread here tonight in honor of Jolene and her first year in Charming. I'm especially grateful to Gemma for taking the time to home school her and to both her and Bobby for helping me out with some of this father shit I'm still trying to wrap my head around. All in all, it's been a real interesting year, but I don't think we've done too shabby, huh Kid."

Jolene smiled. "Nope, you've been doing pretty good, Daddy. I hardly have to remind you that dirty socks go in the hamper anymore, so a little more home-training and you'll be great!" As the entire table roared with laughter, Clay reached over to affectionately tousle his daughter's wild locks.

I guess it's really true. Life's best gifts often come in small packages.