Apple Pie Life (D. Winchester) (SOA/SPN crossover)

Chapter Four

(The Announcement; 2000)

The day of her eighteenth birthday, Ellyana signed her papers and sent them in. A week later, she recieved a letter back, telling her that she needed to get a physical exam by her doctor to make sure she could join, then she'd be allowed to go and start basic training.

Ella kept her doctor's appointment a secret, and three days later when she recieved a call from her doctor that all of her tests came back fine, and she had a clean bill of health, she decided it was finally time to tell her family. She was worried about the way they'd react, but she knew that they'd eventually get use to the idea. Well, they didn't really have a choice in the matter, they'd just have to eventually come to terms with her decision.

"Jax, do you think you have time to sit with Mom so I can tell you guys something important?" Ella asked, and Jax nodded.

"Yeah, today's a slow day," He answered,"Is this something that you need me to keep from the club or...?" He trailed off, but Ellyana shook her head.

"No, you can tell them, or I can tell them. I just want yours and Mom's reactions first." She replied, causing the blonde man to purse his lips.

A couple of hours later, Gemma showed up at TM, and Ellyana headed towards the office where the woman always worked. Jax followed close behind her, even though he was a little nervous about what Ella wanted to tell them. If it was that she was pregnant, he'd be a bit upset, and if it was that she was pregnant and the baby daddy skipped town, he'd be angry. He'd definitely go searching for the man to kill him, or at least beat him to a pulp.

"Mom, I need you and Jax to sit on the sofa and listen for a sec." Ellyana commented, and Gemma raised her eyebrow, but listened nonetheless.

Once Gemma and Jax were sitting down, Ella let out a sigh and pulled the papers from her back pocket. She handed them to Gemma, and Jax furrowed his eyebrows. The moment Gemma read the paper, a frown went to her face, and a crease was appearing between her eyebrows from the intense scowl that showed.

"Absolutely not!" Gemma exclaimed, causing Jax's eyes to widen.

Gemma handed the papers over to Jax, as she stood up to talk to her daughter. Ella kept a straight face, knowing Gemma could say anything, but it wasn't going to change the fact that she was going and nothing could stop her.

"You can't join the army, Ellyana. You could get hurt, or worse killed because of this. Something could happen to you, and you'd be halfway across the world from us. You're supposed to stay here with us, with me, and learn the ropes of this life. You know the new prospect, Juice, he's a nice guy. Maybe you should talk to him, he's close to your age. I know he'd be a fool to pass up on you--" Gemma kept on, until Jax finally cut her off.

"Ella, I know this is exciting and new for you, but I really don't want you joining the army. I can't lose you, you're my little sister," He said, causing tears to swell in Ella's eyes,"Besides, you're the first girl that the club is actually considering to let prospect and eventually patch in. I wasn't supposed to tell you, but I figured you should know before you decide to leave us." He added, making Ella sigh quietly.

"I've already signed up, and I went to my doctor's appointment to make sure I was healthy enough," Ellyana commented,"I start basic training next week." She murmured, causing Gemma to let out a cry.

"C'mon, Ella, let's go talk to the club, Mom's gonna need a minute alone." Jax said, as he wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders.

Jax brought Ella to the clubhouse and took her inside. Once they were inside, Jax let out a whistle to get everyone's attention. Tig and Chibs had been working in the garage, but Jax had called for them on his way into the clubhouse with his sister.

"What's up, Jax?" Tig asked, as he stood with his arms crossed against his chest.

"Ella has something she wants to tell everyone." Jax commented, and Ella felt like he was throwing her under the bus a little, since she figured he was mad at her.

"Well, you guys know how much I've been training with the punching bag outside, and doing a lot of running and other exercises," She smiled slightly to herself,"I didn't just do them for the hell of it, or to learn basic self-defense," She ran her fingers through her hair,"I did all that exercise to start training my body to get ready for even harder training and work." She added, as everyone watched her silently.

"I, uh, I don't understand what this is leading to." Juice commented, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I've joined the army. I start basic training next week." She stated, shocking everyone, other than Jax, of course.

"How'd Gemma take the news?" Clay asked, causing his step-daughter to sigh.

"Not too great, she started crying once she knew I was starting basic training next week." Ella answered, making the man sigh.

"I'll go talk to her." Clay commented, before he walked out of the clubhouse.

"Don't take the lack of emotion personal, lass, he loves ya, and he doesn't want ya to see him upset." Chibs told Ella, but Ella had a different feeling.

Honestly, Ella hated Clay. Clay was her father's best friend, and only months after her father died, Clay swooped in and sunk his talons into Gemma. Ella had a feeling that Gemma liked Clay before JT passed, but she didn't say anything about it. Clay tried playing the concerned father role for a while with Jax and Ella, but they really didn't fall for it. In their eyes, he was a trader to their father, but he was also the president of Samcro, so they had to deal with how he played things. If they did anything out of line, it could end up more than just a personal family problem, and that was something neither of them wanted...