I disclaim. I own nothing.

AN: This is another chapter I had to break into two parts. It was actually something like eleven pages and I realized that was just too long. So the next part will be up in about a day or two. It's where the 'M' rating comes in and I'm not too confident in it, so I want to give it a little more polish before posting.

Chapter 4

Month Fourteen:

The brightness of the sun hurt his eyes something terrible, but Jax couldn't say it was an entirely bad feeling. The sun never shone this bright in the yard, the air never tasted quite so sweet. He wanted to pause, to take the time to appreciate it, but he heard an all too familiar call.

"Jackie-boy!"

Jax was swept up in a hard hug, eyes still blinded by the sun, but his arms finding their way around his brother none-the-less. A pair of sunglasses was slapped unceremoniously on his face before he was pulled into another hard hug.

"How's the freedom taste, brother?"

"Pretty damn good, Ope." Jax glanced around the lot, happy to see his brothers all together. He knew his mother and Tara wouldn't be here, but was disappointed none-the-less not to see them. Which made him all the more anxious to get in the van and go.

"What do you say we get the fuck out of here boys." Clay decided as he turned and lifted a middle finger towards the institution they just left before loading into the van.

The ride back to Charming was loud, raucous, and filled with relief so intense it made the air heavy. There were no windows in the van, so Jax couldn't see if Hale had implemented any changes into the town yet. If he were honest, he didn't care. Hale was just another asshole and if Jax knew nothing else, it was how to take care of assholes.

"I'm telling you boys," Tig began. "When those doors open, everyone step back, because if I don't get my cock into prime pussy soon I swear I'm chewing off my own arm."

"You keep your cock in your pants until after church, brother." Clay warned from the front seat. "We got business to discuss, afterwards you can drown in pussy for all I give a shit."

"And drown in pussy is the plan." Bobby laughed.

When the van turned into the lot, even on the inside, Jax could hear the cheers that went up and felt ridiculous for trying to pick out her voice among the many. He finally looked through the windshield, trying to catch a glimpse of her and felt his heart pounding heavily when he didn't see her.

The doors were pulled open, the light flooded in, harsher now then when he walked out of Stockton. When he stepped from the van he was immediately embraced. He recognized his mother's arms, her scent, and though he missed her, Gemma was not the one he searched for.

"Hey, Mom."

Gemma's arms tightened momentarily before she pulled back. With a wry smile she gave his beard a tug. "Intent on keeping this shit, huh?"

"I've been out five minutes and already you're jumping up my ass." He glanced over her shoulder, that's when he saw her. Tara stepped out of the Teller-Morrow office behind Lyla. Ben was settled on her hip while Abel was clinging to her leg. "I missed you, mom."

"But you're itching to get over there to your old lady." Gemma read him easily. "Go on."

Opie slapped him on the back before clearing a path through the crowd. Jax reached Lyla first giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. He dropped to his knee so that he was eye level with Abel. His son studied him with curious eyes before reaching out to give his beard a tug. With a laugh, Jax grabbed his son in a hug and covered the wiggling kid's face with kisses. Keeping Abel in his arms he stood up. Ben was studying him with the same curious look that Abel had. And just like his big brother, Ben reached out and gave his dad's beard a tug.

Finally his eyes locked on Tara's and for a moment it was like they were the only two people in the world.

"Excuse me," Opie reached between them to take Abel as Lyla reached for Ben. "Wanna get the kids out of the line of fire."

But Jax didn't hear him. His eyes raked over Tara from head to toe. Absently he noted that she still seemed a little on the thin side. Her hair was fuller, longer, made his fingers itch to tangle in those dark locks. She wore those big silver hoop earrings he loved so much, a large black shirt that hung off one shoulder and unfortunately covered her ass.

Like he had a thousand times before, Jax hands came up to frame Tara's face. He tried to go slow, tried to savor the kiss, her. But once he had that first taste, he was like a man possessed, drinking in her taste in large desperate gulps. The hands in her hair tilted her head back further as he pressed her back against the doorjamb.

For her part, Tara's hands gripped at his hips pulling him closer before slipping under his shirt. The feel of her fingers brushing along his back snapped something inside him. Keeping one hand fisted in her hair, his other raced down her side brushing against her breast, along her back before finally cupping her ass to lift her just that little bit closer. Was he aware of the fact that he was dry humping his old lady in a crowded parking lot? Yes. Did he particularly give a shit? No.

"Jax."

He felt the tap on his shoulder, but knocked it away. "Fuck. Off."

"What are you doing to our mother?" Chibs gave his shoulder a shake. "Get off her you animal."

"Seriously guys, fuck off." His mouth busied itself on her neck. "Or I swear I'll kill he next guy who touches me."

Unfortunately this statement was enough to clear the fog from Tara's brain. "Alright, Jax." Much to his ever lasting disappointment her hands left his back to tug at his hair. "Come on, baby. You've got business."

"Damn right I do." He pressed closer to her.

Tara laughed. "V.P business. Go on, I'll see you at home."

When she tried to push past him, Jax kept her blocked in. "What do you mean home? You're not sticking around."

"Do you really think I'm going to have my sons around the jizz fest this thing is going to turn into in a matter of hours?" Her fingers danced over his cheeks in that way he hadn't even been aware of missing. "Bobby face down in some girl's crotch while Tig pisses on another. You really think I want to be within a hundred yards of that?"

"You're my old lady," He didn't want her going home, he didn't want her out of his sight. "You have to be here."

"I have to be at family things. And I will be and showing off our sons like a good old lady. But tonight is for the guys to blow off steam," Her nose crinkled up adorably. "And other things they've been holding in for fourteen months."

"Alright, I'll be home as soon as we're done at the table."

"You're the V.P, you can't ditch the party all together. Have fun, okay. The boys and I will be home when you get there."

Things inside the chapel went relatively smooth. After all it was just a formality. Clay took his place back at the head of the table, Tig to his right, Jax to his left. They discussed the rebuild of CaraCara, Bobby was quick to offer his services as manager once again. Opie informed everyone that the acquisition of Cameron's surplus store had gone smoothly. Though Piney made no secret how little he liked being there, he didn't ask to be removed from his position at the store.

No one made mention of the changes in Charming. Truth was, the club, thanks to their new connections, was finally in the black. With two legal sources of income- CaraCara bringing in the larger share-members were flush. It was not a night to deal with bad, or potentially bad news.

"Hey," Tig stepped out of the chapel and grabbed the first thing with breasts he saw. "Where the fuck did Kozik go?"

"Probably with Tara." Filthy Phil lined up a shot at the pool table. "Because where Tara goes, Kozik's sure to follow."

The entire room grew quite as Jax stepped out of the chapel. Realizing what he said and who was within earshot to hear it, Phil immediately straightened up.

"What was that?" Jax stepped threateningly towards the other man.

"N-nothing, Jax. Kozik was protecting Tara while you guys were locked up. And we all gave him shit for how serious he was about it. Th-that's all."

"Hey," Opie reached an arm around Jax's neck, pulling him towards the couch. A nod from Clay had the music blaring and the party back in full swing. "Let that shit go, man." He could feel the tension coming off Jax in waves. "Kozik and Tara, they're like brother and sister."

Jax nodded, accepting the beer and shot brought over to him by a topless woman who he barely saw.

"Jackson, glad to see you out, brother. I'm Aiden."

Setting his beer aside, Jax took the offered hand. "Not as glad as I am to be out."

"Opie." Aiden nodded to the other man, but received no response.

Jax tried, though not very hard, to cover his chuckle.

"So, where's the lovely Tara?"

Taking a deep pull from his beer, Jax struggled to keep his easy grin in place. "At home. With our kids."

A heavy tension settled around them. No one said anything for a while and Jax wanted this guy as far the fuck away from him as one could get.

"Well, there's a very attractive brunette over there giving me the eye." Aiden finished off his glass of whiskey. "I do love brunettes."

"Guy's a dick." Opie muttered.

"Why do you think she left, Ope?" It had been bothering him ever since she walked away from him earlier. Part of him wanted to believe, couldn't keep from hoping, that Tara trusted him enough not to worry about leaving him at a party full of naked willing women. Another part, a part that was becoming louder and louder where Tara was concerned, said she left because she simply didn't give a shit about what he did.

"Because Tig just pissed on that chick over there and Happy's getting blown by those twins. She's your old lady, but she doesn't belong at a party like this. You wouldn't want her at a party like this."

"Yeah," Annoyed with himself, with the way his mind had been working lately, Jax gave his beard a tug. Then couldn't help but to laugh when he remembered his sons doing the same thing just hours ago. He wanted to go home. "What is with Tig and this pissing thing?"

"What is with Tig and anything he does."

"That's true." In what he hoped was a casual gesture, Jax glanced at his watch. "Man, I could use a shower. I'm gonna head home, maybe I'll catch up with you later."

Opie gave a knowing grin. "I seriously doubt that."

"Hey Jax," Juice caught him before he could leave. "Taking off?"

"Yup," Because Aiden was leaning against the bar, he spoke louder than he needed to. "Got this hot brunette waiting for me at home."

"I think I saw her earlier, Jackie-boy." Chibs called. "She's too good for the likes of ya."

"I agree with the Scot, she's way to good for you. Nearly forgot to give you these." Opie came up behind him, a set a keys dangling from his finger. "Key to your bike and new place. Which, fuck you for that by the way. You bought Tara a goddamn palace, Lyla comes home and looks at me like I ain't worth shit."

Jax kept his eyes on Aiden. "Nothing's too good for my old lady." She was his queen, had been since she was sixteen years old, he was going to put her up like one. "Night boys."

The new place was near the outskirts of the Charming city limit. Because the way the town was set up, with the main road running through the downtown area before hitting the residential neighborhoods, the house was actually closer to the garage and clubhouse. Which was one of the reasons Jax settled on it. He liked that it was bigger, that he could give Tara a nice place where no one had been killed in. He liked the statement it made, that when his brothers or anyone showed up they'd see a house fit for a king. But more than anything he liked that at the end of his day, when club shit was beating down on him, Tara and his boys were only a short ride away.

The house was one story, but it stretched long and wide. There was a three car attached garage, but it was pulled off to the side, so the front of the house was made up of the porch and a row of short columns. The Cutlass and the new Jeep Liberty the guys got for Tara were both parked on the drive, Kozik's bike pulled up besides the Cutlass. The front porch light was on and the door was locked and Jax had to give Kozik credit for being diligent. And tried to hold on to that feeling of goodwill when he walked inside to find a gun pointed at him.

"Aw, shit, Jax." Kozik immediately put his gun back in his holster. "Sorry about that, man. I just heard the door open…fuck man, I'm sorry."

"Glad to see you taking such good care of my old lady."

"Yeah, but you're here now." Kozik finished. "So I'm going to head back to the club. Tara's back in the nursery, I was just going to take her a bottle of water but I guess you can do that." He handed Jax the bottle before going back into the living room to grab his cut. "Good to have you home, brother."

Jax accepted the other man's hug. "Thanks." And practically shoved him out the door.

For a moment he stayed where he was, taking in his house. There was a dining room to his right and another room to his left he figured was the living room, both rooms were empty save for a few boxes. Going straight back he passed a bathroom before finding himself in the open area that included the kitchen and family room. The kitchen included what Tara called a 'breakfast nook' that had a pair of French doors leading out to the backyard.

Because he wasn't entirely sure what was which way, he went to his right where he found the hallway split; in one direction he found a storage closet and an empty room he didn't know what it's use was, up the other way was the laundry room and garage. Doubling back, crossing back through the kitchen and family room he finally found the hallway leading to the bedrooms. There were five total and he new that the master bedroom was at the very end of the hall. It was the sound of his boys laughter that lead him to the nursery.

The two cribs were on adjacent walls, the rocking chair that had been in Abel's old room sat between them. There was a Harley spray painted on the way in front of each boys crib, each boys name making up the body of the bike. The dresser and changing table was set up just as it had been at their old place. Walking through the Jack and Jill bathroom, he found his family. He guessed Tara had set this room up as a play area for the boys. There was a baby swing and playpen, the old futon as well. The rug was one of those city street deals, a shelf loaded with books and stuffed animals, a toy box, and one of those battery operated bikes.

Almost as if she felt his presence, Tara looked up from her spot on the floor and smiled at him. "Hey."

The smile, as always, got him right where it counted. Ben was sitting in her lap, happily banging two matchbox cars together, while Abel was creating his own wreck on the rug. "Hey."

"Take off your cut, Teller. Stay awhile."

With a grin, Jax slid his cut off and tossed it on the baby swing before making his way across the room. Laying out on his stomach, he handed Tara the bottle of water he carried before joining in on Abel's game.