Chapter 004. Thanks for your reviews and my Beta Julianne who says the nicest things that make my ego big enough to give me the confidence to post these new chapters :)

Charlotte was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet in the kitchen with excitement when she heard Chibs arrive home.

The ride from the garage to his house had been one of a blur. Ellie was pregnant? Really? She was so young, so innocent. Maybe not anymore, but she had been. She was still the awkward 12 year old at family dinners who was too young to sit with 'grown-ups' but too old to sit at the 'children's table'. At someone's birthday, when Ellie was 16, Bobby had given her half a red plastic cup of beer and Chibs had flipped. He'd gone and narked to Opie who just laughed and said it was okay. Chibs knew that kids were growing up fast these days, his Kerrianne had turned 21 just a few months ago but Jesus, 18 with a baby? How was Opie holding it together like he was?

When he parked his bike next to Charlotte's black Audi he started to feel sick. He hoped that Ellie had kept it a secret from Charlotte – it would be like a dirty little secret between Ellie, Opie, Lyla and Chibs. Charlotte didn't need to know – she didn't need to know anything that would hurt her so much.

"Hey, babe," he called from the front door, dropping his keys in to the wooden bowl, joining the spare house key set and her car keys. He was acting natural, nothing out of the ordinary from any other night when he got home.

"Hey!" she called from the kitchen. "How was work?"

Good. She always asked that question; so far so good.

"Same shit different day. You?" He started to flick through the junk mail left on the side.

"Wonderful!"

She practically walked on air from the kitchen to the living room where he was. She flung her arms round his neck and lifted herself off the ground and he had to wrap his arms around her waist to stop them both from falling.

"Yeah?" he asked, slightly nervous.

"Did you hear?" she whispered and looked up at him with bright, glossy eyes.

She knew. Fuck. Ellie had told her.

"Ellie's pregnant. We're going to have a baby!"

Ellie had told her and made her get her hopes up. The next few weeks she'd be looking at prams and high chairs and baby clothes in those shitty catalogues that got stuffed inside your mailbox randomly, and you wonder how the hell they got your address in the first place.

"She – what? We?"

"Ellie's pregnant. She's going to have a baby and we're going to look after it!" She beamed, hands wound tight in his cut, tugging in excitement. He stared at her, brain trying to process what she was telling him.

One of her hands left his leather and went down to undo his belt buckle.

"Did she tell you that?" He asked, pulling her hand away and holding it against his chest, searching her eyes.

"She's pregnant. She's eighteen. She can't look after a baby." Charlotte said matter of factly.

Chibs narrowed his eyes. "Did Ellie say she was going to even have the baby?"

The sound of Charlotte's hand smacking his cheek echoed through the kitchen. She hit him with such a force that the momentum had flung her hair across her face.

"You're an asshole." She stated calmly.

"Am I? Or are you just pissed at me because I'm the only who's thinking straight?" he glared at her, beyond pissed that she'd just smacked him like that. A part of him wanted to just get on his bike and ride, let her calm down, but a bigger part was worried like hell about her current state of mind.

"Don't you dare take this away from me!" She shouted. "She's having that baby and it's going to be mine!"

"You don't get to decide! It's her baby!"

"It's mine!" Charlotte screeched, her voice was so high in pitch that Madison howled in the background. "It's mine! It's mine because you can't give me one!"

Her hands had started to hit randomly at his chest, but he was quick to catch them before they inflicted anymore pain on him.

"Calm down. Just, calm down," he soothed her after she had tried to throw a couple of more punches. She collapsed against him, earlier than she normally did, her cheek fell against his chest, and her hands fisted his leather again.

"It is so not fair," she whimpered like a small child. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed the top of her head.

"I know, I know it's not."

She started to sob. "Ellie's going to get rid of it, isn't she?"

"We don't know yet, just don't get your hopes up."

He kissed her head again.

"I'm sorry," she said after a short silence.

"Me too."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"I'm going for a shower."

"I'll order take out."

Charlotte hugged him tight, her cheek pressed against his, loving the warmth of his skin on hers. "You're the best." She said softly into his ear.

She felt him smile against her.

Jax and Tara's tiny kitchen was filled with plates and bowls of food, the oven and the four hobs burning greatly, still cooking and adding to the Thanksgiving feast. The women in the kitchen were keeping themselves entertained with large glasses of wine, the same as the guys keeping themselves entertained with a seemingly endless supply of beer whilst watching the football game. All the yelling and swearing at the football players was a load of horse shit - nobody followed football, nobody really knew who the players were, it was just an excuse to get drunk and a ritual. Kids were running around all over the place, crawling under people's legs that were propped up on the large coffee table, then hopping on cushions that were sprawled over the floor in an impromptu assault course.

"I can't wait to stuff my face. I've been starving myself since last night." Lyla commented, pinching a small potato and licking her lips.

"Good, because I think we'll all be having Turkey sandwiches for the next 2 weeks." Tara added, opening the oven door and poking the big bird with a thermometer.

"Not if you get there first." Gemma smirked, nodding at Tara's huge belly as she grabbed the turkey from the oven and carefully putting it onto the counter.

Charlotte entered the kitchen, her arm full of empty beer bottles. She dumped them in a pile on the floor near the bin. "We need to feed 'em before they drink everything. There's only one more case left."

"Good timing, turkey's done!" Lyla smiled inhaling the smell of fresh turkey juices.

The girls hauled ass and carried as much as they could in both hands to the table. When the guys caught on that the food was being served they began to shuffle their way from the TV and to the table. Two tables had been put together, and magically, they were the same height. Six chairs were the same and then the rest were different heights, styles and colours but it didn't bother anyone.

Jax started cutting the turkey and passing plates down the two rows of his starving family members quickly as possible. Tig began making sexual innuendos about chickens and breasts and legs. Abel followed Tig's lead quickly, declaring himself a 'breast man' but not realising what he was talking about made him even more the more cute.

"Anyone got the wishbone, yet?" Charlotte asked.

It was a tradition that whoever got the wishbone of the Turkey on their plate, they would pull it with the person they were sitting opposite with. Charlotte had had it once when she was fifteen and never again. Every year she held out for either herself or the person sitting opposite her – this year being Clay – getting it.

"I've dished like, two plates out," Jax made a face at her.

"I know," she mumbled inspecting yet another plate Chibs just passed her as she slowly handed it down the line.

"I got it!" Clay announced once everyone had turkey on their plate. Charlotte gasped in excitement.

"Ready?" Clay asked as he stood up and held it out to her over the table.

"Yes yes yes!" she squealed. She grabbed half of it and pulled. And pulled. It didn't break.

"Is this a dud?" she asked in annoyance.

"You're not pulling hard enough," Tig began, "Pull it like you-"

"Hey!" Tara interjected.

"What? I was gonna say 'pull it like you mean it'," Tig defended himself.

The wishbone suddenly cracked and the two pieces flew off into the air, everyone hearing them clink as they hit something but nobody could actually see them.

"Where the hell did that go?" Clay asked.

"Just both make a wish," Jax said, waving the situation off with his hand, "Let's eat.!"

Charlotte closed her eyes for a brief few seconds whilst she made her wish. When she opened her eyes Clay was staring back at her. He gave her a wink and sat back down.

After a long weekend off, Charlotte was glad her store was slow. Ellie was using up some vacation time and had that day and the two following days off. Charlotte wasn't sure what she was doing, but she gladly gave the younger woman the time off so she could look after herself and the baby. Flicking through the open magazine on the counter she smiled at the picture of a blonde haired and blue eyed baby in a pushchair smiling back at her. The pushchair had a cup holder, a built in mobile and if you ordered before the end of the month you got a free diaper bag and matching rain cover. Charlotte ringed it with a thick black marker to save for later. She'd show it to Ellie, ask her what colour she should get – 'Princess Pink' for a girl or 'Tantalising Turquoise' for a boy.

"Hey," Tara greeted.

"Oh, hi," Charlotte greeted. She didn't even know anybody had walked in she was so engrossed with her magazine. "What's up? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Yeah, but," Tara shrugged and looked around, "Where's Ellie? I'm supposed to meet her."

"She had today off, and the next two days after that."

"Oh right," Tara nodded, then her face dropped and paled slightly. "Oh."

"Oh what? Hang on, why are you meeting her if she's got the day off?"

"Um, it's – I – it's pregnancy brain. Forget you ever saw me."

"What are you two up to?" Charlotte rounded the corner and blocked Tara off with ease – she was super slow when she was that heavily pregnant.

"Nothing we were just ... meeting up that's all."

"Baby stuff?"

"Yeah. She didn't want to go through the abortion on her own."

Charlotte's mouth dropped open.

"Shit, stupid pregnancy brain," Tara cursed, feeling beyond horrible that she had let that slip out. And how had she misread Ellie's text so badly that she'd actually gone to Charlotte's store to meet her when it was her day off? Before she could say anything else Charlotte was running out the back door to her car.

Tara immediately got out her phone and called Chibs.

"'Lo'?" he picked up without even looking at the caller id, phone wedged between his shoulder and ear as he worked on a raised car.

"Chibs, oh my god I'm such an idiot! It's this stupid baby it's making me fat and stupid! Stupid!"

"Err...Did you want Jax, love?" He asked giving an eager glance to the other side of the garage where Jax was busy talking to a customer.

"I accidentally told Charlotte that Ellie is scheduled to have an abortion today."

"What?" Chibs stood back and the hood of the car slammed shut, narrowly missing Juice.

"Hey! You nearly sliced my fingers off!" Juice accused.

"You'll get over it," Chibs threw a cloth at him before going back to his phone call. "How did you 'accidentally' tell her, Tara? An accident is knocking over a drink, leaving a light switch on not – not – not this!"

"I know!" Tara sniffled.

"Put her on the phone." Chibs walked out the garage onto the forecourt, dragging a hand through his hair, over his forehead.

"She's not here."

He clenched his fist. "Where has she gone?" His voice grew darker.

"Well, where's Ellie?"

Chibs looked up. Ellie was on the benches – on the phone whilst chewing on her nail. She hung up staring at her phone – probably trying to get through to Tara but kept getting her answer machine. Ellie gave up and started walking to her car, and like a bad movie in constant slow motion Charlotte's car drew into the parking lot and parked behind Ellie's so she couldn't reverse out.

"Hey, what's up?"Chibs heard Ellie ask.

"What's up?" Charlotte snapped, shoving Ellie's shoulder hard enough to make the blonde stumble back against her car door.

"Hello? Hello?" Tara's worried voice came through the airwaves, signalling to Chibs she was still on the line.

"Yeah, sorry, best go. Stay where you are, the shit's about to hit the fan."

"What's up?" Charlotte repeated. "You! You lied to me, you went behind my back. How could you keep something like this a secret from me?"

"I never lied to you, I just never told you." Ellie reminded.

"That's even worse!" Charlotte wailed. A small crowd of Opie, Gemma and Jax were forming, watching the exchange. Croweaters and hangarounds on the benches stopped their conversations mid-flow. "You knew how much this meant to me, please don't go, please." Charlotte sobbed, taking hold of Ellie's hands, locking their fingers together so she couldn't go anywhere.

"Charlotte no, don't. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to see you like this." Ellie started to cry too, her tears making small dark blobs on her t-shirt.

"Don't go through with this, please." Charlotte pleaded, her eyes already bloodshot from crying. "I'm begging you!" Charlotte's nails were digging deeper into her own and Ellie's skin in desperation. "I'll get down on my knees and beg if you want me to."

Jax blinked hard, glancing to his left to see that Chibs was still standing there, looking like he was making no effort to intervene anytime soon. Jax stepped forward and grabbed Charlotte's wrists gently.

"Hey," he whispered in her ear, "Let go, Charlotte."

"No!" Charlotte choked on a sob.

"Come on, come on, babe, just let her go, okay?" he kept his voice nothing above a whisper, his words concise and his tone calm.

He started to position himself in between the two of them and slowly Charlotte was losing sight of Ellie and could just feel her hands start to go limp in her own. His hands tightened around Charlotte's wrists, pulling them down and away from Ellie. When their fingers finally broken apart from each other, Charlotte began to get frantic.

"No! What have you done? Look at what you've done!" She stared at her empty hands as Jax, with help from Gemma, now fully blocked her off from Ellie.

Opie urged his daughter into her car and she drove away.

"Look at what you've done!" She wailed, clenching her fists so hard that her nails dug into the flesh of her palms.

"I know, I know what I've done," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her so that she wouldn't run away and do something stupid.

Jax was wearing his blue flannel shirt and a white t-shirt underneath. His body heat permeated through to Charlotte as she rested her cheek on his chest. She was shaking and his heat comforted her. And he was solid. She felt herself become exhausted; adrenaline leaving her body suddenly and sagging against her brother seemed like a good idea right then.

Ellie was gone. The smell of car exhaust fumes burned her nostrils, her tears burned her eyes and Gemma yelling at nosy passersby in the background burned her ears. The soothing pattern of Jax's hands on her back was lolling her to a sleep when suddenly her head started to feel light headed and she swayed. Had this been a dream? Was she waking up? She lifted her head up and felt the same feeling again. Everything swayed and colours danced in front of her eyes. Yes, she was waking up. She let the colours consume her and her world went black as she floated to the ground.

"Shit!" Jax cursed in surprise as Charlotte just suddenly went limp in his arms.

"She fainted?" Gemma asked but she already knew the answer.

"Yeah. It's okay I got her." He hooked his arm under her legs and picked her up and took her inside the Clubhouse.

Jax didn't emerge until later that afternoon. He and Gemma had been talking in their own private meeting in the small kitchen. Gemma had broke down in tears, Jax had wiped his away quickly. They had then took turns sitting with Charlotte in Jax's old dorm room, that was now officially Bradley's, but he was locked up in San Joaquin for at least the next 6 months, so it was fair game.

Jax begrudgingly left Charlotte in the dorm with Bobby and Juice to watch over her from the main Clubhouse. Gemma had gone home about an hour before, Clay needing his shots. Jax wanted to stay to fix everything, but Tara needed him at home. Walking to his bike he found Chibs sitting sideways on his own, smoking a cigarette. As Jax approached, he could see Chibs had been out there for a while, a grand total of six cigarette butts stomped out in a semi-neat pile near his front wheel.

Jax exhaled deeply, his breath coming out in a 'whoosh'. "What the fuck was that back there, man?" he asked.

"You tell me," Chibs answered. His reply was so quick it nearly took Jax off guard.

"Why didn't you do something? She's your Lady."

"And what exactly is this 'something' you want me to do, Jackson? I can slice open a guy's throat and I can shoot someone in the head point blank, but I cannot ... fix ... your ... sister."

"Fix? I'm not asking you to fix anything you just needed to be there for her!"

Chibs' head snapped in Jax's direction and he let out a slightly insane laugh. "And where do you think I've been for the past six years, Jackson? Everybody always gives me the 'Poor fucking Charlotte' routine and I'm sick to death of it."

"Of what?"

"Of picking up the fucking eggshell pieces that everybody else tries to avoid!" He shouted, launching himself off his bike seat. "She goes quiet for a while then she fucking explodes and I get the full hit. That?" He pointed generally behind him, "That shit earlier was nothing. Nothing, Jackie boy. I've gone home before and she's been there, but silent. Deathly silent. I've had to kick our bathroom door in so many times because I thought she was bleeding out that in the end we don't have a lock on our door anymore. Ever notice that?"

Jax had to turn away from his brother with the look that Chibs was giving him. Helpless. He didn't like it.

"No." Jax simply answered, folded his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry, bro. I had no idea. You should've told me. I didn't mean to come at you like that."

Chibs gave a one shoulder shrug that signalled the apology was accepted. He bought out his cigarette packet but found it to be empty and tossed it on the ground. Jax remained silent as Chibs got on his bike and took off.

He sighed, looking at the floor and kicked the recently discarded packet. A cigarette rolled out, the white stick gathering dirt.

"Well, what do you know?," he smiled as he bought it to his lips and reached for his Zippo.