I disclaim. I own nothing.

AN: First of all I loved all the reviews for the last chapter. And really loved how so many people caught the gist of what happened between Opie, Kozik, Tig, and Aiden. Jax will find out soon enough, but I need Aiden around just a bit longer. Also glad that a lot of people got where Tara's head was. The thing that's hard about writing from Jax's head, or just one person's head, is that it's tough to get across where another person is coming from. And I'm trying, I know as the writer I sometimes miss a few marks because I know where Tara's head is and maybe write as if everyone else should as well. So I'm sorry for any confusion anyone had and I'll try to do better.

Chapter 8

For the third day in a row Jax woke to find himself in an empty bed. He slept later than he intended, was surprised Clay wasn't blowing up his phone or sending someone over to knock down his door. Gemma and Tara were throwing a family bar-b-cue at the park and Clay wanted to make sure SAMCRO was family strong. But after the four am wake up call, nothing good was going to come to anyone who attempted to wake him.

Bleary eyed and lethargic, he stumbled into the bathroom. His shower was hot but quick, he wanted to catch Tara before she headed out. When he made his way out of the bedroom the only person he came across was his best friend. Opie was sitting at the kitchen table hair still damp from his own shower, T-shirt tossed over his shoulder, bare feet crossed under the table, and eating a bowl of cereal.

Jax gave his friend a nod in greeting. "Where's Tara?"

"She left about an hour ago. Said to tell she'd see you at the park."

"At the park? What the fuck, the bar-b-cue isn't until 4."

Opie carried his bowl to the sink, rinsed it out, and placed it in the dishwasher. "She's picking up Fiona and Kerrianne, they got a lotta running around and shit to do. It's not like you'd have time to see her anyway with Clay planning a meet with Leroy."

That wasn't the point. Things never really got settled between them last night. There'd been a distance and he'd been anxious to bridge that gap this morning.

"You guys have a fight last night." Opie asked casually.

"Not a fight, not really. We're just trying to figure this shit out, being a family, you know." He ran a hand over his face. "We should get going."

"Yeah." But Opie stayed where he was, a moment of indecisiveness obviously keeping him still. "You and Tara…that's not every day. Your boys," He gestured around the house. "Your home…some people are going to go their whole life without…knowing what you know when you're with her, with them. The fucked up part is, it doesn't come easy. Some shit you just gotta work for."

It was Jax's turn to stay where he was, staring at his best friend's back as he walked up the hall. One of the few people he knew that could knock him on his ass without so much as laying a hand on him.

The bar-b-cue was in full swing by the time Jax pulled up with Opie and Kozik. They lined their bikes up with the others. Pulling off his helmet Jax glanced around the full parking area, but there was no sign of either the Cutlass or the Liberty. Every inch of the area, that was usually reserved for carnivals, was filled. There were several inflatable castles for the kids. Tables loaded with all kinds of food, coolers stocked full of beverages and ice cream, were placed throughout and the bar-b-cue pits were fired up.

"Heads up, brother." Chibs greeted him first. "Your mother is on the warpath."

Jax shook his head. "I didn't even do shit."

"It's our dear heart. She took off a bit ago with my Kerrianne, Gemma wants her back here now."

"Alright." He caught sight of his mother, she was sitting with a group of old ladies holding a very fussy Abel in her lap. He made his way over to them, being stopped every few steps to be greeted by his brothers and their old ladies.

Clay was approaching from a different direction and reached Gemma just as Jax did. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Gemma gave Clay a look that had everyone around him shrinking away. "Nothing. He was sleeping, woke up looking for his momma."

"Here," Jax lifted Abel into his arms, tried to rock and soothe his son as best his could. "Come on, kid. Your old man's got you." Obviously not at all what Abel wanted to hear he began to cry louder.

"Call Tara." Clay suggested, wincing as Abel actually began to scream. "Let him hear her voice."

"That could actually go either way." But even as Opie said it, he dialed Tara's number and handed his cell to Jax.

"Hey," Jax breathed a sigh of relief when Tara picked up on the second ring. "I didn't do anything, he was like this when I got here. Alright hold on." Pulling the phone away from his ear, he found the button to turn on the speaker. "Okay."

"Abel." Tara's voice came over the phone. She had to repeat the baby's name several times to catch his attention. "What's wrong, baby?"

When Abel realized that Tara's voice was coming from the phone he immediately snatched the device out of Jax's hands and brought it up to his mouth. "Momma. Momma." And what followed was a stream of gibberish no one could follow. Well, no one except for Tara.

"Who did it, baby?"

"Nan."

"No, I-" The argument Gemma started to make was cut off with one look from her own son. "Fine."

"Nan's sorry, baby, she didn't mean it."

It was either exactly what he wanted to hear or Abel was already past it because he gave a small nod as if Tara could see him and sniffled sadly. "Want Momma. Momma, Mine. My Momma."

Because his thoughts were running along the same course, Jax started to ask where she was and how soon she'd be back but Gemma beat him to it.

"Where are you, baby? We expected you back twenty minutes ago."

"I'm pulling up now." Even as she said, Jax had looked over his shoulder and could see the SUV pulling in. "I'm going to need some help."

"We got you, Doc." Clay caught sight of all his guys, motioned them all over. "Doc needs some heavy lifters." As one they all moved towards the parking lot. Tara had clicked off her cell and Jax tried to take Opie's back from Abel only to be met with heavy resistance.

"Just let him have it, brother." Opie advised. Something across the way caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks and causing a few of the brothers to run into his back.

"Jesus, fuck, Opie." Tig's out burst halted everyone's forward progress. "He's like a fucking wall."

Gemma, for the most part ignoring Tig, glanced worriedly up at Opie. "What is it, sweetie?"

Instead of answering, he actually seemed too angry to even speak, Opie simply gestured. Jax looked over and would have sworn the world literally slowed on it's axis. Because there, a few yards away, was that fucker Aiden with a shit eating grin on his face and his arm thrown casually around the shoulders of the last person Jax wanted to see.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" It was Lyla who spoke as she marched over to them, if it was possible steam probably would have been shooting out of her ears.

Tig's lip curled in disgust. "Did he bring pussy to a family event."

"That," Bobby decided. "Is not cool, brother."

"Let's go help, Tara." Gemma began to tug at there arms until they all started walking again. "We'll deal with that bitch later."

"Which one?" Opie muttered darkly as he grabbed Lyla's hand and pulled her forward.

By the time they reached the lot, Tara and Kerrianne were out of the SUV. Kerrianne was holding Ben, while Tara blew raspberries into the baby's hands, causing him to erupt in belly laughs. The second he laid eyes on his mother, Abel began to scream again, only this time in sheer excitement.

"Hi, baby." Tara lifted Abel high into the air before pulling him close for a hug. When she settled him on her hip, Abel turned to everyone with a smug grin. "Just to be clear," She addressed everyone, an almost sheepish smile on her face. "When he says Mine, he's talking about Ben."

"Sure, Doc." Clay gave a nod as if he didn't believe her at all. "Whatever you say."

Because the trunk was already open, the guys began unloading the boxes and bags she had stacked up. Jax pulled Tara to the side. "You know you can never again give me shit about being a Momma's boy, right."

"He's not a Momma's boy." Tara quickly defended her son. "I was here when he went to sleep and gone when he woke up, it threw him off." Jax knew the look he gave her showed just how much he didn't believe that statement. "Shut up and go help your brothers." She pressed a kiss to his lips before shoving him away.

The fact that she initiated the kiss soothe a lot of the unease he felt, but then he glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Ima and Aiden. He had to get her the fuck out of here and fast.

"You let your brothers handle that." Clay advised quietly. "You show your old lady that that bitch doesn't register to you."

Jax looked back over to Tara, who was now standing with Gemma, Lyla, and Kerrianne. Kozik approached them, speaking quietly to Tara a moment before running a hand over her hair and placing a kiss to her temple.

"This is my problem, I need to handle it."

"It's not about what you need." Clay snapped. "You can bet your ass that porn pussy over there isn't going to just walk away without trying to rub up on you. Do you think the Doc needs to see that shit? Your brothers deal with it. You take care of your family." Hooking an arm around Jax's neck, Clay lead him to where Tara stood. "Aright boys and girls, lets go show these people what MC royalty looks like."

Twenty minutes later and Jax wasn't sure why the fuck Ima was still there, but he made sure to keep as much distance between her and Tara as he could. It seemed that had been everyone's goal, including Aiden. Jax didn't know if the guy was really smart or really fucking stupid. Either way, if he found out this was some game on Irish's part, heads were going to fucking roll.

"You know," Tig was cradling Ben in front of him, eyes searching the baby's face in a way that only he could. "There's a bit of the Doc in here."

Jax looked over at his son, who was gazing up at Tig with a look that was very much Tara. Actually he was sure she had looked at Tig that same way the first time she met him. But he liked that both the boys looked like him. Thought it was cute the way Tara tried not to pout when people mentioned how little of her they saw. "Maybe just a bit."

"Brother," Beside him Bobby was trying to keep Abel from snatching his sunglasses of his face. "You are just not going to be happy until she hurts you."

"Hey," Jax held his hands up innocently, laughing when Abel did the same. "It's not like it's my fault they look like me. Maybe she'll have better luck with the next one."

"They way I here tell it, that might not be far off the way you two are going at it."

Across the way he caught sight of Tara with Juice, whatever he was saying had her laughing. Her jeans were tight, hugging her thighs, hips, and ass in a supremely flattering way. He couldn't figure out how but the purple tank top she wore bringing out her eyes, dipped low over her breasts, and clinging to her torso. She was dressed quite simply but as far as he was concerned, the hottest thing in the party. "Can you blame me?"

"For being all about your old lady," Bobby gave him a sly grin. "Or trying to knock her up again?"

Jax returned his grin but, before he could say anything, caught sight of Ima heading their way. "Shit. I thought someone was getting rid of her."

"I'll do it." Tig started to hand Ben back to Jax.

"No, I got it."

Bobby made a face that showed how much of a bad idea he thought that was. "Let's get the boys outta here, Tigger. Doc sees porn pussy near her boys-"

"And we'll be hiding the cum queen's body before it's all said and done." Tig finished as he followed Bobby over to where Clay was talking to Unser.

"Hey, Jax." The smile crept slowly across Ima's face as she ran a hand down his chest. "You look good."

The look on Jax's face mirrored his complete lack of interest. "What are you doing here, Ima?"

"I was invited. Be honest," She pressed against him, just as Clay said, hand slipping beneath his cut. "You missed me, just a little. Cause I missed you. A lot."

The easy grin was more reflex than anything else. Jax was a man use to women wanting him. He enjoyed it. Liked that even after his abrupt dismissal of her, the clear disdain he had of her after their night together, Ima still wanted him. There had only been one woman who was able to walk away from him, one woman who was able to hurt him. "You need to leave. Now."

"Worried that little Tara will see. Prison's made you soft."

Because the words so closely mirrored the ones Tara spoke just the other night, Jax shoved her away roughly. "Don't ever say her name, you'll only piss me off." Casually, so she wouldn't see just how worried he was about Tara seeing her, Jax glanced around. The first thing he noticed was Juice, Opie, and Kozik standing shoulder to shoulder and knew without a doubt that they were blocking Tara's view of him. And if the utter disbelief on Clay's face was anything to go by, that blocking came just a bit too late. "Leave, before I have your ass dragged out of here."

Stepping away from her, Jax gestured Miles and Filthy Phil over. "Make sure she gets the fuck out of here. Tell Aiden, I don't give a shit how she gets home, I want her gone." Both men nodded before walking away. Behind him he could here Ima's indignant refusal, but didn't bother turning around to look.

By the time he reached Tara, Jax was pretty sure he was fucked. His mother looked like she could throw something at him and he was sure if Lyla had a gun there'd be a bullet in his ass.

"He said he didn't know." Tara was saying.

"And you believe him?" Opie's voice was full of disbelief.

"How would he know? And what would he get out of bringing her here?"

You, Jax thought and could have sworn the word hung heavy in the air.

"I hope Clay's right and those boys of yours do get their mother's brain. Yours sure as shit don't fire on all cylinders."

With a frown Jax turned to see Piney glaring at him. "Missed you too, Piney. Barely see you and when I do you give me shit."

"I'm old, I'm tired. That damn girl of Opie's," Piney gestured irritably towards Lyla. "All her ideas and changes, she wears me out."

"Lyla? She's helping you at the surplus store?"

"Tara's idea. Opie brought it to the table, something about pretty girls and guns appealing to the male mind. But that's some Tara shit if I ever heard it." Piney raised a beer to his lips. Almost seemed pained by what he said next. "But it was good. Calmed Opie the hell down and Lyla feels like she's contributing to the club. Tara…she's a smart kid. Always has been. Try not to fuck it up." With that Piney walked away.

Opie and Piney, Jax thought as he turned away, were too much alike for their own good.

Instead of going straight to Tara, Jax made his way off to the side away from the flurry of activity. He figured he'd give Tara a few moments to calm down. Where she didn't have to look at him and get pissed off all over again. Found himself sitting back and watching her.

It appeared she and Gemma were on an upswing as his mother was practically hovering over Tara; petting her hair, hugging her close. Jax didn't know what that was about but, since they weren't fighting, chose not to question it. She handled Fiona well, actually looking at the two of them together, he thought it was safe to say they were friends. He had no idea what a member of the IRA and a pediatric surgeon had to talk about, but what did he know. Kerrianne stuck pretty close to her and Lyla, taking their lead on things.

Tig had come over to swipe a beer, and ended up leaning into Tara and whispering something in her ear. Tara merely rolled her eyes and didn't seem at all bothered by the hand he laid on her shoulder. She grabbed two bottles of water and took one to Piney and another Bobby who seemed to be sweltering in the midday sun; Bobby gave her a playful salute with his bottle while Piney rubbed her arm affectionately.

Clay had the boys and made it pretty clear he wanted Tara out of their line of site. It was obvious he enjoyed playing proud Grandpa, so she left him alone. On her way back to the table she ran into Chibs, he studied her face a moment before pulling her close to lead her over to Opie and Juice. Realizing they were all looking around for him, Jax made his way over to them.

"What's wrong with you?" Chibs demanded with a mocking glare. "Our dear heart is clearly exhausted. What'd ya do to keep her up half the night?"

Jax's lips curved in a smirk. "Nothing I don't plan on doing again tonight." At Tara's censoring look, Jax shrugged innocently. "What? He asked. Besides, I wasn't the one who woke her up at four in the morning."

"Son of a bitch." Tara jumped and tried to move out of Chibs' arms when Kozik came up behind her and blasted her with a water gun.

"I owed you that one, Tara." He held his hand up between them. "For the thing with the baby food, we're even now. Jax, come on, talk to your old lady."

"Hey, babe," Reaching out, Jax placed a hand on her hip to turn and access the damage to her back; she was completely soaked. "You can't hit him here. It'll look bad if my old lady is running around beating up members." He waved at someone over Chibs' shoulder. "Have Tig take him to the parking lot, beat him there."

Tig came up, having missed everything that happened, but heard the words 'beat him' and was instantly interested. "Who's ass are we kicking?"

"Not we," Opie corrected. "And it's Kozik's ass. If Tara gives the word, you can drag him over to the parking lot so it doesn't look bad in front of everyone."

Tig seemed all too ready to accept that. "Fine with me. Want me to chain him up for you, sweetie."

"Come on guys, I owed her," Kozik repeated, but no one seemed to care. "Tara, Tara, come on."

"You can run or I can have Tig drag you."

The grin Kozik was fighting to keep from forming dropped completely when he realized she was serious. "Oh, shit."

Kozik took off at a dead run, Tara waited five seconds before starting out after him.

Jax didn't know whether to enjoy their behavior or put a swift end to it. "Are they always like this?"

"Yup."

"She's going to make him cry." Chibs began excitedly as he could no longer stay where he was and started after them.

"I got to see this." Tig finished his beer before jogging after them as well.

"Me, too." Juice bolted off the table.

Opie and Jax shared a look before they headed that way as well, but not before Opie stopped to pull a bottle of water from one of the coolers. When they reached the lot, they had to search a few row of cars before they found everyone. But instead of the guys holding Kozik while Tara tortured him, they found Tara bent near double while the guys hovered around her.

"What the fuck?" Jax ran until he was at her side. "Tara, what's wrong? What happened?" He turned accusing eyes up to Kozik.

"I don't know, one minute she was chasing me. Then she kind of swayed on her feet."

"Bullshit, what did you do?"

"Jax," The hand Tara used to grip his shirt was trembling and did nothing to calm Jax's nerves. "I'm okay. I just got a little dizzy. I haven't eaten anything yet, it was stupid of me to start running around."

"Tara luv, what have we told you about skipping meals." Chibs gently took her by the elbow to help her into a standing position.

"You gotta take better care of yourself, Tara." Kozik, who still held the water gun in his hand, pulled a bandanna from his back pocket. Using the water gun he soaked the material before placing it around Tara's neck.

"Running yourself down like this isn't good for your boys." Opie added as he opened the bottle of water.

When it looked like Tig was going to take the water to help her with it, Jax snapped and snatched the bottle from Opie himself. Where the fuck did any of them get off taking care of his old lady while he was standing right there. Like he was incapable of taking care of her himself. Suddenly, the words Tig had tossed out at him while they were in Stockton flashed through his mind. Once again, while he'd been with Ima, it had been his brothers who tried to shield Tara from that hurt.

"I got this. Just back off."

Reluctantly they all began to shuffle away, but Tara stopped them. "Hey guys, thanks. I know better than to skip meals, especially on a day like this. But I really am fine. I promise. Just…can we just keep this between us. Please."

"No problem, Doc." Juice gave her arm an affectionate rub before starting back.

"You want me to give the asshole a purple nurple for what he did." Tig offered, causing Kozik to wince but hold his cut open all the same. When Tara nodded, Tig gripped Kozik's nipple and twisted for all that he was worth. "Feel better, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head before walking away.

"Thanks, Tara." Kozik gave his chest a pat, almost as if he were afraid his nipple wouldn't still be there. "You should get out of the sun." He held a hand out and Tara slapped her palm against his before shoving him away.

"You do better taking care of yourself." Chibs pressed a kiss to her temple. "Damn near gave me a fucking heart attack."

"Hey," Opie caught Chibs' attention. "Tell Lyla to fix Tara a plate of food. We'll be over in a minute."

"Ope-" Jax started to tell his friend he didn't have to hang around.

"If she's not better, one of us is going to have to hold her down while the other drives her to the hospital." Opie explained as he refused to budge from his spot.

"I won't have to go to the hospital. I told you guys, I'm fine." But she turned the bottle of water up to her lips and finished the whole thing without taking a breath.

"Thirsty?" Jax eyes searched hers frantically. He wasn't a doctor, didn't know what signs to look for to see if something was really wrong with her. But what he did know was that when he saw the guys gathered around her that way, his heart very well may have stopped. "Hey, give us a minute." He waited until Opie stepped away. "Tell me what's really wrong."

"Nothing," With a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, Tara reached up to frame Jax's face in her hands. "Like I said, it's really hot out, and running around with nothing in my stomach just caught up to me. Really, I'm okay."

Jax pressed a hard kiss to her lips before resting his brow against her, savoring the feeling of her warm breath mingling with his. "You scared the shit out of me, Tara."

"Scared the shit out the guys, too." Pulling back she kissed his brow, his eyes, then his lips before snuggling into his arms. "I'm sorry."

His arms locked around her. "Just don't do it again."