AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this chapter completely took a different turn than I intended. Sometimes that happens and I hope it doesn't seem like a complete left turn as I think I have had Aubrey be pretty consistent in temperament and her views, but then again considering what she is going through maybe she needed this. This was where she took me. And man it's kinda hard NOT writing in Jax's POV.

CHAPTER 10: Custody Battle

Aubrey should have known that she and Gemma were bound to clash eventually. It was inevitable. She's just surprised it took this long for them to be at each other's throat. But it isn't surprising as it's a stressful time for all of them. Jax wasn't the only one sitting in the Stockton Prison. Clay along with Juice, Tig, Bobby, and Happy were there. It only left Opie, Chibs, and Piney at the table. But they had voted in Kozik and had taken on three new Prospects.

With majority of the club away, Gemma had taken on the burden of making sure that Charming didn't get any funny ideas about the small town appreciating the quiet that has risen from the guys being away.

Of course, Aubrey had been pulled into the scheme as well as Gemma couldn't help herself when it came to fundraisers and public appearances into buying good will. Gemma had lectured her repeatedly on being a good and strong Old Lady. It didn't matter that she had just popped out a kid and was dealing with the emotional ramifications it was doing on her body.

All that matter was Aubrey needed to be the glue for Jax. She needed to be the one to flaunt that nothing was wrong between them or even within the club.

But Gemma seems to forget that she is now a mother of two kids. It was hard juggling a newborn and a little girl, who was having a terrible time as it was handling her father away and a new baby brother. Plus, soon Aubrey was going to be heading back to work.

So the young mother had taken the initiative to send Ava and Jeremiah to day care part time with Gemma and her parents rotating the two days she wouldn't be taking them. It was a move Jax fully supported and understood. Besides the kids would be socializing with other kids while beginning to work on their education. Aubrey could've sworn she had told Gemma she had sold club secrets to the Mayans with the venomous reaction she received from Gemma.

Gemma didn't like it although Aubrey wasn't seeking her opinion. The biker matriarch had accused her of being lazy for letting other people watch her children. Even worse, Gemma had made the suggestion that she shouldn't even be working.

So now there was a civil war between the two of them.

And like now and most visits these days, she regales Jax with the passive aggressive antics of his mother. The latest being Gemma had threatened another parent with shoving a coffee mug up their ass. They weren't earning a birthday party invite from that family in the future.

"You want me to talk to her?" Jax offers.

Aubrey looks up at Jax, who is holding Ava in his lap, while she holds their sleeping son in her arms. He remains quiet as he listens to her as she knows that there isn't much he can really do inside these walls. There isn't really anything he can do, but listen to the aftermath of things that are plaguing their family.

Aubrey shakes her head as she looks up at him as he smiles softly at her. She would kill to just to be able to feel his arms wrap around her and for him to just hold her tightly. "No, I'll handle your mother." She tells him. She doesn't need Jax fighting her battles for her anyways.

He raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn't question her further. Instead, his eyes trail over her before they slowly make their way back up and he meets her green eyes.

"You look good." He tells her with a mischievous smile.

She glares at him. She thinks she looks like anything other than good. She still feels a little frumpy. After all, her battered esteem still stings after Gemma's off handed remark that nobody likes a fat old lady while she was wallowing in her emotions while eating a packet of Oreos.

On impulse, she dyed her hair a rich chocolate brown; she felt a little better about herself, but still has some pounds to lose. But even then, the ache she feels for Jax is greater than her desire to bounce back to her body before Jeremiah. "Don't go down that route," She warns.

He chuckles as his hand comes up and twirls a piece of her soft brown hair. "I love you," he tells her softly. And Aubrey's body relaxes. At the end of the day it didn't matter what Gemma or Charming had to say about him, her, and their relationship. In the end, the only thing that mattered was between her and Jax.

"I love you too," she tells him with a smile.

"I love you too, Daddy," Ava pipes up, which causes both parents to laugh.

…

For the most part, Jax's sentence has been going smoothly. There was nothing that was going to sabotage the guys for having to complete their full sentence of 7 years. In so little words, Jax had assured her that they had been able to secure protection and most of all he was keeping his head down until he wasn't.

A whole year had gone by when Jax gets his visitation revoked. What's worse is that the prison won't even tell her why she can't see him as he has been thrown in solitary and can't receive anything. She thinks that is frankly bullshit. What's worse is that she has to deal with a cranky and upset Ava as she can't see her daddy.

Thankfully, two days later, Clay had reached out to Opie on a burner to say that Jax and a Russian had gotten into a fight. She could tell Opie didn't want to tell why Jax had risked prolonging his sentence. Yet, Aubrey was like a Pitbull, and she barked and bit until Opie fessed up and informed her that the Russians had been taunting the guys and one had sought out to mess with Jax. It had only escalated after the Russian had stolen a photo of her and another one of kids that Jax had snapped.

Aubrey isn't blind to prison politics and prison survival. Worst, she can only imagine what filthy thoughts the man probably had or what he even did with the photos. Yet, she could murder Jax for getting in a fight over a goddamn picture. After all, she can send him more pictures.

So Aubrey stews in anger mostly at Jax. Sometimes she wished that he would think with his head and not his fist or for once just be the bigger man and walked away. But anger is soon replaced with terror and fear as when Jax is released from solitary a week later, he gets shived the very same day.

She remembers after Ava was born the first and only time she thinks she had seen Jax cry. She had been preparing for the worst when it came to postpartum depression. However, she had been lucky. It seemed Jax had been the one to be going through high and extreme emotions after the birth of their daughter.

It had been two weeks since Ava's birth. She was getting ready for bed and had stepped out of the bathroom feeling fresh and like chamomile instead of breast milk. Jax was sitting on the edge of the bed where Ava was sleeping in her bassinet. He was hunched over and staring intently as silent tears were falling.

She was worried that something happened to Ava and she had immediately ran over to the bassinet. Yet, their daughter was sleeping peacefully. She had taken a seat next to Jax and was about to implore about what happened, but he had beat her too it.

It was the first time he had mentioned the club – his Life – since his release from prison. He had expressed his fears and worries as a father. He had doubts that he would be able to raise a child in this Life. He exposed his fear that maybe his child – his little girl – would hate him for who he was. He was scared that he would get taken away from a bullet or jail.

It was the first time she had to comfort Jax, but his words did bring up valid concerns about who he was and what her family was now a part of.

It was a harsh reality for her that Jax could die or go to prison for a long time. His Life could tear their family apart.

No matter how much she loved Jax, the man she shared a bed with, the man who was the father of her children was an outlaw. There wasn't anything romantic about it. It was an ugly brutal life she had allowed herself to get involved in.

And now he may die in prison because of his life and all it's moral codes.

. . .

She has never seen Jax look so small and she hates to say it weak. His skin is cold and pale and he is hooked up to various machines to keep him steady. He had lost a lot of blood and his lung had gotten nicked. They were hoping it would heal on its own, but the tear could become worse requiring surgery. But now they were on the lookout for infections or worse pneumonia.

Luckily since he was transported to the shithole that was Stockton, it meant longer visiting hours.

And as she sits and watched him sleep, she is hit with Jax's mortality. Jax could've died and left her alone to raise their two children. She tries not to cry as she doesn't want Jax to wake up to that, but she can't cap these emotions. The fact this may very well be a reality for her. She's trying her best to muffle her cries as she buries her face in her hands.

She only stops crying when she feels a weight in her hair and she lifts her head to meet Jax's tired gaze. He gives her a weak smile, "I'm okay, darlin'."

She wants to smile and hug him. Even kiss the shit out of him, but nothing can override her fury for him making her feel like this. She stands up from her seat as her sad eyes narrow in anger.

"You fucking asshole!" She hisses through her tears.

He doesn't seem surprised by her outburst even if he is still feeling the effects of the drugs that are pumping through his system.

"Why weren't you watching your back!" She practically hisses at him. "Do you have any idea how much you fucking scared me!"

His hand with an IV pierced in it reaches up and grabs her shaking hand, "I'm sorry," he croaks.

"Sorry!" She screeches. "I could fucking kill you if you ever do this to me again! I'm not going to be raising our babies alone Jax."

And a part of her wants to sprout out some ultimatums to him. In her anger, she's surprised that she doesn't make him choose between the club's power plays and their family. But she knows in the end that's not what she is really asking of him. She knows that ripping Jax away from the club would be impossible – it would change the man she loves. Yet, at the same time, she can't just blindly ignore the very real dangers. Even with their full disclosure she knows Jax still keeps things from her.

What's she really is asking from him is to put their family first. For once to let the club be second in his life. She nibbles on her lip as she sighs in defeat from the emotional exhaustion.

Jax frowns as he tugs her closer. His blue eyes shining as he eyes her. "I'm hurting here, darlin', I was kinda hoping for a kiss."

Aubrey growls. "You're a fucking jerk."

"I love you too, darlin'." He tells her as if that makes everything okay – better.

As if their love or bond will withstand all the bullshit from his life. Maybe it will. Maybe it won't.