AN - Sorry it took so long to update. Unfortunately my laptop crashed and I had to buy a new one so I lost all the chapters I already had done, then there was the holidays and family time along with my job being super busy. But I have not given up, there might just be a longer wait between chapters then I originally wanted there to be. I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think.
Monday morning Jax woke to an empty bed and could hear Tara and the boys in the kitchen. He threw on some sweat pants and went to find them. He entered the kitchen and smiled at the scene of his wife and sons. They were all at the kitchen table eating bowls of Cheerios. They were giggling and carrying on about something he wasn't privy to. He stood there for a while just taking in the happiness of his family. This is what life was all about. This was why he was doing what he was doing. The love he felt in his heart at the sight of his family made all the pain he would go through missing them worth it.
The next couple of days went by pretty quickly. The family of 4 spent a lot of time together. Jax wanted to make as many happy memories as possible with his family. He was terrified of the possibility of that his boys would not need him at all by the time he got out. He knows that Tara was going to bring them to visit and that she would never let them forget him or how much he loves them, but he was worried about everything he was going to miss. All the day to day things and all the milestones. As it was he was really glad that Thomas was walking and talking already. At least he could say he was home and witnessed it himself. He missed Abel's first steps and words because he was in Stockton and now he was going to be missing so much more from both of his lives.
It was Wednesday afternoon and Jax had just gotten off the phone with Rosen. He had let Rosen know that him and Tara would meet him at his office on Friday, that he did not want all the good memories the boys had of their Dad tarnished by him being arrested not only in front of them but also in their home. The home they needed to see as their safe place. Rosen agreed stating that he would let Tyne know their plans and ended the call by reassuring Jax that everything with his deal was good to go. In fact he was very impressed by the offer and expected something to be snuck in but Tyne stayed true to her word.
Jax joined his wife in the kitchen where she was getting lunch together for when the boys got up from their naps. "Everything is set for Friday. Rosen agreed it was best to do this at his office and leave the boys out of it. He also said he was pleasantly surprised to find that Tyne's deal was all good, no trying to sneak anything past us. Sounds likes she is going to stay true to her word on this" He said with his best attempt of a smile on his way.
Tara stopped what she was doing and put her arms around her husband's neck. She looked straight into his eyes with her own sad smile. "I absolutely hate this. I hate that it took all of this to get us on the same page as far as what we want for our family, our boys, our lives together. Most of all I hate that you are going to have to be separated from us for so long. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that you're doing this to keep me out of trouble and with the boys, I just hate that this is the way you have to do it."
Jax studied his wife's face for a few moments. Then leaned down to brush his lips against hers briefly, before responding. "I hate it too Tara, but there's no other way except running. And I would never do that to you or our boys. That is no way for you guys to have to live. I want my boys to have every opportunity possible for their futures and this is how I guarantee that. I wont let my poor life choices keep my family from being happy or having the best future possible."
Tara sighed and pulled Jax closer to her. "I get it and like I said I am grateful, it just sucks. We are going to miss you so much. And my heart hurts thinking of everything you will miss too. I just wish it didn't have to come to this." Tara's voice cracked at the end and Jax knew she was close to tears but he also knew she was trying so hard to hold it all in and not get to emotional in front of him. She was trying to protect him from her own heartache.
"Hey," Jax said trying to get her to look up at him. When she didn't look up, he pushed himself back just enough to use his hand to hold her chin and move her face so their eyes could meet. "Don't do that. Don't take on my misery. I made my choices. If I had listened to you we would be up in Oregon and not having to worry about any of this. This is all on me. I accept that. Now, I need you to accept that, so that you can focus on our boys and keep them from being sad. They are going to need you so much more after Friday. I think this is my punishment for all the bullshit I have gotten away with over the years. It was bound to catch up to me. So if this is what it takes for me to do what is right by my family, then I'm ready to man up and do what I gotta do to wipe my Karma slate clean. So I can be the best Dad and Husband I can when I get out. You and those 2 little monsters in there sleeping are the most important things in this world to me. Now that I am no longer under any one else's influence, I can see how the choices I have made would make you think otherwise. But from now on that wont ever be a problem. No one will ever be able to manipulate me or influence my decisions again. It's all about my family from here on out."
Tara opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a knock at the door. They both looked at each other confused. They weren't expecting any visitors. Jax asked his brothers to wait until Thursday evening so come say goodbye and he was pretty sure they would have called if anything came up. Jax made his way to the front door, with Tara two steps behind him. He looked through the peephole to see who it was, then turned to Tara and shrugged as he opened the door to reveal a woman neither of them recognized. "Can we help you?" Jax asked.
"Are you Jackson Teller?" she asked. At his nod, she continued, "I was hoping we could speak," she eyed Tara then added "privately."
Jax looked briefly at Tara, a look of confusion on his face. Then turned back to the stranger, "Anything you have to say to me, can be said in front of my wife. And who the Hell are you anyway?"
"Mr. Teller, my name is Janice Denver, I am the attorney that was hired to represent your Mother. I am sure you can understand why it wouldn't be appropriate for me to talk freely in front of your wife. I was hoping to discuss a few matters with you regarding your Mother's case" the woman responded with a very hopeful look on her face.
Tara scoffed in disbelief, muttering something that sounded an awful lot like unbelievable, while Jax literally snorted before angrily responding with "Are you fucking kidding me? She sent you to speak with me? You tell my mother that she no longer has a son or grandkids for that matter. She is currently without any family whatsoever. Nobody in this family, including the SAMCRO family, will be discussing anything about her case with you. We are all on the side of the prosecutor this time. In fact tell her she is lucky Eli was with me that night or I might have actually killed her for trying to kill my wife. I hope she rots in Hell for the rest of her miserable existence and after. If you ever come back here you will be arrested for trespassing and if she ever tries to contact anyone in my family, even through a third party, like her lawyer, I will have a charge added for violating a restraining order. Now get the fuck off my property."
The woman now looked downright frightened. "I am so sorry, Mr. Teller. I didn't mean to upset you. Your Mother guaranteed me that you would collaborate her claim that this was all a misunderstanding, if I could speak with you privately. I see know that she was definitely wrong."
"Yes she was definitely wrong. I will not lie for my Mother. I will be taking the stand to testify about what happened that night. But you can be guaranteed that it will not be helping your case. I will be telling the truth." And with he slammed the door on her and turned to look at Tara. "I can't believe she thought I would be on her side. She has to be the most demented person ever. They should lock her up in a mental ward."
"Calm down baby," Tara tried to sooth him, "we know she is crazy, don't let her get to you. It's not worth it. She is not worth it. Don't let her ruin the little bit of time we have left before you go in."
Before Jax could even open his mouth to respond they heard a soft voice from behind them say "Daddy your yelling woke me up." They both turned to see a still sleepy Abel standing at the end of the hallway rubbing his sleep filled eyes.
"Hey Monster," Jax said softly as he walked over to Abel and picked him up. "I am so sorry I woke you up. I didn't mean to get so loud. There was a stranger at the door and they were asking stupid questions, but I shouldn't have gotten so upset."
Abel picked his head up off Jax's shoulder and looked straight into his Dad's eyes. "But Mommy says there is no such thing as a stupid question. She said all questions are important cause that is how we learn."
"You're right Monster, all questions are important ones," Jax told his son. "If you don't know something you ask questions so you can learn. Sometimes when you are an adult and other adults ask questions that are none of their business it can be annoying. But you wont understand that until you are older, so for now you just keep asking questions, so you can keep learning and growing that big ole brain in your head." Jax used his finger to tap on Abel's head causing him to giggle, then added "that way, one day, your brain will be as big as Mommy's, cause Mommy has the biggest brain of anyone I know."
Abel looked to be in thought for a moment. Almost as if he was considering if he was satisfied with his response or not. then smiles from ear to ear and says "Okay Daddy, can we go play together outside now?"
Jax smiles at the innocence of his oldest son. "Sure, we can do that. Then when Tommy wakes up we will eat lunch with him and Mommy. How does that sound?" With that Abel nods his head in agreement causing Jax to put him back on his feet and smiles at his excitement as he runs to the French doors leading to the backyard. Jax follows his son outside only pausing briefly to place a quick kiss on Tara's temple on his way past her.
A moment after Jax closes the door behind him, Tara wanders over to the doors to look out over her backyard. As she watches her oldest son and her husband play what she assumes is some made up version of tag that her boys invented themselves, the tears silently begin to flow at a steady pace. She allows herself a couple minutes of emotional time. A couple minutes to release some of the pent up frustration that she has been holding in. She refuses to ruin any of her time left with Jax due to her being an emotional mess. She will have plenty of time for being emotional soon enough. Right now she needs to be strong and hold it all together for Jax. She does not want for him to add anymore pressure on himself then he already does. After a couple minutes she turns away from the doors and frantically wipes away her tears as she goes back to the kitchen to finish making lunch.
After lunch the family of 4 took the 1.5 hour trip to Oakland. Jax told Tara he had something special planned for them but wouldn't tell her what. They spent the trip there laughing and singing nursery rhymes. Tara's eyes grew wide and her smile stretched from ear to ear, as she looked over at Jax and questioned "This is seriously your plan?" Jax's smile was just as big as he nodded his response. Tara in return was more excited then he could ever remember seeing her as she turned to the boys in the backseat and said "look Monsters, Daddy's surprise was our first trip to the Zoo. Isn't that exciting?"
Both boys cheered in response and started talking to each other about what kind of animals they wanted to see. Tara turned to smile at Jax and said "This is the best surprise ever. You just made me the happiest I have ever been. And this is a day our boys will never forget. I just wish I had known to bring my camera." Jax smiled back and after parking the car told Tara to sit still for a moment as he got out of the car and retrieved a backpack out of the back. He got back in and handed the back pack to Tara. Tara laughed when she opened the bag to reveal her camera, a change of clothes for each boy and plenty of snacks and juice boxes. "Well, you just thought of everything, haven't you? Seriously Jax this is amazing. I don't think my heart can get any fuller then it is right now. I love you so much."