No matter how many hours she spent at St. Thomas, Tara would never be a good patient. She knew too much about the inner workings of the hospital, but what made it even worse was the entire staff treating her like she was some sort of princess in scrubs. She hated the attention, and as she sat in the confines of the ICU, she truly realized how little she enjoyed it.

She was so tired. Her lungs ached in a way they'd never ached before. Even with oxygen pushing into her nose, she struggled to catch her breath. She'd only been there a couple of hours, but in that time, they'd run test after test. The only thing left to do was a CT scan, and it seemed like she'd been waiting for an eternity for it.

"Where is my wife?" Tara flinched as the words reverberated through the ICU's locked doors. Jax was yelling. She wondered how long they kept him waiting. Judging from his reaction, he'd probably been there for a while. The Jax Teller Tara knew didn't act like that, not without a damned good reason. Crazy, angry outbursts had always been Gemma's territory.

Gemma. Her name bounced over and over again within Tara. Wendy killed Gemma. And Nero and Wayne watched. If she could sigh, she would, but it took too much effort. How am I going to explain this to Jax? She didn't know how he'd react. Will he try to find them? And if he does, will he kill them? She didn't want that on her conscience any more than she wanted the secret of Gemma's death. It was an impossible decision to make. Her mind tried valiantly to work the way she wanted it to, but the combination of medicine and illness was too great, and her mental faculties turned to mush.

A loud crash of ICU doors filled the hallway, and Tara closed her eyes. As they snapped back open, Tara watched as her husband ran towards her. The sharp squeal of Jax's white sneakers jolted her, and she could hear the monitors jump in response. Carefully, Jax slid the half open curtain all the way back. She heard Jax's sharp intake of breath as he laid eyes on her. She turned her head towards him, a slight smile on her face.

"Mr. Teller," Jackie Kelly, one of the best ICU nurses she'd ever worked with, followed Tara's red-faced, infuriated husband. "Mr. Teller, you can't—"

"I can't what?!" The last word of the sentence was pushed through gritted teeth. The sight of her flannel wearing, hard bodied, totally exasperated husband would scare anyone. To Tara's surprise and quiet admiration, Jackie Kelly, all four feet, ten inches of her, stood her ground.

"Speak to me like that again, Teller," she said softly. Tara's eyebrows raised as she tried to suppress a grin. "I don't give a damn who you are. Your wife, our doctor, is sick, and if you're going to act like a stubborn ass, then I'll kick you out myself." Tara watched as Jax's eyes widened. The King of SAMCRO wasn't used to people talking to him in that way. The tiny nurse pivoted on her heel and walked off. Left alone, he turned and faced Tara.

"She's right you know. Jackie will fuck you up," she croaked with a smile. Her eyes shut, apparently of their own volition. Even talking made her tired.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she had a shank in those scrubs," Jax replied with a chuckle. His eyes filled with tears as he moved closer. There was a small chair by the bed. Jax sat and grasped Tara's hand. He couldn't fathom losing her. He was terrified of the prospect.

"Hey baby," Tara rasped. Her chest ached so much. There were a thousand possibilities as to what was wrong with her. I haven't felt bad, she thought. Just tired. But I have two little boys, a dangerous biker husband, his junkie ex and crazy biker buddies, and a bitch of a monster-in-law that tried to kill me. I guess I am supposed to be tired.

"Hey," Jax returned. "How you feeling?"

"I've had better days," Tara answered. Her thoughts wandered to Juice. Just hours ago, she was fine. She was standing in a room not far from the one she was in, and she watched as he gasped his last breath. Now, she wasn't doing much better than he had. She closed her eyes in an effort to forget the insanity this night had caused. It didn't seem real. Nothing seemed real anymore.

"I'm sure," Jax said. Carefully, he kissed her fingers. His eyes were anguished as the chill of her skin touched his lips. Don't do this, God, he warned. You can't just give her back to me and take her away. That's fucked up.

"Tara, Mr. Teller," Jax looked up to see a tall, middle-aged doctor in the doorway. His caramel skin screamed he'd just arrived back from vacation. Jax scanned him quickly, focusing on his name tag. Elijah Parker, MD. The name sounded intelligent and regal, and the doctor's chocolate brown eyes were kind as he surveyed Tara.

"Elijah," Tara breathed. "I didn't…realize…you were…"

"I just came on shift. I've been briefed on what happened. You were at home when this occurred, correct?"

Jax's jaw tensed as he glanced at Tara. She nodded. Confusion glazed Jax's eyes, but he didn't speak.

"The report from the EMS states someone called 911 for you, correct? You couldn't speak?"

Tara nodded once more. Thousands of questions darted through Jax's mind. Who the hell was with you, Tara? Why were you back at the house? Why didn't you just come home? He pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb.

"Dr. Parker," Jackie Kelly's voice filled the small, confined space. "Her labs finally came in." The diminutive nurse handed Dr. Parker a stack of papers. Quickly, the handsome physician scanned the lab work. A low whistle escaped his teeth. He looked up at Jax and Tara.

"When was your last period, Tara?" Tara's brow furrowed as she thought about it. She couldn't remember the last period she had. Her heart beat wildly as she realized why the doctor was asking. Her eyes jumped to Jax, who didn't understand yet.

"I don't remember, Elijah," Tara answered candidly. "The last one I recall was probably two or three months ago, just before…"

"Just before my mother was murdered," Jax finished. "She's been dead just over a month."

"You're pregnant, Tara," Dr. Parker said quietly. Tears pricked Tara's eyes. Just before, when she and Wendy were at the house, she insisted she wasn't pregnant, and here she was, knocked up. Terror made her stomach jump. Oh my God, she thought. Is this baby okay? Did Gemma hurt it? Did I? She began to cry. Her chest ached with the effort. Jax walked over to her. His eyes were misted with tears as well. His big, rough hand stroked her hair as his tears fell. His gut told him when that baby was made. Flashbacks to that hotel room, the one where he thought he was saying goodbye to Tara for good.

It was perfect. Every second, every moment had been perfect…until Eli knocked on the door. Then everything as he knew changed. In the hours after, Eli and Gemma were killed, Tara was beaten, and apparently, while all the trauma was occurring, he and Tara had created a baby. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"I am fairly certain I know what is going on, Tara. I think you have a classic PE, possibly brought on by the pregnancy. I mean, you have risk factors. " Dr. Parker's voice shattered Jax's memories as Tara began to size herself up. He's right, she thought. I'm thirty-five now. Pregnancy makes the blood thicker. Memories of Gemma's fists and the iron plunging into her gut sprang back to life. I'm sure that didn't help either.

"What's a PE?" Jax questioned. "You guys forget, I don't speak doctor."

"Pulmonary embolism," Tara answered. "They happen when a blood clot travels from your leg to your lungs."

"Can they kill you?" Jax's voice was tinged with alarm. Tara nodded.

"It could kill Tara and the baby," Dr. Parker said firmly, "But I am going to do everything I can to ensure that doesn't happen." Tara nodded as Jax stared at her. A mix of fear, admiration, and love crossed his face.

"I'm going to call ultrasound to come up. I'll make it a STAT order," Elijah said. "After that, I will know what I'm working with and how much Heparin you're going to need."

"Okay," Tara replied. She was shocked. Aside from the vomiting, there'd been no indication of pregnancy. Until today, she'd felt normal. Until today, she'd been fine. She closed her eyes. I'm pregnant. Jesus Christ. Her mind played back her conversation with Jax from earlier.

"Babe, are you...?"

"No, I'm not pregnant. But I'd like to be, once all of this is over."

It was strange how silent prayers were answered.

"Dr. Knowles?" a young, pretty ultrasound tech poked her head into the room. Tara smiled broadly. She knew her from the NICU.

"Hi Emma," she whispered. Jax shook his head.

"You know everybody here, dontcha babe?" he laughed.

"I do work here, Teller," she fired back. Her words were breathy and weak, but the life that gleamed in her eyes was priceless. Even with the monitors and tubes, she was beautiful. And she was having his baby.

Emma pulled the ultrasound machine into the room, and Jax moved to allow her more space. He circled the bed. Now standing slightly behind her, he watched as Emma carefully exposed Tara's belly. It was still flat. She squirted the thick blue ultrasound liquid onto Tara's skin and pressed the wand on Tara's belly. Immediately, a tiny blip illuminated the screen. Emma quietly scanned and took measurements as Tara and Jax were transfixed by the life lighting up before them.

"There's the heartbeat," Emma said quietly. "I'm going to get a couple more measurements, and then I'll print out the pictures." Jax looked down at Tara, and fear consumed him. I can't fucking believe this. His heart ached with joy while his twisted mind brought him crashing into reality. And what if you're in prison for this one too? How is she going to do this alone?

"Oh my God," Tara gasped. Jax blinked and looked down at her with concern.

"Are you hurting, Tara? Are you okay?" Tara nodded and turned her head towards him. Her hazel eyes locked with his blue ones, and he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What is it, babe? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Mr. Teller," Emma answered. Tara was grateful for it. She was too amazed to speak. Tara extended a tired, weakened hand towards Jax's face. The touch was so gentle, it sent shivers down his spine. Once her hand grazed his cheek, she gently turned her husband's face back to the monitor. At first, he didn't understand why Tara did that, but as Emma pushed the ultrasound wand over his wife's belly, he immediately got it.

He couldn't look away. As much as he wanted to stare down at Tara's beautiful face, he couldn't tear his eyes from the images on the screen. He couldn't breathe, much less move, and as he felt a waterfall of tears flow down his cheeks, he realized how blessed he truly was.

"Jesus Christ, babe," he whispered.

"I know, Jackson," Tara whispered back. "We're having twins."