A/N: I have no rights to SOA.

A/N: A Capybara is a semi aquatic rodent. Food for thought about the episode.

Chapter 14

(Capybara)

Tara was lying on the couch. The living room, her dad's room and the kitchen were cleaned out. Her room had never become cluttered and the closets were filled with only things that needed to be saved. The garage was another story. One she didn't have the patience for at the moment.

It had been days since she had seen Jax at the cabin. She missed him. She was sure he had been at the hospital the past few days, but she had been on nights the past few days. The positive of working at a small hospital was that nights were usually calm in the pedes area. She had spent a lot of time with Abel, happy that his apnea alarms hadn't been going off like they had been in previous weeks. He was almost ready to go home.

Her phone rang. It was Donna.

"Are you back?" she answered her phone.

"Yeah, come over here."

"Just a second."

Tara got up and went ot the door. She walked out her door and locked it behind her. She jogged over to the Winstons and Donna met her at the door.

They hugged. "Are we packing?"

Donna nodded. "Yeah, my parents said we could stay with them for a while."

Tara followed her inside and started assembling boxes. Donna started filling them and chatting about her parents.

Several hours and a lot of laughter later they had gotten all of the toys packed when there was a knock at the door.

Tara followed Donna to the door. When she opened it, Agent Stahl was on the door step. "Donna Winston?" she asked.

"Yes," Donna replied looking back at Tara.

"I'm Agent Stahl, ATF, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Donna opened the screen door and stepped back.

Stahl stepped in the door and saw Tara. "Dr. Knowles, lovely to run into you again."

Tara nodded and checked her watch. It was two in the afternoon. She turned to Donna. "I have to get to the hospital to check on Abel. Call me before you leave."

Donna nodded and hugged Tara tightly.

"They are harassing those close to SAMCRO looking for info," Tara whispered into Donna's ear.

"I'll stop by before I head out," Donna said pulling out of the hug.

"Please," Tara said.

Tara left and went to the grocery. She really just had to get away from Stahl. She didn't have to check on Abel. She went back home and found Donna sitting on her front steps.

"Donna?"

"That woman is a bitch."

"Yeah, I know."

"I called my parents, they are bringing the kids home."

"You're not leaving?"

"Not yet."

"Ok," Tara said. "Need help unpacking?"

Donna nodded.

Two days later, she was trying to sleep because she was back on days when she heard a lot of traffic on the street. She got up, wrapped herself in her robe and went out onto the front porch, leaving the light off.

Four black SUVs and town cars were parked in front of Donna and Opie's. She saw Donna being led out holding Ellie's hand. A few minutes later, Opie came out carrying Kenny. They got in separate SUVs and the SUVs left. A little while later, two suits came out with luggage, loaded it in the car and left.

Tara shook her head. Stahl was a crafty bitch. Not cuffing Opie. Tara stood and went back in, hoping she was the only nosy neighbor.

The next day, Tara was walking by the nurse's station when she heard June call her name.

"Dr. Knowles?"

"Yes, June," she said turning around.

"Gemma Teller is in with Abel."

"Thanks," Tara said turning to head to the NICU.

She walked into Abel's incubation room and saw Gemma holding Abel in the rocking chair.

"Oh, he's taking to the bottle much better," Gemma said setting the bottle down when Tara walked in. "How's his sleep apnea?"

"The last two nights, no alarms, he's almost through it," Tara said putting her hands in her pockets.

"When will we be able to take him home?" Gemma asked with a smile.

"Probably tomorrow."

"You hear that baby boy," Gemma said to Abel. "You're going home."

"Can I ask you a practical question?" Tara asked as Gemma stood to put Abel in his bed. "Who's going to take care of him?"

"Well, I will," Gemma said. "Who do you think?"

"Day and night?" Tara asked. "Are you ready for that?"

"I think I can handle it," Gemma replied settling a sleepy Abel into his bed. "Why?"

"I don't think Jax is ready for this," Tara said. "He has no idea what he is in for."

"On that, we agree," Gemma said. "His father was clueless too. They figure it out. Got no choice, right?"

"Yeah," Tara said looking longingly at Abel. She already loved him. She knew that one day she would be the mother to this little boy.

"You want kids?" Gemma asked.

"Sure, right time, right person," Tara tried to play the question off.

"Getting close to finding that?"

Tara sighed. "What are you asking me Gemma?"

"If you're in Jax's life, you're in his life," Gemma said. "I got every right to know how you feel about kids."

"I don't think what Jax and I have...it's...we haven't discussed it," Tara finally admitted.

"Well maybe you should," Gemma said. "Big responsibilities come with my son. You better think about that. Figure out if you can take them on," Gemma said as she stepped forward.

"I'm just spending time with Jax, there is nothing to figure out," Tara said defensively. "If it becomes something different, you'll be the first to know."

"Well, good," Gemma said stepping back. "Because I don't mind playing mommy for a while, but eventually, I'd like to just sit back and be Grandma."

"Dr. Knowles to the NICU, Dr. Knowles to the NICU," Tara heard the page as she was coming out of another patient's room.

When she got there, she saw Wendy in the waiting room.

"I just wanted to see him," Wendy said defensively.

"Alright, let me go get him," Tara said walking into the NICU. She picked up Abel and checked his chart. It was time for another feeding. She got his bottle and he cried for it. So she started feeding him before letting Wendy into the room.

"Oh my God Abel, oh he got so big," Wendy said tearfully.

Tara smiled at the mother of the child she had been caring for.

"Look at you," Wendy said taking the baby from Tara.

"You got him?"

"I got him," Wendy replied holding his bottle. "Wow, oh my God, he's so beautiful."

"Yeah, he is," Tara said. "He looks like Jax, doesn't he?"

Wendy sat down in the rocking chair.

"Thank you so much, I know you weren't supposed to do this."

"Its ok," Tara said shaking her head and holding up her hands. "Do you have a plan, Wendy?"

"I got into a sober living house in Indian Village," she replied.

"Thats good," Tara said encouragingly.

"How's Jax?"

"He's ok, I think," Tara said looking down. It had been a few days since she had seen him. The club was shaken up about something going on. She didn't ask questions. She didn't want to know.

"God, I miss him so much," Wendy said.

"Yeah," Tara said guiltily. "I can imagine."

She watched Wendy with Abel. She had conveniently forgotten that Abel had a mother, that Jax had a wife. In her mind, with everything going on, there was no mother and wife to those boys.

Tara stayed until Abel finished his bottle. She handed the baby off to a nurse to be burped.

"He has another feeding in two hours," Tara said. "Jax usually comes by for that one."

Wendy nodded. "I will see you in two hours."

Tara and Rachel were eating in the doctor's lounge when she was paged to the NICU again.

"Is Abel alright?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You are getting paged to the NICU a lot."

"Abel has what a psychologist would call a dysfunctional family," Tara said rolling her eyes at Rachel teasingly.

"You mean Abel's daddy likes to keep you company after hours."

"Usually, that's the case," Tara said opening the door. "Today, its the dysfunctional family."

Wendy was waiting in the hall. "Jax is in there."

"Ok."

"Will you tell him I'm here?"

Tara nodded and walked into the NICU. Jax was holding Abel, feeding him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"You doing ok?"

"I don't think he's hungry," he said rocking Abel and smiling.

"Someone's here to see you," Tara said with a smile, turning.

Jax stood and walked toward the window with Tara.

Wendy was standing in the waiting room.

"You do this?" Jax asked Tara.

"No," Tara answered. "She came on her own."

Jax laid Abel down and followed Tara out of the NICU.

"Thanks," Wendy said.

"You're welcome," Tara said feeling the tension. She saw June standing nearby with Abel's chart. "You need me to sign that?" Tara walked to the nurse's station, to give them a minute. She waited as long as she could before walking back to the NICU waiting room, making notes in Abel's chart.

She tried not to look into the window when she walked in there, but it was hard. Jax and Abel were in there. As much as they weren't really her boys, in her heart, they were. She wanted them to be hers. She saw Jax giving Wendy a key. She felt her heart starting to break. Jax and his big heart. Always looking out for others.

Jax knelt down next to Wendy and put his hand on her thigh and Tara closed the chart. Did he still love Wendy? Was she just a way to pass his time until Wendy came back? Her heart stopped as she watched the moment between the couple. She couldn't stand there any more. She turned and walked back to the doctor's lounge where Rachel was still sitting.

"You ok?"

Tara shook her head and plopped down in a chair.

"Want to talk?"

Tara shook her head. "Wendy is back and Jax might still love her."

"Did he say that?"

Tara shook her head again.

"She's just his baby's mama," Rachel said. "If I have learned anything in the God-forsaken town it is that Jax Teller loves Tara Knowles. Always has, always will."

Tara threw a pillow at Rachel. "You are full of shit."

"Not as much as you'd think," Rachel said standing and walking out of the lounge.

As Tara was getting out of her car at home that night, she heard a motorcycle coming down the street. She turned and saw Jax pull up in front of Opie's house. She tossed her bags back in her car as Jax and Opie left again. She walked over to the Winston's and knocked on the door.

The door opened. "Exciting day?" Tara asked Donna.

"You could say that," Donna answered opening the screen door.

Tara followed Donna into the house and went into the kitchen to make them some coffee while Donna sat at the table.

"Want to tell me about it?" Tara said, moving around the kitchen.

"They arrested Bobby Elvis this morning on a murder charge," Donna said. "It seems that Opie was there, but they can't get a positive ID on him. Stahl is setting him up as a rat and we are just praying Clay doesn't fall for Stahl's game."

"Where are the kids?"

"Mary came to get them."

Tara dropped the spoon she was holding. "Mary?"

"Yeah."

Tara brought over the coffee. "How do you feel about all of this?"

"Opie said he didn't kill anyone," Donna said. "He asked me to trust him. Then, here comes Mary, who tells me that she tried to get Opie out of Charming when we were 16 and that he ran directly back. She told me to get out before Opie poisons the kids. Then Stahl tells me to get out before my family gets torn apart."

Tara nodded.

"I made my decision today. I'm not bailing on my family. Opie is my family. Which means SAMCRO is my family. Which means I have to trust Jax."

"Its Clay I would worry about," Tara said taking a sip. "Jax will believe Opie. We all grew up together. Opie would never rat on Jax. Jax would never turn his back on Opie. They are as close to brothers as they can get with out sharing a blood line."

"I have to put my faith in Jax," Donna said setting her cup down.

Tara reached across the table and held Donna's hand. "We can trust Jax."