Tara broke her hand in three places bracing herself on the way down.
Clay landing on top of her, bleeding and gasping, still alive but dead weight didn't
help the situation any.

The swelling was immediate, already turning a purplish color as Jax hauled Clay
off of her and pulled her up to press her face against his chest as he checked her over-her
hand was fucked, but was there anything else wrong with her?
She was okay, she assured Jax, hand dangling limply.
She was fine.
It wasn't her dominate hand and she wouldn't be doing surgery anytime soon.
Things could have been worse.

Her hand may have been broken, but she still felt she had an obligation as a
healer (As she thought of herself) to help Clay in any way possible while Jax hauled Opie
out of the office and into the harsh sunlight.
The gunshots had brought a good majority of their brothers outside,
and Op was passed off to them a crying mess.

As VP he had bigger problems right now.
Problems like cooking up a story about how such a thing had happened without
incriminating Opie any further.
If anyone knew the truth they would take after him with Outlaw justice,
and Jax wanted, at the very least, a chance to find out just what the hell had happened to
devastate the big bear of a man so much.
Surely all of this wasn't over Gemma-he was almost positive that Opie hadn't even
crossed paths with the woman leaned against the club house doorway, hand on her hip in
the patented Gemma way of standing, looking at Jax long and hard before going back in behind Tig,
who was shephearding everyone back in at Jax's request taking care to shut the door behind them.

He and Tara would handle this as best they could using a spare first aid kit that
Tara had hidden in with Piney's dusty tequila, and figure the rest out later.
He didn't know what else to do-it wasn't like the hospital or calling for an EMS was
a viable option. The only person whose reaction had worried him was his Mother's and she
hadn't asked any questions of him, having a pretty good idea of the events that transpired
and obviously okay with them.
Jax was honestly more worried about his Old Lady's hand than Clay bleeding out-they could
apply pressure to the wounds, no problem, and whatever was going to happen would happen
but who the fuck would reset Tara's broken bones?
Would she just be hobbled for the rest of her life?
Jax felt like collapsing under the weight of his guilt, but was able to push it aside long enough
to kneel next to Doc, who was rummaging in the filing cabinet for some indiscernable reason.
"What can I do?" Jax asked, hating how weak his voice sounded when he needed to be strong for her.
"Tell me what to do, Tara."
Ignoring Clay entirely, who was beginning to make an alarming whistling noise with every breath,
Jax took the time to push her bangs back, kiss her forehead.
"I'm so fuckin' sorry, darlin'."
This almost broke Tara.
This was her Jax, making an appearance which was getting more and more rare.
The Jax who was tender and would do anything for his family.
For her.
He was hers, unquestionably, just as she was his.
Tara held up the first aid kit with her working hand, gesturing feebly.
"Open this. There's a syringe in there, get it."
Jax complied, fumbling in his urgency, hands shaking.
He has the safety cap off of the needle portion, aware that they're going to need it,
not knowing why, before Tara stills him.

"That's a blood thinner. If you give it to Clay, he'll bleed out, fast.
He won't come back from this, Jax. We can be free."
Tara watched the light dawn in his eyes as he grasped the implications-Jax didn't
bother asking how or why she had smuggled this from St Thomas, or wherever the hell.
He was just glad that she had.
Nodding, he set the needle aside and pulled out his KA-BAR, hauling Clay up by his vest,
elevating his wounds momentarily, which is the last thing you should do with a trauma victim,
but it didn't matter now.

Jax wanted to him to see what was coming next, as he held him with one hand and used
his knife to remove the patches the old man had been so proud of in life, the patches that had
given him such leeway with his brothers.
The First 9 patch came first, with Jax seething, talking through his teeth.
"That's for my Father."
The President patch came next.
"And that's for my club."
He felt vindicated in this-the shot would be for Tara.
His whole world.
Redwood/Original could stay-he wanted this done and over with, before the blood could even
have a chance of growing tacky on his hands and the surrounding floor.
"Son..." Clay choked out,
"You take those, you might as well kill me."
As if he hadn't heard their exchange about the blood thinner, and hell maybe he hadn't.
Who knew?
Most likely though, he was in denial, thinking Jax would pull back from the brink.

Jax was far beyond such things now.
"Don't worry, old man. I plan on it."