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Chapter 49
Alex's head was aching by the time she left the hospital. She knew Jax and Tara were planning on staying the night in the pediatric ward once Abel was out of surgery. When they'd be shown to the room where the little boy was sleeping, Alex made her way out. She wanted to give the family the night together. She kissed them both, the boys and headed out with the promise to be back in the morning. Well, she said she'd be back later that morning, like when the sun had actually risen.
She drove through the streets towards the house she used to rent. Her landlord had planned on selling it after Alex's lease was up since Alex had been the only renter to even look at the property in over a year. Apparently the older woman figured getting rid of it entirely was the better option. Alex still had a single month left on her lease when she'd moved to San Francisco so access to the house was easy. The free month gave her time not only to find her own apartment, but repair the damage done to the dwelling. She'd even left some of her things behind for the woman to sell on her behalf. Alex didn't care. She left things she didn't have room for or want to haul along, like a couch and a dresser with a wonky drawer.
As she pulled up to the house, Alex noticed a car that didn't look like it belonged pulled up to the curb. She eyed it curiously. It wasn't directly in front of the house, but close enough it made her wonder. But, she had to remember, there were neighbors nearby. Pushing the odd feeling down, Alex pulled into the driveway, put the car in part and headed for the door.
The ugly fake rock the fooled no one in the garden caught her attention. It wasn't where she hid her key, but it was the clue as to where the key was hidden. It was underneath a real rock a foot to the left, but that didn't matter. The fake rock was turned onto its side as was nearly every rock in the garden. She didn't have to bother searching because the imprint of the key was visible in a divot left behind. Alex's head snapped to the door. Someone was inside her house.
Alex raced back to her car as quietly as she could and dipped inside. She scrambled for her glove box, popped it open and snatched out the glock and magazine that were always inside it. Without a second thought, she slammed the magazine into the bottom of the gun, cocked a round into the chamber and snapped off the safety. Closing her door quietly, Alex slinked back towards the house.
She looked up into the shielded windows and saw nothing. No lights were on but it wasn't surprising. She had the electricity turned off when she moved. The only thing was running water, no gas which meant no heat and no lights.
Stepping towards the front door, Alex pressed her ear to it. She heard nothing. Testing the door knob and finding it unlocked, Alex gently pushed it open and peeled her eyes to see inside. It was dark, as was to be expected, but not so dark she couldn't at least see the outlines of things like the walls and so forth. Alex's chest hurt, her heart beating so quickly it was almost deafening, but still she went inside.
Alex felt like she was part of a swat team for a brief moment or two as she moved through the house. She'd duck behind the corners of walls, sprang out around them and pointed her gun at air. But she continued on, making sure she had checked everything and everywhere from the bedrooms to the shower stall and there was nothing. Alex began to relax, seeing no threat for the moment, when she heard something move in the backyard. Electricity coursed through her body again at the prospect of her suspicions being confirmed.
From the safety of the house, Alex slipped into the kitchen and peeked through the window that overlooked the backyard. In the darker shadows, hidden from streetlights, moonshine and starlight, was someone sitting on the picnic table. She narrowed her eyes at the figure, huge and intimidating from her vantage point, and horrifyingly familiar.
"You've got to be shittin' me." She muttered to herself.
Flicking the safety back on, Alex charged through her backdoor and into the yard. The figure looked at her and it was all the more obvious who it was. Her fear was quickly replaced by anger. If she couldn't shoot him, she's still hit him with the bullets. Alex popped out her magazine and began to slip out the rounds and lob them at the man at the picnic table.
"The hell are you doing here?" she snapped, pelting him repeatedly with the metal projectiles.
"What the hell Alex?" he shot back, trying to shield his face from the rounds. "Are you throwing bullets at me?"
Alex threw one as hard as she could and delighted when it pinged off his kneecap. Opie growled, clutched his knee and glared at her.
"It's either that or shoot your dumb ass."
He chuckled to himself and regained his position on the bench, leaning back and propping his elbows on the tabletop with his longs legs sprawled out. He looked far too relaxed for being a dead man.
Alex sighed and took a seat next to him. She shoved halfheartedly at his shoulder.
"You shouldn't be here Ope." She told him somberly.
Whatever lingering smile he had was gone. His eyes moved out and settled on the pool. The surface was rippling softly in the light breeze making any light reflecting on its surface shimmy.
"This is my home, Alex." He said, still watching the water. "Charming's the only pace I've ever really been." He rolled his head lazily towards her. "How am I supposed to walk away from that, from my kids?"
She took a deep breath and sighed. Alex fell sideways, her head smacking lightly into Opie's shoulder. He rested his cheek on top of her head.
"I know, but…" Alex's words faded. She felt like a broken record. "I'm too tired to bitch."
Opie chuckled lightly. That might have been his saving grace for the moment, that Alex didn't have the energy to rip him a new one.
"Come on. Let's see if we can find somewhere to sleep." She said after a moment.
Alex stood and offered Opie her hand. He heaved himself up with her 'help'. The two of them made their way towards the house and into the living room. Both eyed the couch suspiciously. It was decently sized true, deep and overstuffed, but Opie was nearly six and a half feet tall. His body alone took up nearly everything.
"Take the couch." Alex told him.
"No," he scoffed. "You're pregnant."
"You're broken."
Opie eyed the young woman beside him before looking back to the couch. He tilted his head as he examined it.
"We could try together." He offered.
Alex shook her head.
"No way. I'd have to sleep on top of you and you're still covered in bruises and busted ribs." She told him simply. "Floor?"
Opie gripped the cushions of the couch and tossed them down onto the carpeted floor.
"Floor." He agreed.
They took off their jackets, threw them onto the bare couch and positioned themselves on the floor. Opie pulled Alex to his side and she curled against him. Slowly, eventually, the pair began to drift into sleep.
When the sun had officially risen, Alex made her way to the hospital after calling her boss and filling him in. True she had a day or two off, but she didn't know how long she'd really be gone.
She made Opie promise her, swear he would stay in the house. They were in Charming now. He had to stay put. Everyone in town knew who he was. Everyone could identify him. Everyone knew he was supposed to be gone and buried. He told her he would, but Alex had her doubts. Part of her considered tying him to the tree in the backyard just to be sure, but she didn't have anything to do it with. So, no matter how reluctantly, Alex left him and headed for St. Thomas.
Alex stepped through the front doors which led to the waiting room. From there the rest of the hospital sort of branched out, but she was shocked by what she saw. Alex's heart immediately began to beat happily in her chest and a smile formed before she could stop herself.
"Alex," Chibs sighed with relief, drawing everyone's eye to the woman standing in the entryway. "Yer a sight for sore eyes girlie."
He stood and made his way to her first, hugging her tightly. Alex almost wanted to cry as she clung to the father figure. It felt good not only to be around her family, but it hurt too. Part of her was screaming to tell them what she'd only recently found out. She wanted to tell them Opie was alive and only a few miles away, but she couldn't and that hurt more than anything.
Chibs kissed her temple as they parted and was replaced by Bobby, then Tig, then everyone else. She hugged them all her greeting and couldn't fight the smile.
"So what you doin' 'ere?" Chibs asked, falling lazily back into his seat.
"Jax called me last night, left some fucked up message about the boys."
He nodded his understanding.
"So how you feelin' darlin'?" Bobby asked, glancing briefly to her stomach then back to her eyes.
"Fine." She nodded, her hand instinctively coming to her stomach and scratching it lightly. "Little ass kicker."
A few of them chuckled at her answer.
"How long you sticking around?"
"Don't know. My boss gets it, but I can't stay indefinitely, you know?" she said, feeling uneasy the longer she had to force pleasantries while sidestepping what she wanted to say. "I'm gonna go see Jax and Tara real quick. I'll catch you guys later."
They nodded, a few telling her they'd see her later as Alex made her way back through the hospital and towards Abel's room. Jax heard the approach and looked up from his seat. He smiled weakly, a response Alex received from Tara too. She returned the affection, but felt her stomach drop at the sight of the little boy in the hospital bed with a stark white bandage wrapped around his head. Her brows furrowed.
"He doin' okay?" she asked softly, not wanting to wake the boy.
"Yeah, just sleeping." Jax replied, standing to hug her.
Alex squeezed Jax tightly in her arms and whispered, "He followed me."
Jax pulled back, his face littered with confusion. Alex simply nodded.
"He's here? In Charming?" he asked as he stepped back.
"At my old house." She corrected. "Called from the road apparently."
Jax's chest hurt. He ran his hand down his face and gripped the end of his goatee as he tended to do when in deep thought. For a moment he looked like he wanted to cry.
"He's here." He muttered, falling into his seat.
Tara was more confused than Jax had been initially. She looked to Alex.
"What's going on?"
Jax reached for her hand and held it tightly, drawing her eyes to his pink and glassy orbs. A weak smile touched his lips.
"Ope's in town."
"Oh my god." She replied in utter shock, her head snapping to Alex. "At your place?"
Alex nodded heavily. Tara quickly turned to Jax and started shoving at him.
"Go, babe. Go see him." She urged, knowing internally there might not be another chance.
"But what about…"
Before he could finish his statement, Margaret emerged in the doorway with Thomas in her arms. Tara forced a smile and slowly pushed herself up and out of her seat while Alex stepped aside.
"I just fed him, changed his diaper." Margaret said.
"Thank you." Tara sighed with relief.
"Hello again Miss Walker." Margaret greeted. She didn't bother asking why the young woman was there. She already knew and gave Jax her attention. "Abel did great. His heartbeat is stable. Keeping his here for a couple days is just a precaution."
"I appreciate that." Jax told her honestly.
Margaret nodded and started moving towards the door.
"Let me know if you need anything." She said when she reached the door.
"Hey, is my mother awake yet?"
The administrator paused and tried to remove the icy tone from her voice when it came to the MC matriarch, but barely achieved it.
"I'm not sure." She replied tersely. "I'll check."
"Thank you." He called before she vanished.
Jax, Tara and Thomas settled back into their seats, Alex smiling halfheartedly at the display when Bobby entered the room.
"Jax," he sighed. "Unser's here. He's got some information."
Jax nodded. Bobby smiled briefly to Alex who mimicked the action and turned to leave. Jax leaned over and kissed his son's head, both of them, then Tara before starting towards the door. He hesitated when he reached Alex.
"You think you could hang around for a little while? I uh…" he paused, finding the words hard to find.
Alex simply forced a weak smile and nodded.
"Yeah, no problem." She said, knowing what his request was whether or not he could get the words out. Jax seemed to relax. She leaned forward and hugged him. "Love you."
"Love you." He nodded before parting and heading out into the waiting room to see what Unser had found.
Alex breathed deeply and felt her eyes burn. The whole situation, all of it, was draining. Without a word, she wiggled behind Tara's chair and took a seat in the one Jax had vacated.
"Jesus," Alex groaned, burying her face in her hands.
Tara laughed softly and nodded, understanding the feelings. With a sad smile from her friend, Alex reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She found the number she'd called the night before and sent Opie a text.
"I'll leave here in about ten minutes and pick up some food. You want anything?"
She sent the message and relaxed into the chair as much as she could. She'd be back at the hospital of course, but forgot entirely about eating. Opie couldn't leave because everyone knew his face, so she had to get something and bring it home or risk him starving to death. So she waited patiently for a text back.
Opie felt the phone bussing in his pocket. He reached for it and read the message. He thought about it for a moment, deciding what he might want to eat when a bell rang loudly in the background. Opie's eyes darted up at the swarm of children only half a block away, scurrying to get into the giant building and to class.
He stared as hard as he could, struggling to find the two kids he wanted to see. He eyed one child after another, searching desperately until spotting an all too familiar tan Cadillac. All air fled his lungs immediately when the small people scooted out of the backseat and said goodbye to the blond behind the wheel.
There was no build up to the pain of seeing them again, no brief moment of happiness. Only hurt. Everything hurt at nothing more than seeing his kids, his babies.
