Outer Banks, North Carolina: Two Years Later
Coming off from a 12 hour shift at the auto shop, Jax pulled into the driveway of his and Marni's three floor home.
He turned the key in the ignition in the opposite direction, cutting off any and all power within the truck.
He reached over the small compartment which sat in between the driver and passenger seat, picking up the grocery bag that contained a pint of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream Marni requested before he came home.
He activated the car alarm and got out of the truck, shoving his keys in the back pocket of his saggy dark blue jeans.
As Jax came closer to the house, he could hear Charlotte's laugh coming from the backyard.
He followed the beautiful sound, only to discover an even more beautiful sight.
Charlotte was dressed in her bright pink one piece bathing suit, using her shovel to dig through the beach's sand for more multicolored rocks to add to her already enormous collection.
Marni, whose stomach was swollen with their third child, a son, had their daughter sitting in between her legs, putting in any rocks Charlotte found into the bright yellow bucket sitting next to them.
Jax began advancing toward them, welcoming the sun's late afternoon rays that fell onto his entire body.
Charlotte's eyes shifted from the sand to her approaching father.
"Daddy!"
She got up from the sand and began to run as fast as her legs would let her with her damp blonde pigtails bouncing freely through the summer air.
"Daddy!"
Jax lifted Charlotte in his arms, throwing her up in the air, causing her to let out a high pitched squeal.
Once he caught her and she was firmly in his arms, she wrapped her small arms around his neck, giving him a tight embrace.
"Hi daddy."
"Hi baby girl, I missed you. Did you miss me," he asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah."
"Yeah? What are you and mommy up to?"
"Looking for wocks," she replied, not being able to say her rs quite yet.
After the fifth attempt, Marni finally succeeded and was standing to her feet.
She smoothed out her light blue colored maternity sundress, making her way over to her husband and daughter.
"Welcome home, stud."
"Thanks darlin'," he replied, giving Marni a passionate kiss on the lips.
"Where's Abel?"
"He's sleeping over at his friend Trevor's. He's nine now which means he's too cool now to hang out with his mom all day."
Jax chuckled, handing Marni the white plastic bag that dangled from around his arm.
She opened up the bag and smiled.
"You just made my day that much better."
Charlotte leaned away from her father, sneaking a peak at the ice cream.
"Ooh, can I have some mommy?"
"Yes, after dinner though, okay?"
"Okay."
Jax set Charlotte down on her feet.
Once her two feet hit the sand, she ran back toward the ocean to retrieve her shovel and bucket.
"Jesus Christ, where does she get the energy?", Jax asked, winding his arm around Marni's waist.
"I have no idea, but I'm in desperate need of it. Our son here is kickin' my ass. With Charlotte, she couldn't wait to leave the womb. With him, he's really draggin' his heels," she stated, rubbing her full term belly.
"What did the doctor say this morning? Is the baby okay?"
"She said everything checks out and it's completely normal to go past my due date. She gave me a list of home remedies I can try to help move things along. If none of those work, then I'll have to be medically induced."
"And have you done these home remedies?"
"I've tried them all except one."
"Which one haven't you tried?"
"Sex tends to trigger the release of a homorone called oxy.."
"You had me at sex, Marn. Say no more, daddy will finish what he started," Jax cut her off, planting a firm kiss on her lips.
(Break)
After dinner, Charlotte automatically passed out on the couch with Cooper, their two year old golden retriever sleeping by her feet.
Without disturbing her, Jax carefully picked her up in his arms, bringing her upstairs to her room.
Cooper woke up, jumping off the couch and following Jax up the stairs.
Marni smiled, storing the leftover pasta with meat sauce into one of the plastic containers she has stored in the cabinet next to the refridgerator.
Jax quickly and quietly made his way down the staircase to enter the kitchen where his wife was.
He came up behind her, taking the dirty dish she was cleaning out of her hand, setting it down gently at the bottom of the sink so he didn't wake their daughter.
"You should let them soak a while," Jax whispered in her ear, gathering her long blonde hair into his left hand.
With her silky locks in hand, his fingers immediately moved inward to create a firm fist.
Jax gave her hair a slight tug, bringing her head backwards against his chest.
His mouth latched onto her neck, kissing and biting at the skin underneath his mouth.
"Mmm, is that an order," she asked, turning herself around to face him.
"You bet your ass it is," he growled, grabbing her ass with both of his hands.
A moan fell from her lips as she lifted his white t-shirt up over his head, dropping it onto the kitchen floor.
Jax's hands fell away from his wife's ass, landing on her long toned legs.
He effortlessly lifted her into his arms, gently placing her onto the kitchen counter.
Those skilled hands of his continued to roam her body until they reached her face.
His calloused thumbs created small circles on her cheeks as his blue eyes locked with her green ones.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that, baby?"
"For many reasons. For one, I love looking at you."
"Jax.."
"I do. You're beautiful, darlin'."
" Thank you. As are you, believe me. What's another reason?"
"I love you."
Marni smiled, coiling her arms around her husband's neck.
"Sorry to break it to ya, but I love you more. "
"Not humanly possible, Marn."
(Break)
12:53 am:
Marni came back from the bathroom, shoving open the bedroom door, causing it to slam against the wall.
Her husband did not even budge.
She shuffled across the room until she was next to the king sized bed.
As she hovered over Jax, she pressed her hand against his bare chest, moving it back and forth frantically to shake him awake.
"Jax.. Jax baby, wake up," she whispered, struggling to control her ragged breathing.
"Mmm, what is it, Marn," he asked with his eyes still closed.
"My water broke. The baby is coming."
"That's nice," he smiled, rolling onto his side.
He rolled back into his original position, looking up at Marni with a huge smile on his face.
"Just kiddin', darlin'," he stated, jumping up from the bed to get dressed.
" That was good. You got me," she replied, planting both of her hands onto the mattress as her entire body hunched over due to a strong contraction ripping through her abdomen.
Jax finished getting dressed, bringing himself next to Marni to help her out to the truck.
The contraction temporarily subsided and she was able to stand upright.
When she turned around, his left arm automatically wrapped around her waist.
"Marn.."
She looked up at him with a quizzical expression.
"Yeah?"
He moved his head forward, giving her a kiss on the lips.
"Looks like Daddy finished what he started."
(Break)
Seven hours Later:
Marni was thrilled Jax and her came to the decision of Charlotte and Abel being here for the birth of their little brother.
She was against the idea at first because labor tends to be a long stretch and her kids would be exhuasted and would want to be home in their beds.
Now that they were with her, she's come to find they've never been more awake.
Abel, who they had to pick up from his friend's house, was asking Debbie, the on shift nurse, about what each machine and wire did for her and his brother and if it would harm them in any way.
Debbie was great at reassuring him and explaining to him what functions the machines performed so he was able to understand it.
Debbie usually does her rounds and comes to check up on patients every twenty minutes.
But, not tonight.
With the money he earned betting with his co-workers on when his son will come into the world, he offered to give it all to her to stay by Marni's side.
She made the decision to do it free of charge because Jax scared the living shit out of her and she didn't want to see what happened if she got on his bad side.
Charlotte sat on the bed with Marni, the both of them examining each of the rocks they found the previous day.
Whenever she found a rock that stood out more than the others, she would say, " He'll like this one. I'll show him this one when he comes, mommy."
She no longer wanted her kids here.
She needed them here.
This milestone wouldn't be complete without them with her and Jax.
Plus, it was a great distraction to keep her mind off the exruciating pain that came in waves.
Marni wanted to give birth naturally, but if the pain became too much, you can bet your ass she was getting that epidural.
(Break)
Hour 9:
Jax was sitting in the chair with both Charlotte and Abel sitting on his lap, sound asleep on his chest.
Jax's eyes continued to shift between Marni and the machines connected to her body.
His wife fell asleep shortly after she was adminstered with the epidural forty five minutes ago.
Debbie stood on the opposite side of Marni's bed, continuing to observe and monitor anything and everything.
A light knock was made on the open hospital room door, making Jax look in the driection of the sound.
Who he saw blew his fucking mind.
"Hey Jackie boy," Chibs whispered, entering the room with the rest of the club behind him.
Each one of them had a wrapped present in their hands, apart from Bobby who had a gift and a small bundle of balloons in his opposite hand.
"Holy sh.. What the hell are you all doing here?", Jax asked as they came closer to their former president.
"You told us when her due date was so we took one of Oswald's planes and flew out here to surprise you. I reached out to Marni to let her in on it. She gave me a ring when her water broke and let us know what hospital you would be at," Bobby informed.
Abel was the first to slowly wake up and discover who his father was talking to.
His eyes lit up when he looked at each of his uncles.
He slid off of Jax's lap, giving each one of them a huge hug.
"You're getting big, little man," Happy stated, lifting Abel up into his arms.
"I know. Mommy said I'll probably be taller than daddy."
"Daddy..."
Charlotte was the next to wake up from her deep slumber.
She hid her face in his neck, hiding herself from the leather wearing men next to the chair.
Jax stood up, adjusting his grip on his daughter.
"It's okay, Char. They're your uncles. You might not remember them because you haven't seen them since you were a baby."
"She looks just like Marni, brother," Tig pointed out, giving Charlotte a friendly smile.
"You boys finally make it and you don't even bother to wake a girl up? That stings a bit," Marni smiled, automatically recieving one back from each member of the club.
(Break)
Hour 12:
The doctor politely hurried everyone except Jax and the nurse out of the room.
Marni was officially dialated at ten and it was time for her to push.
He sat on a small black and silver stool by her legs, moving her feet into stir ups.
Jax took Marni's shaking hand, giving it a tender kiss.
"You got this, darlin'."
She nodded in agreement.
"I got this."
"Alright Marni, are you ready to deliver the first push?"
"More than ever, doc."
She squeezed Jax's hand with a vice like grip, delivering the first push.
"Jesus Christ, this hurts so fucking bad!"
"You're doing great Marni."
"You are. You're doing great, Marn," Jax agreed, feeling her squeeze his hand even harder for the second push.
"Marni, I see the head. One more push, and he's here. "
"Okay."
Debbie came over to Marni, taking hold of her other hand.
With one final scream and push, a small cry filled the entire room.
"You did incredible," Jax gave Marni a firm kiss on the lips.
"Would you like to cut the cord dad," Debbie asked, handing him the scissors.
He released Marni's hand, making his way over to his son, severing the ambilical cord.
Jax handed her the scissors back.
"I want to see him. Can I see him?", Marni asked, sitting up in the bed, eager to console her crying son.
The doctor nodded, standing up from the stool, gently laying him in Marni's arms.
"Congratulations, you two. He's beautiful."
"Thank you," Marni and Jax replied in unison.
He stopped crying and he opened his eyes for the first time, looking up at both of his parents.
"We finally meet, Xander Thomas Teller. How are you liking it so far on the outside?"
Xander let out a yawn and closed his eyes.
"I hear ya. Momma is wiped too."
( Break)
Jax exited the hospital room, holding his newborn son in his arms.
Abel, Charlotte, and the club all stood up, making their way over to Jax and the baby.
"I can't see," Charlotte whined.
Bobby bent down , picking her up in his arms.
"He's cute. We can keep him."
Everyone bursted out into a fit of laughs.
"The little lad is missing one thing though."
Chibs reached into his pocket, pulling out a dark blue hat with the Sons of Anarchy logo on the front.
"Now, he's perfect."
(Break)
Bobby entered the hospital room to check on Marni.
"Hi Bobby."
"How are you feelin' sweetheart?"
"I could use a nap, but aside from that, I'm perfect."
"So is your son. You and Jax are gonna have to keep your little heartbreakers on lockdown."
"Don't we know it."
"Jax seems to be good. Really good actually. This is the happiest I've ever seen him. I'm glad my brother has finally found someone to make that happen."
Marni smiled.
"Aww thanks Bobby. Even though he's happy, there are times when his ghosts come back to haunt him."
" He doesn't hurt you and the kids, does he?"
"No no, of course not. He does what he does best when awful shit gets thrown his way. He shoves it down, doing everything he can to prevent it from coming back up. I hope one day he breaks that habit and realizes he can come and tell me when the ghosts become too loud to hear anything else around him. "
"Have you told him that?"
"I tell him all the time."
(Break)
Forty Eight Hours Later:
3:23 am:
Over the baby monitor, Xander could be heard crying in the nursery.
"I got him," Marni stated, pulling the covers off of her body.
"No, I got him. It's my turn," Jax replied, sitting up in the bed, bringing the covers back over Marni.
She couldn't go back to sleep, so she decided to check on Jax and the baby.
She headed down the stairs to find Jax in the living room.
He was sitting on the couch, feeding their son a bottle while he was watching a show about motorcycles that Marni could never for the life of her remember the name of.
She entered the room, taking a seat next to the both of them.
She coiled her arm around his free one, resting her head on his shoulder.
"You're already trying to get our son into Harleys? He's only two days old."
"Believe it or not, this is the only channel I can put on and he doesn't cry."
"If you say so."
Jax gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Thank you."
"For what, handsome?"
"For coming into our lives. For saving our son. For saving me."
"Jax, I just had a baby. My emotions are all over the place. When you say things like that, there's a good chance tears will start flowing."
" I mean it. I love you."
"I love you too.
The End
I just want to thank you guys for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story! Each of you are the best! I might revisit this story down the line because this one holds a special place in my heart :). I hope you'll read my future fanfics! Until next time..
