A/N: Thank you all for sticking around and supporting the story. This chapter is almost 2000 words long, so I hope that you'll forgive me for the past two short chapters.

It has some angst, but also some fluff, and some J/T love.

Title chapter reference: Strings by MS MR (Seriously, listen to this song, it's amazing!)

Sorry for typos and mistakes.

Happy reading :3

How I Worry about You

-"Mommy! " – Abel exclaimed happily over the phone.

Tara's heart skipped a beat when she heard her son's voice for the first time in days.

Most of the time, she was either just lying in bed or trying to sleep, but failing. She didn't have the energy for anything. Also, she feared that Gemma or Abel might sense something was wrong and come back earlier, and Tara didn't want to scare them.

Jax talked to Gemma and Abel regularly to make sure that everything was all right. They were great, but with every phone call, Abel was getting angrier at Jax because he couldn't talk to his mommy. So this morning, Tara decided to call them.

Instead of Gemma, Abel picked up the phone. Tara's lips curved into a smile as she struggled not to cry.

-"Hi, baby. How are you?"

-"I'm ok. But I miss you this much."

Tara chuckled, imaging him spreading his little arms to show her how much he missed her.

-"I know, baby. I know. I missed you even more. How is grandma?"

-"Ok. She helping papa Nate now. When are we coming back home? I want to see you." – Abel whined.

-"Soon, very soon. Listen, mommy has to go now. I love you, Abel. Be a good boy and listen to your grandma." – Tara knew that she wouldn't be able to speak to him without crying.

-"I love you too, mommy. And I love my brother. Say hi to him from me." – the boy said enthusiastically, sending a kiss through the phone.

-"I will, baby. I love you. Take care." – she sent him a kiss too, then hung up.

Sniffing, she placed her cell phone on the table and poured herself some orange juice that Jax had bought for her. She was sitting alone in the kitchen in her pyjama pants and Jax's white SAMCRO shirt that was too big for her.

It had been ten days since she parted from her son. Ten days since she was kidnapped. Ten days since she was almost raped for the second time. Ten days since she almost died.

Enough time had passed for Tara to have a clear picture of what happened and why. She thought about that day a lot, replaying that night and morning in her mind over and over again, trying to piece together her memories of those horrendous events.

Firstly, she detested herself for being so gullible and trusting Wendy. Jax and Gemma had warned her enough times. She was aware of Wendy's life and her history of drug use. Her appearance alone was enough for anyone to turn on their heel and run away as fast as they could.

And yet, Tara saw herself as the dumbest person in the entire universe.

How could she possibly be so blind as not to see right through Wendy?

From that very first day that she called to apologise and ask her about Abel, she should have known. And later, when she kept asking her about Abel and Jax, and how often was he away... She should have known Wendy was trying to get information out of her to feed them to Kohn.

But who in their right mind would ever associate Wendy and Kohn? He was a psychopath and she a junkie.

Even after her first encounter with Wendy at the TM party, Tara never saw Wendy as an evil person. To Tara, she was just a broken soul that needed someone to help her heal again.

Good thinking, Knowles. You wanted to play a peacemaker? And look where that brought you.

And Kohn.

How in the world did he manage to be released from police custody? True, she hadn't heard anything about him nor was she contacted by anyone since she left Chicago and came to Charming. Maybe it was her fault he was released in the first place. If she hadn't left so abruptly, maybe they would have held him in jail or something. Maybe it was because she never gave her official statement. It was probably because of that.

But after Kohn came into her apartment wanting to kill her, there wasn't much time to think of anything. She fought for her life, just like she did ten days ago.

Only this time, she fought for her child's life too. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around her abdomen.

And later that night, after she left the ER with that officer, the only thing she wanted to do was get away from that toxic city and that maniac. Now, of course, she regretted not giving her statement.

But then again, she wondered if Jax and she would have even happened. Probably not.

The decision to leave Chicago was made unexpectedly, out of pure fear of what might happen next.

In a way, Tara was glad she decided to run. In some perverse way she was glad for that night.

If Kohn hadn't come, she wouldn't have left Chicago. There would be no accidental meetings with Jax. She wouldn't have met Abel. And lastly, she wouldn't be pregnant.

-"Babe?" – Jax called her.

She turned to see him running down the stair in his boxers, looking completely out of his mind. He stopped at the end of the stairs, holding onto the handrail.

-"What happened?" – she asked worriedly, walking up to him and placing her hand on his.

His voice was gruff and he was panting. I woke up and you weren't there."

Tara gasped, taking in his pained expression. The tormented look in his eyes broke her heart a bit. The hand under hers began to tremble.

-"I'm here, baby. I'm here." - she said, reaching up to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes as her small hand came in contact with his face.

He missed her touch. She was gone only a day, but it felt like years to Jax.

Funny, he thought. Usually he couldn't wait for the girl to leave. But with Tara he always wanted more, so much more.

He felt like dying while she was gone. His chest was too small and his lungs could never quite fill with enough oxygen for him to breathe. Only with her by his side again was he able to breathe normally again.

The image of Tara's lifeless body lying on the floor of that motel room haunted him at night. So much that he thought he was going crazy.

In his dreams he was always late to her rescue. He would try to revive her, but it wouldn't work. She didn't open her eyes. Her body was as cold as ice under his touch. He would scream and scream at her to wake up, that he couldn't be without her. There was never any response.

He would wake up with his heart beating hard against his chest, gasping for air. When he would turn his head to Tara's side of the bed, relief would wash over him. She was there, with him. She was ok. She was alive.

He opened his eyes and the warmth of her gaze calmed him. His fingers brushed gently against the already healing scar on her cheek, then her still slightly bruised lip. His eyes were trained on hers.

He was too afraid to touch her, fearing that he might evoke those painful memories. Jax waited for her to make the first move. He wanted her to feel safe with him.

However, he felt like he had disappointed her by promising her that Kohn wouldn't hurt her, and she was a hair's breadth away from dying.

-"I'm so sorry, Tara. I'm sorry." – he sat on the stairs and covered his face with his hands as he broke down in tears.

-"I was supposed to protect you. None of this should have happened. That fire, you being kidnapped. Fuck. Why didn't I find him sooner? I should have sent Tig to kill him the moment we knew his address. I shouldn't have waited. Or I should have gone there myself and end it."

-"You were going to kill him?"- Tara asked in wonder, sitting beside him.

-"Yeah, 'cause, you know. Nothing says endless love like capital murder." – he said jokingly, turning to face her.

Tara chuckled, and Jax did too.

-"Fuck, I shouldn't be laughing at this. This isn't normal." - Tara said, raking her fingers through her hair. -"This was all so... sick. I feel like I need to punch someone just to get this anger out of me. I feel like an idiot." – she laughed nervously.

-"You're not an idiot. I want to punch someone as well. I've been smoking constantly to stop myself from running outside and attacking the first fucker that comes my way."

He wanted to hug her, to kiss her, to hold her in his arms again. Tara seemed to pick up on that. She leaned in slowly, her eyes never leaving his as her lips touched his for the first time in ten days.

Jax didn't react, waiting for her to make the move. A second later, she parted her lips, allowing his tongue to slide inside her mouth.

The kiss was slow and gentle, a kiss of two lovers who missed each other too much. But the kiss became more intense with every second, and Jax cupped her face, enjoying the sensation of her tongue gliding against his. He tasted the orange juice she had been drinking before and the salty taste of his own tears against their lips.

Tara's hands were wrapped around his neck, her fingers pulling at his hair. She moaned against his lips and his cock twitched. His hands ached to skim down her body, exploring it over and over again.

Jax wanted her. He wanted her so badly. He wanted to know that they were ok, that Kohn and Wendy didn't succeed in separating them.

And so, he pulled back.

They were both breathing heavily, Tara's eyes wide in confusion.

-"Why did you stop?"

He stroked her hair gently.

-"I don't want to rush things. You need to recover. You need time. That's more important. And I'm gonna be here for you." - he kissed her cheek, then whispered, -"" And when you're ready I'm gonna fuck you senseless."

Tara nudged him playfully and they both laughed. He sighed deeply and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

-"I was never into blonds, just so you know." – she teased him.

Jax intertwined their hands, then turned hers to look at her engagement ring.

-"This right here says you are now. Forever and always. I won't even let you change your mind." – said Jax in what was supposed to sound like a threatening tone, kissing her hand.

Tara rolled her eyes and grinned, admiring her ring.

-"I wasn't going to. You're stuck with me, Teller. Forever and always."

-"Forever and always, Mrs. Teller." – he kissed the top of her head.

-"Soon-to-be." – Tara emphasised, lifting her head to meet his gaze.

-"No. You are Mrs. Teller. The wedding is just goin' to make it official."

Tara bit her lip, trying to hide her grin. She couldn't. Beaming widely at Jax, she felt her stomach flutter as his lips widened in his notorious Teller smirk.

-"I'm so lucky to have you, baby."

-"I'm the lucky one, Tara."

They sat on the stairs a little while longer, before Tara asked Jax to take her to the clubhouse. She wanted to get out of the house. She felt like a prisoner for the last ten days. Some company wouldn't hurt her.

Jax agreed and they went up to their room to get dressed, then Jax drove them to the TM in Donna's car.

(So, how was it? Leave me reviews, you know how much I love them. xoxo)