So Long, Farewell Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to SOA and make no profit from my writing. Anything you don't recognize from the show I have created.
Content Warning: This fanfiction is rated M. Please respect that warning and do not read this if you do not want to read M rated material.
Story Summary: NON CANNON Set after end of season. A woman and her ill father move in to the house next door to Jax. Carly's father grew up in Charming and wanted to come back to live out the last of his days. Carly needs support in a town where she knows no one. Jax is without his wife, his kids, and his mother. Is shared loneliness enough to build a relationship on for two people so different?
Set after end of series. NON CANNON. Jax has not died. Wendy and Nero are raising the boys in Mexico for their safety. Jax is still the president of SAMCRO.
Jax woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. He dressed and ate a quick breakfast and got out the door earlier than he needed. He glanced at Carly's house. The outside lights were still on from last night. Her car hadn't moved in the driveway. She was probably still at the hospital.
She was alone there, no one to lean on or support her. She had ridden with her father in the ambulance, and had no way of getting home. He checked his watch. Swinging by Saint Thomas would put him back to his regular tardiness. But he couldn't shake the feeling it was the right thing to do.
He rode to the hospital feeling ridiculous. He didn't even have her phone number. How had he gone from smoking a joint in the dark, to sex, to not even having her phone number?
He got a spot nearby the entrance as it wasn't visiting hours yet and made his way inside. He asked at the nurses' station for Mr. Napper and was sent to the third floor. The third floor was cardiac. He rode the elevator up and thought of something to say. Hey, fancy meeting you here…. Hey, thought you could use a ride home…Hey, just wanted to check on your dad...Hey…damn it.
He turned left out of the elevator. He knew the floor was a circle, and even though he had her father's room number, it didn't mean she was in his room. He was right. He spotted her speaking to a doctor in one of the waiting areas. She looked tired. Of course, she had probably been up all night. Going on 24 hours now without sleep probably. He took a step closer and stopped as the doctor put a hand on her shoulder. That couldn't be good.
"It's not just his heart we're worried about Ms. Napper. The fluid in his chest is the problem. You know he has congestive heart failure. He's filling up with fluid, it's making it too hard to breath. He hasn't responded to the Lasix at all. We're going to have to administer it through his IV."
"You said last night you couldn't do that; it was too high risk."
"It is high risk. But his heart can't function on its own right now with the amount of fluid in him. The IV Lasix are more effective. But they put a strain on his kidneys. He may need emergency dialysis if his kidneys shut down."
"Emergency dialysis. If his kidneys shut down. But there's no saying they will start back up. He's already in stage three kidney failure."
"Yes. The dialysis may become permanent. It would be three times a week, for the rest of his life."
"And how long would that be? With his current heart function, and the dialysis?"
"Some people can live on dialysis for years waiting for a new kidney, and be just fine."
"My father can't get a new kidney. And he's not otherwise young and healthy." Carly stated, frustrated.
"He would probably have a year. If he kept to the dietary standards. With his heart…You may be looking at less than that."
Carly lowered her head and took a step back from the doctor, letting his hand drop off her shoulder.
"I'm very sorry Ms. Napper. There's nothing you can do for now. He's going to be out for a while. You should go home, get some rest." The doctor paused a moment. "You…you should start seeing about getting his affairs in order. There's no use waiting till the last minute."
Carly nodded her head and the doctor walked away.
Jax walked up to her, her head down, and squeezed both her shoulders. She looked up at him, surprised.
"Carly, I'm so sorry. I heard…the last bit of that."
Carly nodded her head again. She didn't trust her voice just yet.
"Let me take you home. You can get some sleep. Come back with your car later." He continued to massage her shoulders as he spoke to her.
"Okay." Carly mumbled. She broke away from him and walked in a nearby hospital room. He watched from the door as she kissed her father on the forehead. She fixed his pillow and blanket and moved the tv remote and the nurse call button to his right side.
She came back out of the room and Jax wrapped her up in a hug. She buried her head in his chest for a moment, sniffling away her tears.
He rubbed circles on her back and kissed the top of her hair. "Come on." He whispered in her ear. He let go of her and kept one hand on the small of her back. He led her to the elevator, they rode down in silence.
He steered her toward his bike and she stopped at the sight of it. "I've never ridden one." She stated, shaking her head.
"You'll love it. Just hold on to me." He assured her, fastening his helmet on her head, and climbed on. She climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. It felt good, it felt normal, to have a woman on the back of his bike again, holding on to him.
He revved the engine and took them home. He followed her right through the door into the house. She didn't seem ready to be left alone.
"Hey, beautiful." He squatted down and pet the dog as Carly slid off her shoes and jacket.
"You want to go outside Kenya?" Carly asked.
The dog turned in a circle a few times and Carly walked to the back door and let her out. She closed the door and stood gazing out of it. Wrapping her arms around her torso.
Jax walked up behind her and continued to massage her shoulders. She lowered her head and he worked his fingers up her neck.
She didn't break away until she had to let the dog in. After she did, she turned around to face him. "I'm sorry. I just…I'm not myself. What were you doing at the hospital? Did I pull you away from something?"
"No, not at all." Jax spoke the truth without admitting he was there for her.
Carly nodded her head and walked back into the kitchen. She filled the dog's food dish and leaned against the counter.
"I should call my brother. I don't know if he wants to know, but I don't think it's right to keep it from him."
"Call him later. Get some sleep. You were up all night, weren't you?"
"Yeah, in the emergency room." Carly wrapped her arms around her torso again and sighed.
"Talk to me, Carly." Jax encouraged her.
"There's nothing to say. I just…I didn't realize how little time he really had left." Her eyes filled with tears as she said it and Jax stepped up and wrapped her in another hug.
"Come on, let's get you in bed. Everything is worse when you're tired." He let go of her and led her down the hall on the other side of the living room. The second door he opened had a made bed and a lot of boxes. She turned into it.
Jax shook his head. Everything else in the house was unpacked. Pictures were hung on the wall, and she was still living out of boxes. He told himself she didn't need to hear about it right now and walked her to the middle of the room.
He ran his hands down her arms before pulling her shirt off over her head. He caressed her torso as he slid his hands to her back to unclip her bra. He undid the button and zipper on her jeans and pushed them to the ground for her to step out of.
"What do you sleep in?" He whispered in her ear.
Carly nodded her head to her pillow and Jax reached under it and brought out a long night shirt. It said, 'life is better in pajamas' with a picture of a snoring dog. He smirked and gently pulled it over her head.
"There now, crawl under the covers, get some sleep. Visiting hours don't start till ten, and the doctor said your dad would be out a while."
Carly nodded her head. She raised herself up an inch and kissed his lips gently. "You're a very sweet man, Jax." She said genuinely.
Jax kissed her forehead. "I try." He said shyly, and stepped away to pull down her comforter. "I'll lock up behind me." He assured her.
Before he left, he found paper in the kitchen and wrote his name and number down with a note to please call him if there was any change with her father. He gave the dog one last pat and left for work.
He checked his watch. He would be a good hour late. So, right on time.
Jax thought of Carly often throughout the day. He wished he had gotten her number to check in on her. He thought about the death of his own father; it had been so sudden. There was no taking care of him in his last days, no worrying about him. No asking how long he had left. He wondered if what Carly was going through was the same thing his parents went through with his brother.
He was still heartbroken over his mother. Knowing what she did. The aftermath of her lies, and ultimately killing her himself. At the time it had been more than he could bare. He had spent precious few days thinking of his mother's death. It hadn't been worry, though, it had been anger, and wonderment of how she could do such a thing.
He considered himself lucky for not watching the slow decline of his parents. He couldn't imagine going through what Carly was going through. Waking up day after day, taking care of someone who once took care of you, and knowing their days were numbered.
He looked around the shop at his men, his brothers. He knew all their days were numbered. He knew he may one day stand over their dead bodies. But it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as making breakfast for a man who had less than a year to live.
Jax stopped working with the other men at lunch time and sat in the clubhouse, drinking beer and eating takeout. His men were in good spirits. They were, at the moment, razing Tig about Venus. Apparently, he had made the mistake of bringing up plans with her for the weekend. Jax shook his head. Tig was an unusual man, of course he was in an unusual relationship. Most of the razing was just brothers picking on each other.
"What do you think, Jax?" Chibs asked from down the bar.
"About what?" Jax popped his head up.
Chibs walked over to him. "You don't have your head in the game Jackie boy. What are you thinking about?"
Jax shrugged. "Life, death."
Chibs wrapped his large hand around the back of Jax's throat and shook him. "That's no place to dwell. Lyla is throwing a party for the new series coming out. The men are talking entertainment."
"Isn't a warehouse full of porn stars entertainment enough?" Jax asked his VP, planting a smile on his face.
"They want to invite the escorts."
"Why not pad the deck?" Jax chuckled and turned around to finish his beer. He got up and disposed of his trash, making his way back out to the shop.
"Jax." Chibs called, catching up with him outside, out of earshot of the other men.
"Yeah?" Jax asked, lighting a cigarette.
"You seemed in high spirits yesterday. What's got you down? I worry about you."
"No need to worry, brother. Got a neighbor in the hospital, doesn't have long to live, just has me thinking is all."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Does the family need help?"
"I think they're good. I got 'em."
Chibs clapped Jax on the shoulder once more before walking away to finish his lunch hour.
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