Forty-Six
"Any other business?" Chibs asked, glancing around at his men from the head of the reaper table as they shook their heads. "No? Well, then I do actually have something I gotta tell you all …"
Eyebrows raised at that, little frowns crossing faces as the gathered Sons wondered what was coming.
"I'm gonna have to lean on you lot a wee bit more over the next few months," Chibs said seriously. "Trust you to step up and take care o' shit when I need to stick closer to home, to my old lady."
"Eden ain't sick, is she?" Tig asked, sudden concern in his sharp gaze.
"Not exactly," Chibs said, lowering his head to try to hide the grin already tugging at his lips and failing miserably. "She's pregnant, boys. Just about three months gone. My girl's having my baby."
"Well, I'll be damned," Quinn grinned. "Nice work, you old dog."
The others all jumped in to offer their own words of congratulations, drumming their hands on the wooden tabletop in applause of sorts before getting to their feet to go and hug their president or slap him on the back. All except Tig who sat rooted to the spot.
"Tiggy?" Chibs tried, bemused by the look on his VP's face.
"Are you crying?" Rat asked in disbelief, leaning in for a better look, only to get a none-too-gentle hand in the face pushing him away.
"I'm so damn happy for you, my brother," Tig finally managed, his blue eyes indeed shining with tears as he looked only at Chibs and completely ignored the rest of their crew and their good-natured ribbing.
"Ah, Tigger," the Scotsman laughed, touched by the unexpected show of emotion. "C'mere, ya soft git."
Pulling his closest remaining brother out of his seat and into a warm hug, Chibs planted a kiss on Tig's cheek and blinked back threatening tears of his own, realising exactly what was in his right-hand man's mind. The two of them had been left to deal with the fall-out from so much violence, death and destruction. A spark of new life was a blessing they could never have seen coming.
They all spilled out of the room and into the bar, only to find Eden waiting there anxiously, clearly having known that the news was going to be shared with them.
Tig was the first person to reach her, even ahead of her old man, holding out his arms to let her step into what turned out to be a surprisingly tender hug.
"You make him so happy, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear. "Anything you need, I'm here. Anything."
"Thanks, Tig," she said, surprised by the extent of his response, but quickly swept up by the rest of the guys, getting more hugs and kisses on the cheek as they congratulated her warmly.
"Congrats, doll," Bug grinned, lifting her just a little way off her feet in his enthusiastic hug. "You just shout if me and Bonnie can help with anything, yeah?"
"Oi, you lot put my girl down," Chibs demanded, finally striding over to intervene, but smiling broadly as he patted Bug on the back to send him on his way, before turning his attention to Eden and taking her in his arms. "Think they're happy for us, darlin'."
"Looks that way," she smiled softly, settling her arms around his neck and lifting her lips to his for a little kiss, giggling as cheers and whistles rang out when he shamelessly pulled her closer.
"Careful, man!" TO hollered. "That's how the hell she ended up that way!"
Breaking apart, the couple went to join the Sons already raising a drink to toast them, happily shrugging off the fact it wasn't even lunchtime now they had the excuse of something to celebrate.
"How you feeling, pet?" Chibs asked, eyeing his old lady as she sipped a glass of orange juice served up by Charlie. "Hang on – is that shit actually freshly squeezed?"
Charlie shrugged from behind the bar. "I got some stuff in just for Eden. Thought she'd get bored drinking water all the time. There's proper OJ, real lemonade, even got some non-alcoholic beers. Don't really understand the point, but I figured what the hell."
Chibs' eyebrows shot up before he exchanged a glance with Eden who just smiled and tilted her glass at him.
"Well, well, looking after the president's missus – that's either some smart thinking or some serious arse-kissing right there," he smirked. "Good work, Charlie-Boy. Now, as I was saying, you good, lass?"
Eden wrinkled her nose in response. "I'm okay," she sighed, trying to keep her tone light. "Just wish Seth could be happy for us like the guys."
"You talked to him yet?"
She shook her head, getting a knowing look from Chibs.
"You tried?
She shook her head again.
"Eden …"
"You don't think he should be the one reaching out to me?" she demanded hotly. "He pretty much called me a reckless slut!"
"He called you irresponsible, love – he didn't call you a slut," Chibs rationalised. "That's a line I wouldn't let him cross."
"He punched you in the face! Why are you defending him?"
"Because he's your brother and you love him. And because I know he loves you and he's only trying to protect his wee sister. How can I be mad about that, huh? I ain't happy that he's upset you, but I ain't exactly blameless on that front either. Talk to him, Eden. The longer you leave it, the harder it'll be."
Eden glowered at him over her glass and then conceded the point with a little groan. "Why do you have to be so sensible?"
"'Cause I got an old lady and a wee baby to think about," he said smugly, slipping an arm around her waist to give her a little squeeze. "Drink your juice, there's a good girl."
"You're still coming with me to my scan this afternoon, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, darlin'," Chibs said, dropping a kiss on top of her head.
He should have known his day wouldn't be as straight-forward as he'd hoped though. History alone should have taught him that much.
The drama didn't even come from the obvious direction though. His call with Fiona to arrange for Kerrianne to spend some time with him before they headed back to Belfast went smoothly. It was amicable even, despite the underlying tension of knowing he was going to have to break the news that the teenager was going to be a big sister sooner rather than later and she was already put out that Fiona hadn't let her come along on her initial visit to the clubhouse. Much as he loved the thought of precious time with his baby girl, Chibs just hoped to God she wouldn't give his old lady too hard a time, given everything she'd already been through lately.
With that in mind, he was just glad Eden hadn't been at the garage when an unmarked van rolled up in the lot at speed, the side door sliding open and—
"Eden Moore?"
For once, club shit would keep. He'd left Tig and Happy with orders to keep the bloodshed to a minimum until he got back and made it to the hospital with mere minutes to spare. Now, all he could focus on was the hand clutching his and then that little blob on the screen – seeing and hearing the tiny heart that made his own swell with immeasurable pride, but that also reminded him exactly how high the stakes were. When Samcro had been threatened by the kind of deadly chaos that threatened to swallow them whole, he'd just about managed to convince himself that at least he'd done what he could to keep his family safe. Jimmy O was dead and gone and Fi was strong enough, resilient enough, to keep herself and Kerri safe. He'd hated the prospect of checking out on them, on his brothers, but he'd come to terms with it being a definite possibility.
As Jax's sergeant, he'd have taken a bullet for him. That hadn't changed with the VP patch. If anything, he could see that the dark path the younger man had turned down only made going out in a hail of gunfire all the more likely.
But now … Now, he needed to be there for Eden, for their baby. He knew his girl was stronger than she realised, but he just didn't want her to have to be.
Given a few minutes alone with each other to take everything in, neither of them could tear their gaze from the monitor for a long moment. Chibs finally broke the silence, raising Eden's hand held in both of his to his lips to press a lingering kiss to her knuckles.
"You got no idea what this means to me, my darlin'," he murmured, seeing her blow out a shaky breath. "You doing okay?"
Eden nodded, but she still looked a little unsure as her free hand settled tentatively on her stomach and Chibs rose up from his seat to kiss her forehead in reassurance.
"Talk to me, pet."
"Sorry," she whispered, clearly trying not to get tearful. "Shit, I'm just all over the place right now. What if … What if I can't do this?"
"Eden, you're gonna be a cracking wee mum to our baby. Why the hell would you think any different?"
"I dunno. I just ... God, I never used to cry at the drop of a damn hat! Look at me, I'm a mess …"
"Oh darlin'," Chibs chuckled, but there was sympathy in his warm brown eyes as he made her look at him and then brushed tears from beneath her eyes with his thumbs. "You're pregnant – your emotions are bound to be going fucking crazy."
"It's just a lot."
"It is," he agreed. "But I'm gonna take care o' you, you know that, right? I … Shit, darlin', I never want to make you feel like I'm always comparing, so I ain't gonna keep bringing it up, but … I never got to do all this before. When Fi was pregnant, I missed so much. Wasn't even there when she gave birth. Some o' that was my fault, some o' it was out o' my control. But it weren't how I wanted it to be. How it should be. I ain't been much o' a dad to Kerri, I know that. And I know I can't get that time back, can't make up for what I lost, but this … This is my chance to do things right."
"I know," Eden nodded, taking his hand again. "And I know you will."
But he wasn't done there.
"I want to be a good dad to our wee one, a good husband to my girl," he said, watching for her reaction and smiling wryly at the way her eyebrows shot up in question. "I know I ain't got any right to ask you yet, not when things aren't settled between me and Fi – I just want you to know that, in my eyes, being my old lady don't make you any less. A piece o' paper between me and Fi is just a technicality. You're the one I want, the one I've got. You're my wife in every way that matters. And one day I'll make it official. If you'll have me."
Eden ducked her head and when she lifted it again, her green eyes were bright with tears, but she was smiling and he was relieved to see it.
"That was the sweetest almost-proposal I've ever heard," she teased. "I almost said yes."
"Wee minx," Chibs grinned, leaning in to steal a kiss. "Now, where the hell's that doc gone? 'Cause I'm gonna need an extra copy o' that scan to pin on the no smoking sign going up in the bar …"
"You can't actually ban smoking in the clubhouse, Filip," Eden laughed, trying to imagine the outraged faces of his brothers. Not to mention their usual guests.
"Watch me. Fuckers got legs – going outside ain't gonna kill 'em."
"My badass, health conscious biker," she grinned. "Never thought I'd see the day."
If he hadn't been held up, he could have driven Eden to her appointment instead of having to meet her there. Frustrating as that had been, at least he hadn't missed it completely. He'd have felt like a real arsehole if he had, after everything he'd promised her about being there for her. But also, he'd just really wanted to be there to see for himself that evidence of the tiny spark of life they'd created together and to be reassured that his girl's ordeal hadn't dealt them unexpected consequences. He knew he had a hell of a lot to be grateful for.
His juggling of priorities did mean that he had to let her drive herself home again while he followed closely on his bike. And it wasn't close enough for his liking. Oh, he knew she was as safe as she could be – she never left his sight and he'd have zero issue gunning down an entire street if it meant protecting her. But, much as he wouldn't normally choose driving a cage over his bike, being behind the wheel of Eden's car would have allowed him to curl a hand around her knee and to have her hand settle contentedly on top of his. He could have stolen a kiss at every stop light, snuck glances at her as she sang along with the radio under her breath.
He felt like a goddamn lovestruck teenager, but he didn't give a shit. If he'd thought she was incredible before, knowing she was having his baby only deepened everything he felt for her.
He'd already reluctantly told her he was needed by the guys and he knew she was probably expecting him to peel past when she finally pulled her car into the driveway of his house – their house now – but instead, he pulled his bike over, catching up with her on the doorstep.
"Didn't you have somewhere to be?" Eden asked, fishing in her bag for the spare set of keys he'd given her.
"Forgot something," Chibs shrugged, pushing his shades up into his hair, but before she could ask what, he'd wrapped her up in his arms, making her squeak in surprise when she found herself lifted off her feet and spun around as he kissed her deeply.
Her laugh melted into a murmur of pleasure as she clung to him and he pressed her up against the front door, both of them lost in kiss after kiss.
Eden bit her lip when they finally pulled apart, leaning against the doorframe for support. "Get what you needed?" she asked, her cheeks flushed.
That alone had Chibs leaning in for one more rough, and all too brief, kiss. "Not everything," he all but growled. "But I will …"
To a thoroughly flustered Eden, it sounded like the most delicious kind of threat.
"Hurry home," she managed, swallowing hard at the hungry look in his dark eyes.
Home.
For the first time in a long time, it felt like that was what he had. A home to call his own. Not just a house. A shell. No, he had a home now. A family that went beyond the club, that wasn't thousands of miles away.
So why the fuck was he back on his bike and speeding away from everything he'd ever wanted?
Because the reaper on his back might as well be seared in flesh instead of leather. Because the club was part of his life, part of him, and he couldn't turn away from it. Couldn't renege on his duty, abandon his brothers. Not as a patch, and definitely not as their leader.
Cabin.
The one-word text told him to bypass the clubhouse and he was actually glad of the longer ride. With every mile eaten up by his Harley, with every mile put between him and Eden, the necessary transformation from doting father-to-be to ruthless MC president was a little more complete.
By the time he pulled off the road and onto little more than a dirt track, the lightness in his heart was gone, replaced by a weight on his shoulders and a hard look on his face that only set more grimly when he parked up and climbed off his bike, hooking his shades through the top pocket of his cut.
Tig met him before he could reach the back door.
"How'd it go with Eden?" his VP asked, as they hugged in greeting.
"Aye, good," Chibs relented enough to confirm, but his jaw tightened and his fists clenched in their black leather gloves as he glanced towards the hunting cottage that had been much loved by the club's First Nine and long since made use of by the generation that followed them. "That ain't a conversation to taint wi' this shite though."
Tig understood and said no more on the subject, instead jerking his head towards the ajar door. "He's sticking to his story. Not even Happy can shake him."
"You believe him?"
The curly-haired VP hesitated. "Believing him and trusting him ain't the same thing."
Chibs considered that and then sighed. "Guess I better hear this story for mesel' then. Come on, before Hap loses patience and cuts his bloody tongue out."
He headed inside, taking in the main room of the cabin with a cold indifference, acknowledging his sergeant and the look of grim pleasure on his face and a slightly queasy looking Rat with a single nod. His arms folded across his chest as he turned to square up to their guest, his lip curling ever so slightly in something that could have been anger or disgust.
The other man's head hung heavy until he heard Chibs' boots on the wooden floor and lifted it with difficulty.
"C-Chibs Telford," he slurred, not without some difficulty, his tongue seeming too big for his mouth and his lips too swollen for his ruin of a face. "I've … been asking … for you."
"Archie Vane," Chibs drawled, eyeing the tightly knotted ropes keeping the rival biker secured to one of the exposed ceiling beams. "What the fuck do you want?"
