The front door slammed abnormally hard against the Ashby household, causing only Clay's attention to shift to the living room.
Clay lowered the cards he had in his hand, placing them down onto the wooden table underneath him.
"Shh."
Silence immediately blanketed the compact dining room, causing each member of Samcro to hear what was occuring in the adjacent room.
"Jax went and talked to the priest. Twenty minutes later, he comes out, looking broken and drove off on his bike. He wouldn't talk to me or even look me in the eye. I need to go after him to find out what the fuck happened in that room."
Not needing to hear another word from his hysterical daughter-in-law's mouth, Clay slid his chair away from the table and stood to his feet with the club following suit, ready to search for Jax.
Clay came up behind me, resting a hand against the top part of my back.
I turned around and faced him, wiping away my fallen tears from my cheeks with both hands.
"Don't worry, Mel. We'll find him. You and Gemma are going to ride with Opie. He will be driving one of Sambel's trucks they use for their weekly gun deliveries."
"You're letting us come with?"
"Yeah, I am. There's nothing I can do or say to get you both to stay here. To save time and energy, I'll give in.. this time."
A faint grin found a way to reach my mouth.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Now, did you happen to see what direction he took off in?"
"Yeah, I did. He made a left out of the alley. It won't be too hard to find him though."
"What makes you say that?"
"While he was still sleeping this morning, I took his phone and turned on the gps just in case he decided to pull something like this."
(Break)
Jax parked his bike at the end of the narrow stoned bridge they all crossed to enter Belfast.
He removed his helmet and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked up the bridge.
Once he reached the middle of the bridge, he pulled his hands out of his sweatshirt's pockets, holding his nearly empty pack of smokes and his signature silver lighter.
Jax pulled out the second to last cigarette from the pack, bringing it to his mouth.
He shoved the pack back into his sweatshirt pocket, flicking open the top of the lighter.
He moved the lighter to the end of his cigarette, keeping it there until the high flame sucessfully lit the end.
Jax took a much needed pull from the cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs longer than usual.
Each and every word that came from Kellan's mouth earlier continued to claw violently at him, showing no sign of easing up anytime soon.
It infuriated him that Kellan was right.
Jt never wanted this life for him, and now here he is.
Apart of a club that was corrupted by greed and violence.
The idea of Abel becoming apart of that kind of environment one day scared the shit out of him.
He didn't want that for his son. He wants so much more for him.
What if he isn't the one that can give it to him?
Jax's drained body hunched over, leaning on top of one of the bridge's walls for support.
Not being able to hold his head upright any longer, he let his head fall, allowing the shitty mixture of exhaustion and conflict devour him whole.
Opie pulled the car to a stop with the headlights shining on Jax whose body was leaning on top of a bridge's wall.
Clay and the remainder of the club pulled up behind the truck, staying on their bikes.
Jax didn't even acknowledge the headlights.
He just kept his eyes straight ahead and continued to smoke from the barely there cigarette.
I have never seen Jax in a state of utter despair nor did I ever want to.
The sight alone from this distance was crippling me, causing me not to move from the passenger seat.
"Mel? Mel, are you with us?," Gemma asked from the backseat.
"I.. I've never seen him like this before. I don't know what I'm going to say to him when I do talk to him. What if whatever comes out of my mouth makes the situation that much worse?"
"I know I should have all the answers, baby, but I don't. What I do know is he doesn't need his mother right now. He needs his old lady."
(Break)
I got out of the truck, walking up the bridge toward my broken husband.
"How'd you find me, Mel?", he asked, keeping his eyes straight ahead.
"How did you know it's me? You didn't even look at me," I replied.
I ducked underneath his right arm, wrapping my arms firmly around his torso, holding him close.
He finally looked down at me, giving me a kiss.
"I know you, Mel. Even down to the way you walk."
"How'd you find me?," he repeated, shifting his eyes forward once again.
"While you were sleeping this morning, I took your phone and turned on the gps, just in case you wanted to pull a me and go off on your own without an escort. Looks like I made the right call, huh?"
He nodded, tossing his cigarette into the flowing river underneath us.
"Baby, you need to give in and tell me what the hell Kellan said to you because clearly whatever he said sent you back on your fuckin' heels."
"He said alot, Mel. About my dad, about Abel."
"Tell me. I want to hear all of it."
" He told me that my dad didn't want me to be apart of the club since it became something he didn't recognize anymore. Since Kellan couldn't save me from the club, he wanted to be sure he would save Abel."
My eyes began to water as I bit my quivering bottom lip.
"Does that mean he didn't give you the address on where our son is?"
"No, he gave it to me. Abel's at a orphange a couple miles out of town. He suggested we wait till morning to get him."
"I never thought I'd be so sick of a word. Wait is officially at the top of my list."
"He's right though, Mel. Abel shouldn't be raised around the club, and eventually joining it himself. He deserves something better."
"And you think that two adoptive parents can give him a better life than we can?"
"He deserves a father who didn't torture and kill a man today."
I pulled away from him with anger displayed all over my face.
I grabbed his face with both of my hands, causing him to look away from me with tears in his eyes.
"Stop it! If any loving parent was in your place, I can promise you they would kill to get their child back, regardless of what they do for a living. You want to give Abel a better life? Then let's do it. Let's give our son a better life. The best life possible. It doesn't have to be a pipe dream, Jax. It sure as hell can be reality. I know we can do it. "
(Break)
The next day:
After getting the unecessary runaround from the nuns at the illegal adoption agency, we were directed to the hotel Europa, where Mark and Katy Petrie had our son.
We all entered the lobby side by side, until my eyes found the front desk.
I seperated myself from Jax, Gemma, and the club, making my way to the two young men behind the desk.
With only two minutes of heavy yet staged flirtation,( why wouldn't it be, I'm married for christ sake!), I managed to get the Petrie's hotel room number.
Jax looked at me with a quizzical expression.
"They're staying on the second floor. Room 36."
"I'm so fucking glad I married you."
"Right back at ya, baby. Now, let's go get our boy."
(Break)
I sat in the living room in Maureen's home, holding Abel's dark blue hat with the white ball sewn to the top.
We were too late.
We reached room 36 only to find the young couple who had our son with a bullet in each of their skulls.
Jimmy made it to the hotel first, taking Abel to use him as leverage to get into the states since after all, he's a marked man by the IRA.
"Here you go, sweetheart."
Gemma handed me a half full glass of Jack Daniels on the rocks.
"Thanks."
I took the glass in my hand, downing it whole, setting the now empty glass onto the table in front of me.
She took a seat next to me, looking down at Abel's hat.
"We were so close, Gem."
"I know Mel. Like every fucking obstacle we've encountered so far, this unfortunate setback doesn't mean we won't get him. We will."
"Did I ever tell you I originally didn't want kids?"
"Really? Your mom always said.."
"No, I just told her what she wanted to hear, Gem. The idea of being responsible for another life besides my own seemed too fucking scary. Plus, I liked just being able to look out only for me. But then Abel was born and that all changed. I fell in love with that baby boy from the moment I laid eyes on him in the incubation chamber. I wanted nothing more than to become a mother, his mother."
(Break)
It was well past midnight now, and Samcro still hasn't made their way back to the Ashby household.
My cellphone was glued to the palm of my right hand with the volune turned up to its maximum.
Being apart from my husband and son was driving me mad.
I honestly wasn't sure how much I could take without hearing Jax's voice on the other end of a phone call, or better yet, in person.
The beautiful sound of approaching motorcycles filled the outside air, causing me to jump up from the couch.
I swung open the front door, sprinting down the stairs with Gemma right on my heels.
The passenger side door of the black truck that joined the club to the meeting with the IRA opened slowly.
Jax placed his foot onto the black running board, climbing down from the high vehicle with Abel in his arms.
I ran over to my busband and son, covering my face with both hands once I reached them.
This moment didn't feel real.
I must've fell alseep on the living room couch, and this is what my subconcious conjured up while I'm in my slumber.
"Abel, there's someone who wants to say hi," Jax whispered in his son's ear.
As if Abel knew what his dad said, he turned his head and looked right at me, causing my heart to explode in my chest.
Jax carefully placed Abel in my eager hands after he gave him a kiss on the side of his head.
"Long time no see, handsome. Just so you know, I don't think I'm ever letting you out of my sight again."
A small smile crossed our son's face, autmoatically making Jax and I smile with him.
Jax wrapped his arm around my waist, bringing Abel and I closer to him.
He moved his head forward, giving me a kiss on the lips.
"You did it, baby. You made our family whole again."
"No, we did it. I wouldn't of been able to to do any of it if you weren't here with me."
(Break)
Jax jerked awake, causing the bed to shake slightly.
He looked over to his right, finding Mel still asleep with their son sleeping against her chest.
"You okay, baby," I asked with my eyes still closed.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just a bad dream. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
I opened my eyes, resting my hand against his face.
"You don't need to apologize. Plus, I have to get up anyway. Gemma wants to have this huge breakfast to celebrate Abel's homecoming," I replied, looking down at Abel, who started to stir awake himself.
With his eyes remaining closed, Abel's mouth formed into a shape of an o, releasing a small audible yawn.
He brought his small body closer to my own and fell back to sleep, laying one of his hands against my chest.
Jax and I exchanged glances, bringing a smile to each of our faces.
"Abel's got the right idea. Since it's his homecoming, he has a right to sleep in. "
I moved my body down further onto the bed and gave Abel a gentle kiss on the top of his head.
"And, we're his parents. We are obligated to follow suit."
Jax's right hand moved above my head, his fingers coiling in my long red locks.
"I love you."
"I love you too. No matter what happens today, tomorrow, five years from now. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here with you."
I closed the distance between our mouths and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips.
(Break)
With the last tray of pancakes in my hands, I looked through the kitchen door's window to see what my family was up to.
My mother had Abel sitting in her lap while Britt sat next to her, making my son laugh by playing peek-a- boo with her unused napkin.
Jax was sitting at the bar with Opie, most likely talking about his engagement to Lyla.
He looked away from his best friend, his eyes immediately finding mine through the small window.
He smiled, creating a wink with his left eye.
I pushed open the kitchen door with my hip, setting the tray down where the first tray of pancakes originally resided.
I shifted my eyes from the tray of food to the video monitor behind the bar.
Multiple police and ATF vehicles began to flood the T-M parking lot.
"We have a problem."
Everyone in the clubhouse stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
"The ATF is here."
June made her way over to the group once we were all outside.
"Good morning, boys. Where's Jimmy O?"
"Tell me where he is before I rip apart this white trash shithole."
Clay let out a sigh, turning his attention to Juice and Happy.
"Go get him."
The two men brought him out of the closed garage as June began reading him his rights.
"Out of curiousity, how'd you know he was here?"
Stahl turned around, looking at Jax.
"Because your Vp made a deal."
Tears instantly fell down my face.
"You son of a bitch!," Jax screamed, lunging himself at Stahl.
I knew that this "deal" had to do with the club and Gemma, and how to save them both.
But, I knew his brothers wouldn't see it that way.
He cut a deal with law enforcement.
When you do that, that makes you a rat.
"You ratted! You ratted!," Bobby screamed, pushing my husband.
"I had no choice! Look at everything we've been facing!"
"You're dead! Do you hear me! You're dead!", Clay shouted as he and his brothers got handcuffed.
"Clay please, I know he had his reasons, please please don't hurt him!," I cried.
Clay ignored me and continued to glare at Jax.
I ran over to Jax and held him, knowing deep down this was the last time I was able to have him in my arms.
A federal agent pulled him away from me, causing me to cry even harder.
Britt came over to me, rubbing the top of my back in attempt to comfort me.
There was not enough comfort in this world to relieve the ache that racked my entire body.
The next time I was going to see my husband was in a coffin, and I couldn't face that reality.
(Break)
A knock was made on the front door.
Linda got up from sitting next to her crying daughter and grandson, who was drinking from the bottle his mother just prepared for him, exiting Mel and Jax's bedroom.
Gemma already answered the door, letting in Miles and Phil.
"What is it?", Linda asked.
"Jax wanted us to give these to Gemma and Mel," Phil replied, holding up two letters sealed with an envelope.
Miles handed one envelope to Gemma.
"Read it, then burn it, okay?"
Gemma nodded, opening the envelope.
Miles and Phil followed Linda down the hallway, entering Mel and Jax's bedroom.
"Mel.."
I looked up from Abel to look at my mother, Phil, and Miles.
"Jax wanted you to have this, and burn it after, " Miles stated, walking over to the bed, handing me an envelope with my name on it.
I slid my finger underneath the semi- sealed flap of the envelope until the seal was completely broken.
I pulled out the paper inside and began to read it.
I covered my mouth anx started to cry even harder.
"Mel..."
Linda went over to her daughter, pulling her into a hug.
"I don't think giving her and Gemma these letters now was the best.."
"No mom, it's okay. These are tears of joy. He's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay."
I handed my mom the letter for her to read for herself.
Thanks for reading guys! I just wanted to give a heads up on what's to come since you all have been so great. I do plan to write a couple chapters involving Jax in jail. I also plan to involve the letters storyline into this story, but I am planning on putting a spin on it. Until next time...