Four hours have come and gone with Melanie still in surgery.
Every half hour, Jax stopped pacing back and forth, making his way to the nurses' station with hope he'll recieve some kind of update on how his wife was doing.
Each time, he recieved the same exact response.
"The moment we know something, you will as well, Mr. Teller."
Frustration caused his blood to boil, and in result, he slammed his hand against the counter seperating him and the nurse .
"This is bullshit. It's been fucking four hours, and you're gonna sit here and feed me the same exact line over and over again? Since you won't leave this god damn desk, just give me the location to the surgical room and I'll find out myself."
The clearly shaken nurse picked up the telephone, dialing for security.
"I'm calling security."
Linda and Opie got up from their seats, pulling Jax away from the desk.
"There won't be no need for security. He just wants to know how his wife, my daughter, is doing. We're a family who aren't fans of the waiting game," Linda explained as Op sat back down with Jax taking a seat right next to him.
"Clearly."
Linda clenched her teeth. She leaned onto the desktop, bringing herself closer to the mouthy nurse.
"I'm trying to be nice here, sweetheart. Show some god damn compassion. Put yourself in our shoes and tell me how'd you feel if someone you knew and loved was gunned down and left for dead, and they're currently fighting for their life? No doubt, you'd be just as antsy as we are."
She nodded, finally expressing sympathy in her hazel eyes.
"You're right. I'm sorry," she replied, shifting her eyes between Jax and Linda.
"Apology accepted," Linda gave her a sharp nod before returning to her seat.
A doctor still dressed in his surgical attire came through the set of doors a few feet away from the waiting room.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for Melanie Teller's family."
Everyone except for a couple in the corner by the television immediately got up from their seats to crowd around the doctor.
"You're all Melanie's family?", he asked.
"Damn straight. How's my daughter? Please tell me she made it through surgery okay," Linda pleaded with her hands placed in a praying position in front of her mouth.
"The surgery went very well. Though she has lost a lot of blood, no bullets hit any major arteries."
Every one of them released a huge breath of relief, all except Clay, who turned his back for a brief moment, with only Gemma catching his odd response.
"Can I see her?", Jax asked, stepping closer to the doctor.
Dr. Brooks took a step back and shook his head.
"Not quite yet, son. Once she is set up in a room, I will have one of our nurses who are currently on staff take you to see her, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you for saving my wife's life, doc," Jax stated with tears of happiness forming in his eyes.
He gave Jax a gentle pat on the back, giving him the most sincere smile.
"You are very welcome. I tell ya, your wife has a guardian angel watching over her. I honestly believed she wouldn't pull through the first hour."
"She may not have not one, but two," Linda replied, automatically seeing her husband and John Teller's face make their way to the front of her mind.
The atmosphere in the waiting room instantly changed after speaking with Melanie's surgeon.
The heaviness that wove its way through the air vanished and the uncomfortable silence was replaced with light conversations.
Jax's cellphone began to ring, causing his conversation with Op to be put on pause.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing at the caller i.d. displayed on the small rectangular screen.
Elita.
He flipped the phone open, bringing it to his left ear.
"Hey Elita, is everything alright?"
"Yeah.."
" That didn't sound so convincing. What's going on?", he asked with concern growing in his voice.
"It's Abel. He refuses for me to put him down for the night. He wants you or Mel."
Jax's mouth formed into a smile.
"Okay. Hang tight, Elita. I'm on my way."
Jax walked up the pathway to his home, going through his key ring until he found the one for the house.
He unlocked the front door, jiggling the key until it was free from the aged doorknob.
He made his way inside with Elita standing right at the entrance, startling Jax.
He jumped, dropping his keys onto the carpet underneath them.
"Jesus christ, what is with everyone scaring the shit out of me the moment I step foot in this house," he said as he bent down to pick up his keys.
"I'm sorry, Jax. I was just eager to hear an update on Melanie. How is she?", she asked, keeping her voice at a whisper just in case Abel caved in and went to sleep.
"She's going to be okay. The doctor said the surgery went great. We just can't see her yet, " he replied with a smile, continuing to ride the high that relief was supplying him.
"Oh thank god. I'm so happy she's going to pull through."
"Me too. I'm gonna go put the little monster to bed. You can head home for the night."
"Are you sure? I don't mind staying."
"I'm sure. Thanks for everything."
"Of course. Just give me a call when you're planning to head back over to the hospital. I'll be right over."
"Will do. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Jax."
Jax made his way to his son's room, seeing the light from Abel's open bedroom door pouring into the hallway's darkness.
He peaked his head in, seeing Abel dressed in his pajamas, sitting on top of his blanket.
He had one of his coloring books open and in front of him, surrounded by dozens of crayons.
"What are you still doing up, bud?"
Abel smiled, hopping off the bed and running to his father.
He wrapped his arms around Jax's waist, giving him a hug.
"Hi daddy."
"You didn't answer my question, Abel," Jax stated, rubbing his back.
Abel pulled away and made his way back to his cluttered bed.
"I can't sleep."
"Elita said you wanted me or mommy to tuck you in."
Jax began picking up the crayons, placing them back in their container.
" Yeah. Is mommy okay? When is she coming home?"
"She's okay, buddy."
"When is she coming home?", he repeated.
"Soon."
"Okay," he replied as Jax set the coloring book and the container of crayons onto the endstand next to his bed.
Abel got under the covers while Jax laid his blanket on top of him.
"I love you son."
"I love you daddy."
Jax leaned foward, giving him a kiss on his forehead.
He reached underneath the lamp's cover, turning the light off.
Jax turned away from his wired son to leave the room.
"Daddy.."
He turned back around, making his way back to Abel.
"Yeah?"
"How did you meet Mommy?"
"Mommy never told you?"
"She did, but I wanna hear you tell it too. Did you really ruin her sand castle?"
Jax nodded, taking a seat next to Abel on the bed.
He turned the lamp on once again, looking down at him.
"I did. In result, she shoved me, causing me to get stitches on my head and arm. That's where this scar is from," he pushed the sweatshirt's sleeve upwards, revealing the scar on his right forearm.
"Can you tell me the story? Then, I'll go to sleep."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Flashback:
Linda pulled her brand new silver Camry into the only parking spot available.
Melanie was in the backseat behind her mother, already unbuckled, gathering her many multicolored buckets that were scattered all over the car's floor.
"Mel bear, do not leave this car yet. We'll go to the park toget.."
Mel ignored her mother, opening the car door.
Leaving the door open, she ran toward the crowded park with her buckets clanking together and her auburn pigtails bouncing all over the place.
Linda quickly got out of the vehicle to chase after her hyperactive five year old.
"Why can't she ever listen," she asked the universe as jogged after her.
With no other children in the sandbox, Mel plopped herself down inside of it, beginning to fill each and every bucket with a different amount of sand.
Linda reached the sandbox, ready to scold her.
But, seeing how happy she was, she thought better of it and walked over to the benches that were occupied with parents.
"Is this seat taken?", Linda asked.
"No."
Gemma moved her purse, looking up at Linda.
"Linda?"
"Gem?"
Gemma stood to her feet, bringing her in for a hug.
"When did you move back to Charming?"
"Yesterday. My mom isn't doing so great. Joe and I came back to take care of her," Linda replied as she took a seat with Gemma following suit.
"Ah shit, I'm sorry."
"Me too. Where are your boys? I want to see how big they got because I have a feeling pictures won't do them justice."
"Jax is attempting to swing on the monkey bars with Opie and my Thomas is right here," she smiled, turning the baby carriage where he was asleep.
"They're gorgeous, Gem. You better watch out. They'll be lil heartbreakers once they reach sixteen."
" Don't I know it. Where's Mel?"
Linda turned her head, pointing at her daughter who was still in the sandbox.
" She's beautiful as well, Lin. I see a lot of Joe in her. Especially with those large brown eyes of hers."
" Everyone says that. The only thing she inherited from me is my rebelliousness. My mom always wished a daughter like me. The evil bitch got her wish," she laughed along with Gemma.
Melanie carefully flipped over the final bucket of sand, slowly pulling it from the sand's mold.
Before the bucket was completely removed, a blonde haired boy and his friend who had shaggy brown hair ran into the sand box, jumping up and down onto her unfinished castle, laughing hysterically while doing so.
Mel stood up with tears filling her eyes.
"Hey, why'd you do that?", she asked, looking down at the large mountain of sand that used to be her sand castle.
"It was ugly anyway," Jax replied, continuing to jump onto the pile of sand.
Mel stepped forward, shoving Jax hard enough for him to stumble and fall.
His head caught the corner of the wooden sandbox and the arm he tried to catch himself with got scraped against a rusty nail sticking out of the aged wood, automatically making him ball his eyes out.
The overcrowded park looked their direction.
Linda and Gemma stood up, discovering it was their children that was causing the scene that was unfolding within the park.
Gemma unlocked the wheels of the baby carriage and quickly followed Linda to see what happened.
"Mel, what happened?"
"She pushed Jax," Opie answered for her.
"Is that true?"
"He ruined my castle!"
Gemma stopped the stroller in front of a hysterical Jax.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?', she asked, picking him up, applying pressure to his bleeding head with the material of her long sleeved shirt.
"My daughter shoved him."
"But, he ruined my castle mommy."
"That doesn't give you the right to hurt people, Mel."
"Yes it does."
"Melanie Elizabeth..", Linda rubbed her forehead in utter frustration.
" I need to take him to St. Thomas. Op, come on."
Opie followed behind Gemma as she exited the park.
"We'll come with. My daughter is going to apologize whether she wants to or not."
Melanie sat back down in the sand, attempting to go back and fix her demolished castle.
"I don't think so."
Linda picked her up, gathering her daughter's buckets.
She began to cry herself, kicking and squirming in her mother's arms.
"You will say sorry Mel bear. What you did was wrong. If you don't, you will be forced to be around him until you do."
That threat only made Mel cry even harder.
Okay my readers! I hope you enjoyed the flashback and chapter! I plan to do flashbacks seperately from this story consisting of Mel and Jax as children and teenagers ( to help the story flow better) but I wanted to add one in there to lighten the mood a bit from the past couple of chapters :). But, don't worry, just because this chapter is lighter, doesn't mean Jax will let who was responsible for doing this to Mel skate on by ;). Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!