For the next several weeks, the chair beside JT's bed was occupied by Jax, or Gemma when club business pulled him away, both of them waiting for any sign that JT was going to wake up. With Jax trying to split time between JT, and Abel (who needed a second surgery), things were a bit tense with the club, his head almost never being there and Clay beginning to get annoyed. Things started to change, however, when Rosen showed up while Jax, Gemma, and Clay were all waiting for an update from the doctors.
"I have some good news for you guys. Figured you wouldn't want to wait" he told the family
"What is it?" Gemma questioned
"The courts granted you guys custody. On paper, it states that custody is shared between Jax and Gemma. So as soon as she's able you'll have no problems taking her home" Rosen answered
Jax nodded and thanked him, Gemma and Clay taking Rosen and going into the hallway. Jax grabbed his daughter's hand again and leaned his head close to hers,
"You hear that sweetheart?" he whispered, "No more foster homes. You're going to be home with your family where you belong."
He thought he saw something glisten near her eyes, so he pulled his head back and looked at her, seeing tears running down her face. Shocked, he pressed the call button for the nurse, hoping that it meant his daughter was waking up. The nurse ran into the room, followed by Gemma and Clay
"What's going on?" the nurse questioned
"I think she's trying to wake up" Jax explained, "I mean, look at her, she's crying"
The nurse checked her vitals and grabbed JT's hand "Jude? Jude if you can hear me squeeze my hand."
They all waited and watched but JT didn't move at all, save for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
The nurse sighed and let go of her hand "I'm sorry, Mr. Teller. What you saw was a neurological reaction, not your daughter. I'm sorry, but nothing's changed"
Defeated, Jax sank back into the chair, praying for her to wake up.
A few days later, Ray came to the hospital to visit, his first time seeing JT since she was kicked out of their home. Gemma was the only one in the room when he walked in. When she saw him she was shocked, wondering why he was there.
"How is she?" he asked awkwardly
"No change. Your mothers know you're here?" she replied
Ray nodded "Well, it's just Destiny now. Lena moved out"
"What about your other siblings?"
"Nick moved in with his dad, my sister went with Lena, and everyone else stayed with Destiny"
"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm surprised you let your sister go off without you"
"I'm not...sorry. We had a difference of opinion, she thought what Lena did to Jude was right"
"And you didn't"
Ray nodded and Gemma got the idea that it was more than right and wrong that kept the teen from going with his sister. After watching him stare at her granddaughter for several minutes, she finally figured out the real reason he stuck around.
"How long have you liked her?" Gemma questioned the teen
"A few weeks before she moved in with us. I met her on a beach in Oceanside and we hit it off. I didn't see her again until Destiny brought her to live with us, but by then we were foster siblings, so there was nothing I could do"
"I don't get it"
"When you're in the system, they don't allow you to have affairs or a relationship with your foster siblings because they teach you to act like real siblings for when you get adopted"
"Well, Jax has custody now. So no more foster siblings"
"We'll see what happens"
Gemma smirked and Ray sat down, watching the monitors, waiting for a change.
It wasn't for another two weeks that JT woke up. Jax was visiting Gemma and Abel when they heard an alarm over the intercom
Assistance required ICU, 5. Assistance required ICU, 5
"Isn't that JT's room?" Gemma inquired
Jax nodded and the pair of them left Abel's room in a sprint, skidding to a halt just outside the room. Inside, they could see JT thrashing around, the nurses trying to hold her down to remove the tube from her throat
"Jude!" he called out
"Sir, you need to step back," one of the nurses told him
Finally, they were able to get the tube out and they examined her once again, getting her to try and talk. But, instead of starting with a normal tone of voice, JT saw Jax in the hallway and called out to him, her voice cracking and breaking
"Dad! Dad!" she cried out
Jax didn't care what the nurses said, his daughter needed him and no one was going to stop him from getting to her. He moved passed the nurses and went to her, leaning down to hold her. JT threw her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. The nurses were able to finish their exam but only if Gemma stayed with JT.
"So what now?" Gemma questioned the doctor
"Her wounds are mostly healed. Her voice will come back slowly, but there's the possibility that it will sound broken permanently. As for her stomach, the MRI and CAT scans look good but we're going to wean her back on solid food slowly"
"So then, that means she's still going to be here?" Jax asked
"We'll move her into a different room, but she'll have to be here for at least another week before we let her go home" the doctor answered, then left to go to her next patient.
"This is a good thing, Jax," Gemma told her son
He nodded "I know. I'm going to talk to her"
They went back inside, Gemma on a nearby chair and Jax sitting on the foot of her bed
"How're you feeling?" he asked, stroking her hair
"My throat hurts. The nurse said the meds should kick in soon" she answered, her voice cracking with every syllable
"Do you remember what happened to you?"
Her eyes filled with tears "I don't want to talk about it"
"Jude, sweetheart, please. I need to know who did it so the club can take care of them"
"Has anyone else been by?" she asked, ignoring his question
"Pretty much everyone from the club, Ray, and Destiny has come to see you," Gemma told her
JT nodded and rolled onto her side, her back facing her father and grandmother.
"I heard JT woke up," Tig said as Jax walked into the chapel
"Yeah. Docs say her voice might be screwed up permanently. And they want to keep her for at least another week, try and get her back into eating solid foods" he explained
"She tell you who did it?" asked Opie
"No. She said she didn't want to talk about it and I didn't want to push her" Jax answered
"I can try and talk to her" suggested Juice "See if she'll tell me"
Jax looked at Chibs and Clay who both nodded
"Ok. See what she'll tell you and I want Ope and Chibs on standby. You three are the ones she trusts the most" Jax decided
The three men nodded and Clay spoke up
"When we find the son of a bitch that hurt our family….you need to have a plan of what you're going to do to him" Clay stated
"Happy. That's my plan"
Clay nodded and banged the gavel, Bobby leaving to make the call and Juice, Chibs, and Opie going to the hospital.
At the hospital, Juice decided to try and go first, but she sent him away. Then Opie tried, but she wouldn't talk to him either. By the time Chibs went to talk to her, she was annoyed at all of the men.
"If you're going to try and talk to me about what happened just forget it" she snapped
"Good, then I'm just going to talk to you," he said, groaning a bit while he sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair. He noticed the GameBoy next to her on the bed "Juicy boy give you that?"
"Yeah. He said it'll keep me occupied for a few days till I get to go home"
"That's a day we're all looking forward to"
JT smiled a bit and sat up more "Tell me about it. Gemma's already talking about setting up my room at dad's place"
"I'd be careful or she'll go totally overboard" he chuckled
Her smile began to fade, "Jax called Happy didn't he"
"Aye, he did" Chibs replied "He wants that bastard to pay for what he did to you"
"It wasn't just him" she whispered
"What are you talking about?"
"Harvey...the caretaker for the house...he was the one who raped me, I got away the first time he tried it, but the other girls in the house didn't like that so they jumped me. Hit me, choked me, beat me with socks full of batteries and left me unconscious on the floor. When I woke up the next day my pants were off and there was...blood on my legs and I could barely move. I figured out pretty quick what happened. Then, like three days later they beat me again and I was barely conscious, but I was awake enough to try and fight him off. They weren't happy with me fighting back, so they beat on me with the battery socks, held me down, said that this would teach me not to scream...they grabbed a bottle of bleach and started pouring it down my throat, making me drink it. I tried to move so it spilled but they held me still. When they were done, one of them said that I drank almost the whole bottle. I tried to crawl away, managed to fall down the stairs and end up at the front door. After I finally managed to get it open I just remember puking and coughing and blood all over me...I saw the car up the road and next thing I know I'm on the ground and Hale's next to me...that's all I remember"
When she finished telling her story, she's crying and Chibs has tears in his eyes. He holds her hand and gives her a reassuring squeeze
"Do you know any of the girls that attacked you?"
"No. I didn't know everyone's name and I could barely see their faces. They wouldn't have touched me if it wasn't for Harvey"
"You never have to worry about him again"
"Thanks"
He kissed the side of her head and promised to see her later. He left the room and joined Juice and Opie "Church. Now."
Once everyone gathered back at the chapel, Happy included, Chibs repeated what JT had told him, making Jax cry.
"That bastard needs to die. Like a lot" rasped Happy
"Understatement of the year" replied Tig
"What's the plan, Jax?" Bobby inquired
Jax looked up, tears still running down his face "I'm going to pour bleach down his Goddamned throat. Then let Happy take care of the rest"
"Oh, yes I will" Happy agreed
"And after?" Piney asked
"I'm going to sit with my kids" Jax answered
"Let's do it then" Clay finalized, slamming the gavel down.
Jax, Juice, Happy, Tig, and Chibs grabbed Harvey from the group home in the middle of the night, bringing him to the now closed up garage. The tied his arms up with chains and forced him to his knees. Jax punched him a few times, the other man crying and begging for him to stop
"What do you want from me?" he blubbered
"You…" Jax said dangerously "You rape my daughter, get her beaten and make the others force bleach down her throat. The only thing I want is to hear you say it"
"Please. Please. I didn't hurt anyone"
Happy struck the man in the head
"Say it!" Jax shouted, hitting him again
"Ok, ok. That little slut...she came onto me, man. I'm telling you the truth"
Jax saw red and started hitting the man with a wrench he picked up until Chibs pulled him back
"Ok...Ok I did it" Harvey gurgled, "Just please, please stop"
Now Juice was angry
"Did you stop?" he asked lowly
"Juicy boy" Chibs warned
Juice ignored him a went closer to him, holding a bottle of bleach, "When she begged you to stop, did you listen? No. No, you didn't"
He opened up the bottle and looked at Jax who nodded at him. Tig held the man's head back and forced his mouth open, Juice pouring the clear liquid down his throat. Harvey began to choke and thrash his head, trying to spit the liquid out, but only succeeded in getting some in his eyes, causing him to try and scream, only to choke even more. After a few minutes, he stopped moving and slumped over.
"Is he dead?" asked Tig
Juice kicked him in the gut "I think so"
Chibs had let go of Jax, who turned to Happy
"Hap...rip him apart and get rid of the body. Tig, I want you and Juice to help him. If he is alive, let him hurt" He ordered
All the men agreed and got to work, Jax getting on his bike and going to see his kids. He stopped by to see Abel first, who was already sleeping, then went to see Jude, who was watching a movie on the tv.
"Did you kill him?" she asked when she saw him walk in and close the door
"You don't have to worry about that anymore," he told her, pushing her hair back. "You're safe now and I will never let anyone hurt you again"
She nodded and moved over more so that he could lay down with her, her head resting on his arm and their heads touching. That night JT slept through the night with very few nightmares and Jax figured out that he never wanted to live another day without his children.
A/N: Apologies for the long wait on this chapter, I've hit a bit of a roadblock with the stories of JT but I'll do my best to update more.