She's just parking the car when she sees Abel talking to a woman she assumes is his teacher. She doesn't pay it much thought, her mind already occupied with the house that she'd already seen. A beautiful four bedroom house with two bathrooms that was a little pricey, and despite Jax's reassurances that money isn't an issue, she just can't bring herself to use his money. At seventeen weeks pregnant, she's pretty exhausted at this time in the day and looking after two kids under the age of five didn't help matters. The dark circles under her eyes seem to be a permanent addition to her face and her new best friend is concealer.

It's not until Abel's shouting, "Mommy!" that she notices the teacher freeze and turns to look at her with wide eyes. Abel runs to her and wraps his arms around her legs. She runs a hand through his soft hair as she narrows her eyes at the woman across from her. Her hands tremble from the urge to clock the pathetic junkie in the jaw, but even she won't start something with Jax's ex-wife in a school playground, especially in front of Abel.

"Come on, little man. We've got to go get Thomas." She doesn't acknowledge Wendy. She grabs Abel's hand and leads him to the car. As soon as she shuts Abel's door, she turns back to Wendy and hisses, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Wendy flinches. Just looking at Wendy makes her suddenly feel grateful that she still takes the time to make herself look good despite her hectic schedule. Tara notices her unwashed hair and dirty jeans and she knows instantly that she's using again. How did she ever think that this weak woman could ever help her children? She notices her pupils next and swears softly. "Are you high right now?"

"I just want to see him-"

"How do you even know where his school is?"

Wendy pales and Tara knows before she even opens her mouth. "Gemma told me. But she doesn't know that I've been coming here-"

"Excuse me?" she interrupts. "You've been here before?" Really, she shouldn't be surprised. Things with Gemma have been surprisingly quiet, and now she realizes that using Wendy has been her plan all along. She knows Gemma, just as Gemma knows her. She knows exactly where to strike to hurt her, and really, she should have seen this coming a mile away. Wendy has always been a sore point for her, one that Gemma knows exactly how to exploit.

Tara takes a step closer to her and clenches her fists in anger. She tries to keep calm, tries to remind herself that this amount of stress is not good for the baby but every second she stands across from this junkie bitch makes her blood boil. She's pretty sure that curious parents are staring at them but she's beyond caring. The only person on her mind is the little boy in the car and he's the only reason she isn't tearing out this bitch's hair.

"I just wanted to look at him. Today was the first time I talked to him, I swear."

"You had the chance to help him, to be a part of his life. You fucked it up. You had the chance to do one good thing for him and you bailed. You chose Gemma and crank over Abel's safety. I will make it my life long mission to make sure you never see him again. You have nobody to blame for this but yourself."

There are tears in Wendy's eyes, but she refuses to feel pity for the woman. "Tara please! I'm sorry! I just want to know my son-"

"He is my son! I was the first person to hold him. I nursed him back to health after the damage you inflicted. I got up in the night to feed him. I took him to his doctors appointments. I taught him how to walk. I taught him how to talk. I took him to his first day of school. He calls me mommy. You will never know him, Wendy."

Wendy stares at her in astonishment, and for the first time she thinks Wendy finally realizes just what little chance she has here.

"I just want a chance-"

"I gave you a chance, and you blew it."

"Gemma said that I can have a part in his life-"

Tara laughs bitterly. "Do you honestly think Gemma gives a shit about you? She's using you to try and get to me. You're a means to an end sweetheart. The only things Gemma cares about are her boys and herself. Besides, Gemma has no say in my sons life. If you want to know Abel, you will have to go through me and Jax, and I can say for the both of us that you have absolutely no chance."

"I-I'll take you to court. I have rights-"

"You gave up your rights to Abel. He is mine. Do you think some bullshit custody threat is going to scare me? I'm a doctor. A fucking surgeon. Do you honestly think that a judge is going to let some junkie who almost killed her child before he even took his first breath, into his life? You want to waste your money on a custody case? Then bring it on darlin'. We both know that you will lose." Tara pauses for effect and leans in closer to Wendy.

"Come near my son again and I will slit your throat."

She doesn't wait for a response. She quickly gets in the car and tries to smile reassuringly at Abel who watches her with curious eyes. Her hands shake as she grasps the steering wheel with sweaty hands. Her heart beats erratically in her chest and there's a dull ache in her stomach. She quickly calls Neeta to tell her that she'll be another hour and then turns to Abel. "Do you want to go see daddy, little man?" Abel nods and smiles widely.

"Who was that lady, mommy?"

"Nobody important, sweetheart."

If only that was true.

The newly restored Teller Morrow garage is quiet when she pulls into the lot. Abel is quiet as she takes his hand and leads him inside with hurried steps. What did that bitch say to him?

Bobby is leaning against the bar when she enters, going through some papers that she tells herself that she has no interest in. There are a few prospects hanging around, but they turn away when she meets their stares. Bobby looks up at her in surprise when she nervously clears her throat. She hasn't been inside of the clubhouse since it blew up, and she's a little surprised by just how similar it is to the previous one.

"Hey sweetheart. What brings you by?" he asks, his gruff voice surprisingly gentle.

"I need to see him," she says without preamble. Bobby raises an eyebrow in surprise. If she wasn't so shaken by seeing Wendy again, then she would have been surprised too. Not once in the last five months has she admitted that she needs Jax. But this was bigger than the shit between them. This is about their little boy, and no matter what is going on between them, she knows that Jax will never let that woman back into Abel's life.

"He should be back in an hour or so. Do you wanna wait?"

"Bobby," Tara says, and his eyes widen at the desperation in her voice. "I need to see him now."

He looks her over, pauses on her stomach which most people seem to do these days, and then he nods. "I'll give him a call. Hey Abel. I think that the prospects would really like to play a game with you. Why don't you take them outside and I'm sure that they'll play any game that you want." Bobby flashes an evil grin at the three prospects as Abel's eyes light up in excitement. If she had it in her, she would laugh at the looks on their faces at being at the beck and call of a child. She musters up a small smile for Abel's sake as he rushes out the door and the prospects follow reluctantly.

"Why don't you go lie down sweetheart. You're looking exhausted. I'm guessing that it's tiring growing a person inside of you." She manages a real smile then as her hand flutters to her stomach.

"I'm fine, thank you-"

"You're making me real nervous sweetheart. If something happens to you or the sprog, Jax is gonna flip his shit. So please, for my sake, just go and lie down for a few. Jax's dorm is second on the left."

Tara sighs in defeat as she makes her way to Jax's dorm. The room is familiar, but different. The room is bigger than his previous one, but every item of furniture is a replica of the original room. She looks at the pictures pinned to the wall and blinks away the tears that spring into her eyes. "Fucking hormones," she mutters. There are ones of him and Opie, Abel, Thomas, and with a jolt of surprise she finds a few of her too. Her eyes linger on the ultrasound picture of their last appointment, and she feels a flutter of joy in her belly.

She lies back in his bed and vows not to fall asleep, but the bed is so soft and his sheets smell of him, all leather, jack and tobacco, and she just can't help herself.

She awakens to fingers running through her hair softly and a voice calling her name. She smiles slightly at the peaceful feeling, but then her eyes snap open. Jax pulls his hand away like he's been electrocuted.

"Sorry," he mutters. "I didn't want to wake you, but Bobby said-"

"Wendy was at Abel's school," she interrupts.

Jax stares at her incredulously. "What?"

"Your mom told her where Abel's school is. She was just talking to him, Jax, as if it's an everyday thing! But what if she'd tried to take him? What if she told him the truth? What if she tries again? She's using again, I'm sure of it-"

"Hey," he says softly with a hint of steel in his voice. "Calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down?" she demands incredulously, her voice raising.

"I'm not going to let anything like that happen."

"You can't promise that," she said tearfully.

"Yes I can," he says confidently. "Wendy won't be a problem. I'll handle it."

"This isn't meant to happen. Do you realize how much money we pay that school? And they apparently let strangers off the street in to talk to kids!

"Maybe we should tell him the truth," Tara says hesitantly. She blinks away tears and clears her throat. No matter how much it hurts, she has to do what is best for this little boy. "I know that he's only five and he probably won't understand, but it's just a matter of time before he finds out from somebody else. Wendy isn't going to go away. I love him so much, but maybe it's best to tell him-

"We aren't telling Abel anything. Wendy is not going to have a chance to be in Abel's life. Maybe when he's older, we can tell him about her. But right now? He's five years old, he doesn't need to be dealing with a junkie."

She knows it's not as simple as that. Despite being a good father, Jax is never going to understand the bond between a mother and an unborn baby as it grows inside of her. "Wendy isn't going to just give up. She might be on crank again, but she can get clean again. Despite her being useless, she loves him, Jax. If it was me, I would fight to the death to see my son. Wendy wants to be his mother-"

"You are Abel's mother," Jax interrupts gently, his voice sure.

"But-"

"There are no buts. Abel is our son. End of story."

"Promise?"

"No matter what happens between us, you will always be Abel's mother."

Tara lets out a shaky breath and feels a rush of relief. There's always been a lingering doubt in the back of her mind that if things went south with Jax, then she would not be allowed access to Abel. And despite not being his biological mother, he was every bit her son as Thomas was. Abel was a part of her, and for Jax to say so meant more than he would ever know.

He looks at her then, really looks at her. Since their hug a few weeks ago, it's the first time in weeks that they have been this close, and his gaze lingers on her like a lion eyeing his prey. She feels a little self conscious under his gaze, but she doesn't turn away from him as he studies the differences in her body. Her hair's a few inches past her shoulders now, her face a little rounder. His eyes flare up as he lingers at her breasts, and though Jax has always been an ass man, she knows that he appreciates the new view. And then his eyes finally land on her protruding stomach and the breath leaves her when she sees the softness in his eyes. Now that she's in her second trimester, she's beginning to show and despite her best efforts, it's becoming more difficult to hide her ever growing stomach.

But by the look in her husband's eye, Tara's pretty sure that he thinks it's a good thing.

Being this close to him makes her head spin. She greedily takes in his scent of tobacco and leather. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and holds a hand to her cheek, dragging his hand across it. "You look tired."

"I am tired."

"You need to sleep."

She feels a spark of irritation. "I do sleep," she says sharply.

"Then you need to sleep more."

She reminds herself that he's just looking out for her so she bites her tongue on telling him to fuck off. "I know. It's just hard-" without you there to hold me, is what she wants to say. "With the boys. Abel sleeps through the night, but Thomas can scream like a little banshee sometimes-"

"Then I'll take them."

Tara rolls her eyes. "No offence, but the boys really don't need to see the jizz fest that the clubhouse becomes at night."

A smile tugs up the corners of his mouth. "I didn't mean here. I can stay at my moms. I'm sure she won't mind-"

"No."

"Tara-"

"I just told you that she told Wendy about Abel's school and now you want to reward her for it!"

"Did you ever think that if you stopped trying to keep the boys away from her so much then she would leave the shit with Wendy alone?" Tara bites her lip. "Look, I know you don't want her around the boys so much, and that's okay. Maybe some distance is best. But freezing her out completely is just going to result in more of her crazy schemes. It's just one night, and I will be there the whole time. You need to sleep, Tara. Let me help."

Tara sighs in defeat, and even though she won't admit it, she knows that he's right.

"Okay." She pauses as Jax smiles in victory. "You have absolutely no idea what you're in for," she says with a small smile.

Jax's smile widens. "Why's that?"

"Abel's going to be so excited to be spending the night with you, it'll take hours to get him down for bed. And if Thomas gets riled up with him, then you're in for a late night Teller."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Good luck with that." Tara's grin widens. "I miss this," she says unexpectedly.

"What do you mean?"

"You know. This. I miss us." She pauses and forces herself to hold his gaze. There are alarm bells going off in her head, and despite how civil they are being she still can't trust him not to hurt her. But she just can't help herself, because he's Jax, the boy who she fell in love with all of those years ago. "I miss you."

Jax's smile fades. He stares at her with an intensity that makes something in her stomach flutter and for an absurd moment she thinks that he's going to kiss her. But she knows that he won't, she's going to have to be the one to take that step, but she just can't bring herself to do it.

Jax smiles sadly and stands. "I should go pick up Thomas."

Jax pauses by the door and turns around. "Tara?" He waits until she meets his gaze before he speaks. "I miss you too." He's out the door before she can respond.

It's in that moment she realizes that maybe they aren't as over as she'd originally thought.