Abel is younger than he was in series in this story (about three) and Thomas is older (about two) because I tried to go with what their ages should have been in the time frame of the series not how the series actually portrayed them...this becomes important to note as Thomas speaks later in this chapter.


"Do I have to come with you and Ma?" Kerrianne whined.

Chibs sighed "I don't think it's safe for you to stay here alone sweetheart." Deep down he hoped it was a lie and nothing else would go wrong before sundown, but he found himself feeling uneasy like the grim reaper was still hanging around waiting to claim another victim and the last thing he wanted was for any of his family members to fall the next victim.

A quick glance at his wife told him she felt the same oppressive feeling and before Kerrianne could even try to get Fiona to side with her, the older woman quickly ushered her into the car before sliding into the driver's seat without even asking him if he wanted to drive.

This almost came as a relief as it meant he didn't have to admit his hand still hurt too much for him to be able to drive. Still, the uncomfortable feeling lingered until they reached they house Jax and Tara shared.

Tara's car was in the driveway and Jax's bike was mercifully absent, but somehow this did nothing to ease the feelings of nervousness.

Chibs walked up to the door and knocked "Doc, it's Chibs."

There was no answer and rather than accept that she possibly didn't want to talk to him he tried the door and let himself in when he found it open.

He noticed the broken porcelain at the same moment the sickly sweet smell of blood hit his nostrils.

He stopped so suddenly in the doorway that his daughter walked right into his back instead of stopping in time. "Da what's wrong?"

Instead of answering he used his good hand to unholster his gun before moving forward. Behind him his wife unholstered her own gun. Although he hadn't realized she even had a weapon on her, it's presence made sense and felt good.

The feeling quickly evaporated when he moved just a few feet further and saw what was in the living room. The body on the couch obviously belonged to Tara and the doctor was bound and partially nude. There was so much blood covering her that it was hard to tell where the actual wounds were.

"Jesus Christ!" Chibs exclaimed. Although he was a man who had seen a good deal of violence in his life, this felt worse. Tara was someone he'd thought of almost like a little sister and now she was apparently dead in one of the most violent and bloody methods possible. To top it off, just seeing her lying on the couch made it clear that she probably wasn't Jimmy's secret lover. Although the man wasn't beyond hurting his romantic partners he preferred methods that wouldn't leave himself drenched in blood and whoever harmed Tara would have been covered in it.

He was so sure that the doctor was already dead that he almost turned away unwilling to look at the horrible sight any longer. However, at that exact moment Tara let out a soft pained moan.

Unsure if he'd actually heard the moan at first Chibs remained frozen for a second until Kerrianne nervously begged "Da, help her!"

Chibs reholstered his gun before rushing into the room. He knew that he couldn't treat her wounds himself and paramedics would have to be called, but the idea of leaving Tara to be found so humiliated, especially if she didn't survive, felt all wrong to him.

Almost as if she was thinking the exact same thing, Fiona handed him her jacket which he carefully placed over Tara's body.

In response Tara whimpered and tried to pull away.

"It's okay Doc, we're gonna get you some help."

Instead of answering in a way that made sense, Tara mumbled "my boys."

Chibs knew that she had to be referencing Abel and Thomas, but he wasn't sure what she meant by mentioning them. "They're not here."

In response the younger woman violently thrashed and began crying out "No! No! They took them! They took them!"

Unsure of how to react, Chibs gently held her down to keep her from further hurting herself with the thrashing. At the same time, he found himself feeling afraid for the Teller children and found himself focusing completely on their injured mother, completely ignoring everything that was going on around them. He knew Fiona was probably on the phone now likely anonymously calling the paramedics, but if in that second he'd been asked where his daughter was he wouldn't have been able to give an answer. "Who took them? Who took Abel and Thomas?"

Before Tara could respond something else came back into his frame of concentration.

It was Kerrianne yelling at him "Da!"

He couldn't fathom what would be important enough to distract him from the potentially dying woman so when he turned around to confront her he could hear the irritation in his voice. "What?!"

"Th-There's suitcases on the bed, and I think there's something under it." Kerrianne stuttered, eyeing him with distrust almost as if his yelling had made her have visions of Jimmy for a brief moment and this immediately made him feel guilty.

Chibs mentally promised himself that he'd find a way to make it up to her later before speaking. "Stay here with Tara. I'll check the bedroom."

xxx

As soon as he entered the bedroom it became obvious that Tara had been planning some sort of escape from Charming. Two suitcases were lying on the bed. One laid open, partially filled with the doctor's clothes. The other one was already zipped up, and finding curiosity getting the best of him, Chibs reached forward, ready to unzip it.

Instead, he was distracted by the sound of soft sniffling under the bed. Immediately he recognized the crying as belonging to Abel. The size of the room prevented him from getting down on his stomach to fully peer under the bed, but he was able to crouch and bend somewhat uncomfortably to better get a view of the area under the bed.

"Abel?"

"Mommy said not to come out unless she told us to."

Abel didn't seem to have the notion of hiding in silence quite down yet, but at least this meant that whomever hurt Tara hadn't taken him or Thomas. "Well, I think since it's your uncle Chibs, Mommy would be fine with you coming out of hiding."

Abel crawled out immediately, but Thomas lingered under the bed for a minute and said something that made Chibs' blood run even colder than it already felt. "Why were Daddy and Grandma hurting Mommy?"