Hello again! All your reviews made me feel so great that I was able to get this chapter knocked out sooner than I expected. This chapter will no doubt raise some concerns for my Jax/Tara shippers. Never fear, dears. Never fear.

Chapter 23

"Wake up." I pounced on Happy, trying to wake him up for the third time. He grunted and tried to roll over to his side. I shook my head, sending water from my wet hair down onto his face. He slowly opened his eyes with a mean scowl. "Oh stop. You can't scare me. Get up."

"Why am I getting up? What time is it?" He asked, tugging on the bottom of my towel. I pursed my lips and folded my arms across my chest. "What?"

"We're going riding with Jax and Tara, remember?" I whined. He rolled his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. "Happy Lowman, get your ass up."

"Little girl, I may like you and you may be carrying my kid but you're pushing it." He growled. I laughed and he looked at me with one raised eyebrow. "You think I'm kidding?"

He rolled quickly, forcing me onto my back beneath him. I swallowed hard. His tattooed chest hovered over me as he glared down into my eyes. I bit my bottom lip. I thought for a moment that I had actually crossed a line and pissed him off. That was before he dipped his head down and kissed my neck. I smirked and ran my hands up his muscular arms. He trailed kisses further down, quickly undoing my towel so that I was completely exposed beneath him. He stopped kissing me for a minute and cupped a breast with his large hand.

"You're beautiful, Alexis." He muttered as he kissed my lips. I smiled and brought my hand up to his cheek. He had two or three days worth of stubble and I could see that some of it was starting to gray. I remembered the dark goatee that he'd had when I first met him. It seemed like lifetimes ago.

"I love you." I whispered. He kissed my palm and moved to show me just how much he loved me to. All of my fears about him not wanting to be with me after I was assaulted seemed so silly. When we got back from the clubhouse I was so scared that he'd notice something different or be turned off that someone else had touched me. We took it slow. He was gentle and I opened up to him, letting him know what I was feeling.

"You always make us late." I told Happy as we got on his Harley. I felt him chuckle and I rolled my eyes. "That's not what I meant, smartass."

"Shut up and hold on, woman." He said, squeezing my thigh. What I had thought would be a morning quickie turned into almost an hour of sex. I wouldn't complain if I didn't hate being late. Still, the sex outweighed our tardiness. I just liked to give him a hard time.

We met Jax and Tara at their house and headed East. Jax and Happy rode side by side, so Tara and I ended up sharing a lot of giddy smiles and laughs. It felt great just to enjoy the day. We were just two couples going out on a double-date. If it wasn't for Jax and Happy's kuttes, I don't think anyone would have thought twice about it if they saw us riding down the road.

Jax pulled his bike off the road and stopped beneath a large evergreen. Happy stopped beside him, kicking the ground to make sure it was hard enough to support the weight of his bike when it leaned on the kickstand.

"Mmm grapes." I said, taking the bowl that Tara unloaded from the backpack she had brought with their half of the pic-nick She laughed and continued emptying the bag as I popped a couple grapes in my mouth. Jax raised his brow at me expectantly, so I went ahead and unloaded my bag to.

"So, were you late for the usual reason?" Tara asked quietly. We'd finished eating and Jax and Happy went over to the bikes to talk about exhausts. I felt my cheeks redden a little as I nodded. "It felt okay? You didn't hurt?"

"No, doc. I didn't hurt and it felt more than okay. I was nervous last night but this morning was just like before. Hot and amazing." I said with a little laugh. It was Tara's time to blush as she nodded. We turned back to our books as the guys continued their debate over by the bikes.

"Homework?" Jax asked. Tara shook her head and held her book up so he could see the dustcover. "The Jungle?"

"Yeah, are you familiar with it?" Tara said as he came over and laid down on the blanket by her side. He nodded and ran his hand over her arm.

"Almost made me go vegan." He said with a smirk. I remembered when he read it and called me, asking if I knew the horrible in's and out's of the book. Happy sat down behind me, so I sat up and leaned my back against his bent knees.

"I know this is crazy but I'm really craving a big steak." Tara said with a laugh. I giggled and shook my head, closing my copy of Jane Eyre. Jax grabbed her hand and brought it to his crotch.

"I've got your big steak right here, darlin'." I almost gagged and Happy laughed. Tara rolled her eyes with a bright smile. It was nice seeing them relaxed and happy.

"Don't make me barf." I joked. Jax shot me a bird and Happy took my hand. I took a deep breath. "Speaking of barfing. I'm pregnant."

"You knocked my little sister up?" Jax asked. I thought he would be excited. He was the one asking when Abel would have a cousin. There was a tense moment before he cracked a smile. "As long as the kid doesn't look like you, killah."

"Fuck off." Happy growled. I looked back to see him smiling. Tara beamed and squeezed my hand.

"I knew it! Congratulations." She said, sounding giddy. I laughed and nodded.

"I still think women can be sick without being pregnant. I just happen to be pregnant." I said with a shrug. She laughed and shook her head. We started gathering everything up and repacking the bags when a phone started vibrating. Tara sighed and picked the phone up.

"It's yours." She said, handing it to Jax. "Go ahead, porn king."

I could hear Chibs' Scottish accent from almost two yards away. Apparently Luann was having some kind of meltdown because Clay sent Bobby down to Cara Cara. Jax told him he'd take care of it and snapped the phone closed.

"Porn emergency?" Tara asked with a roll of her eyes. Jax smirked and nodded his head.

"What? Chlamydia outbreak?" I asked sarcastically. Happy smiled and Jax rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. Tara, I'll take you home first." He said with a sigh. I could tell Tara was disappointed.

"Why? We may still be able to salvage the day." I offered, looking back at Happy. He shrugged and Jax looked to Tara.

"You don't mind?" He asked. I tightened the straps on my backpack and stood by Happy's bike. Tara laughed.

"I wouldn't go that far but Lexie's right. There's a lot of day left." Tara said. I clapped and motioned towards the bikes.

"To porn-land we go!" I said with a laugh. Happy shook his head and got on, giving me his hand to help me climb on behind him. Jax and Tara went through a similar routine and we were off to Cara Cara. When Happy first told me about the club getting into porn, I was ready to rip Jax's head off for suggesting it. The only thing worse than a croweater was a porn actress. At least croweaters respected old ladies.

"Wait here." Happy said, kissing my cheek. I scowled at him and pulled my helmet off. "Five minutes, baby."

"Keep your hands to yourself." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. He laughed and shoved his hands in his pockets. I rolled my eyes and he headed inside with Jax, arms swinging and hands outside of his pockets.

"You know he wouldn't mess with any of them." Tara said with a laugh. I nodded as a white Lexus sped onto the lot.

"Yeah, he knows I'd kill a bitch and he wouldn't get any for a year." I said with a smile. I really wasn't worried about Happy being around them, despite how disrespectful and conniving they were.

"Shouldn't you be polishing that, sweetheart? Jax likes it nice and shiny." I recognized Ima from one of the club parties. She was head over heels for Jax, not that the position was anything new for her.

"You mean like your forehead?" I quipped. She turned and gave me a glare. Tara laughed and went back to checking her emails on her phone. I yawned, ready to get back on the road. "They're taking forever."

"It's been three minutes." Tara said with a laugh. I was about to challenge her timekeeping when Mom's car rolled onto the lot, stopping just behind Ima's Lexus. Seconds later, Clay and Tig rolled up. Tig walked over and sat down beside me on Happy's bitch seat.

"What are you doing?" Clay yelled. Mom tossed the door shut and stared at Clay with a go to hell look.

"Luann called me. She's upset." Mom said.

"This is club business. Stay out of it." Clay snapped. That was usually the fastest way to shut a conversation down with an old lady. Mom wasn't just any old lady though.

"She's my friend, Clay. I figured she may want to talk." She said, turning towards the door. I raised my brow. Obviously I missed something big between them. Tig sighed.

"I hate when Mommy and Daddy fight." He whined. I rolled my eyes and shoved his curly haired head.

"Oh, so you drop everything to come talk." Clay barked. Mom scoffed and turned her back, continuing towards the door. Clay picked up a cinderblock and broke out the driver's door window. Mom threw her bag down and stormed over, shoving him backwards. I knew it could go bad quickly. I hurried inside to get Jax, knowing I couldn't exactly put myself between them in my condition.

"Jax! Jax!" I jogged through the porn studio, trying to ignore all the naked women all over the place. Jax jumped up from a couch where he'd had his arm around Ima.

"Can't you see he's busy?" Ima asked. I narrowed my eyes at her before telling Jax what was going on outside. He hurried out. "Not worried your man is going to see something he likes more here?"

"Is that a threat?" I asked. I had seen Happy standing in an office with Bobby, far from any of the actresses. She smirked and I grabbed her throat. "The great thing about being a doctor is knowing exactly how to kill someone and make it take forever. The pain itself would make you beg me to end it; or, I could almost kill you and bring you back, just to do it all over again."

"You're insane." She said, taking a couple, wobbly steps back. I smiled maliciously. "I have a movie to shoot."

"You do that." I said as Happy walked up and put his palm on my lower back. I looked up at him with an innocent smile.

"Didn't know that side of you existed." He said, kissing my collarbone. "It's hot."

I shook my head and hurried back outside to see what was going on. Mom was toe to toe with Clay, daring him to hit her. She finally turned away from him and he moved forward, grabbing her shoulders. She rushed forward with a scream and all of the hairs on my arms stood on end. Happy stepped in front of me, trying to shield me from anything else. I caught Mom in a hug as Jax walked up on Clay. Happy and Tig hung back, unable to interject in our family's personal issues because of the club. Tara walked over as Mom stormed inside, slamming the door behind her.

"This isn't good." Tara said, watching the staring match between Clay and Jax. I shook my head. She was right. It wasn't good but there was bound to be tension between them. Clay couldn't have the gavel and Jax move the club in the right direction. Things weren't going to get any better between them if there was any hope for the club.

"You want to challenge me? Fine, I don't give a shit but the minute this stops being about the club and becomes personal, that's when we'll have a problem." Clay said. I swallowed hard. How could it not be both personal and about the club. Jax shook his head and pushed his hair back, putting his hat on backwards.

"So much for salvaging the day." I muttered to Tara. She nodded and I saw her chest rise and fall with a deep breath. Jax asked Tig to take Tara back to her house so he could finish handling things. Tara didn't look happy but she didn't say anything. I shook my head and followed Jax inside.

"You're an idiot." I said, catching his arm and pulling him around to face me. He scowled and shook his arm free. "What's so important here that you're sending Tara away with Tig?"

"It's club business, Lexie." Jax said. He was clearly still hot about the showdown between Mom and Clay but I didn't care. He was notorious for messing up a good thing by doing something stupid.

"Don't club business me, Jackson." I snapped. He took a step towards me and looked around the room. "You're going to mess up you and Tara, Jax. I don't want that for either one of you."

"I have to take care of this, Alexis. Tara understands." He said before turning away and walking into an office where Bobby was unpacking some file boxes. I sighed and shook my head. It was like talking to a very angry brick wall.

"Do you have time to take me to Tara and Jax's?" I asked Happy when I came back outside. He tossed his cigarette away with a nod.

"Get on." He said. I couldn't decide what situation I was more upset about; what happened with Mom and Clay or Jax choosing porn over Tara. I understood that club business came first sometimes, that sometimes feelings could get hurt in the process. Still, what Jax was doing was bullshit. Luann was a grown woman. She should be able to deal with her business.

"Alexis, hold on." Happy said, hitting his kill-switch and catching my hand. I paused and stopped at the front of his bike. "Don't let this shit get you upset, okay? You leave the lot and I want the prospect with you. I'm not taking any chances with those bastards still on the loose."

"I hear you." I said, squeezing his hand. "I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday if you have time to-"

"I'll be there." He said, cutting me off. I felt my cheeks redden with a blush. I never had any doubt that he would be a great father; maybe a little over protective, but great all the same. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking over to Tara who was swinging on the new play set the guys had put up for Abel.

"I'm sorry my brother is a jerk." I said as Happy's bike roared off the lot. I knew he was going back to Cara Cara to help Jax and Bobby. Tara shrugged and lowered her feet to stop the swing.

"I guess I just thought that it would be different this time." I frowned, wishing I could snap my fingers and fix things. I'd seen this pattern with Jax before though. He'd choose the club over Tara, they'd get into an argument and he'd do something stupid. I just hoped that he wouldn't let it get that far again.

"You should talk to him before it gets any worse." I said, sitting on the swing next to her. She nodded and started swinging back and forth slowly. We watched as Opie, Chibs and Juice headed out, leaving only the prospect at the clubhouse. They all seemed to have a mission which usually meant trouble. "You're fucking kidding me."

Jax rode onto the lot with Ima on the back of his bike. I silently wished that her bare legs got burnt by the exhaust. Tara stopped swinging and just watched as Ima gave him a kiss on the cheek after climbing off the back of the bike. I shook my head and watched Ima saunter into the clubhouse.

"You need to talk to him, Tara. She knows you two are together." I said, ready to go make good on my threat from earlier. Tara shook her head.

"My cat fighting days are behind me." Tara sounded defeated. My shoulders fell and I wished that I wasn't the only one fighting for their relationship. Happy rolled onto the lot a couple minutes earlier and I could tell by the look on his face that he knew I wasn't happy about Jax and Ima.

"I know." He called out as I shook my head at him. I appreciated that I didn't have to explain why I was upset but I was upset all the same. Tara gave me a small smile.

"Don't let our crap bother you, Lexie. We've been through worse." She said, patting my knee. I felt like a little kid being told not to worry when mommy and daddy were fighting again.