Mackenzie woke up to find herself alone in bed. She frowned a little, never liking to wake up alone, but she knew Jax probably had club business to take care of. She got out of bed slowly, feeling a soreness in her abdomen. Making her way down to Abel's room, she heard the front door open.
"Mackenzie you awake?" Gemma called from the entrance. Mackenzie peeked her head in Abel's room, but he was still sleeping soundly, hugging a stuffed Harley Davidson bear to his chest. With a smile, she pulled the door to, leaving only a tiny crack.
"Yeah, Gem, I'm up." Mackenzie said, walking by Gemma and into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Gemma took a seat at the bar and lit a cigarette. Mackenzie looked over at her a wrinkled her nose. "That a new brand you're trying out or something?"
"No, same old red label, why?" Gemma said, exhaling a stream of smoke. Mackenzie poured two mugs of coffee, handing one to Gemma and taking a sip of her own.
"Just smells funny." She said with a shrug. Gemma raised her brow and started to comment, but Mackenzie's cell phone, which Jax had insisted she get, starting buzzing. Mackenzie picked it up and swiped the screen with her thumb to answer it. "Hello?"
"Hi, may I speak to Mackenzie Bradshaw?" a young lady said cheerfully.
"This is she." Mackenzie said, setting her coffee down. She was hoping to get off the phone quickly as her stomach was starting to churn.
"Hi, Ms. Bradshaw, this is Karen, I'm a nurse with Dr. Ferro's office. Dr. Ferro just went over your blood test and wanted me to give you a call to see when you can come in." The nurse said with a upbeat tone. Mackenzie bit her bottom lip and bounced her leg nervously.
"Um, I can come this afternoon, I guess." She said, averting her eyes away from Gemma's suspicious expression. The nurse set Mackenzie an appointment for one o'clock and asked her to bring a list of her medications in with her. Mackenzie agreed and ended the call. She put the phone back on the counter and rushed to the bathroom. She felt tears running down her face as her stomach emptied again, causing her to cough in pain.
She heard Gemma tap on the door lightly before walking in and rubbing her back to try and comfort her. A couple minutes later, she helped Mackenzie off the floor and into the living room to sit on the couch.
"I'm going to get you some ginger ale and some crackers. You just sit back, sweetheart." Gemma said, walking into the kitchen. She looked back in on Mackenzie and frowned. She looked weaker than she did in the hospital. With a sigh, Gemma sat the drink and crackers in front of Mackenzie and made an excuse about forgetting to turn her headlights off.
Once she was outside, Gemma flipped her phone open and hit the speed dial for Jax. The line rang a couple of times before Jax answered breathlessly.
"Jax, are you doing something overly important today?" Gemma asked, looking back towards his front door.
"Uh, I'm catching up on some work on this damn truck in the shop. Why, what's wrong?" Jax said, picking up on Gemma's stressed tone.
"I'm taking Abel to the shop and you're going to take Mackenzie to the doctor's office. They called and said she needed to come in results. You need to be there with her, Jax. She's still hurling every five minutes." Gemma said, agitated that she couldn't do anything to help the poor girl. Despite their rocky start, Gemma had actually grown to like Mackenzie She proved herself to be a fighter and had something about her that Gemma knew could be trusted.
"Alright, Mom. I'm going to have Ope take over this. I'll be there in a few minutes. Help her get ready to go." Jax said quickly. Gemma heard metal tools dropping loudly into a tool box as she started walking back to the door.
"Jax, her appointment isn't until this afternoon. You can finish whatever you're," Jax cut Gemma off before she could finish.
"No. I don't give a fuck when the appointment is. They're going to see her when we get there." He snapped. Gemma smiled as she shook her head and said goodbye to her hot-tempered son. She knew he would do anything to take care of his family.
Mackenzie looked over the back of the couch as Gemma walked back in. She had finished most of the ginger ale and was holding down several crackers as well as she could. Gemma smiled at her as she walked around the couch.
"I'm going to take Abel to TM with me. Jax is on his way to take you to the doctor." Gemma said, offering Mackenzie her hand. Mackenzie took it and stood slowly, scowling at Gemma.
"Why did you call him, Gemma? I'm sure he's busy with club business. I'm not an invalid, I can go by myself." She said shortly. Gemma laughed sarcastically.
"Sweetheart, he would have both our heads if you drove yourself in your condition." She said, opening Mackenzie's dresser drawers and pulling out underwear and a t-shirt. Mackenzie raised her brow as Gemma shoved the clothes into her hands. She headed to the bathroom to wash up as Gemma headed to get Abel up and ready. Mackenzie brushed her teeth and was gargling mouthwash as Abel ran in and wrapped his arms around her legs. She spit the minty froth into the sink before reaching down and picking him up.
"Good morning, little man. Are you excited to go with Gramma and see Uncle Opie?" Mackenzie said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Abel nodded and pulled back, looking at her face. "What is it, Abel?"
"You's prettier today." He said as he buried his face between her neck and shoulder. Mackenzie laughed and sat him back down to his feet.
"Well, thank you sweetheart. I needed that today." She said with a tear rolling down her cheek. Abel's kindness touched her heart and made Gemma's words about family sink further and further in. Gemma walked in and took Abel's hand as they heard the front door open.
"Mackenzie, are you ready?" Jax called as he walked back to the room they shared. She grabbed her purse and gave Jax a smile as he walked in. He gave Abel and his mom a quick kiss before they all headed outside.
"We'll try and stop by the garage after the doctor's office. Be good for Gramma, Abel." Mackenzie said with a smile and wave as she got into the passenger seat of her car. Jax hopped in smiled over at Mackenzie.
"Hey darlin." His delayed greeting made Mackenzie laugh. He smirked back at her, happy that she was feeling well enough to keep her humor. He sped out towards the doctor's office as she filled him in on what the nurse had said. Jax didn't mention it to Mackenzie, but it worried him that they weren't able to tell her results on the phone. He swung the car into a parking spot. Mackenzie laid a hand on her stomach and grimaced.
"Baby, I thank you for your concern, but slinging me around doesn't help." She said with a weak smile. Jax got out and came around the car, helping her out of the passenger seat.
"Sorry, Mack. Cages aren't really my strong point when it comes to driving." Jax said, planting a kiss on her forehead. They headed into the building and walked into the elevator. Mackenzie turned to Jax and looked up at him.
"Jax, I'm really scared." Mackenzie said, her voice quivering. Jax pulled her to him and rubbed her arm, at a loss for words. "My family has a history of cancer and Krohns and stuff." She whispered. Jax swallowed hard.
"Babe, we don't know anything yet. Let's just see what the doc says and we'll take it from there okay? You're not alone, no matter what it is." He said, kissing the top of her head as the elevator doors opened. He sighed quietly as she walked out ahead of him. Inside, he was worried as well. He wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but he promised to never say that to anyone when he couldn't guarantee it.
"Ms. Bradshaw, we weren't expecting you until this afternoon." Karen said, looking between Mackenzie and the attractive biker with her. She swallowed hard, knowing the Sons of Anarchy's reputation.
"I'm sorry. I got really worried. Do you think she can see me sooner?" Mackenzie asked with a sweet smile as she signed in. Karen frowned as she looked down at Dr. Ferro's schedule.
"Ma'am she's really booked today," Karen said apologetically. Jax scowled at her and then looked over at Mackenzie's worried expression.
"Why don't you go ask her? Let her know she's worried." Jax said as politely as I could. His threatening tone didn't go unnoticed by Karen or Mackenzie. Karen nodded and walked back to find Dr. Ferro. Once she was out of sight, Mackenzie elbowed Jax in the side.
"Jax, it's not their fault you wanted to rush over here." She hissed at him. He looked over at her and shrugged. Karen rushed back up to the desk with a smile, causing Jax to smirk. Mackenzie rolled her eyes, but smiled back at Karen.
"Dr. Ferro just had a cancellation, so you can come one back." Karen said before walking around and opening the door back to the patient rooms. "Since you were just here, we'll skip the scales, but I still want to get your blood pressure."
Mackenzie nodded and climbed up on the exam table as Jax took a seat by the door. After Karen took the blood pressure cuff back off, Jax raised his eyebrows.
"So? Good, bad, what?" He said impatiently. Karen gave her best attempt at a smile and nodded at him.
"It's good. The doctor will be in shortly." She said, sliding out of the room and closing the door behind her. Jax and Mackenzie sat in nervous silence. She swung her legs back and forth off the end of the exam table and he ran his thumb in circles on the hilt of his k-bar. A couple minutes later, there was a quick knock on the door before Dr. Ferro walked in.
"Hi, Mackenzie! Thank you for coming in today." She said brightly. She reached her hand out to Jax, who shook it politely. "I'm Dr. Ferro, you must be the boyfriend." She said with a smile.
"Fiancé now, but yeah, Jax Teller." He said with a genuine, bright smile. His friendliness seemed to put the doctor more at ease. She pulled up a stool and took a seat as she opened Mackenzie's chart. Mackenzie bit her bottom lip as Dr. Ferro nodded her head in thought.
"Your blood work came back rather impressive. You are actually in great health. Your cholesterol, blood count, it's all wonderful." Dr. Ferro said with a smile. Mackenzie frowned and lowered her brow.
"Okay, so she can keep eating hamburgers?" Jax asked sarcastically. Dr. Ferro brushed his tone off and smiled again.
"Well, yes, as long as she doesn't drink any alcohol with them." She explained, turning to Mackenzie, who was already shaking her head. Dr. Ferro's smile faltered a little, worried she was about to deliver news that wouldn't be too welcome. "Ms. Bradshaw with your symptoms it's standard to run a HCG level as well, to rule out pregnancy. Your levels were definitely elevated. I understand that you have been told that it's not possible, but you are, in fact, quite pregnant."
Mackenzie's hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock. She kept shaking her head, but started smiling. Jax jumped up and went to her and hugged her to him. She pulled back and looked at him, breathing heavily.
"Is this okay?" She whispered. He laughed and nodded adamantly with a bright smile. Dr. Ferro cleared her throat and grinned as the two realized she was still in the room.
"Mackenzie, I'm glad to see this was a welcome surprise, and congratulations. With that being said, I am having Karen set you an appointment with a OBGYN as soon as possible due to the past concerns over your ability to conceive." Dr. Ferro said before jotting a prescription for vitamins and a pregnancy safe anti-nausea medication. She handed them both to Jax and gave Mackenzie a hug before heading out of the room.
Mackenzie looked over at Jax as her smile faded a little. Hey eyes were the size of hubcaps. Jax frowned and ran his hand through his hair.
"What is it, Mack?" He said timidly. He was overjoyed to have a baby with Mackenzie, but her expression made him wonder if she wasn't feeling the same.
"Jax. Jax, we're having a baby. I get to be a mom." She said, her eyes swelling with tears as she beamed up at him. He let out a laugh with his sigh of relief and shook his head.
"Mackenzie, you're already a mom, but now we're going to have a new little fighter on our hands." Jax said brightly. He leaned in and kissed her lips with passion. He pulled back sooner than she wanted.
"I guess this is a good time to tell you why I left early this morning." Jax said, pulling out a small, black box from his kutte.