A/N: I've gotten a lot of feedback and almost all of it is positive, I appreciate that! :) I have a few days off work with the holiday, so I'm updating more regularly then I will be after this weekend. I will updating it once a week after this one! It might be sooner then that, but I don't want to lie and say it'll be every 3 days when reality, is life happens! So, chapter 3, enjoy! Review or PM if you like it, don't like it, or have questions. I answer all reviews that are from registered users. I'm not able to reply to guests, sorry :(
"It was Kyle Hobart."
Everyone heard her, but no one wanted to believe her. She looked around the room. Opie and Jax were so mad, they looked like they were in pain, and Chibs finally looked as mad as they were. Tara understood some anger, but she hadn't anticipated this. Why was everyone so torn up about this? People get beat up all the time, it's not like this is something new. Tara then realized, it was because it was her. She was a cherished friend of Donna, and Opie. Opie was a member of the club that had abused her and pushed her out. Tara had to backtrack. The club hadn't pushed her out, she couldn't keep thinking of it that way if she were to have a shot at successfully staying in Charming. It was one horrible member, not the club as a whole.
"Did you just say it was Kyle?" Opie asked quietly. Tara looked at him more closely and realized that he was shaking.
"Yeah. Opie, what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You had someone beat the shit out of you and threaten to kill you because your friends with me and Jax. AND he was a member of the club. That's what's wrong Tara. How can you not see the severity of this situation?!" Opie was showing the anger that Donna had not wanted him to.
"Opie, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I really am. I was so ashamed that I let myself get put into that situation that I just kept it to myself. And then when things got bad, I literally crept out of Charming in the middle of the night. But you're too mad. Yes, it's a big deal but it happens to people all the time."
"Doc, this is a bigger deal then you think. I've known these boys forever, and this is something that hasn't happened. There is no real response set in place for when something like this happens. I've heard countless stories about you, and you're wrong when you think it's okay because it happens to others. These boys, and myself, aren't worried about the others, we're worried about you."
Chibs' sincerity caught Tara off guard. But she couldn't help to think that there was more to the situation.
"While we're telling secrets, you should probably know mine." It was Opie that spoke this time. Everyone's attention turned to him. Even though Tara was the only one who didn't know, the others listened intently anyway.
"Can you keep a club secret, Tara?" Opie asked her.
"It seems she's pretty good about keeping secrets, Op." Jax added sarcastically. Opie ignored his dig at Tara and continued.
"About two months after you left, Kyle and I were on a job together for the club. We were blowing up a warehouse. Things didn't go as planned, and the cops showed up. Kyle bailed and I was left to take the fall for the arson. With my priors, I was sentenced to 5 years in prison. I got out in 3 years. While I was inside, the club had voted and Kyle was excommunicated from the club. He's not a member anymore. I paid my dues, and when I came out, he was gone. He's popped up now and then, since his ex wife and children still live here in Charming, but there is no good blood between him and the club."
Tara thought hard about what Opie was telling her. If she had told them about Kyle earlier, maybe Opie wouldn't have been sent to prison. She had not only caused the pain to Donna of losing her best friend, she also caused the pain of losing her husband. What if Kyle had left Opie because he was mad about Tara leaving him? Either that, or Kyle really was a coward and couldn't face the consequences for his actions.
"This is all my fault. If I would have told you guys, this wouldn't have happened. Kyle probably left you there because of his resentment towards me."
"There's a possibility of that, but this isn't your fault. You were trying to protect yourself and that's the most natural human instinct: survival." Chibs told her.
"I didn't tell you that to make you feel bad, Tara. I hadn't even thought of that. I just wanted you to know why we reacted the way that we did. This isn't going to just get swept under the rug and forgot about." Opie's anger had subsided a little, and he was able to think more clearly about situations.
"Hey Doc. While we're on testy subjects, can I ask you a question? When we were at the bar, and I tried to touch your hand. Did you flinch away because of the reflex from Kyle? Or is the complication with med school you mentioned part of it too?"
Tara had hoped that she wouldn't have to tell anyone about that. She could just use the Kyle excuse, but there was always the possibility of Adam returning. She might as well get all the bad shit out there now and not have to relive it more then once.
"When I was in Chicago I met someone in one of my classes. He was nice and things were going great. Then he got weird and possessive, never hit me, but I was always afraid of that. I tried to end things and then he started stalking me. This time I was smart enough to end things before they got physical, but he still scares me. I don't know if he'll show up here, but I'm hoping that he doesn't. That's it, that's my whole horrible history of my life up until now. Please, don't drag anything more out of me, I don't think I could handle it."
"Jesus Tara, why didn't you come home sooner? Or why didn't you just tell us about Kyle?" Jax asked her, completely exasperated.
"Jax, let me ask you a question. Has Kyle ever killed a man before?" The silence she was met with was the only answer she needed.
"Now tell me why I was wrong to leave town when he threatened to kill me? If he's capable of killing someone he doesn't know or has to track down, what could he have done with me so at his disposal?"
Tara had a good point and they all knew it. They could sit and argue with Tara about her decisions until everyone was blue in the face, but they knew she had a point.
"I'm going to kill him."
Everyone turned to look at Jax. Donna and Tara had horrified expressions on their faces, while Opie and Chibs had looks of resignation on theirs.
"What?! No, Jax. It's over. There's nothing to do now except move on from this. He obviously won't be coming back here anytime soon. Please, just let it go?"
"Let it go. Tara you've got to be fucking kidding me! All the shit he did to you, which we still don't know the complete story, and you want to just let it go? What the fuck is wrong with you that you don't want someone sticking up for you? Have you not changed at all? Little Tara sitting in the corner crying, playing the martyr when she doesn't need to!" Jax stopped short, realizing what he had said to her.
"Fuck you, Jax. You know nothing. How dare you put a label on me when you know NOTHING. Back to our earlier topic, now even more then ever I believe that you were friends with me for Opie's sake. Otherwise you wouldn't have such a jaded fucking view on the person that I was then or the person that I am now!" Tara got up and made her way to the guest room, locking the door behind her.
"Way to go, Jax. Thought we were going to make it the rest of the night without doing something stupid." Donna admonished Jax and went back to the spare bedroom.
Opie and Chibs sat quietly while Jax quietly stewed over the mistake that he had made. He didn't mean to be such an ass, it just happened.
"We need to take this to the club." Chibs said
"We can't break Tara's trust like that." Jax said, feeling even more guilt.
"Jax, we have to. We won't tell about Tara's personal life in Chicago, that's not their business. But we have to go to the club about what was going on when he was still a member. Someone might know something. Though, I hope it's not too much. I don't know if I could take another brother letting this happen."
Jax was resigned to admit that Opie was right. "Alright, but we should sleep some. We have chapel in a few hours anyway, and we can discuss things then."
-AHW-
Donna knocked quietly on Tara's door, only to get met with silence.
"Tara, it's Donna. Can you unlock the door please?"
Tara didn't say anything, but came and unlocked the door. Donna followed Tara to the bed where they both laid down.
"Jax didn't mean it, Tara. He is just really angry about all the information you have given him tonight. He thought it was his fault you left five years ago, and he's never forgiven himself for it. He thought he was the one that had caused you all that pain."
Tara was confused. How could Jax have caused that pain? She didn't realize she spoke out loud until Donna had responded to her.
"Tara, do you remember what happened at the New Years Eve party we went to at the clubhouse, the year that you left?"
Tara laughed remembering all the stupid shit her and Donna would do at parties. They had so much fun that night. Playing beer pong with the guys, singing karaoke, on a machine this time, and winning two hands of poker against some members from a different charter. Most of the Redwood Charter were off doing a job. That was the first, and only, time Tara had been to a party at the club house. The other few times she was there, Kyle snuck her in when he was staying there to get away from his wife.
"Yeah, we drank a lot and won a lot of money." Tara said laughing. But stopped short when she realized that Donna wasn't laughing too.
"Is that all you remember?"
Tara was quiet as she thought about that night. It wasn't until she thought about Jax that she remembered.
"Yeah, I remember. Well, at least now I do. I guess I suppressed it because I chalked it up to a drunken night." Tara said sadly.
"You were the only one drinking, Tara. And you weren't even that drunk. Jax was sober. He had just gotten back from Oakland and you were laying in his bed because you said it was probably the cleanest out of the bunch."
Flashback to New Years Eve 2002
"Donna, all my alcohol has worn off. Either I need to drink more, or go lay down."
"Tara, if you drink more you'll be sorry, you should just go lay down. You can go to my room." Opie said.
Tara laughed. "Naw, I'm sure Jax's room is the cleanest here. He does his dirty business elsewhere." Opie showed her the way to Jax's room, not knowing she'd been in the clubhouse before.
"Thanks guys. See you in the morning. Don't leave me here alone in the morning please."
Tara laid there for probably two hours without falling asleep. She was going over the growingly hostile situation with Kyle and how to handle it. She was scared, and sick of having to cover up bruises, or not see Donna for days at a time until they were light enough to pass as something else. She wished she could just tell Jax and Opie, but that would mean things would probably get worse. They might not even believe her. Kyle was a club member after all. Why would he be violent towards a woman, let alone a friend of the club? During her musings, Tara hadn't noticed that someone had entered the room.
"Well, well, well. What have we got here?" Jax asked. Tara shot up in bed.
"Oh, hey Jax. Sorry I crashed here. I thought this would be the best since you weren't here and everyone else is kind of sluts from what I hear." Tara said in a laughing tone.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm kinda tired though. Would you be too put out if I asked to sleep on the other side of you? No funny business I promise." Jax flashed her his signature grin."
She was nervous, but it was his bed after all.
"Yeah, I guess. I could go home too. I'm not that drunk anymore, and I'd be fine to drive if you'd prefer."
"Tara, that's dumb. Don't even think about it. We can share a bed, it's not that big of a deal, right?"
Tara moved all the way over to one side, and Jax laid down on the other. They were silent for a few minutes, and Tara was beginning to fall asleep.
"So how was the party?" Jax asked sleepily.
"It was great actually. Too bad you missed it. Donna and I danced and sang and even played some games against the guys. I won two hands of poker."
Jax laughed heartily. "You beat a big bad biker gang at poker? That's dangerous, these assholes are sore losers."
"Nah, they were pretty good about it. They have a lot of money to be spending though, Jesus. They kept trying to up the ante and Donna and I didn't have that kind of money."
"It's probably because they lost to two pretty girls that they didn't throw fits."
"Oh please. They aren't that bad of guys, Jax. I mean, I don't know them at all but they seem pretty nice. I like it here, it feels like family."
"This is a family, Tara. Not your traditional kind of course, but who's traditional anymore anyway?"
As the conversation grew on, neither noticed how close they had come to each other. There was maybe only a foot separating them now, and Tara was getting ready to move back, but Jax stopped her.
"Tara? Happy New Year," he then leaned over and kissed her. Tara didn't respond right away, out of shock, but as she felt Jax pulling away, she grabbed the top of his sweatshirt and pulled him to her. She had dreamt of this moment more times then she would like to admit to herself. Before she knew it, Jax was almost flush against her skin and had his hands all over her body.
"Jax, don't." Tara said squirming away from his touch on her bare skin.
"Hey, don't do that Tara. You're beautiful." That compliment was all Tara needed to keep her going. Jax had called her beautiful, and not a lot of people did that and meant it. In that moment she felt more love and affection for Jax then she ever had, which was saying a lot. In her mind though, she knew she should slow down, he was probably drunk and would regret sleeping with a friend in the heat of the moment. She didn't think he would regret it with her because Jax was an equal opportunity kind of guy, he slept with any woman, but he had a semblance of a moral code and would regret that he actually likes her.
But she didn't slow down, and neither did Jax. For one night, Jax and Tara spent the night together. Something both of them had been wanting, but was too scared to admit to the other.
After she pulled herself from her musings, she was excited and confused.
"Why would Jax think that he pushed me away because we slept together?"
"About two days before you left town, we were at mine and Op's old apartment and you were venting to me about Kyle. You were saying how it wasn't fair that he was using you for his own enjoyment and you wished you could go back and make it so things never happened again. Well Jax overheard the last part of that conversation and thought it was directed towards him. He had never forgiven himself for that. I think maybe now he knows it was about Kyle, but I think when you're calmed down enough you should talk to him. Get this all straightened out."
Almost as if on que, someone knocked on the bedroom door. Tara shot a startled look to Donna, but nodded her head. Donna got up and answered the door, where Jax was standing on the other side. Jax stepped in and Donna made her move to leave.
Will you be okay? Donna mouthed to Tara, who nodded her head minutely.
"Hey, I'm sorry for the way I reacted with the Kyle thing. That's just not what we expected is all. We're going to take it to the club later today and we'll go from there. I-I am also sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have made the comments that I did. I'm just surprised that you don't want anything done about it. I shouldn't be though. You've always shouldered your problems without having anyone else help. But that's not how it's going to be anymore. We're all here for you, and since your a part of this weird family with Op, Donna, and me, your family to the club too. We take care of our own, Tara. That's just how it is."
"It's not your fault I left, Jax. Donna told me what you overheard, but that wasn't about you. The reason that I never brought that situation up again is because I assumed you were drunk and you would regret it in the morning. So I slipped out while you were still sleeping, thinking you might not even remember it. I don't regret that night, I never would. It was a great night, probably the best of my life. I'm sorry that you have carried that burden with you for five years, but you don't need to anymore."
"Tara, I've never regretted that, and I wasn't drunk. I did that because I've always wanted to."
The two sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, and were saved when someone knocked on the door. Opie shoved his head through the smallest opening he could.
"We have to be at the clubhouse in four hours Jax. You should get some sleep. Tara, you still okay to stay here this week?"
"Yeah, Op, I'm fine. I have to go in for some pre-employment stuff at St. Thomas at noon, but I'll be back." Op just smiled in response and closed the door.
"Tara, I know we have a lot we need to talk about, but how about we both lay down for a bit. No funny business, I promise."
Tara laughed. "Yeah, I've heard that before."
But this time they did just sleep and before either of them wanted to, Chibs was in waking Jax up to go to Chapel and Tara needed to get ready to go to St. Thomas.
On the way out the door, Jax stopped in the kitchen where Donna and Tara were sitting with Ellie, who had just gotten dropped off from the baby sitter.
"Hey, we'll be back later today. I'll be staying here for awhile while things are getting renovated at my house, so we can talk later okay?"
Tara looked up from Ellie and smiled. "Yeah, okay. See you guys later."
When Chibs walked by he kissed Tara on the head. "It's really nice to finally meet you, Doc. And don't worry, everything will be okay and you're safe here."
-AHW-
Chapel was running business as normal for the club. Piney was still out, facing his demons. Which in club terms means he has been too drunk to leave his house for almost a month. So Kozik was still sitting in for him. Happy was also in visiting from Tacoma. Since he is looking to make the jump to Redwood, he has been sitting in on the meetings. As Clay was getting ready to adjourn the meeting, Jax spoke up about a club issue that has surfaced.
"Everyone met Tara last night, right?" Jax asked being met with nods of agreement from everyone except Tig. He just looked confused.
"Donna's stripper sister from Jax's party." Chibs knew that wasn't true, but it would be the one thing that would remind Tig. Which worked, as Tig smiled and nodded in agreement, finally.
"Okay well, some shit came out last night about why she jumped ship five years ago. She was in a really bad abusive relationship with a guy. He threatened to kill her and she fled, fearing that he would actually do it." Jax explained.
"How is this a club matter, Jax? It's horrible, but isn't that something you and Op can take care of on your own?" Clay asked, knowing they would rectify that situation.
"It's a club matter when Kyle was the one that had beat the shit out of her." Opie said with disgust.
"Well, that definitely changes things," Juice piped up.
"I have a question before we get too far into this. Did anyone remember seeing Kyle bringing in anyone to the clubhouse that wasn't his wife?" Jax asked.
Low murmurs were heard, but no one spoke up. Everyone spent most of their nights shit faced and wouldn't remember anything anyway.
"Just think about if you did, because most of the time he brought her here. I don't like thinking that a woman was beat up in our own clubhouse and no one did anything to stop it. I'm guilty of not seeing it too, but I don't want to find out anyone else knew about this. I couldn't handle it." Jax said regretfully.
The club then talked about their options in regards to Kyle. They adjourned after coming to the conclusion that they would have to wait for Kyle to come to Charming before they did anything. No point seeking him out when he would return one day.
They were leaving the Chapel when Jax's phone rang. Gemma's name flashed across the screen.
"Hey, Ma. What's up?"
"Jax, you need to get to St. Thomas right away. It's Wendy."
-AHW-
Tara had just finished filling out her paperwork when Margaret Murphy came into the lounge.
"Tara, I know you don't technically start yet, but we have had two people call in and there's an emergency in the neonatal unit. Is there anyway that you can stay until things get settled down?"
Tara didn't have any scrubs with her, but knew that there would be extras.
"Yeah, absolutely. Is there someone I can get a pair of scrubs to wear for the day?"
Margaret showed her to the other lounge area that housed extra garments of all kinds, and showed her the way to the neonatal unit.
There was flutter all around the ward, with doctors and nurses running from one room to the next. Margaret showed her to a room where an impossibly small child was laying in the incubator waiting for tests to be run. A doctor walked up behind Tara giving her the chart.
"Male child born approximately two hour ago. 12 weeks premature and in need of two different kind of surgeries. We need to get him stabilized before we are able to do that. Thanks for covering for us." The doctor handed her the chart and left without waiting for a reply.
Tara took the chart the doctor had handed her. There was no name for the child, just the mothers name. In the jumble of the moment, Tara didn't realize that the child she was trying to save was the son of the man trying to save her.
After a few hours, Tara and a team of others were able to get the child stabilized enough to get him to surgery. The likelihood of him making it out of surgery was not very good though. Since all of the doctors were busy with the child, Tara was appointed to go out to the waiting room to see if there was any family for the child there.
Tara took a deep breath and went to the waiting room. She was surprised when not only Jax was there, but Gemma, Donna, and the rest of the club were in the waiting room.
"Jax, what are you doing here?"
"My mom brought in my ex. She was laying unconscious in the middle of her kitchen floor. Cracked out while pregnant with my kid." Jax said hollowly.
Everything hit Tara like a ton of bricks. The small child was Jax's and there was a high probability that the baby wouldn't survive the surgeries he was being taken to.
"Oh god, Jax. I'm so sorry. Is your ex Wendy Case?" Tara continued when everyone nodded.
"I don't know the whole situation with Wendy, but I know that your son is in bad shape Jax. They had to do an emergency c-section on her if they wanted to keep the baby alive. It took a few hours, but we were able to stabilize him. But he is in surgery now." Tara had tried to maintain professionalism, but it was becoming increasingly hard.
"Tara, what are his chances of survival." Gemma asked.
"Not good, they give him a 10-20 percent chance of making it out of surgery." Jax looked like he was going to ask more questions, but was cut off by a doctor looking for the family of Wendy.
"Are you the father of the child?" The doctor asked Jax.
"Yeah, Jax Teller."
"Can you come with me for a moment, Mr. Teller?"
"Whatever you have to say, just say it here. I'll tell them all anyway."
The doctor looked reluctant, but didn't really want to go against such rough looking men.
"Wendy made it through the c-section, but there were some complications. She didn't regain consciousness until about half hour ago. There is some paper work that you are going to have to come with me to fill out, Mr. Teller."
"What kind of paperwork?" Gemma asked/
"Well for starters we have to do a paternity test."
"A paternity test? Why? That's my son in there!" Jax argued.
"I understand that Mr Teller, but Wendy is relinquishing all rights to your son. In order for that to happen, we have to establish paternity for the child so we can show the courts that the child does in fact have a biological parent willing to take care of him."
"What a selfish, junkie bitch." Gemma said under her breath.
Jax shot Tara a scared, pleading look and followed the doctor back to take responsibilities for something he wasn't ready to do alone.
A/N2: Okay guys, I know this was a long chapter, and it was a lot of information, but I wanted to get it out there. Let me know what you guys think. I'm open for suggestions too! Let me know what you want to see.