A/N: I don't own any SOA characters. Talk to Kurt Sutter about ownership and rights and stuff.
Hope you guys enjoy this!
When the storm ends, will you be there?
When the walls fall down, will you stay?
Death drags me down with it's sweet promise of oblivion
Life is a fear I cannot endear
Will you be there?
When the storm ends?
Will you be there to save me from my fear?
My life blood into your veins
My heart beating for you
Will I see you?
As I see you now?
When the storm ends, my dear ?
-T.B. Augustus
Juice watched Marley out of the corner of his eye, he smiled slightly thinking of how she had sliced through the bullshit of the deal with surgical precision. He watched as she walked toward her car, taking special notice of the cell phone she slipped into her pocket. He saw her pause, saw the tension snap into her posture, he caught the glint of the silver .38 pointed at her temple before he actually saw it, he was in motion, moving toward her at a rapid pace before he fully turned his head.
He was across the sidewalk in the space of a breath, his heart beat stamping out a tempo that his body could not ignore.
Save her, Save her.
He stretched his arm out, forcing his body to become longer, stronger than it had ever been.
He had to pull her back, put himself in front of her. His legs felt like lead, the seconds felt like hours.
The cocking back of the gun sounded like a hammer slamming through his system, pushing him harder. He jumped the last foot, grabbing the back of her paper thin shirt as the blast echoed all around them. They fell to the ground together, and before he could draw another breath he fired his gun twice, spinning the tall, thin black man around.
Juice watched shock replace fear, and then fear replace nothingness in the man's eyes. He watched brain matter and blood dribble down the side of his head with a satisfaction and blood lust so great that his mouth watered. The man was spun around again, struck by the heaviness of the bullets that were now singing over Juice's head.
He turned to Marley and watched as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her body went limp. A pool of dark red blood was forming under her, fed by the hole that was now in the side of her head. He beat back his fear as he grabbed her hand and felt the warmth of life rapidly slipping away.
Juice desperately tried to remember what he should do in a situation like this, and he could hear Tara's voice coming to him through the fog. Telling him what he needed to provide Marley's brain with the life saving sustenance that it needed.
"CLAY!" he screamed. Clay was standing over him with his gun held at his side, watching Marley, his eyes fixated on the hole gaping in her once perfect skull. When he heard Juice's call, he turned dazed eyes on him.
"Grab her legs! Hold them up!" Juice ordered.
Clay moved as if in a dream to do Juice's bidding. Surely this was not real, he thought, surely he would wake up soon. Gemma would stroke his hair and tell him it was okay, it had only been a nightmare.
Juice whipped off his leather cut and t-shirt. He bunched the cotton up and held it tightly to the hole in Marley's head, with his other hand he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. When an operator picked up he spoke rapidly into the phone, telling her about Marley's wound, giving the address of the bar. He looked up and saw Marley's grandfather hovering above him, staring at Marley with tears in his eyes. The old man slowly sunk to the pavement, cradling his granddaughter's hand in his.
He spoke to her in russian, Juice thought it may have been a prayer, but he didn't want that, he was not ready to give her over to God.
"Mr. Anslavg!" Juice yelled at the man. The russian turned dazed and frightened eyes on him. "Come hold this compress to her head."
When the man didn't respond Juice yelled, "NOW!"
After the older man moved around Marley's body, Juice went over to Marley's other side, bending over her and pressing his ear to her chest. He could hear a heartbeat there, faint though it was. He held two fingers to the pulse point in her neck, her pulse was there, but it was slow and very faint. Her breathing was shallow, barely enough to raise her chest. Remembering the short lesson in CPR Tara had given the medics from the surrounding club's he began to perform the procedure on her.
He pressed his lips to hers, breathing his life's breath into her, hoping that it was enough, just enough to get her to better, more sophisticated help. The first time he met her flashed through his mind, all of the precious moments he had ever spent with her played like a movie reel through his brain. He felt the tears begin to build, felt the panic begin to set in, but he pushed it back hard. His only intent to save the woman in front of him.
He felt hands pulling him away, and he looked up into Clay's sorrow filled eyes. He looked down and watched as the paramedics took over. Clay said something and he turned to him, but he couldn't hear him. Blood was roaring so loudly in his head that he could barely hear himself think.
He followed the paramedics as they put Marley into the back of the ambulance, he started to step up into the back but one of the medics held up a staying hand. Juice shot him a death filled look and the man gave over and allowed Juice access.
Juice sat to the side as they worked on her, willing her to open her beautiful eyes. To look over at him and smirk, to look at him again at all. One of the men turned to him and spoke, but the roaring had grown and again Juice could not hear him. The man pointed at Juice's bare chest, and Juice looked down, now noticing the fresh blood coursing down his arm. Juice tried to move his head to look back at the man, but he couldn't. Suddenly his head felt like lead and his vision tunneled in on the gaping hole in his upper chest. Juice moved his hand as the ambulance bounced, but it never made contact with the side of Marley gurney. He slipped to the floor as oblivion sunk it's wicked talons into him and drug him under.
Juice buoyed up to consciousness slowly. He blinked at the bright lights all around him, trying to make the room come into focus. He closed his eyes and tried to reach a hand over to stroke Marley's back, his arm did not respond, but he could feel a slender smooth hand holding his. He tried his fingers, moving his pinky slowly, and then his ring finger. He brought life back into his fingers one by one, until he had a measure of control over his hand.
He heard a quick intake of breath. Heard a familiar voice say his name, and his eyes popped open. He blinked hard, trying his best to adjust his eyes to the light blinding him from above.
"Turn the goddamned light off!" he heard the voice hiss.
Suddenly the light was gone, and he closed his eyes, exhausted from trying to filter and focus all of the light around him. The voice said his name, and he attempt to turn his head, but it felt so heavy and he just wanted to sleep now.
The voice said his name again, more insistently this time, and he slowly opened his eyes again. It was easier to focus now with the dimmer light. He blinked twice, and wondered where Marley was.
"Juice?" the voice said again and he caught the scent of sweet perfume, heard the faint jiggle of jewelry and then saw a face hovering above his. He couldn't bring it into focus, but he thought it might be Marley.
"Marley?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
The face did not reply, simply stared at him.
"Marley?" he said again this time his voice stronger. He paused and blinked again, focusing his eyes first on her familiar light brown eyes, and then on her full mouth. The worry lines and crows feet around her mouth and eyes had him drawing back and blinking hard. This was not Marley.
Gemma.
She simply stared at him, her eyes darting all over his face.
"Marley?" he whispered again as slivers of his dream focused into reality. "Where is she?" he attempted to scream as he ordered his body into action. His arm flew up knocking Gemma back, but he was tethered to something beside the bed. He looked at his arm, saw the tubes coming out and felt a bit of his mind slip away. He panicked, forcing his body up, ripping the tubes from his arms. He had to find her, what had they done to her?
He made it to his feet before the darkness consumed him again and he collapsed into a heap.
"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!" Gemma exclaimed as she hightailed it out of the door, screaming for a doctor.
Tara stared at the doctor that was assigned to Juice's case as he spoke to her and the rest of the SAMCRO family.
"The bullet hit him in the upper thoracic area. He suffered some damaged to his aortic artery, but we managed to repair it. Luckily for Mr. Ortiz the bullet missed his heart by 2/3 of an inch. The bullet lodged in his lungs and we successfully removed it." the doctor said quickly to the waiting family.
"Tara!" Gemma yelled summoning the family doctor forward, "What the hell did the doc just say to us?"
Tara stepped forward eyeing the attending surgeon. He was very monotone and cold with her family. She couldn't be sure if he was judging them or if it was simply a professional courtesy. She walked out in front of the clan and went to stand toe to toe with the doctor.
"The bullet hit Juice in his upper chest, near his heart. His aortic artery, one of the most important in the human body, was damaged by the bullet. Had Juice been standing a breath closer to or away from Marley it would have hit and exploded his heart." she said not breaking eye contact with the doctor.
"What is the hospital's policy on restraints?" Tara asked the doctor.
"Ummm er.. Ms..." he began.
"Dr Knowles." Tara supplied coolly.
"Umm Dr. Knowles, we are not going to put the patient in restraints. He is recovering and as you well know it could be detrimental...-"
"This man woke up, knocked over my mother in law, pulled his IV's out and attempted to leave the room. As his primary care physician I am recommending restraints for him until he has regained full consciousness. If your hospital does not provide such a service, stabilize him and transport him to St. Thomas Community in Charming." Tara said with authority.
"But doctor!"
Tara stepped into the man's space, the SAMCRO family at her back. "Are you going against the wishes of the primary care physician, doctor? Surely you realize the ethical and medical implications of that?"
The doctor tried to stare her down, but Tara stared back at him, her green eyes on fire. She had dealt with dickwads like him all through medical school, she knew she could break him with a look.
He looked away from her, and his eyes bounced off of Jax's. "I'll write it up in his chart. I'll have the nurse do it as soon as possible Dr. Knowles."
"You'll have the nurse do it now, and I'll be in the room to oversee it." she said with authority.
The man sighed and wrote in the chart, "Yes, doctor." he said between his teeth and then he turned and left.
Tara watched him leave with her hand on her hip. Snotty son of bitch, she thought. She turned back to her family and locked eyes with Gemma. Gemma nodded slightly and Tara returned it. They both knew where she pulled from to bring out the bitch in her.
Jax walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "You are absolutely horrifying when you need to be, you know that?"
"And you love it. Admit it."
"Oh yea" he said with a smile and a quick kiss.
"I'm going to go make sure these people are doing their jobs. I'll update everyone in a bit." she said as she made her way out of the waiting room door.
"I'm going to try to get an update on Marlene." Gemma said to the room at large and followed Tara out of the door.
"You're old lady is on a whole other level man." Happy said quietly from the corner.
Jax turned to look at him and began to laugh.
"Tara's been that way since she was born." Opie threw in.
"Bet playin' doctor with her wasn't as fun as it was with the other little girls, eh Jackie boy? Not with her pulling out real knives and the like." Chibbs said
Jax simply raised an eyebrow and kept his mouth shut.
"Ah, Jax has always enjoyed Tara above other girls Chibbs." Bobby said with a smile on his face.
Jax shook his head at Bobby not rising to the bait.
All the guys started laughing, trying to relax and not to think about the fact that they had almost lost a brother and his old lady. Clay walked into the room, his footfalls were heavy, and as Jax watched him he seemed older, more tired than ever before.
Though Jax could put Juice and Marley's injuries on Clay's shoulders he knew that it would cause the kind of tension that it their old rift had caused two years earlier.
"You okay, Clay?" Jax asked him and everyone turned their attention to Clay.
"I have Juice's cut. The cops just gave it back to me." Clay said looking down at the ground. He looked unsure and impotent. Two things that no one in this club had ever seen him be.
"Where is it?" Jax asked quietly as he walked over to his stepfather.
Clay held it up and Jax stopped in his tracks, every man in the room stopped what he was doing to stare at the cut of their brother.
Clay stood and held the cut up. Sunlight from the window hit it and bounced off of the dark leather fabric, except in one spot. Between the REDWOOD and ORIGINAL badges on breast of the cut sunlight filtered through a large hole, coming out through the other side to nothingness.
They all stared at the bullet hole, knowing that it should've killed Juice.
Knowing that it could've been any of them.
Jax walked over and took the cut from Clay. He put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Burden of this lands on the club Clay, but dont make this personal, dont take it into yourself. It'll eat you up, take away from every decision you make."
Clay looked at Jax, he knew in his head that his stepson would someday take his place, but for the first time in 20 years, he felt it in his heart.
He walked over to a chair and plopped down. "Marlene was phenomenal. Grandpa wasn't budging but she pushed right through his restraints. She called us her family. Stood by SAMCRO, even though we all heard what she thought of the life when she was fighting with Juice just a week ago. Her love and loyalty to Juice got her a bullet to the head." He said reliving the moment he watched her fall to the ground.
"Jesus Christ Clay no one knew it would go down then. No one knew anything." Bobby said in an effort to comfort his boss.
"I know man...I know." Clay rubbed a hand over his face and looked at Jax, " Do we have any information on the shooter?"
"He's not local. Car he drove was a rental. Tatts point to one niner affiliation. I'm probably reaching but I'm gonna say it is the half-brother, or someone he tasked to take her out." Jax said quietly. He was still getting his intel together, but he was sure that he was right.
"I want protection on her, in this hospital 24/7. At least two men." Jax nodded in agreement, he had already spoken with the men about it.
"Alright Clay, we'll work it out." he said.
Clay nodded and crossed his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair.
Tara walked back into the room and all the attention shifted to her. She stopped in the middle of the room and addressed all of them.
"Juice is sedated for the night, so he won't be coming around again until the morning. I've arranged it so that two people can sleep in with him. He's restrained, so whoever is in with him will have to start talking quick when he wakes up, and make him understand what is going on so that he doesn't hurt himself."
She sighed heavily and hooked her thumbs through the loops on her belt. "Marlene's x-rays are back, the bullet went through her skull but only managed to do damage to the cochlea of her inner ear. She'll have some balance issues, some hearing loss, but nothing that can't be modified with physical therapy. The bullet seems to have went straight through her and into Juice. When Juice pushed her to the ground, she banged her head pretty hard. She has a pretty bad concussion and...-" Tara choked up and couldn't finish. She couldn't believe it was Marley she was talking about.
Jax walked over to her and touched her arm, "And what?" he asked needing her to finish. Had she died? Lost the baby?
"And she appears to be comatose." Tara whispered. "Her chances of making a full recovery are slim."
"And the baby?" Bobby asked.
Tara looked at him and felt her heart shatter again. "They did an ultrasound and the baby appears to be okay."
They all looked relieved and Tara felt awful for keeping some of the news from them. She needed to speak with Juice first before she would take any action.
"I'm going to go sit with Marlene. Come get me when Juice wakes up." she said quietly. She kissed Jax and walked out of the room.
This time Juice was ready when the fog lifted. As soon as his brain cleared he opened his eyes. His room was dark and he could make out the shape of two sleeping bodies on either side of his bed.
He had to get to Marley, he had to touch her with his hands and see her with his eyes.
He tried to lift his arm but was brought up short, he looked down at his hand and saw the dark brown leather that had crisscrossed over his wrist. He pulled at it hard, shaking the bed slightly in his anger.
What was this? he thought as he yanked harder on the restraint, making his bed shake harder. He heard movement from the side of room and turned his head in the direction. The room was dark and all he could make out was a shadowy outline.
The light flicked on and suddenly Jax's face was inches from his.
Juice released a pent up breath, happy to see his brother's face.
"Where's Marley?" Juice whispered.
"Umm bro, let me get the doctor so you can get checked out first." Jax said as he pushed the call button next to Juice's bed
"Where's Marley?" Juice said louder.
"Calm down." Jax replied.
"WHERE'S MARLEY? WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE? TELL ME NOW!" Juice yelled with more force than he thought he had in him. He began to tug at his restraints again, making his bed shake hard.
Jax backhanded him across the face, and held him down by his shoulders. "Calm the fuck down Juice! We don't want them to put you under again. Let the doctor check you, and then we'll tell you what happened."
Juice calmed a little, but still strained at his restraints. His body was vibrating with anger and fear. Was she dead? Is that what they wouldn't tell him? What had Jax looking away from him with guilt in his eyes?
Where was she?
"Go get Tara." Juice heard Jax say to an unknown person across the room. Juice heard the door open and close twice. He felt strong hands touching him and he turned his head to see who it was. Suddenly, the upper half of his bed was being lifted. More of his room came into view, he saw Tig standing in the corner of the room, Jax was standing on the right side of his bed. He ignored his doctor as he checked his vital signs, when he shined a penlight into his eyes and asked him if he remembered what happened Juice gave him a stony look and he took the hint and quickly left the room.
Juice looked over at Jax and sat quietly with his restrained hands bunched into fists.
Jax crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Juice, he had no intention of telling Juice Marley's status, he would let Tara take care of it. The door opened and Jax watched as Juice's face softened slightly as he looked at Tara. He shook his head, amazed that the woman in front of him was his.
Tara walked over to Juice's bedside, she laid a gentle hand on his restrained fist and felt him relax slightly. She looked up into his eyes and saw his pain and fear and felt bitterness and anger rise to her throat. Would anyone tied to this club ever have their happy ending? she wondered harshly, but then she tucked that emotion away. She knew that even the happiest of endings could end with a crash into harsh, cold reality.
"Juice do you remember what happened to you?" she asked him quietly.
He looked confused for a moment, why were they talking about him when Marley was the one that had been hurt? "Guy pulled a gun on Marley, I ran over and shoved her down, but I wasn't quick enough. Last thing I remember is her being lifted into the back of the ambulance."
"You don't remember passing out?" Tara asked with a frown on her face, she threw a quick look at Jax. The report from the paramedics said that Juice had been awake and alert before he passed out.
He shook his head, searching his memory. The whole incident was a little fuzzy. He tried to view it through the haze, but he couldn't see past watching Marley's limp body being lifted into the back of the ambulance.
"You were shot Juice. Upper chest, went straight through. Came damned close to your heart. You helped Marley, called the cops, and even walked to the ambulance and climbed in yourself, and then you passed out."
Juice looked shocked, and for the first time since he opened his eyes, he looked down at his chest. He tried to lift his hand to touch the spot where he could now feel the bandage, but was brought up short by his restraint. He looked at Jax and Jax nodded toward Tara silently telling him that it was her decision to remove the restraints. Juice looked back at Tara and she sighed and pushed the call button for the nurse.
"Where's Marley?" Juice asked Tara quietly. He could see her battling with herself, and he knew she was unsure of what to say and what to leave out.
"The bullet hit Marley first, it went through her jaw and into her skull and shattered part of her bony inner ear and then exited." she began quietly. "She's going to have some hearing loss, and balance issues but those can be modified with surgery and physical therapy."
"But...?" he said urging her to continue.
"When you pulled her back and she hit the ground she took a good shot to the head, and she fell into a coma."
"What? but what does that mean? Is she dead?"
"No, she's still alive. With head injuries some times a person will fall into a coma, and the nerves will re-innervate themselves allowing the person to wake up, sometimes brain activity decreases and the person eventually stops breathing and..." she couldn't go on, she couldn't think of Marley in that way.
Juice nodded, glad that she had not finished the sentence. He couldn't think of Marley in that way either.
Tara cleared her throat and glanced at Jax, seeking mental strength for what she was about to tell Juice. "She's breathing on her own Juice. Which gives us hope that she will wake up, but as of right now it is just a waiting game."
"She's stubborn as hell, she'll wake up." Juice said with certainty. Tara looked into his eyes and saw that he was not just trying to comfort himself with those words. He really believed that Marley was stubborn enough to kick away death and walk away. She shook her head.
Maybe Marley was, Juice certainty gave Tara hope.
"What about the baby?" Juice asked quietly. Tara looked back at him and saw that some of the hope he had for Marley had slipped away at the thought of his child, and that he was steeling himself for her answer.
Tara took a deep breath and glanced at Jax and Tig, she looked back at Juice and he nodded, giving her consent to speak in front of his brothers.
"We did an ultrasound, the baby looks to be okay. Strong heartbeat, and it is has grown since I last saw it."
"I'm hearing another but in your voice doc." Juice said he was relieved to hear that his baby was okay, but he felt anxious because Tara still looked worried.
"In instances such as this...when..when the mother has fallen into a comatose state...the pregnancies are terminated." she whispered as she stared at the floor.
Juice's eyes widened, and then filled with tears. They were going to kill his baby, he couldn't let them do that, he wouldn't stand by and let them murder his child.
"An abortion?" he whispered. Tara nodded her head still not able to look at him."Do I have any say over my child's life?"
Tara looked at him finally, "I have power of attorney over Marley's estate. We both had living wills drawn up five years ago in case...well just in case. I have a heavy input into her medical care."
"I'm not talking about Marley, I'm talking about my child!" Juice raged. It wasn't fair. He wouldn't let it happen. There had to be a way around it.
"The child is not legally considered to be living until it draws it's first breath." she held up a hand as Juice opened his mouth to interrupt her again, "LOOK Marley is my best friend, my sister, I love that baby too, but the child could be a detriment to her recovery."
"And if she woke up in a month? Do you think she would be happy that you killed her only chance of becoming a mother?" Juice snapped at Tara.
"No, she wouldn't be happy, but if that were the case then she could get pregnant again..-"
"GOD! I'm not talking about future children, I'm talking about this child NOW. I won't let you do, I'm the father I have a say."
Tara shook her head, she knew this would be difficult, but she had no idea how hard. "No, as her power of attorney and primary care physician I have final say over what happens."
"Then don't do it! You love her, could you do this to her?" he said hysterically.
"No, but..-"
"THEN DONT DO IT! TARA PLEASE, THIS MY BABY. THEY ARE MY LIFE. I HAVE THEM AND MY CUT THAT'S IT, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS." Juice had never felt so desperate in his life. He felt close to tears, he was not a man that cried easily but he could feel them building.
"It goes against medical and ethical codes to keep her pregnant, Juice. A pregnancy is draining to a healthy body, but a body that is damaged, it will slow her recovery, it could be the catalyst that causes her never to wake up!" Tears were flowing freely down Tara's face. She did not want this to happen but she knew that the other alternative would be a rocky path and could end up with them losing both Marley and the baby.
"Tara, please..." he whispered in a last ditch attempt to make her give over.
Tara looked at Jax and he stared back at her sympathetically. She was at the top of her game medically, she had never needed anyone to make a decision and she never hesitated, but right now she would gladly hand over the reins. She looked at Juice, at the desperation on his face, the determination in his eyes and knew that she could not have asked for a better man than him for Marley. She knew the risks, knew the odds and she knew that Juice was right. If Marley woke up and her baby was gone because of her condition she would never be able to live with herself.
She touched his hand as the nurse walked into the room. She turned to her and ordered her to remove the restraints. Jax and Tig stood alert ready to grab Juice if he attempted to leave the bed. Juice looked over the nurse's head at Tara anxiously, she could see that he was still willing to battle for his child's life.
She walked back over to his bedside and touched his hand again. "You love her. Risked your life to save her and are willing to fight for your child. I couldn't ask for a better man for my sister."
"Tara..." he began not sure where she was going with this.
"Hospitalization, or even nursing home care for a pregnant comatose patient will be astronomically expensive. It will suck up time and energy and mental strength. The end outcome could be Marley and the baby both dying. If that happened after caring for her for months, you could end up slipping into a serious psychotic episode. You would need help, but you have more than enough between Gemma, me and Lyla."
"Money is a non-issue. I've been doing some side work since I got out, I can take care of her and she wouldn't be at a hospital or nursing home. I'd keep her at home, where she could be comfortable."
"She can't be in the clubhouse Juice, she would need to be in a totally sterile environment..-"
"Not the clubhouse. I found a house in Charming and I had planned to buy it in a few weeks anyway, and surprise Marley. She could stay there. I could hire one of those in home nurses."
Tara shook her head, a little shocked at Juice. Most men would've buckled already, but he would lay everything he had at Marley's feet just to see her better. "She would need more than a nurse. She would need a nurse that specializes in critical patients. She would need a high risk OBGYN, and a physical therapist. I'll act as her primary care physician. After the baby is born he or she would need to be monitored in an neonatal intensive care facility. The birth would have to be via c-section so her last few weeks of gestation would need to be done in a hospital."
Juice was nodding at everything Tara said making lists in his head. "Do you know any nurses from the hospital that would work on the side, maybe under the table? I'll have to do some research on an OBGYN and good physical therapist. I could probably cut some deals with some people I know for hospital supplies...-"
Everyone was staring at him, they had never heard him sound so ordered.
"Yea, I'll make some calls. I'll go talk to the medical staff here, tell them to get her stabilized for transportation to St. Thomas." Tara said. She was marveling at Juice and wondering if she was making the worst mistake of both her and Marley's lives.
She turned to walk out of the door, but he caught her hand in a weak grip and brought it to his lips and kissed it. "Thank you Tara."
She did not respond, she did not know what to say. She simply turned and walked out of the door with a dazed expression on her face.
Jax followed her out, and Juice turned to Tig, he was still standing quietly in the corner.
"You sure that's what you want?" Tig asked as soon as the door slammed behind Jax.
"Yes." Juice said with absolute certainty.
Juice was released from the hospital a week after getting Tara to agree to fight with him to keep the doctors from aborting Marley's pregnancy. He stayed in his hotel room overlooking the golden gate bridge for one day, then he was back at the hospital by Marley's side.
No one argued with him, they simply accepted that this new stubborn Juice would not be argued with when it came to Marley. He sat by her bedside making plans for his future with Marley.
He entertained the though of her never waking up, of him having to raise a child alone while maintaining her health. He found that he could accept that. He just wanted to give her a chance to recover and wake up.
He called the realtor in Charming that he had been working with and gave her an abridged version of events. He asked her to speed up the sell of the house, and she had called him back one hour later saying that it was his. Juice used to his laptop and researched nurses, physical therapists and high risk OBGYN's in the Charming area. He compiled a list of five in each category, and asked Tara to interview them and make the final decision on them.
He created an accounting program to keep track of his ledgers and income while Marley was comatose. He calculated it out 10 years, and decided that he would need to take on a few more webmastering gigs to make it work. He would also have to be extremely careful of his spending and how he spent his time.
He rubbed a hand over his face and looked at Marley's still form on the hospital bed. She lay flat on her back with only an IV for fluid running from her arm, her skin was ashen and mute, all of her shine seemed to have been drained from her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even.
It weren't for the bandage around her head, she would appear to be asleep. He rubbed his hand over her belly and smiled.
He would make this work. For his family he had to make this work.
On Marley's last morning before she was transferred to St. Thomas Community Hospital her grandfather came by for a visit.
The old man stood quietly in the doorway, simply staring at Marley. Juice was so absorbed in calculations and his computer that he didn't realize the man was there until he heard him quietly shuffle his feet.
Juice jumped to his feet, reaching for his gun before he knew who the intruder was.
"Son, it is only me and I would never hurt her." Anslavg said quietly. Juice realized his pose and sat back in his chair.
"Good morning sir, it is nice to see you again." Juice said in welcome. The old Russian nodded his head slowly at Juice and then advanced into the room. He went to stand on his granddaughter's other side, he looked down at her without touching her. To Juice he appeared to be almost frightened of her.
"She is a beautiful woman. Was a beautiful child. Of mind, body and spirit." he said quietly.
"Yes." Juice agreed
"When she was a child, I hoped for only the best for her. I haven't worried myself over whether she was happy or sad or sick or healthy for all of these years. She is the child of my heart, we parents tend to forget that we raise our children to take care of themselves."
"She is a brave woman."
"Yes, and I am happy that she has found her match. Happy that she has found love."
"I am lucky to have her in my life."
"Indeed."
Juice watched as Anslavg stared down at Marley again. He reached over and ran his fingers lightly over her cheek. Juice went back to his computer, quietly continuing his research.
"You are planning to take care of her in this state?" Anslavg asked quietly. Juice looked up at him and noticed that he was still staring at Marley's face.
"Yes." he replied simply.
"It will be a big stress. Financially, emotionally. It will not be like living with a live vibrant woman. You are young, you could find another. Leave Asha to those that are responsible for her."
"I AM responsible for her." Juice said as he stared at the side of Marley's grandfather's face. "She is all I have in this world. She is my family. A piece of paper giving me legal responsibility over her doesn't make a difference. She is my heart. I could no sooner leave her than I could leave my skin, my blood."
Anslavg finally looked at Juice. He saw the intensity this young man had for his granddaughter, he remembered his granddaughter's bravery in asking for his assistance to give their family a fighting chance.
He would honor that promise.
"As I said I am happy she has found her match. I cared for her grandmother, and her mother as they were dying. It is not and easy thing my son." he said softly to Juice, he knew this man loved his Asha, but he had to be sure.
"That's the difference. She is not dying, she is recovering, she is healing." Juice said with absolute certainty.
"Life is fragile, it can snap at any minute..-"
"No I won't accept that. Marley is young, she is healthy, and she is strong mentally and physically. She will pull through this, I will take care of her as long as I am alive whether she is in this state or fully alert and arguing with me."
"And the child? What of the child when it comes?"
"When my baby is born I will care for her, take care of both of them. Like I said before they are my life." Juice said passionately.
Anslavg nodded. He liked this young man. He was smart, but realistic. He gave Anslavg hope for his granddaughter's survival.
"If this is going to work you will need money...-"
"I don't want your money sir." Juice said with finality.
"It's not my money, it's Asha's money. I will have an accountant set up a trust and have the money paid to you month..-"
"Sir. I cannot take any money from you."
"Son. She is my granddaughter. I cannot care for her, so you will. The least I can do..-"
"I'm not going to use it, it'll be a waste."
"YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME AND NOT INTERRUPT!" Anslavg yelled in his most authoritative voice.
Juice clenched his jaw shut, but still held the same stubborn expression on his face.
"I will have a trust set up for her care and my great grandchild's care. If you will not accept the money then I will pay for her nursing, therapy and doctor's myself. One way or another I will be allowed to help my Asha."
"Yes sir" Juice said through his teeth.
"The man that shot her." Anslavg said in an abrupt change of subject, "It was her brother."
Juice sat up straight in his chair, "How do you know that?"
"After the hit they put out on her that damaged her so horribly, you do not believe that I would let them continue to draw breath?" Anslavg said simply. "I had her father and brothers taken care of 15 years ago. One of the brothers got away, went into hiding and slipped beyond my range."
Juice was take aback by the man's ruthlessness, he had been talking to Anslavg on a personal level and with such intimacy, he had forgotten for a second who he was.
Russian Mafia King.
"My heart sang with relief and joy when I saw him felled under the weight of your bullets." Anslavg looked Juice in the eye now, and though they were a different color from Marley's Juice could recognize some of the same traces of ruthlessness in them."If you will not accept the money for her care and comfort as a gift, then accept it as payment for killing the man that has alluded some of my best assassins for 15 years."
He leaned over Marley's still form, whispered something in her ear, and then kissed her hand. He gave Juice a long hard stare and then walked out of the hospital room.
Juice bought a mid-sized ranch style house in Charming proper the day after he and Marley came back into town. He immediately turned the keys, a roll of hundreds and the name of a "friend" he could get a discount from on medical supplies over to Tara and Gemma to make it as comfortable as possible and to make all of the necessary arrangements.
The house had three bedrooms and two bathrooms and a large backyard. Gemma and Tara decorated it in comfortable monotones. They set one bedroom up as a master suite for Juice and Marley, and then another room as a hospital room for Marley. The remaining room was painted pale green and a garden mural was painted on the wall. It was to be a nursery but it was a masterpiece in the making.
After Tara had tossed Juice the keys and told him it was ready, and that Marley would be sent home in two days, Juice began to feel nervous.
He would have help, of this he was sure, but for Marley's heavy care it would be him.
Alone.
He didn't want to do something to hurt her, or the baby so he decided to have Tara run him through a quick training on the do's and dont's before Marley came home.
Marley's first day home was full of activity and visitors.
After the private transportation service got her in the house and set up her private nurse came over for the first shift. Tara had hired two nurses for day and evening shifts. Her physical therapist showed up an hour after that to introduce herself and do a health assessment of Marley. The OBGYN showed up right after the physical therapist pulled away from the house and Juice was surprised to find that the doctor was an older silver haired woman with a big apple shaped face and warm blue eyes.
While they worked on Marley Juice sat in the corner of his room working on his computer.
After the doctor declared Marley to be "doing well" and left, he was left alone with the nurse. Gemma, Tara, Jax and a few of the other guys from the club showed up at the front door.
Tara held two giant house plants, Gemma held what looked like six dozen of roses and Jax and the guys held various bags with what Juice knew to be casserole dishes of food.
"You gonna invite us in shithead, or do we have to trample over you?" Jax said with a smile on his face. He knew Juice was shocked that they all would show up in a big group like this but everyone wanted to show their support.
He stepped back and they all filed into the house. Tara set the plants down and took the flowers from Gemma. She walked over to the hall closet and pulled down four vases. She put flowers in each vase and set them around the house, thinking that it made the place look less sterile.
She went to the kitchen and put the individually wrapped dishes of food in the freezer for Juice. She and Gemma had prepared enough to get him through two weeks, they would keep him supplied with ready to eat meals. It was one of the small things that was often overlooked, but when provided, often greatly appreciated.
They settled into easy conversation, but eventually the guys drifted away from the house, slowly drawn back to the women and liquor at the clubhouse. Tara and Gemma lingered after everyone had left, helping to clean up the mess that was left behind.
Gemma went into the nursery to take measurements, Juice was drawn back to his spot next to Marley's bed.
Tara eventually went into Marley's room and did a quick check of her vitals. She spoke quietly to Juice until Gemma was ready to go. Two hours after they left the next nurse showed up. Eventually, Juice drifted off to sleep in his makeshift bed next to Marley's bed.
He fell asleep holding her hand.
The hours drifted into days and the days into weeks and then months. Juice's new life managed to work itself into a routine. He was with the club four times a week. He participated in runs and protection duty as needed and attended church regularly. He was still the club's intelligence officer, but he spent a lot less time at the garage.
His days were spent by Marley's side, changing her urine bag, massaging and working out her legs.
Bathing her and bushing her hair. He always spoke with her while he worked, and in the hundreds of hours that had passed since he had last heard her voice, he had gotten used to the silence.
Mostly he heard her in his head, her laugh, her smartassed comments. He heard it all.
He read to her, sitting in his well worn spot with a book opened with one hand and his other hand on her belly.
It was four and a half months into her pregnancy when he felt his child respond to his voice. He felt the gentle flutter and for a moment he thought Marley had moved, but then he realized what it was and he had spent the next hour bent over Marley's belly, kissing his child through her skin and telling it how much he loved it.
As Marley's belly grew Juice documented it for her, taking pictures of her stomach from awkward angles (and even a few with Tara laying side by side with Marley with her shirt raised for comparison) and putting them in an online scrapbook for her to view later.
Juice loved Marley's changing body, he admired her and the way the baby seemed to transform her, even in her comatose state. She glowed, her skin was much more vibrant than it had been before. The white bandage that was wrapped around her had been removed a month before and her hair fanned out about her shoulder in brown and golden ringlets.
When she reached her 28th week of pregnancy her OBGYN installed a monitor for the baby in the room. All Juice had to do to hear his baby's heartbeat was walk across the room and turn up the monitor. He left it up when they were alone.
He fell asleep for every night for a month to the steady rhythm of his child's life force.
As Marley approached the end of her 8th month of pregnancy Tara began to make arrangements to have her transported back to the hospital for the delivery. Juice left the plans up to Tara knowing that she would make the best decisions where Marley was concerned.
Over the past six months Juice had grown to appreciate and love Tara more. If he would call anyone in this world his sister it would be her. She seemed to have an endless amount of time, patience and love for Marley and for that she would always hold a special place in Juice's heart.
The night before Marley was to be transported back to the hospital Juice had fallen asleep at her bedside again, holding her hand. Their baby's heartbeat acted as background music and the only light in room was cast from the bedside table lamp.
He jerked awake suddenly, looked down at Marley's hand and watched as she squeezed her fingers into a weak ball in his hand.
Marley sat at the bottom of eternity trying to figure out how make herself rise to the top to break through the surface of consciousness. She tried to force herself up but could not make herself move. Finally, she rested on the basement of the abyss and prepared to surrender herself over.
Then she felt herself floating but did not want to leave the restful peacefulness of the sweet, dark abyss. She heard his voice, the voice of her beloved. "She's not dying" she heard him say, "She is recovering. She is healing." His voice whispered across her like a cool, sweet wind. She heard the steel behind the words, felt the strength of them and the love of them and she began to fight.
She fought to keep breathing, fought the darkness beneath her. She let her strength build within herself, let it gather like a strong cool wind at her back. She felt herself at the surface, he seemed closer but so far away that she wanted to scream. She could hear the whispers of a heartbeat in the background and sometimes she could hear his full phrases. She tried to feel her body, to sense what was around her but she couldn't all she could do was press herself against the surface of consciousness and listen to his desperate words. Would she be trapped like this forever? In this nothingness?
She pressed against the surface again, and in frustration she used the nails on the hands she could not see, striving to push through the surface to her love.
Finally, she broke through. She could feel her fingers, the very tips. She told her body to flex her hand and it responded slowly, carefully curling into a fist.
She told her eyes to open and was almost taken aback when she saw Juice flash his eyes down to hers.
His beautiful eyes, his beautiful face.
She cried out weakly when he grabbed her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. She tried to get her body to respond but it would not listen. Her muscles spasmed out of control when she tried to lift her arm to hug him to her, so she just let him hold her content for now to be inhaling his scent, feeling his kiss and looking into the eyes she thought she would never see again.
Juice looked at her and wondered if he was truly cracking up now. Had he lost his mind? Was this even a psychotic illusion his mind had concocted out of being stretched thin by stress and worry and fear?
"I love you" he said into her mouth and then he reached for his phone and pressed a button twice.
"Tara! Yes! hahahaha! You have to get over here! Well... either I have completely lost my mind"
"No, no I need you not 911, please come... because I think...well I think Marley just woke up!"