Whispers of What We Were

Chapter 8

It had been two weeks since the night Tig had been shot and Jax had not seen or talked to Tara since. Tara had been good at avoiding him in the small town and she always had been. She had been dropping the kids off at Gemma's and was sure to pick them up when Jax was not around.

Right now, Emily and Abel were at the garage, both more interested in the car Juice was fixing up than their dad. Jax sat on the table top of a nearby picnic table watching them.

"Hey baby." Jax turned his head and smile at this mother walking towards him. "Slow day?"

"Yeah. I told the kids I'd take them to the park or something but they wanted to stay here... Help work on cars."

Gemma laughed and took a seat on the picnic table next to her son. "They remind me so much of you."

"Really? They remind me of Tara. Determined, focused, and smart." Jax said painfully.

Gemma studied her son. "Still haven't managed to talk to her again huh?" She wouldn't dare tell Jax that she and Tara were actually on better terms than they had been two weeks ago. Gemma had even had lunch with her a few times when she had a break at the hospital. Of course they only ever talked about the kids; they never talked about the past.

"She's avoiding me. Obviously. I just-"

"You want your family back." Gemma finished for him. She knew her son was unhappy; he had been for four years and that was Gemma's fault. Her and the club had made Jax stay; had made him unhappy. With Tara and the kids back in Charming however, maybe she could turn it all around. Jax and Tara, smart as they were, were acting completely stupid. They loved each other, simple as that.

"Makes me sound like a pussy huh?" Jax asked his mom with a smile.

"Not at all. Makes you sound like a man who loves his wife and kids."

Jax put his head in his hands. "I was so stupid not to follow her. I miss Tara so much."

Gemma put her arm around Jax's shoulder, "what the hell did you two fight about anyways?"

Jax looked at his mother with a hint of accusation. "Well, for starter, she brought up my 'dirty skanks'."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. What the hell was that all about huh?"

"The good doctor and I were in a little bit of a fight all our own."

"I don't even think she was that upset about it. That stung a little. But then Abel mentioned something about a black eye Tara had gotten in Chicago a couple of months ago. He said she ran into a door or some shit.

Gemma froze, her conversation with Tara about Josh coming to the front of her mind. "You don't believe it?"

"Well, I would have if Emily hadn't quieted down when Abel and I started talking about it. She wouldn't even look at me."

'Suspicion confirmed.' Gemma thought to herself. Emily had done the same thing when she brought up Tara's old boyfriend. This Josh guy had hurt Tara, she knew it. She couldn't tell Jax; he would freak out, possibly make Tara leave again. She had to get to the bottom of this. Tara, Emily and Abel were family; they had to be protected.

"You hang in there baby. Tara always came around."

Jax nodded. "I'm just worried. I mean, have you noticed how skinny she is? She looks like you. It's unhealthy."

"Gee thanks." Gemma had noticed, and it worried her too. "Maybe it's just the stress of the move and the new job. I'm having a barbeque at the house on Saturday and I'll tell Tara she had to come... We'll force feed her baby back ribs or something." She joked.

Jax laughed, "Thanks Mom."

"Anytime baby."

SOASOASOASOA

Four years ago...

"This barbeque was great Jax."

"Yeah, I thought it would be better to come to the park than the clubhouse. All the clubs are getting pretty big and so many of the guys have kids now; it's a better place." Jax said, running his fingers through his wife's hair. They had managed to sneak away from the group, happy to lie next to each other on the grass and watch the setting sun. Jax kissed the top of Tara's head, "I love you."

"Mmm, I love you too. Do you have eyes on our rug rats?"

"Yeah. Emily is with my mom and Abel's rough-housing with the guys."

Tara smiled, "of course he is."

Jax ran his hands down Tara's side, caressing her hip. "At least they'll sleep well tonight." He said mischievously.

"You trying to get lucky tonight Teller?"

"I'm always lucky babe."

BANG BANG! BANG BANG!

Jax and Tara bolted up. Women and children were screaming. Sons of Anarchy members drew their weapons and started shooting at a black van that was speeding away. Some club members jumped on their bikes and started to follow the van.

Jax noticed that none of the SAMCRO members had moved. They were circling around something. Someone.

"Tara! Jax!" They heard Gemma's desperate cries.

Both ran as fast as they could back to the group. Lying on the ground, surrounded by SAMCRO members was Abel. His eyes were shut and he wasn't moving. Blood was pouring out of a wound in his left leg.

"Ambulance is on its way!" Someone called.

Tara collapsed next to her son, only taking a moment to play the grieving mother before jumping into Doctor Mode. She quickly checked his pulse. Thank god he had one. He must have passed out from shock. Probably a good thing.

"Someone get me a towel! I need to get pressure on his leg!' Tara yelled at anyone who was listening. She was finding it hard to see through her tears. She could hear sirens in the distance.

Opie handed her a towel and she pressed it to her sons wound. "It's ok baby. You're going to be ok."

As she held her hands to Abel's leg, she felt someone touch her shoulder. It was Jax.

"Don't touch me! Get away from us!" She screamed at him.

SOASOASOASOA

Later that night, after Gemma had taken Emily and Abel home with her, a car pulled into the garage.

"Hey man... We're closed. Didn't you see the sign?"

The man stopped the car and got out. Dressed in a nice suit, salt and pepper hair. This guy didn't live in Charming. "I'm sorry. I don't need work done on my car. I'm here to ask you a few questions Mr. Teller." The man reached into his wallet, flashing a badge. "My name is agent Kohn; ATF. I'm in town investigating some illegal gun selling. You know anything about that Mr. Teller?"

END CHAPTER

A/N: Oh man... that flashback was hard to write... I was contemplating writing it at all. Kohn is now in town... uh oh...