Chapter 27
"That's my baby brother, Nathaniel." Gemma watches Tara as she looks at the family photos on the hallway corridor.
"I thought that was you." Tara smiles at the sight of a very young Gemma in a ponytail. The boy next to her seems small, frail even. Gemma has her arm wrapped around him in a way that screams, "Leave him alone!" "Jax has never mentioned an Uncle Nathaniel?"
"He never met him." The matriarch admits, uncrosses her arms and walks up to stand next to Tara.
"Nathaniel died when I was twelve." The words are spoken with so much palpable hurt that they touch a part of Tara's young heart.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She sighs. "And I'm even sorrier for saying that." Tara takes a deep breath. "I know how little those words help when you lose someone."
"He was amazing." Gemma actually smiles at a memory, Tara assumes. It was an honest smile, probably the most vulnerable that she has ever seen the older woman. "This is the last picture taken of us together. Actually, of him at all."
"He looks happy." It was true. Even through the obvious sickness, the boy had a grin big enough to light up any darkened sky. In fact, Tara recognizes that grin as the trademark Jackson Teller smile.
"He was." The softening biker queen remembers wistfully. "We were at a church potluck. Nathaniel actually played kickball for a bit. Sports weren't really his thing….heart couldn't withstand it."
"His heart?" Tara finds herself easily questioning. It wasn't usual to find Gemma in such an open way.
"The family flaw." Gemma replies. "Runs on my mom's side. We all have it. Jackson included."
So that explained the scar on Gemma's chest, Tara notes. But Jax didn't have any such thing. And Tara would have definitely noted that. She knew every mark, every story behind it on Jax. "But…Jackson is ok?" Suddenly, she feels a measure of fear. Could she lose Jackson one day? Would he leave her? Just like everyone else in her short life.
"He's amazing." The queen's grin in natural. "Strong as an ox. That boy came out kicking ass and taking names."
"And Tommy?" Tara bites her lip, not wanting to ruin Gemma's mood. "Did he have the flaw?"
"He did." Gemma nods to the kitchen. "Let's go have a beer. Unless you're eager to get back out to the garage with the boys?"
Jax and Opie had been working on JT's bike since Christmas dinner wrapped up a few hours ago. Tara had sat out there, laughing as Piney supervised a bit before he called them dumbasses and rode off on his Harley. "Not really." She grins. "They are arguing about parts and junkyards."
"Sounds about right." Gemma grabs two bottles from the refrigerator and sits at the long dining room table.
"Losing Nathaniel destroyed my folks, especially my mom." She picks at the Budweiser label. "Went nuts, moved us to the country, never allowed me to…breathe, you know?" She sips the beer finally. "JT kinda lost it when Tommy died. I was determined not to let it ruin Jackson's life."
"What about medical advances?" Tara asks, always thinking of ways to help people. "They haven't come up with a way to fix it?"
"Not yet." For a teenager so practical, Gemma has to smile at Tara's innocence. "But they do operate younger and younger these day. Surgeons told me that maybe if they'd have operated on Thomas sooner, things would be different." Tara doesn't really know what to say to that. She's been through all sorts of things she guesses one would deem bad or sad but the loss of someone that grew inside of you? She couldn't imagine. "You know….Jackson's children could have the flaw? You understand that, right?"
Sure she understands that. But they were only sixteen, much too young to talk of babies. "If there is no risk, there is no reward." The reply earns a smirk from Jax's mother.
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"How was your Christmas, babe?" Jax runs his fingertips lightly up Tara's spine with his right hand and squeezes her arm with his left. He thinks that this twin bed has its advantages in that they stay snuggled together all night long. "My mom didn't eat you alive, I see." He was worried when she went to use the bathroom and was gone for a bit as he and Opie messed with JT's bike. He was pleasantly surprised to find them kicked back at the dining room table and drinking beers.
"It was wonderful." She leans up and kisses him softly. Yawning, she adds, "Exhausting actually. You've never mentioned your mom's little brother."
"Nathanial? My mom told you about him?" The shock is evident in his tone of voice.
"Yea." She tilts her head up, just enough to meet his eyes, while her fingers run lazily through his sparse beard. It's one of the things she loves most about him. He has more facial hair then most of the boys in school and he loves it. She knows he does because he hardly ever shaves. The thought that one day he will grow a full on beard makes her smile. "It must have been horrible. She told me how it destroyed her parents." Her thoughts instantly zero in on a young Jax losing his brother.
"Hmmm….." He drops a kiss to her forehead. "Sounds like you know more about him than I do. My mom hardly ever talks about her life before she met my dad."
"Now I know where your middle name comes from." She grins teasingly. Suddenly he's reminded of a night several months ago when they had the most incredible drunk sex and she managed to get his middle name out of him just before he passed out.
He quickly surprises her by flipping her over and tickling her, "Tell me yours."
"Nev….." She can hardly breathe from laughing so hard and moving around trying to protect herself from his fingers, "errrrrrrrrrr."
"Just tell me," He laughs before giving her a soft kiss, allowing her to catch her breath for a minute, before attacking her once again.
"Stop!" She pleads.
"You know what to say….." He teases, "Just say it and I'll stop."
"Ok, ok…" She placates him enough that he relents enough for her to catch her breath. "I'll give you the letter? Deal?"
"Yea…" There's no way in hell he's letting her slide tonight. She'd evaded him for months.
"My middle name starts with a…..G." Tara smiles.
"G? Hmmmm…." She loves the way he looks when he's contemplating. "Ginger?"
"Ginger?" She laughs. "That sounds like a stripper name."
"Hey, you can strip for me anytime." His smirk and reply earns him a smack. "Ouch! Ok, Glenda?"
"Glenda?" She giggles. "Like the good witch?"
"Ah-ha! I got it!" He feigns shock. "Gemma?"
"Ugh!" She smacks him even though she's laughing. "Grace. It's Grace."
"Grace." Suddenly he's serious. "It's beautiful." He kisses her softly. "It's perfect." And it was. Grace fit her perfectly. It sounded as elegant as she was in his eyes. "You know that it means "love given without being earned?""
"Yea…" She smiles shyly. How the hell did he know that? Her complex guy...
"Kinda like you love me and I don't deserve you." It was true. He had no idea how he ever managed to get a girl like Tara but he wasn't letting her go.
"That's not true." She kisses him. "You're amazing and you deserve amazing things." She pushes him back down to the bed and borrows into his chest, the place she feels the safest in this world.
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"Do I need to be the voice of reason and point out that this is probably a bad idea?" Tara asks but doesn't really expect an answer.
Jax and Opie look at her like she's sprouted a third head. "Why?"
"I'm not a cop but…." She points to the locked gate, "When a business is closed and the gate is locked…I think going in anyway is breaking and entering."
"Only if you get caught." Opie laughs. "Which we won't."
"Besides, it's a junkyard." Jax shrugs. "Who cares?"
"The owner." Donna replies dryly.
"We won't get caught." Jax assures the girls. "But if you are too chicken…" He eyes Tara knowingly. His girl never backs down from a challenge. "You can be the lookout."
"I didn't say I was afraid, Teller." She glares at him and he smirks.
"Ladies first then." He then realizes how high the fence is. "Want a boost?"
"I know how to climb a fence." Tara huffs.
"I can't believe you're doing this, Tara!" Donna groans.
"You're not gonna let Jax and his girl show us up are you?" Opie questions, half expecting Donna to offer to be the lookout.
"No, she's not." Tara gives Donna a look that has the young girl giggle and joining Tara on the other side of the fence.
An hour later and Tara thinks she might need to find a secluded spot to pull Jax into. He's only found one part he will be able to use on JT's bike. He's grumpy as hell. "Op! Look!"
"What the hell are you doing?" She demands. Why the hell is he so close to the shop's door? What if someone was in there doing paperwork or filing or aanything else?
"It's our lucky day." One look at his trademark smirk and she knew there was going to be trouble.
"What kind of dumbasses would leave keys out in the open like that?" Opie's grin is wide.
"The kind that assume a locked box would keep delinquents like you two out." Tara can't help but smile at these two young men with their boyish grins.
"Demolition derby?" Jax and Opie speak at the same time.
"You can't be serious?!" She doesn't know why she even asks. One look at their face and she knew exactly how serious they were.
"Yea that sounds nice and quiet." Donna retorts. "I'm sure no one will hear that or anything."
Both boys chose to ignore their girls'. "There's only two keys."
"We only need two keys." Opie shrugs. "The girls can watch and learn."
Jax meets Tara's eyes. "My girl isn't a watch and learn type." He stands and walks over to her. "You want a ride?" He runs his hands softly through her hair before grabbing her face and kissing her. "We'll play safe, I promise." He whispers.
"It's ok." She smiles softly. "You only have two keys." She was definitely sure they'd need a lookout for this.
"I don't need a key to get you a ride, babe." He assures her.
"I can't believe you're doing this with them." Donna admonishes. "This is crazy."
"It sounds like fun." Tara's eyes light up as she watches Jax hot wire a Honda CRX for her. It was kind of hot that her boyfriend knew how to do that. She rolls her eyes as the guys continue to fight over the Datsun 280ZX, she didn't really understand the appeal. "Let's flip a coin?!" She suggest.
"He cheated the last time!" Jax shouts.
Opie rolls his eyes, "I didn't cheat. You're a sore loser."
"I'll flip the damn coin." Tara sighs and flips a coin. "Jax, call it."
Jax smirks at Opie, "Heads!"
"Heads it is." Tara kisses him softly. "You're stuck with the Firebird, Op."
Jax watches as Tara takes a few spins around the cluttered junkyard with a grin. He wanted to drive into Opie's car a few times while Tara was busy so they could take it easy when she was ready. He would never admit it to Opie or Tara but the idea of her out here made him nervous. He knew Tara was a bit of an adrenaline junkie like himself but he always wanted her safe. It was a fine line he constantly finds himself walking, giving her freedom but protecting her at the same time. Lost between his thoughts and watching his gorgeous girlfriend, he is not prepared when Opie drives that green Thunderbird right into the white Datsun. "You asshole!"
Soon they both reverse to play chicken and prove who has the bigger dick. Opie may have enough nerve to take a few cheap shots but Jax refuses to back down. It's not in his DNA to allow someone, even if it's his best friend, to show him up. Opie should know this by now. Jax wishes he could make eye contact with his friend, give him that queue that it was no hold barred, but the dirt is flying high, making everything in front of him cloudy from hitting the gas and revving the engine. "Fuck it!" He guns the gas and in seconds hears the sound of crushing metal. His body immediately tenses in preparation for a jolt that doesn't come. Suddenly, he registers that the impact had to happen somewhere else. "Shit! Fuck! Tara!" He's out of the car and coughing immediately, trying to see through the haze of dust. It's even thicker than he realized. Several feet away from the Datsun and he can finally see clearly. He gets to the CRX on his right side about the same time as Opie. "This is your fault!" He pushes his best friend.
"My fault?!" Opie yells. "You're the dick who didn't stop. I just swerved to the left to not hit you."
"And you hit my girlfriend, shithead." He pushes Opie one last time and turns to see Tara through the windshield. Oh, fuck. Her head is resting on the steering wheel. "Tara?" His heart is racing. He'll kill Opie, accident or not, if something is wrong with her.
"COPS!" Donna shouts from across the junkyard.
"GO!" Opie yells back to her. "Come on, let's get Tara out."
If Jax was thinking clearly, he would have been cool with the fact that Opie was willing to get busted for Tara. "Jax?" Tara mumbles.
"Babe?" Jax opens her door and kneels down. The sirens are getting closer.
"I'm ok." She's quick to sooth.
She wasn't ok. Her goddamn lip was bleeding. "Go!" Jax's turns, shoes grinding against the dirt. "Get Donna out of here."
"We're cool." Opie offers. "I'll help you get her out."
"I can walk." Tara moves slowly.
"GO!" Jax tells Opie and Donna, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Jax go with them." Tara is stiff and she isn't sure why. She's confident nothing was broken. She barely hit the steering wheel….she thinks. "I'll be okay. I can walk."
Jax could hear the sirens. They cops had to be close to the gate. "Walking isn't getting us out quick enough, babe."
"Then go." She demands. "I'll hide."
"Do you really think I'm leaving you here?" He pulls her hands. "Can you stand up?"
"Yes." She assures him as he helps her to her feet fairly steady, she impresses herself.
"Alright babe." He bends enough to be able to toss her over his shoulder. "Hang on, Tara." He manages to make out before hauling ass in the same direction Opie took.
Somehow her view from the air, made her a bit more clear headed. After several feet she knew Jax wasn't going to beat the cops. The sirens had stopped so they must be in the junkyard already. "Jax, I'm okay." She pulls on the back of his hoodie to get his attention. She's afraid to talk too loud and give up their location. "I think I can run." He slows down. "Baby, stop, we're not going to make it out of here like this."
He puts her down and notes that she is in fact more steady than the first time. "You sure?" He's out of breath.
"Let's go!" She whispers, placing her hand in his as he leads them to the southwest fence. She doesn't know if it's the run, the crash, or the adrenaline that has her heart pumping so loudly but she loves every second of it.
Jax had never been so thankful for Opie as when he saw him and Donna on the other side of the fence, holding it up so they didn't have to climb over but could slide under. Less noise and a quicker route was exactly what the needed to beat the cops. "Thanks bro!"
"Sorry Tara." Even though he feels like it is mostly Jax's fault, Opie feels really guilty. He may let Jax punch him later.
"It was an accident." Tara assures him.
"Can we do this later?" Donna reasons. "I think our best bet is to chill in that Roy Rogers down there."
Jax notes that they are going to have to walk down the embankment and cross a major highway to get there. But Donna is right. To go find their bikes and start them up would bust them for sure. They'll just have to pray the bikes don't get sspotted and towed from where he and Opie stowed them. "Yea, you're right. Let's go." Once they get to the bottom of the embankment, Jax stops and pulls Tara to him with her hand where her fingers are laced with his. "Are you really ok?"
"I'm fine, baby." She smiles. He wipes a little bit of blood from her lip and his pained expression tells her he doesn't believe her. "It's not my first busted lip. I'm fine." She assures him, wrapping both arms around his neck. "It was an accident. But if you don't feed me, I'm going to get grumpy."
"Yes, Ma'am." He grins before kissing her.