A couple hours later Chibs laid on the floor and watched Tania sleep. They had made love one more time and now he was tired. He ran his hand through her hair. She seemed at peace and she seemed content. He hadn't planned on that, but he was happy it happened. He wanted to do right by her. He wanted to be with her and help her take care of the kids and protect them. He wanted to be the one she needed. He hoped that he was that person for her.
He slowly and quietly pulled himself off the floor and began pulling his clothes on. He didn't want to leave her, but he didn't want to risk having the kids walk out of the bedroom and seeing them there. He was pulling on his shoes when Tania rolled over and looked at him. Her face went from a smile to a frown in a matter of seconds.
"Making a quick get away?" she asked sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"No love I'm not," he replied quietly as he tied up his shoes, "I'm going to get a couple hours of sleep and I really didn't want the kids walking out of the bedroom and finding us naked on the floor. If I had it my way, we would be in bed together, with no interruptions. Tania, I'm not running away from whatever this is."
She wrapped herself in the blanket and crawled over to him. Just watching her as she moved, seeing her bare shoulders and her sexy messed up hair, was enough to get him hard again. She put her hands on his legs to lift herself up onto her knees and then she kneeled between his legs.
"You are so fucking sexy," Chibs murmured as he reached over and pulled her into his arms, "I could take you again right now love."
Tania raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. She stood up and straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her softly on the nose before leaning in and kissing her deeply. She put her hands on either side of his face and slid her tongue into his mouth. Where had Tania been his whole life? This woman was amazing in every way.
"You should go get some sleep Chibs," she whispered against his lips, "I'm sure we will have another opportunity."
He kissed her one more time and then lifted her up and laid her down on the couch and covered her up with the blanket.
"I'll see you in a few hours love," Chibs said quietly before walking out of the room.
About four hours later Tania was in her car with Gemma and Savannah who was fast asleep in the backseat. Hunter had begged to go in the truck with Uncle Chibs. He whined for an hour before they left saying that "momma hogged him all day yesterday, it's my turn now". Chibs had said it was ok and winked at her, so Tania agreed that Hunter could go with him.
"So how was your night?" Gemma asked quietly, not wanting to wake up Savannah.
Tania could see a small smile playing on Gemma's lips and she knew that Gemma had figured them out. But Tania wasn't going to let on that she knew.
"My night was pretty laid back," Tania replied, "I put the kids to bed and then I had a bath and read a book. But I was so exhausted that I ended up falling asleep early."
"Sure you did," Gemma stated, looking at Tania and smiling, "I hope you don't think I'm stupid sweetheart. I shared a room with Chibs last night and he was gone for half the night."
Tania could feel herself blushing and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it from her much longer.
"How long has it been going on?" Gemma asked.
"Just last night," Tania replied, "The last four days have been a struggle. I was confused from the moment you two got to my house last week about these foreign feelings I was experiencing. Apparently he has had these feelings for awhile now."
"I know," Gemma responded, "Chibs was a wreck after you left Tania. He knew there was no way that you would have feelings for him. You were destroyed after Opie died. You didn't speak to anyone for weeks before you decided that moving would be best. But Chibs, he let himself fall for you, because despite what had happened to you, you needed someone to love you. Not the way we love you, but someone who could possibly one day be completely in love with you."
"What do you think about this Auntie Gem?" Tania asked, her head swimming with information and thoughts and questions, "Do you think Chibs and I could work?"
"I do sweetheart. I think you two are perfect together," Gemma said quietly, giving her a quick look, "But you, my dear girl, have to be honest with him. You have to tell him. It's not fair for you to keep it from him."
I know Gem," Tania replied, feeling horrible that she hadn't told him yet, "I just don't how to tell him. I want to find the right time."
"When is it ever the right time to tell someone you have cancer?" Gemma questioned, "Especially someone you care about?"
Tania rubbed her temples, her headache just wasn't going away and she really wasn't feeling well.
"It's never the right time," Tania replied, sounding confused, "I'm afraid he'll leave me."
Tania felt a little strange saying that. Her and Chibs had never talked about what they were or if they were anything. She was even unsure about what last night was. But until she had told him the truth, she had promised herself she wouldn't let it go any further. She didn't want to hurt him and she didn't want him to hurt her.
"Are you two together?" Gemma asked curiously.
"No, I don't think so," Tania replied, "We just couldn't fight the feelings anymore last night."
"That's usually how things start," Gemma responded, laughing quietly, "Chibs needs a good girl. He doesn't need the crow eaters or the sweet butts anymore. Maybe you two were brought together for a reason."
"Maybe," Tania replied, feeling tired again, "But until I can gather up the courage to tell him about me, nothing else will happen."
Gemma smiled at her and she smiled back. She reclined the seat back, pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes. She was so bloody confused. She thought maybe her feelings would disappear once they were together, but her feelings were still there, screaming at her loud and clear. It was quite possible that she was in love with Chibs.
About an hour later Chibs pulled into the clubhouse parking lot with Gemma following behind him. He looked to his right and Hunter was fast asleep. He smiled to himself, that kid was quite the character. He definitely kept Chibs entertained.
He pulled the truck up front and turned off the ignition before getting out. He thought he would let Hunter sleep as long as he needed to. As soon as his feet hit the ground Savannah ran up to him, jumping up and down and giggling like crazy.
"Where's Uncle Juicy and Uncle Tiggy?" Savannah asked, her brown curly hair bouncing up and down as she continued to jump.
"Come on Savi," Chibs said laughing. He leaned down and picked her up in his arms, "Let's go see whose inside shall we."
Savannah wrapped her arms around Chib's neck as they made their way inside the clubhouse. It was good to be home and it was good to have everyone back. Except Opie, he thought sadly. Opie was missed by all and it was very obvious that his death had left on mark on everyone.
As soon as they walked into the main room, the first person they saw was Juice, sitting at the bar with his laptop open and sipping on a beer. Savannah went nuts, kicking her legs, wanting Chibs to put her down.
"Uncle Juicy!" Savannah cried out as Chibs put her down and tore off in the direction of her favorite person in the world.
Juice looked over and instantly broke into a smile.
"Hey baby girl," he exclaimed as he got down on one knee and held his arms open, "Man, you're getting so big Savi."
She wrapped her arms around Juice's neck and planted kisses all over his face. Chibs laughed as he watched the reunion take place.
Gemma walked into the clubhouse with Hunter attached to her hand and it looked like he had just been woken up and he was none to pleased about it either.
"Where's Tania?" Chibs asked Gemma.
"She's asleep in the car," Gemma replied as Hunter pulled out of her grasp and ran towards Juice as well, "Chibs, she exhausted. Maybe, if you can, just take her to one of the dorm rooms and let her sleep a little longer."
Chibs nodded his head and slowly made his way back outside towards Tania's car. Tania was leaning against the passenger's side of the car, looking up and tears were falling down her face. Chibs rushed over to her and without asking any questions he pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and cried into his tshirt. It killed him to see her this way and he felt so helpless.
"What's wrong love?" he whispered into her hair.
"I miss him so much," she whispered against his shirt, "Coming back here and seeing his bike over at TM, it brought a whole flood of feelings back. I didn't think it would hurt so much."
Chibs furrowed his eye brows... Opie's bike? He wondered what she meant and then he looked over toward TM. Shit, he thought to himself. They had all agreed that selling his bike would be a horrible sin. They had decided that they would clean it and polish it up and showcase it somewhere in the clubhouse, kind of like they did with JT's bike, or even in the shop. Someone had obviously been working on it this afternoon and hadn't moved it back inside. That's when he saw Rat cleaning up the shop.
"Hey Rat!" Chibs yelled.
"Hey Chibs, glad to have you home," Rat called back.
"Move the bike," Chibs called back, looking down at Tania, who was still wrapped up in his arms, hoping Rat would clue in.
Rat noticed and his eyes went wide.
"Yeah for sure Chibs," Rat replied as he ran over to the bike, "Right away."
Chibs nodded his thanks and then moved so that he was leaning against the car and Tania was leaning in to him. She looked up at him and smiled sadly. He leaned down and kissed her softly and she kissed him back hesitantly. She quickly pulled away. He was more confused than he had been in a long time.
"I can't do this Filip," Tania said quietly, "As much as I want to see where this goes and the way you make me feel is incredible. It's not fair to you."
"What do you mean, it's not fair to me?" Chibs questioned, looking down at her, "I guess you thought it was fair to me last night. Tania what the hell are you talking about."
Chibs felt awful for making that comment. Tania looked like he had slapped her across the face. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye.
"There is something that I should tell you. I should have told you last week, but then my feelings for you got the better of me," Tania said quietly.
She had pulled away from him now and was standing in front of him with her arms crossed across her chest. He could tell she was nervous because her hands were shaking slightly. He didn't like where this was going.
"Chibs, I found out two weeks ago that I was sick," she said so quietly he could barely hear her, "I have cancer."
*I apologize, but I have to put this story on hold for right now. Hopefully not for too long, but I'm realizing that it is pretty difficult to write two stories at the same time. I hope to get my other story (Home Is Where You Will Always Belong) done soon so that I can come back to this one.
To be continued...