Chapter 26

A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying this story. The next two chapters are gonna be rough. Sorry in advanced.

When Hap and I got dressed and ready we headed to the lot first so that I could grab my car. Hap followed me from the lot over to Gemma's house. When we pulled into the driveway, I gave him a look as he climbed off his bike. "Are we announcing it tonight?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "If you want. I figured you might want to call Lee and the boys or tell Ope privately first." Hap says, walking over to me and gripping my hips.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I know that Jax said that he wanted to talk to me tonight. Said he had something to talk about." I told him.

"So, here's what we do. Put your ring in your pocket. There's no rush to decide when to tell people. It's your choice." He says and I nod. "I do think that you should tell Ope first. He is your best friend after all. Not to mention that he's been our biggest supporter, even to Jax, who he's known all his life." He tells me.

I nod. "I know. Your right." I say as I lift my hands. As I slip the ring off I say, "I just don't want you to feel that I don't want this."

"Hey. I don't want to hear that. I know that you want this. I would never think that. I just think that some people should know before other people." He says.

I nod. "Your right. Let's go find Emma." I say, putting the ring in my pocket and leading Hap to the kitchen door.

Walking into Gemma's, I immediately go in search of my daughter. However, when I find her, I'm immediately pissed off. "Get your fucking hands off my daughter." I growl.

Hap walks around me and lifts Emma out of her hands. "Jess…" She tries to say but I cut her off.

"No! You don't get any reason to hold my daughter." I say as I stalk towards her. "You ruined a good chunk of my life. I don't even know why you're here. You're not family. You never will be." I say to her.

"You can't talk to me that way. I'm with Jax. Of course I'm family." She says.

There are several snorts and scoffs throughout the room. "That's a joke." I say.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She growls at me.

"I'm the Princess around here. And you…you just happen to be the girl spreading her legs for Jax at the moment." I smirk.

"Come on, Jess…that's uncalled for." Jax snaps.

I whip my head around to glare at him. "And you…you knew that I wouldn't want her holding my daughter. You know…history and all. And yet you did nothing to stop her. So, you…can fuck off." I growl. I turn to Ope. "Can I talk to you?" I ask him. He nods. I walk out to the backyard and sit on Gemma's swing. Ope follows me out and sits beside me.

"You good?" He asks me.

I lay my head on his shoulder. "Yeah. I just really wanna smash her face in." I say.

He puts a hand on my knee. "I know. Now, what did you want to talk about?" He asks.

I sigh. "I wanted you to be the first to know. Hap asked me to marry him." I said.

"Jess, that's great. I'm really happy for you guys. You deserve it." He says.

"Thanks. Where's Lyla?" I asked.

He sighs. "She left. She's gone. She said that she can't deal with how close you and I are. She thinks that I'm secretly in love with you." He tells me.

I can't help but roll my eyes. "You know, when Jax and I were together, that was his biggest fear. He was worried that one day you were gonna break up with Donna and confess your undying love for me." I say.

"It's more like your my sister." Ope says.

"I know Ope. Hap's glad that I bought the house across from you. Especially when I went into labor. He said that he couldn't imagine if nobody had been close by and something had happen to Emma and I." I say.

"Well, I'm glad that I was able to help." Ope says.

"Thanks Ope. For everything you did while he was inside." I tell him.

"Anytime." He says standing up.

"Can we talk?" I hear Jax ask from the doorway.

I sigh and nod. Ope heads inside as Jax comes to stand in front of me. I look down at the ground. "What did you want to talk about?" I ask, the anger gone from my voice.

"I owe you an apology." Jax says and I look up at him. "I was an ass to you before we went inside. When you first came back, I had it in my head that everything would be okay between us. But I was wrong. When Hap came down with the Tacoma boys, I could see how happy you were to see him. I realized that you had never looked at me the way you looked at him. I was jealous. And that never happens. Then you left again. You headed back to Tacoma and I realized that was it. You were gone and off living your life with Hap. Then we found out that our bond was revoked and you guys were back here. I stupidly decided that it would be a good idea to use Tara. I subconsciously, thought that if I made you jealous that maybe you'd leave Hap and come back to me. But again I was wrong. I let Tara get into my head and I shouldn't have." He says and I nod, listening intently to him. "And then we went inside. It wasn't until after your first visit to see Hap, that I fully realized how serious things were between the two of you. He came back to the yard and he had the biggest smile on his face. He tells Clay that he's transferring to Charming and that you were pregnant. You could just feel the excitement rolling off of him." I can't help but smile at that, knowing that Hap had truly been happy when I gave him the news that day. "I made a stupid mistake that day and I paid for it. I made a snide comment to Hap and he kicked my ass. Not only because it was about you but also because your Old Lady. It's just not something that is done. After he kicked my ass, I apologized but he wouldn't look at me for weeks." He said.

"Well, you obviously deserved to have your ass kicked." I tell him.

He nods. "I did. Then the day came when you went into labor. From the moment that Rosen told him that Ope had been blowing up his phone, he started pacing. He hated that he couldn't be there…wasn't there. Then came the moment that the Warden showed up and told him that he would be escorted to the hospital where a guard would remain with him." Jax says reminding me of the day that I had Emma. "Jess, I really am sorry and I promise you that you're not gonna see any more interference from me." Jax says.

I stand up from the swing. "I really hope you mean that Jax. But I can guarantee you one thing…if you don't keep your bitch away from me and mine…she's gonna find herself needing a plastic surgeon." I tell him before I walk away and head back inside.

Sitting down at the dinner table, Gemma tells everyone that she's glad to have her boys home. I can't help the smile on my face, as I lean over and kiss Hap while he's still holding Emma. Tara sits beside Jax glaring daggers at me. Clay is about to bless the food, when I interject. "I have something to say before we eat." Everyone turns to look at me. "Hap and I are engaged." I say. Jax has a shocked look on his face. Gemma looks excited. Ope, Hap and Clay are smiling. I turn to Clay. "Go ahead Old Man." I say smiling.