Hello, my readers! I am truly so sorry I have been gone for so long! I have not had much time for myself or have had the time to go ahead and have me a good 'ol SOA marathon (which helps me get the creative juices going), but as luck would have it, these past two days I have been able to indulge in some Jax Teller. This chapter will take place during episode 5X05, Orca Shrugged. I hope you are all well and enjoy the new chapter!

"Wait.. Bobby, she just pulled into the driveway. Do me a favor, call the rest of the guys, and let them know Mel is finally home and in one piece," Jax requested of his current V.P.

"Of course, brother," Bobby replied.

"Thanks," he answered, closing his cellphone, creating an audible sound within the quiet kitchen.

Jax slipped his cell into the back of his left jean pocket, quickly making his way to the front door.

When Jax woke up, Mel and Landon were the only ones unaccounted for.

He called her cellphone.

The damn thing was sitting on her nightstand, attached to the lengthy USB cord.

No note was left on her pillow or anywhere else in the house they shared together.

His worry immediately shifted into overdrive and called Bobby to kickstart a search for his wife and newborn son.

Back to Mel's POV:

Oh my god.

I did it.

I finally got Landon to sleep.

Granted, I had to leave the house and drive around the block a couple hundred times to succeed in the mission at hand, but he is finally asleep.

I pulled into the driveway, parking the truck next to my husband's glide.

I picked up my purse that was riding shotgun in the passenger seat and slid it down onto my right shoulder.

As I climbed out of the truck, I closed the driver's side door, doing everything humanly possible not to wake my son.

Sucess.

I am on a roll this morning like butter.

Ugh, that was a horrible fucking joke.

My hands gripped the front of Jax's black reaper crew cap and adjusted it on my head due to the sun's rays trying to scorch my god damn corneas.

I reached the side of the vehicle where Landon was and managed to get his car seat of the car without him barely stirring.

Okay, this beautiful streak of good luck is gonna make me real cocky real fucking quick if it doesn't let up.

With Landon's car seat handle firmly in my left hand, I slowly strolled up the short pathway to our home.

I unlocked the door with ease, sliding the set of keys into my black fitted sweatshirt's pocket.

As I reached for the doorknob, the front door suddenly was pulled back from its frame, causing pure confusion to rattle my tired self.

There he stood.

My handsome husband, all dressed and ready for the day, his gorgeous blue eyes emanating with the unfortunate mixture of disappointment and worry.

And there goes my streak of good luck.

Demolished before my very eyes.

"Jesus Christ babe, where the hell did you two disappear to?," he asked, taking the car seat from my grasp.

I closed the front door behind me and locked it.

I reached into my pocket once more, hitting the small button on the truck's key to activate the lock on the vehicle.

"Just out for a drive. He wouldn't go back down after two, so I figured it would be best to take him out of the house for a bit, instead of waking everyone within it," I answered, following him into the kitchen.

Jax gently set the car seat down in the middle of the kitchen table before heading over to the fresh pot of coffee with his favorite mug strategically placed a few feet from it.

"Darlin', there are so many things wrong with this situation. First, you left your cell in our bedroom."

Fuck,Fuck,Fuck.

At that moment, I remembered not grabbing it off of the charger before I left.

"I did do that, didn't I?", I asked, opening up my purse, the worn straps falling from my shoulders.

"Yup," he quipped, pouring about half of the coffee pot's hot liquid into his mug.

"Second, you didn't leave a note," he continued, now finishing off the remnants of the sugar's glass container.

"I did too leave a note," I answered, walking closer to him to get a hold of his coffee that was now securely in his ringed hands.

Jax immediately shifted his body away from me, creating a significant distance between me and his deliciously made-up cup of java.

"You've been up for hours. The last thing you need is more coffee."

I turned on my heels and walked over to the fridge, grabbing me a Red Bull from the top shelf in the fridge.

"Really?"

I nodded, taking a seat in front of Landon, crossing my left leg over my right.

I slid my purse next to the car seat, the items inside practically spilling out onto the table.

"I did leave you a note, Jax," I stated, my right thumb yanking the can's top upwards, creating a pop that nearly woke up our son.

Jax shook his head.

"You didn't."

"Did too, I.."

I glanced into my open purse where the house's note pad with the note I created laid atop of all my belongings.

"Ah hell," I sighed, pulling out the notepad from my purse.

"Babe, you leaving on your own with Landon was not a good idea. Third, you didn't have any protection."

"That's where you're wrong, Teller."

I quickly slid out my gun that was placed in the back of my waistband, presenting the gun Jax gave me ages ago before returning it back to my waistband.

"Not what I meant."

"I'm really sorry, baby. I didn't mean to worry you."

"With all this heat at the club's front door lately... none of us can afford to be wreckless."

"Okay. I promise. No more late-night joy rides without you or an escort. Scout's honor," I lifted my right and middle finger up in the air.

Jax shot me a look of doubt.

"Baby, I'm serious. For what it's worth, we remained in the neighborhood. I did have the cops called on me though," I stated as matter of fact, taking a sip from my ice-cold red bull can.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah... our neighbor three doors down from us, Mrs. Johnson, thought I was casin' the god damn joint. When I explained to her and the badges on what I was doing, she became overly apologetic and promised me a batch of apple turnovers."

"Why apple turnovers?"

"Because I've been jonesin' for an apple turnover."

Jax couldn't help but to chuckle at her adorable answer as he was finishing up his cup of coffee.

"Ah, while I still have you, I do need to talk to you about something else that has been lingering on the backburner, and I'm afraid if I leave it there any longer, it's going to force itself to the forefront."

"What is it?"

"Not it, but who. Wendy's back in Charming. She was at St. Thomas during my last appointment, and she spotted me."

"Shit," Jax sighed, setting down the coffee mug to sit down across from me.

"Yeah... it was bound for her to remerge, Jax."

"She's not gonna be a problem, Mel. I'll handle it."

" Handle it how? She just wants to see Abel, Jax."

"You think she deserves to see Abel? After the shit she's done?"

I took my husband's hands in my own.

"She fucked up, yes. But she has turned it around for herself. This is the longest she's been clean, and she's got a good job with benefits. I don't blame her for wanting to get to know Abel. He's such an amazing kid," I smiled, feeling my eyesight get blurry due to tears trying to make themselves known.

"Mel, he's an amazing kid because of us."

"I know, but he didn't come from me, Jax. I'm his mom, but I'm not his birth mother. "

My eyes fell from Jax, looking down at our linked hands.

I took a shaky deep breath before meeting my husband's eyes with my own once more.

"Deep down, we knew this would become a reality the day Wendy recovered from the overdose. It was effortless to hold it at bay since Wendy left at her own accord. I'm not saying we shouldn't have precautions in place. Strings should be attached. If she does well, maybe there will be less strings as time goes by. I'm just trying to prevent her from making this messy and taking her request in front of a judge. Please, think about it."

Jax let go of my hands and leaned back in the kitchen chair, running his left hand down his growing beard.

"It's too soon for Abel to know the truth, babe. He's our son. When he's older and stronger, we can revisit this conversation, but until then, Abel is not calling anyone mom, but you. Wendy can stay clear of our family."

A stream of tears fell down my face as I nodded.

"And if she goes the court route?," I asked, quickly wiping away the trail my tears just left behind.

"I'll handle it. Don't worry, okay darlin'?"

"No."

Jax furrowed his brows, looking at me in confusion.

"We'll handle it."

His confusion vanished with a smile forming on his beautiful face. He quietly stood to his feet, closing the distance between the two of us.

I followed his lead and brought myself to my feet.

He took me in his arms, holding me tightly against his chest, planting a much-needed kiss on my lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too," I answered before giving him one more kiss.

A quiet knock on the front door interrupted our progressive lip lock.

"That must be your mom. The queen of timing," he stated, causing the both of us to snicker.

"Or maybe it's my apple turnovers," I pulled away from Jax's grasp, bouncing with glee in each step I took.

When, I opened the door, my smile fell.

"You're not my apple turnovers," I whined, seeing my mother standing there.

"Nice to see you too, Mel bear," she greeted as I headed down the hallway to the bedroom for much needed sleep.

Linda shifted her sunglasses to the top of her head, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Good morning."

"Mornin' Linda," Jax smiled, giving Linda a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for helping Mel with the kids today. Landon's sleep schedule has been kicking our asses this past week."

"Don't sweat it. When was the last time my spawn gotten a full eight hours?"

"You really want to know the answer to that?", Jax asked as he went over the clothing hook outside the kitchen to retrieve his kutte.

She sighed, looking over in Landon's direction.

"Knowing her, she already has an alarm set. I'll disable that shit the moment she's out. "

"You sure you ready for that wrath?"

"Always."

Wow.

That was the best sleep I've gotten in days.

I sat up in bed, and automatically reached for my cell phone to check the time.

God damn it.

6:28 PM.

My mother disabled my alarms.

I furiously yanked back the covers and stormed out of the bedroom where my mom was sitting at the wooden table, feeding Landon in the kitchen.

"Mom, you disabled my alarms?"

"Sure did, " she replied, not looking up from Landon.

"Mom, I had them set for a reason. I have to set up college funds for Kenny and Ellie, I had a meeting with a realtor about bigger houses due to me not wanting to stack the kids like god damn sardines, I.."

"Melanie," my mom cut me off, giving me her full attention, shutting my ramblin' ass up.

"Tomorrow is another day. You needed to sleep. In case you forgot, you are still sick. What good are you to your family if you don't take care of yourself?"

I remained silent, taking a seat at the table with her.

"I'm sorry."

"You'll be forgiven once you prove to me, you'll do right by your health."

"Okay. I promise, I'll do better."

"Bet your skinny ass you will."

"Grandma said ass," Abel chirped, strolling into the kitchen with a new picture he drew while he was in his bedroom.

I picked up Abel, setting him down on my knee.

"No baby don't say that. That's a bad word."

"What word?", he grinned.

"You know what word. You wanna know what will happen?"

He shook his adorable head back and forth as he looked up at me.

"The... tickle monster will come and get you!", I yelled tickling my son all over his body until he fell onto the floor laughing hysterically.

When Abel finally caught his breath, he stood up and handed the picture to my mother.

"Oh.. that's not for me?"

"It was until the tickle monster came, " he teased, and ran off to his room.

I looked at my mother with utter shock in my eyes.

"That's your son," she smiled.

Linda headed home shortly after Jax confirmed he was on his way home to Mel and the kids.

Phil was posted inside for their protection to ensure Mel and the kids remained safe.

Today would have marked Linda and Joesph's 40 years together as a couple if he was still alive.

Whenever she wanted to take a stroll down memory lane, she would head down to the dreaded basement where all of his belongings were located.

She slid the silver step stool over to the multiple steel shelves and began taking the boxes down and placing them onto the floor.

As Linda moved the final box onto the floor, an aged white envelope fell from the top shelve, creating a loud ding when it hit the carpeted cement floor.

"What the hell?"

She immediately stepped down from the stool to retrieve the envelope.

Linda bent down and picked it up, feeling the shape of a safety deposit box key within the envelope.

Melanie's name was scrolled on the front of the envelope with the handwriting Linda recognized.

It was John Teller's handwriting.

"Holy shit."

Back to Mel's Pov:

I heard the sound of a motorcycle pull up into the driveway while I was finishing folding the remainder of the laundry.

For today, that is.

I folded one more article of clothing before going into the kitchen to begin to heat up Jax's dinner.

Jax entered the kitchen with a smile on his face while I had a worried frown plastered on mine.

I touched the side of his face, examining the sizey bruise around his eye.

"I take it from that new accessory you're sportin' that you engaged in an Irish jig this afternoon."

"Yeah, you can say that."

"You at least get some licks in?"

"Of course, darlin."

"Good. You need me to get the medical kit?"

"Nah, I'm good. "

"Okay," I answered, bringing over the hot plate of some pot roast that I shockingly did not burn.

Jax took a seat in front of the plate and looked up at me.

"You made this?"

"I did, " I beamed as I sat down on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He went to kiss me when I put my right hand over his lips.

"A couple of the guys reached out and told me what else happened today besides your dance with the Irish. The name Venus ring a bell?", I smiled.

"Jesus Christ.. who told you?"

"I've sworn to secrecy. But I must know, should I be worried? Do I have some competition?", I laughed.

"Oh, you think it's funny, huh?"

"I sure do."

Jax maneuvered himself from up under me, bringing himself to his feet. He hoisted me in the air, draping me over his shoulder, causing me to shriek as he jogged down to the bedroom.

"Wait, what about your food?!"

Phil got up from the couch and reluctantly headed down the hall to the closed bedroom door.

"Uh, boss.."

"See you tomorrow, Phil."