Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving! I can't believe we are in December already! Where does the time go! Since this is the season of giving, I figured I'd get my ass in gear and give you a new chapter! This chapter takes place the same day Jax and the guys were carted off to Stockton. Let me know what you think!

3:47 am:

In bed with her labtop balanced on her thighs, Evie continued to put her restless mind to actual use.

From the moment the boys went down, she holed herself up in her and Jax's bedroom to find out more about the dangerous gangster who rapidly closed in on her man and his beloved brothers.

She felt deep in her bones that it would be a long shot that she'd eventually peel back a layer of information that painted Pope as something other than a "kind, wealthy, real estate investor."

But, it was worth the effort.

"Mommy.."

Evie looked up from the extensive article on Damon Pope, shifting her brown eyes in the direction from which the small voice came from.

Abel was standing in the doorway with his blonde locks sticking up in a hundred different directions just like how his father's does when he wakes up from his slumber.

"Hey handsome, what are you doing up so late," she asked as she closed the labtop and placed it atop the nightstand.

"I'm not feeling so good," he replied as he made his way over to her.

Evie pushed her upper body off of the wooden headboard, turning her body until her legs were no longer on the bed and her feet were onto the carpeted floor.

Abel stood in between his mother's legs as she rested her right hand against his warm forehead.

"You do feel warm, buddy. Let's go take your temperature. If you do have a fever, I'll give you some medicine to help bring it back down. If you're still not feeling better in a couple hours, we'll go to the doctor. Sound like a plan?"

He nodded, taking her hand as she led the way out of the bedroom to the main bathroom in the house.

"What are you doing up so late, mommy," he asked.

She flicked on the light, closing the door behind the both of them.

" Uh, mommy has a lot of work to do for tomorrow and since I couldn't sleep, I figured I'd get a jumpstart on it," she lied.

Evie lifted Abel up onto the counter to sit on while she searched the medicine cabinet for Motrin.

Once she found it, she placed the boxed medicine onto the counter next to him, immediately going on her next mission which was to find a thermometer.

After a couple of minutes of rummaging through each and every draw, she finally was able to retrieve it.

"Ah ha, got it," she stated with excitement in her voice, causing Abel to smile at her.

She smiled back at him while she removed the thermometer's plastic cover, bringing herself in front of him.

Abel automatically opened his mouth and slightly lifted his tongue.

"Alright baby, you can close your mouth now," she instructed once the therometer's point was tucked under his tongue.

He did what was asked of him and they both waited until the device created a small beep.

Abel opened his mouth and Evie took a look at the electronic screen, confirming what she had already suspected.

Her little man had a fever of 100.2.

"From the looks of it buddy, we are in fact gonna have to bust into the medicine."

"Okay," he whispered, recieving a kiss on his forehead from Evie.

"Would you like me to get you some water? I know how gross medicine tends to taste."

He shook his head.

"No, I can take it."

Evie chuckled, giving her son a nod.

"Okay my brave one," she commented as she picked up the box from the bathroom's counter.

Abel took the medicine without a fuss or leaving any remaining liquid behind in the plastic cup that is supplied with the medication.

She lifted him up and off of the counter, returning the items she just used on Abel back to its original spot.

"Let's get you tucked back in," she whispered as she shut the bathroom's lights and began to walk him back to his and Andre's bedroom.

Abel stopped walking and turned around, looking up at Evie.

"Can I sleep in you and daddy's room?"

"Of course you can," she replied without hesitation.

Meeting Evie in the bedroom, Abel quickly got under the covers, making himself comfortable on his father's side of the bed.

She remerged with the book Abel requested for her to read to him until he fell asleep.

Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy

"Abel, I'm all for reading you something to help you fall asleep, but from the cover alone, I don't this is the book that will do that," she pointed out as she crawled into bed next to him.

"It will. You'll see," he insisted.

"Okay I'll read it, but if this ends up giving you nightmares, we're switching to a different genre from here on out. Deal?"

"Deal."

As Evie opened up the book to the first page, Abel brought himself closer to her, using her body as a pillow and draping his arm across her waist.

8:15 am:

Evie woke up without having to use her alarm clock for assistance.

She turned her head to look behind her to check on Abel to see if he was still sound asleep.

He was, along with Andre right next to him who must've snuck in here when the two of them passed out a couple of hours ago.

It would've been the perfect morning if Jax was here in bed with the three of them.

And, the fact that he wasn't caused Evie's heart to violently ache.

Without disturbing the boys, Evie got out of bed and exited the bedroom.

She quietly closed the bedroom door behind her, heading down the hallway to the main part of the home.

"Good morning," she greeted as she entered the kitchen.

"Mornin' ", Happy and Phil responded in unison.

"Are you boys hungry? I'm more than happy to prepare somethin' for the both of you. It's my way of saying thank you for keeping my family and me safe and out of harm's way."

"Uh..", Phil started, getting a glare from Happy who shook his head.

"No need to trouble yourself, Evie. We're good."

Noticing the different reactions to her suggestion, she made the final decision for them.

"Breakfast it is. Phil, how do you feel about steak and eggs?"

"I'm not picky."

"Clearly," Happy muttered under his breath.

There was a knock on the front door, causing the three of them to fall silent.

Happy and Phil stood up out of the kitchen chairs with their guns drawn as they headed to the front door.

With Phil behind him, Happy looked through the door's peephole.

He lowered his weapon and looked back at Phil.

"It's Bobby."

Phil nodded, shoving his gun into the back of his jeans.

Happy unlocked the front door, letting Bobby in.

"Is Evie awake," he asked Phil as he walked into the house.

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen."

Bobby strolled into the kitchen, finding Evie putting away her own loaded gun back into her purse that sat on the kitchen's countertop.

"Hey Bobby."

"Good mornin,' sweetheart."

"You came just in time. I'm about to whip up some steak and eggs."

"Go ahead. You can ask me," he stated.

"Are they okay? Are they whole? Is the protection actually set," she rambled with worry blown in her big brown eyes.

"Yes on all counts, Eve."

She breathed a sigh of relief, giving Bobby a smile.

"Thank god."

She despised this closed door policy Jax created when he and the guys went inside.

He had a good reason for creating it, sure.

Jax had no idea how high Pope's reach was.

Pope could have Stockton's guards on payroll and have them trace the call which would evidently lead right to their family.

Pope was angry, and the last thing Jax wanted was for him to take his anger out on his family.

But, all in all, Evie just craved to hear his voice.

It would make the passing time without him that much more tolerable.

"Did he say anything else?", she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah, he did. He told you to stop."

"What?"

"He knows you're digging up dirt on Pope. He wants you to stop before it's too late. Going down that dark path will no doubt get you hurt or worse."

"How'd he.."

"He knows you, Evie. It hasn't been long since you two got together, but he knows you. Just listen to him.. Please. There's no way Jax can stay standing if you and the boys are no longer in the picture."

Once Evie parked her car in the Teller-Morrow parking lot, she turned back and looked at both of her boys.

They were already out of the car, running toward the swing set with Phil close behind them.

You would have never guessed Abel was burdened with a fever hours ago.

That will forever shock her.

How resilient children are.

Why, as adults, do we have to lose that beautiful resilience?

The sound of her high heels gave her away before she could acknowledge her own presence.

"Did Bobby give you the update," Gemma asked, not looking away from the paperwork on the desk in front of her.

"Yeah, he did. Bobby came by early this morning and let me know Jax and the guys are still breathing," she replied, taking a seat on the couch located next to the desk.

"Good. Are you off from work today?", Gemma asked, finally making eye contact with Evie.

"No, I have a meeting in an hour and I was wondering if you'd like to watch the boys."

A small smile formed on Gemma's healing face.

"What happened to the babysitter you hired?"

"A family matter came up. Gem, do you really think I want to have a sitter instead of you? No, of course not. You're great with the boys and they love you. But, the past couple of weeks have taken its toll on you physically and emotionally. You can deny it all you want, but I see it. So does Jax. We figured with some time, that would help you get back on the track you recently derailed."

"Being around the boys is the only way I'll be able to get back on that so called track," she quipped.

Before Evie could respond, she immediately got up from the couch, sprinting to the bathroom that was connected to the office.

The moment she dropped to her knees and her face hovered over the toilet, the intense stomach cramping began and the vomit quickly made its way up her throat.

With Gemma now right behind her, she gathered her curly locks in one hand, pulling it away from her face.

"Food poisoning? Is it the stress.. oh my god, is it morning sickness?", Gemma asked with excitement laced within the tone of her voice.

"I don't know, but it looks like I'm making a pit stop at the local pharmacy before my meeting to pick up a couple of pregnancy tests in order to play process of elimination," she replied before vomiting once more.

Two Days Later:

Evie raced home from work the moment she found out Jax was released from Stockton.

She unlocked the door to her home, finding Happy and Phil sitting in silence with the boys on their laps in the kitchen while they colored in their coloring books.

"Where is he?", she asked as she closed the front door behind her.

"The bedroom," Happy replied, his voice more hoarse than usual.

She quickly made her way to the bedroom, discovering Jax sitting at the end of their bed with his head in his ringed hands.

Her purse slid off of her shoulder down to her right hand.

Once the straps were in the palm of her hand, she dropped the purse onto the bedroom floor.

"Jax..."

She slowly walked over to him, gently touching his hands when she was directly in front of him.

His hands fell from his face and he looked up at her.

His beautiful blue eyes were now bloodshot with tears brimming within them.

"I'm so sorry about Op, baby," she stated, taking his face in her hands.

"They.. they killed him right in front of me, Evie. I was gonna throw myself in the box. I was ready to. I wasn't gonna watch one of my brothers die in front of me. But, he stopped me and I..I don't know what the fuck.." , he trailed off as he attempted to drop his head.

Evie held onto his face with a firmer grip, causing him to look back up at her.

"I'll tell you what you're gonna do, Jax. You're gonna take one moment at a time. Looking too far ahead after something like this is too much on a person, even the strongest ones. Okay?"

He nodded, wrapping his arms around her trim waist, bringing her completely against him as he buried his face in her white button down shirt.

Silence fell over them.

Jax held Evie even tighter while her fingertips ran through his slicked back locks in attempt to ease the pain he was feeling.

Opie was gone and Samcro had just lost not only a beloved member, but a brother as well.

"Alright Mr. Morrow, I'll see you in a month. Remember, lay off the cigars and keep up with your rehab," Dr. Mesick patted Clay on the back, giving him a warm smile.

"Will do, doc. Thanks."

"No problem. Your discharge paperwork will be at the nurses' station down the hall."

Clay began to get dressed, eager to leave this hospital in his rearview mirror.

"Are you ready to go, brother?", Frankie Diamonds asked as he walked into Clay's hospital room.

He nodded, moving his oxygen tank across his body, resting the strap onto his left shoulder.

"Born ready, brother. Are Greg and Gogo on their way?," he asked while he adjusted the nasal canula.

"They're already at the Cabin."

"Good. "