Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
X
When his alarm went off, Jax was still pretty tired, but he had no regrets. He called Tara before he even rolled out of bed, wanting to hear her voice, but she didn't answer.
His back was a little sore and achy, but so was the rest of him too, he guessed from sleeping somewhat awkwardly on his stomach and side throughout the night, when his usual sleeping position was flat on his back. He rarely ever slept on his side, usually only if he was curled around Tara, but with her gone he had been draped around her pillow instead to keep off of his back. The pillow however turned out to be a pathetic substitute for her warm and inviting form, but at the very least it smelled like her.
He had to admit that it did feel strange waking up in her bed alone, after they'd shared it now for almost a month. And just like her absence had made the boys think of her being hurt and in the hospital, he had to admit that waking up alone like this had brought him back there too for a moment.
Back to how the bed in their home in Charming felt cold and uninviting without her there every night. And he'd end up spending some of his nights at Margaret's house sharing a bed with Abel, or on a chair beside Tara's hospital bed.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since she'd left for Idaho, and he was already missing her. Not just saying it, out of habit, but he truly fucking missed her, and then he thought to himself with a smirk just how pussy whipped that made him sound.
But he had to push all of these thoughts aside, because today would be the first full day without her, so he'd set his alarm clock a little earlier, knowing he'd have to get the boys ready all on his own this morning.
He hurried, peeled off the clear wrap from his tattoo and took a quick shower, and already ran into his first problem without her here. He was supposed to apply ointment to his back for another day or two, yet without her, that wasn't going to happen.
He supposed he could've tried to coax Abel into doing it for him, but he knew that it would undoubtedly turn into a longer conversation, about why he'd done what he'd done to the tattoo, which was a talk that he wasn't really ready to have just yet with Abel.
And on top of that, if Abel knew, without a doubt he'd mentioned it to his mom, and as childish as it sounded, he wanted to be the one to either tell or show Tara first. Because unlike the tattoo of her name on his chest, he was positive this would get a reaction out of her right off the bat.
So Jax dried his back as good as he could after the shower, the rubbing of the towel stinging more than he remembered. He glanced down at the cotton towel in his hand, and he could see the pinkish stains left behind on the white fabric, the small specks of blood that told him it would be a little while before his back would be completely healed.
He got dressed, but left his shirt off while the boys were still asleep, giving the blood on his back a chance to dry. He went about the tasks at hand, getting some clean clothes out of the dryer for the boys to wear, then continued to quickly pack their lunch to take to school and daycare, before he stuck some pop tarts in the toaster for them to have for breakfast.
He pulled his shirt on over his head now, and grabbed his cup of steaming coffee, taking a sip before he opened their bedroom door and woke the sleepy boys from their slumber to start their day.
X
Jax sat at the table with his sons, and drank his coffee while they ate their breakfast and drank their warm chocolate milk.
He glanced at his phone once again, hoping that Tara would've called him back by now. He wanted to talk to her before he had to head out. Just as that thought crossed his mind, her name appeared on the screen and the phone began to ring the same instant he pushed the green button to answer.
"Hey babe." Jax greeted her and put the coffee mug down on the table in front of him before he pushed his chair back so he could stand.
"Hey." Tara answered sounding a bit rushed on the other end of the line. "Sorry, I just now saw that you'd called. I was getting ready, had some breakfast."
Jax stepped into the living room, and sat on the armrest of the big oversized chair, his eyes still on the boys in the kitchen, watching them as they were entertaining themselves.
"I was starting to wonder." He admitted, "How did you sleep? Miss me yet?"
"I slept alright ... I guess." Tara answered, but then chuckled a little "And yes ... maybe I miss you a little." She teased. "What about you? Miss me yet?"
"Always." Jax replied, a smirk on his face. "Just a little, huh?" He didn't wait for her reply. "So, we didn't really get to talk much yesterday, with the boys hoggin' the phone. How was your flight and the hotel, everything good?"
"Yeah, I went over my notes on the plane, made time go by quick. The hotel's pretty nice, but I've been busy since I've gotten here, so all work, no fun." Then she admitted, "It's nice to know though that they do seem to miss me when I'm not around." Tara asked in return. "How are my babies doing?"
"Of course, they miss you." Jax answered, but now was not the time to tell her what had been going on with the boys yesterday. He'd fill her in on all of that once she'd be back home with them.
He shook his head to himself as he watched Thomas dip a piece of his pop tart into his milk, then reached his whole little hand in to retrieve the piece that had broken off. "They're doin' fine, eating breakfast right now, makin' a mess ... I didn't realize how big of a mess they make every time they eat, babe."
"Welcome to my world, Teller." She only half joked and he could practically hear the smirk on her lips in the sound of her voice.
There was a moment of silence for a few seconds, before Tara cleared her throat, "So, how come you didn't tell me that you went to see John at the hospital?" She finally dared to ask. It's been on the tip of her tongue since he'd answered her call.
Jax hesitated, he knew she'd probably find out and would ask him about it, but he still found himself unsure of how to answer it. "I should've told you." He finally admitted. "But I needed to set him straight, you get that, don't you?" He answered as truthfully as he could, not liking how his mind went back to all the things John had said ... especially the shit that was true!
"I guess." Tara replied, "I just wish you would've told me, instead of having to hear it from him, considering I've gotta work with the guy, especially here."
"I'm sorry, babe. You're right." Jax replied, he could understand that. He should've at least told her after the fact. But now it took everything he had in him to refrain from asking if the fucker had been bothering her or not.
"Okay." Tara sighed, and ran a hand through her still wet hair, unsure of where to go from here.
A beat or two of silence followed once more, and Jax was just about to speak up, when he could hear a knock in the background.
"Hold on a sec. There's someone at the door." Tara said, and pressed the phone to her chest as she stepped up to the door to open it, while all Jax could hear was rustling.
Jax crunched his eyebrows together in concentration, reached up with his other hand to cover his other ear to drown out the sound of the boys giggling in the kitchen, and tried to hear the muffled conversation on the phone instead. He tried to keep his cool, but he was pretty damn sure that it was John who she was talking to, and the thought of that guy at her hotel room door just brought his blood to a boil.
He could hear the door falling shut, and Tara spoke up again, "I'm back. Sorry 'bout that."
"Was that him?" Jax snapped, he just couldn't bite back the question, even if he tried.
Tara closed her eyes in frustration, but tried her best to keep her voice level when she spoke, "It was. He was just -."
"He was just asking if you wanted to get breakfast with him. I heard." He wasn't a hundred percent sure, but that was the gist of what he thought he heard John say, and unlike her, Jax wasn't able to keep the emotions from his voice. He was jealous, but most of all, he was pissed. But at least that answered his question about whether or not the guy was still trying to make a move on her or not.
"Jax." Tara pleaded, exasperation in her voice, "I'm just trying to get through this trip and come back to my babies and you as fast as I can. You've got nothing to worry about. How many times have you told me that it was just business?"
He frowned, on one hand he knew she was right, but it didn't ease the way all of this made him feel, because hadn't he reassured Tara that it was just business, with Ima and with Colette too. "I know, babe. But asking you to have breakfast with him doesn't sound like just business ... it sounds like he's trying to make time with you." He sounded angry, even thought he really didn't mean to let his anger out on her.
Tara shook her head to herself, frustrated to be caught in the middle of Jax's and John's turf war, when she'd obviously made her choice in the matter known to both men already.
"I don't know what you want me to do here, Jax? I'm not spending any time with him, unless I have no choice in the matter, like today during the presentations." Tara didn't yell when she spoke, but the frustration in her voice couldn't be missed either way.
Jax's eyes were on their sons as he tried his best to not flip out at the thought of her working side by side with that guy. He took a deep breath, in and out, "I trust you, babe, I just don't trust him."
X
The workday was coming to an end and Jax glanced up at the big oversized clock that hung prominently on the wall overlooking the bays. Just another thirty minutes, and he'd be on his way to pick up Thomas from day care at the hospital, and then Abel from Misses Ellie's place, where he's been since preschool got out earlier.
He tried his best to focus on work today, and for the most part he'd succeeded by keeping busy, but despite it all, his mind kept going back to Tara and John. And not for the first time today he wondered if maybe by confronting John the way he had, he'd furthered the guys resolve to do the complete opposite what he had asked him to do, and pursued Tara every chance he got.
It pissed him off, but he knew getting mad at her wouldn't get him anywhere. This wasn't her fault. If he hadn't cheated, if he hadn't caused the rift, if he would've kept Colette as far away from him as possible after, then Tara would've never started seeing this guy in the first place.
Jax knew, if anyone was to blame for this fucked up situation, it was none other than himself.
Greg finally brought him back to the here and now, when he spoke up, trying to bring him out of his sulkiness "Hey, so why don't you come to my place tonight for dinner, man? You can meet my wife ... the kids get someone to play with? My wife's making lasagna, ... it's real good."
Jax was wiping down his tools with a rag before he put them back in his toolbox, and stopped long enough to look up at his friend, "I don't think I'll be good company tonight, man. There's just too much shit running through my head right now."
Greg wouldn't let up. "And that's why you need to come over. You won't have to worry about fixin' something to eat for the little ones, and our kids will get to play and tire each other out ... come on, Jax."
Jax sighed, wiping some grease off of his hands and threw the rag on top of his tools, when he finally looked up to meet Greg's eyes, "Lasagna, huh?"
"The fucking best you'll ever have." Greg grinned, and slapped Jax on the back. "Six thirty sharp, don't be late. I'll text you our address."
X
Jax had to admit he was more than a bit surprised when he'd pulled his truck up to Greg's house. He had to double check the address, making sure he hadn't made a mistake. It was a pretty nice house in a even nicer neighborhood.
And Greg's wife, Claire, was a petite looking blonde, who was real pretty without barely any make-up on, in a minimalistic kind of way, and couldn't have been any nicer when she greeted him and his boys at the door and introduced Abel and Thomas to her two boys.
So now, after they've eaten, Claire was keeping an eye on the kids as they played together, while Greg led Jax out to the garage, showing him the bike he'd been working on for the last couple of months.
"Holy shit." Jax marveled in amazement, as he lit his cigarette. "A '65 Panhead EG. She's a beauty." He took a long drag as he walked around the bike, looking at it from all sides.
"That she is." Greg grinned ear to ear as he also pulled a cigarette out himself and raised it to his lips before he lit it.
"Man, my best friend, he had the exact same one sitting in his garage ... same year and everything. Seems like a million years ago now." Jax added wistfully, thinking back on Ope, and how he'd sold the bike to help finding Abel at the time.
They talked a little while longer about the bike, where he'd found the parts and how much it had set him back, before Greg pulled two old lawn chairs off of the wall and unfolded them, nodding towards one for Jax to take a seat.
Jax lit his second cigarette, and Greg finally spoke up, "So what's been eating you up, man? You've barely said a word at the shop today." He eyed Jax wearily before he walked over to the small fridge and pulled two cold beers out for the both of them.
"Hell, I don't even know." Jax answered, shaking his head between drags from his smoke, rubbing his hand down his face. "Seems like every time I think she's better, we're better, some other shit comes up, throwing a wrench in it."
"I thought she's just out of town for work." Greg clarified, not really seeing what the big deal was. He twisted the cap off his beer and handed the other one to Jax. "Ain't that big of a wrench, if you ask me. She'll be back before you know it."
Jax scoffed, and looked back at Greg, meeting his eyes, his eyebrows raised. "Except that guy she was seeing when we were apart, the neuro doctor, he's at the conference with her."
"For real?" Greg sat up straight, looking taken back. "Now that's fucked up. No wonder you're so bend out of shape."
"Tell me about it." Jax replied and took a sip from his beer now, his eyes lingering on the bike in front of him once more, before he turned his attention back to Greg, "So what's the deal with this place?"
Greg shook his head, "What do you mean?"
Jax raised his eyebrows, amused for a moment, glad for the distraction. "Come on, I know what you're making an hour, bro." He gestured with his hands about the place, "This house, this bike ... that wife. When you told me your life story, said you left the life after your brother died, I feel like you left some crucial parts out, man."
Greg shook his head, guilt written all over his face. "When I walked away, I left with nothing ... I had nothing, not even her." He nodded towards the door that led back to the house.
"Then where did all this come from? You won the lottery or some shit?" Jax looked back at him even more confused than before, mostly because he'd thought Greg to be an open book, never shutting up about anything, yet here it seemed he hadn't told the whole story.
"Something like that." Greg took a big swig from his beer, his eyes focused on the bike again, lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, "After my brother died, I was seriously fucked up. I threw myself deeper into this shit. Took too many risks I shouldn't have. We were on a run, I hooked up with some skank. It was just pussy, didn't mean anything. Just something to drown out the pain."
"I get it." Jax said, nodding along, as his own guilt came back tenfold.
"Word got back to Claire though. By the time I got back, she'd already packed up the kids and split. After some diggin' I found out she was staying with my mom, so I showed up there, only to have mom point a saw-off in my face, telling me to stay away." Greg locked eyes with Jax now and raised another cigarette to his mouth.
"Oh shit, your own mom." Jax shook his head.
"She had just lost a son too, was pissed that I was ruining what was left of our family ... so she made sure I knew who's side she was on. That she wanted me out of the life, or out of hers." Greg recalled.
"Shit, my mom ... she pushed me towards the gavel, and when Tara was in a coma, she even pushed me towards other pussy ... but then again, comparing anyone else's mother to mine, that's like comparing apples to a goddamn hand-grenade." He took a drag from his smoke, waiting for Greg to elaborate, because this far none of what he said explained the house and the happy marriage.
"Well, when she refused to even see me, that's when I finally woke up, you know? I mean, it wasn't instant, I struggled for a while, but eventually I knew what I had to do, man. I knew I had to get out if I didn't want to lose her for good too, or miss out on my kids growing up." Greg admitted.
"All the talks we've had, all those days you've talked my fucking ear off and ... this shit, that literally mirrors mine, that's what you leave out." Jax said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"This shit's really personal." Greg said defensively.
Jax cracked a smile, "And it's not personal anymore."
"Well, you're at my house, eating my wife's food, and your boys are playing with mine ... thought I can let you in on some more personal shit now." Greg returned the smile with a nod and raised his beer to clink against Jax's, before they both took a drink.
"Still doesn't explain the house though." Jax added questioningly.
"Right." Greg said, realizing how he'd taken this talk off course. "I got out, got a job, fought like hell to at least see my kids ... and eventually we worked our shit out, and she took me back. That was about three years ago, then about a year ago, her grandfather died and left her a bunch of money, real estate and shit. She never even knew him, but she was his only living heir, so ..." He shrugged his shoulders. "This is all hers, man."
Jax exhaled the smoke from the drag he'd just taken and nodded, "How are you with that?" When Greg gave him a confused look, he elaborated. "Tara makes real good money as a doctor, I earned real good with the club, but now ... now I make what you make, which ain't shit."
"Hmmm." Greg nodded and rubbed his hands over his beard as if deep in thought again. "It took some getting used to ... ain't gonna lie. But growing up, my mom always worked, sometimes two jobs ... she had to, because my old man couldn't be counted on for nothing, you know? So on one hand I always thought I'd be different than him, I'd be the one to provide for my family, which was another reason why I stayed in as long as I did ... but really, it ain't like that anymore. This ain't the nineteen-fifties Leave-it-to-beaver, man. Gotta get with the times. Claire's got a good job working as an accountant, I work my gig over at Bakers, we both earn and what's mine is hers, and what's hers is mine. We've been through way too much real shit, to worry about something as trivial as who brings home the most bacon."
Jax nodded as he took in Greg's words of wisdom. It made sense. He'd always pushed Tara towards her job, to keep at it, to not just be a mom, not that there's anything wrong with that, but because he knew deep down that that's what she wanted. So how could he hold some sort of silent grudge because she earned more than him now.
"So what are you gonna do?" Greg asked him out of the blue.
"About what?" Jax looked back at him confused. He wondered momentarily if Greg was talking about the money situation.
"About that guy with your wife in Idaho?" Greg replied without missing a beat.
"Ain't much I can do until they get back." Jax admitted, and ran a weary hand down his face. "I confronted him about staying clear of her before they left ... but I think that did more harm than good, 'cause now he's asking her out to eat and shit, trying to make more time with her beside's the time he's already spending with her because of the conference."
"Fuck." Greg put the empty bottle on the cement floor beside his chair and lit another cigarette. "That's tough. I couldn't deal with that."
"I trust her." Jax added, and nodded as he thought about it. "Everything we've been through. Our marriage, she wouldn't jeopardize it."
"Right." Greg nodded in agreement and thought about it for a minute before he added. "Except, it's not her you gotta worry about, it's him, really. He's putting moves on her, knowing you're not around to put a stop to it ... that shit wouldn't fly with me, man."
At that, Jax clenched his jaw, "Trust me, bro, that shit ain't flying with me either. I'll end that shithead when he's back."
"I wouldn't wait that long." Greg replied, realizing he was probably stirring the pot here. "If that was Claire with her ex rubbing up on her, I'd already be up there."
"I wish I could be." Jax admitted that too. What he wouldn't give to have tagged along with her, and not just because of John, but to just have some alone time with her.
"Then why the hell ain't ya'?" Greg looked at him in confusion, as if this was a no-brainer.
"Well, I gotta work, I got my boys." Jax replied without having to think about it. He knew all the reasons why he didn't go with her by heart.
"Tomorrow's already Friday, we're scheduled to be off this Saturday anyways. Baker's got that crew coming in servicing the lifts and calibrating all the tools and shit. So it's one day you need off. That's fucking easy enough." Greg began to rattle down his solutions to Jax's problems. "The boys, well ... either take 'em with you, or ask one of the babysitter's to watch 'em for you ... Hell, I can talk to Claire, and if she ain't working Saturday, you can put our names down at their daycare and we'll go get them tomorrow and keep 'em for ya' until you get back." Greg reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "You said she was in Boise, right?"
"Yeah." Jax nodded, and the idea of going to see Tara in Idaho lifted his spirits, but when Abel and Thomas crossed his mind again, he simply knew it wouldn't all be that simple.
"Four hundred and seventy-some miles, about eight hours if you drive straight through. Nine if you stop to eat and piss and stretch your legs. That ain't bad. You leave here at eight in the morning, you'd be there by five in the afternoon, probably right around the time she'd be done with her conference shit. Can you imagine that motherfuckers face when you show up?" Greg looked up from his phone and grinned when he met Jax's eyes.
But Jax shook his head, he wasn't smiling, "I appreciate you offering to watch my boys, bro, but I can't."
"Why the hell not?" Greg asked confused.
Jax let out a heavy sigh, and leaned further back into the lawn chair, ignoring the sting on his back when he did so. "Yesterday, Abel asked me if his mom wasn't home because she got hurt again. Both of them spend the rest of the afternoon on the phone with Tara, making sure that she wasn't in a hospital bed somewhere, in a coma again." Jax shook his head. "I can't take off now, god knows what the hell they'd think. I can't do that to them."
"Then be straight with them ... the only reason they'll think shit like that, it's because you leave them in the dark, letting their little minds wonder. Trust me, man, I've been there with my kids too. You gotta tell 'em straight up that you're going to the hotel where their mom is, tell 'em everything's fine, everyone's fine, nobody's hurt or getting hurt, tell 'em you both will be back in a couple days. Just be up front with them. The little one might not understand it all, but the older one, he's what? Five? He'll get it."
"He'll be five in about four months." Jax corrected him.
"That's old enough to get it, and the younger one will be okay if his big brother is. They'll take cue's from each other. That's how my boys are." Greg assumed out loud, before he pushed himself up out of his chair. "Let me go run this by Claire real quick, to see if she's okay with it, alright? And if she is, you call Baker, taking the day off tomorrow, and then we'll talk to your boys, and work all out all of the details" He patted Jax on the shoulder as he passed by him. "This time tomorrow, you'll be with your old lady."
X
Tara gathered all of her paper's from the podium, packing everything away in her bag, when she noticed John out of the corner of her eye approaching. She groaned inwardly, wishing she could click her heels together or wiggle her nose, and magically disappear right in front of him. But no such luck.
"Hey." John said as he stepped up beside her.
"Hey." Tara replied, giving him a reluctant smile before she grabbed her bag and started heading for the stairs on the side, leaving the stage.
John fell in step beside her. "I'm glad I caught you before you disappear into your room again. Let's get some dinner together? They serve a real good steak right here in the hotel restaurant."
Tara stopped short, so sick and tired of having the same conversation with him, she turned towards him in utter frustration. "It's not gonna happen, okay? I'm not eating with you, ... not breakfast, lunch or dinner. I'm not having drinks with you either. I'm sorry the way things ended between us, I really am, John. But it did end. It's been over. So, please, listen to my husband and leave me alone, ... because if you don't, he's going to hurt you."
X
The next morning, Jax was on the road by eight AM. He knew he had a long drive ahead of him, but the thought of seeing Tara, surprising her made it all worth it. He'd been up late last night, planning every last detail, packing not just his own overnight bag, but also the boys' too.
He'd dropped Abel off at preschool a little earlier than usually today, then had dropped Thomas off at daycare in the hospital too, and left the boys' overnight bag with Christy. His next stop had been with his PO for permission to leave the state before he went on his way out of town.
Everything was taken care off.
His boss, Eric had given him today off, as long as he promised to make up the missing time by either staying late or working an extra Saturday shift.
He'd talked to the boys, really talked to them, and they actually seemed excited for the opportunity at another play date with the new friends they'd just made the night before, and a sleepover at Christy and Jason's place. The hardest part had been keeping Abel from giving away the surprise when he'd talked to his mother before he went to sleep last night.
So Greg and his wife would be picking up Abel and Thomas today, he'd made sure to put their names on the list at Abel's school as well as Thomas' daycare, so they'd be allowed to do so.
And last but not least, he made sure that Jason and Christy had Greg and Claire's phone number and address, and vice versa, so they could link up later tonight to hand over the kids. It wasn't that he didn't trust Greg and Claire to keep the boys over night, but he just knew that Abel and Thomas were comfortable staying with Jason and Christy, so he didn't want to take any chances by trying something new with both him and Tara out of town.
Looking back on last night's conversation with Greg, this whole thing had started out because of John, but honestly, right now it wasn't even about that anymore. He simply couldn't wait to see her, kiss her, touch her, and tell her that he'd taken the leap and finally gotten rid of the reaper once and for all.
As he merged onto US-97 North, he caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror, surprising him still, it would be a minute until he'd get used to it.
Thinking back to late last night after the boys had been peacefully asleep, staring back at his own image in the bathroom mirror, he had taken another step, not quite as drastic though as the blackened out tattoo, since hair would grow back, but drastically different.
He wasn't entirely sure why he'd done it, maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, or a vain attempt to turn himself back into the person he'd been back then, but regardless of his reasons, he'd taken the hair clippers and had cut his hair as short as it had been when he'd gotten released from Stockton.
Then this morning he'd even shaved off his beard too, wanting to start out with a clean slate ... clean shaven. He looked like a brand new version of himself. It was cathartic to say the least, and the look on the boys' face, when he woke them, was worth it alone.
But now as he adjusted the beanie on his head and swiped his hand down his face, it still felt odd, to say the least.
He turned on the radio, using the search function to find a station that would come in clearly now that he'd left town, and lowered his window just enough to flick the ash from his cigarette outside between drags.
Then the weather report on the radio caught his attention, and he turned up the volume to hear it better. Tara had mentioned that it had been snowing over in Boise since before her arrival, but now they were saying a goddamn snowstorm was quickly moving in.
Fuck!
It was just his luck, but it didn't deter him in the least, instead he stepped on the gas and sped up, trying to beat the approaching storm that was coming in from the east.
X
Tara groaned inwardly, watching the Television screen in one of the board rooms near the conference hall. This storm was heading their way, and from the looks of it, it was going to be pretty bad.
She turned towards Colleen, one of her co-workers from Medford Memorial that was also attending the conference with her. "Now what?"
Colleen shrugged her shoulders, "Heard they might end the conference early, since a bunch of people already checked out earlier this morning, trying to get the hell out of here before the brunt of the storm hits."
Tara let her eyes drift to the window, taking in the increasing snowfall outside, "Crap, this kind of weather takes me back to med school in Chicago. Winter's up there are the worst."
Just then, the door to the board room opened and one of the head honchos of this conference stepped inside and informed them of the proposed schedule change.
X
Tara paid the cabby, and waited for him to retrieve her small suitcase and carryon bag from the trunk, before she hurriedly stepped inside the airport terminal with her luggage in tow.
She brushed the snow off of her jacket, which wasn't nearly thick enough for this type of weather as she scanned her surroundings.
She made quick work to inquire about the next available flights back to Medford, but after waiting in line for what seemed like forever, it turned out that the weather and snow had already began to take a turn for the worse and because of it, all outgoing flights had been canceled.
Frustrated, but in a rush nonetheless, she got in the shortest of the long lines at the car rental companies on the other side of the building instead. Of course she'd stumbled into John earlier, who had, to the best of her knowledge, returned back to the hotel to sit out the storm in comfort ... which left Tara even more determined to not go back to the hotel if she could help it.
Being stranded with John at the hotel, without the distraction of work to keep him off of her back sounded like a nightmare in itself. So she'd take her chance on the road, trying to outrun, or rather outdrive the storm and with any luck she'd be back with Jackson and her babies by the end of the day.
X
Author's Note: I want to take the chance to thank everyone for their private messages, and reviews they've left for me about this story. Please, if you have anything to say about this chapter, let me know, I always look forward to hear from all of you. It's so motivating, so thank you.
On another note, I wanted to address a guest reviewer that left me a long message, but since it's anonymous, signed as 'MMM', and not by a registered subscriber, I can't reply to the message directly like I normally would. The question I was asked was if Wendy would come into play in this story, and the reviewer also mentioned something about Tara adopting Abel, making her his mother legally.
First off, thank you for your interest in my story and for taking the time to comment on it.
I just wanted to say (without spoiling too much) that Wendy does have a small part in this story that is yet to come. And also, that to the best of my knowledge, Tara did actually adopt Abel. There is the conversation between Tara and Wendy in S4, when Wendy visit's Tara in the hospital room, that hints at it. Wendy says legally she's still his mother, but then contradicts herself by agreeing when Tara says Wendy gave up her rights to raise Abel.
And then there's also a deleted scene from S4E1, a conversation between Jax and Gemma, right before Opie's wedding, where Jax said that Wendy gave Tara custody of Abel.
Now I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't googled it either (yet), but I was simply under the assumption that this means Tara has already adopted Abel. Because in order to adopt your step-child, you have to have permission from the biological parent, and they have to basically relinquish their own rights to the child to do that, hence Jax's words 'Wendy gave Tara custody of Abel'.
So I 'd love to hear all of your opinions on this matter with Wendy. Did Tara adopt Abel? Maybe one of you is more familiar with the subject and can clear it up a bit better for all of us, please? Thank you.