After staying up much too late last night, Jax is still pretty tired when his alarm goes off, but he has no regrets. He calls Tara before he even rolls out of bed, wanting or rather needing to hear her voice, but she doesn't answer.
His back is feeling a little sore and achy, but so is the rest of him too. He guesses it's from sleeping somewhat awkwardly on his stomach and side throughout the night, when his usual sleeping position is flat on his back. He rarely ever sleeps on his side, usually only if he is curled around Tara, but with her gone, he's been draped around her pillow instead to keep off his back. The pillow however turns out to be a pathetic substitute for her warm and inviting form, but at the very least it smells like her.
He has to admit that it does feel strange waking up in her bed alone, after they shared it now for almost a month., and just like her absence makes the boys think of her being hurt and in the hospital again, he's gotta admit that waking up alone again 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 ended 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's almost pathetic to think that it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since she 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 makes him sound.
But he had to push all of these thoughts aside, because today would be the first full day without her, so he set his alarm clock a little earlier, knowing he'll have to get the boys ready all on his own this morning.
He hurries, peels off the clear wrap from his tattoo, and takes a quick shower, and already ran into his first problem without her here. He is supposed to apply ointment to his back for another day or two, yet without her, that isn't going to happen.
He could've tried to coax Abel into doing it for him, but he knows that it would undoubtedly turn into a longer conversation, about why he's done what he's done to the tattoo, which is a talk that he isn't really ready to have with his eldest just yet.
And on top of that, if Abel knows, without a doubt, he'd mention it to his mom, and as childish as it sounds, he wants to be the one to either tell or show Tara first. Because unlike the tattoo of her name on his chest, he is positive this would get a reaction out of her right off the bat.
So Jax dries his back as well as he can after the shower, the rubbing of the towel stinging more than he remembers it had the last time. He glances down at the cotton towel in his hand, and he can 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 gets dressed but leaves his shirt off while the boys are still asleep, giving the blood on his back a chance to dry. He goes about the tasks at hand, getting some clean clothes out of the dryer for them to wear, then continues to quickly pack their lunch to take to school and daycare, before he sticks some pop tarts in the toaster for them to have for breakfast.
He pulls his shirt over his head now, and grabs his cup of steaming coffee, taking a sip before he opens their bedroom door, and wakes the sleepy boys from their slumber to start their day.
X
Jax sits at the table with his sons, and drinks his coffee while they eat their breakfast and drink their warm chocolate milk.
He glances at his phone once again, hoping that Tara would've called him back by now. He wants to talk to her before he has to head out. Just as that thought crosses his mind, her name appears on the screen, and the phone begins to ring in the same instant he pushes the green button to answer.
"Hey Babe." Jax greets her, and puts the coffee mug down on the table in front of him before he pushes his chair back so he can stand.
"Hey," Tara answers, sounding a bit rushed on the other end of the line. "Sorry, I just now saw you called. I was getting ready, and had some breakfast."
Jax steps into the living room, and sits on the armrest of the big oversized chair, his eyes still on the boys in the kitchen, watching them as they are entertaining themselves.
"I was starting to wonder." He admits, "How did you sleep? Miss me yet?"
"I slept alright ... I guess." Tara answers, but then chuckles a little "And yes ... maybe I miss you a little." She teases. "What about you? Miss me yet?"
"Always," Jax replies, a smirk on his face. "Just a little, huh?" He doesn'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, it made time go by quick. The hotel's pretty nice, but I've been busy since I got here, so all work, no fun." Then she admits, "It's nice to know though that they do seem to miss me when I'm not around." Tara asks in return. "How are my babies doing?"
"Of course they miss you." Jax answers, but now is not the time to tell her what's been going on with the boys yesterday. He'll fill her in on all of that once she's back home with them.
He shakes his head to himself as he watches Thomas dip a piece of his pop tart into his milk, then reaches his whole little hand in to retrieve the piece that broke 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 is a moment of silence for a few seconds, before Tara clears her throat, "So, how come you didn't tell me you went to see John at the hospital?" She finally dares to ask. It's been on the tip of her tongue since the first time they talked yesterday, but the boys had commandeered that call and she didn't get the chance to ask.
Jax hesitates, he knew she'd probably find out and would ask him about it, but he still finds himself unsure of how to answer her. "I should've told you." He finally admits. "But I needed to set him straight, you get that, don't you?" He answers as truthfully as he can, not liking how his mind goes back to all the things John said ... especially the shit that was true!
"I guess." Tara replies, "I just wish you told me, instead of having to hear it from him, considering I gotta work with the guy, especially here."
"I'm sorry, Babe. You're right." Jax replies, he can understand that. He should've at least told her after the fact. But now it takes everything he has in him to refrain from asking if the fucker has been bothering her or not.
"Okay." Tara sighs, and runs a hand through her still-wet hair, unsure of where to go from here.
A beat or two of silence follows once more, and Jax is just about to speak up, when he can hear a knock in the background.
"Hold on a sec. There's someone at the door." Tara says, and presses the phone to her chest as she steps up to the door to open it, while all Jax can hear is rustling.
Jax draws his eyebrows together in concentration, reaches up with his free hand to cover his other ear to drown out the sound of the boys giggling in the kitchen, and tries to hear the muffled conversation on the phone instead. He tries to keep his cool, but he is pretty damn sure that it is John who she is talking to, and the thought of that guy at her hotel room door instantly brings his blood to a boil.
He can hear the door falling shut, and Tara speaks up again, "I'm back. Sorry 'bout that."
"Was that him?" Jax snaps, he just can't bite back the question, even if he tried.
Tara closes her eyes in frustration, but tries her best to keep her voice level when she speaks, "It was. He is just -"
"He is just asking if you wanna get breakfast with him. I heard." He isn't a hundred percent sure, but that is the gist of what he thought he heard John say, and unlike her, Jax isn't able to keep the emotions from his voice. He is jealous, but most of all, he is pissed. But at least that answers his question about whether or not the guy is still trying to make a move on her or not.
"Jax." Tara pleads, 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 is just business?"
He frowns because, on one hand, he knows she is right, but it doesn't ease the way all of this makes 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 sounds angry, even though he really doesn't mean to let his anger out on her.
Tara shakes her head to herself, frustrated to be caught in the middle of Jax's and John's turf war, when she 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 doesn't yell when she speaks, but the frustration in her voice can't be missed either way.
Jax's eyes are on their sons as he tries his best to not flip out at the thought of her working side-by-side with that guy. He takes a deep breath, in and out, "I trust you, Babe, I just don't trust him."
X
The workday is coming to an end, and Jax glances up at the big oversized clock that hangs prominently on the wall overlooking the bays. Just another thirty minutes, and he'll be on his way to pick up Thomas from daycare at the hospital, and then Abel from Mrs. 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 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 wonders if maybe by confronting John the way he did, he's furthered the guy's resolve to do the complete opposite he'd asked him to do, and pursued Tara every chance he got.
It pisses him off, but he knows getting mad at her won't get him anywhere. This isn't her fault. If he hadn't cheated, if he hadn't caused the rift, if he had kept Colette as far away from him as possible after, then Tara would've never started seeing this guy in the first place.
Jax knows, if anyone is to blame for this fucked up situation, it is none other than himself.
Greg finally brings him back to the here and now, when he speaks up, trying to bring him out of his sulkiness "Hey, so why don't you come by my place for dinner tonight, man? You can meet the wife ... the kids get someone to play with. My wife's making lasagna, ... it's good, bro."
Jax is wiping down his tools with a rag before he puts them back in his toolbox, and stops 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 won'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 sighs, wiping some grease off of his hands, and throws the rag on top of his tools, when he finally looks up to meet Greg's eyes, "Lasagna, huh?"
"The fucking best you'll ever have." Greg grins, and slaps Jax on the back. "Six-thirty sharp, don't be late. I'll text you the address."
X
Jax has to admit he is more than a bit surprised when he pulls his truck up to Greg's house. He double-checked the address, making sure he hadn't made a mistake, because it was a pretty nice house in an even nicer neighborhood.
And Greg's wife, Claire, was a petite-looking blonde, who was really pretty without barely any makeup 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 is keeping an eye on the kids as they play together, while Greg leads Jax out to the garage, showing him the bike he's been working on for the last couple of months.
"Holy shit." Jax marvels in amazement, as he lights his cigarette. "A '65 Panhead EG. She's a beauty." He takes a long drag as he walks around the bike, looking at it from all sides.
"That she is." Greg grins ear to ear as he also pulls a cigarette out, and raises it to his lips before he lights 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 adds wistfully, thinking back on Ope, and how he sold the bike to help find Abel at the time.
They talk a little while longer about the bike, where he's found the parts, and how much it set him back, before Greg pulls two old lawn chairs off of the wall, and unfolds them, nodding toward one for Jax to take a seat.
Jax lights his second cigarette, and Greg finally speaks up, "So what's been eating at you, man? You've barely said two words at the shop today." He eyes Jax wearily before he walks over to the small fridge and pulls two cold beers out for the both of them.
"Hell, I don't even know." Jax answers, shaking his head between drags from his smoke, and 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 was just out of town for work." Greg clarifies, not really seeing what the big deal was. He twists the cap off his beer, and hands 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 scoffs, and looks back at Greg, meeting his eyes, his eyebrows raised. "Except that guy she was seeing when we were apart, the neuro doc, he's at the conference with her."
"For real?" Greg sits up straight, looking legit shocked. "Now that's fucked up. No wonder you're so bent out of shape."
"Tell me about it." Jax replies, and takes a sip from his beer now, his eyes lingering on the bike in front of him once more, before he turns his attention back to Greg, "So what's the deal with this place?"
Greg shakes his head, "What do you mean?"
Jax raises his eyebrows, amused for a moment, but glad for the distraction. "Come on, I know what you make an hour, bro." He gestures 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 shakes his head, guilt written all over his face. "When I walked away, I left with nothing ... I had nothing, not even her." He nods toward the door that leads back to the house.
"Then where did all this come from? You won the lottery or some shit?" Jax looks back at him even more confused than before, mostly because he thought Greg to be an open book, never shutting up about anything, yet here it seems he hasn't told the whole story.
"Something like that." Greg takes a big swig from his beer, his eyes focused on the bike again, lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, before he elaborates. "After my brother died, I was seriously fucked up. I threw myself deeper into Club shit. took too many risks I shouldn't have. We were on a run, and I hooked up with some skank. It was just pussy, it didn't mean anything. Just something to drown out the pain, you know."
"Yeah, I get it," Jax says, nodding along, as his own guilt comes 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 locks eyes with Jax now, and raises another cigarette to his mouth.
"Oh shit, your own Mom." Jax shakes 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 whose side she was on. That she wants me out of the life, or out of hers." Greg recalls.
"Shit, my Mom ... She pushed me toward the gavel, and when Tara was in a coma, she even pushed me toward other pussy ... but then again, comparing anyone else's mother to mine, that's like comparing apples to a goddamn hand-grenade." He takes a drag from his smoke, waiting for Greg to elaborate, because this far none of what he said explains 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 admits, looking rueful.
"All the talks we had, all those days you talked my fucking ear off, and ... this shit that literally mirrors mine, that's what you leave out," Jax says with a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"This shit's really personal," Greg says defensively.
Jax cracks 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 returns the smile with a nod, and raises his beer to clink against Jax's, before they both take a drink.
"Still doesn't explain the house though," Jax adds questioningly.
"Right," Greg says, realizing how he's 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 shrugs his shoulders. "This is all hers, man."
Jax exhales the smoke from the drag he just took, and nods, "How are you with that?" When Greg gives him a confused look, he elaborates. "Tara makes real good money as a doctor, and I only ever earned well with the Club, but now ... now I make what you make, which ain't shit."
"Hmmm." Greg nods, and rubs his hands over his beard as if deep in thought again. "It takes 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 is another reason why I stayed in as long as I did ... but really, it ain't like that no more. This ain't the nineteen-fifties Leave-it-to-beaver, man. Gotta get with the times. Claire 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 nods as he takes in Greg's words of wisdom. It makes sense. He always pushed Tara toward her job, to keep at it, to not just be a mom, not that there's anything wrong with that, but because he knows deep down that that's what she wants. So how can he hold some sort of silent grudge because she earns more than him now?
"So what are you gonna do?" Greg asks him out of the blue.
"About what?" Jax looks back at him confused. He wonders momentarily if Greg is talking about the money situation.
"About that guy with your wife in Idaho?" Greg replies without missing a beat.
"Ain't much I can do until they get back," Jax admits, and runs 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 besides the time they're already spending together because of the conference."
"Fuck." Greg puts the empty bottle on the cement floor beside his chair, and lights another cigarette. "That's tough. I couldn't deal with that."
"I trust her," Jax adds, and nods as he thinks about it. "Everything we've been through. Our marriage, she wouldn't jeopardize it."
"Right." Greg nods in agreement, and thinks about it for a minute before he adds. "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 clenches 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 replies, realizing he is probably stirring the pot here. "If that was Claire with her ex rubbing up on her, I'd already be up there."
"I wish," Jax admits 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 looks at him in confusion, as if this is a no-brainer.
"Well, I got work, I got my boys," Jax replies without having to think about it. He knows all the reasons why he couldn't go with her by heart.
"Tomorrow's already Friday, we're scheduled to be off this Saturday anyway. 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 begins to rattle down his solutions to Jax's problems. "The boys, well ... either take 'em with you, or ask one of the babysitters 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 reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. "You said she's in Boise, right?"
"Yeah." Jax nods, and just the idea of going to see Tara in Idaho lifts his spirits, but when Abel and Thomas cross his mind again, he simply knows it wouldn't be all 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'll be done with her conference shit. Can you imagine that motherfucker's face when you show up?" Greg looks up from his phone, and grins when he meets Jax's eyes.
But Jax shakes his head, he isn't smiling, "I appreciate you offering to watch my boys, bro, but I can't."
"Why the hell not?" Greg asks, confused.
Jax lets out a heavy sigh, and leans further back into the lawn chair, ignoring the sting on his back when he does so. "Yesterday, Abel asked 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 isn't in a hospital bed somewhere, in a coma again." Jax shakes 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 wander. Trust me, man, I've been there with my kids too. You gotta tell 'em straight up 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 upfront 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 a couple months." Jax corrects him.
"That's old enough to get it, and the younger one will be okay if his big brother is. They'll take cues from each other. That's how my boys are." Greg assumes out loud, before he pushes 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, take tomorrow off, and then we'll talk to your boys, and work out all of the details" He pats Jax on the shoulder as he passes by him. "This time tomorrow, you'll be with your old lady."
X
Tara gathers all of her papers from the podium, packing everything away in her bag, when she notices John approaching out of the corner of her eye. She groans 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 says as he steps up beside her.
"Hey," Tara replies, giving him a reluctant smile before she grabs her bag, and starts heading for the stairs on the side to leave the stage.
John easily falls in step beside her. "I'm glad I caught you before you disappeared into your room again. Let's get some dinner together? They serve a really good steak right here in the hotel restaurant."
Tara stops short, so sick and tired of having the same conversation with him, she turns toward 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, it's not going to end well."
X
The next morning, Jax is on the road by eight. He knows he has a long drive ahead of him, but the thought of seeing Tara, and surprising her makes 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 dropped Abel off at preschool a little earlier than usual today, then dropped Thomas off at daycare at the hospital too, and left the boys' overnight bag with Christy. His next stop was with his PO for permission to leave the state before he went on his way out of town.
Everything is taken care of.
His boss, Eric, gave him today off, as long as he promised to make up the missing time by either staying late or working an extra Saturday shift in the coming weeks.
He talked to the boys, really talked to them, and they actually seemed excited about the opportunity at another play date with the new friends they just made the night before, and another sleepover at Christy and Jason's place. The hardest part has been keeping Abel from giving away the surprise when he 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's made sure to put their names on the list at Abel's school as well as Thomas' daycare, so they'll be allowed to do so.
And last but not least, he made sure that Jason and Christy have Greg and Claire's phone number and address, and vice versa, so they can link up later tonight to hand over the kids. It isn't that he doesn't trust Greg and Claire to keep the boys overnight, but he just knows Abel and Thomas are 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 started out because of John, but honestly, right now it isn't even about that anymore. He simply can't wait to see her, kiss her, touch her, and tell her that he finally got rid of the reaper once and for all.
As he merges onto US-97 North, he catches a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror, surprising him still as he runs a hand over his head, it would be a minute until he's used to it.
Thinking back to late last night after the boys were peacefully asleep, staring back at his own image in the bathroom mirror, he took another step, not quite as drastic though as the blacked-out tattoo, since hair would grow back, but drastically different.
He isn't entirely sure why he did it, maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, or a vain attempt to turn himself back into the person he was back then, but regardless of his reasons, he'd taken the hair clippers and cut his hair as short as it had been when he got released from Stockton.
Then this morning he shaved off his beard too, wanting to start out with a clean slate ... clean-shaven. He looks like a brand-new version of himself. It is cathartic, to say the least, and the look on the boys' faces, when he woke them was worth it alone.
But now as he adjusts the beanie on his head, and swipes his hand down his face, it still feels odd, to say the least.
He turns on the radio, using the search function to find a station that will come in clearly now that he's left town, and lowers his window just enough to flick the ash from his cigarette outside between drags.
Then the weather report on the radio catches his attention, and he turns up the volume to hear it better. Tara mentioned that it's been snowing over in Boise since before her arrival, but now they are saying a goddamn snowstorm is quickly moving in. Fuck!
It is just his luck, but it doesn't deter him in the least, instead, he steps on the gas, and speeds up, trying to beat the approaching storm that is coming in from the east.
X
Tara groans inwardly, watching the Television screen in one of the board rooms near the conference hall. This storm is heading their way, and from the looks of it, it is going to be pretty bad.
She turns toward Colleen, one of her co-workers from Medford Memorial who is also attending the conference with her. "Now what?"
Colleen shrugs 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 lets 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 opens, and one of the head honchos of this conference steps inside, and informs them of the proposed schedule change.
X
Tara pays the cabby and waits for him to retrieve her small suitcase, and carry-on bag from the trunk, before she hurriedly steps inside the airport terminal with her luggage in tow.
She brushes the snow off of her jacket, which isn't nearly thick enough for this type of weather as she scans her surroundings.
She makes quick work to inquire about the next available flights back to Medford, but after waiting in line for what seems like forever, it turns out that the weather, and snow have already taken a turn for the worse, and all outgoing flights have already been canceled.
Frustrated, but in a rush nonetheless, she instead gets in the shortest of the long lines at the car rental companies on the other side of the building. Of course, she 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 her back sounds like a nightmare in itself. So she's taking her chance on the road, trying to outrun or rather outdrive the storm, and with any luck she'll be back with Jackson and her babies by the end of the day.
X
Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter. Please leave me a review/comment if you can. Thanks.