The motel room has been paid for, her rental car and suitcase have been retrieved, and Jax has just finished topping off the gas in his truck, when he sees Tara exit the gas station across the lot, walking toward him with a shopping bag containing some snacks for the road, and two steaming cups of coffee-to-go in her hands.
Jax rounds the truck to her side, opens and holds the door for her, taking one of the coffee cups from her and stealing a quick kiss, before he watches and waits for her to climb inside, so he can shut the door for her.
They quickly get back on the road toward home, the pavement right in front of them nothing but a brown sludgy-looking mess, but the trees, hills, and landscape they're passing by look beautiful, downright stunning. The way everything is still covered in a thick blanket of snow, with icicles hanging off of the trees, shimmering and glistening in the sunlight, making them feel like they're passing through some kind of winter wonderland.
And then there's the two of them, with this intensely passionate look in their eyes, only reserved for one another every time their eyes meet, coupled with that content little smile that seems to be permanently edged onto both their faces, hinting at yet another wonder in itself; their reconciliation, the salvage, and rekindling of their relationship and marriage, the start of their long overdue happily-ever-after.
Jax takes a couple of sips from his coffee, before he puts it down again, just so he can reach over and keep holding her hand while he's driving, his thumb absentmindedly caressing her fingers, tracing over the stone settings of the ring he'd proposed with. He raises her hand to his lips for just a moment to place a few sweet kisses there, taking his eyes off of the road just for a matter of seconds to shoot her a wink and blow her a kiss too, loving the way it makes her smile brighter in return.
His forehead wrinkles with horizontal lines as he tries to think about the last time he's felt this happy. The moment when Eglee had told him she had survived pops in his mind, then there's the day she finally woke up from her coma, finally marrying her ... if he thinks about it there are plenty of little moments here and there that could almost have the potential to qualify, but somehow each and every one of them ends up falling short because they had something going on alongside with them that tainted it all, most of which was pain and suffering, incarceration, the ins and outs of the life, of being part of the Club.
"I can't remember the last time I've been this happy." He says suddenly. This moment right here and now is definitely one of a kind, and the only thing he can think of that will make this even better is reuniting with their sons, Abel and Thomas, and being a real family again, ... and Jax was hoping that soon they could even be adding another Teller to their little family.
"I know, me too," Tara replies, smiling just as sweetly back at him and giving his hand a little squeeze too, before she leans forward and turns the radio up, because she likes the song that's beginning to play.
The drive home is long, but neither of them seems to mind. They stop occasionally along the way, for a much-needed bathroom break, and to get some more coffee too, to help them stay awake. Tara even offers to drive for a while, but Jax won't hear of it, which honestly doesn't surprise her much at all.
They tease and laugh together, have long conversations about nothing and everything, listen to the radio, and sing along to the songs they know, sometimes painfully off-key, which only leads to more laughter shared between them again.
Overall, they have the best time together, because now that they've defined their relationship again, there's an easiness about them, a powerful carefree feeling they probably haven't truly felt since they were kids. And then of course there's also a sense of unity again between them too, the connection they'd lost a while back was finally forged again, stronger than ever, a real foundation to build a life and future together on, no longer just a faraway dream, but something solid and obtainable now, something real that nothing or no one could break this time around.
X
Tara's watching from the door while Jax tucks the blanket around Thomas a little tighter, and kisses him on the forehead, before he turns and follows her out into the hallway, carefully closing the door behind them to not wake their finally asleep boys again.
They stand frozen in place for a moment and look at each other with intensity, a little smile tugging the corner of their lips upward, when Jax finally steps closer to her, closing the gap between them, frames her face with both his hands, and kisses her long and passionately.
Tara's hands are wrapped around him, bringing him even closer to her, but have now worked their way between them, tugging open his belt, when Jax breaks the kiss and smirks at her, "Wanna start by christening your bedroom first, Babe?"
"It's our bedroom." She replies, smirking back up at him, her fingers curling into the waistband of his jeans, both her hands grabbing a hold of him that way and pulling him along as she walks backward into their room, her eyes never leaving his. The smirk on his face says it all, how much he loves the fact that she wants him just as much as he wants her.
Jax is quick to close and lock their bedroom door behind him, before they both fall into bed wrapped around one another, kissing, giggling, and rolling around while they're trying to undress each other this way, while laying down. But eventually, their mutual mission is accomplished, and they're both naked and ready to make love for the first time in their home, since he's shown up on her doorstep all those many months ago.
They love each other, make love, slow and fast, gentle and hard, kissing and tasting each other, hands roaming over the other's body, hard and demanding one moment, then softly caressing each other the next.
Their bodies relentlessly grind and thrust, with this insatiable hunger and need to get closer and deeper, until they finally reach that mutual high once again and fall over that edge together. Pulling back from the kiss just to bring voice to their blinding pleasure, both of them let out a moan as Tara's core flutters around him while he spills himself deep inside of her.
He braces himself on his arm a little more, so he can pull back enough to look at her and meet her eyes. He's spent and very tired, but smiles back at her, because he's also so happy and satisfied too, but Tara's the one that reaches up and frames his face to pull him back in for yet another long lingering kiss. This is bliss, this is happiness. How they ever lost sight of this in the past, neither of them knows, all they know is that they'll never let that happen again.
Eventually, he pulls away and out of her, rolls to the side, and tugs her along with him, holding her close against him, kissing her yet some more, while they cuddle, professing their love, only with actual words this time too.
"Let me make sure the front door is locked." He suddenly says, after they'd almost drifted off to sleep already. He pulls his arm out from under her, and sits, looking around the room for his clothes, finding his boxers somewhere in the tangled sheets, and pulls them on quickly, nothing else. "Need anything?" He asks and looks back at her over his shoulder, drinking in the image of her laying there, hugging his pillow to her bare breasts now instead of him, all sleepy-eyed, satiated, and flushed cheeks. All his!
"Hmm." She mumbles and opens her eyes just long enough to answer him, "A glass of water would be nice, ... please."
"A glass of water for the lady, coming right up." He says playfully and leans down to give her yet another quick kiss, before he gets up and leaves the room.
Tara sighs contently when she watches him leave the bedroom, then yawns, closes her eyes, and rolls onto her back, stretching for a moment, before she opens her eyes again and glances over at the alarm clock on her side of the bed, and is surprised to see that it's just a few minutes past nine-thirty.
After they'd gotten home they'd spend all their time with the boys, playing, coloring, and laughing. She couldn't even pry herself away from their happy family time to even really cook, just threw a frozen lasagna Mrs. Ellie had made for her a while back in the oven instead, leaving the house in a state of disarray tonight.
Because of that, she feels like she should get up and pick up the house a little, at the very least load the dishwasher and wipe down the kitchen, but all those thoughts are forgotten again when Jax walks back in smiling at her, her phone and her charger in one hand, a tall glass of water in the other.
"Thought you might need to charge that." He walks around to her side of the bed, and hands her the water before bending down, and plugs in her charger and phone for her, leaving it on the nightstand beside her.
"Thank you," Tara replies sweetly, loving how thoughtful he's being, and takes a drink from the water he'd brought for her.
He then rifles through his duffle bag he'd brought into the bedroom earlier, right after they'd gotten home, pulls out his charger, then fishes his phone from his jeans at the foot of the bed, and plugs it in on his side. The screen lights up for a second after plugging it in, and he can see that he has two missed calls from Bobby, and a voicemail too, but he doesn't hesitate, not even for a split second, simply turns the screen right off again. Bobby will have to wait, he'll reach out tomorrow or the day after, because the Club was no longer his priority. With that thought in mind, he quickly settles back into bed beside her, stealing his pillow back from her in the process and pulling her back into his arms again as well. Tara and his boys are his priority now!
She cuddles right back into his side, into her spot, with her head on his shoulder, and Jax presses a kiss against her forehead, then pulls the sheet and blanket up and over them, he's reaching for the lamp on his nightstand and turns it off, pressing yet one more kiss against the top of her head this time. "It's so good to be home."
Tara knows he doesn't just mean the physical location, as in being back in this town, or back in their apartment, but there's a much deeper meaning to his words, and she can feel it too, can relate to what he's saying. "I know, it's nice," Tara replies, nuzzling against his neck, kissing him there for a second, and reaches up to let her fingers run along his stubbly jaw just once more, before she drops her hand to his chest again, drapes one leg over his to get more comfortable, and then they both happily drift off to sleep within just a matter of minutes.
X
Tara rinses the last of the conditioner out of her hair, or at least she's trying to while Jax steps up behind her and wraps his arms around her midsection, stealing some of her water in the process.
He brushes her wet sticky strands off of her shoulders and neck with his hand, so he can nibble properly on her skin there, placing teasing little kisses that make her want to squirm away and out of his arms, but he won't let her, holding her close. "Hmm." He murmurs against her skin. "I wouldn't mind being woken up by you like today every morning from now on."
"I'll keep that in mind." Tara returns the grin that's now on his face with one of her own, but then encircles his wrist to stop his hand from slipping down between her legs again. "As much as I want to too, but we really can't, baby." She says and twists around enough to give him a real quick kiss against his lips. "We don't have time for round two, we've gotta get ready for work, and get the boys up too."
"I know, I know. It's back to reality." Jax says with a heavy sigh, then gives her ass a little appreciative smack. "But tonight, this is all mine again."
X
"I want to know all the dirty little details," Christy says, looking sheepish, sitting cross-legged in the chair on the other side of Tara's desk, picking absentmindedly at her salad.
Tara's pouring the little to-go cup of dressing over her salad and looks up at Christy for just a split-second, cheeks blushing slightly when she simply says. "We made love."
Christy scoffs, rolling her eyes, before she adds, "Yeah, I got that. I want to know where, when, how, who."
"Who?" Tara repeats, and smirks in amusement. "There was just him and I, we're not into some ménage à trois thing." She clarifies without missing a beat.
"I meant who initiated it, duh," Christy replies, giving her friend yet another amused little wink.
Tara sighs, picking at her salad without actually taking a bite, a little wistful smile on her lips now when she reflects back on the weekend. "I'm not even sure. There was just this electricity between us when we were dancing and kissing in the bar, like we both just knew it was going to happen once we got to the room, you know."
"And?" Christy pries some more, hoping for more details.
"And ... it was amazing, like ... like coming home to each other, honestly some of the best sex we've ever had." Tara replies, and finally takes a small bite from her food, swallowing it before she adds, "And probably the most sex we've ever had in a forty-eight hours time span too."
Christy smiles brightly, giving her friend a look of shared joy. "That's all I'm gonna get out of you, isn't it?" Tara just nods her head, giving her a smirk in reply, so Christy adds. "Figures ... Well, you were long overdue in that department, so I'm happy for you. There just isn't a toy in this world that can make up for the solid weight of a real man on top of you. Especially if that man looks like your husband."
"I agree," Tara says, much to Christy's surprise and they both have a good laugh about it.
The laughter eventually dies down and they actually sit and eat quietly for a few minutes, before Tara suddenly stops eating again and looks at Christy for a minute, contemplating if she should tell her friend this, or not.
"What?" Christy finally caught on to Tara's look of indecisiveness. "What is it?"
Tara clears her throat, and says, "We haven't been using any protection?"
"Oh shit." Christy blurts out before she can think of censoring it, then adds. "I mean, ... you could be ... preggers."
"Yeah." Tara nods in agreement, "And just two days ago that thought had me almost freaking out a little, and now I'm kind of hoping I am, or will be." Tara admits out loud for the first time. "Is it weird that we go from not-being-together to let's-have-a-baby?"
"Hmm." Christy ponders over that thought, "If it's what you want, then no, it's not weird." She looks up from her food and meets Tara's eyes. "It is what you want, both of you I mean, right?"
"Yeah." Tara nods, a little smiling again, "I do want another baby with him. And he keeps saying he wants a little girl, but I honestly wouldn't mind having another little boy. I just love my boys so much."
A moment of quiet stretches out between them, as they both think about what Tara has just revealed to her, until Christy suddenly lets out a little chuckle, "Can you imagine Jax with a little girl though?"
She looks up to meet Tara's eyes, an amused sparkle reflecting back at her best friend. "I mean, he's really good with the boys, how he plays with them, and all that roughhousing they do, but what the fuck is he actually gonna do if he gets his wish? Can you picture him playing with Barbie or baby dolls? Or sitting down on a Saturday morning rewatching Frozen or Sleeping Beauty with her for the hundredth time?" They both chuckle as those images play out in their minds for a moment, before Christy adds. "I guess if he grows his hair back out, she could brush it and braid it for him. So yeah, you should definitely have a girl, 'cause I would pay good money to see that."
X
The next two weeks came and went without a worry in the world, both of them got back to their normal working and family life routines too, and it couldn't have been any better if they'd dreamed it up. Everything about their family dynamic had finally clicked into place, and their relationship as husband and wife was thriving to new heights as well. Their blissfulness with each other was catching on and spreading like a wildfire, spilling over onto their boys, making them just as happy that mom and dad seemed so carefree with each other now.
As part of getting their shared lives in order, they also combined their finances into one account again, and with it, it finally gave Jax some insight into their financial situation, which was actually so much better than he'd anticipated.
It turned out that Tara's stroke of genius to rent this cheap two-bedroom apartment, instead of renting a spacious house with a garage and a yard when she first got into town, had allowed her to not only put some of her money aside, but pretty much every penny he'd ever given her every month.
Jax wasn't fooled though, looking over her income and her expenses, he easily figured out why she'd done it. The truth was in the numbers, and he could see without her telling him outright that she'd set herself up to still make ends meet, even if the money he'd been sending her from Charming should ever stop coming.
Truthfully, at first, it stung more than a little to know she'd ever doubted he'd continue to support her and his sons, but after all his other broken promises to her, he couldn't really blame her for being cautious. And as much as he still loved his former brothers, he himself had to admit that most of them sadly couldn't be counted on to continue to support their former significant others or their offspring financially. He hated to admit it, but the general mindset around the Clubhouse was more of the 'out of sight, out of mind' variety.
But for the sake of what they had now, he put his bruised ego aside, let it slide instead, and never said a single word about it to her. She was just being smart, protecting her new life with their boys here, putting all her faith in the only person she felt she could count on at that time, herself! And knowing that only makes him more resolved to never give her a reason to doubt him and his devotion to her and their family again.
So now, with the money she has saved along with the checks he had just received from Charming, they'd easily have enough to not only buy a decent home outright, but would still have plenty of money left over to hold onto for a -very- rainy day, quite a nest-egg so to speak.
It was Christmas Eve tonight already and back in Charming, everything about this holiday, or any holiday really, would've landed on Tara's shoulders alone, but this year, for the first time, is very different. With no Club calling and demanding Jax's presents at all hours of the day and night, and since neither of them was particularly religious either, it was all just about making it a fun memory for their boys.
And while anyone else seemed stressed to the max this time of year, for Tara and Jax it seems to have had the opposite effect. They didn't go overboard with decorations, but just really enjoyed picking out and setting up a tree together with the boys. Wish lists were made for Santa Claus, Christmas cookies were backed, and they'd all spend evenings cuddled up on the couch, watching holiday movies with the boys too.
For the first time in forever, they were doing something normal families did around this time of year. Like tonight, they were busy with the last-minute wrapping of presents for their excited little boys to put under the tree, or sharing a few of the cookies and the milk the boys had left out, so they'd really think Santa had stopped by for them, just to name a few.
Jax is sitting on the bed, still wrapping up the last of the gifts for their sons, when Tara quietly steps into the room. She closes the door and locks it again behind her, wanting to make sure the boys won't get out of bed again, come in, and catch them both red-handed with their presents, because it would ultimately ruin the surprise.
"Hey?" Jax suddenly says, and holds up a box of scented candles. "I'm guessing this ain't for the boys?"
"They're for Mrs. Ellie," Tara replies, and steps closer, sitting down across from him on the bed, hiding an envelope behind her back that Jax hasn't noticed yet. She watches him quietly, letting him finish his task, before she finally says. "I know we said no gifts, but I've got a little something for you anyways?" A small, almost shy, smile tugged on the corner of her lips.
Jax looks up then from the gift for Mrs. Ellie that he just finished wrapping, running his thumb over the last piece of tape, and puts it on the nightstand, so it doesn't get mixed in with the boys' gifts, and there's a smirk on his lips when he replies. "Good, 'cause I got a little something for you too."
"You do?" Tara asks in surprise, so much for their agreement to only get gifts for their kids, and not for one another.
"Yeah." He nods, and leans over, pulls the top drawer on his nightstand open, and retrieves a plain white envelope, looking very similar to the one she's hiding herself.
"Funny," Tara says, smiling when she produces the envelope from behind her back too. "Looks like we both had the same person wrapping these." She attempts a little joke, and likes the way he chuckles a little for her benefit.
"What's that saying? It's the thought that counts." Jax replies while he gets up from his spot near the headboard, settles back down right next to her near the foot of the bed instead, and drapes his arm around her back, before they exchange envelopes. "You first, Babe," Jax says, because he can't wait to see the look on her face, barely able to hold back the smile.
"Alright," Tara replies, and carefully starts to open it, giving him a quick puzzled glance when she pulls the two checks out, before her eyes actually realize the amount they're written out for. "Oh, my God." She gasps, looking back at him with a stunt expression, meeting his blue eyes sparkling with pride, his face split in two by a smug, yet proud grin.
"Wow." She says, finding herself almost speechless at first, but then she looks over at him and his satisfied expression again. "That's a lot of money, Jax." She doesn't know what else to say really, and is thankful that Jax starts explaining on his own, without her having to actually voice the questions running through her mind out loud.
He points to the check with the much larger amount first, "That's from the sale of Diosa, after taxes. Lowen's sending me the paperwork." He adds that last part for clarification. Then he points to the other one, "And that's from the sale of the house, minus what we still owed on the mortgage, but we'll still owe taxes on that profit. It's legit, ready to be spent, all yours."
"I don't know what to say, Jax." Tara shakes her head, still baffled by the fact that he'd managed to make this much of a profit from not only selling his share of Diosa, but also their old home as well. But then his words come back and she corrects him, "Ours, not mine, it's ours!" She repeats again, before she marvels some more, never having held checks worth this much in her hands, "It's amazing. I'm so proud of you." She adds truthfully, because she is truly amazed and proud, before she leans into him, raising one hand up to palm his bearded cheek, giving him a sweet kiss, and a genuinely happy smile on her face when their eyes meet after.
"I thought you'd like that. I just wanted you to know that what's mine is yours, every last penny." Jax says, when he pulls her closer to him until their lips meet again, kissing her passionately for a few long moments.
When the kiss eventually lets up, he brushes her hair back out of her eyes, "I was thinking we could start looking at a bigger place, get each boy their own room, maybe a house with a yard?" He searches her eyes for some sign of agreement from her, happy when she simply nods her head with him, and smiles, so he adds. "We might even have enough to pay the rest of your student loans off at once, that way you'd save a shitload in interest alone." He'd just recently thought about those student loans from medical school she was still making payments on.
"Yeah, maybe." Tara vaguely agrees, and smiles at him gratefully, not only is she feeling immensely proud of him that he managed to walk away from the Club with that kind of cash, but she's beyond touched that he wants to spend it on her like that. She won't argue with him about the fact that she can't let him do that for her, at least not right now, not at this moment, because he looks so happy about the fact that it's a possibility.
So instead, her chin trembles a little when she gets slightly emotional about this caring and providing side of him, and she actually wipes a tear away when she says, "Thank you ... " She pauses, wiping at her watery eyes some more, before she lets out an awkward mixture between a sob and a little laugh, a tinge of embarrassment in her voice now at her own gift for him. "Well, shit, ... my present for you can never top this."
He looks and turns over the envelope in his hand for a second, his curiosity piqued now what this could possibly hold inside for him, "It'll top it if this contains some nude pics of you, just for me." He teases with a sly smirk and winks at her. "Could never put a price tag on something like that."
She lets out a chuckle while she shakes her head, "Sorry to disappoint, but it's nothing that scandalous, Teller." She shakes her head again, and he can sense that same twinge of embarrassment in her voice once again when she adds, "It's nothing, really ... cost me next to nothing, just a couple bucks in court fees."
"Court fees?" Jax's eyebrows are raised to new heights now, having not the faintest idea what it could possibly be. He meets her eyes, giving her one last quizzical look, before he quickly rips the envelope open and starts to read over the paperwork that had been held within.
Tara's facing him, biting her lips as she studies his expression, following his eye movement as they scan over the papers while he reads, and she can't bite back the smile on her own face when she sees him finally realize what he's looking at. His smile is suddenly so bright and big, it could light up the dead of night, but what she didn't expect is the way his eyes glistened suddenly when he looks back at her now, shaking his head, not just surprised, but clearly very choked up.
He wipes at his eyes, knowing his voice will break if he even tries to attempt to say something, so he just hastily curls his hand around the back of her neck and pulls her in for a long and almost bruising kiss instead. Trying to convey in this kiss just how much this means to him.
He lets out a gasp, like he's coming up for air, when he finally pulls back from the kiss, and wipes at his eyes again, a little embarrassed himself now, glancing at the paper once more before he folds it back up as neatly as it had been, looking over at her. "Not even a hyphen this time, just 'Teller', huh?"
Tara shrugs, emotional herself, because he was. "I wanted the same last name as my babies and my man, my husband." Her voice breaks on the word 'husband' and she quickly wipes a tear away that's rolling down her cheek.
"This is ..." He starts, waving the folded-up paper around, but then hides his face in his other hand, and she can see his chin tremble, trying to get his bearings back. "Fuck." He suddenly curses, "You really got me good." He says, fighting to keep his voice level, but barely able to succeed.
She knew her gift had meaning, or at least it did for her, but she hadn't quite expected his response to be this emotional. So she tries to lighten the mood with a crack at a joke. Her voice is high-pitched when she tries to ask, "So ... better than nudie pics?"
This finally breaks the ice and gets a little laugh out of him, and he sniffles while he uses the palms of his hands to wipe the tears away once and for all, glancing over at her, smiling, and nodding. "Yeah, so much better than nudie pics, Misses Tara Grace Teller." But then he cracks another teary smile, and corrects himself, "Dr. Tara Grace Teller."
"This ..." He tries again, finally glad that he got his voice back, and slightly shaking the folded up papers in front of her for emphasis, "This is priceless, Babe, and next to our babies, and future babies, it's the best fucking present you could've given me." He leans in once more and kisses her more sweetly this time, "I love you so much."
Tara leans her forehead against his, running her hand over his short hair for just a moment, before she frames his face and meets his eyes, "I love you too."
They both embrace in a hug, clinging needy to each other for a long moment, basking in this moment of happiness together, when Tara's the first to mumble against his ear. "Merry Christmas, baby."
Jax clears his throat, placing a sweet kiss against her cheek, he can't resist, "Merry Christmas, Misses Teller."
X
Author Note: What do you all think about this chapter? Too cheesy? Please let me know, I'm interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you.