Chapter 5

When Jax and Gemma came into the room, Tara eyed them both nervously. Seeing the angry set of Jax’s shoulders and the wild look in Gemma’s eyes, Tara sighed.

“She told you.” She said softly as Jax came to stand beside her bed.

Jax was simmering with rage. Most of him was furious that Gemma and Tara’s deception led to Tara’s attack, something he could have prevented. A small part was hurt, hurt that Tara demanded full disclosure in their relationship, yet she willingly kept something so important from him.

Tara watched the emotions cross Jax’s face and without thought raised her hand to reach out and touch his face. The pain that bounded up her arm reminded Tara of her current predicament and she carefully lowered her hand back down. Jax ignored his own feelings and moved closer in case his girlfriend needed him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jax asked softly, sitting on the bed next to her, seeing the pain on Tara’s face had an instant calming effect on him.

“Because I asked her not to.” Gemma said from behind them. “If I had known they would go after her next...” Gemma began, then trailed off.

“None of us could have known.” Tara said comfortingly to Gemma. “They delivered their message. That should have been it.” She continued.

“No.” Jax said. “They went after you because they’ve been watching us. They knew that Mom didn’t tell us what happened, so they went after you. And made sure we knew exactly who they are and what they want.” Jax took a deep breath. “This would never have happened if you were just honest with me!” He burst out, jumping off the bed and pacing.

“Jackson!” Gemma scolded.

“I couldn’t.” Tara said softly, her tone, calming Jax down, she nodded her head to indicate that he return to the bed. “It wasn’t my message to deliver.”

Jax muttered incoherently under his breath as he tried to come to terms with his life turning upside down in a matter of hours.

“They’re smart.” Tara said suddenly. She gestured for Gemma to come to the other side of the bed, her forehead beading with sweat as she tried to hold back the pain and explain herself to Jax. Gemma hit the button for a dose of pain medication and Tara smiled at her gratefully. “They hit us in ways that would hurt the most.” She continued, catching Jax’s gaze as he watched her intently. “They attacked Gemma, went after her confidence, and they went after my hands. They went after the things that make us who we are. By taking those away from us they make us weak.” Tara continued.

“They thought if they broke us, it would break the club. Set you off.” Gemma added.

“It’s working.” Jax growled out, he felt sick to his stomach as Tara’s words sunk in, as he realized the nature of his mother’s attack.

“Now they crossed the line.” Gemma said. “They made it obvious, there’s no way the club can do nothing without losing face. By keeping it quiet I bought us some time, but the consequences have proven to be too great.” She said, glancing at Tara. “Now we have to react.”

“And we will.” Jax replied. He straightened in his seat and dropped a hand to Tara’s shoulder. “Mom, can you call the guys in?” He asked.

Gemma hesitated a moment, causing Jax to look up. He raised his brow in question.

“Don’t tell Clay.” Gemma said quietly. Jax hesitated, then nodded his agreement, understanding his mother’s need to deal with her attack and emotions as she saw fit.

Gemma slipped silently from the room. She slowly made her way to the waiting room, giving Jax the time to gather himself up for what he’d have to do next.

“What are you thinking?” Tara asked as Jax remained silent.

“I wish you would have told me. I could have protected you.” Jax answered.

“Or you could have gotten yourself hurt or worse.” Tara argued. “That’s why Gemma didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t want you guys haring off half cocked to exact revenge.”

“I think all her efforts may be wasted.” Jax mused darkly.

After Jax’s ominous statement, the pair waited in silence for the rest of the club to make their appearance.

“Up for visitors?” Chibs asked, peeking his head around the door.

Tara couldn’t help but smile as Chibs stepped fully into the room, revealing the brown teddy bear that he wiggled from side to side in greeting. Behind him Juice emerged, carrying a bundle of balloons. The two men moved closer and arranged the gifts around Tara’s bed.

Clay, Opie, and Bobby filed in next, each making note of the bruises that covered Tara’s face, and her bandaged hands. Tig came in a moment later, carrying a small bouquet of flowers. Tara eyed them warily, unsure of how to react to Tig, of all people, bringing flowers.

Jax watched Tig gently place the flowers on Tara’s tray table, then look around the room and note all the incredulous gazes that were directed at him.

“What?” He asked with a defensive tone. “Sometimes I know my manners. The doc needed some flowers.” He continued. “Lay off.” He finally said menacingly before leaning against the far wall.

Gemma came in last and took a seat on the opposite side of Tara’s bed, close to Abel’s crib.

The guys pulled chairs up, or leaned against the wall and prepared themselves to get down to business.

Normally, the club would handle business like this on their own. There was no need for the women to be involved with the decisions made by the club. But in this case, especially in light of Jax’s probable unwillingness to leave Tara until things were more settled, they would make an exception.

“The League has made their opinion very clear.” Clay began, leaning forward in his chair. “They want us to dance to their tune, not only in business, but to hand control of Charming over to them.” He paused. “They made their willingness to stop at nothing to achieve these gains quite clear.”

“So we show them that’ll we stop at nothing to keep what’s ours.” Tig said.

The others nodded their agreement, and all gazes turned to Jax wondering what the man who normally tried to avoid violence would choose to do. Tara and Gemma remained silent, each holding their breath as they waited on Jax’s response.

“What do you want to do VP?” Clay asked, reminiscent of how he’d look to Jax as a decision maker before all the trouble began between them.

“They want a war?” Jax mused. “Then let’s give them one. Take them out and get our town back.” He said darkly. “Make sure they know their underhanded tactics don’t scare us, that they just make us stronger.”

The club nodded their agreement and after the events of the day, there was no need for a vote. As the others filed out of the room, Tara looked to Jax. Her vision was becoming cloudy as the pain meds took greater effect, and she fought off the wave of sleepiness that was trying to overcome her.

Jax leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. He placed a gentle kiss there, before leaning down and capturing her lips with his own.

“Be careful.” Tara whispered when they broke apart.

“Always.” Jax replied. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” He continued with a grin. He saw Tara fight to keep her eyes open. “Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He promised.

Tara remained silent, knowing that if she woke up and Jax wasn’t there that she’d fear the worse. Jax took in her concerned gaze, and placed a soft kiss against her lips. He looked over to where Abel still slept, before turning to make his way out of the room.

“I love you.” Tara said quietly.

Jax stopped and turned to look back at her. “Love you too, babe.” He replied, before turning out of the room and catching up with the guys in the hall.

“Ready?” Clay asked.

“I was born ready.” Jax replied, moving outside and climbing onto his bike, brought to the hospital by Piney, who would stay behind to keep an eye on Tara and Gemma.

“Let’s do this.” Jax said, pulling on his helmet and starting the bike up as he and the others made their way back into Charming.

Author’s Note: Thank you all for the reviews. I hope you enjoyed this story. This was originally going to be a one shot, but the story was getting a little long, so I decided to split it up into chapters. Now Tig is a little out of character in this chapter and I do realize that and kind of did it on purpose. I was thinking back to (spoiler warning) earlier in the season when he went and sat next to Tara on Jax's bike. I wanted to explore the idea that one of the toughest members of the club accepted Tara and how he might respond to her attack. All in all, I was glad to take some liberties and explore the idea of the League attacking Tara as a way to get to the club. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season to see what really happens. It’s been an amazing ride so far.