After a pep-talk with Clay, Jax found himself back at the hospital. He couldn’t bring himself to see the boy yet. No, he wasn’t going to get attached to a son that might not be his or even make it. But he did want to see Wendy. She needed help. This was some serious shit. They were thinking of charging her with fetal abuse and the first thing she did was ask him to find the stash back at his house. Of course this would blow over on him if they charged her. The bitch was stupid. Crazy. What was he even thinking?

Opening the door to his home, he saw Gemma furiously cleaning. It was a habit she had whenever she was stress, scared, or nervous. This time it was all three. He felt guilty for throwing this burden on her. He should’ve been the one keeping an eye on Wendy. To know if she was straight. He watched as his mother threw clothes in a pile, moving quickly and swiftly like a mad-woman.

“It’s almost midnight.” He pointed out, finally catching her attention.

“Well this place is a goddamn pig stye.” She threw her arms up motioning at the piles of clothes and other crap Wendy had managed to gather.

“Cleaning never was her strong suit.”

“What’re you doing here?” She asked, momentarily looking up at him before returning to cleaning.

“It’s my house.”

“You know what I mean. I don’t want you to see it this way.” She brushed some things off of a couch.

“Mom you don’t have to do this”

“I just want to make it liveable. Buy you some decent carpet. Fucking cigarette burns everywhere.”

“Mom..” He tried catching her attention.

“Get you outta that dorm, back home with your son.”

“Mom, goddamn it stop cleaning!” He grabbed her arm to move her away. “He’s not going to make it.”

“What’re you talking about? What happened?”

“He was born with half a stomach and a hole in his heart. He’s gonna die!”

Before he could even register what he’d said, her hand met the side of his face in a hard slap. It’s been awhile since he’d felt his mother’s wrath. For a woman her age, she could still knock someone out. Looking back at her. He huffed out an irritated breath.

“Don’t say that!” She screamed. “Don’t you say that!” He moved his hair out of his face to look at her again. “You’re one of the only people this boy’s got! You don’t believe he’s gonna make it? You might as well go down there and kill him yourself!”

She walked out the room, taking a seat at the kitchen table to light a cigarette. Jax followed closely behind her, leaning his arm on the threshold as his head hung low. “I’m sorry.” She spoke up again. You gotta go see him Jax.”

“I can’t.”

“Why? Cause it’ll break your heart? It’s called being a father.”

“For how long?!”

“Do you know who’s heart was truly broken? Leila’s. The moment she set eyes on that baby. A kid that ain’t even hers. She coulda ran. She should’ve been the one to run, but no. Instead she sucked it up and had Tara call in specialists from around the country fly in tonight for his surgery tomorrow. Paying for everything and double the cost of their services.”

His eyes widened as he looked up at his mom. Taking a seat at the table while she passed him a cigarette. “I didn’t know.” He lowered his eyes to the table as he took a pull.

“That girl, Jackson. She’s in it for the long haul. You could see it in her eyes that she fell in love with that boy the minute she saw him. You know..” She continued. “You were born with the same heart defect your little brother had.” Reaching over, she patted his chest. “You seem pretty sturdy to me.”

“Where is she now?”

“She wouldn’t leave the hospital. Probably still sitting there in the waiting room. The staff kicked us out around 9.”

He stood up, kissing his mother’s forehead, whispering a thank you before he headed out the door. This was all a lot to deal with but the last person he’d expect to step up was Leila. This woman had such a big heart for everyone. This kid wasn’t hers. They didn’t even know if it was his but here she was calling in help from anywhere she could to make sure he pulled through.

Entering the hospital doors for the 3rd time today, Jax made his way to the NICU to see Leila staring at a closed room door. Her eyes still shining bright despite the dark circles underneath them. She looked tired. Worn down. He couldn’t blame her. She’d been here all morning for this kid while he was out getting some sort of twisted revenge. It was nobody’s fault but Wendy’s that she and the baby were in this position. He should’ve been here.

He saw Tara out of the corner of his eye but he couldn’t be bothered to talk to her right now. Walking over to Leila, he kneeled down in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist while her arms slid around his neck. His head tucked into her chest while he closed his eyes breathing in deeply. Her soft breath warming the side of his neck. Rubbing her back softly, he could feel how tired her body was but she still refused to leave.

“Thank you.” He whispered, unsure of what else he could say.

---

With the sun coming in through the windows, Leila was already up and showered. Abel’s surgery was at 7 and she didn’t plan on being late. Quickly doing her make up, she let her hair down in messy waves before throwing in a white v-neck t-shirt with light wash skinny jeans and nude pointed toe heels before grabbing her purse and heading out the door. Jax was still sleeping when she left. As much as she wished he’d go with her, she couldn’t rush him. She couldn’t imagine how this must be for him. He’d come around on his own time. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.

She was the first one there and made her way directly to the NICU. She spotted Tara with 4 others in scrubs. One of them being Dr. Namid. The rest being specialists called in for the surgery. She walked over to the counter, holding her hand out to meet each of them. One was Dr. Garcia, an older woman who had worked with thousands of infants with CHD from Texas. The next was Dr. Williams, an older guy who specialized in gastroschisis from Boston. The third was Dr. Robins from LA. He was one of the best neonatal surgeons in the country. They explained exactly what they had to do but her confidence in them was much greater than it was in Tara and the local surgeon. She could tell that the young brunette wasn’t happy having the rest of them here since she’d made it a point to help with Abel but her ego didn’t mean anything to Leila, not when this little boy’s life was at stake. She gave a smile to the doctors, keeping her fingers crossed with a heavy heart as she watched them walk into the operating room.

Unable to pull her eyes away, she stood there for a couple of minutes, just staring at the door. The was no logical reason to feel this way over a child that may or may not even be Jax’s. This wasn’t her child either way, but yet she’d give anything to make sure he pulled through. If that test came back that Jax wasn’t the father, this kid would have nobody. A drug addict mother and a nameless father. She couldn’t let that happen.

“How long have you been here?”

Gemma’s familiar voice called out behind her. Leila had completely lost track of time starting at that door. Turning to face Gemma, she crossed her arms, rubbing the back of them lightly. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked at the clock on the wall.

“Since 6:30.”

“Jesus Christ. You get any sleep last night?”

“Not anymore than you.” She nodded, acknowledging her exhausted demeanor. “His stomach surgery was at 7. I got to meet the other surgeons I had brought in. There’s 3 of  them.”

“They any good?”

“The best from what I’m hearing.”

“Come on,” Gemma wrapped her arm around her. “Let me buy you a coffee. God knows you need one.”

---

4 hours had gone by and the two women had kept their eyes on the clock. They tried to make small talk but with every hour that had gone by they became increasingly worried. Nobody had come out to talk to them. No one had given them an update. In their minds they were thinking the worse. Who wouldn’t? A 20 percent chance of survival wasn’t exactly giving them hope. What was the worst part about this was that she was going through this with Gemma and not Jax. He should have be here. His son needs him now more than ever. He’d called earlier to let her know he had some things to do with the club and that he would stop by later but that didn’t excuse his absence. She understood loyalty to the club but this was his kid.

Footsteps coming down the hallway got both of their attention. They looked up to see Tara and one of the of Doctors and immediately stood to greet them. Gemma was introduced to Dr. Robins. He told her a little bit about his career and how the odds were looking for Abel’s surgery. Looking between the two women, Tara took a deep breath.

“Abel’s stomach surgery went well, but it is putting a strain on his system. Dr. Robins doesn’t want to wait. He thinks we should do the heart surgery now.”

“That’s good right?” Leila asked looking between the two doctors. “That they’re not waiting?”

“It’s the best choice, yes.” Dr. Robins added in.

“Okay.” Leila nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Thanks” Gemma said as Dr. Robins walked away. The two walked back to the chairs but Tara interrupted.  

“Can we talk?”

Gemma shot Leila a look before nodding at Tara, stepping down the hallway with her. “What is it?”

Leila watched the two walk down the hallway before pulling her phone out to dial Jax. She saw the two women bicker before Gemma pulled up the back of Tara’s shirt. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw a crow tattoo on the back. Of course Tara would have Jax’s crow. They were together for a while, how would she not? The question was – for someone who so desperately wanted nothing to do with the club, why would she still have it? It left a bad taste in her mouth. Only adding to the sick feeling already in her stomach.

“Hello? Hellooo? Babe?”

She heard on the other end of the phone. She’d completely forgot she’d dialed the phone. Taking a deep breath in, she cleared her throat.

“Yeah, Jax. Hi.”

“What’s goin’ on, everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I called to say that Abel’s stomach surgery went well. They want to start on his heart now too. They have high hopes.”

“Shit babe.” She heard a deep, relieved sigh over the phone. “That’s good right?”

“We’ll know in a few hours, Dr. Robins said chances are looking up.”

“Who’s Dr. Robins? I thought Tara was the one assisting?”

“Dr. Robins in the best neonatal surgeon in the country, Jax. Tara may be good, but I’m not risking it. She’s in there helping along with 3 other people.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thank you for all of this baby. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jax.”

Gemma came back mumbling something under her breath. She looked pissed but there was still a satisfied smirk on her face. She knew Gemma didn’t like Tara. This clearly wasn’t going to be easy for her but right now, they needed to be at their best with these guys for Abel’s sake.

“What was that about?”

“She has this ‘better than’ attitude now that she’s a doctor. Bitch forgot that she was nothing more than a groupie when she got with Jax.”

“She had his crow Gem. She was his old lady.”

“Ten years ago, sweetheart. She left. Wanted nothing more to do with the club. You’re the one who deserves that crow.”

“None of this matters.” Leila lowered her head, shaking it slowly. All of their priorities were so skewed right now. “Jax is going to get here as soon as he can. He’s excited.”

“Good. Good. That boy needs him here.”

---

After straightening things out with Darby and dealing with another Mayan warehouse, Jax couldn’t be more relieved to hear that Abel’s surgeries went well. The hope in Leila’s voice made him all the more excited to go and see his kid. None of this would be possible without her. He finished with the club as soon as he could and made his way to the hospital. All he wanted to do was see Abel and hug Leila. The way she stepped up to all of this only amazed him more at her kind heart.

Walking down the hallway, he ran into Tara. Her face lifted into a smile as he approached. “Is he gonna be okay?

“It looks good.”

She smiled as he pulled her into a hug. His hands roamed her body, brushing against her neck softly as they pulled away from the hug slowly. Their noses meeting, their lips close to touching as they slowly let go. All of this was so familiar. 10 years. 10 years had passed and now she was back and it was like nothing had changed. He looked down at her beautiful green eyes. He wanted to close that distance between them, but he couldn’t. She pulled away after noticing blood on her white hospital coat. Slowly unzipping his jacket, she saw the blood on his shirt and pulled away.

“Clean yourself up, Jax.”

She whispered in disappointment and he hung his head before walking away to the men’s room to wash blood off of his shirt and chest. It gave him time to gather his thoughts. What the fuck was he thinking? Just minutes ago he was praising Leila, now Tara comes into the picture and fucks with his head. No. Not this time. He had a great old lady. Someone who’d proved time and time again that she loved him. That she was good for him and the club. He couldn’t. No. He wouldn’t ruin that, but he couldn’t deny the chemistry between him and Tara. Taking a hard look in the mirror of the fluorescent lit room, he took a deep breath. He needed to get his shit together. Leila deserved better. Abel deserved better. He needed to be better for them.

He put on a clean hospital shirt that one of the nurses gave him before he was directed to Abel’s room. Looking through the window, the first thing he saw was Leila, with her seat pulled up to the incubator, her hand on it as she sang a soft lullaby to the baby. Her angelic voice echoing through the room. It was like the boy could hear her, reacting to the sound with quiet coos from inside. He entered the room, and tears instantly filled his eyes. This was his baby. His old lady. It couldn’t have been more of a beautiful moment. He wiped his eyes and looked down to see Leila, her baby blue eyes, red and full of tears but one of the brightest smiles on her face that he’d ever seen. She was just as in love as he was. Standing from the chair, She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and he held her close to him. Needing her comfort as he stared down at his – no – their baby.

Gemma stepped in the room, looking approvingly at the young family. Her arms wrapped around the young couple while Clay came in the room. “He’s perfect.” She whispered, her arms wrapping around Clay as they looked down at the newest addition to the family. Jax nodded in agreement, taking his eyes away only for a moment to look at his mom and saw Tara standing in the window of the room. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking. He had all he needed right here. This baby would have everything he’d ever want in the world. With Leila as his mother, he had no doubt he’d be well taken care of.