It's a Jungle, Baby

Opened Eyes

It's later on in the same day. The boys had to go and do a sound check, Queenie, Ruby, and I were going to see my mom, the boys would meet us at the hospital later on.

We walk through the hospital and up to the room where they're keeping my mom. I carry Ruby and try to get used to the unfamiliar weight on my finger with more than one ring on.

I'm married. I never thought I'd say that.

We walk up to the door and for once it was opened. With mom being in a coma, the door was usually closed all the time. We walk into the room and see my mom sitting up on the bed, awake. Blue eyes opened wide, red hair a complete mess. Ruby sees her and smile.

"Mama!" Ruby nearly yells as I put her on the bed beside mom.

"Hi Taylor." Mom tells me quietly. "Ruby what happened to your arm?" But Ruby looks at me, I nod.

"Tell her what you told me when I got home." I tell my little sister.

"Daddy got mad and he hurt me. He told me to say I hurt it at school." Ruby nearly whispers in my mom's ear.

My mom doesn't talk for a while, she stares blankly into space. I think she finally believes it, all of it. All those times that Axl and I begged her to believe us, after it all she believes her little baby. I'm happy that she finally realizes it but I wish she had when I was a kid.

"Bee, you and Axl had been telling me this all along. Haven't you?" Mom finally talks and I nod.

"Yeah, we have." I admit.

"I should've believed you, you used to cry and tell me what he was doing to you two. I just thought it was stories." She starts to cry and Ruby holds onto her. "I'm leaving him."

I watch as my mom holds onto Ruby and cries. I realize how weird it looks, I should be crying with my mom. I turned off any feeling towards the subjects years ago, when it comes to prick, I hate him but even then I don't feel anything towards him.

I look out the door and see the boys walking up the hall. I walk out to meet them.

"She's up." I say outside the door.

"She is?" Axl wonders and I nod.

"She says she's leaving prick." I explain as Duff grabs my hand.

"So she believes you now?" Izzy wonders.

"Mom's had a complete change of heart." I say.

"Are you sure she's going to leave him though. It's Ruby we're worried about here." Duff says.

"Look at it this way, I have never seen that woman cry before. She's bawling like a baby." I say.

"Maybe you three should talk to her and come up with an agreement." Queenie says from behind me.

"You wanna do that?" I ask Duff and Axl.

"Yeah." They say in unison.

"We'll go take Ruby to get something to eat." Steven speaks up.

We all walk back into the hospital room and Axl tells Ruby that everyone else is going to take her to get something to eat. She's related to Axl and I so she's insanely excited. As soon as she walks away, mom studies the three of us.

"Axl, I'm so sorry. I should've believed you all those years ago." She tells him and Axl nods.

"You're going to leave him?" He questions.

"Yes." Mom answers.

"Are you sure? Duff and TJ were going to adopt her, I agree with them. Ruby can't be in a home like that. Unless you actually move, they're going  to adopt her." Axl tells her. She studies Duff and I.

"You were going to adopt Ruby?" She asks us.

"Are, unless you leave him." I say.

"I'm filing for divorce as soon as I get out of here." Mom says.

"I can have a lawyer in here Monday morning." I say.

"Set it up then, Taylor." She tells me.

"Get a restraining order on him for you and Ruby." Axl adds. "Actually, I think I can call the police department and have them send someone down now."

"I will." Mom says.

"Move out to LA." Duff finally says.

"What?" She questions.

"Move out of state, away from him. In LA, you'd be closer to your kids. Ruby would be a whole lot happier. You'd be close to help with the wedding." Duff explains, it is a good idea. "There's tons of schools out there."

"Yeah, alright." Mom agrees, to my surprise and Axl's.

"You're serious?" Axl wonders.

"Doctors say I'll be out of here in the short side of the week. I can file for divorce and start to pack up." Mom explains.

"If you're going to have the restraining order put on today, Ruby is going to need to stay somewhere safe." Axl says.

"What about with Kendra and Beth?" She wonders.

"Or grandma and grandpa in Logansport?" I ask.

"Yeah!" My mom agrees.

"I can drive her up tomorrow." I say.

"We can always take her to the concert with us tonight." Axl adds.

"No, let her stay the night in the hospital with me." Mom pleads.

"Are you sure it's going to be safe?" I ask my mom, she nods.

"I've been asleep for a month, I'm telling you that I won't sleep tonight." She assures us. "Taylor, can you safely get into the house and get her packed up?"

"She'll have us with her." Duff speaks up again. "We won't let anyone hurt her."

"Besides after that bat incidence, I don't think he'll want to go anywhere near you, TJ." Axl smiles at me, Duff and my mom laugh. "I'm going to go call the station and see about the restraining order." He says as he walks out the room.

"Taylor, can you go and make sure Ruby is eating." I nod and go to walk away. "Duff, I want to talk to you."

Duff looks from my mom to me before nodding and dropping my hand. I walk out to find Ruby.

Duff

I stand in a room alone with my mother-in-law, under normal circumstances this would be uncomfortable. I've told her to drop everything and move to California, I married her daughter in a courthouse,  I nearly adopted her other daughter, and to start with she doesn't like me all that much.

"You care about my kids?" She asks me.

"Yeah, they're my family." I say.

"You married Taylor already, didn't you?" I see she has Taylor's ability to read minds.

"Yes, we plan on having the big wedding  in March. My mom and dad might murder me otherwise." I explain. "We were doing what we thought was in Ruby's best interest."

"Who did you ask for Taylor's hand?" Sharon wonders.

"Axl, he's the closest thing to a dad that she has." I state.

"Do you love her?" She wonders.

"More than anything in the human world." I say for the thousandth time.

"Good, you have my blessing to marry her. I guess you've already did that though." Their mom kinda smiles. "Go be with your family."

I nod and walk out the door, I want down into the waiting area. I'm still trying to make sense of it all, does Taylor's mom like me? I walk into the waiting room to see my family sitting in chairs, watching Ruby eat vending machine food. I sit down beside Taylor, my wife.  I kiss her cheek and whisper in her ear.

"I love you, Mrs. McKagan."

"I love you to, Mr. McKagan." Taylor smiles at kisses my cheek.