Always in My Head - An SOA Fan Fiction

Chapter 26

"Hey old man." Jax had spent most of his time during the two days following the accident in Oakland searching for the third man. Nothing too much popped; at least the secret was being well kept. When he finally made his grand entrance back at the lot, the first person he encountered was Piney. It was just as hard, if not harder, for Jax to be dishonest with him. He was suspicious of everyone whereas Opie simply believed Jax's word without question, both reactions made Jax feel awful but Piney's made him paranoid, which usually led to problems.

Gruffly, Piney said his hello and smacked the bar stool beside him. "Hear anything?" Opie had told Piney everything about the missing kidnapper, they were both very interested in finding the man alive, and hearing his explanation for what had happened.

"Nah, he's a ghost." With a grateful nod Jax accepted his coffee from Sack and took a small sip. "She comes home today, right?"

"Yeah, it'll be much easier on everyone to have her back."

That was the truth. Gemma and Neeta had been helping with the kids while Opie tried to split his time between home the hospital and even the lot. Poor Ellie was so upset when they had gone to visit Mae it just pulled at Opie even more, she wanted him at the hospital and the kids wanted him home. He couldn't wait to have everyone under one roof again.

"No doubt. I should stop by later." Jax mused, distractedly stirring his coffee.

Piney nodded and put his mug down on the bar. "Yeah, you should. He's having a hard time, needs to talk to someone and we both know that's a select few."

Nodding, Jax rolled his jaw as he looked at Piney. "I didn't want to get between them, I know they needed to deal with the miscarriage and shit. I'll go by later today." Jax took another sip, longer this time, to hide his guilty look. He did want to give them time but he also hated having to lie and wanted to find this asshole so he could finally put it all behind them.

As much as Mae wanted to go home, she knew the steady flow of narcotic painkillers would dry up once she was discharged from the hospital. She didn't want to relapse but the fear of how she'd feel once the prescriptions were out of her system terrified her no end. All the assertions in the world of an easy recovery from the accident and possible withdrawal from medications didn't take the anxiety away or lessen it in any way. She sat on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling idly as she waited for Opie to come back from his little meeting with Tara. She wasn't high off the medication, it was working properly, but just knowing it was in her system comforted her in a way she couldn't really describe. Mae swore the medications not only eased her physical pain but that her emotional and mental pain would suddenly become unbearable once she was off.

When the door swung open she expected to hear the rattle of wallet chains and thump of boots but Dave entered silently with a nervous smile. "Hey."

"Hi," Mae smiled genuinely and felt her chest tighten. The heightened emotional response was surprising but she didn't hide it or fight it. Tiny tears streamed down her cheeks as he made his way over to her. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me? You don't have to worry about me, Mae. I'm fine. I was so worried, I wanted to come sooner but... I didn't."

She figured he didn't for a multitude of reasons. "It's okay." Extending her arms she reached out to him. "Gently, please."

Dave didn't to be asked twice, he hugged her carefully, his arms a safe distance from her body. "Mae," he mumbled as they separated. "I'm sorry, this whole thing is such a mess. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Don't David. You didn't do this, it's not your fault." With her eyes on the tile floor she smiled a little to herself. His presence helped settle something unknown that was stirred within her. "I'm scared," she tapped the crook of her arm.