Chicago, Illinois 1996
The moon casted a small light in the dark room. Four bland walls enclosed the space with a twin sized bed posted in the corner. On top of the bed, sat a 14 year old Angelise, biting her lip as her left leg bounced anxiously.
The sound of heavy footsteps were heard from the other side of her bedroom door. Quickly standing up from the bed, she grabbed the packed book bag she hid underneath it before running toward the door.
Next to the door, a small stand stood against the wall. Opening the top drawer, she quietly dug through the contents before grabbing on to a pair of scissors. Closing the drawer, her heart raced as the doorknob slowly twisted before opening.
A figure stood in the doorway, observing the room and finding it empty. One foot after the other, they entered the room and the light from the moon was able to show his face. Her foster father, Theodore Welsby.
"Angel," he slurred as he fully entered the room. "Where are you Angel?"
Angelise was tucked behind the open door, holding in her breath so he wouldn't detect her presence.
Theodore Welsby was a decorated officer, a sergeant at one of Chicago's most notorious precincts. The people worshiped the ground he walked on but none of them knew the true Theodore Welsby.
A drunk, who physically and sexually preyed on the little 8 year old girl he took in after her parents died, who took pleasure in her cries and screams as he chipped away at her innocence. Not anymore.
"C'mon sweetheart," he cooed. "Let daddy take care of you."
Angelise crept quietly from her hiding spot while his back was still turned. Lifting the scissors in her hand, she jabbed them deeply into his right shoulder causing him to cry out as he crumbled to the floor.
Jumping over his body, she made quick toward the door when his hand shot out and grabbed her by her ankle, causing her to shout as she fell face first.
Turning herself around, she tried to jerk her foot but his grip tightened as he tried to get back on his feet.
"You fucking bitch," he sneered through clenched teeth. "I'm gonna teach you a fucking lesson!"
Her breath picked up as she continued to struggle with freeing her foot before she lifted her other leg and slammed her foot against his face several times before knocking him backwards which caused him to release his hold on her.
Scrambling back on her feet, she grabbed her fallen book bag and raced down the stairs toward the front door. Ripping the door open, her feet padded against the stair stoop and hit the pavement before she ran down the street, his voice echoing through the empty neighborhood as she disappeared into the night.
"You'll pay for this you little bitch!" he yelled as specks of blood were spat out his mouth while his, now crooked nose, bled profusely. "I'm gonna make you pay!!"
-
Charming, California 2008
The air was slightly chilly as Angelise and Ted sat on the bench outside of St. Thomas. After reassuring Jax that Ted meant no harm, he reluctantly let her go and went to speak to Tara but she knew she wouldn't be off the hook with him.
"So," Ted began. "When were you gonna tell me about Ace?"
She let out a sigh. "To be honest, I didn't want to bring it up if it was something that could be handled."
"How's that working out for you?" he commented sarcastically.
Angelise nodded her head. "I deserved that."
"Yeah, you do Angelise," he reprimanded. "This isn't a game, this is your life on the line and that spoiled brat seems set on ending it, is that what you want?"
Angelise felt her guilt build up as Ted told her the things she was avoiding to hear. She was being selfish and careless with keeping everything about Ace to herself, Ted and LJ sacrificed their safety for her and she owed everything to them.
"I'm sorry," she admitted. "I just thought I could figure it out on my own but I was wrong."
Ted brought her into a much needed hug and she responded with a tight grip. The quietness was comforting for them as they sat in their embrace.
Pulling away, Angelise wiped a fallen tear from her face and gave Ted a grateful smile while tucking her hair behind her ear.
"So," Ted let out a deep breath. "You're a mom now, huh?"
She lightly laughed as Ted returned her smile. "Yeah, just trying to get a piece of that life you always told me about."
"He's beautiful Angel," he complimented. "You did good."
"Well it wasn't just me," she shrugged. "Jax helped with that part."
"The guy that was in the room with you," he gestured toward the hospital with his head. "That him?"
She nodded her head in response. "That's him."
Ted crossed his arms against his chest. "Does he know about what's going on? About Ace and everything?"
"No," she lifted her hand to stop him from speaking. "And before you say anything, I know, I need to tell him the truth about me, I just haven't found the time."
Ted tutted. "Well he looks like the type to protect you."
"I know," she sighed. "He would and that's what worries me, I'm trying to protect him, this isn't his fight to fight."
"He's your husband," he pointed out. "That's his job."
Angelise pursed her lips. "Technically we're supposed to be divorced but he won't sign the papers."
Ted let out a hearty laugh as he looked in her direction. "Well I'll be damned, you've met your match Angelcake, he sounds as stubborn as you."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know."
A few moments passed before she stood up from the bench. Turning toward Ted, she brushed her hand through her hair.
"How long you staying?" she asked.
"Day after," he responded. "I gotta get back to Oregon before Ellie bites me a new one."
Angelise couldn't stop the smile from gracing her lips at the mention of Ted's wife. "Well we can't have that Mr. Langford."
Pulling her into another hug, they both said their goodbyes before Ted made his way toward his car and drove off while Angelise went back inside.
An hour later, she pulled up to the house and saw Jax's Harley parked in the driveway. Parking next to it, she climbed out the impala before heading inside.
Throwing her keys on the kitchen counter, she made her way toward her bedroom where Jax was sitting on the end of the bed. She leaned on the doorframe with a soft smile.
"Hey," she caught his attention. "Everything go okay with Tara?"
He lifted his head and flashed her a small grin. "Yeah, I let her know she should be safe now that he's gone."
Discreetly, his blue eyes scanned every inch of figure. Memorizing every dip and curve had him quickly lick his lips before he gestured her over with his head.
Moving from the doorway, she sat next to him and unconsciously placed her head on his shoulders as while he grabbed her hand and began playing with her fingers on his lap.
"You gonna tell me who that guy was?" Jax decided to break the silence after a few minutes.
Angelise let out a small laugh as she lifted her head off his shoulder to look at him. "You never miss a beat, do you?"
Jax unapologetically shrugged his shoulders and she let out a sigh.
"His name is Ted," she explained. "I met him a few years ago when I lived in Oregon, he and his wife took me in for a bit and he just came down to visit after he heard about Abel."
Angelise felt slightly guilty for feeding Jax her cover story. She knew she owed him the truth but her fear of Ace killing him outweighed her rational side of thinking.
Jax seemed to buy her version while he gazed upon her curiously. "I never knew you lived in Oregon."
"You never asked." she pointedly raised one of her eyebrows.
Jax thought back to his conversation with Agent Stahl a few hours ago. How Angelise disappeared from the face of the earth at 14 years old and suddenly re-emerged twelve years later.
He had so many questions for her, why she hadn't told him about her upbringing or mentioned Ted until now. Jax felt a small pang of hurt in his chest at the possibility of her keeping secrets from him.
Letting her eyes roam his face, she frowned deeply as she saw her handprint painted against his skin.
"I'm so sorry Jax," she apologized again. "I didn't mean to put my hands on you."
"Hey," he brushed a few of her hair strands behind her ear. "I'm okay, though I never knew you were that strong or into choking, we should've tried it out before."
She playfully rolled her eyes before laughing at his joke while he grinned widely at seeing her happy.
After a few moments, Angelise stood up from the bed and removed her shoes.
"Are you staying here?" she questioned. "You could take the guest room if you want."
Jax gave her a playful smile before standing up.
"We both know I won't stay in there knowing you're in here by yourself," he confessed. "Everyday I'm tempted to give Abel a sibling."
She let out a snort. "Yeah, no, Abel is the only one I plan on having ... at least for now."
"I mean," he took a step closer toward her. "We could always practice."
She gave him a small shove. "In your dreams Teller."
Giving her his famous smirk, he walked out of the room and headed for the front door with her trailing behind him.
Opening the door, he turned back to look at her. "I'll have a few of the guys stop by tomorrow to fix up the nursery."
"Okay," she nodded her head. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Jax leaned down slightly and gave her kiss on the cheek before walking down the steps as Angelise shut the door. Letting out a tired sigh, she brought her hands up to wipe down her face before heading back to her room for bed.
A week flies by and it's not short of uneventful. SAMCRO is still struggling to find a buyer for their guns and were running out of time and options as they tried to come up with the cash they owed.
Earlier that day, A guy named Andy, that worked for Oswald, was driving down the route when the Nords came around and jumped him. Jax and Opie paid him a visit at the hospital to gather information before heading out toward where the truck was left behind.
Now, Jax was currently working at convincing Unser to buy the oil truck they took before Darby and his guys could get to it.
"So you're trying to sell me stolen diesel?" Unser questioned. "Is that right?"
Jax nods his head. "It's 8,500 gallons of diesel and it's yours for $20K."
Unser let out an exasperated sigh. "C'mon Jax."
"Unser," Jax sat up straighter from leaning on the hood of Unser's cruiser. "I'm offering you a 50% discount, you fill your pumps after dark, and a uni finds the tanker on the side of the road, insurance covers Oswald, and you run your trucks at a buck-ninety a gallon for the next six weeks. Where's the risk in that?"
Unser stared at him before shaking his head and letting out a dry laugh. "Jesus Christ, can you at least pretend I'm a cop sometimes?"
Jax flashed him a smirk before standing up to his feet. "I'm gonna need that in cash."
Once the deal was done with Unser, Jax made his way back toward TM and let the rest of SAMCRO know that he was able to secure more money for the Irish.
Nighttime fell, a few of the guys were headed out to meet up with their IRA contact, Cameron Hayes, who was waiting out at their usual business spot.
Carrying a few of the duffle bags, Chibs and Jax make their way toward Clay and Tig before tossing them in their direction.
"Guess you'll need that." Jax told them.
The guys laughed and turned toward the roaring engine as Gemma pulled up in her black cadi.
Rolling the window down, she stuck her head out.
"Hey, I've been calling you on the cell," she addressed Jax. "Just got the call, they're taking Abel out of the incubation chamber."
"Oh, shit, okay," he walked over to his bike. "Did you call Angel?"
"She's already there," she exclaimed. "She's waiting for us."
Down at St Thomas, Angelise softly paced the small waiting room anxiously. While Jax handled his club business the last few days, Angelise had been making sure that no trace of them could be detected by Ace.
LJ had been monitoring Kohn's movements since he was chased out of town and there hasn't been much activity, giving the impression that he disappeared. Ted left back to Oregon several days ago, and threatened Angelise to keep him in the loop much to her annoyance and LJ's amusement.
About an hour ago, she got a call from Dr. Namid, letting her know that Abel would be getting out of his incubator tonight and all worries went to the back of her head, the only thought being her son and finally getting the chance to hold him for the first time.
She bit on nail of her thumb as Jax and Gemma walked in.
"Hey," Jax let out a nervous sigh. "Is he out yet?"
"No," she shook her head. "Doctor just went to go grab him."
Jax could see her anxiously play with her fingers and furrowed his eyebrows while he grabbed one of her hands.
"Hey," he cooed. "What's wrong?"
"What if I mess up?" she blurted out. "What if I can't hold him right? O-o-or I drop him? Oh my god, he'll hate me!"
Jax couldn't help but stare at her with awe and tenderness as she rambled her on about her worries.
After a few minutes, she let out a huff as she finished her rant before looking to Jax, who wore a crooked grin and his blue eyes shined as he looked at her.
"What?" she asked.
"You're cute," he licked his lips. "When you get all flustered like that."
Gemma stood off to the side and watched them with a knowing look when Dr Namid and Tara walked in, the latter carrying the married couple's bundle of joy.
Angelise let out a shaky breath as Tara walked over with her son. Holding her arms out, Abel was placed in his mother's arms and found instant comfort. The feeling almost familiar.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared down at her son, his blonde wisps of hair slightly poking out from his hat, round cheeks, narrow buttons nose, and his toothless smile. He was Jax's twin, the little shit. Except his eyes, those crystal green eyes were his mother's no doubt.
Turning her body toward Jax, she gave him a teary smile as he took a nervous step toward her, tears almost clouding his vision.
Angelise moved closer toward him, slowly she held her arms out which Jax quickly responded to and Abel was shifted from mom to dad. Looking at Angelise with a bright smile, he gestured over to the chair and sat down before pulling her on his lap and placing Abel back in her arms.
"He's so beautiful Jax," she whispered lovingly. "Did we really make this?"
Jax couldn't help the hearty laugh that escaped his lips. "Yes darlin', we did."
Gemma watched them with a warm smile and felt pride swell in her chest as she watched the small family. Dr. Namid had excused himself to tend to another patient and Tara stood to the side as her jealousy and bitterness climbed up her neck as she stared at the two parents.
Looking next to her, Gemma didn't hide her smug tone. "C'mon doc, let's give this little family some privacy."
Tara let out a small scoff, that only Gemma seemed to hear before pushing the door open and leading her out the room, leaving the married couple to finally spend time together as a family.
Though, their moment of bliss was soon gone, the Mayans had put a hit out Clay and shot their new Irish contact in the process. Jax headed over to TM with Gemma while Angelise decided to call it a night.
Jax pulled up to Tara's house and parked his bike in the driveway. He had given her a call and asked for a few supplies without giving away the details. Knocking on the door, she opened it and was still in her scrubs before letting him in.
"I appreciate you helping us out." he said as he waited by the door.
"Well, I'll see what I have in my kit," she spoke over her shoulder.
A few seconds later, she reenters the living room and hands him the bag. "Here's some of the things you need."
Taking it in his hands, he nodded his head. "Great, thanks."
She flashed him a small smile before walking him toward the door. Leaning against the door frame, she watched him walk down the steps toward his bike.
"Jax," she called out which caused him to turn. "If you ever want to talk or need anything, just call me, okay?"
He flashed her a grateful smile as he revved the bike a pulled out of her driveway.
Closing the door, she walked toward her bedroom. Taking the clip out of her hair, she walked past her closet and headed toward the bathroom when a rough hand covered her mouth and a gun was placed on her temple.
"Don't move," the voice hissed and Tara immediately recognized it as Kohn. "You're gonna do exactly what I say if you want to live, got it?"
Tara felt herself trembling as she nodded her head while he directed her back into the bedroom. Tossing her on the bed, he held the gun to her forehead.
"I want you to call that bad ass biker," he sneered as he grabbed her phone off the dresser. "And I want you to tell him he forgot something and bring him back."
"Josh—" Tara tried to reason.
"Call him!" he yelled. "Now!"
Jax was at a red light when his phone rang in his pocket. Pulling it out, he sees Tara's name and answers the call. Not that far, Jax turned around and headed back toward Tara's.
Parking the bike back in the driveway, Jax quickly entered the house.
"Tara!" he called out.
"In here." she responded, her voice coming from her bedroom.
Making quick strides, he paused at the bedroom door as the scene in front of him leaves him in shock. Standing in front of him is Kohn as he has his gun pressed to Tara's temple again.
Jax went to reach for his when Kohn pulled the safety. "Ah, ah, ah, don't even think about it pretty boy."
Jax could feel his nostrils start to flare as he saw the smug look on Kohn's face. "Why are you doing this?"
"You know, I'm glad you asked," he grinned wickedly as he pulled Tara closer and his grip on the gun tightened. "I originally came for Tara but then someone else caught my eye, a beautiful angel."
Jax felt his stomach sink as his anger rose from Kohn's reference toward Angelise, his angel.
"What do you want with my wife?" Jax growled.
"Your wife?" Kohn cackled. "On paper maybe but she deserves better than what you've given her."
Kohn could see his words bothered the biker and he let out a snicker.
"You see," he explained. "I was looking into your club to show Tara here, that you were nothing but scum when Angel's picture popped up in reference to you and my boss took a very big interest in her, wanted me to follow her movements til the time came to bring her to him, though I didn't see much importance to her at first so I hired a few low lives to get rid of her."
"It was you?!" Jax felt his anger fire up as he balled his fists at his confession. "You attacked Angel?!"
Kohn's eyes shined with satisfaction. "I did and thankfully she survived. I saw her around but it wasn't til I met her in person, at the hospital, her green eyes bore into mine and I saw the allure, she was special and I knew I needed her for myself."
Tara shook in fear as Kohn's grip tightened, her eyes pleaded toward Jax but he kept his attention on Kohn.
"I knew the only thing holding her back was you," he continued. "And Tara here, well she was causing problems for my angel so I waited for the opportunity to get rid of you two and now here we are."
"Angel's not going anywhere with you." Jax promised.
"We'll see," Kohn smirked. "Now, say goodbye Tara, but don't worry, he'll be with you soon."
Seeing an opportunity, Tara threw her head back which knocked against Kohn's chin, causing him to let her go as he yelped in pain, dropping the gun. Jax quickly drew his gun and shot Kohn in the stomach as Tara screamed and ran toward Jax's direction.
Kohn held his stomach as he fell to the floor. "You stupid bitch." he seethed.
Jax stalked toward Kohn and crouched down to his level before placing the gun underneath his chin.
"Who's your boss?" he questioned. "What does he want with Angel?"
Kohn's head began to bobble as he bled out on Tara's floor but Jax jerked the gun to get his attention.
"Answer me!" he snarled.
"I don't know what he wants!" Kohn snapped. "But he won't stop until he gets her."
"What's his name?" Jax's patience ran thin as he took the safety off.
Kohn's breath labored. "Welsby, Theodore Welsby."
Jax recognized the name, it was the same name Stahl mentioned to him a few weeks ago and now it seems this Welsby guy is after Angelise.
Standing up, Jax turned to walk away when Kohn let out a strained sound.
"You know it's a shame," he coughed. "I'll never be inside that sweet angel, to hear the sexy moans that will—"
Jax quickly turned back toward him and shot several rounds at Kohn's body triggering Tara to scream loudly. Breathing heavily, he ran his fingers through his hair before turning toward a shaking Tara.
Walking up to her, he brought her into a hug as she clung to him. Pulling back, Tara raised a shaky hand and placed it on his cheek.
"Jax," she whispered. "It's going to be okay."
Her eyes looked toward his lips. Testing her luck, she softly placed her lips on his. Jax let his eyes close and brought her closer. Their hands moved with urgency as they quickly removed their clothes and moved toward the bed.
Jax laid Tara under him and sunk himself into her. Tara's moans filled the room as she held on to Jax.
She seemed to be in bliss while Jax felt a heaviness in his chest.
He thought he could maybe get a second chance with Tara but being here with her now, all he saw was the face of his angel and the guilt of being here with Tara instead of her made him bury his face in Tara's neck as he pictured her face.
The old lovers continued their hasty affair as Kohn laid dead in a pool of his blood, no longer a threat to the people of Charming.
...
That's a wrap on Chapter 7!!
Whewww what a chapter, we found out some things in this one.
-Welsby is the one who sent Kohn, not Ace!!!
-We got another flashback of Angel's early life and the reason she ran away.
-Kohn's confession?! Who was expecting that? NOT ME!
-We got some fluff moments between Angel and Jax *crying face* they are too cute!
-Except Jax sleeping with Tara!! *angry face* girl saw an opportunity and took it.
-How do we think Angel will react when she finds out? ouuu it's going to get crazy!
Let me know what you guys think!
See you next chapter!
*Please comment and vote! :)*