You Are My Sunshine

Chapter 12 - A Domino Effect

"The cause is hidden; the effect is visible to all." - Ovid

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A few days later...

The effects of the wait, the long vigil, had taken their toll on Amelia. Jax hated watching her there, in a perpetual state of panic, suffering. Sneaking out, he called Gemma, and after she agreed to come by without any kind of hesitation, he broached the subject with Amelia.

"Babe," he stepped back into the room. "My mom called, said she wants to come by and see Ally."

"Okay," she looked away from their daughter and nodded. "That would be nice."

"Yeah," Jax smiled a little. "And I think when she's here we should go home, shower maybe eat. You need to get out of here."

"I don't want to leave her, Jackson."

He nodded, understanding, but pushed on. "Tara said the infection is under control, you heard this morning. Alice is doing great, she'll have the surgery in a few days and everything will be back to normal."

"I would really love a nap in our bed." She smiled a little, rolling her head and cracking her neck. "Sleeping in these damn chairs is killing me."

"Then let me take you home, I'll even rub your neck."

Gemma arrived and, unlike any other visitors, refused to knock before entering the room. Jax and Amelia looked up, startled from their conversation, to see her standing in the doorway.

"Hey Ma," Jax said with a hint of irritation.

She smiled and greeted them both before turning all her attention on her granddaughter. "What's the latest?"

"In regards to the infection, she's out of the woods." Amelia said brightly, "The surgery should be soon, next few days probably."

"She really is a Teller." Gemma said proudly.

Rolling her eyes, Amelia pushed by Gemma to give her daughter a kiss and whisper a long goodbye. Behind her, Jax and Gemma spoke in a whisper about his plans to take her home and, hopefully, get her a proper meal and some rest all while Tara watched from the hall.

The couple left the room hand in hand, Tara wearing a fake, smile, and headed out on their way back home. As Jax drove them, knowing Amelia was too far into her exhaustion and hunger to drive her own car, they passed Opie and the two men nodded.

Opie was on his own mission, Jax's was to nurture his old lady while Opie was going to, most certainly, end up deciding to divorce his. He walked into the house with purpose, determined to get answers from Donna.

He looked around, boxes and bags piled high, and it seemed she had made a decision after all. The limbo they lived in was suddenly over. "Where are the kids?"

"With my mom," she said flatly. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, I'm tired of this shit; we gotta make some final calls here, Donna."

"I'm leaving," she sneered. "That's final."

He stepped back and looked at her, seeing her seriousness, and felt a strange sorrow. It was the last thing he thought he'd feel, it confused him more than his marriage, and feelings for Mae combined.

"Because of SAMCRO?" He asked quietly.

Donna laughed, dropping a few picture frames into a box. "Not everything is because of SAMCRO, Ope."

"It's because of me then," he nodded.

"Yeah, it is because of you. I lost you for five years and the first thing you do is jump back in with them. It's like a slap in the face, you didn't even try."