Jessie Marsden has always been the mother hen to her fellow foster sisters. She's always taken care of them when they needed it, but rarely gave herself much thought. Jessie's a little different than the average woman, which makes her a little harde...
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One Week Later
"Darlin', ye got any aspirin?"
Jessie frowned before turning from the stove where she was fixing lunch for herself before heading into town. She didn't even know Chibs was there until he spoke.
"Yeah, in the bathroom. Do you have another headache?"
He grinned and shook his head as he turned to leave the kitchen. "Nah, hangover."
She chuckled before it registered in her brain what he'd asked for. She cursed under her breath and started for the hall but was backed back up into the kitchen by a pissed off Chibs. He held a small bottle up in front of him and shook it.
"What the bloody hell is this, Jess?"
She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter. "I was going to tell you... "
Chibs shook his head and opened the bottle. He shook some out into his hand and counted before looking at her. "Were ye? Ye haven' taken any! Not one!" He put the lid back on the bottle and slammed it down on the counter bedside her. "I know wha' Metformin is for, Jess. Why dinnae ye take them?"
Jessie shrugged. "I don't need them. I've felt fine since I've been out of the hospital." She held up a hand when he scoffed. "I have it under control, Filip. Trust me, I can fix it without the pills."
Chibs shook his head as he backed up a step. "Trust ye? How can I? Ye dinnae trust me enough to tell me abou' this." He took another step into the hall before shaking his head again. "I 'ave to be able to trust my old lady."
Jessie laughed and shook her head. "I can't believe this! I never fucking said I was your old lady! You just assumed, like everyone else does." She shook her head again and picked up the pills, throwing them against the wall. She hardly registered that they sprayed everywhere as she continued. "You know what? Go ahead! Leave just like everyone does! As long as good old Jessie is doing what you want or need, it's fine, right? Get the fuck out!"
Chibs took a step toward her before thinking better of it and turning on his heels. Moments later, she heard the front door slam.
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Chibs was still pissed when he got to the clubhouse, even more so when he saw Tara's car in the parking lot. He strode into the building and went straight for her, leaning over with his hands bracing himself on the table that she sat at with Jax.
"Ye mind tellin' why ye didn't tell any of us that Jess was a diabetic?"
Tara stated at him for s moment before finally shaking her head. "It wasn't my place to tell any of you." When Chibs scoffed, she continued. "It wasn't! Look, she was my patient. I'm not allowed to shared her information unless she says that I can... and she expressly asked me not to."
Chibs nodded. "Of course, she did. She dinnae wasn't us to know!" He sighed before looking at her. "No shite... how bad is it?"
Tara shrugged. "Not bad. I think we caught it in time. If she takes her pills and watches her diet, she should be good."
Chibs shook his head as the others looked on. "She isn' takin' the meds, especially now since she threw them at the wall."
Rocky stepped up beside Chibs with Happy behind her. "What happens if she refuses to take the meds?"
Tara took a deep breath and blew it out. "Short term, not much. Long term? Diabetes affects all of your systems. Kidney failure, heart problems, digestive problems... the list goes on and on. Eventually, if it remains untreated, she could die."
Chibs cursed under his breath as Rocky put a hand on his arm. "I'll go talk to her."
Chibs chuckled and shook his head. "Aye, good luck wit' tha'. She told me to fuck off."
He walked outside with Rocky and Happy. As the coyly couple left, Jax stopped beside Chibs and lit a cigarette. "I get that you're worried about Jessie, but if you ever come at my old lady like that again, we'll take it to the ring."
Chibs sighed and nodded. "Aye. I'll apologize to her. I jus' ... she told me to get out."
Jax nodded. "She's pissed. Thinks everyone is running over her. She'll calm down."
Chibs nodded before walking back inside.
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Rocky climbed off of Happy's bike and he grabbed her hand before she got too far away from him.
"You gotta keep calm, Gerry. You can't lay into her like Chibs did."
Rocky shook her head and glared at him. "You're kidding, right? She straight up lied to all of us, Hap. I'm not fucking okay with that."
With that, she turned and strode for the house, leaving Happy to follow behind her, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Rocky walked into the house, finding Jessie inn the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of her. She looked up and gave a small chuckle.
"Wow, that was fast. I thought it would take him longer to rat me out to everyone. You must have all been conveniently in one place."
Rocky shook her head. "You got jokes. You're a diabetic with jokes. Do you not get how serious this is?"
Jessie shook her head. "What I get is that it's my business, not yours."
Rocky scoffed. "Bullshit! What are we supposed to do if something happens to you? Who'd be there when we needed them?"
Jessie slowly shook her head before turning to Happy with a smirk. He instantly found that he really hated that look coming from Jessie. "Do you see the problem with that statement or is it just me?"
Happy shook his head. "She didn't mean it that way, little one. She's just upset."
Jessie tilted her head as she looked from one to the other. "No, that was exactly how she meant it." She looked at Rocky. "How many times have I patched you back together? How many times have I cared for all of you girls as if you were my own children... hell, Rocky, I'm younger than both you and Pru! Even so, it's always me you turn to when you need something, but you forget about me any other time. Even now, when you actually have something to worry about from me, it's not concern I hear. It's all about who's going to care for you!" She shook her head. "You know what? It's fine. You all have the boys to watch over you now. You don't need me, and I don't need you. I've never needed anyone! So I'll tell you what I told Chibs. Get the fuck out and stay out!"
Rocky started to reply as Happy grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Come on. You've done enough."
Without another word, he led her out to the bike and got on. Rocky looked at him with tears in her eyes, and as much as it hurt him to see them, he knew he couldn't blame Jessie for some of what she'd said. He'd seen for himself how they took her for granted. Now they were going to have to deal with that.
