drownedindreams | (no subject)

(no subject)

Tara knocked on Helen's door, not even knowing what to expect. She looks like a mess. There's a duffle bag hanging on one of her shoulders, and even though she's schooled herself to the point that she's not crying, and her voice is remarkably even... things obviously still aren't okay.

It's only 10:30 - Tara's hoping she's not asleep, and that's why she does knock, and why she forces herself to stand still, to just wait to see if she's home.

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Saffron's in bed, but she's not asleep. She's sitting propped up by pillows, reading a book, and when there's a knock on the door she frowns as she gets out of bed, wondering who in the 'verse it could be this late. If it's Church, well...she'll at least put on a show of being irritated that he didn't so much as text her before coming down.

Pulling on a robe over her short nightie, she goes to answer the door, and her eyes widen in surprise. "Tara? What's wrong, sugar, did something happen?" she says, her thoughts immediately going to Jax, and then the boys - Tara clearly looks upset about something.

Tara's... something's not right with her, but she's not weeping or crying or getting all... uptight. She's just standing. "Listen - I'm sorry, I know it's late, but... I need a quick favor. Jax is out with Macha, and I need to go out - could you watch the boys until he gets back? They're asleep, so it's just... hanging out in the apartment, really, i just don't want to leave them alone."

She says it all a little too quickly, and doesn't explain the fact that she looks like hell, but she's at least sincere.

Saffron's worried, wondering what could be the matter, but she doesn't pry. "Of course," she says with a quick nod. "Just give me five minutes to throw some clothes on, and I'll be right over."

"Okay. Okay, I'll be there - the door'll be open." She nods - both to herself, and to Helen, and then pauses. 'Thank you."

She goes back to the apartment, and the note for Jax is on the table, folded up, and she's pacing until Helen actually shows up. "Great. Great, he should only be another fifteen minutes, I think?" She's not explaining, and she's really hoping Helen doesn't even ask.

It doesn't take her long to yank on a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and some sandals, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Saffron grabs the book she'd been reading when Tara knocked, and several minutes later is arriving at their apartment.

Setting her book down, she takes both of Tara's hands in hers and gives them a gentle squeeze. "Go. I'll stay here as long as you need."

Edited 2014-05-21 06:21 (UTC)

"Thank you. ... Thank you, so much." Tara forces a smile, squeezing Helen's hands before she's gone - before the smile's gone, before she's gone. There's nothing else there, just the reality that everything's falling down and has, for her, finally collapsed.

The new information was still heavy on Jax's mind as he wound his way back up to the apartment, but at least the nervous energy had spent itself. It had shot through his veins, the sudden need to do something. In Charming, it would have manifested in violence but Darrow gave him neither target nor opportunity. He couldn't attack Clay for what he'd done to Tara, nor Gemma for her threats. Instead, he could walk Macha until nearly midnight.

"I'm back," he said, hanging up his keys and bending to take Macha off her leash.

Saffron's curled up on the sofa reading when Jax returns. The boys are still fast asleep, have been the whole time, and as he bends to take the leash off Macha it occurs to Saffron that Tara never actually said that Jax knew she was going out.

"Hi, Jax," she says quietly, setting her book aside and standing.

It was a punch to the gut and it showed on Jax's face. He'd said before, once, that Tara's life had been a series of hit and runs. The second something went wrong, she'd packed her bags. He could only hope she hadn't gone far.

"Jesus, Helen, hey..."

"I'm guessing you're a little surprised to see me," she replies, going over to him, and then answers the question she figures Jax is bound to ask. "I don't know where she is. She came over and said she needed to go out for a while, asked if I could stay with the boys until you got back."

"Fuck," he mumbled, leaning heavily against the kitchen counter even as Macha went running to put her paws on Helen's lap. "Should've seen this coming. Jesus..."

"I'm sorry, honey," Saffron says, even though she doesn't really know what she's apologizing for. She bends down to pet Macha, giving her a good scratch behind the ears before continuing on over to Jax. "I don't have the slightest idea what's going on, but I'm guessing it's pretty serious."

Jax nodded, walking over to sit on the couch, heels of his hands pressing into his forehead as he tried to figure out what to do next. "She's from three years ahead of me. Three years is enough time for a lot of shit to go down."

"I reckon it would be," Saffron replies. "Do you want to talk about it, or should I mind my own business?"

"Lot of harsh truths came out," Jax said, leaving it at that. "Tara's always been like this. Shit goes down and she has to go somewhere else while she settles."

Saffron frowns slightly. She can't say she's unfamiliar with the habit of splitting when things get tough, but then she's never been a mother, or a wife to someone she married for the right reasons. "I'm sorry," she says, though it seems fairly useless. From the way Jax says it, at least, it sounds like Tara's not gone for good. "If there's anything I can do, you know where to find me."

"Yeah. Yeah," Jax said, distracted. "You can stay if you want. I'll make coffee or some shit." It was a token offer; he knew it was written on his face that he was ready to drop.

"Don't be ridiculous, honey, I can tell what you need is shut-eye right now, not company." She goes over and bends down to press a kiss to Jax's forehead. "I'll get out of your hair. I'm just a phone call or a quick elevator ride away if you need anything."

Jax didn't bother to resist. He closed his eyes and let the kiss fall on him, wishing it could take away some of the confusion.

"You're a goddamn angel."

"I know," Saffron replies with a smile, gently teasing. She gives his hand a squeeze, then heads toward the door to let herself out. "I'll see you later."

Despite it all, Jax managed a tired smile and squeezed her hand back. "I'll call you, more shit comes up."

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