Jax and Cori grew up together. They, along with Opie, were best friends growing up, but Cori always saw Jax differently. She watched him go through several relationships, all of them ending badly, as she sat back and waited for him to notice her. So...
Cori got off the back of Jax's motorcycle and shook her head as he chuckled. "When I said take me home, I meant my home."
Jax nodded as he took her hand in his and pulled her behind him. "Yeah, I know, but I needed to relieve Neeta, so this house will have to do."
"Jax, I don't have anything to wear to bed here."
Jax grinned as he pulled her into a hug. "Who says that you need anything?"
Cori snorted as he laughed, unlocking the door and letting her in before shutting it. Neeta met them in the hallway, smiling as Jax introduced the two women. As she got her purse from the hall closet, she grinned at Jax.
"Abel's asleep but should be waking up soon for a feeding and diaper change. Need me the same time in the morning?"
Jax shook his head as he grinned at Cori. "Nah, make it around noon. We plan on sleeping in."
Neeta just chuckled as Jax looked innocent and Cori shot him a dirty look. "Okay. You two have a nice night."
Jax chuckled as he let Neeta out and simultaneously heard Abel start to cry. He locked up and turned to go get the baby, but Cori beat him to it, disappearing into the baby's room. He followed slowly, stopping at the doorway to watch her interact with his son. He felt his heart clench in his chest, making him rub it. She was holding Abel in her arms, swaying back and forth and cooing something to him. He wasn't sure that he had ever seen anything look more right than Cori holding that baby and looking at him like he was the most precious thing she'd ever seen.
He found himself smiling as he watched her lay Abel down on the changing table and quickly change his diaper before lifting him back up and turning around. She grinned when she saw Jax in the doorway.
"Someone's hungry I think."
He nodded as he followed her out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. She walked the floor with a fussy Abel as he quickly made a bottle and handed it to her. He watched her feeding his son for a while before speaking.
"How about you? Are you hungry? You didn't each much at Harry's wake."
Cori shrugged. "Not really. I'm more tired than anything. I feel like I could sleep for a week."
He nodded. "Well, give me the baby and go lay down. I can handle getting him back to sleep."
Cori grinned and shook her head. "No, I'm enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. He's so precious. Why don't you go take a shower and relax while I finish feeding him and put him to bed?"
Jax nodded and leaned down to kiss her, rubbing his hand over Abel's head. "Ok, but don't be too long."
She nodded before he left the kitchen and headed to the bathroom to shower. By the time he was done, she'd made it to Abel's room. He looked in to see her rocking Abel to sleep and smiled again at how perfect they looked together. The two most important people in his life in one spot. He shook his head as thought about how both situations could have turned out drastically different.
They came close to losing Abel, and if it hadn't been for the doctors caring for him and his own little will to survive, he might not have made it. Cori could have stayed in Michigan, or worse, came home and not felt the same for him as he did for her. The fact that all of them had made it this far just cemented the idea in Jax's head that they all belonged together as a family. He cleared his throat softly, causing Cori to look up as he walked into the room.
"Let me take him. I left a t-shirt in the bathroom for you to change into."
She nodded and stood up, handing him the baby before leaning down to kiss Abel on the forehead. She smiled at both of them and chuckled softly. "My two men."
Jax smiled at her as she turned to go take her shower, leaving him with the baby.
Later, when they were laying in bed, Cori tucked in front of Jax, his arm around her waist, he kissed her on the neck to see if she was awake. When she sighed, he grinned and did it again.
"Stay."
He felt Cori shift against him, trying to ignore the fact that he was becoming aroused. He wanted to have a conversation and he wasn't about to let his libido get in the way of that.
"I told you I was staying in town."
Jax sighed in the darkness. "I mean stay here. With me and Abel. Be his mom, be my old lady. Stay."
Cori sighed. "Are you sure that we're ready for that?"
Jax nodded although he knew that she couldn't see him. "Yeah. I think I've been ready for that since you came back. What do you think? Are you ready for that?"
He felt her shift in his arms, turning to face him as her hand came up to caress his cheek. "Jackson, I've loved you since we were kids. The only thing I ever wanted was you."
"Then you'll stay. Be with me. When you're ready we can get married and have more kids. Raise a family."
Cori kissed him lightly before chuckling softly. "I like that idea. A lot. Okay, I'll stay."
