True to his word, Jax had Opie had the law office within five minutes. But as soon as Opie stepped into the office, he noticed the coolness between Avery and Jax.

"You two okay?" he asked.

"Fine," they both replied.

"Lies, but I'll let it go." said Opie. "What do you need me to sign?"

"Legal papers for Abel," Jax replied, his tone carefully neutral, though a fleeting glance passed between him and Opie at the sound of the name. Avery, ever observant, didn't miss the almost imperceptible exchange, a silent communication that hinted at a shared understanding or perhaps even a concealed concern related to Abel. The brief, unspoken moment hung in the air, adding a subtle layer of unspoken meaning to Jax's otherwise straightforward statement.

"So i guess its safe to say that she knows." said Opie.

"She knows." said Avery, chiming in. "She knows it all, every detail."

"Shit, Vee." said Opie.

"It is what it is at this point." she replied.

"Can we just get this done?" asked Jax

"In a rush?" asked Avery.

"You tell me..." he countered.

"Do I need to come back?" asked Opie. '

"Past shit, brother." said Jax, wiping his hands over his face in frustration. "You know nothing can ever be easy for me."

"That life in general."

"Amen to that." said Jax.

"Its just... We were talking, joking actually, and I said something that took us back to when I left. Then we ended up in this coldness that you are feeling now." explained Avery, tired of the back and for conversation. "Long story short, Jax and I have a lot to sort out, a lot of past hurts to get past, and a lot of time to make up for."

"Then what do you say we make quick work of this paperwork so you two can get back to it?" said Opie. "I don't want to be here for 'the talk'."

*****

With the weight of the signed legal documents resting between them – Jax's signature a stark declaration, Opie's a silent witness to their unraveling, and her name a bitter irony as his representative – the papers lay poised for their journey to Wayne. A frantic flutter of Avery's heart urged her to seize the fabricated urgency, to dispatch the documents to the courthouse with haste, a shield against the inevitable reckoning with Jax. This fabricated necessity offered a tempting escape route, a postponement of the raw, exposed conversation that loomed. Yet, a deeper, more resolute part of her yearned for closure, for the uncomfortable truth to finally surface. This unyielding desire kept her rooted in the sterile confines of her office, her gaze fixed on Jax, a silent question hanging in the air between them. Where did one even begin to sort out the mess that their lives were? What words could possibly fix years of separation caused by one word: no?

The emptiness of her office seemed to amplify the unspoken tension, the ticking clock on her desk a relentless reminder of the conversation that could no longer be put off. She studied the lines etched around Jax's eyes, the subtle slump of his shoulders, a sure sign that he was dreading this conversation just as much as she was. The silence stretched, thick and heavy, each of them wondering who would be the one to speak first.

Unable to stand it any longer, Avery spoke first. "Look, Jax, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said earlier. You don't need a reminder of that and I don't need to throw it in your face. Again, I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry, Vee." said Jax. "I made the joke, knowing that you have always been good at pointing shit out. Its part of the reason that I pushed you to go. I knew you would make an amazing lawyer. I didn't want you to ever think that if you gave up on your dreams that I was someone that you could blame."

"Like I told your mom last night, I would have given it all up for you."

A low chuckle rumbled in Jax's chest, the sound more weary than amused. "So I wasn't the only one torturing myself with 'what ifs' all these years." He shifted on the folding chair he'd been sitting in, his gaze finding hers before he continued.. "Funny how you go chasing after one dream only to find yourself haunted by another." He paused.. "Did you ever... did those 'what if' scenarios ever have me in them for long?" His voice was rough, the question carrying a weight he couldn't quite mask.

"Jax–"

"Avery," Jax began, his voice a low rumble that resonated in the suddenly quiet room. "You know how I felt about you then. Back when the world seemed to shrink around just the two of us. Do you remember how crazy in love we were? It felt like every breath we took was intertwined, every shared glance held a universe of unspoken promises."

Avery's gaze softened, a flicker of memory dancing in her eyes.

"I do," she whispered, the sound barely audible. The echo of those fervent days still lingered, a bittersweet ache in the recesses of her heart. The stolen moments, the whispered secrets under starry skies, the electric touch that had sent shivers down her spine – they were all indelible marks on her soul.

"Ten years," Jax continued, his gaze never leaving hers, a fierce intensity burning within their depths, "hasn't changed that." He pushed himself up from his chair, the plastic creaking softly beneath him, a sound that seemed amplified in the charged atmosphere. He didn't stop moving, his steps purposeful and unwavering, until he was standing directly in front of Avery. He reached for her hands, his touch sending a familiar warmth through her, and gently pulled her up from her own chair. The space between them felt charged, a tangible energy humming in the air, thick with unspoken words and the weight of a decade past. "I know it sounds crazy and not something that could ever possibly happen outside of romance books and movies, but I love you just as much as I did back then. Hell, maybe even more because of what you are doing to help me make sure that my son has the best life possible, should be–"

"Don't say it! Don't you dare even think for one minute that Abel is going to not be here, Jackson." said Avery, determination lacing her tone as she cut off the thought Jax had been in the middle of vocalizing. The use of 'Jackson' showed Jax that he meant business, that there was no use in arguing with her because she would not hear it.

"Okay." he whispered. "But as for the rest of what I said..."

"I never stopped loving you." she admitted, looking into his eyes as she said the words.