Alone on the bench with the silence of the night and her thoughts, Avery absorbed Gemma's words. Though Opie and Bobby had mentioned Jax's sadness after her departure, Gemma's account carried more weight. Following the death of Jax's brother, Thomas, at thirteen, Gemma had developed a strong connection with him. He became her central concern, a vital link to Thomas. This connection fueled her need to understand everything about him – his thoughts, actions, and feelings. While some might view her worry as overbearing, Avery perceived it as a mother's profound care for her sole surviving son, a yearning to foresee any danger to his happiness.

As much as Avery didn't want to admit it, Gemma had been correct about her lingering feelings for Jax. Crazy to think that all it had taken was one meal in a place that held countless high school memories for Avery and Jax for her to be thinking about how she and Jax could navigate a life together. Jax had always been the person that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was the only man that she had ever loved. And if she dared to believe what Gemma had told her, she was the only woman that Jax had ever loved. The biggest obstacle for them though would be Jax's impending divorce and the possibility of having to coparent with a woman that hadn't cared for her unborn child.

During her time at the Durham public defender's office, Avery recalled a particularly moving case. A young mother's struggles resulted in her newborn daughter being born with cocaine addiction due to prenatal exposure. Concerned for the child's welfare, the state initiated legal proceedings. The court ultimately terminated the mother's parental rights, deeming her incapable of providing the necessary care and stability. This difficult decision underscored the intricate relationship between addiction, poverty, and the legal system's responsibility to protect vulnerable children. Avery vividly remembered the intense emotions in the courtroom—the mother's anguish and the judge's weighty decision made in the infant's best interest. The case remained a powerful reminder of the devastating impact of addiction on families and the delicate equilibrium between parental rights and a child's well-being.

While she thought about the case, a plan started to formulate. Avery ultimately went to law school because she wanted to be able to help SAMCRO. Well, this was her chance. She could help make sure that this child never had to worry about his junky mother corrupting him into what she was.

Pulling herself together, she contacted the sheriff's office. She was surprised to hear that Wayne Unser was still the chief. After catching up with him and finding out that he was on his way out at the sheriff's office, she informed him that the Teller family was suing for sole custody of Jax's son who was born 10 weeks premature to a drug addicted mother.

Avery explained the condition that Jax's son was facing. It didn't take much convincing to get the chief on her side in this just in case there was any blow back. She didn't have to call Unser and let him know what was going on but she wanted to give him a heads up in the event that the child's mother had family in the area that tried to push back and gain custody.

After hanging up with Wayne, Avery called her parents and let them know she was going to be late getting home. She didn't tell them that she was at the hospital because it wasn't her story to tell. And if she couldn't tell them what was going on, they would just worry themselves sick.

Once off the phone with her parents, Avery pocketed her phone and went in search of Gemma to tell her about what she was doing to help Jax and his little family. Avery worries for a brief moment that Jax would be pissed about what she was going to do but that worry was soon eclipsed by the joy she felt at being able to help her second family.

*****

Avery found Gemma sitting in the lobby with John. Walking over to her, she took a seat beside her.

"Gemma, can we talk?"

"Sure baby. What's up?" Said Gemma.

"Do I need to leave?" Asked John.

"No, you can stay."

"So, what's up?" Asked Gemma as she repositioned herself in the hard plastic chair of the hospital.

"I made some calls. I hope I didn't step on any toes but I am in the process of having all the petitions filed to ensure that Wendy doesn't ever have a chance to tarnish Jax's son's life any more than she already has. I'll draw the papers up for sole custody for Jax, meaning that his son will have no connection to the woman that put him in this situation other than shared DNA."

"Avery–"

"I'll draw all the papers up when I get back to mom's tonight and have them printed off and ready to sign tomorrow. Wayne will issue the mothers copy of the papers. Once that's done, everything will be filed in the courthouse and we will go before a judge. I don't foresee us having to go to trial on this considering the details and circumstances, but if we do, I want you both to know that I will fight for your family with everything I have in me."

"Avery—" John tried again.

"Before you say anything, I'm doing this for free." said Avery, looking over at Gemma before continuing. "Because you were right,Gemma. I still care about Jax. I never stopped caring about him. That being said, if his son wants to have a fighting chance at life, he needs to be as far away from his birth mother as possible. Let me help make that possible."

"And what if she doesn't agree?" Asked Gemma.

"Then we have to make her agree to sign over custody of him. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume she has drugs in the house. I can also draw up charges of fetal abuse because of his condition. I'll just need Dr. Knowls to sign off that his condition is directly connected to her drug use."

"Do it. My Abel will never calm that junkie whore mother."

"His name is Abel?" Asked Avery, her voice cracking..

"Yes. Jax picked it out. Said the boy would need a strong name. I hope he loves it." Said Gemma.

Unbeknownst to Gemma, Jax's naming of his eldest son Abel held a hidden meaning for Avery. Years prior, as teenagers, Jax and Avery faced a false pregnancy scare. During that uncertain time, they found solace in envisioning their future as parents and chose the name Abel for a hypothetical son. Naming his firstborn Abel was likely an unconscious homage to that formative experience, a quiet acknowledgment of his past connection with Avery and the life they once contemplated. This concealed significance created an unspoken layer of emotional depth in Abel's early life and within the Teller-Morrow family. Gemma's observation about Avery being the intended mother of Jax's first son resonated deeply, hinting at the enduring nature of Jax's feelings for her, despite her absence as Abel's mother. The fact that Jax used the name he and Avery had chosen years before, even though she was not his child's mother, suggested that he really had never moved on from her.

"It's a good name." said Avery, a ball of emotion in her throat. "Anyway, I got to get going so I can get these papers done. Call me if you need anything."

With that, Avery stood and walked out of the hospital. She might be exhausted, but with lots of caffeine and the determination to make sure that an innocent child is not subjected to anymore neglect, she would get this done. She would get it done for Abel, for Jax, for Gemma and John, and for herself. Maybe adding herself into the equation made her selfish but she didn't care.