[Imagine her with brown hair, please!]

A week had passed with baby number three in their house and neither Cleo or Jax could complain. They both feared the first few weeks or months with a kid in kindergarten age, a toddler and a newborn could be rough and super stressful but it wasn't⸺ not yet at least.

Everything seemed to flow together perfectly. The boys still had their usual routine, something Cleo wanted to keep. She'd get up in the morning and feed the baby first, then she made sure to prepare enough breakfast and lunch for the boys while Mari was always next to her in the baby carrier. This way she had an eye on her daughter and was able to get things done.

Once she was done with all of that, the brunette woke up the boys⸺ if Jax was home then it was his job to wake them up and help them to get ready. Abel was big enough by now to get dressed and brush his teeth by himself, only Thomas still needed help with that but was already starting to try dressing himself.

The good thing was, and both appreciated that, that Mari was a pretty easy baby. In the first week at home she only woke up once a night and wanted to be fed, sometimes she needed a fresh diaper. Otherwise she slept from eight in the evening until the next morning. During the day, the little one took a two hour nap and sometimes, when she was really tired and cranky, Cleo tried to rock her to sleep for another nap.

Basically nothing had changed, except that there was now one more person in the house and everything was a little tigther. But that didn't bother anyone, at least neither Jax nor Cleo had spoken about it until now. Mari didn't have her own room, but she didn't need one just yet. Nevertheless, Cleo secretly wished that she could design a beautiful room for her daughter one day. At the moment the crib and the changing table were in Jax' and Cleo's bedroom.

Jax wanted the same. The moment he found out that Cleo was pregnant, he knew that the house was too small. He also wanted to enable his daughter to have her own room and design it together with his Old Lady as she wished and imagined. The blonde biker knew that Cleo would never ask if they could move. Knowing how many memories were attached to the house, it never crossed her mind. However, it was Jax who had been thinking about some things lately, especially after Gemma showed up.

All this, his whole lifestyle, put his family in danger every day. His club always came first, but with Cleo his priorities had changed and the desire to provide a safe life for his family was important to him. The first step was of course getting rid of Gemma, which he would take care of after the wedding. And then he wanted a life outside of Charming for his wife and kids, hoping he was still here to witness that. He just wanted to grab his family, pack things up, let Chibs run the club, and move to a small town where they can have a normal life. But it wasn't that easy.

If they would move he somehow would need to take care of his family. As an okay mechanic there wasn't much he could do. Maybe someone in a workshop would hire him, but would he make enough money to feed his wife and three kids? Let alone pay for all the bills and schools and doctor appointments for Abel's heart defect? Right now, it was too risky to do just that, he had to wait for the right moment.

With a sigh, Jax opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wanted to enjoy the moments with his family but he was just tense. Gemma could show up anytime and make their life miserable again. He sat up and swung his legs off the bed when he heard that Cleo was already in the kitchen, getting breakfast ready.

Still a bit sleepy, he slurped out of the bedroom and straight into Abel's room, which he woke up gently before he went to Thomas' room and took the toddler in his arms. The two year old was already awake and happily playing with his feet until Jax arrived. As he helped Thomas get changed and tickled his stomach now and then, he enjoyed hearing his giggles and laughter fill the room.

Fully dressed, Abel ran into his brother's room and threw his arms around Jax's neck just as he was kneeling perfectly on the floor, giggling.

"Piggyback! What's for breakfast?", the almost five year old exclaimed with a giggle making Jax shake his head and laugh.

"I don't know, buddy. Let's see." Jax put the other shoe on Thomas' feet before he got up after telling Abel to hold onto him and held his hand out to his younger son. Thomas grabbed it and ran into the kitchen with short, quick steps, closely followed by Jax with Abel on his back.

"Good morning!" Cleo studied the three and hummed in approval at the boys' clothes. She could tell Abel picked them out himself, but he did good. It was colorful but okay to wear. Only Jax still wasn't dressed and only in his grey sweatpants.

The brunette bit down on her lip, admiring her Old Man's body. She definitely had no problems with her libido. It was torture not being able to feel him, let him show her who she belonged to while his hands were all over her body. But for the next few weeks, sex was out of the question.

"Pancakes are burning, babe", Jax said with his famous cocky smile as he noticed his Old Lady was staring at him like she's about to pounce on him.

His words snapped her out of her rigid state. Clearing her throat, she turned back to the stove to turn over the pancakes, which actually almost burned, trying to cool herself down a bit by taking a sip of her coffee.

"Did you sleep well?", she finally asked, her tone more innocent than ever while giving Jax a quick wink and putting glasses of juice on the table for the kids, a cup with fresh coffee for Jax.

"Yes! Mommy, can we ask Lyla if I can play with Elli and Kenny today?" Abel looked at the brunette after Jax let him down and told him to take a seat. Thomas sat right next to him in his high chair waiting for the pancakes.

"I can give Lyla a call later and ask her, okay?", she told the little boy with a smile, placed three pancakes for him and two for Thomas on a plate, putting sprinkles and honey over them. That's how the boys loved them.

"That's okay", Abel gave her a toothy smile and immediately raved over his pancakes, which he scooped into his mouth.

"Easy, buddy", Jax chuckled as he watched his son eat like he hadn't eaten in days. Thomas, on the other hand, was a little more relaxed and enjoyed his pancakes.

After taking his daughter, who looked at him with curiosity in her eyes, out of the baby carrier and into his arms, his eyes landed on his Old Lady and her perfect body. Since she was staying home most of the time, she wore nothing else but comfortable shorts and simple tops, yet it brought out the right curves.

He couldn't take his eyes off her perfectly shaped ass that he just wanted to smack, but not with the kids around. He didn't even want to start with her breasts. They had grown at least one size larger since the pregnancy anyway. You could clearly see that both absolutely needed sex again. Not heating each other up so that they would jump each others bones became a daily challenge.

"You're staring, handsome", Cleo teased with a sweet smile and placed a plate for Jax and one for her on the table, motioning him to sit down. "Eat, you have a long day ahead of you."

"Yes, Ma'am", he retorted smirking, slipped a hand on the back of her neck to pull her in for a quick but passionate kiss that she returned without hesitation, both sighing into the kiss.

After they pulled apart, Jax sat down and rocked Mari in his arm, cooing at her now and then and making faces for the newborn and his two sons, who let out the most adorable laughs.

Cleo leaned back after she finished her plate, the warm mug in her hands, and watched the scene that was given to her. If Gemma still wouldn't be around, her life couldn't get any better. This was what she'd always wanted and prayed for. Her own little family.

⸺

The brunette slipped out of her car, walked around it and unbuckled the baby carrier to get Mari out. It was a pretty hot day in Charming and if her daughter would've been a little older, she probably would've taken the kids to the sea. Balancing the baby carrier over one arm, she got a bag full of groceries from the back and walked towards the house only to almost get a heart attack when she spotted her father who was leaning against the door, waiting for her.

Rather unintentionally, she dropped the bag with the groceries and took a step back. "What do you want, dad?"

"Long time no see, mi hija [my daughter]". With his broad shoulder he pushed himself away from the door and approached his daughter, who stood frozen in front of him, her fingers wrapped so tightly around the handle of the infant carrier that her knuckles turned white.

Ever so slightly, he let his fingers ghost over her cheek, her shaky breath hit his hand making him chuckle. "Why so scared, chiquita [little girl]?"

Cleo was still too petrified to do anything. Her head told her to run, her heart told her to protect Mari. But her whole fucking body wasn't doing anything. She just stood there and stared at the man who called himself her father. The last time his name was mentioned was after Jax gave him a visit and told Cleo about it. And she didn't forget what her father did. Killing a sixteen year old which he had forced into prostitution, threatening her Old Man and one of his brothers to kill them, beating the shit out of Adrian. Not that she cared about the latter one, but still.

She didn't want this man in her or her children's life. A sudden surge of self confidence came over her as she took a step towards her father and looked into his eyes.

"You better leave before I call my Old Man or the Cops", she spat and watched his eyes darken immensely. Her father always had that pure psycho look that could even scare the shit out of grown ass man.

"Get in the house, now. We need to talk", he growled, his spanish accent thick.

"The fuck I will", she scoffed. Did he really think that she would be stupid enough to disappear into the house with him so he could do whatever he wanted with her?

A painful yelp escaped her lips as a stab of pain shot through her cheek, which soon began to burn. She'd been through worse than being slapped in the face, especially during her time with Adrian. But the fact that it was her own father who had now laid a hand on her, who had never hurt her physically before, really hurt her.

Wanting to slap herself again for almost tearing up, she sniffled and put the infant carrier down so she could wipe away the blood dripping from her nose, never letting her daughter out of sight.

"I expect a little more respect from my own daughter", he snarled while he got in her face and grabbed her chin roughly. "You think I care what the neighbors could hear or see? I could wipe them out easily if I wanted to. So, if you don't want anyone to get hurt, you better do what I say. Now get inside!"

The brunette whimpered as his grip tightened, sending a pain through her whole jaw area. The problem was that she knew perfectly well that her father was true to his word. Her biggest fear right now was that he might hurt Mari. That was the only reason she did what he said. Just when she was about to grab the baby seat, Carlos stopped her with a mischievous grin.

"No, I'll get her inside. I'm still hurt that you never told me about my granddaughter", he emphasized overdramatically and drew his gun, which he aimed at the baby. "Inside, now!"

"Dad please! She's a baby", Cleo chocked out in panic and tried to get to her daughter but stopped in her tracks when she heard the trigger click. It was clear that her father didn't want to play games.

"Nothing will happen to her if you do as I say. Now get the fuck inside", he barked, causing Mari to start crying.

At the sight of her daughter being threatened with a gun, her father's finger already on the trigger, Cleo's pulse rose so fast and so high that she felt like she was about to collapse. Not daring to contradict him now, she put the key in the lock with trembling hands and let him into the house. She prayed to whoever was in charge of life and death that nothing would happen to Mari. She didn't care much about herself right now.

⸺

authors note; Cliffhanger, sorry! Please leave feedback, it always keeps me motivated! By the way, I have a few really nice ideas for this story so it's probably gonna be a really long one. I'm trying to write at least fifteen to twenty more chapters for this one here. 🖤