Ireland. Here he was, standing at the busy airport with his duffle bag in one hand and a piece of paper with the adoptive parents' address in the other. Having just gotten off his plane, he looked for the way out and took a deep breath. The fresh air here in Ireland helped calm his nerves a little, although there was probably nothing that could completely calm him down at the moment.

Not only were his nerves strained, there was also a real mess in his head. He had considered so many times whether it was the right decision to look for his son, and after Juice couldn't find any clues for weeks as to where exactly the family lived in Ireland, or whether they even still had Abel, he almost gave up.

Maybe fate didn't want him to ever see his son again; that thought crossed his mind more than once. Why should he even have a right to see him? After all, he had given up on Abel back then, simply leaving him in Ireland with a family he didn't even know.

But then Juice found out where the family lived and whether Abel even still lived with them. Apparently his son had been really lucky with the family. From what Juice found, both parents had well paid jobs, no financial problems, and had a good reputation.

And yet, even if he didn't want to confuse his son, he just had to see him. Of course not without the adoptive parents' permission, after all Abel was their son now. His forehead was set in resigned sad lines as a sigh escaped his dry throat. The blond knew back then that he would miss Abel dearly, but Kellan Ashby's words had made sense. His son was better off without him and his outlaw lifestyle.

But then was then and today was today. And today he deeply regretted his decision.

It wasn't for the first time that he thought of bringing Abel back to America, back to his family. And since he was never the one to sign any papers, he could still claim that his son was kidnapped at the time and he had a right to get him back. It wasn't a lie though, but he couldn't do that to the adoptive parents.

For the fact that they had probably given Abel everything he needed, from affection and love to three meals a day and clothing, he didn't want to just take the little boy away from them.

He would stick to his plan of showing up at the family's house and explaining everything, without secrets or lies. And then he hoped that they would give him permission to at least get to  meet Abel.

It took a while until one of the taxis became available. After telling the taxi driver the address, he sat back and frowned thoughtfully. In his mind he went over the words that he had planned to say, which he would probably forget because of the nervousness and look like an idiot in front of the people that took care of his son.

He had never felt so nervous. Especially in the last few years he was pretty indifferent to everything. The only thing that meant anything to him was the club and his brothersᅳ and Gemma, who, however, hadn't spoken a word to him since he left Abel behind. And Jax couldn't blame her. Wendy wasn't pleased either and hurt, yet she had accepted Jax' decision.

“We're here.” The taxi driver's voice snapped the blonde out of his thoughts, who quickly paid the man and tipped him before getting out. Standing in front of a tall building with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder and looking up, he took another deep breath.

It was a high-rise building in the middle of Belfast, but not one that looked shabby, but rather a fairly well-preserved one. The apartments there certainly weren't cheap and the blond wondered again what kind of life his son now had.

When a resident came out of the door, he took the chance and scurried through the large glass door before it could close again. According to the nameplates on the mailboxes, the couple he was looking for lived on the fifth floor.

With every step he took he became more and more nervous and more than once he had considered turning around, getting on the next plane to California and leaving Abel with the people who had raised him for the last three years. But faster than he could do that he reached the right door.

“Come on, he's your son,” he muttered to himself and finally knocked twice, then he let the piece of paper with the address disappear into his pocket. Only a moment later he heard movement behind the door, then a young woman stood in front of him, who smiled at him friendly.

“Hi, can I help you?”, she asked politely, and he immediately noticed her smile, which seemed sincere and also reached her eyes. Apparently a pretty happy person.

“Hey”, he replied with a slight smile and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “You actually can. I'll just come straight to the point. My name is Jax Teller and I'm Abel's biological father. This is probablyᅳ”

“What do you want?”, the redhead interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence, the smile was no longer there, instead her blue eyes bore into his and if looks could kill, he would probably die right on the spot.

“See my son, maybe even get to know him. Only if it’s okay with you and your husband”, Jax explained, keeping a close eye on the woman standing in front of him.

Her already pale skin now lost all color and resembled the white door she was leaning on, her manicured fingernails digging into the varnished wood. The shock was written all over her face and Jax couldn't blame her, he even felt a little bad towards the young woman.

“Abel is mine. You better go now”, she said decisively, but her voice clearly trembled as she spoke and just as he was about to answer, she slammed the door in his face. It didn't  go unnoticed that she was only talking about her.

There was no talk of 'Abel belongs to us' but only  'Abel belongs to me'. Maybe he was reading too much into it, but apparently she lived here alone with his son.

Sighing, he ran his hand through his slicked back hair, rummaged for a piece of paper and pen in his duffle bag and wrote down his number, which he slipped under the door.

They kept his name, he thought to himself, the beginnings of a smile forming on his lips. Apparently Kellan Ashby also gave his son's name to the adoption agency when he brought Abel there.

“If you change your mind, I'll be here in Ireland for a few more days. I don’t want to take Abel away from you if that’s what you think”, he said, loud enough for her to hear him through the closed door, before he left the building somewhat dejected and looked for a hotel room nearby.

If she wouldn't call, he would try his luck again tomorrow.

ᚔ

She had been staring at the small piece of paper with the stranger's number in her hand for an hour now and was still sitting on the floor behind the door, her legs pulled up against her body. Since Abel was still in kindergarten for two hours, she was able to use the time to let the stuff from earlier sink in and she was glad that her son wasn't here to see how upset she was.

What should she do? The young woman had never before thought about what she would do if Abel's birth parents ever showed up. To be honest, she never thought that this could actually happen because the adoption agency had specifically told her and her then-husband that the parents would never find out where Abel was.

And yet here he was, Abel's biological father. Were his words true? Did he really just want to get to know him or was this just an excuse to gain her trust so that he could then manipulate her good enough to give up the rights for Abel?

Not that that would ever happen. Before she would ever willingly give up Abel, she would rather put a bullet in own head. Abel was her son, her child. Although she wasn't the one who had carried the little boy under her heart for months, she had taken care of him, raised him as if he were her own child. And that's what he was.

With a shaky breath, she ran her fingers through her copper colored hair before reaching for the phone that sat on a small glass table next to the door. She dialed the only number she knew by heart, and that was her sister's, who lived just two blocks away.

“Erin? He was here. Abel's father was here”, her voice still resembled that of a computer voice, the shock still sat deep. “Can you please come over? I need you.”

The long pause on the other end of the line told the redhead that her older sister, who was her rock and who Caitlin could always count on, was just as shocked by the news. And yet she told her to stay calm and promised to come over right away after she found her voice again.

ᚔ

With the damp tissue she was holding in her hand, she wiped her cheeks again to dry the tears before throwing it on the table with the three other used tissues that stood in front of the couch on which the two women were sitting, Erin's arm wrapped around her comfortingly.

“What if he tries to take Abel away from me? I've fought for a child for so long, I won't let him be taken away from me. He’s mine”, she sobbed, desperation thick in her teary voice.

“He can try that and I’ll strangle him myself”, Erin snorted, feeling more angry than desperate. And she meant her words. There was nothing she wouldn't do for her sister and nephew. Abel belonged to Caitlin and no one else. “You are his mother, Caitlin, no one can take Abel away from you.”

“He said he didn’t want that at all. But who knows if that's the truth.” With a sniffle, she handed Erin the piece of paper with his number that she had previously put in her pocket. “He said he would just like to get to know him and that I should call him if I changed my mind.”

“You’re not seriously planning on doing this, are you?” Erin's gaze wandered from the note back to her sister, who looked at her desperately as she simply shrugged her shoulders silently. “You can't be serious! Why Caitlin?!”

“What if he really doesn’t want more? What if he doesn't want to take Abel away from me? I'm taking away a father's chance to meet his son”,  she explained with a sigh, letting her head fall into her hands, her elbows resting on her knees.

“Well, it’s his own fault. He could've kept Abel instead of giving him away”, the brunette scoffed, running her hand up and down her younger sister's back.

“I know that, Erin”, the redhead murmured, her words difficult to understand as they were muffled by Caitlin's hands on her face. “But since Jim left, Abel no longer has a father figure in his life. Shouldn’t a child have that?”

“What about dad? Abel loves spending time with his grandpa. Maybe he's not a father figure but something similar”, the older of the Peters sisters reasoned.

“Yeah, but how often do we see dad? Twice a year because he lives in Boston instead of here. That’s not enough”, the redhead countered after she lifted her head again and looked at Erin with bloodshot eyes, but at least no new tears fell for the moment.

“And apparently this Jaxᅳ”, she briefly pointed at the piece of paper, on which the name of the stranger was written, before she continued. “ᅳ doesn't even live here in Ireland. Maybe he’ll leave again anyway.”

“What if you call him and ask him to meet you? Then he can explain exactly what he wants and you can still decide whether you want to allow it or not”, Erin suggested. This way Caitlin could get a better picture of this Jax guy before making a hasty decision.

But Erin also knew that Caitlin only wanted the best for Abel and since she divorced Jim almost two years ago, she has been plagued by a constant guilty conscience because she could no longer offer Abel a father figure.

Caitlin wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed again as she thought about Erin's suggestion. “With Abel?”

“No, definitely not. You meet him alone first.” Even if she couldn't make that decision for Caitlin, Erin wouldn't allow it that she would take Abel  with her to that meeting and she knew that her sister was mature enough to understand this. Caitlin was smart but also kind and way too good for this world. And lots of people took advantage of that in the past. “I'll watch Abel while you're meeting him. I want you to meet him at a café or somewhere where there are enough people. You can never know.”

A faint smile appeared on Caitlin's face. Sometimes she felt like a fifteen year old teenager when her sister spoke to her like that, but the redhead knew that Erin was just worried. Besides, she was right, you could never know.

“I think that sounds like a plan. Thank you Erin”, she thanked her sincerely and hugged her sister before plucking up the courage and dialing the number on the piece of paper to arrange a meeting for tomorrow.

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authors note; this is it, the first chapter is done! I hope you enjoyed it even though not much happened yet! Thanks for all the comments on the introduction chapter already. 🖤