Roots Run Deep

Chapter 25

While Katie was taken through the ER, admitted and settled, Jax called Jacob and let him know where she was and what happened. As expected, Jacob was upset and preparing to make the drive down to see Katie.

"Any idea who?"

"No," Jax huffed. "Not yet."

"You think it has to do with Katie buying in?"

Jax hesitated, "I don't know. Any reason to think someone would be looking to go after you or her?"

"No," Jacob said confidently.

"Alright," Jax huffed. "I'll see you when you get here."

The call ended and Jax headed back into the hospital to see Katie in her room. Her hair was up in a messy bun as she sat, pouting, in the lumpy hospital bed wearing a faded, stiff gown.

"I hate this."

"You look kind of cute," he smirked.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I should have refused."

"No, it's better you're here. Your old man is coming down," he said. "Sorry."

"Ugh," she groaned. "My brother? Can you get him here? He's a good buffer."

"He's on an errand," Jax frowned.

"Jesus," she hissed. "Next time, don't be so sweet and keep the phone calls to a minimum."

Jax chuckled and nodded. "You got it," he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "You smell like burnt lube," he teased.

"Fuck you," she laughed loudly as Clay strolled into the room. "Oh, hey."

"Clay," Jax gave him a cold stare.

"Who was it?" He asked sternly.

"We don't know," Jax said darkly. "Didn't think you'd care."

"It's Luann and Kate," he said, "We have to protect our family."

"Yeah," Jax huffed, "We do."

"How you feeling?" Clay asked Katie in a softer tone.

"Smokey," she laughed a little. "But I'm okay."

"Good," he smiled. "What do you remember?"

"Not much, voices and some shapes, looked like three guys but it was all shadows so I'm not sure."

Clay nodded as she spoke. "Catch anything they said?"

"No," she frowned. "Sorry."

"You got nothing to apologize for," he assured her. Clay looked at Jax. "How long you staying?"

"I don't know," he huffed. "Little while."

"Stay reachable," Clay said to him on his way out the door.

"He freaks me out," she whispered. "Even his smile is weird."

Jax nodded, "Ignore him. It's fine. I'm gonna make a few calls." Stepping out into the hall, phone to his ear, Jax strolled right by Tara as she chatted up a nurse at the end of the hall.

"Hey," she said, turning away from the nurse quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Jax turned and saw her smiling broadly at him. "Oh, hey, Katie's here."

"Oh," Tara looked concerned. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine, just observation," he slipped his phone away. "How you been?"

"Good," she gestured to the nurse' station, "Just busy here. So you and Katie, huh?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's new but yeah."

"Thought she went back to D.C. a while ago?"

"She came back, obviously." An idea hit him and Jax suddenly smiled sweetly at Tara. "You think you could do me a favor?"

Tara looked at him suspiciously. "A favor for Jax Teller? That usually spells trouble."

"No trouble," he held his hands up. "I promise."

"What do you need?"

"Anyone here with burns or smoke injuries?"

"What happened?" She asked him bluntly.

Jax huffed. "Fire at CaraCara, Katie was there, we just wanna see if we can figure out who."

"I'll ask around," she sighed. "Give me some time."

"Thank you," he grinned and kissed her cheek. "You're the best."

--

Back in Katie's room, Jacob stood over her bed, frowning, as he tried to get some information out of her. She told him what she knew, which was very little, but he wasn't sure that was all she had seen or heard.

"This has to be because of Jax and the club," he shook his head. "Luann is a member's wife, right?"

"Yes," Katie knew her father knew Otto but she didn't say anything. "I think it was random."

"It's never random," he said angrily. "Haven't you learned that already?"

"Dad," she growled. "The cops will handle it."

"The cops aren't handling shit," he grumbled. "They can't even shake their own dicks."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Cool. Okay."

"Who knew you were there?"

"No one," she shrugged. "Not even Jax."

"Alright," he stormed toward the door. "I'll be back."

Jax and Jacob came face to face in the hallway but they kept themselves composed and shook hands before continuing on their way. Slipping into her room quickly, Jax said a quick goodbye to Katie and left her with a kiss. When he hit the parking lot again he called Opie.

"Guess who was treated for burns?"

"Who?"

"Darby," he growled. "I'm coming your way, think we should go pay him a visit."