This Unbreakable Bond

“Well. They fit.” Jax crawline stood in the small dressing room door of a men’s clothing shop called Lindel’s. He turned from side to side, admiring the light khakis that Georgina had picked out for him. He let out a sigh, tugging at the dark brown belt. Then, he reached behind him and picked up the navy blue button down. His fingers moved slowly over the small, clear round buttons; he straightened the shirt before tucking it into his pants and flipping the collar down.
“Do I really have to come out?” Jax asked, opening the dressing room door slightly. He peeked his head out, running a hand through his spiky hair, “I look ridiculous.”

Georgina leaned against the wall, waiting patiently for Jax to change into the clothes she'd picked out for him. The decision to invite Jax to Thanksgiving, although Marco had asked her to change her mind several times, was set. He didn't have anywhere else to go, and he was like family to her. She wasn't going to let him wait around at school. "That's always a plus." She called out, slipping her phone back into her purse. "Of course you have to come out." Georgina said, watching as Jax stepped out of the dressing room.

"You don't look ridiculous, you look classy." Georgina said, biting her lip. "Try on the black pants with one of the lighter shirts." She finally advised, shooing him back in to get changed.

Jax rummaged through the piles of shirts sitting on the bench in the dressing room, “Georgina, I’ve already tried on like 200,” He whined, stretching the truth. They’d been in the store for less than an hour; Jax was already miserable. More than that, he felt guilty. Digging into his pockets, Jax fingered the crumpled twenties he had stored there, the ones he was hoping Georgina would let him use. Allowing her to pay for his clothing seemed ridiculous.
“You know you really don’t have to pay for all this, Georgina.” He whispered, stepping out of the dressing room in a pale blue button down and darker khaki slacks. “I like this color.” He admitted.

"Jax, this is literally the second set of clothes you've tried on. We've been here for barely a half hour. Stop whining." Georgina scolded, practically pushing him back into the changing room. She nodded when he came out in the clothes. "Do you like those? I think they look nice." The woman asked, waiting patiently for a response. She was going to ignore his comment about her having to pay, but she decided that she actually had to answer it. "No, I'm paying, and that's final." Georgina said to Jax, sighing. It wasn't even a choice. She was going to be stubborn about it if she had to.

“I like them all, Georgina.” Jax told her, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. He leaned against the mirror outside of his dressing room, crossing his legs over one another. He smiled at Georgina briefly, casting his eyes down to the floor. A cotton ball of emotions seemed to scratch the back of his throat, threatening to betray him the moment he opened his mouth.
Jax coughed, biting his lower lip roughly before pushing up off of the mirror. He pursed his lips, venturing back into the dressing room and sliding on a red shirt. “Where are we going after this?”

"Well, I like those pants or the navy ones the best. And the shirt depends on which pants you like better." Georgina said, pushing hair out of her face. She caught Jax's smile and returned it, sitting on one of the stools as he slipped back into the changing room. He came out in a red shirt, which she nodded at. "I have to go look at shoes, I'll only be a few minutes. You don't have to come in if you don't want. Then we can drive back, or stop and get something to eat. I'm starving, but it's up to you." Georgina said, leaning back.

"Which one would Lana like better?" Jax asked finally, after examining both shirts. He turned to Georgina expectantly, a broad smile crossing his face, "and do you know what she's wearing. Not that it matters. She'll look gorgeous either way." He gushed; then, his eyes lit up. "Georgina, do you think we could make another stop in our day of shopping?"
Jax chewed his lower lip nervously again, reaching up to tug at the collar of the blue shirt, "I, uh, wanna get her something."

Georgina smiled brightly, watching fondly as he examined his shirts. She was really grateful that she'd fixed things with Jax, that had definitely been one of her better decisions in life. He was good to Lana, and that was practically all she'd ever wanted in life. "Lana's wearing a black dress, and I think she'd like the red shirt better." She said with a smile, shaking hair out of her eyes before widening them. "What did you want to get her?" She questioned, crossing her legs and cocking an eyebrow upwards in curiosity.

"The red shirt it is. It'll look good with her dress." Jax said, holding the red shirt up. He smiled, folding it over his arm, "I dunno yet. I want to get her something she can wear at Thanksgiving, but can also wear beyond that. A necklace maybe? A.... promise ring?" Jax smiles slightly, a blush coloring his cheeks. He turned away from Georgina, heading back into the dressing room. As he changed, he spoke to Georgina through the wooden door, compelled for some reason to admit, "I told Lana I loved her."

Georgina nodded and smiled as he folded it up. She listened to him talk about gifts, and as he mentioned a promise ring, she suddenly felt very...maternal. A smirk fell on her lips as she saw Jax blush, and it reminded her that she had made the right choice in trusting him. He really did care about Lana, and Lana cared about him. It just made her happy.

"I think that Lana would like that a lot. Give it to her before she does her makeup, though. She might cry." Georgina said with a smile, waiting patiently as Jax went into the changing room. He started to talk, and once she'd finished, Georgina had a sudden realization of shock. "And did you mean it?" She replied, almost instinctively.

Jax chuckled, stepping out of the dressing room with his red shirt and khakis in his hands. He ran his fingers over the soft fabric of the shirt, sighing in defeat as he handed them over to Georgina, "I'm still going to fight with you about paying for lunch." he said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. It needed desperately to be cut. It hung down in his face in choppy layers; even when he slicked it back with gel, it refused to stay in place. He distracted himself with the though of his hair, hesitating a moment before answering Georgina.
"I do, Georgina. I can't describe it. I just... I-I can't explain to you how much I love her."

Georgina smiled smugly, taking the clothes from Jax and resting them nearly on her arm, grabbing her purse. "You're not paying for lunch, and that is final, Jax Crawline." She said firmly, pushing his hair out of his eyes so she could glare at him properly. She nodded, listening closely. "I'm glad you two have each other. I know what you mean when you can't explain it, it makes sense, I've been there. But, I've also had my heart broken, far too many times. Lana's been through some rough things, but if someone as close as you are to her hurt her, I wouldn't be able to live with myself as a mother. So I'm trusting you not to hurt her, Jax. I will defend the two of you, because I know you wouldn't hurt her. Do you understand?" Georgina asked as they moved over to the checkout counter.

Jax waited until they'd left the store to respond, shoving his hand in his pocket and using the other to take the shopping bag from Georgina. He slipped it onto his wrist, shoving his other hand into his pocket, "I don't have any intention of hurting Lana, Georgina. I... She... Oh God, Georgina. She's amazing. Everything about her. The way she looks at me - that smile that she gets when she does something that's cute and she realizes it. The way she blushes when she does something idiotic. I... Georgina she makes me more happy than I have ever been. It's like I finally have a reason for being here. Like there's a reason I didn't... end things all those years ago. And it's Lana. But not just Lana, you, too. Because... you've given me so much, Georgina. You... You're more like a mom to me than anything."

Georgina thanked the cashier with the nod and handed the bag to Jax, walking out of the store with him. She nodded as Jax spoke, a smile on her face. She couldn't have asked for anything better, really. Georgina was extremely grateful for Lana having Jax, and Jax having Lana. It was adorable to listen to him talk about her in the way he did, and maybe they really did love each other. She hoped that for both of their sakes, it was serious and that they could last for awhile.

The comment about him thinking of her as a mom hit her in a way, though. Maybe it was because she thought of Jax as son combined with the fact that she'd always wanted more kids, or maybe it was just that he was being all sappy and making her emotional. "Jax, that's very sweet." Georgina said softly, blinking her eyes. "And damn, you're going to make me cry." She said with a small laugh, sniffling and giving Jax a one armed hug. "I couldn't be more grateful to know you, not only for Lana, but because you are really a good kid. No matter what people say, you have a good heart. You're like a son to me, and I'm very flattered that you think of me like a mother."

Jax smiled, returning the one-arm hug, squeezing Georgina's waist tightly. He glanced up at her, a smug smile forming around his lips, "I knew you secretly loved me from the beginning." he joked, laughing. He thought back to the moment he and Georgina had first talked - that disastrous day, "I'm sorry for giving you such a terrible first impression of me. If I could, I'd go back and change that day... change the way I acted and what I did."

Georgina smiled, biting her lip. "Eh. I certainly didn't love you that first day." She said with a sigh. She didn't want to think about that, and she knew that Lana and Jax didn't bring it up. She supposed it didn't matter as much. It'd had just been a bad day for all of them, but everything was resolved and tension-less now."Jax, don't bring that up. It was hardly all your fault, and I didn't act very professionally. I was being defensive of Lana, and that caused me to say a lot of things I didn't mean. You didn't get a very good impression of me either. But everything's okay now, so that's all that matters." Georgina slowed down her pace slightly, pushing her purse back onto her shoulder. "So, what store did you want to go into for Lana?"

"Umm, well I was thinking-" Jax raised his arm to point in the direction of a jewelry store, when the voice of someone came from behind them, sharp and loud. The boy cat called at Georgina; Jax spun on his heels impulsively, hands clenched in a fist. He'd dropped the bag from the clothing shop; it hit the ground softly, spilling its contents.
"Hey, punk!" Jax shouted, his anger blinding him. When the boy turned around, brown eyes wide and mouth set in a smirk. Jax's fists made contact with his chest; the boy stumbled backwards.
"Don't catcall at my mom." Jax warned, the words "my mom" slipping from his lips before he could stop them. The boy lunged forward, shoving him back; Jax's hand came up, connecting with the boy's jaw. Before he could move again, arms grabbed him from behind, and he looked up to see a mall policeman gripping him tightly.

Georgina nodded and opened her mouth to respond to Jax, but was interrupted by a cat call from behind. The brunette was tempted to roll her eyes - it'd been happening to her since she was roughly sixteen, and considering the places she'd been and lived, it wasn't like it was a rare occurrence. She'd learned to blow it off, but what happened next was almost too fast for her to comprehend. "Jax!" Georgina screeched as the bag of clothes dropped onto the floor. She moved to grab him and pull him away, but the words that came out of his mouth next caused her to freeze.

Mom. He'd called her mom. Before she could process it, however, Georgina was blinking back into reality and caught between a teenage boy, a mall security guard, and Jax. She helped the teenage boy, who had fallen, up off the ground before scolding him about how she had a daughter his age and shooing him off. After picking up the clothes and setting them back into the bag, she turned to the security officer, who was still holding onto Jax. Gratefully, the small crowd that had gathered had disappeared.

"I can take him, sir. I'm terribly sorry." Georgina said, shooting Jax a glare.

"Ma'am, we'll have to take him into custody for harassment. He'll stay there until a legal guardian can pick him up." The officer responded, loosening his grip on Jax to one arm.

Georgina raised her eyebrows and scoffed, replying almost instinctively, "I'm his mother."

Jax eyed Georgina apologetically, tugging away from the security guard who's hands were digging into the tops of his arms. With a sigh, the security guard handed him over to Georgina, "Keep your son under control, ma'am." the man said, giving Jax a warning glare. Jax bit his lip to keep from mouthing off, then turned to Georgina, preparing to mutter an apology. Instead, all he could manage to form were the words, "I'm sorry," before he hugged Georgina tightly.

Georgina nodded to the security guard. "Again, I apologize. It won't happen again, I assure you." She said as he walked away. She turned to Jax, preparing to scold him and lecture him about public behavior. Before she could, he'd already said sorry and hugged her tightly. Georgina sighed, hugging him back. "Thank you, I appreciate that you were defending me. But you can't lash out like that, especially not in public, m'kay?" She asked him softly. Truthfully, she wasn't all that angry at Jax. He'd just been trying to defend her, and that made it harder to be upset with him. But she was grateful that the security had let them off as easily as they had, in plenty of other places it would've been much harder.

Jax shrugged, bending down to pick up the bag he'd dropped. "you can take the kid out of the streets, but you can't take the street out of the kid," Jax stated, "protecting people physically is just sort of how I've learned to deal with things." Jax offered Georgina his arm, inclining his head in the direction of the jewelry shop, "I really am sorry. And you didn't have to... claim that you were my mother. Or rather, you didn't have to claim a punk like me as your child."

Georgina smirked at his remark, sighing. "I know you can learn." She answered, not taking his arm but giving him a one-armed hug around his shoulder. "Jax, don't talk like that." Georgina responded firmly as they stepped into the white light lit jewelry store. "I forgive you. Now, stop acting like you're an awful person and tell me what you want to get Lana." She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and glanced around, waiting for his reply. She didn't spend too much time in jewelry stores, she could only notice the engagement rings and dwell upon her failed marriage, then leave in a sour mood. But she was here with Jax, shopping for her daughter, and not her.

Jax looked around. He'd never been inside a Jewelry store before; he honestly had never considered the prospect of shopping inside one. diamond rings gleamed within a glass case at the far side of the room; a man in a suit leaned over them, his eyebrows knit together as though he were making the most important decision of his life. Jax began to walk towards the rings, then turned the other direction, heading towards the smaller rings with assorted gems in them.
"Can I help you with anything?" A salesperson asked, coming to stand behind the glass case. Jax could tell by the way she eyed him that she didn't trust him. With his spiky hair, visible tattoos and faded Band shirt, she knew why. He glanced over at Georgina, who was busy looking around the store, currently leaned over a glass case of earrings.
"That woman over there. That's my mom," he started, liking the way the words rolled off of his tongue, "Well, kind of. More like my girlfriend's mom who... well, might as well be my mom," the woman smiled sweetly as Jax pushed on, "I want to get she and my girlfriend, Lana, both something. I was thinking a ring for my girlfriend, and...."
Jax stopped, his eyes catching on a diamond heart pendant hanging from a silver chain. It was delicate and beautiful; he pointed to it wordlessly.
After explaining his intent to the salesclerk, he passed her the money for the necklace; she pocketed it, giving it to him so he could slip it and its case into his pocket. Then, he returned to Georgina's side, smiling. "I saw a ring over there I really liked."

Georgina looked around as they stepped in, surprised as it was a bit crowded. "I'm going to go look over here, okay?" She said to Jax, slipping over to earrings as he wandered over to the small jewels and rings. On her way over, she saw the engagement ring section. Normally, despite the effect it had on her, Georgina always made a point to look. But she pushed past them, and decided to look at earrings peacefully while Jax made a decision. There were more important things than dwelling on what she didn't have. No day but today.

"You did? Can I see it?" Georgina asked, turning to Jax.

Jax nodded, sauntering over the ring section. Smiling, he pointed to one that was shaped like a diamond infinity sign at the front, the sides of the infinity signs shaped like hearts. It had caught his attention; the salesperson from earlier walked over, smiling. "I was thinking that one. And then I could have our initials and anniversary engraved in it?"

Georgina followed Jax over to the ring section, nodding at his choice. She knew Lana would like that, and it looked really nice. She couldn't help but to be worried about the cost, though. She wanted nothing more than the best for her daughter, but both Georgina and Lana wouldn't want Jax driving himself broke on a ring. She bit her lip, waiting for the salesperson to go on.

"How much for that one?" Jax asked, pointing to the ring. The saleswoman smiled, pulling it out, "It's one of our most popular sellers. You're looking at about 200 for the ring, 290 to get it engraved," the woman said; Jax barely flinched at the price. He smiled, nodding his head and reaching into his pocket for the money. "Perfect." he said.

Georgina bit her lip, but didn't say anything as Jax pushed over the money for the ring. "I think Lana will like it." She said softly, tapping her fingers on the counter, waiting for the saleswoman. "Oh, and by the way," Georgina began, turning to face Jax. "Lana was talking about dogs. Did she say anything to you about wanting a dog?"

The saleswoman put the ring and its black velvet case into a small white bag; she handed it over to Jax, telling he and Georgina to have a nice day, "Oh yes. She's mentioned wanting a dog. I'd like to have one, too, I suppose. It'd be nice. Dogs are nice."

"You too," Georgina responded to the woman as they exited the shop. "Yes, she was talking about having a pug. I suppose I could get her one for Christmas..." She said, pushing her hair back. They walked past the shoe shop and Georgina decided she didn't really need to go in anymore. "I don't think I need to go look at shoes, do you want to go and get lunch?" She offered, slowing down as she waited for Jax's response.

"A pug with a very important name from literature," Jax said, laughing. He swung his bag of clothes and turned to look at Georgina, frowning slightly, "I'd love lunch, but we can still go to the shoe store." he said, bumping her with his shoulder, "Why don't you go to the shoe store while I go to the hairdressing place right across from it. I wanna see if they can do something with this mess," Jax said, running his fingers through his gelled hair.

Georgina laughed. "Pugs are really cute. And that sounds like something Lana would do, she'd probably name it Gatsby or something from John Green. When I was in school, there was this couple that always called each other pet names from classic literature. It wasn't cute - it was really weird. Because it was like a different name every day, and just...don't do that." She said with a smile. "Oh, you're getting your hair done? No, I'm coming to see this. Besides, I have so many shoes, it'll be fine." The brunette added, following Jax over to the salon across on the other side of the mall.

Jax sighed, "I'll start calling her Daisy. Or maybe Scarlett O'Hara." he said, laughing. The salon smelled of burned hair and fruity shampoo; the woman behind the black marble counter shot him a slow smile, "How can I help you?" the petite blonde asked. Jax looked around the salon, at the hairdressers sitting in their black and purple chairs, and then turned his attention back to the petite blonde woman, "I need something done with all this," Jax stated, motioning to his hair, "I don't care what, just as long as you don't shave it all off. Georgina, do you have any suggestions?"

"You'd better be talking about that dog, Jax Crawline." Georgina said, giving him a cold stare but laughing quickly afterwards. They stepped into the salon, and Georgina glanced around as Jax talked to the woman behind the counter. "Erm," The brunette turned back as she heard her name mentioned. "Don't cut it too short, keep it fairly long. Just even it out a bit." She advised, pushing her own hair back and out of her eyes.

Jax nodded, following the woman to the shampooing station. She washed his hair thoroughly; he came back out looking like a drowned puppy. He glanced at Georgina, wrinkling his nose, then sat down in one of the salon chairs. A woman with frizzy red hair came up behind him and asked what he wanted done, then began cutting his hair slowly, carefully.
"Are you his mother?" The woman asked, glancing over at Georgina "or his girlfriend?"

Georgina leaned up against the wall, checking her phone and smirking when Jax came back. He looked a bit ridiculous, but she wasn't going to say anything. The hairdresser began to cut away a few locks of hair before turning to her, asking her if she was Jax's mother or girlfriend. The brunette immediately put a hand over her mouth to hide the laughter. "I...no..." She could hardly manage to form a proper response. Taking a deep breath, she smiled to answer. "I'm his girlfriend's mother."